Mead; his house still stands on Randolph Street, with modern outer
walls; at roots of a maple tree, planted by him, is granite marker,
inscription, “This house, erected May, 1797, by General David Mead,
founder of Meadville; Ensign in the War of American Revolution;
Major-General, 14th and 15th Division, Pennsylvania Militia; rendered
signal service in the war of 1812, and an associate Judge at the time of
his death. Placed by the Colonel Crawford Chapter, D. A. R., 1902.” In
Diamond Park, center of city, five acres, set in huge granite boulder
found there, is bronze tablet, inscription, “In commemoration of
Colonel William Crawford, born in Virginia 1732, burned at the stake by
Delaware Indians near Sandusky, Ohio, June 11, 1782. Revolutionary
soldier, friend and companion of Washington, brave and distinguished
frontiersman of Western Pennsylvania; this county is named in his honor.
Erected by Colonel Crawford Chapter, D. A. R., 1912”; also Pioneer’s
Monument, erected May 12, 1888, to mark one hundredth anniversary of
Meadville; and the Soldiers’ Monument, erected, 1890. Parrott guns,
relics of the Civil War, are at the base; inscription, “Crawford
County’s tribute to her loyal sons, 1861-1865.”
Courthouse faces the park, Renaissance, architect, E. T. Roberts, built
in 1870. On a house west of the park is a tablet, inscription, “Site of
first Court House and Gaol, north of Pittsburgh, 1804-25; placed by
Colonel Crawford Chapter, D. A. R., 1909”; also facing the park are the
post office, built by the government, 1910, Georgian architecture, red
brick and white marble; and the Unitarian Church, built in 1835, red
brick, classic, Doric architecture. On the terrace, at Locust Street, is
a small stone tablet, marking an old Indian trail, along which
Washington passed to Fort Le Boeuf; The “Terrace,” an attractive
residence street, is the sloping ground following the old canal.
Meadville Free Library contains a complete file of the “Crawford Weekly
Messenger,” published by Thomas Atkinson at Meadville, first newspaper
northwest of the Allegheny Mountains; annual exhibitions of paintings by
American artists are held here; an excellent permanent collection is
being accumulated by the art association, among the artists represented
are Charles C. Curran, Charles Bittinger, and Charlotte B. Coman.
Allegheny College founded in 1815, co-ed, is well equipped as to
instructors, apparatus, and buildings, campus twenty acres, nearly one
million dollars endowment; Bentley Hall, the oldest building, erected in
1820, is of fine colonial architecture; Library, classic architecture,
contains autograph letters from Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James
Monroe, John Wesley, Commissions to Timothy Alden, first President,
descended from Longfellow’s John Alden; portraits of all the Presidents
of the college, President Clark by Inman, also Hon. James Winthrop, and
of Rev. William Bentley of Salem, Massachusetts, who bequeathed here his
library, one of the rarest in the country.
The Pennsylvania College of Music, chartered, 1887, is complete in its
faculty and curriculum, for study in every department of music and
allied arts. Meadville Theological School, chartered 1846, contains a
fine library; in the chapel is a portrait, by John Neagle, Philadelphia,
painted in 1848, of Harm Jan Huidekoper, founder of the school; he was
the first representative of the Holland Land Company in Meadville in
1802. Lafayette Hotel is on site of “The Gibson Tavern,” where Lafayette
dined in 1825. A house on Water Street, corner of Steers Alley, is site
of blockhouse built, 1794; and North Ward School is on site of the State
Arsenal, 1816-58; all three marked with tablets by Colonel Crawford
Chapter, Daughters American Revolution.
TITUSVILLE, chartered as a city in 1866; population 8432; named for
Jonathan Titus, first settler in 1796. Here in 1859, Colonel Edwin L.
Drake, by drilling, gave to the world rock oil; first oil well half mile
southeast of center of town, is marked by a boulder monument, with large
tablet, showing replica of photograph of oil derrick and surrounding
trees, taken when oil was discovered; inscription, “This native boulder
marks the spot where, through the foresight, energy and perseverance of
Edwin L. Drake, the first well was drilled for oil, August 27, 1859; oil
was found at a depth of sixty-nine feet; this great discovery
inaugurated the Petroleum Industry. Erected by the Canadohta Chapter, D.
A. R., Aug. 27, 1914”; Drake Monument, entrance to Woodlawn Cemetery,
emblematic figure of a driller, bronze, heroic size, curving
architectural background, granite; sculptor, Charles Niehaus; tomb of
Drake faces the monument; Drake Museum, west of Titusville, brick,
architect, Edwin Bell, contains collections of interest relating to
early history of the oil industry.
Benson Memorial Library, Franklin Street, near Main Street, colonial,
brick and Indiana sandstone, built, 1902, architects, Jackson &
Rosencrans, New York. St. James Protestant Episcopal Church, built,
1863, Gothic, native stone, has fine Tiffany window. Presbyterian
Church, built, 1887, Romanesque, Medina sandstone, is on site of log
church built in 1815; stained glass window by the Montague Pastle-London
Co. of New York. Presbyterian Chapel, 1907, Romanesque, stained glass
window by Lamb, New York. The Commercial Bank has a portrait of John L.
McKinney, former president, by John C. Johanson.
[Illustration: DRAKE MONUMENT WITH STATUE OF THE DRILLER, TITUSVILLE
_Charles H. Niehaus, Sculptor_]
XXX
ERIE COUNTY
Formed March 12, 1800; named for Lake Erie, the name Erie from a tribe
of Indians, Eries, conquered by the Iroquois Confederacy in 1653, their
identity and language is lost; curious mounds and circular embankments,
still found in several places, show traces of a race superior to the
Indians; human bones in large quantities have been unearthed on line of
the Pennsylvania and Erie Railroad, indicating huge physical
development, one was nine feet in height. The triangle north of
Pennsylvania and west of New York was purchased, by authority of
Governor Mifflin, in 1791, from the United States, to obtain a lake port
for the state; conveyance being signed by President Washington and
Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State; afterwards the Indian title was
purchased from the Six Nations, through the diplomacy of Cornplanter
(Gyantwachia), the Seneca chief, for which the state gave him a
reservation in Warren County; later the Indians resolved to prevent the
settlement of Presque Isle by Americans, but General Wayne gained a
decisive and final victory against them in the battle of “Fallen
Timbers” on Maumee Road in 1794.
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,
[Illustration: Erie County]
[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
[Illustration: WASHINGTON STATUE
Site of Fort De Boeuf, Waterford
_Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Kilpatrick, Sculptors_]
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.
[Illustration: VENANGO COUNTY]
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.
[Illustration: IRON FURNACE--OIL CITY AND VICINITY
When the iron and steel industry started, iron furnaces such as the
above were built near deposits of bog ore, and the product shipped by
the river to Pittsburgh long before railroads arrived or cities
appeared]
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
[Illustration: WARREN COUNTY]
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.”
[Illustration: BUTLER COUNTY]
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.