USA > Ohio > Champaign County > History of Champaign County, Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 104
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STREET LIGHTING.
The records in the city building fail to give the date when the first street lights were installed, but it was not until after the introduction of kerosene. When artificial gas was introduced in the fifties a few street lights were scattered around the public square and in the business section of the city. Gradually, lights were extended to the main residence streets, and by the time electricity was introduced in 1895 the city was well covered with gas lights. Since that time electric lights have supplanted the old gas lights, but the service is not altogether satisfactory. The appearance of many of the lights on any night is sufficient proof that the service is not what it should be. Many of the lamps on the street are nearly out and some of them are wholly out
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of commission. The pedestal system is in use in the business part of the city, and suspended lamps in the residential section. There are now a total of one hundred and ninety street lamps in operation ; or, at least, that number for which the city pays sixty-five dollars a year. The main trouble with the lamps seems to lie in the lack of attention to their care. The lamps are all right and the current is amply sufficient, but they are not taken care of in such a way as to give satisfactory results.
THE TELEPHONE IN URBANA.
It is difficult to believe that the telephone was in existence so many years before it was installed in Urbana, but facts are facts and the historian must set down the year 1898 as the beginning of the telephone in Urbana. Fre- quent attempts, more or less spasmodic and sporadic, had been made prior to that year to bring the "talking machine", as the local papers liked to call it, into the city, but it was not until September 23, 1898, that the first tangible step was taken toward installing a telephone system. The incorporators of this first company in Urbana were James B. Johnson, C. H. Marvin, E. M. S. Houston, J. I. Blose. D. B. McDonald, E. L. Barber, James S. Bailey, Jr .. Charles D. Juvinall. John H. E. Dimond, John C. Powers and Colon McDonald.
The incorporators organized by electing the following officers: James B. Johnson, president : J. H. E. Dimond, vice-president ; C. H. Marvin, secre- tary; John C. Powers, treasurer. The men instrumental in organizing the company had secured a twenty-five year franchise from the city in the spring of 1898, but it was not until the fall that definite steps were taken toward the installation of the system. The original capital stock was $30,000, which was increased to $50,000 in 1900 and to $100,000 in 1902. Originally the incorporators were the only stockholders, but as the system has been extended the company has taken in new stockholders until in 1917 the latter number more than eighty.
Barber & Bailey of Wauseon, Ohio, installed the system known as the manual system, and shortly afterwards sold out their interests to local cap- italists. Starting out with about 400 subscribers, the company soon had 800 and by 1908 the number of patrons had increased to 1,200. In April, 1917. the number of patrons was more than 1.600 and it is constantly grow- ing. The first headquarters of the company were in the Houston building on south Main street. When the automatic system was installed in 1908
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the company moved its quarters to 201 Scioto street, where it is still located. They own the building where they have their offices.
The company has endeavored to install all improvements which would enable it to give better service, and to this end all its earnings above six per cent have gone back into the plant for the good of the service. They have extended their service from year to year and are now operating in the town- ships of Salem, Wayne, Union, Mad River, Concord and Urbana. The exchange at Westville is owned by the company. In April, 1917, the com- pany had 1,072 miles of aerial cable and 467. miles of underground cable. From Westville the following mileage radiates: Pole lines, 151 miles ; aerial cable. 8 miles; underground cable, i mile. The company's chief toll outlet is over the lines of the Ohio State Telephone Company.
Some idea of the amount of business which is transacted over the com- pany lines radiating from Urbana may be seen when it is stated that there are. on an average, 12,000 local calls daily, in addition to the hundreds of country calls. The country and Westville exchange add 3,000 more calls to the daily total-an average of ten calls each day on the 1,600 telephones in use. A conservative estimate of the saving brought about by the use of the automatic system indicates that one girl under this system now does the work formerly performed by at least twenty telephone girls. The company owns its own dynamo and power plant, and, in order to meet any possible emergency which might arise, is connected with the city electric-light plant. It operates on sixty volts by means of storage batteries, the system being so devised that it is sufficiently flexible to handle a load up to three-horse power.
The nineteen years of the local company's service has seen a number of different managers in charge. In the order of their service they are as follow : E. E. McConnel, Frank M. Reifsnider. C. A. Ross, Jr., O. F. Frazee, H. F. Murphy, C. L. Carr, O. F. Frazee, C. L. Humbert, J. W. Cherry, Fred M. Quayle and A. C. Neff. the present manager, who has had charge of the plant since 1910. E. V. McNichol has been line foreman since 1909. C. D. Brown has been switchman since 1910. Revilla Dolph has been chief oper- ator since 1907. William A. Ferst has been in charge of the Westville exchange since 1900 and was in the company's employ for three years prior to that time. Mary McClellan has been cashier since 1904. The present day wire chief is Fern Wilson, while Fay Apple serves in a similar capacity at night. The present operating force consists of Iva Heller, Grace Larimore, Gladys Whalen, Annarae Clark, Evanell Lansdonne and Eva Holmes. The outside line force includes J. S. Eichelberger, Roy W. Groves, John W. McNichol and H. W. Knotts. The officers of the company in 1917 follow :
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C. H. Marvin, president; J. I. Blose, vice-president ; E. E. Cheney, secre- tary; J. C. Powers, treasurer. The officers and the following stockholders constitute the directorate: A. E. McConkey, R. H. Murphey, J. F. Hearn, J. H. E. Dimond, J. F. Brand and T. T. Brand.
TELEPHONE SERVICE IN CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
The extent of the service given by the Urbana Telephone Company has already been given. According to the last report of the county auditor there are ten other companies operating lines in the county, the Farmers and Merchants Telephone Company being the largest. Some of these companies have their headquarters in other counties. The names of these companies are listed in the appended table together with their mileage in Champaign county and the value placed thereon by the local authorities for the pur- poses of taxation.
Name of Company. Miles. Valuation.
Mechanicsburg Telephone Company 476 $36,610
Springfield-Xenia Telephone Company 113.33 4,950
North Lewisburg Telephone Company. 96 3.550
Piqua Home Telephone Company 24.77 1,350
Ohio State Telephone Company. 204 17,520
United Telephone Company ( Bellefontaine ) - 413.20 28,400
Farmers and Merchants Telephone Company .. 788 31,960
Logan County Farmers Telephone Company_ 146 4,110
The Urbana Telephone Company is credited with 2.187.70 miles of lines and is listed for taxation at $100,170. The Central Union Telephone Company, mileage not given, is listed at $35.490 for taxation purposes. The one telegraph company in the county, the Western Union, has 533.68 miles of wire in the county listed on the tax schedule at $35,070.
A study of the telephone situation in Champaign county as it exists in 1917 shows that the county is exceptionally well covered with lines. While all the towns and villages are supplied with service and have been for several years, it is to be noticed that each of the twelve townships has seen the serv- ice extended into their rural districts within the past few years. It is esti- mated that at least one hundred telephones are installed in the county each year. The rural lines bring the telephone within the reach of practically every farmer in the county. Now the farmer has the mail brought to his
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doorstep each day. If the mail should, by any misfortune miscarry, he could call up Urbana. Bellefontaine, London or Springfield and find the price of corn or hogs. Truly the times have changed. The telephone at the farmer's elbow is making him more than ever the monarch of all he surveys.
CEMETERIES OF URBANA.
The present beautiful cemtery of Urbana is a fitting tribute to those public-spirited citizens whose far-seeing wisdom selected the grounds now composing Oak Dale cemetery. Few cemeteries in the state combine so many elements of natural beauty and adaptibility to burial purposes as does Oak Dale cemetery. The inception of the cemetery dates from 1855, al- though it was not until July 19, 1856, that the ground was cleared up, platted and ready for dedication. Before taking up the history of Oak Dale cem- etery it is necessary to discuss the provision for burying in the city prior to the time the present cemetery was opened.
The first burial lot in the village was set aside by William Ward, the original proprietor of the town. When he laid out the town into two hun- dred and twelve lots in the summer of 1805 he designated lots 211 and 212 on East Ward street for burial purposes. At that time ( 1805) Ward street was not yet opened and when the street was later opened it was found that some graves had been made in the path of the street. The bodies were ex- humed and reburied in other parts of the cemetery. The city owned the south side of the cemetery and at the present time the dwellings of Clyde Earnhart, Ora Nichols and Mrs. Eliza M. Gaumer are on the site.
The city continued to use the burying ground on East Ward street until 1856, but before that time it had been recognized that new and more extensive grounds would have to be provided. Accordingly, a group of men organized a company and purchased twenty-five acres of the present Oak Dale cemetery. On October 23, 1855, there was a meeting of the village council with the trustees of Greenwood cemetery-the first name applied to the cemetery-and at this meeting the city became officially connected with the cemetery. The minutes of this first meeting follow :
In pursuance of an appointment of the Council of the Incorporated Village of Urbana in the County of Champaign and State of Ohio, and a previous notice, the follow- ing gentlemen, Trustees of Greenwood Cemetery, met at the Mayor's office, to wit : Messrs. Lemuel Weaver, Jno. Poffenberger, Jno. H. Young, Jacob H. Patrick, David Gwynne and W. F. Mosgrove, Henry Crabill. the other Trustee not being present.
An organization of the Board of Trustees was effected by the election of the follow- ing officers, to wit: Lemuel Weaver, President; W. F. Mosgrove, Secretary ; W. F. Mos grove, General Agent.
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The board bought an additional tract of one and five-sevenths acres on November 30, 1855, and later added other tracts, making the total area of the cemetery at the present time about sixty acres. On May 28, 1856, the name of the cemetery was changed from Greenwood to Oak Dale, the latter being the name by which the cemetery has since been known. During the spring and summer of 1856 the trustees had the grounds prepared for use and, as has been stated, the grounds were formally dedicated on July 19, 1856.
The clergy of the city had exclusive charge of the dedicatory cere- monies. The program consisted of the following exercises: Singing by Rev. J. B. Finley ; prayer by Rev. Agenbroad; reading of the Scripture by Rev. I). Schindler ; address and formal dedication by Rev. James F. Chal- fant ; benediction by Rev. L. H. Long. As soon as the cemetery was ready for the reception of bodies, the relatives and friends of those buried in the old cemetery on East Ward street began to remove the bodies from the old to the new cemetery. However, it was not until within the last few years that the last bodies were finally removed from the old grounds.
MANAGEMENT OF THE CEMETERY.
The new cemetery was under the management of the city council from the time of its establishment in 1856 until in April, 1872. On the latter date the first city cemetery trustees were elected, and they at once elected one of their number as acting trustee. This board of trustees continued in charge of the cemetery until the new municipal code went into effect on May 1. 1903, at which time the management of the cemetery passed into the hands of the board of public service. The management has not been changed since 1903.
The mayor of the city was the executive officer in charge of the cem- etery from 1856 to 1872, although for a few years one of the trustees had charge. W. C. Keller, mayor at the time of the dedication, was in charge until his death in May, 1857. E. L. Small, William Patrick, George B. Coulter and I. H. Long, as mayors, served, in turn, as the executive head of the cemetery trustees from 1857 to 1868. Rev. L. H. Long, who was elected mayor in September, 1867. by the city council to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George B. Coulter. was the last mayor to serve as executive head of the cemetery trustees. Although Reverend Long ended his term as mayor in the spring of 1868. he continued as head of the cem- etery for five years, or up until 1872. From that time until the present
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municipal code went into effect on May 1, 1903, the cemetery trustees elected one of their number to serve as manager. During this period of thirty-one years the following trustees have served as managers of the cemetery : John H. P. Stone. eight years : John D. Rock, four years; Royal J. Winder, four years and three months : A. F. Vance, Jr., nine months ; J. M. Colwell, four years ; D. B. McDonald, ten years, or from 1893 until May I. 1903. on which date the management of the cemetery passed into the hands of the new board of public service.
The trustees of the cemetery from 1872 until 1903, in which latter year the board of public service assumed charge, were as follow: John H. P. Stone, 1872-93: A. C. Deuel. 1872-73: R. H. Cheetham, 1872; John B. Rock, 1873-78: P. B. Ross, 1874-79; G. M. Russell. 1875-77: Josephus S. Parker, 1878-83; Charles Kulencamp, 1880-82: A. F. Vance. Jr., 1883-91; Royal J. Winder, 1884-died on July 18, 1888; J. M. Colwell, 1889-95; D. B. McDonald, 1892-1903: Henry Helps, 1894-died in December of same year; J. K. Cheetham. 1895-1902: Charles Lauppe, 1896-1903.
The first members of the board of public service in 1903 were C. G. Kennedy ( 1903-05), H. W. Putnam ( 1903-06) and W. A. Smith ( 1903-05). The present members of the civil service commission are Philip J. Schneider, George S. Middleton and Ross Warnock. The first superintendent of the cemetery was John J. Myers and he served faithfully from March 1, 1857, to March 1, 1886. H. A. Church has served as superintendent since that date and is now in his thirty-first year of continuous service. The position pays an annual salary of twelve hundred dollars.
SOME NOTED MONUMENTS.
The trustees erected the present receiving vault in 1885 and since that time a number of private mausoleums have been erected. The two most noted monuments in the cemetery are those that mark the graves of Simon Kenton and J. Q. A. Ward. The former was designed by J. Q. Adams Ward. the monument itself being a plain block of marble with the head of an Indian chief, the head of a bear. the head of a wolf, and the head of a panther, cut in life size on the four faces, respectively, of the monument. Kenton was originally buried in Logan county, where he died, but his re- mains were exhumed and finally interred in Oak Dale in 1884. The expense of the monument was borne by the state of Ohio, a special act of the Legis- lature appropriating a sum for the purpose. The inscription on the monu- ment is very simple : On one side it reads: "1755-1836, Simon Kenton;"
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on the reverse space are the simple words "Erected by the State of Ohio, 1884."
Ward's monument was designed by himself and is commonly known as "the Indiana Hunter." It is a replica of a larger statue which stands in Central Park, in New York City. It is of bronze and is mounted on a roughly shaped Champaign county granite boulder. The monument at- tracts thousands of visitors annually to the cemetery and is a most striking piece of art, designed as it was by America's foremost sculptor.
There is a section of the cemetery which is used by the Catholics, the church in Urbana never having provided a separate burial ground for its members. There is also a small section set aside for the reception of old soldiers and here may be seen forty graves grouped around a small cannon.
The cemetery was opened on July 19, 1856. and during the first year there were forty-two interments. The total number of interments from 1856 to July 20, 1917. was 8,266. In 1916 there were 171 interments and the year 1917 has seen 112 up to Friday, July 20. The city expended a total of $6,169.11 for the maintenance of the cemetery for the year ending December 31, 1916.
WII.LOW DRIVE.
One of the most striking features of Oak Dale cemetery is the willow- fringed driveway leading from Scioto street to its entrance. In past years Willow Drive has been the object of much admiration because of its strik- ing beauty. The large tree trunks and the wide-spreading branches, which formed a leafy canopy over the driveway in the summertime, was sufficient to excite the aesthetic feelings of everyone.
The honor of planting these trees, and caring for them in their in- fancy, is due to Judge William Patrick, who was largely instrumental in the establishment of the cemetery. The willows were planted in 1858 and Judge Patrick, who was then mayor of Urbana, did the work personally. As he went to his task, he gathered up the youngsters on Scioto street, to carry water and hold the young trees while he "sifted the dark mold with kindly care about the tender infants' feet." and tamped the earth snugly around them. It was due to the efforts of Judge Patrick that a strip of half an acre was acquired for the driveway out to Scioto street, and in his honor the trustees later designated it as Patrick avenue. Another honor was done Judge Patrick's memory, when after his death on January 18, 1891. the cemetery trustees instructed the superintendent of grounds to keep his grave
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and that of his wife in perfect condition from year to year as a token of appreciation for what he had done for the cemetery.
Pictures have been painted and countless photographs have been taken of the old driveway, which is now about sixty years old, but it is with a sense of melancholy that the people pass through the street now. Where once stood the sturdy trees with their symmetrical branches, which softly whispered in the summer zephyrs, now stand in several places gnarled stumps or trees with broken snags of branches. Each succeeding storm takes its toll in boles and branches. Since the condition of these decrepit monarchs becomes more and more a menace to the public, it is quite prob- able that they will soon be replaced by a younger generation of their own kind-or, it would seem, by a different species of tree. It is, however, with sadness that Urbanians see the passing of these old trees which have been a landmark in this section for so many years.
STREET PAVING.
The city of Urbana struggled along with macadamized and graveled streets from the beginning of its history down to 1912. There were other towns in the county which had street paving before the county seat did. It is undoubtedly true that the city's experience with gas and water, costly as it was, postponed for several years the paving of the city's streets. The first attempt at providing any other kind of a street than gravel was made in 1912, when Reynolds street from South Main to Russell street was paved with what was known as tarvia macadam.
By the spring of 1914 the city felt itself in a financial condition war- ranting a start at paving and on April 14 let a contract to J. O. Shoup, of Dayton, Ohio, in the sum of $36,980, for the paving of Monument Square and two blocks from the square on North Main and Miami streets, the work to be completed by November 30, 1914. On the same date (April 14, 1914.) the city let a contract to the Andrews Paving Company, of Ham- ilton, Ohio, for the paving of the first two blocks of Scioto street. This street was to be paved with asphalt and the contract of two dollars and ten cents a square yard brought the total cost of the two blocks to $10,161.50. Nelsonville brick was used for the Square and for North Main street, while Hocking Valley brick was used on Miami and South Main. Berea stone was used for the curbs around the square and one square on North and South Main and Miami. Cement was used for both curb and gutter on Scioto. The latter street was the first completed and its opening on June 9,
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1914, was the occasion for a terpsichorean performance which was cele- brated with all the municipal pomp and ceremony possible. The street was handsomely decorated by the property owners. bands discoursed music and all in all it was a most joyous occasion. By October 31, 1914, the Square and three streets paved with brick were thrown open to the public. In 1915 and 1916 the rest of Main. Scioto and Miami streets was paved. Court street was also paved through practically its entire length. No paving was planned for 1917. It should be said that the paving has been well done and that it compares very favorably with paving in other cities.
STREET-CLEANING DEPARTMENT.
The present system of street cleaning was established at the time the first street paving was completed in 1914. As the number of paved streets has increased the amount of equipment of the department has been increased until at the present time it consists of one rotary sweeper, six hand carts and three sprinkling wagons. There is also one one-horse cart used by the de- partment, but it is privately owned and the city pays the owner for the use of the cart and his services in operating it. In addition to the equipment above enumerated the city owns a scraper, scarifier and roller. The paved streets are swept by the sweeper daily. The contract for flushing the streets with water in 1917 was let to Miller & Saxbe. This firm purchased a flush- ing machine in 1915 and was under contract in 1916 for a part of the time. In 1917 the work was placed under the direct supervision of Service Director Rock. The new firm furnishes two teams and two drivers and the city pays fifteen dollars a day for this special street service. According to the con- tract the business part of the city is flushed each night during the summer time between the hours of ten p. m. and six a. m. while the resident districts are flushed twice a week in the day time. The sprinkling on the unpaved streets is under the supervision of William L. O'Brien, the superintendent of the street-cleaning department. The cost of cleaning the streets in 1916 was about five thousand dollars. The sweepings are either burned or dumped in the gravel pit at the north end of the city. The garbage and waste paper receptacles along the streets in the business section of the city were placed there by the women of the city representing different church organizations.
MARKET HOUSE AND CITY HALL ..
The first property owned by the city was a market house and contrary to the current belief it was not on Market street as might have been ex-
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pected, but on West Court street. This first market house stood on the lot now owned by Harry B. Hull and was in use until 1830; a storm in that year completely demolished it. The next market house was erected on the corner of South Main and Market streets on the site now occupied by the city building. It was erected by Samuel Miller and was opened for use in 1831. When the town decided to locate the new market house there, the site was occupied by the blacksmith shop of John Hurd, but the public- spirited citizens of South Main street raised some money by private sub- scription and purchased some twenty feet of Hurd's lot and he moved his shop back, thus giving a site twenty by ninety-nine feet for the market house. On this lot was built a wooden structure on brick pillars, one story in height.
The history of this corner is interesting. Some years later Hurd erected a fine two-story brick residence adjoining the market house on the south: that is, facing Main street and occupying the south half of the site now covered by the city building. The residence later became a hotel, passed through several hands and eventually became the property of Col. John H. James. In the fifties the city purchased it and the city at once reconstructed the building and used part of it for the mayor's office and council chamber, another part for a market house and still another part for an engine house for the fire department. It was even used as a public school building during the latter part of the sixties and as late as the seventies. This building built by Hurd and owned by a number of different men was removed in 1890 to make way for the present beautiful city building. And this tells the story up to 1800 of the corner lot where now stands the "City of Urbana."
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