Memoirs of the Miami valley, Part 26

Author: Hover, John Calvin, 1866- ed; Barnes, Joseph Daniel, 1869- ed
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Chicago, Robert O. Law company
Number of Pages: 684

USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Memoirs of the Miami valley > Part 26

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Incorporation had been effected by act of legislature in 1835, at which time the promise of the first railroad was already gilding

192

MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY

the future. Local capital and business and engineering talent being engaged in the project, great expectations were indulged in, and not without realization, though stage coach traffic was not entirely displaced for many a long year. Not until 1847 did the first train creep slowly into Bellefontaine on the steel highway.

Scarcely had the town realized its new prosperity when its first great disaster almost overwhelmed it-the great fire of 1856, which started in a stable in the rear of the Rutan building, and with no fire protection but a line of buckets from the springs and the town pump, the pride of old Bellefontaine went down in ruins, followed by the whole of west Columbus avenue, and "Scarf's Row" on the west side of North Main street. Seventy-eight buildings in all were devoured by the fire-fiend. Rutan and Riddle set an example of courage and enterprise to the stricken town and a better Belle- fontaine began to rise slowly from the ashes. In the years follow- ing the fire, several of the staunchest structures of the town were erected, beginning with the new Rutan building, which still houses the People's National Bank and many of the most important offices in the city; the Watson block, to which Judge Lawrence added on the north; Melodeon Hall, Bellefontaine's first real place of public entertainment, and gradually, the Buckeye block, and many others too numerous to mention, which accommodated the growing busi- ness of the county seat.

Home building progressed as prosperity was slowly won, or as men of capital located in the town permanently. Many of the early residences of Bellefontaine's well-known citizens still preserve the social character of the times-dignified, spacious, and even stately- with an old-time elegance which is not attempted in the smaller, cozier homes which are popular today.

The first "addition" to Bellefontaine was that made by Jared B. Dawson, whose wife was "Kitty" or Catherine Armstrong, a grand-daughter of Isaac Zane. The addition was situated at the southeast quarter of the town plat in 1845. Isaac Gardner made an addition in 1849, and Walter Slicer another in the same year, Bed- dow's addition following in 1850. All these were on the southern border, and the men who laid out the improvements gave an extra thirty feet to the corporation road, making Auburn street con- form to the sixty-foot average of the first streets. Dawson gave the land for the building of St. Patrick's church on Patterson street. Slicer and others gave much of the unimproved land for the rail- road right-of-way. Additions on the south, west, north, northeast and east, four in 1851, one in 1856, 1866, 1869 and 1870, by McCol- loch, Gardner, Powell, Aylesworth, Stanton, Julia Powell, D. W. Hoge, and William Lawrence. Rambo's, Howenstine's and Powers' came later, and in 1871 all lots were renumbered, as the city limits had then been extended to cover one square mile, the center of the new plat being still maintained at the intersection of Main and Columbus streets. Brown, Park and Elm streets, it should be remarked, were the north, east and west corporation limits of old Bellefontaine, and were allowed to remain at the original width of thirty feet, because of the building which had taken place at certain points before additions were regularly platted. Leonard Houtz,

193

THE STORY OF LOGAN COUNTY

whose property lay on the west, was accounted one of the pro- prietors of the town site only because it was necessary, in order to complete the plat, to secure the thirty-foot roadway from his land. Mr. Houtz preferred to give, rather than to sell, this thirty feet, and his name therefore appears as a proprietor.

After the fire of 1856, hesitating steps were taken toward pro- viding fire protection to builders. The early "city fathers" may be said to have followed the policy of taking care of the public pennies while the public-spirited citizens took care of themselves as before. It took several more or less expensive experiments and several sharp lessons before a really adequate department was organized. Once having fallen into step with the march of progress, however, old mistakes have one by one been cast on the scrap heap of the past, and the well-organized city fire department of 1919, with its up-to-date "triple combination equipment," is able to fling a defi into the teeth of the monster which once had Bellefontaine at its mercy. The Central Fire Station at the corner of Columbus avenue and Mad River street, was built in 1899, one outside station being main- tained on Garfield avenue, where a team and hose wagon are kept, carrying also ladders and chemicals. The great auto-engine was installed in the department in February, 1915. The Gamewell alarm system is used in Bellefontaine, and the department includes seven full-paid men, and eight call men who respond to alarm sig- nals. Fire alarms are frequent enough in the city, but the most serious fire in many years was the burning, about four years ago, of the Church of Christ and one adjoining dwelling. The department is thoroughly efficient under its chief, H. S. Blair, and is one of the best assets the city owns.

Bellefontaine's City Building stands at the corner of Detroit and West Chillicothe streets. It was adapted to its present use, with only slight changes, from one of the fine old residences of former years, having been built by Jared B. Dawson, and used by the Dawsons as a home, after which it passed into the hands of N. H. Walker, and still later became the residence of General R. P. Kennedy and family. It is a splendid old mansion, lofty ceiled and massively built, and was in former days the scene of many gala social events, a history which in no way detracts from its usefulness as a city headquarters. The present official family of Bellefontaine is: Mayor, U. L. Kennedy ; city solicitor, John E. West ; treasurer, John D. Inskeep; auditor, Paul O. Batch; chief of police and sani- tary officer, John F. Lamborn; health officer, Dr. W. C. Pay; board of health, Dr. F. R. Makemson, Leister JoHantgen, Arthur Mohr, R. E. Brooks, Max Leonard; city council, president, Altman A. Smith ; members, N. A. Hess, C. J. Brooks, A. W. King, J. C. Rein- hart, L. G. Startzman, J. O. Smucker, W. F. Wright. Civil service committee, Harry E. Pusey, Frank R. Moots, J. J. McGee. Trustees of sinking fund, W. W. Riddle, president; C. B. Churchill, vice- president ; Charles S. Hockett, F. E. Cory, Paul O. Batch. Trus- tees of Mary Rutan Hospital, Anson B. Carter, W. T. Haviland, D. W. Askren, O. L. JoHantgen, Paul O. Batch, clerk. Directress, Hazel Webster. Chief of fire department, H. S. Blair. Superinten- dent of public parks, Henry Roberts. Director of public safety,

194

MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY

Brad. D. Hiatt. Director of public service, Claire A. Inskeep. Office department, Miss Susie Huston, chief bookkeeper; Mrs. Edna Morgan, assistant bookkeeper; Miss Margaret Guy, clerk and stenographer.

Melodeon Hall, built in the early sixties, divided the honors of public entertainment with the old courthouse, usurping them in fact, very soon, for the old courthouse before the seventies had become an object of ridicule to the public. Old newspaper files of the later six- ties are sprinkled with sarcastic comments, and humorous sallies directed against the shabby old relic, all of which united to bring public feeling to a focus and resulted in the erection of the fine sand- stone courthouse which, though criticised by some, has been a source of pride to the county and is yet a staunch and honorable edifice of justice, but needing remodeling and additional rooms and more modern equipment.

Bellefontaine early became known as "a good show town," and many a first class attraction was seen in old Melodeon Hall, the greatest actors and actresses of the times not scorning to tread the boards of its cramped stage. Edwin Forrest once played Richelieu there, in the seventies, and although his manager had booked him to be entertained at one of the newer hotels, while the theater was across the street from the time-worn old Union House, all "modern improvements" were foregone for the sake of a reunion with his old friend, Capt. Miller. When the Miller House was torn away, in 1880, to make room for the Opera Block, much genuine regret was mixed with the rejoicing that at last Bellefontaine was to have a play house worthy of the best talent. The old Patterson corner had already, in 1879, been replaced by the Empire Block.

The wave of improvement which reached its crest in the building of the Opera Block began in 1875, when a company was formed which purchased two lots of the Miltenberger estate, and erected there, first, the Buckeye Block, and in 1876 the Tremont Block, on the west side of Main street. The company, consisting of W. V. Marquis, James Cowman, T. L. Hutchins, and Webb Hoge, was en- larged to include, in the Empire and Opera Block enterprises, R. P. Kennedy, Dr. J. A. Brown, G. D. Davis, Russell Bissel, A. G. Wright, J. F. Mangans and W. H. Chandler. The Opera Block, which covers all the ground once occupied by "Patterson's Row," and also the site of the Union House, is in "L" shape, and was designed by D. W. Gibbs, architect, of Toledo, finished, and the Bellefontaine Opera House opened, with an engagement of three nights, December 23, 24, 25, 1880, the attraction being the operas "Chimes of Normandy" and "H. M. S. Pinafore," brought here by Bob Miles, of Cincinnati. From that time for a long term of years, the city of Bellefontaine enjoyed a reputation among the stage profession which drew the best talent before the local footlights. With the flight of time, the play house lapsed into rather shabby condition, and has been for some years outside the popular circuit of "the road," but it has lately been renovated, redecorated and new lighting system installed, by the new manager, Daniel Gutilla, and will probably once more attract a high order of entertainment to the city. Already, since the reopening in October, 1918, the gifted young

195

THE STORY OF LOGAN COUNTY

actor, Lou Tellegen, has appeared before a well-filled house in "Blind Youth."

Building of the better sort again halted for a time after the completion of these improvements. It seems difficult to realize that · as late as 1890-91, Opera street, from Columbus to Court, was bare of building, except for one insignificant frame dwelling, now recalled as the abode of an African family who had a little Albino daughter. This, however, was the era of the Big Four shops and terminals, and on the steady tide which then set in, the Powell Block, the Good Building, and the Memorial Hall were built, filling the waste space with substantial and comely structures. West Columbus avenue is filling up with new buildings of a superior character, and the older business houses on that thoroughfare are being remodeled according to modern standards. Detroit street, lined at an early date with many dwellings of the old brick of local manufacture, shows less change, except incidentally, than any other in the old part of Belle- fontaine, but there is an air of solid old respectability about the severely plain old brick homes, set broadside to the street, that speaks of a well-being within the faded outer walls, that is quite independent of busy time and change. East and West Chillicothe are both indicative of remarkable progress toward modernization; East Sandusky and Columbus avenues mingle the past and present together in architectural friendliness, and North Main street main- tains its mid-century stateliness as far as the old limits. when the new mode is distinctively seen as the city climbs the slope north- ward. The Bellefontaine National Bank Building was erected in 1892, and the Examiner and Index-Republican buildings preceded that date-the Examiner by some years. The new Lawrence Block, rebuilt a number of years ago after partial destruction by fire, is one of the finest in the city, being surpassed only by the beautiful Canby Building, which occupies the old "Boyd's Corner," where Joseph Gordon's pioneer log cabin stood for nearly a century preceding it. One who left Bellefontaine a bare ten years ago, returning today, would think a fairy's wand had touched many points and transformed them. The Carnegie Library, at the corner of Sandusky avenue and Main street, was dedicated May, 1905. It is of yellow pressed brick and Bedford stone, simple but refined in architectural design, and fireproof. It is well planned and lighted, and the reading rooms are commodious, and in constant use. The stack room is fairly well filled, and the reference library is good, but the fund for replenish- ing the shelves is somewhat insufficient for the needs of the com- munity. Miss Laura Morgan, the librarian, is a most capable director, and the establishment is well patronized by old and young. The library board, in 1905, included Robert Colton, John R. Cassidy, E. J. Howenstine, Dow Aikin, C. G. Parker, Dr. G. L. Kalb, and Gen. R. P. Kennedy. The present board is: President, E. J. Howen- stine ; vice-president, C. G. Parker ; secretary, E. C. Cowman ; treas- urer, W. G. Stinchcomb; E. K. Campbell, Dow Aikin and Miss Annie Price, who, with Mr. Parker and Miss Morgan, constitute the book committee. The library stands on the site of the Rebecca S. Brown residence, which in late years was the Methodist par- sonage. The nearly nine thousand volumes in the stack room

196

MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY

include those given by the Women's Club Free Library, opened in 1901.

The new postoffice building at the southwest corner of Chilli- cothe avenue and Detroit street, was opened July 1, 1914. It is an excellent example of simple and adequate architecture developed in gray stone, and the position is one of unquestionable superiority from every standpoint. The postmaster is Walker C. Prall ; assistant, Luther B. Stough ; the corps of clerks are: Edwin M. Fulton, Frank M. Shepherd, Cyrus O. Taylor, Blanche Kauffman, Robert V. Rea and Lulu E. Coulter.

Until 1890 Bellefontaine had been remarkably backward in the matter of street improvement, sidewalks being irregular in their width and construction, everyone choosing his own material; and while many were excellent, the general effect was very uncertain- especially after dark. Pavement previous to the discovery and manufacture of the Buckeye cement languished. The court house square was surrounded by streets with no pavement but ordinary gravel piking, and the grounds were enclosed within a none too sightly picket fence. The old town pump still stood at the corner of Columbus and Main. There was no light better than gas, al- though gas had been a very early improvement. The town was in the clutches of the Bell telephone monopoly. The temperance laws for which the newspapers and lawyers of Bellefontaine had fought in the legislature were yet unenforced in the city. Beginning in the late eighties, the next two decades witnessed a remarkable evolu- tionary turmoil (not entirely subsided even now, though pushed aside to some extent by the war activities of 1917-1918), in which the town, which up to 1895 was content to strain its eyes in the dim gaslight of the old gas plant so hardly won in 1873, became the city which owns its up-to-date electric plant; in which the town which then had not found an adequate water supply to replace the springs and seep wells it had outgrown, discovered, while boring for natural gas, an inexhaustible subterranean stream of pure water of price- less value to Bellefontaine for all the future ; in which the community which had suffered the blight of the liquor traffic, which its journal- ists and greatest men had fought against for nearly thirty years, at last throttled the evil, and made Bellefontaine for a while, at least, the largest dry town in the United States; in which the courthouse was at last surrounded with a pavement comporting with its dignity ; in which the independent telephone was established, and delivered from unjust competition ; in which the great Big Four shops were brought to Bellefontaine, and since the beginning of which the pop- ulation has nearly trebled itself.

All this was not brought about without struggle and stress. Every step of the way was contested-the improvement of public utilities, the principle of municipal ownership of the same, the sup- pression of the soul-destroying liquor traffic. It was a battle of giants. The press, the pulpits, the professions and the interests threshed out each question in the columns of the papers, on the public platform, in the back offices, at the curbstone and at the ballot box. The rural districts came in for a share of the contentions, for not every farmer desired a share in the expense of better roads. It

197

THE STORY OF LOGAN COUNTY

was a great formative epoch of personal opinion, as opposed to personal prejudice, and in every instance opinion, supported by reason, won the battle when the questions were put to test at the polls. The futile "reservoir" built in 1883 was abandoned for the new water works in 1889. The electric light plant became a fact in 1896. The "dry" ordinance, twice proposed before it was passed, became operative in 1892. The first petition for it, addressed to the council in 1890, by John Carter, failed. The second passed in 1892, since when Bellefontaine has been but once betrayed by its council, and then only for a brief season. Hammer and trowel, saw and chisel, have never been idle a day since the passage of that law which the liquor interests would have had us believe (and indeed, many did honestly so believe) would "make the grass grow in the streets" of a paralyzed city. The superficial observer sometimes calls Bellefontaine dull. Surely such an one never witnessed or took part in one of its municipal struggles !

In the year 1850 the necessity for a more extensive public burial ground became acute, and an association was formed, sixty citizens uniting to purchase a twenty-acre plat northeast of the city, to be devoted to this use. The organization was effected in 1851, at a meeting of the proprietors, Gen. Isaac Gardner being the president. A board of directors was chosen, with Noah Z. McColloch, presi- dent ; Dr. B. S. Brown, secretary ; William G. Kennedy, treasurer ; Benjamin Stanton, James B. McLaughlin and William Fisher. The directors in 1880 were, in due order :. Ezra Bennett, I. S. Gardner, G. B. Thrift, Edward Patterson and R. P. Kennedy. At present, 1918-1919, the board consists of Joseph JoHantgen, president ; Alfred Butler, secretary ; E. J. Howenstine, treasurer ; W. W. Coulter, Allie J. Miller, and Ray F. Tremain. The cemetery has been added to extensively since its purchase, and the situation is beautiful, lying beyond Rutan park, and reached by way of Stanton avenue.

Brown park, the pretty little retreat in the heart of the city, was the memorial gift of Mrs. Rebecca S. Brown, the widow of Dr. B. S. Brown, whose statue seems to cast a benediction on the spot by its benignant mien.

Rutan park, the picturesque strip of woodland given to Belle- fontaine by Mrs. Rebecca Williams, in memory of her father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. William Rutan, is many acres in extent, and furnishes an enviable advantage to the city, not possessed by many towns of its size. It is a playground for the children and a rest and recreation spot for their weary elders in summer afternoons. The annual Chautauquas are held on its green slopes. The logs of the old Joseph Gordon cabin, from "Boyd's Corner" stand purified and rejuvenated, among the trees on a hillside. These logs were pur- chased by Thomas Hubbard, jr., at the time the old place was torn down, and presented to the city by him. Miss Mary Powell de- frayed the expense of having them reconstructed into the rustic rest house at the park, and quaint furnishings for the cabin have been contributed from different sources. Its fire-place was built of old- time bricks from the Rutan sidewalk, the antique mantel-piece was donated by the brothers Anson and Andy Carter, and Miss Mame Scarff gave the old andirons. The last touch is added by the hang-

198

MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY

ing of an old iron crane, the handiwork of Bellefontaine's oldest blacksmith, Murray Dowell.

Near Rutan park rises Possum Run, the pretty stream which used to purl its winding way untrammeled through the centre of Bellefontaine, on its route to Blue Jacket creek. It still sings in public as far as Park street, where it enters a tunnel and from thence is straight-jacketed underground to its destination-and all because of its naughty propensity to wake up when everybody least expected it, and inundate sidewalks and cellars, and sometimes to endanger life. Other natural fountains of water have been diverted into straightened channels in similar fashion, because they stood in the way of city building. One famous spring in particular is now cov- ered by the north section of the Watson block, added by Judge Lawrence many years ago, and the water which slaked the thirst of the central business district for at least thirty-five years runs away forgotten under some of its largest buildings.

Bellefontaine has reached its majority, and the future beckons with fine promise. The story, nearly told, is one of a long youth which makes for a strong manhood. Unconsciously located at the highest point of any city in the state, and arbitrarily set as nearly as possible in the center of the county, out of the established line of traffic, and behind other towns in settlement, the county seat owes its steady advancement to the men and women who were its makers and builders. Much attention has been paid in these pages to Bellefontaine's great men, and with the utmost justice has every word been spoken. But from the strong warp and bright woof of Bellefontaine's social fabric, the historian draws one more thread- the life thread of Richard Hennesey, "born in County Kerry, Town of Listowel, Ireland, April 18, 1827." "Buckshot" Hennesey, as he is affectionately known in Bellefontaine, is now its oldest living citizen. He was brought to America at the age of seven years, entered the employ of the old Mad River railroad at the age of fourteen, in 1841, and landed in Bellefontaine with the railroad, remaining in its employ for more than sixty-six years, being honor- ably retired on a pension twelve years ago-to his deep regret! From 1852 for ten years he was stationary engineer for the old Bee Line; fireman on the night express for the ensuing five years ; for four summers he ran the engine on the little pleasure steamer on Silver lake, and on White river at Indianapolis (the latter being his only absence from Bellefontaine) ; subsequently, up to 1876 he had care of engines at the old roundhouse of the Big Four, and then was variously employed as track-walker, pump inspector, engine wiper and boilershop helper, until his retirement. In 1904, Mr. Hennesey was the one employee beside the foreman who stood by the com- pany in the strike of that year. And so, for sixty-six years, Belle- fontaine saw "Buckshot" come and go to his daily work, marching straight as any soldier, chin in the air, his dinner-pail swinging like a knapsack from his shoulders, a song in his heart and a merry, kind word ever ready on his tongue. Baptized in infancy by Rev. R. B. Mahoney, he has been a loyal member of St. Patrick's ever since its organization, and loyal, beside, to every principle of civic righteousness. When Charles Olby, railroad official, wrote "Buck-

HIGH SCHOOL BOUL

M.MAIN'S

RUBLIC SHON

Views of Bellefontaine, Ohio.

199

THE STORY OF LOGAN COUNTY

shot" on Mr. Hennesey's pass, saying "Richard Hennesey was too long to write," everybody knew that he meant that Richard Hen- nesey went straight to the mark. Mr. Hennesey was the purchaser of the first lot in Slicer's Addition, and from his home in the south portion of the city has watched the railroad district grow from a wild duck lake to a populous and busy industrial locality. He also watched the rise and fall of a local brewery on the south side, and rejoiced at the triumph of the "Drys." Now, at the age of ninety- two, he lives in a cozy bungalow on East Patterson street with his daughter, Miss Emma Hennesey, in the enjoyment of still excellent health, a clear memory and a wit as ready and kind as ever. Mrs. Mary Anderson, a nurse in the state hospital at Lima, and Mrs. W. P. Cantwell, of Bellefontaine, are also daughters. Mrs. Hen- nesey went to the farther shore ten years ago. With such fine fibre is Bellefontaine bound together.

The Logan County Bar

When the first court ever held in Logan county sat in the tavern of Edwin Mathers at Belleville, in 1818, just a round century ago, there was not one lawyer resident in the whole territory. It was necessary for the judge to appoint James Cooley of Urbana to act as prosecuting attorney pro tem. Lawyers of repute from other parts of the state were frequently present in the newly formed counties, their custom being to travel the circuits by vehicle -or on horseback, if roads did not permit this-stopping barely long enough to attend each court, and pushing on to the next. In other days, it was not uncommon for an important murder trial to be completed in one day, such was the necessity for despatch.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Memoirs of the Miami valley, Part 26

Author: Hover, John Calvin, 1866- ed; Barnes, Joseph Daniel, 1869- ed Publication date: 1919 Publisher: Chicago, Robert O. Law company Number of Pages: 684

Author: Hover, John Calvin, 1866- ed; Barnes, Joseph Daniel, 1869- ed
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Chicago, Robert O. Law company
Number of Pages: 684