USA > Ohio > Fulton County > A standard history of Fulton County, Ohio, an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and county, Vol. I > Part 29
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The Masonic Hall, corner of Fulton and Birch streets, was obtained somewhat unusually. When Smallman, the grocer, was erecting, or
FULTON STREET, WAUSEON, LOOKING SOUTH.
(Masonic and K. of P. buildings, first block on left; the Eager Hotel, now the site of Peoples Bank, first building on right, with Court House tower in distance.)
perhaps had erected, a brick two-story building, the Masonic lodges arranged to add two additional stories to the building. The ownership of the building is still so divided, and the upper stories admirably meet the needs of the Masonic bodies.
"Next door" to the Masonic Hall is the building of the Knights of Pythias, which in numbers is the strongest fraternal organization in Wauseon. The present strength is about 300, and their building, on Fulton street, is worth more than $6,000. Wauseon Lodge, No. 156, Knights of Pythias, had its inception in a meeting called for the pur- pose of initiating such a local branch of the order, which meeting was held on April 25, 1883, in the Oddfellows Hall, Wauseon. In conse- quence, charter was granted to the local body on May 24, 1883, said charter naming the original members, as follows:
L. W. Brown, F. G. Blackman, R. S. Blair, C. F. Baker, A. C.
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
Bloomer, C. E. Bennett, W. H. Backman, F. T. Blair, F. L. S. Darby, D. O. Fruth, Joseph Cammern, A. Gallagher, J. P. Gass, W. H. Handy, H. H. Ham, J. H. Hogeboom, Geo. M. Hawes, T. F. Ham, W. F. Hubble, C. B. Ham, C. Kimerer, E. D. Lane, J. B. Leu, J. F. Leu, J. H. Matthews, J. McCance, W. O. Mason, W. H. Nachtrieb, H. M. Pratt, F. J. Spencer, W. C. Scott, F. A. Stempel, T. J. Stephens, G. W Shick, M. Slusser, W. H. Sohn, G. Trapschuh, A. Turney, A. N. Van Arsdale, and H. H. Williams. The first officers were: W. H. Handy, chancellor commander; H. H. Ham, vice chancellor; T. F. Ham prelate; F. T. Blair, master of finance; D. O. Fruth, master of ex chequer; I. H. Mathews, keeper of records and seals; A. Gallagher, master at arms; C. F. Baker, inner guard; H. M. Pratt, outer guard; G. Trapschuh, representative. The present officers are: C. L. Goff, chancellor commander; C. L. Canfield, vice chancellor; C. E. Trory, prelate; H. H. Davenport, master of finance; Russell Goff, master at arms; W. E. Disbrow, keeper of records and seals; R. S. Campbell, master of finance; F. J. Spencer, master of exchequer; Eugene Butter- more, inner guard; Roscoe Marks, outer guard.
The associate lodge, the Pythian Sisters of Wauscon, Temple No. 337, was organized on June 8, 1907, and the charter bears date of June 8, 1907. The first officers were :
Lou Williams, most excellent chief of the temple; Fannie May Warvel excellent senior of the temple; Mary A. Files, past chief of the temple; Fanny Lingle, excellent junior of the temple; Lucy Mohr, manager of the temple; Kathryn Weir, mistress of records and corres- pondence; Leah Clark, mistress of finance; Ruth Larned, protector of man, James Hydorn, N. A. Lingle, Frank Olcott, James Partridge, Bay, most excellent chief of the temple; Lou Marger, excellent senior of the temple: I Davenport, excellent junior of the temple; Clara Myers, manager of the temple; Flor. Snyder, mistress of records and corres- pondence; Leah Clark, mistress of finance; Ruth Larned, protector of the temple; Mary Waldeck, guard.
The Buckeye Camp, No. 3902 (Wauseon) Modern Woodmen of America, was organized on May 22, 1896, with the following charter members :
J. T. Buchanan, James Burdick, M. J. Dangler, Dr. George Hart- man, James Hydorn, N. A. Lingle, Franke Olcott, James Partridge, H. H. Peterson, Geo. Schletz, Geo. Selig, John Trondle, L. W. Wallace, Geo. J. Ziehrs, S. L. Valentine, B. F. Gilson, and S. B. Clark.
The growth of the camp has been very satisfactory, and at present has about 235 members. The present officers are J. J. Ladderman, consul: Harold Miley, adviser ; G. A. Stratton, banker; Frank Bullinger, watchman; Harding Andrews, sentry; E. W. Bourquin, clerk; O. A. McConkey, Fred Dangler, and William Ford, managers.
The associate organization, the McIntire Camp, No. 1197, Royal Neighbors of America, was instituted on November 22, 1898, with the following named charter members:
Fannie Lingle, Nellie Ruppert, Emma Dangler, Laura A. Hydorn, Allie Fox, Lydia E. Yarnall, Gertrude Lingle, Minnie Hill, Carrie Howe, Barbara E. Selig, Minnie Petersen, Cora May Palmer, Lulu L. Clark, Della Eberly, Lizzie Olcott, Clara J. Zieler, Alice Hill, Maudie G.
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
Kelsey, Mary A. Weir, Kate Weir, Lovina Schletz, Mrs. J. P. Funk- houser, G. W. Hartman, Lida Gregory, and Stella Bayes.
The Modern Woodman lodge rooms are on N. Fulton street, i. e., between Beech and Elm streets.
WAUSEON PUBLIC LIBRARY
The present magnificent and useful public library in Wauseon is the culmination of the earnest but humble efforts of public-spirited and intellectually-inclined residents in Wauseon in the seventies. Its incep- tion followed the Women's Temperance crusade conducted in Wauseon in the early seventies, the members establishing a reading room in the Cheadle block of Fulton street. It appears that :
"the reading room was established as an auxiliary to the temperance work, and was carried on for about a year. Quite a library of books
and periodicals were donated for this purpose .. . . . . This reading room was in charge of a committee or board of directors, consisting of Mrs. E. L. Barber, Mrs. C. M. Keith, Mrs. Dr. Holloway, Mrs. Syd. Shaffer, and Mrs. Libbie Lyon. After continuing for about a year, it was de- cided to discontinue the reading room, and the question arose as to the disposition of the books and property. These ladies then decided to make it the nucleus for the founding of a public library, and a call was issued by them to the people of the town, to secure their co-operation in the work. The first call issued ...... produced no result ...... A second call was likewise fruitless, but at the third meeting, people became in- terested enough to attend, and an organization was effected. All the books and property of the reading room, were turned over to the Li- brary Association."
The meeting at which the organization was effected was held in the Disciples Church, on March 16, 1875, and among the prominent early workers for the success of the Library Association were D. W. H. Howard, M. T. Palmer, Miss Jennie Gray, Zina Eager, Mrs. H. T. Brigham, Charles Greenough, Mace Britton, Warren .Williams, Mrs. Geo. Howe, and Mrs. W. C. Kelley.
During the early years of its existence, the library was maintained by the sale of membership tickets, the membership fee being $3.00 yearly, later reduced to $1.00 a year. This means of revenue was sup- planted by entertainments, socials, and the like, but to meet the ever- growing expenses of the association meant constant tax upon the enter- prise, initiative, and resourcefulness of its promoters. Finally, its maintenance was assumed by the Board of Education of Wauseon, and a tax of one mill for library purposes was exacted, in 1904, in which year the library owned 2,200 volumes, in addition to periodical unbound literature.
The library has changed its location many times since it was first established, one writer, in 1905, stating: "The wanderings of the library have been as devious as the wanderings of Aeneas. The first home of the library was in the rooms of what is now the Eager House, with Miss Eva Boughton as librarian. It was next moved to the Swartz House, again removed to a room now occupied by Dr. Coles, as a dentist room, over F. R. Smallman's grocery store. From here to the rooms over Spencer and Stuemple's dry goods establishment. When it was moved from there to the City Hall, it was taken charge of by Miss Hunt,
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
the present librarian. Its present location is the Board of Eleetors Room, in the Court House."
Several attempts were made early in the new century to interest Mr. Andrew Carnegie in the project of improving the library facilities of Wauscon, but it was not until November 17, 1903, that Prof. C. J. Biery received a response from the great philanthropist. The com- munication followed the general plan adopted by Mr. Carnegie and his advisers, in donating library buildings to municipalities of the United States, and the proposal to Wauseon brought about the undertaking by the village council to properly maintain the library. So the present library building, on Elm street, was built at a cost to Mr. Carnegie of $7,500. It is a two-story structure of pressed brick, and is stone-faced, the building being of a pleasing colonial design.
Miss Mary S. Hunt will ever be remembered for her labors in behalf of the library. For twenty years, or more she was secretary and li- brarian. And Carl Greenleaf probably did more for the library than any other man. Howard Sohn also did very ereditable work as librarian, at a small, wholly inadequate salary ; and the bequest by Mrs. Kelley, in 1892, will not be forgotten.
WAUSEON WATER WORKS SYSTEM
It seems rather singular that, in a territory which, originally, had water in abundance, there should come a time when its advancement threatened to be cheeked, who knows how seriously, by a poor water supply for domestic purposes, and a totally inadequate supply for in- dustrial purposes. Much money has been spent during the last twenty- five years in endeavoring to seeure sufficient water for present and pros- peetive uses, and apparently it will be necessary to expend mueh more, for latterly a serious shortage has made it necessary to pump water from the "big ditch",-open surface water-into the wells; and in consequence, many residents have had to resort to the pumping by hand from private and community wells in the village, in order to supply their personal needs of water for drinking. For fifty or sixty years, Wauseon has had a poor water supply. In June, 1870, the citizens "prayed" for the construction of a reservoir in Barber and Merrill's addition; and an artesian well was in that year drilled in Fulton street, at the junction with Leggett street. H. I. Osborne was, on November 11, 1870, paid $125, "for help in drilling" that well. Other wells were sunk in the village, some by private landowners, for their personal needs, and some by the corporation. In 1896, it seemed that the defieieney would soon be remedied. On July 15, 1896, plans were ordered to be drafted, and speeifieation "for drilling a sufficient number of wells, to supply 500,000 gallons of water daily" and on August 12, 1896, the bid of the Wagoner Water Supply Company, of $2,500, "for the construction of wells" was accepted. At the same meeting the waterworks trustees entered into a contract with B. J. Ashley, eivil engineer, to draft plans and specification, and superintend the construc- tion of "a complete system of water works in the village of Wauseon." In consequence, plans and specification "for a complete system of water works" were, on June 10, 1897, presented to the couneil, and accepted by that body, which decided to advertise their needs forthwith. Aetion
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
came quickly, and on July 14, 1897, the proposal of C. and T. Ingle- hart, of Chicago, to construct the waterworks system, in accordance with the plans and specification, for the sum of $18,998, was stated to have been the lowest received, and the contract was awarded to that firm, on August 6, 1897. Work was commeneed soon afterwards. William H. Hubble, who was a member of the Wauseon Water Board for fifteen years, made the following statement, in March, 1919:
"For several years prior to 1896, when the plant was built, I had been studying how to give Wauseon better fire protection, and to give to all the citizens the conveniences and privileges that come from a water works system. I had the late John Q. Files draw up a resolution, asking the village eouncil to appropriate a small amount of money to make an investigation, as to a supply of water for the town. Later, I had him prepare a petition, submitting to the voters of Wauseon the
THE WAUSEON PLANT OF THE VAN CAMP PACKING CO.
question of whether, or not, bonds should be issued to the amount of $25,000, for the purpose of building a water works system. Dr. Myers and C. B. Lyon circulated the petition and the question carried in the eleetion. .
"We awarded contraets for the drilling of wells which would furnish 500,000 gallons daily. Many test holes were sunk, and a large amount of experimenting was done before we could find the amount of water desired. The wells were submitted to a 48-hour test and met the requirement, but the water head was lowered some thirty feet ..... At the end of the first year's pumping, the water head in the wells had gone down a number of feet, and at the end of the second year it was still lower. This alarmed me, and I went to Dayton to consult the men who drilled the wells, and their answer was that we were pumping out the water faster than it eould feed to the wells, and that if new terri-
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
tory could not be reached, it would only be a matter of time before other sources of supply would have to be found."
The position has not materially changed since. A new source has not yet been found, although the council is optimistic, having more than one plan now under consideration. When the wells were first con- structed, the water stood within sixteen feet of the ground surface; its level is now about 160 feet below the surface. Altogether, bonds "have been issued for the construction and improvement of the plant, to the amount of $81,000," and of that amount $60,000 remained un- paid in 1919. It is serious, and more regrettable when one realizes that the natural industrial advancement of Wauseon is in a measure, crippled by the deficiency.
AA
THE SUPERIOR IRON WORKS, WAUSEON.
INDUSTRIAL WAUSEON
Industrially, Wauseon is hampered by an insufficiency of water. When an adequate supply is available for industrial purposes, the town may change materially in class and character. At present it may be truthfully described as a small "city of homes." It may at some time in the future become a large "city of belching chimneys and throbbing machinery." Practically the only smoke stacks that belch forth indus- trial waste at present are those of the evaporated milk plant and the iron works. The former plant, that of the Van Camp Packing Com- pany, is one 'of the most important factors to the farmers within its sphere of trading, and its establishment, together with that of the Helvetia Company at Delta, and the plant of the National Dairy Com- pany at Morenei, just over the county line, has materially changed farming methods and prospects throughout Fulton County during the
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
last decade or so. The Van Camp Packing Company has more than 1,400 dairymen on the books of the Wauseon plant, these farmers bring- ing their milk daily to the plant, and drawing substantial monthly cheques. About two-thirds of the intake at the Van Camp plant at Wauseon is the product of Fulton County farms. The other smoke- stacked plant is that of the Superior Iron and Manufacturing Company, situated near the Wabash Railway station ; it finds employment for about seventy-five men, and is a well-managed industrial concern. The milling industry, that of Lyon, Clement and Greenleaf, has been elsewhere noted in this chapter. It is of course one of the historic early institutions of Wauseon, and has always been one of the most important. At the time of the death of Chas. C. Greenleaf, one of its part-owners, the plant was described thus:
"He (Mr. Greenleaf) gave this county a flourishing mill whose capacity is equal to that of any in the state, only one having as large an output as the one here. He made the grain market not only of this but of adjoining counties. The one mill here ground more wheat in a year than the entire county produced in the same time."
Apart from these three plants, industrial Wauseon represents just the mechanical service developed by the every-day needs of a com- munity of its size, and sphere of influence. But with the example of Toledo so near, and so evident, to the people of Wauseon, who can reasonably and nearly estimate the probable growth of the county seat of Fulton County during the next few decades? It probably will go forward more rapidly than it has during the last few.
POPULATION
The population of Wauseon in 1854 was, one authority states, fifteen; what it was in 1860 is not known to present compiler, but Brown's "Gazetteer," before referred to in this chapter, states that the population in 1866 was 1,500. In 1870, the federal census figures were 1,474; in 1880, 1,906; in 1890, 2,060; in 1900, 2,148; in 1910, 2,650; and in 1920 the "preliminary announcement of population" issued, in advance of the verified figures, by the Bureau of the Census, credits Wauseon with 3,035 residents. Wauseon has maintained its propor- tionate decadal advancement, whereas Delta has fallen back, and has now only 1,543 residents.
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES
Wauseon has three steam railway systems passing through it, and one electrified railway, so that, in case industrial development begins in earnest, it will be possible to readily obtain railroad facilities to cope with such advancement. An article written in 1906, on "Wauseon, a railroad centre," gives a good review of the somewhat encouraging posi- tion of Wauseon, in this respect, describing Wauseon as "where the rail- ways meet." In part, the article stated :
"Few cities of its size in the state have a more metropolitan citizen- ship, or appearance. The twentieth century has started with fine pros- pects for Fulton County, more particularly in Wauseon, the county seat, in a material sense. In 1901, the Wabash Railroad built a branch from
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
Montpelier to Toledo, passing through Wauseon, and other important towns. In 1903 an electric railway, the Toledo and Indiana Electric railway was built, service from Wauseon beginning April 1, 1903. In 1905 it was extended west to Bryan, and by this line Swanton, Delta, Wauseon, Pettisville, Archbold are cach given the advantages of an cleetric road. . ... Speaking of railroads, we must not overlook the fact that Wauseon is located on the main line of the great L. S. & M. S. Railroad (New York Central) ...... We have still another railway, now known as the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton, which gives us a direct line north and south from Detroit, Michigan, to Cincinnati, O .; thus giving to Wauseon three great steam railway systems and an electric road Here capital finds a profitable field for investment."
WAUSEON (N. Y. CENTRAL) STATION.
HOTELS
Wauseon's first hotel, the Estelle House, has already been referred to. Its first proprietors, the Livermore Brothers, had much part in early Wauseon affairs. The Estelle Hotel was the leading hotel of the county for many years, but not always under that name. It later be- came the Clinton House, and still later the Sherman House, passing into the ownership of the Brothers Cornell. It was destroyed by fire in 1872.
The next hotel was the Wauseon House, which presumably was in existenee in the 'sixties, and certainly in the early 'seventies, standing on Depot street, just cast of the City Hall. Its popular landlord for many years was George M. Hawes, who made it a good commercial house. The reputation it gained then has continued until the present, for its site was eventually taken by the Hotel Blair, which for more than a generation has been the leading hotel and commercial house of the county seat. Mr. Crawford Blair bought the old Wauscon House from Jake Ash, and conducted it for four years-until it was destroyed by fire. He then built the present Hotel Blair, a substantial brick
BIRDSEYE VIEW OF WAUSEON, 1881.
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
building, harmonizing with the adjoining City Hall. He remained in the . Hotel Blair for nineteen years, selling it a few years ago to M. Dinerberger, of Buffalo, who, in June, 1920, transferred ownership and occupation to Tony H. Dolf, of an old Wauseon family, but for many years resident in Oklahoma, where lie lias liad the managerial respon- sibilty of first-class hotels.
The Hotel Blair is the only Wauscon hotel at present, but there liave been several other hotels. The most notable, perliaps, was the Eager House, a large three-story briek building, which was built in 1875 at the corner of Fulton and Commercial streets, where now stands the Peoples Bank building, and where originally stood the first Eager House, a frame building erected by, or for, Colonel Hayes, for merean- tile purposes, Zina Eager becoming his partner. In 1868 was built the Clinton House, on the corner of Clinton and Depot streets, a frame house. Its site is now occupied by the City Hall. The Clinton House was built by J. C. French, but was later sold to J. F. Baumgartner, who moved the hotel when its site was needed for the City Hall. In front of the Clinton House, according to James Hogeboom, "was a swamp, where the boys on the Fourth of July used to catch bullhead." He added: "I presume the present generation will searcely believe this statement, but if they will ask Mr. Baumgartner, he ean tell them all about it. There has been six or seven feet of fill made in this low ground, and that is why things present such a different appearance now, as to what they were then.'
There have been other hotels; there was a Fountain City Hotel, near the courthouse, almost forty years ago; and at about that time the Farmers' Hotel was opened on North Fulton street, near Oak street.
There have, of course, been innumerable saloons, unfortunately, that have served no good purpose. Residential hotels are an essential to the proper commercial intereourse between communities, but the drinking saloon has always been a detriment. They are now no more, having been swept away, perhaps temporarily, perhaps for all time, by the national prohibition measures enacted while the nation was in the throes of the greatest war of all times.
MAYORAL SUCCESSION
Earlier in this chapter the names have been stated of those citizens who presided over the administrative affairs of the incorporated village of Wauseon during the early years, to 1870. From that year, many public-spirited men have given creditable service as mayor, and all must have been unselfish in service, for the office has always been prac- tically an honorary one. The list is as follows:
Sydenham Snyder was mayor in 1871; Naaman Merrill in 1872-73; W. C. Kelley, from 1874 to 1877; Joel Brigham during the next three years; Jas. S. Brailey in 1881; L. M. Murphy, from 1882 to 1885; E. S. Blake from 1886 to 1894; Fred J. Bollinger, in 1895; John C. Roriek in 1896; E. S. Blake again from 1897 to 1899; J. C. Palmer, in 1900 and 1901; E. H. Harrison, in 1902; A. P. Biddle in 1903-04-05; J. S. Brailey, from 1906 to 1908; C. A. Cole, in 1909; G. B. Heise, in 1910-11; W. C. Fink, 1912-13; R. Hoy, from 1914 to 1917; and Chas. M. Bulger, sinee 1918.
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
The present village administration is constituted as follows: Chas. M. Bulger, mayor; L. H. Deyo, treasurer; James C. King, clerk ; Geo. J. Oakley, H. J. Bachman, D. E. Barkdull, H. H. Davenport, H. H. Hough, and H J. Schlatter, members of council; F. R. Harper, G. V. Soule, and F. J. Spencer, board of trustees of public affairs. J. C. Paxson is city solicitor, and Robert Sweeney, marshal.
Some of the men who carried on the work of the founders of Wau- seon were very capable administrators. Some became prominent in the county administration, and some, indeed, in state affairs. Michael Handy was one of the most capable of the pioneer members of the Fulton County Legal Bar, and in 1879 was admitted to practice at the bar of the District Court of the United States. His name appears among the elected mayors of Wauseon, but he did not serve, the judges of election, upon a review being made, deciding that no one had been legally elected. Mr. Handy was not a candidate at the second election, which was in 1874, his opponent being William C. Kelley, who, at the second polling, was elected. He also was a prominent attorney, and was mayor of Wauseon for four years. Regarding the irregular election, and that which followed, J. W. Roseborough, who probably was the most ardent and forceful prohibitionist in the county in his active days, wrote :
"They have been having an unusually lively time in the election of their local officers in Wauseon. At the first election, Mr. Handy was declared elected mayor of the village. His competitor, however, contested the election, and the judges declared that no one was legally elected. A new election was ordered. On the 11th inst., a caucus was held, and a candidate for mayor nominated in the name of the Re- publican party. The temperance men nominated a man for the same office. The election came off on the 12th, and resulted in the election of the anti-temperance .. . . candidate ...... The Whiskey element rallied to a man to this side ...... (and) the result was celebrated by a public libation of several kegs of beer, offered, too, ...... in the public street, opposite the only concern in the village where liquor is sold."
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