WHISKEY REBELLION ARTIST

This column first appeared in the September 2016 issue of GreeneSPEAK!

 

"Reverend John Corbley Cabin," pastel on paper

Artist-historian J. Howard Iams grew up in the North Ten Mile region of Washington County, near the border with Greene County. In the 1930s, with his brother Lash, he traveled throughout the region, researching and illustrating remnants of the area’s colonial past. 

He worked five years on his most ambitious project, 40 illustrations that document the sites, events and people of the Whiskey Rebellion. The collection includes three images from Greene County: “Reverend John Corbley Log Cabin,” “Colonel John Minor House” and “Old Tavern” at Jefferson.  

The Whiskey Rebellion (1791-1794) was the first serious test of authority for the newly formed United States government. It took place in Southwestern Pennsylvania when farmers objected to a new federal tax on one of their principal products, whiskey. They attacked federal agents and tax collectors, prompting President Washington to lead 13,000 troops over the mountains to quell the disturbance.  

"Tarring and Feathering," linocut on paper.  On September 6,1791, an armed and disguised party waylaid Robert Johnson, Tax Collector for Allegheny and Washington Counties, near Pigeon Creek, Washington County, leaving him in mortifying condition.

 

By the time the army arrived, tempers had cooled.  However, some soldiers were frustrated to find the countryside at peace. On “The Terrible Night” of November 13, 1794, they arrested the men most wanted by the government, dragging them out of bed half-clothed and marching them through mud to a cold, make-shift prison. After several days of detention, nearly all were set free for lack of evidence. However, 20 were marched over the mountains to stand trial in Philadelphia. 

Among them was Reverend John Corbly of Garards Fort who had not been a major actor in the rebellion. However, he was a well-known minister and an ardent patriot who preached political freedom. Corbly’s arrest was to be used as an example to deter other citizens from plotting rebellion. At trial, he was exonerated, as were all but two of the Whiskey Rebels.  

"The Terrible Night," linocut on paper

Howard Iams’s depiction of “The Terrible Night” has been used in many articles and books about the Whiskey Rebellion. In stark black-and-white, it shows the terror and brutality of the unfair arrests.  

"Reverend John Corbley Cabin," linocut on paper.

Iams drew the Corbly log cabin in both pastel and block print. He had found it on the family farm, but had no proof that it was the actual house in which Corbly lived at the time of the Whiskey Rebellion, nor earlier when his wife and children had been massacred by Indians in 1782. Today, the cabin is gone but Corbly’s brick house of 1796 remains. 

"Colonel John Minor House," pastel on paper

 

Iams also illustrated the home of Col. John Minor in pastel. Located at the bend in Mapletown, it had been erected in two sections with the original log structure on the right and a later brick wing on the left. Minor was a large landholder and a Representative in the State Legislature. He had attended the Parkinson’s Ferry gathering of Whiskey Rebels in July 1794 but was not among those arrested on the “The Terrible Night”. However, according to legend, he traveled to Philadelphia to offer assistance in the defense of those who had been. Like the Corbly cabin, the Minor House is now gone.

"Old Tavern" at Jefferson near the home of Insurrectionist Thomas Hughes, linocut on paper

 Howard Iams wrote that he illustrated the “Old Tavern” at Jefferson “not for any particular historic value, but as a picturesque type of early tavern,” noting that it was located near the home of Insurrectionist Thomas Hughes. The identity of “Old Tavern” is an intriguing mystery.

Twenty years after Howard Iams died in 1964, his widow donated the full collection to The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, where it is carefully stored and occasionally exhibited. I am grateful to Douglas Evans, Collection Manager, for showing me the images and granting permission to reproduce.  Here are more examples from the collection:

"Thomas Marshall Tavern" in Fredericktown, pastel on paper. Marshall was known as a leader against the "excise" tax in that vicinity.  The tavern was torn down in the early 20th century but the original stones were used in the new structure.  Years after the Rebellion, it was known as the Burson property, according to the artist.

"Bower Mill," linocut on paper.   Built a few years after the Whiskey Rebellion.  Razed in the early 20th century.  During the Insurrection, David Blair operated a blacksmith shop on or near the site where he made rifles for the community.

 All images by J. Howard Iams, collection of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, gift of Mrs. J. Howard Iams. 

TOWN PLAN PASSES TEST OF TIME

This column first appeared in the July 2016 issue of GreeneSPEAK!

Earliest known image of the main street of Waynesburg, an engraving by Sherman Day, 1843.  On the left is the original brick courthouse built on the Public Square in 1800.  (Historical Collection of the State of Pennsylvania, www.greeneconnections.com)

Driving through Waynesburg, have you ever thought about when and how the streets and lots were laid out? I have, because I love the way High Street follows the crest of the hill, intersected by parallel streets and alleys that descend each side. Waynesburg is beautifully laid out. Its plan was created 220 years ago, and it continues today in nearly perfect, original condition.

It all began in February, 1796, with the formation of Greene County by an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature. Five trustees were appointed to establish the county and a new town that would become its county seat, to be located within five miles of the geographic center. The trustees purchased 158 ½ acres in Franklin Township from early settler Thomas Slater, a part of his larger tract called “Eden.” Although there have been many theories about the Biblical significance of the name “Eden,” it more likely honors Sir Robert Eden, the last colonial governor of Maryland, whom Slater had known in Maryland before coming to Greene County.  

Historic image of the current courthouse, built in 1850-1851, with the statue of General Anthony Wayne on the cupola.  The building on the left, known as "Sayers Corner," is also extant.  (www.greeneconnections.com)

For the name of the new town, the trustees chose “Waynesburg” to honor General Anthony Wayne, the hero of the “Battle of Fallen Timbers” fought two years earlier. Wayne’s victory made southwestern Pennsylvania safe from Indian attacks, enabling local settlers to build towns and expand their agrarian economy with the addition of commerce and manufacturing.

Two of the trustees were surveyors: Isaac Jenkinson of Fredericktown and Stephen Gapen of Greene Township. They were the creators of the plan for Waynesburg, assisted by the other trustees:  James Seals Jr. of Franklin Township, David Gray of Richhill Township (Graysville) and William Meetkirke of Washington.

According to Helen Vogt, author of Westward of ye Laurall Hills (1976), both Jenkinson and Gapen were qualified draftsmen and deputy surveyors of Washington County. Jenkinson had earlier surveyed and platted Fredericktown in 1790 and Carmichaels about 1791. He was one of the first merchants in Fredericktown and a founding trustee of the Quaker Westland Meeting House in Centerville. Both he and Gapen had been frontier soldiers during the Revolutionary War.  In the early 1790s, Gapen was one of the surveyors who had mapped Donation and Depreciation Lands given to war veterans by the newly formed U. S. government. 

The plan for Waynesburg was a grid of alternating streets and alleys forming blocks of uniform size, 180-feet square.  Each block was divided into three lots, 60-feet wide by 180-feet deep.  In the middle of the town, the surveyors placed a “Public Square” for the courthouse, and along the northern perimeter, “Commons” (commonly owned land), where residents could graze domestic animals. These later became the Waynesburg Parks.  201 “town lots” were created, bound by East and West Streets and the alleys behind Franklin and Greene Streets.  For the next 70 years, Waynesburg did not grow beyond these borders except for a few institutional buildings near the Commons. 

The commissioners quickly advertised and sold the lots at auction for prices ranging from $5 to $139, using the profits to cover the purchase of the land and to construct the courthouse and jail.   

The development of the Town of Waynesburg by a group of government-appointed trustees is unique in Southwestern Pennsylvania.   Other early towns in the region--like Uniontown, Brownsville, Washington, Canonsburg, Fredericktown, New Geneva, Greensboro and Carmichaels—each had an individual proprietor who surveyed and laid out a community on his own property, then sold the lots. Only Waynesburg was from the beginning designed to be a county seat.

Paving of the interesection of High and Richhill Streets a century after Waynesburg was founded.  (www.greeneconnections.com)

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Early postcard view of First Presbyterian Church.  (greeneconnections.com)

With its tall steeple and classic Colonial Revival design, First Presbyterian Church dominates the north end of Waynesburg’s system of parks. Both the building and the parks take their inspiration from colonial New England. 

Early 20th century view of the Waynesburg Commons from West Park.  On the left is the future site of First Presbyterian Church with Miller Hall, the administration building of Waynesburg College, in the background.  (greeneconnections.com)

Originally called the “Commons,” the parks date to the beginning of Waynesburg in 1796 when they were laid out as commonly-owned grazing lands. Today they continue to be one of the most beloved features of the town. 

Photo taken soon after First Presbyterian Church was completed. The dome of Miller Hall is in the background.(greeneconnections.com)

 

Equally admired is the pure beauty of First Presbyterian Church, designed in 1925 by prominent Boston architects, Smith and Walker. Because they were from Massachusetts and graduates of Harvard, it’s easy to understand their choice of the Colonial Revival style for the building and its placement on a terrace overlooking the park, which would have been called “the village green” in New England.

Shortly after designing Waynesburg's First Presbyterian Church, architect Philip Horton Smith saved Salem's Old Town Hall from demolition.  It had been built in 1816-17. (salemoldtownhall.com)

By the turn of the 20^th century, the Colonial Revival had become a popular architectural style, prompted by nostalgia for the founding years of the American Republic. It copied the symmetry and classical ornamentation of early Georgian and Federal style buildings.  As Colonial Revival continued to grow in popularity, it inspired not only new construction, but also restoration of historic places such as in Williamsburg, VA; Salem, MA, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia. 

Architect Philip Horton Smith designed the Salem Post Office in 1932. (wikipedia.com)

 

The lead architect of First Presbyterian was Philip Horton Smith, a native of Salem, MA. Throughout his career, he spearheaded preservation efforts in Salem, and elsewhere in New England, as well as designing many new buildings compatible with historic sites. 

Interior of Tabernacle Church in Salem, MA, designed two years before First Presbyterian Waynesburg by the same architect.  (Tabernacle Church website)

Interior of First Presbyterian Church, Waynesburg, today.

 

Another view, looking toward the balcony.

Just two years before he received the commission for Waynesburg’s First Presbyterian, Smith had designed a new building for Tabernacle Church in Salem. It was a replica of their earlier church of 1777 that had been a copy of London’s “Tabernacle” made famous by preacher George Whitfield who had frequently visited Salem. There are many similarities in design between Tabernacle and First Presbyterian, both inside and out, except the exterior of Tabernacle is stone, a more common building material in New England. 

Wellesley (Mass.) Congregational Church, built 1918-1922, was designed in the Colonial Revival style by prominent architects Carrere and Hastings. It may have inspired Philip Horton Smith's design of the Salem and Waynesburg churches. (wikipedia.com)

When the cornerstone of the Waynesburg church was laid in September, 1925, local newspapers reported that the architect attended, and stayed the next day to “show the masons the methods used in colonial times of laying brick so that in all details the design will be carried out.” They also reported that the building was to be “of pure American colonial design and will resemble Independence Hall in Philadelphia”.  

Another early view of Waynesburg's First Presbyterian Church.  (greeneconnections.com)

A two-story, temple-like portico with pediment and Doric columns fronts the First Presbyterian design. The portico shelters three recessed doorways that lead to the sanctuary, each with a pair of paneled doors topped by fanlight and denticulated cornice. Above each doorway is a window, the center one being Palladian in style. 

The Richhill Street elevation of First Presbyterian Church, Waynesburg. 

 

On the side elevations, there are tall, arched windows with cornerstones. A side entrance facing Richhill Street mirrors the front with portico, Doric columns and paneled doors. However, here the fanlight is elliptical.

Rising above the town, the steeple is composed of four parts. A square, brick tower with wheel windows sits on the sanctuary roof. Above it, a square belfry and octagonal lantern are built of wood with Colonial ornamentation and arched window openings, painted white, and surrounded by two balustrades. In proper New England fashion, a weather vane sits atop the spire. 

A HISTORY OF THE EARLIER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES IN WAYNESBURG:

There were two types of Presbyterian congregations in Waynesburg in the 19th century, Cumberland and Mainstream. The older and larger group was Cumberland Presbyterian, established in 1831. Two years later, they erected their first building on the south edge of the Commons, known as the "brick church on the hill." They founded Waynesburg College in 1849, and in 1866, built a larger brick church on West High Street where the Dollar Store parking lot is now located. Here's what their buildings looked like: 

This view is dated ca. 1865, shortly before the second Cumberland Church was erected. In the distance on the left is the first building of Waynesburg College, later named Hanna Hall. (greeneconnections.com)

This was the second building of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Waynesburg.  It was demolished in 1941. (greeneconnections.com)

A mainstream Presbyterian Church was established in Waynesburg in 1842 with 18 members, incorporated in 1848. Their first house of worship, built in 1850, was a frame structure on North Morris Street. In 1880, they built a substantial Gothic-style brick church on Church Street, giving the streets its name. In 1893-94, it was expanded the building and decorated the interior with new lights and hand-painted frescoes.

The first building of the mainstream Presbyterian congregation is shown on the right, facing North Morris Street.  On its left is the 3-story Walton Hotel that stood at the corner with West High Streets.  Today, the site of both buildings is a borough parking lot.  (greeneconnections.com)

Erected in 1880, the second building of the mainstream Presbyterian congregation stood on Church Street. The 60-foot addition to the left of the tower was added in 1893-94. (Photo by W. T. Hays; greene connections.com)

Early 20th century view of the interior of the Presbyterian Church on Church Street.  (greeneconnections.com)

After the congregations merged in late 1906, they conducted worship services on Church Street and Sunday School and other activities in the former Cumberland building on West High Street. The united congregation decided to build anew in 1922, and broke ground for the present building in September 1925. Three months later, the building on Church Street was destroyed in the Downey House Fire when sparks were blown by strong winds over the Court House onto their roof. After the fire, they returned to the former Cumberland Presbyterian building on West High Street for worship services until the new building was completed in October 1926.

The Presbyterian Church on Church Street was destroyed in the Downey House Fire of December 1925. The lot remained vacant until 1939 when the Democrat Messenger Building was erected. (Wilmington, DE newspaper; newspapers.com)