The Old Pike: A History of the National Road, with Incidents, Accidents, and Anecdotes ThereonSearight, Thomas B. (Thomas Brownfield)
History
The Old Pike: A History of the National Road, with Incidents, Accidents, and Anecdotes Thereon
Searight, Thomas B. (Thomas Brownfield)
Cumberland Road; Pennsylvania -- Biography
The next old tavern stand is the "Braddock's Run House." Gen. Braddock
was buried near this house, a day or two after his disastrous defeat by
the French and Indians, at Braddock's Field, near Pittsburg. The exact
spot where he was buried is still pointed out, and can be seen from the
road. This circumstance gave name to the brook here, and the tavern. The
house was built by Charles McKinney, the same person who built the
"Monroe Springs House." He kept tavern here for many years. The house is
a large two-story stone structure. It was subsequently and successively
kept by Robert Shaw, Noble McCormick and William Shaw. This property is
now owned by the heirs of James Dixon, and is not a public house.
Next we come to the "Fayette Springs Hotel," a large stone house built
at an early day by the Hon. Andrew Stewart, who owned the property, and
remained its owner until the day of his death. It was recently sold by
his heirs to Capt. John Messmore, of Uniontown. This house was a
favorite resort for visitors to the Fayette Springs, situate about
three-quarters of a mile distant. In its halcyon days it had its ten-pin
alley, billiard tables, swing, and other appliances of pleasure and
comfort, but they have all passed away, and probably by reason of hard
times, and the abatement of interest in the Springs may never again be
brought into requisition. Here merry parties of young folks from
Uniontown and elsewhere were accustomed to assemble and enjoy a hearty
supper, engage in the dizzy mazes of the dance, and when it was all over
"go home with the girls in the morning." Mahlon Fell and Tom Collins
were the old-time fiddlers, and furnished the music, which in its line
was of superior excellence. They were occasionally reinforced by Jacob
B. Miller, esq., who tendered his services without pecuniary reward, and
in the language of the day, "could make a fiddle talk." Collins is dead.
[S]Fell and Miller are both living. The former has joined the church and
abandoned the fiddle, while the latter still retains his taste and
talent for music, and often entertains his friends in a private manner,
with many of the popular tunes of the olden time. The "Fayette Springs
House" has been kept in turn by Cuthbert Wiggins, John Risler, B. W.
Earl, Samuel Lewis, William Snyder, William Darlington, John Rush, Major
Swearingen, Redding Bunting, Cuthbert Downer, and perhaps others.
[Footnote S: All now dead.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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