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Focusing on the lives
of any person or family who has lived in Little Washington,
Washington County, Pennsylvania at anytime throughout
history to recent times, through data and family stories.
NEW SEARCH BOX ADDED
BEALLSVILLE, PA - page 3
Genealogy and family history research in the area of
Little Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania
from 1700 to present.
The National Hotel
~ located on the National Pike ~
written by Kathy Neuhardt Scott
The National Hotel was built on The Pike just before the National Road reached
Beallsville. The road started in Maryland in 1808 and reached Wheeling by 1818.
The first proprietor was Thomas G. Norfolk. He had this brick tavern built at
the town’s central junction of the National Road and Maiden Street. The tavern
became a popular and famed stop along the pike. According to an advertisement in
the 2 July 1821 issue of The Reporter, William Greenfield was the tavern
innkeeper. Even though a large sign with National Hotel with painted on it is
still fastened to the second story porch, the hotel was also referred to as
Greenfield Hotel or Greenfield Tavern at times.
In front of the porch at the east corner there were two fountain pumps and a
watering trough beside the road. The coach drivers and Pike boys would water
their horses from this large stone trough, which had Wm Greenfield carved in it.
The National Road was a well traveled highway until the railroads took away most
of the traffic.
The original hotel was two stories until William Greenfield had a third story
built onto the tavern. His son Eli thought that the new addition should be the
same size as the first two floors but William built it narrower. William thought
that the narrower top floor gave the building a more distinctive look. The
original hotel’s brick stable burned down and was replaced with a frame, one
that also burned down.
William Greenfield was noted as being the founder of the first local bank that
he operated from his office in the hotel. He issued his own paper money and it
was as good as gold for he promptly redeemed it in cash. His safe was in his
pocket. However, there was a large old fashioned iron safe in his office with
“William Greenfield” printed across the top. James M. Miller took over the
bank and moved it to a larger brick building facing the hotel on the southwest
corner of the Pike and Fredericktown Road. It was named The Miller Private Bank
until it closed 53 years later when the national banking system was created.
After the death of William Greenfield and his wife Eleanor, his two daughters,
the Misses Eleanor and Louisa ran the Inn until their deaths. The hotel was
noted for the excellence of its table in large dishes filled to overflowing. The
dishes were passed around and each guest helped themselves. When the dishes
emptied, they were taken back to the kitchen and refilled. With the automobile
the hotel became famous for their chicken served with rich gravy and waffles
with pure maple syrup. The slogan was “all the chicken and waffles you can
eat.” The hotel was also noted for having fresh coffee at all times. The
hotel was run by others until it finally closed in 1935.
SEND ME YOUR PICTURES OR MEMORIES OF
BEALLSVILLE,
PA
(washington.co.pa.webmaster@gmail.com - and put
Beallsville in the subject line)
Go Back to TownTalk Index
Site History and Updates: Dec '05; Jan '05; Mar
'06
Email
Washington.Co.PA.Webmaster
(c) Judith Ann Florian
159 E. Main St.
Girard, Ohio 44420
Copyright Notice - Data / info. for individuals and surnames may be
reproduced for personal family histories only, but not for any commercial use or
sale. Please give credit to Judith Florian and Catherine L. Caldwell for
locating newspaper items and original documents. You may use J. Florian's
research conclusions if credit is given. No other data or images may be
reproduced without permission. © 2005-present, Judith Florian, Copyright All
rights reserved.
This page was last updated on Friday, January 16, 2009 00:15
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The background was chosen specifically to
emphasize the matriarchal role of women in "the life" of
children and families, and the resilience of all the women of
southwestern Pennsylvania. |
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