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 57

Author: Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Taylor, Samuel R., Mrs. The story of the townships of Allen County
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago : R.O. Law Co.
Number of Pages: 760


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 57


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In July of 1879 the Western Union Telegraph Company also established a system in Fort Wayne, known as the Edison exchange, with its central office in the Nill building on the west side of Calhoun street north of Wayne. Orrin Perry served as chief operator, as-


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THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE


sisted by Thomas Bicknell. The system was absorbed by the Bell company, which, as already noted, was obliged to discontinue the service because the times were not far enough advanced to accept the modern convenience and make it a permanent feature of the advancing life of the west.


DEVELOPMENT OF THE TELEPHONE.


It was not until 1881 that the telephone became a fixture in Fort Wayne. At that time a permit was granted the Fort Wayne Telephone Company to string wires along certain streets and alleys, to which territory additions were made in grants to the Western Union Telephone Company and to the Fort Wayne Telephone Com- pany in 1887. A small exchange was put in and the Central Union (Bell) Telephone Company (then known as the Midland Telephone Company) soon afterward acquired the property. The service was gradually expanded until the company operated a total of 1,000 telephones. In February, 1894, the Bell exchange in the Foellinger building was destroyed by fire, and temporary quarters at the northwest corner of Main and Calhoun streets were secured. In 1895 the exchange was removed to its present location in the Tri- State building, Berry and Court streets. This system developed into an important toll connection with distant points, following its affiliation with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, but its local service has been very largely absorbed by the Home Telephone and Telegraph Company, which was incorporated in 1896. In 1895, at the Aveline house, the Bell Telephone Company gave the people of Fort Wayne their first opportunity to hear voices and music sent over the wires from points nine hundred miles distant. Edgar L. Taylor is the local manager of the Bell interests.


HOME TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY.


The Home Telephone and Telegraph Company, composed of local stockholders, was organized for the announced purpose of providing a more extended service at a lower price than had pre- vailed up to that time. The company was incorporated in October, 1886, and commenced business with eight hundred subscribers. The chief promoters were Charles S. Bash, William J. Vesey, Charles McCulloch, Samuel M. Foster, George W. Beers and Christian Hettler. The company had been organized with a capital stock of $100,000, with an equal sum in bonds, which was increased three years later to $250,000, with a like amount in bonds. In 1900 the company bought the property of the National Telephone and Tele- graph Company, consisting of several Indiana, Ohio and Michigan exchanges, together with 1,000 miles of toll lines, paying preferred stock therefor, which added $350,000 of capital stock to the com- pany's authorized issue. The company has since grown steadily until today it is one of the strongest factors in the commercial and social life of the region of which Fort Wayne is the center. William L. Moellering is the president and general manager of the company, with Frank E. Bohn as secretary and assistant general manager.


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1879 1884


THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1880.


The political year of 1880 was marked by a number of interest- ing events. During an exciting campaign General Benjamin Harri- son, General Carl Schurz, General Benjamin F. Butler and others delivered memorable addresses, and on election day the voters of the county gave General Hancock a majority of 2,291 over General Garfield. Walpole G. Colerick won a re-election to congress by a majority of 770 over Judge R. S. Taylor.1


NICKEL PLATE RAILROAD.


The first survey of the trunk line of railroad which later became the New York, Chicago and St. Louis (Nickel Plate) system ex- tended north of Fort Wayne, but through the efforts of William Fleming, Calvin S. Brice, president of the company, came to Fort Wayne and purchased the route of the old Wabash and Erie canal through the city as a right-of-way, enabling him to accomplish the remarkable feat of carrying a railroad through a good-sized city, touching a point less than two squares distant from the courthouse without the necessity of tearing down a single building. The price was $137,000 cash. The road was completed during the following year. Originally, the construction of this now important east-and- west trunk line was for the purpose of providing a parallel line to compete with the Vanderbilts' Lake Shore and Michigan Southern line and to compel the latter interests to purchase the Fort Wayne road. The plan succeeded, although Commodore Vanderbilt declared the Nickel Plate road to be "a string of dirt leading from nowhere to no place." For a considerable period the Nickel Plate road was used almost exclusively for freight shipments.


THE GENERAL ELECTRIC WORKS.


The great Fort Wayne plant of the General Electric Company, manufacturer of standard electrical apparatus used throughout the civilized world, had its beginning in 1881, when James A. Jenney, inventor of an electric arc lamp and a small dynamo, came to Fort Wayne and installed his apparatus in the establishment of Evans, McDonald and Company. On November 1, of this year, with an authorized capital of $100,000, Ronald T. McDonald organized the Fort Wayne Jenney Electric Light Company, a manufacturing and selling concern, with the following officers: H. G. Olds, president ; Perry A. Randall, vice-president; Oscar A. Simons, secretary, and R. T. McDonald, treasurer and general manager. This original com- pany occupied a building at the southwest corner of Calhoun and Superior streets used by John H. Bass as a boiler shop, and later removed to a building on the south side of West Superior street at the foot of Wells street, a site afterward occupied by the first electric light plant. The third uptown building used by the concern was a rented structure located on East Columbia street. Next the company purchased the small vacated plant of the Gause Agricul- tural works at Broadway and the tracks of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad, which has formed a nucleus of the building expansion of the concern. At this time the company had an authorized capital of $500,000, of which $366,000 had been issued.


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THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE


In 1885 M. M. M. Slattery, of Massachusetts, was engaged as chief electrician. The Thompson-Houston Electric Company, of Lynn, Massachusetts, secured a controlling interest in the stock in 1888, and at that time the word "Jenney" was dropped from the name of the concern. Henry J. Miller succeeded Oscar A. Simons as secretary. In November, 1888, the entire plant was destroyed by fire, but it was rebuilt, and operations were resumed in July, 1889. With the acquisition of the Brooklyn factory of the Thompson- Houston Electric Company in May, 1890, James J. Wood, who had licensed the company to manufacture under his patents, was engaged to come to Fort Wayne to superintend the manufacture of arc light- ing apparatus under his rights, and also the Slattery incandescent apparatus. Many expert workmen were added to the force. The "Wood" systems soon attained a nation-wide reputation.


Financial difficulties resulted in June, 1894, in the leasing of the plant to the newly organized Fort Wayne Electric Corporation on the day of the appointment of a receiver for the concern. The officers of the corporation were : R. T. McDonald, president; Charles S. Knight, vice-president; Charles C. Miller, secretary and treasurer; James J. Wood, electrician and general superintendent, and Fred S. Hunting, chief of the engineering department. Soon after the death of Mr. McDonald, in December, 1898, while on a trip to Texas, the plant again was in financial difficulties, resulting in a receivership, in January, 1899. At a receiver's sale a few weeks later, the plant was purchased by the General Electric Company, of Schenectady, New York. It was generally understood at that time that to the efforts of Mr. Wood is due the decision of the company to continue to operate and enlarge the Fort Wayne plant.


The officers of the new company, the Fort Wayne Electric Works, organized in May, 1899, were: Henry C. Paul, president ; S. D. Green, vice-president ; M. F. Westover, secretary, and Fred S. Hunting, treasurer and sales manager, while Mr. Wood continued his services as factory manager and chief electrician. From this period to the present much of the success of the plant had been due to the efforts of Mr. Hunting and Mr. Wood, surrounded by an organization of progressive, capable men. In June, 1911, the Fort Wayne Electric Works was merged with the General Electric Com- pany, but the business was carried on in much the same form as before, but under the name of the Fort Wayne Electric Works of the General Electric Company, in reality a department or division of the General Electric Company. This plan of operation was aban- doned in January, 1916, since which time the plant has operated as the Fort Wayne Works of the General Electric Company, one of the most important of the plants of that organization. One of the several incandescent lamp plants of the company was established in the Katzenberg bakery on Montgomery street in the summer of 1906, and the present large plant on Holman street was built during the winter of 1907 and 1908. This building was the first re-enforced concrete structure to be erected in the city.


THE FIRST ELECTRIC LIGHTS.


When James A. Jenney came to Fort Wayne in 1881 he brought one of the Langley arc lighting outfits for the purpose of experi-


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1879 1884 WATERWORKS-TELEPHONES-LIGHTING


menting and selling the right of manufacture. The lamps were given a private testing in the Evans, McDonald and Company estab- lishment, and during the following week, when the lamps were displayed at a public demonstration, more than two thousand Fort Wayne people looked for the first time upon an electric arc lamp.


The first electric incandescent lamps for interior lighting were installed by Messrs. McDonald and Olds in the Home billiard hall.


The first temporary private lighting plant was installed in Library hall at the northwest corner of Calhoun and Lewis streets. It consisted of four lights, driven by a traction engine.


EXECUTION OF SAMUEL M'DONALD.


One of the shocking crimes committed within the county during 1883 was the murder of Louis Laurent at Arcola. A jury, of which R. Morgan French was the foreman, heard the trial before Judge Samuel M. Hench, and found the accused man guilty of murder.


The execution of McDonald took place within the jail yard in Fort Wayne on the 10th of October. Thousands sought entrance to the enclosure, but Sheriff Schiefer issued only 250 tickets of admission. For several hours the condemned man watched the crowds from his cell window. Ascending the stairs of the scaffold, McDonald said: "Gentlemen, I have nothing to say. God will forgive me." Then the drop fell.


McDonald, it was learned, had planned to kill the turnkey, Schroeder, and to escape in a carriage outside the jail, to be pro- vided by his brother, James McDonald.


WESTMINSTER SEMINARY.


To provide an institution of higher education for young ladies, Miss Carrie B. Sharp and Mrs. Delphine B. Wells, experienced teachers of the public schools, established Westminster seminary on West Main street. The school enjoyed a prosperous career for many years.


THE BLAINE EPISODE.


The memorable Cleveland-Blaine campaign of 1884 was marked in Fort Wayne by several notable affairs culminating on October 20 in a disorderly demonstration on the occasion of the visit of James G. Blaine, republican candidate for the presidency. Accompanied by General Benjamin Harrison, Major William McKinley and other distinguished men, Mr. Blaine, on reaching the city, attempted to make an address from the north balcony of the Aveline house, but the disorder in the street prevented the fulfillment of the program. The statesman was then taken in a carriage to the corner of Calhoun and Lewis streets, where he and Major MeKinley succeeded in the delivery of brief addresses.


The followers of Grover Cleveland arranged a torchlight pro- cession for the evening, which came into conflict with the republican parade at the corner of Hanna and Washington streets, where, observed the Gazette, "there were a few fights and much profanity." Mr. Blaine witnessed the parade from the portico of the residence of Jesse L. Williams on West Wayne street.


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Allen county gave Cleveland 8,904 votes and Blaine 4,932. General Benjamin F. Butler, candidate for the presidency on the national labor and greenback ticket, who visited the city and delivered an address during the campaign, received 84 votes. Other distinguished speakers were General John A. Logan and Thomas A. Hendricks, opposing candidates for the vice-presidency, and Isaac P. Gray and Major W. H. Calkins, rival candidates for the governor- ship of Indiana.


Robert Lowry was re-elected to congress over Theron P. Keator by a majority of 2,550.


Fred J. Hayden was elected a member of the legislature.


THE MASONIC TEMPLE.


The Masonic Temple theatre was dedicated in November, 1884, with a series of four grand operas given by the Emma Abbott com- pany at a price of $10 for the season ticket. The lodge rooms of the Masonic temple were not occupied until two years later.


The Masonic Temple association had been organized since Feb- ruary 13, 1878, at which time plans for a magnificent structure were completed. After the first story had been finished it was found impossible to complete the building at the agreed price, and the contractors abandoned the work. For a period of four years efforts were made to raise a sufficient amount to complete the building, and this was accomplished only through the active continued efforts of the various Masonic bodies and their friends.


THE RAILROAD Y. M. C. A.


The railroad department of the Young Men's Christian associ- ation was organized in 1884, with D. F. More secretary. The asso- ciation has occupied, for many years, its own building at the south- east corner of Calhoun and Holman streets.


ACTIVITIES OF 1879.


During the session of 1879 congress authorized the establishment of a United States district court at Fort Wayne. The presiding judge was Walter Q. Gresham, with W. W. Dudley as United States marshal. John W. Hayden was appointed deputy marshal, with Homer C. Hartman as deputy clerk to serve under Noble C. Butler, clerk. In this year, also, the United States commissioners' court was established, with Colonel Robert S. Robertson commissioner, succeeded by James B. Harper. Among the prominent cit- izens to settle in Fort Wayne in 1879 were Samuel M. Foster, banker and manufacturer; Louis F. Curdes, real estate dealer; Dr. James M. Dinnen, chief surgeon of the Nickel Plate railroad, and Dr. James Caldwell, physician. Charles M. Dawson was appointed prosecuting attorney of the Thirty-eighth judicial district by Gov- ernor Williams; he was elected in 1880, and re-elected in 1882 and 1884. Judge Robert Lowry was elected the first president of the Indiana Bar association.


ACTIVITIES OF 1880.


Fort Wayne's population reached a total of 26,880 in 1880. Reservoir park was added to the city's park system.


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1879. 1884


Toledo. A telephone line was constructed between Fort Wayne and


The Standard Oil Company established a distrib- uting depot in Fort Wayne. The large wholesale grocery


house of G. E. Bursley and Company was established. The first society of the Women's Christian Temperance Union was organ- ized, with Mrs. G. C. Smith president. The Fort Wayne (Methodist) college cadets, with A. T. Lukens as captain, were organized.


ACTIVITIES OF 1881.


Charles A. Zollinger was re-elected mayor in 1881.2 An epidemic of smallpox developed 300 cases, with many deaths. The board of health, composed of Drs. W. H. Myers, James M. Dinnen and S. C. Metcalf, was handicapped by the lack of facilities to isolate the afflicted persons. Judge R. S. Taylor was appointed by President Garfield as a member of the Mississippi river com- mission and served until March, 1913. St. John's Evangel- ical Lutheran cemetery was established. Judge John Mor- ris was appointed a member of the Indiana supreme court commis- sioners. C. A. Prince, Fort Wayne oarsman, made a record of two miles in thirteen minutes and twenty-four seconds. By the collapse of the Clinton street bridge over the St. Mary's river Henry C. Hanna, son of Judge Samuel Hanna and father of former Postmaster Robert B. Hanna, lost his life.


ACTIVITIES OF 1882.


The national labor organization known as the Knights of Labor became established in Fort Wayne with the cigarmakers and the printers' unions as the first to affiliate with the order. The organ- ization grew in strength and influence and latterly played an impor- tant part in labor affairs and political campaigns. By the year 1885 the ranks of the local Knights of Labor were swollen to the number of 4,500. In July the organization declared a general strike on the Wabash railroad and the shops were closed for a brief period, after which the men declined to respond to the dictates of the leaders of the organization. Upon his resignation from the presi- dency of the First National bank, Joseph D. Nuttman established the private banking institution of Nuttman and Company, of which Oliver S. Hanna and Mrs. M. E. Hanna became the sole owners. The Fort Wayne Baseball club was organized, with W. W. Rockhill president and D. C. Fisher, Charles P. Wise, F. C. Boltz, C. L. Olds, R. J. Fisher, W. D. Page, H. J. Trentman and William Rogers in other official positions. Al Foote, who organized the Golden Eagle club, was engaged as manager. A. Aronson managed the Golden Eagle team. In the congressional campaign of 1882 Judge Robert Lowry won over his opponent, W. C. Glasgow, by 3,363 majority. He was re-elected in 1884. Previous to the fall election of 1882 Warren H. Withers served as judge of the criminal court, on appointment of Governor Porter, to complete the term of Judge James W. Borden, deceased. . Judge Allen


Zollars was elected a member of the Indiana supreme court. On the evening of December 16 the First Presbyterian church, corner of Clinton and Berry streets (site of the present government build-


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ing) was destroyed by fire, at a loss of $14,500. · Jay Gould · visited the Wabash shops on an inspection tour which resulted in the discharge of many employes in an effort to reduce the operat- ing expenses of the system. The Fort Wayne Orphans' home of the Reformed church was established, with Rev. John Ret- tig superintendent. This splendid institution occupies a fine tract of ground a short distance east of the Fort Wayne city limits. The first typewriter to be used in Fort Wayne was. a Rem- ington placed in the office of Coombs and Company, heavy hardware dealers, in the summer of 1882. W. H. Shoemaker, who came from Chicago, served as the first stenographer who used a typewriter. Charles C. Miller, of the Wayne Paper Goods Company, states that the second machine to be brought to the city was used in the office of the Jenney Electric Light Company. It was used by Mr. Miller after its arrival in the fall of 1882. A Caligraph was placed in the office of E. H. McDonald a short time later in the same year.


Zion Evangelical Lutheran church was organized, with Rev. F. Dreyer pastor. Later pastors were Henry Juengel and C. Henry Luehr.


ACTIVITIES OF 1883.


The jewelers abandoned the use of "sun" time as a standard and adopted "railroad" time. . . . Walpole G. Colerick suc- ceeded John Morris as supreme court commissioner. Grace Reformed church was organized, with Rev. T. J. Bacher pastor. Rev. Dr. A. K. Zartman succeeded Rev. Mr. Bacher in 1888, and continued in service until 1916, when he was succeeded by Rev. Nevin H. Schaaf. The criminal court of Allen county was abolished in 1883 and its business transferred to the circuit court.


The eyes of baseball "fans" of all America were centered upon Fort Wayne in the fall of 1883, when the teams representing Chicago and Providence in the two major leagues played the final game of a world series on a neutral diamond. Chicago won. Thou- sands of interested persons were present from all portions of the country. Fort Wayne was represented in the North western Baseball league in 1883, and continued in the same organization during 1884, with Max Nirdlinger as president. Mr. Nirdlinger established a factory on West Main street for the manufacture of baseball bats. His first order was from A. G. Spalding for 50,000 bats. The Fort Wayne Veterans, with J. H. Rohan as its first captain, was organized in 1883. The organization served three years as Company L, of the First regiment, Indiana National Guard.


ACTIVITIES OF 1884.


Five thousand veterans of the civil war attended a reunion at Camp Allen in August. A monster parade was reviewed by General John A. Kountz, commander of the G. A. R. On September 20 an earthquake shook the city for a period of three minutes during which time a rumbling sound caused general alarm and the people sought safety in the open. The Harmar school was dismissed for fear of the collapse of the building. Adams county (Indi- ana) "Regulators" came to Fort Wayne and sought to storm the


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jail and remove therefrom one Fred Richards, charged with the murder of Amos Backensto, at Berne, Indiana. At the close of the second trial for the crime Richards received a life sentence.


Lindley M. Ninde was appointed judge of the superior court, to succeed James L. Worden, deceased. President Cleveland appointed A. P. Edgerton a member of the civil service commission. The president appointed James Wilkinson deputy United States marshal.


NOTES ON CHAPTER XLIII.


(1) County officers elected in 1880


were: Prosecuting attorney, circuit court, C. M. Dawson; prosecuting attor- ney, criminal court, W. S. O'Rourke; sheriff, F. K. Cosgrove, Jr .; treasurer, John M. Taylor; coroner, William Gaff- ney; surveyor, W. H. Goshorn; com- missioners, Francis Gladio, Jacob Goeg- lein and Timothy Hogan. R. C. Bell was elected state senator and L. S. Null, S. E. Sinclair and H. C. McDon- ald representatives.


County officers elected in 1882 were: Judge of the circuit court, Edward O'Rourke; judge of the superior court, James L. Worden; judge of the crim- inal court, S. M. Hench; clerk, Willis D. Mayer; prosecuting attorney, C. M.


Dawson; sheriff, William D. Schiefer; recorder, T. S. Heller; treasurer, John Dalman; auditor, A. L. Griebel; survey- or, D. M. Allen; coroner, Dr. Kent K. Wheelock; commissioners, Henry Hart- man, William H. Bryant, Jeremiah D. Gloyd; attorney, Thomas E. Ellison; school superintendent, Jerry Hillegass. (2) Other city officers elected in 1881 were: Clerk, W. W. Rockhill; treasurer, Charles M. Barton; marshal, Frank Falker; assessor, Louis Jocquel; waterworks trustee, Charles McCul- loch; city councilmen, Charles Reese, Montgomery Hamilton, L. S. Chitten- den, Charles F. Muhler, P. J. Wise, John Welch, John Mohr, Jr., William Doehrmann and F. C. Boltz.


CHAPTER XLIV-1885-1890.


Natural Gas-The State School-South Wayne Tangle.


When Fort Wayne was a "natural gas town"-Wanton waste-First company formed in 1885 fails to find gas within the city limits-Citizens invest heavily in Salamonie company, which lays ninety-eight miles of pipe to convey gas from Blackford county to Fort Wayne-Charles F. Muhler mayor-Beginnings of the plant of S. F. Bowser and Company-James B. White congressman-The Robertson episode in the legislature- Founding of the Indiana School for Feeble Minded Youth-The South Wayne tangle-The first Labor Day celebration-Daniel L. Harding mayor -The first football game-The beginnings of golf-Marvin Kuhns, des- perado.


F OR A SCORE of years Fort Wayne was known as a "natural gas town." During that period nearly every home in the city was heated and many were illuminated by gas flames, and, but for the wanton waste of the commodity, the period of its service might have been extended for many years.


In 1885 the discovery of natural gas in northwestern Ohio inspired Fort Wayne citizens to an investigation of the prospects of finding a supply in and near their home city. The first meeting to take decisive action was held in the circuit court room. Here was organized the Fort Wayne Natural Gas and Fuel Company, with Robertson J. Fisher president and Charles B. Woodworth secretary. The company drilled four wells within the city limits of Fort Wayne. The first well supplied gas enough to operate the engine to drill the second well. In this first venture, however, the promoters lost about $12,000, and a new company, organized by J. C. Peltier, E. L. Craw and others, drilled two more wells with unsuccessful results.




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