History of Pickaway County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 7

Author: Aaron R. Van Cleaf
Publication date: 1906
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 923

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GRAND OPERA HOUSE.

Circleville's handsome opera house was erected in 1888 and is one of the important structures of the city. The seating capacity of its auditorium is 900. Its stage is 34 by 60 feet in dimensions, with a height of loft of 40 feet. It is equipped with a gas furnace for heating and with both gas and electricity for lighting.

The original incorporators were: William Roth, Dr. Thomas Blackstone, H. P. Folsom, Charles K. Kellstadt, William B. Drum, George W. Bauder and Dr. M. H. Miesse, George W. Bauder being president and Dr. Thomas Blackstone, secretary and treasurer.

The present officers are: Gottlieb Hart- meyer, president; Harp Van Riper, secretary ; and Dr. M. H. Miesse, treasurer. The board of directors includes the officers and, also, George H. Pontius, Henry P. Folsom, William Roth and Dr. George T. Row. The above parties own the building, but they have given a lease on it until 1908.

CIRCLEVILLE POSTOFFICE.

Circleville had mail facilities at a very early day, soon after the town ivas organized and became the county seat. The first mails were carried between Columbus and Chillicothe, which provided the city with a regular mail service. Caleb Atwater, one of the earliest postmasters, was succeeded in January, 1822, by George Wolfley; he in turn was succeeded,

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in the fall of 1824, by William B. Thrall, who held office until 1831, when John Ludwig be- came postmaster, continuing until 1845. W. C. Taylor, who was postmaster during Polk's administration, was succeeded, about 1849, by J. Thomas Knox. The postmasters since Knox have been the following: Jason Case, who served from 1853 to 1861, C. B. Mason, W. H. P. Denny, B. F. Thomas, who died in office and was succeeded by William Foresman; Samuel Marfield, who took the office April 1, 1876; Harry E. Lutz, Dr. G. A. Wilder, who received his appointment in August, 1885, and served to 1889; Harry E. Lutz, who succeeded Wilder and served until September, 1890, when he resigned ; John L. Kent, who held the office from 1890 to 1893, when he resigned ; Charles McLean, who held the office from 1893 to 1897 ; W. R. Duvall, who served from 1897 to March 1, 1902; F. M. Shulze who fol- lowed Duvall and served until his resignation, II months later; and Charles C. Chappelear, the present incumbent, who received his ap- pointment on January 19, 1903, and took charge of the office on February Ist.

The office is ranked as second class and the salary of the postmaster is $2,300. W. J. Graham, assistant postmaster, whose salary is $1,100, received his appointment on Decem- ber 22, 1902. John A. Fissell, money order clerk, was appointed August 28, 1897, on which day Mrs. Anna Van Ness, general de- livery clerk, also received her appointment. Edward H. Blum, stamper, was appointed De- cember 8, 1902. There are four city carriers- Charles Will, Charles H. Gusman, Homer H. Troutman, Harry T. McMahon; and one sub- stitute-Harry G. Stevenson. The pay of a mail carrier is $850. Frank V. Lewis is the mail messenger.

The volume of business transacted at the postoffice in 1905 amounted to almost $13,000, which sum included stamps and stamped paper, but did not include the money order business. Circleville has had free delivery of mail since November 1, 1897. The postoffice has been located in the Pythian Castle since March, 1894.

Rural free delivery from the Circleville

postoffice was established in 1901 with one car- rier, John W. Lewis. On March 1, 1902, six more carriers were added, namely : Horatio A. Brown, George H. May, Samuel Kindler, George H. Fissell, George H. Henderson and William B. Watts. Guy Culp was added to the force in 1905. All the eight rural carriers named above are still in the service except John W. Lewis, who was succeeded by Frank T. Gearhart. Each carrier gets $720 per year and the eight cover a territory of about 200 square miles. The substitutes are : Mrs. Electa Gear- hart, J. C. Rigg, J. W. Mackey, James W. Trimmer and Noah Culp.

HOTELS.

In the early history of Circleville, as was the case in other towns of that period, hotels were much better patronized than they are now. People traveled in coaches and in all kinds of vehicles, as well as on horseback, and they generally lodged, took their meals and had their horses fed at the hotels on their route. There were but few turnpikes and the common roads were impassable for vehicles in win- ter and spring consequently the leading farmers and traders in live-stock came to town on horseback and put up at the hotels. Now, with good turnpikes reaching every section and with excellent rail communication, either on steam or electric road, a large portion of the country people come to the city, transact their business and return home in a half day; and those that stay all day leave their horses and buggies at livery stables and take their meals at restaurants.

The first tavern in Circleville was kept by John Ludwig in a log house, which was the first built within the circle, in 1810. The first license for keeping a tavern in Circleville was issued by the Court of Common Pleas to Charles Bodkin, on July 25, 1810. The village tavern, in 1819, was kept by Olney Payne. In 1824 William Henry conducted the Bentley Tavern, which had other landlords previous to this date. It was a brick building.

The Circleville House was one of the first hotels conducted here, being kept in the brick

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HISTORY OF PICKAWAY COUNTY

building on East Main street known as the Harsha house. We have been unable to ascer- tain who were the first proprietors and land- lords or when the hotel was established. It is known, however, that it was in operation be- fore 1837, in which year the landlord was Jacob Gossler, a clever and sociable Pennsyl- vania German, who set an excellent table. Isaac Douthirt, who at a later date was land- lord of the Mansion House, kept the Circle- ville House in the early '40's, being succeeded, about 1844, by Henry Heffner, who ran it for two and a half years. The property at this time was owned by George Riegel, Heff- ner's father-in-law. It is thought that Heffner was the last landlord.

The Ohio House, also known as Morgan's Tavern, which was kept by Gen. John E. Mor- gan, was a small tavern near the corner of North Court and Watt streets, on the site later occupied by William Bauder's carriage shop and near where the depot of the Scioto Valley Traction Company is now situated. It was in operation as early as 1836, when G. F. Wittich, located in Circleville, and as late as the memorable presidential campaign of 1840, when Gen. William Henry Harrison stopped at it as a guest. The tavern was discontinued soon afterward.

The Valley House, originally known as the Red Lion Tavern, situated on the east side of South Court street, between Union and Mill streets, was one of the oldest hotels in Cir- cleville. Joseph Adamson was one of the first landlords. George Try, a Pennsylvania Ger- man, was an early proprietor. The house was patronized by the laboring class and the small farmers, to whom he furnished square meals of plain, substantial and well-cooked food and common whiskey, such as they were ac- customed to. He made some money and paid for the hotel property, but made a bad invest- ment when he traded it to Dr. Edson B. Olds for the National House property, agreeing to give about $7,750 difference. He did not suc- ceed in this venture as he had expected, and lost the property through foreclosure proceed- ings. He afterward kept a boarding-house for many years. J. H. Carper next purchased the

Valley House and ran it as a hotel. It never made him any money. It was finally sold at sheriff's sale to N. J. Turney and was an ele- phant on his hands as long as he lived. His widow had the old building torn down and taken away.

Another old hotel of the city was the Amer- ican House, which stood where the New Amer- ican Hotel is now located. It was a two-story frame and brick building and as a hotel rated a little higher than the Valley House. John Rodgers, well advanced in years, was pro- prietor of this house in the early '50's. He was succeeded by his son, Philo W. Rodgers, who repaired and enlarged the house and made it the best hotel in the city. In his youth he was a fine specimen of physical development, but he later grew "fat and jolly" and died in the prime of life. He was very popular as a land- lord. His wife conducted the hotel for many years, finally selling the property to the Roth brothers, who disposed of the old buildings and in their stead erected a brick building, which constitutes the New American Hotel of to-day. Mrs. Rodgers afterward kept the Pickaway House for a period.

The National House, a two-story frame structure, located on the east side of Court street in the block north of Franklin, was es- tablished at a very early day. Henry Darst, who located at Circleville in 1835 or 1836, ran the house for three years and then moved upon a farm in Muhlenberg township. In 1845, according to O. E. Niles, who came to the city in that year, John and Jacob Sweyer were landlords. In the spring of 1850, the large stable in the rear belonging to the hotel was set on fire by an incendiary and burned to the ground, 22 valuable horses, nearly all owned by guests, perishing in the flames. Jonathan Boyd, the next landlord, was well qualified for the business, popular with all and would have made money if he had allowed for a sufficient margin of profit. He died in indigent circumstances. William Eckhardt succeeded Boyd. During the period he con- ducted the hotel, a three-story brick addition on East Franklin street was built. The first story of this building was used for a dining-

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room, the second was partitioned off into bed- rooms and the third story formed a hall room, known as Eagle Hall, where entertainments were held. At this time the National House was the leading hotel and many dances were held in this hall. Mr. Niles, in referring to the cavalcades of pleasure seekers that came to and departed from this hostelry, says that the young men and ladies came to the dance on horseback, often in parties of 30 or 40, each lady carrying on the right horn of her saddle a long carpet-bag, which contained her fancy ball dress. Eckhardt was succeeded as land- lord by George Try who, as mentioned before, purchased the property of Dr. Edson B. Olds, who had come into possession of it through litigation. The property was long since cut up and is now owned by various parties.

The old building on West Main street and the canal, now occupied by the Colonial Car- riage Company, was built as a hotel about 1836 by Andrew Cradlebaugh, who conducted it several years. It was known as the Canal Hotel and was a popular hostelry in its day, being especially patronized by the travelers on the Ohio Canal. In 1845 this hotel, then known as the Mansion House, was owned and conducted by Isaac Douthirt, who was a noted hotel man in his day. The property a few years later ceased being a hotel. In 1850 Bright & Bierce took possession of the prop- erty and converted it into a machine shop.

The Pickaway House also has a very ex- tended history, dating back, at least, to the '30's. Originally it was a one-story building and for many years was known as the Henry House. It was later owned by James Carlisle, under whose regime it was known as the Carlisle House. After Carlisle, came Jonathan Boyd, who later ran the National House. R. D. Atwater finally purchased it and had the building raised two stories and the name changed to the Pickaway House,, which it has ever since borne. About 1850, when H. M. Sweyer was the landlord, it was the lead- ing hotel of the city. It was the stopping place for the stage-coaches which ran on the line between Columbus and Portsmouth and also had a large number of regular boarders-busi-

ness men of the city. Robert T. and Thomas Coverdale were here in the early '60's and as late as 1868. Shortly after the Civil War. the property came into the possession of a stock company, of whom the principal members were William Doane and John Groce, which company made extensive improvements and additions.

The following are the more recent land- lords of the Pickaway House : Newman, Jona- than Boyd (who was landlord a short time, about 1870), C. D. French, Adam McCrea (who ran it from April, 1874 to 1882), Mrs. Philo W. Rodgers (who had previously con- ducted the American House), Robert H. Tag- gart, Pontius & Anderson, Rev. J. R. Hall,: Alexander Lemon and Henry Seyfried, the present proprietor and landlord who has had the hotel since 1898.

In 1880 William Roth and his brother George purchased the old American House: property of Mrs. Rodgers and in 1882 tore down the old structure, rebuilding it with a modern one, containing 65 rooms, which was named the New American Hotel. It was first conducted by Harry Sheridan, who was land- lord for eight or ten years until his death, after which his widow ran the place for a short time. Then Mrs. Rodgers & Son ran the place ; the son died here. The hotel was next con- ducted by D. F. Millet, who died after one year as landlord. Edward I. Leveen ran the place for eight years and was succeeded by Samuel W. Morgan, who was landlord for nearly three years. The next landlord was Henry Sey- fried, proprietor of the Pickaway House, who conducted it for 18 months, during which period he was landlord of the two leading hotels of the city. The hotel, which is now conducted by T. H. McNamee, has been re- cently refitted and put in first class shape. New tile floors have been laid in the office,. hall, bar-room and closets and new plumbing and new bath-rooms have been put in.

The Hotel Tremont, which was established about 50 years ago, was rebuilt in 1880 by William Heffner and J. J. Egan. Mr. Egan ran the hotel for some five years. Since then it has had several tenants. The property is

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HISTORY OF PICKAWAY COUNTY

now owned by William Heffner and William R. Pickens.

The Florence Hotel was originally put up for tenements and offices. One room on the ground floor was used by Mrs. Ellen Nighten- gale for a millinery store for a number of years. In 1894 Mrs. Nightengale converted the build- ing into a hotel and as such it has since been exclusively used. The property came into Mrs. O. H. Dunton's possession in 1904 by in- heritance; she still owns and operates it.

BANKS.

The Bank of Circleville, the first banking institution of the city, was organized in the fall of 1834, under a special act of the Legis- Jature, passed on March 3rd of that year. The commissioners, Joseph Olds, Samuel Rogers, Noah S. Gregg, Andrew Huston, William Renick, Sr., William Renick, Jr., Elias Flor- ence and Samuel Lybrand, opened the books for subscriptions to the stock on the first Mon- day in June, 1834. The capital of the bank was $200,000. During the 20 years it did business, it had three presidents, viz .: Joseph ·Olds, Noah S. Gregg and Joel Franklin; and two cashiers, of whom Hoel Lawrence was the first and his son, Hoel K. Lawrence, the second. The bank was under able direction during the first 17 years of its existence and it prospered to a high degree. At length in 1853, the elder Lawrence died, which event was soon followed by the resignation of the president, Noah S. Gregg. In 1854 the bank failed.

The second bank of the city, also known as the Bank of Circleville, although commonly referred to as the "old" Bank of Circleville, had its real beginning on August 16, 1839, when John Barr, Jacob Shoemaker and Jonathan Renick, three of the 12 commissioners, opened books for subscriptions to the stock of the bank, whose act of incorporation reached back to January 14, 1818. The authorized capital was $300,000, and the bank was given the right to engage in business when $150,000 was subscribed and 15 per cent. thereof paid in,

and the Governor's certificate secured. There does not appear to have been much readiness on the part of many citizens of the county to become shareholders, and the organization was only perfected when non-residents of the county and State entered their names for the deficient sum. Mr. Brown, a resident of No.v. York, was elected president and a Charles Cornwell, cashier. The Governor of Ohio, however, declined to certify that the bank had complied with the provisions of the statutes. It was deemed important, therefore, that this official declaration by the bank should have a verification by dis-interested parties, and the board appointed Dr. E. B. Olds and P. N. White to make examination of the books and count the funds. While these examiners found that the institution had in its possession $23,000 in gold and silver, a sum $500 in ex- cess of the 15 per cent. necessary to have before operations could be begun legally, it is more than likely that these funds represented a loan that was of short duration. On April 6, 1840, the bank opened its doors for business. Be- fore a year had elapsed Seymour G. Renick became president and William McCulloch, cashier, succeeding the first officers. But even this move did not improve matters. At length an hour of paralysis came and on April 14, 1842, the bank expired. For a long period thereafter, amounting in all to 29 years, the bank's affairs were a matter of controversy in the courts.

Shortly after the failure of the Bank of Circleville (the second of the name), which occurred.April 14, 1842, a banking institution, known as the Pickaway County Savings In- stitute, was organized, with a capital stock of $25,000, of which Dr. Marcus Brown was made president and Otis Ballard, Jr., cashier. From this organization finally sprang what is now known as the First National Bank of Cir- cleville. In 1851, not long after the Pickaway County Savings Institute was organized, it was merged into the Pickaway County Bank, a corporation organized under an act of the Legislature to authorize free banking, with capital stock of $200,000. The board of

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directors consisted of Samuel Rogers, James E. Rice, J. A. Troup, James R. Hulse and Dr. Marcus Brown.

On October 10, 1863, the Pickaway County Bank was reorganized as the First National Bank of Circleville, under the national bank- ing laws. The capital was increased from $200,000 to $260,000. The original board of directors consisted of Noah S. Gregg, Samuel Rogers, Samuel H. Ruggles, James E. Rice, Hanson Rock and Dr. Marcus Brown. . Dr. Brown was elected president and continued to fill the position until his death, January 6, 1882. He was succeeded by J. A. Hawkes, who filled the office until his death on Decem- ber 12, 1895. About a month after Mr. Hawkes' death, at a meeting of the stock- holders, held on January "14, 1896, there de- veloped a contest for the control of the institu- tion, which resulted in the election of an entire new board of directors, viz. : L. H. Sweetman, Charles E. Groce, Alexander Renick, Gottlieb Hartmeyer, B. F. Benford and George J. Mc- Mullen. The resignations of the officers of the company were accepted and L. H. Sweet- man was elected vice-president. Shortly after- ward a full list of officers was elected, Mr. Sweetman being chosen president, which office he held several years, until his death, when B. F. Benford, the present head of the institution, succeeded him. Otis Ballard, Jr., the cashier of the first organization known as the Pickaway County Savings Institute, continued as cashier when the institute became the Pickaway County Bank and afterwards was cashier of the First National Bank until the reorganization of the company in 1896, when he was succeeded by William B. Drum, who a few years later was succeeded by the present cashier, George G. Stouch. On July 8, 1896, soon after the new management took charge, it was decided to reduce the capital stock from $260,000 to $130,000.

The present directors are: Charles E. Groce, Clarence Curtain, Alexander Renick, George J. McMullen, Gottlieb Hartmeyer and B. F. Benford. At the close of business Sep- tember 4, 1906, the First National Bank had $60,000 in its surplus fund and $12,413.43 in

undivided profits. The individual deposits at this time were $363,363.61. The resources totaled $704,786.25, chiefly represented in the following items : Loans and discounts, $335,- 143.83; United States bonds to secure circula- tion, $130,000; cash and sight exchange, $117,205.21; and bonds, securities, etc., $96,510.

The People's Bank, later known as Mar- field's Bank, was a private bank started in 1848 by Samuel Marfield. It lasted until May, 1877, a period of 29 years. *

The Scioto Valley Bank was another private banking institution of Circleville. It was started in the early '50's and was owned and conducted by W. W. Bierce and Col. Sam- uel A. Moore, the latter being the cashier. The bank sailed a fairly smooth course until the failure of the Scioto Machine Works, owned by Bierce, in November or December, 1863, when it also foundered on the rocks. At this time Bierce was the sole owner of the bank.

About 1854 or 1855, soon after he had ceased his connection with the Bank of Circle- ville, Noah S. Gregg started the Exchange Bank, a private banking institution, of which he was president and Henry N. Hedges, Jr., cashier. This institution continued until 1862, when it was reorganized as the Second Na- tional Bank of Circleville.

The Second National Bank of Circleville opened its doors for business in January, 1882, with capital stock of $125,000. The first president was Noah S. Gregg, and Henry N. Hedges, Jr., the first cashier. The first board of' directors was made up of the following capitalists : Noah S. Gregg, Samuel H. Rug- gles, Dr. Marcus Brown, Otis Ballard, Jr., J. A. Hawkes and Henry N. Hedges, Jr.

On January 10, 1882, Samuel H. Ruggles was elected president, and on November 17, 1882, E. E. Winship, Sr., was elected cashier. On April 18, 1904, Samuel H. Ruggles died and was succeeded by his son, S. T. Ruggles.

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The present cashier, Gustavus A. Schleyer, was elected on January 10, 1902. This bank has had but three presidents and three cashiers since its organization. The present board of directors is constituted as follows : S. T. Rug- gles, William Foresman, John Wardell, Will- itm S. Reber and Gustavus A. Schleyer. The bank has a surplus fund and undivided profits amounting to $54,000, and deposits amounting to $580,000. This institution has never failed to pay a dividend every six months since its organization; these dividends, according to the government report, have amounted to the sum of $490,000.

The Third National Bank of Circleville was established September 2, 1882, with capital stock of $100,000 and the following officers : Cyrus Benford, president; William J. Weaver, vice-president; and Samuel Morris, cashier. The first board of directors was made up of the following named gentlemen: Henry F. Page, Cyrus Benford, Dr. N. E. Jones, Joseph P. Smith, Alexander Smith, Alexander C. Bell and William J. Weaver. The bank opened its doors for business at the northwest corner of Main and Scioto streets.

William J. Weaver followed Cyrus Ben- ford as president, Alexander Smith becoming vice-president. Later, Cyrus Benford was elected president and William J. Weaver, vice- president. After the death of Mr. Benford, Mr. Weaver served as president until the fol- lowing January, when John Groce became president and William J. Weaver again be- came vice-president. On the death of Mr. Groce, Samuel Morris, who up to this time had been cashier, became president, Mr. Weaver still remaining vice-president and W. G. Jacob becoming cashier. On the death of Mr. Morris, William J. Weaver again became president and George Bennett was elected vice- president. Subsequently, Mr. Weaver resigned his position at the head of the bank in order to devote his whole time to the wholesale grocery business, and then Alexander C. Bell became president. W. G. Jacob has been cashier ever since Samuel Morris became president. The present officers are : Alexander C. Bell, presi- dent; George Bennett. vice-president; W. G.

Jacob, cashier; and Charles Shulze, assistant cashier. The board of directors is composed of Alexander C. Bell, George Bennett, W. G. Jacob, James I. Smith, Milton Morris, George H. Pontius and Wayne Caldwell. According to a statement of the bank's condition at the close of business September 4, 1906, the Third National Bank had deposits of $414,306.08; its surplus fund and undivided profits amounted to $37,500.62. The resources at this time totaled $591,123.26, of which amount $409 .- 712.69 was represented in loans and discounts. The bank is now located at No. 138 West Main street.

BUILDING AND LOAN COMPANIES.

The history of building and loan companies in Circleville dates back to the year 1868, when the first companies were organized. These early concerns were very successful in their work and accomplished a great amount of good. The first company in the field was the Circleville Building and Loan Association, which was organized by leading Germans of the city on January 20, 1868, when the follow- ing officers were elected : William Van Heyde, president; William Gilley, vice-president; C. F. Krimmel, secretary; and George M. Van Heyde, treasurer. Of the original organizers of this concern, only two are now living.

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History of Pickaway County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 7

Author: Aaron R. Van Cleaf Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Number of Pages: 923

Author: Aaron R. Van Cleaf
Publication date: 1906
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 923