THE JUDGE NATHANIEL EWING HOUSE

Ewing House- The Full Story:

Nathaniel Ewing was born near Merrittstown, Fayette County on July 8, 1794 to William and Mary Ewing. He was one of ten children born to this union. His father, William was one of the early pioneers of Fayette County. He came from York County where he had lived with his uncle, Dr. John Ewing, a highly educated scholar and scientist. Under his uncle’s care, William studied medicine and mathematics and he became a surveyor. William settled in Luzerne Township. In 1790 at the age of 21 William bought a tract of land in Luzerne Twp. He and his wife, Mary Conwell, lived in the house he until he died in 1828 of typhoid fever. Together the couple had ten children; Nathaniel was their second. William, along with Nathaniel’s brother, constructed the National Road between Hillsborough (Scenery Hill) and Brownsville

Nathaniel left his family farm and entered Jefferson College where he graduated with the highest honors of his class. He studied law with Thomas McGiffin and was admitted to the Bar Association at Uniontown in November of 1816. Nathaniel developed an extensive and lucrative practice and soon became the acknowledged leader of the Bar Association in Fayette. In several instances he succeeded in obtaining from the State’s Supreme Court a reversal of their previous decisions. In February of 1822 he married Jane Kennedy, daughter of Judge John Kennedy. Just three years later Jane died in childbirth. Nathaniel then married Anne Denny of Chambersburg. In 1838 he was appointed by Governor Joseph Ritner to be President Judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Thomas Baird. He served for ten years and then left the bench to pursue other ventures including the development of the Fayette County Railroad. Judge Ewing knew the importance of the National Road, in part because of his father’s work as a surveyor on the Road but also because its completion meant the expansion of our country. In Uniontown Nathaniel Ewing hired Hugh Graham, a Menallen Township architect, to build his home.

Graham, of Scottish descent, was born in Ireland in 1796. At an early age he learned the carpenter’s trade. And so, at the age of 22, he emigrated to the United States, landing in Philadelphia. He was hired by the famed architect, Stephen Girard who had built some magnificent homes in that city. His job took him to Pittsburgh where, along the way, he came upon the Menallen Twp. home of Jacob Black. He spied Black’s daughter hanging the laundry out to dry. He was so taken that after completing his task in Pittsburgh, he returned to Black’s home where he asked for Margaret’s hand in marriage. In 1822 the couple were wed and they spent fifty-two happy years together. One of their sons, Thomas Baird, inherited the Menallen Twp. home. Hugh had made some significant changes to the old farmhouse.
Graham’s reputation as a skilled architect and contractor soon spread. Albert Gallatin’s son hired him to add to Friendship Hill a sandstone kitchen to the west and a grand two over two house of three bays to the northeast in 1821. Perhaps this project led Nathaniel Ewing to hire him to build this mansion in front of you. The home would have been completed in time for Lafayette’s visit in May of 1825. Ewing then hired Graham, in the 1830’s to build a tavern along the National Road in Farmington. This federally-inspired structure was the stopping place for the Good Intent Stagecoach Company. Visitors were promised a good meal, a bit of rye, and a place to rest their heads. Ewing then hired Graham in 1837 to build another tavern just east of Farmington. This substantial tavern was a 2 1/2 stories, 5 bay brick and stone structure with a real ell and a center hall floor plan. Jenny Lind, P.T. Barnum, Henry Clay, General Jackson and numerous politicians found a commodious environment with good food and pleasant surroundings.

Not far from Graham’s home in Menallen Twp., Graham received a contract to build the Gate III tollhouse on the National Road. Captain Richard Delafield had designed a two-story, seven-sided building that resembled a lighthouse. The structure was completed in 1835 and it served as a tollhouse until it was auctioned off in 1858. By this time traffic was moving by trains and not the National Road and so this unique structure became a family home. It is now a National Landmark operated by the Fayette County Historical Society.
Although he suffered from a weakened constitution as a young boy, Judge Ewing spent a long life of great usefulness to his county and to his country who mourned his loss on February 14, 1874.