The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-12-16
Her Old Inns
Some Curious Spots
in Philadelphia.

pbase of old city life still remain IN the
form of certain Uaverns on North Second
end on North Third streets, between
arch street and Poplar. The Red Lion,
the Rising sun, The Bulls Head, the
Black Horse, the Barley Sheaf-the taV-
erns have such names as these, and they
have arched and covered driveways Tor
WAGONS and coaches. The driVeWays
open into great square court yards that
are ceIed with the blue sky, walled by
the brick sides of the tavern and lis
stables, and surrounded by a sort OF
balcony which was used, in the old
davs. by the rosy chambermaid, who
threw kisses from it to the young farmer
departing homeward in his Conestoga
wagon. The balcony serves now Ior
wagon barn
To enter one Of the courtyards is to
be suddenly transplanted from the Phila-
delpbia of today to the Philadelphia Of
q hundred years ago He who enters
Is stiu in the heart Of a city, but this
Is 2. city stiu in its infancy, city with
much Of the simple country soil from
which 1t sprung still clinging to its gar
ments. Here chickens and geese saun-
ter to and fro. A COW gazes dreamily
at a milking stool Old farming impie-
ments lie in corners. And the sunken
floor Of the yard is Of those round, IN
even stones which Howard Pyle loves
to draw in his quaint pictures.
All this is due TO the curbstone market
which vanished in 1865. The market was
on North Second and North Third streets
and extended from Fairmount avenue to
Vine street. It was conducted by the
farmers Of Bucks county, who drove
wagon loads Of produce to town, and
form the curbs sold the stuff to the city
folks. The farmers needed board for
themselves. and hence the hotels sprang
up and they needed shelter for their
teams, and hence the quaint hotel court
yards.
Lewis Sheets remembers the curbstone
markets well He lives at No. 155 Dana
street I'm a tiny, drab-cclored house OF
wood lie said yesterday that he was a
stove m0ulder by trade.
This neighborhood has fallen lower
and lower ever since the curbstone mar
kets were done away with. In the Old
market days we had fine old families
living about here, and there were big,
that the markets must cease, I went
around with a petition to keep the mar
kets up, but though I got a good many
signere, the law went into effect just
the same as though 7 hadn't troubled
myself Since then the neighborhood
has been dying. You won't find her
now such people as we used to have,
such people as the Deuingers, the Mill
wards. DR. Noble. and the Quaker Yerk-
eses." said Mr.. Sheets.
People used to come from all over
town TO buy from the big, covered
wagons of the farmers" he went on.
''The street had a fine. busy look on
market days. Tt resembled South street.
only it was more refined. The farmers
were a handsome set Of men. They
looked like BIulerltes. They wore boots
with brass toes and blue tops and their
long white coats had little capes on the
shoulders. They all wore high silk hats
and they let their whiskers and hair
grow very long
The Bulrs Head IS Just above the Ris-
iur sun. Tt has, like all other taverns
IT'S covered driveway and its open court
and in it's court the beginnings Of the
very first steam railway I'm America was
born Thomas Leiper. a quarryman
was about to connect his quarries on
Crum creek with Ridley creek by a rail
road lie invited a. number Of scientists
IN meet him at the Bulls Head. and in
the courtyard he exhibited q working
model Of his proposed road.
Robert IT. Patterson, Calender Irvine
and John Glenn were among those pres
ent and the engineer was Reading
Howell. The original draft Of the rail
way was made by John Thomson, Of
Delaware county. whose son. the late
John Edgar Thomson. at one time presi-
dent of the Pennsylvania railroad com
panv. presented the draft some years ago
"a the Delaware county institute OF
science
THE Barley Sheaf. on Third street. be-
low Vine, has a veranda with a railing
Of black iron on which are cut huge
yelow1 sheaves Of barley. From this no
TEL before the days of steam a number
NJ The stage coaches ran. The Barley
Sheaf has a courtyard big enough to ac-
commo5ate q hundred stage coaches.
The Black Horse on Second street
above Canowhnl. has q doorway Of an
admirable colonial design, and in its day
was great hostelry
The Rising sun tavern al Second and
Poplar streets is O typical relic Of the
old market days. Probably nothing has
been changed there for a hundred years
Tn the courtyard chickens and ducks and
farm wagons lead an unstrenuous life
and the porches look down upon then
resemble those surrounding the court
yards OF the old London taverns from
which the stages used to start so cheer
ily on frosty mornings I'm the novels o.
cherries T1f,l-ars Treizo +r, +-,.,--, ,