USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Vol. I > Part 2
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Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the said direc- tor, to superintend the erection of the public buildings, in the town of Colum- bus, agreeably to the plans laid down by the late director, except in his opinion, alterations are necessary in the internal arrangement of said buildings, in which case he is hereby authorized to direct the same, in such manner as he shall judge most likely to answer the purpose for which such buildings are erected ; and in all things to see that the said public buildings are supposed, in all their parts, of proper materials, and built in a good and workmanlike manner; and he is hereby authorized and required, to object to any materials, not of proper quality, or any work not of the description aforementioned; and if the director shall perform, or cause to be performed, for his own private advantage, any part of the above work, he shall, on conviction thereof, forfeit the amount of his penal bond.
Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the director, for the time being, to prevent and abate all nuisances, either in the streets or public squares of said town, by digging for brickyards, or any other purpose, and to preserve from trespass all wood and timber, the property of the state, within the said town, and to cut and dispose of such part as he may deem proper for the use of the state, and annually account for the proceeds of the same.
Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the director to make a report of his proceedings, and of the progress made in the erection of said buildings, whether in his opinion the same is composed of good materials, and built in a workmanlike manner, to the next legislature, with twenty days after the commencement of its session.
Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That the director shall be entitled to re- ceive for his services, at the rate of six hundred dollars per annum, for all the time he may be engaged in discharging the duties of his office, payable quarter yearly on the certificate of the governor, that the services have been performed, being presented to the auditor, who is hereby authorized to issue bills for the same, payable at the office of the treasurer of state.
JOHN POLLOCK, Speaker of the House of Representatives. THOMAS KIRKER, Speaker of the Senate.
January 28, 1813.
Taxing Concessions to the Proprietors.
An act directing how the tax on lots in the town of Columbus shall be assessed and disposed of.
BOOK STORE
H. COWLES
SIONS
WEST SIDE OF HIGH STREET, BETWEEN STATE STREET AND SUGAR ALLEY From the Original Sketches made by G. E. Thrall in 1846
TIN, COPPER V SHEET IREN MANUFACTORY
J. REEVES
TAR
WEST SIDE OF HIGH STREET. BETWEEN WALNUT ALLEY AND TOWN STREET
FET
ALHAMBRA
IM. KIN
WEST SIDE OF HIGH STREET, BETWEEN RICH AND TOWN STREETS
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS
Section 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of Ohio, That it shall not be lawful for the commissioners of the county of Franklin, to levy any tax upon lots in the town of Columbus, previous to the first day of January, Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen.
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That the lots in said town of Columbus, shall, hereafter, until the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, stand charged annually, with an amount of tax equal to the amount levied and assessed upon said lots by the commissioners of said county of Frank- lin for the year one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, to be collected by the director of the town of Columbus, in the same manner as other county taxes. And said director is hereby authorized and required to proceed to collect said taxes, in the same manner, and with the same authority, as other township col- lectors: Provided, That if the proprietors or owners of lots of said town, shall, on or before the first day of August in each year, pay to the said director, the sum of one-half of the full amount assessed as aforesaid, the said lots shall be exonerated from all charge of tax for each year, for which the sum aforesaid shall be paid.
Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That the said director shall proceed to lay out and expend the sum of one hundred and twenty-five dollars, if so much shall be needed, of the monies which he shall receive, by virtue of the provi- sions of this act, for the purpose of sinking and completing a well at the state house; the balance to be applied in improving within the county of Franklin, the state road leading from the town of Columbus to Greenville, in the county of Licking. And said director shall yearly make report of all his proceedings under this act, to the legislature.
JOHN POLLOCK, Speaker of the House of Representatives. OTHNIEL LOOKER, Speaker of the Senate.
January 27, 1814.
Officers Preparing to Move.
An act, supplementary to the act, entitled, "An act, fixing and establishing the permanent and temporary seat of government."
Section 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of Ohio, That the offices of auditor, treasurer and secretary of statel shall be removed to, and established at the permanent seat of government, at the town of Columbus, in the month of October, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventeen, and all the books, papers, and other articles belonging to said offices, shall be carefully packed up and removed, under the inspection and direction of the persons holding the respective offices of auditor, treasurer and secretary of state. And the said officers shall attend at the permanent seat of government afora- said, and keep their said offices respectively.
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That a director for the town of Columbus, shall be appointed by joint resolution, who shall continue in office until the ris- ing of the next general assembly ; and the director shall give bond, and take the oath required by the act, ascertaining the duties of the director of the town of
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS
Columbus; and the said director so to be appointed, shall perform all the duties required by the before recited act, and such other duties as may be required of him by law.
JOHN POLLOCK, Speaker of the House of Representatives. OTHNIEL LOOKER, Speaker of the Senate.
February 9, 1814.
First Toll Bridge in Columbus.
An act to authorize Lucas Sullivant and his associates, to erect a toll bridge across the Scioto river at the town of Columbus.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of Ohio, That Lucas Sullivant and his associates, and those who may hereafter associate with him, are hereby authorized to build a bridge across the Scioto river in the county of Franklin, at the place where Broad street, in said town of Columbus, now crosses said river, leading into the Main street in the town of Franklinton ; and the said Lucas Sullivant and his associates, if any there be, and his and their heirs and assigns, are hereby authorized to ask, demand and receive from passengers who may cross said bridge, the following rates of toll to-wit : For each foot passenger, three cents; for every horse, mule or ass, one year old or up- wards, four cents ; for each horse and rider, twelve and one-half cents ; for every chaise, riding chair, gig, cart or other two wheeled carriage, with two horses or two oxen and driver, thirty-seven and one-half cents; for the same with one horse and driver, twenty-five cents; for each sleigh or sled, drawn by two horses or oxen, twenty-five cents; for the same drawn by one horse and driver, eight- een and three-fourths cents ; for every coach, chariot or other pleasurable car- riage, with four wheels and driver, drawn by four horses, seventy-five cents ; for the same carriages and driver, drawn by two horses, fifty cents ; for every wagon with with two horses or oxen and driver, thirty-seven and a half cents; and for each horse or ox in addition, six and a fourth cents; for every- head of neat cattle six months old or upwards, two cents; for every head of cattle younger . than six months old, and for every head of sheep or hogs, one-half cent; Provided always, That all public mails and expresses, all troops of the United States and of this state, with their artillery, baggage and stores, and all persons who are exempted by the laws of the state from the payment of ferriages, may pass over said bridge free from the toll aforesaid; and it shall be the duty of the said Lucas and others as aforesaid, their or any of their several assignees or representatives, to set up and constantly to keep up, exposed to pub- lic view, in some conspicuous place near the gate which may be constructed across said bridge, a board or canvas, on which shall be printed or painted in fair and legible characters, the rates of toll herein above established.
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That if the said Lucas and others as afore- said, his, her or their several assignees or representatives, shall within four years from the passing of this act, have erected and made a good and complete bridge at the place aforesaid, made of sufficient width, having a convenient foot way,
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS
with hand railing and cart away or cart ways, and in other respects of sufficient strength and dimensions, so as to admit of the safe passage of the passengers. carriages and cattle as aforesaid, then the said Lucas and others as aforesaid. may ask and receive the toll as above described during the term of sixty years ; and if the said Lucas or his associates, if any there be, shall demand and receive a greater or higher toll than is allowed by the first section of this act, he and they shall be subject to the like fines and forfeitures as are provided in case of ferries ; Provided, the navigation of said river shall in no wise be obstructed by the erection of said bridge, nor the fording of said river be in any wise injured; Provided also, That after the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, it shall be lawful for the general assembly to make such alterations in the rate of tolls established by this act as they may judge proper.
JOHN POLLOCK, Speaker of the House of Representatives. THOMAS KIRKER, Speaker of the Senate.
February 3, 1815.
Legislative Officers Preparing for Removal.
RESOLVED by the general assembly of the state of Ohio, That the door- keeper of the senate and doorkeeper of the house of representatives shall take charge of and preserve. in good order, the furniture of their respective houses, and have the same in proper order and place for the general assembly on the first Monday of December next, or at any preceding time should the legisla- ture be convened; and that the doorkeeper of each house forward to the secre- tary of state, all books in possession of their respective houses, the property of the state; and that immediately after the rising of the legislature, the clerks of the respective branches shall make a true inventory of all papers belonging to the state in their possession, and deliver the same properly filed, together with the inventory, to the secretary of state, whose duty it shall be to receive and keep the same, subject to the order of any future legislature.
February 15, 1815.
A Busy Time in the Woods.
As may be surmised, the period between 1812 and 1817 was one of bustle and confusion, and speculation in town lots began even before the lots were "laid off," and the new city was full of life and business, though the most of it was still in a state of nature.
The assurance that if the seat of government, if not permanently fixed at Columbus would remain there until 1840 at least, was a sufficient guarantee to bring prospective buyers and settlers from all parts of the state, and began to turn the streams of immigration from the northern, eastern and southern states Columbusward, and many of them charmed with the fertile soil of Franklin county purchased farms and settled down beyond the contemplated limits of
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS
the city, and their children's children still occupy many of those fertile farm- holds. The proprietors themselves were constantly bestirring themselves over against the day of a public sale of city lots.
Mr. William F. Martin, one of the early chroniclers of men and events, wrote entertainingly in 1858 of the doings of some forty years previously and instituted some contemporaneous comparisons for which the present chronicler takes great pleasure in giving him the credit due to a literary predecessor in the morning hours of Columbus history.
On the 19th of February, 1812, at Zanesville, the proprietors, Starling, Johnston, Mclaughlin and Kerr, signed and acknowledged their articles of association, as partners, under the law for laying out, etc., the town of Colum- bus. In this instrument it was stipulated that a common stock was to be created for the benefit of the firm; that Starling was to put into said stock half section number twenty-five, except ten acres previously sold to John Brickell; Johnston was to put in half section number nine and half of section number ten; and Mclaughlin and Kerr (who had previously been partners and were jointly considered as one or a third party to this agreement) were to put in half section number twenty-six, on which they were to lay out the town, agreeably to their proposals to the legislature, the proceeds of the sales to remain in common stock until they should complete their contract with the state.
An Agent Provided For.
They were to have a common agent, to make sales and superintend their whole business. Each party was to pay into the hands of this agent the sum of two thousand four hundred dollars annually, on the first Monday of January, for five successive years, and such further sums as might be necessary to complete the public buildings. Each party was to warrant the title to the land by such party respectively put into the stock, and each to receive a mutual benefit in all donations they might obtain on subscription or otherwise. And when they should have completed their contract with the state, and be released from all obligations on account thereof, a final settlement and adjustment of their accounts was to take place and the profits or losses to be equally divided between them.
John Kerr was appointed the first agent for the proprietors, in April, 1812, and continued as such until June, 1815, when he declined serving any longer, and Henry Brown was appointed and continued their agent until the close of their business in the spring of 1817.
The agreement of the proprietors having been faithfully abided by, and their undertaking completed, was finally canceled in April, 1817, when a division of the unsold property, and of obligations for lots sold, etc., took place, and each party released the other from all the obligations of their articles of association, and also released and quit-claimed to each other all the remaining parts of their several tracts of land originally put into the common fund that remained unsold.
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS
Donations Were Generous.
The amount of the donations obtained on subscriptions is variously stated at from fifteen to twenty thousand dollars. And, pursuant to an agree- ment with Rev. James Hoge, better known as Dr. Hoge, he deeded to the proprietors eighty acres of land off the south end of half section number eleven, in order to enable them to complete the plat to the size and form desired. Of the lots laid out on this grant the proprietors retained one-half, and deeded the balance back to the doctor. And, pursuant to a similar con- tract with Thomas Allen, and for the same purpose, he deeded to the pro- prietors twenty acres out of the southwest part of half section number ten, they deeding back his portion of the lots and retaining the balance as a donation.
Thus the town plat, including out-lots and reserves (which reserves have many years since been laid out into additions of in-lots), covered the whole of half sections number twenty-five and twenty-six, and parts of half sections ten and eleven.
MeLaughlin and Kerr's half section (number twenty-six) was the south- ern part of the original town plat, bounded on the south by South Public Lane (the eastern part of which is sometimes called the Livingston Road), and on the north by a parallel (east and west) line, commencing at the river a little south of state street and crossing High street at the northeast corner of Dr. Goodale's brick block, and crossing Town street at an acute angle between Third and Fourth streets, including all between those two lines, from the river to the eastern boundary of the out-lots. Starling's half section (number twenty-five), also extending from the river to the eastern boundary of out-lots, and included all between the north line of Mclaughlin and Kerr's half section, above described, and a parallel line from a short distance in front of the penitentiary, due east, crossing High street between Long street and Mulberry alley, and intersecting Broad street at the eastern extremity of the out-lots. Although half section number nine was put into the common fund by Johnston, no part of the town plat was laid out on it. It lies between the penitentiary grounds and Olentangy river. The east half of half section ten, put into the fund by him, and on the south end of which lots were laid out, abuts on the north line of Starling's half section (number twenty-five), from Water street to Center alley, bounded east and west by due north and south lines, cutting the lots obliquely. The part conveyed to the proprietors by Allen also abuts on Starling's north line, immediately west of Johnston's, just described, and the part conveyed to them by Dr. Hoge also abuts on Starling's north line, immediately east of Johnston's land.
The Contract Finally Closed.
The contract being closed between the proprietors and the state,, and all the preliminaries now arranged, in the spring of 1812 the town was laid out,
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS
under the direction of Joel Wright, Esq., of Warren county, an agent of the state, appointed for that purpose, and Joseph Vance, of Franklin county, as assistant.
The streets all cross at right angles; those running northward bear twelve degrees west of north, and consequently those running eastward, twelve degrees north of east. High street is one hundred feet wide; Broad street is one hundred and twenty feet, and all the others eighty-two and a half feet wide; and the alleys generally thirty-three feet in width. The in-lots are sixty-two and a half feet front and one hundred and eighty-seven and a half feet deep. The out-lots on the east contain about three acres each.
Some time after the laying out of the main town and the eastern out-lots, the proprietors laid out some forty or more out-lots, north of the town, which are represented on the record by a separate plat. These contain a trifle over two acres each, and from part of these lots they conveyed to the town an acre and a half for a graveyard. The time and terms of sale being agreed upon, the same was advertised far and near, and in a way calculated to attract bidders from a distance. The following is a copy of the advertisement:
"For Sale" Advertisements.
On the premises, commencing on Thursday, the 18th day of June next, and to continue for three days, in and out-lots in the town of Columbus, established by an act of the legislature as the permanent seat of government for the state of Ohio.
Terms of Sale .- One-fifth of the purchase money will be required in hand; the residue to be paid in four equal annual installments. Interest will be required on the. deferred payments from the day of sale, if they are not punctually made when due. Eight per cent will be discounted for prompt payment on the day of sale. The town of Columbus is situated on an elevated and beautiful site, on the east side of the Scioto river, immediately below the junction of the Whetstone branch, and opposite to Franklinton, the seat of justice for Franklin county, in the center of an extensive tract of rich and fertile country, from whence there is an easy navigation to the Ohio river. Above the town the west branch of the Scioto affords a good navigation for about eighty miles, and the Whetstone branch as far as the town of Worth- ington. Sandusky bay, the only harbor on the south shore of Lake Erie (except Presque Isle) for vessels of burthen, is situate due north from Colum- bus and about one hundred miles from it. An excellent road may be made with very little expense from the Lower Sandusky town to the mouth of the Little Scioto, a distance of about sixty miles. This will render the com- munication from the lakes to the Ohio river through the Scioto very easy, by which route an immense trade must, at a day not very distant, be carried on, which will make the country on the Scioto river rich and populous. The proprietors of the town of Columbus will, by every means in their power,
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS
encourage industrious mechanics who wish to make a residence in the town. All such are invited to become purchasers.
JAMES JOHNSTON, A. MCLAUGHLIN, LYNE STARLING, JOHN KERR,
Franklinton, April 13, 1812.
Proprietors.
The Day of Sale Arrives.
Pursuant to this notice, public sale of the lots commenced on the 18th of June, 1812, and continued three days. The lots sold were principally on High and Broad streets, and were generally struck off at from two hundred to a thousand dollars each. The only cleared land then on, or contiguous to, the town plat was a small spot on Front, a little north of State street ; another small field and a cabin on the bank of the river, at the western terminus of Rich street; a cabin and garden spot in front of where the penitentiary now stands, occupied by John Brickell; and a small field south of the mound, on the the tract which two years after was laid off by John McGowan, as an addition to the original town plat, and called South Columbus.
Immediately after the sales improvements commenced rapidly, generally small frame houses and shops, enclosed with split clapboards instead of sawed weatherboards, which were not generally attainable. Both proprietors and settlers were too much occupied with their own individual and immediate interests to attend much to the clearing off of the streets and alleys; and for several years the streets remained so much impeded by stumps, logs and brush that teamsters were compelled to make very crooked tracks in winding their way through them. Gradually, however, they were cleared by the inhab- itants, for fire wood and building materials, until about the year 1815 or 1816 a sum of about two hundred dollars was raised by subscription and appro- priated to the removal of the remaining obstructions from High street. Soon after the town was incorporated and the streets were gradually improved by authority of the town council.
Some of the Original Bidders.
There are now (in 1858) but two men remaining in Columbus who were here at the sale of lots in 1812 and purchased property, and have remained citizens of the place ever since, viz: Messrs. Jacob Hare and Peter Putnam, and each one still owned the lot he purchased at that time, over forty-five years before. Among the first settlers, however, were George McCormick. George B. Harvey, John Shields, Michael Patton, Alexander Patton, William Altman, John Collett, William McElvain, Daniel Kooser, Christian Heyl, Jarvis Pike, Benjamin Pike, George Pike, William Long, Townsend Nichols. and Dr. John M. Edmiston. Dr. Edmiston was the first physician to locate in the new town-Drs. Parsons and Ball practiced in Columbus, but resided in Franklinton. About the year 1815 or 1816 Dr. Parsons removed over to Columbus, where he resided ever after.
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS
Aboriginal and Modern Roads.
As suggested in the beginning of this chapter, the white man's lines of travel, in the beginning of the march of civilization, followed very closely along the lines of the aborigines, who in turn unconsciously absorbed the engineering knowledge of the elk, the red deer and the buffalo. Certain it is that when the white man came to Ohio he found an extensive system of high- ways on land, as well as upon the waterways, along which travel and traffic ebbed and flowed as seasons changed and pleasure, war or necessity required.
Rev. John Heckmelder, who made a study of this system in the eighteenth century, and not only located but made a complete map of the land lines, which in his day were as clearly defined as are the highways of today. albeit they, as a rule penetrated dense and almost limitless forests. Many of these road beds still exist in Ohio which were known to the pioneers of well-nigh a century and a half ago, still so solidly packed as to resist the steel plough-shares of the farmer where they fall inside an inclosure devoted to agricuture.
Nearly all these land lines, and probably in a majority of cases, were laid along elevations above the bottom lands and always along the line of least resistance, quite clearly establishing the fact that the bison, the elk, deer and other four-footed animals were the original engineers and the road builders for bipeds. Aboriginal man, when he came, preempted the highways of his quadruped predecessors. The white man, following the aborigine, utilized portions of these highways, but shortened up distances by paralleling them. in part, along the bottom lands or lower down the slope, and this general plan was followed throughout the state during the first era of road building.
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