Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County : embellished by nearly six hundred engravings--portraits of pioneer settlers, prominent citizens, business, official and professional--ancient and modern views, etc.; nine-tenth's of a century of solid local history--pioneer incidents, interesting events--industrial, commercial, financial and educational progress, biographies, etc., Part 16

Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department
Number of Pages: 1228

USA > Ohio > Summit County > Akron > Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County : embellished by nearly six hundred engravings--portraits of pioneer settlers, prominent citizens, business, official and professional--ancient and modern views, etc.; nine-tenth's of a century of solid local history--pioneer incidents, interesting events--industrial, commercial, financial and educational progress, biographies, etc. > Part 16

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11. The Memory of Gregory Powers-We mourn the untimely fate of this patriot, statesman and jurist. His memory will long be cherished in the County of Summit, his native and resting place!

12. The Memory of George Washington-The greatest and best man ever produced in the tide of time. When nature fornied him she broke the mold, that he might stand peerless and alone !

13. The Ladies of Summit-It is the summit of our ambi- tion to stand in the summit of their affections !

Volunteer toasts similar in sentiment, and perhaps still more extravagant in language, were offered by Messrs. Benjamin Rouse, of Richfield; Gen. Samuel D. Harris, of Ravenna; John Hunsberger, of Green; Julius A. Sumner, of Springfield, and Dr. Asa Field, Col. James W. Phillips, Robert K. DuBois, Dr. Jedediah D. Commins, Capt. Philo Chamberlin, Col. Erastus Torrey, Col. Justus Gale, Dr. Joseph Cole, Major Ithiel Mills, and Hiram Bowen, Esq., (Editor BEACON), of Akron.

In the evening a large convival party took supper at the "Ohio Exchange," southwest corner of Main and Market streets, (present site of Woods' Block), winding up with a social dance, the utmost

AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

good feeling and hilarity prevailing throughout; a local paper say- ing: "The day was closed without accident, or other untoward circumstance to mar the festivities, amid bon-fires and every demonstration of joy. The 4th of March, 1840, will long be remem- bered in Akron!"

HON. JOHN HOY,-born in Adams County, Pa., July 4, 1797; con- mon school education; learned trade of stone and brick mason; December 19, 1820, was married to Miss Eliza- betli Traxler; moved to Ohio in 1821, settling in Manchester, then in Stark Co .; soon after settling there was elected justice of the peace for Frank- lin township, holding the office 18 years; on the organization of Summit County, in April, 1840, was elected County Commissioner, re-elected in October following, for two years, and again in 1842 for three years, serv- ing in all five years and seven months; in April, 1847, was appointed. by the Legislature one of the Asso- ciate Judges of Summit County, ably serving till the taking effect of the new State Constitution, in 1852; also served as land appraiser for four townships, and on the State Board of Equalization, and took an active interest in educational matters and the religious and benevolent enter- prises of the day. Judge and Mrs. Hoy were the parents of six daugh- ters and one son-Sophia, married to Adam Sorric, (now deceased); Sabina, wife of Henry Daily, (deceased); Lorohama, wife of Dr. William Sisler,

BENEDICT AFCaCHI.

HON. JOHN HOY.

(deceased); Amanda, now Mrs. Dr. Adam Sisler; Caroline Maria, now Mrs Samuel Gongwer; Anna, wife of Lewis Everhart, (deceased), and John F., now a resident of the city of Springfield, O.

As provided by law the county officers were chosen at the'reg- ular Spring election, on the first Monday of April, to hold their respective positions until the annual election in the following October, The officers chosen at that time were: Commissioners, John Hoy, of Franklin; Jonathan Starr, of Copley; and Augustus E. Foot, of Twinsburg; Auditor, Birdsey Booth, of Cuyahoga Falls; Treasurer, William O'Brien, of Hudson; Recorder, Alexan- der Johnston, of Green; Sheriff, Thomas Wilson, of Northfield; Prosecuting Attorney, George Kirkum, of Akron; Coroner, Elisha Hinsdale, of Norton; Real Estate Appraiser, Frederick A. Sprague, of Richfield; Assistant Appraisers, Milo Stone, of Tallmadge and Thomas E. Jones, of Franklin, County Clerks at that time being appointees of the several Common Pleas Courts of the State, Court Judges in turn, being appointees of the Legislature; the office of Probate Judge not then being in existence.

The officers elect assembled at the tavern of Charles P. McDon- ald, northeast corner of South Main and Exchange streets, (in the same building still standing there), on Thursday, April 9, 1840. Justice Jacob Brown administered the oath of office to Commis- sioners Hoy, Starr and Foote, who, in turn, administered a like oath to the several other officers, and on the d'ue filing and accept- . ance of the proper bonds, the organization was complete.

LOCATING THE COUNTY SEAT.

At this meeting propositions were made for temporary quar- ters for county purposes, pending the erection of public buildings, as follows: the present Continental Hotel building, corner of Main and Exchange streets, by Jacob Brown, Esq .; the three-story brick building of Mr. Benjamin W. Stephens, on the present site of Merrill's Pottery, and the three-story stone block of Messrs. Chauncey S. and Hiram Payne, on the southeast corner of Howard and Market streets; the latter being accepted at a subsequent meeting of the commissioners.

The large hall on the third floor was used for a court room, a small portion of the southeast corner being partitioned off for jail purposes; the several county officers occupying other rooms on the second and third floors of the building.

THOMAS WILSON, -Summit Coun- ty's first Sheriff, was born in Pennsylvania, December 22, 1811 ; raised on farm, with common school education ; about 1830 moved with parents to Northfield, Ohio, walking all the way, and driving his mother's two favorite cows. He was married at Brandywine Mills, by Rev. Caleb Pitkin, of Hudson, to Miss Emeline H. Wallace, sister of the late James W. Wallace, December 20, 1838, who died October 7, 1840, aged 26 years. At the preliminary election, in the organization of the new county of Summit, held on Monday, April 6, 1840, Mr. Wilson was elected Sheriff, was re-elected in October, the same year, and again in 1842, ably filling the office four years and seven months. On retiring from office Mr. Wilson was for several years engag- ed in the manufacture of mineral paint in Akron, about 1860 remov- ing to St. Louis, Mo., where he en- gaged in the real estate business, also having an interest in the Glencoe Rock Company, and furnishing the stone for some of the finest buildings in that city. June 15, 1857, Mr. Wilson married Miss Marie E. McArthur, of Akron, who bore him three children,

CÁCHi.

BENEDICT.

THOMAS WILSON.

one only of whom is now living- Ruth, now a music teacher in St. Louis and living with her mother. At the time of his death, June 19, 1887, at the age of 75 years, 6 months and 7 days, Mr. Wilson was superin- tendent of " Memorial Home," a home for old gentlemen in St. Louis.

At this time, it will be recollected, the seat of justice of the new county was only temporarily located at Akron, the perma- nent location of which was to be determined by the commissioners named in the joint resolution of the Legislature heretofore given; Akron, besides being pretty evenly divided between the North and South villages, having two formidable rivals in Cuyahoga Falls, four miles to the northward, and the then largely talked of "Summit City" (since known as the "Chuckery"), midway between.

Messrs. Williard, McConnell and Sabin, the Locating Commis- sioners, entered upon the task assigned them on Tuesday, May 12, 1840, occupying several days examining the several proposed sites for the location of the public buildings, liearing arguments in favor of each, receiving proposals for the donation of lands, con- struction of buildings, etc. The principal competitors for the

100

AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY. .

prize were, as before stated, Akron, Cuyahoga Falls and Summit City-Akron, meantime, having so far harmonized her conflicting local predilections as to agree upon a point midway between the two villages, should the commissioners deem it advisable to decide the matter in her favor.

Each locality presented well secured pledges for the donation of lands and the construction of the county buildings free of cost to the tax-payers of the new county, and each, through its chosen spokesman-Hon. Elisha N. Sill, for Cuyahoga Falls, Dr. Edmund W. Crittenden, for Summit City, and Hon. Rufus P. Spalding, for Akron-presented arguments, accompanied by statistics in regard to business resources, healthfulness, accessibility, etc., of the several locations.

Akron based its claim upon its location on the Ohio Canal, the great artery of travel and commerce from Lake Erie to the Ohio river on the south, and the just completed Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, bringing it in direct communication with Pittsburg and Philadelphia, on the east, and upon its superb water power, as well as its ready accessibility from all parts of the county.

Cuyahoga Falls claimed to be nearer the geographical center of the county, more eligibly located for the building up of a large manufacturing city, and more healthful than the other points. named, with inexhaustible water-power, and, with the completion of the new P. & O. canal, of equal access to the outer world with Akron, and vastly superior to that of the intermediate point named.

Summit City's claim was based upon its location nearly midway between its two bitterly hostile rivals; its high and salubrious terri- tory, and, above all, upon its mammoth hydraulic scheme then nearing completion, by which the entire waters of the Big Cuyahoga river, with nearly 200 feet fall, was to speedily build up at that point the largest manufacturing city in the Great West.

After a thorough and pains-taking examination of the points named, and a full consideration of the statistics and arguments presented, the commissioners unanimously decided that the interests of the people of the new county would, as a whole, best be subserved by locating their seat of justice at Akron, and accordingly, as the unanimous choice of Akron, the stakes for the county buildings were stuck upon the "gore," between the two villages, where they now stand, the land for that purpose being generously donated by Gen. Simon Perkins, of Warren, father of the late Col. Simon Perkins, of Akron.

Though the bitter rivalry between North and South Akron for the business ascendency had not, perhaps, entirely abated, the public buildings having been located upon neutral ground, then about as unhandy to the one as the other, they so far stifled their animosi- ties, for the time being, as to unite in a wild jollification over the result, and to heartily co-operate with each other in raising funds. and materials with which to erect the public buildings, which, it will be remembered, each of the three competitors had agreed should be done free of cost to the tax-payers of the county.

Hiram Bowen, Esq., the editor of the BEACON, in announcing the result, said: "The 'Gore' is situated midway between North and South Akron, and a more beautiful and commanding site can not be found for public buildings in the State. It is said that.

101

CONTRACTS FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS LET.

almost every township in the county can be seen from the build- ings on this spot. Its location, as regards Akron, is auspicious- she is now ONE. There is now no North Akron, no South Akron, and our citizens will henceforth unite their common energies in developing the great natural resources for which Akron has become so justly celebrated."

A LEXANDER JOHNSTON,-born

in Center County, Pa., Novem- ber 7, 1808; coming with parents to Ohio, and settling in Green town- ship in 1814; educated in common schools; for many years taught school winters, working on farmi in summer ; Summit County's first Re- corder, elected in April, 1840, re-elect- ed in October, of that year, for full term of three years; in 1846 elected as Summit's Representative to State Legislature for two years, having also served his township for many years in the capacity of school ex- aminer, township clerk, justice of the peace, etc. March 14, 1850, Mr. Johnston was married to Miss Lovina Thurston, who was born November 8, 1821. They are the parents of three children - Horace Greeley, surveyor and engineer, born April 15, 1851, now living in Salina, Kansas; Isaac Newton, born July 13, 1853, now living in Hinton, W. Va .; and Anna Maria, born September 7, 1858, still at home with parents. Residing on his finely cultivated 125 acre farm, in the east- ern portion of Green township, Mr. Johnston, now in his 83d year, is one of the best preserved and most intelli- gent representatives of pioneer life in Summit County. Originally a

ALEXANDER JOHNSTON.

Whig with strong anti-slavery pro- clivities, Mr. Johnson naturally, on its organization, attached himself to the Republican party, which for over a third of a century has received his most zealous and unqualified sup- port.

The committee on subscriptions to the building fund consisted of Ansel Miller, Lewis Miller, Robert K. DuBois, Richard Howe, Benjamin W. Stephens, Leander L. Howard, Justus Gale, George P. Stephens, Simon Perkins, Jr., Jedediah D. Commins, Jacob Brown, Thomas P. May, Joseph Cole, Charles, P. McDonald, Ithiel Mills and Warren Clark. The subscriptions, amounting to $17,495, were made payable to the County Commissioners, and the deed of the land having been received from Gen. Perkins, on the 14th of July, 1840, the commissioners, Messrs. John Hoy, Jonathan Starr and Augustus E. Foote, and the committee, in a written agreement, transferred, assigned, conveyed, set over and delivered to Simon Perkins, Jr., Jedediah D. Commins and Richard Howe, as trustees, the subscription aforesaid, with power to collect the same, and "to make all such contracts and agreements as they shall judge nec- essary and proper, for the erection and completion of said buildings, and furnishing materials for the same, and generally to superin- tend and direct in the expenditure of the moneys and property to be received on the subscriptions aforesaid."

It was further stipulated in the agreement that the court house and jail were to be similar in construction, and equal in value, to those at Ravenna, to be fully completed and finished by

102

AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

the first day of July, 1843. The trustees acted promptly and after due notice for proposals, entered into contracts with Major Ithiel Mills, of Akron, for the erection of the court house, and with Mr. Sebbens Saxton, of Norton, for the building of the jail, both con- tractors at once commencing operations, the foundation, and several feet of the main walls of the former, and the massive foundation walls of the latter, being completed before the setting in of Winter, the same Fall.

AN ENTIRELY NEW DEAL.

The term of Senator Perkins having expired, Hon. Elisha N. Sill, of Cuyahoga Falls, was, as the candidate of the Whig party, elected as his successor, in the Portage-Summit District, in October, 1840, Henry G. Weaver, a substantial farmer, of Springfield, being at the same time elected Representative of the new county.

Early in the session Mr. Sill introduced a bill for the appoint- ment of a commission to review, and, if in their judgment deemed necessary, to re-locate the seat of justice of Summit County, said commission consisting of Jacob C. Hoagland, of Highland County, Valentine Winters, of Montgomery County, and William Kendall, of Scioto County. This bill was readily engineered through the Senate, by Mr. Sill, and though Mr. Weaver made a vigorous effort to defeat it in the House, Mr. Sill's influence with that body pre- vailed also, the bill having been passed and signed by Seabury Ford, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and by William M. Mclaughlin, Speaker of the Senate, on March 25, 1841; and that, too, in the face of the fact that on a very thorough canvass of the county, 3,014 voters remonstrated against, while but 2,376 petitioned for, the opening of the vexed question, there being a majority of 638 in favor of the location already made.

The reviewing commissioners came upon the ground about the middle of May, 1841, and, after spending a day or two in exam- ining the several competing locations, on Thursday, May 20, held an all day meeting in the Universalist Church on North High street, in Akron, where, as before, arguments were made by Messrs. Sill, of the Falls, Crittenden of Summit City, and Spalding of Akron, in favor of their respective locations. This meeting was interesting and exciting in the extreme, the church being crowded to its utmost capacity all day.

The commissioners held a consultation at their room in the Ohio Exchange in the evening, and, after "sleeping over it," a final talk the next morning, when, to the astonishment of everybody, it was announced that a majority of the committee, Messrs. Hoagland and Winters, had decided in favor of Summit City, Mr .. Kendall being in favor of the original location. When, therefore, the commissioners started out to formally drive the stakes for the county buildings, a large crowd of indignant Akronians and delighted "Chuckery-ites" accompanied them to witness the ceremony.

To the great surprise of all, however, instead of going to the upper plateau, which sightly position had been proffered by the company, they proceeded to set their stakes on the first bench above the Little Cuyahoga river, at a point a short distance east of the present residence of Mr. R. A. Grimwood, on Glenwood avenue. Expressions of disgust were both numerous and emphatic,

103

REVIEW AND RELOCATION.

the pretended "compromise," between the contending interests, pleasing nobody. The two active Commissioners, (Kendall standing aloof) were evidently sorely nettled at the pungent criti- cisms of the crowd, bluff old Dr. Daniel Upson, of Tallmadge, who sat in his buggy watching the operation, capping the climax by remarking, in his emphatic and incisive manner, that "nobody but fools or knaves would think of locating county buildings in such a place as that!"

At this point, Messrs. Hoagland and Winters held a hurried consultation, at the close of which, they hastily pulled up the stakes they had driven, and loading them into their carriage drove direct to Cuyahoga Falls, where they proceeded to set the stakes upon the very handsome site now occupied by the Congregational Church, on the south side of Broad street between Front and Second streets.

As. elsewhere stated, Summit County was made a part of the Third Judicial District, of which Hon. Van R. Humphrey was at that time the President Judge; while the Legislature, imme- diately after erecting the new county, had appointed as Associate Judges, Messrs. Robert K. DuBois, of Akron, Charles Sumner, of Middlebury, and Hugh R. Caldwell, of Franklin.

As required by law, majority and minority reports were sub- mitted to the Court by the locating Commissioners, which were duly presented for record by Prosecuting Attorney George Kirkum. To this the County Commissioners, through counsel, objected, and after full argument, the court, on the 23d day of July, 1841, made the following entry upon its journal:

"In the matter of the review and relocation of the seat of justice for Summit County, Jacob C. Hoagland and Valentine Winters, two of the Com- missioners appointed by the Legislature to review and locate the seat of justice of Summit County, having returned to the office of the Clerk of this Court their joint report, and William Kendall, the other Commissioner, having returned to the Clerk of this Court his separate report, this day George Kirkum, Esq., a citizen and Prosecuting Attorney of said county, presented the same reports to the Court, and moved that the report of said Hoagland and Winters be filed and entered of record. Whereupon the Com- missioners of said County of Summit appear by their attorney and object to the filing and entering of said reports of record, for various reasons by them set forth, and the parties were heard by counsel and the Court being equally divided in opinion, it is ordered that the said George Kirkum, Esq., take nothing by his said motion."

The Court being thus divided as to the legality of the proceed- ings which had been had, and the County Commissioners also being divided on the same subject, Commissioner Foote favoring the majority report, no further action was had in regard to the public buildings during that year; the several county officers meantime, assuming the prerogative of deciding, each for himself, where his office should be kept; Auditor Booth establishing his headquarters at Cuyahoga Falls, Treasurer O'Brien, also, having his main office in that village, though maintaining a branch office in the room which had been provided by the commissioners in Akron. This arrangement was very unsatisfactory and inconven- ient, but was patiently borne with in the hope that the next Leg- islature would straighten the tangle out.

Senator Sill's incumbency, of course, continued through the session of 1841-42, Summit County being entitled to two represen-

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AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

tatives, at this session. Politically, as before intimated, the new county was largely Whig, and through certain influences the executive committee of that party appointed its nominating.con- vention at Cuyahoga Falls, notice of which failing to reach the remote southern townships in time, several of said townships were not represented in said convention; Capt. Amos Seward, of Tallmadge, and Harvey Whedon, Esq., of Hudson, being nomi- nated for Representatives.

Feeling that this convention was being manipulated entirely in the interest of Cuyahoga Falls, the people of Akron, and those townships favorable to Akron as the county seat, called a non- partisan convention for about the same date, which convention nominated Hon. Rufus P. Spalding (then a resident of Akron), and Col. Simon Perkins, as its candidates for representatives, the former being a Democrat and the latter a Whig. This non-partisan convention also renominated Mr. Jonathan Starr, of Copley, for commissioner, his opponent on the Whig ticket being Asaph Whittlesey, Esq., of Tallmadge.

The canvass was short but spirited, and proved to be a decided victory for Akron, the vote standing: Perkins, 2,133; Spalding, 2,005; Seward, 909; Whedon, 950; Starr, 2,178; Whittlesey, 959.

On the assembling of the Legislature, in December, 1841, Messrs. Spalding and Perkins introduced a bill to submit the ques- tion of location to the voters of the county on the first Monday of April, 1842. The opposition to the bill in the House was much less stubborn than against the original bill, but in the Senate, through the efforts and influence of Mr. Sill, the vote was substantially the same, standing 45 yeas to 19 nays in the House, and 20 yeas to 16 nays in the Senate; the bill being signed March 2, 1842, by Rufus P. Spalding, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and James J. Farran, Speaker of the Senate.

Some lively campaigning was done by both parties during the intervening month between the final passage of the bill and the election, and it may safely be said that a full vote was polled, with the following result:

TOWNSHIPS.

Akron.

Cuyahoga

Falls.

Summit

City.

Scattering.

Bath ..

191

Boston .

Copley

271

Coventry

232

Franklin

250

Green ..

289

Hudson

235

Northampton

132

Northfield

143

Norton

295

Portage

621

Richfield

153

Springfield

348

Stow ..

361

Tallmadge

181

177

Twinsburg

199

2,978

1,384 |

101

105

AKRON FINALLY WINS.

Akron's total vote.

2,978

Cuyahoga Falls' total vote. 1,384

Akron's plurality 1,594

Summit City, etc ..

125

Akron over all

1,469

Summit County Court House, erected 1840-1843-Remodeled and Wings added in 1867.

. This emphatic vote definitely settled the question as to loca- tion, and the erection of the county buildings was proceeded witlı, though by reason of the protracted delay, they were not completed until several months after the time stipulated in the contract as above set forth, as will be seen by the following extract from the record of the County Commissioners:

"December 5th, 1843. Simon Perkins, Jr., Jedediah D. Commins and Richard Howe, the trustees for building the court house and jail; and Ithiel Mills, the court house contractor, submitted the court house for inspection of the board and for their acceptance.

"December 6th. Having examined the court house the board proposed, as an offset to the general bad character of the work, which the building trustees fully admitted, to accept it, if the windows were made to work freely up and down, the doors better hung or fastened and provided with more suitable latches and locks, and the windows. in the Auditor's, Clerk's and Recorder's offices secured by iron blinds or shutters made and fitted into them."

Though the ceiling has been raised and modernized, the court room remains substantially the same as originally built, though a flight of stairs leading from the lower liall to the two small rooms in the rear of the Judge's seat, on the east end, has been dispensed with. On the lower floor the space on the north side of the hall, now entirely occupied by the treasury, was divided into three

106

AKRON AND SUMMIT COUNTY.

rooms-Sheriff's office on the east, Treasurer's office in the center and Grand Jury room on the west, while upon the south side of the hall was the Probate office upon the east, with the Auditor, Clerk and Recorder in the order named upon the west.

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Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905 Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department Number of Pages: 1228

Author: Lane, Samuel A. (Samuel Alanson), 1815-1905
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Akron, Ohio : Beacon Job Department
Number of Pages: 1228