History of Clinton County, Ohio Its People, Industries, and Institutions, with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, Part 10

Author: Albert J. Brown (A.M.)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1108

USA > Ohio > Clinton County > History of Clinton County, Ohio Its People, Industries, and Institutions, with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families > Part 10

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"From the east end of Martinsville to the College township road. through John Moon's lane: distance, two and one-half miles and eighteen poles. Viewers, Henry Cow- gill, Asa Brown and Amos Wright: Robert Grant, surveyor."

Snow Hill to Locust Pond-"Begins nt Charles Harris', thence with the College township road to the line between Lewis Giblet and said Harris; thence to Centerville (six miles and sixty poles from Snow Hill) ; thence to Locust Pond. four miles and one hundred and forty poles. Whole distance, ten miles and two hundred poles. Viewers. Paul Huis, Joseph Rulan and Samuel Harvey. Hiram Madden. surveyor. Established June 7. 1925 .**

"Road from Wilmington to Dayton. by an act passed at the session of 1835, was Inid ont by Caleb Lucas, John Shelby and David W. Brown."

"From Wilmington to Burlington. Distance, as shown by surveyor's plat and field

CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.

notes, thirty miles and two hundred and sixty-eight and three-quarter poles. Distance through Clinton county is twelve miles and one hundred and five poles; through Greene county, ten miles and two hundred and eight poles; around Montgomery county, seven- teen miles and two hundred and fifteen poles."

The College township road, so often mentioned, was established by the Legislature, February 18, 1804. passing from Chillicothe through Lebanon to Oxford. A route was determined on the same day for a road parking from Chillicothe through Hopkinsville and Montgomery to Cincinnati, and the first appropriation made for laying out these roads. They follow the suiue route, viz., from Chillicothe to a polut in Clinton county went of Cuba, and about a mile and a half southeast of Clarksville, where they diverge. the College township road running via Smalley's and Ft. Ancient to Lebanon, and the Montgomery rond passing south of it to Miranda's and Hopkinsville, crossing Todd's fork below Smalley's at the Cres farm.

In the cave of Hallam vs. Adams, James Curtis, a witness, speaks of a trace from the Troxel, passing near where William Figgins lived and going up the Long Arm prairie into the Main prairie. between the Woods pond and Lecust poud, and, crossing the prairie there, went on the direction of a cabin called Jackson's cabin on the big ranch.

The following is taken from an almanac of 1818: Cincinnati via Lehanon to Chillicothe: Reading, ten miles; Price, eight miles; Lebanon, fourteen miles; Rue's ( Little Miami), six miles; Armstrong's. eleven miles; Van Meter's, thirteen miles; ('lifton. thirteen miles; Greenfield, nine miles; Davis, five miles; Wiley, seven miles; Roger five miles: Chillicothe, ten miles.

TURNPIKES, PLANK ROADS AND EARLY IMPROVEMENTS.

By an act of the Legislature, passed March 22, 1837, the Goshen. Wilmington & Columbus Turnpike Company was incorporated, the Clinton county members being John Hadley, Eli Hale, Nathan Linton, Isaiah Morris, David Stratton, Lawrence Fitzhugh and Joseph Reed. The building of this turnpike had been commenced some years earlier and completed from Goshen to Cincinnati. In the spring of 1838 the work as far as Wilmington was under contract. The work was carried on principally by parties living along the route of this road, In 1840 the pike was completed and opened for public use. The cost of this turnpike was estimated at four thousand dollars per mile. The anme company which finished this turnpike also graded and bridged the road between Wit- mington and Sabina and, in the spring of 1850, sought to convert this into a plank road. hut the project was unsuccessful. This was the largest Incorporated turnpike company in the county. although there had been earlier ones formed and many were chartered after this time.

In 1823 the state Legislature authorized the building of a state road from Wil- mington to Cincinnati, and another art of a similar nature was passed in 18335. All corporations had to be granted a charter by the state Legislature and, by referring to the laws of Ohlo, the following turnpike companies, with portions of their lines in Clinton county, were incorporated in the years given below : Goshen. Martinsville & Leesburg. 1832: Clarksville, Cuba, Snow IIIII. New Lexington & Leesburg. 1838; Wilmington. Jamestown & South Charleston. 1538; Wilmington & London, 1538; Waynesville & Wil- mington. 1838: Dayton & Wilmington, 1839; Xenia & Wilmington. February 0. 1846; Circleville and the Port William, New Burlington & Adelphi. February 25. 1548,

In 1$14 the Legislature passed an act for the establishment of free turnpikes and this brought about the formation, the following year, of a number of plank rond com- pantes. A later act, which applied to plank road companies, is given below. This was passed March 20, 1549, and the extract is from section one of the said act: "That any company heretofore incorporated in this state for the purpose of constructing a turnpike road may construct said road, or any part thereof, by covering the same with plank not

CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.

less than two and one-half inches thick, of sufficient width for the accommodation of teams, and in a good and substantial manner, instead of covering the same with gravel : Provided, no company shall take any timber without the consent of the owner or owners thereof." Subsequent acts fully defined the powers and privileges of plank road com- panies.

By reference to the acts of the state of Ohio It is found that the following plauk road companies were chartered by the Legislature in the years given below and having members and portions of their lines in Clinton county Goshen. Blanchester & Martins- ville, 1844; Leesburg & Blanchester. session of 1850-51; New Lexington & Wilmington, session of 1850-51 : Mount Pleasant & Martinsville. session of 1850-51; Blanchester & Wilmington, session of 1850-51 ; Martinsville. Westboro & Woodville, session of 1850-51 ; Port William & Wilmington, session of 1850-51. By glancing over this list, It is seen that the 'craze' struck the people in 1850 and evidently the Legislature of that year had their hands full in taking care of the petitioners for plank road charters. None of the above Incorporated roads were ever laid out and but one plank road was ever built in the county. So the material Improvements which plank roads did Clinton county was wholly on paper and not suitable to travel over.

On February 16. 1850, a meeting was held at Harveysburg. Warren county. to make arrangements for the organization of a company to construct a turnpike road from Waynesville to Wilmington, via Harveysburg. This road was to connect with the Little Miami railroad at Harveysburg, The Legislature, In the session of 1838-39 had granted the original charter to this company, but a definite organization had never been made. On April 1, 1850. subscription books were opened at Wilmington. Harveysburg and Waynesville for the sale of stock in this company.

The commissioners who had this matter in charge were from the three towns, Nathan Linton. of Clinton county, representing Wilmington. A. Brook was appointed secretary for the corporation. As early as April 2. of that year. a daily line of ommibises was running over the road, and a short time later a new coach was put on and a daily mail enrried. The headquarters of the omnibus line were located at Wilmington at the Buckeye House and E. Flood was appointed the agent for the line. Jacoh Strickle, who lived on South street, was the proprietor. The fare from Wilmington to Waynesville was fifty cents. The stockholders of the road met on April 27. 1850, at Harveysburg to elect directors. The name of the company was then changed to the Waynesville & Wil- mington Turnpike and Plank Road Company. Late in the fall of 1552 the road was completed as far as Wilmington and, of this distance. abont seven miles was planked. two miles between Wilmington and Todd's fork and five miles between Dutch creek and Waynesville. This was the only plank road ever constructed In Clinton county, Some time later the whole route was covered with gravel and converted into an excellent turn- pike. Toll was taken over this road as Inte as the spring of 1851. The last name of the company was the Waynesville & Wilmington Turnpike Company and Cyrus Linton was on the board of directors from 1857 until the company was dissolved.

The first free turnpikes, or macadamized roads, as they are now called, did not make their appearance until the middle of the fifties. At its session of 1853-54. the Ohio Legislature enacted a free turnpike or rond Improvement law. This act provided that. on the petition of three-fourths of all the resident landholders on ench side of any state or county road, and within one mile of said road, to the auditor, bis duty shall be to assess, in addition to the regular taxes, four mills to the dollar on all lands within a mile of the road, and on all personal property held in said boundaries by both freeholders and personal property holders. Said tax was to be applied to improving said road. The first action taken by the citizens of Clinton county to secure an improvement on the county roads was in May. 1859. George Sanders and J. S. Leaming undertook, under this law. to secure a free pike from Wilmington to the Washington line, about a mile south

CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.

of Burtonville, along the line of the Wilmington and Martinsville road. The petition was presented with sixty-one signers. Jeff Hildebrant was employed as surveyor, Charles Jones was employed as flagman, Benjamin F. and Abner Lewis, chainmen, and in a few days the survey was made and the report, with the necessary calculations, returned to Auditor William Greer.

This project proved a failure through some unforeseen wire-pulling and the short- sightedness of some of the landholders along the proposed line, who preferred to travel In mud rather than pay for a pike along their property. The promoters were left to bear the cost of the undertaking, which amounted to forty-nine dollars. A failure quite often ouly proves a spur to incite men to further endeavors in their work. And this rond failure, as contrasted to the first railroad venture, only served as an awakening to the citizens of the county in their need for better roads and Internal Improvements.

Many laws have been passed since that time which tends to make it easier to get free roads, and at present only a majority of freeholders interested in the road are required to sign the petition. As a result, free turnpikes are numerous and the condition of the roads in the county is in an excellent state.

RAILROADS.

The early citizens of Clinton county were among the first to realize the advantages and benefits to be gained by securing a railroad through the county. This desire for transportation and communication with the markets of the larger citles was a stimulus for securing one of the first roads through this section of the state.

A meeting was held at the court house in Wilmington on June 30, 1827, for the purpose of making arrangements to act with the citizens of Chillicothe, where a meeting had already been held, to induce the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company to extend its line west of the Ohio river to some suitable terminus on the Great Miami. This project In itself did not meet with Immediate results as far as bringing the desired railroad through the county, but the seed was sown and the citizens were not to be discouraged in their attempt. The proposition was always uppermost in the minds of the citizens and finally their efforts were crowned with success.

CINCINNATI, WILMINGTON & ZANESVILLE RAILROAD.

Hon. R. B. Harlan, who was the representative in the lower house of the Legislature In 1550. Introduced a bill in December of that year asking for a charter for the Cin- cinnati, Wilmington & Zanesville Railroad. The bill passed and the charter was granted on February 4. 1851. The name of Wilmington was inserted out of respect to the county In which the bill originated. The aspirations of the promoters of this road was that it would be come a great trunk line, but the great mistake was made of connecting it with the Little Miami rond at Morrow and running its trains over the tracks of that Itne from Morrow to Cincinnati. Instead of building a separate and individual road. This interfered to a grent extent with the success of the new road, which would have proved a better venture if its own tracks had extended to Cincinnati. The first surveys were made from Morrow to Lancaster, a distance of ninety miles, in November, 1850. The estimates were made and the contract let for building that part of the road to A. DeGaff.

At an election held in Clinton county it was voted that the county subscribe two hundred thousand dollars towards the construction of this rallrond. Active work was first begun in December. 1851. In the November 20, 1852, Issue of the Clinton Republi- can. it was stated that over two thousand tons of iron for this road had reached New Orleans, to be forwarded at once to Cincinnati, and the laying of the track was to begin as soon the following spring as the wenther would permit. It was the expectations of the citizens of Wilmington that the road would be fluisbed and trains of cars running by June 1. 1853. But the work on laying the track was not begun until the latter part

CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.

of March and, on account of numerous difficult places which detained the work, it was not finished to Wilmington untli in August. On the 11th day of that month, 1853, a massive celebration was held at Wilmington in honor of the event. It was estimated that the crowd numbered from ten to fifteen thousand people, and a general gala day was held. An old-time barbecue marked the zenith of the day's entertainment, in which five oxen and a number of sheep were served; the table which was erected to accommodate the crowd was in the form of a square and was one thousand two hundred feet long The train which bore the last of the visitors left at three-thirty P. M. and by six o'clock all was quiet again in the little village,

On August 15, 1853, trains began running regularly between Cincinnati and Wil- mington, one a day each way. The fare between the points was one dollar and sixty cents. The road was completed to Washington C. HI., Fayette county, November 24. 1853, and the company began to run its trains to that point. forty-one and one-half miles to Morrow, and seventy-seven and one-half miles from Cincinnati. The road was finished to Lancaster in 1854 and the same year the contract was let for building the part between Lancaster and Zanesville. This part of the road was not finished until late in 1855, but by 1856 trains were running uninterruptedly over the entire length of the road.

The first president of the road was Franklin Corwin, who served from 1851 to 1856 and was succeeded in July of the latter year by Erasmus Gest, who acted in the capacity of president and superintendent. The road was not a paying proposition, as seen by the report given out in March, 1857, which was as follows: Receipts, $472.800.04 ; expendi- tures, $492,508.81. The company thus sustained a loss of $20.000, besides the depreciation in the value of the property. In consequence of the loss to the stockholders, Mr. Gest was appointed receiver. In 1856, holding the position for twenty-six months, during which time a balance of over elghty thousand dollars was placed to the credit of the company and subsequently invested in rolling stock and improvements. Mr. Gest was succeeded, May 1, 1859, by Col. William Key Bond, who had charge of the affairs of the road for four and one-balf years. The affairs of the company were again in bad financial straits and, in October, 1863, the road was sold at auction and purchased by Charles Moran, of New York, in trust for the original mortgage holders. In March of the following year the stock of the company was transferred by Mr. Bond to a reorganized company, which was composed entirely of original stockholders and creditors. This new company was organized upon a capitalized or reduced basis. Mr. Gest was again elected president and the business of the company began to flourish as before. The annual surplus reached forty thousand dollars. At this time the name of the road was changed to the Cin- cinnati & Zanesville Railroad Company.

Again the condition of the company began to run in narrow financial straits and subsequently the road, with all its franchises, real estate, machine shops, depot buildings and rolling stock, was sold at auction, December 1, 1869, at the door of the court house in Cincinnati, Judge Thomas L. Jewett, who was then president of the Pennsylvania Central Company, purchased the entire holdings for one million four thousand dollars. The road later, on May 1. 1873, passed by lease into the hands of the Pittsburg, Cin- cinnati & St. Louis Railroad Company, by which rond it is still operated under the name of the Cincinnati & Muskingum Valley Railroad.

MARIETTA & CINCINNATI RAILROAD.

The Marletta & Cincinnati Company. as originally organized, March 8, 1845, was chartered under the name of the Belpre & Cincinnati Railroad Company. The act of the charter authorized the stockholders to build a road from a point opposite Petersburg, Virginia, to Harmar. in Washington county. Ohio, as a majority of the commissioners should determine: thence by the most practical route up the Hocking valley by way of Athens and Chillicothe, to come point on the Little Miami railroad between Plainville,

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CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.

Hamilton county, and the mouth of O'Bannon creek. in Clermont county. This act was amended in March, 1850, and the company was authorized to build ita road to any point so as to connect with any railroad or other Improvement constructed to the Ohio river on the Virginia side; and a subsequent amendment, in the following year, anthorized its completion to Cincinnati, with the privilege of connecting or crossing the Little Miami or any other railroad.

The name of the road was changed in March, 1851, and it was known as the Mar- jetta & Cincinnati Railroad. Active work was begun in the spring of IS51, and the line was opened from Harmar to Loveland, Clermont county, a distance of one hundred and seventy-three miles, in 1857. Like many other ronds of this early date, the stockholders found that with the completion of the line their resources were exhausted and they had no reserve on which to operate the road : consequently, it was placed in the hands of a receiver, who operated it until February 25, 1860. when. in Mny. the trustees of the road purchased the stock for the benefit of the stockholders. It continued to be operated by the trustees until August, 1960. when it was transferred by them to the reorganized company, which was known as the Marietta & Cincinnati Rallroad Company. The exten- sion from Loveland to Cincinnati, a distance of twenty-four miles, was begun by the newly re-organized company in 1864. and was completed to a point six miles from Cin- cinnati In February, 1886. From there to Cincinnati this road used the tracks of the Chiengo, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad. Later the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company took over this road through a lease and It is operated under that name at present.

The Hillsboro & Cincinnati Railroad runs through the southern part of Clinton county and parallels the Baltimore & Ohlo, Marietta & Cincinnati line, from Midland to Blanchester. where it makes a junction with that road. It Is interesting to note that this was the first railroad built in Clinton county. It was completed from Loveland to Hillsboro in 1852. This road is also operated by the Baltimore & Ohio railroad through a lease.

DETROIT, TOLEDO & IRONMAN RAILROAD.

This railroad runs through Liberty and into Chester township, An agitation for the construction of this line was first begon In December. 175, when a meeting was held in Port William and the plan of building a narrow-gange railroad from Waynesville, con- necting there with the Miami Valley Railway, to Jeffersonville, and ultimately to Columbus, was presented by J. F. Ely. of Washington Court House.

The incorporators, J. F. Ely, Erhan Allen. J. M. Hussey, James Ellis and Dortor Marshall. Immediately procured a charter and the proposed rond was Incorporated as the Waynesville. Port William & Jeffersonville Raftroad. After a sufficient amount of stock was raised. an organization was effected in March. 1876. Meetings were held along the intended route and stock raised to the amount of sixty-five thousand dollars.

This road extended as far west as the Miami Valley railroad, a short distance below Roxana. Trains were run over this, the main line. for only a short time and then. either because of the condition of the track or the crampun condition of the stockholders. It was abandoned. A short time Inter a spur or feeder was begun. This branched off at Mckay's Station and was to run southwest through Chester township and Into Warren county. The grade was made as far west as Harveysburg, but rails were never laid any farther west than through Kingman. Later the rails that were Inid west of Kingman, a mile in all, were taken up and the grade went through Harveysburg was abandoned. The old main line, or that part of it from MeKay's Station through New Burlington and west. was abandoned and the rails taken up. The right of way was soon fenced in and only n few of the older settlers enn ever remember seeing a train on this part of the road. That part from Port William to Kingman was made a standard gange and is the road as we see It at the present time.

This road is now under the charge of the Dayton. Toledo & Ironton Railroad Com-

CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.

pany through a lease, but the tratile at present is very light and evidently the owners are awaiting an opportunity to make a junction wib some other road.

PROPOSED ROADS.

There have been quite a number of railroads proposed in Clinton county and some even went so far as to sell a large amount of stock, but, for some unforeseen reason failed to materialize. The Ripley, Wilmington & Dayton Railroad Company was such a venture. The following men. as incorporators, M. M. Murphy and W. D. Young, of Ripley : Dr. L. B. Miles, of Georgetown ; J. Fite, of New Hope; L. S. Vance, of Mount Orab, all of Brown county ; A. T. Moon, of Highland county ; D. Gould, of Martinsville; L. M. Moore, Cyrus Linton and J. W. Denver, of Wilmington; and S. F. Covington, of Cincinnati, chartered this road in the spring of 1878. The capital stock of the company was placed at two hundred thousand dollars and Gen. J. W. Denver, of Wilmington, Was chosen as the first president.

The road as originally planned was to run from Ripley to Dayton, via Wilmington. In the spring of 1878 the survey was made to Wilmington by Lawrence Woolson, of Cincinnati, but has extended no farther. No work has been done on this road, although the organization existed as late as 1882. The officers of the company in 1882 were as follow : G. F. Early, president ; Cyrus Linton, vice-president ; E. C. Betts, secretary; Harley F. Walker, treasurer ; Frank Moore, S. Q. Fulton, Jobn Outcalt and Cyrus Lin- ton, of Wilmington; William Turner, John Turner and Henry Walker, of Martinsville; Alva Moon, of Mount Orab: Judge Louden, of Georgetown, and G. F. Early and Ephraim Flougher, of Ripley, directors.

In 1879 this same company was granted a charter to construct a branch from Aberdeen to a point on the main line near Buford. Highland county. The officers of this branch company were Jeff Hildebrant, president, and Cyrus Linton, vice-president.

Another proposed railroad which failed to materialize was the Southern Ohio Rall- way Company. Certain capitalists of the East proposed, in the fall of 1871, to build a railrond that was to extend from the Ohio river at Huntington to Dayton. This road was to connect with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad at Huntington and give it an outlet over the tracks of that line. Colonel Trimble was the first president of this road and he proposed. on the part of the incorporators, to equip the road and advance the capital for its completion if the people along the line of the said road would raise eight hundred thousand dollars

The first meeting in the interest of this enterprise in Chester township was held at the Methodist Episcopal church in New Burlington on the evening of November 21. 1871. At that meeting Peter Harrison was made temporary president and H. G. Cartwright. secretary. A committee of twelve was appointed to solleit stock and secure a right of way. This committee met at the store of John Grant on the evening of November 23 and organized by elerting Samuel Lamar permanent chairman and A. H. Harlan, permanent secretary. Allen Linton presented a set of papers setting forth the conditions on which the people of Chester township would subscribe stock. On the motion of John Grant. these articles were adopted and have been copied verbatim: "We whose names are here unto subscribed do severally agree with and promise to the Southern Ohio Railway to take and pay for the number of shares of the stock of said company set opposite our names, of the value of $50 each, payable in installments on the total sum subscribed by each of us, as may hereinafter be required by the board of directors of said road; provided-first, that the aforementioned rond will pass from Hillsboro to Dayton via Wilmington, Clinton county. Ohio, crossing Cesar's creek in said county near the village of New Burlington, Ohlo: that enough stock be taken to complete anid road In accord- ance with the proposition of C. P. Huntington, president of the Chesapeake & Ohio Rail-

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History of Clinton County, Ohio Its People, Industries, and Institutions, with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, Part 10

Author: Albert J. Brown (A.M.) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1108

Author: Albert J. Brown (A.M.)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1108