USA > Ohio > Hancock County > History of Hancock County, Ohio : containing a history of the county, its townships, towns portraits of early settlers and prominent men, biographies, history of the Northwest Territory, history of Ohio, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc > Part 28
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251
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
1880; Louis Luneack, December, 1878, to December, 1881; Ross W. Moore (re-elected), December, 1879, to December, 1882; Bateman B. Powell, De- cember, 1880, to December, 1883; Andrew S. Beck, December, 1881, to De- cember, 1884; Charles S. Kelley, December, 1882, to December, 1885; J. M. Moorhead, December, 1883, to December, 1886; Andrew S. Beck (re- elected), December, 1884, to December, 1887; Charles S. Kelley (re-elected), December, 1885, to December, 1888.
Auditors .- Matthew Reighly, April, 1828, to October, 1828; William Hackney, October, 1828, to March, 1831; Thomas F. Johnston, March, 1831, resigned in June, 1832; Joseph C. Shannon, appointed to fill vacancy in June, 1832, and served till his death in May, 1836; Edson Goit, appointed May 23, 1836, to serve the unexpired term of Joseph C. Shannon, deceased, up to March, 1837; Charles W. O'Neal, March, 1837, to March, 1839; William L. Henderson, March, 1839, resigned September 29, 1842; James H. Barr, appointed to fill vacancy September 29, 1842, served to March, 1845; James S. Ballentine, March, 1845, to March, 1847; William Mungen, March, 1847, to March, 1851; Elijah Barnd, March, 1851, to March, 1855; Henry Brown, March, 1855, to March, 1857; Aaron Howard, March, 1857, to March, 1861; Henry Sheets, March, 1861, to March, 1865; Solomon Shafer, March, 1865, to March, 1869; John L. Hill, March, 1869, to November, 1873; George S. Mosher, November, 1873, to November, 1877; Joseph R. Kagy, November, 1877, to November, 1883; William T. Platt, November, 1883, to November, 1886.
Treasurers .- Joshua Hedges, April, 1828, to October, 1828; Edwin S. Jones, October, 1828, to June, 1831; Squire Carlin, June, 1831, to June, 1839; Edson Goit, June, 1839, to June, 1843; Levi Taylor, June, 1843, to June, 1845; Wilson Vance, June, 1845, to June, 1847; Mahlon Morris, June, 1847, died August 5, 1849; Levi Taylor, appointed to fill vacancy, August 8, 1849, to June, 1851; Samuel Howard, June, 1851, to June, 1855; Benjamin Huber, June, 1855, to June, 1857; William Vanlue, June, 1857, to September, 1861; Benjamin Huber, September, 1861, to Septem- ber, 1863; Samuel Spitler, September, 1863, to September, 1867; Henry B. Wall, September, 1867, absconded in September, 1870; Henry Sheets, appointed September 7, 1870, to serve Wall's unexpired term up to Sep- tember, 1871; Benjamin Huber, September, 1871, to September, 1875; Peter Hosler, September, 1875, to September, 1879; Samuel Howard, Sep- tember, 1879, to September, 1883; William J. Creighton, September, 1883, to September, 1887.
Recorders. - Wilson Vance, June 3, 1828, resigned in June, 1835; Parlee Carlin, appointed June 1, 1835, served till October, 1835; Wilson Vance, October, 1835, to October, 1838; Jacob Barnd, October, 1838, to October, 1844; John Adams, October, 1844, to October, 1847; Paul Sours, October, 1847, to October, 1853; Isaac J. Baldwin, October, 1853, to January, 1860; Adam Steinman, January, 1860, to January, 1866; Luther B. Robinson, January, 1866, to January, 1872; Paul Kemerer, January, 1872, to Janu- ary, 1878; Joseph F. Gutzwiller, January, 1878, to January, 1884; John B. Foltz, January, 1884, to January, 1887.
Clerks .- Wilson Vance, March 14, 1828, to March, 1835; William H. Baldwin, March, 1835, to October, 1842; William L. Henderson, October, 1842, resigned July 27, 1848; Absalom P. Byal, July 28, 1848, to February, 1855; William W. Siddall, February, 1855, to February, 1864; James Den-
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
nison, February, 1864, died in office January 26, 1870; Peter Pifer was elected in the fall of 1869, and upon the death of Mr. Dennison he was ap- pointed to serve the few remaining days of the latter's second term. His own began in February, 1870, and he held the office till February, 1876; Scott W. Preble, February, 1876, to February, 1879; Henry H. Louthan, February, 1879, to February, 1885; Presley E. Hay, February, 1885, to Feb- rurary, 1888.
Sheriffs. - Don Alonzo Hamlin, April, 1828, to November, 1828; John C. Wickham, November, 1828, to November, 1830; Joseph Johnson, November, 1830, to November, 1834; Christian Barnd, November, 1834, to November, 1838; Jacob Rosenberg, November, 1838, to November, 1842; Elisha Brown, November, 1842, to November, 1844; Alonzo D. Wing, November, 1844, to November, 1846; Absalom P. Byal, November, 1846, re- signed July 27, 1848, and the Coroner, Hiram Williams was acting sheriff till the following November; Thomas Buckley, November, 1848, to Novem- ber, 1852; James Robinson, November, 1852, to November, 1854; William W. Yates, November, 1854, died near the close of December, 1855, and D. D. McCahan, Coroner, was acting sheriff until November, 1856; James N. Neibling, November, 1856, to January, 1861 ; Cloys B. Wilson, January, 1861, to January, 1865; D. D. McCahan, January, 1865, resigned September 23, 1867, and the Coroner, Abraham Yerger, filled the office till January, 1869; Samuel Myers, January, 1869, to January, 1873; James L. Henry, January, 1873, to January, 1875; Samuel Myers, January, 1875, to January, 1877; Parlee C. Tritch, January, 1877, to January, 1881; Charles B. Hall, January, 1881, to January, 1885; Lemuel McManness, January, 1885, to January, 1887.
Surveyors .- William Taylor, November, 19, 1828, to April, 1832; William L. Henderson, April, 1832, to October, 1838; Joel Pendleton, October, 1838, to October, 1854; George W. Powell, October, 1854, to October, 1857; Joel Pendleton, October, 1857, to January, 1876; Edwin Phifer, January, 1876, to January, 1885; W. K. Stringfellow, January, 1885, to January, 1888.
Coroners. - Thomas Slight, April, 1828, to November, 1830; Joseph De Witt, November, 1830, to November, 1832; Thomas Slight, November, 1832, to November, 1834; Richard Watson, November, 1834, to November, 1835; Thomas Slight, November, 1835, to November, 1836; Peter Byal, November, 1836, to November, 1837; Henry Lamb, November, 1837, to November, 1839; Noah Wilson, November, 1839, to November, 1840; Joshua Hedges, Novem- ber, 1840, to November, 1842; Allen McCahan, November, 1842, to November, 1844; Norman Chamberlin, November, 1844, died in 1845, and the sheriff, Alonzo D. Wing, served the unexpired term to November, 1846; Hiram Williams, November, 1846, to November, 1850; Harmon Warrell, November, 1850, to November, 1852; Garret D. Teatsorth, November, 1852, to Novem- ber, 1854; D. D. McCahan, November, 1854, to November, 1856; Edwin Par- ker, November, 1856, to January, 1861; Parlee C. Tritch, January, 1861, to January, 1865; Abraham Yerger, January, 1865, to January, 1869; Parlee C. Tritch, January, 1869, to January, 1873; Frank J. Karst, January, 1873, to January, 1875; Daniel F. Cline, January, 1875, to January, 1877; Tobias G. Barnhill, January, 1877, to January, 1881; John C. Tritch, January, 1881, to January, 1885; Tobias B. Barnhill, January, 1885, to January, 1887.
Probate Judges. - James H. Barr, February, 1852, to February, 1855; Nathaniel E. Childs, February, 1855; to February, 1858; James H. Barr,
Binjs Huber
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
February, 1858, to February, 1861; Alfred W. Frederick, February, 1861, to February, 1867; Gamaliel C. Barnd, February, 1867, to February, 1873; Samuel B. Huffman, February, 1873, to February, 1879; Sylvester J. Sid- dall, February, 1879, to- February, 1885; George W. Myers, February, 1885, to February, 1888.
Public Buildings .- On the 2d of February, 1824, the General Assem- bly passed an act appointing three commissioners to select a seat of justice for Hancock County, and the following October said commissioners re- ported to the Court of Common Pleas of Wood County, then in session at Perrysburg, that they had selected Findlay as the most suitable location for said county seat. Upon the organization of Hancock, in March, 1828, the old log school-house, erected the previous year on the site of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad depot, was utilized as a Court House, and all of the courts were held in that building until the completion of the first Court House in 1833.
A Jail, it seems, was the first public building erected by the county. At a meeting of the commissioners held July 26, 1830, plans for a Jail were considered, and it was ordered that said Jail be a one-storied building, 16x24 feet in size. It was built of hewed logs, and divided into two rooms by a partition through the center, one of which was the " debtors' prison," wherein those unfortunates unable to pay their debts had plenty of time to ponder over the inconvenience of honest poverty. There they remained without any hope of relief until Shylock relented or received his "pound of flesh." This was one of those obnoxious laws handed down from colonial days, and still existing in some of the States. The contract for the erec- tion of this old Jail was let to Squire Carlin for $450, and called for "the timbers to be white oak twelve inches square." Mr. Carlin employed Henry Shaw to do the work, who, though not a carpenter, was sufficiently capable to put up such a building as specified. It stood about twenty feet south of the Court House recently torn down, between the latter and the fence, its west end being on a line with the rear of that structure. The citizens of Findlay did not look upon this rude log prison with much favor, and in December, 1830, a petition was presented to the commissioners praying for its removal from the public square, which the board refused to comply with. The building was never regarded as very safe, and any determined man could escape therefrom without much effort. It was therefore customary to guard the Jail whenever it contained a prisoner whom it was desired to hold safely, the guards to receive no pay in case the prisoner escaped. This old log structure was used as a Jail until burned down by a prisoner confined there- in in the winter of 1851-52.
December 5, 1831, the commissioners took preliminary steps toward the erection of a "temporary Court House." The auditor was instructed to ad- vertise for sealed proposals for erecting a two-storied frame building, 24x36 feet in size, said proposals to be handed into the auditor's office on or before January 14, 1832, the commissioners to meet on Monday, January 16, 1832, for the purpose of considering said proposals. On the latter date the contract was let to Wilson Vance, Frederick Henderson and Jonathan Parker, for the sum of $700, and March 16, 1833, the commissioners accepted the building as finished. The contract of Vance, Henderson & Parker did not include plastering, and this was let to Parlee Carlin, June 29, 1833, to be completed by November 1, following. This building stood on the southwest-corner of
256
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
Main and Crawford Streets, now the site of the First National Bank, and was used until the erection of the brick Court House, built by John McCurdy on the public square. It was sold, together with the lot upon which it stood, June 3,1840, for $634, to Jacob Rosenberg, who fitted it up and opened the American House. He ran this hotel till his death in 1844, and his widow continued the business until her marriage to Jacob Carr. The latter changed its name to the Carr House, which he carried on till 1862, when he sold the lot and removed the building to its present site on Main Street, immediately north of the Presbyterian Church, and has since occupied it as a private resi- dence.
In a few years the old frame became inadequate to the wants of the county, and the subject of a new Court House began to be agitated. On the 6th of June, 1837, the board of commissioners "Resolved that the com- missioners of this county will borrow $10,000 for the purpose of erecting public buildings in Findlay." The auditor was ordered to give notice in the Courier that proposals would be received on the 4th of July, 1837, to furnish the county 200,000 good bricks to erect county buildings, and he was also instructed to furnish the board with a draft of a Court House. The contract was finally given to John McCurdy, an Irishman, who came to Findlay about this time. During the process of erection McCurdy fell from a scaffolding and had one of his legs badly shattered. The Court House was so far completed in the spring of 1840 that the officials took possession of their respective offices. But it seems from the records that it was more than two years afterward before the structure was accepted by the commissioners as finished. Considerable trouble arose between the board and the con- tractor, the former twice threatening to bring suit against McCurdy's bonds- men unless the building was completed according to contract. The case was finally settled by arbitration in June, 1843, McCurdy being ordered to pay the county $30 and costs. In December, 1847, the commissioners ordered this money, with interest, returned to McCurdy, a fair evidence that the latter was wronged by the board with whom he had the disagreement. When the Court House was first occupied the auditor, recorder, clerk, sheriff and commissioners' offices were located in the second story, and the treas- urer's office on the first floor; but in December, 1842, the sheriff and treasurer exchanged offices. The court room always occupied the balance of the lower story. Upon the creation of the probate judgeship, that official was given an office in the second story, but in the spring of 1885 the pro- bate judge removed to a room on Main Cross Street in the Karst Block, and the treasurer occupied the vacated office. The old Court House was sold to Richard Hennessey for $125, February 1, 1886, and soon afterward vacated and torn down to make room for a more elegant structure, the officials removing to the Glessner Block. It was a two-story brick building about 50x70 feet in size, surmounted by a wooden cupola, and cost about $11,000. A $250 bell, purchased by Frederick Henderson, by order of the commis- sioners, was hung in the belfry in the spring of 1846. Four round wooden pillars, upholding a slightly projecting gable, gave to the front a Grecian temple appearance. The conveniences of the building, however, were far behind the age, and it was high time it gave way to a better one.
As there has been considerable feeling lately manifested on the question of the ownership of the public square, and as one of the main arguments used by the advocates in favor of city ownership was based on the claim
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
that the city had fenced, graded and otherwise improved said square, it will not be inappropriate to briefly demonstrate from the commissioners' records that such improvements have always been ordered and paid for by the county. In December, 1841, the commissioners ordered a panel board fence, four and a half feet high, built around the public square. In the spring of 1845 the board ordered and paid for the grading of the square fronting Main Street; and in October, 1847, they authorized the town council of Findlay to improve the street and sidewalk in front of the Court House, for which the auditor was ordered to pay the city out of the county treasury. In June, 1856, the commissioners appropriated $400 for the purpose of fencing the public square, said money to be expended under the direction of the town council for said purpose only. Many similar items appear on record since the erection of the old Court House in 1840, up to the construction of the last fence and sidewalk, all of which were ordered and paid for by the county. The fact that some of the work was done under the supervision of the town officials, has, doubtless, led to the erroneous belief that the town paid for the improvements.
For many years before the burning of the old log Jail, it had become al- most useless as a prison, and it was only a question of time and money when a better one would take its place. On the 3d of December, 1851, the audi- tor was instructed to advertise in the Findlay papers for sealed proposals for the erection of a new Jail of certain specified dimensions and finish, the con- tract to be let January 9, 1852. Thomas Mccrary was the successful bidder, he to furnish all material, and complete said Jail within eighteen months from January 13, 1852, for the sum of $4, 743. On the 10th of February, 1852, the commissioners purchased of Abraham W. Schwab, lot 58, on the west side of Monument Park, for the sum of $175, upon which the Jail was erected. It was finished according to contract, in the summer of 1853, and is a plain two-story brick building of very modest pretensions, yet a great improvement on its predecessor and was used as a Jail and sheriff's residence till the completion of the present handsome structure on Main Cross Street, immediately south of the old Jail, which was subsequently sold to Elizabeth K. Carlin for $1,200, and is now used as a boarding house.
Though the question of purchasing a County Farm came before the elec- tors of the county in April, 1858, and the project was defeated, it was not till April 1, 1867, that the people of Hancock decided, by a majority of 1,508, that a home for God's poor should be purchased. Prior to that time the townships took care of their own poor, the county afterward reimbursing them, or the parties who incurred the expense. On the 4th of April, 1867, the commissioners advertised for a suitable Farm for county purposes, and on the 2d of May, following, 225 acres lying in Sections 10 and 15, Lib- erty Township, were purchased of George Heck, for $17,000. The Farm was at once opened as a County Infirmary, Mr. Heck being appointed its first superintendent. On the 5th of February, 1868, plans for an Infirmary building, prepared by Jesse Guise, were approved and accepted by the board, and the auditor ordered to advertise for sealed proposals for the erection of the same. The contract was let to John Shull, March 7, 1868, for the sum of $12,393, the building to be finished on or before the 1st of November following. It is an imposing four-storied brick structure, in- cluding basement, 40x75 feet in dimensions, and stands about two miles northwest of Findlay on the south bank of the Blanchard. A contract was
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
let to D. C. Fisher & Co., May 8, 1869, to erect a two-story brick building 22x40 feet in size close to the Infirmary, "for the use of insane persons.' This building was completed the same fall, and cost $3,370.50. Outbuild- ings of different sorts have since been put up, and the property is now rec- ognized as one of the best Infirmary Farms in Northwestern Ohio. For the past nineteen years, the unfortunate poor of the county have found here a healthy, comfortable home, while the institution has long been self-support- ing.
The next public building erected by Hancock County, was the present elegant Jail on Main Cross Street. On the 24th of April, 1878, the Legisla- ture passed "an act to authorize the board of county commissioners of Han- cock County to levy a tax for the purpose of building a Jail." On the 4th of February, 1879, lots 29 and 30, with the buildings thereon, were pur- chased of B. F. Kimmons for $5,000, and, February 15, the plans of J. C. Johnson, the architect previously engaged to prepare a design for a Jail, were adopted, subject to changes suggested by the board. Mr. Johnson was, on the same date, appointed superintendent of construction. The old frame house and fence which stood on the site, were sold for $247, and removed therefrom. The contract was let April 10, 1879, to Jacob Karst, of Defi- ance, Ohio, for the sum of $17,264, the building to be finished on or before January 1, 1880. The Jail was completed according to contract, and ac- cepted by the board on the 2d of January, 1880. Extras on the build- ing amounted to $620, while the plans and architect's commissions came to $863.20, making a total for ground and building of $23,747.20. Mr. Karst was also paid $250 for filling lot, and sundry other work done around the Jail, which, however, was about offset by the amount received for the old fence and building that originally stood upon the lot. In May, 1880, con- tracts were given to the Champion Iron Fence Company, of Kenton, and M. Louthan & Co., of Findlay, respectively, for an iron fence and stone sidewalk, which ran the total expense to about $25,000; and the property is fully worth all it cost. The front portion of the Jail is an elegant, two- story brick edifice, with stone trimmings, and graced by a handsome square tower. In the rear of this is the jail proper, a solid, substantial, one-story wing, the cells being constructed of stone and iron in such a manner as to be regarded as invulnerable. The sheriff's residence will compare fa- vorably with the finer private homes of the city, while the whole premises reflect great credit on the architect, builder and board of commissioners who conceived and carried out the project to a successful completion.
The General Assembly passed an act, April 17, 1885, authorizing the commissioners of Hancock County "to erect a Court House in said county, at a cost not to exceed $100,000;" and on the 7th of November the contract for the erection and enclosure of the new building was awarded to W. H. Camp- field, of Lima, for the sum of $71,576, his work to be completed by Novem- ber 1, 1887. This contract does not include the completion of the structure, the total cost of which is expected to exceed the amount authorized by the act to be expended in its erection. In the fall of 1885 ground was broken on the public square, and other preliminary work begun, but that's as far as the enterprise progressed till the spring of 1886. From the plans of the architects, Frank O. Weary and George W. Kramer, adopted by the building committee, is gathered the following description of the new Court House: The architecture, in the main, is classic, though the roof is pitched, and the an-
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
noyance and inconvenience of a flat roof avoided. The outside finish of the building will be entirely of stone, with rock face work, and highly trimmed with cut stone. The front windows are to be large and showy, the smallest having a five-foot and the largest a seven-foot opening. Each window has about forty-four square feet of glass or more, and ample light will be furnished in every part of the building. No wood whatever to be used in the construction of the edifice, so that it will be thoroughly fire- proof. The tower will be 130 feet high from ground to top, and 107 feet to the center of the clock face. It is to be finished with a dome roof. The tower will be built entirely of iron, and will be twenty-four feet square. The edifice will be 142 feet long and 82 feet wide.
Entrance into the first floor hall from the front, on the east, will be through a stone portico supported by four polished granite columns twenty inches in diameter. This portico is designed as a protection for the first flight of steps so often left uncovered. This idea is peculiar to Mr. Weary's Court House plan and is a marked improvement over others. The portico, twelve feet high, is surmounted by an imposing entablature, ex- tending up into the roof. In this is a window, 12x26 feet in size, opening out upon the balcony, having an archway top and extending through two stories. The whole effect of this is similar to the grand triumphal arch at Paris, built by Napoleon, and called Arc de Triomphe. Two small, easy flights of stairs, separated by a vestibule, lead through double doors into a spacious hallway running through the building, intercepted by a transverse hallway 18 feet wide and 75 feet long. In the center will be an octagon rotunda 20 feet square, with a gallery up through into the dome. To the right of the hall, near the entrance, a door opens into the treasurer's office for the reception of city taxes, and a door from that leads into the main office of the same official, where taxes will generally be received. Several spacious places of entrance will be provided, and the room will be 24 feet long by 28 feet wide, so that there will not be the inconvenience of a crowd- ed doorway and a crowded room. Adjoining will be the money vault and the treasurer's private office, 13x15 feet in dimensions. This is about the size of all the private offices. Immediately adjoining this office to the west will be the auditor's apartinents, consisting of three rooms. The main of- fice will be 30x35 feet in size, and will have communication with the treas- urer's office by means of a happily arranged sliding window. Besides the private office and deputy's work room, adjoining there will be a large fire- proof record vault 13x28 feet in dimensions, and containing a window. To the south of and adjoining the auditor's vault and office will be the com- missioners' room, 17x24 feet in size. On the left side at the front entrance will be the sheriff's office, 16x18 feet in dimensions. This is connected with the common pleas court room on the second floor by means of a private stairway. At the south end of the transverse hall will be the entrance to the probate court room, 24x30 feet in dimensions, which, like the auditor's office, is to be separated from the hall by a glass screen. Adjoining on the east side will be the probate judge's office, while in the southeast corner will be the deputy's work room and the record vault. A retiring room com- pletes the probate judge's suite. The southwest portion of the first floor will be used by the recorder, who will have a private office and record vault, besides a spacious room in which to transact business with the public. This completes the description of the first floor.
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