Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-07-17
THE OLD COSGROvE TAVERN.
fHE DEMOLITION or DhiNhfH"
PLAUE or THE OLDEN TINS.
How Tn. o,d Must Mako way For tho New.
whs,e the Elder Corgro'e Hammered
On III. Anvil and Then Kept bar.
A Famous Family.

"A
aud tobacco exchange. The old tumble.
down frame building, short distance east
of the Pennsylvania railroad passenger sta
ton, and north OF the stone wall on Chestnut
street, extending from Duke to Christian
street, IL no more. II has been torn down
within few days past its dccaying timbers
have been carried away, It's foundations have
been dug up, aud excavations are being made
for the erection OF large -four. story brick
structure, eighty feet long and one hundred
feet deep. The western part OF the new
building, which IN To have depth Of iorty-
i've feet, will bo hotel and restaurant with
large bar room, dining room, sleeping
rooms, ,tc., intended to accommodate
the travelling people The eastern part
will be a tobacco exchange, whore
members of tho tobacco trade will have n
convenient place of meeting aud OF eSchang-
ing the great Lancaster county staple. Iron
balconies will extend along the front oi the
building from ono end to the other the best
of elevators will run from tho top to the bot
tom OF the building electric lights and bells
aud all other modern improvements will he
introduced to make the hotel and tho OK
change desirable stopping place Tor
strangers, travellers and tobacco dealers.
A GLANCE AT THE OLD.
Hut we did not start out To say anything
about the new building but rather to recall
some "reminiscences Of the old one. Just
when II was built We have not been able to
ascertain, but 1t was very early in the pres
ent, II not in the last century. John Rees,
who In over 20 years old, remembers tho
house as long NJ he remembers anythinR,aho
1t was then occupied by John Cosgrove.
Alderman Patrick Donnely, who came to
Lancaster in 1873, and who lived IN house
on the site Of the late Charles H. VENTS
mansion, East orange street, remembers
very well that John Cosgrove and his family
lived at that time in the frame house on
Chestnut street that has Just been torn down,
and had his blacksmith shop on tho southwest
corner OF Orange aud Christian street where
the Jewish temple now stands.
Dr. Jacob Long, 4Ui West King street, who
learned the tailoring trade with Hon. Henry
q. Longs father, corner OF Duke and orange
also remembers this blacksmith shop and the
awe with which ho was inspired ~ he saw
the fiery sparks fly from the white hot iron
AZ John Cosgrovo's muscular arm ham
mered IL on the ringing anvil.
Cosgrove at this time and for nine or Zen
years later had tho contract for shoeiDg the
horses and doing much other work for the
stage company that ran stage coaches from
here TO Philadelphia and other points He
IN described an industrious man ana eN-
ceilent workman, who mado money al his
trade.
on 4 NEw FOUNDATION.
When after much discussion II was deter
mined by the state to build the Philadelphia
n Columbia railroad through Lancaster in
stead of north of il, rs originally surveyed, Il
was ascertained that the new line Of the road
would go right through John Cosgrove's
house, a one-story frame with pump in the
rear OF it Cosgrove protested against this
invasion of his private rights, but the state
took his property, paid the assessed damages,
and further modified him by building stone
basement some twenty feet to the rear and
setting his one-story frame house on top OF
it-thus making his house two stories high.
This was in lS52, at the time the grading Of
the railroad was being done. The big cut
east ot Duke street was an elephant ON the
hands of the contractors, and If we are not
mistaken two or three of them abandoned
their contracts. Hundreds, II not thousands
OF Irish laborers were at work on this and
other parts of the road In or near the city.
They occupied shantes scattered here and
there, but were much in need OF tavern
where they could get their grog. The big
hotels OF the city did not want this class of
customers, and they were turned away.
Even their countryman, the toned,
genial and witty Michael Mc,'rann gave them
the cold shoulder.
1t was suggested to Mr.. COsgrove that his
house was eligibly situated to accommodate
this class of people, and that there was money
init.
Laying down the hammer with which he
had for years worked so faithfully, Mr.. Cos
grove fitted up the lower story OF his house
~ bar.room, named his tavern the Wash
iugton hotel, was granted License and
was soon doing flourishing trade. The
Washington hotel was not a very large one,
nor had the landlord many beds; but he was
never known to turn traveller away. When
the beds were all full 1.-TWO or three in bed
sometimes) he would furnish guests with
lodgings on a soft plank i'll an upstairs room
or the bar-room. The highest price charged
for lodging was the old time "levy" l2l3
cents
his bar may not have been furnished with
tho best of liquors, neither was the price
very high. He used to say to his thirsty Gus
toners "This is none OF your ould cob
webby stuti, but the real article, fresh from
the still, and only cents iigger."
KEPT ORDER WITH A sHILLALAH.
As matter of course the men who in
dulged too freely in the lire-water became
noisy and quarrelsome and INDUCED in
many a fight But the sturdy arm of the
old black smith was usually all tnat was
needed to restore order and IL this tailed
bis blackthorn shillalah was always at hand
and his faithful bulldog not far oil.
During the time the railroad was building
Mr.. Cosgrove probably housed more guests
and sold more whisky than any other land
lord in Lancaster, and for % years afterward
he continued to do a flourishing trade. Th'
court felt IL to he duty to license his house
as he furnished accommodation to those wh'
were not welcome elsewhere. The tramps o
those days were unlike the lazy drove tina
have infested the country in later years
They were mostly honest laborers in searcl
OF work, not lazy rogues in search OF plunder
At the Washington house the weary wan
derer found shelter, a wholesome meal, ant
warm drink.
Besides his tavern property Mr.. Cosgroy
became the owner of several acres of land ol
Rockland street, on which were valuabl
deposits of building sand for which he fount
ready sale. lie aud his boys hauled tn