Sketches and statistics of Cincinnati in 1851, Part 31

Author: Cist, Charles, 1792-1868
Publication date: 1851
Publisher: Cincinnati : W.H. Moore & Co.
Number of Pages: 450


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Another difficulty yet remained-no water could be found nearer than the foot of the hill, half a mile distant, and to haul all the water so great a distance would have cost a large sum. I selected one of the deepest ravines on the hill-top, and throwing a dam across, while it was actually raining, I had the pleasure of seeing it fill rapidly from the hill-sides ; and in this way an abundant supply was obtained for the mixing of mortar, at a very moderate expense of hauling.


Thus prepared, the building was commenced, with two masons and one tender, during the first week; at the close of the week I had raised sufficient funds to pay off my hands, and directed the foreman to employ, for the following week, two additional masons and a tender; to supply this force with materials, several hands were employed in the quarry, in the lime-kiln, and in the sand-pit, all of whom were hired by the day, to be paid half cash and the residue in trade. During all this time, I may remark, that I was discharg- ing my duties as professor of Mathematics and Philosophy in the Cin- cinnati College, and teaching five hours in each day. Before eight o'clock in the morning, I had visited all my workmen in the build- ing, in the lime-kiln, sand-pit and stone quarry-at that hour my duties in the college commenced, and closed at one. By two o'clock,


345


CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY.


P. M., I was again with my workmen, or engaged in raising the means of paying them on Saturday night. The third week the number of hands was again doubled ; the fourth week produced a like increase, until finally, not less than fifty day laborers were actually engaged in the erection of the Cincinnati Observatory. Each Saturday night exhausted all my funds, but I commenced the next week in the full confidence that industry and perseverance would work out their legitimate results. To raise the cash means re- quired, was the great difficulty. I have frequently made four or five trades to turn my due-bills, payable in trade, into cash. I have not unfrequently gone to individuals and sold them their own due- bills payable in merchandise, for cash, by making a discount. The pork merchants paid me cash for my due bills, payable in barrels and lard kegs, and in this way, I managed to obtain sufficient cash means, to prosecute the work vigorously during the months of July and August ; and in September, I had the satisfaction to see the building up and covered, without having incurred one dollar of debt. At one period, I presume, one hundred hands were employed, at the same time, in the prosecution of the work. More than fifty hands on the hill, and as many in the city in the various workshops, paying their subscriptions by work for different parts of the build- ing. The doors were in the hands of one carpenter, the window- frames in those of another-a third was employed on the sash-a painter took them from the joiner, and in turn delivered them to a glazier, while a carpenter paid his stock by hanging them, with weights purchased by stock, and with cords obtained in the same way. Many locks were furnished by our townsmen in payment of their subscriptions. Lumber, sawing, flooring, roofing, paint- ing, mantles, steps, hearths, hardware, lathing, doors, windows, glass, and painting, were in like manner obtained. At the be- ginning of each week my master carpenter generally gave me a bill of lumber and materials wanted during the week. In case they had not been already subscribed, the stock-book was resorted to, and there was no relaxing of effort until the necessary articles were obtained. If a tier of joists was wanted, the saw-mills were visited, and in some instances the joists for the same floor came from two or three different mills.


On covering the building, the great crowd of hands employed, as masons, tenders, lime-burners, quarry-men, sand and water men, were paid off and discharged ; and it now seemed that the heavy


346


CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY.


pressure was passed, and that one might again breathe free, after the responsibility of such heavy weekly payments was removed.


Having used as much space as is admissible, I conclude, for the present, by referring to the following table, which will give, perhaps, a more correct idea of the organization of the Cincinnati Astrono- mical Society, than a labored description.


The members of the Society, so far as known, are divided as follows :


Judges. 6


Lumber Merchants. 18


Physicians 25


Livery Stable Keepers 3


Magistrates


6


Hardware Merchants 7


Lawyers 33


Steamboat Owners. 5


Officers of Insurance Offices 8


Engincers. 2


Persons living from rents. 34


Engraver.


1


Blacksmiths . 8


Plumbers


2


Iron and Brass Founders 17


Lockmakers


2


Wholesale Grocers 39


Paperhangers


7


Retail


17


Stonemasons


3


Editors 5


Brick and Plasterers 2


Teachers


25


Sawyers


7


Clergymen. 5


Butchers


3


Dry-Goods Dealers 30


Bookseller


1


Bankers and Brokers 21


Hatters


3


Clerks 13


Horticulturists


3


Leather Dealers and Tanners 6


Millers


2


Iron Merchants 16


Tinners 2


Pork Merchants 16


Ice Dealer.


1


Book Publishers. 2


Architects.


2


Druggists.


16


Painters


4


Watchmakers. . 4


Farmers.


2


Carpenters and Joiners. 23


Cooper.


1


Tailors and Clothiers. 6


Brickmaker


1


Crockery Merchants. 7


Mattress Makers


2


Hotel Keepers 6


Printers 7


Shoemakers


5


Cabinetmakers


6


66 Oil-Cloth .


1


Ship Builders.


4


66


Plows . .


2


Stone Cutters.


3


66 other articles.


9


Wire Workers 1


Carriage Makers. 4


Lockmakers and Bell Hangers .. 3 Remainder unknown.


Manufacturers of White Lead. 3


Saleratus. 1


Cotton Yarn .. 2


Saddlers. 2


Lamp Dealers. 2


REEDER'S BUILDING, THIRD, WEST OF WALNUT STREET.


349


COAL.


COAL.


So extensive has been the consumption, or rather waste of timber in the vicinity of our western cities, within the last fifty years, as to render the use of mineral coal, as fuel, a strict necessity.


On the first introduction of coal for that purpose, twenty-five or thirty years since, it was sold at twenty to twenty-five cents per bushel, while fire-wood could be purchased at two dollars and fifty cents per cord ; making ten or twelve bushels of coal as costly as one cord of wood. The relative value of these fuel materials, has altered so greatly since, in the advanced price of wood and the reduced price of coal, that we can hardly realize the fact that even at the rates thus named, and including the price of sawing and splitting, the coal was the cheaper article for family use.


The early supplies of coal were brought here by Ephraim Jones, from Wheeling and Pittsburgh ; and for years these were the only varieties consumed here.


But the great superiority of coal over wood, for families, in the facility of putting it away in a small space ; the convenience of tak- ing it through a dwelling; the readiness with which its fires can be shut down at night, and rekindled in the morning-in a cold morn- ing, a great point of advantage-the superior degree of safety of coal over wood, as regards accidental fires resulting from their use, and more than all, the changed relation of value-coal now costing hardly more than one-fourth the price of firewood, have rendered the coal popular, alike to the employer and those he hires. Wood, except for cooking purposes, is fuel here no longer.


The principal objection to the use of coal, is the presence of sul- phur and of bitumen to such excess, as to render its use unpleasant and unhealthy in chambers, as well as a nuisance in the streets ; defiling the persons of individuals, and the fronts of the buildings. Most of us have visited Pittsburgh and Wheeling, and can compre- hend the force of these objections.


Fortunately for us, we have coal mines opened and opening con- stantly for the supply of this market, which promise to obviate the objection alluded to. These are :


1. The Pomeroy mines, in Meigs county, Ohio.


2. The Peach Orchard field, on Sandy, Virginia.


3. The Cannel coal, on Kanawha.


350


COAL - GLENDALE.


4. The coal on the Monongahela and Youghiogeny, of the Cin- cinnati Coal-mine Company, and lastly :


5. The new mines at South Point, Lawrence county, in Ohio, and the Rock Grove mines in Virginia, just commencing to supply this market.


These varieties burn free from sulphur, and consume every por- tion to ashes, as any one will find on making the test.


The consumption of coal in 1840, was one million nine hundred thousand and fifty bushels. It has increased since, to nearly eight million bushels; the regular decline in price, and our business enlargement stimulating a constantly increasing consumption of the article.


GLENDALE.


THIS is a village, and once a series of fine farms, amounting in the aggregate to five hundred and sixty-five acres. It is situated on the line of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton railroad, and twelve miles from our own city. The property has been purchased by a joint-stock company of thirty persons, who propose. after selecting their own lots out of the premises, to lay off the residue into building lots of various sizes, confining their sales to actual residents, at least for the summer season, and of a description of persons who will be desirable neighbors to each other. A series of improvements are in progress, which will make Glendale a delight- ful residence. An artificial lake of four acres surface, and seven- teen feet depth, has been created, by running a dam three hundred feet long just below four or five permanent and abundant springs ; which will secure inexhaustible supplies of water for washing and bathing.


Glendale will be a station for wooding and watering, and passen- gers and freight for the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton railroad.


An arrangement will be made to establish regular morning and evening trains to and from Cincinnati, in addition to the through trains. This will afford unrivaled facilities to accommodate the dwellers at Glendale.


There will be three hundred lots or more, laid out, for future purchasers.


WOODRUFF HOUSE,


P. E. & G. P. TUTTLE, . PROPRIETORS.


353


CENSUS OF OHIO-1850.


CENSUS OF OHIO-1850.


COUNTIES.


WHITE.


COLORED.


TOTAL.


1840.


Adams


18,890


53


18,943


12,775


Allen


12,100


16


12,116


9,079


Ashland


23,824


2


23,826


Ashtabula.


28,727


40


28,767


23,723


Athens


18,137


80


18,217


19,109


Auglaize*


11,278


63


11,341


Belmont


33,914


685


34,599


30,901


Brown


26,648


686


27,334


22,715


Butler


30,439


355


30,794


28,173


Carroll


17,635


50


17,685


18,108


Champaign


19,278


465


19,743


16,720


Clark


21,872


302


22,174


16,832


Clermont


30,056


393


30,449


23,100


Clinton


18,268


569


18,837


15,719


Columbiana


33,437


164


33,601


40,378


Coshocton


25,631


40


25,671


21,500


Crawford


18,167


10


18,177


13,152


Cuyahoga.


47,776


329


48,105


26,506


Darke .


20,038


239


20,277


13,282


Defiance *


6,947


19


6,966


22,060


Erie


18,436


142


18,578


12,457


Fairfield


30,002


255


30,257


31,924


Fayette


12,457


279


12,736


10,984


Franklin


41,327


1553


42,880


25,049


Fulton


7,779


1


7,780


Gallia


15,885


1179


17,064


13,444


Geauga


17,816


7


17,823


16,297


Greene


21,339


608


21,947


17,528


Guernsey


30,295


177


30,472


27,748


Hamilton


153,356


3494


156,850


80,145


Hancock


16,753


21


16,774


9,981


Hardin


8,237


14


8,251


4,598


Harrison


19,901


259


20,160


20,099


Henry


3,432


3,432


2,503


Highland


24,909


872


25,781


22,269


Hocking


13,990


129


14,119


9,741


Holmes


20,457


1


20,458


18,088


Huron


26,184


19


26,203


22,661


Jackson


12,376


348


12,724


9,744


Jefferson


23,469


664


29,133


25,030


Knox


28,828


42


28,870


29,579


Lake


14,619


36


14,655


13,740


Lawrence


14,944


303


15,247


9,725


Licking


38,738


107


38,845


35,096


Logan


18,671


497


19,168


14,015


Lorain


25,834


257


26,091


18,467


Lucas


12,255


126


12,381


9,382


Madison


9,922


90


10,012


9,025


Mahoning


23,680


53


23,733


Marion


12,536


18


12,554


20,852


Medina


24,396


37


24,433


18,352


Delaware


21,682


132


21,814


354


CENSUS OF OHIO-1850.


COUNTIES.


WHITE.


COLORED.


TOTAL.


1840.


Meigs


17,921


39


17,960


11,452


Mercer


7,319


393


7,712


8,277


Miami


24,391


566


24,957


19,688


Monroe


28,306


61


28,367


18,521


Montgomery


38,007


210


38,217


31,038


Morgan


28,515


78


28,593


20,852


Morrow


20,239


1


20,240


Muskingum


44,460


593


45,053


38,749


Ottawa .


3,309


1


3,310


2,248


Paulding.


1,765


1


1,766


1,034


Perry . .


20,751


23


20,774


19,344


Pickaway


20,720


390


21,110


19,725


Pike.


10,337


618


10,955


7,626


Portage


24,331


56


24,387


19,688


Preble


21,708


40


21,748


19,482


Putnam


7,221


7,221


5,189


Richland


30,823


54


30,877


44,532


Ross


30,263


1821


32,084


27,460


Sandusky


14,495


34


14,529


10,182


Scioto


18,562


167


18,729


11,192


Seneca


26,995


110


27,105


18,139


Shelby


13,573


383


13,956


12,154


Stark. .


39,789


99


39,888


34,605


Summit


27,375


106


27,481


22,562


Trumbull


30,504


36


30,540


25,700


Tuscarawas


31,658


74


31,732


25,631


Union


12,081


124


12,205


8,422


Vanwert


4,748


45


4,793


1,577


Vinton *


9,252


101


9,353


Warren


25,024


536


25,560


23,141


Washington.


29,139


373


29,512


20,823


Wayne .


33,024


21


33,045


35,808


Williams


8,018


8,018


4,995 ..


Wood


9,147


18


9,165


5,458


Wyandot *


11,121


48


11,169


Totals


1,957,465


23,495


1,980,960


1,519,467


* Erected since 1840


Note .- Since the earlier pages of this publication went to press, the Cincinnati Female Institute, under charge of Professor Zachos and Miss M. Cox, has been removed to Dayton, and merged in the Cooper Female Institute of that city.


This change serves only to enlarge its recommendations to those desirous of sending pupils, in the measure of advantage, Dayton possesses over Cincin- nati as respects abundant range of exercise, as well as purer air to breathe.


WESLEYAN FEMALE COLLEGE


356


THE PROTESTANT UNIVERSITY OF THE UNITED STATES.


THE PROTESTANT UNIVERSITY OF THE UNITED STATES.


THIS Institution was incorporated by the Legislature of Ohio, in the year 1845, and is under the management of a competent board of trustees. The following is the second section of its charter, which fixes its location, defines its object, and secures to it the most un- limited academic powers, viz: " The said university shall be located in, or near to, the city of Cincinnati ; and its object and purpose are hereby declared to be the promotion and advancement of education, the cultivation and diffusion of literature, science, and the arts, in all their departments and faculties." It is not Sectarian. Thus, in the ninth and eleventh sections, it is expressly "provided that in the rules and regulations governing the admission of students, there shall be no preference on account of religious sects, or any other cause, except good moral character, and the promise of superior scholarship," and "that the corporation shall have no power at any time to establish a sectarian religious test, as a condition of enjoying the honors and privileges of the university." But it is Protestant. And this name was given to it, by the Legislature, because of the provision in the eleventh section of its charter, " That it shall always be conducted in subserviency to the True, Reformed, Protestant Christian Religion, as taught in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments." Its general corporate powers are correspond- ingly liberal in their character. This outline, as it is due to our citizens, will sufficiently explain, for the present, the nature and scope of the institution.


The university has not yet been opened for instruction, but much has been done in preparation for this. The Rev. William Wilson, of this city, who is about to sail for Europe in its interest, is its chancellor. It has recently been endowed, by the munificent be- quest of an enlightened, spirited, and patriotic protestant, in the eastern section of our country. The whole Protestant world, as well as the republic of letters and science, are deeply interested in the success of this university.


The Officers of the Board of Trustees, are :-


Rev. Andrew Heron, D. D., President pro tem.


James C. McMillan, Esq., Secretary.


Thomas Wilson, Esq., Treasurer.


30


BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, AT FAIRMOUNT.


3031700


CX.STILLMAN CIN.


FARMERS' COLLEGE, HAMILTON COUNTY, O.


MANUFACTURING ILLUSTRATIONS.


359


PRICES OF JONES' HAND- PRESSES.


Double medium, with boiler apparatus, $240; imperial, 220; super royal, 200; medium, 190; Cap, without boiler apparatus, 75.


B


on the tympan.


A. Position of Pressman. B. Position of Roller Boy. C. Place for Bank, from which the sheet is put


TELFER


0


A


Guilford & Jones, 41 Second street, who have the exclusive right for the ma- nufacture and sale of this valuable hand-press, are now prepared to fill orders for medium and double medium sizes. By this press, an increase of at least fifty per cent. of work is obtained, with a great reduction of labor. Its pecu- liar advantages over the old consist :- 1. In the saving of time in putting on and taking off the sheet. 2. In the saving of time in running the bed under and out from the platin. 3. In the flying the frisket, as it is self-acting. 4. In the application of the leverage, by which means a very heavy impression is obtained by a small expenditure of physical force. 5. In the saving of time and labor of stepping backward and forward by the pressman, as it is unne- cessary for him to move out of his tracks while at work. 6. From the manner in which the points are attached, it being impossible for the blankets to full up as the form runs under the platin, which, in the ordinary press, renders the points liable to move.


JONES' IMPROVED HAND-PRESS:


-


361


MANUFACTURING ILLUSTRATIONS,


WILSON'S PATENT STEAM RENDERING TANKS.


363


MANUFACTURING ILLUSTRATIONS.


LOTZE'S NEW PATENT WARM AIR FURNACE OF 1850, FOR HEATING CHURCHES, DWELLINGS, STORES, AND OTHER PUBLIC BUILDINGS.


FURNACE, WITH BRICK AIR-CHAMBER, FOR BURNNG COAL.


FURNACE STOVE, FOR BURNING WOOD.


Y.i.


DOUND TO SEP 21 1939


PLEASE 'CAL





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