USA > Ohio > Wyandot County > Wharton > Whartensburgh 1846 and Wharton 1971 : historical sketch prepared for the 125th celebration of Wharton, Ohio, August 14, 1971 > Part 1
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Whartensburgh 1846 -and-
Wharton 1971
0
Historical Sketch Prepared For The
125th CELEBRATION
Of Wharton, Ohio
0
August 14, 1971
0
WHARTON ELEVATOR
Dealers In Grain, Feed, Fertilizer, etc.
PHONE 458-2845
WHARTON, OHIO
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1846-WHARTON 125TH ANNIVERSARY-1971
Historical Sketch of Whartensbaugh, ยท Founded Anno Domini 1846
The Village of Wharton, Ohio at its beginning was called Whartensburgh and was named after a certain Mr. Wharton whose history could not be ascertained.
The founding of Wharton falls within two peculiar historical facts. In 1845 bath tubs were regarded as an undemocratic extrava- gance and Boston prohibited their use by law. Virginia taxed bath tubs thirty dollars per year. In 1847 the United Postal System for the first time used adhesive stamps. Between these two dates, in 1846, Whartensburgh was founded. The "History of Wyandot Coun- ty", issued 1879 states that Whartensburgh was laid out in 1848. However, a discrepancy, both in the spelling of the name of the town as well as in thedate of its surveying is shown by the original Sur- veyor's Chart of the village, made by Mr. Samuel Rathborn. This Surveyor's Chart, a valuable possession of the Council of Wharton, spells the name Whartensburgh and gives as the date of its surveying August, 1846.
A very interesting line is found written under the Surveyor's Chart. It reads' "This is to certify that the above town plot is true and correct as near as could be laid off for Jam piles, tree tops and logs". This line gives a vivid picture of the conditions prevailing when Whartensburgh came into being. The rich and level lands of Ohio abounded in timber, mainly hard wood, and demanded stalwart and rugged men for the clearing.
On April 4th, 1835 Conrad Wickiser and Charles Smith were logging, when the chain used in the work happened to break and be- came entangled in a spice bush which it tore up by the roots. It dis- closed to these men the exceeding rich soil of that section of land and these men decided to call the township "Richland".
The verdure of the land was plentiful and majestic oaks, sturdy beech trees and giant elms grew without number. The township had very few streams, but the soil was satuarated with abundant mois- ture. The first settlers did heroic work. Richland Township or- ganized March 1, 1813 was a vast wilderness, destitute of roads. Trees had to be felled and clearings demanded hard and prolonged labor before the ground could be ploughed to produce corn, oats, hay, potatoes, rye, hemp and barley. Houses had to be constructed of logs and ditches were to be dug for drainage of the land.
At times the heavy rains brought floods and spoiled the planting, or summer drouths caused crop failure. When food was scarce fathers at their meals would leave the small quantity of bread to their children and go out into the woods, to chew the cambium layer
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1846-WHARTON 125TH ANNIVERSARY-1971
of the slippery elms to supplement their frugal rations.
The first house in Whartensburgh was built by Mr. N. DePew and the first Postmaster was Mr. James E. James. The latter with his office also kept a store-the first store in Whartensburgh. This first Postmaster had not the conveniency of using adhesive stamps. As it was cutomary then, the Postmasters affixed their stamps with ink directly to the envelopes. Congress had authorized the use of adhesive stamps in 1845 but had made no provisions for the printing of same. Two years later, in 1847 the government furnished adhesive stamps. In the time intervening Postmasters produced their own stamps. A letter that took three cents in postage in 1946 then cost seventy-five cents to be sent a distance as far as from New York to Philadelphia. A letter now takes eight cents per ounce, effective May 1971.
On the south side of Main Street, east of the railroad, Mr. Ira Bristoll built a shop of logs and in it made caskets for the commun- ity. Caskets then were plain "coffins". Opposite his shop the earliest brick structure, the "Buggy Shop" was built. This structure still stands and joins the "Meat Shop" which also is a relic of the juvenile times of Whartensburgh.
The town plot of Whartensburgh was laid out on both sides of the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad. The locomotives then were fired with wood and were, on account of their small size, called "Peanutroasters" by the public. The trains ran on wooden rails which were surfaced with strap iron. The road was built in 1844.
John and George Sterling in 1858 erected the first sawmill and chose Whartensburgh for its location. It is worthy of note that one of the early buildings was the "Wharton House", a hotel, which stood on the site where the Bristoll Garage now stands. In 1878 Mr. Wm. Earp was proprietor of this building and from 1902 to 1907 Mr. Albert Howard was the owner of it.
First Lot Bought
From a newspaper clipping furnished by Mr. B. Lee we take the following excerpt for information:
Mrs. Anna Depew who lived one-fourth of a mile west of Whar- ton was born May 5, 1805. At the age of nineteen she was married to Mr. Nicholas Depew. In 1849 they moved to what now is called Wharton. There was no town, but the land was laid out in lots. Of these Mr. DePew bought the first lot for the price of five dollars. Mrs. Nicholas DePew always always enjoyed good health and at the age of ninety-nine years still read her large-print Bible. She died at the age of one-hundred-and-two years.
1846-WHARTON 125TH ANNIVERSARY-1971
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First Picture of Whartensburgh 1866
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WHARTON 125TH ANNIVERSARY-1971
To the Honorable Commissioners of Wyandot County, Ohio
Gentlemen:
The undersigned Electors of said County, residing upon territory herein after described, respectfully petitions you, honorably bound, To become an Incorporated Village under the name "Maple City". The principle part of the territory proposed to be Incorporated has been laid off into Village lots named Whartonsburg. There are about three-hundred-and-fifty inhabitants residing in the proposed Corpora- tion. We hereby appoint R. V. Rummell and William Bristoll as our agents to act for us in securing your favored consideration of the petition, herewith is an accurate map of the territory proposed to be incorporated November 22, 1878. Description of Territory:
The North half of Section twenty-two. The North West forth of Section twenty-three. The West half of Section fourteen and all the Section of fifteen in Township Two, South of Range twelve, East in Wyandot County, Ohio, including the Lots in Whartonsburg. (Signed)
G. M. Rasegrant
.T Baker
John M. McClellen
R. V. Rummell
Wm. Thayer
J. A. Sterling
Robert Davidson
Lewis Morehart
John Bolton
J. J. Richards George Wood
Wm. Bristoll
-
J. D. Rummell
L. W. Martin
S. R. Mohre
Jacob Spoon
P. W. Case
John Sterling
J. F. Kimmel
Henery E. Earp
G. S. Couter
W. H. Marvin
Marvin Earp
J. C. Andrews
D. W. Wickiser
S. R. Coates
Wm. McClellen
J. C. Shaner
C. Hostler
D. Dumm
Isaih Hummel
Harry E. Hunt John Ebaugh F. M. Cook
James Rummell
U. A. Jaycox
C. Costes
Thomas Miller
R. B. Bell
Wm. B. Pever
Mupal Sturzz
F. D. Shaner
S. A. Dysinger
Jno JePew
J. C. Cole
Jonathan Bowser
J. C. Duffield
W. H. Myers
B. W. Ward
S. Spoon
Michael Harick Lewis Myers
A. F. Smith Wm. Earp
P. H. Wickiser Joseph Earp
P. L. Middleton
J. W. Ebough David Cole
Geo.W. Duffield
A. J. Murray
Orange L. Cleveland
W. K. Vogel
S. W. Rangler
J. B. Waugh
J. Monk
B. Gantz
(There was a total of seventy-one signers of the above petition)
1
Henery DePew
John Graner
D. Cramer
1846-WHARTON 125TH ANNIVERSARY-1971
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Main Street, Wharton, Ohio, 1905, Looking East
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Light and More Light
The first kerosene-oil street lamp in Whartensburgh was pri- vately owned by Mr. William Bristoll. It shed its gentle rays of light each night in front of his store. The lamp mounted on a wooden post appears in the "First Picture of Whartensburgh" in this book.
The first kerosene-oil street lamps were purchased from Camp- bell & Co. on April 15th, 1890 for the price of $110.13. For the first two months Mr.A.F. Campbell was the Street Lamp Lighter. Then the following persons were successors in his highly exalted position: J. J. Richard, 1890; Claud Campbell, 1890; J. E. Kirby, 1890-1891. J. J. Mayer, 1892-1893; W. H. Hagerman, 1893; Geo. W. Kear, Jr., 1894; W. H. Hagerman, 1894-1896; Chas. G. Earp, 1896-1897; L. S. DeLong, 1897-1899; Joe Johnson, 1899; J. D. Rummell, 1899-1907; C. L. Rum- mell, 1907; D. A. Rummell. 1907-1909.
Gasoline street lights made by the Royal Gas Light Co. were bought and installed Aug. 1909 at the cost of $247.86. For these lights which were triangular in shape, Mr. D. A. Rummell was the first lighter. These new lights were mounted on iron legs and stood about one foot above ground. The attached tin container held the gasoline for fuel and a generator. An alarm clock was connected with this device which turned out the light at about 11 p. m. These clocks were set by the lamp lighter at about sun-down.
The office of lamp lighting either had gathered new prominence or there was an increase in salary, for the next lamp lighter, Mr. J. A. Southward, continued in office from 1909 until 1915, the longest period any lamp lighter served.
March 15, 1915 was a great day for Wharton, for then a franchise was granted to Mr. B. L. Marvin to install poles, wires and cables and street lights to have the town electrically lighted. The electric cur- rent was furnished by the generating plant located in the Wharton Light & Garage Co. The plant and building where it was operated was owned by Mr. N. C. Kear. The streets were first lighted in electric incandescency in May 1915. Several of these electric street lights are still in use.
This private lighting plant continued for five years when the Council saw it necessary to issue bonds to the amount of $10,000.00 to build a line of cables to Carey, Ohio, to purchase electric current from its plant. In this special council meeting the votes in favor of this project were 178. Only ten ballots carried a "Nay". The last bond of this ten-thousand-dollar issue was paid from revenues in December, 1931.
In 1921 Mr. Mourice E. Elder engineered the work of the new line laid by the contractor Guy F. Burnett. From this new source of power the streets were first lit in September, 1922. The electric street lights, some of which are still in use, were at first turned on and off by switches handled by the night police. At present they are operated by electric time clock switches.
The lights for the business section of Wharton were installed in 1937 by the Sheridan Standard White Way Co. at a cost of $424.40.
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1846-WHARTON 125TH ANNIVERSARY-1971
Later these same lights for the business section were replaced by florescent lamps and most of those throughout the village have been replaced by mercury vapor lights.
The Wharton Newspapers
Wharton can boast of three newspapers, copies of which are still extant. The earliest newspaper bore the appropriate name "The Wharton Leader". It was printed in Wharton by Will E. and Fred C. Grose and its initial issue appeared Nov. 26, 1886. From it we quote: "The columns shall be devoted to such matter as we have reason to believe are for the best interest of the community and not conflicting with the moral and social developments, but rather sustaining a course that will assist in building up and making higher and purer these qualities. Social and other scandals shall never find place in these columns. We shall treat Democrats, Prohibitionists, Republi- cans and Greenbackers with the same courtesy."
The next newspaper was "The Rip Saw". This also was a four- column eight-page paper and was issued by the Wharton Publishing Co., R. R. Dumm & C. V. Morris, Editors and Proprietors. In its first issue, April 18, 1902, we read "This paper is devoted to the interest of Wharton and vicinity and to all who like something new. Here is a paper that will help you. Now, if you are not a subscriber, we would be pleased to have you call and leave your name". A sample copy of "The Rip Saw" can still be seen and read in the present City Building.
A third paper, "The Wharton Times" made its appearance Feb. 27, 1903. It announces "A weekly newspaper devoted to the interest of the editor and his patrons exclusively, published every Friday by Theo. B. Lillard, Editor and Prop." Further in its "Salutatory" we read "To the merchants and business men this publication is to be a helping adjunet. We, like they, are not in business for the fun, honor or glory, but for what we can derive financially, and we propose to. take business from wherever we can get it, else we would not be a business institution".
The Banks of Wharton
The first bank, "The Broker's Bank", was managed by Bristol, Mohre & Co.
The name of the next bank in Wharton was "The Richland De- posit Bank" and was owned by Mr. William Bristoll.
The third bank also was privately owned by Messrs. William Cramer and C. D. Campbell and was called "Wharton Bank".
The fourth bank had a tripartite owneship namely that of Messrs. E. E. E. Kear, S. E. Huston and M. H. Kear. It was started in 1902 under the name "The Wharton Bank".
This name was continued under the next management of the bank consisting of Messrs. E. E. E. Kear, Pres., and Ray B. Kear, Cashier. This bank was organized in 1933 and its present directorship consists of the Messrs. Emery P. Kear, President; Geo. W. Huston, Vice Pre- sident; Norman Kear, Royal Kear, Richard Earp, Daniel Bennett and Hubert O. Kear.
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The Doctors of Wharton
Two of the first doctors in Whartensburgh were Dr. Morris and Dr. W. Case.
J. Odenbaugh, M. D., graduate of Union Schools of Washington and Bethany and Vermillion Colleges studied under Dr. J. A. Stansell of Forest, Ohio, and came to Wharton in 1880. His residence was op- posite the Methodist Church.
*
S. L. Clark, M. D., graduate of the Cleveland Regular Medical College, studied under Dr. C. V. McMillen and came to Whartens- burgh in May, 1877. Another Dr. Clark opened a Drug Store here in 1881.
J. D. Johnson, M. D., graduate of Waynesburg College, studied under Dr. J. A. Groves and came to Wharton in 1881.
Other doctors who since then practiced in Wharton were J. C. Andrews, W. A. Marshall, N. M. Crawford and V. N. Bowen.
The Schools of Wharton
The first school house erected in Richland Township stood on Section 17. Here Mr. Charles Smith was the school master in the winters of 1835, 1836 and 1837.
The second school in this township was built on Section 2. It was made of round logs. The upper floor consisted of poles laid closely together and the lower floor was of Punsheon. Oiled paper in the holes rerved as windows. In this building Mr. Abraham Cole taught in 1840. There were about twenty pupils in each of these schools.
The first school building in Wharton was located just north of the present school building.
In 1870 a new building was erected on Main Street on the lots where Mrs. Martha Passet's and Nelson Wickiser's homes stand. The first. second and third grades occupied the lower floor of the brick building, the seventh, eighth and ninth grades had the upper floor. The frame building which was moved across the street and is now used as Corbin's garage was occupied by the fourth, fifth and sixth grades. The first and only graduates from this school building were Ray Bristoll and Rea Cramer.
West of the present school building in 1905 under the superinten- dency of O. A. Suber a new school building was erected.
In 1922 the new centralized school building was opened for the classes. The old building was destroyed by fire in 1928. In 1929 three additional rooms were added to the new building. Until 1914 office, E. A. Baughman, G. R. Traxler, C. R. Ogden, E. L. Hartley, N. O. A. Suber was superintendent, and since then there followed in this Younger, H. B. Zulauf, Dale Heskett, L. F. Manhart, R. K. Derickson, Georgre Stout, Gene Zuber, Howard Rinehart and Dennis D. Bell.
Some of the early teachers who served in the first brick school house in the early '80's were Mr. Wm. Watermyer, Mr. Lawis Bell, Mr. R. B. Bell, Mr. T. J. Stout and Mr. O. E. Reynolds. The latter with his father,Mr.Andrew J. Reynolds, taught in the District school for many years.
In the early 1960's, a new school district was formed from the
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former Wharton, Mt. Blanchard and Forest school districts. Mr. Bell was selected as the first superintendent of the newly-formed River- dale School District. The last class to graduate from the Wharton High School was in 1962. The local school is still being retained as an elementary school, however.
The Fire Department
The first fire fighting in Whartensburgh was done by a Bucket Brigade. Invariably a home would have a water bucket for fire fighting and a ladder long enough to reach the roof. In case of fire all citizens would rush to the danger spot and form a line from the water supply to the fire and hand full buckets of water down this line for the extinguishing of the fire and pass the empty buckets back for their dip.
On Aug. 13, 1886 the Council of Wharton made fire fighting a community concern by purchasing from T. J. Howard a cart, ladders, a hook and buckets.
Keeping up with the advance if science, Wharton bought fire ex- tinguishers in 1886 from C. H. Sulthen & Co. and placed these tubes filled with chemicals in the places of business.
The next big improvement in fire fighting came when in 1901 the Council bought a hand pump which was to be operated by four men on each end of the lever. It had a tin tank for the water supply which was to be filled by the Bucket Brigade. This fire fighting ma- chine was bought from Campbell and Cramer. The Mayor of the town, W. B. Nichols, received the prominent position as Fire Director.
W. K. Vogel, village black mith in Wharton, built the next Fire Engine Wagon in 1901.
In May, 1901 a Fire Engine House was built by Bristoll & Baker on the east side of the Village Jail.
In that year an ordinance was released by the Council to have all water buckets painted red. These buckets newly bought from A. Mc- Evoy were used for the filling of the 300-gallon water tank on the Fire Engine Wagon.
In 1912 a fire engine, to be hand-drawn and hand-pumped was purchased. This engine required six men on each side of the lever. The purchase was made through Kear, Huston & Kear from Prairie Depot, Ohio. The Wharton Light and Garage Co. housed this equip- ment.
In Nov. 1927, Richland Township and Wharton Corporation voted on a bond issue of $6,500 to purchase a new Studebaker Fire Truck with 500 gallons per minute pumn capacity. This truck with neces- sary equipment was delivered in Wharton Oct. 15, 1928. The village of Kirby gave $500.00 toward this purchase and received fire protec- tion for it.
The Township Trustees at first housed this new vehicle in the Wharton Light & Garage Co. buliding, but in 1935 built a cement block building on the east side of the Townhouse. This building was put up by W. P. A. labor and still houses the truck.
A 1,000 barrel cistern was dug on the lot in the rear of Wharton Restaurant and shortly after that an eight inch well was drilled on
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the corner of Sandusky and Jackson Streets for water supply in case of fire. A siren was purchased by the council and placed on a trestle on the lot of the Post Office. It was used to summon the fire fight- ers to their duty in case of fire.
The first Volunteer Fireman Company, organized in 1928, con- sisted of W. B. Nichols, Fire Chief; Nelson Wickiser, Assistant Fire Chief; F. J. Conbin, Driver; Ralph Baker, Driver; Paul Heuberger, Driver; Dale Ward, Driver; Clinton Kear, Fireman. A. E. Southward, Fireman; Emery P. Kear, Fireman; Earnest Kohler, Fireman; How- ard Wood, Fireman; Cletus Heuberger, Fireman; Jack Bristoll, Fire- man.
In Nov. 1969, Richland Township and Village of Wharton voted on a levy to purchase a new Ford fire pumper to replace the Dodge fire truck, which had replaced the above-mentioned Studebaker fire truck. The new levy will run for a period of several years.
The Telephone
The first telephone in Wharton, now on exhibition at the Centen- nial, was installed in the building now occupied by the Wharton Hardware Store. It consists of a wall telephone box at the base of which a plug can be inserted into holes which then connected this phone with other towns of the neighborhood.
Mr. Jacob Welz, who with his son Andrew was dealing in hay had the first telephone installed in his house. The line for it was built by Mr. Welz himself and the insulation knobs for this first rural line were nailed to such trees as stood nearest the straightest way be- tween his home and Wharton.
Shortly after this privately owned telephone was in use, Wharton had telephones installed by three different companies. The Home, The Bell, and the Mutual Telephone Companies vied with each other for the service. As the lines of these companies were not interchan- geable, some subscribers had three telephones in their honmes, one for each line.
At one Hallowe'en celebration some boys had wound thin copper wire around the three lines of a junction pole. Consequently one calling from Wharton was never sure from what town he would re- ceive his answer. Alvada, Mccutchensville or Upper Sandusky was . likely to respond to the call. This confusion went on until the prank of the boys was discovered and corrected.
Mr. Oscar Wise of Mt. Blanchard owned the first community telephone. The Mutual Telephone Company was owned by local farmers. The owner of this line sold their rights to the Ohio Tele- phone Company and these in turn sold to the Ohio Associated Tele- phone Company. This company now operating, soon will install the dial telephone system.
The General Telephone Company of Ohio now serves our tele- phone users and will have had installed an underground cable service as this booklet is being published. There are also plans to have direct dialing system installed in the future.
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The Railroads
The Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad Company was the first railroad running through Richland Township. Its direction is almost due northeast and southwest. Its central station was Whartensburgh.
This company, incorporated in 1832, was vested with the right to construct the railway from Dayton via Springfield, Urbana, Bellefon- taine to near Upper Sandusky, Tiffin and Lower Sandusky and San- dusky, Huron County, on Jan. 5, 1832.
The State of Ohio granted a loan of $200,000 for this project on . March 14, 1836.
Bonds $1,000 each were subscribed to the company by the fol- lowing counties: Logan County. $25.000, Hardin County $30,000, Hancock County $60,000, Springfield (city) $20,000 and Clark County $25,000.
The Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad constructed its road from Tiffin to Sandusky by way of Bellevue. In 1851 the Sandusky City & Indiana Railroad Company built a road from Tiffin to Sandusky via Clyde. The last road named was deemed more favorable than the one built by the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad Company, there- fore this company leased the road going over Clyde and ultimately abandoned the road over Bellevue.
In 1854 this company leased the road to the Springfield & Colum- bus Railroad Company for fifteen years.
The name Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad Comdany was chang- ed to Sandusky, Dayton & Cincinnati Railroad Company in 1858.
On July 2nd, 1866, the certificate of re-organization gave the name Sandusky & Cincinnati Railroad Company. This newly founded Company leased the road to the Cincinnati, Dayton and Eastern Rail- road Company. In 1869 the name was changed to Cincinnati, San- dusky & Cleveland Railroad Company.
Next it was leased to the Columbus, Springfield & Cincinnati Railroad Company. In 1881 the road was leased to the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad Company. The chief stations of this line were Carey and Wharton.
The Local Time Table of the Indiana, Bloomington & Western Railroad, copied from the "Leader", Wharton's first newspaper, reads:
GOING EAST
GOING WEST
No. 2
5:47 A. M. No. 1 9:47 P. M.
No. 4 1.28 P. M. No. 3 9:50 A. M.
Wharton as a shipping point was not inconspicuous, as a state- ment by Mr. Arthur M. Earp, Freight Agent, shows:
During July, 1886, shipped from Wharton 240 tons of freight
During Aug., 1886, shipped from Wharton 890 tons of freight During Sept., 1886, shipped from Wharton 320 tons of freight. During Oct., 1886, shipped from Wharton 310 tons of freight
The "Picking House" shipped barrels of picked chicken on ice to neighboring towns. Shipments of live chickens usually of from 75 to 100 crates.
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On July 2, 1866 by decree of the Erie Common Pleas Court the name of the railroad was changed to The Cincinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland Railroad Company.
The Cincinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland Railroad Company was merged with the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & Indianapolis Rail- road Company. This company leased its road and property to the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Company.
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