USA > Ohio > Henry County > History of Henry and Fulton counties, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 46
USA > Ohio > Fulton County > History of Henry and Fulton counties, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 46
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87
The Fulton County Union. The Union was started in the year 1862, by J. C. French, as an opposition paper to the Northwestern Republican, which was then the leading paper of the county. But this venture on the part of Mr. French failed in its intent, as it only survived the fall campaign of the year of its founding, when it was sold, Isaac R. Sherwood, then the publisher of the paper which the Union had sought to destroy, becoming its purchaser, and by him the Union was merged into the Republican.
The Sentinel. This paper, the outgrowth of which is the present North- western Republican, was established in the year 1855, by H. B. Bayes and John D. Hunter. In its political tone it was Republican, being the first to ad- vocate the principles of the newly-formed Republican party in this county. It was, when started, what is known among printers as a six-column quarto, in neat dress for the times, and as the organ of Republicanism in the county, at once took front rank, notwithstanding the fact of its frequent change in own- ership. The paper had been but a short time in operation when Bayes bought the interest of his partner (Hunter), and for the next two years, or thereabouts he was its sole proprietor and editor. He then sold it to A. E. Ball. As an editor and publisher Ball was not a success, but as one who could accumulate a fair proportion of "bills payable," he was a complete success. He sold, or transferred at least, to E. W. Fuller and suddenly left the county, too suddenly in fact, for his creditors. Mr. Fuller conducted the paper for something like a year when he took a partner, John D. Devor, of Elkhart, Ind. He stayed in the office only about three or four months and then sold back his interest to Fuller.
On the first day of January, 1858, the headline and name of the paper was changed to the Northwestern Republican, and it was increased in size from a six, to a seven-column folio. From this date the history of this paper is the record made by the Republican, which, being now in existence, well-managed, well-edited and well-supported, is deserving of notice among the "things that be," rather than of the past.
Der Deutsche Gasette. The brief, but eventful career of Der Gasette was begun in the early part of the year 1886, under the ownership of Voll & Howe.
416
HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
The paper, a seven-column folio, with patent sides, was printed in German, and had an extensive circulation among the many German families of the county, but the worthy managers were at fault in their habits, and the paper gradually went to pieces when it might have been one of the best paying investments in the county. Howe retired from its office and Voll soon afterward sold the subscription list to the Henry county Democrat, and the paper as a Fulton county enterprise it failed to appear.
With the exception of a small religious paper (monthly) published for a short time under the editorial control of the pastor of one of the Wauseon churches, it is believed that the foregoing record comprises all of the newspaper publications printed at any time within Fulton county, and it is believed that the record can, in the main, be relied upon, although difficulty was encoun- tered in fixing dates accurately, and for that reason, in such cases as the date appears to be approximated, the lack of positive information must excuse the absence of it.
THE PRESENT PRESS OF THE COUNTY.
The papers of the present day, within the limits of Fulton county, appear to be established on a sound and profitable basis, and under competent control. Of the ten that are now published, five have their base of operation at Wau- seon. From this statement there may be excepted, perhaps, two, which, although they appear and are issued as Fulton county papers, are, never- theless, printed elsewhere, the Wauseon office furnishing only local news, the papers being in fact, branch editions of publications made beyond the limits of the county. The county papers are the Northwestern Republican, the Fulton County Tribune, the Expositor, the Fulton County Wachter (German), the Mau- mee Valley Prohibitionist, the Delta Atlas, the Delta Avalanche, the Swanton Enterprise, the Archbold Herald and the Fayette Record. The Maumee Val- ley Prohibitionist and the Fulton County Wachter are those referred to as be- ing printed outside the county, but each having an editor and local office with- in the county, from which they respectively circulate.
The Northwestern Republican. Upon the changing of the name of the Sen- tinel, the Republican was brought into existence. It was enlarged, as stated heretofore, from a six to a seven column folio. During the last few months of the life of the Sentinel, and under the editorial management of Fuller & Devor, these changes were made, but Mr. Fuller soon again became sole pro- prietor, and so remained until during that summer, 1858, when he sold a half interest to J. C. French. This copartnership relation was maintained for a pe- riod of about six months when Fuller sold his interest to Isaac R. Sherwood, and the firm then became Fuller & Sherwood, editors and publishers. Thus was the Republican managed until the summer of the year 1861, when Sher- wood purchased French's interest and became sole editor and publisher.
417
FULTON COUNTY.
One year later, 1862, the office was leased to Joseph Cable, but under his control the paper did not prosper. He had in some manner antagonized a strong element of the Republican party in the county, and the county print- ing was taken away from him and given to the Monitor, a paper published at Ottokee by H. B. Bayes.
After the term of Cable's lease had expired the office and material passed, by purchase, to James H. Sherwood, brother of Isaac Sherwood. The new proprietor at once commenced and succeeded in accomplishing the work of building up and re-establishing the Republican on a profitable footing, and brought back to it the favor and support which it had lost during Mr. Cable's leasehold. In the year 1867, James H. Sherwood sold back to his brother Isaac, now honored with the military title of general. General Sherwood ran it about a year and then took a partner, Colonel Albert B. Smith, a practical printer, with whom he became associated under the firm name and style of Sherwood & Smith.
Under this management the paper met with good success ; it was well edited, appeared in a plain, but neat dress, and became largely patronized throughout the county and even beyond the county's borders; its exchange list was large, and the paper took rank as the leading publication of the region. It was, and continued to be, the organ of the Republican party, and became an able exponent of Republican doctrines. In the year 1869 James H. Sher- wood purchased the general's interest, and the firm style then changed to Smith & Sherwood. It was, by the latter firm, conducted until the year 1871, when Colonel Smith sold his interest to M. P. Brewer, a former resident of Wood county. About six months later Brewer resold to Colonel Smith. In 1877 Mr. Sherwood purchased Colonel Smith's interest and again became sole proprietor. He conducted it successfully until about 1881, when a half inter- est was taken by E. M. Ogle, but the latter only remained in the office a few months, when he sold to W. C. Williams, who, with James H. Sherwood, are the present owners, under the name and style of Sherwood & Williams. The North-Western Republican is to-day the most extensively circulating paper in the county, and with its contemporary, the Fulton County Tribune, guards well the interests of the Republican party. The Republican now appears as a six- column quarto, and enjoys a paying circulation of between thirteen and four- teen hundred.
The Democratic Expositor. As its name implies, the Expositor is the repre- sentative Democratic journal of Fulton county, and the only paper now advo- cating the principles of Democracy, although others preceding it were of that faith. The Expositor was established in the month of January, 1875, by W. H. Handy, now Judge Handy, of the Common Pleas. During the time the paper was edited by Mr. Handy it is well remembered as being among the best conducted of the county's papers ; its local columns were filled with well-
53
418
HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
selected and spicy reading matter, and its editorial comments and leaders were noted for their brilliancy and ability. It was, in fact, just what it purported to be-the organ of the Democratic party, and upon that assumption it built for itself a reputation that has been well maintained to the present day. In April, 1877, the Expositor passed, by sale, into the hands of J. C. Bollmeyer, who has since been its sole editor and publisher. Under him, as well as his predecessor, the paper has been a successful venture from a business point of view. At present the Expositor is the official paper of Fulton county. It is a nine-column folio, in clean dress, and makes an attractive appearance. Its local department is, perhaps, as full and complete as contained in any of the papers of the county. The subscription price of the Expositor is $1.50 per year. It has at this time a circulation numbering over one thousand subscribers.
The Delta Avalanche. This paper (weekly) made its first appearance on the 22d of February, in the year 1876, under the ownership of E. L. Waltz. It aimed to furnish to its readers news, local and general, as would prove of interest and value, but without espousing the cause of either of the great po- litical parties ; in fact it was an independent paper. After having edited and published the Avalanche for about three years, Mr. Waltz sold to Colonel Al- bert B. Smith. By the latter its tone was changed, or rather, perhaps, Colonel Smith gave it tone, in making it a Republican paper. His connection with it, however, was brief, for in about a year he sold to E. J. Patch, by whom it was continued for about the same length of time. Mr. Patch sold to WV. O. Knapp, and by the latter person the Avalanche was returned to its original character, independent. In the year 1884 Mr. Knapp exchanged the ownership of this for a half interest in the Fulton County Tribune with J. H. Fluhart. The lat- ter made the Avalanche again a Republican paper. It is a seven- column quarto.
The Fayette Record. The Record was established in the month of January, 1876, by W. A. Baker, but in the next month, February, it was purchased by O. M. Holcomb and M. Lewis, and managed under the firm name of Holcomb & Lewis. They conducted the paper until May, 1878, when G. W. Griffin purchased Holcomb's interest, the firm name then changing to Lewis & Griffin. In a disastrous conflagration that occurred at Fayette on May 8, 1880, the entire plant was destroyed, but in about sixty days' time another office was established, and the Record again appeared in a complete new dress. The office too, was much improved by the introduction of a new cylinder press, the first to be used in the county. In 1882 the publishers erected a substantial two-story frame building, which they occupied until February 28, 1883, when the entire office was again destroyed by fire. But phoenix-like, the enterpris- ing proprietors again "arose from the ashes," rebuilt their offices and issued the Record within the brief space of thirty days, in a new outfit. Since this last misfortune the Record has enjoyed an abundant degree of prosperity, and
419
FULTON COUNTY.
is now among the leading journals of Northwestern Ohio. It is an independent family newspaper, having no political bias.
The Fulton County Tribune. The Tribune was the outgrowth of a divided sentiment in the ranks of the Republican party ; and while the paper was not started for the purpose of favoring either element or faction of the party, it was, nevertheless, founded and started as representing the interests of the whole party, which many people felt were not represented at the time. Colonel Al- bert B. Smith and J. H. Fluhart were the proprietors at the time of its first issue, May 19, 1883. The paper was well received by the reading public, and by the fairness of its leaders and its utter absence of comment tending to foster or continue feelings of dissatisfaction in the party, together with its general worth as a well-edited and well-managed paper, the Tribune has grown in general favor until it is now numbered with the best of the county's papers. Mr. Flu- hart continued his connection with the Tribune until June, 1884, when he was succeeded by W. O. Knapp, the latter having exchanged the Delta Avalanche for Mr. Fluhart's interest in the Tribune. The firm therefore became Smith & Knapp, which relation has ever since been maintained. The Tribune is a seven-column quarto, and enjoys a present circulation of about thirteen hun- dred. Its exchange list is large, and the paper is considered as among the best of the weekly journals in Northwestern Ohio.
The Swanton Enterprise. The Enterprise was founded April 23, 1886, by H. S. Bassett, and is issued from the office at Swanton, in the eastern part of Fulton county. It is a six-column quarto, local family newspaper, indepen- dent in politics, and devoted to the interests of the people of Swanton and surrounding country. In the month of March, 1887, Charles H. Rowland be- came a half-owner in the paper, and the firm became known as Bassett & Rowland. The paper opened its second year with six hundred and fifty sub- scribers, and shows a healthful and substantial increase in popularity.
The Delta Atlas. The Atlas, an eight-page, forty-column, independent family newepaper, published by the Atlas Printing Company, at Delta, was founded June 6, 1886, with C. R. P. Waltz, manager and E. L. Waltz, editor. It has been the aim of the proprietors to make it the leading family newspaper of the county, and they have so far succeeded that it now enjoys a circulation nearly equal to any in the county. On the 19th of March, 1887, the office was consumed by fire, but, with commendable zeal and energy, new material was at once obtained and the paper continued without serious interruption or delay. By care in the selection of matter for its columns, and in securing the latest important news, and promptness in publication, the Atlas has become not only a household treasure, but a valuable advertising medium. The office is well supplied with material for all classes of job-work. The Atlas is furnished to its regular yearly subscribers at the price of one dollar.
Maumec Valley Prohibitionist. This paper made its first appearance in the
420
HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
county late in the month of October, 1886, and although it is not printed within the county, it has so great a circulation, and a local news department, that it is unquestionably worthy of record among the county's papers. The Prohibitionist is edited and issued from an office at Bryan, Williams county, by Walter J. Sherwood. Its columns are devoted to the cause of temperance, in particular, and it contains besides, an abundance of general and local news. The Fulton county edition has a circulation of about one thousand.
The Archbold Herald. The Herald first made its appearance in the year 1886, under the management of Taylor Brothers, at Archbold,. in the western part of Fulton county. During the first six months of its existence it experi- enced, or rather the proprietors did, a hard struggle for official life and contin- uance, but with the introduction of a series of humorous articles and para- graphs, the paper grew in popular favor, and the subscription list (the greatest support of any paper) rapidly increased, and the Herald is now in a flourishing and prosperous condition. It is a five-column quarto, independent family paper, and enjoys a fair circulation.
The Fulton County Waechter (German). The Waechter is printed at Day- ton, O., but has a resident editor at Wauseon. On the 4th of March, 1887, its first number appeared. It then had a circulation of three hundred copies among the German families of the county. It is independent in politics, and furnishes general and local news. About one-third of its columns are devoted to advertisements, and the balance to well selected miscellaneous reading mat- ter. Its editors and proprietors are Baecker & Bussdicker, the former being the resident editor. The offices are intended to be removed to Wauseon as soon as practicable.
CHAPTER XLI.
HISTORY OF THE INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF WAUSEON, THE SEAT OF JUSTICE OF FULTON COUNTY.
THE village of Wauseon, the seat of justice of Fulton county, was laid out in the year 1854, by Epaphras L. Barber, John H. Sargent, Nathaniel Leggett and William Hall. It, with all its subsequent additions and divisions, is comprised of parts of sections twenty-three and twenty-six in Clinton town- ship. At that time the Air Line Division of the New York Central and Lake Shore system of railways, as it at present is, had just been extended far enough west of the city of Toledo, its initial point, to pierce the site of this beautiful and prosperous town, and was constructed by the old Southern Michigan and
421
FULTON COUNTY.
Northern Indiana Railway Company. No stock therefor was issued ; the en- tire expense of building and equipping the road was paid by the corporation projecting the route ; its design in the main being to have a double track from Toledo, O., to Elkhart, Ind. From Toledo to Butler, situated at the extreme eastern edge of Indiana, a distance of eighty miles, there is not a bend or curve in the line, and for many years past it has carried the largest proportion of the passenger travel of the Lake Shore System from Toledo to Chicago, and Wau- seon has grown to be one of the most important stations on the route.
Mr. Barber, at that time a young man, and one of the civil engineers en- gaged in the survey and construction of the road, and a resident of the city of Cleveland, learning of the probability that a station would be established at the present site of Wauseon, in conjunction with John H. Sargent, also a res- ident of Cleveland, and assistant chief engineer of the road, and Nathaniel Leggett, an enterprising citizen of Swan Creek township, and William Hall, an attorney of Maumee city, Lucas county, O., bought of Thomas Bayes, an early settler of Northwestern Ohio, one hundred and sixty acres of land, which com- prised what is known in the records of the county as the original plat of Wau- seon. Barber and Sargent owned two-thirds of tract in common and Leggett and Hall by the same title owned one-third thereof. The price paid for the land was sixteen dollars per acre, and the entire parcel was in nearly a wild state. The ax and the torch were the first things brought into requisition to make the tract fit for habitations. At that time out-lying land, but imme- diately adjacent to the newly projected town, was selling for six to eight dol- lars per acre, the most of it having already passed from the control of the gov- ernment, not only near but in any direction and quite a distance from the site of the new village destined for a time to grow quite rapidly. Even at such low figures buyers were not very plentiful. Mr. Hall was interested in the transaction only until the completion of the laying out of the first one hundred and forty lots when he sold his interest to Mr. Leggett.
The residence of Mr. Bayes at this time was a log building standing on the present site of the pleasant home of Mr. Andrew B. Clark on Vine street. Coeval with the sale of lots building began, and every one was anxious to get near the line of the railroad, of which predilection the citizens have not yet been entirely cured. As is customary in all modern American towns, the streets were platted to intersect cach other at right angles, and Fulton street, the principal business thoroughfare, was made full one hundred feet in width. This street with its subsequent addition of Fulton avenue, which became its northern extension when Newcomer's addition was joined to the original plat, is one mile in length, but is considerably narrower as to the avenue por- tion of it. The streets of the original plat extending east and west with un- important exceptions were named from the species of trees abounding in the forests about ; and those extending north and south got their appellations from
422
HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
the biographies of our country's great men. Fulton street may, however, be an exception. It is not distinctly known whether the memory of Robert Ful- ton, the inventor of steamboats, was to be suggested and preserved by the name bestowed upon the principal street, or whether it was given in honor of the surveyor whose boundary line gave rise to the ludicrous uproar between Ohio and Michigan known as the " Toledo war." For the reason stated, al- though there have been some deviations from the plan, the street nomenclature of Wauseon is quite easy of recollection. In later additions to the village, of which there have been several, the original system of street naming has been deviated from somewhat. On the extreme east and parallel with Fulton we have Prospect street, and on the extreme west, preserving the same parallel, we have the decidedly Gallic name of Brunelle. It is claimed, however, that this street was named in honor of John Brunelle, a celebrated English civil engineer. The streets lying between, exclusive of Fulton, are Franklin, Clinton, Madison, and Monroe. At the extreme southern limit of the original plat extending due east and west is Leggett street, so named in honor of one of the founders of the town. The names of the streets, in- tersecting Fulton and parallel with the railroad, are as follows, beginning at the first one north of Leggett street: Cherry, Chestnut, Birch, Beech, Elm, Oak, Sycamore, Walnut, Mulberry, Hickory and Willow. But here an exception must be noted. Just south of the railroad and west of Fulton street, the street, the eastern half of which is known as Birch street, is as to the western half called Commercial street, probably getting so ambitious a designation from the fact that it is the only thoroughfare of the drayage of merchandise and freights from the depot, and on the north side of the railroad a portion of street which properly should be called Beech street, and belongs thereto on every principle of proper nomenclature, is called Depot street. It contains many pretty residences, but the only saving virtue in the unappro- priate name, is that when the residents thereof run out of other subject of talk, they can have a friendly and scholarly dispute as to the proper pronunciation of the name of the street they live on. Beginning at the northwest corner of Livermore and Munn's addition, and extending from Chestnut to Leggett street in a direction slightly west of north is a short street called Vine, and north of the railroad and extending from Oak street to Walnut is another short street called Cedar. On the eastern side of the town there formerly was a street called Marshall by some one who admired the character of the great chief justice, but unfortunately it fell into disuse, and long since was abandoned. Third street passes through Newcomer's addition, east of and parallel with Fulton avenue ; and Ottokee street, a reminder of the old county seat, bounds that addition on the west. The streets running north and south in Livermore and Munn's addition are respectively, Division, Main and West Park, the last probably so named from the small but beautiful park which it bounds on the
423
FULTON COUNTY.
west side; and those of this addition extending in a contrary direction are Lincoln and Superior streets. The southern two-thirds of the large mound of about three acres, between Madison and Monroe streets, was set apart by its first owners and deeded to the village for a park. Under the direction of the park commissioners of the village some progress has been made toward orna- menting it, and some years since the project of erecting a monument to the memory of the soldiers of Fulton county who fell in the War of the Rebel- lion was started, but no farther progress was made than to put in the founda- tion and erect the base. Shaftless and uncrowned, the base stands there a perpetual reproach to those who so soon could forget and neglect the memory of the men who freely gave their life blood that we might have a united and free country.
On the 27th day of February, 1865, the plat of Newcomer's addition was filed in the office of the recorder of Fulton county, and that addition contain- ing lots one to one hundred and twenty-six inclusive, besides several acreage lots designated by the letters of the English alphabet, became a part of the village. It lies north of the original plat, and is bounded on the north by the York Center road. June 7, 1865, Sargent and Barber's addition was legally made to the northwestern part of the original plat. It contains lots 387 to 489 inclusive, the designation of the lots being a continuation in numerical order of those of the first lots laid out. On the 21st day of June, 1867, Barber and Merrill's addition containing fifty-seven lots was joined on ; Livermore and Munn's addition of ninety- seven lots was made on the 12th day of June, 1865 ; Palmer's addition of thirty-four lots on June 9, 1873; E. F. Greenough's, con- taining thirteen lots, March 14, 1867; and C. F. Greenough's addition of twelve lots, February 16, 1874. The Greenoughs' additions are on the east side of the original plat. Barber and Merrill's is at the northeast, and Palmer's is at the southwestern corner thereof.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.