Photo provided BELLAIRE PUBLIC Library staff members Myla Ford and Nathan Bolon stand with some of the artifacts from the Heatherington family on display now through Christmastime.

BELLAIRE –Many tributes have been written about Jacob Heatherington, his wife Eliza Armstrong Heatherington, and their famous mansion that was demolished some 64 years ago. Most people recall that Bellaire once had a storybook home that was called “The House that Jack Built.” Folks have often spoken about how sad it was that the Heatherington Mansion did not survive. This mansion was built in 1871 (according to a Times Leader article published in April 1958), ironically in the same year that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad completed the construction of the Great Stone Viaduct. The Bellaire Public Library has arranged for displays for public viewing this Christmas that highlight the Heatherington family, the mansion, and that story about the “House that Jack Built”.

A children’s poem titled “This is the House that Jack Built” was written more than two centuries ago in England, appearing in a children’s book published in 1755. This rhyme is even older, however, since it is believed to have been taken from oral verse common within England before it was ever reduced to paper.

The storyline tells a tale of a farmer who married a young maiden who lived together in a house that “jack built”. It includes interesting characters such as a rat, a cat, a dog, a cow, and a rooster, but the most important character of this rhyme is the “farmer” and his “maiden”, who together with the other characters, lived in the “house that jack built”. This storyline was immediately compared to Jacob and Eliza Heatherington who had a storybook relationship that resulted in their marriage, large family, and their rise to fame and fortune throughout all of Belmont County This became especially so after the construction of the Heatherington Mansion in 1871.

Jacob Heatherington had amassed a fortune from mining coal in Bellaire. Unlike the poem, Jacob was not a farmer. His fortune from mining coal gave him the ability to build a magnificent mansion on South Belmont Street. His partner in this mining business was his mule Jack, who labored with the daily work of hauling in mine cars the coal that his master had shoveled into each mine car. Jacob Heatherington was so certain that without “Jack” as his partner in the daily mining operations, the mansion could not have been built in the opulent Victorian style which made it the most famous mansion in all of Belmont County. So, Jacob made certain to remember “Jack” by placing over the front arch entrance to the mansion, a keystone into which was chiseled a mule’s head in the likeness of “Jack.”

Legend states that on the day the mansion was officially opened, Jacob took his mule called “Jack” by the reins and led him up the front steps of the mansion, and under that archway, and into the mansion as a tribute to his working business partner. When asked why he would do such a thing, old Jacob replied that “This is the House that Jack Built!”

The Times-Leader announced on April 24, 1958, that a local owner of the property was planning to demolish the mansion for the construction of a motel. Prior to this time, the building had been used for a short time as a night club which was an unlikely use for which Jacob would never have approved, since he abstained from the use of alcohol. But when demolished, the keystone over the front doorway was salvaged, and two years later, it was donated to the new Bellaire Public Library built in 1960. Here the famous mule named “Jack” has been memorialized ever since.

The Bellaire Library through generous donations and use agreements, have acquired other artifacts, paintings, and models that keep the Heatherington story alive even though the beautiful mansion has been gone for the past 64 years. Attorney Tracey Lloyd recently arranged to have a six piece set of Victorian furniture, previously owned by Flora Elizabeth Dubois Dickey, donated to the Library. Mrs. Dickey, the great- great -granddaughter of Jacob and Eliza Heatherington, transferred ownership of the furniture to Attorney Lloyd at her death in 1993. Each piece of the furniture is handcrafted with the wooden backrest with a carved design that resembles the head of the famous mule “Jack”.

Also, a part of the display is a cast iron hall tree that was donated for use by Charles Ross, and The Barn Furniture in Bellaire, along with a mirror that according to the owner, was mounted beside the hall tree where Jacob would place his top hat at each day’s end.

The displays of these and other artifacts remembering the Heatherington family are part of a walking tour within the library. The Christmas Tree display is surrounded by the sofa, rocking chair and hall tree on the first floor of the library for viewing, together with period tables and lamps provided by Library Trustees. On the second floor, another display shows a model of the stern wheel steamboat named Eliza H. which was owned by Jacob Heatherinton and used during his coal operations on the Ohio River. Also included are photographs showing Heatherington and some of his children on a coal barge in South Bellaire, and the Eliza H docked on the Ohio River in South Bellaire. This display is flanked by chairs of the Flo Dickey collection. Also on the third floor, is a painting of the mansion by former Bellaire artist, Albert Long. Opposite the painting display on the facing wall of the library, one can view the keystone from the entrance to the mansion, on which is chiseled the head of the famous mule known to locals as “Jack”. All of these displays will be available for viewing during the holiday season at the Bellaire Public Library.

Librarians will have handouts that will assist with the walking tour as patrons view these displays, including a printout of that famous rhyming poem spoken of by Jacob Heatherington 150 years ago when he responded to the question of why he allowed a mule to enter his beautiful mansion. His response is as timely today as it was then – “This is the House that Jack Built.”