Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-03-27
SCENES OF THE PAST.
THE THIRD LETTER ON RICHMOND
FIFTY YEARS AGO.
OUR ClTY'S HOTELS AND TAVERNS.
Pictures of the OId-Time Hoste1ries
and Their Guests The Stage
Coaches and Tobacco Rollers
Shipping Here,
written for the Dlspatch.)
Shipping Here.


/, type into Richmond was j. II. White
a hurst, who had small second-stor,
room at No. 10 1-2 west Main. n. Fulle
also had a little shop upstairs at tn
! corner of Main and Thirteenth. Boil
= did fiourishing business, for nearly
l every prominent family had picture:
taken by the wonderful, new process
, nor did they hesitate to pay s. each fol
them. Previous to this, portrait anC
miniature painting was much patron
lied, and 1 well remember r. NJ. Sully
son of the great artist, Thomas Sully
Of England ]. w. Ford, and John b,
Martin, all OF whom had their rooms up
stairs, on Main street. Wigs were then
still much in fashion, and were worn by
many who did not have bald pates. To
supply these, r. Duquesne "a French
NAM, on Main, opposite the Virginia
Bank, did a good business. He was the
inventor OF Il wig which he warranted
mot to blow off by a tempestuous wind"
The china stores were always attrac-
| tive, and the chief of these, those OF AMI
son & Evans-No. 123 west Main, formerly
| Allison d Watts. Mr.. William Allison,
| w. Allison, who recently died. and of
! whom interesting sketch has been
given in the Dispatch. Charles Stebbins,
| on Broad street, also did business in that
line for many years.
OLD-TIME HOSTELRIES.
! But we must leave Main street and
| turn our attention to the hotels. always
! the centre of excitement and attraction
| for the crowds who assembled 10 see
| the arrivals as they would step ,orth
! from the eld-fashioned stage-coach.
| The more euphonious name of hotel had
| just begun to be assumed by many of
| them, especially after the building of
| the Exchange, then kept by Frederick
Boyden, which was considered the
largest and finest south of Washington.
But few still retained the good old
fashioned name Of tavern, OF which were
Bell Tavern, on 46 west Main, kept first
by n. b. Hill, and then by Hiram Chiles;
the Swan Tavern, on Broad, between
Eighth and Ninth, which / believe still
stands, and Shockoe Hill Tavern, be-
tween First and Second streets, kept by
Jacob Woodson, and afterwards called
Brackets Tavern. Then there were the
Globe Hotel afterwards st. Charles),
City Hotel, Eagle Hotel, Farmers Hotel,
Old Market Hdtel, Planters Hotel, Rock
etts Hotel, and several others down
town, while the Powhatan House now
Ford's), and the Washington Hotel were
the principal uptown hostelries. But
the most popular Of all was the Column
ban, kept by mine host Samuel Sublett,
and situated on Shockoe Slip, near the
tobacco warehouse on Cary street This
was a part of the celebrated Randolph
Harrison estate, which embraced all that
section along the river and basin. The |
Columbian was y ba foY,o,,, -,
sort for tobacco planters, who came to |
sell their crops. Its porticos, corridors, |
and low, rambling rooms were continu- |
ally filled by jolly set OF rich growers |
OF the weed, who made its halls extreme |
ly lively. Mordecai gives a very roman
tic story of this spot, as being once the
site of a famous boarding house which
reigned over by a queen (Mrs. David
Meade Randolph. This lady, he says,
was the inventor of the refrigerator,
when was afterwards patented by q
YANKEE who saw 1t I'm her boarding.
house. She is said, also, to have named
Cary street on which her house stood
but the impression is that the thorough
fare had been named long before. for
Colonel Archibald Cary, one of the first
founders OF the town. After the discon-
tinuance Of the old Columbian Cary
street lost much of it's responsibility as
a residence section being chiefly built
up with grogshops and low dens
especially the lower portion Of II. which
became the Five Points" Of Richmond
being dark, dirty, and deyilisJ But the
great IRE OF the evacuation purified it
from all this, having swept the entire
street. and since then it has been built
up with handsome, large warehouses and
wholesale stores, making it the great
commercial mart Of the city.
THE SMALLER TAVERNS
Besides tho hotels proper, there were
smaller taverns end eatino-
houses, called restoratives. scattered
over the city. One l remember quite
we'll. 1t was called Our House-No !
south Thirteenh street-Gy1 was kent
~ Mr.. Charles Gage Thomson. who has
ecestly passed away. The AIhambra
un by i. w. Allen, and thu Pantheon
N Twelfth street, were also famous
escorts. The furthest uptown hosiery
vas the Shockoe Hill Tavern near First
treet on Broad. This was a famous
topplng-place for the traders who came
on the Brook turnpike from the
Mountains IN long professions of huge
wagons, rearing their Vhite-covered ,
ows and sterns high in the air. lie
irritable prairie schooners. These
ehicleS would be drawn by six or eioht
orses decked i'm red flannel. and capari-
oned with numerous bells. whose tin
was music 10 my ear. The
apacity OF these immense wheel-craft
ias enormous, and each enc of them
ouid easily MI small store Here they
'ouid assemble in the vacant lots around
ne tavern, and begin their barter with !.
ne many small grocery dealers near
" who would take their bacon. lard.
sgs, ana varied kinds Of country uro-
uce In exchange for dry goods and
rocerles Tor the country stores. In con-
'quehce or these bargains, the uptown
ierchants did thriving business. IL
as their custom so entice these traders
'ith such advertisements as that en-
oyed oy Bernard Fauth. which inform
4 All persons from the country, at
nding market or on business, that he
'auth) had convenient. enclosed yard
'r their wagons or vehicles. stalls for
leir horses. and rooms and beds: all
which would be furnished free OF
barge 10 customers" This was LIBERAL
,rtainly.
THE TOBACCO ROLLERS.
The tobacco rollers were the next at
action, which wiuld certainly be .
ovclty TO the present age. Seated on
lie back OF OK, a darby would dexter
lsly drive three or four yoke OF bull
cks. behind which would roll a huge
Dgshead Of tobacco. having iron pins
riven In at each end, TO which large