Early Charlottesville recollections of James Alexander, 1828-1874. Reprinted from the Jeffersonian republican |
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January 14, 1874 |
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 | Early Charlottesville |  |
January 14, 1874
On the southside of the Public Square, where the
Farish Hotel[31]
is located, once stood a two-and-a-halfstory
A verandah, or porch, extended along the whole front
of this building, which, on court-days, was used for the
pedlars. On Saturday and Sunday evenings, the boys
little fun, in seeing the pedlars cross over with their vehicles,
laden with dry goods, tin ware and notions. Pedlars
in that day, to a considerable extent, supplied the
country with many necessary articles, and some of these
pedlars, in after years, settled and became a part of the
people, owning lands, slaves, &c. We recollect some of
these pedlars coming here down to 1835-36.
The proprietor of the hotel was Mr. William D.
Fitch; in 1833 he was succeeded by Mr. John Vowles.
The price of board, room and lodging was then but $10
per month, and travelers paid $1.25 for a day's entertainment
and horse feed, which was the usual price
throughout the State. For 62½ cents a traveller, at
country taverns and houses of private entertainment,
could have supper, lodging, breakfast and horse feed,
and usually the decanter with whiskey and other ardent
spirits was set before the guest on his arrival at night
and ere he commenced his journey next day. The public
room of the Eagle Hotel was a spacious hall, having
in it a large open fireplace, which, in winter time, sent
forth a blazing and roaring hot fire. In one corner of
this public room was situated the bar, having shelves on
which were ranged in order, decanters and bottles of the
ardent—elixir of life. The front of the bar was composed
of a kind of lattice-work, which opened on hinges
like a window, and when opened was fastened up to the
ceiling. In those days, imbibers of the ardent took their
drams publicly, the refinements of the present day of exclusiveness
and darkened windows not having come into
use. In after years, when G. L. Peyton was proprietor
of this hotel, two hundred persons or more dined there
fed and cared for—that was before railroads came into
vogue, and when our farmers sat down to a superb dinner,
and cheerfully paid the landlord fifty cents for it—
not as in the present times, when many bring snacks in
their pockets and eat them while sitting at a fire kept up
by the landlord for the guests of the hotel.
In 1828, the time occupied in reaching this place in
the stage coaches from Richmond was about 28 hours.
Porter, Belden & Co. we think, were the mail contractors,
and they made only three trips per week. In Charlottesville
the stopping place was then the Stone Tavern,[32]
kept by Joel W. Brown. In after years the late
John N. C. Stockton had their coaches stop at the Eagle
Hotel and when the Monticello Hotel was built, adjoining
the Stone Tavern, that was headquarters for the
stage coaches. In the summer, when the travel to the
Virginia springs was at its height, eight or ten coaches
per day, filled with passengers, stopped here to dinner.
The proprietors of this hotel were Messrs. Hill & Terrell
who came here from Orange county. Farish, Ficklin
& Co. were the mail contractors. Landlords, in those
days, took in and dispensed a large amount of hard
money, and our young friend, S. W. F.,[33]
was in his
glory and at the commencement of his full tide of prosperity.
Passengers were each allowed 50 pounds of
baggage; all over was extra and had to be paid for;
scales then decided the weight.
Next to the Eagle Hotel was a handsome block of
buildings, erected about 1826, by the late John Winn,
of Mr. S. W. Ficklin. Mr. Winn was the postmaster,
and for many years a successful merchant. He had
been a co-partner with Twyman Wayt, with Hardin
Davis, who was postmaster when Th. Jefferson became
President of the United States, and also with John W.
Davis, the son of Hardin Davis; the latter gentleman
resided in the house now owned and occupied by John
T. Antrim,[35] and emigrated, after 1825, to Missouri,
where he died. The post office was kept in a room now
occupied by Drury Wood as a law office. The next
store was occupied by Mr. Marshall, who made boots
and shoes, and sold books and fancy articles. Afterwards
drugs, medicines, &c., were sold here for many
years. Dr. J. T. Barclay, who purchased Monticello,
and afterwards went to Jerusalem as a Missionary, and
wrote an interesting volume about that city, entitled,
"The City of the Great King; or Jerusalem as it was,
as it is, and as it is to be," was engaged in the drug business
here for a few years. Dr. Barclay was succeeded
and Wm. Poindexter. This store is now vacant.
All the other parts of this building except the upper
room in the western and southern end of it (which was
the lodge room of the Widow's Son Lodge of Masons)
were used for a hotel, and known as the Jefferson Hotel.
The proprietor was a Mr. Garrett, the Chronicle building
was also then occupied as a part of this hotel. At
the present day all but the store-rooms[36]
in the Winn
block are attached to the Farish House, of which Mr. A.
D. Almond is proprietor. The store-room on the corner
of Court [Fifth] street, now occupied by Allen Bacon,
was once occupied by Mr. Henry Price, merchant tailor,
who afterwards, and till the day of his death, in 1835,
conducted his business in the vicinity of the University.
Mr. Price[37]
was by birth an Englishman, a sociable, intelligent
and whole-souled man; he had been in the English
army, and served in the memorable battle of Waterloo,
and would often recite graphic and interesting descriptions
of that great battle, which dethroned and
made Napoleon a prisoner to the end of his days. Mr.
him that once, in making out an account, and previous
to signing his name to it, he hesitated, passing his fingers
several times through the hair on his head, and then,
rushing out of his store, looked up to his sign, saying:
"Ah, yes! Henry Price! Henry Price!" and returned
into his store and put his name to the account before him.
On the opposite corner of Court street, where John
Mannoni,[38]
confectioner, now keeps, was the dry goods
store of Col. J. Richard Watson. Mr. Watson in after
years, was a magistrate, and removed his place of business
to the corner of the lot on which the Piedmont Female
Institute[39]
now is. He afterwards became a tiller
of the soil and resided on his farm near Milton. He was
as pleasant and agreeable a gentleman as ever Albemarle
produced. His house and table were the dispensers
of his unbounded hospitality. He died since the
war. His only son lost his life in the late war for Independence.
The next store was occupied by Mr. John Cochran,[40]
when the Local first knew it. He did a large mercantile
business for twenty years. He imported from England
the gray cloths which the students of the University
wore when a gray uniform was the prescribed dress of
that institution. His residence, up to 1846, was in the
brick building west of his store. In 1846 he built the
large and beautiful mansion on Park street, in which
he now resides.
These stores were erected in 1826 by the late John
Kelly and their first occupants were Col. Watson and
Mr. Cochran. On the place previous to that time a
large wooden building stood, which was removed to the
lower end of the lot opposite to the old Stone Tavern, on
Market street, and which still remains there. Mr. John
Kelly, previous to the year 1826 was engaged in the
mercantile business, and amassed a fitting competence.
He was a man of sterling integrity and a decided christian
gentleman. He was a Presbyterian, and the chief
contributor to the erection of the Presbyterian church,
which was first opened for worship in this town in the
summer of 1829. In person, he was tall and graceful,
and one of the neatest men in dress and appearance of
his day. Regular and systematic in all things, he never
waited even for his guests beyond the regular hour for
meals or prayer. He was sociable, friendly and charitable,
and was fond of having the young people of the
place at his hospitable and bountiful board. He died,
1830.
Opie Norris, Esq., the son-in-law of John Kelly, had
also been a merchant, and resided in the house on the
Square[41]
recently purchased from his estate by Dr. R.
W. Nelson.[42]
He was a man of mark, an upright magistrate,
a citizen of sterling worth, and as useful and
beneficial to this community as any man that ever lived
troubled with the gout.
Between the above houses and the one now occupied
by Lewellen Wood, Mrs. Sophia Leschot, built a twostory
brick house, and for several years carried on the
mercantile dry goods business. The Square till about
1840 was the principal business mart, but from that time
the old merchants one by one removed to the Main
street, which has since grown up and extended its whole
length with stores and other places of business.
On court days the Square is now usually thronged
with crowds of people, and since the war large crowds
are also to be seen on Main Street, congregated in front
of the National Bank.
This site is now occupied by the east wing of the Monticello
Hotel, Court Square. It is marked on the early survey as Lot I,
and was bought, Oct. 1765, by Benjamin Brown and David Ross,
from Thomas Walker, Commissioner for the town of Charlottesville
(Albemarle County Deed Book 4, p. 205). When Ross sold to
Isaac Miller, 1791, the tavern is mentioned, and from that time to
the present it has been the site of a place of public entertainment.
There have been many changes of ownership: John T. Hawkins
bought, 1801; John M. Sheppard, 1804; Thomas Welles, 1813;
William D. Fitch, 1833; John T. Barksdale, 1842; Nelson Barksdale,
1847; George W. Turpin, 1849; George L. Peyton, 1849.
When William T. Early and William P. Farish bought in 1863 the
name was still Eagle Tavern, but in 1869, when they sold to N. H.
Massie (ibid., Book 63, p. 485), the description reads "formerly
called the Eagle Tavern, but now known as the Farish House."
William P. Farish came to the county from Carolina about 1820.
He was an active man of affairs, and later became a Baptist minister.
During Sheridan's raid, Captain Thomas L. Farish, his son, underwent
the following harrowing experience: he was at that time acting
as Adjutant-General of General H. H. Walker's command in southside
Virginia. Learning that the Federal troops were approaching
Albemarle, he obtained a three-days' leave of absence in order to
return and protect his family. An engine brought him to Colonel
Randolph's at Shadwell (Edgehill). Here he found that the
Colonel was in hiding in the mountains, so leaving a note detailing
his plans, to be carried by a colored boy who regularly transmitted
food, he crossed the river to Milton. Here he concealed
his uniform by hanging it down an old well, and, donning a shabby
work-suit provided by his friend Mr. Benjamin Pace, he pushed
on across Monticello Mountain. Unfortunately, the boy was captured
by scouts and the note taken. For some reason it was believed
to be from General Early, and Sheridan sent bloodhounds to
aid the hunt.
The Captain was at length found on the town side of the mountain,
hidden between two fallen trees. He was taken to the headquarters
of a Colonel Wells, which chanced to be at Belmont, near
Verdant Lawn, the home of the prisoner's father. Here he was
of course recognized, but the Federals suspecting a ruse, and still
thinking him to be Early, he was taken quickly to the headquarters
of General Custer. This proved to be his own home, The
Farm, now the residence of Mrs. George R. B. Michie. From the
roof of this mansion "signal flags were floating in all directions."
Here a small daughter cried out, "Oh, Mamma, they've got Papa!"
and this established his identity. General Custer showed much concern
and compassion. Receiving him he said, "Captain Farish,
under these unusual circumstances I don't know whether it is my
duty to ask you to take a seat or yours to ask me."
He granted him time to change his dress, and then entered upon efforts
for the prisoner's protection, but as Captain Farish was in
civilian dress Sheridan ordered him hanged as a spy, and workmen
hastily constructed a scaffold beneath one of the giant white oaks upon
the lawn. Custer made repeated and persistent remonstrances
and at length, at twilight, persuaded Sheridan to hear the condemned
man in his own behalf. This commanding officer had headquarters
on Park Street, "in a residence which in 1876 was occupied by
S. V. Southall" (Miss Betsy Coles' home, now the Haden place,
522 Park Street. This clashes with the claims of the John R.
Wood place, 408 Park Street, and of the Mrs. Julia Coles place
—now the Valentine home—303 High Street, to have served as
Sheridan's headquarters). The discussion lasted until midnight,
and a General Forsythe "so far exceeded his duties as a soldier and
the courtesies of a gentleman" that he was freely condemned by
others of the staff. The verdict was at length changed to parole.
(Captain T. L. Farish's own narrative in the Weekly Chronicle,
Charlottesville, Aug. 4, 1876, copy in Alderman Library, University
of Va.)
Tradition states that Custer's command entered town displaying
captured Confederate flags, and the unpublished Memoirs of the
late Judge R. T. W. Duke confirm the local tradition that during
this raid the Woolen Mills and the railroad bridge across the Rivanna
were burned by Federal troops.
This prosperous farm has become Charlottesville's southern
suburb. The transformed old house is at 759 Belmont Avenue. It
was originally the home of John M. Carr, nephew of Dabney Carr,
the boyhood friend of Jefferson. John M. Carr was Clerk of the
District Court of Charlottesville and first Clerk of the Circuit
Court of Albemarle County. He died in 1823. Belmont was
later the home of Slaughter W. Ficklin, who died in 1886.
This old place was on West High Street, opposite Christ
Church, set far back in a sloping lawn with apple trees. In 1836
it was purchased from J. W. Davis by Gov. Thomas Walker Gilmer
and was his home until his death in 1844. Later, it was for
many years the home of Mr. John T. Antrim, Sr. It is now the
site of the Altamont Development.
One of these was later a prosperous grocery run by a Negro
named Edmunds and much patronized by the neighboring lawyers.
Price came to Charlottesville about 1823 and lived in the white
frame house, later the home of J. J. Conner, which long stood on
the corner of 4th and High (312 East High Street), but which has
been moved a short distance and is now the home of the Misses
Wright, 409 4th Street, N. E. Now modernized, it is one of our
oldest buildings. Dr. Thomas Jameson lived here in 1806 and sold
in 1815 to John Kelly. High Street in one of these deeds is called
"the upper street leading out to Jameson's Gap". The building
shows the good workmanship of the period, and the use of wooden
pins for nails.
Woods, Albemarle County, p. 168, states that John Cochran
came to Charlottesville from Augusta County about 1825.
The early history of this residence, 414 East Jefferson Street, is
not certain, but as the lot was a part of the John Kelly square, as
lots three and four of the early survey were known, and the lot
with the brick dwelling on it was sold by Mr. Kelly's heirs in 1879,
it is supposed that Kelly built the property and rented to Cochran.
The building date could not be ascertained. The place was purchased,
1879, by William T. Jones from Mrs. Eliza Bragg (Albemarle
County Deed Book 82, p. 469), and sold by Jones in 1893
to Mrs. Richard Knight Flannagan (Charlottesville Corporation
Court, Deed Book 3, p. 480). It remained the home of this family
for about twenty-six years.
Still standing, 410 East Jefferson Street. Mr. Norris built
this house, having received the half-acre lot—No. 4—in gift from
his father-in-law John Kelly, Feb. 1816 (Albemarle County Deed
Book 20, p. 85). The land deed traces back through Edward Butler
to Samuel Woods, 1779. It remained the home of Norris until
his death in 1839, and of his widow until hers in 1868. His
obituary states that he was the tallest and thinnest man in Charlottesville.
He was for years a Town Trustee, frequently serving
as President, and through his ownership of the present Rugby Road
section be became a county magistrate. In 1806 (ibid., Book 15,
p. 465), we find Opie Norris and Cynthia his wife manumitting a
female slave named Joyce. Between the Cochran and Norris
homes there was later built a brick building which made use of their
side walls on either end. It was erected on Norris land and sold
in 1874 by the Norris estate to B. L. Powell (ibid., Book 69, p. 217).
See this deed for the plat of these buildings which marks the recently
sold Norris home, No. 410, with the name of Dr. R. W. Nelson.
The intermediate house, No. 412, is now known as the E. O.
McCue, Jr. Building.
Dr. Robert W. Nelson of the Belvoir family lived here in
the 1870's, having succeeded in practice his relative, Dr. Robert
Burrell Nelson. He was successively followed in practice by his
son, Dr. Hugh T. Nelson, and by Dr. Hugh T., Jr. Later, Dr.
Robert W. Nelson for a while lived at 205 East High Street, where
the other three also lived and had their offices, and which is still in
possession of the family, making four generations of physicians of
this name in that dwelling.
| Early Charlottesville | |