Smyrna times., 1947-03-20
Know Your Community
Smyrna
Long Ago


We have been able to discover
there was nothing upon South
Main Street below the Samuel
Cats brick residence next to the
cannery, now owned by George C.
Rothwell next to Rothwell's Grain
cry, except Denning's carriage
shop and double dwelling near
the Millpond. Scarcely anything
but vacant lots and the old school
house represented South street; or
Delaware Street, Mt. Vernon, then
Methodist Street, was almost va
cant between the residences near
the head of Market Street and the
Peterson and Mustard residence,
now next to the home of DR.. c. j.
Prickett and the tannery which
stood near the present site of the
button factory. On east Commerce
merce Street at the corner of East
street, stood on one corner, the
Solomon soap factory, where Mrs.
Clarence Armstrong now lives; on
the opposite corner, vacant lot,
now occupied by the Bailey prop
erty; on the northeast corner stood
the lottle old brick jail-followed
since by the Episcopal rectory,
and on the southeast corner an
ancient yellow brick house with
cutters in front deep enough for
rivers, which at one time was the
home of Piner Mansfield, but was
rebuilt by Ayres Stockley and is
now occupied by Miss Margaret
Mcdonald. On West Commerce
Street there was, except the old
Temperance Hail., where THE
SMYRNA TIMES was first pub
lished and the Mcdowell property
nothing between the present resi-
dence of ]. e. DeFord and that of
w. o. Hoffecker, now occupied by
A. Homer Smith on the south side.
Scarcely anything above the
J. w. Tucker Store, now the Fretz
Building, upon the north side.
David Lockwood's drug store and
postoffice, now Anne's Beauty
Shoppe; Simon Spearman's store,
now Everhart Brothers Electrical
Store; Thomas Carrow's store,
changed to Stevenson's ice cream
saloon now Boyles' Grocery all had
high steps at the entrance. The
entire face of Main Street, be-
tween Mt. Vernon and Commerce
has been changed, while above Mt.
Vernon there are no remnants of
that day although the Cummins
and and Spruance homes, which
included DR.. C. ]. Prickett's home
stood for many years.
The principal jeweler in those
days was Piner Mansfield, who
was also a local preacher and
dentist and so was prominent
member of the community. Co
caine, novacane and gas were un-
known then and straight pull
and a twist with the key left much
to be desired. DR.. Needham, DR..
Perkins, DR.. S. M. Fisler and DR..
VIM. Daniel cured the fevers and
terrified the patients with jalap
and castor oil and bitter qriinine,
although the last won profitable
fame by saving the life of a laud-
anum victim by the first use in
this part of the world, of the
stomach pump. That instrument
was as novel as were musical in
.struments in the churches in the
days when Uncle Peter Lowber,
Charles and Denny Stevenson and
their brethren furnished melody in
the old Methodist Westinghouse
where the slaves in the galleries
sat higher than their masters. The
Presbyterians, having lost by de-
cay, their picturesque old brick
church which stood where now is
their cemetery, had then no abid-
ing place and were destined to
worship in the second story of the
old school house No. 5. The Epis-
copalians abandoning their very
old church in Duck Creek removed
to their present building erected
through the efforts of John Cum
minis, Jacob Raymond, John and
Eben Cloak and others whose
names were not recorded.
At this period but one bank ex-
isted in Smyrna and in 1855 Smyr-
ma, its limits increased to one mile
square, had advanced to coal oil
street lamps, while its affairs were
conducted by five commissioners.
DR.. Clawson who later became
president of the Commission also
owned and conducted, through as
sistants, the Smyrna Seminary in
the old Friends Meeting House.
seyXyo rdvq Hallu later q phOtOpraph