Part 23

The Shore belt, for ten miles in width, is noted for grape and fruit raising; back of this is a productive agricultural section. Iron and steel industries predominate. Principal roads are along the south shore of Lake Erie, called the East and West Lake Roads,

[Map of Erie County showing: City of ERIE; Towns of EDINBORO, WATERFORD, and LE BOEUF; Railroad lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central, and New York Chicago & St. Louis; _LAKE ERIE_; PRESQUE ISLE; and WALNUT, ELK, CONNEAUT, and FRENCH Creeks]

that form a fifty-mile section of the international touring route across the continent. The old French Road from Erie southeast to Waterford, 18 miles, was originally part of the stage route between Pittsburgh and Erie, and also the old portage route from Lake Erie, for military and commercial purposes, to the head waters of the Allegheny River navigation, at Fort Le Boeuf, Waterford, on Lake Le Boeuf.

In 1753, Major George Washington, twenty-one years old, first caught the attention of mankind; he came with a message from Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, to notify the French to discontinue fortifying Presque Isle and Le Boeuf, claiming them to be British territory. Captain Riparti came from Presque Isle for the conference. Washington was accompanied by Christopher Gist (White) and an Indian interpreter. They were in Fort Le Boeuf from December 11-16, and treated courteously by the French officers, who stated they would communicate with their superior officer, Marquis Du Quesne, but at present must refuse to comply.

ERIE, county seat, population 93,372, on site of Presque Isle Fort, built by the Marquis Du Quesne in 1753; one of the chain of thirteen French forts extending from Quebec to Fort Du Quesne; is 35 feet above the lake, 573 feet above sea level. Surveyed by Andrew Ellicott, in 1795, first Surveyor General of the United States, three public parks of five acres each were in the original plan, along Sixth street, one mile apart. Perry Square, Sixth and State Streets, on original plan, is focus of public life, it contains memorial monuments to Captain Charles V. Gridley, bronze statue, erected in 1913, commander of the flagship of Admiral Dewey’s Squadron, in Manila Bay; Eben Brewer, bronze statue, first American postmaster in Cuba; General Anthony Wayne, large granite boulder surmounted by two cannon, erected, 1902; and bronze statue to Civil War soldiers, erected, 1872.

Courthouse, facing Perry Square, classic, Corinthian columns, native stone, erected in 1852, the bell is a trophy of war, from the British battleship _Queen Charlotte_, in 1813; court room contains complete representation of portraits of Erie County judges. Public Library, South Perry Square, Italian Renaissance, granite, built in 1897, architects, Alden & Harlow, Pittsburgh, contains portraits of Commodore Perry, General Anthony Wayne, Captain Charles V. Gridley, President Lincoln; in the Art Gallery is a small permanent collection of works by American artists, among those represented are Childe Hassam, R. M. Shurtleff, F. S. Church, George R. Barse, Arthur Parton, H. Bolton Jones, Charles A. Hulbert, and Henry Mosler; annual art exhibitions are held here by the Erie Art Club.

The Library also has a museum, with relics of the French and Indian, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and later wars. Erie has a conservatory of music, with an organized symphony orchestra, and glee club. The old Custom House, State Street, north of Perry Square, built in 1837, classic, brick with white marble steps and Doric columns, was first used as a United States bank, now in possession of the Grand Army of the Republic. Erie has fifty-five churches, eighteen missions, and

other religious societies, also two cathedrals. St. Paul’s, Protestant Episcopal, West Sixth Street, Gothic, stone, built, 1866, architect, St. John of Detroit, rose window by Tiffany, who also made some of the memorial windows; St. Peter’s Roman Catholic, Tenth and Sassafras Streets, Gothic; Medina New York red sandstone, trimmed with white sandstone from Amherst, Ohio, and Mercer County, Pennsylvania, built in 1893, architect, C. C. Keely, New York; contains statues of St. Peter and St. Paul, Carrara marble, made in Italy; stations and stained glass windows from Munich, Germany; other windows made in this country. Memorial windows are also in the First Presbyterian Church; St. Mary’s and St. John Kanty (Polish).

The State Soldiers and Sailors’ Home and Marine Hospital, built, 1867-68, brick and stone, is located on the lake front; on the grounds is a replica of the original blockhouse fort, where General Anthony Wayne died in 1796, after his conquest of the Northwest in 1795; he was buried here, until his body was removed in 1809 to St. David’s burial ground, Radnor. The blockhouse, showing plan of construction, was built in 1880, as memorial to General Wayne, it contains relics, and part of coffin lid with his inscription; these grounds were the reservation, on old City Plan of 1795, set apart for fortifications, in the most commanding position, for protection to entrance of harbor. Most of the military history of Erie is interwoven with the location between Parade and Wayne Streets, north of Fifth Street; here was the first white settlement, Presque Isle Village, and French fort in 1753. On bluff near Parade Street, blockhouses were erected, 1753-96-1813. Parade Street formed part of the old French road to Fort Le Boeuf, French garrison, 1753-59; English 1760-63, and in 1785 American 1795-1806, also 1812-13. Here in 1763 took place the hard fought two days’ battle of Presque Isle, with Pontiac, chief of the Ottawas, who, with a vast force, simultaneously attacked all thirteen forts, and captured nine of them, including Presque Isle and Le Boeuf, and again this was the objective point of the Indians in 1794, when they were finally conquered by General Wayne.

Here Thomas Rees, first justice of peace, entertained in his tent at the mouth of Mill Creek, a French exile, the Duke de Chartres, subsequently Louis Philippe, king of France. At the foot of Peach and of Cascade Streets, granite blocks, with brass markers, note approximate positions where Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s ships were built, on which he won the victory of the “Battle of Lake Erie,” in 1813. The powder used to fight that battle was made at Du Pont’s, Wilmington, Delaware, and brought through Pennsylvania in Conestoga wagons. The second flagship of his fleet, the _Niagara_, is in Erie Harbor, having been raised from the sand of Misery Bay, where it lay for nearly a century; it was rebuilt by the state at a cost of $75,000 for the Perry Centennial in 1913; the first flagship, _Lawrence_, was raised and rebuilt for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, in 1876; also in Erie harbor is the United States warship _Michigan_, now named _Wolverine_ and used as a naval militia training ship; built in 1844, it was the first iron warship, and brought to Erie in sections from Pittsburgh; the original engine is still intact and seaworthy; now oldest ironclad vessel in the world.

At foot of French Street, Commodore Perry’s fleet landed with the captured British squadron. This place was camping ground of the Pennsylvania militia; in War of 1812-13, the British fleet was drawn up in front of the harbor, to destroy Perry’s vessels while under construction; Captain Daniel Dobbins of Erie, commander of the _Ohio_, was the guiding spirit in building the fleet; 2500 soldiers encamped here, with cannon mounted, and such military preparedness as to forebode disaster to an enemy attempting entrance to the harbor. General Lafayette visited Erie in 1825, and a banquet was given him.

The Presque Isle peninsula, surrounding Erie harbor, has a state park, of more than 1500 acres, which is free to all; it gives Erie a large and thoroughly protected harbor; 100 acres were reserved for United States fortifications and dockyards; a life-saving station here, established in 1876, is place of interest. Presque Isle Bay is the finest natural harbor on the Great Lakes, four and one-half miles long, one and one-half miles wide. Lakeside Park, an irregular and sloping strip of land along the water front, from Mill Creek on east, to City line west, sixty-five acres, was laid out in 1888 by John L. Cully, landscape engineer; other open spaces are the Waterworks Park; the Reservoir; Erie, Trinty and Lakeside Cemeteries. Present city planner is John Nolan, of Massachusetts. Erie has also twenty smaller parks, of these the largest are Glenwood, between Sassafras and Cherry Streets, purchased by Erie Public Park Association in 1903, 114 acres, a natural forest with large stream of clear water and swimming pool; the Fish Hatchery, Twenty-third and Sassafras Streets, one of the most important in the state; Waldamere, four miles west on Lake Erie, and the State Normal School Grounds at Edinboro, sixteen miles south of Erie.

XXXI

VENANGO COUNTY

Formed March 12, 1800, territory then recently acquired by treaties from the Indians, named from In-nan-ga-eh (a rude figure cut in a tree), Seneca language. A well-watered country, the Allegheny River meandering through rugged hills, about 400 feet high, presents places of rare scenic grandeur; into it flow several streams of considerable volume, among them Oil Creek, French Creek, and Big Sandy. For a number of years after the discovery of petroleum, in 1859, it continued to be the principal oil-producing field; now chief industries are manufacturing, refining of petroleum, lumbering, and agriculture.

FRANKLIN, county seat, population 9970, named for Benjamin Franklin, was laid out by William Irvine and Andrew Ellicott, state commissioners, in 1795, on a plateau where a few Seneca Indians were living in comparative security, with a lookout on the highest point of the highest hill, giving views up and down the two beautiful rivers. Being a conservative town, the original city plan has been closely followed, descendants of the early white settlers are living on their own lands from original surveys. Courthouse, Renaissance, brick, in center of a fine wide park, contains portrait of John Morrison, first town crier; near by is Soldiers’ Monument, marble shaft surmounted by an eagle; on the pedestal are carved names of Venango County soldiers killed in the Civil War; opposite is the _Franklin News_ office, Renaissance, good modern construction.

St. John’s Protestant Episcopal Church has fine Tiffany windows; the Presbyterian, Baptist, and Roman Catholic churches all have good architecture and stained glass windows. Fine Armory Building. Original lock and dam are preserved intact, in an early canal extended to Franklin, from the “Feeder” Canal several miles below Meadville, on French Creek, its course is plainly seen at many places along the creek; five old bridges that were swept away by fire and ice have been replaced by modern structures; one is called the “Washington,” concrete, handsome design.

Three early frontier forts were here, sites marked by monuments and tablets, Fort Machault, French, Elk Street near Sixth Street, 1753-59; Washington came here on way to Fort Le Boeuf, 1753; this fort had a share in the maneuvers that precipitated “the great seven years war” and dissipated the dreams of an extended French empire; the expedition which brought on actual hostilities was organized and received its impetus at Fort Machault. French troops passed through, and often a thousand Indians lingered here. Fort Venango, Elk Street at Eighth Street, English, 1760-63, captured and burned by the Indians during Pontiac’s war; and Fort Franklin, on Franklin Avenue west of Thirteenth Street, built by United States 1787-96, later abandoned; also the Old Garrison, on bank of French Creek near junction with Allegheny River, erected by the United States after Fort Franklin. This city has never failed in a military crisis; during the war of 1848, George C. McClellan led the “forlorn hope” which captured the fortified buildings at Chepultepec, making the taking of the palace possible.

Six miles down the river is “Indian God Rock,” on which are still seen Indian picture writings; near this rock, Celeron, a Frenchman, under orders from the governor of Canada, is said to have buried one of the engraved leaden plates, placed at various points from Lake Erie to the Mississippi River, as marks of renewal of French possession. Opposite is a bald mountain, from which are fine views of river scenery; among the hills are numerous caves and ravines, a lovely ravine is Glen Fern south of Franklin; Monarch Park, halfway to Oil City, is a well-equipped pleasure ground. OIL CITY, on Oil Creek, population 21,274, so named because it was the center of the oil industry after discovery of petroleum in 1859. In early days, “Seneca Oil” was obtained from the Indians, who gathered it by spreading their blankets in Oil Creek, the surface of which was covered with oil.

Hasson Park, with forty acres of natural wooded area, has rustic, stone, arch gateway at Bissell Avenue entrance. In Christ Protestant Episcopal Church are memorial windows by Lamb, New York. United States Post Office at the corner of Seneca and Clifford Streets, built by the Government in 1906, Romanesque, gray brick and stone. Carnegie Library, built, 1904, modified Romanesque, gray brick and stone; architect, Charles D. Bollon, Philadelphia. Five bridges over the Allegheny River include the original suspension bridge and “The Petroleum,” said to be finest in strength and dimension north of Pittsburgh; in 1892 a large petroleum tank caught fire and burning oil spread over the water in the creek, it also set fire to the buildings, and many lives were lost. From Franklin and Oil City, public highways, now under state control, lead along streams and over uplands of great beauty.

XXXII

WARREN COUNTY

Formed March 12, 1800; named for General Joseph Warren, who fell at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775; land is varied, with mountains, plains, and narrow valleys; the Allegheny River flows through, with tributaries large enough for floating rafts or propelling machinery. The beautiful Kinzua Hills, east, are nearly 2200 feet above tidewater, over them is the famous Kinzua Viaduct, said to be the highest in the world. Early industries were lumber and oil, now they are chiefly agriculture and manufacturing.

WARREN, made county seat in 1819, was first laid out by General William Irving and Andrew Elliott, state commissioners in 1795; population 14,272; in 1800, first sawmill in the county was started which is said to have made the first raft of lumber ever floated down the Allegheny; it also sawed lumber in 1805 for Jackson’s Tavern, in which George W. Fenton, afterwards governor of New York, in 1806, taught school, until the schoolhouse of round logs with openings covered by oiled paper for windows, was ready. Courthouse, built, 1825, was first brick building in the county. A suspension bridge crosses the Allegheny here, built about 1871; near entrance to bridge is the Soldiers’ Monument, granite, erected in 1909, on which are inscribed the battles of Warren County men in Civil War. Bronze monument to General Warren and his soldiers is in the west park, dedicated, 1910, placed by the

Joseph Warren Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Memorial Library, classic, Doric; architect, Wetmore, New York, is on site of residence of Francis Henry, Esq.

TIDIOUTE, population 1065, in midst of most picturesque surroundings, hills 500 to 700 feet high, covered thickly with forests, where the Allegheny River makes a beautiful curve, crossed here by a suspension bridge built between 1860-70, was famous as an oil-producing community, and the center of a large and excited population, now a quiet residence of wealth and refinement. Also on banks of the Allegheny is the Cornplanter Reservation, given to the great Seneca chief and his heirs for ever, as a reward for military service and influence during the War of 1812; in 1866, the State Legislature authorized the erection of a monument here, inscription, “Gyantwahia, The Cornplanter, Died at Cornplanter Town, Feb. 18, 1836, aged about 100 years.”

XXXIII

BUTLER COUNTY

Formed March 12, 1800; named in honor of General Richard Butler, born in York County; natural scenery is varied, with hills, knolls, and ridges, intervening valleys and broad, fertile fields, while many streams dash over rocky bottoms in all directions and flash their clear waters in the sunlight. The county is rich in old traditions. In 1753, Washington passed through over the Indian trail extending from site of Pittsburgh to Franklin, Venango County; Lafayette stopped here overnight, and many stories of hairbreadth escapes from Indians are related, among them that of Massy Harbison and her baby, who after seeing two of her children killed and scalped, almost starved for days, but finally escaped; the descendants of that baby still reside in the county. Robert Morris owned about 100,000 acres of land in this region. Chief industries, notably its large output of oil and gas, also manufactories; the Standard Steel Car Works, one of the largest plants in the United States, and the Standard Plate Glass Works.

BUTLER, county seat, population 23,778; laid out in 1803; rectangular, sheltered on all sides by hills; on the top of a small knoll is the public square, with fountain, walks, grass plots, and flower beds; it contains the Soldiers’ Monument, dedicated in 1894 to “Our Silent Defenders”; facing the park is the Courthouse, Gothic French style, with a high tower, stone, built in 1885; architect, James P. Bailey, Pittsburgh; remodeled in 1908 by J. C. Fulton, of Uniontown; interior has mural paintings, representing historic scenes in Butler County; the Woman’s Club furnished a rest room for women here in the basement. Two interurban street railway lines from Pittsburgh have their terminus near this point. Within two squares is the Post Office, built, 1914, Grecian; light brick with granite Ionic columns; architect, Oscar Wenderoth. Opposite is St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, English-Gothic, with stone tower 180 feet high; constructed of beautifully colored local sandstone in the rough, trimmed with the same stone dressed smooth; roof, variegated shingle tile; architect, John T. Comes, Pittsburgh; interior has mural decorations by the Christian Art Guild; the altars are known as “Tryptich,” said to be the only ones of their kind in America; the sanctuary is considered among the richest and most complete in this country; stained glass windows from George Boos, Munich, Bavaria. St. Peter’s German Catholic Church has stained glass windows from Munich, made by Meyer & Company, who also made windows for St. Peter’s Protestant Episcopal Church.

The county has numerous fine, concrete bridges; Butler Viaduct is the largest, 1060 feet between the approaches connecting East Wayne Street with Center Avenue across a deep ravine, built in 1915 by the Fort Pitt Bridge Works. Two miles northeast of town is a pleasure park of natural beauty in a wooded valley, well equipped with dining rooms, ball grounds, lake for boating, etc. Five miles from Butler on the heights above Herman Station is ST. MARY’S MONASTERY, Gothic, built by the Capuchin Fathers, of which St. Fiedelis College forms a part. SAXONBURG was laid out in 1832 by John Roebling, here he lived and manufactured the first wire cable, which he used in constructing suspension bridges that made him famous, notably the Brooklyn Bridge across East River, New York. At EVANS CITY, on a grassy knoll in the cemetery, is the Soldiers’ Monument; Quincy granite shaft, surmounted by an eagle standing on a globe, the names of forty-five soldiers are inscribed on it; dedicated, 1894.

On the same road is HARMONY, an old historic settlement, founded by George Rapp of Germany; who organized a society known as Harmonites, they purchased 5000 acres of best farm land along the Connoquenessing Creek, amid beautiful scenery, and formed a communistic colony; all money and goods went into a common fund; all worked together in harmony and concord; the quaint old cemetery is surrounded by a wall four feet thick; at the entrance is a gate consisting of one large stone which turns on a pivot; more than one hundred of the sect are buried here; high up on the bank, above the creek, is a curious stone formation called “Rapp’s Seat,” here, tradition relates, “Father Rapp” used to sit and oversee the work carried on by the community; the tourist is well repaid for the climb by the beautiful view from that high point. Another historic place is known as the “Old Stone House” on Mercer Turnpike, ten miles north of Butler, used as a tavern in the eighteenth century; here in 1843, an Indian named “Mohawk” killed Mrs. Wigton and her four children.

A State Normal School with fine large buildings and wide, shady campus is at SLIPPERY ROCK. About 1792, numerous depredations by Indians were quieted for some time by General Brodhead’s expedition to the head waters of the Allegheny River with Captain Samuel Brady’s help, a notable Indian fighter; his leap of 23 feet over the waters at Slippery Rock, 20 feet deep, with Indians back and front, gained the praise of the Indian chief, who said, “Blady make good jump.” At WEST SUNBURY an agricultural school has lately been established.

XXXIV

MERCER COUNTY

Formed March 12, 1800; named for General Hugh Mercer of the Revolutionary War, who was killed in the Battle of Princeton; rolling land, well watered with springs and creeks; coal underlying one-fourth of land in the county; chief industries are iron, steel, and agriculture; early settlers were Scotch-Irish. In 1812, Mercer County people were frequently called upon to aid in defense of Erie; the whole county would be aroused in a day by runners; in a few hours most of the men, whether militia or volunteers, would be on the march; one call came on Sunday, while service was being held in the courthouse; the sermon was suspended, news announced, benediction given, and immediate preparation for march commenced; at another time, news of threatened invasion came in the middle of grain harvest; the response was immediate, only one old man was left in the town.

MERCER, county seat, population 1932; was once an Indian village of seventy lodges; no settlement was made here until after Wayne’s victory over the Indians in 1795; it was laid out in 1803, on two hundred acres of land given by John Hoge of Washington County. The courthouse, built, 1909, colonial; brick, stone, and concrete; is in center of the public square of three acres; interior finished in white marble; mural painting in dome by Edward Everett Simmons, represents Power, Innocence, Guilt, and Justice; in the courtrooms