It was an ordinary day. I was waiting in the lobby of the Fulton Opera House for Aaron who is the Managing Director. Every year Aaron has me make altered Polaroid prints of the Fulton Opera House with small plaques to give to the retiring members of the Board of Directors of the Fulton. I am making the delivery of the prints to him today and hope to take a few photos of the interior of the Fulton, specifically the basement walls that were part of the original jail where the Paxton Boys murdered the Conestoga Indians in 1763. In 1852 Lancaster civic leader Christopher Hager hired Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan to build what would be known as Fulton Hall where the old jail had been located. Only the rear wall of the colonial prison was left intact as a tribute to the last of the Conestoga Indians. I am anxious to visit the site in the lower level of the historic building to see for myself the remnants of the jail (also referred to as the City Gaol). I'm slightly over six feet tall and Aaron has a good six inches on me so we both must stoop over as we pass through some of the doors leading to the back of the building. Then there, as we round a final corner, are the walls that were without a doubt the foundation of the jail. Wow, walls at least eighteen inches thick are on either side of an old wooden door. Cast-iron pins protrude from the corners and were more than likely the pins that held the exterior prison doors in place. I touch the walls and can just feel the history of these old walls. Tell you the truth, I was disappointed that that was all there was that remained, but at least there is something that can be seen to remember the disappointment that the community of Lancaster must have felt that fateful day in 1763. Aaron then took me to the third floor of the Fulton so I could view the Indian murals that were painted on five wall panels of the building. These were probably painted directly on the plaster by the Improved Order of Red Men sometime in the mid-1800s. The Red Men dressed as Indians and celebrated Indian traditions. The Red Men Society was founded in Baltimore in 1834 and had an order in Lancaster who met on the third floor of the Fulton and called themselves the Rainmakers Association. I can find no reason why they chose that name. In 1869, on Christmas Day, four Red Men tribes dedicated a wigwam in the third floor area where the paintings appear. The local order of Red Men used this wigwam as a special meeting place until the end of the 1800s. It was reported recently in the Lancaster newspapers that this Indian activity taking place on the same site of the Paxton Boys massacre is disrespectful and the paintings as misguided memorials to the murdered Conestoga Indians. I guess no one will ever know the real reason for the murals, but my trip to the Fulton and the history it holds for Lancaster, was a very interesting success. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Check out the photos from the Fulton
Large pin that would have held the door |
Some of the crumbling wall of the old jail |
Inside shot of where the old jail wall meets the new wall |
Exterior shot of the old jail wall |
Image of Indian on 3rd floor wall |
Second image of Indian on 3rd floor wall |
Wow LDub, interesting. Never knew all this. I always wondered what (who) the Rainmakers Assoc was. Now I know. I remember they used to have a building on Prince St. Are they still in existence? Just Sue
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