USA > Ohio > Champaign County > History of Champaign County, Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 12
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On March 17, 1832, the commissioners-David Markley, Miles C. Beatty and Timothy Powell-met for the purpose of receiving the new jail, "and after examining said jail they concluded that the contract had been complied with respecting the way that the work was to be done in said build- ing, and therefore received said jail, and also ordered that the auditor should issue an order to John Hamilton for the balance due on the original contract ; they further ordered that an order should issue to the contractors (Hamilton and Bayles) for the sum of $111.23, their bill for extra work done to said jail not included in the original contract. It appears that the total cost of the jail amounted to the original contract awarded of two thousand six hun- dred and sixty dollars, with an additional one hundred and eleven dollars and twenty-three cents for extras, bringing the total cost up to two thousand seven hundred and seventy-one dollars and twenty-three cents.
On the same day the commissioners accepted the new jail, which stood on the rear of the lot occupied by the present jail, they ordered the old jail on lot No. 107 to be sold to the highest bidder on April 14, 1832. On that date it was auctioned off at the court house door to Matthew Magrew and John Owen for the sum of three hundred and ninety dollars. The commis- sioners allowed John McCord two dollars "for crying the above sale."
THE THIRD JAIL.
The jail which was completed in 1832 continued to serve the county for half a century. For several years prior to 1881 the grand jury had
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declared that the old jail should be replaced by a new structure; that it was badly ventilated, unhealthy and a disgrace to the county. It would seem that with this deplorable state of affairs recognized by the commissioners definite action would have been taken towards remedying the situation, but the rural sections of the county were opposed to such an expenditure of money as would be necessary to provide a suitable jail. The first official recognition by the commissioners of the demand on the part of the taxpayers for the new building was made on March 8, 1881, when that body ordered an elec- tion to be held on the 4th of the following April to decide whether the com- missioners should order the erection of a jail, the cost of which was not to exceed thirty thousand dollars. This action on the part of the commission- ers was taken in response to a petition presented on that day signed by more than one hundred citizens and taxpayers of the county, praying that the board submit the question of building the jail to the vote of the taxpayers. The result showed a majority of 435 in favor of building a new jail, the vote standing 2,406 to 1,971. An analysis of the returns shows that the rural districts were overwhelmingly against the project and that it was the large favorable vote of Urbana which made it possible to have a new jail. The tabulated vote follows :
JAIL ELECTION OF APRIL 4, 1881.
Affirmative. Negative.
Adams township
151
24
Concord township
108
79
Goshen township
100
316
Harrison township
21
158
Jackson township
219
74
Johnson township
113
303
Salem township
118
131
Union township
105
105
Urbana township
105
71
Urbana city
1,037
136
Wayne township
48
207
Mad River township.
120
150
Rush township
161
217
2,406
1,197
Affirmative majority
435
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COMMISSIONERS MAKE TOUR OF INVESTIGATION.
The favorable vote of the taxpayers gave the commissioners the author- . ity to proceed at once with plans for the building of a new jail. On April 6, 1881, the day on which they canvassed the vote, they authorized the county auditor to prepare a public notice to architects that the commissioners would be in special session on April 13, 1881, to consider plans and specifications for the proposed jail. On that day J. C. Johnson, of Fremont, Ohio; D. W. Gibbs, of Toledo, and Leon Weaver, of Dayton, appeared and requested to be permitted to submit their plans at some future date. On the following day (April 14, 1881,) architects Randall, of Chicago, and Hodg- son, of Indianapolis, submitted plans for the jail. After considering the plans of these several architects the commissioners decided that it would be a wise thing to visit the jails of some of the adjoining counties before accepting any of the plans which had thus far been submitted. To this end it was moved and ordered that they visit the jails of Hancock, Richland, Marion, Seneca and Montgomery counties, Ohio.
As a result of this trip of investigation to the several jails the commis- sioners on April 25, 1881, decided to accept the plans of D. W. Gibbs, of Toledo, and notified him to confer with the board on the and of the following May. On the appointed day Gibbs entered into a contract with the commis- sioners whereby he agreed to furnish the plans and superintend the construc- tion of the jail for five per cent. of the contract cost of the building. The following two months were spent in going over the plans and specifications with the architect and it was not until June 20, that the board felt ready to advertise for bids. On that day they ordered notices placed in the news- papers advertising for proposals for the construction of the new jail in accord- ance with plans which were to be placed on file in the auditor's office. Sealed proposals were received up to July 21, 1881. A number of bids were sub- mitted to the consideration of the board, and after carefully considering all the bids the board decided to award the contract to John Benson, in the amount of twenty-nine thousand six hundred and fifty dollars. His contract covered both material and construction and everything necessary to the com- pletion of the building according to the plans and specifications. Benson gave bond in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars as a guarantee that he would complete the building in accordance with the contract.
Sometime during July the old jail and sheds were sold. The jail proper
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was sold to David Boyd for twenty dollars; the two sheds on the south side of the jail also were sold to Boyd, for twenty-nine dollars; the wood- house was sold to P. McCarty for eight dollars and twenty-five cents.
NOT UP TO SPECIFICATIONS.
Work on the new jail began in the fall of 1881, but winter set in before the building was enclosed, and work was suspended until the spring of 1882. After work was resumed in 1882, the superintendent of construction informed the commissioners that the materials being used were not up to specifications, nor was the quality of workmanship at all satisfactory. On April 26, 1882, the commissioners authorized the auditor to give notices that they would sell on May 13, 1882, to the best bidder thirty thousand dollars worth of jail bonds to be dated May I, 1882, and to bear six per cent. inter- est. The bonds were to be payable on six semi-annual instalments of five thousand dollars each, the first instalment falling due on January 1, 1883, and the final instalment, July 1, 1885. They were sold on the appointed day to Emmett V. Rhoades for thirty thousand six hundred and twelve dollars and fifty cents.
In a report to the commissioners on May 8, the representative of the D. W. Gibbs Company, who passed on the materials as well as the construc- tion work, informed the board that he had condemned the whole work and had ordered Benson, the general contractor, to dismantle all of the brick work above the first story and make several changes in the work on the first floor. The work on the jail was finally resumed and it was eventually completed in a manner satisfactory to the commissioners. They formally accepted the com- pleted building in the fall of 1882, and with a few repairs it has remained in use down to the present time.
The sheriff's residence occupies the front of the building. The jail proper contains two tiers of cells for criminals; three cells for women and children, a padded cell for insane or violent prisoners and a dungeon. It has been many years since the dungeon has been used, and the padded cell is used only occa- sionally. The heating plant in the court house furnishes heat for both court ยท house and jail.
In the spring of 1917 the commissioners ordered a new roof for the jail and at the same time advertised for bids to stucco it. The work was begun in June and was in progress at the time this volume went to press.
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CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
THE COUNTY INFIRMARY.
The care of the poor has been one of the duties of the county commis- sioners since the beginning of the county's history. One of the signs of our modern civilization is the care and attention we bestow upon those so unfor- tunate for one reason or another as to be unable to provide for themselves. Thus we have provided homes for the blind, the deaf and dumb, the insane, the epileptic, the feeble minded, the orphans, the aged, the poor, and in fact for all classes, who, from whatever cause, are unable to take care of them- selves. It is this same spirit which has led all our great fraternal organizations to provide magnificent homes for their indigent members; it has led the nation to provide homes for its soldiers and sailors-and to provide a pension for every man who has served his country on the battlefield. Within recent years Ohio has placed upon the statute books two new laws which place in the hands of the county commissioners the discretionary power of granting pensions to all the blind in the country who are unable to take care of themselves, and also a pension to widowed mothers with children who have insufficient means of support.
BAD EFFECT OF THE INDENTURE SYSTEM.
Generous as the state is in 1917 in the care of its unfortunate, it is gratify- ing to note that our forefathers of a century ago were no less philanthropically inclined toward the unfortunate. One of the first acts of the local county com- missioners was to provide a definite system of poor relief. Overseers of the poor were appointed for each township and a fund for poor relief was estab- lished. References are frequent in the county commissioners' record which show the board's interest in taking care of the poor, but for twenty years after the county was organized there was no centralized system for taking care of the county's indigent or dependent classes. They were in a sense sold out to the highest bidder, a sort of decent white slavery, masquerading under the name of charity. The law called it the indenture system, but in reality the poor boy who was bound out as an apprentice too often received little but the food which he ate and the clothing he wore. If he learned a trade it was by acci- dent and not because his master taught him one. It is a safe estimate to say that at least one hundred poor children were indentured in Champaign county during its early history.
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DEFINITE SYSTEM OF POOR RELIEF.
From 1805 to 1825 Champaign county left the general direction of poor relief to the various townships, but in the latter year the county board of com- missioners took definite action toward providing for a central home for the poor, a farm where those who were able to work might find employment and in that way assist in their own maintenance. To this end the commissioners appointed a board known as the directors of the poor house, and this board held its first meeting on January 21, 1825, in the old court house which stood in the public square. These directors were Sampson Talbott (president ). Abner Barrett, James Smith, William H. Fyffe, Archibald Magrew and Will- iam Ward.
The record of this board from its first meeting on January 21, 1825, to March, 1852, gives the best source of information concerning the history of the infirmary during these years. A careful study of this volume reveals many interesting things, but unfortunately many things which the historian would like to know were never placed on the record. For instance, it is impossible to tell from the record whether the county had any sort of a poor house between 1825 and 1828, the latter year being the year in which it bought its farm. The inference one gets from reading the record is that the county really owned such a house "somewhere in Champaign county," but the exact location is not disclosed. References are made to certain persons as having escaped from the poor house and still others as having been taken to such a place, but the whereabouts of this house is a matter of speculation.
From the fact that the county bought ten acres of land on February 22, 1828, from Archibald Magrew, Jr., it may be inferred that the house, which had been previously mentioned in the record for three years, stood on this ten- acre tract. This ten acres was a part of section 11, township 4, range 11, and lies just east of Westville on the north side of the road. The commissioners at the time the purchase was made were Elisha Berry, James Dunlap and Will- iam Darnell. From the fact that the commissioners paid only one hundred dollars for the ten acres it would seem that there was no house on it, while on the other hand, since the owner of the land was a member of the infirmary board, he may have seen fit to sell the land at a bargain in order to get the farm located near his residence. In either case, however, a house was built on this ten-acre tract and here the county infirmary remained until the sum- mer of 1847. OnApril 15, 1847, the county commissioners ( Anson P. How- ard, A. Stewart and Benjamin Davis), in consultation with the county infirm-
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ary board, purchased one hundred and seventy and one-half acres and two and one-half poles in sections 21 and 27, of township 5, range 1I, of Urbana town- ship. The land was purchased of John Hamilton, proprietor of the old Ham- ilton House in Urbana, for the sum of four thousand two hundred and sixty- two dollars and ninety cents. The county has not added to this tract since that time, but when the Dayton, Springfield & Urbana Traction Company secured its right-of-way through the county it passed along the side of the farm and two and seventy-seven hundredths acres of section 21 and 27 (a strip along the public highway, was sold to the company on July 9, 1900, for four hundred and eighty-four dollars and seventy-five cents. The county com- missioners at this time were John Harlan, Isaac B. Happersett and Charles H. Espy. After the county purchased the new farm in 1847 they placed the old farm of ten acres on the market and it was sold, April 11, 1849, to Archibald Magrew for three hundred and fifty dollars. Magrew had sold it to the county twenty-one years before this time for one hundred dollars. The county com- missioners at the time of the sale were A. Stewart, Benjamin Davis and S. G. Brecount.
EQUIPMENT FOR NEW COUNTY FARM OF 1847.
When the county moved to its new county farm in the spring of 1847 it seemed to have disposed of all its old equipment which it had on the old farm adjoining Westville. At least on May 5, 1847, the record schedules :
A list of Property Bought by John Hamilton agent for Champaign Poorhouse & placed by him in the hands of Moffet Morris the keeper of ad Poorhouse & for the use of sd farm to wit-
1 Sorrel horse bought of Igou $75.00
1 Sorrel mare of F. M. Tight 60.00
1 Cow Bought M. Morris 12.00
1 two horse wagon 65.00
1 shovel .75
3 plows, 1 log chane ($2.00), 2 hay rakes (50c) 2 single trees. 15.00
2 Setts of waggon geers 21.00
1 Lott of Corn in crib 25.00
1 Cow calf bought of Abram Powell 15.00
1 do do do do I. B. Eakers. 10.00
1 Wheat Fan $15 1 ax & maddock $3.00 18.00
2745 lbs. of live stock hogs at 21gc pr lh. 68.62
1 Small grain Cradle & scythe of Moffett Morris 4.50
1 lot of 8 sheep at 75c $6.00 & 1 Scythe & Snend $1.50 7.50
1 lot 4 quilts & 1 blanket 3,00
2 Cotts for beds & 1 small chair of Patrick & Stevenson 6.00
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CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
LIST OF PAUPERS IN 1847.
This meagre equipment was evidently supplemented by some things taken from the old county farm, but no statement is given in the records of what was removed to the new home in the summer of 1847. The records are in such an incomplete state that it is impossible to tell when the transfer was made from the old home near Westville to the new home south of Urbana, the one where the infirmary is still located. It was evidently in the spring of 1847. A record, dated March 11, 1847, follows: "A list of County Paupers at the county Poor House and now in the County house on the 7 Day of Same: John Umstead, age 76; William Addison, 49; William Hodge, 60; Jesse Clark, 44; George Benjamin; Ann Black; Nancy Stinson, 16, run away in July, 1847; Lorenzo Mitchel; Samuel Mitchell; William Yeazle; Moses Kelley; Addiline Gause; George and Milton Allen, sons of Widow Jerry Allen."
There was a building on the farm which served until 1858, in which year a large brick structure was erected, which, with slight improvements, remained practically unchanged until 1900. In 1885 a separate building was erected for the men, the 1858 building being set aside for the women; in 1890 a steam heating plant was installed; in 1900 the old building erected in 1858 was com- pletely overhauled and modernized; in 1910 the laundry building and new stables were completed; and in 1912 the hospital was opened for the reception of patients.
THE COUNTY HOSPITAL.
The present county hospital, one of the best-equipped institutions of its kind in the state was completed in 1912 at a cost of $14,980.90. It is a two- story brick structure with accommodations for twenty-five patients. It is in charge of the superintendent of the infirmary. Since there is no hospital of any kind in the county seat and no other in the county, the county hospital has proved to be a very valuable addition to the county's group of public buildings. It stands in the rear of the main building of the county infirmary, the county having decided to built it in connection with the county infirmary, rather than locate it in the county seat.
The county hospital is maintained in connection with the county infirm- ary and makes its semi-annual report through the superintendent of the infirmary. The report for the six months ending March 5, 1917, follows :
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Number of patients on hand, September 1, 1916. 8 Total number of patients, September 1, 1916-March 1, 1917- 62
Number of patients received since September 1, 1916. 54 Number discharged between September 1, 1916-March I, 1917 54
Number of patients on hand, March 1, 1917
8
Receipts.
From pay patients $1,794.42
Bills receivable from pay patients 880.00
Charity work, September 1, 1916-March 1, 1917. 712.00
Total receipts for hospital service 3,386.42
Expenditures.
Nurses
$ 575.00
Other help
150.00
Drugs and supplies
437-34
Provisions
350.00
Fuel and light
140.00
Total expenditures for hospital service
$1,652.34
COUNTY INFIRMARY IN 1916-17.
The law provides that the superintendent of the county infirmary shall make a semi-annual report to the county commissioners. The last report of G. W. Standish, the present superintendent, covers the six months ending March 5, 1917. His report is a voluminous document of several pages and sets forth in detail the number of inmates, amount of money expended, receipts from the farm and a number of other details of a general nature.
During this period of six months a total of sixty-nine inmates were received, thirty-four males and thirty-five females; at the end of the period there were forty-four males and thirty-seven females in the infirmary ; twenty-seven males and twenty-nine females had been discharged; five males and one female died during the last six months. The receipts for the six- month period amounted to $2,501.28, more than half of which ($1,707.42) was received from the hospital. The actual operating expenses for this same period amounted to $8,722.33, nearly one-third of which amount ($2,635.46) was expended for groceries and provisions. The superintendent received a
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salary of $720 and other employees an aggregate of $1,550.93. There was an average of seventy-six inmates during the six months, their average per capita cost of maintenance being $81.85, or about $3.44 a week. Superin- tendent Standish has made an enviable record since taking charge of affairs and has received the unqualified endorsement of the state board of charities for his method of management.
THE CHILDREN'S HOME.
The question of providing a home for orphaned and indigent children, as well as for those who needed a temporary home, had been agitated for some years prior to the actual beginning of the movement for the building of such a home. The agitation of several years culminated in 1891 in the county commissioners finally deciding to purchase land and build a suitable home. On May 12, 1891, after considering no fewer than forty propositions, they purchased fifty-two and one-half acres at the eastern edge of Urbana facing East Lawn avenue for the sum of four thousand two hundred dollars. In 1907 the trustees purchased ninety-seven and one-half acres at a cost of eight thousand eight hundred dollars, bringing the total acreage up to one hundred and forty-five acres. The first building was dedicated on June 1, 1892. It is a brick structure of fourteen rooms with accommodations for seventy-five children, and was erected at a cost of about twenty thousand dollars. The architect was C. C. Creagor and the house was built on what is known as the cottage plan.
In 1806 it was found necessary to increase the housing facilities of the home and in that year a second building was erected, which, with the first building, provided room for one hundred children. The home has been fortunate in receiving two very valuable bequests since it was organized. The first was in the form of real estate, valued at fourteen thousand dollars, which was given by Lydia H. Humphrey in 1910. Of this amount the trustees used seven thousand two hundred eighty-nine dollars and forty-two cents for a school building, but the remainder of the bequest eventually reverted to the Humphrey estate, the home getting only the amount expended for the school building. The contract for the school building was let on November 20, 1911, to Patrick Heatherman and was completed and accepted by the trustees in 1912. The second bequest was also in the form of real estate and represented the gift of A. W. Dick, a farmer of Adams township.
Alfred Willoughby Dick, a retired widowed farmer living in Rosewood, died and left a will which provided that the residue of the proceeds of the
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sale of his eighty-acre farm be given to the Children's Home to be used in such manner and for such purpose as the trustees might see fit. The farm was in section 13, of Adams township. V. H. Gibbs, the present probate judge, assisted in the making of the will-dated July 9, 1914-and was the executor of the same. Pursuant to the will the land was sold, the purchaser being William H. Yinger. The land brought one hundred and five dollars an acre, and after all the bequests and debts were paid the Children's Home received seven thousand six hundred ninety-six dollars and sixty-seven cents. The county received the cash in hand for the land at the time of the sale.
PRESENT STATUS OF HOME.
There are now four buildings included in the Children's Home plant. The first building, known as the main building, is used for the employees and as the dining room; two buildings for girls and boys, respectively, are sim- ilarly fitted out with a large sitting room, a dormitory sleeping room with fourteen beds, bath and wash rooms and halls; the school building accommo- dates forty children.
There are now one hundred acres of the one hundred forty-five in culti- vation. The land has increased in value from $13,000 to $17,000. The total cost of the buildings has been $30,000, making the total value of the home in 1917, including land, buildings and equipment, $47,000. The cur- rent expenses for 1916 amounted to $10,265.30, which, with repairs of $439.30. brought the total expenditures to $10,704,60. The home receives money from two sources, from a direct tax of one-tenth of a mill on the dol- lar, which amounted to $9,074.30 in 1916, and from the farm and garden of the home, which in that same year produced a total of $1,991 worth of produce. Of this produce $800 worth was used in the home and the remainder was sold. The last report shows the farm had six horses, nine cows, twenty sheep, twenty to forty hogs and two hundred fowls. The barn has a silo attached and last year six acres were grown to silage. The farm in 1916 had thirty-five acres of corn, twenty acres of wheat, ten acres of truck, six acres of alfalfa and four acres of potatoes.
The superintendent of the Children's Home is paid an annual salary of $900. Last year fees for medical services amounted to $289.50 and the teacher received $225. The salaries of other employees amounted to $1,320. Besides the superintendent, matron and teacher, there are nine other employees, two males and seven females. In 1916 the per capita cost for the main-
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