USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of the city of Cleveland: its settlement, rise and progress, 1796-1896 > Part 32
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These aggressive tactics naturally stirred the rival roads to action, and their managers met the Johnson im- provements promptly. In 1875, the East Cleveland Rail- road Company had experimented with the Knight-Bent- ley system, one that employed a conduit, on its Garden street line, east of Willson avenue, but with no success. No further attempt to use electricity was made until 1888, when the same company adopted the trolley system on its Euclid avenue line, east of Willson avenue. Later in the year, the line was electrically equipped to the Square, and its adoption on all the lines of the company soon followed. The Brooklyn Street Railroad Company adopted electric- ity as its motive power in June, 1888, and the Broadway & Newburgh Street Railway Company followed suit, in
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a few months. The expense of changing the motive power of the various roads to electricity was very great, because it rendered useless their old rolling stock, and de- manded heavier and more expensive rails. According to the companies, the expenses of operating were decidedly increased, but they admitted a profit from the augmented traffic attendant upon the improved cars and service.
The Superior Street Railroad, which was first operated in September, 1874, was extended, in 1885, along Payne avenue, from its intersection at Superior street to Russell avenue, by way of Willson and Lexington avenues. The next year it was extended along Hough avenue, to Wade Park, its present eastern terminus. In 1889, the Superior and the Payne lines, previously operated by horse-power, were converted into cable roads, at an enormous expense, the time occupied in the operation being two years. At this time, the Cleveland City Cable Railway Company was organized. It purchased the Superior and Payne lines, also the St. Clair Street Railway. This last was equipped with electricity, and extended out St. Clair street to Glenville, taking the place of the old Glenville road.
In 1885, the old Kinsman Street Railroad, then known as the Woodland Avenue Railroad, and owned chiefly by Stillman Witt and D. P. Eells, was consolidated with the West Side Railroad Company, and the combined line was known as the Woodland Avenue & West Side Street Rail- road Company. No change of passengers was made at the Square,- cars ran the entire length of the line. In 1893, having seen the benefit of consolidation, proposals were made by this company to the Cleveland City Cable Railway Company, looking to a combination of the two properties. The bargain was completed in June, 1893, and the new company named the Cleveland City Railway Company.
In April of the same year, 1893, the Cleveland Electric Railway Company was organized, by the consolidation of the East Cleveland Street Railroad Company, the Broad-
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way & Newburg Street Railroad Company, the Brooklyn Street Railroad Company, and the South Side Street Rail- road Company. The East Cleveland Street Railroad Company, it may be stated, then consisted of four lines, the Euclid avenue, the Central avenue, the Cedar avenue (built in 1882), and the Wade Park (built in 1889). These consolidations placed the street railway traffic of the city in the hands of but two companies. They operate about one hundred miles of double tracks, embraced in twenty- three different lines. Of these, the Cleveland City Electric Railway Company operate seventeen lines; the remaining six are the property of the Cleveland City Railway Com- pany.
An event which caused great excitement in Cleveland, in 1859, was the trial of the Oberlin-Wellington rescue cases, in the United States Court, in this city. The trouble had occurred in the places named, but, as the whole matter was transferred bodily here, at a time when feeling on the slavery question was running at its high- est, some reference thereto seems not only proper, but necessary. In 1856, a number of slaves held by John G. Bacon, of Kentucky, escaped, and started for the North. Among them was one named John, and, in 1858, word reached Bacon that the runaway could be found near Oberlin, which was then the center of Ohio Abolitionism. An agent, named Anderson Jennings, was sent to Oberlin, to claim and carry back the fugitive. He succeeded in making the capture, and started south with his man, but at Wellington, on September 15th, was surrounded by a mob of perhaps a thousand men, who rescued the slave, and sent him on the way to certain liberty. An appeal was made to the United States courts, and in December, 1858, indictments were returned against twenty-seven of the leading residents of that section of Ohio.
They were brought to Cleveland, and on April 5, 1859, one of their number, Simeon Bushnell, was put on trial. Intense excitement was caused, not only in this city, but all through Northern Ohio, while the proceedings were
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watched from all parts of the country. Judge H. V. Willson occupied the bench, and George W. Belden was the district attorney. George Bliss assisted in the prose- cution, while the defense was represented by a remarka- bly strong array of talent - R. P. Spalding, F. T. Backus, A. G. Riddle and S. O. Griswold. The offense charged was " rescuing a fugitive from service," and evidence of the clearest character was shown to prove the guilt of the accused, under the laws then existing. The trial lasted ten days, a verdict of guilty was rendered, and the sen- tence was a fine of six hundred dollars, with sixty days' imprisonment in the county jail. The other cases were disposed of with fines and imprisonment for some, and dis- missal in the case of others. The indignation of the pub- lic was great against the laws that made such convictions possible, and the trials greatly increased the feeling against slavery in this community.6
The chief event of local interest connected with 1860 was the erection and dedication of the monument to Com- modore Oliver Hazard Perry, in commemoration of his decisive victory in the battle of Lake Erie." The idea of this grateful tribute originated with Harvey Rice, then a member of the City Council, who, in June, 1857, intro- duced in that body resolutions in relation to the subject. A select committee of five were empowered to contract for the erection of a monument to Perry, " in commemora- tion of his heroic services, in achieving the victory on Lake Erie, in the year 1813." To meet the expenses, the committee were authorized to solicit subscriptions from
6 The complete history of these cases has been published in a volume long out of print, entitled: "History of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue," compiled by Jacob R. Shipherd, with an introduction by Henry E. Peck and Ralph Plumb. Boston, 1859. Information of value may also be found in "The Underground Railroad," by James H. Fairchild, ex-president of Oberlin College .- Western Reserve Historical Society's Collections, Vol. IV., Tract No. 87, p. 112.
7 A full account of this event may be found in a publication. ordered by the City Council, entitled: "Inauguration of the Perry Statue, at Cleve- land, on the roth of September, 1860; including the Addresses, and other Proceedings." Cleveland, 1861.
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the citizens. The resolutions were unanimously adopted, and the following gentlemen were named as that commit- tee: Harvey Rice, O. M. Oviatt, J. M. Coffinberry, J. Kirkpatrick and C. D. Williams.
On the 14th of October, the committee contracted with T. Jones & Sons, of Cleveland, to erect the monument. They agreed to do the work for six thousand dollars (in- creased somewhat thereafter), for the payment of which they were willing to rely on the voluntary subscriptions of the citizens of Cleveland, "taking the risk of ob- taining the required amount on them- selves." 8
Arrangements were made with William Walcutt, to design and model the statue. The marble was shipped from Italy, ยท AMIL. and the work done in COKE Cleveland. The ped- COM OLIVER HALARD MERRY estal was constructed of Rhode Island gran- ite, twelve feet high, while the figure was to be eight feet and two inches high, so as THE PERRY MONUMENT. to appear life-size to the eye, when placed upon the pedestal, making the en- tire height of the monument, including the base, twenty- five feet.
The day set for the unveiling and public inauguration,
Five thousand dollars were raised by public subscription, and the sum of three thousand and eight dollars appropriated by the City Council, from the city treasury, to make up the deficiency.
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was September 10, 1860, the forty-seventh anniversary of Perry's victory. Formal invitations were extended, on be- half of the city, to the governor and other State officials of Rhode Island - where Perry was born, and whose soil contained his remains,-to be present and assist in the exercises. The Governor of Ohio, and other distinguished gentlemen, were also invited. It was ordered by the City Council that the statue should be placed in the center of the Public Square, at the intersection of Ontario and Su- perior streets.
Governor Sprague, and the other officials of Rhode Island, arrived in the city on September 8th, and were es- corted to the Angier House by the Cleveland Grays and Light Guard, and also the Wayne Guards, of Erie, Pa. A speech of welcome was made by William Dennison, Governor of Ohio, and was responded to by Governor Sprague.
The 10th was ushered in by the ringing of bells, the firing of cannon, and other demonstrations of public joy. Streams of visitors, to the number of one hundred thou- sand, poured in from all directions. A procession of im- posing length and character was formed, and reached the Public Square at one in the afternoon. "A large area" - I quote from the record above referred to-"had been roped off, in the center of which was the statue, on a green mound, enclosed by an iron railing. To the west of the statue was placed a large platform, capable of hold- ing several hundred persons. This was appropriated to the invited guests. A smaller raised platform, in front, was for the speakers, and survivors of the battle. Imme- diately in front was a lower platform, excellently arranged, for the convenience of reporters. The statue was veiled with the American flag."
The exercises were opened with prayer, by Rev. Dr. Perry, one of the relatives of the Commodore. The sculp- tor, Mr. Walcutt, then entered the enclosure and removed the flag, amid the cheers of the assembled thousands. He followed with brief remarks, and the speech of presenta-
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tion to the city was then made by Harvey Rice, chairman of the monument committee, who was responded to by Mayor Senter.
Hon. George Bancroft, orator of the day, was next in- troduced, and spoke with that rare eloquence and patri- otic thought that characterized all his public efforts. A series of reminiscences were given by Dr. Usher Parsons, surgeon of Perry's flag-ship "Lawrence," and a brief speech was made by Captain Thomas Brownell, pilot of the "Ariel," which took part in the same battle. Oliver Hazard Perry, the only surviving son of the Commodore, was then called upon, and responded. The monument was then dedicated by the Masons, according to their ritual, and an ode sung by Ossian E. Dodge, the celebrated vo- calist.
A mock battle on the lake, in which the main events of the great struggle of 1813 were reproduced, succeeded the inauguration ceremonies, while a Masonic banquet, at the Weddell House, was given in the evening. A reception by the governors of Ohio and Rhode Island, and a farewell dinner, were among the later features of one of the great- est, most patriotic and successful events of a public char- acter that has been anywhere recorded in the long and eventful history of Cleveland.
Things of tremendous moment followed swiftly upon this patriotic endeavor to do honor to a hero of a war that meant so much for the preservation of the American na- tion ; and the people who listened to the stirring speeches of this day of celebration, were soon put to a supreme test of patriotic devotion, to a cause as great as that for which Perry fought.
The great political contest of 1860, the election of Lin- coln, and the signs of trouble that overcast all the horizon to the southward, belong to the history of our country, and cannot be related here. There was no section of the whole great, willing, patriotic and enthusiastic North that responded to the call of the Union for defense and support more readily and willingly than Cleveland, and that por-
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tion of the West of which it is the metropolis. This was not a spasmodic effort, in the first burst of enthusiasm, but was continuous all through the war.
An event occurred in the early days of 1861 that served to increase the popular detestation of slavery, and the feeling against those by whom it was supported. This was the capture, in Cleveland, of a runaway slave-girl named Lucy, and her return to bondage, only a few weeks before the guns of Sumter sounded the knell of the sys- tem of which she was a victim.
Early on the morning of January 19, 1861, a posse of United States officers, under the leadership of Seth A. Abbey, a deputy United States marshal, entered by force the residence of L. A. Benton, on Prospect street, and ar- rested this young mulatto girl, who had been employed as a domestic, and who was claimed by William S. Goshorn, of Wheeling, Va., as an escaped slave. She was locked up in the county jail, and as soon as news of the arrest spread throughout the city, excitement rose to a white heat .. A great mob gathered about the jail, threatening to set the prisoner at liberty by force. An application for a writ of habeas corpus was made by R. P. Spalding, A. G. Riddle and C. W. Palmer, acting in behalf of the girl.
The writ was passed upon by Probate Judge Tilden, on the morning of January 2Ist. He decided that the sher- iff, an officer of the county, had no right to hold her, and ordered her release. She was taken in charge by the United States marshal, who was compelled to swear in a hundred and fifty specials, to assist in the preservation of the peace. The girl, with difficulty, was taken to the United States building, and but little would have been necessary to precipitate a bloody riot. Her case was heard before United States Commissioner White, and it was shown that, under the United States laws then exist- ing, the defense had no shadow of a case - all that her able attorneys could do, was to make those laws and their exe- cution, odious in the eyes of the public. She was awarded to the control of the slave-holder. An attempt was made
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by benevolent persons in Cleveland to purchase her free- dom, but the owner, although offered double her value in the market, refused to sell her, and persisted in carrying her back to Virginia. She was taken to the train by an armed guard, and her owner succeeded in getting her safely to Wheeling. It is said, with probable truth, that this was the last slave ever returned to the South, un- der the fugitive slave law.9
The excitement attend- ing this case, had hardly died away before the peo- ple were aroused to new fervor by a visit, on Febru- ary 15, of President-elect Lincoln, who was en route to Washington, to be inau- gurated to the office of Pres- ident. His reception was enthusiastic, thirty thou- sand and more people turn- ing out in a storm to meet him; a great procession es- corted him to his hotel, SOLDIERS' MONUMENT IN WOODLAND CEMETERY. while business blocks and residences were covered with flags, and other patriotic insignia.
When the call for aid came from this same President,
9 The law-abiding spirit in which the anti-slavery people of Cleveland accepted the decision of the law, is well shown in the remarks made by Judge R. P. Spalding, when he saw that the surrender of the girl was in- evitable. Said he: "I am constrained to say that, according to the law of slavery, the colored girl Lucy does owe service to William S. Goshorn, of Virginia. Nothing now remains that may impede the performance of your painful duty, sir, unless I may be permitted to trespass a little further upon your indulgence, and say to this assemblage, we are this day offering to the majesty of constitutional law, a homage that takes with it a virtual surrender of the finest feelings of our nature; the vanquishing of many of our strictest resolutions; the mortification of a free man's pride, and, I al- most said, the contraventions of a Christian's duty to his God. While we
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some weeks later, the answer, so far as Cleveland was concerned, was immediate and effective. A mass meet- ing was called in Melodeon Hall. General Jabez Fitch, General John Crowell, Hon. R. P. Spalding, and Hon. D. K. Cartter spoke. Two days later, the Grays departed, in answer to the President's call for men. Camp Taylor was established, and the city took on a military air. On May 3rd, a conference of the governors of Ohio, Pennsylva- nia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana was held at the An- gier House, to concert measures for the defense of their country. On the 6th of the same month, the Seventh Regi- ment departed; on the 14th, the Lincoln Guards were or- ganized; in November, the Forty-first Regiment marched away with flying colors. The Home Guards were organ- ized; clerks, merchants, bankers, laborers, all urged by the same patriotic impulse, drilled side by side, that they might be ready, if the need arose.
To write a history of the soldiers, the companies, the regiments, that Cleveland sent into the field, would more than fill a volume of this size. To tell that story in a few pages, would be unjust, and so far inadequate that it were better unattempted. The city and her sons covered them- selves with glory, upon nearly every field where our flag was carried; hundreds of them gave up their lives in their country's defense; many names that Cleveland will long remember, were written upon the tablet of fame. The enduring monument that has been erected, in the very heart of our city, is but a feeble reminder of the love and gratitude in which these brave sons of Cuyahoga are held.10
do this, in the City of Cleveland, in the Connecticut Western Reserve, and permit this poor piece of humanity to be taken, peaceably, through our streets, and upon our railways, back to the land of bondage, will not the frantic South stay its parricidal hand? Will not our compromising Legisla- ture cry : Hold, enough!"
10 That " roll of honor " has been at last recorded in an enduring form. Those who would read it in its entirety, are referred to the following work for detail: " History of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Mon- ument," by William J. Gleason: published by the Monument Commission,
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Not alone by the sending of her sons to the front, did Cleveland show her patriotism. In many ways, those at home gave of their labor and substance to carry on the good work for the Union. The women of Cleveland were the first to make use of such opportunities as presented themselves. Five days after the call for troops, on April 20th, they assembled to offer their services, wherever they could be used. The Ladies' Aid Society was organized. It soon became the head and front for work of this char- acter, through all this section, and was known as the Sol- diers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio. Subordinate socie- ties were organized in all directions. By the Ist of July, 1862, three hundred and twenty-five societies had been
HOSPITAL CAMP, CLEVELAND.
organized as its branches. Contributions poured in from all directions, and a steady stream was sent southward, for the help and comfort of the soldiers in the field. In Feb- ruary, 1864,'the Northern Ohio Sanitary Fair was organ- ized under the management of the society. An immense structure was built on the Public Square, and so success- fully was the fair managed that the receipts were about one hundred thousand dollars, with not over one-fourth of that sum for expenses. The work was carried on until
Cleveland, 1894. In this work, Major Gleason has most patriotically and ably done for the Cuyahoga soldier and sailor that which has never been done before; that no one need attempt again. Most of the regiments rep- resented have published histories of their own, from time to time, which can be found on the shelves of the Western Reserve Historical Society.
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the end of the war, with a vigor and patriotism that shed honor, for all time, upon those who were connected there- with. The city naturally felt the effects of the war, in common with all the country, but met with no great re- verse or disaster because of it. Municipal and business affairs were carried on as of old.
Attention should now be turned to various matters of general interest. The discovery of oil in Western Penn- sylvania attracted the attention of Cleveland speculators and capitalists, and before long a number of small re- fineries were in operation in this city. Among them was a small firm, formed in 1861, by John D. Rocke- feller and Henry M. Flagler, which grew by push and absorption of its rivals until 1870, when a stock company was formed, under the name of the Standard Oil Com- pany, which made this city its headquarters, and before long controlled the oil trade of the country.11
The size and importance of the city now demanded that a better and more adequate fire department must be fur- nished, as the old volunteer system had been far outgrown. It was decided by the City Council, in 1863, to reorganize
11 The original board of directors of this now mighty corporation, with a capital stock of $97,500,000, was composed of John D. Rockefeller, Henry M. Flagler, Samuel Andrews, Stephen V. Harkness, and William Rocke- feller. Its capital was fixed at $1,000,000, in shares of one hundred dol- lars each. Some idea of the extent to which the oil interests had grown, even as early as 1884, may be gained from a glance at the Board of Trade report for that year, where these figures may be found. The capital invested in the manufacture of oil in Cleveland was $27,395, 746. There were 86 establishments, employing 9,869 hands, whose aggregate wages amounted to $4,381,572. The establishments used raw material, to the value of $34,999, 101. The cost of the crude petroleum, which amounted to 731,533, 127 gallons, was $16,340, 581 ; while $11,618,307 was paid out for barrels, $2,792,997 for tin cans, $906,911 for cases, and $645,412 for bungs, paint, glue, etc. The balance of the cost on account of raw ma- terial, was for fuel and chemicals. The aggregate value of the products obtained from crude petroleum was $43,705,218; of which sum illumina- ting oils furnished $36,839,613. The remaining $6,865,605 was divided among other products. "It is estimated," says the report, "that 3, 179,- 263 barrels of crude oil were refined here during the past year, 75 per cent. of which was made into refined oil, 15 per cent. into gasoline, naphtha and kindred products, and 7 per cent. into lubricating oil, paraf- fine, etc. The other three per cent. was the loss in the refining process."
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the department and place it upon a paid basis. The first Council Committee on Fire and Water was appointed in January of that year, and consisted of J. D. Palmer, J. J. Benton and William Meyer. During April, an ordinance was passed, creating a paid steam fire department. Mean- while, three steamers had been bought, the first of which had been placed in service December 17, 1862; two others in February, 1863, while a fourth was purchased in June of the same year. The chief engineer at this time was James A. Craw. The steamers were honored with the fol- lowing appellations: No. 1, I. U. Masters; No. 2, J. J. Benton ; No. 3, William Meyer; No. 4, J. D. Palmer. Ma- zeppa Hook and Ladder No. 1. In 1864, another steamer (N. P. Payne) was added, and the three remaining volun- teer companies disbanded. By the spring of 1865, the city was in possession of five fully-equipped engine com- panies, with hose reels attached to each, and one hook and ladder truck. The companies were located as fol- lows: No. 1, Frankfort street; No. 2, Champlain street ; No. 3, Huntington street; No. 4, Church street; No. 5, Phelps street; Hook and Ladder with No. I, on Frank- fort street. The entire force numbered fifty-three men, one chief engineer, five captains, five engineers, five fire- men, eleven drivers, twenty-five pipemen and one tiller- man.
Step by step the efficiency of the department was in- creased. Fire hydrants and reservoirs increased in num- ber. A fire alarm telegraph service was added in 1864. Little further was done in way of fire legislation until 1867, when the City Council passed an ordinance which created the offices of first and second assistant engineers. The steamer "James Hill" was added in the same year, and other engines, companies, and engine houses were created, from time to time, as the growth of the city ren- dered necessary. In 1872, a Protection Company was added to the service, with four men, and a wagon fully equipped with canvas covers, etc., to be used for the pro- tection of goods and household furniture. In 1864, James
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