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 5
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On February 11, 1812, this amended proposition was accepted, and the controversy settled till May 1, 1840, "and from thence until otherwise provided by law." But this was achieved only after a heated contest with Worthington which, under the leadership of James Kilbourne, had made an attractive offer: Delaware, which had promised much and had many friends ; Lancaster, Chillicothe, the Pickaway Plains, the Sells tract at Dublin and the Thomas Backus tract, four miles west of Franklinton. Four of the proposed sites, it will be seen, were in Franklin county. The proposition made by Lyne Starling and his asso- ciates won, in part at least, because of superior generalship. On February 21, 1812, both houses of the General Assembly adopted a resolution giving to the site that had been selected for the capital the name of Columbus. In the House, the name, Ohio City, had been dis- approved by a vote of 22 to 19. Columbus, which is said to have been suggested by Joseph Foos, was adopted in the Senate without a record vote; it was adopted in the House by a
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COLUMBUS BORN A CAPITAL
vote of 24 to 10. The site selected, as determined by the U. S. Geodetic Society in 1871, is 39º 57' 40" north latitude and 82° 59' 37" west from Greenwich.
In the act locating the State capital at Columbus, the General Assembly provided for the appointment by itself of a director who should examine the lands, supervise the laying out of the town, determine the width of streets and alleys; select the two ten-acre lots for the State House, Penitentiary and other public buildings and perform other duties required of him by law. It also fixed the temporary seat of government at Chillicothe.
On February 19, 1812, Starling, Johnston, Mclaughlin and Kerr signed and acknowl- edged articles of association as partners, under the law for laying out the town of Columbus and other things as they had proposed. The preamble runs :
'that the Legislature of the State of Ohio has, by law, fixed and established the permanent seat of government for the said State, on haff-sections Nos. 9, 25 and 26 and parts of half- sections, Nos. 10 and 11, aff in township 5, range 22, Refugee Lands, agreeable to the pro- posais of the parties aforesaid, made to the Legislature of said State.
In this instrument it was stipulated that a common stock was to be created for their mutual benefit; that Starling was to put into said stock half-section No. 25, except ten acres previously sold to John Brickell; Johnston was to put in half-section No. 9 and half of half-section No. 10; and Mclaughlin and Kerr (who had previously been partners and were jointly considered as one, or a third party to this agreement) were to put in half-section No. 26, on which they were to lay out the town, the proceeds of the sales of lots to remain in common stock until the contract with the State should be completed.
It was also provided that the partnership should have an agent who would make the sales and superintend the entire business. Each party was to pay into the hands of this agent $2,400 annually, on the first Monday of January for five successive years, and such further sums as might be necessary to complete the public buildings. Each partner was to warrant the title to the land by him put into the stock, and each was to receive equal benefit on all donations that might be obtained on subscriptions or otherwise; and when they had completed their contract with the State, each was to be released from obligations on account thereof, a final settlement was to be made and the profits or losses to be equally divided among them.
Under contract with the partners, Dr. James Hoge deeded to them for their mutual benefit eighty acres of land off the south end of half-section No. 11, in order to enable them to complete the plat to the size and form desired. Similarly, Thomas Allen, for the same purpose deeded to the partners twenty acres out of the south part of half-section No. 10. After the plat thus completed had been divided into lots, each of these grantors received by deed some of the lots. MeLaughlin and Kerr's contribution of land was the southern part of the town-that part between the present State street and Livingston avenue. Star- ling's contribution ran east from the river between what are now State and Spring streets; Johnston's contribution lay north of Spring street.
The selection of the site for Ohio's capital must have been more for what it might become than for what it was at the time. Along the river bank only were there any marks of civilization. John Brickell lived in a cabin and cultivated a garden at the old Indian encampment in front of the present Penitentiary. Robert Balentine's water mill and White's distillery, the first of their kind in the county, stood near by. There was a cabin in a small clearing near the foot of Rich street, and south of the Indian mound from which Mound street was named, there was the Hamlin home. High street, thickly wooded, was known as Wolf Ridge, so frequently were wolves met there by the early hunters. Spring street was so named because of the numerous springs it bordered or approached in the vicinity of St. Patrick's church and the railroad yards east of the Union Station. These springs fed a brook known as Doe run which united at Spring street with Lizard creek which was created by springs and a broad morass near Broad and Fifth streets. The united streams crossed High street at Spring and ran through a considerable gulley to the Scioto. At times the gulley was filled with a rushing torrent. Crookedwood pond was at Broad and Twentieth street; Hoskins' pond was at Fourth and State streets, and a brook proceeding from that united at Fourth and Main with another which had origin near Wash- ington avenue and Rich street and flowed into Peters' run which, crossing High street further down, emptied into the Scioto. Even as late as 1833, council provided for repair- ing the culvert over Lizard creek at Fourth street and graveling Third street on both sides
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HISTORY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO
of it, as well as draining a pond at the east end of State street, repairing a bridge at the south end of High street and making a culvert at Rich and Front streets. With these woods and springs and morasses and runs and gulleys Columbus battled for years, but now stands beautiful and triumphant over them all, with a great level stretch of acreage on every side.
Under the statute locating the capital, Joel Wright became the state director, charged with superintending the surveying and laying out of the town, directing the width of streets and alleys, selecting the square for the public buildings and the lot for the Peni- tentiary and its dependencies. He was also empowered to collect and disburse taxes on the town property until January 1, 1816. He was also to supervise the erection of the public buildings the proprietors had engaged to provide. He located the State House at the southi- west corner of the square, accepted as a site for the Penitentiary a ten-acre lot on Scioto street at the foot of Main and Mound streets, and arranged for their construction according to the dimensions designated by the General Assembly and performed other duties as pre-
U. S. Court
State Offices The First State Buildings
Capitol
scribed. Then, feeling that the General Assembly was not properly supporting him, he resigned.
On February 10, 1811, William Ludlow was appointed "director of the town of Columbus" and, under his supervision, most of the actual construction of the state buildings was ac- complished. The building of the State House was delayed by the War of 1812. When completed it was a plain brick building, 50 x 75 feet, fronting on High street, with a square roof, ascending to a cupola surrounded by a balcony, with two side-extensions north and sonth from which spectators could view the incipient city and miles beyond. The top of the spire was 106 feet from the ground; inside the cupola hung a bell. The roof was covered with walnut shingles -- which would now be worth a king's ransom; but walnut fence rails were then more common than any other kind.
The principal entrance was on State street. The House of Representatives was located on the lower Hoor, the Senate in the sceond story. These halls were "of good size and respectable wooden finish, with large turned columns, which were painted in imitation of clouded marble,"-a base camouflage employed by our earliest house and scene painters, even down to the last generation.
The first carpet was "made and laid" by the leading ladies of Columbus, in 1816. Gov- crnor Worthington honored the sewing-circle with his august presence, and bestowed on the dozen or more seamstresses some fine apples from his Ross county orehard. The building
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COLUMBUS BORN A CAPITAL
for the executive and administrative offices wa; erected in 1815; it was 50 or 60 feet north of the capitol, and 35 x 150 feet in size.
The Penitentiary was a brick building of two stories and a basement, the latter being only half under ground. Its dimensions were 60 x 30 feet. The basement was divided into cellar, kitchen and dining-room for the prisoners and could be entered only from the inside of the yard. The first story was occupied by the keeper as a residence and was entered by high steps from the street. The second story was divided into cells (four dark and nine light) for the prisoners. The entrance to the upper story was from the inside of the yard. The prison yard was about 100 feet square, including the ground the building stood on and was enclosed by a stone wall from 15 to 18 feet high. In 1818 an additional brick building was ereeted and the prison yard was enlarged to a total area of 160 x 100 feet. This area descended by terraces to the foot of the hill near the canal, and was surrounded by a wall three feet thick and 20 feet high. Within this enclosure workshops were erected.
On December 2, 1816, the General Assembly convened at Columbus for the first time, the members coming mainly on horse-back, and their horses were returned to the country for wintering. Several of the members boarded in Franklinton, and one or two in the country. On adjournment several who lived at Portsmouth and down-river points "descended the Scioto in skiffs," says an early Ohio State Journal.
In January, 1817, the General Assembly provided for the appraisement of the work done by the land proprietors in the erection of buildings and to make settlement with them according to contract. An amicable settlement was made, the proprietors being paid $35,000 which was found to be due after deducting the $50,000 they were required to expend. Thus Ohio acquired a capital at a very modest cost.
The capitol square was originally cleared of its native timber by Jarvis Pike, under the direction of Governor Worthington in 1815 or 1816. The square was enclosed with a rough rail fence, and Pike farmed the ground for three or four years, raising wheat, eorn, etc., till the fence got out of order and was finally destroyed. The square thereafter lay in commons till 1834, when the state, Alfred Kelley, agent, built a neat substantial fence of cedar posts and paling painted white. About the same time Mr. Kelley transplanted from the forest to the square a number of elm strees, most of which survived.
Of the four proprietors or members of the Columbus land syndicate, less is known of James Jolinston than of any of the others. He was here in 1812, and of the four men put the largest arca of land into the pool. During the five years of the syndicate's existence he remained with it and at the final settlement in April, 1817, he received quit-claim deeds from the others, as they did from him, for all unsold lots originally contributed. He failed, owing to land speculation, in 1820, and thereupon moved to Pittsburg, where he died in the summer of 1842 at an advanced age.
Lyne Starling, who came early to Franklinton to join his brother-in-law, Lucas Sullivant, was a leading figure there and in Columbus till his death in 1818 at the age of 65 years. His name is found written through the early mercantile and civic history. He traveled in Europe after the founding of Columbus and, after his return, continued to serve prominently in the development of the city. He remained a bachelor and a half dozen years before his death gave $35,000 for the founding of Starling Medical College, now a part of the College of Medicine of the Ohio State University.
Alexander McLaughlin, after taking rank as one of the wealthiest men in the State, failed in business in 1820 for the same reason as did James Johnston. He had bought heavily of real estate which depreciated in value and left him unable to meet his obligations. In his later years he supported himself by teaching a common country school. He died in 1832.
John Kerr, who died in 1823, left a young family and a large fortune which was soon dissipated. He was a man of secretarial bent and left a mass of papers, now owned by the Western Reserve Historical Society, which make possible a tolerably accurate estimate of him, as well as of his business associate, Alexander McLaughlin. These papers (examined for this narrative by W. F. Felch) show that John Kerr was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, of Scotch-Irish parentage, his father being probably Matthew Kerr. He came to America in 1789, landing at Philadelphia, in September of that year. He was naturalized at Pittsburg, May 17, 1798, and there it was he met and became associated in business with Alexander Mclaughlin, a merchant. A little memorandu n hook in the collection contains an account of
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HISTORY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO
a trip down the Ohio river and up the Hocking river in March and April, 1800. It is the diary of a young man prospecting for a home and blind neither to fine qualities of the young women nor to the beauty of the scenery. The first intimation of his association with MeLaughlin follows the story of this trip and bears date of May 10, 1801, and there is Kerr's verifieation of a bill of goods bought in Philadelphia. It seems that Mclaughlin who was a merehant at different times in Pittsburg and Steubenville, opened a branch store in Chillicothe in July, 1802, and put Kerr in charge of it. An inventory puts the value of the stock at about $35,000. Under date of August 29, 1801, James Ross, of Pittsburg, introdueed MeLaughlin to Governor St. Clair in these words:
This gentleman resided many years in Pittsburg, a man of pure integrity, attention to business, sound understanding and honorable judgment. It is not likely that he will sotieit any appointment, but if you have occasion for the services of such a man in any of your offices, I am welt persuaded that you will find him every way meritorious and trustworthy.
For many years all letters addressed to MeLaughlin by Kerr were carefully copied in long hand in a letter-book which is a part of the collection. The last entry was made in 1806, about the time they began buying land as a part of their joint business. Here is a significant entry :
It appears per account that the 10th of Nov. 1807, there remains in stock, debts and property to be applied to the land adventure the sum of $14,012.95, errors excepted. Contra Cr. Nov. 10, by Scioto Bank lottery, $145. By stock for our nett capital, $16,295.20. Lost, $373.53. Proceeds, $15,921.67.
It thus appears that MeLaughlin and Kerr had at that time some $15,000 to invest in land warrants. The terms of their partnership are not known, nor is it known that they operated together in any but the Columbus deal. The difference in their subsequent fortunes would indicate that Kerr was the more conservative of the two or that he was saved by lack of capital from ruinous purchases.
John Kerr served as agent of the Columbus land syndicate from April, 1813, to June, 1815, when he deelined longer to serve and Henry Brown was appointed in his place, serving till the business of the syndicate was elosed in April, 1817. In the turning back of lots at that time, John Kerr received only four. The first lot sold in the original plat of Columbus was the northeast corner of Broad and Front street, to James Galloway, of Greene county for $200. Lucas Sullivant made the next purchase for $302, buying on the north side of Broad, second lot west of High. Amasa Delano, of Chillicothe, with rare foresight, bought the northeast corner of Broad and High for $651. The Broad street lot where the Hayden- Clinton Bank building now stands was sold for $400. The lot on Broad street first east of the Chamber of Commerce building was sold for $300. These were the first five sales, four of them to non-residents, indieating that there was no inside ring of buyers. Of loeal buyers (probably Franklinton residents), besides Lucas Sullivant, there were, according to the Kerr papers: Reuben Wixom, Daniel Cozer, John Putnam, Daniel Ross, Robert MeBrat- ney, John Smith, John Baird, McFarland & Folsom, Ebeneezer Duty, William Moore, Michael Fisher, Thomas MeCollum, Townsend Nichols, Josephus Collett, John Shields and James Kilbourne. There were buyers from Chillicothe and some from even as far as Lexing- ton and Paris, Kentucky, and Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The sale was not rapid, often only one or two a day, the banner sale being eleven in one day. In the period from June 12, 1812, to the following August 2, only thirty lots had been sold. The original Methodist "meeting house lot" was located on the west side of Fourth street, second south of Rich street, and was bought August 13, 1813. The original Presbyterian "meeting house lot" was at the south- west corner of Spring and Third streets, and was bought just one month later. The price of outlots, east and north, was $150. Some curious comments are found on the old record of lot sales. For instance, Isaac Taylor "intends to ereet a brewery next year"; Townsend Nichols, "payable in joiner's work"; Richard Courtney, "to furnish nails"; Thomas Pye, "working on the State House"; Daniel Salsberry, "making shingles for the Penitentiary."
John Kerr was a many-sided man. His papers indieate that he was an ardent student of arithmetic and music, some of the books being filled with mathematical problems carefully worked out and the musical notation of more than fifty tunes neatly written in almost eopper- plate hand. Hle made good architectural drawings and was a surveyor. In other books are poctieal effusions, love letters and political sereeds. While in Chillicothe, he was president,
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COLUMBUS BORN A CAPITAL
probably the organizer of the Polemie Society, which hired a room from Peter Spurek at $1 a night and maintained a library for whie . John Kerr bought books up to 1810-108 volumes in all, eosting $142.39. Whether or not that library was transferred to Columbus when Kerr moved here is not definitely known, but it is suspected that it was. At any rate, on April 8, 1816, the first meeting of the Columbus Literary Society was held at the Colum- bus Inn. Rev. James Hoge was chairman and John Kerr was secretary. A long eonstitu- tion was adopted and stoek was sold at $5 a share, and $1 dues payable in April of each vear. One eurious provision was that a subscriber should be permitted to retain a duodecimo volume two weeks, an octavo three weeks, a quarto four weeks and a folio six weeks. The following list of shareholders is interesting:
James Hoge, 5 shares, John Kerr 4, Joseph Miller 4, Henry Brown 2, Thomas L. Hawkins 1, Alexander Morrison 1, Robert W. MeCoy 2, Wm. Long 1, James Kooken 1, David Nelson 1, James Johnston 4, Robert Brotherton 1, Percival Adams 1, Joel Buttles 1, John M. Strain 1, Josephus Collett 1, Jacob Reab 1, Orris Parrish 2, George Anthony 1, Archibald Benfield 1, Franeis Stewart 1, Arthur O'Harra 1, Gustavus Swan 1, William Reasor 1, Robert Culbertson 1, Joseph Vanee 1, Abraham I. McDowell 1, David Scott 1, Samuel Barr 1, Samuel Parsons 1, John A. McDowell 2, John Ball 2, Michael Fisher 1, Philo II. Olmsted 1, Jarvis Pike 1, David S. Brodrick 1, Christian Heyl 1, William McElvain 1. Additional the next year: S. W. Pieree, Isaae Taylor, John E. Baker, 1. Parrish, Samuel Shannon, Isaae Harrison and John Shields.
This provided a fund of $280 the first year and an additional $35 the second year-all from the sale of shares. The annual dues the first year amounted to $38, for the second year, to $45. These funds would at best have been meager enough for the purchase of books and the necessary expenses. But they were even smaller because there was failure promptly to pay dues. The first year the dues were but $25.50, and there was a bill of $116.45 for books. Book purehases in 1818 amounted to $100 and in 1819, to $316.45. This seems to have brought a crisis, for there is a record to the effeet that Dr. Hoge, to reduce the in- debtedness, sold books from his own library to the amount of $63.50 and that $205 was otherwise paid, leaving a defieit February 9, 1819, of $50.23. R. W. MeCoy was librarian in 1817, and so heads the list of such officials in Columbus. Orris Parrish, lawyer and judge, was assistant.
CHAPTER VI. BOROUGH LIFE UNTIL 1834.
Depression After the War-First Merchants, Newspapers and Market house-Visit of Presi- dent Monroc- Litigation Over Land Titles-A Great Squirrel Hunt-Glimpses of Home Life-Betsy Green Deshler's Letters and Emily Merion Stewart's Chronicles -- Epidemie of Fever-First Appearance of Cholera.
The war of 1812 brought good times to both Franklinton and Columbus. In the camps west of the river there were sometimes from 2000 to 3000 men awaiting marching orders. The presence of these and their friends as well as those who are always attracted by military doings created a market for labor and produce. Both the government and indi- vidual purehases were large, and some of the pioneers were able to pay for their property out of the profits of their business. Money was plenty and prices were high. But with the close of the war there came a decided slump. The transient population dwindled away, money became scarce and barter was resumed, with prices for foodstuffs showing a drop of 60%. Labor went unemployed and the buyers of lots suffered untold hardships to hold them.
The proprietors of the land, says Martin, usually made their sales of lots by title bond. Upon receiving a fraction of the price in cash and annual notes for the remainder-without interest if punctually paid, otherwise to bear interest from date-they executed a bond binding themselves to make a deed when the notes were paid; and it frequently happened that, after one or two payments and a small improvement had been made, the whole would fall baek to the proprietors. As they had a monopoly of the land, they were able to keep the prices up, and there was not much of a decline until 1820 when two of the proprietors themselves got into financial trouble.
With the creation of Columbus as the capital, business began to be transferred to it from both Franklinton and Worthington. Lucas Sullivant and others built a mill, afterwards oceu- pied by the Ohio Manufacturing Company; John Ransburgh in 1813 built a mill and carding machine, a mile below Franklinton on the Scioto, which was subsequently known as Moeller's mill; John Shields and Richard Courtney built a sawmill just below the site of the present Penitentiary, and the same Mr. Shields built a flouring mill on Peters' run in the southeastern portion of the town.
Among the first general merchants were: Henry Brown & Co., Richard Courtney & Co., J. and R. W. McCoy, Samuel Culbertson, Robert Russell, Samuel Barr, Jeremiah Armstrong, I .. Goodale & Co., J. Buttles & Co., Starling & De Lashmutt. D. F. Heaton, tailor, appeared in 1811; also Eli C. King, tanner; John McCoy, brewer; Joseph Grate and Nathaniel W. Smith, silversmiths, the latter making a specialty of grandfather clocks which Stephen Berryhill, a school teacher, set up.
The first market house was erected in the middle of High street a little south of Rich street, in 1814. It was paid for by the contributions of property-owners in the vicinity. The market remained there until 1817 when, by an agreement with the Council, John Shields erected a two-story structure on West State street, the first story for the market being of brick and the second story with rooms which Shields rented for various purposes, being of frame. Religious meetings were sometimes held there, but when Shields sold his interest to John Young, amusement and gaming rooms were located over the market, and the first billiard table was there installed. In 1830, the city bought Young's interest and erected on the site a larger market house which was used till 1850, when the Fourth street market house was opened for use.
In 1814 The Western Intelligencer was moved from Worthington to Columbus and has since been continuously maintained under various names, now the Ohio State Journal. A census by James Marshal in 1815 showed a population of 700. In 1816, David Smith es- tablished the Monitor, newspaper. In 1817 Samuel Cunning came from Pennsylvania and erected a tannery. In 1819 Moses Jewett, Caleb Houston and John E. Baker built and operated a sawmill on the Scioto just above Rich street. In 1821 Jewett and Hines began the manufacture of cotton yarn by horse power in a frame building on Front street between Rich and Friend; and in 1822, Ebencezer Thomas and others began the carding, weaving and
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