Here's a story from Harriet Branton's new book, Washington County Chronicles! You can pick up a copy here at the historical society for $22.
The disastrous fire during the winter of 1790-91 that deprived Washington County of its first courthouse also left the fledgling Washington Academy homeless. Plans to proceed with the construction of a new courthouse began almost immediately. However, the future for Washington Academy was not so rosy. In vain did the prestigious John McMillan, Thaddeus Dod and David Johnston, principal of the academy, plead with the townspeople for financial help to get the school back on its feet. It was a futile effort. Years later, in 1817, McMillan wrote of the attempt to rebuild the school in Washington. He reported, with more than a suggestion of disgust, that "so indifferent were the inhabitants of that town to the interests of literature in general and to the demand of the church in particular that notwithstanding the state's donation an academy would not be supported."
What to do? The trustees took their problem to Colonel John Canon, eight miles away. It so happened that Canon and other McMillan supporters had hoped for some time to found an academy in Canonsburg, either by enlarging the McMillan school or starting a new one. Here was their chance. in almost no time at all, a group of men, including Canon and McMillan, found themselves meeting after church one day in a field "under the shade of some sassafras bushes." Exercises were held that July day in 1791 invoking the blessing of God upon a new academic institution. It began that very fall, holding classes in temporary quarters until Colonel Canon's fine new stone building, being constructed on land he had donated, was ready. Canonsburg Academy was in business. It continued the work begun by McMillan in his own log school in 1780-81 that was alleged to be the "first literary institution west of the mountains." in 1792, the Pittsburgh Gazette advertised that the building for Canonsburg Academy was finished and that the grammar school was in operation under the direction of David Johnston, former principal of the Washington Academy. Course offerings included English, geometry, trigonometry, astronomy, algebra and bookkeeping. Board was available in the neighborhood. The institution had the financial support of Redstone Presbytery.
In 1794, the school was chartered by the Pennsylvania legislature as the Academy and Library Company of Canonsburg, with the continued enthusiastic moral and financial support of Presbyterians throughout the region. Contributions flowed in to repay Colonel Canon for the funds he had advanced for the building and to pay the faculty salaries and help young men who were studying for the ministry.
By 1800, a movement was underway to convert the academy into a college, and McMillan, along with three others, drafted a petition for presentation to the legislature. Their efforts were successful, and Canonsburg Academy officially became Jefferson College on January 15, 1802. Its first president was John Watson, a son-in-law of John McMillan. By 1816, the college had outgrown Colonel Canon's original stone building. A new structure, College Hall, was built in 1816-17 on Central Avenue property bought from Canon's widow. In 1833, a third building, Providence Hall, was constructed at the same location.
In the meantime, back in Washington, the leading citizens now regretted their decision to rebuff McMillan and his friends. John Hoge finally donated land, and, through the joint efforts of the townspeople and the Pennsylvania legislature, a second building for Washington Academy was begun in 1793. In 1806, Washington College also recieved a charter from the Pennylvania legislature. The stage was then set for an intercollegiate rivalry that continued for more than half a century. The circumstances that destroyed the quarters of the Washington Academy and resulted in the founding of Canonsburg Academy created the ideal situation for the "college war," which continued for more than a half a century. The two institutions drew students from the same area, and this fact alone began to place a strain on the financial resources of both. Another complicating issue was the fact that the two schools even shared presidents, Andrew Wylie and Matthew Brown.
As early as September 1815, there were serious suggestions to unite the two schools, and committees at both institutions were appointed to explore this possibility. Jefferson students wanted the school to be situated in Canonsburg. Washington folk wanted their college to remain where it was. The fat was really in the fire when, in 1817, Andrew Wylie, DD and president of Jefferson College, was lured to that same post at Washington College. Jefferson trustees were outraged by Wylie's defection and refused to discuss the mattre of unity any further. Accusations and communications, both public and private, flew briskly between the two campuses until 1820. Even the Presbyterian Synod tried, without success, to unite the two schools at Washington. Nothing more was done about the unification until the 1860s.
As if things weren't already complicated enough, there was the matter of Matthew Brown's appointment to the presidency of Jefferson College in 1822. This development resulted from a bitter feud in Washington about the desirability of the same man holding both the presidency of Washington College and the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church. The occupant of both hot seats was Reverend Dr. Brown, who had been serving as Washington College's first president since 1806. Caught between two opposing political factions, he resigned as president of Washington College in 1817.
This was the point at which Wylie, late of Jefferson College, took over. Brown remained in Washington as a pastor of the First Presbyterian Church for five years. In 1822, depressed by the death of his wife and the complicated state of affairs between the college and his church, Brown decided to quit Washington entirely and head west. Before leaving, he called on his good friend Samuel Ralston, who happened to be president of Jefferson College's board of trustees. The board was looking for a new president and offered the job to Brown. He decided to take it. and his acceptance resulted in a twenty-three-year period of greatness for Jefferson College. During his administration, 772 students graduated, three times as many under his predecessors. A strong and decisive leader, he was more compatible with the Canonsburg community than with Washington. Prior to his appearance on campus, Jefferson College had just survived a period of student rebellion, and the trustees were relieved to obtain a man of strength to run things.
After Brown's tenure drew to a close in 1845, Jefferson continued for another twenty years under four presidents, whose terms ranged from two to eleven years. Financial problems were an ever-present worry- the college had always been poor. It had no endowment for the first fifty years of its existence. Finally, it raised $60,000 by selling "cheap scholarships." This was no help, for it then lost income from student fees, since every student secured a scholarship that intitled him to free tuition. During its sixty-three years of existence, the student body only once approached 300, yet it graduated 1,950 men. Of course, 940 went into the ministry, 428 became lawyers and 208 were physicians. Large number served as college presidents, governers and army officers. Two became members of presidential cabinets, sixty were in the Congress, sixty on the bench and eighteen achieved high ecclestical office.
The Civil War proved to be the undoing of Jefferson College. The school's financial resources were not equal to the demands as costs increased at the end of the war. The conflict itself depleted the ranks of the student body as men departed to enlist with both Union and Confederacy. Two hundred forty-six alumni served in one army or the other; thirty-six died in service with the U.S. Army, while eleven gave their lives for the Confederacy. Back in Canonsburg, the situation became so desperate that, in 1865, by action of the boards of trustees of both schools, Washington and Jefferson Colleges were at last united.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
The LeMoyne Family Housewarming Party!!
You're invited to Washington's biggest housewarming party to date!
On February 23, 2013 at 6 p.m. at the Elk's Lodge in Washington, Pa. the Washington County Historical Society will host the first annual LeMoyne Family Housewarming Party!
For $50 a ticket, guests will be able to enjoy costumed docents, a period themed meal, horse-drawn carriage rides to the LeMoyne House for special tours, special entertianment and a Chinese auction featuring paintings from Nat Youngblood and Ray Forquer. Other activities include a wine tasting, silloutte drawings and the new rebranding of the Historical Society.
You won't want to miss an event like this, the LeMoyne Family has been waiting 200 years to celebrate with you and it will be a housewarming party like no other! Please RSVP by 2/15. Tickets are available by calling the Historical Society at 724-255-6740. We hope to see you there!
On February 23, 2013 at 6 p.m. at the Elk's Lodge in Washington, Pa. the Washington County Historical Society will host the first annual LeMoyne Family Housewarming Party!
For $50 a ticket, guests will be able to enjoy costumed docents, a period themed meal, horse-drawn carriage rides to the LeMoyne House for special tours, special entertianment and a Chinese auction featuring paintings from Nat Youngblood and Ray Forquer. Other activities include a wine tasting, silloutte drawings and the new rebranding of the Historical Society.
You won't want to miss an event like this, the LeMoyne Family has been waiting 200 years to celebrate with you and it will be a housewarming party like no other! Please RSVP by 2/15. Tickets are available by calling the Historical Society at 724-255-6740. We hope to see you there!
The George Washington Hotel
One of the most famous historical sites in Washington County is the beautiful George Washington Hotel. The hotel opened in 1923 and has since been one of Washington's most premier hotels. Harriet Branton wrote an excellent story about the George Washington:
The handsome invitation read: "You are cordially invited to be present at the formal opening of the George Washington Hotel, Washington, Pennsylvania, Afternoon and Evening, February twenty-second. twenty-third, and twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred twenty-three."
The three-day schedule of festivities with which Washington opened its grand new hostelry took on the air of a pagent as one gala event followed another. On Thursday, Washington's birthday, there was a reception and inspection of the new building in the afternoon; this was followed by the stockholder's banquet at 7 p.m. ($5 per person); and then there was dancing in the elegant ballroom until 1 a.m. On Friday another luncheon and open house were scheduled. Dinner at 6 p.m. ($3 per person) was again followed by dancing until 1 a.m. A business men's dinner on Saturday concluded the three-day affair.
The opening of the George Washington Hotel was the climax of a two-year project to provide Washington wiht an appropriate and very necessary hotel. Accommodations for visitors in town were so poor that very often tourists had to be put up in private homes. Promoters of the hotel project, including R.L. McCarrell, John H. Donnan, John W. Leonard, R.M. Pacton, W.R. McIlvaine. J.L. Lockhart, John B. Allison, A.C. Warne, M.W. McClane. J.D. Bigger, and C.S. Caldwell, had been pushing the idea since 1920. Finally the details were outlined by another enthusiastic supporter, Richard G. Miller, at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce on January 21, 1921. A fund-raising campaign of $1,200,000 was undertaken, and local banks almost immediately took over a $600,000 issue of first mortgage bonds. Another $600,000 was offered to the public at $50 per share. A particular effort was made to encourage women to buy stock and become part owners of the hotel. They were urged by a special committee to take advantage of the opportunity to buy shares in amounts ranging from $100 to $2,000 each. All who did so automatically became charter members of the George Washington Hotel Women's Club. Ladies who served on the promotion committee included Mrs. M.D. McClane, Miss Mary H. Lockhart, Mrs. W.S. Burchial, Mrs. J.W. Wallace, Mrs. Esther C. Humphrey, and Mrs. C.S. Caldwell.
The public drive for funds was so successful that the $600,000 had been fully subscribed within one month after the announcement. In fact the financing had been taken care of before a site had even been selected. That was one of the first matters to be considered when the stockholders met to elect a board of directors.
The location was soon chosen. The hotel was to be built at the southeast corner of Cherry Avenue and Main Street on lots numbered 91, 92, and 93 in the original plan of the town when it had been laid out 141 years earlier. The lots fronted 60 ft. each on Monogahela Street (later known as Market and finally Main) and were 240 ft. deep. A second important matter was settled with the selection of W.L. Stoddart of New York City as the architect. He soon produced plans for a ten-story structure to be built in Adams period style.
From the beginning special care was taken into insure that this hotel would be one of the finest in the nation. Some of the construction statistics are rather interesting. there were 995 tons of steel used the framework, as well as the 136, 556 cubic feet of concrete, 190,000 tiles, and 740,000 bricks. The 210 guest rooms were equipped with private baths; hot and cold running water, including ice water; and there were 800 electric light fixtures in the building. At one time there were as many as 500 men working on the construction project.
The second floor was said to have the finest rooms (although the management was justly proud of all 210). There the walls were paneled and painted ivory and the furniture was hand decorated and enameled. Furnishings included twin beds, dresser, night stand, writing desk and chair, luggage rack, full length mirror, and an easy chair. Each room was also equipped with its own telephone. Rooms on the other floors were furnished alike,with Sheraton pieces made especially for the hotel. On the northwest corner of the tenth floor was a three-room "presidential suite" consisting of two bedrooms, which was furnished with hand carved walnut pieces. It was said hat "no hotel in the country contains a finer presidential suite, not even those where the President is a regular guest."
As for the public rooms on the first floor and mezzanine, they too, were most handsomely furnished. The Albert Pick company of Chicago had been commissioned to design the furniture, window shades, and draperies especially for the hotel. All shades were made of puffed sunfast silk and all draperies were lined and interlined. The marble floor of the lobby was covered with an Austrian hand-tuffed rug and was over the desk hung a large oil painting of George Washington in colonial dress. The colors in the lobby were predominantly red and gold.
The color used in the main dining room, which opened off the lobby, was green and the six wondows were hung with draperies of heavy silk velour. Named the "General Grant Room" in honor of the President who had visited Washington so often, the dining room could seat 300 guests. Special service plates for use in the dining rom were decorated with a design showing the Administration Building of W&J built in 1793, with a stagecoach in front surrounded by ladies and gentlemen dressed in colonial costumes. Even the silverware had been especially made. Each piece was decorated with the Washington family crest, which wsa the official emblem of the hotel. The spacious dining room was lighted by six large crystal chandeliers of the Adams period.
But it was the ballroom on the mezzanine which was referred to as the "pride of the George Washington." Its 45 by 80 ft. length occupied in the entire northwest corner of the building. Decorated in blue and gold, it was also designed in the style fo the Adams period. A handsome mantle at the south end was surmounted by an elegant mirror, and two magnificent crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Four large pillars topped by decorative wreaths supported the blacony. Many of the furnishings in the ballroom came from the Peacock mansion in Pittsburgh. These included French handwoven Aubusson rugs, as well as the large brass andirons in front of the fireplace. There were also two rare tables, valuable vases, and a number of original oil paintings depicting characters who were famous in French history including Madame duBarry, Louis XVI, and Marie Antoinette, plus reproductions of paintings by Renolds, Gainesborough, and Rembrandt.
Two emblems bearing the official coat of arms of the Washington family were placed over the Main Street entrance of the building, just under two flag poles. The emblems are "exact reproductions" of the Washington family's coat of arms, and great care was taken to insure that the design was accurate. It was even submitted to Herald's College in London for verification. Made of terra cotta, the three by five ft. emblems were painted with colors which were baked and glazed to withstand the weather. the handsome designs include a black raven with outspread wings, a ducal coronet of gold, a slilver helmet and shield, two red bars, and three five-pointed stars.
So it was a small wonder that on the night of February 22, 1923, those who had worked so hard to provide Washington with its wonderful new hotel were in a mood to celebrate. The management had even arranged for the survices of an eight piece George Washington Orchestra, which was to remain permanently. At that very first dinner, R.L McCarrell presiding, the invocation was given by the Rev. William E. Slemmons, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. The orchestra then struck up the national anthem, and before the more than 800 guests could be seated, a figure which looked for all the world like "the reincarntion of George Washington" appeared and proceeded to read from his diary his impressions of the hotel, the town named in his honor, and his feelings about western Pennsylvania in general. It was quite a show. This colorful bit of pageantry was followed by a sumptuous meal, the menu for which include supreme of grapefruit, celery hearts, mixed olives, consomme, cheese straws, sole, Parisienne potatioes, frozen fruit punch, filet mignon, fresh mushrooms, Bordelaise sauce, potato croquettes, asparagus tips, George Washington salad, ice cream, petits fours, salted almonds, and after dinner mints.
Following the dinner there were speeches and then the dancing began in the grand ballroom with music provided by the George Washington Orchestra. Wile there have been hundreds of dances and dinners since that gala inaugural in 1923, theye probably never achieved quite the same degree of magic.
In the years to come the fame of the George Washington spread far beyond the borders of Pennsylvania and it did indeed attain a degree of national prominence. Some vamous visitiors signed the guest book during the first 15 years included the great contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Joan Blondell, Henry Ford, Admiral Richard E. Byrd, Lou Gehrig, and Lowell Thomas.
The handsome invitation read: "You are cordially invited to be present at the formal opening of the George Washington Hotel, Washington, Pennsylvania, Afternoon and Evening, February twenty-second. twenty-third, and twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred twenty-three."
The three-day schedule of festivities with which Washington opened its grand new hostelry took on the air of a pagent as one gala event followed another. On Thursday, Washington's birthday, there was a reception and inspection of the new building in the afternoon; this was followed by the stockholder's banquet at 7 p.m. ($5 per person); and then there was dancing in the elegant ballroom until 1 a.m. On Friday another luncheon and open house were scheduled. Dinner at 6 p.m. ($3 per person) was again followed by dancing until 1 a.m. A business men's dinner on Saturday concluded the three-day affair.
The opening of the George Washington Hotel was the climax of a two-year project to provide Washington wiht an appropriate and very necessary hotel. Accommodations for visitors in town were so poor that very often tourists had to be put up in private homes. Promoters of the hotel project, including R.L. McCarrell, John H. Donnan, John W. Leonard, R.M. Pacton, W.R. McIlvaine. J.L. Lockhart, John B. Allison, A.C. Warne, M.W. McClane. J.D. Bigger, and C.S. Caldwell, had been pushing the idea since 1920. Finally the details were outlined by another enthusiastic supporter, Richard G. Miller, at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce on January 21, 1921. A fund-raising campaign of $1,200,000 was undertaken, and local banks almost immediately took over a $600,000 issue of first mortgage bonds. Another $600,000 was offered to the public at $50 per share. A particular effort was made to encourage women to buy stock and become part owners of the hotel. They were urged by a special committee to take advantage of the opportunity to buy shares in amounts ranging from $100 to $2,000 each. All who did so automatically became charter members of the George Washington Hotel Women's Club. Ladies who served on the promotion committee included Mrs. M.D. McClane, Miss Mary H. Lockhart, Mrs. W.S. Burchial, Mrs. J.W. Wallace, Mrs. Esther C. Humphrey, and Mrs. C.S. Caldwell.
The public drive for funds was so successful that the $600,000 had been fully subscribed within one month after the announcement. In fact the financing had been taken care of before a site had even been selected. That was one of the first matters to be considered when the stockholders met to elect a board of directors.
The location was soon chosen. The hotel was to be built at the southeast corner of Cherry Avenue and Main Street on lots numbered 91, 92, and 93 in the original plan of the town when it had been laid out 141 years earlier. The lots fronted 60 ft. each on Monogahela Street (later known as Market and finally Main) and were 240 ft. deep. A second important matter was settled with the selection of W.L. Stoddart of New York City as the architect. He soon produced plans for a ten-story structure to be built in Adams period style.
From the beginning special care was taken into insure that this hotel would be one of the finest in the nation. Some of the construction statistics are rather interesting. there were 995 tons of steel used the framework, as well as the 136, 556 cubic feet of concrete, 190,000 tiles, and 740,000 bricks. The 210 guest rooms were equipped with private baths; hot and cold running water, including ice water; and there were 800 electric light fixtures in the building. At one time there were as many as 500 men working on the construction project.
The second floor was said to have the finest rooms (although the management was justly proud of all 210). There the walls were paneled and painted ivory and the furniture was hand decorated and enameled. Furnishings included twin beds, dresser, night stand, writing desk and chair, luggage rack, full length mirror, and an easy chair. Each room was also equipped with its own telephone. Rooms on the other floors were furnished alike,with Sheraton pieces made especially for the hotel. On the northwest corner of the tenth floor was a three-room "presidential suite" consisting of two bedrooms, which was furnished with hand carved walnut pieces. It was said hat "no hotel in the country contains a finer presidential suite, not even those where the President is a regular guest."
As for the public rooms on the first floor and mezzanine, they too, were most handsomely furnished. The Albert Pick company of Chicago had been commissioned to design the furniture, window shades, and draperies especially for the hotel. All shades were made of puffed sunfast silk and all draperies were lined and interlined. The marble floor of the lobby was covered with an Austrian hand-tuffed rug and was over the desk hung a large oil painting of George Washington in colonial dress. The colors in the lobby were predominantly red and gold.
The color used in the main dining room, which opened off the lobby, was green and the six wondows were hung with draperies of heavy silk velour. Named the "General Grant Room" in honor of the President who had visited Washington so often, the dining room could seat 300 guests. Special service plates for use in the dining rom were decorated with a design showing the Administration Building of W&J built in 1793, with a stagecoach in front surrounded by ladies and gentlemen dressed in colonial costumes. Even the silverware had been especially made. Each piece was decorated with the Washington family crest, which wsa the official emblem of the hotel. The spacious dining room was lighted by six large crystal chandeliers of the Adams period.
But it was the ballroom on the mezzanine which was referred to as the "pride of the George Washington." Its 45 by 80 ft. length occupied in the entire northwest corner of the building. Decorated in blue and gold, it was also designed in the style fo the Adams period. A handsome mantle at the south end was surmounted by an elegant mirror, and two magnificent crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Four large pillars topped by decorative wreaths supported the blacony. Many of the furnishings in the ballroom came from the Peacock mansion in Pittsburgh. These included French handwoven Aubusson rugs, as well as the large brass andirons in front of the fireplace. There were also two rare tables, valuable vases, and a number of original oil paintings depicting characters who were famous in French history including Madame duBarry, Louis XVI, and Marie Antoinette, plus reproductions of paintings by Renolds, Gainesborough, and Rembrandt.
Two emblems bearing the official coat of arms of the Washington family were placed over the Main Street entrance of the building, just under two flag poles. The emblems are "exact reproductions" of the Washington family's coat of arms, and great care was taken to insure that the design was accurate. It was even submitted to Herald's College in London for verification. Made of terra cotta, the three by five ft. emblems were painted with colors which were baked and glazed to withstand the weather. the handsome designs include a black raven with outspread wings, a ducal coronet of gold, a slilver helmet and shield, two red bars, and three five-pointed stars.
So it was a small wonder that on the night of February 22, 1923, those who had worked so hard to provide Washington with its wonderful new hotel were in a mood to celebrate. The management had even arranged for the survices of an eight piece George Washington Orchestra, which was to remain permanently. At that very first dinner, R.L McCarrell presiding, the invocation was given by the Rev. William E. Slemmons, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. The orchestra then struck up the national anthem, and before the more than 800 guests could be seated, a figure which looked for all the world like "the reincarntion of George Washington" appeared and proceeded to read from his diary his impressions of the hotel, the town named in his honor, and his feelings about western Pennsylvania in general. It was quite a show. This colorful bit of pageantry was followed by a sumptuous meal, the menu for which include supreme of grapefruit, celery hearts, mixed olives, consomme, cheese straws, sole, Parisienne potatioes, frozen fruit punch, filet mignon, fresh mushrooms, Bordelaise sauce, potato croquettes, asparagus tips, George Washington salad, ice cream, petits fours, salted almonds, and after dinner mints.
Following the dinner there were speeches and then the dancing began in the grand ballroom with music provided by the George Washington Orchestra. Wile there have been hundreds of dances and dinners since that gala inaugural in 1923, theye probably never achieved quite the same degree of magic.
In the years to come the fame of the George Washington spread far beyond the borders of Pennsylvania and it did indeed attain a degree of national prominence. Some vamous visitiors signed the guest book during the first 15 years included the great contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Joan Blondell, Henry Ford, Admiral Richard E. Byrd, Lou Gehrig, and Lowell Thomas.
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