USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present > Part 46
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The distance to Chattanooga from Cincinnati, via the "Queen and Crescent," is 338 miles; New Orleans, 830. On leaving Cincinnati, the Ohio river is crossed on a splendid trestle bridge from the foot of Horn street to Ludlow, Ky., about one mile in length (including its approaches), and 1023 feet above low-water level. It was commenced in 1875, and completed in December, 1877, at a cost, exclusive of the right of way, of $811,683. The route then lies through the rich farming lands of the famous "Blue Grass" section of Kentucky; the beautiful city of Lexington (eighty-two miles distant), the former capital of the State and home of the peerless
* See message of Mayor Mosby, April, 1893, p. 50. Also message, 1892, p. 94.
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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.
Henry Clay, whose monument is in plain view from the car windows; High Bridge, where the road crosses the Kentucky river, one of the grandest scenes on the conti- nent; thence through the foot-hills of the Cumberland range, and on amidst pic- turesque and charming scenery to Chattanooga, with Missionary Ridge and the bat- tlefields in view.
The officers of the traffic department of the Cincinnati & Southern, with head- quarters in Cincinnati, are as follows: S. M. Felton, receiver; D. Miller, traffic manager; D. G. Edwards, general passenger and ticket agent; G. P. Biles, assistant general freight agent. The offices are in the St. Paul building, West Fourth street.
CINCINNATI NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY.
This line, which affords great convenience to suburban passenger travel, runs. from Cincinnati to Mt. Healthy, a distance of fourteen miles, passing through Cum- minsville, College Hill, Belmont, Mt. Airy and Summit Grove, to point of destin- ation. Nine passenger trains, each way, are run. The officers of the road are as follows: Robert Simpson, president and general manager; John R. Davey, vice- president; Henry Bohl, treasurer; W. T. Simpson, secretary; Arthur Waters, super- intendent; John E. Bruce, general counsel; F. H. Simpson, passenger agent. The general officers are in Cincinnati.
The foregoing railroads may be regarded as special Cincinnati enterprises, but altogether there are twenty railroads, either by direct lines or traffic arrangements, which converge upon the city, and give it direct communication with all points. Nearly all the foreign roads, thus entering the city, maintain offices in Cincinnati, for the purpose of soliciting business for their lines.
STREET RAILWAYS.
The street-railway system of Cincinnati is exceptionally fine, rendering it possible to reach all points, including the distant suburbs and towns on the Kentucky side of the river, quickly and cheaply, five cents being the universal rate of fare. In early times passengers desiring to ride to their homes were carried in omnibuses, stage coaches, and other slow-motion vehicles. This mode of transit was not only slow, but expensive, when compared with the speed and cost of the present day. Street- car routes were first authorized by ordinance bearing date July 1, 1859, which pre- scribed the terms and conditions upon which they could be operated. Previous to: starting the original companies were compelled to buy out, at a valuation agreed upon by arbitration, the omnibus and stage lines running at that time, which, with other onerous exactions, resulted in bankrupting in a very few years every street- railroad company organized at that time.
Route No. 1 was established by ordinance passed July 13, 1859, and extended from Fourth and Main streets to Fifth, to Western row (now Central avenue), to the then "Brighton House, " returning on Baymiller to Findlay, to John, and Fourth to Main. Subsequently authority was granted and the direction of the route reversed .. July 25, 1879, an extension was granted from the "Brighton House" corner, by double track on Harrison avenue and Westwood avenue to the terminus of the latter. Subsequently an extension was made. The circuit length of the line is 8.37 miles. Horses are still used. Routes 2, 4, 5, and 7 were established under the same ordi- nance, all running in different directions, except route 7, which was not authorized until January 25, 1860. No. 6 was never constructed. On October 25, 1889, route 7 was extended over route 5, and electric motor power authorized. This route has. since been extended over other lines.
* For the history in detail, in which all the streets traversed by the various lines are named, see annual message of Mayor Jolin B. Mosby. April, 1893, pp. 33-48. To that elaborate report the writer is indebted for the. facts contained in this condensed history of the railway system.
299
HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.
No. 8 was established August 19, 1864. Subsequently it was extended, and the owners constructed, under the steam railroad law, an inclined plane and obtained the right under ordinances passed December 1, 1871, and October 27, 1875, to extend existing tracks in such manner as to reach the incline, both top and bottom. By resolution of the Board of Public Works, passed September 24, 1885, the company was authorized to adopt electricity, and subsequently they were authorized to extend their line to Carthage. The length of the circuit is 17 miles, and the fare is five cents to the corporation line and ten cents beyond.
Route No. 9 was originally established October 8, 1868; October 22, 1886, it became a cable line propelled by steam machinery. No. 10 was established as a horse line January 12, 1872; January 30, 1880, extensions were granted; December 20, 1881, further extensions were authorized, and a change to cable permitted.
Routes No. 11 and 12 were not built. No. 13 was established December 29, 1874. The Cincinnati Street Railway Company, which constructed this line to Avondale, purchased at an expense of $65,000 to $70,000 the Reading turnpike to the corpora- tion line of Avondale, graded it down and operated it for some years as a horse-car line. October 18, 1889, electricity was authorized. The circuit length is 17. 13 miles and the fare is five cents one way. No. 14 was laid ont and an effort made to establish it by council proceedings, which failed. It was called the " gridiron," as it jumped all over the city nearly, touching the foot of each of the inclined planes. No. 15 was established September 29, 1876, and ran between Fountain Square and the Mt. Adams incline. No. 16 was started November 16, 1877, and ran from the upper depot of Mt. Adams incline via Eden Park to the corporation line. On March 22, 1886, an ordinance was passed authorizing routes 10 and 16 to use cable. The circuit length is 11.93 miles. No. 17 was established October 24, 1879, as an extension of the Mt. Auburn line (route No. 8), but it was never constructed except as a part of other routes.
Route No. 1S, established by ordinance March 26, 1880, commenced on Colerain pike opposite entrance to the Wesleyan cemetery, and after passing through various streets meandered on down to Fountain Square. October 27, 1886, an extension was granted and authority granted to use electricity. This is the only instance in the city where the fare has been actually increased, but it was likewise the first electric road constructed, and electricity was but an experiment. October 18, 1889, an extension was granted, and the circuit is 13.59 miles. No. 19 was established by ordinance, but has never been constructed. No. 20, known at the time of its estab- lishment as the "grass-hopper," jumped about from one existing line to another so as to get a route by building very little track from Fifth and Main streets to Dalton and Liberty, was authorized February 24, 1883, but never constructed. No. 21 was established September 8, 1882, and runs from the top of Price-Hill incline to St. Peter's cemetery out in the country, and is operated as a horse line. Circuit length 3.13 miles. No. 22 was established June 25, 1886, and runs on Sycamore street from Fourth to Burnet avenue, thence through Avondale to Main avenue. It is a cable road, and the circuit is eight miles.
The ordinance awarding the contract for route No. 23 was passed May 25, 1892. It commences at Central and Colerain avenues, and after running some distance ascends on an incline and runs to North corporation line. No. 24 was authorized in 1892, but it was not constructed.
The Spring Grove avenue line originally ran from Harrison avenue along Spring Grove avenue to the cemetery of Spring Grove. On March 19, 1880, it was extended by ordinance to Fountain Square. In July of that year the road and its extensions were acquired by the Cincinnati Street Railway Company, and the circuit length of the route as now operated is 13.32 miles. The extension grants twenty-five years.
The Eighth street line was originally established as a line running from Sedams- ville, along the Lower River road to Slop street, obtaining its grant from the
300
HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.
township trustees. On July 2, 1875, an ordinance was framed by the council of Cincinnati extending the route on Main to Evans, to Eighth, to Central avenue, to_ Sixth, to Walnut, to Fourth, to Elm, to Eighth, and returning to foot of Price-Hill incline. On August 23, 1876, an additional extension was granted, and still another March 2, 1877. The route is owned and operated by the Cincinnati Street Rail- way Company, and at this writing (August, 1893,) it is hard at work on an exten- sion which will be of great service to the public. The original grant was perpetual -the extension is for twenty-five years. The regular route is a five-mile circuit, and its branches 4.25 miles.
LINES ACROSS THE RIVER.
The Newport & Cincinnati Street railroad and the Cincinnati & Newport Street railroad grant, passed February 25, 1881, commencing at the Newport and Cincinnati bridge, running west on Pearl street to Broadway, Broadway to Fourth, Fourth to Walnut, Walnut to Fifth, east on Fifth to Broadway, south on Broadway to Pearl, east on Pearl to Newport and Cincinnati bridge, over which it passes to the city of Newport and Bellevue and Dayton.
The South Covington Street railway and the Newport, Covington & Cincinnati Street railway, under ordinances passed September 1, 1871, and November 2, 1877, were permitted to run cars from the Suspension bridge on Front to Walnut, Wal- nut to Fifth, thence to Vine, south on Vine to Front, east on Front to Suspension bridge, over which it passes to the city of Covington.
The South Covington & Cincinnati Street Railway Company has opened the York street line to Newport. This line has only a few hundred feet of construction within the city limits, as the cars are operated over the lines of the other railroads from the foot of Broadway to Fountain Square.
A line has recently been extended to Fort Thomas, in Kentucky, which affords easy and quick communication with that point from Fountain Square. A ride over this route is a charming one as a splendid view of the city and surrounding country is had from the hills of Kentucky.
A summary of the electric railways in the city shows a total of 255 miles of wire and 4,764 poles used to operate a total of 274 cars, equipped with about 8,640 horse-power in electric motors. There are at the present writing twenty-two sepa- rate street railway lines, but this number will soon be increased to meet the demands of the growing city and suburbs. In 1875 there were only forty-five miles of street- car tracks; to-day there are nearly 200. In a short time all horse-car lines will have disappeared from the streets, and only electricity and steam (cable) will be in use. The horse-car has had its day; let it give way to the greater power and more desirable improvement of modern times.
Nearly all the foregoing street-car lines start from, and return to, Fountain Square, that being the center, as it were, of the system. It is an interesting sight to stand on a corner opposite this square and watch the numerous cars arriving from the four points of the compass, crossing each other's tracks in symmetrical curves, and departing to make their circuits. And as they move with clock-like precision, the scene is particularly animating to the observer who witnesses it for the first time. This radiating center enables a stranger to secure a car to any point in the city or suburbs without trouble, as all bear the names of the places to which they run.
301
HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.
CHAPTER XIX.
GREAT FLOODS IN THE OHIO.
EARLIEST GREAT FLOOD KNOWN TO WHITE MEN-TABLE SHOWING THE STAGE OF HIGH WATER FOR SIXTY YEARS-THE FRESHIETS OF 1847 AND 1883-GREAT FLOOD OF 1884- TABLE SHOWING THE RISE AND FALL OF THE WATER DURING FEBRUARY - WORK OF RELIEF COMMITTEES-PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE FLOOD.
A S the Ohio* river drains a wide scope of country, it has been subjected to many great floods since the advent of the white man. What they were ante- rior to that date we know not. From the earliest times it was regarded as a beau- tiful stream. When first visited by the French voyagers in the latter part of 1600, they were so impressed with its beauty that they named it La Belle Riviere. Tra- dition tells us that in early times the channel was narrower than it is to-day. The banks were lined with trees, vines and creepers, which, in many places, extended to. the water's edge. After the trees were cut away the channel gradually widened, as there was no longer any resistance offered by roots and vines to the encroachments of the water during high stages. The direction of the current, too, was changed in many places on account of shifting sands and the formation of bars.
FLOOD OF 1773.
The first account we have of high water was in 1773. Three brothers, James, George and John Medfee, of Botetourt county, Va., visited the Ohio Valley for the purpose of seeking a place to settle. Early in June, 1773, they started in canoes from the mouth of the Kanawha, and descended the Ohio rapidly, because of a great flood in the river. This flood, it is said, was twelve feet higher than the great floods of 1832 and 1847. This is doubtful, for such a stage of water would have made it higher by three feet than the flood of 1884, which is the highest of which we have any authentic record. It is supposed that it was this flood (1773), the height of which was afterward found marked by these visitors, or the Indians, on a tree standing below where Fort Washington was afterward erected, and which was long pointed out as the greatest height of the river then known, either by per- sonal experience or by tradition. The Medfee brothers said the mighty torrent bore them swiftly along, and the valley was full from bluff to bluff. There was scarcely any dry land on what are now known as the "flats" of Cincinnati, and Mill creek valley. Dismayed at the watery scene, they left the river and hastened inland to a point in Kentucky where they had friends living, and there they finally settled. They are believed to have been the first explorers in search of a place to settle in the Miami country, although Christopher Gist had ascended the Great Miami on a mission to the Indians as early as 1751.
Judge Symmes says that on the 29th of January, 1789, he left Maysville with Capt. Kearsay and thirteen men, detailed for the protection of the settlement he proposed founding at North Bend. "The river was uncommonly high," he writes, "higher than at any date since 1773." From this statement we infer that it had attained an unusual height. When the party reached Columbia they found the " place under water with the exception of one house only." The houses were not
* Kis-ke-pi-la-sepe. i. e., Eagle river, was the name given to the Ohio by the Shawanese. But the Wyandots, who were in this country generations before the Shawanese, called it O-he-zuh. This is regarded as the primi- tive name and means " great, grand and fair to look upon." The French voyageurs used this name in their boat songs-adopting its significance when they called it La Belle Riviere .- [ Tcelor's Past and Present of Mill' Creek Valley, p. 68.]
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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.
numerous, but the inundation of the lowlands showed that the place was not a desirable one for the foundation of a town.
The flood of 1832, which reached a height of 64 feet 3 inches on the 18th of February, was a notable one. It was the highest ever known at Pittsburgh, accord- ing to the best data attainable, and was higher than that of 1883 from Pittsburgh to and including Ripley. 414 miles below Pittsburgh, and 45 miles above Cincinnati. The flood of 1884, while it did not equal that of 1832 at Pittsburgh, exceeded all floods below Pittsburgh to Cairo, and laid the foundation for the flood in the Missis- sippi river that covered the territory on either side for forty miles, and resulted in the highest water at New Orleans since 1874.
FLOOD RECORDS.
The following table showing the highest stage of water at Cincinnati from 1858 to 1884, and also in 1832 and 1847, is taken from the published report of the Relief Committee in 1884, and will be found valuable for reference. From 1885 to 1893 the record has been obtained from other sources. The figures, which give the stages of water for thirty-eight years, are:
YEAR, DATE. FEET,
INCHES.
YEAR.
DATE.
FEET.
INCHES.
1832, February 18
64
3
1875, August 6.
55
5
1847, December 17
63
1876, January 29
51
9
1858, June 16 .
43
10
1877, January 20
53
9
1859, February 22
55
5
1878, December 15
41
5
1860, April 16
49
2
1879, December 27
42
9
1861, April 19
49
5
1880, February 17
53
2
1862, January 24
57
4
1881, February 16.
50
1863, March 12.
42
9
1882, February 2
58
17
1864, December 23
45
1
1883, February, 5 A. M
66
4
1865, March 7
56
3
1884, February 14, 12 M.
71
34
1866, September 26
42
6
1885, January 19
45
10
1867, March 14.
55
8
1886, April 9.
55
10
1868, March 30.
48
3
1887, February 5
56
4
1869, April 2.
48
9
1888, April1.
39
11
1870, January 19.
55
3
1889, February 22
38
4
1871, May 13
40
6
1890, March 26 ..
59
3
1872, April 13.
41
9
1891, February 21.
51
11
1873, December 18
44
5
1892, January 18
41
17
1874, January 11
47
11
1893, February 14.
49
7
The great flood of 1832 was a notable one-the highest known up to that date- and until 1883 the "oldest inhabitant" always referred to it as high-water mark, until the freshets of 1883 and 1884 wiped out the record. The damages caused by the rise of 1832 were not great, when compared with those sustained in 1884, be- cause there was less property and individual interests to be placed in jeopardy. With the record of 1883 river men and close observers were quite firm in their opin- ions that it was not likely to be broken soon, if ever. But they were soon doomed to be disappointed. In one year it was wiped out by an excess of over four feet.
For twenty-seven years after 1832, with the exception of five or six years, there was a gradual decline in the annual high stages of water. The lowest stage of which we have any record was one foot nine inches, which was reached on the 17th of September, 1881, and it remained stationary at these figures until the 19th of the same month, inclusive.
According to the reports of the Chamber of Commerce the river on the 6th of February, 1884, had reached a height of fifty-nine feet at Cincinnati. This circum- stance, added to the rapid rise of the waters at all points above, and the enormous rainfall that had prevailed for a long time, and still continued, in the territory drained by the river, made it certain that the city was about to be subjected to a flood as great as any that it had experienced in the past, and rendered it quite probable that all previous experiences of floods in the Ohio would be exceeded.
303
HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.
RELIEF COMMITTEE APPOINTED.
In view of this alarming prospect, a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was called for the purpose of taking steps to appoint committees and otherwise be pre- pared to meet what seemed to be an inevitable calamity. A Relief Committee, con- sisting of fifteen members, was appointed and authorized to receive contributions and to furnish relief to sufferers by the flood. Subsequently the committee was strengthened by the addition of thirteen more names, added by Chairman H. C. Urner. Subscriptions to the proposed relief fund being in order, the Chamber by a unanimous vote appropriated $5,000 as a contribution to the fund. S. F. Dana was chosen treasurer, and Sidney D. Maxwell secretary. An executive committee was appointed, consisting of six members. Buildings were secured for the storage of provisions, and headquarters for the committee established. At a meeting of com- mon council held on the 6th of February a resolution was passed requesting the legislature to authorize the city comptroller "to borrow a sum not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars to be placed at the disposal of the Relief Committee of common council to be used for the purpose of relieving the distressed and protect- ing life and property during the continuance of the great flood." In accordance with this action a committee of common council, consisting of seven members, with the mayor at the head, and seven aldermen, was appointed. At a meeting of the Relief Committee, held February 7th, the action of the common council was re- ported, and the gentlemen appointed as the council committee were added to the committee, " which henceforth was known as the Relief Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Common Council of Cincinnati." For the proper performance of the work devolving upon the Relief Committee sub-committees were appointed, and a better organization was thus effected.
A large number of boats having been found necessary, Capt. W. P. Walker, Jr., was appointed admiral of the fleet, with two assistants. The committees and officers thus appointed at once proceeded to organize their several departments, and most faithfully and efficiently performed the laborious duties imposed on them.
In the meantime Howard Douglass, president of the board of education, an- nounced that he would assume the responsibility of ordering the vacation of such schoolhouses as might be needed to provide shelter for persons driven from their homes by the floods. At a subsequent meeting of the board his action was unani- mously approved. A number of schoolhouses convenient to the flooded district were occupied, both for places of shelter and the distribution of supplies.
The Church of the Atonement was also placed at the disposal of the committee, and, under the care of Rev. Father James Cary, many homeless persons were therein fed and sheltered.
The First Regiment, O. N. G., Col. C. B. Hunt commanding; the Regiment of Veteran Guards, under Col. M. L. Hawkins, and the Second Battery, Capt. Joyce, tendered their services to assist the police in the preservation of the public peace. These offers were gladly accepted by the committee, and, under the direction of the committee on police, the streets of the city, which, through the failure of the gas supply, were unlighted, were regularly patroled by the soldiers of these regi- ments during the continuance of the flood.
One of the first cares of the committee, says Prest. Urner in his exhaustive report, was to provide for feeding the hungry and destitute persons who had been driven from their homes by the flood. To accomplish this a soup house was opened, which was maintained during the entire period of the high water. An enormous quantity of food was consumed, and a very large number of persons were fed. Through good management the best of order prevailed, and the lack of crime and violence showed the importance of thorough organization and food distribution dur- ing the alarming prevalence of the high water.
304
HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.
The unexampled rise of the river rendered the situation of many of the flooded buildings unsafe, and the committee, through the police department, had them under constant inspection, which resulted in the condemnation of a number of~ buildings and an order for their vacation. This order was executed with some diffi- culty, the persons living in the condemned houses in many cases being unwilling to. abandon their dwellings; but with much persuasion, and some exercise of authority, they were all safely removed-it being necessary in some instances to seize boats. from extortionate owners engaged in the removal.
CALL FOR ASSISTANCE.
The progress of the rise, although steady, was slow, and for some little time after the organization of the committee the citizens did not seem to appreciate the magnitude of the impending disaster. That they might be fully informed of the condition of the suffering people, the committee issued a call for assistance and urged prompt attention to it in the way of contributions of money, food and cloth- ing. The public was informed that at that time more rations of food were being issued, and a greater number of persons fed, than at any time during the flood of 1883. There was a prompt response to the call, and from that time on until the waters had receded from the inundated parts of the city, the contributions came from all classes of the people. The College of Music, in connection with Mr. Henry E. Abbey, projected and carried to a magnificent conclusion a concert for the benefit of the Relief Fund, at which the celebrated singers of the Opera Festival gratuitously contributed their services. By this concert, which took place Febru- ary 17, the substantial sum of $6, 170.14 was realized.
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