USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 1 > Part 74
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
Fur hats were made in such quantities as to be exported and the tanning and currying of leather was carried on at six tan-yards in such large quantities as to create an extensive manu- facture of shoes, boots, saddlery and trunks. Blank books and all kinds of common and extra binding were executed with neatness.
The Cincinnati Manufacturing Company had- already established a white lead plant and were building one for red lead. A sugar refinery was .
.
428
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
expected to go into operation in a few weeks. Tobacco and snuff were manufactured in four different shops. Pot ash and pearl ash, soaps of various kinds and candles were manufactured for exportation.
The distilleries gave an ample supply for do- mestic use. The breweries consumed annually 30,000 bushels of barley, producing beer, ale and porter of a quality equal to that of the Atlantic States of which large quantities had been ex- ported to the Mississippi even as far as New Orleans. The one on the river bank which had been in operation four years used the river water ; the other used water from wells and cisterns.
The manufacture of flour was carried on at the steam mill to a great extent. A mustard manufactory had been erected the year before but had not yet got into such extensive operation as to supersede the importation of that article.
Although but little had been done in the line of fine arts, all kinds of labeling, sign and orna- mental painting, together with the engraving on copper of official and other seals, cards of ad- dress, and vignettes, were executed with taste and elegance.
The commerce of the city was carried on in flat-bottomed boats, keel-boats and barges; the last named it was thought would soon be super- seded by steamboats, of which two kinds were coming into use on the Western waters. The principal export was flour which was followed by pork, bacon and lard ; whiskey, peach brandy, beer and porter ; pot and pearl ash, cheese, soap and candles ; hemp and spun yarn; walnut, cherry and blue ash boards ; cabinet furniture and chairs ; to which might be added kiln dried Indian meal, for the West Indies.
The imports included different kinds of East Indian, European and New England goods, which were received from Philadelphia and Baltimore but chiefly from the former. It was not difficult to foresee, however, that in a short time foreign merchandise would go through other channels as a "portage of three hundred miles, over high and rugged mountains, must at all times be more expensive than ascending a navigable river five times the distance." The author felt that the great emporium of the Western country must be New Orleans, although whenever the govern- ment should have completed the road from the navigable waters of the Potomac to those of the Ohio, and New York had executed hier projected canal, transportation by land would be much re- duced. Many articles were brought at that time from New Orleans at a lower price than from
the East, examples of which were coffee, salt fish, claret and some other wines, copperas, queens- ware, paints, mahogany and logwood, and of course sugar, molasses, cotton, rice and salted hides. From Missouri Territory were imported lead, peltry and skins; from Tennessee and Kentucky, cotton, tobacco, saltpetre and mar- ble; from Pennsylvania and Virginia, bar, rolled and cast iron, millstones, coal, salt, glassware, pine timber and plank. Furs were brought from the waters of the Great Miami, Wabash and Mauniee. The goods brought for consumption were kept in more than seventy shops of which sixty contained dry goods, hard glass and queens- ware, liquors and groceries. The others were stores for iron, shoes and drugs. Cincinnati had been made a port of entry in 1808 and the busi- ness of building ships had been discontinued on the Ohio; no vessel had yet cleared from the place.
Dr. Drake gives an account of the three banks of the town. The oldest of these was the Miami Exporting Company, the oldest banking institu- tion in the Miami country, which was incorpo- rated in 1803 for 40 years. .
The Farmers' & Mechanics' Bank had been established in 1812 and incorporated in 1813 for five years. Its capital was $200,000.
The Bank of Cincinnati, founded in 1814, had a paid-up capital of $140,000. It had not yet. been chartered but its notes were in excellent credit.
Sadly enough within a few months (on De- cember 26th) the banks suspended payment.
Some of the newspapers described by Dr. Drake have been referred to. The Ceutinel es- tablished in 1793 was succeeded in 1796 by Free- man's Journal which continued until 1800. The Western Spy and Hamilton Gasette was estab- lished by Joseph Carpenter on May 28, 1799, and continued by various papers for ten years. The name was then changed by Messrs. Carney and Morgan to The Wliig. After 58 numbers of this had been published, its title was altered to The Advertiser under which name it continued to No- vember, 1811, when it expired.
In July, 1814, the Spirit of the West was commenced and continued but for 41 numbers. The papers which were published in 1815 were the Western Spy which had been reestablished by Mr. Carpenter in September, 1810; Liberty Hall aud Cincinnati Mercury, established December 4. 1804, by Jolin W. Browne; and the Cincinnati Gasette, established July 15, 1815, but alnost im- mediately discontinued. The Spy at that time
1
429
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
had about twelve hundred subscribers and Lib- erty Hall about fourteen hundred. Both of these papers were of what was called superroyal size. Each of them had an extra press for book print- ing. Twelve different books besides many pamphlets had been executed, averaging each more than two hundred pages. The paper was at first brought from Pennsylvania and after- wards from Kentucky but at the time of the pub- lication of Dr. Drake's book was brought from the new and valuable paper mills on the Little Miami.
Nine mails we are informed arrived every week which included about seventy different papers as well as a great number of documents, franked by members of Congress, and most of the Eastern periodicals.
The postmaster at that time was William Burke. His predecessors have all been men- tioned-Abner M. Dunn, William Maxwell, Dan- iel Mayo and William Ruffin. Dr. Drake in his book devotes a chapter to education in which he gives the history of the Lancaster Seminary, the Cincinnati University and the Miami Uni- versity. Mention is also made of the Circulating Library Society of Cincinnati and the School of Literature and the Arts.
Under the head of religion is given the his- tory of the various churches as well as of the Bible Society.
Little less valuable than Dr. Drake's book it- self are the comments published upon it in the contemporary journals. The book appeared in February, 1816, and in the numbers of Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gasette of March 11th and for several weeks succeeding that date appears an elaborae review in which are some criticisms that throw additional light on the condition of the town at the time.
The reviewer commenting on the buildings of the town protests "against the narrow policy which acceded to such a lamentable disposition of the ground appropriated for the use of the Court House. It is enough to sicken the ad- mirer of munificence and taste to behold the petty and contemptible buildings which are for the most part now stringing around its borders; -after having indulged in anticipation of see- ing its spacious area decorated at some future day-as the Lancaster portion of the square now is -- with architectural ornaments of the town." Attention is also called to the fact that of the three market houses the largest one was built and owned by private individuals. This was
true as well of the street on which it was lo- cated.
The inadequacy of the fire department is shown by the fact that "in the event of a fire on the Hill there is no resource but to tug away at the windlass or wait the arrival of the draymen from the river." Both the Baptist and Presby- terian churches had already divided so that therc were two additional congregations by this time. A very amusing criticism is that of Dr. Drake's portrayal of society which is quoted elsewhere at length.
The reviewer tells us that the Thespian Corps had about concluded to disband by rcason of the lack of patronage.
The founding of the Scientific Library and of the Town Library also called for comment. The latter apparently was the occasion of much discussion as it had not met with the favor that was cxpected, although at the time of the re- view its subscribers had increased to eight or ten score at ten dollars a share and the shelves contained about a thousand volumes which were distributed by a librarian on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.
Two new societies, the St. Cecelia Society and the Social Reading Party, are also com- mented upon. Regret was manifested that in a town where pianos were numbered by the dozen no one was found willing to put them in tune; "as a result many were suffered to remain as silent appendages to the drawing room.'
It seems to have been a pleasant habit with writers in the early days to forecast the future. The first of these interesting prophecies is con- tained in Dr. Drake's chapter entitled "Future Consequence." In this he, discussed the proba- ble increase in importance of the various cities on the Westein rivers. He concludes that the chief city of the promised land will be located on the borders of the Ohio River. "They (the chief cities ) are not likely to become places of political importance, for these must lie towards the centres of the States which this river will divide ; but the commercial and manufactural ad- vantages that exist in lieu of the political, are so much superior, as to justify, in this enquiry. the omission of every town not situated on the Ohio. Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Louisville, are the places which at present have the fairest pros- pects of future greatness."
At that time Pittsburg was of course the most important of the three, but Drake thought that the latter two were both destined to surpass it.
430
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
His explanation of this was that for twenty years goods destined for the Western population had been carried through Pittsburg, "the Birming- ham of America," and the manufactures of that town were disposed of in the Western settle- ments. The increase in population in the West and the consequent growth of manufactures of course would take from it the advantage it had as entrepôt 'and a manufacturing center and as the country around that place was rugged and sterile the population that it could support was necessarily smaller than that around Cineinnati or Louisville. The advantage that Louisville had was the partial interruption of commerce at that place by the falls of the Ohio, which re- quired the carrying of all goods around the rapids. This not only gave employment to a great number of hands but made the town one of the heads of navigation. "Still there are reasons for believing that CINCINNATI IS TO BE THE FUTURE METROPOLIS OF THE OHIO. Its site is more eligible than that of most towns on the river. It is susceptible of being rendered health- ier than Louisville, and is extensive enough for a large eity. The Ohio bounds it on the south- cast, south and southwest, so that all the streets, if extended would, at one or both ends, interseet the river within the limits of the corporation. It has, therefore, a great extent of shore, along the whole of which there is not a reef nor a shoal to prevent the landing of boats. * Opposite to Broadway, is the mouth of Licking; a river whose navigation will certainly be much improved. * * Over the town plat, as we * have seen in the preceding artiele, a canal at some future period may be conducted from the Great Miami; whose waters can, by another canal, be connected with those of the Maumee, and thus seeure to us a new and profitable trade with the Lakes."
Viewed in the light of subsequent events, Dr. Drake's prophecies seem to have been realized. Cineinnati always maintained her preeminent po- sition over the cities of the West so long as waterways were the principal means of trans- portation and of course for a long time after- wards. The natural advantages of which he speaks however have been lost sight of in later days when railroad developments have reduced their importance. In the matter of waterways, however, Cincinnati still has an advantage over other cities and if these ways should be devel- oped in the future with the same enthusiasm that has been displayed in the line of railroad de-
velopment, the city in the judgment of the pres- ent writer would gain a position even more pre- eminent than any it has ever oeeupied. It is to the river and eanals that Cincinnati must look for much of her commercial supremaey and not to the railroads, in which respeet she has no advantage over other eities, equally capable of railroad development.
Among the improvements contemplated at the time of Dr. Drake's writing were bridges over the Ohio, across the mouth of Deer ereck and over Mill ereek and roads towards the sources of the Miamis extending to Dayton. An improved road to Columbia was especially desired as the one in existence had beeome nearly impassable during winter time.
The matter of canals connecting the river with the lakes, the Ohio with the Great Miami at a point near Hamilton was discussed at con- siderable length.
FLINT.
Timothy Flint says of the eity in this same year (1816) :
"When you saw this eity, apparently lifting its head from surrounding woods, you found yourselves at a loss to imagine whence so many people could be furnished with supplies. In the fine weather, at the commencement of winter, it is only necessary to go to the market of this town, and see its exuberant supplies of every article for consumption, in the finest order, and of the best quality ; to sec the lines of wagons, and the astonishing quantities of every kind of produce, to realize, at once, all that you have read about the growth of Ohio. In one place you see lines of wagons in the Pennsylvania style. In another place the Tunkers, with their long and flowing beards, have brought up their teams with their fat mutton and fine four. Fowls, do- mestic and wild turkeys, venison, those fine birds which are here called partridges, and which we call quails, all sorts of fruit and vegetables, equally excellent and cheap-in short, all that you see in Boston market, with the exception of the same variety of fish, and all these things, in the greatest abundance, are here. . In one quar- ter there are wild animals that have been taken in the woods; cages of redbirds and paroquets ; in another, old ladies, with roots, herbs. units, mittens, stockings, and what they call Yankee notions. My judgment goes with the general assertion here, that no place, in proportion to its size, has a richer or more abundant market
1
431
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
than Cincinnati." (Recollections of the Last Ten Years, p. 39.)
THOMAS.
Another visitor during this year, David Thomas, described the city :
"About three o'clock we descended through the hills, along a hollow way, into the valley of the Ohio, and Cincinnati appeared before us. It is a great town. Brick buildings are very .numerous, and many of these are elegant; but compactness constitutes much of the beauty of our cities, and in this it is deficient. Some of the streets may form exceptions to this remark ; and we ought to remember that few towns (if any) ever rose from the forest more rapidly ; that its date even now is within the memory of the young ; and that its mammoth form at no dis- tant period will be filled up and completed. By some it is suspected, however, that its present greatness is premature; but this can only apply to its mercantile concerns; for its manufactories cannot be materially affected by any change in the amount of commerce. Neither need the mer- chants fear a rival city, unless it rises to the north.
"Among the most respectable of the manu- facturing establishments we notice the brewery of D. & J. Embree. The works, though in a progressive state, are now sufficiently extensive to produce annually five thousand barrels of beer and porter, and the quality is excellent. A . treadle-mill is attached to these buildings sim- ilar in construction to that at Montgomery. It is turned by horses, and grinds one hundred and twenty busheis of malt a day. In the present necess of business, it is employed in the manu- facture of mustard.
"Works for green glass have lately gone into operation; but some of the articles produced are very imperfect. We can sympathise with the proprietors of new establishments; for we are aware of the many inconveniences and dis- couragements that beset them at the commence- mient ; but we cannot too strongly inculcate that to attain excellence will be the first object of the patriotic manufacturer ; and such virtue could scarcely fail of its reward.
"A monthly meeting of the Society of Friends, comprising about forty families, is established in this year." (Travels Through the Western Country.)
CINCINNATI IN 1817.
A resident of Cincinnati from 1817 to 1821,
his recollections published in 1851 described the city in April, 1817, at the time of his arrival. He had letters to General Harrison whom he met on his way from Washington to Cincinnati at Pittsburg and who accompanied him down the river. On his arrival he was introduced to General Findlay, receiver of public moneys, who insisted upon taking him to his own house ( which had been Harrison's headquarters while in the .city ) where they had breakfast. The appearance of the city struck him at first rather unfavorably. Its population at that time did not exceed eight or nine thousand. "There was an air of life, a bustle and activity about it, and yet, taken to- gether, it had a raw, unfinished, and slovenly aspect. The bank of the river, in front of the town, was not only unsightly, but calculated to make an unfavorable impression upon the mind of a stranger. Parts of it had been worn away by the strong current of the waters, and parts liad slidden down into the river. It was, in short, ragged, broken, and verdureless,-without tree or shrub, without wall or railing, protection or ornament. Nor was there anything in the shape of a dock or landing place at the water's edge. The operation of landing was indeed perfectly aboriginal. It was effected by three moves as explained in the following order :- Run your boat ashore, Josey, tie her to a stake, and jump out into the mud!' "
The business of the city was then confined to Main and Front streets which "were tolerably well built, and exhibited a lively business-like ap- pearance. The residue of the town was scat- tered about in all directions, right and left, hither and thither-some on the Hill and some on the Bottom. The buildings in the suburbs, though without any apparent gregarious inclina- tion, were generally in sight of each other, some times within call, or even shaking hands distance, but more frequently isolated and unconnected, having nothing to do with close files of regular lines. They were, morcover, of all heights, sizes. shapes and colors."
He found the public buildings, though, neither numerous nor costly, with the exception of two, the. Presbyterian Church and the Court House, both situated on the Hill. "The church was on the brow of the Hill, and in sight of the congre- gation, and sufficiently aloof from the then busi- ness parts of the city. It stood in the midst of an old burial ground, uninclosed,-itself in bad taste, disproportioned, unfinished, and open to desecration." The Court House further on by
1
432
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
the side of the road, "a huge quadrangular build- ing, ill-conceived and ill-contrived, but tasteless and inconvenient, looking more like a peniten- tiary or house of correction than anything else," in an open field "protected (if protected at all), by a post and rail fence." The private buildings he thought in better taste and mentioned particu- larly the mansion house of General Lytle and that of Judge Burnet. Judge Burnet's house "was situated on an eminence, some half a mile south and west of the city, commanding a fine view of the town, the river, and the scenery of the op- posite bank. Its healthful position, its fine shade trees, and its beautiful gardens, rich with the choicest fruits and flowers, rendered it one of the most charming residences in the State." When it is remembered that this was at the northwest corner of Third and Vine, the site sub- sequently of Shires' Garden and at present of the Burnet House and that it evidently impressed the writer as being some distance from the town, some impression of the narrow limits of the vil- lage at that time can be had. Despite the un- favorable impression received by this writer he noted that "it was easy to perceive that it was destined to become one of the great cities of the West." The principal part of the town, he says, in 1817 was on the narrow strip between the second table and the bank of the river, and ( fol- lowing the line of Main street) was just begin- ning to show itself on the brow of the Hill.
BIRKBECK.
Morris Birkbeck on his way to Illinois passed through the city later (in 1817) and he too has his fling at it :
"Cincinnati, like most American towns, stands too low ; it is built on the banks of the Ohio, and the lower part of it is not out of the reach of spring floods. As if life was not more than meat, and the body than raiment, every consider- ation of health and enjoyment yields to views of mercantile convenience. Short-sighted and nar- row economy! by which the lives of thousands are shortened, and the comfort of all sacrificed to mistaken notions of private interest.
"Cincinnati is, however, a most thriving place, and, backed as it is already by a great population and a most plentiful country, bids fair to be one of the first cities of the West. We are tokl, and we cannot doubt the fact, that the chief of what we see is the work of four years. The hundreds of commodious, well-finished brick houses, the spacious and busy markets, the substantial pub- lic buildings, the thousands of prosperous, well-
dressed, industrious inhabitants, the numerous wagons and drays, the gay carriages and elegant females ; the shoals of craft on the river, the busy stir prevailing everywhere-house-building, boat- building, paving and leveling streets ; the num- bers of country people constantly coming and going ; the spacious taverns, crowded with travellers from a distance.
"All this is so much more than I could compre- hend from a description of a new town just risen from the woods, that I despair of conveying an adequate idea of it to my English friends. It is enchantment, and Liberty is the fair enchant- ress.
"June 27, Cincinnati. All is alive here as soon as the day breaks. The stores are opened, the markets thronged, and business is in full career by five o'clock in the morning ; and nine o'clock is the common hour for retiring to rest.
"As yet I have felt nothing oppressive in the heat of this climate. Melting, oppressive, sultry nights, succeeding broiling days, and forbidding rest, which are said to wear out the frames of the languid inhabitants of the Eastern cities, are unknown here. A cool breeze always renders the night refreshing, and generally moderates the heat of the day." (Notes on a Journey in America.)
PALMER.
Another traveler, John Palmer, of the same year, thought the general appearance of the city clean and handsome-"indeed, elegant and as- tonishing, when we reflect that less than forty years ago it was the resort of Indians, and the whole surrounding country a wilderness, full of wild beasts and savages. 六 In the principal streets they are neatly paved with brick sidewalks and pumps are placed for general accommodation. # The present number of buildings may be between thirteen and four- teen hundred, and the number of the inhabitants eight thousand, all whites, the laws of Ohio pro- hibiting even free negroes (except in certain cases) from settling in the State. Near five hundred of the houses are built of stone or brick, many of them thirce-story high, and in a very neat, modern style. The rest of the houses are frame, most of them neatly painted. *
"The public buildings are of brick, and would ornament an European city. The new Court House is a stately edifice, 56 by 66 feet and 100 feet high; the apartments are fireproof. Pres- byterians, Baptists, Friends, and Methodists, have each a meeting house. Those belonging to the
1
433
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
Presbyterians and. Baptists are finished with taste. The Friends' Meeting House is a tem- porary wooden building. The Lancasterian Sem- inary is a capacious structure, calculated to con- tain one thousand one hundred scholars, male and female. There are three brick market houses, the largest is upwards of three hundred feet long. * I have counted near sixty tilted waggons from the country on a market day, chiefly with produce, which is brought to market by the farmer and sold from the waggons. * * *
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.