USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River, Vol. I > Part 46
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The Ohio and Indiana Railroad company was formed at Bucy- rus, Ohio, July 4, 1850, at which time Dr. Willis Merriman was elected president and J. R. Straughan chief engineer.
ALLEN COUNTY AIDS THE FIRST RAILROADS.
On the 15th of January, 1851, at the courthouse in Fort Wayne, the citizens gathered to express their opinions on the subject of 408
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giving substantial aid to the Ohio and Indiana railroad project. Judge Coleman, of Marion, Indiana, was called to the chair, and I. D. G. Nelson acted as secretary. Following the delivery of a series of enthusiastic addresses, a committee composed of Madison Sweetser, H. W. Jones, Pliny Hoagland, W. G. Ewing, Samuel Hanna, D. Reed, Christian Parker, Henry Rudisill and Nelson Mc- Lain, reported rousing resolutions pledging support to the project.
The board of county commissioners, accepting the spirit of this demonstration as an expression of the majority, called a special election to be held in each township as a means of securing the authority to allow the county to become a stockholder in the project. The result showed that 1,647 voters favored the plan, while 334 opposed the purchase of stock. On June 6 the county commissioners passed a resolution authorizing the purchase of stock to the amount of $100,000. At a meeting on July 7 the subscription was ordered payable in bonds of $1,000 each, bearing 7 per cent interest. Samuel Hanna was named to act as the county's agent in its dealings with the railroad company. Robert Starkweather, county auditor, also was chosen to serve as a representative of the county "by executing one coupon, or interest warrant, for each bond, and for each year the bonds have run, payable at the treasurer's office of said county, on the 1st of July, annually." Robert E. Fleming was named a special agent in October to succeed Judge Hanna. Pliny Hoagland and Ochmig Bird acted in a like capacity at later times. Levies of 20 cents and 22 cents on each $100 property valuation were made in 1851 and 1852 to pay the interest on the railroad bonds. The con- tract for the construction of the Ohio and Indiana road was let in 1852.
The first railway locomotive ever seen in Fort Wayne was brought to the town on a flatboat over the canal, in charge of R. W. Wohlfort. It was landed at the foot of Lafayette street and placed on the railroad track which extended southward on that thorough- fare. Operated by Mr. Wohlfort, the engine was put into service in the construction work on the Fort Wayne end of the Ohio and Indiana railroad, and later was used for a considerable period in the regular passenger service of the completed road. The tracks remained on Lafayette street until 1857, when the depot, freight house and other buildings which had been established on the canal bank were removed to their more southerly locations. The first engine house on the canal was a frame store building, from which the gable end was torn to allow the entrance of the locomotive.
With the actual work of construction, in 1852, Fort Wayne thrilled with new life. On the 28th of January, the contract for the building of the entire stretch of road from Crestline to Fort Wayne -131 miles-was let to Samuel Hanna, William Mitchell and Pliny Hoagland. J. R. Straughan continued as chief engineer of the road. But before the work was fairly under way the company found itself confronted by financial problems of such magnitude as to discourage many of the leaders in the enterprise. Dr. Merriman, the president, resigned. At once the company chose Judge Samuel Hanna to take the place made vacant. Judge Hanna hastened to Pittsburgh, where he pledged his individual credit and that of the other contractors for the funds needed to carry forward the work. He then proceeded
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to Montreal and Quebec to release large shipments of railroad iron imported from Europe which were being held for non-payment of transportation charges.
This was but the beginning of a succession of events extending to war times, which tested the true worth of a leader in the railroad building of the west.
Said the late Joseph K. Edgerton :
"The financial disasters of 1857 found the consolidated com- pany with an incompleted road, with meager revenues and a broken credit. Many of its best friends, even among its own managers, were inclined to grow weary and faint by the way. Through all this trying period no man worked more faithfully and hopefully, or was consulted more freely, or leaned upon with more confidence than Judge Hanna."
In the midst of the stirring events of 1852, the citizens of the counties between Fort Wayne and Chicago met at Warsaw, Indiana, in September, organized the Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad com- pany, and chose Samuel Hanna as its president, with J. R. Straughan chief engineer. The survey of the line was completed before the close of the year, and by the 8th of June, 1855, the entire line was under contract. The means for carrying forward the work were to be derived from the sale of stocks and bonds. However, the stock subscriptions which were paid in cash amounted only to about 3 per cent. of the final cost of the road. The subscriptions were paid chiefly in uncultivated lands, farms, town lots and labor. A large portion of the real estate thus secured was mortgaged by the com- pany to obtain means to pay for grading and the earlier construc- tion operations. With scant means the work of construction pro- gressed very slowly during 1853, 1854 and 1855, and at the close of the latter year only about twenty miles of the road was com- pleted, that between Fort Wayne and Columbia City. Service be- tween these two points was opened in February, 1856.
THE CONSOLIDATED RAILROADS.
Before the final action in the consolidation of the Pennsylvania and Ohio, the Ohio and Indiana, and the Fort Wayne and Chicago railroads, which now comprise about 3,500 miles of trackage, the Allen county commissioners in 1855 chose Franklin P. Randall to act as special agent of the county as a stockholder in the Ohio and Indiana property. Mr. Randall reported that he had received "three hundred and fifty-one shares of stock in said company, which is the interest on the stock owned by said county up to January 1, 1855; there is still due the county, the interest from that to the present time being about $9,000, making of interest paid and due, $26,550." Whereupon the board ordered Mr. Randall to vote the stock "at an election called for that purpose, in favor of consolidating the stock of said company, to constitute, when consolidated, the 'Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago company.'" This action was taken in 1856, and Mr. Randall reported, on the 11th of December, 1857, that he had "procured stock for the interest, etc., amounting to 233 shares" in the consolidated company. The county then owned stock to the amount of $139,800.
On June 4, 1861, Mr. Randall was appointed the agent of the
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county to act in favor of a reorganization of the road. On Novem- ber 8 of the same year he was succeeded by Byron D. Miner. The stock having greatly depreciated, the board, on the 25th of October, 1862, determined to sell a portion of its holdings, and Mr. Miner and W. W. Carson were appointed special agents to conduct such sale, with instructions to invest the proceeds in the bonds of the county then outstanding, issued in 1851 and falling due in 1866. On the 4th of March, 1863, the agents reported that they had sold $39,800 worth of railroad stock for $24.830.75, leaving the county still the owner of $100,000, which they did not feel authorized to put on the market without further instructions; the price ranged from 55 to 673/4 per cent. Subsequently, on the 11th of March, 1863, on the proposition of Judge Hanna, the county sold to him the remaining $100,000 stock, and the proceeds of the interest-stock, in consideration of the county's outstanding bonds, calling for $87,000. This left outstanding bonds to the amount of $13,000.
In the meantime, Chief Engineer Jesse L. Williams, chosen in 1854, to the great task of the completion of the consolidated roads, carried forward with energy and skill the great transportation con- nection between the east and the west. In 1852, before the Ohio and Indiana road was built into Fort Wayne, Allen Hamilton do- nated the site for a station, and Judge Hanna gave five acres of ground on which to build railroad shops.
On the 26th of April, 1854, a meeting of citizens was held to consider the building of a railroad from Fort Wayne to Grand Rapids, Mich. The principal speakers were John B. Dubois, R. C. F. Rayhouser, F. S. Aveline, T. P. Anderson and Thomas Hamilton. This was the first movement toward the construction of the Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad, which was not accomplished until several years had passed.
THE FIRST RAILROAD EXCURSION.
On the 15th of November, 1854, the first railroad excursion train was run into the city of Fort Wayne, an event of great importance as viewed from the present time, for it marked a new era in the general advancement of the region of which Fort Wayne is the center. This train bore to Fort Wayne the officials of the Ohio and Indiana railroad and invited guests to a celebration of the com- pletion of the road. An account of the event, written by Robert D. Dumm, appearing in a Fort Wayne newspaper of later date, con- tains the following interesting description :
"It was our good fortune to be among those invited guests who formed the excursion party that passed over the line of the road to Fort Wayne. It was in the dusk of evening when we arrived, and our first impressions on stepping from the cars were by no means of the most favorable kind. It was before the days of Nicholson pavements, and our march from the point of disembarkation up Columbia street was one of continued tramp in mud and water. True, in honor of the occasion, our pathway was lighted by the illumi- nated windows of the stores and shops which lined the thoroughfare, but this opened to view the slush through which we had been wading. Upon our arrival at Colerick's hall we were bade welcome, and when our eyes fell upon the large tables filled with the most sumptuous of
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viands, we forgot the difficulties encountered in our tramp from the depot and could but admit the open-hearted hospitality of our recep- tion."
A delegation of citizens in a special train, accompanied by the Mad Anthony guards, had met the excursion at Lima, Ohio. Here the guards fired a salute, and Strubey's band played its most inspir- ing music. Before proceeding to Fort Wayne the visitors were the guests of people of Lima at a dinner, during which Mayor Charles Whitmore, of Fort Wayne, made an address. Upon re-entering the
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THE JUNCTION OF THE RIVERS IN WAR TIMES.
The illustration is a drawing from a woodcut In Lossing's "Pictorial Fieldbook of the War of 1812"
showing the wooden bridge across the Maumee directly below the confluence of the St. Mary's and the St. Joseph rivers, which connected the town of Fort Wayne with the present Lakeside, then known as "the old
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apple orchard."
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cars, the local committee distributed to the visitors cards upon which was printed the information assigning them to places of entertainment in the homes of the people of Fort Wayne. During the stay of the guests the city was brilliantly illuminated. After a banquet had been served on the evening of the arrival of the ex- cursion, David H. Colerick welcomed the company in a stirring address delivered in Colerick's hall, which was too small to hold the crowd. The response was made by Governor Johnson, of Penn- sylvania, who was followed by R. C. Schenck, of Dayton, Ohio; Mr. Payne, of Cleveland; Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, and Judge Samuel Hanna, of Fort Wayne.
George W. Wood served as the first agent of the company in Fort Wayne.
THE "PENNSYLVANIA" STATION.
The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad erected at Fort Wayne a brick passenger station between Calhoun and Clinton streets. F. Kanne and Company were the contractors. With minor additions and revisions, this building continued in use as a passenger station until April, 1914, a period of fifty-four years, at which latter time the new station on Baker street between Harrison and Webster streets was opened.
The late James K. McCracken, who in 1863 became the agent of two railroads, the "Pittsburgh" and the Wabash, said, concerning his experience during that period :
"The brick station of the 'Pittsburgh' road was the only depot in the town, and here were sold all of the tickets for both roads. I slept in the office so as to be on hand whenever the trains happened to arrive, which was at very irregular periods. Often the Wabash trains would seem to arrive on time, but they were in reality twenty- four hours late."
The completion of the main building of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad shops was the occasion of a grand ball in 1863. The dancing floor was 220 by 80 feet, illuminated by 375 gas jets, locomotive headlights and colored lanterns. About 2,500 guests were present. The Union band, under Professor Struby, provided the music for seventy-five sets of dancers at one time. Two hundred persons were served at the refreshment tables in turns.
RAILROADING IN 1860.
In the summer of 1860 an express train on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad struck a large tree that had blown across the track east of the town, throwing the engine, tender, bag- gage car and one coach into the ditch. Said one of the newspapers :
"Engineer Fish's leg has been taken off. He knew of the log being across the track when he left the station, but he supposed the watchman going east would have made a fire and thus have desig- nated the exact spot."
Until the obstruction could be removed, trains from opposite directions stopped at the log and transferred their passengers and baggage.
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LAUNCHING A CANAL BOAT.
The foregoing brief resume of early railroad operations gives a suggestion of conditions which prevailed until the opening of the civil war. We must now turn backward to the year 1851 and take up the thread of the general story of Fort Wayne from that point of time. That an element of the citizenship held fast to their faith in the future of the canal is made evident in the following quotation from the Fort Wayne Times, of August 7, 1851:
"Quite a crowd assembled at the boat yard of Messrs. Shilling and Hastings at 4 o'clock on Saturday to witness the launching of the new [canal] boat, H. H. Stout, belonging to Messrs. Comparet and Hubbell's line. At the signal, the stays were knocked out and she slid down the way in fine style, amid the loud cheers of the multitude, resting in the water light and graceful as a swan."
A PLEA FOR IMMIGRATION.
The business men of Fort Wayne, filled with enthusiasm by the prospect of outstripping the other cities of the middle west in mate- rial progress, felt the need of a larger population to carry on the trade of the region and to cultivate the soil. Henry Rudisill, in communications to German emigration officials, already had secured many German settlers. On the evening of January 21, 1851, Mr. Rudisill presided and Judge W. W. Carson acted as secretary at a meeting held for the purpose of petitioning the state legislature to adopt effective measures to encourage immigration for the special benefit of the northern part of the state. The speakers of the occa- sion were Anthony F. Yeager, W. G. Ewing, Hugh McCulloch and Robert E. Fleming.
TO EXCLUDE THE NEGRO.
The voters, however, appear to have been quite particular in the choice of the people who desired to settle within the borders of the town. The state, in this year, called upon the counties to say whether or not the negro should be allowed to move into Indiana from other states. Allen county's vote stood 1,803 in support of exclusion, with only 261 in favor of allowing the blacks to come in. Those who already were residents of the state, however, could remain, under certain conditions. In 1855, County Clerk Joseph Sinclear, in a published notice to "all negroes and mulattos," called attention to the fact that "the state law strictly requires that all of them who have resided in Indiana prior to November 1, 1851, are requested to register, and that all who came into the state after the above date are subject to a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $500."
At the 1851 election, the counties voted on the adoption of a new state constitution. Allen county expressed itself in favor of the constitution by a vote of 1,775 to 260. Allen Hamilton and Judge James W. Borden were chosen as delegates to the constitu- tional convention.
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DR. PHILIP G. JONES, MAYOR.
Dr. Philip G. Jones1 won the election for mayor of Fort Wayne in 1852. Dr. Jones had been active in the affairs of the town for several years.
Following a warm presidential campaign, Allen county polled 1,964 votes for Franklin Pierce, and 1,225 for Winfield Scott. At this time, the slavery question received wide attention. In 1852, a newspaper called the Democrat was established by R. C. F. Ray- houser. The publication continued but a few months when it was merged with the Laurel Wreath, a literary paper, edited by Thomas Cook. The latter publication was continued until 1854, when it was purchased by D. W. Burroughs, re-named the Standard, and used to advance the editor's strong anti-slavery views and to promote the interests of temperance and free schools.
"EGGING" THE ANTI-SLAVERY EDITOR.
While the sentiment against the institution of slavery was strong in Fort Wayne, a large number of citizens were not in sympathy with the proposed methods of its abolishment. The pub- lished and spoken utterances of Mr. Burroughs, who spent much time on the platform speaking against slavery, brought upon him many threats of personal injury. He was active in the "under- ground railroad" system of the time. "Times were stormy then," observes the Fort Wayne Sentinel of February 26, 1889, "but Mr. Burroughs was as brave as a soldier and the 'egging' of his news- paper office and the murmurs of the crowd had no terrors for him."
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
By an act of the general assembly in May, 1852, courts of common pleas were created in all the counties of the state. The court also held exclusive probate jurisdiction and this caused the abolishment of the probate courts. James W. Borden was the first judge of the court of common pleas; he was re-elected in 1856 and held the place until 1857, when he resigned. Joseph Brackenridge was appointed to succeed him. David Studebaker, of Decatur, was the first prosecuting attorney of the newly created court.
The legislature of 1852 also abolished the offices of associate judges of the circuit courts of the state.
THE FIRST STREET NUMBERING.
In 1851, the city council adopted an ordinance for the number- ing of the business houses and residences on Columbia street. It was provided that the numbering "shall be commenced at the east end and on the north side of said street, commencing with No. 1 and numbering alternately on each side of said street, to Harrison street." This was the beginning of the street numbering, which underwent several changes of system in later years.
ACTIVITIES OF 1851.
In the summer of 1851 the first "bloomers" worn by women appeared on the streets of Fort Wayne. "Two young women prom- enaded our streets yesterday with short dresses and wide (or Tur-
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THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
kish) trousers," observed the Times. "The new style looked ex- ceedingly well and is bound to prevail." The next newspaper mention of the new style, however, is a column-length narrative of riot and hubbub. On the 24th of May, 1854, a modest rural school teacher, attired in the new style garments, came to town and stopped at the home of a friend. A hooting, yelling mob surrounded the house and the girl fled to the Spencer house for safety. In the course of its description of the proceedings, the Times says: "Boys, led by dissolute men, commenced firing myriads of firecrackers and shouting until things were confusion worse confounded. The pro- prietors requested the dispersion of the rabble, but to no purpose. Shame had fled with the fading sun." Among the new settlers of the year were Alfred D. Brandriff (born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1817), wholesale and retail hardware dealer; Lindley M. Ninde (born in Warren county, Ohio, in 1825), a prominent attor- ney and jurist; Orange Angell, from Little Falls, New York, who maintained a stage line to Sturgis, Michigan; Nathaniel C. Miller (born in Virgil, New York, in 1829), attorney, who came from Sturgis, Michigan; A. H. Carrier (born in France, in 1827), teacher, councilman and insurance agent; Peter Pierre (born in Alsace, in 1829), merchant; A. J. Read (born in Westmoreland, New Hamp- shire, in 1815), liveryman; John Draker and Anthony Gocke, from Germany; J. S. Tyler, Willis W. Case and Elisha J. Smith, from New York; John A. Shoaff, from Pennsylvania; W. H. Jones (born in Fort Union, Virginia, in 1819), manufacturer. William H. Coombs and L. C. Jacoby served as prosecuting attorneys during the services of James W. Borden as judge of the circuit court; Robert L. Douglass, who succeeded Mr. Jacoby, removed from the county and was succeeded in turn by Elza A. McMahon. Samuel Brenton, whig, was elected to congress, defeating Judge James W. Borden, democrat. I. D. G. Nelson was sent to the state house of representatives. A heavy downpour of rain in May caused the rivers to rise and overflow the downtown streets as well as a large area of the present city, which was not yet settled. Canal boats floated about the region of Columbia and Harrison streets. Says the Sentinel: "It was with difficulty that some families were rescued from their dwellings. Women might be seen wading waist deep carrying their children to places of safety. Boats plied the streets, and rafts of lumber and driftwood floated in every direction."
ACTIVITIES OF 1852.
Among the year's prominent settlers was John H. Bass (born in Salem, Kentucky, in 1835), who entered the employ of Jones, Bass and Company, of which his elder brother, Sion S. Bass, was a member, and rose to a high place among the manufacturers of the middle west. Associated with Sion S. Bass in the firm of Jones, Bass and Company, were John Hough, Jr., and W. H. Jones. For. three years he was employed as bookkeeper. This firm dissolved in 1858, and in the following year John H. Bass became interested in the Fort Wayne Machine Works, which succeeded the original con- cern. The stock of the company later came into the hands of Samuel Hanna and Mr. Bass; in 1863, Judge Hanna's interest was trans-
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ferred to H. H. Hanna. In 1869, through the death of the junior partner, Mr. Bass became the sole owner of the business. Mr. Bass founded the St. Louis Car Wheel Company in the same year, and in 1873 established a large foundry in Chicago. The present Bass Foundry and Machine Works produces car wheels, Corliss engines and other products known throughout America. Mr. Bass is strongly identified with many commercial and financial institutions of Fort
ALFRED D. BRANDRIFF.
Mr. Brandriff, who occupied a high place in the commercial life of Fort Wayne, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1817. At Troy, Ohio, he established a manufactory of stoves, and in 1851 came to Fort Wayne and opened a retail hard- ware store which developed into the wholesale house of A. D Brandriff & Company. The portrait is from a pho- tograph loaned by Mrs. Martha Bran- driff Hanna, a daughter.
WILLIAM S. ("POPGUN") SMITH.
Born in 1816, at Hagerstown, Md., William S. Smith learned the gunsmith trade at the arsenal of Harper's Ferry (hence the nickname of "Popgun", which was not in the least offensive to him). While a resident of Ohio, he became a leading factor in the establishment of free schools, although he had been de-
prived of the advantages of an educa- tion. The family, consisting of ten persons, came to Fort Wayne on a char- tered canal boat in 1852. Mr. Smith. while working at his bench studied law. He took a leading part in the contro- versy over the establishment of the free schools, and served for a time on the school board. The portrait is from a photograph loaned by Mr. Smith's son, Captain Eugene B. Smith.
WILLIAM FLEMING.
William Fleming was born near Dub- lin, Ireland, in 1828. He came to Amer- ica in 1848 with his parents, landing at Quebec. While here in quarantine the father and four of the children died. The mother and three small sons then came to Fort Wayne. A brief review of the life of Mr. Fleming during his remaining years includes these points: After teaching school for some time he was appointed deputy sheriff under Richard McMullen, and on the death of Sheriff McMullen he succeeded to his office. Twice on the democratic ticket he was re-elected to the same position. For eight years afterward he served as city clerk, and in 1878 was elected state treasurer. He was a strong factor in securing to Fort Wayne the Nickel Plate railroad, and served as a member of the board of directors of the road until its purchase by the Vanderbilt interests. He was for a considerable period the editor and proprietor of the Fort Wayne Sentinel, treasurer of the Indiana School Book Company, president of the Sala- monie Mining & Gas Company, vice- president of the First National Bank, of Fort Wayne, and president of the Hart- ford City Paper Company, besides hold- ing important interests in many enter- prises.
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