Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 42

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149

USA > Ohio > Butler County > Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio > Part 42

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

POSTOFFICE.

The local postoffice was established on the first day of April, 1807, with Alexander C. Lanier as postmaster. The history of Butler county compiled by S. D. Cone lo- cates the first postoffice in a log cabin situ- ated at the northeast corner of First and Main streets, in the office of Ezekiel Ball, a justice of the peace. The first mail received came down the Ohio river by boat to Cincin- nati, then known as Columbia, and thence to Middletown by a mounted carrier. The event was celebrated here by a holiday, all the people turning out to see the mail come in.

Since the establishment of the postoffice, seventeen postmasters have responded to the urgent calls of the people to serve in that capacity. The following is a list of the post- masters with dates of their appointments :

Alexander C. Lanier, April 1, 1807; Ezekiel Ball, January 1, 1808; John Hughes. April 11, 1825; John Shafor, September I, 1827; John M. Barnett, June 24, 1841;

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BIRDSEYE VIEW OF MIDDLETOWN, Looking north on Yankee Road, from top of South School House.

AN HISTORIC SPOT. Scene north from river bridge over "Old Prince." To the right and at end of bridge stood the old Vail Mills.

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MAIN STREET, MIDDLETOWN.

THIRD STREET, MIDDLETOWN.

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Jacob P. Archey, January 12, 1843; John J. Storms, January 13, 1844; William S. Storms, August 24, 1844; Isaac Robertson, March 8, 1845; David Heaton, April 27, 1849; John Harnish, December 24, 1852; Charles H. Brock, April 3. 1861; Lewis Lambright, May 22, 1865; James G. Lum- mus, May 10, 1888; Charles E. Barnett. May 20, 1892 ; John Q. Baker, June 9, 1896; William M. Sullivan, May 31. 1900; Ed- mund L. McCallay, January, 1905.

The late Lewis Lambright, well known to many of the present generation. served for twenty-three years.

The postoffice since its establishment has not changed location very often, nor has it at any time been very far removed from the original location. As the city has grown, so has the business of the postoffice, requir- ing more commodious quarters. From First and Main it was moved to the White Horse Tavern, situated where Miss Maggie Col- lins now resides; next to the present home of R. B. Edson; then to a building located on the site of the present postoffice; from there to the room at present used by the Adams Express Company ; then to the room now occupied by Casper Fenzel, and, on the completion of the Masonic Temple, to its present location. Within the past year its quarters have been enlarged and im- proved, and we now have an office equipped better than most, and as well as any, in cities of its size.

Starting in 1807 with one mail a week, carried by a man on horseback, and increased in 1811 to a daily mail, the postoffice has kept pace with the growth of the city. With the improved methods of transportation, we have forty-six mails daily, twenty-three dis- patched and a like number received. From

a postmaster only, to a postmaster, an as- sistant postmaster and sixteen others to as- sist them; five clerks assigned to various duties, six city carriers, who, every week day make four business deliveries. and two residence deliveries, except to the extreme points, which are made once each day; three rural carriers, one star route carrier, and one special messenger. The postoffice being a public institution, not much can be said about it that is not generally known, but perhaps the amount of business transacted may not be known. Last year the business from the sale of postage stamps, postage due stamps, special delivery stamps, stamped en- velopes, newspaper wrappers, postal cards and receipts from box rents, amounted in round numbers to the amount of $20,000. There were issued 5.976 domestic money orders, amounting to $41.095.19, and 134 international money orders, amounting to $3.092.40, making a total of 6,110 orders. to the amount of $45,045.59. 3.280 orders were paid, to the amount of $30,019.59, of which number 18 orders, amounting to $599.48, was international business. There were dispatched 1,775 special delivery let- ters and parcels, and received and delivered 1,483 specials. Registered mail dispatched amounted to 3,208 pieces and 4,462 regis- ters were received. The three rural carriers delivered 123,059 pieces of mail matter, and collected 20,653 pieces. This office last year received and delivered about 2,500,000 pieces of mail and dispatched to other points 2,000,000 pieces. The mailing division of this office has the excellent record of only three errors per month charged against them.

Last year there were deposited for mailing in this office over nine hundred

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letters with no stamps affixed, and about two hundred and fifty letters deficient in address or without any address at all. Fully three-fourths of these letters were mailed by business men or firms, and were returned for correction ; the others were sent to the dead letter office. Last year there were sent to the dead letter office from this office four hundred and sixty-six unclaimed advertised letters; had the above suggestion been com- plied with all those letters would have been returned to the senders. The fact that eighty-nine thousand special request en- velopes were sold at this office last year is evidence that the business concerns are adopting this suggestion.

INTERNAL REVENUE.

The following amounts were collected at the Middletown office as tax on beer. cigars and tobacco, and special tax, for the years named :

Beer. Cigars and Tobacco. $ 1,286,485.81

Special Tax.

1887

895,090.46

1889

1,348,428.78

1890

1,584,140.35

$1,614.55

1891

1,214,582.25

1892

1,089,132.21

1,424.34

1893

849,276.82

1,547.17

1894

945,731.53

1,438.50

1895

957,271.43

1,323.94

1896

719,075.42

996.89

1897

714,762.49

1,611.00

1898

823,999.35

2,206.13

1899

1,155,411.94

1,891.20

1900

1,232,658.10

2,077.23

1901

1,312,719.50

2,349.28

1902

1,291,875.61

2,046.61

1903

998.785.25

2,149.74

1904 (July to September)

685,330.79

1,896.34

Total

$19,104,758.09

$25,431.93

These large figures do not reveal the immense sums paid the government prior to

1887. as these could not be obtained. The general yearly average for the above period is one million one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. These figures show that Uncle Sam has a deep interest in Middle- town and that this wholesome zest in her growth does not decline as the years go by. for the present internal revenue receipts keep nearly up to the maximum, while the tax is much lower than formerly. This shows that the volume of the tobacco trade has steadily increased every year.

INDUSTRIAL MIDDLETOWN.

Steven Vail came to Middletown in the year 1800. He was a man of great fore- sight and enterprise, which was backed by the highest character and probity. He was a man who could initiate measures and exe- cute them as well. Before he obtained his patent from the general government for the lands located by him in section 28, on the east bank of the Great Miami, and before he platted and laid off the original town site of Middletown in 1802, he began to lay the foundation of industrial Middletown, by the location and erection of a dam across the Miami river about a mile north of the site of Middletown. The brush dam here and then erected by the energy and skill of him- self and his sons, held back the waters for the first industries of Middletown. This dam was so built and while in use was so preserved that it is still to be seen by any one who will walk along the banks of the river at this day. From this dam water was led by artificial raceways down the river on both the east and west sides. The race on the east side was brought down to Steven Vail's flour mill and saw mills; on the west the waters turned the wheels of Aaron

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Vail's grist mill, later known as Mumma's mill. Aaron was a son of Steven Vail. Steven Vail's mills were located at what is now the west end of Third street, at the east end of the iron bridge across Old river. These were the first industries of this now busy city of Middletown; they were suc- cessfully and profitably operated for many years.

But we have another wide-awake, enter- prising man to reckon with in the industrial progress of this part of the Miami country in the person of Abner Enoch. He too had great powers of initiation and when the ideal was projected he had great energy in execution. Indeed he was one of the most remarkable of all the pioneer settlers of this vicinity. Mr. Enoch secured large land holdings from the general government very early in the last century; a large acreage was entered in section 24, on the east bank of the Miami and about two and a half miles north of the site of Middletown: here he too erected mills, known as Enoch's mills for many miles around, and here he ground wheat, sawed lumber, dressed wool and dis- tilled whiskey. Mr. Enoch built his own dam across the river, about six hundred feet north of the present state dam.

In 1827. after the state had built its first dam for the operation of the Miami canal. he secured from the state the right to use the water remaining after the canal was sup- plied with all it required. This surplus water he led away by races to the point where his grist mill was located. Here he laid' out a town, for manufactures, and called it Manchester, after the great English city. The plat of this to-be-manufacturing- center is found in book N. page 274, deed records of Butler county, and is dated April

10, 1827. There are ninety-one lots, front- ing on streets, fifty feet wide; the alleys are sixteen feet wide and were all designed to be mill-races, leading from the main race to the river; over these, bridges were planned at the street crossings.

The plat is very unique and original, but the project never reached the full fruition of its projector, but here he had his mills and subsequently added a distillery; the mills are gone. Water was here taken out on the west side of the river for Banker's mill. situated on the land of Mr. Banker, near to the present bridge near Posttown. The Banker dam was located about six hun- dred feet south of the present state dam.

Mr. Enoch erected a number of houses for his employes at Manchester, which, with his mills. offices and shops. made quite a village. He lived in a large frame house farther down toward Middletown. This stood on the farm now owned by Mrs. Mar- tin Robison. In one room of this house he kept a general store, where goods were sold to his employes and his neighbors. .

The settlement at Middletown, as originated by Mr. Vail, grew apace and at- tracted the new comers. It took the lead and when the state dam was builded and the canal was put in operation other men began to initiate and project measures for the in- dustrial advance of this new town. These had an eye for the commercial side of things; these were men of brains and powers of execution as well, and they cast their eyes towards the neglected site of Mr. Enoch's town of Manchester, with the important water concessions and power privileges held by Mr. Enoch in his grant from the state of Ohio, whereby he secured the right to use all surplus water not needed

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by the state for its canal. This water privi- lege was coming to be the real holding of Mr. Enoch and was every year becoming more important and more necessary for the advance of the Vail settlement at Middle- town.

Mr. Enoch had not lost that keen insight which led him to grasp this privilege at first hands from the state, and he saw what was needed as well as any man in this locality, and because factories did not flock to Man- chester was no reason, as he saw things, for giving up the water grant.

We find that when Mr. Enoch began to sell and transfer parcels of his large land holdings north of Middletown, that he made reservations for the flowing of water over them for hydraulic purposes; he grasped the importance of the situation firmly and was not to be trifled with in the coming race for this water privilege. When he sold and transferred five hundred and forty- two acres to F. J. Tytus and George L. Wrenn, by deed recorded in book 13, page 619, it is recited that he received twenty thousand dollars therefor, but he reserved "the right of way through said tract of land to convey all his power from his pres- ent head race to the town of Middletown for hydraulic purposes, and the right to con- struct through the same the necessary races and waterways."

It will be noticed that Mr. Enoch's reservation was general and he did not con- fine this valuable reservation to any particu- lar route through the land.

In 1848, by deed of general warranty, found in book 15, page 343, Butler county. Ohio, deed records, Abner Enoch sells and transfers to William Young, for fifteen thousand dollars, twenty-six and sixty-seven

one hundredths acres in section 24, with all the mills, distilleries, houses and buildings thereon and the machinery, appurtenances and fixtures of the same in any wise per- taining, and all the water power of said Enoch and his right to take the water power from the state dam across the Miami river, and the right of taking the same from the state dam to the tract of land aforesaid, and also the right which said Enoch reserved in his conveyance to Tytus and Wrenn, to con- vey water through said lands to the town of Middletown and also a tract of about one- half acre, situated on the Miami canal near the bridge, at the crossing of the turnpike."

This valuable property, so conveyed to William Young, was by him conveyed, by deed recorded in book 21, page 17, Butler county, Ohio, deed records, to Joseph Cooper, John W. Erwin and Richard H. Henderson. These men thereby acquired the twenty-six and sixty-seven hundredths acres, with all the rights and water privi- leges of Mr. Enoch at the dam and through the Tytus and Wrem tracts of five hundred and forty-two acres.

The men who were thus acquiring the title to this valued water power privilege were giants and saw the great commercial value of the same. By deeds, transfers and conveyances the land and the water privileges were acquired in the following proportions by John W. Erwin, 14-48; Joseph Cooper. 12-48; Charles Thomas, II-48; Thomas Sherlock, 11-48. These men formed a partnership in August, 1854, known as the Middletown Hydraulic Com- pany, and a committee of two was named at a meeting held August 14, 1854, to pre- pare articles of association, and steps were taken at this meeting to secure from Tytus

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and Wren other lands and privileges needed for the projected hydraulic race, and negoti- ations were then made to secure lands from Martin Robison, who owned lands adjoin- ing the north corporation line of Middle- town.

At a meeting held September 9, 1854. at the Waverly House in Cincinnati, articles of association were adopted and John W. Erwin was made 'the general agent of the company, with power to grant leases, make collections and represent the company.

Mr. Erwin's time became so much en- gaged that on January 23. 1855, William B. Oglesby was made agent of the company. who maintained this relation with great ability and honor until his death. in 1885. at which time he held a very large part of the stock of the hydraulic company. In 1857 this partnership was merged into a corporation under the laws of Ohio.

On April 3. 1852, the hydraulic com- pany, by Cooper. Erwin and Hendrickson. entered into an agreement with the village of Middletown touching the use of Water street for an hydraulic race. and on April 13, 1852. this was legalized and confirmed by an ordinance duly and legally passed by the village council.

The old Vail dam and the water privi- leges asserted by its owners, on the grounds of priority in the use of the water from the river. began to confront the hydraulic com- pany very early in these negotiations. It can be readily seen that if there was a sur- plus of water after the canal was supplied that the owners of the Vail dam and races had a strong claim to it on account of the early construction of this dam, they claim- ing that the state could only use by reason

of its sovereignty what it needed for the canal and no more, and that the residue be- longed to Vail and his assigns. Serious litigation intervened, but finally the hy- draulic company acquired all these water privileges and the whole was merged into its holdings.

These races, the hydraulic and the power developed at the several locks on the canal, furnished the needed water power for Middletown and her industrial career began in earnest. From these primitive flour mills and saw mills of the first years of the last century. the industries have steadily grown until the name of the city is known around the world, and Middletown is made famous by her paper, tobacco, agricultural imple- ments, bicycles, ordnance, steel sheets and billets and other valued products.

TRANSPORTATION.

It were useless to plan for power for industrial development and agricultural advancement without means to transport the products so produced, and bring in things needed from other places.

The Miami river furnished the earliest. and for a time the only, means for the trans- fer of heavy masses of freight. This was managed on large flat boats, poled, paddled and "cooned" along by man power. On these were loaded, at Middletown, cargoes of flour, pork, corn and wheat; these were piloted down the stream at great risk on account of shallow water and storms to Cin- cinnati and even to New Orleans. During these earlier days the "bell team wagons" and the "prairie schooners" were common means for the transportation of freight and produce. Thousands of bushels of wheat

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were so brought to the mills at Middletown, even within the recollection of men active in the city today. Scores of these mammoth wagons, drawn by six or eight horses, were seen trundling along the road to Cincinnati and returning therefrom.

And for passengers the energetic men of those days provided relays of stage coaches and large omnibuses, which were drawn over the highways on schedule time by six or eight horses. These horses were changed for fresh ones every few miles, so that the transit from Dayton to Cincinnati, via Middletown, or Germantown and Jack- sonboro, was made with great rapidity and dispatch. These wagons and stages made necessary new and improved roadways on the great routes of travel, and soon the macadam roads were built on the main lines of travel and so the county grew and waxed strong and wealthy.

When the canal reached Middletown in 1827, and was thronged with boats for freight and fast flying packets, propelled by mule power, the wagons and stages grew fewer, but these continued until the Cincin- nati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad came thundering by in 1852. With this road, now associated with the great Pere Marquette system, the Big Four system, the Pennsyl- vania connections, the Erie system, the Jack- son & Mackinaw road and the great Michi- gan Central facilities at hand, the days of the "bell teams" are forgotten, and the once famous canal can hardly survive.

These great facilities for travel and freight transportation at once set Middle- town in the forefront of the cities of the Miami valley and the central West. The chief things which go to make up a prosper- ous town are here to be found.

THE MIAMI CANAL.

In these days of steam and electric rail- ways, automobiles and air-ships, there are but few in this city who realize that in 1825 there was inaugurated a system of transpor- tation which was of greater importance to the people of Ohio than would be the instal- lation of a line of air ships today. At the close of the first quarter of the last cen- tury Middletown was a scattered. straggling county village. There were few roads lead- ing to this village, and most of these were unpassable the greater part of the winter and spring months. The farming com- munity and the villagers were poor and un- able to build roads or school houses by tax- ation. The people were very solicitous about better transportation. The speakers and the press throughout Ohio were press- ing for a canal to connect the great lakes on the north with the Ohio river on the south. The name of Governor DeWitt Clin- ton was on everybody's tongue and his achievements on the Erie canal, in New, York, were everywhere lauded. Legislation in Ohio along these lines matured slowly. but it finally came about that an act au- thorizing canals was passed, and in 1825 Governor DeWitt Clinton became the guest of the governor of the Buckeye state and a trip was made by them through Ohio to open the canal routes decided upon. After visiting Dayton, Cincinnati and Hamilton, he came to Middletown, with a number of great and prominent men, including Gov- ernor Morrow, arriving here on July 21st. The company was treated to a public din- ner provided by Hon. John P. Reynolds, a prominent and enterprising citizen of Mid- dletown.

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On that day, and soon after dinner, Gov- ernor Clinton lifted the first spade full of earth from the Miami canal, just south of the village and close to lock No. 11, from which the large paper mill of the Wardlow- Thomas Paper Company now gets water for its turbine wheel. This was the great- est day Middletown ever saw-before or since that day.

Governor Clinton toured the state and was everywhere hailed as "The Father of Internal Improvements." "The grave and the gay, the man of gray hairs and the ruddy-faced youth; matrons and maidens and even lisping infants joined to tell his worth and on his virtues to dwell; to hail his approach and welcome his arrival."

Contracts for the work on this division of the canal had been let even before Gov- ernor Clinton's visit, and construction was immediately begun, but the work was re- tarded by trouble with the laborers over de- preciated bank notes. The determined peo- ple of Ohio righted things and the work went on and this part of the canal was com- pleted September 26, 1826.

Thus was opened to trade and com- merce the fertile valley of the Miami, and the transportation of freight and passengers was made easy, certain and very rapid for those days. The boats, their crews and equipments were a wonder to the people. This great water-way then opened up at Middletown soon connected the Ohio and the lakes, and on Sunday, January 22, 1829, the people saw the swift packets "Governor Brown," the "Forrer," "General Marion" and "General Pike" go by. By 1832 not less than one thousand people per week passed through this city on the canal. These packets were the Pullman cars of those days :

they were the "limited special," the "cannon ball trains," the "fast flying Virginians ;" they were "diners," "sleepers," "parlor cars," "baggage and mail coaches," and "ob- servation cars," all in one.

The freight boats were strong, spacious and were promptly on time, and conveyed the grain and pork safely to trade centers.

The Ohio canals were more efficiently financed, managed and controlled than those of any state other than New York. The canal for many years was the center of everything commercial in Middletown. Many men grew rich in the construction, management, operation and in the handling of the passengers and freight.

But the building of railroads gradually superseded the uses of the canal and its use- fulness, like that of the stage coach and freight wagons, began to wane in the 'six- ties and 'seventies, and today the former great internal water-way is but little used. Much talk is indulged in about its future. but no outlook is yet certain. The people of Ohio are determined that this great broad highway from the north to the south of the Buckeye state shall not be lost to the state, by gift or theft.

It is probable that steam or electric rail- ways will finally. in some way, get the use of this land: for be it known that all the land now used by the state is held by it in and by a title in fee simple forever, and the state can sell or lease it as the general as- sembly shall determine. The law under which the Miami canal was constructed provided for the payment of damages to landowners and it declares that "the fee simple title to the premises so appropriated shall be vested in the state." This was not the case in the Warren county canal.

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THE WARREN COUNTY CANAL

was constructed under a special act of the legislature, granting a charter to the War- ren County Canal Company. a private cor- poration, the right to build a canal. This act was passed February 22, 1830. The canal was builded as a "feeder" to the Miami canal, and was thought to be a good speculation, because it connected the rich farming districts lying between Middletown and Lebanon with the great Miami canal system. The company proceeded slowly with the construction of this short canal and were disheartened after much expense had been incurred. In February, 1836, the gen- eral assembly of Ohio authorized the pur- chase of this public work from the com- pany, making it a part of the Miami system ; under this act the canal was bought by the state and by it completed by means of race- ways from the state dam at Middletown. The life and usefulness of this branch was short, and it was allowed to go down many years ago. The right-of-way in the city is now covered with beautiful homes and busi- ness houses. The locks which stood in the eastern part of the new village of Middle- town were a source of valuable water power and here the Iglehart Brothers built a flour mill and a saw mill in the 'thirties : but these too are all gone, as is the Warren county canal. The great Miami system is now but a thin shadow of its former self. A great impetus was given along its course for many years by its construction and use.

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Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 42

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1149

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149