USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Memoirs of the Miami valley > Part 82
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82
The Citizens National bank was established in 1907, and incor- porated with a capital stock of $50,000. It is located in its own com- modious brick building, erected specially for banking purposes. The present officials are : President, A. R. Garver ; vice-president, L. R. Fergus; cashier, Charles O. Davis.
The Monroe Building & Loan association, located in Monroe township building, is the biggest and oldest financial institution in Tippecanoe City, having prospered rapidly since its incorporation, July 19, 1875, to assist men in owning their homes. From its orig- inal capitalization of $100,000 it has increased to $1,000,000. Pres- ent officers : President, M. T. Staley ; vice-president, Eli Saunders ; secretary, D. D. Kessler ; attorney, R. A. Kerr; other directors be- sides the officers are J. H. Pohlman, C. B. Herr, C. A. Huber, A. L. Hagerty, W. M. Kessler.
First of the series of weekly newspapers published was the Tip- pecanoe City Reflector, that ran just two years from 1853 to 1855. The Fireman's Gazette was brought out a short time in the 50's. It was not until 1866 that another attempt was made, when Charles Crowell for a short time published the City Item.
In 1869 Joshua Horton issued the first number of the Tippe- canoe City Herald, which he edited until April, 1880, when it was sold to Caldwell & company, the members of which were W. F. Cald- well, W. C. Staley and L. G. Gates, who were in control for four years. In 1881 J. A. and E. H. Kerr purchased a half interest, and W. F. Caldwell continued a year as editor and manager until he moved to Piqua. The plant is in the rear of the Tipp National bank. J. R. Horton, grandson of the founder of the Herald, was in control for a few years, buying out the Kerr interest, and the present owner obtained possession in 1912.
For a short period there were two papers here, the Herald, republican, and the Tippite, democratic, edited by Eldon Leonard. The Miami and Erie canal running north and south just east of the village, offered the first shipping facilities. Live stock as well
631
THE STORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
as farm products, leather, cooperage lumber ; products of the brew- eries and distilleries were sent down the canal on flat boats to the Ohio and thence by river boats to Pittsburg and the east. In 1851 the Dayton & Michigan railroad was built to Tippecanoe City open- ing wider the avenue of industry. This line has been absorbed by the Baltimore & Ohio railroad and gives Tippecanoe City two pas- senger trains a day besides its freight service. The Dayton & Troy traction line with its hourly passenger service, also helped shipping facilities.
The Johns' grist mill was the first of any importance to be built here. At its inception in 1840 water rights were obtained at the canal lock for a period of 99 years and under these rights the present flour mills run by Foster who succeeded John K. Herr are still operating and prosperous. Some few years later this same Uriah Johns cut a race across Main street and built a second flour mill, also a flaxseed oil mill. The second flour mill he sold to Chaffee & Smith and a very interesting law case of water rights ensued.
A flaxseed oil mill was built by Jonathan Favorite and Wesley Roberts in 1839 and a malt house established by Walter Norey, a Scotchman, was unsuccessfully managed, and turned over to a stock company in a few years. Col. Reuben T. Hutchins operated a malt company from 1852 until 1877, when he sold it to S. R. and B. F. Rhodehamel who successfully carried on the business for a number of years.
A linseed oil mill built by Jonathan Favorite and Wesley Roberts in 1839, where the Tipp Whip factory stands did quite an extensive business for some years. Their property was bought by the Tippecanoe Whip company in 1885.
George and Edward Smith built one of the early distilleries in 1852. S. L. Chaffee built his distillery in 1855 on the canal at the end of Dow street, and Dietricks Distilling company operated from 1885 to 1917.
An interesting enterprise was the Tippecanoe Grape Sugar company, of which Mr. B. F. Rhodehamel was also president. This plant was located on First street and the canal and glucose was manufactured. The company was capitalized at $75,000. It was sold to the American Glucose company in 1883, who operated it for four years from main offices at Peoria, Ill. An explosion occurred in 1887 when the factory was dismantled.
On the site of the old glucose plant, the Lin Dell company with offices in New York, established a canning factory. This has 104 employees, and aids the truck farmers of the neighborhood from whom they purchase fruits and vegetables.
The Amola Soap company has its factory for manufacturing toilet articles, on south First street in the buildings formerly oc- cupied by the Davis Whip company. The business had been established for thirty years in Peoria and in 1917 was purchased by A. L. and H. R. Harshberger and moved to its present location. They now have 25 employees and a factory floor space of 20,000 square feet. At present it is subsidiary to the Tippecanoe Whip company whose officers are J. W. Bowman, A. L. Harshberger,
632
MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY
W. C. Staley, W. B. Ten Eyck and Jacob Prill, but the company is shortly to be incorporated.
The Tippecanoe Whip company was in existence from 1884 un- til 1917 when their property on East Main street was sold to the Miami Conservancy district. They were a prosperous firm during the days of buggies. This whip company succeeded to the occu- pancy of the old linseed oil property.
Ford & Company's Wheel plant, owned by Leonard, was es- tablished in 1865 with its factory on First street. It did quite an extensive business first in wheels for wagons, then for automobiles. Two years ago the property was taken by the Miami Conservancy. They employed about 100 hands and their wheels were used in for- eign countries as well as in this.
The Northern Manufacturing company is one of the largest and most progressive manufacturing firms of Tippecanoe City. It was capitalized June, 1919, at $100,000, to make buffets and bed- room furniture. The company bought the Tipp Furniture company, whose factory buildings had been erected in 1890 on Second street, and the Ford & Company's plant, covering about 8 acres on Second street, was purchased two years ago, and two new buildings were added to the three already there. On Fifth street six buildings are now in use and five blocks of ground occupied. Between 75 and 100 men are given employment by this company. The officers are A. R. Garver, J. H. Rohrer, J. B. Garver, J. B. Backman.
The Tipp Building Manufacturing company is engaged chiefly in the making of kitchen cabinets. Modern factory buildings are located on Walnut street west of the B. & O. railway tracks. It has a capitalization of $75,000 and its officers are H. J. Ritter, A. R. Garver, Ben and Ed. Timmer. This business dates back to a plan- ing mill on the same location built by Robert Smith. Trupp, Weakly & company purchased Smith's mill in 1872, put in extensive ma- chinery and developed a big building; material business finally ab- sorbed by the Tipp Building Manufacturing company.
The American Strawboard company of Akron, O., is now turn- ing out 11 to 12 tons daily of strawboard from its mills in Tippe- canoe City and they employ about 35 men in its operation. The local management of this mill and of others at Piqua is under Mr. J. F. Anderson. The Tippecanoe mills were bought from the Tip- pecanoe Strawboard company, organized in 1885, with a capital stock of $35,000. First officers: W. W. Crane, H. E. Hawver and W. C. Staley. The capital stock had been increased before the sale of the property to the Trust.
The Tipp Novelty works, owned by James and Russel Scheip, have an attractive group of buildings on the North side of Sixth street. Here toys of every description are made, that have a mar- ket all over the world, and any number of dolls, blocks, wagons, etc., go to the children in Australia.
Bohlander & Sons nursery is one of the show places of the town as well as an important adjunct in giving healthful employ- ment to a number of men. Over 3,000 varieties of trees, evergreens, shrub and perennials are grown on the land the company has under contract, or under their management elsewhere.
633
THE STORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
The nursery consists of seventy acres, and fifty gardeners are employed. Fully 150 acres are under their management or contract, with 50 more men employed. The firm not only supplies stock for the beautifying of estates but act as landscape gardeners. Peter Bohlander founded the business more than 70 years ago, starting on 15 or 20 acres near Dayton, later moving to the present location and at his death his son, W. F. Bohlander assumed control. The reputation of this concern has spread all over the country.
The Tippecanoe Knitting mills on North First street, are a subsidiary of the Superior Underwear company of Piqua, and take care of the overflow of the Piqua plant. They were bought from the Tippecanoe Underwear company, organized in 1907, operated there until 1913, when they sold their machinery and building to the Superior. When in operation this mill employs 100 operators.
West Charleston.
West Charleston was the first hamlet settled in Bethel township and one of the oldest settlements in the county. It was laid out in 1807 by Charles Friend, who first called it Friendtown. Land con- tiguous to the plots laid out by Friend were purchased in 1814 by John Newcomb, who became the first storekeeper in a log cabin. John Schlosser established the first tavern and later William Boyer and a man named Lightcap also opened a tavern to take care of the comparatively heavy travel through there at that time by stage coach. Among the early stage drivers who made West Charles- ton a stopping place were Jerry Self, Calvin Adams and Lewis Russel. A small showmaker's shop was set up "in the bush" north of the little settlement by James Ferguson who also did some tan- ning. With no canal in the early days nor railroad later West Charleston remains today a little hamlet of about a hundred popu- lation and with but one store. There are two churches, "The Brethren," and "The Union," where services may be held by any denomination.
West Milton.
First to settle in Section 21 of Union township was a South Carolinian, named Joseph Evans, who brought his family north in 1805. The natural advantage of this high and fertile ground on the west bluff of the Stillwater which runs in a deep gorge below the level of the surrounding country, made a strong appeal to Evans who purchased the land in 1807 and had it surveyed and plotted into lots comprising 53 rods each and Main and Miami streets were laid out parallel with the river bluffs. The lots were sold and the place called Milton, to gratify Miss Elizabeth Evans, his oldest daughter, whose favorite book was Milton's Paradise Lost." In later years the name of the village was changed to West Milton as there was another village named Milton near Toledo. The Evans family, George Buchanan, a carpenter, and Samuel Pearce, were the only residents for a number of years, and Evans opened a store in 1810, the first in the township. Growth of the community at this point was so slow that in 1825 there were but three families living in the town proper. A weekly postoffice had been established in 1817
634
MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY
and Oliver Benton was postmaster. The village of West Milton was not incorporated until 1834 when C. W. Beebe became first mayor.
In earlier years, there was some manufacturing in the neigh- borhood of Milton with rather crude machinery of course. John Mast installed a carding machine in his grist mill, operating alter- nately with the grist mill. Samuel Kelley erected a woolen mill on Section 21 just west of the Stillwater on the Spring stream. In 1820 Daniel W. Thayer bought the Kelley Mills and improved them to make blankets. Samuel Kelley after disposing of his mills to Thayer built a cotton manufactory just north of Milton, completed in 1824, subsequently converting it into a woolen mill and sold it to William Rutledge. There was also a scythe factory on the river bank in Section 21. Linseed oil was manufactured on a small scale.
West Milton is one of the oldest headquarters in the state for making lightning rods. There are two firms in the business here today, the D. H. Mast company and the L. H. Mast company. This is the only manufacturing done in the village at the present time. Geographically it is the center of the cigar leaf tobacco producing field of Ohio, four big tobacco warehouses being located here. In- deed the village is in the midst of the best agricultural country in the world, and farming land here has grown very valuable.
West Milton is the outgrowth of a Quaker settlement, the ma- jority of these settlers coming from South Carolina. Being of the society of "Friends," their garb was of the sober Quaker gray. De- scendants of these first settlers while no longer adhering to the fashion in dress, still have the virtues of quiet dignity, sobriety and honesty they inherited from their forefathers and are noted for their integrity.
As the town had no outlet for any shipping by canal which was the earliest route in Miami county, her industrial progress was slow. It was not until 1879 that the railroad came through. Today the Dayton, Toledo & Chicago road gives service and residents of the village often seek the convenience of the Peoria division of the Big Four road, that has a station at Ludlow Falls just a mile and a half distant. The Dayton, Covington & Piqua Traction brought through in 1902, affords invaluable service with its hourly trains. This company has its car barns and powerhouse located here and eighty of their employees make their homes in West Milton.
Overlook park was established by the D., C. & P. company at the north end of the town. This includes forty acres of land and has been made into one of the most beautiful parks in the state. One of the natural attractions is a picturesque waterfall, where the Spring branch empties into the Stillwater. Boating, bathing and fishing are some of the sports enjoyed in this park during the sum- mer months. A dancing pavilion, cafe and rest room have been built and visitors come from all neighboring points on the line. The gorge of the Stillwater, almost a hundred feet below, affords many artistic bits of scenery.
Miami street, where the traction line passes, is the business street. Pearson's hotel, on this street, is quite a comfortable two- story brick building erected in 1906 by Robert Van Horne Pear- son, and has been an hotel site for seventy-five years. Among the
635
THE STORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
happy conditions which contribute to the health and to the happi- ness of this community are first its high location, being 128 feet above Dayton, and second its pure water supply, as the municipal water works has eleven springs to draw from. By the census of 1910 the population was shown to be 1,209, increased, it is esti- mated, about 200, and over this happy community of 1,400 A. G. Miller has jurisdiction as mayor of the village.
The first Quaker church in the world having a steeple and bell was built in West Milton. This was an unheard of thing at the time and inquiries came as far as from England asking if it could be true.
The Quaker sect had their first monthly meeting in Union township, two miles south of of West Milton, in 1807. This was the central church for a number of years until transferred to West Milton, when the West Branch church was abandoned in the 80's. On South Main street is the Methodist Episcopal church, first es- tablished in 1833. The West Milton Christian church was estab- lished, through the efforts of William Jay, at the south end of Miami street.
The first bank established was the West Milton bank in 1882. This bank was nationalized in 1908 and became the First National Bank, retaining the same officers as follows: Robert M. Douglass, president ; C. B. Douglass, vice-president ; D. F. Douglass, cashier. The present location is on Miami street.
The Citizens National bank, organized in 1907, occupies one of the finest small bank buildings in the state. It has a white marble front and most up-to-date banking equipment. Originally this bank had an authorized capital stock of $30,000, with $18,000 paid up. The officers were: President, C. E. Emmerick; first vice-president, Adam Pfeiffer ; second vice-president, A. J. Iddings ; cashier, Noble B. Hunt; directors, C. E. Emmerick, Adam Pfeiffer, Dr. W. H. Kessler, J. C. Minnick, B. J. Ford, L. A. Pearson, G. A. Falconer. The capital stock of $30,000 is now all paid up and the officers are : President, L. E. Ellerman ; vice-president, C. E. Emmerick ; cashier, L. C. Gnagay ; assistant cashier, H. E. Pearson. It is worthy of note as showing the wealth of the community that the deposits of the two banks amount to $1,500,000 for a population of 1,400; over $1,000 per capita.
The West Milton Loan & Savings association was first incor- porated as the West Milton Home Savings association, December 1st, 1887, with an authorized capital stock of $100,000. The first officers were: President, J. W. Smithman; secretary, J. E. Hart ; treasurer, P. O. Vore.
The West Milton Home Telephone company, established in 1882, is now managed by H. S. Blessing, one of the Brethren church preachers. The officers are: President, Charles Ammon; vice- president, Arthur Patty ; secretary, L. A. Blessing ; treasurer, Dan- iel Long; other directors, N. W. Rinehart, Havilah Coppock and J. C. Henderson. This company also supplies service to Laura, Englewood and Verona.
Stillwater Valley Electric company is owned by L. A. Pearson and has supplied electric light and power to West Milton since 1907.
636
MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY
The power plant is on the old Coppock flouring mill site on the Stillwater river, used as a mill site a hundred years ago.
Masonic, Odd Fellows, Rebecca, Knights of Pythias and Pyth- ian Sisters.
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.