Artifacts found within the Irish-Townsend House’s closet walls

Written by Mike Spratt

This month’s artifact has a unique donor — the Irish-Townsend House! 

While doing some demolition work to enlarge two closets, we came upon several unique artifacts that are worth talking about this month. The photos tell the story of these artifacts and how we found them. 

The 1st picture is of a gap in a closet wall on the second floor of the IT House. The square outline in the photo comes from a cigar box top tacked in place for many years. The 2nd photo is the cigar box lid — Yara Young America cigars. It’s hard to see in the photo, but at the bottom of the lid is printed, “Entered into an Act of Congress 1867.” We haven’t discovered much about this cigar brand, so if anyone has any information, please get in touch.

Stuffed into the gap in the wall were several artifacts. First, seen in the 3rd and 4th photos are two pieces of brocaded cloth. One has a rose pattern, and the other has a shield. It's tough to see in the photo, but the patterns are clearly visible if you hold them at an angle in the light.

Our big find in this gap were two pieces of a shopping bag from A.D. Gilliland shown in the 5th and 6th pictures. Published in 1888, The History of Beaver County discusses the dry goods store owner Andrew D. Gilliland. 

Born in 1838 in Darlington Township, Gilliland was the third of ten children born to Samuel and Lois (Dunlap) Gilliland. In 1852, he commenced the dry goods business. Gilliland was married in 1861 to Emma, daughter of Charles Stewart of New Brighton, and they had five children: Charles A., Carrie A., Louis A., Laura B., and May Ella. They were members of the United Presbyterian church and politically Republican. 

The 7th picture is an ad from The Beaver Radical newspaper published on January 10, 1873. Notice the wording similarities between the ad and the paper bags. The 8th picture is of Mr. Gilliland. These findings are true treasures from the past that help shed a new light on the history of New Brighton and our ancestors!

The New Brighton Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the history of our borough. If you have something you think is important to the history of the borough, please contact us. If you’re unsure, reach out and we will be happy to help you do some research.