USA > Ohio > Jefferson County > Steubenville > Century History of Steubenville and Jefferson County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, 20th > Part 32
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thus run over their farms without inter- fering with their fields or stock, an impres- sion which we are not sure the promoters always took pains to correct. In De- cember, 1851, Mr. Kilgore died suddenly while in New York on railroad business, and was succeeded by James Means as president. Individuals and communities subscribed liberally, the city and township of Steubenville each taking $100,000 stock, citizens probably as much more, Cross Creek Township $30,000, with other sub- scriptions along the line and free rights of way. Mr. Parks, who had a dry goods store on the northeast corner of Fourth and Market streets, sold it out to give his entire time to railroad business. Ground was broken for the new line in the south end of the city in 1851, and work progressed with more or less interruption until Octo- ber 8, 1853, when three locomotives, named Bezaleel Wells, James Ross and Steuben- ville, came puffing into the city across Mar- ket street west of Sixth, drawing two cars. These engines and cars, as well as the rails with which the track was built, were brought down the river to Mingo from Pittsburgh in barges, where an incline was made from the water to the railway em- bankment for the purpose of bringing up supplies. Part of that incline was used for many years after as a section of the county road, and some of it still remains as a connecting link between the Pan Handle and C. & P. systems. Roswell Marsh made an address at breaking the ground, and when the engines arrived on that pleasant Saturday afternoon a large crowd had gathered at Washington street, which was the terminns of the line. Colonel Collier made a speech, flags fint- tered and the band played, fire arms were discharged, the militia turned ont, the train was inspected and a general good time prevailed. A free excursion followed. with William Hinckle, engineer; Charles Butterworth, fireman : Mr. Legare, of Balti- more, conductor, and George Kells, bag- gagemaster. We are not informed just how far out the road this train ran, but
the line was not opened to Union port, twenty miles west, until two months later. The train on its return was greeted by an- other large and enthusiastic crowd. The following poster in possession of the writer officially announces the opening of the road for business.
FIRST NOTICE!
Office of the S. & I. R. R. Co. Steubenville, December 17, 1853. The Company intend Running a Train of passenger and Freight Cars !! between Steubenville and Union Port [ Sec. 20] Commencing on Thursday, December 22d, 1853. Time of Starting Trains.
Westward-Leaving Steubenville Sta- tion at 8 a. m. and 2 o'clock p. m.
Eastward-Returning will leave Union Port (See. 20) at 10 o'clock a. m. and 4 p. m., stopping at intermediate stations, both going and returning.
Fare thro' from Steubenville to Union Port, 60 cents! For any distance within the limits of 3 miles, not less than 10 cts .; and over that distance at the rate of 3 cts. per mile, stopping at the following points going and returning:
STATIONS.
Mingo.
Section 3 .€
Gonlds.
5
West End.
8
Smithfield Crossing,
11
Reed's Mills,
4 €
14
Bloomfield, 18
Union Port. =
20
For further particulars call at the Com- pany's office, Washington street between 6th and 7th streets, in Steubenville, or en- qnire of the Conductor on the train at Union Port. Passengers are particularly requested to purchase their tickets at the office before taking their seats in the cars.
ISRAEL, PEMBERTON, Chief Eng. and Supt., S. & I. R. R. Co.
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The picture on the bill represents a lo- afterwards acquired in the same. Francis comotive and cars of that day, which are A. Wells was the first agent at Steuben- ville, having charge of both freight and passenger business, and was followed by John T. Neilson, and in 1856 by Ambrose S. Parks, who was snecceded by his son James. In 1865 the business was di- vided, William Hanlin becoming ticket agent, followed by Mr. MeCaskey, F. M. Bushong, James M. Reynolds, present county auditor, and W. S. Polen, present incumbent. quaint enough, the smokestack especially approximating the size of the boiler, and making a huge inverted cone. Wood being the fuel used, it was necessary to cover the top of the stack proper with wire netting and in this inverted cone were collected the numerous sparks made by the furnace. With the introduction of coal the stack has gradually decreased in size until it is now but little more than a hole in top of the linge boiler. The Steubenville engines, however, were decidedly more modern than C. & P. RIVER DIVISION. the pictures of that day, which were evi- dently taken from the first experiments While this was going on a corporation was formed called the Steubenville & Wellsville Railrond Company, being part of a general plan to extend the Cleveland & Pittsburgh road up and down the river. forming the "River Division" between Rochester (from which there was already a line to Pittsburgh) and Bellaire, where connection would be made westward over the C. O. road already built to Columbus. and transfer over the river to the Balti- more & Ohio road to the enst. This line was completed in the full of 1856, and on September 16 of that year the first train ran through to Pittsburgh. "Rhode Is- land" was the name of the engine which was sold to the Government during the war, Sherman Brazette being engineer and Mr. Meaker conductor. A good many of the passengers took advantage of the train to attend a Fremont barbecue in Pitts- hurgh. Owing to the eneroachments of the river a considerable part of the track was built on trestles, especially between Wash- ington and Dock streets, in the city. The streets north of Washington at that time had undergrade crossings under the trestle work to the river. As the land was filled up between the streets Howe truss bridges were substituted for trestles across the highway, which were afterwards filled up to the track level. The first office of the company was in the large grain and feed inill on the corner of Market and Water Streets, where the Pittsburgh hotel now in locomotive and ear building. The en- gines above referred to were fully up to their times and were in use down to quite a recent period. The company purchased the residence of David Moody, on Washing- ton street, for a depot, and the spneions gronuds around were converted into yards, round house and machine shops, the car shops being located on the Means property between Washington and Market. The double parlors of the dwelling were used for ticket office and waiting room, the gen- eral offices being located upstairs. A car did duty for a freight depot until a cov- ered shed wus erected west of the dwelling. The first recorded freight shipped from Steubenville was from Hull, Wood & Co .. December 24, 1853, to William and J. Her- vey, of Union Port, one bag of coffee, one barrel of molasses, a barrel of mackerel and two boxes of candles. From the same firm to S. L. Hanna, Reed's Mills, one cheese box and one box of merchandise. Sharp & Craig also shipped to A. Holt. Cadiz, a consignment of stoves. The road was gradually extended to Newark, 117 miles west of Steubenville, which was reached on April 11, 1855, where it en- countered the Central Ohio, which already had a track between Newark and Colum- bus. Here the Steubenville line stopped and an arrangement was made whereby its trains could run over the C. O. track to Columbus, an undivided half interest being
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stands. This mill burned on December 23, 1856, and the usual refuge, a car, served for freight and passenger stations until frame buildings were erected on land pur- chased from Gen. Samuel Stokley below Sonth street, where the freight depot still remains. The line suffered much from floods in its early period and in 1862 was closed for ten days. The fact that in later floods traffic was resumed as soon as the rails were out of water indicates the more solid character of the roadbed. During the war this station, almost on the outskirts of the city, was the theatre of many interest- ing events, being on the only through line between the east and west it was the scene of arrivals and departure of troops, and from its platform were delivered speeches by Andrew Johnson, Parson Brownlow and other celebrities of that day. During this period an arrangement was made by the C. & P., S. & I., and Little Miami rail- roads for a through passenger line, known as the Pittsburgh, Columbus & Cincinnati, each road furnishing a certain quota of cars for a run without change from Pitts- burgh to Cincinnati. The consequence was the abandonment of the S. & 1. station ex- cept for local trains. The through trains would be made up there, run down to Mingo and backed up to the C. & P. station, where connection would be made with the train from Pittsburgh for the West. W. D. Howells in his "Modern Instance" gives an account of a journey westward through Pittsburgh and down the Ohio River to Steubenville, for which he has been criti- cised by some who only exposed their own ignorance. Howells was born in this val- ley and knew just what he was writing about, as his critics did not. In this con- nection was run one of the first sleeping car lines in the United States. The cars were owned by a Cleveland firm, Messrs. Myers, Furnace & Lyman, and J. C. Doyle · was the local agent and manager, the run being between Steubenville and Cincinnati. The cars of that day were not as luxurious as the present Pulhnans, but quite as com- fortable. The upper berths, instead of be-
ing on hinges, slid down from the ceiling on upright iron rods. This arrangement continued until the opening of the Pan Handle line to Pittsburgh in 1865. The first C. & P. agent here was Joseph John- son, with his son, Dr. J. J. Johnson in the ticket office, and J. C. Doyle in the freight department. In the course of a few months Mr. Johnson retired, Mr. Doyle succeeding him, and with the exception of about a year remained until his death, in 1885. The other agents were David Myers, Mr. Craw- ford, S. R. Magee, A. S. Doyle, William R. Zink and George Collins. A. M. Wyn- koop succeeded Dr. Johnson as ticket seller, he in succession hy Messrs. Town, Ross, John Fox, Robert Wolf, John Camp- bell, George C. Dickinson, Edwin Permar and Philip Schreiber. In 1865 a new pas- senger station (now an old one) was erect- ed at the foot of Market street, and the freight and passenger departments sepa- rated. The old freight depot was burned a few years ago and replaced by the exist- ing one, occupying the site of the former passenger station on the west side of the track.
While C. & P. passenger trains began running into Pittsburgh from the time the track was laid to Rochester, Pa., yet it was only by sufferance of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago road and over its tracks. But about 1863 a consolidation of these two lines was effected by which a double track was to be constructed east of Rochester at the expense of both roads and the net earnings were to be pooled, the Fort Wayne stockholders receiving 71 per rent thereof and the C. & P. 29 per cent. Neither road, however, was profitable to its stockholders and a few years later a new organization, known as the Pennsyl- vania Company, an adjunct of the Penn- sylvania Railroad. leased both roads for ninety-nine years, agreeing to pay the stockholders an annual dividend of 7 per rent. This was a wonderful investment for some who had purchased their stock as low as 1214 cents on the dollar, but during the period subsequent to the panic of 1873
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there was so much doubt as to the ability of the lessees to carry out their agreement that C. & P. stock sold as low as 66. There was never a default in payment, however, and for years the stock in both roads has been above par and practically ont of mar ket .. The C. & P. always had the reputa- tion of being a well managed road and sin- gularly free from fatalities. Both main line and river division are practically double tracked, and the only fault to find with this as well as the Pan Handle system are the miserable passenger accommoda. tions at Steubenville. This road has about forty-nine miles of main tracks in Jeffer- son County, most of it doubled, and follow- ing are the stations with their distance in miles from Steubenville :
SOUTH.
NORTH.
Mingo
9.9
Toronto
Brilliant
6.4
. 10.6
Rush Run.
11.0
Empire 11.x
Rayland
13.4
Port Homer 140
Tiltonville
14.8
Yellow Creek 15.0
Yorkville
15.7
Hammondsville 40.4
Irondale .. 21.6
PITTSBURGH & STEUBENVILLE RAILROAD.
While the completion of the S. & 1. and C. & P. roads gave a rail connection prac- tically to all the main systems of the coun- try, yet before either of these was in opera- tion a direct eastern ontlet was in contem plation. A glance at the map shows Pitts- burgh to be almost due east of Stenben- ville, thirty-six miles distant by the old pike, while it is seventy miles by water and sixty-eight miles by the C. & P. road, which makes a large semi-circle, following mainly the windings of the stream. To follow the chord instead of the circumfer- ence of the circle appealed at once to one's business instinet, notwithstanding the greater engineering difficulties, and as it turned out the latter were far from being the greatest troubles in the way. So in 1847 a petition was presented to the Vir- ginia Legislature for the right to build a railroad from the Ohio River opposite Steubenville across the "Pan Handle," as the narrow strip between Pennsylvania and
Ohio is called. But Wheeling had already secured the National Pike at a greatly in- creased cost to the Government, and the Baltimore & Ohio road was coming its way. and it did not propose having any rival line to the north if it could help it. So the application was defeated, as was a similar application each year up to 1852. In the meantime, on March 24, 1849, the Pennsylvania Legislature granted a char- ter for the Pittsburgh & Steubenville Rail- road Company, authorizing the construc- tion of a track commencing on the Monon- gahela River, near Pittsburgh, and running in the direction of Steubenville, to a point on the Virginia state line. A supplemental art of April 21, 1852, authorized an exten- sion of the road into the city of Pittsburgh, making immediate connection with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Work was begun on this line in Jime. 1852, but compara- tively little was done, as six miles of the "sovereign" state of Virginin stood in the way, more impassable than the Alps or the Himalayas, and over thirteen years were to elapse before it could be overcome Among those in the Virginia Legislature at this time were Nathaniel Wells, whose home was on the river directly opposite Steubenville, who advocated granting of the right of way on the unanswerable proposition that no man or men should be debarred by legislation from making im- provements "over their own lands with their own money," especially in the ab- sence of any statute to the contrary. The opposition was led by Charles W. Russell. hend of the Wheeling bur, if not of the state, and while the railroad advocates had the argument the other side had the votes, and the Pan Handle people received no favor, even when the project was burdened with a condition that the company should build and operate a branch to Wellsburg at its own expense. The ontcome of this was a migne experiment in railroad build. ing. Despairing of accomplishing their end in the ordinary way Mr. Wells and Jesse Edgington, a large land owner in Holliday's Cove, in July. 1853, undertook
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to build these six miles of road as a private enterprise, purchasing in fee simple from the land owners a strip of land 100 feet wide from the river to the Peunsylvania live. The construction contract was given to George W. Geary, afterward governor of Kansas, a general in the Civil War and governor of Pennsylvania. Capt. T. K. MeCann, of Steubenville, was his assist- ant. As may be supposed the opposition was not idle. It was declared that such a road would injure the city of Wheeling and vital interests of the state, and the B. & O). men alleged that it would assist their great competitor, the Pennsylvania Central, and inaugurated the Hempfield railroad project to reach Pittsburgh via Washington, which was completed many years after. it should be noted that the Pennsylvania Railroad through its legislature manifested quite as much industry iu keeping the B. & O. out of Pennsylvania as did the latter in keeping its competitor out of Virginia. It was a phase of "war between the states" without regard to the interests of the people living along the proposed lines. The outrageous conduct of Messrs. Edgington and Wells (backed, as alleged, by foreign corporations) in attempting to override the authority of the State, spelled with a capital S, by making and operating a rail- road without waiting for a charter-a thing hitherto unheard of-was berated and reiterated in the ears of the State Sov- ereignty advocates with all the effect pos- sible. It was suggested that the work be stopped by legal proceedings, but as no- body could find any law or precedent for preventing a man digging on his own ground and laying a track thereon, this was reluctantly abandoned. Efforts were made through the press to create hostility to the enterprise, followed by ridicule, and the project was derided as a "One-horse Railroad, commeucing nowhere and end- ing in the woods." During the fall of 1853 the governor directed the attorney- general to file in the Ohio County Court a bill of injuuction commanding the con- tractor to stop work. The defendants re-
sponded to the summons, but the state failed to put in an appearance and the bill was dismissed. Joseph Johnson was gov- ernor when the case came on for hearing and it was thought he was not in sympathy with what was clearly a game of bluff. The prosecuting attorney for Brooke County, N. W. White, under instructions, brought suit against the builders of the road for conspiring to do something not provided for by the laws of the state, but this curious piece of legal ingennity met the fate of its predecessors. Finally op- ponents of the measure in their despera- tion introduced a bill into the legislature making it a felony, punishable by fine and imprisonment in the penitentiary for any person or persons, without a grant of right of way by the legislature, to build a railroad within the limits of the state. Edgington, Wells and others interested went to Richmond and represented that as to them such a law would be ex post facto, and consequently null and void, their road being now nearly completed. Whether de- terred by the formidable Latin phrase or a still lingering respect for the Consti- tution of the United States, the legislators failed to pass the bill. It was then pro- posed to send militia to stop the work, but as it could not be shown that any law had heen violated or anybody's rights in- fringed, this proposition was laughed down. The conclusion of the whole matter is thus related by J. S. Jacob in his inter- esting history of Brooke County:
"Extra efforts were made to get the ties down and rails and a locomotive on the track, and on the 4th of July, 1854, in re- sponse to invitation, a large delegation, mainly of young folks, from Wellsburg and the region around it, 150 or 200 in num- ber, embarked on the "Viroqua." the Steubenville and Wheeling boat, and land- ing a short distance below what is now our present "junction," took passage on the "cars" of the first train that over passed over the Virginia portion of the present Pan Handle Railroad. The jaunt was in charge of Capt. T. K. McCann, condue-
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tor and boss generally, and the six miles were traversed with safety to all concerned, although more than once the locomotive had to be assisted on the rails and the track was by no means fit for steady travel. The train got through successfully to the Penn- sylvania line, a public dinner was served, speeches were made, the young folks danced and flirted, and all had a pleasant time, and the return trip was made in like satisfactory manner. After this the loco- motive and tracks were used for construc- tion purposes and an effort was made to do some way business; but the latter being small and financial difficulties overtaking the company, they soon ceased, the rolling stock was shipped away and after awhile the iron itself of the track was taken up and the road for the time being abandoned. Those having it in charge, however, accom- plished a point they desired to make, which was to actually construet and work a rail- road over the line as a private enterprise and withont the formality of a state right of way. This point gained, fortified them for a legal fight for regular right of way and gave them, de jure, vested rights in the premises, as well as the right de facto."
Passengers crossing the Pan Handle bridge can see, if they glance down on the bottom lands to the right, an old passenger car almost concealed by foliage and sheds built against it, the original and only pas- senger car used on this primitive line. The trneks have been removed and it is used as a dwelling, resting directly on the ground. A few steps beyond is the wreck of the old Pan Handle House, which house was once used as a tavern and terminal station, while the outline of the old roadbed which passes under the Pan Handle dump to the left np Harmon's Creek can be discerned for some distance until it is merged into the present road hed. It was not surpris- ing that the road did not pay as there was no bridge into Steubenville, and not a vil- lage except Holliday's Cove on the line, the only surprise is that the road was actually kept in operation under such conditions.
Work of construction on the Stenbenville
bridge was begun in 1857, and the west abutment and several piers were con- structed when the depression following the panic of that year put a stop to operations. From 1854 to 1860 there were a few spas- modic efforts, and finally on March 30th of that year the Virginia Legislature incor- porated "The Holliday's Cove Railroad Company" for the purpose of constructing a road from the Pennsylvania state line to or near the city of Steubenville which took up the abandoned road bed of Wells and Edgington. Directors were elected on May 26th, being composed of Thomas S. ('lark, President ; Isaac Jones, Thomas A. Scott, J. Edgar Thompson and Edmund Smith; JJoseph D. Potis, Secretary. Work was soon afterwards begun on the whole line as well as on the river bridge by a separate company which afterwards charged ten cents for every passenger car- ried across. It was built of iron of the Howe truss pattern, consisting of eight spans, seven of 232 feet each, and a channel span of 312, the total length including abut- ments being 2,060 feet. The under side of the channel span was 9516 feet above low water mark which height was increased several years ago by about four feet when the present steel double-track superstrue- ture was built. The latter is now being re- placed by a still stronger bridge to with- stand the weight of larger engines and heavier traffic. The Civil War coming on work of construction wns slow, and it was not until October, 1865, that the first train went through to Pittsburgh. In the mean- time the Steubenville & Indiana Railroad had extended its track from Washington street yard through the north end of the city to the west end of the river bridge, and arrangements were made for operating the entire line from Pittsburgh to Columbus under one management under the name of the Pittsburgh, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad although there never was any act- nal railroad of that name. The handsome dwelling of William Dreunen on North street, which had been purchased while acquiring the eastern ontlet was converted
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into general offices, and although the ma- chine shops were removed to Dennison, O., the car shops were enlarged, and the city became quite a railroad centre. A new freight slied with offices had been erected on the east side of the track on Washing- ton street and this was also used as a tem- porary passenger station, succeeded by a small frame structure on North street. It will thus be seen that no less than four cor- porations owned the line from Columbus to Pittsburgh, namely, the S. & 1., the Bridge Co., H. C. R. R. Co., and P. & S. Co. The latter became involved, and on November 6, 1867, its property was sold under a foreclosure decree to parties who on December 28, 1867 organized a new cor- poration under the name Pan Handle Rail- way Co. But a new arrangement was necessary, and in May, 1868, the Pan Han- dle Railway co., of Pennsylvania, the Hol- liday's Cove Railroad Co. of West Vir- ginia, and the Steubenville & Indiana Rail- road Co., consolidated under the name of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad Co., which acquired the bridge rights and formed a through line from Pittsburgh to Columbus, one hundred and ninety-three miles under one management with an 8 mile branch to Cadiz. The new company organized by the election of Thomas L. Jewett, president ; George B. Roberts, Vice- president ; Justin G. Morris, secretary and treasurer; A. J. MeDowell, anditor ; W. W. Card, superintendent; M. J. Becker, en- gineer; S. F. Scull, general ticket agent; James Means, general freight agent ; George D. Whitcomb, supply agent, all resi- dents of Steubenville, except Mr. Roberts. Mr. Jewett who had been also receiver of the S. & I. road from 1859 to 1865 was suc- ceeded sometime after this by Thomas A. Scott, of the Pennsylvania railroad, and the general offices were then removed to Pittsburgh. The shed on North street an- swered the purpose of a makeshift pas- senger station until after the consolidation referred to when considerable land was purchased between Market and Wash- ington streets and one of the brick dwell-
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