History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley, Part 92

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 728

USA > Ohio > Jefferson County > History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley > Part 92
USA > Ohio > Belmont County > History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley > Part 92

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STAR GLASS WORKS.

In 1872, Colonel Sullivan erected the Star Glass Works. It was run until 1875, when it suspended owing to the panic of 1873. The capital invested was $12,000, The class of ware manufactured was mostly lamp chimneys. Whilst in operation they gave employment to about eighty hands. In 1879, the building was consumed by fire.

BARNHILL BOILER AND SHEET IRON WORKS.

In September 1875, Mr. J. B. Barnhill started the boiler and sheet iron works. He rented the building owned by Sullivan, Barnard & Cowen, on the east side of Union street, opposite the Belmont House and near the C. & P, depot. Capital invested, $1,500. He manufactures boilers, &c., giving employment to abont fourteen hands. Monthly pay roll is about $400. Annnal products $8,000.

LIMESTONE QUARRY.

Including the many and varied business interests of Bellaire is A. Mclain's limestone quarry, which is located on Indian run, about a mile west of the city. Mr. McC. has adopted a new method of quarrying for limestone. He has opened a tunnel and works it on the same plan of a coal bank. This quarry runs about six feet of first quality of stone underlying the entire hill. For the last six years he has had the contract for supply- ing the furnace connected with the Bellaire nail works, with limestone, which consumes from fourteen to fifteen thousand tons per year. This quarry gives employment to twenty-five men. The monthly pay roll exceeds $1,000.

COAL MINING.

Coal mining, which was made the first feature of business at this point, is still continued with great success. The coal trade has been a lucrative one: From 1830, or perhaps earlier, to the present time, this business has been prominent amongst the other branches of trade. For a number of years it was the only business here. Thousands upon thousands of tons have been dug from the almost inexhaustable supply which lies under the immediate hills west of the city, and shipped to other points along the river. The coal is easily mined, is of excellent qual- ity, and the facilities for shipping are unsurpassed, naturally or artificially.

The mines which are now being operated are as follows : Heatherington's Coal Works, Morgan's Coal Works, Kelly's Coal Works, Henry's Coal Works, Barnard's Coal Works, and Sullivan's Coal Works. These employ in the aggregate about $500,000 capital, and give work to from three hundred to five hundred laborers. The amount paid to employes is about $10,000 per month.

The first gentleman in this business was Captain Fink. He was followed by George and Richard Sutton, Evan Lake, Jacob

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HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JFEFERSON COUNTIES.

Heatherington, Thomas Williams, T. A. Horn and others. Of these pioneer coal dealers, Jacob Heatherington still continues in the business.

While all these works are among Bellaire's leading business enterprises, the

BELMONT COAL WORKS.

owned by Mr. Heatherington, are of special commercial im- portance. They are located on the river, and have a "drop chute," by which barges, steamboats and deck-boats are loaded. The capacity of this mine is from four thousand to six thousand bushels of lump and nut coal per day. The main drift is a half a mile in length, and the boundary two miles. From seventy to eighty men are now employed here. Large amounts of coal are shipped down the river, and over the Bellaire and South- western railway.

Mr. Heatherington also operates another mine, from which he supplies several glass works and city trade.

LUMBER DEALERS.

In the spring of 1854, A. W. Anderson started in the lumber business on the present site of the mill formerly known as Bute's. He remained in the lumber business until 1870. In 1866 he be- gan the manufacture of doors and sash in connection, at which time he took into partnership Alexander Dubois. He was really the pioneer lumberman in Bellaire. In the spring of 1870, he sold his interest to C. W. Carroll. The firm name then changed from Anderson & Dubois to Dubois & Carroll. The senior partner remained in but a short time, when he sold to Julius Armstrong. The firm was then Carrol, Armstrong & Co. After the death of J. W. Carroll, the firm changed to Armstrong & Smith. In the meantime Dubois continued in the business in- dependently until his death in 1875. He was succeeded by John Dubois, who still carries on the business.

FLOURING MILLS.

The pioneer flouring mill of this city was erected by the Ault Brothers in 1868. It has been successfully operated by these gentlemen ever since. The mill was purchased by this firm from parties in or near Glencoe, where it was originally built. This point being more desirable, it was torn down and removed here, and rebuilt. It has been doing a good business and is a reputable grist mill.

The second flouring mill was built by Bute & Dunlap, near the B. & S. W. R. R. depot, in 1873, at a cost of $19,000, and is a substantial brick building 42x80 feet, three stories high. The firm of Bute & Dunlap failed. Owing to the financial depression which occurred abont this time, they were unable to meet their demands and an assignment was made a couple of years ago. In 1879, the present firm of Hill, Stewart & Ward purchased the mill property and are now operating it.

HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL OHIO RAILROAD.

The charter of the Central Ohio Railroad Company was en- acted by the General Assemby of Ohio on the 8th of February, 1848; the corporators named in the act being Robert Neil, Samuel Medary. Joel Buttles, Joseph Ridgeway and Bela Latham of the county of Franklin ; David Smith, Daniel Dun- can, Adam Seymour, Israel Dille, Albert Sherwood, Nathaniel B. Hogg, Levi J. Haughey, Jacob Glessner, George W. Penny, Jonathan Taylor, A. P. Prichard and Wickliff Condit of the county of Licking ; James Raguet, Robert Mitchel, Daniel Brush, John Hamm, Solomon Sturges, Richard Stillwell, Daniel Converse, Levi Claypool and Solomon Woods of the county of Muskingum.

The corporation was vested with the right to construct a rail- road with single or double track, commencing at Columbus ; thence by the towns of Newark and Zanesville, to such point on the Ohio river as the directors might select. It was also anthor- ized to extend its road to the line which divides the states of Ohio and Indiana whenever the directors might deem it expe- dient.

The capital stock of the company was fixed at $1,500,000. with the privilege of increasing to $2,500,000 if necessary. Shares $50 each.

Stock books were duly opened and $10,000-the amount re- quired by law to be subscribed before organization-having been subscribed, an election of thirteen directors was held. Ten of the whole number, viz : Solomon Sturges, John Hamm, William Dennison, Jr., George James, Albert Sherwood, Charles B. God- dard, Daniel Marble, Levi Claypool, Daniel Brush and Stephen R. Hosmer being duly qualified, proceeded to elect Solomon Stur- ges, President; Daniel Brush, Treasurer ; and David H. Lyman. Secretary. The first meeting and organization took place at Newark, Ohio, on the 26th of August, 1847.

At this meeting the president was authorized to employ suit- able engineers to survey a route from Columbus, by Newark and Zanesville, to a point on the Ohio river opposite the city of Wheeling. Also, as the stock subscribed was insufficient to meet the expense of the proposed surveys, the president was directed to apply to the cities of Zanesville, Newark and Columbus for contributions, which should be applied to their credit on stock subscriptions if they should thereafter become stockholders.

This was a very feeble beginning for an enterprise intended to be one of the through lines of the state, and likely, from the character of the country, to cost millions,-the topography of the route for about half the distance being of greater ruggedness than that of any road then undertaken in the state.

Nearly a year having elapsed without addition to the stock of the Company, it was proposed to apply for municipal subscrip- tions-town and county-to interests lying along the proposed route ; but at that time so little was known of the beneficial in- fluence of railroads, and so timidly apprehensive were the people as to debt and taxation, that much difficulty was anticipated in the obtainment of a ratifying vote, The county of Muskingum with 35,000 population and $12,000,000 of taxables was modestly asked for $60,000; and the city of Zanesville, with $2,000,000 of taxables and 8,000 population, was solicited for $30,000 of stock, for which it was proposed they should issue ten year bonds. Upon the publication of carefully collected statistics and a thorough canvass of the county and city, the two subscriptions were authorized. The sums first applied for were increased to about double the amount on a second vote, and afterwards large- ly increased, upon extension of the line eastwardly from Zanes- ville to the Ohio river.

The second election of Directors was held on the 22d day of August, 1848 ; at which time there were elected Lewis Claypool, Israel Dille, A. Sherwood, R. McCoy, Wm. Dennison, Jr., James Raguet, John Hamm, Solomen Sturges, Daniel Brush, Charles B. Goddard, S. R. Homer and Jobn H. Sullivan. The organiza- tion was postponed, in consequence of the absence of the last named director, till his return on the 2d of September following, when Mr. Sullivan was elected President, Daniel Brush, Treas- urer, and Israel Dille, Secretary.

This Board was understood to be committed to an active pros- eention of the work. From this time forward the road was pushed as fast as means could be procured, although under many discouragements and embarrassments; being opened from Zanesville to Newark in 1849-from Newark to Columbus in 1850. The line from Zanesville to Columbus was called the "Western Division."

The company then proceeding with the "Eastern Division" opened the road from Zanesville to Cambridge in 1853 and from Cambridge to the Ohio river in November, 1854. The road having thus been opened through from Columbus to Bellaire, on the Ohio river, a distance of one hundred and thirty-seven miles. under the management of Mr. Sullivan, he closed his connection with the enterprise in Angust, 1855. Mr. Fassett, of New York, was elected to succeed him. After two or three years of service, Mr. Fassett retired, and was succeeded by Mr. H. J. Jewett, who after being Receiver for the road was elected its President and President of the company as re-organized, and still remains such.

The company was re-organized under vote of its stockholders and creditors on the 1st of November, 1865. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company took possession of the Central Ohio Railroad on the Ist of December, 1866, as lessee of the road.

The bridge across the Ohio river at Bellaire by contract be- tween the two companies, was erected at the joint expense of the two, in the ratio of two-thirds by the B. & O. and one-third by the C. O. Co. This contract was ratified and confirmed by the Central Ohio R. R. Co. as reorganized.

The Central Ohio R. R. Co. sold to the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis R. R. Co. an undivided half of the line between New- ark and Columbus and it is now worked by the two interests joint-

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HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

ly. For this interest the Pittsburgh. Columbus & Cincinnati R. R. Co. redeemed the third ninety year bonds of the Central Ohio R. R. Co., amounting to $800,000.

Without referring to the treasurer's books and depending upon memory, we may say that the road cost $7,000,000. for which the · company had but $1,600,000 of capital stock subscribed. The stock and debt after $800,000 was extinguished by the sale to the P. C. & St. Louis R. R. Co. were scaled down to about 85,500,000, which represents the capital upon which dividends are now de- clared.

THE BRIDGE OVER THE OHIO.

One of the most notable features of Bellaire is the extensive railroad bridge which spans the Ohio. It is a fine piece of ar- chitectural work. It was commenced in 1865 and completed in 1870, at a cost of a million and a quarter dollars. Its length, including the arcade and excluding the approaches, measures three-quarters of a mile. The grade of the approaches and ex- cavations are sixty feet to the mile. The two spans over the navigable portion of the river measures : the western 300 feet and the eastern 400. The masonry is of the best description and contains 30,000 cubic yards. It was constructed at the joint expense of the Central Ohio and the Baltimore roads, as mention- ed on the preceding page. The chief engineer was J. L. Ran- dolph.

BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD STOCK YARDS.

These yards are located at Bellaire now. They were built in the early history of stock shipping by railroad, above Bogg's run in about 1854, but removed to this place in 1869, and rented from the company by John Christal and run by him. The vards are conveniently situated for loading, unloading, resting, feed- ing and watering stock. Twenty-four hours from Baltimore and thirty-two from Chicago, thus affording facilities unsurpass- ed by any yards between the sea-board cities and the great west. Also offers great advantages for local trade. They are in charge of J. R. Pumell. Capacity of yards, about seventy-five car loads.

BELLAIRE AND SOUTHWESTERN RAILROAD.

It is reasonable to expect that the construction of a railroad through as fine and wealthy a district as the one in which the Bellaire and Southwestern road will occupy when completed, would be a success .. Already it has over-reached the sanguine expectation. The road is designed to go through Belmont, Monroe, Washington and Athens counties. The places of ter- mini of this road are to be Bellaire and Athens. The company which is known as the " Bellaire and Southwestern Railway Company." was organized in 1875. The first division is from Bellaire to Woodsfield, in Monroe county, a distance of forty- two miles. The capital stock subscribed in 1876 was $240,000. The road, after being surveyed by the chief engineer to Woods- field, was estimated to cost, for construction, $12,000 per mile ; but on account of the shrinkage in the cost of labor, iron and supplies, in connection with the rigid and economical manage- ment of the work, when entirely completed and equipped for business, will not exceed $10,000 per mile. There are twenty- nine miles of track laid. The road-bed is nearly completed on the first division. The bridging and trestling is also approach- ing completion. Twenty-nine iniles of track with the necessa- ry sidings is being operated with an equipment of one sixteen- ton and one twenty-ton locomotive, two passenger coaches, one box car and twenty-four flat cars. Two months, it is thought, will complete the road to Woodsfield.

OFFICERS FOR 1879-80.

At the annual meeting of the stockholders of this company, held at the office of the same, in Bellaire, Ohio, on the 8th of October, 1879, the organization of the company was made as fol- lows :

President-S. L. Mooney.

Vice President-Wm. M. Armstrong.

Treasurer-A. P Tallman. Secretary-A. W. Anderson.

Executive Committee-S. L. Mooney, A. W. Anderson, Wm. M. Armstrong, W. T. Morris, A. H. Caldwell, A. P. Tallman and George Henry.

Directors-S. L. Mooney, W. T. Morris, Michael Hoeffler, Christian Weber, Dr. A. B. Covert, Henry Miller, John Keyser, A. H. Caldwell, William M. Armstrong, Alexander Armstrong,

Jacob Heatherington, A. W. Anderson, A. P. Tallman, William G. Barnard, George Henry.

STATIONS ON THE ROAD.

The following is a list of the stations from Bellaire to Woods- field : Bellaire, Shady Side, Ambler's, Mapleton, Irwin's, Bethel, Jacobsburg, Kelsey's, Becket's, Captina, Armstrong's Mills, Caldwell, Crabapple, Beallsville, Hutchinson, Jerusalem, Adair, Ozark, Shoemaker, Slimchance, Woodsfield.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE LINE.

The following article from the Wheeling Intelligencer, giving an account of an excursion over the line from Bellaire to Arm- strong's Mills, in the summer of 1879, contains such a graphic description of this road that we copy it in this connection. The editor, A. W. Campbell, Esq., was one of the party of excursion- ists :

"A number of invited guests from this city, Bridgeport and Bellaire made an excursion over the Bellaire and Southwestern Narrow-Gauge as far as Armstrong's Mills, half way to Woods- field, twenty-one miles from Bellaire. * * * *

In all there were about fifty persons on the two cars constituting the train, the expedition being in personal charge of President Mooney.

One of the cars, a gondola, fitted up with an awning over it (the sides being lett open) and plentifully supplied with chairs, was the favorite car on the part of those who desired plenty of air and a good view of the country. At 10:30 A. M. the train left the famous State Tobaaco Warehouse depot, having in the lead the pioneer locomotive of the line-the Woodsfield-which has not missed a day in its nearly two years service. And this reference to its long service reminds us that the Bellaire and Southwestern road has not had a mushroom growth by any means, but has progressed slowly and somewhat painfully as far as it has been built. Its experience, however, in this particular, is one of many instances of the same kind. The great New York Central road was built slowly and by piecemeal, under half a dozen different names. It is now nearly two years since the B. & S. W. road was built to Wegee, and about four years since it was organized as a company. According to all appear- ances, however, it has acquired an accelerated motion that will carry it through to Woodsfield to which place it is graded, dur- ing this present year.

"There are eleven stations on the road from Bellaire to Arm- strong's Mills, including those two points. * * * * These stations are, of course, close together, two miles being the long- est distance between any two of them, and some of them being only half a mile apart. In addition, the cars stop anywhere, wherever the train is hailed. The B. & S. W. is a model local road in this respect. It makes its money this way, and just now it is making a great deal of it, we are glad to say. Its receipts are averaging $50 per day, while its running expenses are but 87. On the 4th of July its receipts were $500. At every step of its progress its earnings have increased, and by the time it reaches Woodsfield they are expected to net $110 per day, or counting 312 working days, $34,320 per year, which amount will pay the interest on $240,000 of the six per cent. bonds and leave $19,920 of a surplus.

"The excursionists were impressed with the excellence of the territory which the road traverses. They all got out of the cars at the top of the ridge at Grand View, near Jacobsburg, to take a look at the vast extent of rich and highly cultivated coun- try that met their eyes in every direction. They had the testi- mony of Deacon Stone that no such country was to be seen in Palestine (and he has recently been there), and hence we have no doubt that the prospect far exceeded that of Moses from the top of Pisgah when he looked upon the land that flowed with milk and honey beyond the Jordan. In fact, we judged from the Deacon's remarks that if he owned Belmont county he would not swap it for two Palestines. Certainly it was a sight worth seeing to look upon such an immense area of beautiful and high- ly cultivated country as was visible from that summit. And to a railroad man's eye, the fact that it was all divided off into small farms, and was thickly studded with fields of golden grain, wav- ing corn, and green pastures, and that sheep and cattle could be seen upon " a thousand hills," lent a peculiar charm to the scene.

" Here, said he, is the country from which this narrow-guage is to draw trade and travel. Mr. Mooney claims that the lino from the Ohio river to the Muskingum is the best uns-cupied territo- ry for a railroad in the state of Ohio, and we think it quite like- ly that he is correct. By reference to the svatistical report of

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the Secretary of State of Ohio for 1877, we find that the gross movable tonnage, almost entirely agricultural, of the territory tributary to the first division of the B. & S. W. road, compris- ing one-fourth of Belmont, tour-fifths of Monroe, and one-fourth of Noble county, aggregate annually two hundred million pounds, or one thousand tons. If we take of this amount only one-fifth, or say 20,000 tons, and add to this the lumber, timber, building and limestone, (which last item, by the way, promiscs to become important one over this road ), and to this again add the coal and miscellaneous merchandise that the people require in exchange for their products, and to this again add the passenger travel, together with mails and express, we will have some idea of the traffic that seems in store for this road when it is com- pleted.

" Speaking of limestone, the attention of the excursionists was several times called to the amount of it immediately on the line of the road. Limestone is in active demand at the furnaces on both sides of the river at Bellaire and Wheeling at eighty cents per ton, and the railroad company expect to load their coal cars with it on their return trips, the same as the C. & P. road loads its coal cars from the lake with return cargoes of ore.

" The ride to Armstrong's Mills occupied about two hours. There was no hurry and the company journeyed along at a very moderate rate of speed. There was plenty of time to inspect the track, the trestle work, the cuts, fills, grades and curva- tures, and comment on their character. From Jacobsburgh down to Captina creek the four-mile grade descends at the rate of 132 feet to the mile. There is a corresponding three mile grade east of Jacobsburgh. And yet eight car loads of passen- gers (densely packed) were hauled up this grade on the 4th of July without difficulty by the " Beallsville," the new Mogul.en- gine recently purchased. She daily hauls the heavily loaded gravel train np the same grade. This shows how steep an as- cent is possible on a narrow gauge, and therefore how economi- cal they can be managed as compared with the standard gauge. The seventeen mile grade on the Baltimore and Ohio road, up the mountains, is only 110 feet to the mile, and it takes two en- gines to move a train of seventeen cars up that grade.

" The excursion arrived at Armstrong's Mills at half past twelve, and found it quite an animated looking place. And what is more, they found that a bountiful pienie collation had been spread for them in the spacious hall over Armstrong's new brick store. The hall is used by the Odd Fellows, and is, for a country place, large and well fitted up.

"The table stretched from one end of the hall to the other, and the host of the Globe Honse, at Bellaire, who was the ca- terer in charge of the feast, served up the collation, including berries and cream for dessert, in very creditable style. The milk and butter could not be surpassed, and reminded us of the milk and butter that hung in the well before the days of oleo- margarine.

"The company were introduced to the Tycoon of the settle- ment, Mr. Alexander Armstrong, who has merchandised at this point since 1833, and whose father was a miller, merchant and farmer hero before him. The Armstrongs are the reigning dynasty in that part of Belmont, and one of them, Dr. Arm- strong, lately represented the county in the Legislature. Here they have lived and waxed fat ; accumulated much good land, many shekels, especially Mr. Alexander Armstrong, who in his old days has built himself a very handsome and spacious brick residence near the banks of the classic Captina, which here flows with a majestic sweep towards the Ohio, ten miles distant. His country store is a busy sort of a place, and in the way of variety is equal to a well-stocked museum, having everything for sale from "pins, pills and plow points" up to "coffee, curly-ques and coffins."

"The "Mills" have long been an important point on Captina. Tobacco and grain have been shipped from here in large quanti- ties to Powhatan, and thence by river to the various markets up and down the river. As an illustration of the change the rail- road will bring to the farmers here, we note the fact that in 1875 Mr. William Armstrong sold forty tons of hay for delivery at Bellaire, at $25 per ton. It cost him $7 per ton to haul it to Powhatan and ship it by boat to Bellaire, leaving him only $18 net. The railroad would have carried it for him at $1 50 to $2 per ton. It formerly cost about $3 per hogshead to ship tobacco to Bellaire or Wheeling. Now it is carried to Bellaire for one dollar, escaping, in addition, a great deal of rough handling.

"Every excursion has to have its episode, as a matter of course, and the episode of this excursion was a visit to Raven's Rock, abont two miles this side of the Mills. The creek being

up considerably, on account of the recent rains, a conveyance had been provided to take the excursionists across to see the wonderful rock. They were taken over, half a dozen at a load, to the extent of about two-thirds of the whole number. We ob- served that those who had been there before did not go this time. Next time we will be among those who have been there before, and will imitate their example. We like to visit rocks that are at least as accessible as the crags among which the wild chamois of the Alps pick their way, but when it comes to exploring glens down which the mountain torrent rushes "tumultuously to the sea," and then leaving the rocky and slippery and very romantic and somewhat damp exploration for a perpendicular ascent up a primeval formation of the tertiary period, there will have to be something more than a rock at the end of the trip to compensate us.

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History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley, Part 92

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 728

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 728