Crawford County, Pennsylvania

History & Biography

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1837 DIRECTORY

Harris’
Pittsburgh Business Directory,
for the Year
1837:
Including the Names of All the
Merchants, Manufacturers, Mechanics, Professional & Men of Business
of
Pittsburgh and Its Vicinity
(Pittsburgh, 1837)

                MEADVILLE, PA.,

                     THE CAPITAL OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

    MEADVILLE is situated on one of the principal tributaries
of the Allegheny, on a stream called by the Aborigines,
“Venango River,” but known now by the name of “French
Creek,” latitude 41 38, thirty-seven miles south from the
town of Erie, on Lake Erie, 90 miles north from Pittsburgh,
and 25 miles from the confluence of the Venango and Alle-
gheny rivers; and is surrounded with a beautiful and fertile
agricultural country.  Pittsburgh, and many of the towns
below, are supplied from Meadville with the principal part
of the cherry, poplar, ash and oak sawed lumber consumed
by them; and also, considerable pine lumber generally de-
scends the Venango, in arks or flat boats of about 40 tons.
There is at present Slack Water Navigation, and Canal from
the Allegheny as high as Meadville, which will doubtless be
extended to Erie, in the course of 3 or 4 years.
    Meadville and its environs contain about 1700 inhabitants;
11 stores; 6 blacksmith shops; 1 edge tool manufactory;
3 hat factories; 2 grist mills; 2 carding and fulling mills;
3 paper mills; 1 oil mill; 1 furnace and plough manufacto-
ry; 4 furniture manufactories; 6 boot and shoe do.; 2 wa-
gon and coach do; 1 chair manufactory; 1 tin plate do;
2 saddle and harness manufactories; 2 pearl and potash do;
                                                            (page 237)
4 tanneries; 3 drug stores; 5 tailor shops; 3 printing offi-
ces; 1 book store; 7 hotels.
    The principal public edifices are:
1 Presbyterian Church,           }
1 Cumberland Presbyterian,   }
1 Episcopal,                            } erected at an expense of a-
1 Methodist,                           } bout $19,000.
1 Baptist,                                }
1 Congregational,                   }
    1 Court House; 1 Academy.
    Allegheny College, now in a flourishing condition, num-
bering generally from 110 to 140 students.  Rev. Dr. Ruter,
President; Rev. Horner J. Clarke, A. M.; Rev. Wm. M-
Burton, Rev. Matthew Simpson, A. M.; Rev. George W.
Clarke, Preparatory Department.
    1 Seminary for young ladies, under the superintendence
of Mrs. G. Purson and Mrs. Jenkins.
    1 Post Office—Daniel Andrews, Postmaster..
    Manufacturers—Wm. Magaw, W. A. V. Magaw, Silas
Townsend.
    Merchants—J. & D. Dick, J. M’Farland & Co., Hastings
& Smith, Douglass & Herr, Shryock & Boilen, Gill & De-
rickson, E. Betts, Andrew Smith, J. Shattuck, Reynolds &
Kenedy, J. P. Davis, Cullum & Thorp.
    Attorneys—R. L. Potter, J. Stuart Riddle, D. M. Farrelly,
C. B. Power, D. Derickson, Gaylor[d] Church, T. J. Fox Al-
der [sic; Alden].
    Judges—H. Shippen, President; John H. Work, Ste-
phen Barlow, Associate do.
    Justices—James Hamilton, J. P. Davis, John Radle,
Wm. Kerr, Samuel Lord.
    Land Agents—John Reynolds, Esq., H. J. Huidekoper,
Esq.