rganizations.
arrative.
utline.
eighborhoods.
ain Menu.
Eternal Vigilance Is the Price of Preserving the
Historic Old Redoubt. Plans for Its Betterment by D. A. R.
From The Pittsburg
Leader, 30 June 1901.
Mrs. Mary Golden, who has charge of the old block
house at the Point,
has her cup full of troubles. She must be constantly on the alert against
that veritable fiend, the relic-hunter, who, if he were left to his own
sweet will, would soon carry the historic redoubt away. Only last week
three men were arrested for trying to chip off a piece of one of the
logs in the block house.
Since Mrs. Golden has had charge of the latter in the interests of the
local D. A. R. [Daughters of the American Revolution] who eight years ago
installed her as a protector of their
property, she only remembers of one other arrest. This was a man, who
meandered around to the block house at 5 o'clock in the morning and with
ax and chisel attempted to take away one of the bricks in the wall. A
blue-coated minion of the law was promptly called and before the vandal
had time to insert his chisel in the mortar he was collared and led off
to the patrol wagon. When his hearing before the police magistrate came
up he got a salty dose, for the dispenser of justice was one who has
proper veneration for historic spots, consecrated by sacrifice and
suffering in the interests of liberty and progress. Mrs. Golden always
sleeps with one eye open and the visitor who sneaks around the block
house expecting to carry away a relic, may as well count his efforts as
lost. Several times men have come around armed with axes or hatchets
prepared to capture trophies. Most of them use knives. Some prefer a
little bit of rotten log which they can break off with their fingers,
while others' taste runs to mortar.
In most cases all that is necessary is to make the relic hunters desist,
but occasionally one of an obstreperous nature is met with.
Mrs. Golden never leaves any visitors to the block house prowl around without her knowledge or out of her sight, for they are sure to mutilate the timbers of walls. In the second story of the redoubt there are numerous places where vandals' knives created havoc. The timbers in the wall being cut for gun holes afford good opportunities for slicing out splinters. The worst case of vandalism in Mrs. Golden's recollection was when four men removed a piece of wood six inches long and about three wide from one of the port holes. Had every relic hunter succeeded in doing this there would have been precious little of the old block house left for the present generation to see.
Some idea of the number of persons visiting the spot may be gained by glancing at the three registry books. During the eight years that Mrs. Golden has been in charge, three such books, each containing about 150 pages, with 24 names to the page, have been filled. This makes 10,800 persons who have signed their names. Mrs. Golden says, however, that two out of every three do not sign. On this basis at least 32,400 people have visited the block house in 8 years, or an average of 4,000 a year. Last Wednesday fourteen visited the place. This is a fair average. When a convention or other large gathering composed of persons not Pittsburgers, assembles in the city, the influx to the block house is greatly increased. A hasty perusal of the registry books shows that about half the visitors are Pittsburghers. This seems to show that interest in historic spots is not a sin of omission in this city, despite the spirit of commercialism rampant here.Mrs. Golden says that the fair sex are as eager after relics as the
men. Some of them are worse. If they can't get a splinter of wood
surreptitiously, they gather up a pebble or piece of clay of bunch of
grass from the yard. Before the present flagstone pavement was laid
around the old house, there was a gravel walk. At times it was almost
denuded by relic hunters taking the pebbles away.
Were Colonel Bouquet, who built the redoubt in 1764, to come back to
earth he would scarcely recognize the old place. He would find the house
itself just as he left it, except for a new roof and a few minor repairs
made absolutely necessary by the wear and tear of time. In the sturdy
walls are the same stones--cut from former surrounding quarter--possibly
on Grants Hill or Boyds; on top of these are the same timbers cut with
port holes, out of which old flint-lock muskets poured forth volleys of
death to redskins; above these are the identical bricks imported from
France, then another rim of port holes just above the second floor. The
heavy hewn beams of the floor are still intact and as good as new, but a
new flooring has been made. Instead of the rude ladder or other means of
ascent and descent the D. A. R., who hold the property as a legacy to
posterity, have built a neat walnut staircase.
Since 1764 the stone wall has been pointed with mortar several times.
Prior to 1893 Mrs. Flaherty lived in the downstairs and a had a little
candy store. Her goods were displayed in the window to the left of the
door that had been cut for her especial use. When the D. A. R. secured
the block house from Mary E.
Schenley this window was closed up, as
it was desired to restore the redoubt just as it was when built. Mrs.
Flaherty is now dead. On the second floor lived Mrs. Costello, an Italian
woman.
Until a few years ago part of the old barracks of the fort was
standing, but it became so insecure that it had to be torn down. The
block house is now all that remains of the once powerful Fort Pitt built
by the British government at a cost of $600,000, an enormous sum for
those days, and is now the sole remaining relic of British empire at the
forks of the Ohio. After the D. A. R. secured the property in 1893, the
ground on the plot was cleared and sowed in grass, so that it now
presents a scene of verdant beauty. On the Fort street side a handsome
iron fence with brick pillars and an ornamental iron gate gives dignity
and tone to the place.
According to Mrs. Schenley's deed the D. A. R. has title to a strip 20
feet wide extending to Penn avenue, so that an entrance there can be
built. So far this strip is occupied by houses, but in the near future no
doubt will be utilized by the Daughters. In the block house the D. A. R.
have a number of souvenirs of the fort for sale, the proceeds of which go
to the maintenance fund. There are plates and saucers containing pictures
of the redoubt and little books neatly gotten up containing a history of
the place.
Some concern has been aroused as to the devastating effect the elements
are making on the old block house and it has been suggested by the D. A.
R. to build a memorial hall, covering or roofing in the block house so as
to protect it from the wear and tear of Father Time. In such a hall the
relics of colonial and prehistoric days collected by the D. A. R. and now
on exhibition in the
Carnegie museum would find a peculiarly fitting resting place.
The block house or officers' redoubt, was built by Colonel Bouquet, the
commandant at Fort Pitt in 1764. This officer, one of the ablest that ever
crossed the Alleghany mountains in colonial days, was a terror to
Indians. At Bushy Run he fought the bloodiest and most stubborn battle in
Indian warfare and broke the power of the local tribes of redskins
forever. He also gained decisive victories against the Indians of the
Muskingum district in Ohio. When General James Forbes marched to Fort
Duquesne in 1758 Bouquet was second in command. The army reached the fort
only to see it in ruins and the French fleeing down the Ohio. On the
ruins For Pitt was built. With additions this formidable work stood until
1770 when it was demolished as it was believed there was no further use
for such a large and expensive work.
Fort Lafayette, a smaller post, at the foot of Ninth street, Allegheny
river, was built and stood for a number of years. After it was demolished
the Allegheny arsenal remained as the only military work hereabouts.