A JOURNEY FROM BALTIMORE TO LOUISVILLE
IN
1816: DIARY OF WILLIAM NEWTON
MERCER
Edited by EDWIN ADAMS DAVIS and JOHN C. L. ANDREASSEN
Introduction.
William Newton Mercer, surgeon and
planter, banker and
philanthropist, Unionist and
Confederate, was one of the most
noted citizens of middle nineteenth
century New Orleans. He
was born in Cecil County, Maryland, in
1792, scion of a well
known family, and after being educated
in medicine under Dr.
Benjamin Rush at the University of
Pennsylvania, entered the
army as an assistant surgeon just prior
to the War of 1812.1 He
saw honorable service at Bladensburg2
and at the close of the con-
flict was ordered to New Orleans where
he became post surgeon.
He kept a diary of his journey from
Baltimore to the "Crescent
City" and it is that portion of the
diary from Baltimore to Louis-
ville which is here published.3 He was soon transferred to Nat-
chez, Mississippi, where he shortly
resigned from the army to
enter private practice. Within a brief
period he gained the social
recognition of the aristocratic Adams
County planting and com-
mercial class and eventually married
Anna Frances Farrar, a
member of one of the oldest families of
the region. At the death
of his father-in-law he became the
manager of some of the largest
cotton holdings in the state and seems
to have displayed unusual
ability in his new vocation. Shortly
after the death of his wife
he retired from active plantation life
and removed to New Orleans
where he invested heavily in real
estate, commercial and financial
interests. He erected a handsome
dwelling4 on Canal Street where
1 This biographical sketch is based upon
the following sources: Edwin Jewell,
The Crescent City (New Orleans, 1873); Henry Rightor, Standard History
of New
Orleans, Louisiana (Chicago, 1900), New Orleans States, September
23, 1923.
2 Jewell states that Mercer was attached
to the force of Captain Joshua Barney,
who, with a small band held the British
at bay for a short time.
3 The account of Dr. William Newton
Mercer's journey from Louisville to New
Orleans was published as "A Journey
from Louisville to New Orleans in 1816; Diary
of William Newton Mercer," in Journal
of Southern History (Baton Rouge, Louisi-
ana, 1935-), II (1936).
4 The present home of the Boston Club.
(351)
352 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
he dispensed a courtly hospitality. The
coming of Civil War
clouds found the old doctor a staunch
Unionist, who argued ve-
hemently the inadvisability and futility
of disunion, but upon the
secession of Louisiana he followed his
adopted state and gave
liberally of his time and fortune during
the course of the conflict.
He made a brief visit to the North after
the war, returning to his
home where he lived quietly until his
death, which occurred in
his eighty-seventh year.
Mercer's diary of his journey from
Baltimore to Louisville is
an interesting document. He used four
methods of travel during
the trip; from Baltimore to Pittsburgh
by stage and carriage,
from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati by flat boat
("skiff," he termed it),
and from the last city to Louisville on
horseback. Of unusual
interest are his descriptions of the
beautiful scenes in Pennsyl-
vania and Kentucky, his visit to the
medicinal springs at Bed-
ford, the inebriated stage driver, Ohio
Indian mounds, a floating
flour mill, and his contrasts of
inadequate accommodations of
Ohio towns and the "tolerable"
taverns on the left bank of the
river. Difficulties of travel are
revealed in his allusions to poor
taverns, poor food,
"squalling" children, "filth and misery," and
the necessity for abandoning the stage
or skiff on numerous oc-
casions to complete the day's journey on
foot. A commonplace
journey it was, made and retold by a
young man scarcely twenty-
four years of age, yet it aids
materially in forming a mental pic-
ture of the art of travel and of the
places described more than a
century ago. As a whole the diary is an
informative document,
replete with information descriptive of
those days before the
common usage of the steamboat and the
railroad. The diary had
further significance in that it
illustrates the use to which a traveler
put Zadok Cramer's Navigator, a
contemporary guide.
The editors have attempted to reproduce
an exact copy of
the diary. Dashes have been retained and
the spelling is un-
changed. Explanatory dates or words have
been added only in-
frequently in brackets. The editors are
indebted to Dean Pierce
Butler of Sophie Newcomb College, New
Orleans, Louisiana,
for the permission to use and publish
the diary.
DIARY OF WILLIAM NEWTON MERCER 353
The Diary.
Thursday July 26, 1816. Left Baltimore at 3 A.
M. in the mail stage
with twelve passengers, accompanied by
my dog, whom I was obliged to
hold in my arms the greatest part of the
day: weather pleasant; in the
morning rather cool. Breakfasted in
Reisterstown where we arrived at an
early hour at a very good house--dist.
16 miles. Wrote a hasty note to
Lower--Cities which I deposited with the
Innkeeper. Passed through
Westminster, the last town in Frederick
county, Md. when I met with
Emory. dist.--38 miles--passed, also,
through Little's Town in Penn. and
arrived at Gettysburg at 2, where we
dined at a very inferior table. This
Town is compactly built, and may,
probably, contain 15 or 1800 inhabitants.
--Continued our journey over the South
mountain where the road is very
good, and arrived at 7 o'clock at
Chambersburgh, when we stopped at an
indifferent house kept by Mrs. G. The
distance from Chambersburgh to
Gettysburg is 26 miles and to Baltimore
78 miles by measurement. The
road is turnpiked throughout the whole
distance, and in Pennsylvania par-
ticularly, the land is good and in fine
cultivation--within five or six miles
of C--the farms are in very fine
order--here I observed the best oats I
had ever seen. Chambersburgh is a neat
and flourishing town, situated in
a valley formed by the North and South
mountains, 50 miles from Bedford
and about 32 from Carlisle. It is governed
by a chief burgess, assisted by
his colleagues, and contains a
population of about 3000 souls. The inhab-
itants consist either of Dutch or Irish,
or their discendants. Being the
county town of Franklin, it contains a
Court and jail, besides six churches:
The streets are regularly laid off and
are ornamented with some handsome
houses.
The Conecocheague and another
considerable stream having its source
about three miles above, unite at the
north end of the town and meander
thro' it, affording many excellent seats
for mills and other manufactories.
It was settled as far back as 1735 by
Mr. C-- after whom it was named,
and who is the Ancestor of the present
respectable that resides there. Be-
sides a cotton manufactory and several
grist mills, two Breweries have been
established which enjoy the reputation
of producing the best malt liqor in
Pennsylvania--I was detained here two
days by the negligence of a me-
chanic to whom I had entrusted the lock
of my desk for reparation.
Tuesday 31 July. Left Chambersburgh at 7 A. M. in a gig with Mr.
Lewis of Baltimore-breakfasted at an
indiff house in Campbells Town,5 9
miles distant-7 miles beyond passed
through London, at the foot of the
North or Caor Mountain, which is 7 miles
over and required our persistent
exertions for more than three hours, to
enable us to accomplish that incon-
siderable distance. From the top of the
Mountain there is a distinct view of
McConnelsburgh, which appears to be
scarcely half a mile distant; but it is
in reality, three miles following the
course of the road, which winds around
the side of the Mountain: We arrived at
this town at 3 P. M. and dined at
a very good house kept by Lindsay:
recommenced our journey at 4 and
reached Reamer's at the Foot of the
Sidley Hill, distant ten miles about 7
oclock. It commenced raining before our
arrival and continued during the
night: The house is indifferently kept
and the landlord is morose and dis-
obliging.
5 Henry B. Fearon passed over this route
a year later but was unable to obtain
breakfast since one of the proprietors of the coach
owned a house in the next town.
See Allan Nevins (ed.), American
Social History as Recorded by British Travellers
(New York, 1931), 80.
354 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
Wednesday 1 Aug. Started at 9 A. M. in the midst of a violent shower
for Bedford. The road over the Sidley
hill is almost impassable; but we
were, nevertheless, by means of labour
and perseverance enabled to get
along tolerably well--Stopped at
Householder's, 9 miles distant at 12 oclock,
where the road from Hancock intercepts
the main western road.--1/4 of a
mile further at the foot of the hill on
the crossing, where we passed the
Juniata over a bridge, suspended by
means of mass of iron chains, at least
40 feet above the surface of the stream,
which is here 150 yards wide. Half
a mile further attained the summit of a
high hill which commanded a grand
and extensive view of the adjacent
country and of the mountains, which
here form an amphitheater. A few yards
from the road, the hill is per-
pendicular making an abrupt precipice of
above two hundred feet, whose
base is washed by the river below. The
abyss is not unlike the cataract at
Niagara, and strongly reminded one of
Shakespeare's famous description
of Dover cliffs--Six miles further,
crossed the bloody run which is so called
from a sanguinary engagement which was
fought here during the French
war, between the Provincials and
Indians. Dined at Hartley's 2 miles be-
yond, and 6 miles further reached
Bedford at Sunset.
Bedford is a pleasant county town, with
a population of 1000 inhab-
itants, distant 56 miles from
Chambersburgh, and rather more than 100
miles from Pittsburgh. It is situated on
a gentle eminense, encircled by
high hills; and has recently acquired
considerable notoriety from the dis-
covery of medicinal springs in its neighborhood,
which have become a fash-
ionable resort during the summer months,
either for pleasure or health. The
springs are in a vale about two miles
distant in a southwardly direction:
They were discovered accidently about 8
years ago by a fisherman af-
flicted with ulcerated legs, who was
accustomed to pursue his occupation in
the creek into which the springs
discharge themselves. In the intervals of
his employment he was in the habit of
bathing his legs at the springs and
of drinking the waters, which he at once
discovered had a peculiar flavour.
His sores mending very rapidly, he at
once ascribed his recovery to the
salutary operation of the waters, and
recommended the same remedy to one
of his friends who was labouring under a
similar complaint, and who was
also speedily cured. From this period
the waters were employed medicinally
and their fame has continued to increase
ever since. They contain mag-
nesia, iron, soda and lime, in small
quantities held in solution by the sul-
phuric, muriatic and carbonic acids.6
Upon the summit of the mountain,
from whose base the springs issue, are
found quantities of slate and mar-
tial7 pyrites.--From one of
the springs, twenty two gallons are discharged
every minute. There is also, another
spring 140 yards from the principal
one, in a southwardly direction rather
higher up the side of the mountain,
which, however is neither so strongly
impregnated nor so copiously dis-
charged. The taste of neither is particularly
unpleasant; they are cool and
perfectly transparent.
The accommodations consist of a lodging
house, two stories high, and
130 feet long, with piazza extending
along its front calculated for the ad-
mission of sixty or seventy guests. It
is situated on a level piece of ground
on the west side of the creek, and
fronts to the north. On the east side,
where are also the springs, a bathing
House has lately been erected on a
very neat and appropriate plan, from the
contributions paid by visitors to
the springs for the previledge of
drinking the waters. A broad spacious
promanade, well gravelled and 200 yards
long, has also been made, together
6 A recent analysis listed twenty
chemical combinations, three gases, and noted
a daily flow of 24,000 gallons from the
Magnesia Spring.
7 Probably iron pyrites.
DIARY OF WILLIAM NEWTON MERCER 355
with serpentine walks on the side of the
mountain leading to its summit.
A new building is now erecting of stone
on the W. side, 125 feet long &
3 stories high, and it is supposed will
accomodate 100 lodgers.
Thursday, August 2d. Left Bedford in Morning, after breakfast, in
the public stage with twelve passengers; The day warm
and sultry. After
travelling 3 or 4 miles, I missed my dog
and became extremely solicitous to
procure some person to go back after
him, for which I offered a consid-
erable award, but in vain. At one oclock
we reached Shellsburgh, distant
9 miles, where I determined to write to
Mr. Peatt, requesting him to take
care of the dog, and to bring, him on to
Cincinnati, where I expected he
would arrive before my departure.
Entrusted the note to a traveller, who
promised to deliver it immediately on
his arrival at Bedford.--Crossed the
Alleghany mountain, wh. is 7 miles, and
the road almost impassable--a bear
trotted over the road within fifty yards
of the front of the stage.--
The prospect from the top of this
mountain is more extensive varie-
gated and magnificent than any I have
previously enjoyed.--At a hovel here,
I observed nine children, nearly of a
similar size, who all belonged to one
family, Overtaken by the night in the
worst part of the road--obliged to
leave the carriage and walk three miles,
until we reached Stays town at
nine oclock, where we stopped for the
night at a very excellent house kept
by Graham.
Friday August 10. Departed at 3 A. M. and very soon
lost three of
the trunks from behind the carriage,
which detained us some time and en-
abled, us to get our breakfast at 4
oclock, at an indifferent house kept by
Dennison.--Crossed the Laurel hill which
is seven miles over and the road
excepionaly bad. Arrived at Reed's at
12, who was very much incensed
that we had breakfasted before we
reached his house, which it appears, is
the regular stage. I have frequently
remarked that stage houses are badly
kept, and that the deportment of the
proprietors to the passengers in the
public coach is rude in the extreme--The
roads continue execrably bad--
crossed the chestnut ridge which is 5
miles over,--Roads improving--Driver
insolent, which we afterwards discovered
proceeded from intoxication. Ar-
rived at Greensburgh, and stopped for
the night at a tolerably good house.
Greensburgh is pleasantly situated in a
fertile country, regularly laid
off and compactly built; and appears to
contain a population of twelve or
fifteen hundred inhabitants.
Saturday August 11: Left Greensburgh before day and breakfasted
at Stewarts, who is a magistrate and
keeps a tolerably good house, distant
12 miles--The roads are deep and hilly,
but neither mountainous nor stony.
10 miles further came to Turtle hill
creek, the ascent to which is almost
perpendicular; alighted from the stage
and proceeded on foot to the sum-
mit. The road better and continues to
improve--weather very warm.--
Passed through Youngstown and
Wilkinsville; at the latter place the turn-
pike is continuous to Pittsburgh,
distant 5 miles, where we arrived at 5
oclock and stopped at a tolerably good
house kept by Gibson.
Pittsburgh is situated on an elevated
plain 30 or 40 feet above low
water mark, at the confluence of the
Alleghany and Monongehala. It was
occupied by the French in 1753 who built
Fort DuQuesne on the point, the
ruins of which are still discernible. A
short distance above, the English
who dispersed their antagonists in '58
erected Fort Pitt at the expense of
more than ??10,000 sterling. The
magazine, two bastions and their curtains
are still to be seen.--In our times it
would never be selected for a military
position since it is completely
commanded by high hills which almost sur-
356 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
round it at the distance of a mile--The
town is favourably situated for
commerce, but particularly for
manufacturies, to which the inhabitants ap-
pear to have devoted their principal
attention. I visited the glass works8
and was permitted by the proprietor to
view the process for making cut
glass which is extremely simple. In the
ware room I observed a pair of
cut glass decanters of superb workmanship
for which forty dollars was
demanded. The situation of the town is
low and unimposing; the houses
being crowded together and darkened by the clouds of
smoke which poured
from their manufactories, exhibit a
dingy and melancholy appearance.9 It
has the reputation of being unhealthy.10
The town is supposed to contain a
population of 9 or 10.00011--During my stay I visited
the coal pitt.12 The
entrance to them is five or six feet
wide and as many high. They dig in a
horizontal direction. Three persons are
generally employed in each of their
pitts; two to dig the coal and one to
wheel it out to the waggons which are
placed under a platform at the mouth to
receive it.
Tuesday August 14.13 Left Pittsburg on board of a skiff, twenty feet
long, which cost us fifteen dollars,14
& was built by a single workman in one
day, with 7 persons, whose weight
together with that of our baggage
brought our boat very low in the water.
We had previously provided our-
selves with an awning to protect us from
the sun--In this voyage, comfort
was out of the question, stowed away as
we were, and almost unable to
move.--A little before sunset we reached
White's tavern twelve miles down
on the right shore, where we stopped for
the night, and had a specimen of
the fare we were to expect in descending
the river: our supper consisted
of poor bread and salted mutton badly
dressed, and seasoned with an abun-
dance of dirt. We were then conducted to
a chamber, which would serve
as a Barometer. Barometer as well as
Thermometer, announcing very dis-
tinctly every variation of the
weather.--
Wednesday August 15. Left White's at five in the morning.--The
banks are about twenty feet high and the
country level on both sides. The
river is about 1/4 of a mile wide and
the current, except at the ripples,
scarcely discernible. At 10 oclock we
reached Beaver, which is 18 miles
below and 30 from Pittsburgh. This town
is on a high bluff, 200 feet above
the surface of the river, and consists
of 60 or 70 indifferent houses, badly
arranged. The plain upon which it is
built is covered with a great number
of round stones, concerning which a
variety of conjectures have been
8 George
Flower vi ited these factories during the same year. See Otto L.
Schmidt (ed.), "The Mississippi
Valley in 1816 through an Englishman's Diary," in
Mississippi Valley Historical Review (Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1914-), XIV (1927-28), 142;
cf., Zadok Cramer, The Navigator (Pittsburgh, 1814),
55-57.
9 David
Thomas was in agreement concerning the gloomy appearance of the city.
Quoted in Schmidt (ed. , "The
Mississippi Valley in 1816," loc. cit., 141-42, from
Thomas, Travels through the Western
Country in the Summer of 1816 (Auburn,
N. Y., 1819), 50. Flower noted the smoke
but thought the city beautiful in spite of it.
Schmidt (ed.), "The Mississippi
Valley in 1816," loc. cit., 142; cf., S. R. Brown, The
Western Gazetteer or Emigrant's
Directory (Auburn, N. Y., 1817), 338.
10
In contrast with this view: "It is perhaps, one of the most healthy spots
in the
United States; free from stagnant waters
and marshes, fevers are but little known."
See Cramer, op. cit., 71-72.
11 Flower estimated 10,000. Schmidt
(ed.), "The Mississippi Valley in 1816,"
loc. cit., 143.
12 Cf.
descriptions in Cramer, op. cit., 68-69; and Brown, op. cit., 38.
13 Mercer seems not to have heeded
Cramer's words of caution that the "best
seasons for navigating the Ohio, are in
Spring and autumn. . . The fall season
generally commences in October." See
Cramer, op. cit., 36.
14 The cost of flat beats was generally
reckoned at one dollar per foot length.
DIARY OF WILLIAM NEWTON MERCER 357
hazarded.15 Fourteen miles below, passed
Georgetown, which is the last and
among the least towns in Pennsylvania;
and six miles further stopped at
Fawcett's town,16 Ohio, which is 48
miles below the point of our departure.
Thursday August 16. Pushed off from shore at 7 A. M. and came to
at Big yellow creek 8 miles below to
breakfast--a great number of Saline
Springs have been discovered upon the
margin of this creek which yields salt
in considerable quantities by boring 150
feet.--It sells upon the spot at $2
per bushel. Nineteen miles below is
Steubenville,17 which is by water 73
miles from Pittsburgh. This is a
thriving town pleasantly situated on the
right bank, consisting of about 200
houses, and a variety of manufactories,
for which the town is very favourably
situated. It has risen rapidly in
consequence and population within a few
years and still continues to in-
crease. Six miles below, we came to Charleston, the
capital of Broo[k]
County, Virginia. It is situated at the
foot of high hills on the margin of
a stream18 which here disembogues into the
Ohio. The banks of the river
have become beautifully variegated by
gentle undulation of the country on
either shore, which are covered with
forest trees of a lofty growth and
very imposing appearance. In this
neighborhood the lands on the river sell
for 20 & $50 per acre.--Eight miles
below is Warren,19 an inconsiderable
town on the right bank, to Van Deusen's
who keeps an indifferent house
where we stopped for the night. We came
today 39 miles, encreasing our
distance from Pittsburgh to 87 miles.
Friday August 17th.
Embarked at 6 oclock of a cold and
cloudy
morning, and by nine reached Wheeling
which is nine miles distant on the
Virginia shore, and opposite to an
island of the same name one mile
along.20 The Land on which is
very fertile and will sell for $100 per acre.--
The town is irregularly built on a high
and pleasing situation, which in
the rear is surrounded by hills.
Property is already very valuable in this
place, and in a few years must become
much more so, when the great
national road from Washington, which
will strike the river at this point
is completed.21 We breakfasted at a very
excellent house kept by Major
Sprigg.--Nine miles below is Pultny, an
inconsiderable vilage on the Ohio
shore; and 3 1/2 miles is Tomlinsons,
where we landed and walked to his
house which is 1/3 of a mile from the
shore, in order to examine several
Elk which it was reported he had in his
possession--Unfortunately they
had been destroyed some time before our
arrival, which disappointed us
very much.22 They were taken
some years ago on the Muskingum. Tom-
linson still has in his possession an
antler which belonged to one of them
that is at least three feet long.--1/4
of a mile S.W. from the town we
visited an Indian mound,23 of which so
much has been said, and which is
conjectured to be a mausoleum of the
Aborigines--It appears from the
statement of a gentleman who took the
trouble to make an accurate
survey to be of the following
dimensions, from actual admeasurement:
Its figure is conical, being seventy
five feet high, one hundred and eighty
15 See Cramer, op. cit., 78; and
Brown, who called it Beavertown, op. cit., 331.
16 Called
Faucetstown by Cramer, op. cit., 80.
17 For contemporary descriptions and
statistics see Niles' Weekly Register (Bal-
timore, 1811-1849), XII (1817), 144;
Brown, op. cit., 318; and Cramer, op. cit., 81-82.
18 Called Buffalo Creek. See Brown, op.
cit., 339; and Cramer, op. cit., 84.
19 "Here, as well as at Charlestown
is a ferry for wagons and horsemen wishing
to cross into Ohio." See ibid., 84.
20 It was also known as Island No. 18,
and was owned and farmed by a Colonel
Zanes. See ibid.
21 There are similar accounts ibid., 85;
and Brown, op. cit., 340.
22 The entry in the Navigator calling
attention to elk was written in 1812; hence
Mercer's disappointment. See Cramer, op.
cit., 227.
23 The description here given follows
that ibid., 86.
358 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
yards in circumference at its base, and
forty at its summit, where it is
excavated four feet deep and eight or
ten feet in diameter. It stands
on an elevated plain; and has in its
vicinity a variety of ancient forti-
fications. Grave creek, which derives
its name from its situation, empties
itself into the river at this
place.24--Nine miles beyond and 118 from P--
is Capitana creek, where we were obliged
to spend the night at a very in-
different tavern, kept by a family
recently from New England.
Saturday Augt. 18. Left our quarters at 6 in the morning, and
breakfasted at Charles Wells' juniors,
whose house is fourteen miles dis-
tant: 10 miles below, the long
reach25 commences, exhibiting some of the
most picturesque scenery I have ever
beheld--9 miles from the head of the
reach, we stopped at the house of the
senior Mr. Wells where we were
comfortably accommodated.26
Sunday August 19. Pushed off from Wells' at 6 1/2 in the morning,
and breakfasted between 12 and 1 at Wm.
Dana's, who keeps a very good
house of private entertainment; on the
left bank 17 miles distant. Em-
barked again at 2, when the wind rose
and blew directly up the river:
Afflicted with a violent
headache.--Overtaken by the rain, and compelled
to make a harbour until the violence of
the storm abated.--Again moved
off--overtaken by the night, and menaced
with a violent storm, within
a mile of Marrietta.--The navigation of
the river represented extremely
dangerous from the number of planters
and shoals, by which the channel
of the river is obstructed.--Determined
to run ashore--With some diffi-
culty affected a landing in the dark,
under a lofty precipice, which after
much delay and fatigue we succeeded in
scaling.--Discovered a house,
belonging a superannuated woman which
was inhabited by herself and son
who was intoxicated. Was refused
permission to stow our luggage in
the house, which had too large apartment
on each floor, and was two
stories high, because they had not room.
After much difficulty and a
long altercation with the old beldam,27
she at length granted us permission
to deposit our baggage in the house
until morning.--Obliged to depart
for town, a mile distant, by a road
which lay along the margin of a
precipice, when a single mis-step would
have hurled us forty feet to the
bottom--She refused us a lantern because
her cow was sick and required
to be visited during the night--Arrived
at Marietta at 10 o'clock and
stopped at McFarland's who declined to
provide supper--Went on further
and was received into a very mean house
fronting on the river--we came
today 32 miles.
Marietta28 is situated on the Ohio at
its confluence with the Muskingum.
It contains about 150 houses, including
those on west side of the Mus-
kingum, where Fort Harman [Harmar] formerly
stood: It has two
churches, one of which is a large and
handsome building; a court house,
an academy, a post office, a printing
office, two rope walks, a steam mill
for the manufacture of flour etc. About
a mile from the town are some
monuments of the Aborigines, well
deserving the attention of the curious;29
These consist, first, of a quadrangular
embankment, about 8 feet high, and
24 Little Grave Creek was described by
Cramer as too small and too filled with
brush to be recognizable by the name.
Tomlinson kept a ferry there. A half mile
below on the left side was Big Grave
Creek. See ibid., 86-87.
25 About seventeen miles long. See ibid., 89.
26 See
ibid., 89, 227-28.
27 A contraction of Belle Dame, meaning cranky old woman.
28 See Brown, op. cit., 309; Cramer, op.
cit., 92-93.
29 Cf. with an extract from
Thaddeus Mason Harris, The Journal of a Tour into
the Territory Northwest of the
Alleghany Mountains: Made in the Spring of the
Year 1803 (Boston, 1805), in the appendix to Cramer, op. cit.,
228-29.
DIARY OF WILLIAM NEWTON MERCER 359
30 feet broad at its base. In each fan
of the quadrangle are three chasms;
which, it is conjectured, are the
vestiges of ancient gateways. On the
West, a covert way extends towards the
river, with which it no doubt,
once connected the work. It consists of two parrallel
walls of earth, about
20 feet high and forty feet broad at the
base. Near three of the angles
of the great quadrangle are as many oblong
squares of about 9 feet high,
and measuring one hundred and sixty feet
long, and one hundred and
thirty feet broad. Near the centre of
the face of one of these elevated
squares, the earth is projected in the
form of a bastion; in another is an
excavation. 10 feet wide and 20 feet
long, receding from the side towards
the centre. The embankment encloses an
area of about 40 acres. Near the
centre of the enclosure is a mound,
about 30 feet in diameter at its base,
and 7 or 8 feet high. In a S. E.
direction at short distance from the
great fort is another of smaller
dimensions, with an embankment enclosing
about 20 acres. There are openings at
sides and angles, which appear
originally to have been defended by
angular mounds. To the East of
the great enclosure, is a mound of
conical form, and flatted at the top
about 30 feet in perpendicular height,
and 115 in diameter at its base,
where it is surrounded by a ditch 4 feet
deep and 15 feet wide. This
mound is covered with a thick growth of
trees. An inhabitant informed
me that he had seen a beech tree upon
the covert way 5 feet in diameter--
He also informed me that in digging on
the banks of the Muskingum,
he had frequently found fire places and
chimneys built of round stones,
12 feet under the surface of the soil:
that his son had discovered the
remains of a skeleton, the jaw bone of
which was so large that when
placed over his own jaw it would admit a
finger on each side: that the
teeth were almost as broad as his
thumb.--The soil upon which the town
is built is, no doubt, alluvial. It is
still annually overflowed, occasionally
ten or twelve feet--above the floors of
the houses.--In ordinary seasons,
the river rises about 40 feet. In this
neighbourhood, improved bottom
lands sell for about $50 per acre, each
of which will yield 60 or 70
bushels of Indian corn. It was settled
originally by New Englanders, who
are generally, in very good
circumstances30--The first vessel built in the
Western waters was a brig, called the St.
Clair. Her construction was
superintended by Com. Preble, who
descended the river in her without
accident, and made a successful voyage
in her to the West Indies in
1798 or '99.31 Marietta is distant from
Pittsburgh 140 miles by land, and
183 by water: M. lies in Lat. 39"
40' N. Long. 82", 9' W.
Monday August 20. Weather cold and rainy--left Marietta at 3 P. M.
and reach Bel Pre' at 7 and
stopped for thee night at Mrs. Cooks, where
we obtained comfortable quarters for the
night--it is 14 miles from
Marietta. Belpre'32 is a very
thriving settlement made on the bottom land,
which is here 1 1/4 of a mile
wide and extremely fertile, by a colony from
N. England.
Tuesday Augst. 21. Left Mrs. Cooks at 6 in the morning, and break-
fasted on a fine farm in the same
settlement five miles below--In the after-
noon of this day we were favoured by a
stiff breeze, which carried us
through the water with great rapidity,
enabling us to make 36 miles
before dusk, when we came to at a Hovel
kept by Lane on lands be-
30 Cf. "The
inhabitants are principally New Englanders whose industry is as
proverbial as their system of life is
economical, moral and religious." See Cramer,
op. cit., 92.
31 Ibid., 93; Brown, op. cit.,
309.
32 A settlement "opposite Little
Kenhawa, extends several miles on the river, and
ends about the foot of Blannerhasset's
island." See Cramer, op. cit., 95; cf., Brown,
op. cit., 309.
360
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
longing to the heirs of the late General
Washington--Our accommodations
were writched in the extreme--slept here
with Mr. Wantyn for the first-
time--In the same apartment, exclusive
of us, were the wife and numerous
children of the proprietor, whose
squalling deprived me of sleep during
the greatest part of the night. Indian
corn sells here for $-50 per bushel,
bacon hams at 12 1/2 cents per pound and
maple sugar at .25--The land
is here held by the owners at--$7 per
acre, although equally good may
be obtained on the opposite shore for $3
or $4--In jumping ashore this
evening, I sunk into the mud above my
knee.--
Wednesday August 22.--Left Lane's early in the morning and arrived
at Knapp's 6 miles, at an early hour to
breakfast--Here we regaled upon
a stewed wild turkey which had been
killed the evening before.--The
river is here more rapid and about 3/4
of a mile wide; the banks continue
to be inundated. Sixteen miles below are
Letart's falls,33 the passage of
which is somewhat hazardous,
particularly in large boats--five miles beyond
came to the "rock of
Antiquity," upon which is rudely sculptured the
figure of an I[ndian]. smoking
his pipe34--Two miles below is Wolfe's
farm consisting of two hundred acres of
bottom land, finely improved,
for which he has refused $50 per
acre--on this track we were shewn a
sycamore tree, measuring at its base
nineteen yards in circumference--
eight or ten feet from the ground, it
separates into five branches, either
of which is almost equal in magnitude to
any tree I had previously seen.
At Knapp's tavern, where we breakfasted
this morning, I was assured
That a cornstalk measured from the
ground to its superior extremity,
eighteen feet six inches: and that upon
the same ground above a hundred
bushels of corn were gathered from the
acre; at Letart's falls we saw a
floating mill in operation:35
It is constructed in the following manner: a
large scow containing the machinery, is
moored in a rapid current, and
connected to a canoe by two pieces of
timber, at head and stern. In the
canoe is placed an upright, which
supports an horizontal beam, to which
the water wheel is adapted and round
which it revolves, between the
two boats. By means of poles the mill
can readily be moved, and moored
by anchors in a more eligible situation.
In this country where running
streams sufficient to turn a mill are
rarely to be met with at certain
seasons of the year. The invention is of
great importance to the inhabitants
--I have eaten bread made of the flower obtained from
this mill, & have
found it excellent.--18 miles below the "rock of Antiquity," we
came
to Leading run, where we stopped for the
night at Harris' tavern36--At
this place I examined two fawns five or
six weeks old, and found them
beautifully spotted with white.--3 miles
below breakfasted at a dutchmans
on the right shore, where I observed a
corn mill turned by horses;37 and 13
miles further, came to Point Pleasant,
Wh. is situated at the mouth of the
great Kenawha; a noble river. 400
yards wide at its mouth, and navigable
above a hundred miles, when it is
distant but a few miles from the head
waters of the James river--60 miles from
its mouth is Charlestown, where
the salt works commence, and continue 12
miles up the river--Here salt
33 Called Letart's Rapids by Cramer, op. cit., 97.
34 Described in ibid., 98.
35 John Melish noted such a mill in his
entry of September 3, 1811. See Nevins
(ed), op. cit., 72. Thomas
observed one in the village of Rising Sun, Indiana,
during the summer of 1816. See Harlow
Lindley (ed.), Indiana as Seen by Early
Travelers. A Collection of Reprints
from Books of Travel, Letters and Diaries Prior
to 1830 (Indianapolis,
1916), 42.
36 "There
is a tavern at the mouth of Leading creek, with Lombardy poplars be-
fore the door." See Cramer, op.
cit., 98.
37 Thomas wrote in 1816 that the owners
of horse mills received a fixed percentage
of the grain in exchange for the grinding. See Lindley (ed.), op. cit.,
135.
DIARY OF WILLIAM NEWTON MERCER 361
may be obtained for fifty cents a bushel
or in exchange for equal quan-
tities of Indian meal--4 miles below the
mouth of the Kenawha is
Gallipolis on the Ohio shore; a village
which was originally settled by a
hundred French families, whose titles
proving defective they were dis-
possessed by the proprietor of the land
they had chosen.--In consideration
of their misfortunes, Congress granted
them 24,000 acres of excellent
land, considerably lower down the
river38--Stopped for the night at Bell-
mont's a miserable hovel on the Ohio
shore, having come this day, 39 miles.
Friday Augt. 24. Started at 6 in the morning, and breakfasted 7
miles beyond; 15 miles further, passed
the Big Guyandot on the Vg. shore,
at whose mouth is a village of the same
name, situated on a very high
bluff. At 6 o'clock reached the mouth of
the Big Sandy river. /14 miles,
and stopped at an excellent house kept
by Catlett, where we remained
during the night. Contrasted with the
filth and misery of the places at
which we have heretofore been obliged to
put up, the cleanliness and
comfort of this tavern delighted us. The
Big Sandy, which is a broad,
rapid river, having its source near
Clinch Mountain in N. Carolina, is
the dividing line between Virginia &
Kentucky. It is 341 miles from
Pittsburgh; so that Va. is bounded by
the Ohio for more than 300 miles.--
The appearance of the country at this
place; the courteous and obliging
disposition of the people, and our
excellent fare, inspired us with a
favourable opinion of the state of
Kentucky and its inhabitants,39 as well
as with a hope that our accommodations on
the river would now improve.--
12 miles before our arrival at this
place, the river became almost straight,
and continued for nine miles, affording
in the opinion of the "navigator,"
the best view on the River.40 It
is called the "Long Stretch," and is, in my
opinion, very far inferior to the
"Long reach."
Saturday August 25. Left Catlett's at 9 oclock after breakfast, ex-
tremely well pleased at our
accommodation.--The river has become much
more rapid, running a knot & a half
an hour. Passed Little Sandy (20
miles, where there is an inconsiderable
hamlet of mean looking houses.41--
At the Big Sandy, the bottom of the
river is filled with Quick-sand. Arrived
at an early hour at the mouth of the
Little Sciota and stopped for the
night, at a very indiff. house kept by
Price on the Ohio shore.--
Sunday Augt. 26. Started between 6 and 7 oclock, and reached Ports-
mouth, on the right bank, by nine
oclock, where we stopped to breakfast
at a house kept by Doctr.
Prescott.--Portsmouth is a village containing a
church and thirty houses, about, about
half a mile from the mouth of the
Big Sciota, on the Ohio shore; and three
fourths of a mile from Alex-
andria, which is a pleasant village on
the south side of Sciota & is situated
on a high bluff, and contains twenty
dwelling houses.42 We came today
thirty miles, and stopped for the night
at a house of private entertainment,
kept by Wm. Blass; about 1/4 of a mile above Vanceville, which is an
inconsiderable saline village on
the Virginia shore. Blass still retains the
38 Cf. Mercer's account of the
Kenawha, Charlestown, the James, the salt works,
and Gallipolis with Cramer, op. cit.,
100-1; and Brown, op. cit., 309.
39 For a similar point of view see
Richard Lee Mason's statement contrasting
Kentuckians and Indianians, in Lindley
(ed.), op. cit., 235-36.
40 Cramer described it as "a smooth
unbroken sheet of water for nine miles at
one view, not exceeded in beauty of
prospect by any place between Pittsburgh and
Natchez." See Cramer, op cit., 102.
This reference to the Navigator seems ample proof
that Mercer carried it on this journey. The distances
which he gives, invariably con-
form to those in the eighth edition of that work.
41 Probably Burrsburgh. See ibid., 104.
42 "There are fifteen old
buildings, and a tavern well supported by the votaries of
Bacckus." See Brown, op. cit., 300.
362 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL
AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
old fashioned warmth and hospitality of
Virginia, of which state he is a
native. The night was intensely warm,
and almost suffocating; but we had
no cause to complain of our host, who
gave us the best he had, which was
far from being bad.
Monday August 27. Started at 5 in the morning, and came ten miles
to breakfast at the mouth of the Bush
creek, where a very inferior tavern
is kept. In our passage this morning, we
ran broadside against a rock in a
strong current; and narrowly escaped bilging.--In
the morning, until 7
or 8 o'clock, the river and hill tops
are generally covered with a dense
fog.--I could not avoid observing a very
marked difference in our accommo-
dations on the two sides of the river;
those on the left bank being very
far superior:43 Arrived at 5 oclock at
Limestone or Maysville, and stopped
at January's where the accommodations
are tolerably good.--Maysville is
built on a high bluff, at the mouth of
limestone creek, and inconsiderable
stream, which is now dry.--It is 450
miles from Pittsburgh, 65 miles from
Lexington and the same distance from
Cincinnati.--It is favourably situated
for trade, in which it is more largely
engaged than any other town on
the river except Louisville. It contains
above a hundred houses and ap-
pears to be extremely flourishing.44--
Tuesday August 28. Left Limestone after breakfast and dined at
Staunton,45 10 miles below on
the right bank; and inconsid. town recently
laid out, which contains 20 houses: wind
very high. About dusk came to
Augusta in Kentucky, 10 miles below,
where we stopped for the night.
This town is pleasantly situated on a
high bank, 100 yards from the river,
between which there are two rows of
stately forrest trees; it contains 50
or 60 houses, many of brick, enjoys
considerable trade, and is in my
opinion, one of the handsomest towns on
the river.46
Wednesday August 29. Left Augusta after breakfast, and dined at
5 oclock at New Richmond, a village on
the right bank, twenty miles
below, which, although, laid out only
two years ago, already contains 20
or 30 houses, several being built of
brick.47--The river has risen two feet-
weather cold--wind adverse--did not
arrive at Miller's 12 miles below until
10 at night-weather extremely raw and
cold: fare indifferent river covered
with heavy fog.--
Thursday August 30. Left Miller's at 10 oclock, after breakfast--
reached Cincinnati at 12 oclock. distance
18 miles. Stopped at McHenry's,
who keeps a very good house. The day
after my arrival was joined by
Mr. P. and two days afterwards by Mr.
F--of Baltimore--Found here Dr.
M--who is getting into a very good
practice.--passed my time pleasantly--
Mr. Este very polite, and Mr. Platt very
hospitable.--delivered no letters.
Friday August 31. Cincinnati is in the Miami country,48 a very
fertile
district included between two rivers of
that name, distant about 20 miles
from the Indiana line, 525 from Pittsburgh,
and 90 from Lexington and
43 Melish wrote in 1811, that the
contrary was true. See Nevins (ed.), op. cit., 71.
44 See
Cramer, op. cit., 110; and Brown, op. cit., 90.
45 This place was not mentioned by either Brown or Cramer.
46 Brown described the double row of
locust trees at this place but declared that
"its trade is not very extensive.
There is probably 75 houses." See Brown, op. cit.,
88, 99-100; Cramer attested to the
beauty of the place but placed the number of
houses at forty. See Cramer, op.
cit., 111.
47 Cramer failed to mention this place.
Brown merely stated that "several new
villages are commenced on the margin of
the Ohio, between Muddy and Eagle
creeks." See Brown, op. cit., 293.
48 The Miami country included Hamilton,
Butler, Preble, Darke, Miami, Mont-
gomery, Warren, Clermont, Clinton,
Green, and Champaign Counties, all watered by
the Great and Little Miami Rivers,
according to ibid., 295.
DIARY OF WILLIAM NEWTON MERCER 363
about the same distance from
Chillicothe. It was a frontier post during
the Indian war: After the treaty of
Greenville in '9449 it was settled by the
officers of the N. W. Army. It, soon
became the most considerable town
in the Territory, of which it was the
Capitol, and continued to be so for
some time after its conversion into a
state. At the declaration of war, it
contained two or three thousand inhabitants:
Being in the line of com-
munication between Kentucky &
Harrisons army, as well as a place of
rendezvous, and a depot for stores &
it increased with unexampled rapidity--
In three years, its population was
trebled,50 and property rose in value,
fifteen or twenty fold. It now contains
700 inhabitants, and enjoys con-
siderable trade: but its prosperity is
on the decline. Its growth has been
excessive, and it has already attained
its acme51--There are in its neighbor-
hood, a variety of manufacturies.--
Monday Sept. 9. Left Cincinnati in company with Messrs. P. & F.
on horseback, having entrusted my
luggage with Dr. M. to be forwarded
to Louisville.--Arrived at Gaines' who
keeps a tolerably good house 20
miles distant. The country is not
generally settled--road tolerably good
for a saddle horse.
Tuesday Sept. 10. Left Gaines' at 7 and reached the Theobalds at 10
--distant 16 miles--fare tolerably good--It is in Pendleton County.
Stopped to bait at Gouge's 12 miles
distant--indiff. house--6 miles beyond
passed a tolerably good house kept by
Nelson, and 6 miles further reached
Herndon's, where we fared tolerably
well. The weather today has been
cold & disagreeable; in the evening
it rained, and at 7 oclock when we
arrived, a fire had become quite
necessary.
Wednesday September 11. Morning moist and cloudy. Started at 7
oclock and overtaken by a drizzling
rain; the road hilly and slippery--
The fare [face?] of the country
begins to improve--passed several very
fine farms, and crossed two or three
considerable streams. N. B. the
country is not well watered. Unimproved
land sells here for $30 per acre.
--Arrived at Gerogetown [Georgetown] at
11 and stopped at a pretty
good house, kept by George--Georgetown
is pleasantly situated and com-
pactly built: the houses being generally
of brick. Its population is six or
seven hundred.52--Weather continues cold
and drizzling--arrived at Lexing-
ton at 3 oclock, distant 20 miles.
Thursday September 12. Lexington
is the largest town in the Western
country, containing a population of 9 or
10 thousand souls.53 It is regularly
laid off--The houses of brick and
handsomely built. In its vicinity are a
number of pleasant seats54--We stopped
at Posthlewait's whose house enjoys
a better reputation than it deserves.
Saturday September 14. Took leave of my friend P. and left Lexing-
ton at eleven in the morning. Weather
cloudy, and the roads good--joined
49 Cramer wrote that Wayne's victory
over the Indians took place on August
20, 1794, and stated that the treaty was
signed at Greenville, "shortly after the defeat
of the Indians." See Cramer, op.
cit., 252. This statement may have been the source
of Mercer's error for the treaty was
signed in 1795.
50 Cf. Schmidt (ed.), "The Mississippi Valley in 1816," loc.
cit., 148; and Brown,
op. cit., 276.
51 For an opposing view, expressed by
Morris Birkbeck in 1817, see Lindley (ed.),
op. cit. 172.
52 Flowers thought it a dirty town.
Schmidt (ed.), "The Mississippi Valley in
1816," loc. cit., 151; cf.
population statistics in Brown, op. cit., 85, 95.
53 Cf. William Darby, The Emigrant's Guide to the Western
and Southwestern
States (New York, 1818), 206; Brown, op. cit., 91-95;
and Schmidt (ed.), "The Missis-
sippi Valley in 1816," loc.
cit., 152.
54 There were perhaps fifty or sixty
such country residences, of which' that of
Henry Clay was pronounced the "most
delightful." See Brown, op. cit., 94.
364
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
by an agreeable companion from the
neighbourhood of Richmond, Mr.
Macon--stopped at Cole's tavern 13
miles, to dinner. The country un-
dulating and extremely fertile--road
perfectly hard, and superior to Pa.
turnpike--I have remarked throughout
this country that there is a stratum
of limestone rock two or three feet
beneath the surface of the soil. We
reached Frankfort 20 miles, about sunset.
It is the seat of government
for Kentucky--The town is regularly laid
off & the houses compactly
built, upon a small elevated plain on
the right bank of the Kentucky
river, which is here 20 or 30 feet above
the surface of the stream.
It is surrounded by hills--The Kentucky
is a considerable river navigable
80 above to Boonesborough, in ordinary
times; but during the spring
freshes, boats descend from a plain more
than 150 miles above Frankfort,
bringing for the supply of the
inhabitants of that place, cargoes of coal
& timber. The state house is a plain
square building almost finished.55
We stopped at Weioyer's, who keeps a
very good house:--It rained very
hard during the night.
Sunday September 14 [15]. It rained this morning untill 9 oC'K. We
started about ten--no rain, but
cloudy--overtaken by a shower, & stopped
at Shannon's, an indifferent house where
we dined at 3 o'clock. Arrived
at 1/2 past 6 at Shelbyville, and stopped at Peay's, who keeps
a pretty good
house and excellent beds. This town is
in Shelby county, distant 20 miles
from Frankfort, and contains a
population of 5 or 600 inhabitants.56
Monday Sept. 15 [16]. Left Peay's at 9 in the morning--roads very
heavy--country hilly--The day turned out
very fine--dined at Ross', who
keeps a good house on the right hand
side of the road, 16 miles from
Shelbyville.--dined--Started at 3
1/2--passed through Middletown, distant two
miles. It contains 30 or 40
houses--Three or four miles beyond, the road
takes off abruptly to the left.--Arrived
at Louisville at 6 1/2 and stopped
at Gwathenay's, an extensive
establishment similar to Gadsby's.--The river
has risen above 12 feet, and the current
is very rapid. Louisville is built
at the confluence of the Bear Grass
Creek with the Ohio; it is 120 miles
from Cincinnati, by land, and 70 from
Lexington--It was named in honour
of Louis XVI and contains about 5000
inhabitants, and is rapidly increas-
ing--there are now building 70 or 80
houses, a majority of brick--It is
the most commercial place in Kentucky. A
little above, on the Indiana
shore, is Jeffersonville, which contains
about 20 houses--Two miles beyond
and below the falls is Shippingport, which contains 15
or 20 houses. This
town, as well as Louisville, is represented as being
very sickly during the
summer and autumnal months.
55 See descriptions in Darby, op.
cit., 204, 206; and Brown, op. cit., 97-98.
56 Cf. Darby, op. cit., 209; and Brown, op. cit., 89.