Part 17

CONNELLSVILLE; population 13,804. On grounds of the Carnegie Free Library is a bronze statue of Colonel William Crawford, pioneer and patriot, who, in 1765, built the first cabin home within limits of Connellsville; killed by Indians in 1782; sculptor, Charles S. Kilpatrick; tablet on base placed by Pennsylvania Historical Commission. Trinity Lutheran Church, Italian Renaissance; native white sandstone, trimmed with Indiana limestone; built, 1911; contains copy of Bougereau’s “Resurrection.” In the tower is chime of twelve bells. Architect, J. C. Fulton, Uniontown.

Lafayette was entertained, in 1825, at “Friendship Hill” near New Geneva, the home of Albert Gallatin, member of Congress, Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States to two courts of Europe, signer of the Treaty of Ghent, Secretary of the Treasury in Jefferson’s and Madison’s administrations; the house was built, 1789, enlarged, 1882, and with the estate of seven hundred acres, is still of great beauty; Albert Gallatin’s library remains just as he left it, on a high eminence, overlooking the Monongahela River, on the edge of a precipice three hundred feet above the river, the view is said to be similar to that from Heidelberg Castle; the main entrance is near the old Morgantown Road, an historic highway.

XIV

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Formed September 9, 1784; named for Benjamin Franklin, whose fame was then world-wide. Earliest settlers Scotch-Irish, later Germans. Chief industry agriculture, the land east is limestone and very fertile; west, slate lands prevail, abounding in pure streams and rich meadows; the Conococheague and Conodoquinet Creeks drain the central part of the county, they are crossed by many stone arch bridges of graceful architecture, the most notable is at Hiester’s Mill, three arches. The principal road, now part of the Lincoln Highway, enters the county near the historic Thaddeus Stevens Iron Works, built, 1837, at Caledonia, which comprised about 20,000 acres, now in State Forestry Reservation, and with the Mont Alto tract, makes a total of about 40,000 acres; the mill and machinery were entirely destroyed, in 1863, by order of General Early, on account of Stevens’ well-known activity as an abolitionist; this road was route of greater part of Lee’s Army to and from the battlefield of Gettysburg to Chambersburg; site of encampment before the battle, a little beyond the hospital, east from Chambersburg. Other roads leading west, of historic interest, are the Two Mountain, and the Path Valley, formerly Indian trails.

County seat, CHAMBERSBURG, settled, 1764, population 13,171. In Centre Square is a boulder with tablet commemorating the burning of Chambersburg by Confederate Cavalry, July 1, 1864. Facing the square are the brick courthouse, Southern colonial with fluted columns, cupola and clock, contains portraits of judges; and the Central Presbyterian Church, with Tiffany windows. Near are, Miller’s drug store on site of Jack Tavern, where the first court was held in 1784, large mortar in front was made from one of the pillars of the burned courthouse. United States Post Office, Main and King Streets, built, 1912, semi-classic, light colonial brick with gray stone facing. Masonic temple, built, 1823, saved by Confederate Masons when the town was burned. Zion Reformed Church, built, 1812, exterior unchanged, particularly good lines in steeple, has Tiffany windows. On King Street stands the house John Brown occupied, second from Union Baptist Church; Nicklas store, on Main Street near Queen, is site of old tavern where President Washington and Alexander Hamilton spent the night, _en route_ to quell the Whiskey Insurrection in 1794; Market House, Second and Queen Streets, built, 1830, brick, colonial, with clock tower.

WILSON COLLEGE comprises seven buildings, including Thompson Memorial Hall, built, 1904, modified Gothic, with auditorium and fine organ, architect, George C. Baum, Philadelphia. Falling Spring Presbyterian Church and Chapel, organized, 1736, services first held in Benjamin Chamber’s sawmill, present church built, 1803, chapel, 1873, native stone, has Tiffany memorial windows to Judge and Mrs. Alexander Thomson, parents of Frank Thomson, Esq. Rocky Spring Presbyterian Church, four miles northwest from Chambersburg, built, 1794 by the Scotch-Irish, colonial, with high, straight-backed pews, and original old high pulpit, with sounding board, pewter Communion service from England and ten-plate stoves. Dr. McIntosh preached here; has an interesting old graveyard, keys kept at adjoining farmhouse.

The “MONT ALTO PARK,” formerly a famous picnic ground, now in charge of State Forestry Commission, in the South Mountain, in old maps named “The Valley of a Thousand Springs,” contains an old Protestant Episcopal Church, near which is a native boulder, with granite tablet, marking the place where Captain John E. Cook, of John Brown’s Army of Liberation, was captured and disarmed, October 25, 1859, erected by the Kittochtinny Historical Society, 1909. The STATE FOREST ACADEMY is here, where the state educates its foresters, free of all cost; in 1900, the Bureau of Forestry had grown to the point where it should be raised to the rank of a department, of which the chief should be a member of the Governor’s cabinet; there was strenuous opposition, but owing to the flood of letters received by members of the Legislature, from the women of the State Federated Clubs, the change was made, and Pennsylvania takes a commanding place in the Forestry and Conservation movement. The WHITE PINE, STATE SANATORIUM, NO. 1, free for consumptives, is also here, one of the largest in the world. South is WAYNESBORO; good roads and notably fine scenery in this section.

GREENCASTLE, birthplace of Robert McClelland in 1807, see Honor Roll; directly north, on State Road, is monument, to mark where Corporal William H. Rhil fell, first soldier killed on Northern soil in Civil War.

MERCERSBURG, settled between 1730-35, population 1663; named for General Hugh Mercer, who was killed in the Battle of Princeton. Mercersburg Academy, Main Hall, built, 1833, used as hospital for wounded soldiers, on retreat from Gettysburg, is a notable example of Southern colonial architecture, with fine pillars and surmounted by a cupola; the ’88 Dormitory, given largely by class of 1888 of Princeton University, is Tudor Gothic, brick and white stone; Kiel Hall, the refectory, interior, baronial Gothic with frescoes and hangings by Tiffany; over mantel, in wood, carved by John J. Maene, is “The Boar Hunt” from design by A. Stirling Calder; notable collection of University shields in glass and wood; mosaic armorial design in hearth; Laucks Hall, Tudor Gothic, has mural painting in trophy room, “The Victor,” representing a Mercersburg boy being crowned victor in athletic skill, artist, Edward Howland Blashfield, also collection of portraits of distinguished men, including President James Buchanan, Thomas A. Scott, and W. M. Irvine, by William Merritt Chase; Dr. E. E. Highbee, by Carroll Beckwith; and Dr. Thomas Apple by John W. Alexander; the new gymnasium, architect, Frank Miles Day, has stained glass by Tiffany.

Historic houses on Main Street, one in which Harriet Lane Johnston was born, built, 1788, by Colonel Robert Parker, friend of Lafayette, has interesting interior woodwork; and residence of Dr. William Magaw, who dressed Lafayette’s wounds after the battle of Brandywine, grounds now in campus of Academy. Near Mercersburg, Irwinton Mills, a picturesque spot on the west branch of the Conococheague,

birthplace of Jane and Elizabeth Irwin, who were married to the Harrison brothers; Jane was mistress of the White House in 1841, Elizabeth became the mother of President Benjamin Harrison. East of town, birthplace of William Findlay, see Honor Roll. President James Buchanan was born at Cove Gap, three miles from Mercersburg, birthplace marked by monument erected by will of his niece, Harriet Lane Johnston; the house was later removed to Lafayette Street, Mercersburg.

The famous Packer’s Path, used by pack horses, leads from Stony Batter across the mountains to Pittsburgh. Site of Fort McCord, near Yankee Gap, at North Mountain is where twenty-seven pioneer settlers were massacred or carried into captivity by Indians in 1756, and thirty-two provincial soldiers killed or wounded in their effort at rescue; marked by native stone monument 1914, erected by the Enoch Brown Association, and Pennsylvania Historical Commission. Northeast is the Enoch Brown Park, with monument sacred to the memory of Enoch Brown and eleven scholars massacred by Indians here in 1764, during the Pontiac War. Large collection of Indian curios found near here are owned by Benjamin Snively, Jr. South, is site of Fort Loudoun, marked.

Natives of Franklin County, in the World’s Honor Roll are, Samuel Adams, Senator from Mississippi; George Washington Buchanan, United States District Attorney for Dakota; James Buchanan, 1791-1868, schoolboy in Mercersburg, lawyer, member of the legislature and of congress, Minister to Russia, member of United States Senate, Secretary of State, Minister to Great Britain, fifteenth president of the United States; Edmund R. Calhoun, Rear Admiral, United States Navy; Hugh S. Campbell, United States District Attorney for Dakota; George Chambers, 1786-1866, Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; Matthew St. Clair Clark, Clerk of the United States House of Representatives; Colonel Thomas Hartley Crawford, Judge of the United States Court, District of Columbia, and Commissioner for Indian Affairs; George Eyster, Assistant United States Treasurer at Philadelphia; William Findlay, 1768-1846, State Treasurer, United States Senator, Governor, Assistant United States Treasurer at Philadelphia; Henry Harbaugh, 1817-67, theologian, poet, hymn-writer; Robert Johnston, Collector of Excise, appointed by President Washington; John Maclay, member of the convention at Carpenters’ Hall; Samuel Maclay, United States Senator; William Maclay, first United States Senator from Pennsylvania, died, 1825; Robert McClelland, United States Secretary of the Interior, Governor of Michigan; James McLane, Member of the Supreme Executive Council and of the Pennsylvania Council of Censors, member of the convention at Carpenters’ Hall; John Williamson Nevin, 1803-86, President of Franklin and Marshall College, theologian, author, preacher; William M. Nevin, 1806-92, poet, teacher; James Potter, Major General of the Continental Army; John Rowe, Surveyor-General of Pennsylvania; Thomas A. Scott, Assistant Secretary of War, President Pennsylvania Railroad; Frank Thomson, President Pennsylvania Railroad; Joseph Williams, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Iowa.

XV

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Formed September 10, 1784; named in honor of General Richard Montgomery; ranks third in state as to amount of money at interest paying state tax; notable for fine suburban residences and for Washington’s itinerary and Camp at Valley Forge, with 11,098 men. The Valley Forge Park Commission acquired, in 1893, 472 acres, partly in Chester County, to maintain and preserve forever the Revolutionary camp ground; American army here from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778; soldiers built their huts 16 × 14 feet by 6½ feet high, each to accommodate twelve men, and bore their sufferings from cold, starvation, and sickness like heroes; facts of interest are:

Baron von Steuben came from Germany with his secretary, Peter S. Du Ponceau, after having served as aide-de-camp to Frederick the Great; he was appointed inspector general of the American army, and gave them military training and discipline; Mrs. Washington came to Valley Forge February 27, 1778; on May 18, a detachment under Marquis de Lafayette moved to Barren Hill, but the British came in force against them, and they retreated over Matson’s ford, Conshohocken, on a bridge of rafts; on June 18, British evacuated Philadelphia, June 19, Washington and army left Valley Forge in pursuit.

A marker is placed where General Sullivan and soldiers built a bridge across the Schuylkill in 1778;

redoubts and intrenchments have been restored; every point of interest has been marked with granite tablets by various historical societies, and by the states whose sons suffered here; bronze equestrian statue of General Anthony Wayne, sculptor, H. K. Bush-Brown, made, 1908, marks site of cantonment of his troops; near this is replica of a brigade hospital, a soldier’s hut; and the bronze statue of General Friederich Wilhelm von Steuben, granite pedestal with bronze relief; sculptor, J. Otto Schweizer, erected, 1915, by National German-American Alliance. National Memorial Arch, one of the most beautiful structures of its kind, granite, designed by Paul P. Cret, was erected by the United States Government in 1914, as a tribute to General Washington and his regiments.

Washington’s headquarters (home of Isaac Potts), open daily, 8 A.M. to 6 P.M., is arranged as when he occupied it; Washington Inn was used as army bakery during encampment, ovens in basement, originally home of Colonel William Dewees, sheriff of Philadelphia, and owner, with John Potts, of the forge; the Star Redoubt; the Defenders’ Gate; Cemetery; and View from observatory on Mount Joy are interesting; Museum of American History contains rare relics of Washington and the war.

Washington Memorial Protestant Episcopal chapel, and the Cloister of the Colonies, in which each of the thirteen colonies will be represented by a bay, in the center of each is the colonial seal in brass; ceiling, hand carved oak, in the central boss of each, the state coat of arms; the Cloister incloses the Garth in which is a bronze statue, “Sacrifice and Devotion,” by Bela Pratt, in honor of the mothers of the nation; the porch gates were wrought by Samuel Yellin, hammered in the iron are the symbols of the four Evangelists, the lock has a miniature Liberty Bell as a keeper, and the sliding bolt passes through the knapsack of a Continental soldier, guarding the lock; windows in the chapel from D’Ascenzo Studios. Waterman Monument marks the grave of only identified soldier buried here.

Across the Schuylkill is Fat Land built by James Vaux; Washington slept here September 21, 1777; the next day, Sir William Howe came here and almost caught him. At Port Kennedy, one and one-half miles east of Valley Forge, prehistoric bones of sabretooth tigers and extinct animals are found. West of Valley Forge, Mill Grove, built, 1762, still standing, residence of John James Audubon; here he studied, painted, and wrote about “Birds of America” that have made him world-famous. Near, at the mouth of Perkiomen Creek, Washington’s army encamped at Richardson’s Ford, September 21, after marching all night, wet breast-high, and hungry, one thousand men without shoes. Howe moved on west of Schuylkill toward Reading, the depot of American supplies, having burned buildings at Valley Forge on his way, and reached Phœnixville, Fountain Inn. Washington marched his troops to Upper Hanover, within four miles of Pottstown; his headquarters was residence of John Potts, built 1753; and sent General Wayne with fifteen hundred men to harass the rear of British army under General Gray, but they were outnumbered by the British, and massacred at Paoli; marked by two monuments.

POTTSTOWN, founded by John Potts, population 17,431; noted for its iron industries since 1716; Mill Park Hotel, built, 1752, for residence of founder, who was visited here by Washington. Friends Meeting House, built, 1752, ground given by John Potts; he also gave ground for Zion Lutheran Church, Georgian, 1753. Residences of founder’s three sons, Dr. Jonathan Potts, Director General of Hospitals, Northern Department, in the Revolutionary War, “Stowe,” west of Pottstown; Samuel Potts, east of Pottstown, now “Hill School”; John Potts, Jr., a Tory judge, corner of High and Hanover Streets, center of town, later, residence of General Arthur St. Clair; Daughters of the American Revolution tablet on side. Emmanuel Lutheran Church, architects, Lechman & Murphy, windows from D’Ascenzo Studios; Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, Gothic; brownstone; good memorial windows; was received in Convention in 1827; Pottstown Hospital is controlled by Board of Women Managers, also the Library, in which art exhibitions are shown.

Not until William Penn came was any effort made to manufacture iron in Pennsylvania. Having iron furnaces of his own at Hawkhurst, England, he was interested to encourage the industry here. Thomas Rutter, Bailiff of Germantown from 1705-06, after Pastorius, moved up the Schuylkill on patent of land from William Penn, deed still in the family, and established in 1717, the “Pool Forge,” on Manatawny Creek, three miles above Pottstown; he was first in Pennsylvania to manufacture iron; ore is still being mined from the same beds. Among the great names in our early iron industry, Rutter and Potts stand pre-eminent; the list of forges and furnaces on the Manatawny and its branches, owned by their intermarried families, before the Revolution, include Mount Pleasant furnace and forge; Spring forge; Colebrookdale furnace and forge; Amity forge; Rutter’s forge; Pool forges; Pine forge and Little Pine forge.

Near Boyertown is Ringing Rocks, a natural curiosity; they make a complete octave. Michael Schlatter preached at Manatawny in 1748, also in the Reformed Church, built in 1743. McCalls, or Glasgow Forge, on Manatawny Creek, still in operation, was erected in 1725, on land conveyed by William Penn to his son, John, in 1701; 14,600 acres; sold to George McCall of Glasgow, Scotland, in 1735; who also had interest in Colebrookdale furnace managed by Thomas Potts, Jr., which supplied McCall’s forge with pig iron. Green Lane Forge, on Perkiomen Creek, notable for its excellent blooms, was built in 1733 by Thomas Mayberry; earliest settler in Marlborough township, who bought 1210 acres, supplied with pig iron from Durham Furnace, Bucks County; equipment, water wheel, huge bellows, tuyere pipe, open hearth forge, melting pots, and conelike charcoal kilns.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY AUTOMOBILE TRIP TO VALLEY FORGE

(Return by Schuylkill River Drive to Philadelphia)

From Thirty-second and Market Streets, Philadelphia, out Lancaster Avenue, first turnpike in United States, completed in 1794, pattern for all subsequent roadbeds; main highway to Pittsburgh, once thronged with teams, coaches, and Conestoga wagons with six horses, making twenty miles a day; trip from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and return, 333 miles, in six weeks; wayside inns were located a mile apart. Originally part of Indian trail; later King’s Highway; Lancaster Pike; Main Line; now Lincoln Highway, made free of tolls July 15, 1917. OVERBROOK, Roman Catholic Theological Seminary, St. Charles Borromeo, contains painting, “Crucifixion,” by the late Thomas Eakens. The Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, designed by E. A. Allen, Spanish Renaissance, 1898, architects, Cope & Stewardson, considered finest residential school for blind in the world, particularly well-equipped for the purpose. Montgomery County, near NARBERTH station, old Merion meeting house, built, 1695, stone, sharp roof, curious pointed gables over doors, peg is still shown where William Penn hung his hat when he rose to preach; beyond is site of Penn cottage, built, 1695. MERION, Dr. Barnes’ Art Museum, built of imported French limestone; modern art. ARDMORE, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and burial ground, log church, built, 1769, present church, 1873. Red Lion Inn, still standing.

HAVERFORD, Haverford College for boys, founded in 1833 by Society of Orthodox Friends, life is focused inward, neither sight nor sound of the outer world reaches the campus of 225 acres, on which are farm and woodland, cricket and football fields, tennis courts, a running track and skating pond; the arrangement of buildings, chiefly modern colonial, from 1833-1912, shows the result that comes only by slow growth and care; architects, W. S. Vaux; Cope & Stewardson; W. F. Price; Baily & Bassett. Library contains over four hundred Babylonian clay tablets, from 2500 B.C.; Harris collection of Oriental manuscripts; seven hundred reproductions in fictile ivory, of ancient and medieval carved ivories in British Museum, from second to eighteenth centuries; Roberts autographs, more than 11,000 items, covering period from late fifteenth century to present day; some portraits of Haverford alumni. Old Haverford meeting house, near Cobb’s Creek, stone, built, 1696, has horse block used by William Penn in dismounting; chimney had curious openings in outside wall, through which fire wood was introduced to the hearth, their position is still traceable. The Buck Tavern, built, 1732, now Haverford House.

BRYN MAWR, 415 feet above sea level (Welsh, great hill). Bryn Mawr College, founded by Dr. Joseph W. Taylor, of Burlington, New Jersey, in 1880, to establish “An institute for advanced learning, for women to have equal advantages with men.” The college has continued a high standard of academic work, and maintains graduate school for women doing research work in all branches. Buildings, chiefly varieties of Gothic architecture, stone, date from 1882-1913, architects, Addison Hutton, Cope & Stewardson, C. Francis Osborne, Lockwood de Forest, and Winsor Soule; the Library, Jacobean Gothic, period, 1630, incloses cloister garden with center fountain, bosses of cloister arches are carved by hand, sculptor, Alec Miller from England. Memorial brasses, set in wall, were designed by Lockwood de Forest. Reading room contains portraits of President M. Carey Thomas, by John S. Sargent, and ex-President James E. Rhoads, by William M. Chase.

ROSEMONT, residence, Alba Johnson, Esq., late Tudor, is typical of Main Line residences, many of them Norman or English; grounds in woodland and best traditions of English landscape gardening; marble statue of Eve, made 1855, by Bartholomew, Rome; lead statuary, Neptune and horses fountain, from Bronze Grove Guild, Worcester, England, Walter Gilbert, sculptor; the grounds may sometimes be seen by writing to owner for permission. VILLA NOVA, Roman Catholic College and monastery. Bernard Corr Memorial Hall, old English Gothic, built, 1912-14; architects, Durang & Son.

RADNOR, Delaware County, Friends meeting house, built, 1718, used as hospital for Morgan’s riflemen and Potter’s brigade in 1778; St. David’s Church, built, 1715, by the congregation, named for patron Saint of Wales; native stone, used as hospital in Revolutionary War, leaden sash, melted for bullets; Swedish missionary at Wicaco held first services here; General Anthony Wayne, vestryman, is buried in church grounds; his monument was erected by Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati in 1809; Judge William Moore and wife, buried under the door-step; their daughter was the wife of the first Provost, William Smith, U. of P. Communion service given by Queen Anne. WAYNE, General Wayne Inn, hotel since 1707, Wayne’s encampment near in 1792, before his western campaign against Indians. Chester County, Lincoln Highway to Strafford, Township Line Road to VALLEY FORGE, see page 253.