History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 30

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1196

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At ten A. M., December 12, members of the subcommittee of reception, quitted the city by the Little Miami Express for Xenia, there to meet General Grant accompanied by Governor Bishop, and journey with him to Columbus. The train from Xenia was under charge of conductor A. H. Cole; engineer, John Kline. Its approach to Columbus was announced by a signal whistle, which was immedi- ately followed by a grand chorus of steam whistles, bellringing and the boom of cannon. When the train arrived at High Street many thousands of people had assembled in that vicinity. Immediately upon alighting, Mrs. Grant was received by the Ladies' Committee, and conducted in a carriage to her apartments, already mentioned. General Grant was met and briefly welcomed by Mayor Gilbert G. Collins, who referred in his remarks to the exceptional growth and prosperity of the city since the last visit of its present illustrious guest. Amid prolonged cheer- ing the General responded :

I thank the citizens of Columbus, and the State of Ohio, for the cordial greeting I am receiving at their hands. Ohio has been, from its first admission into the Union, an ener- getic, growing and prosperous State. I am very glad to hear of the additional prosperity which has come upon the State in the last few years, and to know that the prosperity is becoming general throughout the country. If we can have it extend over the whole of this broad land, it will go far towards diminishing the political asperity that has kept ns at least, I think, uncertain as to our future. Nothing has a greater tendency to produce conservatism and good citizenship than general and diffused prosperity. I hope that what Columbus has been experiencing in the few years that you have spoken of may extend to every foot of our great country. Nothing else is wanted but unity of sentiment among our people to perpetu- ate what we are now, the greatest and best country for a man to live in. Mr. Mayor, I thank the citizens of Columbus for this pleasant greeting.

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At the conclusion of his remarks General Grant was conducted to a carriage and the procession escorting him began its movement up High Street, the side- walks, windows and roofs of which were crowded with people. Said the Evening Dispatch :

As the processsion passed the Statehouse Square, where the school children were con- gregated upon the sidewalk, a general demonstration occurred. There was a sea of waving handkerchiefs, while shouts and cheers rent the air. General Grant gracefully acknowledged the ovation as he rode along. The scene was one of the grandest in the history of Columbus. The enthusiasm was unbounded.

When Broad Street was reached, says another account, " there were acres of people awaiting it. . . . The way was cleared with great difficulty, and the police had almost to resort to force to keep the children from being tramped on."4

The procession countermarched at the Opera House, on South High Street, giving the school children, numbering about twelve hundred, scarcely time, before its return, to take their positions in the rotunda. From the street General Grant was escorted to the West Front by the Governor's Guard, Cleveland Grays, and Ex-Soldiers and Sailors. After entering the rotunda by the western portal, he was addressed and welcomed to Ohio, and its capital, by Governor Bishop. Speak- ing deliberately and in a low tone of voice, he replied :

Governor-It is very pleasant for me to see and meet the kind expressions of the people of the capital city and the State. I cannot fail to appreciate the kind greetings which I am receiving, when I think of the inclemency of the day, which has not prevented an army of people from filling the streets. I shall not, on this occasion, make any extended remarks, as speaking is not only laborious but a great embarrassment to me, though it would not do for me to be silent and thus indicate that I do not appreciate this hearty reception. It has been my fortune to engage with and lead men, and hold public position, and this demonstration today is a tribute to the men who bore arms with me. Governor, I thank the people of Ohio, and thank you for this hearty welcome.

When these remarks had been concluded twelve hundred school children sang, under the leadership of Professor Scarritt, the following song of welcome which he had composed for the occasion :

The cannon tells your coming with loud resounding roar ; The people wait the echo, with shouts from door to door ; In song we youthful Buckeyes, beneath our Buckeye dome, Greet our grand old Clermont boy, with a Buckeye welcome home.

From town and farm come thousands, the Boys in Blue are here, To bail our Buckeye Chieftain with ringing cheer on cheer ; Victor - whose great deeds are shared in History's grandest tome By our own brave boys who fell - take their mute welcome home.

From Occident to Orient, you've circled earth around, The Nation's fame exalting, with princely honors crowned - Swordless, rank First Citizen, till, fate with duty come, Our Boy, and Chief and Citizen, a Nation's welcome home.

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IIISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

Then boys let welcome ring, Welcome we girls do sing Let echo from the dome Crown our chieftain, welcome home.

After the singing and review of the school children a brief reception took place, during which General Grant took by the hand a great many children, teachers, clergymen, students and others who were presented to him. At the banquet, which followed this reception the General was welcomed by Chairman G. W. Manypenny, and responded briefly. Toasts were then proposed and responded to as follows: Our State, Governer R. M. Bishop; the Capital City, Mayor G. G. Collins ; The Nation, Governor-elect Charles Foster; Civil Author- ity, Chief Justice Gilmore ; Foreign Relations, Hon. Stanley Matthews; The Army and Navy, Colonel T. W. Anderson ; The Press, W. S. Furay ; The Citizens of Columbus, Hon. William Dennison.

From the banquet, General Grant was conducted to the rotunda where a gen- eral reception took place, and a steady throng of people passed by from 7:30 until 9:15 p. M. Handshaking was on this occasion dispensed with. In passing, the people nodded their greetings, which were reciprocated. In the meantime a vocal musical programme was rendered by the Mannerchor, led by Professor Carl Schoppelrei ; the Liederkranz, under Professor Herman Eckhardt; the Amphion Club, under William H. Lott, and the Vulcan Glee Club, under J. R. Reynon. In the opening chorus, Home, Sweet Home, all four of the societies joined under the leadership of Professor Eckhardt. During the evening the city was handsomely illuminated, and a fine display of fireworks took place on the Capitol grounds. The ball at the City Hall worthily crowned the honors paid to General and Mrs. Grant. They arrived at the hall at nine P. M., but owing to the General's weari- ness, withdrew at eleven, and returned directly to the special train which brought them to the city. During the night they took their departure for Philadelphia.

The system of standard time, first adopted by the railways in November, 1883, and by resolution of the Board of Education, was also applied to the public schools of Columbus, beginning on Monday, November 19, of that year, but after a week's trial was discarded.

The Franklin County Courthouse, completed for use in 1840, as already recorded, was at that time considered a very appropriate and elegant edifice of its kind. It occupied inlots 358, 359 and 360 on the southeast corner of High and Mound streets. Two of these lots were purchased and donated by the people of the South End ; the third was afterwards acquired with public funds by the County Commissioners. The aggregate original cost of all three was $1,556.04. The cost of the old Courthouse exclusive of the ground on which it stood was about $41,000. An annex to the original building, to be used as a Common Pleas court- room, was erected in 1852.

Long before the beginning of the metropolitan period the need of a larger and more convenient temple of justice began to be seriously felt. The destruction of a large part of the public records by fire on March 31, 1879, impressively illustrated

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this need. Its practical recognition by the voters and taxpayers of Franklin County has given to the city the finest piece of public architecture yet within its limits. The history of this beautiful building belongs rather to that of the county than of the city, but may be briefly stated. On July 4, 1885 -the date on which its corner- stone was laid - the following account of the circumstances of its origin, was con- tained in the Ohio State Journal :

The old courthouse became more and more insufficient for the business of the county, as that business increased, and for some years prior to the spring of 1884 the question of tearing it down and erecting a new one was agitated in a quiet way, though nothing definite was done until Monday, February 18, 1884. On that day a numerously signed petition was filed with the County Commissioners requesting them to submit to the people the question of building a new structure for county purposes. It was ordered by the board that, in view of this petition, and "whereas the present courthouse and jail is becoming every day more insecure [is] wholly insufficient in accommodation, and [is] endangering the lives and health of the people and officials transacting the public business therein, the question of erecting a new one be submitted at the next spring election.

In the meantime measures had been taken in the legislature to have bonds issued in case the people wanted the courthouse. The following law passed March 15, 1885 [prepared by lon. II. C. Noble], was managed by representative Caspar Löwenstein.

" 1. That the County Commissioners of Franklin County, Ohio, be and the same are hereby authorized and empowered to issue bonds not to exceed $500,000 of said county, to be known and designated as new courthouse building bonds, in sums not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 each, with or without coupons attached, payable to bearer, at the county treasury of said county of Franklin, or at such agency in New York City as may be estab- lished by the County Commissioners, the name of which agency shall be inserted in said bonds with interest at the rate of not exceeding six per cent., said interest to be payable semi- annually and the principal of said bonds to be paid at such times within fifteen years after date as the county commissioners shall prescribe. Said bonds so to be issued shall be for the purpose of procuring the money and means, and defraying the cost and expense of erect- ing a new courthouse building for said county of Franklin. Said bonds shall not be dis- posed of for less than their face value with accrued interest thereon. Said bonds shall be signed by tbe said county commissioners, or any two of them, and countersigned by the auditor of said county ; provided that the proposition and policy of erecting and building such new courthouse shall be by said county commissioners first submitted to a vote of the voters of the said Franklin County, at the regular annual spring or fall election for their approval in accordance with the provisions of the statutes in such case made and provided.

"2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage."

The vote was taken April 7, and resulted : Yes 9,350; no 5,922. On April 14 the Com- missioners accordingly made the following order :

Whereas, the question of building a new courthouse and the question of building a new jail, and the purchase of ground for the same having been submitted to the voters of Frank- lin County at the last spring election, Monday, April 7, 1884, and a majority of the persons so voting having voted in favor of the question so submitted; it is therefore ordered that the necessary steps be taken at once by this board to carry out the wishes of the majority, as thus expressed at the polls; and it is further ordered that said new courthouse be built on the lands now occupied by the old courthouse, to wit: The southeast corner of High and Mound streets, in the city of Columbus, Ohio, known as inlots 358, 359 and 360, in the city of Columbus, as the same is designated and delineated on the recorded plat of the said city of Columbus.

The Commissioners at once began operations and April 24 appointed George H. Mätzel architect to prepare plans for the new building. Henry C. Noble was appointed by the Com-

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mon Pleas judges to act with the Commissioners and the county officers in the approval of plans to be submitted by the architect. The first meeting for this purpose was held May 1, 1884, though nothing was done at the time except to request the various officers to make sugges- tions as to the amount of space required for their respective offices. This was done, and in due time the plan of the architect was presented and approved. Prior to this, however, con- demnation proceedings were instituted for the purpose of securing more land adjoining the old courthouse lot on the south. This lot was numbered inlot 361, the north half of inlot 362 and inlots 381 and 382, respectively. These proceedings were finally successful, though only after much trouble.

It was not until September 22, 1884, that the plans were finally approved and accepted. On September 29 the first contract toward the new work was let [for] removing the mound on which the old courthouse had stood and leveling the site for the new courthouse to the plane of the streets. The work was not complete, however, until March of the present year. October 9, 1884, the issue of bonds which had been authorized by the legislature in the act qnoted above was begun. One hundred thousand dollars of bonds were issued to mature as follows: $20,000 November 1, 1889; $20,000 in 1891; $20,000 in 1893; $20,000 in 1895; and $20,000 in 1897. These were taken up at once, and the Commissioners have had plenty of money since that time.

On February 6, 1885. the contracts were let for the building as follows: Excavation, Carper & Blaise, Circleville, $880; stone masonry and concrete for foundations, same, $15,325 ; cut stonework, Hibbard & Schaus, of Newark, (afterwards given to Whitmaier Brothers), $96,000; brickwork, Frederick Fornoff, $32,000; tiling (marble), Aston & Huff, $6,105; tiling (encaustic), same, $3,188.25; slate and copperwork for roof, W. R. Kinnear & Co., $13,980 ; terra cotta tiling, Pioneer Fireproof Construction Company, Chicago, $8,300; tin and galvan- ized ironwork, W. R. Kinnear & Co., $19,980; plastering and stucco work, William Gulick, $5,350 ; carpenterwork and hardware, John Ronzer & Co., Dayton, $32,587.90 ; painting and glazing, Lewis Fink, $19,700; gas piping, I. B. Potts, $572.25 ; frescoing, B. B. Crane, $4,650 ; steamheating, Kelley & Co., $6,742; plumbing, Andrew Schwarz, $1,963; wronghtiron work, Hough, Ketchum & Co., Indianapolis, $75,000.

Work on the excavations and foundations was begun as soon as the weather would per- mit this spring, and has been pushed as rapidly as possible. The foundation is now com- plete, and part of the iron joice for the first floor are in place. It will require two or three years to complete it, and when it is completed it will be one of the finest structures of the kind in the West. . . . Mr. George Bellows is superintendent of construction. . . . The lay- ing of the cornerstone will be the climax in the proceedings, and from it will date the pro- gress of future work. The stone is in the northwest corner, and is made of granite. The High Street face is inscribed : County Commissioners, William Wall, Joseph M. Briggs, Richard Z. Dawson : County Auditor, Frank J. Reinhard. The face on the Mound Street side presents the following: Chairman Committee on Plans, Henry C. Noble, July 4, 1885. Architect, George H. Mätzel.

Pending the erection of the new building the county courts and officers were provided with temporarily rented quarters in buildings of the immediate neigh- borhood.

On July 4, 1885, the ceremony of laying the cornerstone was impressively celebrated. A civic and military parade, with conspicnous industrial features, preceded the formal exercises of the day, which took place in the presence of a large multitude. After music by the St. Cecilia band, an invocation by the Rev. B. N. Spahr, and additional music by the Fourteenth Regiment band, Hon. Allen G. Thurman, orator of the day, was presented by Hon. Casper Lowenstein, and delivered a very appropriate and able address. The combined musical societies

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of the city sang the Star Spangled Banner, and further remarks were made by Governor George Hoadly and Mayor C. C. Waleutt. These exercises were fol- lowed by the laying of the cornerstone, in a cavity of which, prepared for the purpose, were deposited the following articles : Original of Judge Thurman's address ; programme of the exercies of the day ; list of officers of the occasion and contractors of the courthouse ; County Commissioners' report; list of county offi- cers ; National Treasury statement of June 30, 1885 ; specifications for the court- house ; annual reports of the Board of Education, City Clerk and Board of Trade ; list of contributors to the donation of the original site ; Picture of the St. Paul's Lutheran Church ; programme of the centennial celebration of 1876; City Direc- tory for 1885 ; copies of the various newspapers and periodicals published in Columbus.

The erection of the building proceeded rapidly, and on May 11, 1887, the board of Courthouse Commissioners adopted the following, offered by Mr. Noble :

Whereas, the thirteenth day of July next will be the centennial anniversary of the pas- sage of the Ordinance of 1787, for the government of the territory of the United States north- west of the Ohio River ; and whereas, that ordinance has been justly regarded not only as the great charter of liberty for the millions of people who settled and inhabit this vast terri- tory, but also as containing many of the fundamental principles of government and law that have made the States created therefrom (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin). great among the States of the Union, and for these reasons an appropriate occasion for the dedication of a courthouse at the capital of Ohio ; and whereas the architect, G. H. Mützel, is of the opinion that the new courthouse will be substantially completed on that date, therefore

Resolved, that we appoint Wednesday, the thirteenth of July, 1887, for the formal dedi- cation of the new courthouse to the uses for which it has been built by suitable public cere- monies.

The entire cost of the building as completed and furnished was as follows : Additional ground, $38,750; courthouse and boilerhouse, $420,000 ; furniture and equipments, $50,000 ; jail, 8165,000. The amount of courthouse bonds issued was $300,000; of jail bonds 8164,000.

On July 4, 1889, the foundation stone of a monument to the poet Schiller was laid in the City Park. The occasion was signalized by an extensive and interest- ing parade of the German societies and addresses at the Park by Governor J. B. Foraker, Ilon. Henry Olnhausen, Mayor P. H. Bruck and Hermann Determan. The addresses were interspersed with music by the Mannerchor and the Four- teenth Regiment Band. The monument was dedicated on July 4, 1891. when another impressive parade took place, consisting largely of devices emblematic of the life and works of Schiller. Hon. Henry Olnhausen was on this occasion President of the Day, and opened the exercises at the Park with a very eloquent and thoughtful address in the German language. Other addresses were delivered by Governor James E. Campbell, Mayor George Karb, Hermann Determan, Alfred E. Lee and Joseph Dauben. The Declaration of Independence was read by F. F. D. Albery. Some appropriate pieces of vocal music were rendered by a selected choir of the German singing societies, led by Professor Hermann Eck- hardt.

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This beautiful monument is a gift to the city by the German Americans of Columbus. It consists of a granite pedestal, surmounted by a bronze statue of Schiller, cast in Munich. The statue weighs 2,640 pounds; its cost was $3,000. The total height of the work above the surface of the ground is twentyfive feet, its total cost was $6,500.

An act of Congress which was passed and became a law in January, 1888, established an office of the United States Customhouse in Columbus, for the direct delivery of imported merchandise. This arrangement is regarded as a valuable convenience by numerous merchants and manufacturers.

In 1888 the construction of a new markethouse on the West Side was begun, and on March 29, 1889, the building was formally opened. Addresses were deliv- ered at the opening by Mayor P. H. Bruck, J. E. Robinson and D. J. Clahane.

The progress of Columbus in population since its original settlement in 1812 may now be briefly stated. According to an enumeration taken in the spring of 1815 the borough then contained about 700 inhabitants. Since then the population, as shown by the decennial census, has been, 1,450 in 1820; 2,437 in 1830; 6,048 in 1840; 17,822 in 1850; 18,629 in 1860; 31,274 in 1870; 51,647 in 1880 ; and 88,150 in 1890. In 1863 the municipal area was increased from 1,600 to 2,700 acres; in 1871 it was raised to 6,752 acres. In 1890 the area comprised within the corpora- tion limits was about twelve square miles and the total length of streets belonging to the city proper was 166.09 miles.

Further details and comparisons as to the material growth of the city are reserved for the topics and chapters to which they are more especially germane, and the general historial narrative, which has now been carried down from the pri- mary settlement at Franklinton in 1797 until 1890 - almost a century - will here close.

NOTES.

1. Ohio State Journal.

2. Ibid.

3. No complete and accurate list of those who actually served on the staff appears either in the newspaper reports or the committee minutes. Apparently some of the persons appointed were not really mounted or in service.

4. Ohio State Journal.

CHAPTER XVIII.

RAILWAYS.

BY JOHN J. JANNEY.

I shall never forget the walk I took with my father [ Lucas Sullivant in 1823] on his way to inspect the work at the mill. Both of ns had been restless and sleepless the night before and neither was well. The symptoms of the fever were manifesting themselves and both were soon after prostrated. He took me around on the brow of the ridge in the west end of Franklinton, where he halted. On the west all the broad bottom for two miles out and, with a few insignificant clearings, the country even to Darby Creek was covered with a heavy forest ; so also was all across the river in the forks of the Whetstone, and on the eastern side of the Whetstone across the bottoms where now are the Waterworks, the iron furnace, Goodale Park, the Penitentiary, the railroad depot and so on out to Alum Creek. From the point where we stood the spire of the old Statehouse and the scattered houses of the new town were visible. I never could determine whether my father was addressing me or only involuntarily speaking out his thoughts, for he said in a low tone of voice as he turned him- self around looking westward: I would like to come back in fifty years and stand on this spot. I would not be surprised to see steam wagons running across these bottoms." In far less than fifty years I have again stood on the same spot and seen the steam wagons, with their huge trains, rushing along over these bottoms at a rate of more than twenty miles an hour .- Joseph Sullivant in the Suliirant Family Memorial.

On September 15, 1825, George Stephenson opened the Stockton & Darlington Railway in England. The first train which passed over it comprised thirtyfour vehicles and one engine, Stephenson himself being the engineer and a signal man being sent on horseback in advance. The train moved off at the rate of ten miles, and attained a speed of fifteen miles per hour, on favorable parts of the line.

This railway was constructed for mineral and goods traffic alone, but in response to public demand the company, in October, 1825, began running what must have been a curiously constructed daily coach called the Experiment, carry - ing six passengers inside and fifteen or twenty outside, and making the journey from Darlington to Stockton and back, twelve miles, in two hours. The fare was one shilling, and each passenger was allowed not more than fourteen pounds of baggage. The rate of transportation of merchandise was reduced by this enter. prise from five pence to onefifth of a penny per ton per mile, and the price of coals at Darlington declined from eighteen shillings to eight shillings and six

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History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 30

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1196

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1196