USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 57
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
force for its protection against fire and violence. Thus the question of a proper water supply was the first to hang in the balance between municipal ownership and ownership by a private corporation.
March 19, 1869, an ordinance was adopted by which a proposition was sub- mitted to the electors to authorize the issuing of $200,000 in bonds for the con- struction of water works. April 5, 1869, the proposition was adopted by a vote of 2,769 against 1,936. A committee of eleven was appointed by council to visit various water works and make recommendations. The majority of the committee reported in favor of the "Holly system," that is, the direct pressure system as we have it today, and the minority report favored the adoption of either a standpipe or a reservoir. The majority report was adopted. At first, council leased ground at the corner of Dutoit and Bacon streets, and in Septem- ber of 1869, sunk two wells, each twenty-five feet in diameter. November 26, a committee reported these wells as being unsatisfactory and council purchased soon afterward two acres at the corner of Keowee and Ottawa streets for the sum of $5,000.
The contract for machinery included two Holly elliptical rotary pumps, which had a maximum capacity of pumping 22,000,000 gallons in twenty-four hours. On the 7th of January, 1870, the board of water works trustees was es- tablished by ordinance. This day also marked the arrival of the first machinery for the works including the two rotary pumps contracted for. Other machinery con- sisting of a gang pump with a capacity of 1,000,000 gallons in twenty-four hours, condensing engine of 200-horse power, and a rotary engine of 100-horse power, was soon afterward received. March 16, 1870, the works being completed, the machinery was put in motion and the pipes filled for the first time. Fifteen days later, the official test took place at the corner of Main and Third streets, and, as reported, "in the presence of a large multitude of spectators, many of whom being from distant boroughs and cities to witness the first exhibition of the kind in the western states." The test consisted in the throwing of two streams of water through two sets of hose 1,000 feet long over a wire stretched 100 feet high across Main street. The Dayton Journal of April 1, 1870, in commenting on the test, said "that it was one of the most notable events" that had ever taken place in the city.
The total cost of construction of the works, including cost of engine house, wells, etc., was $230,083.14. The water works board organized April 13, 1870, by electing Samuel Marshall, president, H. A. Hiller, secretary, H. G. Marshall, assistant secretary and collector, George McCain, superintendent, E. J. Howard, engineer, and Henry Farnham, assistant engineer. Their first report for the period ending December 31, 1870, showed the gross receipts to have been $3, 168.66 and the running expenses $10,325.85. From the same report, the following lan- guage is taken : "With great pleasure, we have often noticed that Providence has been pleased to give to the people that inhabit this portion of the Miami valley pure water in great abundance." In 1871, a long trench was made in the vicinity of the wells to serve as a storage reservoir, but within a year it was found neces- sary to make a direct connection with Mad river in order to secure a sufficient sup- ply, an extensive filter of gravel being relied upon to exclude all impurities.
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
In 1874, a very dry year, the water supply proved insufficient and the water of Mad river was turned into the service pipe without any attempt to filter the same. This conditions continued from July 16 to the latter part of September. The gallery filtration system proved to be a failure and large wells afterward sunk failed to meet requirements.
In 1887, wells were driven in the bed of Mad river, which with various ad- ditions and improvements have given an abundant supply of pure water down to the present time.
Previous to the driving of wells in Mad river by the city, Mr. Ezra B. Bimm erected a pumping station on his grounds adjacent to the water works station for the purpose of supplying water for his ice park. During two seasons in the years 1885 and 1886, he successfully used the system of pumping water from driven wells. The people of Dayton were astonished to find that the water in the Mad river wells rose to such a height as to empty itself through pipes into wells at the pumping station. It was not found necessary until 1900, to con- nect the wells by a direct suction pipe with the pumps. At present, the city owns twenty-two acres between the two levees in the bed of Mad river in which ter- ritory ninety-four wells have been sunk. Already for some years, it has been very apparent that emergencies that might occur at any time and future needs make necessary a large reinforcement of the water supply. Engineers have examined the situation thoroughly and made elaborate reports, through which it is made evident that an adequate supply is readily accessible. No comprehensive plans, however, have thus far been adopted.
Dayton's advantages and future prospects, as far as these depend upon an adequate water supply, are due to the geological formation of the valleys center- ing at Dayton. Great channels and extensive areas were grooved out of the solid rock and into these were borne from the north great quantities of drift in the form of clay and gravel and sand. The original depressions were in places from three hundred to five hundred feet below the present surface .. The lower strata consist for the most part of clays impervious to water. In the vicinity of Day- ton, the upper level of the clay is from thirty to one hundred feet below the sur- face of the valleys. Above this clay floor are the strata of gravel and sand in which is the great reservoir of water ready to be tapped for the uses of man. This reservoir has adjoining the Miami river an area of seven and three-quarter square miles, and on Mad river, near the city, eight square miles, and beyond the four mile limit, ten square miles. Other near-by water areas might be named. At one time, Cincinnati considered the possibility of obtaining water from the so-called Dayton sand bar.
The water works department has been for the most part kept free from the baneful influence of politics. In 1895, a determined effort was made to secure through the legislature a reconstruction of the water works board. But busi- ness men and citizens generally remonstrated so vigorously that no action was taken.
The following table shows the trustees of the water works from 1870 down to 1903, when, according to the new code, the management of the water works passed into the hands of the board of public service :
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
WATER WORKS TRUSTEES
NAME.
Date When Elected.
Date of Expiration of Term.
Duration in Office.
Time Served as President of Board.
Samuel Marshall.
April 4, 1870
April 7, 1873
Three years
Three years Two years
John Temple.
April 4, 1870
April 5, 1873
Five years
John H. Balsley
April 4, 1870
April 3, 1871
One year
Jesse Demint. .
April 3, 1871
April 6, 1874
Three years
Jonathan Kenney
April 7, 1873
April 3, 1876
Three years
One year
Josialı E. Boyer
April 6, 1874
April 5, 1880
Six years
Milton Bennett
April 5, 1875
April 4, 1881
Six years
George J. Roberts
April 3, 1876
April 7, 1879
Three years
One year
Thomas B. Hannah
April 7, 1879
April 3, 1888
Nine years
Two years
*John W. Butt
April 5, 1880
April 2, 1886
Six years
One year
Luther Peters
April 4, 1881
April 1, 1887
Six years
+John Tesseyman
April 6, 1886
Nov. 10, 1892
Six years, 9 m.
Wm. Huffman
April 4, 1887
April 7, 1890
Three years
One year
U. H. Odel!
April 2, 1888
April 6, 1891
Three years
One year
B. B. Childs
April 7, 1890
April,
1902
Twelve years
Four years
*** J. Linxweiler, Jr.
April 6, 1891
April,
1897
Five years
One year
#Luther Peters
Nov. 18, 1892
April,
1893
Five months
** Robert Craig
April 3, 1893
April,
1895
One year
##Isaac Weinreich.
April 6, 1894
April,
1895
One year
R. T. MeGregor .
April, 1895
April,
1898
Three years
Two years
++Arthur Giesler
July 24, 1896
April,
1897
One year
Arthur Giesler
April 5, 1897
April,
1903
Six years
W. C. Ely
April 4, 1898
April,
1901
Three years
C. A. Lucius
April 1, 1901
April,
1903
Two years
Thomas W. Gable.
April 7, 1902
May 1, 1903
One year
*Died November 18, 1885. +Died November 10, 1892. ¿ Appointed by Council November 18, 892. ** Died April 1, 1894. ##Appointed by Council April €, 1894. *** Elected Mayor April , 1896. ttAppointed by Council July 24, 1896
Charles E. Rowe was the efficient secretary of the water works board from 1890 to 1906.
The equipment of the water works consists of a 15,000,000-gallon horizontal pump, a 10,000,000-gallon horizontal pump, and a 10,000,000-gallon vertical triplex pump. In addition, a 4,000,000-gallon quadruplex pump is connected with the system, but not ordinarily used, thus constituting in all a possible 39,000,- 000-gallon pumping capacity for every twenty-four hours. Up to the close of 1908, the quantity of cast iron pipe laid and fire hydrants was 167 miles, 4,417 feet at a cost of $1,703,069.1I. In 1908, the total list of consumers or connec- tions drawing water from the street mains, was 18,971, excluding flush tanks. The number of gallons pumped in 1908, was 3,024,624,043.
The total bonded debt of the city on account of the water works is $866,000.00.
The cost of construction and maintenance of water works from the commence- ment in 1870, to December 31, 1908, was as follows :
Expended by council
$ 230,083.14
Expended by trustees (exclusive of temporary loans paid) . 3,347,660.18
Total to December 31, 1908
$3.577,743.32
Total income to December 31, 1908 2,418,757.82
Net cost to December 31, 1908
$1.158,985.50
Two years
Two years
Two years Two years
Two years One year
530
DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
When all of the circumstances are taken into account, the above exhibit will show the wisdom of municipal ownership. In the first place, the service is man- aged on a high plain of efficiency. In the second place, the rate to consumers is made unusually low. Further, the free service that is afforded would require if paid for an exceedingly large outlay. The free service extends to 1,765 fire hy- drants, 40 fire cisterns, 850 sanitary sewer flush tanks, 16 engine and hose houses, 26 public school buildings, 40 public drinking fountains, 48 sprinkling connections, boulevards, parks, etc., 5 hoist hydraulic canal bridges, 3 police stations, 2 hos- pitals, 2 Young Men's Christian Association buildings, 4 sewage stations, 2 sew- age ejectors and many other forms of service by which the public is benefited. Some well informed persons have estimated that if the water plant were put up for sale it would command four or five million dollars. If the water rates were fixed at ordinary prices and the free service were eliminated, a good dividend could be paid on a very large capitalization.
LIGHT, HEAT AND POWER.
DAYTON GAS LIGHT AND COKE COMPANY was incorporated by the legislature February 4, 1848. On the 8th of September, the company concluded a contract for the erection of gas works to supply the city with Crutchett's solar gas. Feb- ruary 6, 1849, gas was first supplied for illuminating purposes. At the first it was provided that the cost of gas should not be greater than the cost of gas at Cin- cinnati. Coal gas was first supplied on the evening of September 15, 1851. The lighting of streets came February 7, 1852. The price of gas in 1865 was $4.50 per thousand. At the present time ( 1909) the net price is $0.85 per thousand. R. R. Dickey was made president in 1855, in which position he continued until 1907. He died the following year. The present officers of the company are: President, R. R. Dickey, Jr .; vice president, O. I. Gunckel; secretary, W. B. Gebhard; superintendent, George Light.
Instead of the small works established at the beginning there is the present immense plant on Monument avenue west of the canal. At the first the only by- product in connection with the manufacture of gas was coke. At the present time in addition the by-products are sulphate of ammonia, distilled from water used in washing the gas, spent oxide, to be manufactured into cyanide of potassium or prussian blue, and carbon to be used for electric candles. Forty thousand tons of coal are consumed in a year. Fifteen hundred street lamps are supplied with gas. A large amount of gas is supplied for cooking stoves. The company has enjoyed great prosperity and the service rendered to the public has been con- stantly improved.
THE DAYTON GAS AND FUEL COMPANY. In 1888 the Dayton and South- western Natural Gas and Oil Company was formed for the purpose of bringing natural gas from Mercer county, Ohio, to Dayton. The name was subsequently shortened to The Dayton Natural Gas Company. April 19, 1889. natural gas was first supplied to the citizens of Dayton. The present company supplying Day- ton with natural gas is known as the Dayton Gas and Fuel Company, incor- porated August 1, 1893, with a capital stock of one million dollars. Frank E. Randall is president and E. W. Hanley is secretary and treasurer. At the present
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
time five thousand families are supplied with gas by this company. The cost at first, ten cents per thousand cubic feet, has been increased to thirty cents per thou- sand. The source of supply was for a time the Indiana field, then the Lancaster field. Gas is now obtained from West Virginia at a distance of two hundred and sixty miles.
THE DAYTON LIGHTING COMPANY. July 28, 1882, the Brush Electric Light Company was given its franchise. The name was soon changed to the Day- ton Electric Light Company and at once a power house was built on the Dayton View Hydraulic at Lehman street, water power being used in generating the elec- tricity. Later a steam power house was built on Fourth street between Jefferson and St. Clair streets. This central position was chosen because at that time the electric current could not be transmitted successfully beyond short distances. Now with the use of the alternating current at a high voltage the obstacle from distance has been overcome.
In the spring of 1905 the Dayton Lighting Company succeeded The Dayton Electric Light Company. Dr. J. E. Lowes was the president of these two com- panies till his death in May, 1905. The present officers are: President, E. P. Matthews ; Secretary, F. M. Tate; Treasurer, H. E. Talbott.
Immediately after the organization of the Dayton Lighting Company the plant was greatly enlarged and improved and the cables in the center of the city placed under ground, the total cost of these additions and improvements ex- ceeding two and one-half million dollars. Beginning with 1906 the company be- gan to supply power to a rapidly increasing number of users. At the present time many of the largest factories in the city are supplied with power by the company, the county infirmary, four miles from the city, being likewise supplied with electricity. The electric signs in various parts of the city, especially on Main street, are not excelled in any of the cities of the country. The cost of elec- tricity, at first fifteen cents per kilowatt, has been reduced to nine cents, and street lights, at first costing one hundred and fifty dollars each for nominal two thousand candle power for all night service, have been reduced to sixty-eight dol- lars and fifty cents per light. The authorized capital of the company is $3,500,000.
THE DAYTON CITIZENS ELECTRIC COMPANY was incorporated under the laws of Ohio on January 3, 1906, for the purpose of manufacturing and supplying electric current for lighting and power purposes and steam for heating purposes. The original capitalization was $100,000, which was later increased to $1,500,000. The personnel of the officers of the company is as follows : President and Treas- urer, Adam Schantz; Vice-President, S. W. Davies; Secretary, Cyrus E. Mead ; General Manager and Assistant Secretary, Robert B. Dutch; Directors, Adam Schantz, S. W. Davies, E. J. Barney, Valentine Winters, George B. Cox, George P. Sohngen, E. C. Sohngen, Clarence Murphy and Cyrus E. Mead.
The company was granted its franchise by the city of Dayton on March 26, 1906, and in May, 1907, the plant began operations.
The power house of the company is located at the northwest corner of Third and Webster streets, and is of steel-concrete construction. That part of the building fronting on Third street is faced with brick, and presents a decidedly imposing appearance. The building is fitted with metal window frames and cov-
532
DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
ered with Carey's standard magnesia flexible cement roofing, thereby making as nearly a fire-proof structure as possible. In size, it is approximately 103 feet, 3 inches by 124 feet, 6 inches, with a mean height of 42 feet, 7 inches.
The generating equipment consists of two, 1,000 K. W., Westinghouse-Par- sons turbines, direct-connected to two, 1,000 K. W. generators of the Westing- house Electric and Manufacturing Company's make, and are of modern and ap- proved type. This form of generating units is the most economical and satis- factory known to science to-day.
The four boilers of 500 H. P. each are of the water-tube type, and were man- ufactured by The Stirling Boiler Company, Barberton, Ohio. They are fully equipped with automatic stop and check valves, water columns, feed-water regu- lators and the most modern safety devices known.
These boilers are fitted with Roney mechanical stokers, to which coal is fed, through chutes, from a bunker of 200 tons capacity erected near the roof and in- side of the boiler room, with openings at regular intervals in the roof. With stokers, two men can readily fire the boilers.
An electrically operated ash conveyor made by The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, of Columbus, Ohio, is installed in front of and at a lower level than the boilers; thus, the ashes can be scraped from under the furnaces direct into the conveyor, and thence carried outside of the building, where a traveling crane loads them upon cars. They are thus disposed of with a minimum of labor.
This crane is of ten tons capacity, and is electrically operated. With the la- bor of two men, coal is unloaded direct from cars on private siding, and either placed in the bunker or in storage as desired.
There is also a ten ton, hand operated, traveling crane in the engine room, which is used to handle heavy pieces of machinery. Both of these cranes were made by The Cleveland Crane and Engineering Company, of Wickliffe, Ohio.
There are also facilities at hand for handling lump coal when nut and slack cannot be obtained, a coal crusher of ample capacity being located directly beneath the side-track. Into this the coal can be dumped, and then crushed and conveyed into storage.
The equipment also includes two, twelve by eight by twelve inch Duplex boiler- feed pumps of the Platt Iron Works Company's make, two, 1,000 K. W., wet vacuum outfits supplied by the Wheeler Condenser and Engineering Company, Carteret, New Jersey, a Hoppes feed-water heater of 2,000 H. P. rating, together with various auxiliary pumps and sundry apparatus.
The switchboard consists of fifteen panels of black slate, and was furnished by the General Electric Company, of Schenectady, New York. Upon this board is mounted a full complement of recording instruments and protective devices necessary for the proper control of the electrical apparatus.
The stack is of The Weber Steel Concrete Chimney Company's design, and is one hundred and eighty-seven feet above base of foundation and twelve feet inside diameter. This form of construction for stacks is now much in favor, and their number is very rapidly increasing.
The system of electrical and steam conductors is laid underground, thus do- ing away with unsightly poles and troublesome pole lines. The system at pres- ent covers the commercial center of the city, and it is the intention of the com-
-
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
pany to extend its electric lines as soon as practicable until every part of the city has been reached.
The entire installation being of the most economical and approved type, it is therefore possible to operate the system with a minimum of expense, thereby enabling the citizens of Dayton to be supplied with electricity and steam at as low a price as is compatable with good business methods.
The rates are on a sliding scale, and are based on the consumption per month. The maximum rate for current is nine cents per K. W. H. and for steam seventy- five cents per one thousand pounds of condensation.
In addition to the plant of The Dayton Citizens Electric Company being one of the assets of Dayton, Ohio, it is also a direct earning power, for, under the franchise, one per cent. of the gross earnings of the company is paid, annually, to the city.
Dayton may well be proud of her lighting facilities, and rest assured that nowhere is there a city that can truthfully boast of a more thoroughly modern and up-to-date central station.
TELEPHONE COMPANIES.
THE HOME TELEPHONE COMPANY was organized and incorporated under the laws of Ohio in 1899. The active construction of its plant was begun in May, 1902, and it began to give paid service on October 1, 1903. As a physical property it probably has no superior in the telephone field. It has an extensive underground system of over 400,000 duct feet and a trench length of fifteen miles. Its poles, numbering over seven thousand, are Idaho and Michigan white cedar of the best quality, and these support many miles of large-sized lead cables, which ramify to every section of the city. Its complete underground and aerial construction goes to make up what is commonly called an all-cable plant, and this provides the best outside equipment known to the business. The central office switchboard and the subscribers' telephones are of the Strowger patent automatic type, having been furnished and installed by the Automatic Electric Company of Chicago. The original installation of this plant of 6,000 main line switches and 6,000 subscribers' telephones was at the time of its completion the largest automatically operated plant in the country. While the company has made steady and commendable progress from the very beginning, this same sys- tem has since been installed in cities of larger size by other independent compa- nies, so that Dayton can now no longer claim the distinction of possessing the largest automatic exchange. However, the local company is furnishing to a con- stantly increasing number of her citizens telephone service of the very highest order-the promptness and reliability of calling other subscribers, the secrecy of its operation and the clearness of transmission being points of excellence in its operation, which are not surpassed by that of any other company.
The Home Company has its long distance connections with other cities, prin- cipally over the lines of the United States Telephone Company, a separate cor- poration, connecting with all independent exchanges in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York, and by means of other long distance companies with all independent exchanges in adjoining states.
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DAYTON AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY
In the county, direct connections are made with fifteen independent exchanges in the smaller towns by the use of toll lines largely owned by the local company.
The Home Company has its offices in its own building at the northeast corner of Fourth and Jefferson streets, a handsome structure, five stories in height. which was erected for its use at a cost of $100,000. The present authorized cap- ital is $2,000,000 (common $1,000,000; 5 per cent cumulative, preferred $1,000,- 000) of which $1,200,000 is paid in (common $600,000, preferred $600,000).
Dividends on preferred stock have been regularly paid at quarterly intervals since May, 1904. No dividends have been paid on the common stock, the surplus earnings of the company having been expended largely for new construction and betterments. The funded debt outstanding is unusually small for a plant of its size and kind of construction, consisting of $250,000 first mortgage 5 per cent bonds due in 1924, the interest on which has been promptly met as it fell due.
The annual meeting of the stockholders, who are largely local residents, is held on the second Wednesday in February of each year. The officers and direc- tors are among the city's most prominent and progressive men.
The officers are: President, H. C. Kiefaber; Vice-President, J. E. Feight; Secretary and Treasurer, R. D. Funkhouser ; General Manager, J. H. Ainsworth.
The directors are: H. C. Kiefaber, J. E. Feight, J. T. Barlow, Frank A. Davis, E. R. Sharp, F. J. Ach, F. G. Withoft, A. Newsalt, Harry B. Canby, Frank L. Beam, J. O. Shoup, Rev. Wm. D. Hickey, Judge O. B. Brown, Thomas A. Selz.
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