Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume I, Part 120

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 1006

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The savages were led by the notorious Simon Girty, and outnumbered the garrison, at least, ten to one. The works were entirely of wood, and the only obstacle between the assailants and the assailed was a picket of logs, that might have been demolished, with a loss not exceeding, probably, twenty or thirty lives. The garrison displayed unusual gallantry-they frequently exposed their per- sons above the pickets, to insult and provoke the assailants: and judging from the facts reported, they conducted with as much folly as bravery.

Col. John Wallace, of Cincinnati, one of the earliest and bravest of the pioneers, and

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as amiable as he was brave, was in the fort when the attack was made. Although the works were completely surrounded by the enemy, the colonel volunteered his services to go to Cincinnati for a reinforcement. The fort stood on the east bank of the Big Miami. Late in the night he was conveyed across the river in a canoe, and landed on the op- posite shore. Having passed down some miles below the fort, he swam the river, and directed his course for Cincinnati. On his way down, the next day, he met a body of men from that place and from Columbia, proceeding to Colerain. They had been in- formed of the attack, by persons hunting in the neighborhood, who were sufficiently near the fort to hear the firing when it began.

He joined the party, and led them to the station by the same route he had travelled from it; but before they arrived, the Indians had taken their departure. It was afterwards

ascertained that Mr. Abner Hunt, a respect- able citizen of New Jersey, who was on a surveying tour in the neighborhood of Cole- rain, at the time of the attack, was killed before he could reach the fort. His body was afterwards found, shockingly mangled.

The Indians tied Hunt to a sapling, within sight of the garrison, who distinctly heard his screams, and built a large fire so near as to scorch him, inflicting the most acute pain ; then, as his flesh, from the action of the fire and the frequent application of live coals, be- came less sensible, making deep incisions in his limbs, as if to renew his sensibility of pain ; answering his cries for water, to allay the extreme thirst caused by burning, by fresh tortures ; and, finally, when, exhausted and fainting, death seemed approaching to release the wretched prisoner, terminating his sufferings by applying flaming brands to his naked bowels.

EARLY BEGINNINGS OF CINCINNATI.

Soon as the settlers of Cincinnati landed (December, 1788) they commenced erecting three or four cabins, the first of which was built on Front, east of and near Main street. The lower table of land was then covered with sycamore and maple trees, and the upper with beech and oak. Through this dense forest the streets were laid out, their corners being marked upon the trees. This survey ex- tended from Eastern row, now Broadway, to Western row, now Central Avenue, and from the river as far north as to Northern row, now Seventh street.

Fort Washington was built in the fall of 1789 by Major Doughty, the com- mander of a body of troops sent by Gen. Harmar from Fort Harmar with discre- tionary power to locate a fort in the Miami country. The site selected was a little east of Broadway just outside of the village limits, and where Third street now crosses it. The fort was a solid, substantial fortress of hewu timber abont 180 feet square with block-houses at the four angles and two stories high. Fifteen acres were reserved there by government. It was the most important and extensive military work then in the Territories, and figured largely in the Indian wars of the period. Gen. Harmar arrived and took command late in December, its garrison then comprising seventy men.

In January, 1790, Gen. Arthur St. Clair, then governor of the Northwest Territory, arrived at Cincinnati to organize the county of Hamilton. In the succeeding fall Gen. Harmar marched from Fort Washington on his expedition against the Indians of the Northwest. In the following year (1791) the unfor- tunate army of St. Clair marched from the same place. On his return, St. Clair gave Major Zeigler the command of Fort Washington and repaired to Philadelphia. Soon after the latter was succeeded by Col. Wilkinson. This year Cincinnati had little increase in its population. About one-half of the inhabitants were attached to the army of St. Clair, and many killed in the defeat.

In 1792 about fifty persons were added by immigration to the population of Cincinnati, and a house of worship erected. In the spring following the troops which had been recruited for Wayne's army landed at Cincinnati and encamped on the bank of the river, between the village of Cincinnati and Mill creek. To that encampment Wayne gave the name of " Hobson's Choice," it being the only suitable place for that object. This was just west of Central avenue. Here he remained several months, constantly drilling his troops, and then moved on to a spot now in Darke county, where he erected Fort Greenville. In the fall, after the army had left, the small-pox broke out in the garrison at Fort Washington, and spread with so much maliguity that nearly one-third of the soldiers and citizens fell victims. In July, 1794, the army left Fort Greenville, and on the

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20th of August defeated the enemy at the battle of "the Fallen Timbers," in what is now Lucas county, a few miles above Toledo. Judge Burnet thus de- scribes Cincinnati, at about this period.

Prior to the treaty of Greenville, which established a permanent peace between the United States and the Indians, but few improvements had been made of any description, and scarcely one of a permanent character. In Cincin- nati, Fort Washington was the most remarkable object. That rude but highly interesting structure stood between Third and Fourth streets produced, east of Eastern Row, now Broadway, which was thieu a two-pole alley, and was the eastern boundary of the town, as originally laid out. It was composed of a number of strongly built, hewed-log-cabins, a story and a half high, calculated for soldiers' barracks. Some of them, more conveniently arranged and better finished, were intended for officers' quarters. They were so placed as to form a hollow square of about an acre of ground with a strong block-house at each angle. It was built of large logs, cut from the ground on which it stood, which was a tract of fifteen acres, reserved by Congress in the law of 1792 for the accommodation of the garrison.

The artificers' yard was an appendage to the fort, and stood on the bank of the river immediately in front. It contained about two acres of ground, enclosed by small contiguous buildings, occupied as work-shops and quarters for laborers. Within the enclosure there was a large two-story frame-house, familiarly called the "yellow-house," built for the accommodation of the quartermaster-general, which was the most commodious and best finished edifice in Cincinnati.

On the north side of Fourth street, immediately behind the fort, Colonel Sargent, secretary of the territory, had a convenient frame-house and a spacious garden, cultivated with care and taste. On the east side of the fort, Dr. Allison, the surgeon-general of the army, had a plain frame dwelling in the centre of a large lot, cultivated as a garden and fruitery, which was called Peach Grove.

The Presbyterian church, an interesting edifice, stood on Main street in front of the spacious brick building now occupied by the first Presbyterian congregation. It was a substantial frame building about forty feet by thirty, enclosed with clapboards, but neither lathed, plastered nor ceiled. The floor was of boat plank, resting on wooden blocks. In that humble edifice the pioneers and their families assembled statedly for public worship; and, during the continuance of the war, they always attended with loaded rifles by their sides. That building was after- wards neatly finished, and some years subsequently [1814] was sold and removed to Vine street, where it now [1847] remains the property of Judge Burke.

On the north side of Fourth street, opposite where St. Paul's Church now stands, there stood a frame school-house, enclosed, but unfinished, in which the children of the village were instructed. On the north side of the public square there was a strong log-building erected and occupied as a jail. A room in the tavern of George Avery, near the frog-pond, at the corner of Main and Fifth streets, had been rented for the accommodation of the courts; and as the penitentiary system had not been adopted, and Cincinnati was a seat of justice, it was ornamented with a pillory, stocks and whipping-post, and occasionally with a gallows. These were all the structures of a public character then in the place. Add to these the cabins and other temporary buildings for the shelter of the inhabitants, and it will complete the schedule of the improvements of Cincinnati at the time of the treaty of Greenville. The only vestige of them now remain- ing is the church of the pioneers. With that exception, and probably two or three frame buildings which have been repaired, improved and preserved, every edifice in the city has been erected since the ratification of that treaty. The sta- tions of defence scattered through the Miami Valley were all temporary, and have long since gone to decay or been demolished.

It may assist the reader in forming something like a correct idea of the appear-

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ance of Cincinnati, and of what it actually was at that time, to know that at the intersection of Main and Fifth streets, now the centre of business and tasteful improvement, there was a pond of water, full of alder bushes, from which the frogs serenaded the neighborhood during the summer and fall, and which rendered it necessary to construct a causeway of logs to pass it. That morass remained in its natural state, with its alders and its frogs, several years after Mr. B. became a resident of the place, the population of which, including the garrison and fol- lowers of the army, was about six hundred. The fort was then commanded by William H. Harrison, a captain in the army, but afterwards President of the United States. In 1797, General Wilkinson, the commander-in-chief of the army, made it his head-quarters for a few months, but did not apparently interfere with the command of Captain Harrison, which continued till his resignation in 1798.

During the period now spoken of, the settlements of the territory, including

Drawn by Henry Howe in Winter of 1846-1847. THE FIRST CHURCH IN CINCINNATI.

[The engraving represents the first Presbyterian Church as it appeared in February, 1847. In the following spring it was taken down and the materials used for the construction of several dwellings in the western part of Cincinnati then called Texas. The greater proportion of the timber was found to be perfectly sound. The site was on Vine street just ahove where now is the Arcade. In 1791 a num- her of the inhabitants formed themselves into a company to escort the Rev. James Kemper from beyond the Kentucky river to Cincinnati ; and, after his arrival, a subscription was set on foot to build this church, which was erected in 1792. This subscription paper is still in existence, and bears date January 16, 1792. Among its signers were General Wilkinson, Captains Ford, Peters and Shaylor, of the regular service, Dr. Allison, surgeon to St. Clair and Wayne, Winthrop Sargeant, Captain Robert Elliot and others, principally citizens, to the number of 106.]

Cincinnati, contained but few individuals, and still fewer families, who had been accustomed to mingle in the circles of polished society. That fact put it in the power of the military to give character to the manners and customs of the people. Such a school, it must be admitted, was by no means calculated to make the most favorable impression on the morals and sobriety of any community, as was abundantly proved by the result.

Idleness, drinking and gambling prevailed in the army to a greater extent than it has done at any subsequent period. This may be attributed to the fact that they had been several years in the wilderness, cut off from all society but their own, with but few comforts or conveniences at hand, and no amusements but such as their own ingenuity could invent. Libraries were not to be found-men of literary minds or polished manners were rarely met with ; and they had long been deprived of the advantage of modest, accomplished female society, which always produces a salutary influence on the feelings and moral habits of men.

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Thus situated, the officers were urged, by an irresistible impulse, to tax their wits for expedients to fill up the chasms of leisure which were left on their hands after a full discharge of their military duties; and, as is too frequently the case, in such circumstances, the bottle, the dice-box and the card-table were among the expedients resorted to, because they were the nearest at hand and the most easily procured.

It is a distressing fact that a very large proportion of the officers under General Wayne, and subsequently under General Wilkinson, were hard drinkers. Har- rison, Clark, Shomberg, Ford, Strong and a few others were the only exceptions. Such were the habits of the army when they began to associate with the inhabi- tants of Cincinnati, and of the western settlements generally, and to give tone to public sentiment.

As a natural consequence the citizens indulged in the same practices and formed the same habits. As a proof of this it may be stated that when Mr. Burnet came to the bar there were nine resident lawyers engaged in the practice, of whom he is and has been for many years the only survivor. They all became confirmed sots, and descended to premature graves, excepting his brother, who was a young man of high promise, but whose life was terminated by a rapid consumption in the summer of 1801. He expired under the shade of a tree, by the side of the road, on the banks of Paint creek, a few miles from Chillicothe.

On the 9th of November, 1793, William Maxwell established at Cincinnati The Centinel of the Northwestern Territory, with the motto, " open to all parties- influenced by none." It was on a half-sheet, royal quarto size, and was the first newspaper printed north of the Ohio river. In 1796 Edward Freeman became the owner of the paper, which he changed to Freeman's Journal, which he con- tinued until the beginning of 1800, when he removed to Chillicothe. Ou the 28th of May, 1799, Joseph Carpenter issued the first number of a weekly paper entitled the Western Spy and Hamilton Gazette. On the 11th of January, 1794, two keel-boats sailed from Cincinnati to Pittsburg, each making a trip once in four weeks. Each boat was so covered as to be protected against rifle- and musket-balls, and had port-holes to fire out at, and was provided with six pieces carrying pound balls, a number of muskets and ammunition, as a protection against the Indians on the banks of the Ohio. In 1801 the first sea-vessel equipped for sea-of 100 tons, built at Marietta-passed down the Ohio, carrying produce, and the banks of the river at Cincinnati were crowded with spectators to witness this novel event. December 19, 1801, the Territorial Legislature passed a bill removing the seat of government from Chillicothe to Cincinnati.

January 2, 1802, the Territorial Legislature incorporated the town of Cincinnati, and the following officers were appointed : David Ziegler, President; Jacob Burnet, Recorder ; Wm. Ramsay, David E. Wade, Chas. Avery, John Reily, Wm. Stanley, Samuel Dick, and Wm. Ruffner, Trustees ; Jo. Prince, Assessor ; Abram Cary, Collector ; and James Smith, Town Marshal. In 1795 the town contained 94 cabins, 10 frame houses, and about 500 inhabitants. In 1800 the population was estimated at 750, and, in 1810, it was 2,540.

We give on an adjoining page a view of Cincinnati, taken by J. Cutler, as it appeared about the year 1810. It is from an engraving in "the Topographical Description of Ohio, Indiana Territory, and Louisiana, by a late officer of the army," and published at Boston, in 1812.

That work states that Cincinnati contains about 400 dwellings, an elegant court-house, jail, 3 market-houses, a land-office for the sale of Congress lands, 2 printing-offices, issuing weekly gazettes, 30 mercantile stores, and the various branches of mechanism are carried on with spirit. Industry of every kind being duly encouraged by the citizens, it is likely to become a considerable manufacturing place. It has a bank, issuing notes under the authority of the State, called the Miami Exporting Company. A considerable trade is carried on between Cincinnati and New Orleans in keel-boats, which return laden with foreign goods. The passage of a boat, of forty tons, down to New Orleans, is computed at about twenty-five, and its return at about sixty-five days.

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In 1819 a charter was obtained from the State Legislature, by which Cincinnati was incorporated as a city. This, since repeatedly amended and altered, forms the basis of its present municipal authority.

DESCRIPTION OF CINCINNATI IN 1847. [From the Original Edition.]

Cincinnati is 116 miles southwest Columbus; 120 southeast Indianapolis, Indiana ; 90 north-northwest Lexington, Kentucky ; 270 north-northeast Nash- ville, Tennessee ; 455 below Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, by the course of the river ; 132 above Louisville, Kentucky ; 494 above the mouth of the Ohio river, and 1,447 miles above New Orleans by the Mississippi and Ohio rivers ; 518 by post- route west of Baltimore; 617 miles west by south of Philadelphia ; 950 from New York by Lake Erie, Erie canal, and Hudson river, and 492 from Washington City. It is in 39 deg. 6 minutes 30 seconds N. lat., and 7 deg. 24 minutes 25 seconds W. long. It is the largest city of the West north of New Orleans, and the fifth in population in the United States. It is situated on the north bank of the Ohio river, opposite the mouth of Licking river, which enters the Ohio between Newport and Covington, Kentucky. The Ohio here has a gradual bend towards the south.

This city is near the eastern extremity of a valley about twelve miles in circumference, surrounded by beautiful hills, which rise to the height of 300 feet by gentle and varying slopes, and mostly covered with native forest trees. The summit of these hills presents a beautiful and picturesque view of the city and valley. The city is built on two table-lands, the one elevated from forty to sixty feet above the other. Low-water mark in the river, which is 108 below the upper part-of the city, is 432 feet above tide-water at Albany, and 133 feet below the level of Lake Erie. The population in 1800 was 750; in 1810, 2,540; in 1820, 9,602; in 1830, 24,831; in 1840, 46,338; and, in 1847, over 90,000. Employed in commerce in 1840, 2,226; in manufactures and trades, 10,866 ; navigating rivers and canals, 1,748 ; in the learned professions, 377. Covington and Newport, opposite in Kentucky, and Fulton and the adjacent parts of Mill Creek township on the north are, in fact, suburbs of Cincinnati, and if added to the above population would extend it to 105,000. The shore of the Ohio at the landing is substantially paved to low-water mark, and is supplied with floating wharves, adapted to the great rise and fall of river, which renders the landing and shipping of goods at all times convenient.

Cincinnati seems to have been originally laid out on the model of Philadelphia -with great regularity. North of Main street, between the north side of Front street and the bank of the river, is the landing, an open area of 10 acres, with about 1,000 feet front. This area is of great importance to the business of the city, and generally presents a scene of much activity. The corporate limits include about four square miles. The central part is compactly and finely built, with spacious warehouses, large stores, and handsome dwellings ; but in its outer parts it is but partially built up and the houses irregularly scattered. Many of them are of stone or brick, but an equal or greater number are of wood, and are gener- ally from two to four stories high. The city contains over 11,000 edifices, public and private ; and of those recently erected, the number of brick exceeds those of wood, and the style of architecture is constantly improving. Many of the streets are well paved, extensively shaded with trees, and the houses ornamented with shrubbery. The climate is more variable than on the Atlantic coast in the same latitude. Snow rarely falls sufficiently deep or lies long enough to furnish sleighing. Few places are more healthy, the average annual mortality being 1 in 40. The inhabitants are from every State in the Union, and from various countries in Europe. Besides natives of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have furnished the greatest number; but many are from New York, Virginia,

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Maryland, and New England. Nearly one-fifth of the adult population are Germans. But England, Ireland, Scotland, France, and Wales have furnished considerable numbers.

The Ohio river at Cincinnati is 1,800 feet, or about one-third of a mile wide, and its mean annual range from low to high water is about 50 feet ; the extreme range may be about 10 feet more. The greatest depressions are generally in August, September, and October, and the greatest rise in December, March, May, and June. The upward navigation is generally suspended by floating ice for eight or ten weeks in the winter. Its current at its mean height is about three miles an hour ; when higher and rising, it is more; and, when very low, it does not exceed two miles. The quantity of rain and snow which falls annnally at Cincinnati is near 3 feet 9 inches. The wettest month is May, and the driest January. The average number of clear and fair days in a year is 146; of variable, 114; of cloudy, 105. There have been, since 1840, from thirty to thirty-eight steamboats anuually built, with an average aggregate tonnage of 6,500 tons.

Among the public buildings of Cincinnati is the court-house, on Main street ; it is a spacious building. The edifice of the Franklin and Lafayette bank, of Cincinnati, on Third street, has a splendid portico of Grecian Doric columns, 4 feet 6 inches in diameter, extending through the entire front, was built after the model of the Parthenon, and is truly classical and beautiful. The First and Second Presbyterian churches are beautiful edifices, and the Unitarian church is singularly neat. There are several churches, built within the last three years, which possess great beauty, either internally or externally. But the most impres sive building is the Catholic Cathedral, whichi, at far less cost, surpasses in beauty and picturesque effect the metropolitan edifice at Baltimore. There are many fine blocks of stores on Front, Walnut, Pearl, Main, and Fourth streets, and the eye is arrested by many beautiful private habitations. The most showy quarters are Main street, Broadway, Pearl, and Fourth street west of its intersection with Main.

There are 76 churches in Cincinnati, viz. : 7 Presbyterian (4 Old and 3 New School) ; 2 Congregational ; 12 Episcopal Methodist ; 2 Methodist Protestant ; 2 Wesleyau Methodist; 1 Methodist Episcopal South; 1 Bethel; 1 Associate Reformed ; 1 Reformed Presbyterian ; 6 Baptist ; 5 Disciples ; 1 Universalist ; 1 Restorationist; 1 Christian; 8 German Lutheran and Reformed; English Lutheran and Reformed, 1 each ; 1 United Brethren ; 1 Welsh Calvinistic; 1 Welsh Con- gregational ; 1 Unitarian ; 2 Friends; 1 New Jerusalem ; 8 Catholic, 6 of which are for Germans ; 2 Jewish synagogues ; 5 Episcopal, and 1 Second Advent.

There are 5 market-houses and 3 theatres, of which 1 is German.

Cincinnati contains many literary and charitable institutions. The Cincinnati College was founded in 1819. The building is in the centre of the city, and is the most beautiful edifice of the kind in the State. It is of the Grecian Doric order, with pilaster fronts and façade of Dayton marble, and cost about $35,000. It has 7 professors or other instructors, about 160 pupils, one-quarter of whom are in the collegiate department. Woodward College, named from its founder, who gave a valuable block of ground in the north part of the city, has a president and 5 professors or other instructors, and, including its preparatory department, near 200 students. The Catholics have a college called St. Xavier's, which has about 100 students and near 5,000 volumes in its libraries. Lane Seminary, a theological institution, is at Walnut Hills, two miles from the centre of the city. It went into operation in 1833, has near 100 students, and over 10,000 volumes in its libraries. There is no charge for tuition. Rooms are provided and fur- nished at $5 per annum, and the students boarded at 90 and 62} cents per week. The Medical College was chartered and placed under trustees in 1825. It has a large and commodious building, a library of over 2,000 volumes, 7 professors, and about 150 students. The Cincinnati Law School is connected with Cincinnati College, has 3 professors and about 30 students. The Mechanics' Institute,

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Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume I, Part 120

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio Number of Pages: 1006

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 1006