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Spring Garden Street Churchman Buildings

(Photo by Richard F. Hope)

North 4th Street Churchman Buildings

(Photo by Richard F. Hope)

Churchman Business College Buildings (355 Spring Garden Street)

Includes, at the corner, a 2-1/2 story colonial German-style[1] brick house with dormers and asymmetrical entrance at 101-03 North 4th Street;[2] surrounded by a modern, rectangular 2-story brick building in “Art Deco” style[3] with frontage at both 105-07 North Fourth Street[4] and 355 Spring Garden Street.[5]

This property appears to be substantially the western half of original Town Lot No.157, as surveyed by William Parsons when Easton was established in 1752. The modern property lot has very nearly the same 60’ frontage on North 4th Street as the original Lot No.157, although the modern property only extends some 115’ along Spring Garden Street (instead of the entire 240’ length of the square).[6] The Lot was informally occupied by Andrew Kachlein, and a house built on it before 1779.[7] The Lot was formally sold by the Penn Family to Andrew Kachlein in 1789.[8]

Andrew Kachlein’s father was Peter Kachlein[9](name also spelled Kachline, Kichline, Kichlein, Kechline, Keechline,[10] and other variations), a prominent Easton citizen. He was the Colonel of the “Flying Camp” troops sent to aid General Washington, and was wounded and captured at the Battle of Brooklyn (Long Island) in 1776 where his troops initially stood off their regular British Army opponents and killed the opposing British General Grant.[11] He later became the first Burgess of Easton when it was made a borough in 1789.[12] His son Andrew inherited his father’s mill, and sold it to the Butz Family.[13] He sold Lot No.157 at the corner of Spring Garden and Hamilton (later 4th) Streets to Philip Schitz in 1791.[14]

In 1797, Schitz also purchased the next Lot (No.156) to the North along Hamilton Street.[15] Schitz then sold both Lots to Daniel Wagener and John Herster in 1800,[16] who in 1801 resold them for £ 468 and 13 shillings to innkeeper Jacob Opp [Sr.].[17] Opp was the successful Revolutionary War era keeper of the colonial inn at the NE corner of Northampton and Hamilton (now 4th) Street, forerunner of today’s Hotel Lafayette.[18]

Fractured Property Interests

Jacob Opp (Sr.) died on 16 April 1805.[19] He left no will to divide his property among his widow (Anna Maria) and four surviving daughters. Instead of giving each daughter an equal fractional interest in all of the extensive real estate parcels that had been owned by their father, it was (wisely!) decided instead to “partition” the property, by splitting it up and giving each daughter the entire ownership of her own separate real estate. The various real estate parcels in the estate were divided into four “Portions”; each “Portion” was assigned a money value in the Orphan’s Court “partition” proceeding. Each “Portion” was then accepted from the estate, at the assigned valuation, by one of the four daughters (or, in three cases, by her husband acting in her behalf). In these proceedings, the NE corner property on Spring Garden and Hamilton Streets (Lot No.157) was part of “Portion No.3”, which was accepted by Jacob Opp’s unmarried daughter Mary Opp. The property included a “Tenement” (i.e. a house) already at this time.[20]

  • Lot No.156, next door, was part of “Portion No.4”, which was accepted from the estate by Opp’s daughter Catharine and her husband Christian Bixler III.[21]

1808 is the first year that the Northampton County tax records finally reflect the partition of the corner property to Mary Opp three years before.[22] It is likely that either the “Tenement” noted on the property in 1805, or alternatively perhaps an expansion of it in 1808 causing its owner (Mary Opp) to suddenly show up on the tax rolls, was the forerunner of the modern brick house still standing at the corner today.[23] The case for a dramatic expansion of the house in 1808 is supported by the fact that in February of that year, Mary Opp’s sister (Elizabeth Horn) and her husband sold Jacob Opp’s old inn at the corner of 4th and Northampton Streets (the forerunner of the Hotel Lafayette),[24] leading to its operation by the Butz Family.[25] If the unmarried daughter, Maria Opp, had previously been living with her parents in the inn, then thesale of the inn would have left her without a residence, and a need to move to the property she obtained under her father’s will.

In either case – whether the brick house was actually constructed in 1808, or before 1805 – the house must have been one of the earliest brick buildings in Easton. The very first brick house in town (Cudjo House) had only been built in 1792.[26] The brick construction of Mary Opp’s house can be contrasted with Philip Slough’s stone retirement house built at about the same time (in 1808), just half a block away.[27]

When Mary Opp died in approximately 1813,[28]she left no will, like her father before her.[29] This complicated the ownership of her property because the “intestacy” laws awarded equal interests toMary’s three surviving sisters (Eve Wagener, Catharine Bixler, and Elizabeth Horn).[30] Elizabeth Horn’s 1/3 interest was sold to her mother (Jacob Opp’s widow, Anna Maria Opp) in 1818 for $1,680.[31] This suggests that the widow Opp had been living in Mary Opp’s house with Mary, and the sisters sought to reflect that fact by arranging for their mother to officially have anownership interest in the house. Tax records support this impression,because even before the 1818 transfer of any formal ownership, taxes were assessed to “Anna Mariah Opp” in 1814 ($4.85), 1815 ($2.43), and 1816 ($3.53). The start of more detailed tax records in 1817 make clear that Mrs. Opp’s single most important taxable asset was this “House and Lot” (assessed at $4,500 out of her total assets of $5,730, for a tax of $3.44).[32] Since the widow Opp was taxed for the property for four years prior to her receiving even a share of formal ownership, she had to have had an identity tying her to that house – at least in the mind of the tax collector, and without any objection from her. The obvious tie to the house would have been it if was her residence, likely with her daughter since the sale of the inn in 1808.

Jacob Opp’s widow, Anna Maria Opp, died of cancer in 1827 at age 80, “after a long and severe illness”.[33]

The Vanderveer School

In approximately 1828[34] -- i.e. at approximately the time of Mrs. Opp’s final illness and death – Dr. John Vanderveer opened a preparatory school in the corner building that became Mrs. Bixler’s portion.[35] His “English and Classical School” began its first year with only 12 scholars.[36] This school was said to have been a stepping stone to Lafayette College,[37] and was soon the largest in town with 125 pupils. It later moved to the basement of the old First Presbyterian Church building[38] on Bushkill Street, and then to the residence and school that Dr. Vanderveer built next door at the NE corner of Bushkill and Spring Garden Streets. (The approach to the Route 22 bridge over the Delaware River now occupies this space.)[39] The Vanderveer school continued until the 1850s, when the “free” (i.e. government funded) high school was opened in Easton.[40]

Vanderveer’s teaching methods were later described by one of his students, iron wire Charles Stewart, in a paper delivered to the Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society in 1908. His classroom – which operated with a morning and afternoon session – was “noisy with study” without the regimentation usual in later schools. Discipline was strict: Vanderveer believed in “strap oil”, and used a “vigorous application of the rod or strap as a corrective, but not as a prophylactic to frighten into submission.” His afternoon sessions sometimes consisted of talks and advice, and he conducted field trips such as a sleigh ride to Allentown, and a snowball attack on a snow fort (defended by himself). He was absolutely independent in his choice of methods. Easton historical Rev. Uzal Condit reported: “He could say to his pupils, ‘If you don’t like the arrangements here, there is the door; you are under no obligations to attend this school. I care not to whom related, or by whom begot, if you don’t want to learn, and if you are unwilling to obey my directions, leave at once.”[41]

The Property Is Split

The widow Opp’s will, operating after her death in 1827, somewhat simplified the ownership of the property by leaving her 1/3 share to her two remaining daughters already having interests in the property (Eve Wagener and Catharine Bixler). That meant that each of these two ladies owned a half share. However, Mrs. Wagener complicated matters again by dying in 1833 without a will (like too many of her forebears!), which resulting in passing her half interest to be shared by her husband (Daniel Wagener) and her four children (who were Jacob Wagener, David D. Wagener, Mary Mixsell wife of Philip Mixsell, and Susanna Burke wife of Joseph Burke). All of the children were prominent and well-to-do citizens in Easton. Widower Daniel Wagener was a substantial property owner and mill operator,[42] and his sons were wealthy and prominent citizens in their own right.[43] Philip Mixsell owned a number of commercial buildings, including a wholesale and retail store, and a residence, on North 4th Street.[44]

In 1836, these Wagener heirs agreed to divide up the various family properties.[45] As part of the general settlement, the heirs made over their various partial interests in the Vanderveer School property to Susanna Burke.[46]

  • Her husband, Joseph Burke,[47] owned the “general merchandise” store and residence next door to Philip Mixsell’s on North 4th Street.[48] He had been Chief Burgess of Easton in 1825.[49]

This 1836 Wagener Family settlement, then,left a single remaining Wagener Family member (Mrs. Burke) with a half interest in the Vanderveer School property, while Catharine Bixler still retained the other half interest. In that same year, these two ladies also reached a settlement in which they split up their property, each taking sole ownership in separate parcels. For her portion, Catharine Bixler took the “Brick Tenement” at the NE corner itself, with 22’ 6” of frontage along Hamilton Street (and 120’ in depth along Spring Garden Street). Mrs. Burke took the other 23’ 6” of frontage along Hamilton Street (thus, in-between Mrs. Bixler’s house at the corner and her Lot No.126 to the North that she obtained from her father, Jacob Opp’s, estate). Mrs. Burke’s parcel was also 120’ in depth, parallel to Spring Garden Street. Both ladies agree to have an alley laid out at the rear (running North from Spring Garden Street) for the convenience of their properties, and also that if Mrs. Burke built on her property she (or her successors) could use the northern wall of Mrs. Bixler’s “Brick Tenement” at the corner as a support. There was no explicit mention of any house then being on Mrs. Burke’s portion of this land, however.[50]

Property owner Catharine Bixler’s husband, Christian Bixler III, was a Revolutionary War veteran. He came to Easton in approximately 1785 and originally made grandfather clocks, which (when in good condition) are expensive collectors’ items today. He also began selling jewelry, and his store (when passed down through the generations) claims to be the oldest jewelry store in America.[51] When he died in 1840,[52] and his will left the property on Hamilton (now 4th) Street in trust for life to his daughter, Maria McCullough, and then to her children. That property included both the corner parcel (still containing a “two story brick house” – which could describe the house currently at the corner location), as well as the other parcel farther up 4th Street (viz. Lot No.156), which still had “two houses”.[53] Mary McCullough died on 1 May 1857, leaving 6 children.[54] The original executor of her will was her brother, Daniel L. Bixler, but he was dismissed from that post later in that year,[55] probably because of his personal financial troubles.[56] In his place jeweler Eli M. Fox (a partner of Daniel’s brother, William Bixler)[57] was appointed as a trustee to sell the property for Mrs. McCullough’s children. The corner property continued to include a “two Story Brick Dwelling House”. In 1866, Fox (as trustee) was able to sell the corner property to John Green.[58]

John Green was a “gentleman”,[59] who had invested in the fledgling iron business in 1835 as a partner in his brother-in-law John Stewart’s rolling mill (later the noted wire factory) in South Easton.[60] The mill “was one of the earliest large-scale factories to be built in the Abbott Street Industrial Park” of South Easton,[61] along the Lehigh Navigation canal.[62] In addition to the mill, by the 1850s John Green’s “buildings . . . covered the half block from Spring Garden to Fourth Streets”.[63] His home was located across the street, at the SE corner of Spring Garden and Hamilton Streets.[64]

The Parsonage at the Corner

Meanwhile, by 1860, the brick buildingat the NE corner had become the home of Rev. John L. Grant. The house was then numbered 55 North 4th Street.[65] Rev. Grant was a Presbyterian clergyman.[66] Although Easton records of Rev. Grant are scarce, he did deliver a speech in the summer of 1861 (at the beginning of the Civil War) “in happy humor, patriotism and eloquence” that “held the close attention of the large and enthusiastic crowd.”[67] In 1866, Rev. Grant purchased another house (now numbered 244 Spring Garden Street) in 1866.[68]

  • Rev. Grant’s wife, Euphemia died in 1868,[69] and he moved to Camden N.J. by 1870.[70]

In 1866 (apparently, when Rev. Grant moved farther down Spring Garden Street), John Green sold the house at the corner of Spring Garden and North 4th Streets to the First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Easton, for $3,200.[71] The money was supplied by a subscription, and the leading donor was John Green himself. The other subscribers were the heirs of a parishioner (R.S. Chidsey), and Dr. John Vanderveer -- the same teacher whose preparatory school had formerly been located in the building (see above).[72] Dr. Vanderveer was an influential member of this church, and taught in its Sunday School. Other members of the congregation who were influential in Easton or at Lafayette College included Dr. Traill Green, Washington McCartney, Henry D. Maxwell, and Edward F. Stewart.[73] The house at the corner was to be used as a parsonage[74] for the pastor, Rev. Cornelius H. Edgar.[75] At the time it was acquired, the parsonage was updated for Rev. Edgar, at the cost of parishioner (and Spring Garden Street resident) Dr. Traill Green.[76]

  • Rev. Edgar’s parsonage was numbered 55 North 4th Street prior to 1874.[77] It was assigned the address of 103 North 4th Street with the inauguration of the modern street numbering scheme in 1874.[78]

This church congregation had originally been formed as the Second Presbyterian Church in 1848, in an acrimonious split from the pre-existing Easton Presbyterian congregation.[79] In 1851, it had survived only by becoming an affiliate of the Dutch Reformed denomination, building the church building at 5th and Church Streets in the process (now known as the “Rock Church”).[80]

John Green died in 1870.[81] His three children (who inherited the bulk of his property)[82] gave additional property along Spring Garden Street known as the “Garden Lot”for Rev. Edgar’s congregation to build a new Church next to the parsonage (see below).[83] That church is known as the First Presbyterian Church today.[84]

The Burke Parcel

Meanwhile, Mrs. Burke continued to own the property along Hamilton (now called 4th) Street, as well as her eastern portion of Lot No.157 at the corner of Spring Garden and Bank Alley,that she had acquired in the partition arrangement in 1836. In 1858, her estate was forced to sell the real estate in order to pay its debts. The two parcels were sold separately. The land along North 4th (formerly called Hamilton) Streetwas sold to William Johnson for $815.[85] Johnson was a “Gardener and Horticulturalist” by trade.[86]

  • On the same day, the estate sold the parcel at the corner of Spring Garden Street and Bank Alley for $1,300 to John Green.[87] In 1866 (the same year he sold the parsonage to the Church), John Green sold this parcel to Charles Stewart,[88] a nephew.[89] The Stewart and Green families both participated in the Stewart & Co. iron rolling mills and wire factory in South Easton.[90] In 1871, in preparation for the donation to the Church, Charles Stewart sold the parcel back to John Green’s children.[91] It formed the bulk of the “Garden Lot” donated by the children to the Church.[92]

In 1866, William Johnson sold his land for $1400 to Edward Schindler.[93] Easton Atlas of 1874 shows two buildings at this location listed to E[dward] Schindler.[94] His address was 59 North 4th Street prior to 1874,[95] and he was assigned 105 North 4th Street (for his residence) and No.107 (for his locksmith shop) with the inauguration of the modern street numbering scheme in 1874.[96]