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| The first Greene County Courthouse, built of logs in 1796. Centennial souvenir medal of 1896 illustrated in "Westward of ye Laurall Hills," Helen Vagt, 1976. |
The U. S.
Direct Tax of 1798 provides interesting clues to the early inhabitants of
Waynesburg and their dwellings. Popularly known as “the Window Tax”, it assessed
size, building material and panes of glass. This was the first federal tax on
citizens, but according to the newly adopted Constitution it had to be apportioned,
not per capita, but by state.
Pursuant to
this, each Pennsylvania township created an alphabetical census of its inhabitants
and the real property they owned on October 1, 1798. Newly surveyed, Waynesburg
was a part of Franklin Township with two lists: (1) dwellings valued over $100 and
(2) all real property including dwellings valued at $100 or less. These were simply “Land,” with no information
about windows or building material.
When what later
officially became Waynesburg Borough in 1816 was laid out in a grid of uniform
streets and alleys in 1796, 201 town lots were created, each 10,800 square feet.
Although quickly sold, many were purchased by land speculators who did not construct
houses.
According to
the Direct Tax Survey of 1798, there were 19 occupied dwellings in “Waynesburgh”,
as it was described, with another eight under construction. The dwellings ranged
from a tiny cabin of 160 square feet to a large tavern of 2,400 square feet,
and values ranged from $24 to $600.
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| One-Room House near Higbee, Aleppo Township, Greene County, photographed in 1973, similar to Waynesburg's earliest log cabins and houses. Courtesy Prof. Henry Glassie of Indiana University. |
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| Plan of One-Room House near Higbee, drawn for study of early log structures in Greene County, PA. 1973. |
The first
series of columns on the Direct Tax ($100 and under), lists three “cabins” and
three “houses” with both occupant and owner named. The smallest “cabin” was owned
and lived in by tanner Andrew Dodd. Located at the NW corner of Franklin and
Findley Alley, it was valued at $30 including a tan yard and stable. The other five dwellings
were rented.
Two cabins
of 240 square feet were listed as “occupied”. One, a rustic cabin owned by
David Owens, sheltered Richard Phelan, the town’s mason, who constructed some
of the massive sandstone foundations that support Waynesburg’s historic
buildings today.
Christian
Tarr of Fayette County, an early pottery entrepreneur, built a cabin on the SE
corner of High and Whiskey Alley where potter Nicholas Hager lived and worked,
selling to Hager in 1803. Meanwhile, Jacob Hager, brother of Nicholas, opened a
second pottery shop across the alley. Early potters made bricks as well as
housewares so it is likely that the Hagers contributed to some of Waynesburg’s
first brick buildings.
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| Survey shows Nathaniel Jennings renting from Patrick Martin. Ancestry.com |
Among the
three occupied “houses” valued at $100 or less, one was owned by Patrick Martin,
a Revolutionary War hero who had served under Col. Anthony Wayne. It was
occupied by Nathaniel Jennings, a carpenter, who with his brother Benjamin,
also a carpenter, is credited with building many of the first buildings in
Waynesburg including the Eclipse Theatre that I wrote about last month.
Ananias
Conkling (Conklin) occupied a house owned by Jacob Airhart while David Crawford
was the tenant of William Inghram, Esq. The survey does not specify building
material nor number of stories for these houses but they were similar in size
to the cabins.
Next month I’ll
write about the larger log and frame houses valued over $100.
