USA > Maryland > Washington County > Hagerstown > A history of Washington County, Maryland from the earliest settlements to the present time, including a history of Hagerstown > Part 66
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CHAPTER XXVI
T WAS not characteristic of the people of Washington County to remain inactive un- der misfortune and the war was no sooner ended than they turned their faces to tlie future and endeavored to mend their condition. Some of their public efforts were crowned with abundant success and some turned out badly. In the latter class were a number of manufacturing enterprises which caused great loss and ended in disaster. One of the first works of a public nature which were undertaken about this time was the improvement of the facilities of transportation. Hagerstown as has been said before had been greatly isolated since the end of the turnpike and staging days and she was cut off from her natural market at Baltimore. The canal carried a large quantity of wheat and flour to Georgetown and for a time there had been considerable freight carricd by wagons to Frederick and slipped from that city by the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. But after the re- habilitation of the old Franklin Railroad and its incorporation with the Cumberland Valley road the trade of Washington County had been largely di- verted to Philadelphia. This did not suit the Hagerstown people. Philadelphia was twice as far as Baltimore and the freight rates on wheat and other farm products was high. There was therefore a general desire for direct communication with Baltimore by rail. This could be had by the construction of a road 24 miles in length from Hagerstown to intersect the main line of the Bal- timore and Ohio at Weverton, three miles east from Harper's Ferry. Such a road would bring Hagerstown by this route within 103 miles of Baltimore, whereas the distance by the Cumber-
land Valley and Northern Central was about 170 miles.
The road to Weverton, it was also pointed out, would provide transportation for a large and fertile section of the County which at that time had no access to the markets except by wagons and mostly over extremely bad roads. As early as 1857 the movement for the construction of this branch road began and a meeting was held to promote it. The great difficulty was in providing the money. The road would cost a million dollars and to get that sum subscribed in Washington County, where there were no men of great wealth, was out of the question. The meeting adopted resolutions asking the legislature to authorize Washington County to subscribe to $250,000 of the stock and to issue bonds to pay for it. A com- . mittee composed of Dr. Thomas Maddox, J. Dixon Roman, T. G. Robertson, William Dodge and James Wason, was sent to Baltimore to enlist the aid of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. But their mission was not successful and the un- settled political conditions and finally the Civil War caused the scheme to be abandoned for the time. But before the war ended it was revived and on March 10, 1864 the legislature passed thic act of incorporation. . The incorporators and first board of directors were Isaac Nesbitt, George S. Kennedy, Jacob A. Miller, Johns Hopkins, Gallo- way Cheston, Peter B. Small and Robert Fowler. The capital stock was $1,000,000 the shares $20 each. There the matter rested for a year and a half longer. In September 1865, three of the County Commissioners, William Roulette, Elias E. Rohrer,and John Reichard, accompanied by Dr.
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
Thomas Maddox, George S. Kennedy, Jacob A. Miller, Peter B. Small, Thomas A. Boultt, Dr. A. A. Biggs and A. R. Appleman, had a conference at Camden station with John W. Garrett, presi- dent of the Baltimore & Ohio Company.
The Baltimore & Ohio then subscribed for stock to the amount of $750,000, Washington County took $150,000 and $100,000 more was sub- scribed for by individuals, principal among whom were Johns Hopkins $12,000, Robert Garrett & Sons, $10,000, Robert Fowler, $10,000, A. Gregg & Co. $4,000, Samuel Wilhelm, $2,000. The cit- izens of Washington County who subscribed were George Scott Kennedy, Edward M. Mealey, Jacob A. Miller, Peter B. Small and others. Work was begun without delay, the surveys being made un- der the direction of Mr. John L. Randolph, after- wards for years chief engineer of the Baltimore & Ohio. The last rail was laid on November 21, 1867, and the running of trains between Hagers- town and Weverton began. The first consignment of freiglit to be shipped was a lot of wheat sent by Samuel Emmert.
For 10 years, that is until 1877, this trans- action cost Washington County but little. The County, to get money to pay for its stock issucd 6 per cent. bonds which had to be sold below par as money at that time was worth more than that rate of interest. But the Baltimore & Ohio Company leased and operated the Washington County road for 10 years, paying 6 per cent. on the stock. This brought to the County a sum almost sufficient to pay the interest on the bonds. But in 1877, when the lease expired the Baltimore & Ohio de- clined to renew it but operated the road keeping account of receipts and expenditures. This brought the company in debt to the Baltimore & Ohio each year for a long time and the County Commissioners were compelled to levy taxes to pay the interest on the bonds along with a fund for ultimate redemption. This money was invest- ed in the bonds and they were cancelled as bought. Finally in 1905, the Baltimore & Ohio Company bought the stock of Washington County, paying therefor $55.000. The first President of the con- pany was Edward M. Mealey of Washington County and he was succeeded 'by Robert Fowler, who continued in the presidency until his death. These presidents however took no part in conduct- ing the operations of the road. That was done by the Baltimore & Ohio Company.
Before the construction of the Washington
County railroad was completed the County Com- missioners were listening to appeals for a subscrip- tion to a rival road to Baltimore, namely the Western Maryland. The fertile section in the north eastern portion of the County was without any transportation facilities and the people living in the Chewsville, Cavetown, Leitersburg and Ringgold districts, were clamorous for the exten- sion of the Western Maryland railroad to Hagers- town. It was also the plan to continue it on to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal at Williamsport in the hope of diverting to Baltimore a large part of the coal which came down in boats from Cum- berland.
In 1866 the legislature authorized Washing- ton County to subscribe for $150,000 of the stock of the company and to issue bonds to pay for it. The subscription was made and subsequently the County Commisisoners in order to secure the com- pletion of the road to Williamsport, endorsed the second mortgage 6 per cent. bonds of the com- pany to the extent of $300,000. The stock never paid any dividends and the company defaulted upon its endorsed bonds for many years until Washington County had paid nearly $325,000 in interest upon those it had endorsed besides carry- ing its own bonds which had been issued to pay for the stock.
In about 1885 the Western Maryland Com- pany being in urgent need of money for equip- ment and betterments, applied to the city of Bal- timore for more aid. The city agreed to supply a large sum provided Washington County would surrender its lien under the second mortgage for the interest it had paid on those bonds. After
considerable negotiation an agreement was reach- ed by which the County was relieved of its ob- ligation as endorser of the $300,000 of bonds and received for the sum it had paid in interest on those bonds preferred stock to the amount of $324,000. The relief from the annual payment of $18,000 interest as cndorsors caused a consider- able reduction in the tax rate of Washington County from that time on.
When the old Baltimore & Susquehanna road was begun shortly after the beginning of the Bal- timore & Ohio, a branch line starting from the main stem at a point 8 miles from Baltimore was begun westward through Green Spring Valley, the intention being to continue it on to the western part of the State. But only 9 miles of the branch line was ever completed and this was opened for
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OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, MARYLAND.
travel on the 26th of May 1832. Twenty years later, on May 27, 1852 the legislature chartered the Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Railroad Company, authorized it to build a road to the headwaters of the Monocacy River, which might start either at the end of the Green Spring Valley road or at Baltimore. The next year the name of the company was changed to the "Western Mary- land ;" it was authorized to build a road to Hagers- town and to issue bonds for one million dollars. Robert M. McGraw was the first president of the Company and it was decided to begin building at the Green Spring terminus and to use the North- ern Central for access to the city. August 11, 1859 the road was opened to Owings Mills and on June 15, 1861 to Westminster. The next year it went 12 miles westward to Union Bridge and that was the western terminus until January 9, 1871, when it was opened for business to Mc- chanicstown, now Thurmont, at the foot of the mountains, fifty-nine miles from Baltimore. Five years previously the work of grading west of the mountain had begun because it was provided in the law authorizing Washington County to take $150,000 of the stock, that the money subscribed should be expended within the County. Much dif- ficulty was encountered in blasting through the ex- cessively hard rock on the mountain top with the imperfect appliances of those days and before the use of dynamite for blasting. To avoid one ledge of rock, which has some copper in it, the road was deflected across Mason and Dixon line into Penn- sylvana, in which State short portions of the track at Blue Ridge Summit and at Pen Mar lie.
It was strongly urged that this road could not be made to pay because so large a portion of its track lay in an unproductive and almost unin- labited mountain district, almost one-fifth of the entire distance from Baltimore to Hagerstown. But when Mr. John M. Hood became President he quickly discerned the possibility of the moun- tains. He established Pen Mar park, built the observatory, encouraged the building of the Blue Mountain and other hotels and under the encour- agement of low rates, a populous summer colony grew up at and around Blue Ridge Slummit and so a wise policy made the wild mountains the most profitable part of the territory tributary to the road.
The track building eastward from Hagers- town was coupled with that portion east of the mountains in the spring of 1872, and on June 6
of that year the first train direct from Baltimore reached Hagerstown. It was hailed with delight by the people of Washington County and its first result was to add about 5 cents per bushel to wheat in the Hagerstown market. In procuring the con- struction of the road across the mountain into Washington County, Edwin Bell the editor of the Hagerstown Mail was the leader and subsequent events fully vindicated him and established the correctness of his judgment.
The first agent of the Western Maryland Com- pany in Hagerstown was B. Howell Griswold, a native of Hagerstown, then a young man who had served with Charles E. Ways, then Hagerstown agent of the Baltimore & Ohio. Both these men, by their efficiency, attracted the attention of the managers of their respective companies. Mr. Ways became General Freight Agent of the Bal- timore & Ohio in Baltimore and Mr. Griswold was soon made General Passenger Agent of the West- ern Maryland. Later he was for a time Gen- eral Traffic Manager of the reorganized system.
The Western Maryland road was completed to the canal at Williamsport and the first trains were run on December 17, 1873. The first train brought to Williamsport the Governor of Mary- land, William Pinkney Whyte, officials of the City of Baltimore and of the State and a great number of citizens who were entertained by the people of Williamsport at a banquet in the public school house. About the same time ten miles of track from Green Spring Junction to Baltimore at Ful- ton street, was completed and the trains of the road had no longer to use the Northern Central tracks in order to reach the city.
Perhaps the most important event in the history of the Western Maryland road down to its sale in 1902, was the election of John Mifflin Hood as President of the company in 1874. He held the office of President and General Manager for more than twenty-eight years and when he retired the testimonial which he valued most was a piece of silver which came from the employes of the company as a testimonial of their esteem and their confidence in his even handed justice, while dealing with them. Another testimonial came in the form of a magnificent silver service from citizens of Baltimore in recognition of his public services in building up the road and with it expanding the trade of the city.
John M. Hood is a native of Howard County, and son of Dr. Benjamin and Hanna Mifflin Hood.
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
He attended school at Rugby Institute, Mt. Waslı- ington, and then became a civil engineer. After working upon varions railroad surveys he went to Brazil in 1861, returned home the following ycar and entered the service of the Confederate States as topographical engineer on a military road from Danville to Greensboro. He then, de- elining a commission, enlisted as a private in the Second Battalion Maryland Infantry. In 1864 he accepted a commission as licutenant of engi- neers. He served to the end of the war and was several times wounded. After the surrender he was employed on various railroads and for a timc, was superintendent of the Philadelphia, Wilming- ton and Baltimore road. After his election to the Presidency, March 24, 1874, Mr. Hood at once undertook the work of improvement which con- verted a bankrupt company with a dilapidated road 90 miles in length into a well equipped sys- tem worth many million dollars. The Emmits- burg branch was completed in 1875. Mr. Hood then secured a contract with the Baltimore and Potomac Company for the use of the tunnel, so that the Western Maryland trains could use Union Station and reach IIillen in the heart of the city. This was essential as the road could not get business with a terminus so remote as Fulton Station.
Then followed the construction of tracks and buildings at Hillen Station, Baltimore, and the building of the Baltimore and Cumberland Val- ley line to Waynesboro, with its subsequent exten- sion to Chambersburg and Shippensburg and its connection with the Harrisburg and Potomac (now Philadelphia and Reading) at the latter point ; the establishing of connection at Hagers- town with the Shenandoah Valley (now Norfolk and Western) and the Washington County branch of the Baltimore and Ohio; the control by lease and ownership of stock of the Baltimore and Han- over and the Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad Companies; the building of the mountain line (Baltimore and Harrisburg Western Extension) to connect the latter system with the Western Maryland main line at the sum- mit of the Blue Ridge.
The building of the main-line extension, the Potomac Valley and the Potomac Valley of West Virginia, to a connection with the Baltimore and Ohio main line at Cherry Run next followed ; then the Baltimore and Harrisburg eastern ex- tension to York; then the "cut-off" linc between
Hagerstown and Chambersburg, made up of the Hagerstown and State line in Maryland and the Washington and Franklin in Pennsylvania. Sub- scquently the line between Cherry Run and Ship- pensburg, which was handling a heavy through business between the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nor- folk and Western and the Philadelphia and Read- ing, had its capacity increased by the construction of long sections of double track, the building of long and frequent sidings and the enlargement of yard accommodations, until its capacity was probably greater than that of any single-track rail- road in the country of similar characteristics.
A contract with the Baltimore & Ohio and the Reading Railroad Companies brought to the Western division of the Western Maryland a vast traffic in hauling coal from the former road at Cherry Run, W. Va., to the Reading near Ship- pensburg. A contract had also been executed with the South Penn Company by which Baltimore was to be reached by the South Penn road over the Western Maryland. But the splendid prospect was lost through the abandonment of the South Penn.
After a protracted contest among rival bid- ders, covering a period of more than three months, the sale of the interests of Baltimore City in the Western Maryland Railroad to a syndicate headed by E. L. Fuller, representing the Gould, or Wa- bash railroad interests, for $8,751,370.45, was con- summated May 7, 1902. The other bidders in ac- tive competition were :
Hambleton & Co., of Baltimore, in connection with the Geo. D. Cook Company, of New York and Chicago, $9,250,000.
A syndicate headed by W. W. Varney, $10,- 100,000.
The Reading Company, $10,001,000.
The contest finally narrowed down to consid- eration of the Fuller, the Varney and Reading bids, and the effect the sale to either of them would have on the trade and other interests of Baltimore. The weight of the public influence and of the press was strongly favorable to the Gould-Wabash connection. It was thought that more was to be gained for the city by favoring the Goulds than by helping their antagonists. Great stress was laid upon the much larger cash bids of Varney and the Reading, but the tempting offers were put aside for the more important consideration implied by the Wabash needs of an Atlantic Coast outlet, of terminals at Baltimore and of the helpfulness
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Salem U. B. Church, Keedysville.
Mt. Carmel U. B. Church, Rohrersville District.
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OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, MARYLAND.
such a connection would be to the larger trade and manufacturing interests of the city.
It was agreed in advance that the purchasers of the city's holdings in the railroad should also buy the holdings of Washington County, and this was done. They got 2,200 shares from Washing- ton County and 4,000 shares from Baltimore City, which added to 800 shares previously owned by them, made 7,000 shares, a majority of the whole common or voting stock, which was 13,699 shares of the par value of $50 each. In addition to the shares of the common stock which the Fuller syn- dicate got from Washington County it got $324,- 000 of preferred stock, which, however, has not voting privilege. The cash consideration paid to Washington County was $434,000, the par value of the stock.
The charter of the company conferred upon the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore the right to appoint a majority of the directors. But that feature of the charter was repcaled at the January session of the Legislature of 1902. The purchasers were, therefore, in a position to elect their own directors and to take possession of the property immediately thereafter, which was done.
The officers of the Western Maryland Rail- road Company, as reorganized July 8, 1902, wcre as follows :
President-Winslow S. Pierce.
Vice-President-Fairfax S. Landstrect.
Directors-Winslow S. Pierce, Geo. J. Gould, John W. Gates, Edwin Gould, Henry B. Henson, Lawrence Greer, W. H. McIntyre, of New York; F. S. Landstreet, Gen. John M. Hood, S. Davies Warfield, George R. Gaither, Gen. Thos. J. Shry- ock and Charles W. Slagle.
After the purchase of the road the new own- ers continued to operate it under its old charter which is a very liberal one, although it makes no exemption from taxation. The road has a charter to extend its track to Cumberland and the Act of 1902 is mandatory upon the purchasers to make that extension or a suitable connection by another road. The work of constructing the 65 miles of track through the mountains from Cherry Run to Cumberland was speedily begun. Trains be- gan running on schedule as far as Hancock early in 1905 and before the end of that year the road to Cumberland was nearly completed. Of the 65 miles newly constructed 20 miles lie in Washing- ton County. The entire mileage of the road in
this County is not far from 75 miles. Legislative action was necessary to enable the company to con- struct the road on certain lands belonging to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Western Mary- land Company found it to their advantage to pur- chase the stock in this canal, being a majority, owned by the State of Maryland. The owner- ship of this stock enabled the company they be- lieved, to overcome obstructions and obtain con- cessions from the trustees which they otherwise might have been unable to secure. This exten- sion to Cumberland was constructed in the best manner without regard to cost and it will neccs- sarily be of enormous advantage in the develop- ment of Washington County and in promoting the trade of Hagerstown. Simultaneously with the construction of the extension the work of improv- ing the grades and alignment of the eastern di- vision of the road began, with a view to the eco- nomical handling of the great coal traffic to come from the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg road which the purchasers of the Western Mary- land had already bought when they bought the Western Maryland and to connect with which at Cumberland, the Cumberland extension was built. The expectation was that both these roads would be connected with the Wabash system at Pittsburg. Before building the Western extension the West- ern Maryland, according to the agreement with Baltimore City, had already been carried to the water front at Port Covington, Baltimore, and that line was opened for traffic, September, 1904.
After retiring from the Presidency of the Western Maryland in 1903, Mr. Hood became president of the United Railways, of Baltimore. He is regarded as a benefactor of Washington County no less than of Baltimore City.
The sale of its holdings in the Western Mary- land Company enabled Washington County to pay its entire bonded debt in 1902, leaving it free from debt for the first time since 1865. All the bonds of the County were not due and payable at the time but a sufficient sum for their payment when due was put in a trust company. It was greatly to be regretted that the large sum re- maining after the public debt had been provided for was not devoted to some public improvment. Instead it was used in the ordinary expenses of the County government, causing a reduction in tax- ation for one year.
CHAPTER XXVII
OLITICS had not been entirely in abeyance during the progress of the war, but the political contests had been entirely one sided. The Democratic party, which had always been so powerful in the County, had be- come in the public mind identified with the cause of secession, and disloyalty to the United States. And this sentiment was none the less pronounced because a large number of the Federal volunteers from the County had been Democrats. It was therefore useless for the Democratic party to put any candidates in the field, and especially so bc- cause of the registration law that had been enacted while the war was in progress. Under this law, as it was adininistered, about two thousand white adults were prohibited from voting. Not only did the law require that a man should be loyal to the Government in order to entitle him to vote, but under a set of questions required by the Governor in 1865 to be put to applicants for registration, a man might disfranchise himself by the oper- ation of his mind. If at any time he had wished for a Confederate victory, he could not vote.
President Lincoln having issued his procla- mation granting freedom to the slaves in the se- ceded States, the question of abolishing slavery in Maryland came under discussion. In January, 1864, the Legislature passed an act providing for a Constitutional convention to accomplish this ob- ject-that being the only way in which it could be done. The bill passed both Heuses of the General Assembly on January 28. The vote in the Senate was 13 in the affirmative to 2 in the negative. In the House it was 48 to 17. The election "for or against a convention" took place on
the first Wednesday in April, and delegates to the convention were elected at the same time. The vote of Washington County was 3298 for the' con- vention to 651 against it. The delegates elected were Peter Negley, Henry W. Dellinger, James P. Mayhugh, John R. Sncary, Lewis B. Nyman and Joseph F. Davis.
The vote on the adoption of the new constitu- tion was taken on the 12th and 13th of October 1864. A feature of the election which was unusu- al at that time, but has since become common, was that by resolution of the convention a portion of the new constitution went into effect before it was adopted by the people. That is to say, the oath prescribed for voters in the new instrument was required to be taken by those who voted on its adoption. The vote of Washington County was 2441 for the adoption of the Constitution, and 985 against it.
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