Evening journal., 1902-01-27

The stranger IN New castle Is at
once impressed by the quaintness and
age of the town. and he also is wont
TO marvel at the indifference with
which the residents. native, or other
wise. regards places and things of his
toric import. But there are exceptions
to this rule as to others. and the
bright, schining ones are DR.. John j.
Black and Colonel J. Harry Rogers,
two Of the oldest and best known resi-
dents of the old Delaware town. The
latter talked in an interesting vein OF
its departed glories to a reporter Tor
the Evening Journal yesterday after
noon.
1t cannot be denied that. in the
vernacular of those not over particular
regarding the niceties of speed. New
Castle is a has been" In these days.
the town is as quiet and sleepy and
devoid of progress as an English vii
lage of two hundred years ago. Time
was. however. when it was a centre of
shipping interests and when the flower
or colonial society danced and made
merry within its stately mansions;
when ships from England, France and
Spain and East lndianmen lined the
wharves along the river front and
when personages famous for their
deeds OF valor and learning frequently
visited the town.
The history of New Castle dates
back over 25O years. 1t was some,-
time in the year Of 164O that a little
Swedish barQue sailed up the great
South river and dropped anchor off a
point Of land putting out between two
small creeks and landed its navigators.
who there unfurled the standard Of
the great Gustavus. They called the
place Sandhuken. or Sandy Hook.
Sandhuken then became New Amstel
and was protected by a fort called
Casimer. being governed by a deputy
from the great Dutch settlement, New
Amsterdam. on the North river. It
is on the site of Fort Casimer that
Emmanuel p. e. Church stands. It
was about 1870 that New Amstel, then
numbering about 100 houses, became
New Castle. and was governed by the
English, at first by deputies from the
New York Province. but soon after
ward by William Penn. During his
residence in New Castle Penn lived in
what is known as the Old Tile House,
in Water street, near Harmony, which
was erected in 1857. 1t has been de-
molished only recently, and there are
many people in the old town who value
its thin little sun-baked bricks as SOU
venirs. Another interesting building
which is in a good state of preserva-
tion is the cd Dutch House." near
the Green 1t probably was built by
the early settlers in 1645 or 1850. 1t
is extremely quaint with its low, pro-
iecting roof. with one window in it,
Another house. which has been de-
molished. was on the river front. its
most distinguished tenant being old
Governor Lovelace. Just beyond that
was the beautiful residence, with its
hand carved adornments, of the Rev.
Mr. Ross the first rector of Emmanuel
Church. which was burned
A building that is pointed out to Wis
itors with a cerain degree Of interest
by the older residents is what was for
merly a tavern. known as The Cave"
at the lower end of Water street. The
lower part of it is of stone, while the
upper is Of frame, and in the olden
days there were pOrches on the south
WNNA anu GOAAnNdoA oAutn DNl lAul u
Murphy was it's proprietor, and from
all accounts he kept and dispensed
mighty good liquor The place was
characterized by black sign, about
three by two feet, on which was the
following gem in white letters:
Traveller. as you pass by,
Come take drink as well as I.
The liquor good, the prices low,
Then take a drink before you 60"
The building is just the same now,
as when 1t proudly Haunted the sign
except that the porches have been re-
moved.
One of the most important events in
the history OF New Castle was the be-
ginning and completion of the French
town railroad. Previous to that, travel
was by boat and stage coaches, and it
was no unusual thing for the drivers
of the latter to drive their teams along
the beautiful white sandy beach and
down into the waters of the Delaware
to wash away the stains of travel.
The Frenchtown road was begun in
1880 and was completed in 1888. II
was the second railroad constructed in
this country. the first being between
Albany and Schenectady, a distance OF
Isixteen miles II was begun in 1880
but was finished in 1881.
The Frenchtown road ran from