Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-08-08
EVENING CHAT

EvLNlN0 N[H
Very few of the people who stroll
along the river front to view the inn
proVements being made by the Cum
berland Valley Railroad realize that
the section of park lying just south
of Mulberry street is the very oldest
part of Harrisburg. 1t is the district
which was Harris Ferry when George IL
ascended the throne of Great Britain
and was an active place fifty years
before Wolfe died. in taking Quebec
from the French. According to ira
ditions and fairly trustworthy records
II is 200 years since John Harris
stopped at the ford of the Susquehanna
about where the line of the Vanderbilt
piers was constructed, although 1t was
not until 1893 that he patented the
! land on which the lower half of Har-
risburg stands. The ford was in use
by traders before 1900 and Indians
crossed about where the Reading
trains roll over the high bridge long
| before Columbus caravel touched
San Salvador. Harris built his first
cabin. or blockhouse, called Fort
| Harris" within the limits of Harris
| Park, about $50 to 200 feet south of
where he lies buried, and men are liv-
Ing who could probably trace its lines.
| The first well sunk was not far away.
! The site of the mulberry tree where
: tradition says he was about to be
! burned when saved by Indians from
! the Conodoguinet is inside the enclos-
| ure where Harris sleeps. Thus
within a small section of the river
! front is the beginning of Harrisburg,
and as the State is commencing to
| mark historic sites in the siXty-seVen
counties and to place a tablet within
| Dauphin county it behooves Harris
| burg TO spend a little of its abundance
| of money in appropriate marking of
| the place where il began. The per-
/ son who visits Philadelphia, Pitts
! burgh, Fredericksburg, Boston or
| Charleston, any one of the places
which have high spots in American
| history, is struck by the care taken
to mark the early places, and this has
| been done by scores of other cities
! which take pride in showing from
what humble beginnings they have
come. Few of the cities of Pennsyl-
vania have an origin so interesting
and it is regrettable that it is accepted
as a matter of course that such places
as Harris Fort and Ferry sites exist.
AS stated, the Pennsylvania His
torical Commission, acting in conJunc-
tion with the Dauphin County His
torical Society, plans to erect per-
manent marker on the most notable
historic site in Dauphin county. It is
| likely that this marker will be placed
at Fort Hunter, which was an outpost
in Colonial days and a place of refuge
during the French and Indian War.
Old Paxton Church, with nearly two
centuries of activity to its glory, offers
aaother interesting place, but IL is al
ready marked, and it seems to be the
policy to note those points which
were fortifications rather than those
which were used for worship or busi-
ness. Fort Hunter, which is one of
10 intarpGtinU n nlaCnS
vicinity, still preserves many attrac-
tions for the historian. The fort was
located on point which commands
broad view of the Susquehanna and
traces of old works and sallyports are
to be found.
Fort Hunter, unlike Fort Harris, as
| the stockadcd cabin of Harris was
called. was erected by the settlers.
Harris built fortifications to protect
himself and his pelts and stores. His
stout building was standing probably
forty years before necessity caused
the erection of the fort at Hunters
Mills. Just when Fort Hunter was
built is not known, but 1t is supposed
To have been about 174S or 1850. as
Colonial records of a few years later
refer to it. The fort stood on the
site of the mansion of John w. Reilly.
This house, however, dates back only
100 years, having been built in 1914
by Archibald McAllister on the land
occupied by the old blockhouse. Hunt
er's Mills was stopping place just
beyond Harris Ferry and it is sup
posed to have been fortified because
the Indians had a fort of their own
! on Second Mountain and were in the
| habit of gathering there and then
making raids, retreating to the high
| point iutting out into the river when
| their deviltry was over.
] The state commission has already
marked the old magazine at Fort Au-
| gusta, near Sunbury, which is asso-
| ciated with the activities of William
| Maclay in Colonial times and is one of
| the best examples of early buildings
| connected with fort to be found in
| this section. The marking of this spot
| attracted much attention from people
IVersed in historical matters and
| stimulated interest up the two branches
| of the Susquehanna in the commence
ration of places of Importance in state
/ history. The commission is to-day
| engaged in looking over the site of
| Fort McCord. short distance from
| Chambersburg, and will visit the sites
| of Fort Louden and Fort Lyttleton,
| which were places of refuge for the
colonists in the early days. These
| forts were part of the chain which
| extended along the Blue Ridges east
! ern slope from Easton down into
| Maryland and Virginia, the valley
! they protected being the line followed
| by Scotch and Irish. who have left an
| irdelible impress upon the history of
| the country. Later on other interest
| ing points not commemorated will be
! officially marked and future gem
| erations will not be in ignorance of
the part played in the frontier wars by
| the early residents of the state. The
! Commonwealth is doing much to per-
| petuate the early history by its pub
| lications and the markers to be put up
will tell the story to those not familiar
| with the books and who may not have
/ learned of the historic significance
| through local tradition or family
| legend.
| The markers to be placed by the
! State will likely be metal keystones
| with the arms of the state at the top
| and appropriate statements, the whole
/ to be surrounded by framework which
| will protect it and at the same time
attract the attention of the passer- by
so that he may pause for a few mo-
ments and let his mind linger on the
stirring times of almost a score of
| decades agone.
FATHERS DAY
| Bring forth Pas last years derby hat;
| crown it with posies gay;