USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Columbus, Ohio: its history, resources, and progress : with numerous illustrations > Part 44
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But it is as a manufacturing city that Columbus is becoming, day by day and hour by hour, more prominent. For many years she has been steadily gaining ground in this regard. Simulta- neously almost with the laying bare to public gaze of the almost inexhaustible riches of the coal and iron mines to the southeast of us, was the opening of the Hocking Valley railroad, giving us ready and speedy access to a portion of those mines, and
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bringing their rich products to our very doors. Then it was that our capitalists and business men saw more clearly than ever before, that the only safe and sure way to advance their own interests and those of the city, was to utilize the raw material so abundant and so easily obtained, and that this could only be done by enlarging the business of existing manufacturing estab- lishments, and inaugurating new ones that should be liberal in the employment of capital, skilled labor, and the most improved mechanism. Grasping this idea firmly, our men of means and enterprise went to work " with a will," and in 1871, our manu- factured goods amounted to more than six and a half million dollars, and our aggregate of goods sold at wholesale, to over eight millions.
It is mainly as an iron manufacturing city, that a bright and glorious future opens up before Columbus. This is due to her close contiguity to the coal and iron fields of Southeastern Ohio, and the comparative ease with which she can avail herself of these all but exhaustless resources for manufactures and trade, and the consequent continued increase of her population and wealth. What has been already achieved in the infancy, as it were, of the coal and iron mining, is a mere prophecy of the still greater results to be wrought out in the future. It may be thought extravagant to say, as some intelligent men do, who are far better versed in these matters than we are, that the day is near at hand when Columbus will divide with Pittsburg the honor of being the best iron market.
This anticipation will not, however, appear very romantic, when the resources at our command are duly considered. We can already procure valuable iron ores, and cheaper and better coal, over the Hocking Valley road than can be had elsewhere ; and when the Ferrara road, now under way, penetrates the mining region in another direction, we shall have cheaper, and as good, and probably to some extent better, coal and iron ores. Having in abundance the cheap and superior coal and ore that will be supplied, not merely by one or even two roads penetrat- ing the mining region, but by several well-equipped thorough- fares, there will be nothing to hinder our iron and other man- ufactures increasing to an unlimited extent.
Men of capital and enterprise may avail themselves of one advantage now offered at this point, but which, in the natural order of our progress, is daily becoming less and less. We refer to the cheap or moderate rate at which lands within the corpo- ration, or just outside of it, as, for instance, on the line of the new Ferrara railroad, may be procured for residences or manu- facturing sites. These lands, now in market, are being taken up so fast that in a very short time the most eligible sites will
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be all gone. Investments made in the city or vicinity, in real estate, not wanted by the purchasers for their own immediate occupancy, will be quite certain to double or treble in a few years. As our manufactures and trade increase, the greater will be the demand for, and the value of the present outlying lands around the more compact portions of our city, for new manufac- turing establishments, for suburban residences for the more prosperous, and for cheap homes for mechanics and laboring men.
Some facts may here be briefly stated, showing the amount of coal brought to Columbus by a single road. During 1871, the amount brought by the Hocking Valley road was 302,766 tons. During the seven months ending August 1, 1872, the amount was 377,108 tons. The main increase was from the Straitsville mines, where 107,055 tons were produced in the seven months against 89,000 for the entire year of 1871. The greater portion of the coal distributed at this point passes on, in about equal quantities, to Cleveland and Chicago, while supplying numerous small towns and cities.
That this coal is adapted for the manufacture of iron has been satisfactorily proven. It is now used in the Columbus, Cleveland, and Zanesville blast-furnaces, with complete success-the Colum- bus furnace making a ton of iron with sixty-two bushels of coal, at a cost of nine cents per bushel. The iron ores used are one- third Lake Superior, and two-thirds native-the latter being procured from the great mining region to the southeast of Co- lumbus. Limestone, suitable for fluxes, in the manufacture of iron, can be procured here at fifty cents per ton.
Our coal for gas purposes yields four feet of gas per pound. Its illuminating power is said to be superior to that of the Youghiogheny coal, though the latter is much sought after for steam and domestic purposes. It is not so hard as the Straits- ville coal, and not adapted for use in blast-furnaces. The " great vein," extending over a large area of country, principally in Perry county, averages about eleven feet in thickness. This immense deposit, in point of extent and quality, is nowhere equaled in this country.
The Hocking Valley road, though operated to its fullest ca- pacity, will be inadequate, even with its proposed double track, to the removal of the coal that will be daily mined in the great field contiguous to Columbus. Nor, were it able to meet the in- creasing demand, should our manufactures and the public be dependent upon a single company, however competent its offi- cers, and extensive its means of transportation. Hence the im- portance, and the absolute necessity of at least another mineral railroad, such as the Columbus and Ferrara, now ready for con-
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struction, and which will undoubtedly be in operation in a year or eighteen months. We shall then have, from one of the best coal-fields in the world, an abundant supply of the very finest coal, and at a cheap rate, for manufacturing purposes at home, and for distribution to other points.
The fact should be noted in this connection, that in the Hock- ing and Perry county mineral region, iron ore abounds in im- mense quantities, and of nearly the same grade as that of Hanging Rock. With these vast sources of mineral wealth, so near Columbus, its advantages for manufactures, and especially for the manufacture and distribution of iron and all kinds of utensils and machinery, can not but be apparent to every man.
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS .- The manufacture of agricultu- ral implements has been carried on for many years in Columbus, but not to an extent that its location, facilities, and resources for such business would seem to justify. At present, however, these manufactures are energetically prosecuted by two establish- ments in the city, and two other dealers, not manufacturers, in this line, keep on hand pretty extensive stocks. These four establishments employ 110 hands, and a cash capital of $218,000. Their products in 1872 reached $332,000.
BOOK-BINDING AND BLANK BOOK MANUFACTURING .- This branch of the manufacturing industry is carried on in the city by two firms. Their product for 1872 amounted to $120,000; the capital employed is $40,000, and gives employment to 37 hands.
THE BOOT AND SHOE TRADE .- Our manufacturers and whole- sale dealers in boots and shoes are now doing, as they have done for many years, an extensive business in Ohio, Indiana, and the far West.
The following statistics will give some idea of the extent of the business done by our boot and shoe manufacturers and dealers at wholesale and retail : There are in the city, in the retail trade, 14 stores and 57 shops, with a capital of $119,000, and employ- ing 143 different persons. Their business in 1872 amounted to $357,000. The number of wholesale houses is three, with a cap- ital of $230,000, and employing 220 hands. Their business ยท amounted, in 1872, to $780,000, and the combined products $690,000.
BREWERS .- The manufacturing of malt liquors is carried on by six firms, and is one of our most extensive business interests. The products of our breweries are in excellent repute with dealers and consumers throughout Central Ohio. The aggregate capi- tal employed is $112,000; number of men, 53.
BRASS FOUNDRIES .- There are two establishments of this class of manufacture in our city, which are doing a pretty fair busi- ness. The value of their manufactured products for 1872 was
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$20,000, and they carried an average stock of $9,000, employing ten persons, occupying real estate worth $6,500, and having an invested cash capital of $11,500.
BRUSH MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS .- It is a growing busi- ness for which the city affords great and increasing facilities. There are in the city two establishments in this line, having a cash capital of $103,000, and employing 227 hands. The value of their average stock is $64,000, and the amount of business done in 1872 was $230,000.
BAKERIES .- There are in Columbus fourteen of these establish- ments, covering the whole range of products in their line. They employ sixty-nine hands. Their aggregate products for the year 1872 were valued at $234,900. They carry an average salable stock worth $22,500; have a cash capital invested of $25,700, and occupy real estate of the value of $65,500.
BROOM-MAKERS .- There are in the city seven broom-making establishments, employing sixty-three hands, and a cash capital of $33,000, and having on hand an average stock of $21,000. The value of their business done in 1872 is estimated at $160,000.
BLACKSMITHING .- Aside from the blacksmithing carried on in various manufacturing establishments, we have shops conducted by active and enterprising men. The number of shops is thirty- three, employing 117 men, and having a cash capital of $17,000.
BOILER-MAKERS .- There are in this city three establishments engaged in the manufacturing of boilers, with an aggregate cap- ital of $7,800, and employing thirty-nine hands.
BRICK .- The manufacture of brick for building and other purposes, is carried on in this city by thirteen firms. Their pro- duct for 1872 amounted to about 20,000,000 of brick, giving em- ployment to 200 persons, and about $100,000 capital.
COLUMBUS MANTEL AND GRATE COMPANY .- Though this com- pany has been in operation only about two years, it has ex- tended its trade to most of the large cities and towns in the Northwest.
For several years, the only manufactory of these articles in the West was at Cincinnati, where excellent work was turned out, far superior to that produced at Eastern manufactories. Yet in style, finish, and truthfulness to nature, the Columbus manufactory competes with any in the country.
CHILDREN'S CARRIAGE MANUFACTURE .- Our city can boast of the largest and most extensive manufactory of children's car- riages in the United States. This branch of business employs a cash capital of $75,000, and has fifty different persons engaged in its various operations. It occupies real estate valued at $20,000, and its aggregate products in 1872 amounted to $80,000.
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CAR BUILDING.
The Columbus Car and Wheel Works is the most extensive manufacturing establishment in Columbus. John L. Gill is the sole proprietor-a man who has done more to advance the man- ufacturing interests of the city than any other person living. . For nearly half a century he has been engaged in Columbus in the foundry and iron manufacturing business, with an ability and perseverance that deserve, and have been crowned with eminent success.
Mr. Gill's car works are a monument to his skill, enterprise, and public spirit. In this establishment, nearly 400 men are employed in the manufacture of freight cars and car-wheels. The dimensions of the various connecting brick and stone build- ings are as follows : Foundry, 190x96; machine-shop, 150x50 ; forge-shop, 100x85 (20 furnaces) ; wood machine-shop, 200x40; erecting-shop, 175x80 ; paint-shop, 136x50; dry-house, capacity, 20,000 feet of lumber ; also, other outside buildings, as pattern- shop, pattern storage, and store-house.
The engine that furnishes power for these immense works is the Babcock & Wilcox pattern, 20 by 36 inch cylinder, built by John Cooper & Co., Mount Vernon, Ohio. When operated to their full capacity, the works turn out ten gondola coal cars per day, and a proportionate number of box cars. A vast number of chilled car-wheels, in excess of those made to equip the cars here constructed, are cast for the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad Company.
Mr. Gill has provided his works with all the modern improve- ments in machinery that his long familiarity with the business could suggest. During the year 1872, about 9,000 tons of pig metal and 1,800 tons of wrought-iron were consumed. E. P. Bullard, a man of remarkable mechanical ability and energy, is the general superintendent. The business last year reached to nearly $1,500,000, employing a capital of $400,000, and giving work to 300 men; the monthly pay-roll amounts to $16,000; the real estate occupied is valued at $250,000.
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ADVERTISEMENTS.
English, Miller & Co.
MANUFACTURERS,
AND
WHOLESALE
CLOTHIERS
95 and 97 North High Street,
COLUMBUS, O.
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MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.
CLOTHING .- We have thriving establishments for the manufac- ture and sale of clothing at wholesale, at retail, and at both wholesale and retail. Many of these are equal to any of the kind in any other Western city, and few will be found anywhere as complete in all their departments.
Buying clothing here, the purchaser pays but one profit; whereas, in buying East he pays what is equivalent to two or three profits. Clothing made in Columbus is manufactured expressly for home consumption and the Western trade. One house, that of English, Miller & Co., employ over 150 hands in this branch of manufacture.
CLOTHING AND MERCHANT TAILORING .- There are twenty-seven merchant tailoring and retail clothing establishments, manufac- turing clothing for customers and for the trade. These do a very large business, giving employment to 753 different persons, and having invested in the business a cash capital of $363,000. The average stock carried in these establishments is $413,000, and the aggregate sales in 1872 amounted to $696,000.
CARRIAGE MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS .- The manufacture and trade in carriages and other like vehicles forms a large item in the business of our city. The manufacture is extensive, and for it Columbus affords such facilities that its cost is much less than in many other cities. The dealers in this line are able to offer vehicles, from a simple spring-wagon to the most costly car- riage, at cheaper rates than can be afforded at most other points in the West. One great advantage to the buyer here is, that the stocks are so large and varied he can scarcely fail to find the precise thing he wants, and at the lowest price in the market.
We have nine manufacturers and dealers in this line, employ- ing a capital of $62,700, and 127 hands. They occupy $73,000 worth of real estate, and have on hand an average stock of $57,000. Their products in 1872 amounted to $147,400.
MANUFACTURERS OF CARRIAGE AND WAGON MATERIALS .- There are in the city three establishments engaged in the manufacture of the various parts and machinery belonging to carriages, wagons, and other wheeled vehicles.
For this kind of manufacture Columbus has extraordinary advantages, which our men of capital and enterprise are dis- posed to improve, as they can afford these manufactures at lower rates, quality considered, than can be afforded at almost any other accessible point.
Our three establishments in this line employ a cash capital of $210,000, and 230 hands, occupying real estate valued at $54,000,
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and carrying an average stock worth $94,000. Their products in 1872 amounted to $330,000.
COAL OIL REFINING .- This is not a very extensive business in Columbus. We have, however, one establishment engaged in it, with a cash capital invested of $20,000, employing three hands, and transacting a business, in 1872, reaching to $40,000.
CANE-SEAT CHAIRS .- There are in the city two establishments engaged in chair manufacturing exclusively. They employ 165 persons, and have invested a cash capital of $80,000. They carry an average stock of $22,000, and occupy real estate worth $23,000. The aggregate products of these two manufactures amounted, in 1872, to $110,000.
CONFECTIONERY .- There are in the city twenty-three of these manufacturing and wholesale and retail establishments, who give employment to seventy-one persons, and have invested in the business a cash capital of $62,000. Their business transac- tions in 1872 amounted to $137,000.
CIGARS AND TOBACCO .- There are thirteen manufacturers of cigars in this city, who employ a capital of $14,000, and give employment to fifty-two hands.
DENTAL WORK .- In the manufacture and preparation of dental work, there are in the city ten different establishments, employing seventeen persons, and a cash capital of $7,000. The value of their products, in 1872, was $29,200.
EDGE TOOL MANUFACTURING .- There are three firms engaged in this branch of our manufacturing industry, who have an aggregate capital of about $200,000, and give employment to 170 hands. Products for 1872 amounted to about $350,000.
FURNITURE .- Columbus, having an unusual combination of advantages for the manufacture of furniture, as abundant cheap and good material, cheap production, and ready facilities for transportation to any part of the country, has become quite a center for the manufacture and trade in furniture.
There are in the city three furniture manufacturing establish- ments, employing a cash capital of $193,000 and 355 men, occupying real estate valued at $120,000, and carrying an aver- age stock worth $255,000. They report products for 1872 to the aggregate amount of $420,000. We have five furniture dealers, whose combined sales in 1872 reached $460,000, making our transactions in furniture for that year aggregate nearly $900,000.
FLOURING MILLS .- The number of flouring mills in the city and immediate vicinity is six. They have an invested cash capital of $27,000, and employ twenty-seven persons. The pro- ducts of the mills are estimated at $120,000.
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GALVANIZED IRON AND TIN WORK .- We have in Columbus nine establishments that may be placed under this head. Three of these manufacture galvanized iron cornices and window caps. The nine establishments have an invested capital of $62,500, occupy real estate valued at $82,000, employ forty-seven men, and carry an average stock of $79,600. Their business transac- tions in 1872 aggregated $185,000.
GUNS AND PISTOLS .- There are in the city two manufactories of these weapons, employing a cash capital of $4,000 and three hands, occupying real estate valued at $15,200, and doing a business in 1872 that amounted in the aggregate to $9,500.
HUMAN HAIR WORK .- The number of manufacturers and dealers in this description of goods, in Columbus, is three, who employ a cash capital of $3,500, and 11 persons, doing, in 1872, a business amounting to $17,000 in the aggregate.
JOB AND NEWSPAPER PRINTING .- The printing press, the former product, but now pioneer of civilization, was found in Columbus at almost its first settlement. Our city has eight job printing establishments, and four newspaper offices having no job office attached. The capital employed in the printing busi- ness, in the city, is estimated at about $180,000, from which was realized a business, in 1872, of about $220,000.
LUMBER, SASH, DOOR, AND BLIND MANUFACTURING .- These several departments of manufacture, taken together, make an extended business, carried on in this city by nine different estab- lishments, whose aggregate investments of cash capital amount to $314,000. They afford employment to 119 men, and occupy real estate valued at $124,000. Their business transactions in 1872, aggregated $480,000.
LARD OIL AND CANDLES .- There are three establishments of this kind here, employing $20,000 capital, and sixteen hands. Products for 1872, $60,000.
MARBLE AND MONUMENT WORKS .- This branch of manufac- ture, or rather of art, is represented by three firms. The cash capital invested in the marble and monument business, in the city, amounts to $13,500. It gives employment to 26 men. The transactions in this line, in 1872, amounted to $33,400.
MINERAL WATER .- Columbus has three establishments en- gaged in the manufacture of this article. The capital invested in the business is $20,000, and the number of men employed is 21. The business done in this line amounted, in 1872, to $23,500.
PAPER MILL .- There is but one manufactory of paper, and that is printing paper, in this city. There is employed in this branch of manufacture a capital of $25,000. It gives employ-
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ment to 27 hands; occupies real estate valued at $40,000, and the sales for 1872 amounted to $120,000.
PAINTERS AND PAPER-HANGERS .- There are in the city twenty- seven different establishments that make a specialty of painting and paper-hanging. They afford employment to 79 men, and transacted in 1872, a business amounting in the aggregate to $49,000.
PUMP-MAKING .- There are four establishments in the city de- voted to this branch of production, which have quite a large run of business, employing an invested capital of $5,200 and 17 men. The business in 1872 aggregated $24,000.
PLUMBERS .- There are in the city five plumbing establishments, with a cash capital of $10,500, occupying $35,000 worth of real es- tate, employing 23 men, and carrying an average stock valued at $11,750. Their gross business in 1872 amounted to $47,000.
PHOTOGRAPHY AND PORTRAIT PAINTING .- There have been, within a few years past, as almost every one is aware, great im- provements in these arts, of which our Columbus artists have taken good care to avail themselves. Some of them have won a wide and deserved reputation for the excellence, truthfulness, and vividness of their pictures and portraits, and for the neat- ness and elegance of their workmanship. We have ten photo- graphic and portrait painting establishments, employing a cash capital of $27,000, and 28 different persons, and transacting a business, in 1872, amounting to $47,500.
REGALIAS .- M. C. Lilley & Co .- M. C. Lilley, John Siebert, H. Lindenberg, C. H. Lindenberg, C. H. Lindenberg-organized in the fall of 1868 for the manufacture of regalias. This com- pany employs at present eighty persons. Shipments of goods are made to all parts of the United States, British North Amer- ica, and Australia. Regalias and supplies, varying in price from fifty to eighty dollars, are manufactured for all classes of asso- ciations and societies. The company received the first premium medal at the Cincinnati Expositions in 1871 and 1872, for fine embroidered regalias, notwithstanding the competition of several other extensive manufacturing establishments. The monthly pay-roll of Messrs. M. C. Lilley & Co. is $1,600. This house em- ploys more hands and sells more goods than any other house in the United States, in the same business. It has a cash capital invested of $35,000, and its business transactions for 1872 equaled $120,000.
ROLLING MILLS, FURNACES, FOUNDERIES, MACHIINE-SHOPS, METAL MANUFACTURERS GENERALLY .- Combined, these consti- tute the pride of the manufacturing interests of the city, repre-
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senting an aggregate capital of about one million dollars, em- ploying near one thousand hands. The products for 1872 are valued at about $2,000,000.
RAILROAD COMPANIES' CAR BUILDING AND REPAIRING .- This class of the manufacturing industry of the city is of very great importance. The companies employ seven hundred and sixty- eight men, occupying forty-five buildings, and paid, during the year 1872, the large sum of $440,396.04 to their employes.
SADDLERY HARDWARE-PETER HAYDEN .- Columbus counts among her citizens, Peter Hayden, the first manufacturer of sad- dlery hardware in the United States. In his business in this city, Mr. Hayden is associated with his son, Wm. B. Hayden, under the firm name of P. Hayden & Son. One of the largest and handsomest displays of saddlery hardware, on this continent, can be seen at the exhibition and salesrooms in Mr. Hayden's block, on East Broad, near High street.
In this connection, it seems in place to speak briefly of Peter Hayden as the most successful and one of the oldest pioneers in manufacturing in Columbus. To his skill, enterprise, energy, and perseverance, we are indebted for an example of what well- directed efforts may achieve, and a striking illustration of the facilities and resources Columbus presents as a manufacturing center.
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