USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, (Vol. 1) > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73
91
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
a man by the name of Case came with his family and a few years later was killed at a raising at Peter Comstock's. Four sons survived him, Chauncey, Asahel, Harrison and one other. Nathaniel P. Fletcher came this year and supplanted a "squatter," whose loose property he bought. This man's name was Samuel Roberts. Mr. Fletcher in 1833 moved to Oberlin, where it is said, he helped to found the college. In 1816 Ephraim S. Bailey and John Rorabeck located in the south part of the township. The latter was a soldier in the War of 1812.
Col. Rial McArthur, who surveyed the east part of the township in 1808, and later served as a colonel in the War of 1812, came as a resident of the township in 1833 but remained only a short time. John Wightman was an early settler, coming in 1812. He resided in the town- ship until his death in 1837. His daughter, Deborah L., became the wife of William H. Knapp, who came to the township in 1833. West of the Cuyahoga there were very few settlers until 1825. Ichabod Skinner settled there in 1818. He had three sons, Gates, Prentice and David P. On the road south of the Skinner farm Abram Garfield, father of the President, lived for a few years prior to 1820, when he moved with his family to Orange Township. Caleb Boynton, an early arrival, died there in 1820 leaving four sons, Amos, Nathan, William and Jeremiah. Other families who early settled on the west side of the river were those of William Currier, John Darrow and Jaud Fuller. Among residents of the west side prior to 1843 may be named : John Needham, Moses Usher, William Bush- nell, William Buskirk, Nathaniel Wyatt, Amos Newland, Jacob Froelich, John Wolf, William Van Noate and Jeremiah Goudy, and east of the river, Moses Gleason, Allen Robinett, Roger Comstock and Col. Rial McAr- thur, whom we have mentioned.
The township records prior to 1834 have been destroyed and hence we have no record of the organization of the township, the selection of the name, etc. The first officers as shown by the remaining records, being for the year 1834, are : Trustees, John I. Harper, J. L. M. Brown and Marvin Cochran. Clerk, William H. Knapp. Treasurer, Jonathan Fisher. Con- stables, Orange McArthur and Jonathan Frazer. Overseers of the Poor, Enoch Scovill, Enoch Green, Fence Viewers, Alvah Darrow and Nathan Wyatt. Justice of the Peace, David D. Towner. Enoch Jewett, Stephen Frazer and S. A. Hathaway were judges of election and George Comstock and Alva Darrow clerks, and there were seventy-one votes polled. The Cleveland Leader dated April 13, 1874, has an Independence item as fol- lows: "The election passed off with the usual amount of scratching. The following ticket was elected: Justice of the Peace, O. P. McMillan ; trus- tees, George Sommer, George W. Green and D. L. Phillips ; clerk, C. H. Bushnell; treasurer, C. Hannum; assessor, Joel Foote; constables, W. Towner and C. Adams. Henry Doubler was quite seriously injured last week by his horse running away. A large gang of men are at work upon the Valley Railroad near the slip." Work on the Valley Road, now the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, was started in 1873. The Ohio Canal was located through the township in 1825 and opened for traffic in 1827, having four locks in the township. Thus it was nearly fifty years before the town- ship emerged from the slow traffic of the canal to the swifter traffic of the railroad. The canal, however, as late as 1890, was in operation carry- ing heavy freight and, in its northern division, grindstones from the quar- ries of Independence were a prominent factor. These were drawn by teams to the canal except in the case of a quarry operated by Erastus Eldridge, M. Shirman and others, who built a horse railroad to the canal for the transportation of their products. Independence stone became well known also as a building product. Aside from the one mentioned there
92
CUYAHOGA COUNTY AND
were the Kinzer, the Hurst and the Clough quarries. The pillars of the Weddell House, once the finest hostelry in Cleveland, were taken from the Independence quarries. There were no early gristmills in the township. In 1825 sawmills were built on Hemlock Creek by Ring and McArthur and Clark and Land. In 1835 Finney and Farnsworth built a dam across the Cuyahoga River and operated a sawmill by its water power and below this a Mr. Sherman operated a mill for turning and polishing grindstones. This was later operated by John Geisendorfer, who served as county com- missioner of Cuyahoga County. When the canal was built its excellent water power was utilized by A. Alexander, who built a gristmill on its banks in the township and ground grain for a large area, his customers coming from his own and surrounding towns. This was later operated by Clark Alexander, his son, who like Mr. Geisendorfer served as county commissioner. Cabinet organs were made in the northern part of the
OLD WEDDELL HOUSE
township by Palmer Brothers for some years. In this section extensive acid works were operated at one time. Crossing the Cuyahoga from the south by the state road you came to Acid Hill as it was termed. These works were engaged in restoring to available form refuse matter from the oil refineries, and employed a large force of men. Spent acid was shipped to the works by canal when navigation was open. Refuse from these works was conducted into a large lake on the lower level and there burned. Practical chemists have now learned the secret of making use of prac- tically all of the by-product of the refineries and the acid works have long since passed away, but the memory of those blighting fires remains. The great columns of smoke ascending by night and by day, the wierd fires, typical of those once described as awaiting for the unbeliever, the black- ened grass and trees are the setting, in memory, of Acid Hill.
The use of concrete, the larger development of the Berea quarries, nearby, and the larger capitalization of the stone business has operated to practically close up the quarries in Independence and the output at present is small. The great vein of red clay that extends westward from the Cuyahoga River to the western boundary of the township has taken the place of stone in the industrial activities of the township. The Hydraulic
93
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
Pressed Brick Company on the Baltimore & Ohio Railway, by the river, and extensive brick and tile works in the western part of the township, connected with Cleveland by rail, have an annual output of great value.
Among those who have served as trustees of the township are Alva Darrow, Jr., Zephaniah Hathaway, Jasper Fuller, Enos Hawkins, Elihu Hollister, John L. Harper, John Rowan, Alfred Fisher, William Buskirk, William H. Knapp, Daniel E. Williams, Elias M. Gleason, Harry McAr- thur, Finlay Strong, William Van Noate, William F. Bushnell, D. D. Towner, John Scofield, James Miller, Watson E. Thompson, William H. Perry, William Green 2nd, Milo N. Hathaway, George W. Green, George Sommers and D. Fullerton. Among the clerks are Alfred Fisher, William H. Knapp, Harry McArthur, B. H. Fisher, I. L. Gleason, J. D. Hathaway, Benjamin Wood, J. K. Brainard, G. B. Pierce, William B. Munson, O. P. McMillan, C. H. Bushnell, D. S. Green, Frank Brown, I. B. Waltz and D. Gindlesperger. Among the treasurers have been Jonathan Fisher, D. D. Towner, E. R. Harper, John Scofield, I. L. Gleason, George W. Green, John Bender and Carl Brown. The present officers of the town- ship are: Trustees, Carl Kuenzer, John Fuerstein and Edward Lingler; clerk, A. B. Waltz; treasurer, John Lingler; assessor, Henry Froelich; constable, William Apel; justice of the peace, C. Peters. Mr. Apel suc- ceeded Henry Froelich as clerk.
We have referred to Ichabod Skinner, a settler, coming in 1818, and his three sons, Gates, Prentice and David P. David P. Skinner while living in a brick house on the Skinner Hill, west of the present Willow station in the valley, was murdered in his home in the year 1868. He was a milk dealer, was reputed to be a man of means and had a safe in his house for the care of money and valuables, a piece of furniture somewhat rare in a country home in those days. Three men entered the house at night, were discovered by Mrs. Johns, a sister of Mrs. Skinner, who engaged them in close combat. She had one of the burglars by the hair in a desperate grasp, her husband, Mr. Johns, was battling a second with a chair, when Mr. Skinner, awakened by the noise, was shot by the third bandit as he rose from his bed. Two of the bandits were captured. Davis was tried and on the testimony of a second prisoner, "Hutch" Butterfield, and others who turned state's evidence, convicted and hung. Some time afterward a change was made, and executions since that time were con- ducted at the penitentiary at Columbus. Butterfield was given a prison sentence but rumor has it that he was released later, or that a man called "Hutch" Butterfield lived for some years a quiet life in a small town in Northern Ohio, not very far from Cleveland, that it was common gossip that he had served a prison sentence, but that neither he nor his wife ever referred to the fact. The disclosures of Butterfield in the trial also inpli- cated an officer of the police force of the City of Cleveland who was not tried in court but was forced to resign his position. Butterfield testified that he had only a knife on his person when he entered the house, adding that a knife was better than a gun in close quarters. It seems the assault of Mrs. Johns, who was the first of the household to attack, was so unex- pected and violent that neither knife nor gun would have been available. A little woman but the descendant of a hardy pioneer, she showed the mettle of the race. Mr. Johns was in charge of the round house (at Cleveland) of the Valley Railway for many years.
Before 1830 a tavern was kept on the canal by one Kleckner, in a house built by Philemon Baldwin, and farther south on the river was "Mother Parker's" tavern, referred to in the chapter on Bedford, which had a farflung reputation. In 1836 Peter Crumb opened a public house north of the center. Subsequent landlords were Mr. Hartmiller and George
94
CUYAHOGA COUNTY AND
Sommers. This was often called the "Yellow Grocery." The color was yellow during some if not all of its most active work in providing for the wants of travelers but the groceries retailed were mostly wet. In 1852 a very fine tavern was built at the Center by Job Pratt. This was a fine hostelry for the time with a balcony extending along the entire front of the building and conveniences up to date. A picture preserved by its last proprietor, with the balcony and lower front filled with people, presents a most attractive appearance. Mr. Pratt was succeeded as landlord by Jake Fultz and he by George Hollis. Mr. Hollis had a fine trotter and Mr. Fultz not succeeding very well in the tavern business sold him the tavern for the horse. Later Mr. Hollis sold the tavern to the proprietor, before him, and removed to Brecksville to engage in the same business there. It is not recorded whether these men simply traded back house for horse and horse for house or some other deal was consummated. In the years that followed many changes occurred. Fultz was succeeded by Gunn, Eaton, Alger and Brobeck in the order named. It was last pur- chased by Levi Wolff, the present owner. Mr. Wolff kept tavern for many years and still lives alone in the once attractive building. His father, John Wolff, came to Independence in 1840 from Pennsylvania. He lived for a time in Wayne County before coming to Cuyahoga. His wife Cath- erine and the children, then born, were with him. He purchased fifty acres of land on the cross roads for $11 an acre, showing that land had increased in value since the first pioneers came. They had seven children, Henry, Jake, Dave, Elizabeth, John, Dan and Levi.
Levi is the only one living. He married Elizabeth Gindlesperger, by whom he had five children, Charles Eugene, Benjamin Franklyn, Jesse Lee, Clark and Ida. Franklyn, Jesse and Ida are living. The mother, Elizabeth, who was born in 1841, died in 1909, since which time, the children being married and away, Levi has lived alone in the old hotel building, its outer covering the worse for the storms of the seasons and the corroding hand of time, its interior lacking the care of the housewife. He is ninety-four years of age, the oldest person in Independence. There is not a person living in the township today who was there when he came with his father as a boy.
Next to the tavern and the blacksmith shop as a gathering place in the early days was the postoffice. The first postoffice opened in Independence was at the home of Nathan P. Fletcher on the east side of the river. Mr. Fletcher was the first postmaster. For some years the postoffice was at the residence of the postmaster, wherever that chanced to be. The daily mail and the cheap letter and paper postage made the central location of more importance in later years. About 1845 the postoffice was permanently located at the Center and in 1875 another one was established at Willow. Following Mr. Fletcher, who was the first postmaster, came in their order William H. Knapp, Nathaniel Stafford, John Needham, B. F. Sharp, J. K. Brainard, George Green, Calvin Hannum, C. H. Bushnell, George Usher, D. Gindlesperger, Leonard Merkle and C. W. Ferguson. The present postmaster is John Wisnieski, who was preceded by R. S. Mitchell. John Kingsbury, one time amateur baseball hero on the Brecksville nine, was the first postmaster of Willow, which position he held until his death. John Needham, referred to as one of the postmasters of Independence, who, as we have said in another chapter, carried a daily mail on horseback from Cleveland to Brecksville during the four years of the Civil war, was the grandfather of May (Needham) Schmitt of Lakewood who has been prominent in the organization of the Daughters of Veterans. Mr. Needham was an interesting and useful factor in the anxious days for those at home during the great struggle. He had sons in the war and could mingle his
95
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
personal and general news as he would call out in passing a dooryard : "Good news for you but bad news for me. We've won the battle but my son's wounded," and similar news from day to day.
There were no stores worthy of notice in the township until the opening of the Ohio Canal. The traffic in passengers as well as freight was con- siderable and trade sought the tow path. I. L. and Edward M. Gleason opened a store at the twelve mile lock, among the first in the township. Travelers on the canal could buy while boats were sinking in the lock to a lower level or rising to a higher level as the case might be. This added to the trade from the surrounding farmers made business rather brisk. Others, including Merrill, Rutter, Oyler and Bender, engaged in trade, operating department stores on a small scale. Soon after the Crumb tavern was opened north of the Center, Benjamin Wood opened a store there. The first regular store at the Center was kept by Horace Bell. He was succeeded in the same locality by J. K. Brainard, George Green, Josephus Brown, Charles Green and Charles Memple in their order. Competition becoming necessary to healthy trade, as the population increased, other and rival stores were opened. Epaphroditus Wells began trade opposite the tavern and nearby Jacob and Samuel Foltz and 1. L. Gleason opened another store. Currier and Watkins opened a shoe store and their suc- cedent was Calvin Hannum. In 1867 the mercantile business of the town was augmented by the opening of a store by P. Kingsley and his succedent was C. H. Bushnell. I. L. Gleason finally adopted the profession of law and practiced in the courts of the county and in the justice courts of first resort. His tact and eloquence in the latter made his name a household word in a large area of the county.
The first schools in Independence were established east of the river. In 1830 there were four school districts. In 1850 there were 611 youths of school age in the township and in 1879 there were 696 males and females of school age, a rather small increase in twenty years. In 1870 a two-story building was built at the Center, called the high school, having two school rooms, the present building occupies the site of the old, which was torn down. The district schools have been abandoned following the plan adopted by county and state. Work has commenced on a high school building at the Center to cost $60,000 or $75,000. A bond issue has been voted for $100,000 for the building but the whole amount authorized will not be used. On account of the brick and tile manufactured in the township so near the building place, time, labor and expense is saved. Reminiscent of the "Little Red School House," two schoolhouses are still the property of the township, one on Rockside and one in the Lembacher district. These are not used, as busses bring all pupils from a distance to the grade and high schools at the Center. The present school board includes A. H. Webber, clerk, A. E. Sabin, president, and William Sitzler, Frank Sawyer and Richard Imar.
Dr. William Munson was the first regular physician in the township. Several doctors came for short stays before his time. A brick house and attractive grounds overlooking Hemlock Creek was the home of Doctor Munson, who practiced in the town during a long period and until his death. Following him were Dr. S. O. Morgan (Sid), son of Doctor Morgan of early pioneer fame, Dr. Charles Hollis, son of George Hollis, tavern keeper in Independence and Brecksville, E. M. Gleason, son of the early pioneer mentioned, Dr. W. A. Knowlton, Sr., whose career we have mentioned, Dr. W. A. Knowlton, Jr., son of Dr. Augustus Knowlton, of local fame, Dr. I. N. Nolan, Dr. C. W. Dean, Doctor Lane and Dr. J. G. Layton, and Dr. Henry Morgan.
The Congregationalists were the first religious people to found a per-
96
CUYAHOGA COUNTY AND
manent church in the township. The first religious meeting was held October 1, 1836, addressed by Rev. Mr. Freeman, a Baptist from Cleve- land. In February of the following year a Baptist congregation was organized but it only existed for a short time and then dissolved. Shortly after a Methodist class was formed, which dissolved after a few years of activity. Its meetings were held at various homes in the township but there was no settled minister and circuit preachers officiated from time to time. The organizers of the Congregational Church, now Presbyterian, were Reverends Chester Chapin and Israel Shaller of the Missionary Associa- tion of Connecticut. On the 24th day of June, 1837, the church was formed with the following members : William F. Bushnell and wife, James and Mary Miller, Betsy Brewster, Jane and Elizabeth Bushnell. William Bushnell was elected deacon and James Miller clerk. The meetings were first held 'in a log schoolhouse at Miller's Corners and then in the town hall. On the 17th day of October a society of the church met to attend to its temporal affairs. Through the activity of this society the present meet- ing house was built in 1854. In 1862 the church became Presbyterian, uniting with the Cleveland Presbytery. Rev. B. F. Sharp was active in the building of the new church. Unlike most other religious denominations the Evangelical Association of Independence first built their church and then organized. This attractive brick structure was built at the Center about 1860, largely through the efforts of Rev. T. G. Clewell. January 7, 1873, the first Board of Trustees was organized as follows, George W. Green, George Merkle, Francis Pilliatt, Henry Wentz and Mathew Bramley. Services have been conducted in both the English and German languages. The present minister is Rev. J. R. Niergarth. St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized by residents in the northeastern part of the township in 1850, or rather at that time the agitation began with the idea of having a place of worship nearer home. On the 14th day of October, 1854, a frame meeting house was dedicated for worship by Rev. Mr. Schwan of Cleveland. Here the meetings were held until the erection of a fine church on a site opposite in 1879.
A Roman Catholic church was built northwest of the center of the township in 1852, which was used for services until the larger congrega- tion demanded more commodious quarters. The present church building in that locality was planned and its construction started in 1870 but pro- gressed slowly. The building committee were George Gable, Joseph Urmetz, Peter Wild, Albert Doubler, Anton Eckenfelt and Joseph Effinger. This committee had its troubles. Not yet completed, in 1873 the walls were blown down by a severe storm. The following year the walls were again built up and the building completed for use in 1875. It was consecrated in December of that year by the Right Reverend Father Gregory and Bishop Fitzgerald. A school has also been maintained by this church. Anton Eckenfelt, mentioned as one of the building committee, operated the Spring Mill in Brecksville for many years and was well known to all residents there.
The latest church building to be erected in the township was that built by the Evangelical Lutheran congregation about 1912 at the Center. It is a neat building quite modern in structure and was consecrated by Reverend Bay. As in the case of Parma, these religious organizations reflect the character of the inhabitants and it is probable that a census of Independence would show about the same percentage of German and foreign born people as did Parma.
In politics the town has generally been democratic, at times close, and once at least it went republican. In the presidential campaign of James G. Blaine against Grover Cleveland, Blaine carried the town by two
97
THE CITY OF CLEVELAND
majority. The republicans were so rejoiced over the night returns that their enthusiasm found its vent in Hallowe'en stunts. One man who had been active for Cleveland found his heavy two-horse wagon the next morn- ing on the top of his barn. It was all in complete running condition, the heavy box in place and a short board placed under the pole as he had left it in his yard. The later returns, which gave the election to Cleveland, dampened the enthusiasm of the young republicans and they came down to earth, and we will assume that the wagon came down also.
A well-known landmark on the State Road south from the Center is a stone house on the Bramley farm built by the grandfather of M. F. Bram- ley of Cleveland, of whom we will speak in another chapter. Here Fred, as he is called, spent his youth and indulged in the pranks common to active youngsters in the country. The old Bramley homestead still stands and passers of a former time remember the stout presence of the original Bramley as it often appeared in the field or doorway of the old home farm. When this house was built stone was the wealth of Independence, aside from agriculture, and the house was a sort of emblematic structure. It is occupied at present by George Bramley and family.
We have referred to several of the Independence settlers, who served in the War of 1812. At the breaking out of the Mexican war or the year previous (in 1845), a muster roll of the township was taken by Albert Fisher, showing seventy-three men liable to military duty. This would indicate that the Government was preparing for the conflict and finding out in advance just what its strength was in man power. In the Civil war, the Spanish-American and the World war, Independence furnished its full quota of soldiers. In 1863 the township was formed into two mili- tary districts. Number 1 was east of the Cuyahoga and number 2 west of the Cuyahoga.
The only indication of the temperance sentiment in the township in the first four decades of its existence was when a vote to regulate the liquor traffic was taken in 1851. The vote stood thirty-four for and sixty- eight against.
The State Road through the Center and the River Road were the first to be used and improved. Citizens worked out their poll tax and mended the dirt track often to its disadvantage. The Pratt Road from the river to the Center was laid out in April, 1852. Other roads of intersecting character were soon after laid out. The first genuine road improvement came when the paved road through to Brecksville was built by the county. This was about 1890. Now the throngs of automobiles, busses and trucks that traverse the brick pavement through the township testify to its value. Says one: "This is the biggest and most important improvement that has ever been inaugurated in the township.'
The original territory of the township has changed with the march of events and at the present time the Township of Independence includes a strip of land along the west side of the original survey. In March, 1839, a portion of the northwest corner was annexed to Brooklyn Township. In the last two decades the territory east of the Cuyahoga has been annexed to Newburgh and incorporated into two villages, South Newburgh and Newburgh Heights, and, most drastic of all the changes, on June 1, 1914, the Village of Independence was created. This includes the Center or the tract originally set aside by L. Strong for a public square and village. Strong, a first purchaser and promoter, had this tract surveyed into five- acre lots, which he sold at auction and the sales were made at from $9 to $10 per acre. The Village of Independence as incorporated includes much more territory than that of the Strong survey, but the public square as planned by him is as he intended it to be. The first officers of the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.