USA > Ohio > Auglaize County > History of western Ohio and Auglaize County, with illustrations and biographical sketches of pioneers and prominent public men > Part 38
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JOHN B. WALSH.
THE MIAMI AND ERIE CANAL.
DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York, on the 8th of November, 1823, in response to inquiries from Mr. Williams, one of the first Board of Ohio Canal Commissioners, commented on the propriety of constructing a canal from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, as follows: "The State of Ohio, from the fertility of its soil, the benignity of its climate, and its geographical posi- tion, must always contain a dense population, and the products and consumption of its inhabitants must forever form a lucrative and extensive inland trade, exciting the powers of productive industry, and communicating aliment and energy to external commerce. But when we consider that this canal will open a way to the great rivers that fall into the Mississippi; that it will be felt, not only in the immense valley of that river, but as far west as the Rocky Mountains and the borders of Mexico; and that it will communicate with our great inland seas, and their tributary rivers ; with the ocean in various routes, and with the most productive regions of America, there can be no question respecting the blessings that it will produce, the riches it will create, and the energies it will call into activity."
The letters of Governor Clinton, and his influence with the promoters of a system of canals in Ohio, were mainly instru- mental in securing the necessary legislation for their construction.
Preliminary to the great public improvement in western Ohio, a careful and continuous survey was made in 1824, by an engineer corps, headed by Samuel Forrer, and assisted by J. L. Williams, Francis Cleveland, Richard Howe and Thomas Mathews. One-half of the route was through an unbroken forest. From Fort St. Mary's to the Auglaize River, not. a house or a track of civilization existed.
The following from Knapp's History of the Maumee Valley
423
AND AUGLAIZE COUNTY
is of interest at this point: "On the southwest bank of this river (St. Mary's River) was found a squatter by the name of Thomas McClish, with a clearing of about one acre. While the engineer party were at this encampment, the second officer in the corps, Thomas J. Mathews, father of the Hon. Stanley Mathews, of Cincinnati, was overtaken by a special messenger, who had made his way through the wilderness, with notice of his appointment as Professor of Mathematics in Transylvania University, at Lex- ington, Kentucky.
"A few miles further down the Auglaize the party encamped near an Indian village, Oquanoxa's town (now Charloe), of the Ottawa tribe, at that time numerous in the lower section of the Maumee Valley. It was a time of threatening war with the Miamis, then dominant and powerful on the sources of the Maumee River and upper Wabash. The Ottawa braves and warriors were at Fort Wayne to take vengeance for the loss of an Ottawa Indian, slain by a Miami. A money compensation, however, was agreed upon in lieu of blood, probably through the influence of the Indian agent at Fort Wayne, the Hon. John Tipton, afterwards United States Senator from Indiana. From this point the party proceeded to Defiance."
An act "to aid the State of Ohio in extending the Miami Canal from Dayton to Lake Erie, and to grant a quantity of land to said State to aid in the construction of the canals authorized by law," etc., was passed by Congress and approved May 24th, 1828.
The first section of the act granted to Ohio a quantity of land equal in area to two and a half miles in width on each side of the canal between Dayton and the Maumee River. The land was granted to the State of Ohio, subject to the disposal of the Legislature, for the purpose of constructing the canal, and for no other. The section also required that the extension of the canal should be commenced within five years, and com- pleted within twenty years.
These canal lands were sold by the State, and the proceeds used in the redemption of bonds and scrip, issued to defray the expenses of the prosecution of the work.
The spring of 1841 was a period of great activity in Auglaize county. Five hundred men of all nationalities were engaged for two years in excavating the channel of the canal from Lor-
424
HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
amie to St. Mary's. Boarding shanties were erected at St. Mary's and other convenient points along the line. At the same time seventeen hundred men were engaged in constructing the east and west embankments of the great St. Mary's reservoir. Board- ing shanties in sufficient number were erected near the two extremeties of the reservoir to accommodate the large num- ber of hands. In September of 1841, Bishop Purcell, of Cin- cinnati, came up and held mass in the two encampments. It is currently reported that each church communicant contributed one dollar to defray his expenses back to Cincinnati.
"As the work of excavation progressed, locks, of heavy oak timber, were constructed at the different points of level, having a breadth of fifteen feet between the walls, and the length of the chambers, being the space between the upper and lower gates, ninety feet,- admitting boats seventy-eight feet in length, and fourteen feet ten inches in breadth, to pass freely through.
"A few of the wooden locks between Lock Port and the Maumee River have since that time been replaced by walls of solid stone masonry, resting on floors composed of timbers laid crosswise of the pit, covered with planks three inches in thick- ness, both in the chambers and under the walls, and between the walls, with an additional floor of two-inch plank well joined, and secured with spikes to the timbers on which they rest.
"The two reservoirs, the Loramie and St. Mary's, on the dividing ridge or summit level of Ohio, were completed while the canal was under course of construction."
The following from the Mercer County Standard of April, 1870, illustrates the temper of the citizens of Mercer county at the time of the completion of the great reservoir: "Long before the location of the Mercer county reservoir, some hardy adven- turers bought and settled within the prairie, now forming the reservoir, among whom were Thomas and Joseph Coate, Messrs. Mellinger, Large, Hugh Miller, and others, all on the south side. On the north side were Messrs. Sunday, Crockett, Brad- ley, Judge Linzee, Hollingsworth, Nichols, Gibson, Hull, Kompf, Pratt, and the Rev. Asa Stearns, all good men - noble speci- mens of the frontier.
"In 1830 Mitchell, an engineer, ran the first line around the reservoir. Subsequently, in 1837, it was run again by Barney and Forrer, compassing a circumference of 18,000 acres. In
425
AND AUGLAIZE COUNTY
the same year all the timber outside the prairie was let for deadening, which was done by the contractors of the several locations. When the west bank was let to Giddings, Stepson and Holtsbeckor, it was let from a point south of Celina a distance of one hundred and twenty rods, at thirty-seven cents per cubic yard, and was to be wharfed with good white oak plank, two inches thick; Henry L. Johnson, late sheriff of Mercer county, sawed the lumber.
"Justin Hamilton, the member of the Legislature from the county, introduced a resolution in that body, which was passed unanimously, 'That no water should be let into the reservoir before the same should be cleared of timber and the parties paid for their land.' This resolution was in force when the bank was cut.
"There was then an appropriation of $20,000 to pay for the lands, but it was squandered by the officers and bank speculators.
"When the banks were finished and the water let in, it submerged all but one acre for Mr. Sunday, with thirty-four acres of wheat; fifteen acres for Mrs. Crockett; the whole of Thomas Coate's; sixty acres with several thousand rails for Judge Holt, of Dayton, who owned a farm two miles east of Celina ; nineteen acres for Judge Linzee; nearly forty acres for Abraham Pratt, with all the rails thereto belonging, and the whole of Mellinger's except a few acres around the house, be- sides great damage to others on the south side, too numerous to enumerate here.
"This outrage on the part of the officers of the State was too much to be borne by the gritty bloods of Mercer county. Wars have been proclaimed on less pretenses. America declared her independence and refused to pay a small tax on her tea, which of itself was not oppressive, but was oppressive in prin- ciple, and the people would not be taxed without the consent of their own Legislature. Mercer county followed the example. . and declared that she would not be imposed upon by the thieving birds of Ohio.
"On. the 3d of May, 1843, a meeting was held in Celina, Samuel Ruckman, county commissioner, acting as president. It was resolved that Benjamin Linzee, Esq., should go to Piqua the head of the Board of Public Works, and lay our grievances and an address before them. Spencer and Ransom returned a
426
HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
sneering answer: 'Help yourselves if you can.' On the 12th of May the meeting sent Linzee back with the declaration that if they did not pay us for our lands and let off the water, that we would cut the bank on the 15th. The reply came back: 'The Piqua Guards will be with you and rout you on that day.' The muttering thunder around the reservoir was not only loud, but deep - every person was excited. On the morning of the 15th, by 7 o'clock, more than one hundred people, with shovels, spades and wheelbarrows, were on the spot, ready for work. The place selected was the strongest one on the bank, in the old Beaver channel. Our object was not to damage the State; and the dirt was wheeled back on the bank on each side. It employed the men one day and a half before the cutting was completed ; it was dug six feet below the level of the water, and a flimsy breast- work was made to hold the water back. When the tools were taken out and all ready, Samuel Ruckman said: 'Who will start the water?' 'I,' said John S. 'I,' said Henry L., and in a moment the meandering waters were hurling down fifty yards below the bank. It was six weeks before the water subsided.
"As soon as this was known at headquarters, warrants were issued for the arrest of all who assisted in the work. Thirty- four of the leaders, comprising all the county officers, judges, sheriff, clerks, auditor, treasurer, his deputy, recorder and sur- veyor, merchants and farmers, were arrested and bound over to the next term of court. A foolish idea, for the court assisted in the work. But the grand jury refused to find a bill of mis- demeanor, and so the matter rested. It cost the State $17,000 to repair the damages.
"I think it proper to record the names of those who resisted the oppressive movements of the State, in cutting the west bank of the Mercer county reservoir: Judge Robert Linzee, J. S. Houston, Frank Linzee, clerk of the court; Joseph Carlin, sheriff ; · Fred. Schroder, auditor; L. D. McMahon, recorder; Benjamin Linzee, deputy treasurer; Samuel Ruckman, commissioner ; H. Trenary, B. Mowry, Porter Pratt, Ellis Miller, M. D .; Smith Allen, a tavernkeeper; Eli Dennison, John Sunday and all his family, the Crockett boys, Britton and son, Abraham Miller and Dr. Beauchamp, from Montezuma; Matthew Frank, Gray, Elli; Hugh Miller, and a hundred others, who came through curiosity for some other purpose, with Thomas and Joseph Coats."
427
AND AUGLAIZE COUNTY
With the completion of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1845: a period of material growth and development of the county set in, that has continued without intermission for over half a cen- tury. Indeed, the rapid development of western and north- western Ohio dates back to the commencement of the navigation of the great waterway.
At the time of the erection of the county, a line of packets made regular trips between Toledo and Cincinnati. A steam propeller called the“ Niagara" made trips from Toledo to Defi- ance, Fort Wayne, and occasionally to Cincinnati. The construc- tion of the canal through the county afforded employment at remunerative wages to all citizens desiring employment. The writer has conversed with many men who accumulated money enough by labor on this public improvement to purchase farms for themselves.
THE COUNTY INFIRMARY.
October 8th, 1857 .- The county commissioners purchased of William L. Ross and wife the following described premises to be used as a county infirmary: The west half of the north- east quarter, and the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section nineteen (19), township number five (5) south, range six (6) east, containing one hundred and twenty (120) acres, for the sum of two thousand four hundred dollars.
On the same day they also bought of John Fisher and wife the west half of the northwest quarter of section number twenty (20), township five (5) south, of range six (6) east, containing eighty (80) acres, for the sum of $1,800.
A two-story hewed log house, log barn, and other outbuild- ings, on the John Fisher farm, served for county infirmary purposes for the first year. During that year, one-half of the log building was set apart for the use of the indigent poor ; the other half being occupied by the superintendent and his family.
In 1858, a frame building was erected at a cost of $600 for the better accommodation of paupers. No other buildings were erected on the farm until 1868. Plans and specifications were prepared in February, 1860, for a building suitable for the grow- ing needs of the county. The commissioners advertised for bids for the erection of a building, the bids to be presented at their regular meeting in April. When the bids were opened, it was
428
HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
found that no one fell below five thousand dollars, a sum that was in excess of the amount that they expected to expend. They, therefore, rejected all the bids. Their decision was an act of wis- dom. The county was not prepared to erect a suitable building during the excitement of a great civil war.
No further action was taken with regard to the construction of a building until the summer of 1867. The following from the commissioners' journal of that year furnishes a pretty com- plete history of the construction and cost of the present infirmary :
March 29, 1867 .- The commissioners met to make arrange- ments for letting contracts for the erection of the new county infirmary, and spent the day in visiting the farm, staking off the site of the building, and examined plans and specifications for the same. Present, full Board.
J. L. MCFARLAND, - Commissioners.
S. SAMMETINGER,
JNO. B. KRUSE,
JULY 30th, 1867.
The commissioners proceeded to let to the lowest bidders the contracts for work and materials for the erection of the infirmary, as follows :
The contract for stone masonry was awarded to Sproul & Lear at one dollar and fifty cents per perch of sixteen and one- half feet. Work to be finished by September 10th, 1867; the commissioners to furnish the stone. The remainder of material, attendance, and so forth, to be furnished by the contractor.
The contract for the brick work was awarded to Christian Heisler, mason, at four dollars and ninety cents per thousand ; twenty-two and one-half brick to be counted to the cubic foot, mason's count ; openings included ; inside walls to be measured without counting any double; the commissioners to furnish the brick, and all the remainder of material. Attendance, etc., to be furnished by the contractor. The work to be finished by the first day of November, 1867.
The contract for carpenter work was awarded to Nichols & Craft for three thousand eight hundred and twenty ($3,820) dollars. The contractors are to furnish all the material, timber, lumber, shingles, nails, locks, hinges, etc., required in finishing the
429
AND AUGLAIZE COUNTY
building, except the glass, painting, glazing and tin work, which are to be separate contracts. The work to be finished by the Ist of June, 1868.
The contract for tin work was awarded to Thomas Moss. For guttering, the tin is to be the best quality of tin, twenty-four inches wide, at twenty-five cents per foot, and spouting at twelve and a half cents per foot. The work to be done as soon as the building is ready for the same.
The bonds of the parties for the faithful performance of their contracts are fixed as follows :
For Sproul and Lear. $500 00
For Christian Heisler 3,000 00
For W. H. Nichols and Wm. Craft. 5,000 00
The records of expenditures for materials and estimates of work at different times is scattered over many pages of the journal, the aggregate of which is $10,026.48.
The east wing of the building was built by H. P. Neumier in 1891. The cost of this addition was $8,440. In October of the same year, heating apparatus was put in at a cost of $400.
The estimated value of infirmary buildings for the year 1901
was
$27,150 00
Estimated value of land. 10,150 00
Estimated value of furniture. 1,400 00
Estimated value of machinery
525 00
Estimated value of live stock.
1,550 00
Estimated value of agricultural implements, etc. 300 00
Total amount of inventory $41,475 00
RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF THE COUNTY INFIRMARY.
The following is a statement of the average receipts and expenditures of the infirmary per year for the ten years ending August 31st, 1901 :
RECEIPTS.
Value of stock and farm products sold. $784 54
Value of farm products consumed by inmates. 890 56
Received from sale of other articles. 4 46
Received from inmates refunded from other counties. 35 97
Received expenses paid by inmates themselves or friends. 65 30
Received from the county. 5,089 41
Total receipts $6,870 24
430
HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
EXPENDITURES.
Expended for groceries and provisions
$325 54
66
for fuel and light. 222 23
for clothing 255 13
66
for coffins
57 62
for furniture
124 05
66 for ordinary repairs
843 74
66
for all other expenses
1,570 12
for salary of superintendent. 500 00
66
for salary of matron. 194 00
725 00
66
for medical attendance.
Per diem and expenses of Infirmary Directors
782 54
Total expenditures $5,779 34
Receipts in excess of expenditures 1,090 90
Average number of inmates per year for ten years : of Males, 23; Females, 17; Total, 40.
INFIRMARY SUPERINTENDENTS.
The following named persons have served as superintendents since 1858:
Wm. M. Smith. 1858-59.
John Mertz 1860-64.
John A. Schubert. 1864-72.
Wm. Metz 1872-80.
Amos Foreman 1880-82.
Wm. Metz
1882-93. *
Jacob Bigler
1893-1902.
Jno. Shaw.
1902 - Present incumbent.
The names of the county infirmary directors, and their terms of service, will be found in the record of elections given in Chapter XIV.
The supervision of the infirmary by Mr. Jacob Bigler and his worthy wife during their nine years of service was eminently satisfactory to the public. Through the present excellent man- agement the income from the sale of farm products and stock has reduced the expenses of the institution to a minimum. With the improvements contemplated by the commissioners and infirm- ary directors, the Auglaize county infirmary will become, what it should be, an honor to the county.
66
for employes
179 37
431
AND AUGLAIZE COUNTY
PUBLIC HIGHWAYS.
The early records in the journals of the commissioners of Allen and Auglaize counties are mainly a history of road improve- ments. The survey and location of roads through the dense wilderness occupied the attention of the commissioners during a great portion of the year. The lines were usually located along the crests of ridges, without much regard to land lines. After the establishment of a road, it was, in the course of a few years, cleared of timber to the distance of thirty feet on each side of . the road line. In passing over lowlands between ridges, corduroy roads, covered with dirt, were constructed, making those portions of the road passable at all seasons of the year. The streams were bridged by laying stringers made of heavy logs across them, covered with puncheons fastened down with spikes, or more fre- quently, by wooden pins. These corduroy roads and bridges served a valuable purpose, as, without them the roads could not be traversed at any season of the year. The wet soil of the wilderness, and the shade of the timber along the roads, prevented them from becoming dry until late in the summer. Even on the summits of the ridges they were soon worn into mud-holes and ruts that were impassable. To avoid them new roads, or by- roads, as they were called, were made around them by clearing away the undergrowth and logs. This condition of the public highways continued for many years. The two days of labor performed by the citizens were not sufficient to keep the roads in repair.
In 1852-53, the Wapakoneta and St. Mary's Plank Road was constructed by a stock company composed of citizens of the two villages. This toll road was of great service to the county for a period of thirty years.
A stock company, composed of citizens of Wapakoneta and Sidney, constructed a gravel pike in 1850-51, on the line of the old army road from Wapakoneta to Sidney. This improvement afforded an outlet to the south, and aided greatly in the develop- ment of the central and eastern portions of the county.
A third stock company, organized at Wapakoneta in 1867, built a pike from Wapakoneta to St. John's.
The counties of southern Ohio commenced the construction of gravel pikes, by authority of an act passed by the General
432
HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
Assembly in 1848, and known as the "Two Mile Assessment Law." Under its provisions, all property located within a dis- tance of two miles, on either side of the proposed improvement, is assessed in proportion to the benefit it derives. The roads of southern Ohio constructed under the provisions of this act soon became the most popular thoroughfares of the State.
The first concerted effort in behalf of gravel pikes in Auglaize county took place September 26th, 1874, in the office of Hon. George W. Andrews, at Wapakoneta. In the eight years follow- ing this meeting eight pikes were constructed. Much bitter feel- ing and excitement prevailed in the fall and winter of 1878-80, ' when seventeen petitions were presented to the commissioners, praying for an aggregate construction of one hundred and thirteen miles of pike, at an estimated cost of $234,065. Like all public improvements requiring the expenditure of large sums of money and requiring the levying of taxes upon the property of the county, the people, as usual, became alarmed, and in some sections of the county, especially the northwestern portion, they became violent in their opposition to the petitions. The better judgment of the people, however, prevailed, and the pikes were constructed.
Appended is a list of the pikes of the county, showing the date of filing the petitioners' bond, length, and actual cost of construction. Also cost of repairs of same for a period of ten years, dating from 1891 to 1901 :
Name.
Length.
Date of Petitioners' Bond.
Estimated
Actual
Cost.
Cost.
German Township Pike.
2.00
$3,000
$2,700 00
Schmieder
7.64
Jan. 3, 1876. .
30,669
22,840 00
Vossler
3.97
Jan. 31, 1876.
10,844
8,830 00
Uniopolis
and Waynes-
field
16.39
Mar. 21, 1876.
34,064
20,670 00
Finke
9.90
Mar. 23, 1876.
24,703
14,875 00
St. Marys and Knoxville
6.13
June 16, 1876.
16,722
11,720 00
Goshen
4.82
6,000
5,936 24
Nickell
3.91
6,000
6,775 00
Wayne
3.02
Feb. 2, 1880. .
5,600
4,431 58
Union
6.09
Feb. 2, 1880. .
9,800
11,483 04
Cook
2.20
Feb. 2, 1880 ..
3,964
3,940 55
Middle Road
5.45
Feb. 2, 1880.
5,900
8,136 27
Kossuth
13.15
Feb. 2, 1880. .
30,245
36,146 77
Wrestle Creek
3.00
Feb. 2, 1880.
5,000
4,762 59
Five Points
7.97 1 Feb. 2, 1880. . |
16,000
15,611 79
433
AND AUGLAIZE COUNTY
Name.
Length.
Date of Petitioners' Bond.
Cost.
Cost.
Lima
5.79
March, 1880 ..
11,791
12,552 06
Washington and Wash.
Branch
17.21
March, 1880.
43,025
51,995 18
Glynnwood
8.80
May, 1880.
18,200
22,076 68
Bremen
5.48
Feb., 1880.
10,800
10,814 20
Axe
6.21
Feb., 1880.
13,700
14,587 65
Amanda
5.66
Feb., 1880.
11,500
15.625 45
Van Wert
10.25
Feb., 1880.
26,000
34,693 24
Neptune
3.96
Feb., 1880. . .
10,600
10,928 21
Doenges
3.00
June 6, 1881.
7,200
8,819 37
Fairmount
3.00
Nov. 30, 1881.
8,137
5,168 46
Virginia Creek.
3.00
| Nov. 26, 1881.
8,189
6,569 01
Geyer
5.54
Dec. 29, 1881.
14,860
9,335 99
Lahman
2.97
June 28, 1882.
7,000
5,790 47
Cumberland
2.97
Feb. 18, 1882.
9,507
7,370 99
Crawford
2.95
Jan. 23, 1882.1
10,053
7,826 11
Elliott
7.76
| Jan. 4, 1882. . |
23,370
19,694 97
Ashburn
7.29
Jan. 17, 1882.
19,704
14,145 06
Freyburg
5.30
April 1, 1882 ..
15,193
11,631 25
Goeke
5.20
Jan. 2, 1882. . |
19,000
19,082 95
Barth
3.35
| Jan. 21, 1882.
13,739
11,342 12
Amsterdam
5.60
| Jan. 4, 1882. .
23,545
23,327 84
Montezuma
3.10
14,537
10,821 69
Noble
2.16
June 10, 1882.
8,644
6,729 40
Allentown
7.98
April 12, 1882.
27,118
26,776 55
DeLoss
2.63
June 20, 1882.
7,917
8,671 00
St. Johns
6.50
April, 1882 ...
6,500 00
Sidney
5.56
Sept. 14, 1882.
11,130
9,308 45
Hardin
7.85
Sept. 20, 1882.
25,921
22,029 50
Wapakoneta
and
St.
Marys
9.14
Mar. 18, 1884.1
27,444
22,000 00
Lutterbeck
3.28
| Mar. 17, 1884. |
9,852
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