Winchester in Olden Times (ca. 1825-1840)

By I.N. Massie

Serialized in the Clark County Republican, April 28 - May 19, 1916.

(Some years ago the late Mr. I.N. MASSIE, father of our good citizen, W.R. MASSIE, the shoe man, wrote his recollections of Winchester, and they are so interesting that we are publishing them. They show that we were quite a manufacturing center at one time.--Editor, Clark County Republican)

I have been asked to write a brief history of the number of manufactures that were in Winchester in the early part of my life.

1st. Elija HERNDON was a cooper and market master--made churns, pails, buckets, tubs, barrels, washing machines, and nearly everything that could be made of wood. Wm. HICKMAN, SPILLMAN and BROWN manufactured furniture. John BRUNER, Sam and Thomas BARR tanned hides and made leather of them. Jas. KEITH made boots and shoes...

John OWSLEY made shoes and worked several hands. LINKENFELTER made saddles and harnesses and worked ten hands including his apprentice boys. Later James TURNBULL manufactured saddles and harness and worked 10 to 12 hands.

Henry KOHLASS (Uncle Henry as he was called) had a small forge in his grocery and made nails and sold them at 25 cents a lb. Many of the roofs were fastened on with pegs. Jesse HART and John MCCLURE manufactured wagons and did all manner of blacksmithing. They worked from 3 to 6 hands each. Later James ALLEN and brother manufactured plows (called the rock hill plow) and made wagons, and did all manner of blacksmithing.

John BROUGHTON and KERRICK ran an oil mill and press and made oil from flax and hemp seed. Also ran a carding factors and grist mill in the house now owned and occupied by Miss Lizzie FOLEY. John WILLIAMS ran a wool carding and spinning factory in the brick house now occupied as a church. And in the same house spinning cotton was run for a short time. These factories employed 20 hands.

One important factor in the running machinery of Winchester was an old black man by the name of Dick MCFALL who bought up marketing and hauled it to Lexington. He was a smart, shrewd old trader and I heard it said of him that in cold weather he would warm a pole and hold it up to the chicken roost and the fowls would come down on the pole....

There were three tanneries in Winchester. James BARR, Thomas BARR, and John BRUNER the three tanneries, worked about thirty hands in preparing the leather for use and sale. Mrs. SLUSS and daughter did spinning and weaving. Elija DICKERSON was an up-to-date tailor at that time. Later Philip POOL and A. BOWREN were the duce tailors of the town. Willis COLLINS and Wm. RAINEY were the school teachers. They taught in the house first built on the ground, where now stands the present magnificent house for free schools. Wm. R. MASSIE manufactured hats of all grades from the wool plug to the finest Beaver hats that sold at from $10 to $12, and worked from ten to twenty hands, including the three apprentice boys. Wm. ADAMS made hats later. Joseph DECREET a Frenchman, manufactured hats about the time Wm. R. MASSIE was in business and he was the first man to establish the cash principle. ...

We had in those days watch makers, tinkers and molders. They had molds to run pewter in to mold milk basin and silver spoons.John BURGESS was a manufacturer of spinning wheels and reels and winding blocks, looms and frames for working the chain ready for the loom. Old man CLAMPETT and wife did dying for chain filling for clothing of any kind.

For pastime the men throwed long bullets or pitched horseshoes at a peg drove in the ground. I could tell you of the peculiarities of many men of that day and time, but I was on the manufacturing done in Winchester at that time--about 1825 to 1840. In 1828 President JACKSON came through Winchester on his way to Washington. I was going to school to A.C. WARD. The one thing wanting now in the city of Winchester is 3 or 4 manufactures.... I omitted to mention Benjamin BUCKNER's hemp and bag factory. He worked 60 hands.

Later DIDLAKE & BULLOCK ran a rope mill, and worked 40 hands. Later DR. Warren FRAZIER bought and hackled hemp and shipped east the tow which was made into rope.

We had many small factories run in Winchester, such as Aunt Fanny COLE's beer and African kitchen ginger cake two for 5 cents apiece.

I will first tell of some of the peculiarities of some of the characters who lived in Winchester about the year 1828 and later. John WARD lived in the house now occupied by Dr. Sherley WARD's family were musicians, and had private dances twice a week during the winter. Old man WARD was General Manager or superintendent of all improvements made upon the streets and alleys of the town. The first rock that were ever put upon the street set up edgeways about 16 feet wide, and they were shouldered up by dirt and rock at the sides and then covered over with pebbles and dirt, and it made a very rough driveway. One important factor in making those pikes was Aunt Peggy WARD, an old colored woman, who drove an ox cart and hauled the rock from the quarry, and one of the peculiarities of the said WARD, was that she succeeded in getting all of the jobs.

The next matter of importance in the building up of the town of Winchester was major HERNDON, who was a trustee and marketmaster. While we had no mayor, the leading men or trustees managed the affairs of the town. Alfred BOWREN was Jailor and did all of the public whipping in front of the Court House...

There was a block in front of the Court house where the owners of slaves put up and sold them to the highest bidder, at public outcry....

The oil mill and factory heretofore referred to down below Battle Row; my father bought all that pertained to the said mill with the large wheel and moved it out to his farm and set up a first class grist mill, and ran said grist mill for thirty years, doing all grinnding of corn, wheat, rye, &c., and supplying a family of 30 people black and white.

The merchants of Winchester at this time were Willim POSTON, Alex PRESTON, Benj. F. TURNER and others. The goods were bought from the cities of Philadelphia and Louisville and were hauled through in wagons mostly. POSTON went through by land on horse back to Philadelphia to purchase his goods, and carried his money in saddle bags on his horse, and carried on another horse a set of tinkers tools for the purpose of deceiving the people, making them believe he had no money....

Some of the principal grocery merchants at that time were Bugg ALLEN, Beverley BLUNT, John BROUGHTON on Battle Row. Henry KOHLHASS and Bugg ALLEN bought all of the country produce that was offered on the market....

When I was a small boy, there would be three or four fights on Battle Row every County court day. Sam RICHARDSON, the COLENs and PALMERS were the "bullies." ...

The next man of importance was Capt. TRAMEL. Sometime after he and Judge FRENCH (father of our C.S. FRENCH), introduced General JACKSON to the people while the General was on his way to take the oath as President of the United States, TRAMEL was having an imaginary drill of his company in his back yard, where he fell backwards into his own cellar.

In the process of time, some one erected a flouring mill, and A. PATRICK put up a bakery. The improvement in transportation and the cheaper rates on goods induced or encouraged men to bring on large stocks of merchandise, and the town began to spread out until we began to "put on airs" and we called Winchester a City....

In my vision I see the old square brick Court House, with its one story brick offices for the clerks. Sam TAYLOR was Circuit Clerk and James BULLOCK was County Clerk. The first floor, or standing room, was paved with brick. The next room, about one-third of the court room, was fenced off with a paling fence to keep the people out of the jury rooms. Then a space of 12 or 14 feet wide was floored, and a lattice or banisters cut off a space for the jurors and lawyers. A third was an elevation erected for the Judge and his Clerk. Four large columns supported the upper floor, which was divided by a large hall, on both sides of which were rooms for juries to retire to make a verdict. The jail at that time was in the building now occupied by the Winchester Sentinel.

The prominent lawyers at that time were: Judge Jas. SIMPSON, Chiilton ALLEN, Samuel HANSON, George SMITH and others.

Among the prominent doctors were: Dr. John MILLS, Dr. Joseph DUNCAN, and Dr. Andrew HOOD.

Later on J,.W. PARRISH ran a large grocery and hardware store in connection. In 1857-8 CLINKENBEARD, OGDEN & Co., opened a large combined store of stoves, tinware, hardware and groceries and did a large and thriving business. At the close of 1858 they had $20,000 credited out among the people. In 1859 the Stay law was passed, then the civil war came on and broke the above named firm "flat." ...

When I was a boy it was the custom to have three days election and on those days the colored women would set tables around the market house to feed the people that would buy and Mr. BROUGHTON would sell them whiskey and if any person happened to get drunk, Danuel BOLIN, who kept an inn on the corner of Main and Broadway, would take them in and lodge them at a reasonable price and let them go home in the morning. On one occasion at the close of the election a barrel of mint julep was set out in the Court House yeard (sic) with half-pint cups fastened to it, and forty-seven men slept in the yard that night.

One important man I omitted to mention was Bob WEST, who was seller of nearly all stock or any property put up on the street at public outcry.

The band of musicians who played for the regimental musters and on other occasions were composed of the following: John WELLS, the fifer, who has never been excelled; Rolly SUTHERLAND, who beat the small drum and Will ANDERSON the bass drummer, who was a good one. The most thrilling incident in my memory was escorting John S. WILLIAMS' company out of town when he started to the Mexican war with his volunteer independent company; the band played the tune of "the girl I left behind me," and many tears were shed by the boys and their sweethearts and the sympathizing friends that came to see them start.