USA > Ohio > Muskingum County > Zanesville > Past and present of the city of Zanesville and Muskingham County, Ohio > Part 31
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Mills, Cotton. During December, 1846, sub- scriptions to an aggregate of $21,000.00 were made for the erection of a cotton mill, and the Zanesville Cotton Mill was constructed, with John A. Adams, president ; D. H. Lyman, secre- tary; Richard Huff, general superintendent, which was reorganized in 1855.
In 1854 William Galigher built a large cotton mill at the southwest corner of Zane and Under- wood streets, and made sheeting, batting and yarn until his death, February 17, 1860, when the machinery was sold to the Zanesville Cotton Mill, and the building remained unoccupied until opened by Mathews as a paper mill.
Mills, Grist. During the fall of 1799 John and George Mathews built the first floating mill in the country and anchored it at a point of rocks then in the river on the west side near the Third street bridge, where the current was swift. The mill was placed on a flat boat and a canoe, fastened at a distance from the side, supported the end of the shaft upon which the wheel revolved. the water passing between the boats. The mill was liberally patronized by the settlers throughout the valley, and customers came for miles around to have their corn ground. During a sudden rise in the river, in June, 1800, the anchors broke, and the mill floated to Duncan's Falls, and eight men were required to return it. The device was not satisfactory, as in 1803-4 John Mathews erected the first grist mill in the neighborhood at the falls of Moxa- hala, or Jonathan's Creek.
In 1818-19 James Granger built a three-story mill fifty by eighty feet, at what is now the head of the canal ; it contained two run of stones, and had a daily capacity of one hundred barrels ; in 1822 an addition, thirty by ninety-nine feet, was made and grain was bought for cash, and constituted the only market in southeastern Ohio; Angust 0, 1829, the mill burned, and was not rebuilt.
I11 1825 George and Richard Reeve built a three-story mill, south of Main street, at the cast end of the Y bridge, fitted with six run of stones. which they operated until 1830, when Richard
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
withdrew and was succeeded by his nephew, George, Jr., who was unsuccessful after several years' trial, and in 1848 a mortgage on the prop- erty was foreclosed, and the mill was idle until July, 1851, when William Sturges, James McCon- nell and Charles Blandy, as McConnell and Blandy, purchased the plant for $18,000.00. re- modeled and increased the capacity to four hun- dred barrels per day, and in 1855 sold to William Galigher for $21.000.00. At his death. in 1860, it was operated by Charles Galigher, who was unsuccessful and creditors took possession. As the property was in arrears for water rent the Board of Public Works seized it and leased it to Ball and Cassidy for thirty years, and they trans- ferred the franchise to Paul H. Kaemmerer about 1870 ; the plant is now the property of the Mus- kingum Coffin Company.
In 1828 Cushing, Martin and Pierce built a mill on the north side of Main street, at the east end of the Y bridge, and in 1843 sold a half interest to W. C. Cassel, who built a brick addition, 1852-3, about which time the entire interest passed to him : in 1873 his widow operated the property until 1875, when it was leased to Pickering, Grant and Company, who managed it until November I, 1881, when Mrs. Cassel resumed control, with George H. Stewart. as business manager, and Captain Charles Grant, as superintendent ; the site is now occupied by the power house of the Zanes- ville Railway. Light and Power Company.
The Ballentine and Clark brewery, built in 1817. converted into a grist mill in 1835, and operated as such for about two years, stood idle until 1842 : William Beaumont then leased it for one year, and in 1845 it was converted into a white lead works, and destroyed by fire in 1853.
Mills, Saw. John McIntire was the first to har- ness the water power at Zanesville : some of the land east of the river bank was low, and during high water much of it ran around the rapids. In 1806 he built a race from about the B. & O. bridge to below the C. & M. V. bridge : the head of the race was a short distance above the middle falls, and was protected by a wooden abutment, well braced with heavy logs interlaced and filled with stone and gravel ; the logs were bound by heavy iron spikes, and iron gates protected the canal during high water. The race was about thirty feet wide along its course, but wider at the mill site, where a dam held the water at about the level above the falls ; the sides of the race were pro- tected against washings by long poles planted at an angle of forty-five degrees, reinforced by longi- tudinal poles at the top and middle, and all fas- tened securely and closely together. The saw mill was located at about the site of Gary's furniture factory, and was operated by an overshot wheel, but so much sand was carried into the race that it had to be frequently shoveled out and the opera-
tion became so expensive that the enterprise was abandoned. The island formed by the race was a popular resort for young people in the evenings, and among housewives during the daytime ; water was difficult to procure at home for the family washings, and in the morning of the reg- ular wash day boys carried tubs and clothes to the island and in the afternoon returned them to the homes ; neighboring families were accustomed to wash at the same time and a sort of weekly picnic held, the kettles being left on premises.
In 1830 Nash & Company operated a steam sawmill at the north end of Third street which passed to the control of Hughes & Spruck until torn down, and in 1832 Jesse Dare and Alfred Printz erected a two-story sawmill north of Nash & Company, which was in operation until 1838.
Nails. John Hough was engaged in their manufacture at the foot of Main street in 1814, and in 1819 R. and G. Reeve were likewise em- ployed in Main street near Sixth, and later at the east end of the Y bridge, where water power
THE OLD GRANGER MILL.
was obtained ; they used a crude machine for cutting the iron but the heading was done by hand and on account of the expense the business was abandoned 1825-6.
Painters. Wesley Alwine, in 1828, and Daniel McCarty in 1853, are recorded.
Paper. In 1828 Ezekiel T. Cox and Simeon Wright, who were operating a sawmill, began the manufacture of paper at the north end of Seventh street, and for many years it was a leading in- dustry of the city; in 1830 Wright sold his in- terests to James L. Cox, and the firm of E. T. & J. L. Cox continued until May 1, 1836, when the mill burned. A brick structure was immediately built, the firm being Horatio J. and Jonas L.
..
CASSEL FLOURING MILL.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
Cox and they continued the business twenty years. When the telegraph was introduced telegrams were received upon a narrow strip of paper, in the code of signals, and the operator copied the message from this strip; the paper was cut by hand and this mill invented a method of pre- paring the paper by machinery which not only produced a more even reel but enabled them to undersell their competitors, and they had a monopoly of this trade, their product being shipped to European as well as Amer- ican cities. About 1857 the property was as- signed to David Hull, when George Rishtine, Charles R. Hubbell, Thomas Hubbell and Wil- liam Nutt, as George Rishtine and Company, be- gan the operation of the plant. The two last named retired within a year and the others con- tinued until April 1, 1859, when Hubbell sold to J. M. Leonard, and soon after the property was conveyed to Mrs. E. M. Cox; in 1860 she sold a half interest to John Gilbert and the firm of Cox and Gilbert operated until November 1, 1868, when Jacob Glessner, John Gilbert and Terry be- came owners: soon after Glessner and Gilbert were sole owners and continued the business until the manufacture ceased.
The idle cotton mill property, at the southwest corner of Zane and Underwood streets, was pur- chased by Edward Mathews and George Rish- tine in 1865 and converted into a paper mill ; the first product was coarse wrapping paper, but the quality soon developed into printing and manilla ; the firm dissolved in 1876, and Mr. Mathews con- tinued the business until paper making proved un- profitable at Zanesville, and the plant was con- verted into an artificial ice plant.
Plasterer. James Lindsay in 1804 was em- ployed to plaster the bar room at Harvey's Tav- ern, which was the first work of the kind done in the town.
Pottery. In 1808 Samuel Sullivan manufac- tured rough crockery in the form of plates, cups and saucers : in 1840 Bernard Howsen, John Hal- lam, G. W. Wheaton, and two others, were in business in south Seventh street, near the canal, and continued until the plant passed to Fischer and Lansing and became the initial plant of the American Encaustic Tiling Company. In 1849 George Pyatt produced Rockingham and yellow stoneware.
Rope. In 1811 James Kellar manufactured rope for the neighborhood ; in 1818, A. P. Westbrook, next door to Dugan's hotel ; in 1832, Abbott and Crane, on the river bank between First and Second streets; in 1833 Abraham Arter, on the north side of Main street, between Second street and Beach alley, continued the business until 1876; in 1835. George L. Shinnick and John R. Howard, at the northwest corner of Main and Second streets,
where they remained until 1838, when Shinnick moved to Howard street, between Fifth and Sixth streets.
Saddler. In 1805 Samuel Frazey was engaged in the business in Mud Hollow, and in 1808 built a two-story brick, twenty by forty-five feet, in Sixth street, south of South.
Salt. In 1817 James Hampson made salt at the mouth of Mill Run until 1826; in 1818 Thomas L. Pierce and G. A. Hall sunk a well on the saw mill race, south end of Second street, and built a bath house over the well, with a saloon attached, but the enterprise was abandoned; in 1819 Alex- ander Culbertson, at the lower locks, and in 1823, N. C. Findlay, below Blue's tan yard, were similarly employed ; many persons invested in the business, but none seem to have been remunerated.
Shoemakers. The first sons of St. Crispin were two Irishmen, Smith, who appeared in 1800, and John Cain, in 1801 ; there were no shops for the sale or repair of shoes, and the cobblers went from house to house with their kits and lasts in a wallet, and boarded with the family they were serving, a system which was called whip- ping the cat. Each member of a family was lim- ited to one pair per year and a neat fit was neither anticipated nor secured. In 1807 Joseph Church came, and in 1808 opened the first store ; in 1808 Solomon Deffenbaugh and Timothy Gaylord, and 1810 David Anson, made the quartette who con- trolled the business until 1816. In 1814 they signed an agreement about prices, the first record of a combination of labor that has been discovered in the town; their figures were: top Cossack boots, $14.00; plain Cossack boots, $12.00; Wel- lington boots, $8.00; half soling, $4.87: ladies' laced boots, $4.50 ; ladies' broad, $3.00: in 1816 four additions were made to the craft and in 1817 fourteen more are recorded.
Soap. In 1811 Daniel Prouty began soap-mak- ing on the river bank, between Fifth and Sixth streets, and in 1815 N. and C. Wilson succeeded him and continued until 1847, when Hiram Rog- ers and Dr. A. H. Brown purchased the business. In 1848 Theodore Convers bought Rogers' inter- est, and in the following year secured Brown's and continued until 1853, when he conveyed the business to William Schultz for $7,000.00. In 1866 his son, Robert D., and his nephew. John Hoge, succeeded to the manufacture, as the firm of Schultz and Company, and made Zanesville famous as a soap manufacturing city : in 1903 the plant, which had grown to immense proportion at Seventh and Marietta streets, was sold to the Proctor and Gamble Company at Cincinnati.
In 1815 Eber Merriam began the manufacture of soap at the foot of Market street. In 1818 a stock company was formed by Merriam, George Abbott, Ephraim Abbott and Nathaniel Wilson, as the Muskingum Manufacturing Company, and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
moved to the foot of Fifth street. In 1835 David Hahn was with N. and C. Wilson, but in 1863 be- gan the business on personal account.
Smiths. John Dulty, as a tin and coppersmith was engaged in business in 1809.
Tannery. Moses Moorehead and Joseph Rob- ertson, in 1806, established a tannery at the head of Main street, and in 1814 Moorehead bought the business, and April 24, 1832, sold to Thomas Moorehead; it was continued by various parties until 1866, when it was abandoned, and the land sold as building lots. In 1809 James Culbertson started a tanncry at the northeast corner of Fifth and Market streets, which was continued until 1834-5, when the machinery was disposed of and the land sold for building purposes. In 1830 Dos- ter and Darlinton established the largest tannery in eastern Ohio, near the junction of the National and Wheeling roads; it contained one hundred vats, and was operated until 1844, when it was closed, and the ground sold for building purposes ; in 1830 Gilbert Blue opened a tannery on the Marietta road, which was operated until 1876; in 1844 N. G. and Charles Abbott, near the Mus- kingum river, made a specialty of tanning sheep skins : sheep were bought and slaughtered, the hams cured for the eastern market, and the rc- mainder of the carcass rendered into tallow for candles ; the business was discontinued in 1849.
Tobacco. The first tobacconist was J. L. Coch- ran, in 1817, whose store was at the northwest corner of Main street and Sewer alley, then called Mud Hollow, where cigars and chewing and smoking tobacco were manufactured : Daniel Christ came shortly after and located at the south- west corner of Market and Fourth streets.
It is related that Christ and Rev. L. Scheid were warm personal friends, and occasionally took sprees together ; during one of thesc drinking bouts, in 1827-8, a discussion developed into a dispute which their friends cultivated into a quar- rel, and the remarks exchanged were of a charac- ter which it was unanimously agreed could be atoned for only as was customary among gentle- men. The disputants were readily persuaded to meet on the field of honor, and the "crowd" at Galigher's hat store was active in arranging the preparations. William Galigher was chosen ref- eree, and James Culbertson and Neville Thomp- son seconds ; the formidable horse pistol of the period was the weapon, the third story of the hat store the place and the time "at once." The prin- cipals became serious as the gravity of the prepa- rations dawned upon them, and that one or both might be removed as a corpsc, but neither flinched as they had been convinced by their respective friends that any other coursc than the one pursued would be dishonorable and cowardly. The dis- tance of twenty paces was measured, the length of the room ; the weapons were loaded with pow-
der and wads, and handed to the principals, who were placed at the proper distance apart with their backs toward each other. The parson knelt and made an eloquent prayer ; the directions were given that at the signal each was to turn and fire, and "One," "Two" and "Fire" were slowly and solemnly called ; Christ was anxious to get the first shot, and in his nervous condition fired his weapon as he turned and was at the mercy of his antago- nist, who magnanimously fired at the ceiling ; the affair ended to the satisfaction of all, the friend- ship of the principals was restored as their friends were active in asserting that each had proven him- self a man of nerve whose friendship it was an honor to possess.
Wagons. William Schultz came from Win- chester, Virginia, in 1832, and opened a wagon works in which the coaches for the Ohio Stage Company were madc.
Woolen Mills. A small building owned by J. R. Thomas at the lower end of Main street was fitted as a woolen mill and operated by Jeremiah Dare, who took his son, Jesse, into the business in 1822; in April, 1838, Thomas J., another son, purchased a half interest and eventually owned the whole ; in November, 1840, the mill and contents were totally destroyed by fire. A mill was im- mediately rebuilt at the head of the canal, between it and the river and north of where the B. & O. R. R. track now runs, where with new and im- proved machinery a prosperous business was be- gun in April, 1841, and continued for many years ; January 22, 1865, Thomas J. Dare died and the mill was operated by Jeremiah Z., Thomas J., Jr., and Lewis Dare until December, 1878, when it was permanently closed.
Undertakers. Early burials in Zanesville were made in bark, peeled from trces, lined with leaves, and dried grass, and bound with withes or cord ; the first ready made coffins were sold by James Cherry, at Putnam. For many years pall-bearers were active and not mercly honorary attendants at funcrals, and bodies were carried from the resi- dence to the cemetery on a bier, and it is related that the procession was required to stop at times to rest the bearers, especially when the hill grave- yard was used. The first hearse in the town was a plain, black, covered wagon, without lining or trimmings, and owned by John P. Stevens and Henry Mussellman. The first regular undertak- er was Louis Brenholtz, who began business in 1837, and placed in service an ornamental hearse manufactured by William Schultz. In 1869 Jon- athan Hatcher and Sons began the manufacture of coffins in the building on the canal bank, now occupied by the Zanesville Furniture Company ; this was the first factory of the kind in the city, and in 1879 was incorporated as the Zanesville Coffin Company, but went out of business.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
CHAPTER XVIII.
LEADING EXISTING INDUSTRIES, COMPOSING AMER- ICAN ENCAUSTIC TILING COMPANY, BLANDY WORKS, BROWN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, GRIFFITH & WEDGE COMPANY, HARRIS BRICK COMPANY, J. B. OWENS POTTERY COMPANY, MARK MANUFACTURING COMPANY, MOSAIC TILE COMPANY, MUSKINGUM COFFIN COMPANY, OIIIO POTTERY COMPANY, PINKERTON TOBACCO COM- PANY, ROSEVILLE POTTERY COMPANY, S. A. WEL- LER, T. B. TOWNSEND BRICK AND CONTRACTING COMPANY, ZANESVILLE GAS LIGHT COMPANY, NATURAL GAS.
EXISTING INDUSTRIES.
The existing industries of Zanesville are too diverse and numerous to describe, and the few which are enumerated were selected not because of uniqueness, but for their extent and promi- nence ; others approaching in volume of business some of those named may be omitted, but the purpose has been to represent the city's manufac- tures, and not compile a directory.
That the manufacturing and commercial inter- ests of the city are extensive is attested by the membership of Zanesville Council, United Com- mercial Travelers, which has 300 enrolled affili- ates, as against 1,089 at Cincinnati, 857 at Colum- bus, 391 at Dayton, 341 at Toledo, and 333 at Cleveland. Eight entrances by steam railroads and one by electric interurban, with two more in development, and a navigable river, afford facili- ties for rapid, convenient and economical com- munication with the rest of the country. Zanes- ville's department stores take rank with any in the State ; its wholesale houses command a large territory and successfully compete with the busi- ness houses of the other cities ; its hotels are am- ple for the needs of the city, and are famed for their hospitality : its markets are unsurpassed for the variety and fine quality of produce, and every natural and artificial condition is possessed for the development of a wealthy and populous city.
AMERICAN ENCAUSTIC TILING COMPANY.
In 1874 F. H. Hall, then a resident of Zanes- ville, and possessing some knowledge of the qual- ity of local clays, secured the attention of Mr. B. Fischer, of New York, to a project to manufac- ture encaustic tiling, which was at the time being imported as none was manufactured in the United States. Mr. Fischer and his business partner, G. R. Lansing, agreed to sustain the expense of ex- periments, and a beginning was made in a small brick building, on the canal bank. opposite Schultz's soap works, in south Seventh street, where the production of crocks and coarse kitchen
ware had been conducted on a small scale. The first two years' results were devoid of satisfactory conditions, kiln after kiln were failures and dis- couragement was the only asset. During these experiments Mr. G. A. Stanbery was at home on vacation, and visited the plant and his inventive mind conceived mechanical devices which would overcome the difficulties encountered ; Mr. Fischer was informed of the suggestions and Mr. Stan- bery was engaged to carry his plans into execu- tion. In 1876 Gilbert Elliott succeeded Hall and 1877 the firm of Fischer and Lansing furnished the tile for the floors of the new court house, at Zanesville, and nearly thirty years' wear attest their quality.
Having produced the first merchantable tile in America, a plant was needed to manufacture it and ground was purchased and a building, sixty- eight by one hundred and twenty-five feet, with six kilns, was erected; Mr. Stanbery was made superintendent and in 1878 a stock company was formed. The problem remained of proving to architects that the American product equalled the European in the qualities demanded for floor and mural purposes, and the company engaged in con- tracting to demonstrate the merit of the home material : success followed, additions were made to the plant, and March 1, 1879, Mr. Stanbery was made General Superintendent, and March 20 the American Encaustic Tiling Company was or- ganized. The company soon outgrew its accom- modations, and as the majority of the stock was held at New York the owners reasonably favored the erection of the needed new plant nearer home, and the market. and determined upon a location in New Jersey. John Hoge, R. D. Schultz and G. A. Stanbery, tne Zanesville stockholders, demur- red, and the local board of trade was made ac- quainted with the situation, and the citizens pledged a bonus of $40,000.00 to retain the plant at Zanesville ; a large tract of land was purchased on the west side of the river, north of the city, and bonds to the amount of $40,000.00 were voted by the citizens in aid of the enterprise, which was warmly supported by the officials of the C., C. & S. R. R.
The immense plant, the largest of its character in the United States, was completed and ready for occupancy in April, 1892, and the occasion was made one of general celebration in the city. The ladies of the Women's Benevolent Society and the Hospital AAssociation were placed in possession of the building for April 19. 1892. and conducted several attractions in aid of their institutions. Booths for the sale of refreshments, Jack Horner pies and souvenirs, an art gallery, and dancing hall were liberally patronized : special trams were run on the railroads and Governor William Mc- Kinley attended and made one of his characteris- tie speeches upon the significance of the great plant and its benefits to the city.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF
H. & F. BLANDY.
In the spring of 1840 Henry and F. J. L. Blandy, with $5,000.00 borrowed capital, erected a foundry on the site of their subsequent extensive works, in Underwood street, and began the man- ufacture of a line of plows and stoves, which be- came very popular ; about 1850 the plant was en- larged and the manufacture of tools and machin- ery was added, and when the Central Ohio Rail- road was constructed several locomotives for its use were built at the Blandy works ; the business did not prove satisfactory and they became pio- neers of the world in producing portable steam engines, and saw mills, and made the first success- ful portable lumber cutting apparatus : their trade grew to be world wide, and the Blandy engines and saw mills were operated in every civilized country, and the business developed to such pro- portions that the entire block in Underwood street from Elm to Tarrier, was covered with a three- story brick building.
The Civil war checked the trade, but with the return of peace business took on its former pro- portions, and an auxiliary plant was purchased at Newark ; about 10 p. m., Saturday, August 25, 1866, a fire broke out in the paint shop, on the second floor, at the north end of the building, and the entire plant was destroyed, entailing a loss of $200,000.00 with an insurance of only $15,000.00, the blow staggered but did not overthrow the pro- prietors, and when the salesmen came home when the calamity was learned, the courageous owners sent them out immediately with the statement that orders were more than ever needed ; the Newark plant was taxed to its capacity, and the recon- struction of the Underwood street works was rushed to completion. A more prosperous career followed until the panic of 1873, when the Blandys shared in the general depression, and in 1879 the first check in the success of the business occurred in the death of Henry, the senior of the firm ; the business was continued by F. J. L. Blandy, who became financially embarrassed, and at his death, in 1884, the works were operated by his widow.
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