Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1875-08-20

! A VISIT FRoNs RIP VAN WfNkLE,-
Mr.. Alex Mcdonald Cowan, OF tbs Farm
vile s.Mercury,'' a brother of the late Robt
Cowali, OF Stanntop. has been here on
visit to his relatives this week. Mr.. Cow
AN left this city thirty-one years ago, whe'
20 years OF age. and this is his first va
since. His account Of the changes in or
town, aftera ride over it, WAS interesting
I When he left, the last house or New Conl
| House st. was the old Peck building, neal
| tie gas works, once llsetl ;ls u Presbyterian
Female Seminary, and also, afterwards
for the deaf-Inute department. OF the Deaf
Dumb IL Blind Institute, of which Maj
+ Eskridge was then the head. There was
mo dwelling in sight from that point ard
Mrs. Gays WAS the OILY dwelling i'll that
direction. Augl st. rm mated then
at the forks of the road opposite Jno. j.
Evans house. 1t was ut the forks OF the
road that John Bullett was hung Ior horse
stealing and the sycamore tree III a yard
near there is the one under which the gal
lows stood. On New st. Mr.. COwan found
several old land marks the David Points
house, the Slanker house. and the jim
Barr house just near the Slanker house
was the drill ground where the militia of
that day paraded There were no houses
between Judge Thomp>on's andthe .Acad-
emv. On Gospel Hill there were n9 houses
beyond the one now occupied by MI. T..
H. Trout, which stood on Il corner, and
on the other side of the street stood the
sampson Eagen house. now enlarged and
re modelled us residence by Mr.. Davis A.
and the negroes used to assemble every
Sunday and hold prayer meeting. and
that is the way it got the name of Gospel
Hill. Kenton IIarper's barn WAS the only
house visible eastwardly from that point.
The last holls on Nam st. in Newtown,
was that of Stephen Woods (now opposite
David brakes stOre), which is now occu-
pied by Mrs. Brady, his daughter. This
was On the left-hand side-on the right,
tie last house was that of Jno. Foster,
which stood where F. o. Heydenriches
now stands. The Episcopal Church then
stood where it's old Sunday School now
stan IS and Thornrose Cemetery was part
of Spring farm. On Augusta ST., between
What is known as Bick.e's store and DR..
WaddePs corner, there was only one house,
then occupied by Mr. Cowan's father, and
where he was born. 1t is now Maj. Kin
ney's. Where Df. Waddell now lives was
then a garden owned by Lawrence Trem-
per, who was appointed postmaster of
Staunton, by President Washington, and
held the Office as long as he lived. The
old postofflce was then in long, wooden
house, where Byers Il Eakles now have
store. Nerborne G. Brooks was post
master. and whenever the mail was ready
for delivery, he or the clerk walked up and
down the porch and rang a brass bell.
Where the Lutheran church now is was q
long building known as the 'tOld blue
House," which was the.terror of Staunton,
as q haunted house.
The newspapers then were the Especial
tor published by KentOn Harper, next
to where the new Grange Hall is, where
Mr.. Cowaa learned the printing business,
and the Augusta Democrat" afterwards
the VIND1CAToR was published in New
ST., next to the engine house. The taverns
were the ''Bell,'' now the INDICATOR
office, kept by M. CARRIER; the washing
ton,' kept where the Virginia" now
stands, by Mrs. Sallie Hartman, and the
Eagle" now Mrs. Cupp's, on Main St.,
kept by Capt. Henry McClung. The
best known lawyers were B. G. Baldwin,
Jno. H. Peyton. Thos j. Niche, A H.H.
5tu01 t., D5pyid utt1, and 1fr1z5fr
fey, who though then very young man,
had taken prominent stand at the bar.
The ministers were Rev. Paul Stevenson,
Presbyterian, and Rev. McElroy, Episco-
palian-the founder of the Virginia Fe-
male Institute.