Copyright
© 2017 John F. Oyler
August 10, 2017
Alexander Fowler
In a recent column regarding
a 1797 map of Pennsylvania I mentioned my puzzlement about the term “Fowler’s”
appearing on the east side of Chartiers Creek south of the present location of
Bridgeville. The mystery has been solved by one of my ex-students at Pitt.
I was delighted to receive an
email from Sonya Gray, a 2010 graduate from the University. She reported that
she had found a copy of the column in my blog and, being “a bit of a local
history and map nerd”, had decided to investigate my question.
She obviously is as good a
historical researcher as she was a Civil Engineering student, finding a warrant
for “Wingfield” assigned to Alexander Fowler in the Warrantee Atlas of
Allegheny County in the plate for what is now Upper St. Clair Township. The
location is north and east of the large meandering loop Chartiers Creek makes
where Mayview formerly existed. The plot of land consisted of 402 acres.
The property directly north
of “Wingfield” was warranted to Henry Evault and then transferred to Alexander
Fowler, as “Fowler’s Grove. Its 344 acres extend along the east side of
Chartiers Creek into what is now Bridgeville
Apparently Mr. Fowler at this
point owned well over a square mile of property along the east side of
Chartiers Creek, from the Washington Pike in Bridgeville all the way to
Mayview. The portion of Bridgeville included all the land east of the Pike and
south of Station Street.
Traditional Bridgeville
history lists this land as belonging to Moses Coulter and passing eventually,
in parcels, to John Herriott, John McDowell, and Samuel Collins. We presume
that Mr. Coulter acquired it from Fowler early in the 1800s.
Lieutenant Alexander Fowler
came to North America in 1767 as a member of the 18th Royal Irish
Regiment. Initially posted to Fort Pitt, the Regiment eventually went to the
Illinois territory where Fowler served as commandant of the post at Kaskaskia.
When it became obvious that
the dissatisfaction of the colonists with Mother England would eventually lead
to war, Fowler elected to cast his lot with the Americans. He resigned from the
army and became a citizen of our new country.
By 1793 he was operating the
Wingfield Mills and Distillery. The mill consisted of two water wheels, two
pairs of millstones, and a saw mill, all under one roof. Located “in the heart
of wheat country, it was capable of manufacturing twenty barrels of superfine
flour every twenty four hours”. The distillery included two stills with a
combined capacity of twenty gallons of whiskey per day
By 1800 Fowler had been given
command of the Allegheny Count Militia brigade and the rank of General. He died in 1806.
Fowler appears to have
functioned favorably in several significant public roles. I suspect he was the
most important resident of what is now Upper St. Clair Township in the early
days of our country.
I am grateful to Sonya Daley
Gray for solving my mystery and introducing me to an intriguing person who
certainly left his mark in the Chartiers Valley.
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