History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 33

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

USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II > Part 33

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A proposition to consolidate the three railways extending from Cleveland via Columbus and Cincinnati was made May 9, 1851, and on May 15, of that year, the engineer of the Columbus and Xenia line was ordered to survey two routes between Xenia and Dayton. On June 28 the first dividend was ordered to be paid July 1, 1851, in stock and stock scrip at the rate of five per cent.

On November 4, 1851, the baggage and mail cars of one of the trains were derailed four miles west of Columbus by running over a cow. This caused enquiry to be made whether something could not be done " to prevent these frequent acci- dents from running over cows," and the observation was made that more acci- dents happened from this cause than from all others. At that time all kinds of farm stock were permitted to go at large and were frequently run over by railway trains. The contrivance known as the " cowcatcher" was an invention of L. B.

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Davies of Columbus, who, however, failed to patent it and gave it freely to the railroads. Its form has been somewhat changed, the original having been made exclusively of iron and having consisted of heavy prongs with sharp points pro- jecting in front of the engine. The writer has seen hogs impaled on these prongs.

The building for the offices of the company was begun and completed in 1853, on the west side of High Street, a short distance south of the track and still stands with but little alteration.

On November 30, 1853, a partnership contract was made between the Little Miami and the Columbus & Xenia companies by which the two roads were oper- ated as one line under a joint committee of four, comprising two representatives of each road. It was stipulated that, after paying out of the gross earnings all necessary expenses, the surplus should pay dividends, which should always be alike for the two roads and whatever remained should be divided as the directors might agree. This partnership existed until March 18, 1869, when it was dis- solved, and the Columbus & Xenia company leased its line and rights to the Little Miami perpetually, the lessee to operate and keep in repair the whole line and pay to the Columbus & Xenia Company a net sum of 831.258.50, this being seven per cent. on the stock of the company. It was stipulated, however, that should the Little Miami pay more than seven per cent. to its stockholders it should pay an equal dividend to the Columbus & Xenia, provided that such dividend should not amount to more than one per cent. additional in any year on the stock. The Little Miami company further agreed to pay the expense of keeping up the organization of the Columbus & Xenia company, and the salary of its treasurer not exceeding 82,500 per annum. Permission to the street railway company of Columbus to lay its tracks across that of the Columbus & Xenia Railway was granted November 30, 1863, it being provided that the street cars should not " interrupt, or delay or impede the free passage of the engines, cars or trains of the railroad company."

About January 1, 1856, much ado was made of the fact that from the seventh of that month trains would run through between the Ohio River and Lake Erie, without change. On February 23, 1870, the Little Miami Company leased its property to the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Company perpetually. This lease included the Little Miami, the Columbus & Xenia, the Dayton, Xenia & Belpre and the Dayton & Western. The lessee company was obliged by the terms of this contract to operate all the lines conveyed to it, paying all expenses, repairs and liabilites, and a gross sum of 8480,000 to the lessors. The Pennsylvania Railway Company guaranteed compliance with this contract on the part of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis. Up to this time the Columbus & Xenia Com- pany had paid one hundred and twenty quarterly dividends, none less than two per cent.

Cleveland, Columbus d' Cincinnati .- In February, 1831, the newspapers con- tained a report by Mr. Lockwood on a contemplated railway from Sandusky to Dayton with a branch to Columbus. Staticties were published showing the prob- able cost of the road and amount of its traffic. Its construction was earnestly

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recommended and an appropriation of part of the proceeds of the lands donated by Congress for the canals was urged. In pursuance of this movement the Columbus, Marion & Sandusky Railroad Company was incorporated February 8, 1832, with a capital of $1,000,000, and authority to build a railway from Columbus to inter- sect the Mad River and Lake Erie line rid Delaware, Marion and Upper Sandusky. Accordingly, the Columbus & Lake Eric Company was incorporated March 12, 1845, by W. A. Platt, Robert Neil, Samuel Medary, L. Goodale, J. W. Andrews, William Dennison, Joseph Ridgway, Orange Johnson and John G. Miller of Columbus, and associates, with authority to build a railway from Columbus ria Mansfield to some point on the Mansfield & New Haven or the Mansfield & Sandusky City line. A meeting of the commissioners was held at the Neil House in Columbus April 7, 1845, and a general meeting of all the commissioners named in the several acts of incorporation of railways between Columbus & Lake Erie was ealled to assemble at Mansfield May 1, 1845. The commissioners from Franklin County who signed the call for this meeting were Joseph Ridgway, William Neil, J. N. Champion, Lyne Starling, Junior. Wray Thomas and Moses II. Kirby. At the appointed time the meeting was held and organized by choosing John W. Allen of Cleveland as chair- man, and D. F. Fuller of Delaware as secretary. A committee of two com mis- sioners from each charter represented was appointed to examine all the charters and report as to which one it would be most expedient to organize under. The members of that committee were Sanford S. Bennett, George H. Busby, Irad Kelley, James Purdy, Sherman Finch and Hiram Randolph. The committee reported in favor of the formation of a company under the charter of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Company, as revived and amended, and that the commis- sioners of that company cause subscriptions books to be opened. This report was agreed to and Monday, June 3, was the date appointed for opening the books as recommended.

The Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad Company was incorporated March 14, 1836, with a capital stock of 83,000,000, by Lyne Starling, William Neil and John A. Bryan of Franklin County, and others of the counties of Hamilton, Clinton, Greene, Clark, Madison, Delaware, Knox, Richland, Wayne, Holmes, Medina, Lorain and Cuyahoga The charter fixed the freight charge at one and onehalf cents per ton per mile for tolls, and five cents per ton per mite for trans- portation. The passenger rate was fixed at not over three cents per mile for each passenger. It was further provided that " any other company, person or persons" might, with " suitable and proper cars, take, transport and carry persons and property on said road " subject to the rules of the company, and that after thirty- five years the State might purchase the property at cost and an advance of fifteen per cent. The work of construction not having been begun within the prescribed time, the charter was revived March 12, 1845, with Lyne Starling, Junior, Joseph Ridgway, Robert Neil, L. Goodale, Demas Adams, John W. Andrews, William Denni- son and Orange Johnson as corporators. An act of February 24, 1846, authorized the City of Cleveland, to subscribe $200,000 to the stock of the company. Further legislative provision was made as follows : " Any time after ten years from the com- pletiou of said road to the city of Columbus," or to a point within ten miles thereof,

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the company " shall be liable to pay to the State," on its freight transported during the season of canal navigation, such tolls as in the opinion of the Board of Public Works would be equal to onehalf the rates charged by the State on property transported during the same time on the Ohio Canal; and that all property carried from any point within ten miles of either end of the road to the other end should be deemed to have been carried the whole distance. The State was authorized to reduce the rate at the end of every period of ten years, but not to less than twelve per cent. profit on the capital actually paid in. Authority was given to the Gov- ernor to fix the price for the transportation of mails, troops and munitions of war. To the General Assembly was given discretion to so amend the charter as to per- mit unrestricted taxation of the stock and dividends of the company at any time after the road should have been in operation ten years. By an act of February 8, 1847, the company was authorized to construct branches and auxiliary roads, but not to any place or point in the counties of Tuscarawas or Muskingum, these exceptions being made, presumably, to prevent the road from competing with the Ohio Canal.

After a second failure to construct the road within the required time, its charter was again revived March 12, 1845, and on March 10, 1851, it was so amended as to permit extension of the road from Columbus, or from any point on the Colmm- bus & Xenia line within fifteen miles west of that eity, by way of Washington Court House and Hillsborough, to or near Aberdeen on the Ohio River, and author- ity to increase the stock sufficiently for the construction of this extension was granted. On the third Monday in June, 1845, subscription books were opened at the following places : Cleveland, Columbus, Strongsville, Medina, Elyria, Ashland, Mansfield, Lexington, Shelby, Marion, Mount Gilead, Delaware, Eden, Bucyrus and Huron. The proceedings of the meeting which made these appointments were signed by John W. Allen, Orange Johnson, Charles T. Sherman, A. E. Mil- ler, James Purdy, H. G. Anderson, Hosea Williams, B. Powers, S. Finch, Irad Kelley, C. Howard, Demas Adams, Robert Neil, Samuel Medary, William Denni- son and Joseph Ridgway. A committee of correspondents, the members of which were Sherman Finch, Hosea Williams and B. Powers, was appointed with anthor- ity to eall a meeting of the commissioners whenever $50,000 of the stock should be subscribed, and accordingly, on September 6, the committee gave notice that a meeting of subscribers would be held at the Neil House, in Columbus, on Satur- day, October 11, 1845, for the election of directors. In pursuance of that notice the subscribers met at the time and place appointed and chose directors as follows : William Neil, Samuel Medary, W. S. Sullivant, Robert E. Neil, of Columbus; Peter M. Waddell, John M. Woolsey, Richard Hilliard, HI. B. Payne and John W. Allen, of Cleveland. Mr. Allen was chosen president, William Neil treasurer and Albert G. Lawrence secretary. It was stated at the time that a majority of the directors was taken from Cleveland on the presumption that the construction of the road would begin at that end, and that the remainder were taken from Colum- bus in the hope of avoiding any conflicting local interest or prejudice in the loca- tion of the line.

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At a meeting held at Mount Vernon, in June, 1845, resolutions were adopted expressing great dissatisfaction because the line had not been so located as to pass through that town. Accordingly, a committee was appointed to ascertain how much stock could be secured in Knox County should Mount Vernon be made a point on the road. On condition that the road should pass through the town of Delaware, subscriptions to the amount of about 824,000 were obtained in Dela- ware County.

In March, 1846, chief engineer C. Williams reported the preliminary surveys of the line. His report, covering seventytwo pages, included a map showing the routes and profiles of seven different lines, with statisties of the wealth and resour- ces of the districts through which they passed. He reported routes via Delaware, Marion, Oberlin, Elyria and Berea; ria Delaware and Mansfield and ria Mount Vernon, Wooster and Berea. His estimate of the cost of what was termed the Ashland line ria Berea, Columbia, Harrisville, Ashland and Franklin, 140 miles, with the T rail and including superstructure and equipment, was 82,132,288; with plate rail, 81,541,544. The maximum grade was forty feet per mile. In com- menting on the report the Ohio State Journal sail: "Our opinion is firm that instead of fifty passengers each way there would be twice that. It was a thing of no rare occurrence last summer, and the previous one, for fifty passengers to be sent off from here in a day by the Columbus stages, and for weeks together there were half that number."

On March 3, 1847, a meeting was held in the United States Courthouse in Columbus to consider the expediency of a subscription by the city and county of $100,000 to the capital stock of the Columbus & Xenia, and one of the same amount to the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati company. R. W. McCoy pre- sided at this meeting and Timothy Griffith was its secretary. Addresses were made by Joseph Ridgway, Junior, W. B. Hubbard and William Dennison. On motion of M. J. Gilbert, a committee was appointed to draft an address to the citizens in favor of speedy construction of a railway from Columbus towards Cin- cinnati and also towards Cleveland. The members of that committee were Joseph Ridgway, Junior, W. B. HubbardI, William Dennison, Alexander Haddock, Orange Johnson, A. F. Perry, David Taylor, John Winterstein, L. Goodale, John Clark, Alexander Mooberry and William Miller.

An address to the stockholders issued by the directors April 14, 1847, stated that in the preceding December they had received offers for construction of forty miles of the proposed road but had failed to convert into cash 8200,000 of Cleve- land City bonds which were part of their resources, the failure being due to the fact that the Government was then a large borrower on securities which could be converted at any time. Work had therefore been suspended, but the organiza- tion of the company was preserved. On September 30, 1847, the work of con- struction was resumed near Cleveland in the presence of Alfred Kelley, who had been elected president of the company. A large number of citizens attended this ceremony. On April 22, 1848, six miles of the line were under contract and a considerable portion was graded. Two corps of engineers were engaged in a resurvey of two routes, in order that the cheapest line and the one which would

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attract the greatest amount of subscriptions might be lound. An address issned by President Kelley August 15, 1848, urged the citizens of Columbus to subscribe $50,000 to the stock of the company. He said Columbus had " long been reproached for its lack of enterprise and public spirit."

On November 1, 1848, proposals were invited for grading, bridging, masonry, timber and superstructure of one hundred and thirty miles of the road between Cleveland and Columbus. The estimates to be covered by the proposals included 3,500,000 cubic yards of excavation, 30,000 perches of masonry and 300,000 ties. The Cleveland Herald of March 15, 1849, reported, that Mr. Kelley had con- tracted for 3,000 tons of rails for the first twentyfive miles of the road, and the same paper of April 28 announced that Witt & Ilarbeck had taken a contract for the whole road, that they had about one thousand men at work and were increas- ing the number daily ; and that they hoped to have the road ready for its super- structure by June, 1849. It was further stated that abont forty miles of the line would be ready for the iron in October and for the cars by Jannary 1. In May, 1850, President Kelley had purchased in England 5,000 tons of rails which were deemed sufficient to complete the road, and had paid for them in the bonds of the company. On February 18, 1851, the last rail was laid and the last spike driven in the presence of four or five hundred people of both sexes, who, we are told, met ' in the woods to witness this important ceremony, concerning which the following details are narrated :

Alfred Kelley, the energetic and able president of the company, assisted by Mr. Case, Mayor of Cleveland, Senator Payne, and others, proceeded to the task and when finished, three hearty cheers, the firing of cannon and the whistling of two locomotives made the woods ring as they never rang before. The Cleveland cars then passed over the last laid rail and returning started for the Forest City. . . where they arrived last evening, accomplishing the distance from Columbus to Cleveland in less time than it was ever done before. The Colum- bus cars passed to the north of the gap some two miles and returned to the Delaware station, whence, in due time they arrived in this city.5

The Ohio State Journal of February 21, 1851, contained the following :

This morning about eight o'clock the General Assembly, the state officers and the edi- tors of Columbus started on the cars for Cleveland. Although the rain was coming down in torrents a large crowd of the citizens flocked to the depot to witness their departure on the first visit of ceremony between the two new neighbors-the State Capital and the Forest City. As the cars moved off a round was fired from two large brass pieces, filling the country and city with their loud echoes. . . . At ten o'clock another train left with a large number of the citizens who were not included in the invitation for the first train. This day fixes an epoch in the affairs of our city.

The Ohio Statesman had a more precise account of the celebration. It said the train consisted of seven passenger cars and that lunch was served at Shelby where the party was joined by a numerous delegation from Tiffin and various points on the Mad River & Lake Erie and the Sandusky & Mansfield railroads. About sunset, continued the Statesman's account, " the boom of cannon told ns we were nearing the Forest City, and soon a living, moving mass of human beings welcomed us to our journey's end. Flags were floating from different points, and although it still rained, it seemed as if the whole male population of Cleveland

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had turned out to bid us welcome." The celebration of the opening of the road at Cleveland on the twentysecond is thus described in the Ohio Statesman :

The day was cold but all hearts were warm. The roar of artillery ushered in the day. During the forenoon the different processions began to form and at eleven o'clock were marched to the courthouse yard. There the speaking took place. The military made an imposing appearance. .. . Good addresses were made by Mayor Case, of Cleveland, Charles C. Convers, Speaker of the Senate, Mr. Starkweather, George E. Pugh and Governor Wood.

The Columbus party, while at Cleveland, was taken to Hudson on the Cleve- land & Pittsburgh Railroad. During the return trip crowds assembled at every station to see the train pass and " at every station a small cannon on board added its deep voice to the cheers of the multitude." At Shelby, State Librarian John Greiner was hoisted on a table and " the uninitiated found to their surprise that a song was ready for the occasion, " Mr. Greiner was assisted in his singing by Mr. Baker of the Senate. His song which elicited great applause, began :

We hail from the city, the Capital City, We left in the storm and the rain ; The cannon did thunder, the people did wonder To see pious folks "on a train."

The ironhorse snorted, he puffed and he started, And such a long tail as he bore ! And put for the city that grows in the woods, The eity upon the Lake Shore.

The Springfield & Mansfield company was incorporated March 21, 1850, with a capital of 82,000,000, and authority to build a railway from Springfield via Marysville to Mansfield or to the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati line. The charter was amended February 20, 1851, so as to allow the road to terminate at Loudonville or any point on the Pennsylvania & Ohio railway instead of at Mans- field, and on August 9, 1852, its name was changed to the Springfield, Mount Ver- non & Pittsburgh Railway Company. The company having become involved, its property was sold by order of court January 1, 1861, and the part between Spring- field and Delaware was purchased by Peter Odlin, J. R. Hilliard and T. A. Lane, who, on January 1, 1862, sold it to the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati com- pany, by which it was named the Springfield Branch. By an act of March 24, the purchasing company was given authority to aid at its discretion in the construe- tion of this line.

On March 25, 1851, a railway, stage and omnibus office was opened a few doors north of the American House on High Street by B. O. Ream, agent. About this time business began to be very active at the station grounds located at what was then the north end of High Street. Of the inprovements which had been made or were in progress in that vicinity we have this account :

The dépot for locomotives, cars, &c., is finished and is an admirable structure for the purpose. The freight depot of the Cleveland road is nearly finished and is a large and con- venient building. The freight dépot of the Xenia road is just commenced. The foundation walls are about finished. The passenger depot over the road is fast assuming shape and will

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be an extensive concern. There are three tracks running through it lengthwise. It will be a very convenient and imposing structure. Preparations for the extensive hotel of Mr. Hay- den are making ; the lot is being graded to the proper level, and it will be put up forthwith."

In May, 1851, a repairshop, 120x62 feet, was begun just west of and adjoining the locomotive house. To persons whose memory cuables them to compare the buildings then erected with recent structures of the same kind, the foregoing descriptions of the original buildings seem decidedly extravagant.

As the Cleveland and Columbus line was finally located and constructed it left the town of Delaware about two miles to the west. On April 30, 1851, Mr. Kel- ley asked for bids for construction of the " Delaware Side Line or curve," which was accordingly built and is now a part of the main track, the original one super- seded by the curve having been taken up. The work of ballasting the entire road began in June, 1851. Suitable material for the purpose being obtainable only at wide intervals, Mr. Kelley, the president, endeavored to reduce the neces- sity for it by the use of plank ties three inches thick and fifteen inches wide, but a short experience sufficed to show that this was a poor expedient. The writer, in making his first trip over the road a short time after its completion, found that part of it on which the plank ties had been laid the roughest riding he ever did on a railroad. The directors of the road elected January 14, 1852, were Alfred Kelley, II. B. Payne, Amasa Stone, Junior, J. M. Woolsey, W. A. Otis, J. Gillett, Richard Hilliard, L. Case and Hosea Williams On July 31, 1852, the company declared a dividend of seven per cent. on its earnings during the preceding eight months. The company's stock advanced in value to such a price that the Com - missioners of Franklin County on December 18, 1852, offered to sell the amount of $50,000 which the County bad subscribed and for which it realized by the sale a profit of $15,000.

Halffare tickets instead of free passes were at that time issued to members of the General Assembly by the two railways touching Columbus. The writer has carried in his pocket from that time to this the following statement from the Cincinnati Gazette referring to a meeting of railway managers in Cincinnati :

The subject of free passes was introduced and discussed warmly and fully. Everybody disapproved of the system, but how to uproot it was not so clear. A resolution was offered to confine free passes within certain prescribed limits, cutting off officers and directors of other roads, legislators, editors, &e., but the whole subject was finally laid upon the table. Reference having been made to the custom of giving passes to the members of the legisla- ture, Mr. L'Hommedieu, then president of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton road. remarked that railroad men found that the cheapest way to secure proper legislation. He also stated that the pass system was not so burdensome as many supposed. llis company kept an accurate account of every passenger that travels free over the road, and this account shows that at one period the proportion was one and a half per cent. of the entire travel, and at another two per cent.

On February 14, 1853, notice was given that on and after the first day of the ensuing April a "lightning train" would be run between Cincinnati and Cleveland.

President Alfred Kelley, having completed the construction of the road, ten- dered his resignation, and H. B. Payne was elected in his place.

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The company had made a contract with the owners of a deposit of gravel on the west bank of the Scioto River, and thereby became involved in a controversy which is thus explained under date of June 10, 1854:

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History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 33

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