Winchester in 1812-14

Pam Brinegar September 1999

Source: The Winchester Democrat, Clark County, Kentucky, 26 February1915

The Democrat is pleased to give to its readers in this issue one of the mostinteresting historical articles that has ever appeared in its columns. Everyreader should preserve this valuable information for it is certainly worth aplace in the scrap book. We are deeply indebted to Prof. R.S. Cotterill, who wasuntil recently a valuable member of the faculty of the Kentucky WesleyanCollege, but now a resident of Madison, Wisconsin. In research, Prof. Cotterill accidentally found some interesting history of Clark county which he promises tothe Democrat. Prof. Cotterill is an historian of great ability and it has beensuggested that Kentucky should urge him to compile a true history of theCommonwealth. His first article follows:

At the time of our second war with Great Britain, Winchester had reached themature age of 21 years. It now contained some four hundred and fifty inhabitantswho were already beginning to talk of the great future of their "city."Winchester was in fact the seventh town of Kentucky in size and the first inoptimism. Louisville, Lexington, Maysville, Washington, Paris and Frankfortoutranked it on the former count. The buildings of the town numbering not overone hundred, were grouped for the most part, along Main street--the onlythoroughfare with an official label. There were scattered dwellings along theroad that led to Lexington, Paris, Mt. Sterling and Boonesborough. It may besaid at this point that there were two roads to Lexington--Todds' andStrode's--and that the main road to Boonesborough was down Lower Howard's Creek.

The industrial center of Winchester in 1812-14 was not in Winchester at allbut down along the afore-mentioned creek. Here were located the factories--thefulling houses, the tanneries and the grain mills. This was one of the largestfactory centers west of the Alleghenies in 1812 and had a wide reputation. Theroad from the now reservoir to the Kentucky river was lined with houses everyhundred yards and the Howard Creek settlements promised great developments. Theruins of some of these places are still to be seen, but otherwise the creek isgiven over to the black bass and negroes--though I have never seen the bass.

Winchester in 1812-14 enjoyed (or at least possessed) one newspaper ofconsiderable influence. This was the Advertiser, a four-page publication, issuedevery Saturday by Martin and Patten. It was printed in a brick building oppositethe then post office. The subscription was $2.50 per year if paid within threemonths after subscribing and $3.00 if paid at the end of the year. The editorsapparently did not think it worth while to give rates of advance payments; itwas evidently a remote contingency. The editor requested that all letters to himbe prepaid.

From the columns of the Advertiser many things can be gleaned concerning theWinchester of that time. Educational facilities were provided by the WinchesterAcademy. In 1814 this was under the direction of Mr. Amzi Lewsi late of NewYork, who undertook to give instruction in "Spelling, Reading, Writing,Arithmetic, English Grammar, the Latin and Greek languages and the variousbranches of Mathematics," not such a light task for one lone manconsidering that he had also to provide the rod wielding that formed such a bigitem in the educational bill of fare.

The people of Winchester were able in 1814 to maintain a Library. TheAdvertiser of Sept 2^nd contains a call from Samuel Hanson,Secretary, for a meeting in J. Ritchie's store of the share holders for thepurpose of electing new directors. It is astonishing to note the quantity andquality of the books read by early Kentuckians. Ponderous tomes of History andTravel and dry treatises on ethics and politics formed the bulk of the work. Thewillingness to read such formidable books was probably due largely to the factthat newspapers were scarce and amusements few.

In fact, there were but two mails per week for Winchester from the east.These came over the old Indian road from Pittsburg, via Chillicothe, Marietta,Maysville and Paris. Theoretically the mails arrived on Mondays and Fridays, butin actual practice they came according to their own sweet will. This unethicalconduct aroused the choler in Advertiser to just wrath, as it depended on theeastern newspapers for the news. It may be said in passing that the Advertisercontained no local news but was made up of extracts from the eastern papers.That the mails did actually arrive, however, is evident by the list in theAdvertiser of Oct. 8^th, of nearly one hundred people whose mail layat the post-office uncalled for. This large number cannot be accounted for evenby the fact that the grand jury was in session. Thomas Pickett was postmaster.

The leading hostelry of Winchester at that time was the Winchester Hotel.This was originally under the management of Edmund Calloway, but in November1814, passed into the hands of Hay Taliaferro who, as is evident from theAdvertiser ran a tavern calculated to satisfy the wants of men and beasts.

The advertising columns of the Advertiser are, on the whole the mostinteresting part of the paper. From them we learn that Dillard _____ was willingto pay ten dollars _________ slave, Reuben, and that a similar reward wasoffered for the return of one Scipio, who had taken French leave from hismaster, Joseph Gatewood, on Howard's Creek--the said Scipio having donned a suitof Gatewood's clothes when he set out for pastures new.

From the advertising too we learn that Joshua Lampton was running a liverystable and that Geo. C. Taylor & co., were paying the highest cash price fortobacco provided it were delivered at the official warehouse on Kentucky river.All tobacco at that time had to be "inspected" by state officers andthat the "highest cash price" hovered around two cents. A noticeappears of an overcoat found in the Friends Meeting House: one of J.L. Hickman "begging,soliciting, praying and inviting" his customers to come and settle up andone of Walter Karrick offering to trade a negro woman for "whiskey, cyderand flour." It would be interesting to know what was the rate of exchangebetween these commodities and human flesh.

The business life of Winchester seemed in 1814 to be well on an equalitywith the other conditions. There were ten mercantile establishments advertisingregularly and apparently carrying a full line of goods. The most important ofthese judging from their ads were Cast and Halley, Clark and Pelham, Browning &Co., Coons and Crosthwait and Edward McGuire. These all brought their goods fromPhiladelphia going to that city every autumn to lay in their stock. These goodswere brought overland from Philadelphia, then down the Ohio to Limestone andthence on wagons to Winchester. A slight advance of 200 per cent over thePhiladelphia price was the result of this means of transportation. The merchantshad two prices--a cash and credit--the latter being the higher. Cash, however,was scarce and produce was taken by the merchants. Tobacco certificates played agreat part in the trading system. Under the head of merchandise the merchantsadvertised Bibles, playing cards, brass kettles, patent medicines and may otherthings.

Finally, the advertising columns of the Advertiser contained frequentnotices from the Winchester benedicts that they would not consider themselvesresponsible for the debts of their wives. This perhaps throws some light on theability of so many "merchandise" houses to do business and alsoexplains the necessity Mr. Hickman was under for "begging, soliciting,praying and inviting" his customers to settle up.