History of the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio, Part 83

Author: Waggoner, Clark, 1820-1903
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: New York and Toledo : Munsell & Company
Number of Pages: 1408

USA > Ohio > Lucas County > Toledo > History of the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio > Part 83

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in 1848, shows that similar ideas were then prevalent in that City, which at the time was in advance of any other in Northern Ohio in Railway advantages and experience. That committee presented this " sample case " to the people of Sandusky: " Suppose there were a Plank Road and Railroad in full operation at this time between Sandusky and Bucyrus. Assuming the toll on the Plank Road to be one cent per mile-the distance 46 miles-that a wagon and two horses will carry 100 bushels of wheat, which is the usual load for that number of horses, on that kind of road-that the trip can be made in 24 days, which is a maximum-and that the freight on the Rail- road would be six cents per bushel (which is the lowest it can be carried for the distance), and the price for storage one cent at the start- ing point. The same 100 bushels wheat, which cost $7.00 for transportation to San- dusky on a Railroad, would cost but $3.50 on the Plauk Road-putting the toll at $1.00 and the expenses of the farmer away from home at $1.00 per day, which is high enough." As to results, the same committee showed that a Plank Road running South from Sandusky would divide 25 per cent. per year, and said that their estimates were " not conjectured, but based on the experience furnished by Roads of like kind, and a knowledge of the resources of the country." The rates of toll at Milan (the pioneer Town for Plank Roads in this region) were : For 5 miles-two-horse wagons, loaded, 10 cents ; empty, 5 cents. Single carriages, 1 cent per mile ; double carriages, 2 cents ; for each additional horse, 1 cent. Horse and rider, 1 cent per mile.

It was with such information and estimates, that Plank Roads were undertaken in Lucas County, as elsewhere. The first movement here consisted of a meeting at Toledo, Febru- ary 3, 1848, of which James Myers was the Chairman, and Wm. Baker Secretary. Dele- gates were present from Sylvania and other points on the Indiana Road. Upon the ap- pointment of a committee on resolutions, the meeting was addressed by H. D. Mason of Toledo, Wm. M. White of Sylvania, and Mr. Gay of Hillsdale County, Michigan. The re- sult of the meeting was an expression favor- able to the construction of a Plank Road from Toledo to the Indiana State line ; and also, to the Southern portions of Lenawee and Hills- dale Counties, Michigan, provided the requisite local aid be secured; and that the amount

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PLANK ROADS.

authorized by the Legislature ($25,000) in aid of such Road, be furnished by Toledo. The proper committees were appointed, including T. U. Bradbury, D. O. Morton, Thos. Dunlap, J. H. Whitaker, Simeon Fitch, Jr., E. Haskell and E. B. Brown.

Meetings for the promotion of this enter- prise were held at different points. At Sylva- nia, such meeting was participated in by John U. Pease, Horace Green, P. T. (Hark, H. D. Warren, James White, C. D. Warren and Erastus Morse. In Royalton Township (now Fulton County) Messrs. J. W. Scott and C. A. King, of Toledo, and J. G. Klinck of Rich- field, took part. Meetings were held at West Unity, Williams County: in Amboy ; in Cam- den, and in Brockville, Hillsdale County, Michigan. February 8th, the citizens of Rich- field, Lucas County, met, with Pliny Sander- son as Chairman, and Oristen Holloway as Secretary, when it was resolved to take $3,000 stock in the Toledo and Indiana Road, pro- vided it pass through that Township, and John G. Klinck was appointed to hold meetings in promotion of the enterprise, and L. B Lathrop, Isaac Washburn and Henry H. Fuller, as a committee on the location of the Road. A large meeting was held at West Unity, repre- senting several Counties, February 26, 1848, of which M. D. Hibbard was the President, and George Rockwell and Abner Avres, Sec- retaries. A committee, including F. E. Kirt- land, R. A. Howard and W. Trowbridge, of Lucas, were appointed to present a synopsis of a charter for the proposed Road; and a committee on resolutions, including Allen White and W. D. Herrick, of Lucas. Among the features of the charter were-its perpe- tuity ; capital stock $150,000-" sufficient to build the Road, with single or double track ; " width not to exceed 66 feet, with a track at least 7 feet wide ; the rates of toll not to exceed those charged on the Western Reserve and Manmee Road ; 5 miles of track to entitle to a gate; Toledo to take the $25,000, and each Township through which the Road should pass, $3,000. Resolutions were adopted favorable to the enterprise, and expressing the belief ' that a double track would be necessary, at least 173 feet wide, to do the business of the route."

A large meeting was held at Toledo, March 1. 1848, with E. D. Potter in the Chair, and C. M. Dorr as Secretary. C. W. Hill, HI. D. Mason, W. J. Daniels, and T. U. Bradbury, constituted a committee on resolutions, whose report favored a main track, to extend through Tremainesville and Sylvania, and thence Westerly on or near the Indiana Road, with such branches as might be deemed best ; and that the Road enter the City on Adams and terminate at Water street. The meeting was addressed by C. W. Ilill, James Myers, D. O. Morton, E. B. Brown, H. D. Mason and Dr. Jacob Clark.

The first subscription by the City of Toledo to the capital stock of a corporation was that of 825,000 to the stock of the Toledo Plank Road Company, authorized by an ordinance passed March 20, 1848. The bonds were to be of $50 each (the same as the stock shares of the Plank Road Company), and it was pro- vided, as an inducement to such subscription by the City, that the bonds should be for the period of three years exchangeable for the stock of the Company. Lyman Wheeler, Daniel Swift, David B. Mooney, Chas. W. Hill and D. O. Morton were appointed to represent the City in all meetings of stockholders of the Company.

As already stated, two Roads from Toledo Were provided for by the charter. The one, known as the South Branch, was to pass through Springville and Swanton and the Southern tier of Townships now in Fulton County, to West Unity, near the East line of Williams County. The other, the North Branch, leaving Toledo by Cherry street, passed through Tremainesvillle, erossed Ten Mile Creek on the old United States Turnpike ; thence through the Townships of Washington, Sylvania, Richfield, Amboy, Royalton and Chesterfield, to Morenci, Michigan. The charter authorized the Townships through which these lines should pass, to become stock- holders in the Company, upon the vote of their electors to that effect ; and with the exception of Swan Creek on the South and of Chester- field on the North Branch, the several Town- ships voted subscriptions of stock, of from $2,000 to $4,000 each; while that of Toledo was $25,000. The subscriptions made by individuals, and especially in Toledo, were prompt and liberal, ranging from $1,000 down. On the organization of the Company, Judge James Myers was chosen President. A con- tract was then made with Judge A. V. Steb- bins and Thomas D. Thomas, for building 10 miles of the South Braneb, extending from Toledo to Thomas Ward's house on the Manmee Road, in Springfield. Four movable saw- mills were purchased by the Company for use, one for each Branch of the Road. The work on the North Branch was done by the Company, under the direction of a Mr. Collis- ter, from Norwalk. This line lay through the Cottonwood Swamp, a body of land then sup- posed to be nearly valueless on account of the low and level surface which made it very wet in ordinary seasons, but which, like the Black Swamp on the East side of the Maumee, has, through drainage and cultivation, come to be highly productive and valuable. The two lines were prosecuted with much energy to com- pletion to the two points of destination. Beside the means supplied by stock subscriptions by individuals and Townships, bonds were issued, reliance for payment being placed on prospec- tive receipts. Unfortunately, however, the

430

HISTORY OF TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY.

estimates of means from that source were en- tirely too liberal. These had been based largely upon the traffic of like improvements in older sections in Ohio, Canada and New York. But small amounts over expenses were realized in the few years when the road was in good condition; and when, sooner than was expected, heavy repairs were required, the resources were exhausted in that direction. The result was, that after a struggle of 10 or 12 years the Company went into the hands of a Receiver, when it soon ceased to be. Suc- voeding Judge Myers as President, were Henry Bennett, D. O. Morton, John Fitch, and others. The officers of the Company in 1854, were as follows: President and Superintendent, San- ford L. Collins; Treasurer, Simeon Fitch, Jr .; Secretary, Chas. O'Hara; Directors, S. L. Col- lins, Wm. V. Dewey, Elias Richardson, S. H. Cately, J. HI. Kennedy, C. B. Phillips, Edward Haskell, Simeon Fitch, Jr., P. H. Shaw, Pat. Carey, Daniel Segur. Beside those already named, there were prominent in the prosecution of the work, John H. Whitaker, Wm. Baker, C. A. King, F. J. King, C. B. Phillips, A. V. Stebbins and others; and in the Town- ships, S. L. Collins, of Washington ; L. B. Lathrop, of Richfield: Elias Richardson, of Royalton ; Alanson Briggs, of Chesterfield ; James Baker, of Gorham; and Messrs. Cullum of Morenci, on the North Branch ; and F. E. Kirtland, of Swanton; Messrs. Trowbridge, of York; Wilden, of German, and Messrs. Borton, of West Unity, on the South Branch. Beside these, were many also active and helpful in the enterprise, whose names are not remem- bered in that connection.

The chief trouble with the movement, as already stated, consisted in the overestimate of traffic on which its managers rested. The country through which it passed was largely an unbroken wilderness, a fact highly favor- able in the supply of material for the Road, but fatally unfortunate in the very limited business furnished for the Road. While, how- ever, the enterprise was not a suceess finan- cially for the Company, it was eminently such in the important effect it bad in opening and improving the country through which it passed, giving to it advantages of market which otherwise would have been denied it for a long time. In this way, it was a profitable investment for the Townships through which it passed. The same is true of Toledo, which was made the mart of the increased traffic thus produced. Anything like the same spirit of enterprise in the provision of good roads, would now do for Toledo like good service. Trade, like water, seeks the channels most open to it, and that mart is wisest which re- moves most obstructions between itself and the sources of trade. That is what the Plank Roads of the past generation did for Toledo, and is what good Stone Roads would do for the

City in the present and coming generations, if judiciously furnished.

That such result was not peculiar to Lucas County, the history of Plank Road enterprises in the West fully shows. The case of the San - dusky Road (the Crawford, Seneca and Erie) is in point. With a construction investment of $27,894, the gross receipts for tolls for the year 1851-2, were $4,424; with bills receivable, $550; cash, $148 ; expense account, $1,480 ; and bills payable, $3,336. Notice was then given, that stock delinquent in installments should be sold at auction. Two facts seem to have been largely against the success of these Roads. 1st. The charge for tolls, while no objection to the comparatively few persons who traveled at times of muddy roads, was found to be a very serious matter during the balance and the main portion of the year, the consequence being, that the other roads were used to large extent, and trips on the Plank Road reduced to the lowest minimum. 2d. The materials of which these Roads were constructed, decayed much faster than was expected, soon involving heavy outlays for repairs. The result was, that few lines ever were replanked, while scarcely any approached the estimates which had induced their construction.

In 1868, what was known as the Tremaines- ville Plank Road, was constructed. It started at the old City line on Cherry street, Toledo ; and also at the same time on what is now Collingwood Avenue-the two uniting at the junction of those streets ; thence, crossing Ten- Mile Creek on the old Turnpike, and following the line of the old North Branch Road for a distance of 5 miles in the direction of Sylvania. This Road was constructed under a law of 1867, authorizing Plank or Gravel Roads to be constructed by County Commissioners, upon petition of land owners on the routes, the cost to be assessed upon the adjoining property, according to benefits, respectively. The cost of the Tremainesville Road was nearly $21,000, or over $4,000 per mile. It was soon discov- ered, that without better provision for keeping the road in repair than was furnished by the law, it must soon disappear by decay. To meet this need, the Legislature authorized its trans- fer to the charge of a corporation-the Tre- mainesville Plank Road Company-in which each land-owner was made a stockholder to the amount of taxes paid for the Road. Wm. C. Earl was the first President of this Company ; Samuel Blanchard Treasurer, and John Bladen, Secretary. Mr. Blanchard succeeded Mr. Earl as President. The Company under careful management was financially a success ; while it furnished an excellent thoroughfare of trade for Toledo. At the time it was forced to sur- render its Road it had $5,000 in its treasury. Unfortunately for the Road, and for all depend- ent upon the facilities it supplied, it was sud- denly closed out by the extension of the Toledo

PLANK ROADS.

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City line so as to include its toll-gate and so much of its line as to render the remaining frac- tion useless to the Company. The Company asked the City for indemnity for such damage, and in the Court of Common Pleas obtained a judgment for the same, which was overruled by the Supreme Court, causing to the tax-pay- ers on the line of the Road, a loss of about

821,000. Since tho closing ont of that Plank Road, as stated, a large portion of its route has been supplied with a substantial graveled road- way, which furnishes an excellent substitute for the former thoroughfare. That Road con- neeted with a like improvement at the Michi- gan Stato line, and oxtended to Monroe, and is yet maintained.

CHAPTER IV.

THE TELEGRAPH.

T HE first line of Magnetic Telegraph in this country, was constructed with an appro- priation of 830,000 made by Congress in 1843, for an experimental line between Washington and Baltimore. It was completed in the Summer of 1844, and the first intelligence of public in- terest transmitted over it was a report of the action of the Democratic National Convention, held in Baltimore in July. It took but a short time fully to demonstrate the success of the en- terprise, and additional lines were constructed in various directions in the East.

Two years later (1846), two rival lines were projected through Northern Ohio, which were opened for use in 1848. The one was that of the Lake Erie Telegraph Company, under the management of Heman B. Ely, of Rochester, New York : and the other, that of the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company, with John J. Speed, Jr., and Ezra Cornell, as managers. The Lake Erie line was then opened between Buf- falo, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Its business was not very encouraging at first, as the following statement for the month of January, 1849, will show :

Offices.

Receipts.

Expenses.

Buffalo

$212 30

$122 51

Erie

59 86

53 86

Ashtabula

19 98

35 99

Cleveland

317 88

283 90

Hudson

9 85

28 64

Akron

41 72

49 60

Massillon

42 29

80 61

New Lisbon

33 18

29 05

Wellsville.

30 22

Pittsburgh

283 94

123 04

Elyria

39 64

37 45

Sandusky

171 80

89 95

Toledo

90 45

54 86

Monroe

32 85

56 10

Detroit

178 91

126 36

$1,564 67

$1,202 24

Among the first Operators of the Lake Erie Line, were the following :

Buffalo-Mont. Gibbs, Sidney Gibbs. Cleveland- H. S. Bishop, W. Herrick, S. G. Lynch, -- Jones. Pittsburgh-James Bellows. Erie-J. E. Dunn. Massillon, Ohio-J. H. Painter. Akron -- L. H. Nich- ols. Hudson-E. W. Moore. Wellsville-J. N. Al- vord, P. S. McIntosh. Ashtabula-R. T. Greene, Anson Gorton. Sandusky-J. P. Williams, J. G. Lumbard. Toledo-Urialı C. Cleveland. Detroit- D. V. Benedict, - Collins.

The property of this Company finally fell into the hands of a Sheriff, by whom it was sold, being purebased by the lessee of the line

(the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company), and ultimately it became part of the consolidated Western Union Tele- graph system.

The Erie and Michigan line extended from Buffalo, via Cleveland and Toledo, to Detroit ; and thence to Chicago and Milwaukee. The office at Milan, Ohio, was opened in July, 1848, under the management of Jeptha H. Wade, who was allowed, for himself and son Randall (then about 15 years of age), a joint salary of $400, to which Mr. Wade added a small income from portrait painting, which had been his bus- iness, as it was of Professor Morse, the origina- tor of the Telegraph. The coincidence is further shown in the fact, that Mr. Wade took the first daguerreotype West of Buffalo, as Professor Morse did the first one in New York. Mr. Wade, with Colonel Speed, built the line between Detroit and Jackson, and the former was the first manager and operator at the Jack- son office. The first operator of this line at Cleveland was A. B. Cornell (since Governor of New York), a son of Ezra Cornell, his salary being $400 per year. Some of the other offices were manned as follows :

Monroe, Michigan, S. G. Clark ; salary $200. Kal- amazoo, D. F. Howe, $275, and one-third of market report (?). Toledo, D. W. C. Rowley, $400 [but a note from the Superintendent, D. F. Tillotson, stated that " the price of the bed and bedding should be paid by him "]. A. G. Luckey was Rowley's assistant at Toledo. Sandusky, Charles M. Stebbins, $350. Fremont. G. H. Valentine, 8250. Maumee City, H. C. Hutchinson, $250. Buffalo. W. D. Allen, $500; E. G. Morgan, $400. Detroit, B. B. Hoyt, $300.

In a letter to Manager Howe, at Kalamazoo, Superintendent Tillotson wrote :

I see that our Company have a bed, bedding, etc., at your Station. That is a saving to you, probably, of $30 per annum, which should be considered ; other- wise, we had better sell it, as it is a poor kind of assets to pay dividends with to stockholders who have ad- vanced $110,000 to build the line with. Your salary ($275) should not exceed $200. Many offices with as much or more business at the East, are kept up for $100 per year.

At that time, the public press was supplied with news and market reports wholly by the Telegraph Companies, which furnished what- ever their operators might be able to pick up, which, at the best, was meager enough in amount, consisting of little beside what was found in the local papers. What this source of revenue and business messages amounted to at the different Stations of the Erie and Michigan

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THE TELEGRAPH.

line, for the month of November, 1848, is shown in the following statement :

Business.

Press.

Total.

Detroit

$138 55

$30 00

$168 55

Chicago

199 62

50 00

249 62

Milwaukee

77 79

50 00

127 79

Southport

26 57

25 00

51 57

Racine

24 05

25 00

49 05

Michigan City

15 62

25 00

38 62

South Bend

8 55

25 00

33 55

Kalamazoo

11 92

25 00

36 92

Jackson

11 12

25 00

36 12

Toledo

32 19

30 00

62 19

Maumee City

7 14

25 00

32 13

Fremont

5 98

25 00

30 98

Sandusky

19 71

28 00

46 71

Milan

27 20

28 00

55 20

Cleveland

55 30

Erie

19 86

9 25

29 11

Buffalo

114 49

2 25

116 74

$784 96

$427 50

$1,212 46

Evidently, in several instances of receipts from press reports here named, schedule charges are given, rather than the sums actually paid. With the exception of Buffalo, Cleveland, San- dusky, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago and Milwau- kee, there were then only weekly papers issued, not one of which, it is deemed safe to say, could afford to pay 828, or one-half that amount per month for Telegraph reports. In some in- stances, these probably were taken regularly, but chiefly as furnished free by operators. The writer has distinct recollection, that it was on such terms, at the hands of Manager Wade. his own paper (the Milan Tribune) was supplied its first " Telegraphic Report," which consisted of intelligence of the French Revolution in July, 1848, as it subsequently was with other news .*

Mr. Wade subsequently built the line from Cleveland to Columbus ; was actively connected

* An incident in this connection may not be out of place here. The extension of the first Telegraph line West of Buffalo, stopped for some time at Cleve- land. It was during such period that the Editor of the Milan Tribune indulged in a little enterprise in the interest of his paper. It so happened, that on the day preceding the issue of his paper of April 14, 1847, the news from the Mexican War so clearly in- dicated the early fall of Vera Cruz, before the assault under General Winfield Scott, that the Editor ven- tured to make the trip from Milan to Elyria by car- riage, on the morning of the 14th, in order at that place to meet the mail-stage with the Cleveland morn- ing papers. His plan was, that in case the expected intelligence be received, he would return to Milan (28 miles) in time to have the news put in type and his papers for the Westward-bound mail in the Post- office when the stage should arrive from Elyria. Ilis expectation as to the War news was justitied by tidings of the fall of the Castle of San Juan D'Ulloa and the capture of Vera Cruz on the 26th, and the formal capitulation on the 29th of March. The news reached Pensacola, Florida, April 4th. The return from Elyria was made in about four hours, beating the stage sufficiently as to time, for the Tribune with the news to be printed and delivered at the Postoffice before the mail arrived.

with the construction of the California line, and was chief manager in the organization of the Western Union Telegraph system. For many years past, as now (1887), that gentle- man has been largely engaged in Banking, Manufacturing and Railroading at Cleveland.

Connected with Mr. Wade in the construc- tion of the Pacific Telegraph line, was Mr. Chas. M. Stebbins. The latter was a printer by trade, and took his first lessons in telegraphy from Mr. Wade at Milan, in 1848-9. Soon after the discovery of gold at Pike's Peak, Mr. Stebbins bought the line from St. Louis to the Western border of Missouri, which proved a good in- vestment.

On the 18th October, 1861, Brigham Young sent the first telegraphic message over the new line from Salt Lake City, to Mr. Wade, at Cleveland, congratulating the latter on the completion of the overland Telegraph to that point. The Western portion of the line was completed soon thereafter.

Rates for the Pacific Telegraph, when opened from St. Louis, were as follows: To Omaha, 10 words, $1.70, each additional word 15c. To Fort Bridger, Utah, $3.75, and 31c. To Salt Lake City, 84.00, and 33c. To Sacramento, California, 84.25, and 36c. To San Francisco, $4.25, and 36e. To Shasta, California, $6.25, and 46c.

The extension of the Telegraph Westward raised with the Western press a problem of no small importance. The use of the new agency was very essential ; but could it be employed with any certainty of success? Such was the practical question. Referring to the subject, the Toledo Blade, of August 23, 1847, said :

We shall, if the Blade meets with an increase of encouragement sufficient to warrant the expense, be enabled to furnish our readers with foreign intelli- gence at the moment of its reception at the Eastern Seaports.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, about the same time, had the following :

We are a thousand miles from the Seacoast, and for every 10 words brought over the Telegraph line for us, somebody has to pay 25 cents. For every five lines of printed matter, somebody has got to pay $1.00. Now, who shall that somebody be ? If Cleveland contained 30,000 inhabitants, and we had 3,000 subscribers to our daily paper, we could stand the expense and be " somebody ;" but as it is, we cannot. With only 600 daily subscribers, it will re- quire at least 200 more to justify the additional ex- pense. Where are these 200 additional subscribers ? We know they are in the City, abundantly able and fond of news as anybody ; but they do not like to hazard the expense of a daily paper at $6.00 a year, although its telegraphic reports may be worth double the subscription price to them.

A few days later the Plain Dealer announced that it had made arrangements with the Tele- graph line for reports, on condition that its daily circulation would be increased from 600 to 900.

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HISTORY OF TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY.

The Toledo Blade of February 14, 1848, an- nouneed the opening at Toledo of an office of the Lake Erie Telegraph Line, in the following enthusiastic terms :

The magic wires are here, and we are in connec- tion. We shall henceforth be able to furnish our readers with the latest news -- the daily condition of the Eastern markets, and all that kind of practical intelligence, which is now largely sought after by the business workl. The expense incident to the employ- ment of the Telegraph, we can illy bear, but a eon- viction that our enterprise will not go unrewarded, induces us to hazard the experiment of a trial.

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History of the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio, Part 83

Author: Waggoner, Clark, 1820-1903 Publication date: 1888 Publisher: New York and Toledo : Munsell & Company Number of Pages: 1408

Author: Waggoner, Clark, 1820-1903
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: New York and Toledo : Munsell & Company
Number of Pages: 1408