University of Virginia Library

April 8, 1874

Main Street as It Was in 1828 and as It Is at
This Time.—This street, when we first knew it, had
few houses, and only two or three business places on it,
now it has from one end to the other, fine houses and
substantial business stores; then it was rough, and in
winter season with mud enough to stall wagons passing
over it; now it is macadamized and is well graded; then
there were only patches of paved sidewalks, now there
are wide sidewalks laid with brick or slate its entire
length; the width of the street is 66 feet, which is, we
believe, the width of all the streets in the corporation
running east and west, and the cross streets running
north and south are 33 feet wide.

Opposite the eastern end of Main street stands a twostory
double wooden house,[93] with a garden in front of it
of beautiful flowers, shrubs, &c., belonging to the estate
of the late Ira Garrett. This house appears to be swaying
through its centre; the southern half was brought up
from Milton, and attached to the other half, which has a
portico on the northern side. Dabney Carr, one of the

Judges of the Court of Appeals, and nephew of Th.
Jefferson, resided here.

The entrance to Main street from the vicinity of the
railroad depot is narrow and crooked; the original
boundary of the town extended only to a straight line
with the chimney of the small wooden house on the south
side of the street, now occupied by T. Collier; as you
come up from the depot, the brick house[94] on the right
hand side, faces the centre of Main street; it had, when
built, but one room, and report says was once occupied
by William Wirt as a law office. Rev. F. W. Hatch
and Thomas Walker Maury taught school in this house.
Judge Watson and Henry Benson were pupils of the
former gentleman. Mr. Hatch was an Episcopal minister,
who settled in this town in 1819, and preached here
until 1831; he first resided in the house where Dr. Rogers[95]
now lives on High street; and in 1821, built the
house[96] where our editor, A. R. Blakey, resides. On
that occasion Mr. Hatch received the following letter
from Mr. Jefferson, which deserves imitation from the
friends of the resident clergymen of this town:

"Dear Sir:—In the antient feudal times of our
good old forefathers, when the Seigneur married his
daughter or knighted his son, it was the usage for his vassals
to give him a year's rent extra, in the name of an aid.

I think it as reasonable, when our pastor builds a house,
that each of his flock should give him an aid of a year's
contribution. I enclose mine, as a tribute of justice,
which of itself, indeed, is nothing, but as an example, if
followed, may become something. In any event, be
pleased to accept it as an offering of duty, and a testimony
of my friendly attachment and high respect.

By the way, it is said that Rev. Mr. Hatch was one of
the most successful of gardeners, and one of his productions
was the rearing cucumbers seven feet in length.

This brick house [611 East Main] was afterwards the
property of Abram Zigler, the pump maker, who added
to its dimensions. Mr. Zigler was a good and honest
citizen, whom we well remember; he and his wife and
children have all passed away to the better land.

The town in 1761-2 was laid out in squares of one acre,
each square embracing two lots. Commencing on the
left hand [south] side of Main Street, we come to lots
No. 29, 30; the first house, brick, was built by Mrs. Tacy
Zigler, and is now the property of her grand-daughter,
Mrs. Maria Payne, and at present in the occupancy of
J. A. Peck; the next house, also brick, was built by Mrs.
Zigler, who sold it to Miss Ann Logan, for many years
a ladies' dress-maker; now it belongs to Dr. Hart, and
A. W. Tinsley occupies it as a residence. On lot 30,
(where once stood a blacksmith shop belonging to Opie
Norris,) a large, double three-story building[97] was

erected by John Mannoni, the confectioner, some 15
years since. The Citizens National Bank is in one of the
basement rooms, and the other James Goodman occupies
as a grocery store. The Odd Fellows and the
Knights of Pythias orders have lodges in the third story,
and the second story is rented out for chambers.

On the opposite [north] side of the street, lots No.
15 and 16, on the corner of the first cross street [E. 5th],
stood a one-story wooden house[98] where David Fowler
carried on the cabinet and furniture business. The door
of this house was solid and massive, and regularly laid
off into small squares with wrought iron nails, and was
made to last for centuries. This house was probably
among the first built when the town was established. A
man by the name of David Spradling, who walked upon
his hands and feet lived here for several years, and the
place was designated as the Cockroach Hotel. Where
this old house once stood, Addison Maupin erected the
brick house now occupied by Geo. T. Johnson as a store;
he also erected the large three-story stuccoed house
north of it, on Court [5th] street, now owned and occupied
by William T. Early. The Farmer's and Merchants
Bank, adjoining the store of Johnson on Main
Street, is also a recent brick structure. The Brick mansion
east of this was built by the late John B. Dodd, and
is now the property and residence of Luther Sneed.

Crossing to the other side of Court [5th] street are
lots 17 and 18,[99] and the whole square was once the property

of James Monroe, and known as the Central Hotel
property (the Central Hotel having occupied the
Market St. end); the portions on Main street were divided
into six house lots and have been sold to various
parties; the three divisions of lot 17 are still vacant; and
on lot 18 are two small wooden structures, one of which
is occupied by W. J. Smith as a gunsmith store, and the
other by J. N. Pierce as a tin manufactory; adjoining
these is a large, double, three-story brick dwelling, occupied
by Payne and Thomasson, and by J. J. Gleason[100]
as grocery stores. The second story over Gleason is the
photograph gallery of Tyson and Perry, and the rooms
of Dr. J. W. Scribner, the dentist; the other chambers
are used for a private dwelling. The part of this property
on the corner of Union [E. 4th] street is now
owned by Rev. J. C. Long, and the other part by B.
Oberdorfer.

On the opposite [south] side of Main street are lots
31 and 32; on the corner of Court street is a large
wooden building,[101] which, when we first recollect it, was
occupied as a carriage manufactory by Mr. John Tompkins,

and afterwards by Mr. Pinkard as cabinet manufactory;
at one time this property was occupied as a
store where liquors were sold by a rare genius, named
Samuel Toms, who had a sign, on which was painted a
heart; on the occasions of the militia officers' muster he
would treat the whole batallion; he was of a litigious
temperament, and almost always had some suit at law;
he was a noted character in all this region. In the time
of Nat Turner's rebellion[102] the town authorities of
Charlottesville had patrols out every night, and on one
occasion, Toms was on duty on horseback in the outskirts
of the town; he had a tin trumpet, a blast from
which was the signal of danger, on hearing of which a
gun was to be fired off at headquarters. Sometime
about midnight Toms heard a heavy rumbling, (which
proved to be a wagon rolling over a hard road,) and
thinking the enemy coming, rode, Gilpin-like to town,
giving loud blasts from his trumpet; opposite headquarters
were encamped several mountain wagoners
with their horses; on hearing Toms' signal the gun was
fired off, causing a stampede of the wagoners' horses,
which, with the screaming of the owners and the hurried
assembling of the citizens made quite an exciting and
amusing scene. One of the habitues of Toms' establishment
was a man by the name of Jesse Burroughs, whom
some of our older citizens may remember, as a jovial
kind fellow.

This property is now owned by James M. Smith, and
has been since the war remodeled; the lower half is occupied
by Geo. M. McIntire, druggist and by Mrs. Omohundro
as a millinery store. The upper stories are used
for private families.

The next structure is the fanciful wooden building
with circular headings, also the property of Mr. Smith,
and is the large dry goods, grocery and provision establishment
of Smith & Norman, who keep six or more
clerks employed day and night. Additions and alterations
have been made to the original house, and the store
is probably 100 feet in depth. It is to be hoped when
our bachelor friend Smith gets to be a rich man, (do men
ever get rich?) he will imitate his next door neighbors

and erect an elegant and substantial stone or brick block
of buildings to take the place of his inflammable tinderbox;
the deformities of which are hid by the handsome
stores on his west side.

The two large and commodious stores next to Smith
& Norman, built by S. M. Keller and J. W. Lipop occupy
the place of a one and half wooden house, once the
property, we believe, of the father of Jno. L. O'Neal.
These stores are 80 feet in depth, the first occupied by
A. Brunn & Co. for dry goods, and the other by Th. J.
Wertenbaker, merchant tailor and clothier. The next
store[103] on the corner of Union [East 4th] street was
built by the late William S. Johnson and was sold to J.
W. Lipop in 1872, who remodeled it and has the store
room for his extensive watch and jewelry establishment.
The upper part and the chambers over the two adjoining
new stores are occupied by John M. Godwin as the
residence of his family.

The second cross street, (Union) the lots 19 and 20
[north side] had on it two small wooden buildings in
1828, the one on the corner, erected doubtless 60 years
previous, was a type or style of the other original houses;
it was old & dilapidated when we first knew it; this was
the one store which the Miltonians sarcastically alluded
to when comparing it with their great importing emporium,
which now is non est. When Col. Tarleton
made his raid here in 1781, he seized the goods found in
this store and had them burned on the street in front of
it, and the liquors were poured into the gutters. This
was done probably to prevent his troops from imbibing

the fiery liquids. The Charlottesville Advocate was
printed in this house when Mr. Reinhart was its editor,
and his family resided in a part of the house. Mr.
Ebenezer Watts, the bookbinder once lived here, and
afterwards John B. Dodd had his cabinet shop here.
There is a daguerrean picture of this old building extant
as it existed in 1845, taken by Mr. Retzer.

The large three-story stuccoed building[104] now occupying
this spot, was built for the Monticello Bank,
now the National Bank, and the Albemarle Insurance
Company. This building is about 40 feet in height.
There are two stores on the Main street, one of them extending
perhaps 125 feet on Union street, which is occupied
by F. M. Wills, druggist and pharmaceutist; the
other store by Spooner & Keller, hardware merchants.
The Bank occupies the front part of the second story,
the Albemarle Insurance Company and the Charlottesville
Milling Company have their offices in the other
rooms on this floor. The third story has a large hall extending
the whole length of this building, which is the
Friends of Temperance hall, and is also used by the
Mendelssohn Musical Society. The Young Men's
Christian Association has its library and lecture room on
this floor. The handsome stuccoed one-story building
north of this building on Union street is the Post office.[105]
On Main street, west of Spooner & Keller, is a twostory
stuccoed building with high pitched rooms, owned
by George & Watson, who have an extensive grocery
store in the lower part. This lot 19, was in old times the

property of Hays Isaacs, a German Jew, whose family
emigrated West.

The next lot, 18 [20] was the property of Charles
Day, the tailor, who owned it up to 1831-'32. On it was
a one-and-half story wooden house, which was afterwards
elevated with a brick basement under it, and was
used as a dry goods and grocery store, first by Benjamin
Ficklin and then by B. & J. Mosby. This was taken
down and the stores now occupied by A. Hartnagle,
confectioner, and Pace & Marshall, grocers, was built by
the late E. J. Timberlake. On the corner of the third
cross (School) [East 3rd] street, Wm. B. Phillips built
the store and dwelling, now the property and occupied
by B. Oberdorfer,[106] dry goods merchant, who has added
another story to its height.—When the late Wm. Keblinger
resided in this house, his son, Caddis, then a child
in his nurse's arms, fell from the third story window on
School street, and wonderful to say, without injuring
him. Now Cad. is a man with a growing family and has
the promise of long life.

On the opposite [south] side of Main, between Union
and School streets, lots No. 33 and 34, in 1828 were only
two buildings; one a wooden structure,[107] occupied by
Mr. Schroff, tinner, and afterwards by the Chronicle

newspaper office; (not the present Chronicle,) this was
a quasi democratic sheet, owned, we believe, by Frederick
Isaacs, a son of David Isaacs, a Jew, and Nancy
West, a mulatto woman, who at one time owned several
town lots on Main street. Fred was well educated, and,
we think, went to school with the white boys; he loved to
frolic and drink; one night when he quit work he left a
lighted candle on his case, which set fire to it and to the
building, and the office was entirely destroyed.

At the other end of the square, lot No. 34, on the
corner of School [3rd S. E.] stood a modest brick
house[108] owned by John B. Benson, the father of Henry
Benson, a merchant who conducted business, and with
his family resided there. Now this whole square has on
it substantial and elegant stores and dwellings. The
block of three stores, two-thirds of lot 33, is the property
of James Alexander, who purchased it from Th.
Grady's Executor, in 1844; there were on it then a small
two-story brick house and a small wood shop on the
corner of Union street, used for a paint shop, this he

pulled down, and erected a brick building from Union
street to the above house, and afterwards it was altered
and additions made in the rear as it now appears. The
Jeffersonian office was in the second story over the store
room now occupied by Mrs. I. T. Winston for millinery
and fancy goods. The middle store room is occupied by
M. B. Heller as a dry goods and clothing establishment.
The third store is in the occupancy of Balz & Hartman,
confectioners. On the other third of lot No. 33 is a brick
store and dwelling, and was built by Jane West, sister to
Fred Isaacs; she was a neat and tasty milliner, who received
the patronage of the ladies in all this vicinity; at
one time she was deranged and was sent to the Williamsburg
lunatic hospital, and returned cured of her insanity;
she owned several slaves, and by will gave freedom
to them at her death, but ere that time they became
free by President Lincoln's Proclamation; she owned
and lived in the house on Church street, now owned by
M. M. DuPre, till a few years past, and by will gave her
property to the heirs of her former slaves. The house
and store on Main street now belongs to Mrs. T. B.
Brockman; the store is occupied by Lew Wood, hardware
merchant, and the dwelling above by M. B. Heller.

Lot No. 34 has four large stores on it; in 1871 onehalf
of this lot, one-fourth acre, was sold for upwards of
$5,000 to J. H. Bibb and F. T. Andrew who have
erected stores extending 80 or 90 feet in depth. A. P.
Bibb & Co., merchants, occupy one for the sale of dry
goods, and F. T. Andrew the other for boots, shoes and
leather. In the rear of Bibb & Co., extending to Water
street, is a large warehouse now occupied by Geo. Johnson,
commission merchant.

Next to the store of F. T. Andrew is a large brick
house, with two stores; one is the dry goods store of Patterson
& Cochran, and the other the clothing emporium
of A. Myers, whose dwelling is over these stores. John
B. Benson was the owner of all of lot 34; it was afterwards
purchased by James Johnson, who sold it to
Christopher Hornsey, who enlarged the house, and for
thirty years conducted a large and lucrative mercantile
business here; in the latter part of the war he sold this
property to Edward Benner, jeweler, who made large
amounts by the purchase of cotton, and he further extended
the stores and improved the house, spending
thereon $5,000. He also bought the Monticello Hotel
and other property in town, and several years since became
a banker in Alexandria, Egypt, and now resides in
his native land, France.