History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 84

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104

USA > Ohio > Summit County > History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio > Part 84

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During the existence of the Theological De- partment, its history was one with that of the college, and has been substantially recounted above. It really began operation when Mr. Green came here as Professor of Biblical Liter- ature, in 1830, and continued until 1852. The time of its greatest prosperity was from 1842 to 1850. It was abandoned because there were not funds enough to support Professors. The necessity for a Seminary had ceased also, be- cause two others had been planted since the opening of this, one in and another near the field which this was intended to occupy. The funds which were contributed as a permanent endowment of this department were very small. Mr. Heman Oviatt gave $10,000 in 1837 to endow the Chair of Sacred Rhetoric. In 1853, Mr. Oviatt, in writing, expressed his desire to the Trustees that, in view of the then present state of the college, the Professor, on his endowment, should give instruction in the Collegiate Department. To the endowment of the other theological chairs, there was contrib- uted only about $5,800. Twelve hundred dol-

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lars of this was given by "sundry persons," through Moses Allen, of New York, and no further record can now be found of it. Four thousand six hundred dollars were given by eighty-six persons in small sums, the largest single donation being $212. All other funds were for current use.

The high character of the seminary is obvi- ous from the ability of the men who filled its chairs of instruction, and also from the stand- ing and usefulness of those who received their theological education here. One needs but to recall the names of President Storrs, Professors Green, Folsom, Long, Hickok, Barrows and Day to show that the instruction was nowhere abler. These names, also, as well as those of their pupils, clearly indicate the doctrinal views taught. Those who studied here have, many of them, occupied prominent positions, and all of them have been very useful in the ministry of the Presbyterian and Congrega- tional Churches, in both the home and foreign fields. The seminary was linked to that eccle- siastical system which grew upon the Reserve, called the "Plan of Union." The Professors all entered heartily into it in good faith, as did most of the churches, until restless and grasp- ing men on both sides drove forward the work of division. The seminary, however, and all the Professors, continued their adhesion to the Plan. The number of those whose names appear in the catalogue as theological students is 106. It does not look at present as though this de- partment would ever be resumed, at least in its old form. The seminaries now in operation are enough for the wants of the country, and will be for a long time to come.

A preparatory school was opened in connec- tion with the college at the very first. Per- haps it would be better to say that the college was first opened in connection with a prepara- tory school ; for the first Freshman class was admitted and studied the first year at Tall- madge, in the academy, under Mr. David L. Coe, who was Principal of the school, and col- lege tutor pro tempore. When the college opened in the new building at Hudson, in the fall of 1827, the first catalogue shows that there was a Sophomore and a Freshman class, a preparatory class and a class pursuing a par- tial course. There has been a preparatory class ever since. The name " Preparament " was first used in 1838. In 1843, there was a

Preparatory Department in two sections, class- ical and English. In 1850. this department was first called a " Grammar School," a name which it retained until 1860, since which date it has been called a "Preparatory School."

It was the expectation of the Trustees that it would be necessary to continue the school but a very few years, they supposing that academies would be established and endowed on the Re- serve as they had been in New England. At one time there were as many as twenty acade- mies in successful operation. First and last there have been more than thirty academies on the Reserve. But nearly all of these schools were entirely unendowed, and as the public schools improved, the number of pupils in them diminished, and as new, more exciting and more remunerative fields of labor opened, teachers could not be found for them, and they were abandoned. A number of them have been attached to the school system of the towns where they are as high schools. But they do not thus accomplish the object of endowed academies. The necessity for the preparatory school, therefore, continues to this day, and we can see no prospect that it will soon cease.

This school has always been under the super- vision of the college Faculty, and taught for the most part by some of the younger graduates. Oc- casionally some of the Professors have given in- structions there for brief periods, and Professor Gregory was Principal and carried on the school for five years, with the aid of a tutor, after he was made Adjunct Professor of Latin in college. The school has never been self-supporting, ex- cept for two years, 1850-52, under Mr. Turner. During the period when the great calamity and depression were upon the college, from 1852 to 1860, the teachers received only the tuition fees, but the college furnished for it a local habita- tion.

The early catalogues show that there were from the beginning, students here in a partial course. The precise nature and extent of that course is not indicated. As these men were not Bachelors of Arts, it is probable that they pursued the higher English studies with the college classes and received a certificate of pro- ficiency, but not a degree. In 1855, when President Hitchcock entered on his office, a Scientific course was announced in the cata- logue, " designed for those who desire a more complete education than is furnished by acada-

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mies and high schools, without pursuing the learned languages." The course of study was intended to be three years. In 1839, the cata- logue contains the names of two resident grad- uates, and in 1845, one besides those engaged in theological study. They were pursuing those studies which properly belong to a Phil- osophical Department. In 1847, appear the names of eleven Bachelors and Masters of Arts, who were engaged here in such work, and in 1848 there were six names in the same class.

The library has grown, but very slowly, to some 7,000 volumes, mostly by donations of books, while the college has paid out of the treasury probably about $1,200 for this object previously to the year 1874. The library has now an endowment of $3,700, and waits with strong desire for the payment of the remainder of the $10,000 subscribed for its endowment at commencement in 1873. The society libraries contain about 5,400 volumes, purchased by the students from time to time.

The physical apparatus, which must have been reasonably good for so young an institu- tion according to the ideas of those early times, was greatly increased by Prof. Loomis when he entered upon his work here in 1837. He brought with him from Europe the most im- portant instruments for investigation and in- struction, to the value of $2,200. This appa- ratus has been well preserved, and since 1868, has been steadily increased by the addition of almost all those new instruments which the ad- vance of science has made necessary or useful in a college in order that the instruction might keep pace with the times.

The astronomical observatory was built un- der the direction of Prof. Loomis in 1838, at a cost of a little above $1,000, and furnished with a transit circle, equatorial telescope and siderial clock, procured in Europe at an ex- pense of $1.750.

When Dr. St. John came, in 1858, $2,500 was appropriated as an outfit for his depart- ment, some $500 of which was probably ex- pended in the purchase of chemical apparatus, and the $2,000 upon the cabinet. Accordingly, the cabinet seems to have grown and prospered for some time ; but, during the period of depression and disaster, it was almost entirely neglected. In 1858, it received a valuable accession from Rev. Horace S. Taylor, of the Class of 1840, and a missionary in India. He

procured a large fragment of a meteorite which fell within his field of labor February 28, 1857, and sent it to the college. This was broken up in consequence of many applica- tions for specimens, and by exchanges the cab- inet contains now a series of seventy-six chifferent meteoric irons and stones. There are 1,450 named and labeled specimens of mine- rals in cases, 500 not labeled, 250 specimens of shells, with many duplicates, and a series of casts of typical fossils, 173 in number, which were added in 1874. There is also a small collection of archæological specimens.

The chemical apparatus procured by Prof. St. John had almost wholly disappeared when President Hitchcock entered on his office. Very little was done in the way of repairing these losses until Prof. Morley came, in 1869. Since that date, this department has received its proper share of attention. An admirable ap- paratus for the purpose of analysis and re- search, as well as for use in instruction, has been procured, mostly purchased in Europe, at an expense of $2,500. There is a well-furnished laboratory for the use of students, where the class perform, under the guidance of the professor, all those experiments which are suit- able for them. The departments of natural science, which, from the very first, seem to have attracted the enlightened attention of the Trustees, have thus been well provided with the means of instruction.

At the present, an important change in the history of the college is pending, which must result in important consequences to the insti- tution. At a meeting of the Trustees at Cleveland in 1876, the question was proposed to the President as to how much money would cover the cost of removing the college from Hudson to Cleveland. After deliberation, the sum was placed at $500,000 by President Cut- ler, and an itemized statement to that effect was drawn up. Subsequently, Amasa Stone, Esq., of Cleveland, offered that amount if the removal should be effected. A movement was at once put in progress to secure this end, and the success of this effort seems to be not far from realization. There is, of course, a decid- ed difference of opinion upon the wisdom. of this course, some of the Alumni believing with the great majority of the citizens of Hudson that it does great injustice to those who have sacrificed a great deal in its behalf, and at the

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same time carries the youth right into the midst of temptations from which it is of the greatest importance to shield them. On the other hand, it is urged that Cleveland is des- tined to attract a university, which, if the Western Reserve College should neglect its

present opportunity, would result disastrously to its interests. By removing to Cleveland, it is hoped that the scope of the college's influ- ence will be enlarged, its prosperity enhanced, and that it will speedily assume that place which its founders hoped for in its inception.

CHAPTER XVI .*

CUYAHOGA FALLS-INTRODUCTORY -FIRST IMPROVEMENT-EARLY SETTLERS-LAYING OUT OF VILLAGE-INCORPORATION-ORGANIZATION AS A TOWNSHIP-INDIANS AND THEIR TRAILS- BANKS, CANAL AND OTHER BUSINESS-FACTS, INCIDENTS, ETC.

THE citizen of the incorporated village of Cuyahoga Falls who looks back upon the privations and labors which his predecessors went through, and sees how many comforts and advantages he has inherited, can hardly realize how short the time is since the work first be- gun. Those earliest laborers have all passed away except Henry Wetmore. He still resides in the town, at the age of over eighty years. He has seen every step of the progress of the place, from the first real emigration to the pres- ent time. He has been an active participant in all these changes, since the day he helped to mark the spot where the first work was to be done. He alone can have a full, a complete realization of the change that has been wrought. To chronicle the leading incidents which have taken place since the first settlement of the village, and to record the changes brought abont since that period, is the object of this and the following chapter.

Cuyahoga Falls is among the most thor- oughly enterprising villages in Ohio. With im- portant manufacturing industries, fine business houses, and a progressive class of citizens, it is worthy of conspicuous notice in the history of Summit County. It is situated on the Cleve- land, Mount Vernon & Columbus Railroad, thirty-four miles from Cleveland and five miles distant from Akron, the county seat. The place is four hundred feet above Lake Erie, with a healthy and pure atmosphere, abundance of purest water, fine churches and private resi- dences, and one of the most complete school buildings in the State. -

* Contributed by C. W. Butterfleld.

There is probably no point in Ohio which of- fers more desirable manufacturing advantages ; and, as a place of residence, its elevated posi- tion freeing it from miasmatic influences, its beautiful scenery, and accessibility to the larger cities of the State, renders it most desirable. It has become a favorite resort for pleasure- seekers and excursionists during the summer months, where visitors can enjoy the beauties of natural scenery unequaled in Ohio. For the last twenty years its growth has not been rapid. According to the Federal census of 1860, the village had 1,516 inhabitants ; increased in 1870 to 1,859 ; in 1880 to 2,294.

As early as 1812, the water-power of the Cuyahoga River, at the place where the stream is now crossed by the railroad, having been improved by Kelsey & Wilcox, there sprang up in that immediate vicinity a number of houses. This is still called the "old village." But the real founders of Cuyahoga Falls were Joshua Stow (nominally), William Wetmore and Henry Newberry.

The Western Reserve had been sold by the State of Connecticut to the Connecticut Land Company, who had it surveyed in 1797. It was laid off in townships five miles square, and was designated by numbers and ranges. Num- ber 3, of Range 10, came into possession of Joshua Stow, of Middletown, Conn., and was named after him. The township of Tallmadge became the property of two companies, of one of which Roger Newberry was a member. His share was 1,000 acres. It lay in the northwest part of the township, now the southeast por- tion of Cuyahoga Falls. So it was that the

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two-Stow and Newberry-owned what after- ward constituted (as will soon be shown) "the town of Cuyahoga Falls."

The undivided half of 210 acres in the south- west corner of Stow's township-which now embraecs the northeast part of the village-was purchased by William Wetmore, and together they began the improvement of the tract in 1825. In 1814, Henry Newberry, the son of Roger Newberry, came on to see his lands which had been given him by his father, which have been just described as 1,000 acres lying in the northwest part of Tallmadge Township. Henry was so well pleased with his gift that he resolved to make there his future home. He did not remove to Ohio, however, until 1824. He first lived upon a farm at Stow Lake (now Silver Lake) two years, meanwhile making im- provements at the Falls ; so that those of Stow and Wetmore on the north, and those of New- berry on the south were begun at about the same period. The year 1825 may, therefore. be considered as the one from which to date the existence of Cuyahoga Falls.

While Henry Newberry was living at Silver Lake, he erected a log house for his workmen upon the spot where George Dyre's house now stands, and cleared about an acre between it and the river. This was the first building upon his part of the town. Stow and Wetmore began their improvements by the erection of a cabin where the brown house now stands north of the livery stable, directly west of the upper dam. The improvements made by them of the water-power at this point will be noticed here- after.

William Wetmore was born in Middle- town, Conn., September 15, 1771. He was a descendant of Thomas Wetmore, one of the proprietors of Middletown, who purchased the site of the Indians in 1662. He removed to Ohio in July, 1804, and built the second house that was ereeted in what was afterward Stow Township. It stood about twenty rods east- wardly of the northeast corner of Lot 36. In 1808, Stow Township was organized, and he was elected a Justice of the Peace. In August of that year, the county of Portage being or- ganized he was appointed Clerk of the Court at Ravenna. He afterward resigned the office, moved back to Stow and settled on his farm. He died at his residence on the east bank of Silver Lake, October 27, 1827. Henry New-

berry was born in Windsor, Conn., in January, 1783. In 1814, soon after the death of his father, he came to Ohio, as before stated, to look at his possessions in the Western wilds. He first lived at Silver Lake two years, having moved there, as previously mentioned, in 1824, and then took up his residence at the Falls. He died in 1854, in the stone house, afterward the residence of James H. Cooke. Such, in brief, are the biographies of the founders of Cuyahoga Falls .*

In 1822, Elkanah Richardson came from Stow and built the house long known as the " Red House," which stands a little north of the " Big Spring," on the west side of Main street. This house was the first frame house erected south of the "old village." The first frame building put up on Stow and Wetmore's land was intended for a dwelling-house and store. It was built by William Wetmore, Jr., in 1826, and is now known as the " Perry House." In 1828, the store now oceupied by Giles L'Homme- dieu was built, and the goods removed into it, leaving the first to be used for a dwelling only. It was not long before it became a place of en- tertainment for strangers, and finally a regular hotel. It was first kept by Benjamin F. Hop- kins. He was succeeded by E. B. Morgan, and he by Ira Loomis. It was known as the Amer- ican House. It has passed through several hands since then, but has been little changed. The same year (1828), Jabez Hamlin came and built the house next south of the " Big Spring," and, soon after, the tannery now owned by C. Kettleberger. In 1829, Mr. Richardson built a log house in the southeast corner of what is now George Sackett's yard, and afterward the third house south of Falls street, on Front street, in which he spent the rest of his life. He died in 1836.

John Wells came to Cuyahoga Falls not long after Jabez Hamlin, and built the house now owned by the widow of the late John Tift. In 1829, John Rumrill came as the foreman in Stow & Wetmore's paper-mill. He built the house near the depot, known as the Jones House. Rowland Clapp came from Vermont and took up his residence in the village in 1828. He has made it his home in the place ever

*Although Joshua Stow came to the township named after him in 1804, he returned to Connecticut the next year; so that he can only be identified as one of the founders of the Falls from the circum- stances of his having an interest therein. On that account no sketch of his life is given in this connection.

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since. E. N. Sill came in 1829, and, in 1834 and the year following, built the center part of his house, the wings having been added at a later date. The builder was Mr. Lodge, who is still a resident of the Falls. Grant B. Turner, with his father, came in 1828; soon went to Ravenna, but returned in 1835, and has resided in the town since then. C. W. Wetmore and S. D. Wetmore came to the place in 1832, and built their houses soon after. John Eadie and George Dailey came in 1830. O. B. Beebe ar- rived in 1831, and Israel James in 1832. Be- fore this date came also the following: Pres- cott Sawyer, Noah E. Lemoine, Henry James, William Lauson, J. T. Holloway, J. Blair, S. D. Clark, Alexander Gillispie, Noah Rice, Jolm Willard, Birdsey Booth, Alexander English, Isaac Gill, Prince Hopkins (colored), Asa Mar- iner, Mr. Lamb, Mr. Teal, Thomas Gill, John Alexander, Simon Brown, William Perkins, Charles Hamlin, Henry Barger, J. Jenkins, A. Yockey, Joseph. Beebe. Dr. C. W. Rice, John Brainard, Nathan Rose, "Judge " Burgess, William Alley, James Alley, H. N. Pool, David Wadsworth, A. Wadsworth. Many of these were heads of families.

The town of Cuyahoga Falls was first laid out in 1825, by Elkanah Richardson. It was subsequently re-surveyed, platted and recorded by Birdsey Booth. It was located in the town- ships of Stow and Tallmadge, and included all of the present platted village except so much as has since been platted cast of the Cuyahoga River and north of the Tallmadge Township line. The part last mentioned was platted and recorded by R. A. Ashman, County Surveyor, in 1837. The original proprietors were Henry Newberry, Joshua Stow and William Wetmore. The proprietor of the addition was Joseph Hale. No allotment has been made to the orig- inal plat except the one of 1837. That part lying in the township of Stow was owned by Stow and Wetmore ; that part included in Tall- madge was the property of Newberry.

The name of the village is derived from the falls in the Cuyahoga River, to be seen within its limits. The stream has cut a channel into the sandstone from eighty to one hundred feet in depth. This deep-cut channel extends over two miles. In it are the falls. The name first given to the village was Manchester ; but, as there were many towns of that name in the Union, and the falls of the river were seen to

be of great value and importance, it was changed to Cuyahoga Falls.

By an act of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, passed March 5, 1836, it was provided that "so much of the townships of Tallmadge and Stow as is comprised within the following limits, to wit : Beginning at the northwest corner of the township of Tallmadge and running south on the west line of said township, two hundred and forty rods ; thence east two hundred and forty rods ; thence north to the north line of Lots Nos. 1 and 2 in said [township] of Stow ; thence west two hundred and forty rods ; thence south to the place of beginning ; and any addition thereto that may be hereafter platted and recorded, be hereby constituted a town corporate, by the name of Cuyahoga Falls." The act also provided for the election of a Mayor, Recorder and five Trust- ees-constituting the Town Council. This body was given power, among other things, to " provide for the election or appointment of a Treasurer, a Town Marshal, and such other subordinate officers as they may find neces- sary." Unfortunately, the provisions of this act were not known to the electors of Cuya- hoga Falls " until after the day on which, by said provisions, the election of the Town Coun- cil should have been holden ; " and doubts hav- ing " arisen whether the privileges granted by said act " had not ceased by the neglect of such election, therefore a bill was passed to revive and amend the before-mentioned act, giving it vitality and removing all doubts as to its legal- ity ; also providing for an election of officers to be holden " on the first or any succeeding Tuesday in April next," after the second act took effect.

Pursuant to public notice, on the 4th of April, 1837, the qualified electors of the town of Cuyahoga Falls met at the schoolhouse for the purpose of electing officers under the acts of incorporation just described. Henry New- berry was chosen Mayor; Grant B. Turner, Recorder ; O. B. Beebe, Asa G. Bill, E. B. Dennison, E. N. Sill and Henry Wetmore, Trustees. On the 7th of the same month, these officers were qualified and the Council organized. Ogden Wetmore was elected Treas urer the same day, and, on the day following, Sherman Peck was chosen Marshal.

The town of Cuyahoga Falls, thus organized, continued its existence until March 1, 1852-a

CUYAHOGA FALLS TOWNSHIP.

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period of nearly fifteen years. During that time, the following gentlemen filled, success- ively, the office of Mayor : Henry Newberry, C. W. Wetmore, Hosea Paul, C. W. Wetmore, Birdsey Booth, Hosea Paul, O. B. Beebe and C. W. Wetmore. It may here be mentioned that a township was organized in April, 1851, out of the corners of Tallmadge, Stow, North- ampton and Portage, called Cuyahoga Falls. Some time subsequent to this, it was generally conceded by the denizens of the town of Cuya- hoga Falls, that it would be to the benefit of all that the corporation should be given up and cease to exist-that it should be, in fact, merged into the newly created township of the same name. So, on April 30, 1853, "on mo- tion," said the Town Council, "we do commit all interests of the town of Cuyahoga Falls to the Trustees of Cuyahoga Falls Township, and that we do now adjourn without day." So the town of Cuyahoga Falls ceased its corporate existence.

In March, 1868, there was presented to the Commissioners of Summit County, at their reg- ular session, a petition of 215 residents and qualified voters of the township of Cuyahoga Falls, asking " that the territory known as the township of Cuyahoga Falls" be made an in- corporated village, under and by the name of the incorporated village of Cuyahoga Falls. Thereupon, on June 3 of that year, the County Commissioners entered upon their records the following order :

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History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 84

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104