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 35
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In December, 1860, the road was sold, and, January 21, 1861, the pur- chasers organized a new corporation, under the name of the Fremont, Lima & Union Railroad Company. On the 4th of February, 1865, this company was consolidated with the Lake Erie & Pacific Railroad Company, of Indiana, as the Lake Erie & Louisville Railroad Company. In July, 1871, the road was again sold, and the following November that portion of the line located
Henry Brown
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
in Ohio, and extending from Fremont to Union City, was reorganized as the Fremont, Lima & Union Railroad Company, and that lying in Indiana as the Lake Erie & Louisville Railroad Company. These companies were once more consolidated, April 12, 1872, as the Lake Erie & Louisville Railroad Company.
In the meantime considerable effort was made to complete the road to Lima. On the 10th of May, 1870, the company held a meeting at Fremont and made a proposition to complete the road by February 1, 1871, on con- dition that the people along the line would subscribe $100,000 toward the enterprise, to be paid as follows: $25,000 when the road was finished to Rawson; $25,000 on reaching Bluffton; $25,000 on getting to Beaver Dam, and the remaining $25,000 when the first train passed over the road to Lima. Meetings were held all along the line to stir up an interest in the subject, and raise the subscription asked for by the company. But it proved slow work, and the effort was ultimately a failure. In January, 1872, a condi- tional contract was made by the company with Perkins, Livingston & Post to furnish iron and equipments to put the road in running order whenever the company secured sufficient local aid to grade, bridge and tie the line, which it was thought would take about $100,000 to accomplish. During the spring the route from Findlay to St. Mary's was resurveyed, and, in June, Findlay Township voted to subscribe $78,600; Liberty, $5,000; Eagle, $10,- 000, and Union $20,000 toward the enterprise. Work began at once, and July 15, 1872 agreements were entered into between the railroad company and said townships, by which the former, in consideration of said subscrip- tions, promised to complete the road to Lima within one year from that date. L. Q. Rawson, Charles W. Foster, D. J. Cory and Squire Carlin represented the company in these agreements.
Track-laying was now pushed forward rapidly, and early in September, 1872, the first train reached Rawson. Before the close of the same month the road was finished to Bluffton, and the last rail connecting Findlay with Lima was laid November 21, 1872. On the 29th a dinner to celebrate the event was given at the City Hall in Lima by the citizens of that town, the officers of the road and many leading business men from Fremont, Fosto- ria, Findlay, and other towns on the road, being present at the celebration. Though the weather was very cold, every station along the line was crowded to witness and cheer the loaded train as it sped onward toward its destina- tion. Regular trains were put on soon afterward, and by the spring of 1873 its business was booming. In September of that year the road was opened through to St. Mary's. Thus, after long years of vexatious waiting the peo- ple of Hancock County had at last a good competing railroad, and were accordingly happy. In February, 1877, the road was sold, and the com- pany reorganized under the old name of the Lake Erie & Louisville. In August, 1879, it was consolidated with the Indianapolis & Sandusky Rail- road Company of Indiana, under the name of the Lake Erie & Western Railway Company, and the following December that corporation absorbed the Indianapolis, Lafayette & Muncie Railroad Company. The link between Fremont and Sandusky City was afterward built, and the company has now a continuous line from Sandusky, Ohio, to Bloomington, Ill., a distance of 353 miles. It enters Hancock County near its northeast corner in the city of Fostoria, and taking a southwest direction through Arcadia, Findlay, Rawson and Cory, leaves the county near the northwest corner of Orange
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Township, its main line within this county being about thirty miles in length.
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was built through the northeast corner of Hancock County in 1873, and opened for business January 1, 1874. Though it is one of the greatest trunk lines of the United States, and trav- erses a few miles of Hancock County territory, it can scarcely be regarded as one of her roads; yet the Baltimore & Ohio is of great benefit to the north- ern portion of this county, crossing Wood County from east to west only a few miles north of Hancock, thus furnishing first-class shipping facilities for the people of that section.
The McComb, Deshler & Toledo Railroad Company was incorporated June 2, 1879, by a coterie of McComb citizens, with a capital of $20,000, for the purpose of building a railroad from McComb, Hancock County, to Deshler, in Henry County. This company entered into an agreement with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company to furnish right of way, grade, bridge and tie the road, and the latter agreed to lay the track and operate the road perpetually as a branch of the main line. Grading was commenced in the spring of 1880, and on the 24th of November, following, the first con- struction train came into McComb. On the next day (Thanksgiving) the event was celebrated at McComb by a grand dinner and a flow of oratory, a large delegation coming over the road from Deshler, and a few from Find- lay to participate in the happy festivities, more than 1,000 outsiders being present on the occasion. Regular trains soon began running, and the road has since proved a great convenience to the northwestern portion of the county. It takes a northwest course from McComb to Deshler, passing through the village of Deweyville in its route, and about five miles of the road is located in Hancock County, the whole distance being nearly nine miles.
Many years ago the Tiffin & Fort Wayne Air Line Railroad Company was chartered to build a road from Tiffin, Ohio, to Fort Wayne, Ind. A road bed was completed across the north part of Hancock County, but the project then collapsed. In June, 1872, the New York Western Railway Company and the Continental Railway Company of Pennsylvania were con- solidated and reorganized at Indianapolis as the Continental Railway Com- pany, to construct a great trunk line through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. The old bed of the Tiffin & Fort Wayne in this county was selected and regraded in the fall of 1872 as the route of the Continental Railroad, but that is as far as the enterprise ever got. The New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company was incorporated in 1880 to construct a line from New York to Chicago. Findlay made an effort to secure this road, but it was finally located over the old Continental route in this county, from Arcadia westward, but running northeast from Arcadia to Fostoria parallel with the Lake Erie & Western road. Work began on this section of the line in the spring of 1881, and early in July the road was finished through this county and construction trains were in full operation. The "Nickel Plate," as it is commonly called, is one of the leading trunk lines of the country, and supplies the north part of the county with excellent railroad accommodations. It runs southwest from Fostoria to Arcadia; thence due west through Cass, Allen, Portage and Pleasant Townships. Fostoria, Ar- cadia, Stuartville, McComb and Shawtown are the towns located on this road in Hancock, and twenty-five miles of the line are within the county limits.
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
The Cleveland, Delphos & St. Louis Narrow Gauge Railroad was char- tered March 9, 1881, and during the summer work was commenced along the line, which had previously been located through this county from Del- phos to Carey via Arlington and Mt. Blanchard. The road was finished from Bluffton to Arlington early in the fall of 1882, and in December the construction train reached Mt. Blanchard. January 1, 1883, the road was formally opened by an excursion from Delphos to Mt. Blanchard, and the following summer the line was completed to Carey. From Bluffton, in Allen County, the road runs due east across the north parts of Orange, Van Buren, Madison and Delaware Townships to Mt. Blanchard; thence takes a northeast course through the south part of Amanda Town- ship to Carey, Wyandot County. Besides Mt. Blanchard and Arlington, two villages-Jenera and Cordelia-have since been laid out on this road in Van Buren and Orange Townships, respectively. About twenty-one miles of the road are within the boundaries of this county, and, though it is an ac- commodation to the people living along its route, it will always be of very limited utility for shipping purposes until changed to a standard gauge. It is now called the Delphos Division of the Air Line Railroad, and as there is some talk of making it a standard gauge, the name will doubtless be again changed before the publication of this work.
The Toledo, Columbus & Southern Railroad, formerly the Toledo & In- dianapolis, was chartered in May, 1881, and, in the winter of 1881-82, the right of way was obtained between Toledo and Findlay. All of the towns on the proposed line subscribed liberally toward the project, Findlay sub- scribing $25,000. Hon. T. P. Brown, of Toledo, was the leading spirit of the enterprise, and Patrick Dowling had the general contract for building and equipping the line. Work was commenced in the summer of 1882, and pushed rapidly, as the subscriptions were based on the completion of the road before the close of January, 1883. The first rail was laid December 15, and the first locomotive ran into Bowling Green from Toledo on Christ- mas day. Early in January, 1883, the track was built to within a couple of miles of Findlay, and soon afterward reached the northern part of that city. January 30, the connecting rail was laid some fifteen miles north of Findlay in Wood County, and on the following day the event was celebrated by a dinner at that point. Though the last rail was in position the road was not then by any means completed, the bed being still in a very crude condition. But it was vitally necessary for the company to thus fulfill, technically at least, the conditions under which the subscriptions were ob- tained. The first through train came over the road from Toledo to Findlay February 7, 1883, but regular traffic did not commence before spring, and by May 15 the road was in full operation. A temporary depot was fitted up near the track of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, east of Main Street, in North Findlay, and the new road got no farther till the summer of 1885. The right of way was then obtained southward to the track of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad; a bridge was built over the Blanchard and the road extended across the river to the track of the latter railroad, whence it runs into the depot of said road. Late in 1885 surveys were made southward toward Columbus, and it is claimed to be only a question of time when this railroad will be built to the capital of the State. It enters the county from the north about a quarter of a mile east of the Perrysburg & Bellefontaine Road, and runs due south through
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
the villages of Van Buren and Stuartville to Findlay. The route south of Findlay most likely to be selected, is also parallel with and a little east of the Bellefontaine road, via Arlington, Williamstown and Dunkirk to Kenton, though a survey has also been made southeastward through Mt. Blanchard. Officers of the company state that the road will probably be extended to Kenton, and perhaps Columbus, in 1886; and though it is now of great ad- vantage to the county, it will then offer far better facilities to both travelers and shippers.
In closing the history of the railroads it only remains to notice briefly the several roads that have been surveyed through this county, but never built. Mention has been made of the proposed Bellefontaine & Perrysburg Rail- road, also of the survey made by the Dayton & Michigan Company, which was never really intended to be located through Hancock, and the Tiffin & Fort Wayne and the Continental Roads, In 1870 the Ohio & Michigan Railroad Company surveyed a road from Sturgis, Mich., via Napoleon and Mc- Comb, Ohio, to Findlay; but that is as far as the project ever got. In 1870-71 considerable effort was made to get the Mansfield & Coldwater road located through Findlay, but Fostoria got the prize; yet though the road was grad- ed and some of the rails put down, it was never completed. The Toledo & Columbus Railroad Company was chartered, in 1872, to build a road be- tween the cities named, via Findlay. Liberal subscriptions were voted by the several townships of the county, through which the line was located, but the supreme court afterward declared the act unconstitutional under which the subscriptions were made, and the scheme fell through. In January, 1880, the Columbus, Findlay & Northwestern Railroad Company was incor- porated, to construct a line from Columbus, Ohio, via Findlay to Coldwater, Mich. Meetings were held and the people living along the route apparently took a deep interest in the success of the measure, but after a brief period of enthusiasm the enterprise collapsed and nothing has since been heard of it. The foregoing comprises all of the proposed roads, and though some of them would doubtless have been an advantage, the county now possesses good railroad communications with every portion of the country.
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
CHAPTER IX.
MILITARY HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY-WAR OF 1812-MARCH OF HULL'S ARMY FROM URBANA TO THE MAUMEE RIVER-SITE OF FORT NECESSITY, AND LINE OF HULL'S TRACE-FORT FINDLAY ERECTED AND GARRISONED- DESCRIPTION OF THE FORT-GEN. TUPPER'S CAMPAIGN-INDIANS PURSUE CAPT. OLIVER FROM FORT MEIGS TO FORT FINDLAY-EVACUATION OF THE FORT BY CAPT. THOMAS, AND HIS MURDER BY THE INDIANS-PIONEER REM- INISCENCES OF FORT FINDLAY, AND ITS FINAL DESTRUCTION-MEXICAN WAR-THE GREAT REBELLION-SUBLIME PATRIOTISM OF THE PEOPLE- ENTIIUSIASTIC DEMONSTRATIONS IN FINDLAY AT THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR-STIRRING SCENES OF PREPARATION FOR THE CONFLICT-ENROLL- MENT AND ORGANIZATION OF VOLUNTEERS, AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT DE- PARTURE FOR CLEVELAND-BRIEF SKETCHES OF THE COMMANDS WHEREIN THE SOLDIERS OF HANCOCK SERVED, ALSO THE NAMES AND PROMOTIONS OF COMMISSIONED OFFICERS IN EACH FROM THIS COUNTY-NUMBER OF VOLUN- TEERS FROM EACH TOWNSHIP UP TO SEPTEMBER 1, 1862, AND TOTAL ESTI- MATED NUMBER OF SOLDIERS FROM THE WHOLE COUNTY DURING THE WAR -RELIEF AFFORDED BY THE COUNTY TO SOLDIERS' FAMILIES-GOOD WORK OF THE MILITARY COMMITTEES AND AID SOCIETIES-CLOSING SCENES OF THE REBELLION-CELEBRATION AT FINDLAY OVER THE CAPTURE OF RICH- MOND AND THE SURRENDER OF LEE'S ARMY-JOY TURNED TO GRIEF BY THE ASSASSINATION OF LINCOLN-CONCLUSION.
N EARLY three-quarters of a century have elapsed since the arrogance of the English Government brought on the war of 1812, and though it ended five years before the erection of Hancock County, the territory embraced therein was very closely associated with the earliest stages of that struggle for the preservation of our national rights. On the 4th of June, 1812, a resolution was passed by Congress declaring war against England; on the 17th of the same month the bill passed the Senate, and two days afterward President Madison sent forth the edict. Ohio had been prepar- ing for the conflict, and prior to the declaration of war troops began as- sembling at Dayton, Springfield, Urbana and other points in obedience to the call of Gov. Meigs, and Gen. William Hull was appointed to the chief command of these troops. On the 16th of June the army left Urbana on its march toward the Maumee Rapids, and Col. Duncan Mc- Arthur was ordered in advance to open a road through the forest from the Greenville Treaty line to the Scioto River, "where they built two block houses, which they named Fort McArthur, in honor of the officer whose regiment had opened the road. To this fort the whole army came on the 19th, and on the 21st Col. James Findlay was ordered to open the road as far as Blanchard's Fork, whither the army, excepting a guard left at Fort McArthur, again followed on the 22d. Here, amid rain and mud, another block-house was erected, which was named Fort Necessity. From this point the army soon after moved to Blanchard's Fork, where Col. Find- lay had built a block-house, which was named in honor of that officer, and thence marched northward to the Maumee."* From the Greenville Treaty line to the Maumee Rapids the route of the army was through an unbroken
*American State Papers.
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
forest. and as there were a great many baggage wagons and also some artil- lery, it was necessary to partially open a road the whole distance. The weather continued wet, and some of the time men and horses had to travel middle deep in mud and water. Frequently the van of the army had to halt and wait for the rear guard, which was often detained in reliev- ing wagons and horses from the mire. The army arrived at the rapids June 30, 1812, whence it proceeded to Detroit, and there on the 16th of August the campaign came to a disastrous termination through Gen. Hull's disgraceful and cowardly surrender to the enemy without firing a shot.
The quotation in the foregoing paragraph from the "American State Papers " might lead the reader to infer that Fort Necessity was located on the Blanchard River, but such is not the fact. Hull's Trace entered the southern boundary of Hancock County about half a mile west of the Perrys- burg & Bellefontaine State road, and Fort Necessity was constructed on the west side of the East Branch of Eagle Creek, in the southwest corner of what is now Madison Township. Several acres of forest were chopped down and a temporary fort erected, where the army encamped through necessity (hence the name) until Col. Findlay had the road opened to the Blanchard. Fort Necessity was never garrisoned, and Squire Carlin, Job Chamberlin, M. S. Hamlin, William Tanner, and many other pioneers, have told the writer that they never knew that a block-house was built at that point, as it was known throughout pioneer days as "Mud Fort." The "American State Papers," however, mention the erection of a block-house, and, as it was not garrisoned, it may have been burned down by the Indians before the close of the war of 1812. From Fort Necessity the trace ran down the west bank of the East Branch of Eagle Creek to near its junction with the West Branch, crossing the latter and thence continuing down the west side of Eagle Creek to Fort Findlay. Here it crossed the river, and thence ran northward, a short distance east of the State road, till reaching the high lands south of the Middle Branch of Portage River; thence followed the meanders of that stream northwestward, into what is now Wood County; and thence to the Maumee Rapids.
Gen. Hull left a small garrison under Capt. Arthur Thomas, to complete and guard Fort Findlay. When finished, the fort consisted of a stockade about ten feet in height, with a two-story block-house, built of round logs, at each corner. The enclosure was fifty yards square, the entrance or gate being on the east side. A ditch surrounded the stockade, the earth from the excavation having been thrown up against the pickets to give them added strength. The outer walls of the block-houses projected a short dis- tance beyond the stockade, and the upper story of each extended a few feet over the lower one, thus commanding the approaches from every direction. Each block-house was thoroughly loop-holed, and furnished with one small piece of artillery. Within the enclosure a number of cabins for the use of the soldiers were built along the stockade, the open space in the center be- ing utilized by the garrison as a parade ground. To guard against surprise the forest was cleared off for a considerable distance on the south, east and west of the fort, while the river on the north afforded a clear view in that direction. Though no attack was ever made on Fort Findlay, it was never- theless well calculated to successfully resist any ordinary force which the Indians could bring against it. The fort stood on the south bank of the Blanchard River, in Findlay, the southeast block-house being located on the
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site of Judge D. J. Cory's residence, on the northwest corner of Main and Front Streets. It was one of the many wooden fortifications, which were peculiarly adapted to Indian warfare, erected as depots for military stores, and to guard the rear communications of the army.
In July, 1812, Gen. Edward W. Tupper, of Gallia County, raised a force of 1,000 men for six months' service, principally from Gallia, Law- rence and Jackson Counties, who, under the orders of Gen. Winchester, rendezvoused at Urbana. From that village Gen. Tupper followed Hull's Trace to Fort McArthur, where he established his base of supplies, and then marched northward to Fort Findlay. After a much needed rest his command pushed on to the foot of the Maumee Rapids. The Indians appear- ing in force on the opposite bank of the Maumee, Tupper attempted to cross the river and attack the enemy, but the rapidity of the current, and the feeble, half starved condition of his men and horses, rendered the attempt a failure. The enemy soon after took the offensive, and, crossing the Mau- mee, attacked the American camp, but were defeated and driven back with considerable loss. This defeat caused them to retreat hastily to Detroit, and Tupper subsequently marched back to Fort Findlay, and thence to Fort McArthur, where his supplies were stored.
The following anecdote, related in Howe's "Historical Collections," page 238, is so closely associated with Fort Findlay as to be worthy of a place in this chapter: "About 9 o'clock one dark and windy night in the late war, Capt. William Oliver, in company with a Kentuckian, left Fort Meigs for Fort Findlay on an errand of importance, the distance being about 33 miles. They had scarcely started on their dreary and perilous jour- ney, when they unexpectedly came upon an Indian camp, around the fires of which the Indians were busy cooking their suppers. Disturbed by the noise of their approach, the savages sprang up and ran toward them. At this they reined their horses into the branches of a fallen tree. Fortu- nately the horses, as if conscious of the danger, stood perfectly still, and the Indians passed around the tree without making any discovery in the thick darkness. At this juncture Oliver and his companion put spurs to their horses and dashed forward into the woods, through which they passed all the way to their point of destination. They arrived safely, but with their clothes completely torn off by the brambles and bushes, and their bodies bruised all over by coming in contact with the trees. They had scarcely arrived at the fort when the Indians in pursuit made their appear- ance, but too late, for their prey had escaped."
Fort Findlay was garrisoned until the spring of 1815, and a man named Thorp kept a small sutler store immediately east of the fort during the period of its occupation. Soon after the war closed the fort was abandoned, and its garrison returned to peaceful avocations. The Indians though sub- dued, still entertained very bitter feelings toward their conquerors, as the treacherous murder of Capt. Thomas and son will serve to illustrate. "Capt. Arthur Thomas," says Howe, "lived on King's Creek, three miles from Urbana. He was ordered, in the war of 1812, with his company to guard the public stores at Fort Findlay. On his return himself and son lost their horses, and separated from the rest of the company to hunt for them. They encamped at the Big Spring, near Solomon's Town, about five miles north of Bellefontaine, and the next morning were found killed and scalped. Their bodies were brought into Urbana by a deputation of citizens."
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY.
There has been considerable difference of opinion among the pioneers of Hancock County as to the number of block-houses Fort Findlay originally contained, but it is apparent that it had one at each corner, though a couple of them had probably been torn down by the Indians before the erec- tion of the county in 1820. "When my father, Benjamin J. Cox," says Mrs. Elizabeth Eberly, of Portage, Wood County, "located at Fort Findlay in 1815, there were three block-houses yet standing in a fair state of preser- vation, and another partly torn down. Many of the pickets enclosing the fort had been cut down by the Indians for fire wood. Very little remained of the block-house at the northwest corner of the enclosure, but the other three were occupied by some Wyandot Indian families, a settlement of whom we found around the fort." From several interviews held with the venerable Squire Carlin, of Findlay, the writer is of the opinion that some of the mater- ial in these historic buildings was utilized by Wilson Vance and others of the very earliest settlers for fire wood and to erect out-buildings, and later comers found but one block-house intact, which was used by Mr. Vance for a stable. This fact led many to believe that the fort originally contained but one block-house, which remained standing on the site of Judge Cory's residence for several years after the organization of Hancock County in 1828. This too was finally torn down and removed, and with the passing years all traces of Fort Findlay were gradually obliterated.
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