USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > History of the city of Columbus, Ohio, from the founding of Franklinton in 1797, through the World War period to the year 1920 > Part 22
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In this work Franklin county has materially helped by constructing viaducts on Cleve- land avenue, St. Clair avenue, Taylor avenue and Joyee avenue at points which were at the time outside of the city limits, but have since been included.
Parks.
The park area in Columbus is about 280 acres, a little more than half of which is in Franklin park now lying on both sides of Alum ereek. The other parks are: Goodale, in the north central part of the eity, with 32.7 acres; Glenwood, West Side, 10.1; Livingston, southeast, 9.6 aeres; Washington, south, 23.5 acres; Nelson, east, 22.1 acres; Lineoln, 13 aeres; Iuka, Glen Echo, Hayden and Glen View, each with something less than four acres, and a number of smaller traets in various streets and avenues in different parts of the eity.
It was July 14, 1851, that Dr. Lineoln Goodale offered to donate to the city as a public park and pleasure ground the traet of woodland that now bears his name. It was then deseribed as "adjacent to the northern boundary of the eity." Now it is not far removed from its geographieal eenter. The offer was joyously accepted by the Conneil in a series of resolutions, and William Armstrong, John Miller and William Miner were appointed to serve with Dr. Goodale on a committee to take charge of the grounds and report suitable plans for the protection, improvement and ornamentation of the same. The park was en- elosed with a fenee and the underbrush growing among the trees was eut away. Little more seems to have been done in the few years that followed prior to the Civil War. In 1861, the park was temporarily used as a military rendezvous under the name of Camp Jackson. After the removal of the troops to Camp Chase, the park was cleaned, its sod restored and its park-like character resumed. In 1872, four years after the death of Dr. Goodale, drives were laid out and a lake was excavated; and in 1888 a bronze bust of the donor, executed by J. Q. A. Ward, the Ohio seulptor, was erected on a pedestal faeing the south gate, at a eost of $5,000, one-half of which was paid by the eity and the other half by the Goodale estate.
In April, 1867, the eity bought from David W. and William G. Deshler and Allen G. Thurman the traet of woodland up to that time known as Stewart's Grove, but christened at a publie meeting on the following Fourth of July as City Park. The priee paid was $15,000. In 1868 the park was laid out according to plans of R. T. Brookes; an ornamental fountain was erected in 1871, and in 1873 a lake was excavated. In 1891 a bronze statue of the German poet, Sehiller, was donated to the city by German-born residents. The foun- dation for the pedestal had been laid two years before, with a parade of the German societies, addresses by Governor J. B. Foraker, Mayor P. H. Bruek, Henry Olnhausen and Hermann Determan and musie by the Mannerehor and the Fourteenth Regiment band. The dedieation of the monument when completed, was attended by similar exercises. Henry Olnhausen was president of the day and there were addresses by Governor James E. Campbell, Mayor George J. Karb, Hermann Determan, Alfred E. Lee and Joseph Danben. The Declaration of Independence was read by F. F. D. Albery, and the German singing societies sang. The bronze statue of Schiller, east in Munich, weighed 2,640 pounds; its eost was $3,000. The height of base and statue was 25 feet, and the total cost was $6,500. Subsequently the name of the park was changed to Sehiller and remained so until 1918 when,
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as a bit of the revulsion against all things German, the name was changed by action of Coun- cil to Washington park.
Franklin park became such in 1884. In 1851 the Columbus Horticultural Society bought from Samuel Barr for $200 a ten-acre tract, "situated on the west bank of Alum creek, about two miles from High street on the Granville plank road." The society wanted it for a garden and the tract was sold on condition that a garden was maintained there for five years. After considerable money had been spent in improving the tract, the society found that the ground was too wet for the desired purpose and therefore sold it, April 1, 1866, to Jane Bell who in turn sold it to the Franklin County Agricultural Society. In 1868 suit was brought by the heirs of Samuel Barr for the proceeds of this sale because the condition of the original sale had not been complied with. The suit was settled in 1872, the society agreeing that the $3,000 and accrued interest should be held perpetually as a "Samuel Barr fund for horticultural purposes." At the time of its purchase of the Horticultural Society tract, the Franklin County Agricultural Society already owned about 15 acres con- tiguous. Subsequently it bought 30 acres from David Taylor, 20 acres from John M. Pugh and other small tracts. County and State fairs were held on the grounds until 1884 when the State Board of Agriculture bought the tract north of the city and established the fairs here permanently. Then by an act of the General Assembly, May 17, 1886, the old site was transferred to Franklin county as a public park for all the people of the county and the management was vested in a commission of five members, two members to be appointed by the county commissioners and two by the Mayor, who was to be the fifth member. Other pieces were bought and added to the park and in 1913 Robert F. Wolfc gave to the city as another addition about 41 acres on the east bank of Alum creek between Broad street and Fair avenuc.
Mr. Wolfe's gift was the largest that had up to that date been made to the city for park purposes and it opened up possibilities of park development that had hardly been dreamed of and have not yet been realized-a great tract of rolling wooded land, with a picturesque stream of considerable size running through it, with fine facilities for recreation, boating and bathing. The Council, in accepting the gift, adopted resolutions lauding the philanthropic act and declaring that "this magnificent gift to this community and its posterity fills one of our urgent needs and constitutes a distinct act of splendid civic interest and an import- ant event in the history of our beloved municipality." The resolutions were ordered engrossed and permanently placed on prominent display in the archives of the city.
The tract now known as Livingston park was bought for a graveyard in 1839 and for many years was so used. Mathew King sold it to the city for $1,125. About 1885 it was transformed into a park.
Glenwood park was private property till 1911 when it was bought by the Society for the Prevention and Cure of Tuberculosis as the site for an open air school. Protests by people of that section led to its purchase by the city and conversion into a park, the follow- ing year.
Nelson park was given to the city in 1911 by Anne Eliza, Mary F., Howard B. and Ada Ella W. Nelson, in memory of David Nelson. It lies along Alum creek just north of Broad street and west of Nelson road.
Lincoln park lies in the southeastern part of the city at Markison avenue and Ann strect. The tract was bought in 1915 at $1,000 an acre.
The Keller tract at Sandusky street and Sullivant avenue was bought in 1915 for $15,500 and has since been used chiefly as circus grounds.
The smaller parks named above and the street parks have been laid out or set aside by persons making additions to the city because of their natural beauty.
Telephones.
Experimentation with the telephone began in Columbus in 1879 and was attended with such success and promise that the Columbus Telephone Co. was organized and incorporated, its principal promoters being George H. Twiss, Charles W. Ross, D. W. Caldwell, W. D. Brickell and John Miller. The first experimentation had been from Mr. Twiss' rooms in the Sessions block, High and Long streets, but the business was soon removed to the building at the southeast corner of High and Gay streets. In 1887 the business was sold to the Central Union Telephone Co. and moved half a square south to the Roberts building,
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Charles W. Ross and his brother Frank continuing in the local management. The ex- change was located there until 1908, when the company's own building at the corner of Third street and Lynn alley was ocenpied. In 1903, E. A. Reed became division superintendent and, under that and other titles, has since been in charge of the business in Columbus.
The Columbus Citizens Telephone Co. was incorporated December 19, 1898, by E. R. Sharp, Frank A. Davis, W. A. Hardesty, Henry A. Lanman, J. B. Hanna and others repre- senting the Everett-Moore syndicate of Cleveland. On December 23, nine directors were clected, the Columbus representatives being H. A. Lanman, J. B. Hanna and E. R. Sharp. The first officers were: H. A. Lanman president, H. A. Everett vice president, and E. R. Sharp secretary and treasurer. Operation was begun in 1900 in rented rooms at the south- west corner of Long and Third streets. In 1904 the Everett-Moore syndicate sold its inter- ests and with the addition of loeal eapital represented by John Joyce, Frank A. Davis, Frank L. Beam and Lorenzo D. Hagerty, the company set out to erect its own building on Third street and to install the automatie system. At that time John Joyee became vice president and Frank A. Davis became a member of the executive committee. The building was erected and the new system installed in the early part of 1905. About the same time the Franklin County Telephone Co. was organized as a subsidiary and established a system of local toll lines covering Franklin county and extending into Fairfield county. On July 23, 1914, the Ohio State Telephone Co., resulting from a combination of 15 independent com- panies in different parts of the State, acquired the property of the Columbus Citizens Telephone Co., ineluding a 50-year lease of the property of the Franklin County Telephone Co. Frank A. Davis is chairman of the board of directors, C. Y. McVey president, F. R. Huntington and F. L. Beam vice presidents, W. L. Cary vice president and secretary, H. B. Taylor treasurer. The company has 25 exchanges in the county, with 23,680 sub- scribers. It operates 863 miles of pole line and 125 miles of underground eable, with a total of 54,496 miles of wire.
The original franchise of this company required that it pay a percentage of its receipts into the city treasury, but there was an effort to eseape that obligation, and the question of the power of the city to enforce it is now in the United States Supreme Court.
Cemeteries.
The first burying-ground for the settlers in Franklinton was on the west bank of the Scioto near the mouth of the Olentangy. Long since abandoned, the little tract, now hemmed in by railroad tracks, is retained by the city and now constitutes a part of its system of parks. The remains of some of the dead were removed to Green Lawn and other burial sites, but in the case of others there were no living relatives to render that kindly service.
At the founding of Columbus a tract of land at and near the site of the present North Market House, then far out in the country, was donated by two of the land proprietors, James Johnston and John Kerr. Formal transfer, however, did not occur until 1821. Eight and a half acres adjoining was added in 1830, a gift by Colonel Wm. Doherty, and an addi- tional strip, in which he reserved five grave lots for himself, was given by John Brickell. Robert W. McCoy. the first regularly appointed superintendent, under direction of the Council in 1831 built a fenee around the tract and a road leading to it. Under this munici- pal ownership $5 was charged for a lot, and there was a reservation for free burials. This, which came to be known as the North Grave Yard, was used until the establishment of Green Lawn. Then the remains were removed, some by surviving relatives and some by the city. Part of the tract was given over to railroad purposes; part went into the hands of Green Lawn Association by an exchange of lots, and the market house was built on a part. A son of John Kerr sought to establish his reversionary rights in the Kerr gift of land, then valued at $24,000, and finally sold them outright to J. M. Westwater for $3,000.
In 1841 Council bought a tract of 114 acres on the north side of Livingston avenue for cemetery purposes, but subsequently found it unsuited to the purpose. The tract was known as the East Grave Yard, but was not much used. It is now Livingston park.
In 1848 it beeame evident that better cemetery accommodations must be provided, and a Cemetery Association was organized and incorporated, with the following trustees: Wm. B. Hubbard president, Joseph Sullivant, Aaron F. Perry, Thomas Sparrow, A. P. Stone, Wm. B. Thrall, John W. Andrews and A. E. Glenn. The trustees invited offers of tracts and selected one of 40 acres, which they bought from Judge Gershom M. Peters at $40 an acre. This
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and 44 acres besides, bought from William Miner, all on the Harrisburg pike, became the nueleus of the beautiful acreage now known as Green Lawn. There was a real community interest in the projeet, people volunteered their serviees in clearing the ground, and others served dinner to the workers under the trees. On July 11, 1849, the cemetery was formally dedicated as Green Lawn. There was a presentation address by Wm. B. Hubbard, a dedi- catory address by Dr. James Hoge; the reading of an ode by Benjamin T. Cushing, prayer by Rev. H. L. Hitchcock, and chorus and congregational singing. Many improve- ments have since been made by the association and in the years that have ensued there has been constructed on the original and subsequently acquired tracts, a veritable city of the dead.
The first Catholic burying-ground was a three and a quarter acre tract at the corner of Mt. Vernon and Washington avenues. It was bought early in the 1840's from Samuel Brush by Peter Ury, who in 1848 deeded it to Bishop Pureell of Cincinnati for $600, the amount he had paid for it. Like the other early cemeteries, this, too, was in time surrounded by the growing city and it was abandoned for burial. In 1865 the first traet for Calvary Cemetery was acquired, additions were made in 1866 and 1869, and the burying-ground was in 1874 formally consecrated with elaborate ceremonies in which Bishop Rosecrans was the leading figure. As in the case of Green Lawn, many improvements have since been made. Some years ago, as the available area of Calvary grew less, a tract of ground on South High street beyond the city limits was bought and opened as St. Joseph's Cemetery.
Union Cemetery, maintained by an association at Dodridge street and the River road, has been for years a considerable burying-ground.
Garbage and Refuse Disposal.
In 1906 Columbus took over the work of collecting and disposing of its refuse as a municipal enterprise. For a time, wagons bought from the men who had done the work under contraet were used, and the garbage was buried on the English (now city) farm. In the meantime, a reduction plant on the Scioto adjoining the sewage disposal plant and buildings for the collection division at Short street and the Hocking Valley railroad were being constructed. These were completed in 1910 and put in operation. Rubbish and ashes collection was begun by the city in May, 1911, with an attempt to salvage things of value. The cost of this municipal equipment was reported in 1916 to be more than $150,000 but the net profits from the sale of grease and dry material recovered had in six years almost covered the cost of the plant, the average net profit for the six years, 1911 and 1916 in- elusive, being reported slightly more than $24,000 a year.
The Markets.
As narrated elsewhere, a public market was one of the first utilities provided. There was but one until the removal of the old North Graveyard provided a place in the 1880's for the North Market. A few years later the East Market at Mt. Vernon avenue and Nineteenth street was established and later the West Market, west of the river. These market properties are appraised at $250,000. Stalls and stands are rented by the city and business conducted under the supervision of a Market Master. The houses are heated, lighted and kept in a sanitary condition by the city, and a profit of approximately $15,000 over operating expenses is annually reported. It is estimated that more than $12,000,000 worth of meats and foodstuffs were sold at the four markets in 1918.
Street Cleaning.
A street cleaning department is also maintained at an average cost of $127,000 a year, provided for in the first instance by an issue of bonds and then assessed against the abutting property. A recent annual report shows that 6,200 miles of strect was so eleaned. Stables and shops are maintained on Short street.
The eity has its own garage for the care and repair of eity ears, maintained, at an annual expense of about $6,000.
CHAPTER XVII. TRAVEL, TAVERN AND HOTEL.
The Seioto the First Avenue of Travel-Road-Building an Early Interest-Mail and Stage Coach-Coming of the Canal-Buckeye Lake-Early Taverns and Tavern-Keepers- Coffee Houses and Political Party Headquarters - Modern Hotels and Apartment Houses.
For many years after the first settlement, the Seioto river was the chief avenue for incoming merchandise and outgoing produce. New Orleans was the great mart for this region because of the comparative ease of reaching it by river. Early settlers who beeame dissat- isfied went west by floating down the river to the Ohio and thenee west, either to the Wabash or the Mississippi, on which they traveled to their destination. Boats and "broad- horns" for prodnee were moored at the foot of Broad street in the river, which was deep and the water unpolluted. Lyne Starling was the first to build barges, load them with produce and float them from Franklinton to New Orleans. That was in 1810-11. These barges went with the current; they had an oar on either side for escape from dangerous places and one at the rear for steering, but there seems to have been no thought of using them for motive power. In 1809 the General Assembly deelared the Scioto navigable as far north as the Indian boundary line and prohibited obstruction of the stream by mill dams, except under regulation. The river was crossed between Franklinton and Columbus, either at a ford near Main street or by ferry. James Cutler maintained a eanoe ferry for a time, and Jacob Armitage another. In 1815 by authority of law Lueas Sullivant built the first bridge across the river at Broad street. It was a toll bridge and continued to serve as such till 1832, when, falling to Joseph Sullivant as a part of his share of his father's estate, it was bought for $10,000, citizens contributing $8,000 and the county $2,000, with the understanding that it would be replaced by the federal government with a free bridge as a part of the National Road. In the early channel of the river there were three islands-a strip of land extending from Broad street south; another just above the mouth of the Olentangy and a third near the present Penitentiary, variously called Briekell's island, Willow island and Bloody island. The last name was given to it after a bloodless duel had been fought there by two fellows who wanted to dance with the same girl. The girl had accepted one and told the other to settle it with the favored swain later. The taunting remark led to a challenge, and the parties with seconds repaired to the island where they exchanged shots with guns the seconds had carefully unloaded. Then, unhurt and with "honor" satisfied, they went home.
Supplementing the river as a means of trade and transportation were the few crude roads that the county had opened prior to the laying out of Columbus. There were four of these-from Franklinton to Laneaster, from Franklinton to Newark, from Franklinton to Springfield and from Franklinton to Worthington-none of them much more than a trail. The General Assembly saw the need. In 1814 it authorized the State Director to apply a portion of the taxes to improvement of the road from Columbus to Granville, and in the fol- lowing year, out of a federal grant of $46,000, appropriated $1,000 toward the improvement of the roads in Franklin county leading to Newark, Springfield and London. The great work, however. was left to individual enterprise. In 1816, the Franklin Turnpike Road Co. was incorporated to build a road from Columbus to Newark. It was the first of an almost innumerable throng, its incorporators being Lueas Sullivant, James Johnston, John Kerr, Lemuel Rose, Timothy Spelman, David Moore, John J. Briee, William Taylor, Zachariah Davis, Wm. W. Gault, Stephen MeDougal, Lvne Starling, Joseph Vanee and Joseph Miller. This, like all the other companies, was authorized to establish tollgates and traffic on its investment. Sometimes there was finaneial sneeess and sometimes there was failure. Always there was complaint of the roads and a restiveness under the toll payment.
In 1823 the Granville road crossed the Scioto from Franklinton by ford at Gay and Spring and passed over Alum and Big Walnut creeks by toll bridges erected by David Pugh. The road up the Olentangy to Worthington had been extended to Delaware. The Lancaster road passed through the cornfields and meadows south of Franklinton and crossed the river at the old ford south.
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HISTORY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO
The Columbus and Sandusky turnpike was one of the greatest ventures of the time. It was built by a joint stock company incorporated January 31, 1826. The incorporators were John Kilbourne, Abram 1. MeDowell, Henry Brown, Wm. Neil, Orange Johnson, Orris Parrish and Robert Brotherton, of Franklin county, and 19 others who lived along the route. The capital stock was $100,000, with authority to increase it to $200,000. Congress ap- propriated to Ohio half of a strip of land from one end to the other, reserving alternate sections to the United States and providing that no toll should ever be charged the mail stages, troops or property of the government. The amount of land thus conveyed to the State in trust was 31,840 acres. The estimated cost of the road was $81,640. In 1827 the company organized and elected nine directors. James Robinson was the first president and Orange Johnson was one of two commissioners to locate the road. In 1828 Joseph Ridgway became president. Bela Latham secretary and Orange Johnson superintendent. Mr. John- son remained the principal agent from first to last. The road was completed (106 miles ) in the autumn of 1834 at a cost of $74,376. The road proved unsatisfactory and in 1843 the General Assembly repealed the company's charter and forbade further collection of tolls. The company asked the State for relief but never got it. The road was repaired by the State and declared a publie highway in 1845.
In the meantime and later, roads were constructed in all directions by incorporated com- panies at a cost of from $700 to $2,000 a mile, plank and corduroy roads being tried in an effort to get something that would serve better than the gravel. The cry for good roads
Old Broad Street Bridge over the Scioto.
rang through the years. It was not enough to have roads; they must be good enough for comfortable travel all the year. The effort to meet the demand engaged the efforts of the best citizens. Among these were John Noble, Christian Heyl, Jeremiah Armstrong, Robert E. Neil, R. W. McCoy, Michael Sullivant, Jacob Grubb, Adam Brotherlin, Nathaniel Merion, Winsor Atehison, Wm. Trevitt, Wm. A. Platt, John M. Pugh, D. W. Deshler, Adin G. Hibbs, and Levi Strader. There were others, but these names are enough to show that the most progressive men of the capital city were engaged in an effort to make it an easier place to reach, as well as a better place to live.
In the period beginning in 1825, the National Road was projected through Ohio. On October 5, 1825, Jonathan Knight, engaged in locating the road from Zanesville west, reached Columbus. He was accompanied by a corps of engineers, one of whom was Joseph E. Johnston, afterwards a famous Confederate general. The route from Newark to Colum- bus was a subject of much controversy, but the Hebron route was finally chosen and in July, 1830, proposals were received by the superintendent of the road, in Columbus, for grubbing, clearing and grading the road from Columbus to Big Darby. The location of the road through Columbus was also a matter of much contention, the North and South sides striv- ing for the benefits it was supposed the road would bring. Finally a compromise was reached by which the road was to enter the town from the east by Friend (Main) street, run north on High to Broad where it was to make its exit to the west, crossing the Scioto at the old bridge site.
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The mail and stage coach waited on the roads. Therefore there was haste to have roads and discontent with poor ones, for the desire for communication with the outside world was keen from the very first. As already related, the Franklin county postal service began in 1805 in Franklinton, when Adam Hosack took the first contract and was first postmaster, Andrew McElvain being the first mail-carrier. Hosack's successors were: Henry Brown, in 1811; James B. Gardiner in 1813, Jacob Kellar in 1815, Joseph McDowell in 1819, Wm. Lusk in 1820, Wm. Risley in 1831. A few years later the Franklinton office was discon- tinued.
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