USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Columbus, Ohio, city directory.. 1843-4 > Part 3
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At the session of the Legislature of 1832-33, the Columbus Insurance Company was incorporated.
And at the session of 1833-34, the "Clinton Bank of Columbus" was chartered, and in October, 1834, the first board of directors were elected, and were as follows: William Neil, Christopher Neiswanger, Da- vid W. Deshler, Demas Adams, John Patterson, Jesse Stone, Noal: H. Swayne, Joseph Ridgway, Sr., Bela Latham, William S. Sullivant, William Miner, O. W.
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Sherwood, and Nathaniel Medbery. William Neil was elected President, and John Delafield, Jr., Cashier. Neil still continues President; Delafield was succeeded as Cashier, by John E. Jeffords, and Jeffords by D. W. Deshler.
The Theatre was erected in the fall of 1835, and opened with a corps of dramatic performers in the winter following, under the management of Messrs. Dean & Mckinney, and has been occupied during the winter seasons, under different managers, until about the year 1841, since which time it has been closed; and this spring, (1843,) M. J. Gilbert Esq., purchased the building, repaired and remodeled it; and it is now known as the "City Hall."
On the 17th of March, 1838, the Mechanics' Sa- vings Institution was incorporated.
Although Columbus possesses a liberal amount of wealth, and of money-making talent, the attention of our capitalists has never been much turned towards manufacturing; but more directed to speculating upon the productions of others, by buying, selling, &c., than to CREATING new or additional wealth. Some ef- forts, however, have been made, which have generally failed, for want of capital or skill. Of mills and man- ufactories, further than the common branches of me- chanism, we have nothing to boast. The first mill erected within our present city limits, was a sawmill, on the Scioto, some ten or fifteen rods below the New Penitentiary, in 1813, by John Shields. It passed
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through several hands in a few years; was considered a good property, but soon fell to ruin; and for the last twelve or fifteen years not a vestige of its re- mains has been perceivable. About the year 1816, the same John Shields erected a flouring mill on the run at the southwest corner of the town, some ten or twelve rods west of the present distillery. The water was brought from where Mr. Peters' tanyard now is, in a race along the side of the bank, and let on to an over-shot wheel. This mill, after standing some twelve or fifteen years, and being owned in suc-
1 cession by several individuals, was suffered to go to ruin.
About the year 1820, Col. Jewett and others, erect- ed on the Scioto, west of his white frame house, and a few rods above Dr. Parsons' warehouse, a sawmill, upon a new patent plan. The saw was circular, and was to cut constantly ahead, without any back strokes. It was an experiment, and cost them a good deal, without ever answering any valuable purpose. About the year 1821, Col. Jewett commenced the manufactory of cotton-yarn, by horse power, in a frame building on Front street, where Squire Cherry's three story house now stands; and after experiment- ing with that some time, and also with the circular saw in the mill, he removed his spinning machinery into the mill, where he carried on the spinning a few years, by water power; but finally abandoned the whole; and there now remains not a vestige of the
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building to show where it stood. The frame on Front street, where he first commenced the cotton spinning, was for many years known as "the Old Factory."
About the year '21 or '22, a woolen factory for carding, spinning and weaving, was commenced by Ebenezer Thomas, and others, on the west end of the lot now occupied by S. C. Andrews, Esq. It passed through the hands of different owners, without profit to any; and some half dozen years ago, the building was removed, and the machinery sold out by piece- meal, under the hammer; and so ended that manu-/ facturing establishment.
About the year 1831 or '32, John McElvain erected a steam sawmill by the canal, where Hunter's ware- house lately stood. It was carried on by different persons, (it is believed, without much profit,) for some seven or eight years, when the engine and machinery were disposed of, and the warehouse erected over it; the mill frame answering as part of the warehouse.
Our only successful establishments in the manufac- turing line, other than common mechanics' shops, are the founderies of the Messrs. Ridgways, and of the Messrs. Gills & McCune; the former commenced over twenty years ago, the latter some five or six years. Such establishments are not only profitable to the owners, but beneficial to the laborer, and cred- itable to the city.
In the fall of 1841, or winter following, Mr. Con- verse converted the brick warehouse formerly known as Doherty & Leiby's warehouse, into a flouring
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mill, with four run of burs. How it may succeed, "let time and chance determine."
January 26, 1838, the Legislature passed an act providing for the erection of a new State House, on the public square, in Columbus; and in pursuance of said act, Joseph Ridgway, Jr., of Columbus; Wm. A. Adams, of Zanesville, and William B. Van Hook, of Butler county, were, by joint resolution, appointed commissioners for carrying the law into effect. They were required to give notice in certain newspapers, and offer a premium of five hundred dollars for the best plan, to be approved by the Legislature, upon which said State House should be erected. A num- ber of plans were furnished by various competitors, for the premium; and Henry Walters, of Cincinnati, received the premium, though his plan was not adopted; but from the various plans furnished, the commissioners formed and adopted one, somewhat different from any of the plans presented.
In the spring of 1839, the commissioners appointed Wm. B. Van Hook, one of their own body, superin- tendent of the work. The high board fence, at pre- sent, standing around the square, was put up, and a good work shop erected on the square, and other pre- parations made for working the convicts within the inclosure, in the cutting of stone, &c. Stone were obtained at Sullivant's limestone quarry, and a vast quantity soon delivered in the inclosure. And on the 4th of July, 1839, amidst a suitable celebration, the
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corner stone of a large and very permanent founda- tion, was laid, and the foundation subsequently raised to a level with the earth, when the inclemency of winter stopped the work, as was supposed, until the succeeding spring. But during the session of 1839- 40, after the Legislature's investigation of certain charges against Wm. B. Lloyd, member from Cuya- hoga county, a friend of Mr. Lloyd's drew up the fol- lowing statement of confidence, &c., in said Lloyd:
4 "COLUMBUS, Feb. 13, 1840. "WM. B. LLOYD, Esq .:
"Dear Sir :- The undersigned, convinced, beyond doubt, that the charge lately circulated against your- self, is totally unsustained by the testimony relating to the matter, and the act charged, one of which it is impossible you should be guilty, beg leave, re- spectfully, to assure you of our undiminished confi- dence in the integrity of your character, and to ex- press to you our sincerest wishes for your future hap- piness and prosperity."
Which was signed by sixty three citizens, princi- pally young men of Columbus, as papers of the kind are generally signed, more through compliance to the wishes of the individual who presents the paper, than any thing else. And this note, unexpectedly to many, at least of the signers, appeared in the Ohio State Journal of the 17th of February, with all the signers' names appended. This publication gave offence to many members of the legislature who had voted to
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censure Lloyd, as it was considered by them an un- justifiable intermedling of the citizens with the doings of the legislature; and under this excited feeling, on the 18th of February, Mr. Flood, member from Lick- ing, introduced a bill into the Lower House to repeal the act providing for the erection of the new State House, which was finally passed, and became a law, on the 10th of March, 1840. . And thus ended the contemplated edifice that was to have been an orna- ment, not only to Columbus, but to the state of Ohio. The whole cost, as far as the preparations and work had progressed, appears to be $41,585 22. Though this is not all lost to the state, as the stone are now about being removed, under a resolution of the last legislature, to the Lunatic Asylum, to be used in the extension of that institution.
From the time of the repeal of the law for the erection of a new State House, the subject of a re- moval of the seat of government from Columbus, became agitated, and at the last session of the legisla -. ture, a committee was appointed on that subject, who being divided in opinion, or perhaps in interest, made a majority and a minority report. The majority as- sumed as a first ground, that the legislature cannot pass an act for the removal of the seat of govern- ment from its present location, without a violation of the faith of the state; and the arguments of the two reports are principally confined to that proposition, and being probably, the best that can be adduced, they are here given. The majority say, that, "with
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a view of arriving at a correct conclusion in regard " to this proposition, a majority of the committee have made a thorough examination of the action of the Legislature of the State, previous to the passage of an act entitled "an act fixing and establishing the permanent and temporary seats of government of the State," passed February 14, 1812. They have made this examination for the double purpose of en- abling them to give a correct construction to the pro- visions of that act, independent of all foreign consid- erations, and, also, to ascertain, if they could, the un- derstanding of all parties, interested, at the time of the passage of the law; and this for the reason that it may be thought, by some, that the provisions of the law came in collision with the agreement of the par- ties, and that should a removal be made, it must be in direct violation of one or the other.
"The first action of the Legislature, which it is deemed necessary to notice, in order to arrive at a correct conclusion in regard to this subject, is the passage of an act entitled "an act for fixing the per- manent seat of government," passsed by the House of Representatives, on the 23d day of January, A. D., 1811. This bill was, on the same day, sent to the Senate, and there ordered to a second reading; and after being under consideration, in committee of the whole Senate, for a number of successive days, the further consideration of it was finally postponed until the second Monday of December then next follow- ing.
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"From an examination of the journals of the Sen- ate, as also of the House of Representatives, for the session of 1810 and 11, and all the action of the Le- gislature in regard to this bill, a majority of the com- mittee are entirely satisfied that the sole object of the Legislature was to fix and establish, permanently, the seat of government of the state. The provisions of the bill, together with its title as it passed the House, very clearly indicate this; and the whole ac- tion of the Senate, forces us to come to the same con- clusion. Such was the understanding, not only by the Legislature, but by the people, which is evident, from the fact that whenever an attempt was made to change the bill to one of a temporary character, from that of a permanent character, it was invariably defeated, for the reason that it was inconsistent with the design of a majority of the Legislature, and the wishes of the people. At the next session of the Legislature, being the session of 1811 and 12, the subject was again taken up in the Senate, as unfin- ished business, and referred to a committee of five members, with instruction to receive proposals on the subject and report the same to the Senate, and Messrs. Evans, Purviance, Tod, Pritchard and Bu- reau, were appointed said committee, On the 18th of January, 1812, the committee reported to the Senate that they had . received proposals for seven different places, to be the permanent seat of govern- ment, one of which was the high bank on the east
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side of the Scioto river, opposite Franklinton, and presented for the consideration of the Senate extracts from the different proposals, all of which were made in consideration that the seat of government would be permanently fixed and established, at the place designated in the respective proposals.
"That a majority of the committee cannot be mis- taken in this view of the matter, they think, is very clear, not only from the language of the proposals, but also from the fact that all proceedings in the premises were had in continuation of the proceedings on the bill for fixing permanently the seat of govern- ment of the State, as appears from a reference to the journals of the Senate.
"On page 173 of the journal for 1811 and 12, we find the following entry in reference to the report of the committee which had been previously committed to a committee of the whole Senate:
""The Senate, according to the order of the day, resolved itself into a committee of the whole Senate, on the report of the select committee to whom was referred so much of the unfinished business as relates to a bill entitled "an act fixing the permanent seat of. government;" and after some time spent therein, the speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Caldwell report- ed that the committee had, according to order, had said report under consideration, made progress there- in, and asked leave to sit again.' "
. "Again, on page 177, we find the following:
"'Mr. Evans laid on the clerk's table proposals from
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inhabitants of the town of Worthington, for fixing the permanent seat of government; which were referred to the committee of the whole Senate, to whom was referred the report of the select committee on the same subject.'
"Again, on page 182, the Senate received the pro- posals of J. and P. Sells, "for fixing the permanent seat of government;" which received the same refer- ence.
"Again, on page 184. "Mr. Purviance laid on the clerk's table proposals of Lyne Starling, John Kerr, A. Mclaughlin, and James Johnson, for fixing the permanent seat of government, &c.," which was like- wise referred as before.
"Again, on the same page: "The Senate, according to order, resolved itself into a committee of the whole, on the report of the select committee to whom was referred so much of the unfinished business as relates to a bill entitled 'an act fixing the permanent seat of government.'"
"Again: "Ordered, that the committee of the whole Senate be discharged from the further consideration of said report and proposals, and that they be recom- mitted to the committee heretofore appointed on the same subject, to report thereon."
"Again, on page 192, we find that Mr. Evans, from the committee, made an additional report, in which they give the proposals of Mr. Starling and others; and, on an examination of the report, it will be found, that all the proposals were received on the conside-
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ration of having the sat of government permanently fixed and established at the respective places proposed. Towards the close of the report, the committee says: "They conceive it is not expedient or necessary for them to give a specific detail of the several propositions. They, therefore, beg leave to report this brief summa- ry, believing that, in case the Senate should fix upon a place for the permanent seat of government, it will be necessary more particularly to attend to the pro- posals for that place, and form a bill accordingly." -- The report, with the proposal's, were committed to a committee of the whole, and after the same had been under consideration for several days, the committee adopted the following resolution:
"'Resolved, That a committee of three members be appointed to prepare and bring in a bill to fix and es- tablish the permanent seat of government at agreeably to the proposition of --; and that from and after the first day of May next, Lancaster shall be the temporary seat of government, until otherwise directed by law.'
"Seven different motions were then made to fill the first blank in the resolution, and resulted in filling it with the place where the seat of government is now located, by a vote of 15 to 9. The resolution was then further amended, and read as follows:
"'Resolved by the Senate and House of Representa- tives, That a committee of three members be appoint- ed, on the part of the Senate, to prepare and bring in
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a bill to fic and establish the permanent seat of gor- ernment at the high bank, on the east side of the Sci- oto river, oposite the town of Franklinton, agreeably to the propositions of Messrs. Starling, Kerr, Mc- Laughlin, and Johnson; and that from and after the first day of May next, Lancaster shall be the tempora- ry seat of government until otherwise directed by law.'
"It may be well to remark here, that in all the legislation in regard to this subject, subsequent to the adoption of this resolution, the word temporary is used, as contradistinguished from the word permanent, and whenever the former word is used, it refers to the temporary seat of government at Lancaster or Chil- licothe, as contradistinguished from the permanent seat of government at the now city of Columbus.
"After the adoption of this resolution in the Senate, it was sent to the House for concurrence; and was so amended in the House as to provide that Chillicothe, instead of Lancaster, should be the temporary seat of government; and it appears from the journals that the "House appointed a committee of three members, to act conjointly with the committee appointed on the part of the Senate, to bring in a bill fixing the perma- nent and temporary seats of government, agreeable to a resolution to that effect;" and a bill was according- ly reported in the Senate on the Sth of February, 1812, entitled "a bill fixing and establishing the per- manent and temporary seats of government."
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"If we bear in mind, then, the fact that the resolu- tion required that the permanent seat of government · should be located at the place where it now is, and the temporary seat of government at the town of Chilli- cothe, and that the permanent one was to be in pur- suance of, or, agreeably to, the propositions of Lyne Starling and others, we cannot resist coming to the conclusion that the understanding of all parties was that the location should be a permanent one, as con- tradistinguished from any number of years; and that the proposal's made, were made with that express un- derstanding, and none other, and that the legislature could not vary this understanding and agreement without the express assent of those whose proposal they were about to accept. And such were undoubt- edly the provisions of the bill, and there would not have been room for any doubt whatever, in regard to the matter, had it not, on its final passage, and in the great haste and anxiety of the legislature on the sub- ject, been amended in the second section, by way of ryder, by adding these words to the close of the sec- tion: "and there continue until the first day of May, eighteen hundred and forty, and from thence until otherwise provided for by law.". With this amend- ment it passed the Senate, went to the House, and, after divers attempts to amend and defeat the bill, without success, it passed the House, and became a law. And upon a proper construction of the provis- ions of this law, depends the action of the legislature,
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so far as regards the general proposition as to whether the seat of government can be removed without a vi- olation of the faith of the State. The first section of the law is in these words: "Be it enacted, &., that the proposals made to this leigislature by Alexander McLaughlin, John Kerr, Lyne Starling and James Johnson, to lay out a town on their lands, situate on the east bank of the Scioto river, opposite Franklin- ton, on parts of half sections number nine, ten, elev- en, twenty five and twenty six, for the purpose of hav- ing the permanent seat of government thereon estab- lished; also, to convey to this State, a square of ten acres, and a lot of ten acres, and to erect a State House, such offices and a Penitentiary as shall be di- rected by the legislature, are hereby accepted, and the same and their penal bond annexed thereto, dated the tenth of February, A. D., 1812, for their faithful performance of said proposals, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, and shall remain in the office of the Treasurer of State, there to be kept for the use of the State."
"We perceive then, that the proposals were to lay out a town on their lands, for the purpose of having the permanent seat of government thereon established, and that the said proposals are by the law, accepted, and the same, together with the penal bond for the faithful performance of the proposals, are declared to be valid to all intents and purposes. It appears to a majory of the committee that the passage of the law,
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with this section, clearly closes the contract between the State and these individuals; and that all that could be required on the part of Starling and others, was a compliance with the conditions of the contract, and their right was perfect as against all the world. And it is understood that the conditions were complied with in every particular, to the entire satisfaction of the State. The second section of the bill, until amended by way of ryder, was in these words: "That the seat of government of this State be and the same is hereby fixed and permanently established on the land aforesaid, and the legislature shall commence their ses- sions thereat on the first Monday of December, A. D., 1817." Here, then, we perceive that whilst the first section provided, as it were, for closing the contract, the first clause of the second section provided for fix- ing the location, permanently, of the seat of govern- ment, and the latter clause declared when the legisla- ture should commence its sessions at the location fixed upon. Thus far we have from the State, three distinct propositions: first, we accept the proposals; second, we fix and permanently establish the seat of gorern- ment, in compliance with such proposals; and, third, we specify the time at which the legislature shall com- mence its sessions at the place thus fixed upon. If, then, we add the amendment by way of ryder, and how far does it change the feature of the law, and . which of the three proposition does it affect? It could certainly not have been intended to qualify the
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first and second propositions; for, if so, it would have been in violation of the contract as entered into be- tween the contracting parties, and which was previous- ly fully complied with on the part of the donors, and consequently, could not be varied on the part of the State without the assent of the other party. The clause, then, must have been intended to apply only to the ses- sions of the legislature, and unless it receives this con- struction the law is inconsistent and absurd upon its face. But admitting that this amendment was added with a view of changing the provisions of the law, still it would be considered a nullity, and should be treated as such, for the reason that it was in direct contra- vention of the contract previously closed between the parties, and the conditions of it fully complied with on the part of Starling and others, and therefore all conditions and limitations which were subsequent- ly added, were not binding on the opposite party; and should the legislature attempt to enforce them without the assent of the donors, it would, to say the least of it, operate as a forfeiture of the contract on the part of the State, and give to the donors a right to the property they gave. A majority of the committee are, therefore, clearly of opinion that should the legis- lature pass a law removing the seat of government from Columbus, it would be a violation of the contract between Starling and others, on the one side, and the State on the other, and such a forfeiture of the faith of the State as would certainly not be justified by any
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code of morals with which a majority of the commit- tee are acquainted. And should the Senate be of opinion that the amendment added to the second sec- tion of the law, when it was on its final passage, and perhaps did not, as is very common under similar cir- cumstances, receive the consideration which it should have received, so altered its provisions as to fix and establish the seat of government at its present location only until the first day of May, A. D., 1840, and until otherwise provided for by law, instead of, as was clear- ly intended, giving it a permanent location, a majority of the committee are of opinion that it would be nothing less than an act of justice on the part of the legislature, to pass a law fixing and establishing, per- manently, the seat of government at the city of Co- lumbus. In doing this, the legislature would be com- plying with the conditions of a contract previously entered into on the part of the State, and for a fulfil- ment of which they consider the faith of the State pledged.
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