History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 25

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1302

USA > Ohio > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 25

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The following from the Forum is the ac- count of the arrival of the first train in Bucy- rus, Aug. 31, 1853 :

RAILROAD EXCURSION TO BUCYRUS.

The first passenger train on the Ohio and Indiana Railroad arrived at this place last Wednesday evening (Aug. 31), on which, according to previous arrange- ment, our Pittsburg friends made us a visit. A com- mittee, consisting of Dr. W. Merriman, president of the Ohio and Indiana Railroad company, Gen. S. Myers, Col. G. P. Seal, Capt. John Miller and M. P. Bean, re- ceived the party at Crestline and came down with them. On arriving here the committee of arrangements con- ducted them to the American and National, where sumptuous suppers were in waiting. After supper the party were conducted to Sims New Hall where a table was prepared filled with eatables and drinkables (on the temperance principle of course). Dr. Merriman then welcomed them to the hospitalities of our town, and was replied to by Gen. Robinson, president of the Ohio and Pennsylvania road. Speeches were also made by Mr. Roberts, chief engineer of the Ohio and Penn- sylvania, John Larwill, Esq., of Wooster, Judge Leith, of Wyandot, Mr. Straughan, chief engineer of the Ohio and Indiana, and others. The speeches were not lengthy, but well-timed and to the point. The party re- mained over night, leaving early next morning. Our citizens having been invited to take a ride to Pittsburg, quite a number of gentlemen and ladies went out with them to that place.

SECOND : NATIONAL

BANK

SECOND NATIONAL BANK, BUCYRUS, O.

HOME OF THE BUCYRUS FIRE DEPARTMENT

BUCYRUS CITY BANK, BUCYRUS, O.

CLO HING

PUBLIC SQUARE LOOKING EAST, BUCYRUS, O.

SOUTH SANDUSKY STREET, BUCYRUS, O.

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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

As early as October, 1853, it was announced that the accommodation train between Crest- line and Bucyrus paid expenses. The follow- ing was the first time card :

OFFICE OHIO AND INDIANA RAILROAD.

Bucyrus, Sept. 22, 1853.

From and after Tuesday, Sept. 27, an accommoda- tion train will be run on the Ohio and Indiana Rail- road between Bucyrus and Crestline, as follows :

Leaves Bucyrus

. II :00 a. m.

Arrives Crestline

. 12:15 p. m.

Leaves Crestline

2:00 p. m.

Arrives Bucyrus

3:15 p. m.

LESTER BLISS, Superintendent.

It was later announced that persons desir- ing to send freight must have it at the depot one hour before the train leaves.

The freight agent was taking no chances on being swamped at the last minute. Besides, no one was in a hurry, not even the train it- self, as it jogged along to Crestline at the rate of ten miles an hour. There was no danger of a "head on" or a "rear end" collision, it being the only train on the road. But it should be remembered the roadbed was built at a cost of about $5,650 (including stations) per mile, and the most skillful work of the engineer was required to keep his engine on the track. That this road-bed was improved rapidly is shown from the fact that in the spring of 1854 the new time card gave the time of the fast train from Crestline to Bucyrus at 43 minutes, and the accommodation at 50 minutes. It was un- doubtedly safety that was looked to in the running of the trains as the return trip from Bucyrus to Crestline, up grade, was scheduled for 40 minutes for the fast line.

During the fall the work west was pushed rapidly, and in December the road had reached within two miles of Patterson* (Forest) and many passengers were on the trains daily to make connection with the Mad River road at Patterson for the north or south, the passen- gers walking the two miles intervening, and the railroad furnishing conveyances to trans- port their baggage. By January the two mile gap was completed, and the road advertised connection at that point- for Cincinnati and Sandusky. It also advertised connection at Crestline for Cincinnati and Cleveland. But connection in those days certainly did not

mean what it does now, as the connection to Cleveland meant a wait of three hours and thirty-five minutes, and to Columbus and Cin- cinnati of five hours and forty-five minutes. There was one advantage in the fact that the passenger desiring to make the connection never worried as to whether his train was on time or not, a few hours late made no material difference.

During the construction of the road the headquarters had been at Bucyrus; nearly all the directors each year had been Bucyrus men. It had been promoted and built by the perse- verance, the energy and the push of the busi- ness men of Bucyrus. All over the great state of Ohio are cities and villages that have done much for their improvement, but in the entire list it would be difficult to find any act in any one that equals the building of so important a road, almost single handed and alone, by a village of 1365 people. It stands today the greatest monument to the enterprise of the citi- zens of Bucyrus of half a century ago, and a fulfillment of the prophetic statement which described the little village at its birth as "a lively post town" in Crawford county.

When the annual meeting of the stockhold- ers was held in Bucyrus, in January, 1854, the road was in operation as far as Forest. Up to this time nearly all the directors had been Bucyrus men. At this meeting the following directors were elected: Willis Merriman and P. S. Marshall of Bucyrus; Judge Hanna and B. Hoagland of Fort Wayne; William Robin- son of Pittsburg; Robert McKelly of Upper Sandusky, and Mr. Jacobs of Lima. .This board is interesting as showing the first tend- ency toward the combination of railroad inter- ests. Mr. Robinson was president of the Ohio and Pennsylvania, from Pittsburg to Crestline, Mr. Merriman was president of the Ohio and Indiana, from Crestline to Ft. Wayne, nearly completed; Mr. Hanna was president of the Indiana and Chicago, from Ft. Wayne to Chicago, building. The directors organized by electing Willis Merriman president ; George Quinby treasurer; C. W. Butterfield secretary, and J. B. Sears solicitor, all from Bucyrus. During the year Mr. Merriman re- signed the presidency of the road and was suc- ceeded by Judge Hanna, of Ft. Wayne.

The first accident on the new road occurred

*The road crossed the Mad River and Lake Erie one mile from Patterson; and at the crossing a new town was started, which is now Forest.

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY

on Feb. 25, 1854, when a man named Michael Kenney, who was employed on a freight train, was accidentally killed a short distance west of Bucyrus. The train ran off the track and threw him between the cars, the wheels run- ning over him, killing him almost instantly. He was taken to his home at Shelby for burial.

Crawford county was now one of the most important railroad counties in the state, with the most important north and south road pass- ing through Galion and Crestline and the most important east and west road passing through Crestline and Bucyrus. The country at that time, especially west of Bucyrus, was still in a very wild condition, very sparsely settled. The new road east of Bucyrus is thus described by William Crosby, the editor of the Journal, and it was probably his first extended trip on a railroad :

"On Thursday, June 15 (1854), at 12:30 we took the express train at Bucyrus, but with scarcely time to be seated we found ourselves at Crestline, amid the clattering of the dinner gong, the confused din of a thousand voices, with as many different orders and wants; the rush of the hungry multitude to Mr. Hall's dining saloon, the scraping and thumping of chairs, the rattling of dishes, knives and forks, and the occasional crash of a plate, the whole mixed up into a continuous fountain of noise by the stunning effect of escaping steam. After fortifying the inner man against the de- mands of nature for a time at a table teeming with all the luxuries of early summer, supplied with the profusion and served in that enticing style which only such caterers as friend Hall of the Crestline House understand, we seated ourselves in the cars of the Ohio and Pennsyl- vania road for Pittsburg.

"Attached to an iron steed whose powers equalled the tornado and whose speed sur- passed the whirlwind, we swept along the iron course threatening destruction to everything that would impede the onward flight. Un- fortunately this rapid progress resulted in the killing of three cows at as many different points, which careless owners or inefficient in- closures permitted (the cows, not the points) to wander from their proper range. Stop- ping only at the more important stations to drop or pick up such passengers as awaited, still onward we coursed through clouds of dust

which rendered the various tints of bonnet- trimmings-the brilliant colors of ladies' dresses and the jet coats of the "sterner sex" -all of a russet brown; penetrating eyes, ears, nose and mouth with a pertinacity irresistible to all the puffing, blowing and brushing of those who endeavored to escape this disagree- able appendage of railroad traveling.

"We supped at Alliance-a new town at the junction of the Ohio and Pennsylvania and the Cleveland and Pittsburg road. At this place all the laggards and loungers, together with those peculiar natures that love to be regaled with an exhibition of abilities in the science pugilistic, were supplied with a display to their taste in the form of a brutal fight between the runners and drummers of a couple of opposi- tion eating-houses. One of these houses charged 50 cents a meal, the other 25 cents- hence the hostility. We were "sharpset," so leaving the more interested to see the end of the fight, and discuss the brutalizing merits, we made our way into one of the dining halls and endeavored to make a meal on allowance time only extending to fifteen minutes. After collecting off of sparingly supplied dishes something to start on, the eatables commenced disappearing in the magical manner peculiar to good appetite. When about fairly inter- ested in the game of "open and shut" the mo- tion of the rapidly vibrating knife and fork was suddenly arrested by a gentle tap on the arm, and the information of, "fifty cents each, sir," gently whispered in the ear. There was no escaping the extortion, so we forked over -but to those who travel this route we advise the house on the right, going east, not that we can indorse the table, but because we think that it could not be much more scantily sup- plied, and that we think 25 cents an ample price for a meal, to discuss which you have but fifteen minutes time allowed, and which anxious watching of moving cars reduces to five, and moreover it is scarcely possible to do any degree of justice in the way of mastica- tion to a dime's worth of food per minute.

"Reached Allegheny City at 8:30, just eight hours from Bucyrus-200 miles. Here we had to go through all the disagreeable attend- ants of city stations, resulting from the con- flicting interests of bus and hack drivers, ho- tel runners, etc. Finally reached friends."

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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

In the fall of 1854, the Ohio and Indiana road was completed, and Mr. Creever accom- panied the first train to Fort Wayne, and his account of that trip will give the reader an idea of the western end of the line at that time.

"On Wednesday, November 15, at 9 o'clock the excursion train left Bucyrus for- Fort Wayne, the occasion being the opening of the Ohio and Indiana road. When the train reached Bucyrus, delegates were on from Pittsburg to Mansfield. At Upper Sandusky we were joined by the Wyandot delegation and at Forest by a few more.

"Leaving Forest, 20 miles out, Judge Hanna, president, was found missing. He had gotten off at Forest to oversee some work and the train left without him. At Johns- town* two freight trains were waiting the passage of the excursion train. Chief Engi- neer Straughan ordered one of the locomotives to go to Forest and bring back the missing president.

"Between Johnstown and Lafayette we passed over Hog Creek Marsh. At the time the road was located this prairie was covered with water, above the surface of which naught was to be seen but the coarse sedge grass or reed, growing and undulating in the breeze. Several ditches have been cut across the prairie and the surface water well drawn off. The soil now begins to wear a tolerable appearance. The prairie embraces from 15,000 to 20,000 acres, occasionally dotted with little clumps of bushes and groves of timber. It was a beau- tiful and novel sight, appearing like a great lake surrounded by wilderness.

"At Lima we met the mail train, which brought a large delegation from Ft. Wayne to meet our excursionists. Here we were saluted with several rounds of artillery from the Mad Anthony Guards of Ft. Wayne, and cheering music by Strubey's band of Ft. Wayne. But the grand feature at Lima was the collation. Munificent and magnificent. The caterers did justice to the hungry guests, and keen appe- tites did ample justice to the collation. It was specifically set forth in the invitation card that the collation would return to Ft. Wayne and every guest appeared to labor under the im-

pression that it was his duty to see that the specification was fulfilled, and accordingly each set to work to carry out the requirement. After the collation was loadened up to the ut- most capacity of the excursionists-which, however, was not sufficient to absorb the en- tire "fixins" by a large amount-the company, while awaiting the arrival of the missing presi- dent, passed the time in friendly intercourse with the Ft. Wayne delegation, who met us with warm and hearty greeting. After delay- ing for some time it was concluded to move on slowly that the express locomotive might overtake us.

"At Lima the excursion train had three passenger cars added, increasing it to ten cars, well, but comfortably filled. The Ft. Wayne delegation spread themselves throughout the train, giving out free tickets to the supper at Ft. Wayne in the evening, and also distribut- ing tickets containing the name of the person at whose residence the holder was to be enter- tained for the night. Our card showed we were to be with Thomas Tigar of the Ft. Wayne Sentinel. We made no calculation for such a result, but as such was our luck we philosophically marshalled our courage, and prepared to abide with the Tigars.

"A short time after leaving Lima an ac- cident occurred which had like to turn our en- joyment to sorrow. The chief engineer and superintendent, Mr. Straughan, was very anxious for the arrival of the president, Judge Hanna, and while keeping a lookout to the rear from the platform of one of the cars, he by some means lost his balance and was pre- cipitated from the train. The alarm was given and the train immediately checked and backed. Mr. Straughan was taken up by some men who were working near the spot where the accident occurred and when the train arrived he was taken to the rear car. After an examination by some physicians who were aboard, he was, beyond being stunned and bruised, pronounced uninjured. This pleasing intelligence was quickly spread from car to car, and soon the company assumed its wonted tone. In a few minutes after, the express locomotive overtook us with the president aboard. He was heartily greeted by the excursionists. Everything be- ing thus righted, our iron steed took a more

*Ada.

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY

rapid gait, but we had tarried so much on the way that we could not possibly arrive at Ft. Wayne until long after schedule time.

"At Delphos the road crosses the Miami Canal. After leaving Delphos the next im- portant point for which we kept a lookout was the State Line, but although the train stopped, and the brakeman called out "State Line," yet with all our vigilance we could not see it. We could discover no line between the Buckeye State and Hoosierdom. Inseparably united as the two states are in feeling and interest, may a no more tangible line ever be drawn to sep- arate them. Hand in hand may they march onward and upward to the great and prosper- ous destiny that awaits their united energy and enterprise.

"From Upper Sandusky westward to the neighborhood of Ft. Wayne the great feature of the country is wilderness-almost unbroken. At Lima, Delphos and Van Wert the forest is driven back, and a thriving, busy population is fast turning the wilderness into a garden, but many years will pass before Ohio has attained a population nearing her capacity.

"The energy and enterprise of the Buck- eyes must be great to have raised Ohio to rank as the third State in the Union, while two- thirds of her rich soil rests undisturbed be- neath the shade of the primitive forest. Rank- ing, as the State now does, what must be her ultimate destiny, when the wilderness shall be forced from her surface and teeming, busy life usurps its place, causing fruitful farms, populous towns, and busy workshops to oc- cupy the complete length and breadth of the land.

"Half past four is the hour at which we should have arrived at Ft. Wayne, but we reached there at six. We marched to the sup- per room preceded by a band. The city was brilliantly illuminated and the excursionists were continually greeted by the cheers of the crowds lining the streets. After supper we went to Colerick Hall, where D. H. Colerick delivered the address of welcome. It was re- sponded to by Gov. Johnston, and S. W. Rob- erts of Pennsylvania, Robert W. Schenck, late minister to Brazil, and Henry B. Payne, of Ohio.

"In company with Brother Day of the Mans- field Herald we were conducted by our worthy

host-Brother Tigar-to his den. Oh, may it always be our fortune when among strangers to fall into a "Tigar's Den."

"At ten next morning left for home. At Lima made a raid on the remains of yester- day's banquet. Had dinner at Forest. Ar- rived at Bucyrus at six."

In his account of the trip to Pittsburg, Mr. Creever mentions as one of the incidents the speed of the train "resulted in the killing of three cows." The casual manner in which this is stated and the following item from his paper in November, 1855, would indicate little at- tention was paid in those days by the engineers to protect the stock straying on the unfenced track :

"Monday night, Nov. 12, the express, two miles from Bucyrus, came into collision with 40 or 50 cattle, be- longing to Enos Barrett. The cattle got onto the rail- road and were met by the train. After making two at- tempts to push through, the locomotive was thrown from the track and the effort had to be abandoned. The result was five of the cattle killed, eleven so se- verely wounded they had to be killed. A number of others were wounded. An investigation is demanded to learn how the engine driver could push the locomotive half a mile through the flock before they were scat- tered and straggling along the track. A reasonable de- gree of concern for himself and passengers would have dictated the necessity of stopping the train as soon as possible, and sending a man ahead to clear the track."

More than fifty years have passed since the publication of the above item, and today it is well worthy of a place in the humorous col- umn of any railroad journal. The faithful persistency with which the engineer stood at his post and made repeated attempts to force his engine through a drove of forty to fifty cat- tle, and finally being compelled to give up the fight by his engine being thrown from the track !

On June 24, 1856, the last meeting of the Ohio and Indiana road was held in Bucyrus, and it was to consider the proposition of con- solidating the three roads, the Ohio and Penn- sylvania, the Ohio and Indiana, and the Ft. Wayne and Chicago. A large number of shares were represented at the meeting and the vote was unanimous for consolidation, and the road became the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and Chi- cago and the headquarters were at Pittsburg. For a few years the road had trouble adjusting its financial affairs, the interests of the directors and stockholders being looked after by Allen G. Thurman of Columbus. The trouble origi-

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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

nated from the bondholders seizing the road. It was not until July, 1861, that the matter was finally adjusted by the company agreeing to pay one-fourth of the principal and interest in cash, and secure the other three-fourths in third mortgage bonds of the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and Chicago, bearing interest at 7 per cent.

In 1862 the new directors of the road con- sisted of three from New York, Pennsylvania Ohio and Indiana, and one from Illinois. Among the Pennsylvanians was J. Edgar Thompson, the man who started the Pennsyl- vania company on its great era of prosperity ; one of the men from New York was Samuel J. Tilden; and one of the Ohioans was Willis Merriman of Bucyrus, the first president of the central division of the consolidated roads.

Today the road is a part of the great Penn- sylvania system, and the Ohio and Indiana, fostered and fathered, and built and controlled by the business men of Bucyrus is now an im- portant link in the greatest railroad system of the world, and the first little train which jaunted along from Crestline to Bucyrus in an hour and fifteen minutes has as its successor one that would be almost to Ft. Wayne in the same length of time, and as for the thirteen miles it frequently makes it in ten minutes.

At the start of the Ohio and Indiana Craw- ford county issued bonds to the amount of $100,000 drawing 6 per cent interest. The bonds were issued on Jan. 1, 1853, payable Jan. 1, 1868, and for these bonds the county received $100,000 of stock in the road, each year one of the commissioners taking turns in attending the annual meeting of the road and voting the county's stock. After 1856, this meant a trip to Pittsburg. By agreement with the road, the county was to receive an- nually six per cent interest, payable not in cash, but in additional stock in the road. These certificates of stock, in lieu of cash in- terest, the county received up to the time of the completion of the consolidation of the roads on Jan. 20, 1858, a few days over five years, so at the time of the final consolidation the county's stock in the road amounted to $130,096, and after that the county received no dividends in stock or cash.

The seizure of the road by the bondholders, the troubles arising in the adjustment of the difficulties, decreased the value of the stock.

The latter part of the year 1861 the stock had reached so low a figure that the commissioners took measures to prepare to meet the bonds when they became due, and levied a tax of two and nine-twentieth mills, which would bring in $21,983. In December, 1862, $14,339 of this tax had been collected, leaving for col- lection in June, 1863, $7,644. After the first levy was made, there was a favorable turn in the affairs of the road, and the stock began gradually going up in value. The market was closely watched, and two of the commission- ers went to New York and sold the entire stock held by Crawford County at 69 1-3c- the highest price at which the stock had ever sold. The railroad account now stood :

Proceeds from sale of $130,096 stock $90,214

Tax collected December, 1862. 14,339

$104,553

Add tax to be collected in June, 1863 7,644

$112,197

Deduct interest, Jan. 1, 1863. 6,000

Leaving amount in Treasury. $106,197

The commissioners then tried to buy the $100,000 of county bonds outstanding at their cash value, and close up the transaction, but the holders of the bonds declined to sell, as "they wished no better investment for their funds." It spoke well for the credit of the county, but there were $100,000 lying idle in the treasury and six per cent interest being paid on the outstanding bonds, so the commis- sioners announced the money would be lent to the citizens until March, 1867.

They met first on Feb. II, and the first day lent $352 to H M. Fisher, $4,000 to Linus H. Ross, $1,000 to G. Donnenwirth, and $400 to Mary Newell. During the eleven days they met in February they placed $47,002. Seven meetings in March disposed of $37,200 and in April and June $27,360 was placed out at interest.

This money was kept on interest for four years, thus meeting the interest on the bonds by the interest received on the money loaned, and when the bonds fell due on Jan. 1, 1868, they were paid and cancelled, and Crawford's first and only investment in railroad bonds was an incident that was closed. Such investments by counties are not allowed today, yet the Craw-

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY

ford county one was a success. And the profitableness of that investment has gone on and on, and will go on in the years to come. When the road was built, the cost of construc- tion from Crestline to Lima, 131 miles, was placed at $1,840,000. Today its valuation on the tax duplicate in Crawford county alone is $4,298,040.

It would seem that as a business proposition the investment was a financial success. Craw- ford county borrowed $100,000, which it in- vested in the stock of the road; it paid interest on this borrowed money for 15 years, amount- ing to $90,000; when ten years had passed the stock was so low that the commissioners lev- ied a tax of $20,000, preparing to meet the bonds when due. Total cost to the county, $210,000. It sold its stock for $90,000; it received interest on money loaned of $30,000. Total receipts of $190,000, leaving a cost to the county of $90,000. But for over sixty years the company has been paying taxes, and this year those taxes amount to $40,000. An investment of $90,000 (the net loss of the county) that brings in $40,000 a year looks very much like a 50 per cent. annual divi- dend on the original investment.

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History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 25

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850- Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1302

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1302