The Value of Recognition

                       THE VALUE OF RECOGNITION

                                                                            By John Nass, Jr.

                                                        Editor, President Mon-Yough Chapter #3

     Introduction

     For millennia societies around the world have developed means to recognize personal achievement. Such recognition can take many forms, such as metals, awards, titles, promotions, and even having one’s name listed on a plaque often seen at restaurants reserved for employee of the month.

     Recognition is a form of acknowledgement given to an individual or to a group for the successful completion of a task or some sort of demonstrable achievement. However, for the individual, recognition by one’s peers is a form of proclamation of achievement. It can represent a milestone in the career of an individual, or the accomplishments of a career.

     One such organization that bestows group and individual awards is the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology. Two types of group awards are given to chapters. The first type recognizes the recruitment, and the second recognizes the number new sites recorded with the state and/or updated. Both are specialty awards and are non-competitive. It is possible for two chapters to tie for the number of new sites registered with the state and/or updated, as well the number of members. Both awards bear the names of individuals and were created by the society to recognize their outstanding contributions in the history of the SPA.

     The Whittoff Award is given to the chapter(s) that recruited the most new SPA members and/or reinstating the highest number of delinquent state members in the previous calendar year. The Mon-Yough Chapter has won the award twice since 2012, when it was reinstated. The award is determined by the SPA Treasurer and the Secretary.      The award recognizes the career of Dr. John Witthoft, former professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, who passed in 1993 after teaching for 20 years. Dr. Witthoff’s areas of expertise were Native American Ethnology, pre-contact archaeology, and colonial archaeology. Prior to his tenure at Penn, Dr. Witthoff was the state archaeologist for Pennsylvania from 1948-1966.  

     The Frances Dorrance Award is given to a chapter(s) that recorded the most new sites and/or submitted the most site updates with the Pennsylvania Archaeology Site Survey (PASS) at the State Historic Preservation Office in the previous calendar year. The award is determined by the SHPO staff.      The award is named for Frances Dorrance, a remarkable woman who championed local history and the preservation of pre-contact Native American sites and collections from those sites for scientific study. Aware of the enormity of the effort needed to insure archaeological sites and collections were preserved for future study, Dorrance in collaboration with J. Alden Mason, organized the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology in 1929. The award was created in 1976 to honor her memory and her substantial contribution to Pennsylvania history and archaeology. 

     The society confers four awards that recognize individual achievement. These awards may or may not be presented at the annual meeting. Three of these, the Life-Time Achievement, J. Alden Mason, and Archey Award, emphasize longevity of service, while the Shrader/George Youth Award, recognizes the achievements of young adults under the age of 18 years of age.      

     The Life-Time Achievement Award created in 2008, recognizes the career achievements of an individual who can be a professional archaeologist in Pennsylvania, a professional in a closely related science, or an avocational archaeologist with at least 20 years of outstanding service to the archaeology of Pennsylvania, and/or historic preservation, and must be an exemplary proponent of the mission of the SPA. The award was created in 2008.      The J. Alden Mason Award recognizes the educational achievements of Dr. J. Alden Mason, a professor at University of Pennsylvania, who helped organize the SPA in 1929. The award, created in 1970, is given to a professional archaeologist or a professional in a related science, who holds either a Master’s degree or P.D. in Archaeology or a related science. The award acknowledges the career of an individual and her/his personal impact upon the education of students and advocationlists and SPA members, as well as encouraging advocationlists and SPA members in the proper usage of field methods in the investigation of archaeological sites.

     The Archey Award is the oldest of the individual awards given by the SPA. Created in 1958, the award recognizes the achievements of an advocationlists who is a member of the SPA. The recipient of the award is an individual who has given unselfishly of her/his time over a appreciable period, to the furtherance of Pennsylvania’s archaeology through public outreach, publications, offices held, number and kinds of sites recorded and/or excavated, and work with students to teach them proper field methods for site excavation. 

     The Shrader/George Youth Award is given to a SPA member who is 18 years old or younger. The award recognizes their accomplishments, their character, and their unselfish effort towards the furtherance of Pennsylvania archaeology. Recipients must be a member of a chapter, as well as the society.

     The legacies of Witthoff, Mason and Dorrance and their impact on the archaeology of Pennsylvania merit further discussion. For this reason, the second edition of Volume 5 will be devoted to narratives about these individuals and why the awards were created to honor them. 

Lanterns Part Two

 

This issue of the Journal by guest author Matt Cumberledge features information on the Nail City Lantern Company located in Wheeling, West Virginia. This issue is part two of Matt's overview of lanterns.

A Wheeling Industry

Dunkard Creek has often been an important part in the history of Greene County, an essential waterway, a way to navigate and connect to the outside world.   Follow Dunkard long enough and you’ll reach the Monongahela River, run it north to Pittsburgh and there you will find the Ohio River. It could easily be argued that the Ohio is one of the most important rivers in American History, second only to the Mighty Mississippi, and there, in Pittsburgh, the Ohio forms from the confluence of the waters of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers.   From Pittsburgh, one of the first major Cities you’ll come across on the Ohio is Wheeling West Virginia.

Wheeling, an old Town, first settled 1769 by Ebenezer Zane was originally called Zanesburg, a few other families would settle there as well, including the Wetzels, Shepherds, and McCollochs.   More folks would come to live in the area after the opening of the Northwest Territory, and it would become an important spot for those wishing to continue migrating westward.   In 1793, Ebenezer Zane would divide his land into lots, and Wheeling was officially born.

The Ohio River would be an extremely important part of Wheeling, allowing travel and easy access to Pittsburgh to the East and the Mississippi River to the west.  Like all River Towns the Ohio was Wheeling’s very lifeblood.  As time progressed, and the Industrial Revolution added a new layer of life to the region, the Ohio River would play an even more important role. 

Throughout the 1860s and 70s, industry would blossom in Wheeling, mostly along the banks of the Ohio, and the town would prosper.   Many individuals would find the opportunity to start business and forge a successful path for themselves in the ever-changing world of the late 19^th century.  One of these men was Archibald Woods Paull.

Paull was born in Wheeling on November 26^th, 1845, a son of prominent citizen and Judge, James Paull.  He received his early education at the Linsly Institute and later at Washington and Jefferson College, in Washington PA where he graduated in 1865.  After his schooling was completed, A. W. Paull began working in the Book and Stationary Industry that had long been established in Wheeling, however this is a pursuit that did not suit him well, so, in 1877 Paull would establish his own company, but in a completely different trade.   Nail City Lantern Company would be his business, Nail City being a common nickname for Wheeling as one of the major industries was the manufacturing of Cut Nails, it was often said at the time that Wheeling was the “Cut Nail Capital of the World.”  When the company was formed, it initially employed 20 individuals and produced primarily Hand (common use) Lanterns, Railroad Lanterns, Tin Capped Mason Jars and small incidental items.   At this time the company was located at 1212 Main Street in Wheeling WV, in a small four-story brick building (Figure 1).                                                                                                  

Figure 1. An Early Image of the Original Nail City Lantern Building

             Business for Paull would boom, and the Company would expand adding more                           employees and moving several times until 1892 when they would settle in their final location in              Wheeling at 2106-2116 Water Street (Figure 2).   The Company would remain here until 1956.   The 1890s were particularly exciting times for Nail City Lantern Company, several new models of Lanterns would be produced for the Market, a new innovative design, easy to stamp and assemble, and with a new mechanism to raise the globe.   This would be called the  “Crank Tubular Lantern,” a popular item at the time and one of the most desirable lanterns to be found by collectors in modern times. 

Joseph Bokanoski of Vernon Connecticut has been collecting Nail City Items for over 10 years and has amassed one of the best collections of Nail City Lantern Companies products known in existence today.  Joe’s collection includes Lanterns from all periods of the Companies History, Mason Jars, Meat Hooks manufactured by Nail City Lantern Company, Marked Crates and Boxes, Signs and Catalogs, and of course many examples of the Crank Tubular Lantern (Figure 2).  His collection and knowledge have been a huge source of reference for this article.

                        Figure 2. Bokanoski Collection of Nail City/Wheeling Stamping Items. 

Throughout the 19^th Century, the Company would prosper, in 1894, the name would change to Nail City Stamping, with Archibald W. Paull still president of the Company, but on December 2^nd, 1898, Paull would pass from this life, and the company would pass on to his son, Archibald Woods Paull II.   The Companies name would again change, no longer called Nail City Stamping, the company would now be known as Wheeling Stamping Company, though still housed in the same 4 story brick structure on Water Street where it has been for the previous six years.

Lantern Manufacturing would change, and simpler more affordable yet still high-quality lanterns would be created, and other tin stamped items were also regularly manufactured.   In WWI the company would make metal mess kits for soldiers on the front and may have possibly supplied our local troops that fought in WWI from Company K out of Waynesburg.

Still the company would thrive under the leadership of Archibald W. Paull II, who would remain in control of the company for the rest of his life.   His last great act would be overseeing the 1956 move of the company to the former Packer Trucking Company Building in the Warwood Area of Wheeling (Figure 3).   Archibald W. Paull II would pass on the 2^nd of December 1957, 59 years to the day after the death of his father.   Wheeling Stamping would survive for many more years however, and finally dissolved on September 4^th 1990.

                        Figure 3. Wheeling Stamping Building, Wheeling, West Virginia.

Products made by Wheeling Stamping, and especially in its early form Nail City Lantern Company are now highly collectable.  Nail City Lanterns can fetch large prices at auction and their Early Mason jars are very desirable amongst collectors, and sadly there are not an abundance of these items to be found, even locally in the region where they were manufactured.   But should you ever come across something marked NCL, WS or Wheeling Stamping, or even a Paull’s Lantern that was made by Wheeling Stamping Company, know that you have found an important and interesting piece of our regional history.

                        Figure 4.  A Nail City Lantern at the site where it was produced about 1896.

      

References:

Lanterns that Lit Our World, Volumes 1 & 2
Anthony Hobson 1991, 1996
Goldn Hill Press

Interview with Joseph Bokanoski
Vernon CT, 2025

FaceBook Group
Tubular Lantern Collectors

Website: Ontario Lantern, The Drew Goff Collection
https://www.ontariolantern.ca/

Website:  W. T. Kirkman Lanterns
https://lanternnet.com/

 

The History and Identification of Lanterns Part One

 

            Lanterns have a magical charm and attraction about them, regardless of the material – wax, animal fat, whale oil, kerosene, or the modern oil – used to illuminate the device. This issue of the Journal and a companion article on lanterns are written by guest contributor Matt Cumberledge, executive director of the Greene County Historical Society and Museum.

 

The History and Identification of Lanterns

 

Not so very long ago, electric lighting was merely a dream and something unobtainable for many living in the Rural United States, even into the 1930s and 1940s there were many homes and farms that lacked the necessary infrastructure to flip a switch to illuminate their world.   As such, kerosene lanterns were, and in some instances remain to be, a huge part of our culture.

The first lanterns used candles to provide lighting.    In the 18^th Century and before, many Candle Lanterns were made out of sheet tin, or copper, and punched with holes forming various designs, allowing light to penetrate.   Wooden lanterns were also used and were common well into the Civil War and Reconstruction Eras.   These wooden lanterns were often simple frames, with glass panels on each of the 4 sides and a covered vent on top.

 

                

                                     

     Whale Oil Lanterns would begin to arrive on the scene in the 1840’s and become quite common in the 1850’s and 60’s.   It’s very easy to identify a Whale Oil Lantern by it’s burner.   Whale Oil Burners often have one, two or three, pointed tips with the end removed that would hold the wick and provide a source of fuel for the flame.   As Whale Population dwindled due to over harvesting for Whale Oil, Kerosene would be refined and developed and quickly become King.

 

The First Kerosene lanterns were made in the 1860’s based on patents by John Henry Irwin and Joseph B. Stetson.    By 1868, companies such as R. E. Dietz (Still in business today and making some of the same models as they were over a century ago) Chicago Lantern Company and others would perfect the design of the Tubular Kerosene Lantern.

`           The First Kerosene Lanterns were very simple in design, at the base was a small fount to hold fuel, and perhaps the most important feature were the tubes that formed a rough rectangular or trapezoidal shape.   See Diagram No. 1.   These tubes, which could either be square in cross section, circular or even “D” Shaped, are what kept a steady design of air feeding the flame.    This design was known as “The Hot Blast Design” due to the fact that combustion air was recycled to keep air flowing to the burner.   This design would prove to be very successful, with many different companies utilizing this design and competing in the open market to create the best lantern.     

                                                               Design Diagram No. 1

                                  

             By the 1890’s the Hot Blast Design had been perfected, and many companies such as R.E. Dietz, SG&L Co, C.T. Ham Manufacturing, Buhl Stamping, Nail City Lantern Company, Winfield Manufacturing, Meyrose, and many many others all had their take on the hot blast design.    Most of these companies had their own unique design on how to lift the globe to access the burner for wick trimming and lighting.   Some used a lever lift on one of the side tubes that when operated lifted the globe, others would opt for a top lift design with a tab on top of the smoke bell above the globe that could be pulled to raise the globe.    Many manufacturers had several different models with different lift designs, there was definitely a lot of competition to create the perfect lantern.

Undoubtedly the most popular hot blast lantern of the 1890’s and the first quarter of the 20^th century was the Dietz Victor, which was introduced into production sometime around 1892, and it would be produced well into the 1930s.    The Victor was a basic Hot Blast Lantern design that was toughly built, with a lever lift on the side, that was not only practical but affordable.   One can still commonly find a Dietz Victor in Antique Shops, Thrift Stores, Flea Markets and Online Auctions today.   

 The Victor however would fall out of Favor to the Dietz Monarch by the 1930’s.   The Monarch was a nearly identical lantern with only one exception.   In stead of the tubes being square, they tubes were round, made in two sections, each stamped from a sheet of tin and crimped together.   This design was more cost effective than the older square tube design.   The Diest Monarch is the only Hot Blast Lantern still in production today.

In the late 1880’s another lantern design was developed, the Cold Blast.   See Diagram 2.  It would take a while for the Cold Blast design to take off, as from a manufacturing stand point it is a bit more complicated, but the design utilized fresh cold air, not recycled combustion air from the lantern itself, to feed fresh oxygen to the burner resulting in a much brighter and whiter flame.   

                                                             Design Diagram No. 2

                                      

When we imagine what a lantern looks like, a Cold Blast lantern is often what we envision.    By 1900, many manufacturers were producing their own version of a Cold Blast lantern.   Unlike the earlier Hot Blast designs, most Cold Blasts tended to be similar in appearance and nearly identical in operation.    Early cold blast designs experimented with different lift designs, but by the late 1910’s or 1920’s nearly all were identical with a lever lift mounted to the side.

 See Diagrams 3 below for a diagram from a Canadian Lantern Manufacturer that gives an over view of lantern anatomy and various features of a good lantern.

Image File Reference:

0001.JPG                    18^th Century Candle Lantern
0002.JPG                    Wood Frame, Glass Paneled Candle Lantern
0003.JPG                    Whale Oil Lantern
0004.JPG                    A Early Kerosene Lantern, made by Dietz Circa 1870
0005.JPG                    A Dietz Victor Lantern, Circa 1896
0006.JPG                    A Dietz Crescent Lantern, Circa 1915 a typical Cold Blast Lantern

References:

Lanterns that Lit Our World, Volumes 1 & 2
Anthony Hobson 1991, 1996
Golden Hill Press

 

Interview with Joseph Bokanoski
Vernon CT, 2025

 

FaceBook Group
Tubular Lantern Collectors

 

Website: Ontario Lantern, The Drew Goff Collection
https://www.ontariolantern.ca/

 

Website:  W. T. Kirkman Lanterns
https://lanternnet.com/

 

 

Green Tree Tavern Stand

Archaeological Investigation of the Green Tree Tavern Stand

      This issue of the Mon-Yough Journal focuses on the ongoing excavation of the archaeological site across the road from the Abel Colley Tavern, the museum for the Fayette County Historical Society. The excavation has been vexing as well as intriguing. After four years of excavation, the identity of the site is still problematic. According to local oral history, the remains are those of the Greene Tree Tavern Stand. Yet there is only one published mention of the site as the location of the Green Tree Tavern. Lengthy research at the Uniontown Public Library and the Fayette County Courthouse by Dwayne Santella, Beverly Santella, and the author yielded no clues about the identity of the site, its age, nor its usage as a tavern stand to service private and commercial travelers. While Able Colley, who had his home built across the road from the site, is mentioned in the tax records as having a license to operate a 

 

Ae Colley (taken from Searight, 1894). Colley home, now the location of the Fayette Historical Society Museum.            

                                                                          

tavern as early as 1838, the available document record cannot tell us whether his ownership of a tavern refers to his home built in 1835 and used as a tavern, or the site across the road, the subject of this issue. Again, oral history connects the archaeological site with Abel Colley, but did Able own the building complex referred to as the Green Tree Tavern prior to 1838 when he inherited properties from his father, Peter Colley, who died that year.

Excerpts taken from 1838 will of Peter Colley:

 

“To son, Abel Colley, Sam Adam’s tract excluding ten acres of said tract adjoining, and including the buildings at the Old Tavern stand at the Plump Stock/Sock Road equaling

about 110 acres occupied currently by deceased David Colley’s heirs.

 

Also to Abel, the tract called Frost Place of 30 acres

 

Also to Abel, the tavern tract containing 55 acres all equaling nearly 200 acres adjoining land of Joseph Beall Phillips heirs, Mrs Searight, and others”

 

While informative, it has not been possible to determine if one of these properties contains the site across from Abel Colley’s home.

     One fact is certain regarding the site, all the building footprints thus far delineated, like those of other still standing structures from the first half of the l9th century, are parallel to US  40, the National Road. Historical records state that the National Road was built across Fayette County in 1818. It is highly probable that the building complex, the site, was thus built sometime after 1818 and not before as some oral history accounts have stated.

     The ending date for the site is also problematic. Oral historical accounts – which cannot be substantiated with documents – suggest the destruction of the tavern, and perhaps some of its dependencies, by fire occurred prior to 1850. A thorough examination of the available newspaper collections stored on microfilm from approximately 1830 to 1860 by an intern working for the chapter did not find any reference regarding the destruction of the tavern. However, it is possible that a story describing the demise of the tavern was published in one of the missing newspaper issues. The site artifact assemblage does not provide any assistance, since several examples of ceramics and bottles dating to the second half of the 19^th century being recovered. Chapter members will continue to review archival documents as these become available.

 The Archaeology of the Tavern Site

     Excavation at the site started in May, 2019 (see picture below). The standard sized unit was a 2 m². Initial excavation began where a noticeable rise or swell in the surface was apparent. Excavation confirmed the existence of a dense concentration of limestone rubble.

     An important question was what to expect regarding buildings. All of the structures previously shown were built with stone foundations. What this the case with our tavern?

     One of the best means of inferring the type of structure once present is by examining its footprint. Different types of structures can have different footprints. As horizontal exposure progressed, segments of dry laid stone foundations or footers were exposed. It would appear our structure and its outbuildings were supported by these. Such foundations are predominately associated with structures built from logs.

     Excavation identified the presence of an extensive, artifact rich, sheet midden – feature 5 – denoted by the white dashed line superimposed upon the aerial photo. Beneath it were several deep, 

Feature 1. Limestone rubble.

Drone image showing extent of excavations in 2019.  

stone-lined or chinked, rectangular post holes visible in the aerial photo. While such reinforced post holes tend to be wall supports, these did not form any pattern. Also visible in the aerial picture denoted by red lines were segments of dry laid foundation stones.

     Visible in the photo below is a partially exposed three-course thick, rectangular shaped foundation made from cut limestone. Within the foundation were pockets oxidized soil suggestive of burning. This was the extend of excavation in 2019. Of course the COVID lockdown presented us from do any work in 2020.

     In 2021 several California University of California students assisted with the excavations. The infusion of their enthusiasm and energy helped make up for the lost field time in 2020. Excavations exposed additional stone-lined post holes, and more of the dry laid foundations. 

     

                                            

Excavation also completely exposed the rectangular shaped, cut limestone stone foundation first identified in 2019. The foundation measured 1.88 m by 3 m (7 ft by 10 ft) in size. The floor of the foundation (outlined with red lines) consists of disjointed, cut limestone cobbles. Our current thinking is that the configuration might be the remnant of a chimney box of some sort. The size of the foundation seems too small to have been the foundation for a summer kitchen. The foundation could also be the remnant of either a bake oven or a smokehouse; see image below. In addition, the sheet midden identified in 2019 extended across the entire area excavated between 2021-23. 

Picture of stone foundation

     Excavations in 2024 exposed additional sections of dry stacked stone foundations and a linear discoloration some three meters wide by more than four meters in length was exposed. Excavation to delineate its configuration or footprint recovered several artifacts that functionally would be associated with black smiting, such as horse and oxen shoes, files, pliers, and tools for working leather. The surface of the stain contained a small amount of cinders, coal fragments, small stones, and charcoal fragments. 

     Unfortunately, excavation could not chase out the dimensions of the stain. Such stains are consistent with the presence of a structure and represent debris that filtered down through the flooring. But such stains could also represent the actual floor. Because of the presence of smiting tools, the horse and oxen shoes, and the debris on the floor, we believe the latter proposition best characterizes the existence of the stain. For the moment, lab work is occupying the chapter as we attempt to assess catalogue the thousands of artifacts recovered from five field seasons. 

     Volunteers are Welcome and interested persons should contact the chapter president at john.nass.1813@gmail.com. In fact, we are in need of help! Prior archaeology experience is not required and volunteers will learn first-hand how to identify and catalogue artifacts from the site. 

John Nass, Jr.

     

    

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