USA > Ohio > Jefferson County > Steubenville > Century History of Steubenville and Jefferson County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, 20th > Part 41
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In 1900 owing to greatly increased busi- ness, it again became necessary to enlarge the manufacturing capacity and a fourth furnace was bnilt containing fourteen pots. This was placed in a building erected ex- pressly for the purpose. In 1901 the pres- ent corporation, Gill Brothers Company, was organized succeeding the firm, and is officered by James W. Gill, president; J. L. Holton, vice-president : Henry B. Grier, secretary, and James Hogan, treasurer. Since that time the growth of business has made further enlargements necessary, and in 1904 the Toronto Glass Works was built and has since then been in constant oper- ation, the entire product of both factories being disposed of as fast as it is made. The goods manufactured consist exclusively of lamp chimneys, latern globes, silvered glass reflectors and electrical glass-ware.
By constant experiments made by ex-
The Steubenville Flint Glass Bottle Com- pany was organized in 1882 by Henry P. Schnellbach, Valentine Rummel and sev- eral others. They purchased a tract front- ing on Seventh street between North and Logan, and built a factory with a ten-pot furnace. Three years after the concern was sold to The Sumner Glass Company, a cooperative organization made up of glass blowers from Sharpsburg, Pa. They erected an additional twelve-pot furnace and continued the manufacture of flint glass bottles for a number of years after which the works lay idle for awhile. In 1903 the Jefferson Glass Company was in- corporated with a capital of $50,000 and mirchased the establishment and enlarged its facilities, especially by the construction of the dry tank. They went into the manu- facture of crystal, colored and opalescent table ware, lemonade sets and novelties decorated in gold and enamel. By 1907 their business had increased to such an ex- tent as to require additional room, which not being obtainable in the city they moved over to Follanshee where they have erected a main building 230x360 feet and employ 300 men. The city works were leased to the Imperial Glass Company, of Beaver Falls, Pa., which occupied them until their de. strnetion by fire in 1908. The ground is
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now ocenpied by the Mosel-Johnson whole- sale Grocery, Fitzimmons Lumber Com- pany aud Alexander Storage Company.
William J. Fox, of Pittsburgh, who came here in 1884, built a small establishment on Slack street at the P. C. & St. L. crossing for the manufacture of blown glassware. At his death the plant was sold to a con- pany headed by Alexander Humphrey, from whom it took the name of Humphrey Glass works. In June, 1897, it was again sold to S. G. Robinson and W. T. Garrett, of Martin's Ferry under the name of The Steubenville Glass works. They remodeled the works and added a tank furnace to the nine-pot furuace already there. They turned out blown table and bar glassware and employed a hundred hands. They fin- ally gave up the business however, and the plant was operated for a while as a decorat- ing factory, the ware being purchased else- where. After that it was purchased by The Steubenville Marbles Company for the manufacture of glass marbles. The com- pany turned out enough glass balls to sup- ply, it would seem, every boy in the eoun- try, but the enterprise was not a financial success. The buildings are now occupied by the Union Lumber Company.
Charles Henderson and others in 1880 organized the Brilliant Glass Company and built a factory at what was then Lagrange. Iu a couple of years it was entirely de- stroyed by fire but was soou rebuilt. It passed through various hands making a good grade of tableware, and finally turn- ing out a beautiful line of work, the prod- uet of French artists. The fire fiend again devoured it in 1895, and this time it was not rebuilt. In the latter part of 1904, N. HI. McGee and W. E. Deiters formed a cor- poration under the name of McGee, Deiters Glass Company, and built a plant at Bril- liant for the manufacture of fine decorated ware and especially ruby lantern globes. A good trade was carried on but insufficient capital necessitated the appointment of B. W. Mettenberger, as receiver, early in 1909. Mr. Mettenberger and others are now oper- ating the plant.
OTHER INDUSTRIES.
Among the earliest of the city mauu- factories, and the only one with the excep- tion of the Means foundry which has had a continuons existence from previous to 1815 to the present day, was the Clinton Paper Mill established on the river bank at the north end of the city in 1813 by Seott and Bayless. They were succeeded by Henry Holdship, Holdship & Hanna, James Turn- bull and Hanna Brothers, who conducted operations during the Civil War, who also had a mill for the manufacture of brown wrapping paper on the opposite side of the river which burned down finally The Clinton mill was entirely destroyed by fire in the fifties, but was rebuilt larger and better than ever. After the war it was run by a corporation under the name of Pitts- burgh Paper Manufacturing Company, and was then purchased by A. Hartje, of Pitts- burgh, who had it for several years. At his death it was taken by his sons who still operate it under the name of Hartje Bros. Repeated enlargements have made it one of the most extensive mills in the country. It has run with remarkable steadiness day and night, employing some 200 hands. The product is news print, wrapping paper, straw and pulp board, with a capacity of over one hundred tans per day. The larg- est roll of paper in the world has been turned out here, being fourteen miles in length and weighing over 2,700 pounds.
About the year 1800 Bezaleel Wells en- gaged in the production of copperas on the stream which bears his name at the south end of the city, afterwards having in part- nership a German named Augustine Koelb. This concern operated until 1843, the sulp- linr water from coal banks being utilized in its manufacture. About 1830-35, John Fisher went into the same business, in which he was succeeded by his son, these plants running many years, and making as high as 1,500 barrels a season. Benjamin .Jolmson had the last copperas works west of the city, and when he died the business died with him.
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James Turnbull conducted a book bind- ery and blank book manufactory as early as 1816, and also published some books. He was followed by A. I .. Frazier, Alexander McDowell, Jolm Mills, W. R. Allison, P. B. Conn, Slack & Way, Sprague & Carna- han, The Herald Publishing & Printing Companies, A. Niederhuber and H. C. Cook Company.
Dr. MeDowell in 1818-20 raised Castor beans in large quantities, and built a castor oil factory near Stony Hollow, but finding the frost came too early, cutting off the beans before they matured, the enterprise was abandoned.
Incidentally the boatyard of Elijah Mur- ray above Washington street has been men- tioned in connection with the steamboats built there. Starting in 1819, it was one of the town's most important industries until 1832, when the buildings were de- troyed by fire, which has certainly worked havoc among Steubenville's industries. David Cable and James MeKinney subse- quently built a sawmill on the same prem- ises, afterwards adding a planing-mill. They were sneceeded by Robert and George Mckinney, and in 1867 it was burned to the ground, being set on fire, as it was claimed, by sparks from a C. & P. locomo- tive. After several years of litigation a judgment of $20,000 was recovered against the railroad company. The mill was re- built in 1869 by George MeKinney, with Jolm Tweed as partner in the lumber busi- ness, the latter being succeeded by A. J. MeCray until about 1873 when the Econ- omy Society purchased the property. It was afterwards sold to Charles Staples who carried on quite a business in the way of building barges for coal and sand. The mill was operated a while by John Scott, and then used by parties named Lappe for a hide warehouse. Subsequently it was acquired by Wagner & Henser who made a specialty of cutting up walnut logs and shipping the product to Europe. On the organization of the Steubenville Electric Light Company in 1886 it was used as a power plant until the erection of their
building on lower North street. As men- tioned elsewhere George Mckinney also ran a planing-mill on South Seventh street which passed to Lewis Anderson about 1860, and is now the site of the wall paper factory.
A cotton wadding factory was operated by B. D. and O. A. Worthington at the cor- ner of Market and Liberty Streets during the fiftys, and afterwards a two-story frame establishment was built at the cor- ner of South Street and S. & I. Railroad. Refuse from the manufacture of cotton goods was used as raw material, and as this was difficult to procure during the Civil War, the concern ceased to be profitable, and its operation uncertain. The structure was finally destroyed by fire, and the site afterwards procured by the Steubenville Pottery Company.
John McFeely & Company built a plan- ing-mill in 1867 on outlot 15 between Mar- ket and Washington streets west of Sev- enth, which, after running there for five years, was moved to the corner of Seventh and Washington and was operated there- after until 1877, when it was converted into the California flonr-mill.
Benjamin Travis built a frame planing- mill on South Seventh street directly oppo- site the Anderson mill in 1868-69. It was burned a couple of years after, but was soon replaced by a substantial brick strne- ture, which was afterwards purchased by Robert Hyde who enlarged the same. At his death it was purchased by Joseph Me- Feely & Company, afterwards McFeely Brothers, whose increasing business re- quired them to add to it the old MeDevitt mill property, giving them the largest plant of the kind in the city, facing on three streets. C. Massey had a planing-mill on Sonth Sixth street afterwards MeDowell. The Cavitt mill was located on North Third, site of Red Lion and Fourth Ward House. J. C. Fitzimmons Lumber Company, origi- nally located on North Third has just com- pleted a new mill on North Seventh.
J. O. Goodlin & Son and Guy Johnson & Son operated planing mills in Toronto.
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Frank Shane had a boatyard at Empire, and Moses Campbell a saw-mill.
Dr. Benjamin Tappan started a chemical works in the lower end of Steubenville in 1831, which he sold three years later to Alexander, son of Bezaleel Wells and an English chemist named Simmons. They manufactured Prussian blue, acids, cop- peras, etc., for several years. In 1877, W. D. MeLanghlin and W. A. Long converted the old Wells saw-mill at the month of Fairy Glen across the river into a factory, of which bone fertilizers were the leading product.
Frederick Misselwitz, a German, started a snap factory on Water street near Adams in 1838. He was successful, but used up his profits in a western speculation, re- turning in a couple of years and reopening business at the old stand with John Sellers as partner, they operated two years longer. Misselwitz then moved to the site of the present Odd Fellows building on North Fourth street, and began business there in 1846. Christopher Hineman learned the business with him here, and J W. Mandel came in as a partner, during which time they bought a lot further north where the Masonic building now stands, and erected a frame building. Mandel retired in a cou- ple of years, and A. H. Dohrman came in who only remained abont the same length of time. In the meantime Sellers had been conducting a snecessful business at the old stand on Water street and Misselwitz went back there, the two going into the mann- facture of soda ash. Mr. Hineman acquired the Fourth street property and Mandel, who resided immediately north, again came in. They remained together about twelve years or until 1862, when they dissolved. During this time a branch was run on South Fifth street. George M. Cummins then is- came a partner and remained until 1870, when Hineman took the business himself and was succeeded by his son until the property was soll to Mr. Floto.
Wyatt's steam dye works were started about 1835 and operated for half a century or more. Murphy's carriage factory was
started about the same time on Third, then moved to north west corner of Fourth and Washington streets, then to Fifth between Washington and Market, where it remained until after the death of the proprietor. Clark & Curfman established a second fac- tory on Market Square in 1866, which was operated for abont forty years. Muldoon & Company established marble works in 1856, on north side of Market just west of Fourth, succeeded by Evans & Irwin and by J. H. Bristor. They are now conducted by Archer Brothers on npper Market. A similar establishment was started on South Fourth street in 1843, acquired by George Swords in 1864, and now conducted by his son. Mr. Corn has an establishment where stood the original plant. J. C. Huff and his son Richard, succeeded to the Murphy car- riage works, and subsequently James Workman and son who have a large plant on the east side of the street. William Demnead condneted a brass foundry on Washington street for several years be- gining with 1864 on site of Second Pres- byterian church, and subsequently at his residence property on North Seventh street. As far back as 1830, John Odbert had a hat factory on North Third street, and after the water works started, opened a plumbing shop. Later J. G. Davidson had one on Fourth street just above Market.
John Orr had a chair factory in 1830, in a frame building on the corner of Market street and Alley D between Fifth and Sixth, which was run by a tramp wheel. William Robertson had one at the same time on the same street below the present W. & L. E. R. R. track. Smuel Sproml had one on Third street below Market, present site of Burgoyne's drugstore. Joseph Walker had a saddler shop next door, and Frank Os- borne had a similar one a block farther north on same street.
George Pearce opened an establishment on Sonth Fourth street adjoining St. Paul's church lot in 1855, which developed into a large furniture factory. It was burned in 1872. but was rebuilt larger than ever and carried on by his sons and son-in-law, Mr.
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Caswell. Subsequently the plant was con- verted into a manufactory of telephone booths and boxes, which was a financial failure, and the property is now the Alex- ander storage house.
About 1873, M. Hayes built a cider vin- egar manufactory in the rear of his resi- dence on North Fourth street, with a ca- pacity of 1,000 barrels per year, which he carried on during his lifetime. About the same time other parties conducted a match factory at the corner of Centre avenue and Alley D.
Edward Winning and Mr. Smallwood about the year 1876 purchased a tract of 255x120 near the Jefferson Iron Works and built a keg factory which found a mar- ket at its door. Mr. Smallwood retired in 1877, but Mr. Winning continued in busi- ness here until the erection of the Spauld- ing works at Brilliant when he removed to the latter place and remained several years. He also had a machine shop and dry kiln, giving employment to twenty men, his establishments being among the largest of the kind in the state. There was also a keg factory at Mingo.
James Young, of Glasgow, appears to have been the discoverer that kerosene, the best oil illuminant known up to that time, could be produced in paying quantities from the distillation of cannel coal, and by 1854 it had become an article of commerce in Eng- land. In June of that year the first works in America were built on Long Island, op- posite New York City, to be operated under Mr. Young's patent with coal brought from Nova Scotia and other distant points. It happened that soon after the Market street shaft began regular operations in 1858, it was discovered to contain pockets of fine cannel coal which came out in nice clean blocks. This was a suggestion to our lo- cal people. John Orr and others forthwith formed a company under the leadership of Mr. Fulton, master mechanic of the S. & I. R. R. and built a factory for the manu- facture of kerosene, then generally called carbon or coal oil, near Stony Hollow, on what is now the Riverside furnace prop-
erty. The production was satisfactory and the works a success. In the meantime, however, natural petroleum was discovered in Pennsylvania, and it was soon recog- nized that competition with nature's labo- ratory was out of the question. The next best thing to do was to convert the fac- tory into a refinery, which operated stead- ily for some months when it caught fire and was burned down. In 1869, John Orr and E. F. Andrews built a refinery below the Jefferson Iron Works. It was operated un- til 1876 when it was purchased by the Standard Oil Company, and of course, closed down. A tract of land south of the Mingo Iron Works property was purchased by Matthew Hodkinson in the latter part of 1869, and a refinery pnt in operation the following year. He was succeeded by his son, Samuel Hodkinson, and quite a busi- ness was carried on here for several years, but the Standard competition was too strong and a planing-mill and keg factory were started on the premises which remained un- til the property was absorbed by the iron- works. Harry Risher conducted the plan- ing-mill here.
Previous to the general use of petroleum there was a manufactory at Hammonds- ville for the production of oil from cannel coal.
In 1899 a company was organized in Tor- onto for the manufacture of shoes under the leadership of John Burger, a practical manufacturer. A substantial brick build- ing, two stories high was erected, and the plant began operations on August 1, 1899, with an output of 350 pairs of shoes per day. The latest improved machinery was in use, but for some reason the works failed to prosper, and the building was con- verted into a glass decorating works, which operated only a short time.
The uncertainty of the natural ice sup- ply in the Ohio Valley, especially during and after a mild winter naturally directed attention to the production of artificial ice. Accordingly in March, 1891, a number of Stenbenville and Cincinnati people organ- ized The Stenbenville Ice Manufacturing
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and Cold Storage Company with a capital stock of $75,000. It purchased the Means property west of the Pan Handle railway tracks between Market and Washington streets for $12,000. A long brick building which had been used in connection with the railroad car shops, and subsequently as a cooperative nail factory, was converted in- to a cold storage house, and immediately north was erected a large ice manufactory containing the latest improved machinery. The company made an assignment in 1894, and the property was purchased by the Miners' & Mechanies' Bank which on Feb- ruary 10, 1896, sold the same to George and James Koehnline. They immediately went to work spending $15,000 in changing from the plate to the can system, making blocks of a more manageable size and in- augurating other improvements. On May 10, 1897, a public opening was held and nearly 4,000 people visited the works. In the meantime the Ohio Valley Ice & Cold Storage Company had been organized, and built a mammoth brick structure at Tor- onto, with a cold storage house and a ca- pacity of 40 tons per day. In the early part of 1899 this company purchased the Steu- benville plant, more than doubling its out- put. Both plants were operated under this organization for a year or two when the Steubenville factory caught fire and burned down. The house was rebuilt, but only used
for storage purposes, ice being supplied from the Toronto plant alone. Two new ice factories were built in 1909, one by Eli Castner and others south of the Steuben- ville paper-mill, and the other by John Yocum on his natural ice farm near the month of Wills Creek. Martin & Brown have a natural ice plant farther up the same creek, so there seems to be no danger of this community suffering from what has come to be considered one of the neces- saries of life.
The State Dye Works, Mahan & Nichol- son Laundry once burned down and re built, J. C. Butte Laundry and Star Laun dry of Steubenville are contributing their share to the local industries.
Two things are noticed in connection with Jefferson County's resources and indus- tries. First the variety and inexhaustible quantity of the former, and second the en- terprise of the people in utilizing those resources, despite the almost unexampled ravages of fire, panic and business depres- sion. We doubt if any other community can produce such a record, and it is a satisfaction that at no time in the country's chequered history have its industrial en- terprises been so prosperous or apparently resting on a more secure foundation. It is hoped that this condition of affairs will long continue.
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CHAPTER XVIII
THE PRESS
A Long and Honorable History- Close Relation to National Events-Numerous Array of Publications.
If the spirit and intelligence of a com- munity is to be gauged by the character of its newspapers, Jefferson County will not suffer by any comparison which can be brought. It not only claims to have the oldest newspaper in the state in the order of continuous publication, but its journals generally have had an influence consid- erably beyond its own borders. The diffi- culties attendant upon starting and con- ducting a newspaper west of the mountains at the beginning of the nineteenth century, can hardly be overestimated. The expense of the long cartage made the first cost of the plant out of proportion to its value as a revenue producer, and the price of paper and other necessary stock was calculated to absorb pretty much all the current re- ceipts. Facilities for news gathering did not exist, local matters were not regarded as of special importance, and foreign in- telligence was weeks old when it arrived by the slow process of mail. The population of Steubenville in 1806 probably did not ex- ceed 500, and the rural population was ex- ceedingly sparse. Undeterred by these drawbacks there came to Steubenville at the beginning of the century William Lowry and John Miller from Berkely Coun- ty, Virginia. They were brothers-in-law, Lowry having married Miller's sister, and both were men of considerable prominence, possessing more then average ability and
force of character. Miller inherited a little one-story frame building on the east side of Third street above Washington where Turner Hall now stands, from where in January, 1806, the first number of the Western Herald was issued. Miller did not remain long with the paper, and when the conflict of 1812, which had been so long portending, broke out, he joined the volun- teer forces against the British, and after- wards became a member of the regular army. For distinguished services at Fort Meigs he was promoted to a colonelcy. Af- ter the war he received the appointment of register of lands in the territory of Mis- souri and became the second governor of that territory. Many years after, when it was decided to place two statues of Mis- souri's prominent men in the capitol at Washington, a factor in determining the choice of a sculptor was that one of the competitors was a great nephew of Gover- nor Miller, Alexander Doyle, of New York, to whom the work was awarded.
In the meantime, the paper was con- ducted by Lowry at the old location, he occupying the brick dwelling on the south, still standing, as a residence until the sale of the establishment to James Wilson in 1815. During his career he filled other positions, having been elected a justice of the peace during the War of 1812, and was a member of the lower house of the legis-
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lature in 1823-24, and of the state senate in 1825-26.
Mr. Lowry was also a civil engineer, and surveyed the first road from Steubenville to Alikana, then known as Speakersburg, a regularly platted hamlet with a hotel, now occupied as the Castner residence. He died in 1843, leaving among his daughters, Mrs. Alexander Doyle, and the second Mrs. John Copeland, descendants of whom, Will- iam Wilkin, Mrs. J. W. Evans and Mrs. M. J. Urquhart, still reside here. His other children removed from Steubenville at an early date.
The little office building which has be- come historic, was occupied as a school honse by Delle Hunt in 1828, and subse- quently by John Dudley, whom some of our old citizens will remember, not only as a thorough teacher but a strict disciplinarian. The house was demolished to make way for Turner Hall in 1881, and the view here- with published was photographed at that time.
Mr. Lowry retired from the Herald in 1815, and was sneceeded by James Wilson, of Philadelphia, who seems to have been influenced by JJudge Wright to come out here. The paper remained in his family for 30 years, during which it was declared to have "flopped" from the Democratic to the Whig party, afterwards the Repub- lican. The faet was it simply followed its old traditions in favor of the Adams wing of the party against the high-handed pro- ceedings of Andrew Jackson, in which it had the authority of Jefferson and other Democratie leaders. A full review of this period by the present writer will be found in the Centennial number of the Herald, from which we take the following :
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