Thanks to octogenarian John Poellot and his precocious nephew Jimmy Patton, we have a detailed knowledge of Bridgeville in 1859 – a dozen houses, a grist mill, three farms, a doctor’s office, a hotel, Hugh Morgan’s store, and one hundred residents. By 1901, when the community was incorporated as a Borough, the area between the two crossings of Chartiers Creek had been transformed into a prosperous town boasting well over two thousand inhabitants. Recently, compliments of “Newspapers.com”, we have become aware of a tool that helps us map this remarkable transformation – the “Mercantile Appraiser’s List”, an annual tabulation of businesses in each community.
The 1848 list consists of H. H. Morgan, dry goods. Numerous historical accounts mention Hugh Morgan’s store, located on the east side of the Washington Pike at the James Street’s intersection. It was the social center of the tiny community, a place where old men came to loaf and tell war stories. Eventually it became Bridgeville’s first post office.
By 1859 the list had expanded somewhat. Morgan was still on it, but two other facilities in Bridgeville made their first appearance – Samuel Fryer’s grist mill and the Shaffer Brothers’ woolen mill. Fryer’s mill was located on McLaughlin Run where Mill Street intersects McLaughlin Run Road. The Shaffer mill was on the east side of the Washington Pike, approximately where the Harmuth Building is today. It was a major operation, a place where farmers brought wool from sheared sheep, providing the raw material for processes that eventually produced woolen fabric. Manufacturing facilities were included in the Mercantile Appraiser’s List for a few years in that era, then eliminated.
There is a gap in the list between 1859 and 1876. The 1876 list has only two Bridgeville entries – J. G. Murray, general store; and Foster Brothers, general store. We know that Murray had moved from Sodom to Bridgeville in 1867, after Hugh Morgan died. The Chartiers Valley Railroad had arrived in 1871, linking Bridgeville to Pittsburgh. Sam Foster had come to Bridgeville and opened a general store on the corner of Railroad Street and Station Street, across the street from the new railroad station. The Norwood Hotel was brand new in 1876, and Bridgeville was gaining a reputation as a summer resort. At some point Foster built an impressive home a block away. The building is still in existence, serving as “Jerry’s Salon”.
The 1882 list included five establishments. Another general store, identified as “Patterson & Co.”, was included, as well as two cattle dealers, Albert Davis and E. Spar. In 1886 W. H. Allender, grocery store was added, as well as Amos Fryer, Lumber. In addition, two stores were listed in Essen – Beadling Brothers and Sanford & Co. We speculate they were “company” stores for the two coal mines along Painter’s Run. In 1887 the Mayer & Schulte store was added, serving Mr. Schulte’s Bridgeville Mine. The store was located on Station Street, where the First Commonwealth Bank is today. The growing group of Bridgeville residents began to have their choice of retail establishments to meet their needs.
A drug store, operated by H. A. Donaldson, is included in the 1888 list, probably associated with Dr. David Donaldson, who lived at 745 Washington Avenue at the time and served Bridgeville as its family doctor. The 1889 list includes a significant new entry – the H. W. Poellot and Sons Hardware store. The Poellots operated a very successful business in a location on the west side of Washington Avenue until 1934, when they sold it to the Sarasnick family. Still prosperous today at the same location, this hardware store is easily Bridgeville’s longest running business. In 1890 R. L. Patterson was listed for the drug store. Several new entries show up in 1891 – C. B. Burnish, notions store; and William Der, hotel and bar. The Der entry is for the hotel on the west side of Washington Avenue close to the north bridge over Chartiers Creek. John Poellot reported it as belonging to the Boyd family in 1859. We know that William Der received the first liquor license in Bridgeville in 1889, for that hotel. The Fryer Lumber Company was now Fryer and Collins.
In 1892 the Murray store was listed as W. J. Winstein. We learned last week that “Billy” Winstein had taken over management of the store, although the Murray family still owned it. In addition, in 1892, Amos Fryer had diversified into undertaking, to complement his lumber business. There are a few minor changes in 1893. C. P. Mayer acquired the Fryer and Collins Lumber Company. Two new “dressed meat” establishments were added – W. A. McMillen and W. S. Reed. We believe the Reed operation was on Station Street in the building that eventually was occupied by E. A. Motor.
The 1895 list changed enough that it is appropriate for us to record all of its entries: D. F. Crow, dressed meat; Davis Brothers, dressed meat; John Conlon, billiards and pool; William Der, hotel; Amos Fryer, furniture; S. A. Foster, general merchandise; A. M. Hoey, drugs; C. P. Mayer, lumber; Macedonia Maioli, groceries; H. Poellot & Sons, hardware; and Joseph Sims, groceries – quite a variety for a small town. The next year the list added A. M. Hoey, drugs; and L. W. Yahn, confections.
The best way to summarize this transformation is to consider the 1901 list. It had twenty-four entries, including a few familiar new names – J. H. Rankin, George Baird, Matt Mallory (the hotel at the North Bridge), and A. Lewandowski — plus many that have disappeared from our memory. The only establishment surviving from 1859 is the hotel. The transformation from sleepy village to busy town in four decades began slowly, then accelerated rapidly. It is an interesting exercise to visualize the Washington Pike in 1859 as John Poellot described it and then imagine the gradual addition of businesses as each decade passed.