The village of Bavington sits at the very northern edge of Smith Township, Washington County, just across the line from Robinson Township on the east and Hanover Township on the west, along Old Steubenville Pike. Pretty unassuming now, most people likely only pass through if they’re trying to sneak into Star Lake Amphitheater from a back way in an attempt to avoid the heavy traffic on Route 22, and don’t even realize that the little village is there. Kramer’s Greenhouse, Raccoon Creek Winery, and Coal Tipple Brewery, and the Bavington Roadhouse are the only businesses left. Maybe you can count Andy's Candies further down the road in Robinson Township. And then there is a Grange Hall still there in the actual village along Creek Road.
The 1876 Caldwell's Atlas of Washington County maps out the village of Bavington (above) compared with the modern street view (below). The red dots help orient yourself to the maps. (J.A. Caldwell/Google Maps)
The namesake of this little village, however, is one that is little known, and the story behind the man’s death is an interesting and unfortunate one. John Bavington was born on February 2, 1750 in Maryland, and served during the Revolutionary War in the 7th Company, 4th Battalion of the Washington County, Pennsylvania Militia under Captain Peter Kidd and Lieutenant Colonel John Marshall [6], under the latter gaining the title of Captain himself. He was a man who stayed loyal to his country, and did not get caught up in the Whiskey Rebellion affair of the 1790s, signing a loyalty pledge under Joseph Vance on November 2, 1794 to “faithfully and sincerely support the Constitution of the United States [3].” Around 1785 he married Ruth McKinnon, and on February 22, 1786 at the age of 36 he took out a patent of 404 acres near the east branch of Raccoon Creek which he called “Milltown [2].”
The original patent maps showing John Bavington's (here spelled 'Bevington') "Milltown" in the northeast corner of Smith Township. He would later patent a neighboring tract under the name "Madagascar." (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission)
They settled and built a cabin on the hillside about a quarter mile east of the current village. Later they built a house on the section of the farm across the road and to the east of where Creek Road meets Old Steubenville Pike, which is where he resided until his death. He and Ruth filled their home with five sons (Daniel, Charles, Henry, John, and Thomas) and five daughters (Nancy, Elizabeth, Sarah, Catherine, and Mary). There he built a saw mill and grist mill, which “did the grinding and sawing for many miles around.” [1].
A zoomed-in view of Bavington from the 1876 Caldwell Atlas of Washington County. The second home that Captain Bavington built where he resided until his death is the home occupied by D.S. McBride here. (J.A. Caldwell)
The grist mill, used for grinding grain into flour, is what brings us to the captain’s final journey. On June 23, 1810 Captain Bavington was taking a wagon load of flour (some sources claim whiskey as well, but there isn’t evidence that he operated a still) in barrels to Steubenville to sell. Near the mouth of Harmon Creek at Kelly’s Ferry, he drove his four-horse team and wagon onto a flat boat, with its large oars and low sides, to cross the Ohio River. While in open water on their way across, the horses began stamping their feet, which loosened a plank in the floor of the boat allowing water to rush in. As the boat began to fill with cool river water, the two men running the oars dove out of the boat to safety and swam ashore. John and Kelly, the ferryman, attempted to get the team unhitched from the wagon so perhaps they could swim to shore and not be dragged to the bottom with the full wagon as an anchor, but to no avail. Perhaps knocked unconscious by the panic-stricken horses as the men tried to free them, they all sank to the bottom of the Ohio River and were drowned. When their bodies were recovered, John Bavington still had his horse whip firmly grasped in one hand, though the depth of the water didn’t clear the bows of the wagon. It is not known what happened to Kelly’s body, but Captain John Bavington was taken home and buried in the church graveyard at what was then known as The Crossroads, but is now called Florence [4].
Above: A section of an 1807 map showing where Harmon Creek empties into the Ohio River, where Bavington drowned in 1810.
(from Rev. James Madison's 1807 Map of Virginia")
Below: An 1823 map showing the road to Steubenville and Harmon Creek (just south of the road) emptying into the Ohio River.
(from Fielding Lucas Jr.'s 1823 map, "Pennsylvania")
A painting showing the Market Street Ferry crossing the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Camden in 1779. This is likely the type of ferry boat Bavington would have been on while crossing the Ohio River to Steubenville. (David J. Kennedy 1816-1898; Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
A fascinating connection to the grave of John Bavington takes place a few years later. Fast forward to 1811, and two officers stationed at Fort Fayette in Pittsburgh got into an argument so intense that they decided to settle it with a duel. Since dueling was made illegal in Pennsylvania, they decided they would go to Virginia where the practice was still allowed. Both left for the near western lands separately on the same day. Near North Star, due to the terrible road conditions, one man’s carriage upset, dumping the riders into the road, breaking the leg of the officer. The other officer made it as far as The Cross Roads (now Florence, at the intersection of Route 18 and Old Route 22) and stopped for the night at the hotel before continuing westward, unknowing what had happened to his adversary. After awakening the next morning, he strolled across the street into the old graveyard and decided he needed to practice his marksmanship to prepare for the duel ahead of him. Eyeing a carved, six-inch or so circle atop a sandstone headstone across the yard, he drew and fired. Not once, but twice, striking the headstone of none other than Captain John Bavington just below and to the right of the officer’s intended target [5].
Captain John Bavington's headstone in the old Florence Cemetery, showing the two bullet holes at the upper right. As seen in May 2024. (HFC)
It is not known what happened to the men who argued so ferociously that they decided to trek across state lines to shoot it out, but to this day, you can walk into the old cemetery in Florence and find Bavington’s headstone nestled amongst others behind some yucca shrubs and still see the bullet holes made by the Pittsburgh officer over 200 years ago.
Works Cited
Beers, J. H. & Co. Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, and of Many of the Early Settled Families. United States: J. H. Beers, 1893
Campbell, John H. Smith Township. Map. Harrisburg: Department of Internal Affairs of Pennsylvania, March 9, 1923. From Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, series # 17.522. PDF, https://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/di/r17522WarranteeTwpMaps/r017Map3196WashingtonSmithWeb.pdf (May 29, 2024)
Creigh, A. History of Washington County: From Its First Settlement to the Present Time : First Under Virginia as Yohogania, Ohio, Or Augusta County Until 1781 : and Subsequently Under Pennsylvania; with Sketches of All the Townships, Boroughs, and Villages, Etc. : and to which is Added a Full Account of the Celebrated Mason and Dixon's Line, the Whiskey Insurrection, Indian Warfare, Traditional and Local Historical Events. United States: B. Singerly, 1871
Crumrine, Boyd, Ellis, F., Hungerford, A. N. History of Washington County, Pennsylvania: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia, United States: H.L. Everts & Co., 1882.
Forrest, Earle. “Grave Stone Was a Target.” The Washington Reporter, October 10, 1958.
“John Bavington (1750-1810) - Find a Grave...,” February 2, 1750. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20963502/john-bavington.