SECOND EMPIRE HOUSE

This column first appeared in the March 2017 issue of GreeneSPEAK!

The Sayers Addition plan was not filed with the Recorder of Deeds office until June 1941.

The Town of Waynesburg did not expand beyond its original grid of streets and alleys until after the Civil War. The southern border, located just below Greene Street, was aptly named South Alley. From there, the Slater farm extended all the way to Ten Mile Creek.

In April 1872, Waynesburg’s first “development” began when Thomas W. Sayers laid out 128 lots on the former Slater farm. Called the “Sayers Addition,” it is known today as the “South Side.” The plan included new streets named Lincoln, Elm, First and Water, bordered by Morgan Street on the east and Spring Alley on the west.

East and south elevations of the W. G. Scott House. The 3-bay front features double entrance doors on the left. Later, a second door was added in the right bay.

The same month, Sayers sold three lots on South Washington Street to Walter Guy Scott, the distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Waynesburg College. He purchased the entire block between Walnut Alley and Elm Street for $700.00, the equivalent of $13,725.00 today. It extended west 180 feet to Fruit Alley. Soon, the professor and his wife were erecting one of the first, and finest, houses in the neighborhood.  

Walter G. Scott graduated from Waynesburg College in 1857. (greeneconnections.com)

Today, it is difficult to appreciate the palatial nature of the Scott House when the family lived there, surrounded by large, open lawns, as shown in early photos. Later, the property was subdivided, adding four houses, each placed closer to the street, blocking a full view of the Scott House. Although its front is narrow, the sides are long, creating a large mass.  

Another view of the Scott House from South Washington Street looking southwest.  A 3-story bay graces the north elevation..

 

Both Professor Scott and his wife, the former Mary Sutton, were early graduates of Waynesburg College. Born in Durham, England, she was the daughter of Rev. Robert H. Sutton, an early Protestant Methodist minister who came to America in the 1840s with his family. He served a number of churches in Southwestern Pennsylvania and Illinois before retiring to Waynesburg.   

With arched paneling and oriel windows, the double doors are framed with elaborate wood trim, produced by a power jigsaw, an innovation of the 1860-70s. 

Urbane and well educated, the Scotts chose for their home the new Second Empire style, considered to be the “high style” of Victorian architecture, inspired by Parisian designs of the era. Tall and stately, Second Empire buildings are distinguished by a mansard roof with two slopes on all four sides, the lower slope being steeper than the upper. With a mansard roof, the house gained a full floor of living space with tall ceilings instead of a low attic.  

The windows on the front porch were equally well adorned.

While many institutional buildings were designed in the Second Empire style, residences were not so common, and few remain today. However, several others can be found in Waynesburg including two that are highly unusual, only 2-stories tall.

This handsome 2-story Second Empire house is located within sight of the Scott House.  It was owned by Simon Rinehart, Jr.in 1876.  The enclosed porch is a later addition.

Another Second Empire house of unusual 2-story height is located on West Greene Street.

Designed one year after the Scott House, Waynesburg College’s Miller Hall is also Second Empire in style, the work of Pittsburgh architect James W. Drum. It is not known if Drum (or another architect) designed the Scott House, or if they chose a design from a pattern book, but it is likely that the professor was involved in decisions about Miller Hall.   

This rendering of Miller Hall by an unknown artist appeared in the Women's Centennial Paper, 1896.  Could it be the work of architect James W. Drum who designed the building in 1873? 

  

In “The Waynesburg College Story,” author William Dusenberry describes Walter G. Scott as one of the “Great Triumvirate” who kept the college going during tough times in the late 19^th century, often teaching without a salary. The others were President A. B. Miller and Professor James R. Rinehart, all of whom had other means of financial support. While Miller was a Presbyterian minister, Scott was a downtown merchant, owning a dry goods store with his father, located where The Fashion Shop is today.

 

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

This column first appeared in the February 2017 issue of GreeneSPEAK!

“The Underground Railroad,” Charles T. Wheeler, 1891.

The decade before the Civil War was a turbulent time in Greene County. Like other communities on the Mason-Dixon Line, local residents had strong and divergent opinions. While a few sympathized with the slave-holding South, most believed in preserving the Union, but were ambivalent about slavery.

A few were Abolitionists strongly opposed to slavery. These brave souls, both white and free black, helped slaves escape via the Underground Railroad. While not actually a “railroad,” it had “conductors” and “station masters” managing safe hiding places, meals and transportation in total secrecy. Because penalties were severe if caught, operatives knew little about other participants and did not speak about their roles. In fact, many remained silent for the rest of their lives.  

"Geography of the Underground Railroad" shows a route through Greene County. Source:bu.edu

 

Today it’s widely accepted that many slaves escaped through Greene County, entering through one of its two shared borders with Virginia. Our county would have been a dangerous place for slaves and those helping them after passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 because slave owners had the right to come into the North to reclaim their “property.” 

1838 poster for a runaway slave. Bardstown, KY

A well-documented episode happened in Waynesburg in July 1856 when nine male slaves escaped from the plantation of Cyrus Ross near Clarksburg. After crossing the border near Mt. Morris, they were attacked by the owner and his armed posse, but escaped to the home of Elisha Purr, a free black man who lived nearby. Purr brought them to the Waynesburg station master, an African American barber named Ermine Cain whose shop was across from the Courthouse. Cain hid them in a lumber yard two blocks away and hurried back to his shop.

View from "Caldwell's Atlas of Greene County," 1876, shows the barber shop located in the basement corner of the building  earlier known as Hamilton House. Before and during the Civil War, it was the shop of Ermine Cain, Underground Railroad station master. 

Soon, the slave owner and his posse arrived, accusing Cain of stealing his property. Cain denied and bravely dragged out the conversation, buying time for the slaves to be moved. Finally, exasperated, Ross offered an enormous bribe of $300 per person, to which Cain replied, “No, sir; if I knowed where your slaves are, all the money in the South wouldn’t get me to tell.”

Sam Jewell ran a wheelwright shop with a "dry yard" full of lumber at the SE corner of High and Richhill Streets. It was replaced in 1882 by this building, known as “Carter’s Corner.” “Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful,” Fred High, 1906.

In fact, the slaves had escaped Waynesburg, and were taken to John Adams, a free mulatto on Hargus Creek near Rogersville. After hiding in the woods for a week, they were moved to the Redmonds, a family of free blacks in the area. Next, they hid in the cellar of a Disciples of Christ minister, the Rev. William Leonard of Leonardsville near Holbrook.

From there, they continued north through Graysville and Burnsville to the Abolitionist stronghold of West Middletown, a community led by Matthew and Jane Campbell McKeever. The McKeevers had a connection to Rev. Leonard because Jane’s father and brother had founded the Disciples faith. Her brother also established Bethany College.

Thomas and Jane McKeever House, Main Street, West Middletown. Photo courtesy of Washington County History and Landmarks Foundation.

In Waynesburg, the Suttles house on Greene Street is another site often identified with the Underground Railroad. It is long gone, replaced by the Post Office. 

Other Greene County accounts mention Caleb Davison and the Rev. Tygart family in Blacksville, Bob Maple’s mill near Mapletown, the Eisiminger and Orndoff farms in Whiteley Township, the James Adamson and Judge Ross farms near Ruff Creek, the Joseph Gray farm near Graysville, a Davis family southeast of Waynesburg, Jimmy Hansbury outside of Carmichaels, Isaac Teagarden near Ryerson Station, and Sam Fleming who harbored fugitives on the George Wisecarver farm without the owner’s knowledge. 

Adamson farm, Franklin Township. "Caldwell's Atlas of Greene County," 1876.

 

In summary, there's a lot more to be learned about the Underground Railroad in Greene County.

In 1859, the “Trial of the Negroes” tore the Waynesburg community apart.  Read about it online in newspaper articles transcribed by Bill Davison, and discover other research findings by Marlene Bransom and Jan Stevens Slater.

JEWISH MERCHANTS, PART II

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

One hundred years ago in Waynesburg, the retail clothing business was dominated by Jewish merchants who were also civic and social leaders. With their wives and children, they added a diversity to small town life that is largely missing today.  

Escaping economic and religious persecution, their families came to America from Eastern Europe in the late 19^th century. While many Jewish immigrants settled in large East Coast cities, others moved to small towns like Waynesburg.   

Grossman Brothers Department Store, West High Street, built in 1903, destroyed by fire in 1925. ("Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful," Fred High.)

Brothers Isaac and Lee Grossman arrived first, building an elegant 4-story department store that was destroyed in the Downey House fire of 1925. They paved the way for the next generation which included nephew Reuben H. Goldberg and former employee Dan Cohen. 

While the Grossmans lost their business to fire, a tragedy of a different sort befell Barney Grossman who owned a large clothing store in the Messenger Building. He was heavily indebted to Farmers and Drovers Bank, and when the bank failed in late 1906, he was forced to close his store.  

Ca. 1929 photo shows the second and final location of Harrison & Cohen in the Messenger Building at the NE corner of High and Washington.  The event is the dedication of a bronze plaque marking the site of the first classes of Waynesburg College. ("History of Greene County Pennsylvania," G. Wayne Smith, 1996)

However, Barney Grossman had started a tradition that continues today, the sale of men’s clothing from the corner of High and Washington Streets. He was followed by Harrison & Cohen, Army Navy, Roth’s, and since 1979, Mickey’s Men’s Store.

Two views of the first location of the Harrison & Cohen store at the NW corner of High and Washington Streets, today the site of First National Bank. This building was demolished in 1922. By then, Harrison & Cohen had moved across the street to the Messenger Building. (greeneconnections.com)

“The Pittsburgh Press” wrote in 1933: “The store of Harrison & Cohen, where for half a century the gentry of Waynesburg was outfitted, is no more. From the late ‘nineties on, judges, doctors and lawyers mingled with rollicking college freshmen at its racks and counters. Whether it was a dress suit or a football uniform, Harrison & Cohen supplied it. One of the last articles sold before the store closed its door this week, after the death of Daniel Cohen, the last surviving partner, was a 1912 football helmet. It was purchased for the Waynesburg College Museum.”

Interior of Harrison & Cohen Men's Clothing Store, ca. 1905 ("Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful," Fred High)

Senior partner Max Harrison had been born in England and immigrated to Philadelphia at a young age. Dan Cohen was a native of New York. Soon after forming their partnership, they became brothers-in-law when Dan married Max’s sister in 1905. They purchased the Messenger Building in 1922, modernizing the façade with Art Deco-style glass transoms and marble wainscoting that remain today.

Ca. 1929 view of the R. H. Goldberg Building (on the left), built in 1925. It is faced with large white terra cotta tiles made in Corning, N.Y.  (www.greeneconnections.com)

Reuben H. Goldberg joined his Grossman uncles in Waynesburg in 1892, and soon opened his own shoe store. A decade later, he sold it to travel around the world. Returning, he started a women’s clothing store. In 1925, he created a distinctive building on West High Street with a façade of white terra cotta tiles made in Corning, N.Y. His “Ladies and Misses Outfitting Store” was located on the first floor with offices above. 

Like Barney Grossman, R. H. Goldberg was heavily indebted to Farmers & Drovers Bank when it failed in December 1906.  When the loan was called, he was forced to sell the inventory to Harrison & Cohen.  He survived to soon open another store.

Interior of the R. H. Goldberg store in "Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful," ca. 1905 photo.  The location of this store is unknown.

Without a local synagogue, Jewish cemetery or school, the merchant families had to travel to larger towns to practice their faith. Few stayed more than one or two generations before their children moved to cities with large Jewish populations. Although their contributions are little remembered in Waynesburg today, they are held dear by their descendants.  

Home of the Daniel Cohen family on South Morris Street across from the Post Office and South Ward School, later converted to a two-family dwelling.

Recently, a great-grandson of Dan Cohen wrote of growing up with his grandmother’s stories of a happy childhood on South Morris Street across from South Ward School which she had attended. She spoke admiringly of her father as a “larger-than-life figure, an outgoing fellow who was known and liked by folks across Waynesburg’s social spectrum.”

By 1930, Dan and Annie Cohen had moved to North West Street.   This view is from "Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful," ca. 1905, when the house was owned by A. B. Reese.

A view of the house today.  Sometime after the Cohen's tenure, it was converted to a double house.

 

EARLY JEWISH MERCHANTS

This column first appeared in the November 2016 edition of GreeneSPEAK! 

Like most small towns in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, Waynesburg’s garment trade was dominated by successful Jewish merchants who with their families were respected members of the community in business, civic and social circles. 

The Grossman Brothers "Gent's Furnishings Department," 1907

The story of Isaac and Lee Grossman—“the Grossman Brothers”—is typical of many Jews who came from Eastern Europe seeking economic opportunity and escape from religious oppression. The brothers were born in Posen, Germany, an area that was historically Polish but controlled by Prussia from 1798-1918. 

They arrived early in the massive migration of Jewish families to the United States. Large enclaves established themselves in trade in the commercial, industrial and cultural centers of the North East: first New York, then Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Chicago in the Midwest. Although the Jewish merchants of Waynesburg lived and worked in a small town in southwestern Pennsylvania, they procured their goods, and later meet their wives, in these cities.

When Issac Grossman died in 1925, he was remembered as "one of Waynesburg's leading citizens, interested in the welfare of the community and generous in his support of charitable causes."

Isaac Grossman arrived first, in 1877, at the age of 18. It’s not known why he chose Greene County, but within four weeks of stepping off the boat, he was in Waynesburg peddling goods by foot. Within three years, he had purchased a horse and wagon, allowing him to sell throughout the county. Two years later--in 1882—younger brother Lee arrived and began selling by foot. Within a year, he too had his own horse and wagon. 

Lee Grossman managed the women's wear and dry goods departments while Isaac was in charge of men's clothing.  Lee survived his brother by many decades, dying in 1953 at the age of 92.

In 1885, the Grossman Brothers opened their first store on High Street, a business that grew into Waynesburg’s first department store. For many years, they were among the town’s most prominent merchants.

In 1903, they built the 4-story Grossman Building next door to the Downey House Hotel. Its modern design was the “talk of the town” with Waynesburg’s first elevator and first use of glass sidewalk panels that emitted sunlight into the basement. The department store occupied three floors, including the basement. Above were two floors of offices. Customers entered through an elegant lobby with marble wainscoting and a marble staircase with brass rail.   

 

In 1907, Grossman Brothers was described as the largest business in Dry Goods, Carpets, Clothing, Gent’s Furnishing Goods and Ladies’ Suits ever carried on in Greene County. Ten clerks and assistants waited on customers. 

The photo caption in Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful (1907) boasted: “This store is to Greene County what Wanamaker’s is to Philadelphia, what Marshall Field’s is to Chicago and what A. T. Stewart’s once was to New York City.”  

Tragically, the building and business were destroyed in the Downey House Fire of December 1925. One month earlier, Isaac had died in a Philadelphia hospital. Lee sold the site to local businessmen who erected the Commercial Building, now known as the Ben Franklin Building, and retired to Danbury, CN.

At the same time, Barney Grossman’s clothing store was half a block away at the corner of High and Washington Streets. 

Although seemingly unrelated to Isaac and Lee, Barney Grossman was another well-known merchant in Waynesburg of about the same era, ca. 1896-1906. He owned the first automobile in town and lived in a big new house, just like the Isaac and Lee. Advertising first as “Barney Grossman’s Bargain Store” and a few years later as “King Clothier,” his store occupied the prominent corner where Mickey’s is located today. 

Barney and Minnie Grossman built this yellow brick house at the corner of South Morris and West Lincoln Streets.

Barney had emigrated from Poland in 1892. His father and brothers were also in the “rag trade” in Pittsburgh and Brooklyn, NY. Unfortunately, Barney was a large creditor of Farmer’s & Drovers Bank. When it failed in late 1906, federal officials forced closure of his stores in Waynesburg, Washington and Cameron, WV.  Selling the Cameron branch to his brother Minor, he moved to Washington, PA, then Brooklyn, NY, where he died in 1915 at the age of 47.

In 1906, Isaac Grossman sold this house on East High Street, across from St. Ann Church, to A. P. Smith.

Next month, read about other early Jewish merchants: Harrison & Cohen, R. H. Goldberg and A. Levino.

All photos are from the second edition of Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful by Fred High, ca. 1907.