USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of the city of Cleveland: its settlement, rise and progress, 1796-1896 > Part 25
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76 Acknowledgment of much information upon this subject is made to Hon. O. J. Hodge, whose paper, " Cleveland Military," in the " Annals of the Early Settlers' Association," Vol. III., No. 4, p. 516, is a valuable his- torical document.
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company could see no reason why it might not take the name of Guards, and so it did. The name 'Guards ' at this time was very popular, and the first military company in a city was sure to adopt it. The men under Captain Ingraham had decided that the color of their suits should be gray, but as there was not cloth enough to be had in the city of that color, of the same shade, it was evident the company must for some time delay its debut, and that the new company, which had been started by Captain Ross, would be the first to appear in public. In view of these facts, the men under Captain Ingraham decided on the 7th of June, 1838, that the name City Guards should be dropped, and thereafter the company should be called the Cleveland Greys. There was very little objection to this, since the name so well corresponded with the color of the uniforms. July 4th, following, the City Guards under Captain Ross turned out for parade. It was the first ap- pearance of the company. Dressed in blue, with gold- colored trimmings, the men made a very showy appear- ance. At a Fourth of July banquet that evening, Mr. D. W. Cross proposed this sentiment: 'The Cleveland City Guards, may their military spirit and enterprise be duly appreciated by our citizens.' Mr. Cross at the time was a member of the Greys, but he admired the spirit the Guards had shown."
The first appearance of the long-since famous Greys upon the street in full uniform, was on September 6th, 1838, and the " Herald " spoke with the warmest praise of their "neat, tasty uniforms, glittering bayonets, pre- cise military evolutions, and correct soldier-like bearing." A gun squad connected with the company was soon after formed. Mention is made of the Guards on parade as late as July 4th, 1843, and that is the last we hear of them. In June, 1845, the Greys turned over to the artil- lery squad, which had now become an artillery company, many equipments ; and upon the disbandment of the parent company, which soon followed, many of its members went into the " Light Artillery," as it was called, and
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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
which was under command of Captain D. L. Wood. It was in this year (1847) that the German Guards made their first appearance, under the command of Captain Silberg. General A. S. Sanford succeeded to the command of the Greys in 1847; and in the Fourth of July procession of that year two new organizations appear upon the scene- the Yagers, under command of Captain A. Seywert, and the Hibernian Guards, under Captain P. A. McBarron.
The mention of General A. S. Sanford in the above naturally leads to a work in which he was very much in- terested-Cleveland's first city directory, published in 1837."" The firm of Sanford & Lott were printers. book- binders, stationers and publishers. The directory con- tained 1339 names, of which 275 were credited to Ohio City. It names four newspapers and eight church con- gregations as among the city's possessions, and furnishes much other valuable information. The city hospital was situated in a plat of four acres on Clinton street, in the easterly part of the city, and was 70 by 35 feet in size, with two stories. There were four public markets; one theatre, the " Cleveland "; the rooms of the Cleveland Reading Room Association were open daily; while the chief manufacturing plants consisted of the following: Four iron foundries and steam-engine factories, three soap and candle factories, two breweries, one sash factory, two rope walks, one stoneware pottery, two carriage factories, and two factories for the making of millstones. There were two banks, the Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, with a capital stock of $500,000, and the Bank of Cleveland, $300,000. The Cleveland City Temperance Society had a membership of 260; while one advertisement declares that "strangers visiting the city will find the Shakespeare saloon an agreeable retreat, and every attention paid to their comfort and convenience." The Cuyahoga Anti- Slavery Society was in existence, with Edward Wade as
17 The title-page of this interesting and rare volume, a copy of which may be found in the library of the Western Reserve Historical Society, is here reproduced.
A
DIRECTORY
OF THE CITIES OF
CLEVELAND & OHIO,
For the Years 1837 -- 38 :
Comprising
HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE SKETCHES OF EACH PLACE-AN ALPHABETIC- AL LIST OF INHABITANTS, THEIR BUSINESS AND RESIDENCE-A LIST OF THE MUNICIPAL OFFICERS-EVERY INFORMATION RELATIVE TO THE PUBLIC OF- FICES AND OFFICERS, CHURCHES, ASSOCIATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS, SHIP- FING, STEAMBOATS, STAGES, &c .- ALSO, A LIST OF THE OFFICERS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF OHIO-A TABLE OF FOREIGN COINS AND CURRENCIES-AND A VARIETY OF OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION.
BY JULIUS P. BOLIVAR MAC CABE.
CLEVELAND : SANFORD & LOTT, BOOK & JOB PRINTERS. 1837.
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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
president; the Western Seaman's Friend Society was presided over by Samuel Cowles; Mrs. L. C. Gaylord was president of the Cleveland Maternal Association ; David Long president of the Cleveland Anti-Slavery So- ciety; the Cleveland Harmonic Society had seven mem- bers; T. P. Handy was president of the Cleveland Vocal Society; the Cleveland Lyceum and the Cleveland Polemic Association were flourishing concerns, with John Barr and James S. Underhill as presidents, respectively ; Charles Whittlesey was president of the Young Men's Literary Association, and John M. Sterling of the Cleve- land Reading Room Association.
Announcement is made of a daily line of Ohio Canal packets, between Cleveland and Portsmouth, on the Ohio River. A boat left this city at four o'clock each afternoon, and reached the Ohio end in about eighty hours, if things went well. The Pioneer Fast Stage Line to Pittsburg was an established and popular institution. The stage ran to Wellsville, where a boat was taken to Pittsburg, making the trip occupy about thirty hours. At Pitts- burg, connection was made with the Good Intent Fast Mail Stage Line for Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and Washington, over which line those from the Pioneer line had the preference.
A brief study of some of the advertisements in this work may be entertaining and instructive. Richard Crook, of the Eagle Tavern on the corner of Water and St. Clair streets, returns his thanks for liberal patronage. The Cleveland Center House was located in the Cleveland Center Block, within a few rods of the steamboat and canal packet landings: It was designed to be one of the prin-
cipal hotels in the western country : A picture of the building shows it to be three stories high, with six win- dows on each floor front. Books were sold at wholesale and retail by Henry E. Butler. Dr. Strickland, a dentist, manufactured "incorruptable teeth," and advertised that families might command his services by the year, or otherwise. William R. Richardson furnished warm or
COLUMBUS STREET BRIDGE, 1835. (From Detroit Street).
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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
shower baths at the Spring Cottage, Clinton Park, three- fourths of a mile from the court-house, near the Mineral Spring, a coach leaving every hour, to convey passengers to and from the park. Peter M. Weddell & Co. (the com- pany being Dudley Baldwin and Peter P. Weddell ) kept "constantly on hand, at the old stand, corner of Superior and Bank streets, No. I Washington block, so long and so favorably known to the public, a very extensive assort- ment of dry goods." There are many other announce- ments of a like character.
During this somewhat long digression, we have left Ohio City alone in its new civic honors, and it is now time to note a series of stirring events taking place upon that side of the river. In April, 1837, James S. Clark and others laid out an allotment which embraced the greater part of Ohio City lying west and south of that of Barber & Sons, and called the same "Willeyville." "When this gentleman and his associates," says Judge Griswold, " had made the allotment of Cleveland Center, as it was called, they had laid Columbus street from the north line to the river. In this new plat, over the river, Columbus street was laid out through its center to connect with the Wooster and Medina Turnpike, as it was called, at the south line of the City of Ohio; the northern end of said street being exactly opposite the southern end of the Columbus street of the other plat. Mr. Clark also erected a large block at the northern end of Columbus street, and two large blocks on the opposite corners of Prospect street, where it intersects Ontario."
The managers of the Buffalo Company had been equal- ly active, in pushing and developing their interests upon their own side of the river. They constructed a large hotel on Main street, in the hope of attracting travelers to that portion of the city.
Mr. Clark went a step further. In laying out the Wil- leyville tract, he had expended considerable money in grading the hill, and thus bringing Columbus street down to the river. He had constructed, also, a bridge across
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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
the river, in the expectation that travel and traffic from the south would come into Cleveland, by this route, and then be led up Michigan street to Ontario and Prospect streets, because of the easy grade.
A highly laudatory account of the erection of this bridge, and a detailed description of the structure itself, may be found in the directory above referred to. It cost some fifteen thousand dollars; was "supported by a stone abutment on either shore and pieces of solid masonry erected in the center of the river. Between the piers, there is a draw sufficient to allow a vessel of forty-nine feet beam to pass through. The length is two hundred feet, the breadth, including the sidewalks, thirty-three feet, and the height of the piers, above the surface of the water, may be estimated at twenty-four feet. The whole, with the exception of the draw, is roofed and enclosed, presents an imposing appearance, and reflects much credit on the architect, Nathan Hunt." "This splendid bridge," adds the directory man, "was presented to the corporation of Cleveland by the owners, with the express stipulation that it should forever remain free for the ac- commodation of the public, although the Legislature had previously chartered it as a toll bridge."
The erection of this bridge, incidentally, supplied Cleveland with one of the most exciting events of its early career,- the famous "Bridge War" between Cleve- land and Ohio City, has been celebrated in song and story, and supplied the pioneer Clevelanders with a never-failing subject for anecdote and reminis- cence.
The residents across stream naturally objected to the new structure, on the ground that the people from Brook- lyn, Elyria, and the country roundabout, would go over to Cleveland by the new route, instead of passing down into Ohio City, for their trading. This meant a direct loss, as each year brought hundreds of teams in, from the south and west, loaded with wheat, flour, corn, pork, etc., and many loads of goods were carried away in return.
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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
The claim was also set up, on technical grounds," that the bridge had not been located in exact conformity with law -a claim that the citizens of Cleveland vigor- ously denied.
A new source of irritation for the West Side was opened, when Messrs. Willey and Clark put into operation a scheme that would 'operate'more directly to the advantage of Cleveland. There was, down at Detroit street, a float bridge, one-half of which belonged to Cleveland and one-half to her rival. A resolution was adopted by the Cleveland Council directing the removal of the eastern, or Cleveland, half of this structure. This act was per- formed one night while the Ohio Citizens lay dreaming of future municipal greatness; and when the morning mists arose from over the valley of the Cuyahoga, they saw their direct communication gone, HORTA JORDAN and realized that to reach the court-house and other points of interest in Cleveland, they MAYOR WILLIAM CASE. would be compelled to travel southward, and make use of the hated Columbus street bridge.
The situation became critical. The war on the street corners and in the newspapers waxed intense. The war- cry " Two bridges or none!" became the slogan for the West Side. Indignation meetings were held, at which warlike speeches were made. A resolution was adopted by the Council of Ohio City that the new bridge was a public nuisance, and, as such, must be abated.
The city marshal, backed by public opinion, swore in a
18 " Though the dividing line between the two cities was the center of the river, Cleveland claimed to be legally invested with the entire title to the bridge. Ohio City claimed exclusive jurisdiction over the south half of it, and insisted on its abatement, because it diverted travel from that city to Cleveland."-Rice's " Incidents of Pioneer Life," p. 111.
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number of deputies, and attempted to carry this order into effect. One night a heavy charge of powder was put under the Ohio City end of the bridge, and exploded. Some damage was done, but not as much as had been expected. The next move was the cutting of an immense ditch at each end of the bridge, thus making it useless for teams.
The citizens of the West Side decided to take the mat- ter into their own hands, and make sure that the order of their municipal legislature was carried out. A day of at- tack was set, and near one thousand men-some of them from the surrounding country-responded to the call, a great many of whom were armed. Rev. Dr. Pickans, pastor of a Presbyterian church, lent his presence, and before the body moved down upon the doomed structure, invoked divine aid for the undertaking. The line of march was then taken up, C. L. Russell, a well-known Ohio City lawyer taking the lead.
An echo of this din of war had been heard across the river, and Cleveland was prepared to repel the attack. Down on their side of the stream stood an ancient cannon, heretofore reserved for Independence Day celebrations, loaded to the muzzle. A company of militia stood in line behind it, ready to rake the bridge with both artil- lery and musketry.
When the army of advance reached the ditch at the south end of the bridge, they were met by the Mayor of Cleveland, who was prepared to advise peace and modera- tion. A volley of stones sent him back among his own forces. There was, at each end of the bridge, an "apron" that could be lowered or raised at will; that on the Ohio City side was let down, and in its shelter the West Siders went to work beyond the reach of the bullets of the troops.
Axes and crowbars were plied lustily. Planks were ripped up, and thrown into the river. The militia made a charge, and a general fight ensued. Deacon House, of the Ohio City contingent, slipped a file into his pocket, made his way across the bridge, and spiked the cannon be- fore it could be brought into use. In the melee, a number
4
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of the fighters were injured. Some would have been killed had not the marshal of Cleveland and the sheriff of the county appeared upon the scene, compelled a cessation of hostilities, and taken possession of the disputed structure in the name of the law. - A decree of the court was ob- tained against further interference, and at the same time, the marshal and a posse were placed on guard to prevent further depredations.79
The authority under which this official acted was set forth in a resolution offered in the Cleveland City Coun- cil on October 29th, by Edward Baldwin, and unanimously adopted. That measure declared that "during the night of the twenty-seventh instant a portion of the city bridge connecting this city with the City of Ohio was blown up; and the night of the twenty-eighth, the effectual applica- tion of powder to the southern abutment nearly destroyed the aforesaid bridge." The resolution further declared : " It is satisfactorily ascertained that the depredations aforesaid were committed by the inhabitants of Ohio City,
79 The condition of the public mind, upon both sides of the river, can be judged somewhat from the following personal experience of D. W. Cross: " Nearly forty-five years ago the ' Commodore Perry ' landed at your busy wharf, a young man. When conveyed from the boat to the old Franklin House, the long rising steps in front, the platform, and the clerk's office, were crowded with boisterous and excited people. As he elbowed his way through the surging crowd toward the office to register his name as a future citizen of the only Ohio, three stalwart men; Tom Colahan, George Kirk and Andrew Lyttle, seized a wiry, darksome man, and in a twinkling stood him bolt upright on the clerk's counter. He waved his hand, and that boisterous crowd was instantly reduced to silence. Then followed one of the fiercest blood-and-thunder speeches mortal man ever heard. Many of the old citizens will remember what the bold and fiery John R. St. John could do in that line, on a befitting occasion. It was the opening of the Bridge War, and the occasion was great. 'Fellow citizens,' said he in conclusion, 'your generous townsmen, Clark and Willey, have pre- sented this city with that bridge on Columbus street which spans the Cuy- ahoga. It has been unjustly attacked by the people of Ohio City with the avowed purpose of destroying it. That bridge is a public convenience- yes, a public necessity. It must be protected ! To destroy it means war ! Before we will cowardly submit to this great injustice, we will give them war! War to the knife, and the knife to the hilt!' "-" Recollections of Cleveland and the Cleveland Bar," by D. W. Cross .- " Magazine of Western History," Vol. VI., p. 614.
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during the commission of which depredations women and children were compelled to flee their beds in dead of night; a stone of the supposed weight of two hundred pounds was forced into a neighbor's house of ten rods distance, and the lives of families and individuals jeopardized." The marshal was directed, therefore, to keep "an armed guard at said bridge, to protect the same from further injury;" while the street commissioner was instructed to repair the damage done, and the city attor- ney directed to take the necessary steps to bring the offenders to justice, and obtain payment for the damage.
A second resolution was adopted on November 9th, di- recting the withdrawal of the guard. The civil courts finally settled all differences, and each city proceeded forward upon its own responsibility as before.80
80 This war-like episode was something more than a joke at the time, but was soon seized upon by local wags and story-tellers, and made the basis of a great deal of amusement. D. W. Cross composed an epic of some length, entitled " The Battle of the Bridge " (" Magazine of Western History," Vol. VII,, p. 343), the opening lines of which are here repro- duced:
On hills, like Rome, two cities might be seen, (Meand'ring Cuyahoga flowed between); Whose rival spires in rivalry arose,
The pride of friends, the envy of their foes. Each rival ruler of each rival town On his would smile, but on the other frown.
Each sought for greatness, in his rival's fall,
Regardless that the world was made for all.
Envy and hatred waxed to frenzied height! Naught could appease but fierce and bloody fight.
The culmination came! A peanut stand Erected by a " combination " band
Of desperate men of capital, who swore No trade should be diverted from their shore. They claimed that Clark and Willey, reckless, sought To build a bridge. The right of way was bought
Already! And they then designed to build Columbus street and bridge! This rumor filled Their souls with madness, and their eyes with tears! To think that peanut stand, the toil of years Should for the want of patronage decay And trade and barter turn some other way. They all agreed this could not be allowed,
And boisterous bellowings agitate the crowd !
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The tide of apparent prosperity that had been, for sev- eral years, carrying all this section of the country toward supposed riches and a speedy development, was fictitious in a high degree, and when the day of settlement and reckoning came, Cleveland was compelled to bear its share of the burden-and it was one of severity that had to be carried for years.
The whole west, and the country at large, felt the effect of these same memorable " hard times " of 1837. Speculation had been raging fiercely, values were set far in excess of actual worth, cities were springing up on paper in all directions, State and municipal credits were extended to railroad and canal enterprises far in excess of the needs of the country, or its ability to pay. An im- mense number of banks had been chartered, as a result of the closing of the United States bank, the greater number of which possessed capital far short of the amount of currency put forth. Many of them, especially in the west and south, had no capital at all. The bills they issued were accepted everywhere, with hardly a thought of the possibility of their redemption in coin.
Private credit could be had everywhere. An immense amount of business-on a paper basis-was being done, and everybody seemed to be getting rich.
This flush and speculative era had an especially marked effect upon the two cities at the mouth of the Cuyahoga. The location, and the presence of the canal, marked Cleve- land as a point to be especially moved by the sure promise of a brilliant future, and speculation raged here with great vigor. No one seemed to see that with few manufactures, and a poorly developed agricultural section to draw upon, a great city could not be supported, even though faith and solid capital should unite in its creation ; while a city built upon speculative enthusiasm and promises to pay could have small hope of permanent prosperity. Ventures of the wildest character were entered upon; there was a haste upon the part of all to be rich, and the whole country plunged ahead, putting forth unlimited promises to pay,
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and taking little heed as to the day or means of payment.
The top-wave was touched in 1836, and in 1837 came the wreck.
Bank after bank went down in the storm. Mercan- tile houses, companies, individuals, failed by the hun- dreds and thousands.' The wild railroad, canal, and other schemes of public improvement, went to the wall. Ruin was upon every hand. The ties were left to rot upon the half-finished railroads; the half- dug canal filled up, and lay a stagnant pool; the ships stood unfinished upon the stocks; paper cities vanished into thin air ; fortunes melted in a moment; municipali- ties were ruined, and
ST. MARY'S CHURCH ON "THE FLATS."
State credits im- paired; money that was good for one hun- dred cents upon the dollar yesterday, be- came but worthless rags to-day. In Cleve- land, the great major- Land values sank to a
ity of the business houses failed. low figure; a blow had been sent home to the little city that was felt for years, as we shall see, in various ways, in the records that follow.
There is little of especial moment to note in Cleveland, either in 1837 or 1838. There was practically no growth from 1836 to 1840; those who were here were repairing their shattered fortunes as best they could, and hoping for better times. The records show that only matters of routine occupied the attention of law-makers and ex- ecutive officers.
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It was during these years that the first Catholic church of Cleveland came into existence. Rev. John Dillon, the first resident priest, had held service for a time in Shake- speare Hall, on Union lane, his congregation numbering but five families. He went to New York and collected a thousand dollars and more for the erection of a church here, but death ended his career before he could carry this purpose into execution. He was succeeded by Rev. P. O'Dwyer, who was soon enabled to commence the erection of the edifice known as St. Mary's on the Flats. The church was completed, and mass celebrated for the first time toward the end of 1838. When Rev. Amadeus Rappe, first bishop of the diocese of Cleveland, took pos- session of his see in 1847, he made St. Mary's his cathedral, and such it remained until the completion of the new cathe- dral, on Erie and Superior streets, in 1852.
By 1840, Cleveland began slowly to emerge from the disastrous effects of the days of inflation and subsequent ruin, and to turn a hopeful face toward the future. The King JORDAN census showed her population (in Cleveland township) to BISHOP AMADEUS RAPPE. be about seven thousand.81 William A. Otis, in this year, established his iron works, the first of any importance in Cleveland, and thus gave an impetus to local manufactur- ing. The infant industry of coal mining had developed somewhat, and Cleveland began to be something of a market for the sale of that product. Of general business,
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