What’sinaLane? thornton’s tavern

By jon gerlach

I was just thinking the other day looking out my home office window at the cannon sitting in the front yard. I have had it for over 40 years and hardly a week goes bye that someone stops and ask about it. Having grown up in such a historic city I have always been interest in colonial and civil war history. There are several stories about cannons in the city going back several decades in fact into the occupation of the city by Union troops in December 1862.

The late D P Newton discovered a letter written by a Union officer that was in charge of troops that had taken over the Hope Iron Works in Fredericksburg prior to the battle . One interesting factor was that the Officer was camped on the Bowling Green Road in an abandoned Southern camp called Alexandria. The officer wrote that they had cast a battery of cannon at the foundry over several days. A Union Battery was 6 cannon, and a Confederate Battery was 4 cannon. So if this is true there were 6 cannon cast in Fredericksburg during the occupation. End of story, not exactly as no further information is known about the cannons other than some speculation in later stories.

In October 1925 a story in the local paper discussed an old cannon that was on the Court House Green for years may be connected to the Civil War. City Manager Houston had it reconditioned and mounted in concrete. It was said to be Civil War but that had others claiming it was not. W E Bradley a Civil War artillery veteran who was in Braxton's Battery CSA and current President of the City Council said it was definitely of the Civil War period. In fact Mr. Bradley said it was found very close to Marye's Heights after the battle. Councilman Bradley went on to say that a local businessman Bill Moon had it repaired remounted at the time President Tilden had been elected. Mr. Bradley further stated, that Mr. Moon had the cannon fired by James Wheeler to celebrate the election of the President Tilden and Mr. Wheeler lost an arm in the firing, the City of Fredericksburg paid the claim and Mr. Moon donated the cannon to the City of Fredericksburg according to the Free Lance Star..

End of story, not yet in 1957 the Free Lance Start published a story in August, Old Sam Drafted A New To Add Scenic Touch. The cannon by this time had assumed the name "Old Sam Tilden”, many of us grew up seeing the cannon in front of the Information Center on Princess Anne Steet near the Falmouth Bridge and it was later moved to the location near the Fire Department on the lower Princess Anne Street. Until its recent restoration and now resides in front of the National Guard headquarters restored by the efforts of former Guard Commander David James. The story has another twist because as the story says the cannon had one big chance as when President Grover Cleveland visited Fredericksburg to dedicate the Mary Washington Monument on May 10, 1894 a salute was to be fired. The cannon discharged ahead of time and scared President Cleveland. End of story, not quite. Going back to 1953 Daniel Mitchell had a contract to demolish the old Hope Foundry located close to where the new court house is today, it was about this time that Mr. Mitchell came up with 2 cannon that he claimed he purchased, they remained in his home yard for many years until he sold the pair in the 1980's. Today we know that there are 3 cannon that are identical in measurements in the area one overlooking the Rapidan, one in front of the National Guard building and finally one in my yard. You can come to your own conclusion, however, like the late D.P Newton, I believe these cannon were cast in Fredericksburg in 1862 as a group of 6 and never were put in service and may have been still in the building when demolished in 1953. Like most historical stories we will never know the complete story. What we do know is that we have 3 identical cannon that are well preserved and are historic and continue to give the City that historic look.

Dedicated To: Carolyn Canaday, Herbert Raines, and Debbie Klein

Tuffy is Front Porch’s Resident Historian

As with so much of historic Fredericksburg, the Rappahannock River plays a vital role. Take Thornton's Tavern, the wonderful old building at 523 Sophia Street, overlooking the river and close to Riverfront Park Known as the oldest documented structure in Fredericksburg, it was built in 1746 by Thomas Thornton on an earlier foundation of brick and locally quarried sandstone (see photo).

The building we see today was built as an "ordinary" (aka tavern), adjacent to the town's first ferry Alongside the tavern, a dirt lane ran down to a wharf and the ferry landing, operated at one time by the same Thomas Thornton, and later by William Hunter The ferry remained in use until the 1820s. Thornton's Tavern originally fronted on this lane, as seen in the white recessed doorway today (see photo). The main entrance was moved to the street side of the house around 70 years after the ferry ceased operations.

One can imagine the foot traffic, wagons, and carts hauling goods and produce, that went up and down this lane. The water's edge here is intriguing in its own right, which once again, ties this story to the river. It saw three types of uses: the wharf and ferry landing, baptisms in the river, and the place for a cruel and unusual form of Colonial humiliation: the ducking stool

A ducking stool was a see-saw device for public punishment of wrongdoers, including criminals and "shrews" (women who dared to talk back), dating from Medieval times. The victim was bound in a chair attached to the end of a long lever that sat atop a fulcrum. As the shore end of the lever was raised, the other end - including the chair and victim - was pushed down ("ducked") into the water. If the action was not reversed soon enough, drowning could follow. Ducking stools were required equipment of local courts as early as 1661 under Virginia law.

Thornton's Tavern saw a lot of different uses through the centuries: residence (upholsterer John Eubank and his wife; taxidermist Michael Genzberger's family), mercantile shop (Hunter's Store; later William H Owens Toy Store ), substance abuse treatment facility (Serenity House), and an office (Charles McDaniel's).

The building was extensively rehabilitated in 2013. The costs were defrayed to some extent by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) preservation tax credit program, Federal tax credits, and the City's tax abatement program. Dovetail Cultural Resources Group assisted with research and paperwork required for the tax credits. The project earned HFFI's E Boyd Graves Award for Preservation Excellence in 2014. The HFFI plaque on the building says: "Thornton's Tavern, re-built for merchant William Hunter, wharf and ferry owner."

Dovetail used dendrochronology (aka "tree ring dating") on original woodwork to help nail down the time of construction to 1746. This building is a survivor. The major floods of 1937 and 1942 inundated the property to a depth of about 5 feet above the floor, and the high water mark is still visible along interior walls. Which brings us back to the river again!

So … what's in a Lane? Here, the oldest surviving structure in town, and a reminder that the river has always played a major role in our history.

An attorney and retired archaeologist, Jon Gerlach serves on City Council, Ward 2

Since the Civil War, Jewish families have played an important role in our city. Along with other German immigrants, they helped rebuild community after the Civil War, establishing much-needed businesses. In later years, they brought new enterprises and leadership to the community.

In 1856, Kaufman and Hannah Hirsh came from Baden, Germany, with their sons Isaac and Simon. The Hirshes and other German Jews left to avoid trade and marriage restrictions in their home country.

For years, the Hirsh family ran successful, popular businesses in Fredericksburg, selling all manner of