USA > Ohio > Darke County > History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume I > Part 34
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The opening of the G. & M. railway was the occasion of much rejoicing in the county seat which was manifested in various ways. The social leaders got up a dance for which the following invitation was issued :
"RAILROAD SOIREE."
The company of yourself and lady is solicited to attend a cotillion party to be given at Greenville, on Friday evening, June 11, 1852, in honor of the opening of the Greenville and Miami Railroad.
Managers
Greenville-E. B. Taylor, W. H. Daily, R. A. Knox, J. B.
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Grover, J. D. Farrer, O. A. Lyman, J. G. Rees, T. K. Potter, J. R. Knox, W. R. Weston, D. Laurimore, W. C. Porterfield.
Dayton-D. Z. Peirce, R. D. Harshman, C. B. Herrman, D. Beckel, J. S. Weston, J. O. Conklin, D. E. Mead, E. A. Parrott.
Greenville, June 8, 1852.
"In the summer of 1854, the road was completed from Dod- son to Dayton, and the company continued to operate the entire line from Dayton to Union City until April, 1853, when, in accordance with an agreement on January 19th, pre- viously, the joint use of the track of the Dayton & Western Railroad Company, from Dayton to Dodson ( fifteen miles), was secured, between which points each company had a line of road running nearly parallel. By this agreement, the com- pany was enabled to take up and dispose of the iron between Dayton and Dodson. January 19, 1863, the company was re- organized. under the name of the Dayton & Union Railroad Company. When the road was opened for business, in 1850, land along its line might have been bought for $5.00 per acre ; it has since been sold for $100 per acre. The country was wet, and water stood in the woods and clearings along the track for months at a time. This is now drained. arable and valuable. Then, about Arcanum, houses were to be seen at long intervals ; now fine farm houses dot the landscape in all directions. Arrangements are now in progress to relay the old track, and annul the agreement for the joint use of the Dayton & Western rails."
Since the above was written, land has been sold as high as $300 per acre. At first but a single train, which carried both passengers and freight, was run during the day time; now four passenger trains and one freight are run through each way daily.
Mr. Dwight Irwin has been the efficient and accommodating agent at Greenville since 1898. The county records in 1912 show a total mileage of over twenty-six miles of main track and over three miles of siding in the county, with property listed for taxation at the county treasurer's office in 1912, at $491,830.00.
The stations on this line are Gordon, Arcanum, Delisle, Jaysville, Greenville, Coletown, Hillgrove and Union City.
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. The C. C. C. & St. L., or "Big Four" Railway.
The beginning of the Greenville and Miami railway in- spired another enterprise and in 1848 the charter of the Belle- fontaine and Indianapolis railway was granted by the legis- latures of Ohio and Indiana. Mr. William M. Wilson then represented Darke county in the Ohio senate. The charter drafted for the proposed new road provided that certain places, as Sidney and Greenville, should be on the road "pro- vided" they were "practicable" points. It seems that Mr. Wilson's vote was secured for the charter with the definite understanding that the road would be constructed through Piqua and Greenville, his home town. The words "if practi- cable" proved to be a "sleeper" and the road was constructed on a "bee line" through Sidney and Versailles, leaving Piqua and Greenville several miles to the south. It is said that much laboring and lobbying was done on account of this road and Mr. George Ward, who represented both Darke and Shelby counties in the legislature, is credited with being largely instrumental in causing the more northern route to be adopted. Work on this road was soon commenced in Darke county, probably as early as the fall of 1848 or the spring of 1849, making it the first line started within this territory. The road was not completed until 1852 or 1853, however.
This road crosses the county line about the center of the eastern boundary of Wayne township, runs directly to Ver- sailles and then continues in almost a straight line, in a direc- tion slightly south of west. to Union City, having as inter- mediate stations Dawn, Ansonia and Elroy. . It was com- pleted in the early fifties and has proven of immense value in developing Wayne, northern Richland. Brown and Jackson townships by providing a ready market for the large quanti- ties of grain, timber and manufactured timber products. This road is also an integral part of one of the great railway sys- tems of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, forming a remarkable chain of connection between the commercial centers of these states. It has about twenty miles of finely graded main track within the county, listed for taxation in 1912 at $1.204,770.00. It does a large freight business and is known for the well appointed and fast through passenger and mail trains which it runs.
The construction of this important trunk line to the north of the county seat aroused the citizens of Greenville to extend
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the Greenville and Miami road to an intersecting point on the state line-thus giving Greenville another outlet for travel and traffic and laying the foundation for Union City, which has since developed into an important manufacturing and railway center.
The Pennsylvania Railway.
The P. C. C. & St. Louis railway now operates two lines which radiate from Bradford, the division point-the Logans- port division extending in a straight line to Union City, a dis- tance of about twenty and one-half miles, and the Indianap- olis division, extending to Greenville and thence southwest- erly toward Richmond, a distance of about twenty-six and one- third miles. The Logansport division passes through Adams, northern Greenville and Jackson townships in a direction somewhat north of west, with intermediate stations at Hora- tio, Stelvideo, Pikeville and Woodington. A second track has recently been finished on the right of way, the grading im- proved, several overhead crossings constructed, and vast im- provements made making this probably the most improved and valuable stretch of railway in the county. As it con- nects New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Chicago an immense amount of business is transacted. Work on this division in Darke county was begun in 1852 and continued about two years, when financial embarrassment overtook the enterprise. Work was resumed in 1858 and regular trains were running from Columbus to Union City by the last of April, 1859. The road at that time was known as the Co- lumbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroad and was incorporated at $2,000,000 by Wm. Wilson and John C. Potter of Darke county, with others from Miami, Champaign, Madison and Franklin counties.
The Indianapolis division of this road was built through Darke county during the years 1862 and 1863. It was organ- ized in 1861 as the Richmond and Covington Railroad Com- pany for the purpose of connecting the first division at Brad- ford with the Indiana Central Railroad at Richmond, Ind. Evan Baker, of Greenville, was president of the road at this time, and A. Price was the contractor. On account of the hills of gravel and excellent ballasting material along the right-of-way the cost of construction was reasonable, and the estimate for completing the road was seven thousand dollars per mile. Darke county was asked to subscribe $25,000.00
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or about one-fourth of the amount needed to put the road through. E. Baker, the Careys, P. Pomeroy and Thos. War- ing were largely instrumental in pushing the work to comple- tion. Through lease, purchase, manipulation and re-organ- ization both of these divisions finally became an integral part of the great Pennsylvania Railway Co., which is one of the greatest and most efficient railway systems in the world, con- necting the seaboard at New York with St. Louis and Chica- go, the gateways to the west and northwest. The value of this road to Greenville and Darke county is almost ines- timable. The amount of business transacted by this road at Greenville alone is estimated at about $140,000.00 yearly. Eighteen heavy passenger and mail trains and sixteen sched- uled freight trains pass this point daily. This division passes through Adams, southern Greenville, Neave, north- western Butler and Harrison townships and has intermediate stations at Gettysburg, Greenville, Weaver's New Madison and Wiley's. The total main trackage of these two divisions in Darke county is over sixty-seven miles in length. The total value for taxation in 1912, as listed in the county treas- urerer's office was $3,873,450.00.
W. J. McCurdy has been the efficient agent of this com- pany at Greenville since 1889.
The Cincinnati Northern Railway.
The main north and south railway operating in the county is the Cincinnati Northern, which crosses the northern boun- dary at Burkettsville, passes almost directly south through Allen, Brown and northern Greenville townships to the coun- ty seat, and then continues down the Mud creek prairie through Neave township and across the Maple swamp district of Butler township, leaving the county about one mile below Castine. The intermediate stations from the north downward are New Weston, Rossburg, Ansonia, Meeker, Greenville, Ft. Jefferson, Savona and Castine. This road has about thirty-one and a third miles of main track and over seven miles of siding in the county, and was valued for taxation in 1912 at $751,570.00. It has a unique history, illustrating in a striking manner the difficulties encountered in early rail- way construction. The construction of this line was first agitated in 1853, it then being the object to extend it from the straits of Mackinac to Cincinnati. Large and enthusias-
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tic meetings were held in Van Wert, Greenville and other points in that year, and local organizations effected. Survey commenced in August and Moses Hart took stock subscrip- tions at his store in Greenville. By October 19, $200,000.00 had been subscribed. The estimated cost was less than $17,- 500.00 per mile and the distance from Greenville to the northern line of the state was one hundred and eleven miles on the route proposed. From various causes the construction of the line was delayed, but the directors did not abandon hope of final success. Changes were proposed in the route between Celina and Greenville, a distance of thirty-two miles, and bids were received on this section at Greenville in 1858. On June 2, 1858, fifteen miles of road were placed under con- tract together with the trestle and culvert work of the entire distance between Celina and Greenville. The remaining sev- enteen miles were resurveyed with a view to alteration. Af- ter a large part of the grading had been done the enterprise was abandoned on account of the failure to dispose of bonds in the European market. The Civil War ensued with the financial depression which followed reconstruction and the revival of industry and the enterprise lay dormant until about 1880. Agitation was again revived and the road was built through Greenville in 1883 after much difficulty. J. L. Winner, J. W. Frizzel and Moses Hart took active part in the original enterprise and John Devor and L. L. Bell in the last. The road was finally completed from Jackson, Mich., to Germantown, with connections to Cincinnati, under the name of the Cincinnati, Jackson and Mackinaw Railway, and was popularly known as the "Mackinaw." Later it be- came known as the Cincinnati Northern Railway, and has lately become an important part of the New York Central lines.
Mr. Joe Hildebrand is the enterprising agent at Greenville and reports an annual business of about $125,000.00 at this station. On account of the road's direction and the rich ter- ritory which it travels it is destined to become an increasingly important line.
The Peoria & Eastern Railway.
The Peoria & Eastern division of the Big Four, formerly known as the I. B. & W. Railway, extends through the south- ern part of the county in an east and west direction. It crosses the eastern county line in the northern part of
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Monroe township and runs directly west through Monroe and Twin to the Greenville and New Madison pike in north- western Butler township, then zigzags about in a northwest- erly direction through northern Harrison and southern Ger- man townships reaching the state line near the southwest corner of the latter township. The stations along this line are Pittsburg. Arcanum, Savona, Clark's Station and Glen- karn. It was built in - and affords an outlet to the south- ern part of the county similar to that provided by the other division of the "Big Four" in the northern part. It has over twenty-two miles of main track and about four and a third miles of siding in the county, and was listed for taxation in 1912 at $655,880.00.
C. H. & D. Railway.
The railway having the smallest mileage in the county is a branch of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton system, for- merly known as the "Narrow Gauge." It crosses the north- ern line of the county near the northwestern corner of Pat- terson township, runs almost due south through Patterson and Wayne townships to Versailles, and then curves in a southeasterly direction and crosses the eastern line of the county near the southwestern corner of Wayne township. The stations along this line are Osgood, Yorkshire and Ver- sailles. It has a main trackage of twelve and one-fifth miles and about a mile and a half of siding in the county. It was constructed about 1881.
Ohio Electric Railway.
The practical application of electricity to the purposes of transportation developed about 1890. The next ten years witnessed a rapid improvement in knowledge, and methods of electrical control. By 1900 nearly every large city in the United States had displaced the old horse cars by electrically driven cars and electrical traction lines were being projected from these centers to the surrounding towns. especially in the eastern section of the country. Dayton was one of the most enterprising of the Ohio cities in this respect and soon had about ten lines projected, with the object of increasing local business. Among these, was one to Greenville and Union City. This was fostered and vigorously pushed to completion by Dr. J. E. Lowes of Dayton. It was completed
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to Greenville in 1901 and to Union City in 1904, and has proven a great boon to travelers, especially on account of the many rural stops, and hourly car service. It was also instrumental in quickening the service on the D. & U. Rail- way, which it practically parallels. It had about thirty-one miles of main track and about one mile of siding in the coun- ty, when it was listed for taxation in 1912, at $639,820.00. Thus it will be seen that Darke county has seven railways and one traction line crossing it in various directions with a total mileage of about two hundred and ten miles, exclusive of sidings, and a total valuation for taxation of about $8,000,000 .- 00.
It will be further noted that these railways enter every township of the twenty composing the county, except Missis- sinawa, Wabash, York and Franklin; that the county seat is crossed by three steam lines and one electric, and that each one of the larger towns in the county has at least two lines.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE PRESS.
It used to be a common saying that the three greatest institu- tions of society were the home, the church and the school. In recent years another important institution has arisen which exerts a formative influence on public morals and public op- inion scarcely less potent than these. I refer to the public press. If a man have but the rudiments of an education and will thoughtfully and habitually peruse the daily newspaper he may eventually attain a fair education and a comprehen- sive grasp of public affairs. The railway, telegraph and tel- ephone have stimulated intercourse and contributed immeas- urably toward the unification of society wherever they have been installed. The newspaper has been quick to utilize these important factors in collecting and distributing the news of the world for the benefit of the masses of civilized men. The growth of the newspaper industry is a fair gauge of the development of popular education, and the fact that there were but thirty-seven newspapers in the United States in 1775, while there are more than a dozen in Darke county today is significant of the wonderful change that has taken place in the short history of our country. As before noted the agri- cultural and general development of Darke county was com- paratively slow and gave little encouragement to the estab- lishment of enterprises having a promise of profit.
The pioneers represented the average Americans of their class in those days when illiteracy was much more prevalent than it is today. Many families did not take any paper and the more prosperous ones subscribed for the papers published at Dayton, Piqua. Eaton and the older established towns.
The Journal.
However, a printer by the name of E. Donnellan, had the temerity to start a weekly sheet entitled the "Western States- man and Greenville Courier" on June 25. 1832. The sub- scription price was $2.00 per year if paid in advance, $2.50 if paid within the year, or $3.00 if payment was deferred. News items of general interest were extracted from such publica-
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tions as the Detroit Journal, New Hampshire Gazette, Na- tional Intelligencer and the Boston Patriot, while the local items and advertisements, no doubt, figured inconspicuously. This paper seems to have been continued under various names and proprietors and survives today as the Journal.
About March 1, 1844, Edward B. Taylor, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume, took over this paper with a list of 150 subscribers. In April, 1850, J. G. Reece was as- sociated with Taylor. The latter retired for a while on June 1, 1851. On April 29, 1852, M. B. Reece became a co-partner with J. G. Reece as editor and proprietor. Later the paper again passed into the hands of Taylor, who published it until early in 1860, when it passed into the hands of Messrs. E. W. Otwell and James Craig. The latter retired in 1869. In 1873 this paper was enlarged from a seven column to a nine col- umn folio making it the largest paper published in the county at that time. In 1879 E. W. Otwell turned over the publica- tion to his son Curtis, who continues its publication at this time- over eighty years after its establishment. In 1846 the paper appeared under the title "The Greenville Patriot." was published every Wednesday at original subscription prices. It contained the announcement that country produce would be received on subscription at cash prices. In the issue of June 10, 1846, the advertisements were set in nonpareil type with small headlines and were only one column in width. News from Europe then came to Greenville in from four to eight weeks late. Among the names attached to advertise- ments, legal and otherwise, were Wm. Wilson. R. R. Sher- wood, T. J. McDowell, D. R. Davis, Thos. Vantilburgh. W. J. Birely, S. S. Arnold. D. K. Swisher, David Beers. Jacob Wood. Chas. Morris, Taylor & Schlenker. John Hufnagle, Henry Drinkwater, Wm. Arnold, Leah Vananker, David Stamm. A. Scribner, J. Vanmater, H. Arnold, Sawyer & Davis, Aaron Fleming. I. N. Beedle, James Boyd, W. B. Beall. F. Waring, Elisha Dawes, Wm. C. Deem, R. Gilpatrick, C. Jaqua, Sarah E. Osborn, Carey & Tomlinson, Wm. R. Crozier, L. R. Sample, B. Powell, R. Evans, J. B. Underwood, Haines & Monfort, M. L. Harter, M. Spayd, A. C. Brown, WVm. Van- tilburgh, L. A. LaMott & Co.
In politics the Patriot strongly advocated the Whig poli- cies and struck a strong patriotic note. In those days the Whigs and the Democrats divided the vote of some three thousand nearly equally between them. Much space was de-
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voted to the currency and slavery questions and a strong cur- rent of feeling was manifested in the columns. After the formation of the Republican party the Journal became a staunch party organ advocating the candidacy of Lincoln. It continued steadfast in the advocacy of Republican principles throughout the trying times of the Civil War and is today aligned with those principles.
The Democrat.
The Democrat is the second oldest newspaper in Darke county with practically a continuous history. The demand for a local paper advocating Democratic principles caused the launching of the "Democratic Herald" in April, 1847. This paper was published by Mehaffey and Adams, and advocated popular sovereignty, state rights and a simple government. Mehaffey soon sold his interest to Wm. Allen, then county prosecuting attorney, who with Thomas Adams, both well known and highly esteemed Democrats, continued the paper under the title of "The Greenville Telegraph." Dr. J. L. Sorber bought out Adam's interest in June, 1851, and con- ducted the paper until the fall of 1852, when Rufus Putnam became the proprietor. The name was soon changed to "Mad Anthony," and it appeared as an independent news- paper edited and published by R. and J. H. Putnam, with an office over Beedle & Devor's tin shop. In the summer of 1854, the press was removed to Union City to start a paper in the interest of the "American Party." Nothing daunted a few active Democrats raised a small fund in the fall of 1854, purchased a new press and type, and made Thomas Perry publisher of a new paper under the title of the "Green- ville Eagle." After a few months Perry became tired of the unpleasant treatment accorded him by the "Know-Nothings," who were quite active and persistent at that period. and the paper was again discontinued for a short time. In the spring of 1855 the "Darke County Democrat" was launched by A. G. Clark, of Hamilton, Ohio, who sold it in July, 1856, to Henry Muller. The office was then located over Weston & Ullery's hardware store on the southeast corner of Broadway and Third streets, and Muller continued to edit and publish the paper in a very satisfactory manner until March 20, 1851. when he was succeeded by J. B. Price and George D. Farrar.
The political upheaval just prior to the Civil War threw
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Darke county from the Whig to the Democratic column and in 1857, the entire county ticket was elected, giving the party organ increased prestige. In the winter of 1863-64 the office was sacked by a party of soldiers at home on a furlough and the type was thrown into the street. The proprietorship of the paper changed twice in the next two years until in 1860, Mr. Chas. Roland removed from Lancaster, Ohio, and took over the property. From that time until 1910 the Democrat was retained by the Roland family, being ably edited by Chas. Roland, Jr., and Edward until July 11, 1910, when the property was purchased by Martin B. Trainor, a prominent attorney and real estate man of Greenville, who is the able and progressive editor and publisher today.
The Democrat prospered and became highly influential among the members of that party, being the sole official organ of said party, fearlessly, ably and entirely advocating its principles until the establishment of the "Advocate" in 1883, since which time the patronage has been divided. Mr. Roland proved himself to be a trenchant writer and a suc- cessful proprietor, and the present editor and proprietor is establishing for himself a large reputation for virile editorials, broad news treatment, and aggressive policies.
At first the Democrat appeared as a four page publication in blanket sheet size, but under the proprietorship of the Roland Bros. was changed to a paper of twelve pages 15x22 inches in size. A daily eight page morning paper known as the "Morning News" was started by the Roland Brothers in 1908, and published in a very creditable manner, but proved unsuccessful from a financial standpoint and was discon- tinued May 25. 1910. The office was located in the Roland building on the west side of Broadway between Third and Fourth streets from the time of its erection until March, 1914, when it was moved to the new Trainor building on South Broadway, just north of Fifth street. Under its pres- ent management it promises to grow in power and influence and increase in prestige as the years go by.
The Courier.
The Courier was started May 22. 1875, by George W. Cal- derwood under the title of the "Greenville Sunday Courier." On December 10, 1876, the ownership was transferred to Calderwood and Studabaker with A. R. Calderwood as edi-
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tor. Later it passed to the proprietorship of his son, John Calderwood, who publishes it at this time. Mr. Calderwood, besides continually giving much space to the discussion of party measures and party principles, has published an ex- ceptionally large amount of local historical material, includ- ing probably two thousand columns of personal reminiscences and interesting letters from the "Darke County Boy," cop- ious extracts from which appear in this volume. Besides this, Mr. Calderwood has been a fearless and persistent ad- vocate of temperance and prohibitory legislation, following the motto of his paper-"Hew true to the line, let the chips fall where they may." Regardless of patronage he has con- tinued this policy throughout many years and has become a clear, strong and convincing writer on these topics. From 1880 to 1883 the Courier was published in the new Wilson and Hart block on Broadway just south of Third street. For several years it was located in the Huddle block on West Fourth street, and is now in the Westerfield building on South Broadway.
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