USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of the city of Cleveland: its settlement, rise and progress, 1796-1896 > Part 28
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A detailed history of all the charters, acts, amendments, incorporations, and, above all, financial struggles, that went to build the half-score of minor roads finally merged into the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company, would make a volume in itself, so only a bare outline is possible here. Trunk lines, with a through business to depend upon and a local traffic as incidental, did not enter into the calculations of the railroad projectors in the early days. Two or more cities having come to the conclusion that there was business and travel enough within their in- fluence, and along the section of country to be traversed, to warrant a railroad, it was set on foot and the matter of ex- tensions in any direction was left, generally, to be decided as an afterthought. After a time, a number of these dis- jointed sections would be joined by the absent links, and the great trunk line brought into being. The road under consideration is a marked example of this character.
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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
The links in this great chain may be briefly noted. The Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad was chartered in April, 1833, by the Territory of Michigan, with authority to construct a road from Toledo, Ohio, to a point on the Kalamazoo River; it built from Toledo to Adrian; and leased in per- petuity to the Michigan Southern Railroad, chartered in 1846. In 1835, the Buffalo & Mississippi Railroad was char- tered by the State of Indiana, to construct a road from the eastern to the western boundary line of that State. In 1837, its title was changed to the Northern Indiana Railroad Company. Eventually, under various acts, a line was con- structed from the eastern to the western line of the State and from Elkhart to the northern State line, where connection was made with the above-named Michigan Southern road.
Meanwhile, the links of the future great line were being welded at points further east. In March, 1851, Ohio per- mitted the incorporation of the Northern Indiana Railroad Company of Ohio, with author- ity to run a line from Toledo to the. State line of Indiana; also one from Toledo north- ward to Monroe. Under this charter, a road was built be- tween the points named, con- necting with the Northern In- diana Railroad of Indiana, and running from Toledo to the northern line of the State, MAYOR EDWARD S. FLINT. forming a portion of the De- troit, Monroe & Toledo line. As was foreshadowed, in the similarity of names, the Northern Indiana Com- panies of Ohio and Indiana, on July 8th, 1853, con- solidated into one organization, under the name of the Northern Indiana Railroad Company. In November, 1850, the Northern Indiana & Chicago Railroad Company filed articles of association, with the Secretary of State of Illinois, for the construction of a road southeasterly to the
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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
State line, to intersect the road of the western division of the Buffalo & Mississippi Company. The road was im- · mediately built between these points, a distance of thir- teen miles.
Manifest destiny and the present demands of the situa- tion worked together for consolidation. On February 7th, 1855, a compact was entered into by which the Northern Railroad Company of Ohio and Indiana, the Buffalo & Mississippi Railroad (Western division) of Indiana, and the Northern Indiana & Chicago Railroad Company of Illinois, were merged into one, which was called the Northern Indiana Railroad Company, and which gave a through line from Toledo to Chicago. Two months later a still more important step was taken, by which the above line was again consolidated, this time with the Michigan Southern Railroad Company, under the growing name of the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad Company. In the year following, this new corporation obtained a lease of the Detroit, Monroe & Toledo Railroad, then un- finished, and this finally connected the points named in its title.
Attention must now be turned to the movements going on still farther east. On April 12th, 1842, the Erie & Northeast Railroad Company of Pennsylvania was incor- porated, to build a road from Erie to some point on the east boundary line of the township of Northeast, in Erie County. Twenty miles of road was the practical result. In October of 1849, the Buffalo & State Line Railroad Company was organized in western New York, for the building of a road from Buffalo to the western State line, there to connect with a like road leading through to Cleve- land, Ohio. On March 9th, 1867, an act was passed by the New York Legislature permitting this company to join forces with the Erie & Northeast Company, and the result was the Buffalo & Erie Railroad Company. Meanwhile, on March 2nd, 1846, the Ohio Legislature passed an act incorporating the Junction Railroad Company, with au- thority to construct a road from some point to be selected
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on the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati line, within thirty miles of Cleveland, thence, by way of Elyria, to intersect the Mad River & Lake Erie road at Bellevue, or some other point, and thence on to Fremont; also, for a branch thereof from Elyria, via Sandusky, to Fre- mont. It was this line, as mentioned above, that finally made use of the right of way belonging to the old Ohio road, or the "road on stilts," as it was often described. In March, 1850, the Toledo, Norwalk & Cleveland Rail- road Company was incorporated, for the building of a line from Toledo, by way of Norwalk, to connect with the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad at, or near, Wellington, and subsequent power was given it to continue the line on to Cleveland, either by an agreement with the last-named road, or independent of it. In October, 1852, the Port Clinton Railroad Company sprang into existence, with a mission to build a line from Sandusky, via Port Clinton, to Toledo. Finally, on July 15th, 1853, there was a grand consolidation of these small and irregular inter- ests, and the result was that the Junction Railroad Com- pany, the Port Clinton Railroad Company, and the Toledo, Norwalk & Cleveland Railroad Company, all disappeared from sight, to emerge as one in the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad Company. At that time not any of them had completed their lines, but the work was done subsequently by the consolidated company.
In 1848, a line was projected that now forms an important part of the Lake Shore & Michigan South- ern system, which seems to have been a more distinctively Cleveland enterprise than any of the small lines de- scribed in the foregoing. It was the incorporation, in February of that year, of the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Railroad Company, with authority to construct a line from Cleveland, via Painesville and Ashtabula, to the Pennsylvania State line, and there to connect with any railroad running eastward. The company was organized with a directory consisting of Al- fred Kelley, Samuel L. Sheldon, Heman B. Ely, George
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E. Gillett, David R. Paige, L. Lake and Peleg P. Sanford. Heman B. Ely was elected president, Abel Kimball, treas- urer, and Frederick Harbach, engineer. A survey was made under the direction of the last named. The diffi- culties in the way were many, but the company finally secured the needed money, and made a contract with Frederick Harbach, Amasa Stone and Stillman Witt, on the 26th of July, 1850, for the construction of the road from Cleveland to the Pennsylvania State line. For the first six months, the work progressed slowly, the chief fear of the time being that steam-cars could never com- pete for business with the great boats then running from Cleveland to Buffalo. But the backers kept at it with per- sistent energy, and finally, late in 1852, a locomotive was enabled to travel its entire length. On May 5th, 1854, the Pennsylvania Legislature gave the company permission to construct an extension of its line along the Franklin Canal Railroad, an enterprise that had passed into the con- trol of the State of Pennsylvania, to Erie. The purchase of the Franklin property was made, and thus a road was completed between Cleveland and Erie, with connections through to the east. Steps leading up to the grand final consolidation began to be taken. On October 8th, 1867, a lease of the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad Company was made to the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Company. On June 17th, 1868, the name of the latter organization was changed to the Lake Shore Railway Company, and in February, 1869, the Cleveland & Toledo Company for- mally became, by consolidation, a part of the Lake Shore Railway Company. Thus a continuous line, owned and ·operated by one company, extended from Erie to Toledo. That extension was made still greater, when on May 8th, 1869, this great organization was consolidated with the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad Com- pany, heretofore fully described, and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad came into being. The consol- idation from Buffalo to Chicago was completed on August Ioth, 1869, when the Buffalo & Erie Company came into
F
CLEVELAND IN 1853.
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E. Gillett, David R. Paige, L. Lake and Peleg P. Sanford. Heman B. Ely was elected president, Abel Kimball, treas- urer, and Frederick Harbach, engineer. A survey was made under the direction of the last named. The diffi- culties in the way were many, but the company finally secured the needed money, and made a contract with Frederick Harbach, Amasa Stone and Stillman Witt, on the 26th of July, 1850, for the construction of the road from Cleveland to the Pennsylvania State line. For the first six months, the work progressed slowly, the chief fear of the time being that steam-cars could never com- pete for business with the great boats then running from Cleveland to Buffalo. But the backers kept at it with per- sistent energy, and finally, late in 1852, a locomotive was enabled to travel its entire length. On May 5th, 1854, the Pennsylvania Legislature gave the company permission to construct an extension of its line along the Franklin Canal Railroad, an enterprise that had passed into the con- trol of the State of Pennsylvania, to Erie. The purchase of the Franklin property was made, and thus a road was completed between Cleveland and Erie, with connections through to the east. Steps leading up to the grand final consolidation began to be taken. On October 8th, 1867, a lease of the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad Company was made to the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Company. On June 17th, 1868, the name of the latter organization was changed to the Lake Shore Railway Company, and in February, 1869, the Cleveland & Toledo Company for- mally became, by consolidation, a part of the Lake Shore Railway Company. Thus a continuous line, owned and operated by one company, extended from Erie to Toledo. That extension was made still greater, when on May 8th, 1869, this great organization was consolidated with the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad Com- pany, heretofore fully described, and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad came into being. The consol- idation from Buffalo to Chicago was completed on August Ioth, 1869, when the Buffalo & Erie Company came into
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the scheme, and this great railroad and commercial force of to-day became an accomplished fact. Of its extensions and dependent lines that were afterwards purchased, leased, or built, from various points on the main line to Oil City, Youngstown, Jackson, and other places in Penn- sylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, no men- tion in this connection can be made.
A brief glance at the origin of some of the later rail- roads of Cleveland may be taken here, although some of them came into existence at a date considerably after the period now under consideration. On March 10th, 1845, the Franklin & Warren Railroad Company was chartered to build a road from Franklin, Portage County, Ohio, via Warren, Trumbull County, to the eastern State line, and having power to continue the same westerly or southwest- erly. As a result, a line was built from the State line in Trumbull County to Dayton. By decree of court on October 17th, 1854, the name of this company was changed to the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Com- pany. This was later incorporated with other roads un- der the same name; and after many years of financial trouble it became known in 1880 as the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad Company, and later, in company with its Mahoning line into Cleveland, already described, became a part of the Erie system, and as such connects Cleveland with both the east and the west.
In the charter of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh road, an amendment was made on February 19th, 1851, to permit the organization of a separate and distinct company to construct a branch line from Hudson, via Cuyahoga Falls and Akron, to Wooster, or some other point between Woos- ter and Massillon, and to connect with such other roads as- might be desired. The company was organized in the following March, and the road constructed from Hudson to Millersburg. In 1853, the name Akron Branch was changed to the Cleveland, Zanesville & Cincinnati Rail- road Company. It passed under the control of the Penn-
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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
sylvania system in 1869, and thus secured connection with Cleveland.
The Lake Shore & Tuscarawas Valley Railway Com- pany was incorporated on July 2nd, 1870, its declared purpose being to build a road from a point near Berea to Mill township, Tuscarawas County, on the line of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis road, with a branch from Elyria to a convenient point on the main line in Medina County. The road was built from Elyria, via Grafton, to Uhrichsville, and completed in August, 1873. In October, 1872, the company purchased from the Elyria & Black River Railway Company eight miles of the line of the latter, extending northward from Elyria to Black River harbor, now known as Lorain. In 1875, the Cleve- land, Tuscarawas Valley & Wheeling Company was in- corporated, and all of the above property passed into its possession, under sale by the courts. An exten- sion through to Wheeling, West Va., was completed in 1880; and soon after that the whole line became known as the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railroad Company.
The Valley Railway Company was chartered August 3Ist, 1871, with a capital stock of three million dollars. It was formed for the declared purpose of building a line from Cleveland to Wheeling, through Akron and Canton. The survey was made in 1872, and work commenced in 1873. The panic of the latter year fell upon the new en- terprise at a critical moment, and in 1874 all proceedings were stopped, and so remained until 1878, when opera- tions were resumed, and so pushed forward that cars ran from Cleveland to Canton in February, 1880. Extensions were pushed forward at a later date. Its entrance into Cleveland was by way of the old canal bed, which was ceded by the State of Ohio to the City of Cleveland on consider- ation that a weighlock should be built at the new junction, between the canal and Cuyahoga River. The city then leased the canal bed to the Valley road for ninety-nine years, receiving in payment $265,000 in the road's first
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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
mortgages.93 An attempt was made, before construction commenced, to make the city a part owner, and a vote taken as to whether bonds should be issued for that pur- pose. The answer at the polls was a negative. The en- terprising business men of Cleveland went to work, how- ever, and raised five hundred thousand dollars in subscrip- tions, and thus made the road a possibility.
L'et another line from Cleveland, down into the coal and iron regions of the south and southeast, demands con- sideration. The Carroll County Railroad Company was chartered as early as March 9th, 1850, and a strap-rail road, operated by horse power, was constructed from Car- rollton to Oneida, a distance of twelve miles. It was opened for business in 1854, but the company became in- solvent, and the road went at forced sale in 1859. The new purchasers operated it for several years, but it deteri- orated in their hands, and in February, 1876, there was organized the Carrollton & Oneida Railroad Company, which took possession of the old line. After varying for- tunes, it became known as the Connotton Valley Railway Company, and was completed, into Canton, in 1880. In the same year the Connotton Northern Railway Company was incorporated to build a line from Canton to Fairport on the lake shore. This line was built to a point in Por- tage County, when it was decided to change its northern terminus to Cleveland, and it was run through to Com- mercial street, in this city, in January, 1882. The Con- notton Northern was consolidated with the Connotton
93 The act to transfer this property from the control of the State to that of the City of Cleveland was passed by the Legislature April 29th, 1872. The weighlock was removed May 21st, 1874. The matter then rested until October 31st, 1879, when a quitclaim deed was given to the city by Governor Bishop. This deed was formally accepted November 3rd, 1879, and the city leased the property on November 4th, 1879, to the Valley Railroad Company for a term of ninety-nine years, receiving in payment of the same $265,000 in first mortgage bonds of the road. November 10th, 1879, this lease was formally approved by the City Council. In a financial way, aside from the gain in business from the increased efficiency of the road, Cleveland was a loser by this transaction, as it expended $288,405.37 in making this improvement. This amount, however, included $125,000, which was paid for the surrender of leases to a portion of the property.
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THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND.
Valley, under the name of the Connotton Valley Railway Company. The line was pushed down to the present depot on Huron and Ontario streets. It was sold by the court, on May 9th, 1885, to the stockholders and bondholders, who reorganized it in the following month, under the name of the Cleveland & Canton Railroad Company.
The charter for the construction of the New York, Chi- cago & St. Louis road, from Buffalo to Chicago, via Cleve- land and Fort Wayne, was issued under the general railroad law of New York, on April 13th, 1881, and the construction was com- menced in the same year. The road was opened for traffic on October 23rd, 1882. It was sold soon after- wards to William H. Vanderbilt, and is still a part of the great Van- derbilt system of west- ern roads.
Returning from this somewhat long quest after railroad begin- nings and experiences, we resume the thread of general narration for the closing years ST. JOHN'S CATHEDRAL. of the first half of the century. A new township, that of East Cleveland, was organized in 1847, which embraced "all of the one-hun- dred-acre lots of the original surveyed township No. 7, north of the Newburg line;" and on March 22nd, 1850, an act was passed by the general assembly of Ohio, an- nexing the remaining part of said township to the City of
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Cleveland, which embraced "all of the ten-acre lots, and all the unsurveyed strip lying along the bank of the river north and south of the mouth of Kingsbury Run."
In 1848, the first Superior Court of Cleveland was cre- ated, with Sherlock J. Andrews as judge, and George A. Benedict, clerk. It continued for the period of five years, but was dispensed with on the revision of the judiciary system, under the new State Constitution. In the fall of the same year the corner-stone of St. John's Cathedral, on Erie and Superior streets, was laid.
The growth of the two cities was at this time of a grati- fying character, Ohio City having pushed out as far as Clinton street, while Cleveland was pushing toward the east and south. Euclid road had long since taken on the name of Euclid street, and was already beginning to show those evidences of beautiful home-making that have made Euclid avenue one of the famous streets of the world. A writer has well said of this great thoroughfare and its natural advantages: "The land rose from the lake to within a short distance from the street, then fell as far as a line of the street, and then rose gently to the southward. Somewhat singularly, both the ridge and the depression occupied by the street ran almost due east from the Public Square for two miles, and then, with a small variation, ran two miles farther to Doan's Corners. The wealthy resi- dents of the city early found that they could make ex- tremely pleasant homes by taking ample ground on the ridge in question, and building their houses on its summit; leaving a space of from ten to twenty rods between them and the street. The fashion, once adopted by a few, was speedily followed by others, and a residence on Euclid street, with a front yard of from two to five acres, soon became one of the prominent objects of a Clevelander's ambition." 94
It was in 1848 that the Cleveland Board of Trade took its place among the commercial organizations of the west. The need of such center for the business of Cleveland
94 " History of Cuyahoga County," compiled by Crisfield Johnson, p. 243.
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had been felt and discussed for some little time. The records of the Board, previous to 1864, have been lost, or destroyed, and the chief sources of information concerning it are found in the newspapers of the day. In the " Herald " of July 8th, 1848, we find the following : "At a large meeting of the merchants of the city, held, pursuant to a notice, at the Weddell House on Friday evening the 7th, William Milford, Esq., was called to the chair, and S. S. Coe appointed secretary. After a state- ment from the chair of the object of the meeting, on mo- tion by Joseph L. Weatherley: Resolved, That the mer- chants of this city now organize themselves into an asso- ciation to be called The Board of Trade of the City of Cleveland." Some of the best known of the early mem- bers were Joseph Weath- erley, R. T. Lyon, Richard Hilliard, L. M. Hubby, Philo Chamberlain, Charles Hickox, Thomas Walton, S. S. Stone, R. K. Winslow, W. F. Otis and Sheldon Pease. The first officers were: Joseph L. Weath- erley, president; W. F. Allen, Jr., vice-president ; Charles W. Coe, secretary ; R. T. Lyon, treasurer. At a later date, we shall see JOSEPH L. WEATHERLEY. how much has grown from this humble beginning.
The second of Cleveland's medical institutions was formed in 1849, being the Homœopathic Hospital College, the first session of which was held in 1849-50. The faculty was composed as follows: Charles D. Williams, dean; Storm Rosa, A. H. Bissell, Lewis Dodge, H. L. Smith, E. C. Witherell, John Brainard, and L. K. Rosa. The first board of trustees was composed of John Wheeler, Joel Tiffany, Dudley Baldwin, A. H. Brainard, Edward Wade, Thomas Brown, R. F. Paine, Amos
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Hutchinson, George King, Benjamin Bissell, Samuel Ray- mond, Richard Hilliard, L. M. Hubby, Thomas Miller, and A. O. Blair.
The college building, in which this useful institution was first located, was at the corner of Prospect and Ontario streets. It was at this point, in 1852, that considerable damage was done to the building and its contents by a mob of several thousand people, who were incited thereto by stories of stolen bodies being traced to the college dis- secting room. The college had an honorable and useful career, not only in connection with its educational work, but through the hospital under its control. The second home of the college was in a church building, formerly owned by the Congregationalists, on Prospect street, a little below Erie street. It remained here for several years, working in connection with the Homeopathic Hos- pital, on Huron street. In 1890, the college became divided into two schools, one taking the name of the Cleveland University of Medicine and Surgery, with headquarters on Huron street, and the other, the Cleve- land Medical College, located on Bolivar street.
The Cuyahoga County Agricultural Society also was formed in 1849, and for a number of years its fairs were held on Kinsman street (now Woodland avenue), and later at Newburg and Chagrin Falls.
CHAPTER XIV.
TWO CITIES BECOME ONE.
In a previous chapter, the passage of the banking law of 1845 has been noted in full, with the promise that further information as to the banks of Cleveland formed thereunder would be given at the proper chronological point. Now that this general narration has been carried to the half-century mark, it seems proper to speak more fully of the beginnings of the great financial centers of Cleveland.
The City Bank of Cleveland had its origin in an organ- ization called the Fireman's Insurance Company, to which had been given the power to do a general banking business, but not to issue notes. The City Bank was in- corporated May 17th, 1845, with a charter to run twenty years. Reuben Sheldon was elected president, and T. C. Severance, cashier. On the 12th of February, 1865, it closed its business, and opened on the day following as the National City Bank of Cleveland. On January 20th, 1885, its charter was renewed for twenty years.
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