History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 8

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 8

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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

for scientific, economic or military purposes, the current chronicles give no account.

NOTES.

1. Ohio State Journal.

2. 1bid.

CHAPTER VI.

CURRENT EVENTS IN THE FORTIES AND FIFTIES.

In 1847 an epoch of general prosperity supervened, not previously equaled or since surpassed. Excepting the episode known as the crisis of 1857, brought on mainly by currency disorders, excessive speculation and bad banking, this pros- perity continued withont serious interruption until the outbreak of the Civil War. Of the benefits of these favorable conditions the capital of Ohio derived its full share. In 1849 more building was demanded than workmen could be found to execute. The same was true during the earlier fifties. Houses sprang up in all parts of the city and were rented or sold as fast as they could be built. Among the larger structures erected were the Starling Medical College on State Street and the Gwynne Block on Town.

In November, 1848, sealed proposals were invited for a new markethouse which had long been needed. It was located on Fourth Street, where it now stands, and was first opened for business on June 1, 1850. II. H. Blackmore and N. B. Kelley were its architects. The original building was 388 feet long, 37 feet wide in the center and 30 feet wide at each end. Its height was two stories, the lower one rising fourteen and the upper nineteen feet. A contemporary descrip- tion says :

The first story is divided into sixtyfour stands, twelve entrances or doorways and two stairways leading up to the second story. The upper story will contain a City Hall 92 feet by 27 feet. . . . It will contain offices for the City Clerk, City Surveyor, City Marshal, Marketmaster and Mayor, all of large dimensions. Besides, there will be a Council Chamber 50 by 27, and two cells of ample capacity. The building is of brick, with the watertabling and winding sills of limestone of the hardest texture. The first floor is to be paved with brick. The estimated cost of the whole, not including the bell, is $15,148.10; contractors, G. Vandemark and D. Barnhart.1

Of the borough in 1830 the population was 1,437; of the city in 1840, it was 6,048. A census taken in 1846 by George R. Swan showed a population of 10,016. This rose to 12,804 in 1848, according to a business directory published in that year. In 1850 the population, by wards, was as follows . First Ward, 3,633; Sec- ond, 2,668; Third, 3,249 ; Fourth, 4,160; Fifth, 3,946 ; total, 17,656. From 1840 to 1850 Columbus, Cleveland and Dayton made, with respect to population, what was then termed "a neck-and-neck race," as appears by the following tabulation published in the year last named :

[55]

HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

1840

1846

1850

Columbus,

6,048

10,616

17,656

Cleveland,

6,071

10,135

17,500

Dayton,

6,067

10,192

13,104

In 1850 illuminating gas was for the first time introduced. Of this event a fuller account will hereafter be given. A spirit of progress in street improvement was abont the same time awakened. The Columbus & Xenia Railway had just been built, and various other railway lines were projected or under construction. On March 23, 1850, a new charter for the city was passed by the General Assem- bly ; in short, as the capital turned the meridian of the century it entered, we may almost say, into a sphere of new existence.

From 1842 to 1852, says Studer, over thirty additions were made to the city and laid off into lots. The value of real estate in the city, assessed for taxation in 1852, was set down at 83,113,612; and of personal property at $1,648,305, to which add the amount returned by the banks for taxation, 81,249,770.73, and the amount returned by insurance companies, $2,197.73 ; and there is presented a grand totai of property in the city, entered on the duplicate for taxation, of $6,014,- 185.48.º

One of the notable events of the year 1852 was the burning of the Old State- house, of which a circumstantial account will be given in the history of the Capi- tol. The conflagation took place on February 1.

Of the buildings and improvements on Town Street in 1852, we have the fol- lowing account under date of May 19:

We enumerate by commencing at Walcutt's new threestory building contain- ing four stores, offices and a spacious Concert Hall. We understand the building will be continued east to Centre Alley and ultimately west to High Street. The con- gregation of Zion Chapel have erected a most tasteful and substantial parsonage -- an ornament to the street and a credit to the church. . Nearly opposite, our fellow citizen, P. Bain, has become the owner of the Espy property and made extensive repairs. Colonel Brown has fixed up very comfortable buildings on the corner of Town and Third. Farther east is Mr. C. P. L. Butler's cottage, the most elegant and tasteful, by all odds, in the city. On the opposite side is the new dwelling of Mr. Denig. Next is the beautiful cottage of General Olmsted, where everything is arranged in order, and where the General can enjoy himself as a person ought to in the evening of his days. On the same side of the street is the new dwelling of Mr. V. Burkley ; and on the opposite side, those of Adams Stewart, D. S. Far- man, and H. N. Hubbell, all new and substantial buildings.

East of the Deaf and Dumb Institution, Thomas Sparrow, Esq., and Mr. Bart- let are finishing elegant and tasteful mansions, and M. Northrup, Esq. (whilom of the Capital), and P. T. Snowden, Esq., have just commeneed building. Hon. Samuel Galloway has beeome the owner of the large lot on the southwest corner of Town Street and East Publie Lane, and we understand he purposes building the present season.

At the east end of Town Street is the commanding residence of our fellow citizen George M. Parsons, Esq., outside of the city limits. . . . As we return west we cannot but admire the taste displayed at the beautiful mansion of our friend Kelsey, of the American [Hotel]. Evergreens, roses and shrubbery of all kinds, with a great variety of fruit and vegetables display themselves in abund- anee. So it is at Mr. Kimball's, adjoining him on the west, while opposite both is [are] the tasteful building and grounds of the Ohio Deaf and Dumb Institution. Coming on west our attention is next attracted by the cottage of Mr. Carrington,

PHOTOGRAPHED BY BAKER.

Residence of E. K. Stewart, 846 East Broad Street, built in 1873.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY BAKER.

Residence of J. M. Drake, 216 East Town Street, built in 1881.

CURRENT EVENTS IN THE FORTIES AND FIFTIES.

who has just commenced ornamenting his grounds in a manner worthy of imita- tion. Next is the plain dwelling of Mr. Glenn, an old typo (though yet appar- ently young in years) with the most tasteful lot for its size on the street. The shrubbery and fruit trees, we aw informed, have not been planted over two years. . . . We understand Mr. Glenn has about twenty varieties of grapes in cultivation, with quite a variety of fruits. . . . Next comes what is considered by those residing in the neighborhood as an eyesore and a nuisance- the corner of Town and Sixth streets, right under the shadow of the magnificent edifice of the Starling Medical College. It is the wonder of every passerby that such a nuisance is permitted to offend the eyes and nostrils of our citizens.

This street is paved on the south side as far as Seventh, and we understand an ordinance has been passed to pave the north side to its terminus at East Public Lane. The citizens are also determined to have a good coat of gravel put on the street, from Fourth Street east. There are many beautiful shadetrees on this street, and we hope the owners of property who have not planted these beautiful and necessary ornaments will not let another season pass without doing so.

The residence grounds of Generals Olmsted and Stockton are mentioned as being particularly embellished by trees. Of Rich Street in 1852 the following account was published May 25 :4

Between Pearl and Third are the private residences, made of brick, of . Thomas Woods and Mrs. Bareus; adjoining is that of Mr. Cleveland, whose garden has every appearance that a man of taste has been at work there with his hoe, spade and pruning-knife. It is delightful to look at. We pass the excellent residences of A. P. and D. Stone, and find the Baptist Church, which was erected in 1836, and a fine edifice it is, which, from present appearances, will serve as a house of worship for many years. The vacant lots next beyond are the property of Mr. Asbury. Mr. Hare, we perceive, has erected a good substantial brick dwelling (new) on his lot adjoining. The new Gothic residence of our friend C. Breyfogle no one would have cause to be ashamed of. It is an ornament to the street, as also that of our friend S. E. Wright, whose house is also new. Passing that fine edifice, the Catholic Church, we come to two more new buildings, the private residences erected by Mr. Worthington and Mr. Howell. No one could object to living in either. The Fielding property has much to recommend it in its beautiful shrubbery, trees, etc. It is a luxury to look at it. Next in view are five small cottages, all of which are placed a respectable distance from the street, and taken together make a very handsome appearance. They are occupied and owned, we believe, by Mr. Doremus, Mr. Fenton, Mrs. E. Barnhart and D. Barnhart, Esq. Another large twostory brick dwelling is here, and is owned by S. Cros- well, Esq. Jobn Bagshaw, Esq., has not been unmindful this spring, and has gone to work and put up for himself a good twostory brick dwelling.

Passing a large vacant lot, we come to the new dwellings, all brick, of Mr. Taylor, C. Lancaster, Esq., and Thomas Evans, Esq. Leaving Mr. Knoderer's house, which is next, we find a very large lot on which there is but one building, intended for two families. . . . This is what might be termed the end of the street, for here we find the grounds intended for the Capital University, and which, but for the noble and praiseworthy generosity of Doctor Goodale, our fel- lowtownsman, would have been used to build the University buildings on, he hav- ing given them a lot in the north part of the city. This lot [on Rich Street] is now for sale, and a friend suggests to us to call the attention of the city to it - that it would be a suitable place for a City Park.

On the opposite side of the street, on the corner of Washington Avenue, is the nice little brick residence, nearly new, of Mr. Justice. Adjoining him are two other brick buildings, one new, with five beautiful yards attached. A little fur-

HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

ther this way is another new brick building, two and a half stories high and belonging to Mr. Jones and Mr. Hughes. The residence of Mr. Miller, on the corner of Seventh, strikes us as being as pleasant a one as is to be found on the street.

Next come four more cottages, the last of which is occupied by Mr. Richards. His yard is improved in a style very becoming, and by another year will present a very handsome appearance. Next are six or seven substantial residences, remarkable only for their handsome dooryards. . . . Isaac Austin, Esq., has a very large brick dwelling nearly new in this vicinity. The residence of P. Rose, Esq., is newly painted, and looks cheerful and pleasant enough for anyone. We noticed no place on the street that is more deserving of remark than that of Mr. McClelland's, not so much from the building as the elegant yard that sur- rounds it. " It is a bed of roses

With the residences of Mr. Harrison and W. B. Hubbard must we close our notice of private residences on this street. They are both fine structures. . . . Several offices and millinery shops are between Mr. H's and friend Schneider's Drugstore, which is located on the corner. . . . There are but a few business houses on this street, and what there are may be found between High and Third.

The general improvement of the city during the early fifties was very active, and the demand for dwellings was considerably in excess of the supply. In 1852 the Neil House was so improved as to give better light and ventilation to that socalled " enormous structure," and in July of that year Goodale Park, which had recently been donated to the city, was, for the first time, apparently, surrounded by a fence. In May, 1852, it was announced as an important fact that a " city express " had been established for the convenience of persons "wishing to send packages into different parts of the city," and nearly at the same time the follow- ing additional evidence of progress was communicated to the public: " There is an omnibus that now runs to and from the cars every day to accommodate per- sons wishing to go on the evening packets. It also calls at the different hotels, for which no charge is made." In 1854 the first step in the direction of systematic water supply was taken, of which more hereafter. The first delivery of ice for family use seems to date from 1854; likewise the use of roofing slate in building. Speaking of the general outlook for the prosperity of the capital in 1853 the Ohio State Journal of March 23, in that year, said :

Never did a season open more propitiously than this spring of 1853 at the Capital of Ohio. In every portion of the city progress is the order of the day. The busy hum of industry is heard on every street and alley. New buildings are going up in every direction, and old ones are being repaired and improved. Large blocks of valuable stores are projected and contracted for. Quite a number of first class dwellings are planned, and some are under way. Real estate is rapidly rising in value in all parts of the city. We hear rumors of magnificent factories and heavy establishments of various kinds in contemplation.

The most rapid growth, the same paper informs us, had been " in the north- east part of the city, in the neighborhood of the New Catholic Church." From the same source, and on dates of the same season we have these interesting state- ments :

Several substantial dwellings are going up on Broad Street. Time will line that fine street with dwellings to the Lunatic Asylum, when Broad will rank among the most splendid streets in the city.

CURRENT EVENTS IN THE FORTIES AND FIFTIES.

Mr. Hayden is preparing to erect a good business house on High Street, adjoining the Buckeye Block. Another wood building is also to be erected adjoining it. The old crazy buildings gradually disappear from the business streets.

John Field is tearing down the twostory brick on his lot east of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum preparatory to erecting a new residence for himself.

John L. Gill is excavating his lot on High, between Gay and Long, for a large business house.

The large twostory frame building which stood next to the Buckeye Block, on High Street is being removed; the frame building which stood next is also to be cleaned out .- Ohio Statesman, May 29, 1853.

Our eity just now looks enticing, even to one who has arrived from the rural districts. The neat yard plots, with their profusion of flowers, give a rural fresh- ness to Columbus which cannot but render it attractive .- Ohio State Journal, May 31, 1853.

The Ohio Statesman, under different dates in the building season of 1854, con- tained the following notes of improvements then in progress :

Doctor J. B. Thompson has nearly completed an elegant and substantial briek bloek four stories high, on the southeast corner of High and Gay streets.

William Neil is exeavating for three new stores on the east side of High Street, between Broad and Gay.

D. W. Deshler is preparing to build on the site of the City Hotel, southeast corner of High and Town streets.

Doetor Parsons is erecting a fine threestory bloek with a stone front on High Street, near Rich. . . . Adjoining this, and uniform with it, he contemplates erect- ing a large store on the corner of High and Rich.

The workmen have commeneed removing the materials from the old wood buildings on High Street, north of the American. A new and elegant structure will soon grace the spot.

Mueh inconvenienee is felt for the want of another bridge over the Scioto, to eonneet the central portion of the eity with the flourishing settlement upon the West Side.

Iron fronts are coming into vogne. We see Mr. [D. W.] Deshler is using them in his splendid bloek on the corner of High and Town.

State Journal, February 24, 1855:

The old buildings on High, below State Street, now occupied by Doctor Buek [and] Messrs. Buck, Crawford and Sessions will be torn down early in April [to make way for a fourstory business block ].

State Journal, April 9, 1855 :

Workmen are now engaged in tearing away the old buildings on High Street below the Clinton Bank, preparatory to the erection of a splendid new block of stores. . . . The first twostory house ever built in Columbus [the old Globe Inn, where the Johnson Building now stands] has just been torn down to make room for a splendid block of stone buildings about to be erected by Orange Johnson, Esq.

Ohio Statesman, May 5, 1855 :

The old frame house adjoining the splendid block of Mr. [D. W.] Deshler on High Street is to be removed next week [to give place to a threestory brick ].

State Journal, June 19, 1855 :

United States Courthouse .- This old and ugly building that has so long obstructed the view in front of the Neil House is being torn down. . . . Like the

HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

old square structure [Old Statehouse] with the steeple on it, that formerly stood on the corner, its destruction will be a source of gratification, for it has long been an eyesore and has stood in the way of the new improvements now rapidly approach- ing completion. We wish we could say with truth that the new work [New Statehouse] has far enough advanced to admit of taking down that hideous board fenee, but that is a happiness we do not expect to enjoy for some years to come.

State Journal, November 8, 1855 :

Deshler's large and commodious Hall on the corner of High and Town Streets was brilliantly illuminated last evening and the doors were thrown open for the inspection of the public. The room is one hundred feet long by forty feet wide and will seat comfortably seven hundred persons.

Ohio Statesman, March 17, 1859 :

Rents have become remarkably high in this city during the current season - higher than they have been within the memory of the oldest inhabitant.

Ohio Statesman. July 9, 1859 :

The old frame building on the corner of High and Friend streets, known as the Eagle Hotel is soon to be torn down and its place to be occupied by a spacious threestory briek by the proprietors, Messrs. Kannemacher & Reel.

Ohio Statesman, July 28, 1859 :

More fine new buildings are going up than during any former year. A beau- tiful residence for Mr. W. G. Deshler is being erected on the corner of Broad and Third streets. It is thought that this will be one of the most elegant and complete dwelling houses in the city. The architect is Mr. Schlapp, and the house is being build by Mr. Vosswinkle.

We have thus traced in general outline the current of improvement down to 1860. The financial stress of 1857 arrested it briefly, but the Civil War rather stimulated than retarded it. Let us now recapitulate briefly the events hitherto untouched, antecedent to that era.

In August, 1851, Narcisco Lopez, a native Venezuelan, sailed from New Orleans with five hundred filibusters and landed in Cuba for the purpose of incit- ing a revolt among the people of that island against the Spanish yoke. His expe- dition failed, many of his men were captured, and fifty of those taken were shot. Cuban independence being ardently desired by a large portion of the American people, this massacre was deeply deplored. In accordance with this popular feel- ing a meeting of citizens of Columbus was held at the City Hall, August 28, 1851, to express sympathy for the Cuban revolutionists and " deprecation of the [then] recent inhuman butchery of fifty American citizens without even the formalities of a court martial." Charles Breyfogle was chairman of this meeting and R. H. Thompson secretary. Remarks were made by Joseph Sullivant and S. Medary. General Worthington also addressed the meeting and favored the annexation of Cuba to the United States. The assembly adopted resolutions expressive of its sentiments and closed with " three cheers for Cuban independence."

On June 12, 1852, a public meeting was held at the City Hall to express sympathy for the Irish revolutionist, Thomas Francis Meagher, who had just escaped to the United States from the penal colony in Tasmania, to which, after

CURRENT EVENTS IN THE FORTIES AND FIFTIES.

having been sentenced to death, he had been exiled for life. John Geary presided at this meeting, which is said to have been large and enthusiastic. Addresses were delivered by Samuel Medary, William Dennison and John Cradlebaugh, and resolutions were adopted denouncing Meagher's expatriation. At a subsequent meeting, held June 18, 1852, Eli F. Jennings, chairman, a committee of twentyfive was appointed, with Colonel John Noble at its head, to invite Meagher to the city. This meeting was addressed by William Dennison, William F. Wheeler, E. Butler and Henry D. Motter.

The first Saengerfest held in Columbus took place June fifth to seventh, 1852, and will be described in its proper connection.

On July 7, in the same year the honors of the city were paid to the remains of the Kentucky statesman, Henry Clay, whose death had occurred in Washing- ton City on the twentyninth of June. A printed placard, an original copy of which has been submitted to the inspection of the writer by Mr. John N. Champion, announced the ceremonies of the occasion as follows :

REMAINS OF MR. CLAY.

The remains of llenry Clay will reach Columbus on the Express Train this afternoon ( Wednesday, July 7,) at 73 o'clock and will be received at the Station and escorted to the Masonic Hall, where they will remain until morning. Train left Cleveland at 12 o'clock.

In order to pay the repects due to the remains of Mr. Clay, a procession will form at 62 o'clock on High Street, the right resting on State Street, as follows : 1. Committee of arrangements in carriages. 2. City Council in carriages. 3. Firemen. 4. Captain Schneider's Morgan Volunteers. 5. Citizens in car- riages.

The procession will proceed to the Railway Station and on the arrival of the cars the remains will be received by William Dennison, Jr., Esq., on behalf of the city, and will then be transferred to the Hearse. The procession will form as follows :

1. Firemen. 2. Volunteers -Hearse - Volunteers. 3. Committee of arrange- ments of the City of Columbus as pallbearers. 4. Committee of U. S. Senate in carriages. 5. Committees from Kentucky and Cincinnati in carriages. 6. Com- mittees from other towns and eities in carriages. 7. City Council of Columbus in carriages. 8. Citizens in carriages.

The procession will move to the Masonic Hall where the remains of Mr. Clay will be placed.

The Military and Firemen will parade at the Old Council Chamber at 6} o'clock. All who appear in the procession are requested to wear appropriate badges of mourning. It is requested that all business houses be closed at six o'clock. The City Marshal will have charge of an efficient police force to preserve order. Captain Schneider will detail a Guard of Honor to attend the remains of Mr. Clay during the night.

The procession will be under charge of Alex E. Glenn as Chief Marshal and F. K. Hulburd and J. P. Bruck as assistants.

The bells of the City will commence tolling at six o'clock. The citizens will meet at Neil's New Hall at 82 P. M., when appropriate resolutions will be offered and addresses delivered.

By order of the Committee of Arrangements.

Wednesday, July 7th, 1852.

HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

Draperies of crape were borne upon the flags and vehicles in the procession, during the movement of which minuteguns were fired. At the deposit of the remains brief addresses were delivered by Governor Jones, of Tennessee, and William Dennison, of Columbus. The chairman of the evening meeting was Joseph Ridgway, and the secretary C. T. Solis. An invocation was offered by Rev. Doctor James Hoge, resolutions reported by R. P. L. Baber were adopted, and orations were pronounced by William Dennison and Aaron F. Perry.

The fierce prejudices excited by the socalled Know Nothing movement in the politics of 1855 produced in Columbus, as in many other places, some serious dis- turbances. On May 29 the German Turnverein, numbering about forty members, paraded through the streets and marched to its appointed rendezvous about two miles below the city for the purpose of holding a picnie. During the parade the society's colorbearer carried a red silk flag bordered with black and inseribed with mottoes in yellow German letters. In the course of the day, while the Turners were enjoying their festivities in the woods, a rumor was circulated that this banner was none other than the " Red Republican flag of Germany," and that it was inscribed with sentiments hostile to American institutions. Fired by this suggestion, some misguided disciples of the partisan Americanism then prevailing met the returning Turners in the evening at the canal bridge, near which the corporation line was then drawn, on Friend Street, and demanded that the flag be lowered, declaring that no such emblem should be carried through the city. The demand being refused, one of the assailing party undertook to wrest the banner from its custodian, and a scuffle ensued, during which the flag was torn and several persons were considerably though not seriously hurt. "The assault," said one account, " was commenced by throwing stones into the procession, followed by a demand for the flag." At the beginning of the affray, continues this account, " the musicians and boys in the procession fled and were followed soon after by the Turners. The rowdies pursued to Front Street, still throwing stones. A body of young loafers joined in pursuit and were hissed and hallooed on by older men." 6 In the course of the evening further disturbances, consisting mostly of stonethrowing, took place on South and Front Streets, and at the corner of High and Mound. In these encounters some of the Germans are said to have been severely beaten. On May 31 a flag similar to that of the Turnverein was raised on the dwelling of Mr. Zehnacker, but such was the excited condition of public feeling that the police requested the owner of the emblem to remove it, which he did.

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History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 8

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