Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1881-10-07
THE BUSINESS CENTRE OF sTAUNTON
IN 1915.

DESCRIBED BY ONE WHO WAS IN 1T.
''You don't work, you Staunton people
like you used to, that's the reason you
have no manufactures here. Many night
in this very VINDIcAToR building I've
heard the hammers of the fulling mill in
your alley humping late at night"
"a fulling mill in our alley!" we ex
claimed to the speaker, venerable, but
still an active gentleman, with as clear q
head and fine mind as man has at forty
"Why, yes my young man, in Irish Alley
near to Mr.. Henkle's wagon yard
there was in my early days mill for full
ing cloth, and the hands worked until 6
O'Clock at night from the LIST of Septem
Der until the 1st of March. And that was
the rule with all trades-tinners, tailors
shoemakers, hatters and coppersmlths.
There were more of them too in my day
than you have now.'
"When was that?'
"Well, y said the old gentlemen, ''it was
IN the year 1915, and long after that!''
''But Staunton wasn't large place
then; that was sixty-six years ago."
ssNoI 1t wasn't large place-it hadn It
more than twelve hundred inhabitants.
Almost all the business was done on what
we now call Court House Square; but it
had ten times as much industry"
"What were the business places then?''
i "Well, to commence with, this building
we are now talking in was the old Bell
Tavern which was kept as such by Michael
CARRIER for nearly fifty years. just across
the street, going east, that vacant lot
that Tom Burke is about to build on, was
called in those days "Abney's corner,''
from being owned by Mrs. Abney. Arm
istead Mosby had saddier shop there
! Over at Brandeburg's corner there was an
old frame building in which Capt. Will
Hanson kept store. He was an old sea
captain who had been everywhere. He
married here and died here. At the Vir-
ginia Hotel corner stood the old Washing
ton tavern. 1t was not a lucky house and
was sometimes open and sometimes shut,
until Lewis Hartman got it. The other
corner, that now occupied by Mrs. Wal
tiers, was called Burwell's corner, being an
old frame store owned by Burwell. In rear
Of this was the stone house owned
by Mrs. McCulloch, which was afterwards
occupied by David W. Patterson, once a
Senator from Augusta, who married Mrs.
McCulloch's daughter, and then by Benz
Crawford At Wholey's corner was John
| G. Sewers, the leading merchant. At
Hilb's corner there was a store kept by
John Wayt who was a magistrate and was
afterwards member of the legislature
from this county. Where O'Rea- is now,
Jos. Smith kept store.
Taking the other side of N ew Street.
Next to the Brandeburg corner Was store
kept by Christopher Morris, brother OF
Owen c. Morris: then where Glenn & Bar
ton now are was store kept by VIM.
White who failed AMI sold out. s'Scher-
rer's corner,' where Hageman now is.
was occupied by store kept by VIM. Nc
Dowell, an old bachelor. Next to him was
a slversmith shop kept by VIM. Young.
Where w. L. Bumgardner & Co., now are
was store kept by Henry Hartman, who
was also Town Chamberlain for the cor
poration. Then you came to what is now
known as Prices corner, at which Jos.
Cowan kept store. He was an Irishman
and a Presbyterian elder, and as there was
all this countryside. Every farmer who
had any money to deposit put it at Cow
ans. The farmers got their money but it
broke Cowan. He died insolvent. Turn
ing to the right at Burwells corner you
| came to the store Of Silas Smith, which
was burned with its contents in the great
fire. of 1916. There were no engines then
and people formed line of buckets down
| to Lewis creek. Continuing eastward
you came in those days to McGonegal's
''Spectator" Office. 1t was kept by an old
widoWer named McGonegal, who amassed
a large property in the business. Both he
and his wife are buried in the lot now &C.
cupied by j. NJ. Hardy's carriage factory.
| When he died he left his property to ia
vorite servant who went to Ohio and got
cheated out of every dollar of it.
Crossing the street to what was lately
the National Valley Bank, you found the
store Of Ben Morris, at which he did q
smashing business. Between his store on
that side of the street there was nothing
until you came to the store now occupied
by Olivier. 1t was then kept as a dry
goods store by john l.. Cochran, broth
er of Moffett Cochran. All back north
of that was empty, except the shoemaker
shop of Matthew B. Truss, colored man
He had been the slave of Methodist
preacher and had been set free. He work
ed fourteen hands at making and mending
shoes, and became quite wealthy. What
is now known as the Points house, oppo
site the new Valley Bank, was built by
him. His place was just back of Johr
Cochran, and he was called the preacher
poet and shoemaker of Stanton. He
was good at all three. and as illustrative
of his claims to the poetic part, will give
you some of his poetry. On bis sign he
had this:
| AS you pass by
| For me cast an eye
If you have any money to spend
| Leave it with friend.
One night some of the boys practiced on
the sign with rocks and broke it so that
the next day Truss added this to the
verse:
| Some people to me are so unknd,
Is the reason have no better sign.
And in the newspaper that week he pub
lished this:
hope fresh may come some day.
And wash some rubbish all away;
Then in peace We'll take our rest,
None to disturb, none to modest.