Back in Washington County
An exhibit, “In the Spirit of the People: James Monroe’s 1817 Tour of the Northern States,” at the LeMoyne House in Washington documents the fifth president’s seminational tour that included stops in Washington County.
The exhibit at the LeMoyne House in Washington includes panels that outline President James Monroe’s visit to Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Two hundred years later, James Monroe is back in Washington County.
A traveling exhibit highlighting the fifth president’s seminational tour has stopped at the LeMoyne House in downtown Washington. The exhibit, called “In the Spirit of the People: James Monroe’s 1817 Tour of the Northern States,” opened in the historic home at 49 E. Maiden St. on Sept. 5 and will be available for viewing until Sept. 27. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
The James Monroe Museum, based in Fredericksburg, Va., oversees three sets of this exhibit, which is being displayed at a number of locations. It is composed of 10 full-color vinyl banners that provide details about Monroe and the tour itself, including cities and towns he visited.
Monroe, who succeeded James Madison as commander-in-chief, embarked on his trip less than three months after assuming office. He was inaugurated March 4, 1817, and began his 2,000-mile goodwill tour May 31 – the first extended excursion by a president since George Washington journeyed to southern states in 1791.
The Monroe tour, combined with a prevailing atmosphere of peace and economic prosperity during his administration, inspired a Boston newspaper to refer to the period as the “Era of Good Feeling.”
Traveling mostly by horseback – the purest form of horsepower at the time – the president headed northeast from Washington, D.C., eventually reaching Portland, Maine (then part of Massachusetts). From there, he and his entourage weaved west along the Great Lakes to Detroit, then followed a southeasterly route back to D.C., passing through Ohio, Southwestern Pennsylvania and Maryland.
“Little Washington” was the first of five stops in this end of the Keystone State. He became the first of four U.S. presidents – in office or out – to visit what is now Washington & Jefferson College, a school known as Washington College when he arrived Sept. 4.
The Rev. Guerdon Gates, a student at the time, said the president was first spotted “riding upon a gray horse” around 5 p.m. with a group of attendants following. Gates said the president stopped at David Morris’ Tavern (later known as the Globe Inn) on South Main Street, “where he was to lodge.” Monroe dismounted and “walked down the middle of the street (with) the inhabitants being paraded on either side saluting him.”
College president Andrew Wylie welcomed the president and greeted him with an impromptu speech. Monroe, one of 15 presidents to visit Washington, had dinner and stayed the night in the city.
The president headed to Jefferson College in Canonsburg the next morning. A faculty committee crafted a speech that touted Jefferson for being the longer-established and top school in the area. The Rev. William M. Millan, principal of Jefferson College, delivered an address at Emery’s Tavern.
Monroe moved on to Pittsburgh, arriving that evening. He crossed the Monongahela River on a ferry and was met on shore by enthusiastic crowds. He spent the next day at a federal arsenal in the city.
The president, after fording the Mon by horseback, stopped in Brownsville the evening of Sept. 8 for a reception and more addresses, and slept at the Brashear House. Monroe proceeded to Uniontown for another reception and address Sept. 10, before returning to D.C. seven days later.
He and his wife, Elizabeth, still hadn’t taken up residence at the White House, which was burned by British troops in 1812 during the War of 1812, which did not end until 1815. Renovations weren’t completed until October 1817, when the president and first lady were finally allowed to move in.
Monroe later won a second term, giving way to John Quincy Adams in early 1825.