Southwestern Pennsylvania’s historic buildings add to character of region
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
McMillian Hall when it was constructed with new wings.
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
The first home of Washington Academy, which is on the current location of Main Street Pavilions.
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
The Smith Iron-Front Building on the northwest corner of Main and Beau streets around 1900
The Smith Iron-Front Building on the northwest corner of Main and Beau street in the 1880s
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
The Smith Iron-Front Building on the northwest corner of Main and Beau streets in 2008
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
Rothwell Studio 56 on North Main, the original location of William Smith Store
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
Washington Trust Company Building in the early 1900s
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
Trust Building in the 1880s
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
The fire at the Hotel Main in 1899
In the three years Washington County Historical Society has been publishing the “Looking Back” series of columns in the Observer-Reporter, we have told stories of people and events that have helped to shape Southwestern Pennsylvania.
What about the buildings and locations around the region we might drive by every day? Do we really know the history of those buildings and locations? What stories do they have to tell?
It is time we focus on those places.
Over the next several weeks we will take a journey through the region to see some of the structures and places that make up the rich history and heritage of our region. Today we will look at a few historic buildings in Washington.
Washington Trust Company Building (southeast corner of Main and Beau streets)In September 1783, John Purviance purchased the lot and opened a tavern, which he ran until 1805. He closed the tavern, but continued to live there until 1815 when he bought land west of Washington and laid out lots for what would become Claysville. He rented the property to Mrs. Mary McCammant.
McCammant previously operated the Yellow Tavern, which was located on the North East corner of Main and Wheeling Streets, with her husband. After her husband’s death, she opened the Sign of George Washington Tavern on Purviance’s property. In 1820, John Flemming bought the property and opened the Philadelphia & Kentucky Inn. Flemming had great success at the location because of the extensive travel on the National Road, which ran past his front door.
Flemming decided to move west, and in 1838, sold the property to Dr. Samuel Murdoch. Murdoch demolished the wood-framed tavern and built a three-story brick building he called the “American Inn.” By 1847, Henry Fulton became owner and renamed the inn to the “Fulton House.” Following the Civil War, the property was purchased by John Little. In 1870, Little added an addition on the Beau Street side of the structure and in the 1880s renamed it the “Hotel Main.”
On Jan. 6, 1899, at around 4:40 a.m., a woman working in the kitchen of the hotel discovered a fire. The fire quickly spread throughout the building and into the adjoining lot. The fire was the worst Washington had known to this point. The city had recently installed a fire system, but because of the cold winter weather, it was completely frozen. In total, five buildings, including a livery stable, were destroyed and three people were killed. One onlooker said it looked as though “the world was on fire.”
After the fire, the property was purchased by Washington Trust Company, and the building that currently stands on the lot was erected in 1903. The bank was located on the first floor, with professionals such as doctors, real estate agents and doctors renting the upper floors. Although the Trust Company failed to survive the Great Depression and closed in 1931, the building has housed various other banks and prominent professionals.
McMillan Hall (Washington & Jefferson College campus)Washington Academy was chartered by Pennsylvania General Assembly September 24, 1787. Its first home was the log courthouse, which was located on Main Street where the parking lot across from the Observer-Reporter building is now. In 1791, a fire destroyed the original log Washington County Courthouse, leaving Washington Academy without anywhere to hold classes.
In 1793, the trustees of Washington Academy authorized three men, James Brice, Absalom Baird and David Bradford, to form a committee to build a new building on property that was donated by William Hoge.
The foundation and walls of that building were finished in the fall of that year. But construction of the building was halted because of the rising tensions of the Whiskey Rebellion. The trustees were split on the issue of the excise tax, and the conflict made it difficult to raise additional funds.
Following the end of the Whiskey Rebellion, construction resumed and the building was completed in 1796. In 1806, the trustees of Washington Academy petitioned the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and a charter was granted for Washington College. Two wings were added to the building in 1816 to accommodate a larger enrollment and expanded curriculum.
By 1834, another expansion was planned as the college continued to grow. The trustees approved the construction of the “New College” now known as Old Main. To make room for the new building, it was decided to move McMillan Hall. A new foundation was laid, and over the course of a week, the building was lifted and slowly moved to its new location.
McMillan Hall is named after college founder and Presbyterian missionary, John McMillan. It is the eighth-oldest academic building in the country, and in 1977 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It currently houses the president’s office, office of communications, and the alumni and development offices.
Smith Iron-Front Building
(northwest corner of Main and Beau streets)William Smith came to Washington from Uniontown in the early 1850s. He had operated a successful haberdashery in Uniontown, but decided he could expand his business by moving to Washington. He initially rented the lower floor of the old Rothwell Photography building on North Main Street and operated a clothing and general store with his son, William Wrenshall Smith.
As the business grew, Smith and his son decided to purchase the lot on the northwest corner of Main and Beau streets. There they constructed a three-story brick building. A July 17, 2017, Observer-Reporter article states, “It is the only iron-clad building in Washington and, according to Knestrick (Old Buildings On Main Street, Washington), while decorating buildings with iron began in the 1830s, Smith’s full treatment of an iron front may have been one of the first to be built in the United States. The style had its heyday between the 1850s and 1880s, when “cast iron columns, cornices, balusters and brackets and arched windows were put on buildings to decorate them instead of stone.'”
Smith and his son operated the haberdashery and general store in the building for nearly four decades before it was sold, and the Murphy Dry Goods store opened. Over the years, the building has housed a printing shop, theatre, business college and many remember it as the home of Washington Arts. Today, most citizens probably know the building for Brother’s Family Restaurant.
Next week, we will look at a few historic structures from Canonsburg. The earliest incorporated city in Washington County, Canonsburg has an interesting history, and there are many stories to tell of its historic structures.
Clay Kilgore is executive director of Washington County Historical Society.