USA > Ohio > Champaign County > History of Champaign County, Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 85
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The county surveyor was designated as the county highway superin- tendent and was given the general supervision of all the roads in his county. He was given the authority to appoint such assistants as he might require in the performance of the duties connected with his office. During the past year Surveyor H. B. Hull has had five assistants: Deputy county engineer, C. M. Richey, who has charge of ditches and bridges; county highway super- intendent, Raymond H. Smith, who has charge of state highway work; two rodmen, Dean Hull and Melwood Stanhope; clerk, Hazel Kirk Reck. Dur- ing 1916 a second deputy engineer was employed but it was necessary to dispense with his services at the close of the year on account of a lack of funds.
The county contains twelve townships and eleven of the townships are divided into four road districts each, one township-Jackson-making pro- vision for only one district. The law provides that each township may have any number of districts not to exceed four, and Jackson decided that they needed only one. Each district in the township is in charge of a township highway superintendent, appointed by the trustees, who receives a per diem of $2.25 and is restricted to a definite number of days, the compensation being determined by the trustees.
This law of 1915 underwent several radical changes at the hands of
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the 1917 Legislature. The changes are embodied in the White-Mulcahy act ( March 10, 1917). While the main features of the old act were con- tinued, its administration as regards the counties was changed. The office of county highway superintendent was abolished and to the county surveyor, who, in most of the counties of the state, had served as highway superin- tendent during the past two years, was given most of the duties formerly in the hands of the highway superintendent. With the abolition of the office of highway superintendent the surveyor was placed upon a straight salary basis and the fees formerly attached to the office of highway superintendent now revert to the county. In other words the county surveyor is still high- way superintendent, but is not officially recognized as such by title. He does practically the same work, exercises the same jurisdiction over roads and performs the functions as were prescribed by the act of 1915. . .
Ohio has a set of names for its roads which are somewhat confusing. There are township roads, county roads and state roads. State roads are of two kinds-inter-county and market. Each road is in a distinct class regarding the method of providing and paying for the same. Main market roads are the main roads leading from a large city in one county to a large city in another. Inter-county roads follow the same principle between counties. Under late enactments of the federal Congress, federal roads will be established as the main roads in the United States, such as the national pike south of us. The county and township roads are the less important roads in the county. The best roads of the county are the inter-county highways.
INTER-COUNTY HIGHWAYS.
The county now has nine highways of this character, for example, the Urbana-West Jefferson I. C. H., No. 188; Urbana-Sidney I. C. H., No. 192; Troy-Urbana Southern I. C. H., No. 471 ; Piqua-Urbana I. C. H., No. 190, etc. The following table shows the main facts concerning these high- ways :
Name of Inter-County Highway.
Total Mileage.
Length
Style of
In Champaign.
Construction.
Springfield-Urbana
12.5
5.5
Gravel.
Urbana-W. Jefferson
25.5
12.5
Macadam and gravel.
T'rhana-Bellefontaine
18,0
9.6
Gravel,
Piqua-Urbana
25,0
14.4
Macadam and gravel.
Urbana-Marysville
23.4
18.6
Gravel.
l'rbana-Sidney
27.6
15,0
Macadam and concrete.
Dayton-Lakeview
53.1
16
Gravel.
U'rbana-London
17.0
5.5
Gravel.
Troy-Urbana Southern
23.4
14.4
Concrete and gravel.
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CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
It is provided in the new law of 1915 that all roads shall be named and numbered and that all bridges shall be located and numbered. A traveler would be able to follow a road by the numbers on the bridge or culvert, as "125/10," painted on the bridge. The first number, "125," means that the road is No. 125 and "10" means that the bridge is the tenth one on that road. The county surveyors are thus able to keep a more accurate record and can locate a bridge at any time.
HIGHWAY STATISTICS.
Since the highway department was established in 1912, it has issued bulletins at intervals summing up the work done by the various counties of the state in the way of constructing roads. So-called "market roads" were provided for in 1913, but Champaign county has not yet had any of these roads established within its limits. Inter-county highways are those whose construction is divided equally between the counties through which they pass, and the state. The following table gives a summary of the roads of the county, outside of municipalities, from January 1, 1912, down to the last report of the highway superintendent on March 1. 1917:
All roads Jan. 1. 1912.
Improved-roads
Inter-County Highways Jan. 1. 1915.
Inter-County Highways Jan. 1, 1917.
Concrete
0.1
2.12
Mnendam
11
17.0
5.2
13.68
Gravel
566.0
110.7
102.06
Earth
Totals
777
553.1
115.9
117.86
The following table shows the amount of road and bridge expendi- tures from 1910 to 1913, inclusive. This table shows the amount expended by the county commissioners and township trustees. exclusive of state aid money. There is no summarized report available since 1913:
1910.
1913.
Rond repairs
$40,394
1911. $=3.500
1912. $48.33
$45.682
Road construction
901
1.053
1,040
Bridge and culvert repairs
3.065
1.630
1.074
7.718
Bridge and culvert construction.
24.5001
15,282
34.045
$73,161
$91.768
$66.692
$$$.465
Type Road.
Mch. 1. 1917.
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CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
FIRST MACADAMIZED ROAD IN CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
Future generations may wonder where the first macadamized road in Champaign county was built, how much it cost, its length, and something definite about it. That this point may be forever settled the records have been searched by Raymond H. Smith, who had charge of road construction in 1917, and he presents the following facts concerning this first macad- amized road. It was built in 1911 in Goshen township and is the first mile of road west of the corporation limits of Mechanicsburg. The road in the official records is thus labeled: "Sec. A. Urbana & Mechanicsburg Road," but the same road is now (1917) known as "Urbana-West Jefferson I. C. H., 188-Sec. A." This road was sold on January 14, 1911, for $7,984.20; that is, the twelve-foot road cost the county about one dollar and fifty-one cents for each running foot. The road was well constructed by Harvey Stephens and today is in better condition than some of the macadamized roads that have been built since that year. It was the highest type of macadamized road then being built, and its construction has been followed by twelve and sixty-eight one-hundredths miles of a similar type during the past six years. A higher-type road, constructed in 1914 of concrete, has been built to the extent of two and twelve one-hundredths miles.
RAILROADS.
Champaign county has had railway connection with the outside world for nearly seventy years. There are very few people now living in Urbana who can recall the Thursday evening of July 30, 1848, when the first steam train pulled into Urbana from Sandusky. The day should be set down as a red-letter day in the history of the county, for with the coming of the rail- road the growth of the county was stimulated in every direction. It gave the farmers an outlet for their products; it made it possible for the manu- facturer to enlarge his output and ship to foreign fields; it placed the county in close touch with the railroad running between Columbus and Indian- apolis, and with all points between Sandusky on Lake Erie and Cincinnati on the Ohio river. In other words, since 1848 Urbana and Champaign county have been in touch with the markets of the world. In 1917 the county is crossed by five railroads: Three through the county seat-Penn- sylvania, Erie and Big Four: the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton, which runs
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CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
across the western part of the county, and a branch of the Big Four which cuts across the southeastern part of the county, passing through Mechanics- burg.
BIG FOUR RAILROAD.
The first railroad to reach the county was known as the Mad River & Lake Erie railroad and was chartered by the Legislature in 1832, its charter stating that the company proposed to construct a railroad from Sandusky, on the lake, to Cincinnati, on the Ohio. The road was built as proposed, but not within the time which the company thought it would take to construct it. The northern part of the road was commenced first and was opened through from Sandusky to Urbana in 1848 as above stated. The name of the road was later changed and for many years it was known as the Cin- cinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland railroad. It is now, and has been for many years, known as the Big Four railroad.
Another branch of the Big Four passes through the southeastern por- tion of the county, Mechanicsburg and Catawba being the only stations in the county located on the line. The road was originally known as the Springfield, Mt. Vernon & Mansfield railroad, and later was operated as the Cleveland. Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis railroad. The agita- tion for the road began in the latter part of the forties and by 1850 the discussion had reached the point where Goshen township was willing to subscribe for a liberal amount of stock. The township itself subscribed fifteen thousand dollars worth of bonds, which were, however, issued with the understanding that the township was to pay the interest on them for a definite term of years, at the end of which stipulated time the bonds were to be cancelled and the township freed from any further obligation. But the township officials had failed to realize that they were dealing with shrewd railroad attorneys. Entering into the contract with the idea that they did not have to pay the principal, the supreme court of the state de- cided that the township was liable not only for the interest on the bonds, but also for the full amount of the principal. There was nothing for Goshen township to do but to pay the bonds. An annual tax was Iveied year after year and it was not until 1871 that the last bond was retired, and by that year the township had paid thirty thousand dollars into the treasury of the railroad. In addition to the part the township took in the building of the road, a number of the citizens of the township subscribed as indi- viduals.
The branch of the railroad running from Springfield to Delaware was
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CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
completed through the county in 1852. The first train to reach Mechanics- burg was greeted with a great ovation by the assembled citizens and the day of its arrival was fittingly celebrated by a grand free excursion to Springfield.
PROPOSED ROADS.
In connection with the discussion of the railroad at Mechanicsburg it is necessary to refer to other attempts by people of Goshen township to locate railroads within its limits. It would seem that the experience which the township had with its first railroad would have been sufficient for a time at least. However, the township had but fairly cleared itself of its first railroad obligation before it launched a new scheme for a second road. A petition signed by one hundred and sixty-two citizens and taxpayers was presented to the township trustees on June 24, 1872, asking for an election to determine whether the township should bond itself to the extent of twenty thousand dollars to assist in the construction of a railroad from Columbus to Urbana. The inception of the road was the legislative act of April 23, 1872, and, backed by this act, a company was organized to build the road. The various townships of the three counties ( Franklin, Madison and Champaign) through which the road would pass were asked to vote on the question of granting a subsidy, and it was for this purpose that the tax- payers of Goshen township, in Champaign county, petitioned the township trustees for the privilege of voting on the granting of the subsidy. The election was ordered by the trustees for July 31, 1872, and the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of granting the subsidy, the vote standing three hundred and thirty-five for and fifty-one against the proposition. It seemed that the road was a certainty; the right of way was secured; bids were advertised for and the contracts for the construction of the road were let by sections on November 2, 1872.
But the road was never built. With everything in its favor; with the three counties and their respective townships willing to grant liberal subsidies; with a rich territory to cross, and with the right of way secured- it seemed that there was no question but that the road would be built. There was one factor, however, that had been overlooked. The supreme court of the state stepped in and declared the act of April 23, 1872, unconstitu- tional-and the proposed railroad came to a sudden and abrupt end.
Not to be daunted by their previous experience with railroads the people of Mechanicsburg made a second attempt in 1877 to get a railroad,
(55)
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CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
this being their second attempt to get direct connection with Columbus. A railroad company was organized as the Columbus & Northwestern Railway Company and was to construct a road to connect Columbus and Urbana, passing through West Jefferson and Mechanicsburg. The company secured the right of way through the three counties of Franklin, Madison and Champaign and considerable stock was subscribed. Goshen township, in Champaign county, subscribed about nine thousand dollars worth of stock and most of this represented investments by the citizens of Mechanicsburg ..
The contract for the construction of the road was let to an eastern firm, but the railroad company failed to comply with its part of the contract and the contractors in charge of the construction work refused to continue work. With the suspension of work the original company found it difficult to finance the undertaking and it soon surrendered its charter-and Me- chanicsburg is still waiting for a direct road to Columbus.
THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD.
The Pennsylvania railroad was built through the county during the fifties and was the first road to bring Urbana into direct connection with Columbus, although at least two later attempts were made to build lines between the county seat and the capital. The line extends east and west through the county and passes through the townships of Rush, Wayne, Salem, Urbana, Mad River, Jackson and Johnson. The stations on the road are Woodstock, Cable, Urbana, Westville and St. Paris. When the road was projected it was known as the Columbus, Piqua & Indiana rail- road, but since the road was completed in the fifties its name has been changed several times, now being known as the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chi- cago & St. Louis railroad, but commonly as the "Pennsylvania."
The various townships of the county through which the road passed granted liberal subsidies and, in addition, a number of the wealthy citizens subscribed for stock in the company. Data is not available to show the extent of money invested by the county in the company, but it is estimated that it was not far from a quarter of a million dollars. This road, like all of the other early roads built in the state, experienced considerable diffi- culty in getting ready for operation. While the work on the road was begun in 1850 it did not reach Urbana until May, 1853, and Piqua was not reached until 1854. The first through train between Columbus and Indian- apolis passed through Urbana on Monday afternoon, April 4, 1859. This is now the main line of the Pennsylvania system between Pittsburgh and
867
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
St. Louis. It is now double-tracked from Columbus to Urbana, while from Urbana to Piqua it now has three tracks in operation. Some idea of the amount of traffic on the road may be gained when it is stated that there are now seventeen passenger and express trains and from sixty to seventy-five freight trains passing over the road each day. the number of freight trains varying with the season of the year.
DETROIT, TOLEDO & IRONTON RAILROAD.
The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton railroad, the last railroad to be built through the county, was constructed in the early nineties. It passes through the western part of the county and crosses the Pennsylvania railroad at St. Paris. The other stations in the county touched by this road are Rosewood, Thackery, Darnell, Coffins and Diber. The road places the western part of the county in direct connection with Springfield to the south and Toledo and Detroit to the north, and has been no small factor in raising land values in the part of the county through which it passes.
ELECTRIC RAILROADS.
The history of electric transportation in Champaign covers a period of nearly twenty years. If all the electric lines had been built which were contemplated the county would have more than twice as many miles of such transportation facilities as it actually has in operation at the present time. Lines were projected in all directions from Urbana and one line-Urbana to Mechanicsburg to Columbus-looked like it was going to be built. The line west to St. Paris was projected, but it never proceeded beyond the paper stage. The Urbana-Columbus line not only had its franchise and right of way, but work was actually begun, grades made, and some ties placed in position, only to find its financial backing withdrawn and all work indefinitely suspended.
The one line through the county today, now a part of the Ohio Electric Railway Company, was chartered as the Dayton, Springfield & Urbana Rail- way Company in the spring of 1899. The previous year an agitation was commenced for a line to connect the three cities and the local Urbana papers make frequent references to the possibilities of such a line being constructed. With the organization of the company in the spring of 1899, Urbana seemed assured of its first electric line. The company applied to the city council and the county commissioners in May for a franchise, and the question of
868
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
granting it was thoroughly discussed for more than a month before the company succeeded in making satisfactory terms with the council and com- missioners. On Monday, June 19, 1899, the county commissioners granted a franchise to the company from the Clark county line to the southern limits of the corporation boundary of Urbana, and on the evening of the same day the city council granted the company a franchise for the use of certain speci- fied streets. The company agreed to pay $1,400 toward the construction of the North Main street bridge. It also agreed to employ as many Urbana men as possible in its construction work in the county.
Two years were to elapse between the time the commissioners granted a franchise to the company before the people of Urbana saw the first electric car on the streets of their city. These two years were filled with constant bickerings between the company and the city council of Urbana. It was even charged that certain of the city officials were bribed by the company in order to grant certain concessions which the citizens at large did not want the company to have. It is needless to follow the complicated situation between 1899 and 1901-it is sufficient to state that the company finally built its road. As soon as it was completed from Springfield to Urbana, prepara- tions were at once begun to continue its construction north to Bellefontaine, and within a year the cars were running to that city. Subsequently the road was completed through to Lima, and now through cars are running daily between Springfield on the south and Lima on the north.
It is hard to estimate the value which has accrued to the county as a result of the building of this electric line. Hourly passenger service is main- tained throughout the day, while a sufficient number of freight cars are operated to handle an ever-increasng amount of freight traffic. There can be no question but that the electric road has taken a large amount of busi- ness away from the steam road, not only in the way of passenger fares. but also in the amount of returns from the freight traffic.
CHAPTER XXXII.
WOODSTOCK.
The history of the village of Woodstock may be traced back nearly one hundred years. During this time the village has lived a quiet and unpreten- tious life, never aspiring to metropolitan honors, never attempting to delude itself with the idea that it would be more than a village, never holding itself up as an example of a model community center, but during all these years living the life of the ordinary hamlet. Like all villages it has had its ups and downs, its share of lean years and its share of fat years; it has seen many worthy people go out from its precincts and many other worthy people make their homes within them; it has been proud of its school and cherished its churches ; it has patronized its home industries as far as possible; in all things it has been true to the genuine village type.
It has, like unto all villages, had its "firsts" in everything. There was the first proprietor, the first settler, the first blacksmith, the first physician, the first school house, the first church, the first saloon, the first mail line, the first hotel-and the first of everything which has been part of its life. In order to give the village its proper setting it is necessary at the outset to set forth its geographical relation to the county and the state at large; how it came into existence ; who was responsible for its appearance and, in short, to set forth the facts concerning its entry into the history of the county.
The land on which it is located is a part of Virginia Military Survey No. 7822, and was taken out in the name of Anthony Walke. He never lived on the land and as far as is known never knew of such a place as Woodstock. While the village itself did not have a plat recorded until March 28, 1834, yet there were settlers on its site for several years prior to that date. It seems that about 1819 this survey was purchased from the original proprietor by a number of New Englanders, mostly from Vermont and New Hampshire. The part including Woodstock and a substantial part of Rush township was bought by four Smith brothers ( Sylvanus, Samuel, Lester and Dexter ), David Holt, Levi Churchill, William Gifford and Benjamin D. Sibley. In 1820 this little group of settlers was augmented by Hezekiah Ripley, Joseph Meacham, James Webb, John McDonald, Harvey Cushman and James Parkhill.
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CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
Thus during 1819 and 1820 the present site of Woodstock and the imme- diate community received about a dozen families, which, added to a few fam- ilies who a short time previously, had located to the west of the settlement, made a very respectable community. Those in addition to the families already mentioned, were the Corbets and Lanes, about a mile west of Woodstock ; also Thomas Irwin and William Wright. Irwin and Wright were Virginians and did not have any particular affection for the Vermonters and consequently sold out in 1835 to Philip Smith, a brother of the Smiths who had settled in the community in 1819 and 1820. Randall Willard secured part of the tract owned by the Virginians and, as soon as they had sold, they left this section of the country for a more congenial climate.
The period from 1820 to 1834 found Woodstock gradually adding to its scattered population, but it was not until the latter year that an effort was made to have it platted. During this period of fourteen years most of the many "firsts" of the village made their appearance, and they may be noticed at this point.
THE FIRST PHYSICIAN.
Every community of several families had a physician early in its history and Woodstock was no exception. But the village had an unusual physician as its first healer ; she was a woman, Mrs. Sophia Sumner Holt, not a regular practicing physician, but withal, one who traveled far and wide in response to requests for her services. She was distinctly a "yarb doctor" and many stories are told of the wonderful concoctions, decoctions, infusions, etc., which she prepared and administered. So unique was her system of therapeutics, so dis- tinctly feminine, that an explanation of her method of procedure is worthy of record.
"Doctor" Holt must have been a sartorial curiosity : her raiment was of a piece with her other idiosyncracies. In her practice she traveled the roads astride an old white mare-that is, the old mare was white when she left the stable, but the farther her mistress traveled the less this color was evident. On the horn of her saddle the good old lady had a big pasteboard box full of roots, herbs, peppers, spices and medicinal plants of every description. Arriv- ing at the home of her patient she proceeded to fill him full of the hottest mix- ture she could concoct, and, so it is recorded, internal spontaneous combus- tion was sometimes narrowly avoided. In modern parlance she would undoubt- edly have been called a "hot" doctor. One man whom she had treated in this heated manner declared afterwards "that her stuff had made him so hot that his clothes smelled like burnt rags for a month." Following this initial pro-
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