Note 31 — PART I

Canonsburg was named for its first settler, Colonel John Canon, who took up the land under a Virginia warrant in 1773. Colonel Canon was a man of note in Western Pennsylvania—​justice of the peace, commander of the militia, and representative in the assembly.

Jefferson College, to which Harris refers, owes its beginnings to Colonel Canon, who in 1791 donated the lot and advanced money for building the first structure. After long years of rivalry, Jefferson College was finally consolidated (1869) with that of Washington, at the town of that name, under the joint title of Washington and Jefferson College. Canonsburgh Academy occupies the former college buildings.—​Ed.