University of Virginia Library

May 6, 1874

Random Row, North Side.—At the foot of Random
Row now West Main street, when we first recollect
it, stood two small wooden buildings, the property of
Joseph Bishop's heirs. It was on this lot that Gen. Parsons,
of the Confederate army was born. Between the
years 1830 and 1834, the present brick store and dwellings,[139]
with the exception of the one east, which was
added to the others since Wm. Cox purchased the property,
were erected by John D. Craven and Henry B.


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Fry, who, also owned and carried on the tannery[140]
in the
rear, where for many years the late James Bishop conducted
the same business. The first store room, now occupied
by A. D. Cox, grocer, was for several years occupied
by Thos. Draffin, who did a large trading business
in country produce brought from west of the Blue
Ridge by mountain wagons, six horse teams; the animals
were often decorated with ribbons, and having bells
around their necks or under the bellies. We often saw
the premises around the store crowded with these mountain
wagons. This thriving trade after a few years
came to an end, by the failure of Draffin & Co. The
next store, now occupied by Samuel Comer, for groceries,
and dry goods, was from October 1835 to September
1844, the place where the Jeffersonian was published,
established October 1835, by the present Local,
and his family residence was over the office. In 1844 he
built the house on the corner of Union [4th] and Main
streets, where the Jeffersonian office continued till sold
to its present proprietors in April, 1873, when it was removed
to its present location on Union street, opposite
the Post Office. The next house west to the property of
William Cox, is a brick dwelling, occupied by J. A.
Frazier,[141] tailor, and the next brick structure is occupied

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by Wingfield & Utz,[142] carriage makers; in the lower
story are the finished vehicles, and the upper story is
used for their manufacture. This building was erected
by John L'Tellier. Stephen R. Sullivan and John
L'Tellier, carriage makers, carried on business on this
lot for many years, but their workshops were on the
west side of the lot, in range with the present blacksmith
shop of Wingfield & Utz. The two-story brick dwelling
house[143] with portico in the centre, is said to be the first
brick building erected in the town, and was built by William
Dunkum for Joseph Bishop, who owned all the
land adjacent, as his farm. As Mr. Dunkum is said to
have built the Wayt house, and the one occupied by
Lewellen Wood on the Public Square, perhaps these
houses were put up about the same time, either at the
end of the last or early in this century. John L'Tellier,
after the dissolution of the firm of Sullivan & L'Tellier,
carried on business by himself for several years. He had
three sons in the Confederate army, William, a lieutenant
in the 19th Va. Reg't, was killed at Gettysburg;
Joseph, of the 49th Va. Reg't, was mortally wounded
near Petersburg, at the close of the war, and died in that
city after the surrender; Capt. John H. was also very

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severely wounded, but recovered; he was before the war,
and is now, a very successful teacher of languages and
mathematics, and resides in Texas. On the Cox lot adjoining,
three persons, who were born there, a general, a
captain, and a lieutenant, also lost their lives in the Confederate
army. The next brick store and house, and the
adjoining one, as well as the one on the opposite side of
the street, were erected by George Toole,[144] who carried
on the business of tailoring on the Public Square many
years, and afterwards, in connection with his nephew,
Jeremiah Toole, now of Petersburg, did a grocery business
in the house J. B. Andrews, grocer, now occupies.
Mr. Toole in the later years did business in his dwelling,
on the south side of the street. Jerry Toole was a
printer, and acquired the business in the old Advocate
office in this town; he was a great reader and well versed
in European history, and especially of Ireland, his native
land. We have often listened by the hour to hear
him talk about the Irish patriots, Thomas Addis Emmett
and Daniel O'Connell. Another nephew of
George Toole, brought up & educated by him, who was
a very intelligent man, became an artist of considerable
merit; some of his portraits are excellent likenesses and
finished with a master hand. He was a distinguished
Mason, and after his death a handsome marble obelisk
was erected by our citizens over his remains, commemorating
his virtues. The house next to Andrews' store,
for many years was the residence of the family of
George Toole, and for many years the late Mrs. C. Y.
Benson resided there. The wooden tenement west, has

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been occupied for, perhaps, thirty years, by a colored
woman, Susan Kennedy, who has sold ginger horse
cakes from that time to this. The brick building now occupied
and owned by F. D. Brockman,[145] was built by
John Neilson, an Irishman, who with Wm. Dinsmore,
were contractors in the erection of the University. Mr.
Neilson resided till his death in this house. It was, when
we first knew it, occupied by Fleming Boyd, of the
firm of Fleming & John Boyd, who did business in the
store on the corner of Court and Market streets,[146] recently
remodelled by John McKennie. Fleming Boyd
afterwards occupied the "Midway" at the head of Random
Row for a public hotel; his wife died there; she is
interred in the old cemetery, and an iron railing surrounds
the tomb, and marble tablet. Mr. Boyd soon
after removed to the West. The next house was built
by Clement P. M'Kennie for his residence; he was at
first editor and proprietor of the Central Gazette [18201827]
the predecessor of the Virginia Advocate, edited
by the late Geo. [omission] Th. W. Gilmer, Prof. J. A.
G. Davis, Nicholas P. Twist [Trist] and Dr. Frank
Carr. Mr. M'Kennie afterwards opened a bookstore
near the University, east of the present University
Bookstore, now owned by his son, Dr. Marcellus
M'Kennie. The residence of Mr. M'Kennie was the
one now occupied by Dr. M'Kennie. The widow of C.
P. M'Kennie is still living, who has always been fond of
rearing and cultivating beautiful flowers, shrubs and
exotic plants, and having fine gardens; she is a noble

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hearted, kind, charitable and hospitable Virginia lady.
Long may she live and enjoy health and the association
of her descendants and friends. The M'Kennie house[147]
on Random Row is now the property of J. M. Ferguson,
the baker, who erected an addition on the east end
of it, which Mr. M. Goldsmith occupied for the sale of
dry goods. The wood tenement at the west end of the
house is the grocery and dry goods store of G. W. Clark.

The next house, brick, was built by William Garner,
and since 1845 has been occupied by George Moose, for
the sale of groceries and liquors. The adjoining building,
now occupied by George Booth & Bro., boot and
shoe makers, was built by Allen Hawkins for Dr. Rice
G. Bailey, who kept the Farmers' Hotel[148] there for several


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years; he sold to Peter Harman, the butcher, who
also kept a hotel in it, and had a livery stable. F. M.
Paoli during the war kept this as a public house. It is

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now owned by F. Hartnagle, as well as the next brick
house, which house was erected ere 1828, and was occupied
as a residence by Albert Chewning, and not as
we stated last week, the one Booth & Co. occupy. It
was built, we learn, for Mrs. Burnley. The next stores,
were, we believe, built since the war by Wesley Cox &
Bro., one is occupied by N. B. Lillienfeld for the sale of
groceries, &c. The bar room adjoining is the place of
business of John Houchens. An alley way, about eight
feet wide, leading to Commerce street, north, occurs
here.

Here properly ends Random Row, called by many
"Vinegar Hill." The first name was probably obtained
from the random way the houses were put up, without
reference to the old town lines; at the head of the hill
the street is much narrower than at its foot. Mr. J.
Frank Fry tells us that the name "Vinegar Hill" was
given to it on account of the illicit trade carried on in the
sale of distilled liquors[149] by persons doing business as
grocers; they labelled the casks containing spirits,
"Vinegar." We have often heard this street called purgatory,
as it was a very bad road to travel, rough, rocky
and steep; accidents to carriages and vehicles often occurring.
Since the street became a part of the town, the
authorities have graded and macadamised it, and now it
is in as good condition as the rest of our streets.

The small wooden tenement west of the alley is occupied
for a grocery by A. Weil, and here begins University


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street; between this and R. F. Harris' warehouse,
for agricultural implements, are nine or ten
houses, the most of them have been put up since 1828.
The stuccoed building was, we are informed, put up in
part, by a Mr. Huntington, a merchant who came from
Connecticut, and who kept a dry goods store where R.
L. Meade & Co. now have a cigar and tobacco store, on
the corner of Church and Main streets. This stuccoed
house, William Garland once kept as a grocery and
liquor store. He is said to have opened the street at the
eastern end of the house to the county road, north of the
present gas house. Mr. Garland removed to Mississippi,
and all his family, except Dr. William P. Garland, of
Jackson, Mississippi, are dead. Lewis Sowell, carriage
maker, in later years owned this house, and resided here
till his death, a year ago. One of his sons, Benajah, and
Wm. J. Duke, teacher in the public schools in this town,
reside here at this time. The handsome brick residence
owned and occupied by John C. Wood,[150] with the beautiful
flower garden around it, was, we learn, built by a
Presbyterian clergyman, when the University was being
erected, by the name of Paxton, who married a daughter
of Major Garland Carr. This gentleman, in after
years, travelled in the East, and published a work on
Palestine. On his return he settled and became pastor
of a Presbyterian church in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and
afterwards resided in the State of Indiana.

In our next article we shall have to commence at
"Mudwall" and return to the foot of Random Row.

 
[139]

These old buildings no longer stand. Upon the eastern end,
facing Preston Avenue, was a balcony from which members of
the Cox connection in 1824 waved to Lafayette upon the occasion
of his historic visit. The dwelling of Dr. William Cox was one of
those looted by Union troops. Mrs. Cox was shut in her room
and the house sacked, the soldiers being followed by some of the
rabble of the town. After the departure of the troops, Dr. Cox
visited certain suspected families and recovered some of his property.
(Authority: Mrs. E. H. McPherson.)

[140]

In digging the foundations of the Super Market, 216 West
Market Street, old tanning vats in good condition were unearthed
which evidently were adjuncts of this tannery. James Monroe
Bishop was nephew to the Joseph Bishop whose farm furnished
the site for this section of the town. (Authority: Mrs. E. H. McPherson.)

[141]

This old building still stands and is now occupied by the
Washington Post, 239 West Main Street.

[142]

Where Witkins Furniture Store, No. 241 West Main Street,
now stands, was an opening which led into a courtyard where these
buildings stood.

[143]

This white-pillared old farmhouse, which stood back in the
courtyard, has been razed. Joseph Bishop purchased the farm in
1803 and died in 1825. His wife was Jane, a daughter of Edmund
Terrell, and thus a descendant of Henry Willis, founder of
Fredericksburg, and his wife, who was a sister of General Washington's
father. Woods, Albemarle County, p. 144.

[144]

Site, 259 West Main Street.

[145]

The late Mr. W. W. Waddell identified this as No. 267.

[146]

Site now occupied by the Walker Tire Company, 501 East
Market Street.

[147]

About No. 275. This was the birthplace of Charlie Ferguson,
the great National League pitcher. Of this famous athlete,
Leo Riordan, Sports Editor of the Philadelphia Evening Public
Ledger,
furnishes the following information. We quote: "On Feb.
8, 1925, the late Bill Shettsline, veteran Phillies official, wrote:
`Ferguson was the greatest ball player who ever lived. That goes,
too, despite Ty Cobb. I'll tell you why. Ferguson could play
every position on the team. One year he started to pitch for us
and wound up on second, playing as well as Ed Collins. As an
outfielder he ranked with the very best. No better base runner
ever lived. To top his wonderful performances he led our league
in hitting one year.' " The Editor of The Sporting News, St.
Louis, states: "Charlie Ferguson had a brief but brilliant career.
He died in April, 1888, after being a member of the Philadelphia
Nationals since 1883. He attended the University of Virginia in
Richmond [sic] and was recognized as one of the greatest of allround
players, being able to play the infield, outfield and catch.
He was also the first pitcher to twirl a double header." Local tradition
holds that he was the first exponent of the curved ball.

[148]

About the site of the Midway Drug Company, 297 West
Main Street. There was a rival tavern or hotel across where the
City Fire Department now stands on Water Street, and fracases
frequently arose between the two. Under the stimulus of sufficient
conviviality, one party would sally forth to "clean out" the
other. The old Irish fighting song of "Vinegar Hill" would be
raised and adherents would flock to both standards. Where the
Lewis and Clark monument now is situated was an open space
with town pump and trough which furnished the battle ground,
the vanquished being finally ducked in the trough and rolled in the
mud. There was a saying that the O'Tooles, the O'Tracys and
the O'Donovans ruled Vinegar Hill.

Where Saxton's Cleaning and Dye Works now stand, adjoining
the Fire Department, was a one-story cottage with a hogshead
spring and a lofty willow tree. The owner was a Mrs. Thompson,
who is said to have been the widow of an English officer, one
of the Barracks prisoners. At this time Water Street did not connect
with Main, but ended at 2nd Street, W. The grounds of
Mrs. Thompson thus extended to Vinegar Hill and the stream
from her spring flowed down in the rear of Vinegar Hill's southside
houses, being augmented by the overflow from several backyard
pumps. Coming forward under what is now Carter's Music
Store, 218 West Main, it was joined by the water from a large
pump where the west wall of Sears, Roebuck and Company now
stands. It then crossed Main Street as an open branch and ran
down Barracks Road (now Preston Avenue) to flow into Wills's
Ice Pond, which about covered the block upon which the Piedmont
Candy Company, 209 Preston Avenue, now stands. This pond
was chiefly fed by Schenck's Branch. It was dammed, and the
outlet flowed unbridged across the Avenue and into its present
channel. The ice was cut and sold for storage purposes, though
not for table use. The more substantial homes all had ice-houses
on the premises, and stored ice in winter, cutting from many country
sources. Later, Mrs. Thompson's branch was sunk under Main
Street, and covered on its further route by a plank walk. A superb
sycamore tree long stood on the northeast corner of the Barracks
Road and Main Street. (Authorities: Mr. Walter E. Fowler;
the late Mr. W. W. Waddell.)

[149]

Error. See post, p. 110, n. 13. We are told that the older
dwellers on this street insisted that the proper name was "The
Hill," and considered the later name a nickname.

[150]

Now the home of Mrs. Virginia L. Shisler, 503 West Main
Street. Mr. Wood was a northerner, but married here. He was
for a while an officer in the Farmers' National Bank.