The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 58

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

USA > Ohio > Miami County > The History of Miami County, Ohio > Part 58

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

The earliest liquor store was opened by John M. Cheevers, at the north end of Main street ; the first iron store, by S. H. Brown, on the southwest corner of the public square; the second, by John Morrow, at the place now occupied by James Scott in the same line of business. The earliest distinct grocery house was that of Sawyer & Davis, on Main street, just north of the corner now occupied by the Citizens' National Bank. The first drug store was kept by M. G. Mitchell, on Main street, a little south of the present Spencer's store; the second, by Daniel Ashton, afterward merged into the firm of Ashton & Ewing.

The establishments in the early days were small, increasing, however, in capacity, with the demands of trade and the filling up of the country, and we see a few of the older men who still survive, so as at least to look on at the increasing business of the town, and to compare the present with the former days of com- mercial affairs. J. M. Cheevers and William Scott* still walk the streets, as they have done for more than half a century, and, though not actively engaged in trade, still feel a lively interest in everything connected with the financial or commercial pursuits and changes of the day.

William Scott* is the oldest of the dry-goods merchants in the city, indeed, no business man in the place has been so long and steadily engaged in trade. For for fifty-seven years Mr. Scott continued closely and personally to attend to his business as a merchant. The house is now carried on in the name of John M. Scott & Co., but the original head of the house is always seen about when not engaged in the bank, and looks actively after the interests of the establishment. For more than half a century Mr. Scott has done business on the same square on Main street, where he is now found. Other prominent dry-goods houses are C. S. Parker & Co .; F. W. Reiter; D. Spencer & Co .; C. Gross; Stein & Co. and A. Berting.

The large clothing houses are Henry Flesh, A. Friedlich, J. F. Hemsteger, P. I. Gates & Co., M. Friedlich, M. Newhoff, D. Urbansky and C. W Bachelor.

The prominent grocery houses are John Zollinger & Son; Sawyer & Co .; G. N. Ziegenfelder ; P. A. Williamson ; John Harbaugh & Co .; D. Louis ; Charles Lebolt; M. Ziegenfelder and M. Belier, etc.

In iron, hardware, stoves, etc., the principal dealers are R. E. Reynolds ; George Lee and James Scott.

In boots and shoes .- William Ward, George Pfistner, Amos Abele, and J. V. Bartel.

There are two well-filled book-stores I. N. Todd and J. Merring.

Jewelers-A. Wendel, Aug. Thoma & Sons, Richey and M. Ryan.

Tobacconists John Lang, Leopold Kiefer and Christ & Wiltheiss.

Druggists-A. C. Wilson, Ashton Bros., Brandriff & Hedges, P. Graef, Jr., and Hunzinger.

Two large establishments engaged as tanners, curriers and leather dealers-J. M. Brown and T. J. Wiley.

The daguerrean gallery of I. Thorne will very well repay a visit to any lover of art. Mr. Thorne keeps a handsome collection of pictures at his rooms, on Main street, and his photographs, both plain and colored, are finished in the best style. The rooms of Mr. F. Gale are in the third story, over the large grocery house of D. Louis, on Main street. Mr. Gale is said to be very successful in his pictures of young children, and he has, himself, made some improvements in the art of photog- raphy, which are considered valuable.

The heavy grain dealers are Messrs. Farrington & Slauson, on the public square and at their storehouse below the railroad, on Main street, and Messrs. Orr & Leonard, also on the east side of the public square and on the canal. Both these houses are large buyers, and employ an amount of capital in the grain trade not . exceeded by any dealers in the county.

There are two large hotels, the City, kept by A. J. Roe and Harry Morse, on the corner of Main and Ash streets, and the Leland, by Mr. C. May, at the south - "Since this writing , William Scott passed away, having been stricken with paralysis.

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

end of the opera house block. Both are excellent houses. A large number of smaller houses of entertainment are found in various parts of the city.

LAWYERS.

The need of legal learning and advice is not felt early, as a general rule, in a Western community, and our pioneer fathers were no exception to the rule. The ordinary magistrate was the depository of the law, and what legal lore he failed to possess was not considered worth having. Increase of population and trade, how- ever, with the complications of business necessarily following in the train, soon made gentlemen of the legal profession welcome members of the community. William McLean, brother of Judge John McLean, of the United States Supreme Court, and also Postmaster General of the United States, was the first regular professional lawyer who settled in the village. He came to Piqua about the year 1820, and represented the Miami District, which comprehended nearly all Western Ohio north of Warren County, in the Congress of the United States, from 1823 to 1829 inclu- sive. He was a man of decided ability, honest and upright, and possessed great influence in the community in which he lived. He was a prominent member of the Methodist Church, as was also his excellent wife, and their house was for many years the well-known resting-place for ministers and itinerants of this de- nomination. Shortly after his last term in Congress, Mr. McLean removed from Piqua to Cincinnati, and was for several years extensively engaged in mercantile pursuits, but, his health failing, he retired from business, spent several months in the Island of Cuba hoping to derive benefit for his pulmonary disease from the change of climate, but failing in this he returned to Cincinnati, spent some time in revisit- ing several points in his old Congressional district, Piqua among others, returning, finally, to his Cincinnati home, where he ended his long and useful life in 1839.

The second member of the legal profession in Piqua was Gen. Robert Young, a student of McLean's, and who soon succeeded to his business during his absence in Congress, and after his removal from the county. Gen. Young was for many years the leading lawyer of the northern part of the county, terminating a long life of labor and usefulness at Piqua in the year 1855. Among other early lawyers of the town may be mentioned the names of Samuel E. Browne, Gorden N. Mott, afterward for many years a Judge of the Courts in California, Samuel R. Mott, Samuel Stover, Hon. R. L. P. Baber, now of Columbus ; Joseph Ewing, now resid- ing in La Fayette, Ind .; N. F. Wilbur and Judson Miller, now deceased. Among those still remaining in the town, the earliest members of the bar were S. S. Mc- Kinney, M. H. Jones and Stephen Johnston; while the later members of the pro- fession are Hon. J. F. Mckinney, William C. Johnston, Walter B. Jones, Theodore Brooks, N. Wagner, A. C. Buchanan, J. R. Hatch and J. McDonald.

PHYSICIANS.

As in the profession of law, so too in that of the healing art, the actual wants of the early settlers were easily satisfied. The diseases of the pioneers were few and simple, a knowledge of the powers of " roots and herbs " acquired from the aboriginal inhabitants, or from whites who had sojourned among them, was usually adequate to the relief of ordinary maladies, and in more serious cases the aid of a distant physician was sometimes invoked. In ordinary surgical cases, as of fractures or dislocation of limbs, some intelligent man was usually found whose skill was suffi- cient for the emergency. Col. John Johnston, the well-known Indian agent, of Upper Piqua, a man of general information, abundant resources, and cool, deliberate judgment, was well known for miles around the country as a skillful manipulator of broken bones, and used frequently to say that he rarely failed to make a good cure even in the worst fractures, with splints of green hickory bark, in which he carefully inclosed the injured limbs, and which soon hardened sufficiently to retain the parts in proper position and so held them until the bones were firmly united, and in connection therewith, he used what was commonly called by the people a "Shocking Machine," being the old-fashioned electrifying machine; it was one of

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the great wonders of science, introduced at that early day into our sparsely settled country, and used by him as a remedial agent in nervous complaints.

About the close of the war of 1812, Henry Chapeze, of Kentucky, a well- educated physician, located at Piqua. His office and residence were on the south- west corner of Wayne and Water streets, on the lot now occupied by the house of Hiram Brooks, Esq. A brick office erected on this lot was the first building of that material within the village limits, and is well remembered to-day by many of the older inhabitants. Dr. John O'Ferrall settled in Piqua about 1820, and these two gentlemen have the honor of being the pioneer physicians of the town and of the northern part of the county. Both continued in the practice of their pro- fession for many years, riding over large extents of forest country, sometimes without roads, at other times over ways almost impassable, where the worst mud- holes and deepest marshes were bridged over by rows of round logs, making no very secure causeway for either horse or man. The rude cabins and rough fare of the early settlers were their resting-place and their refreshment; a scanty remuneration, and very frequently none at all, was the reward rendered for services; but these faithful men toiled on, waited and hoped for better days, and lived to see at least their dawn if not their full development. Dr. Chapeze died about 1828; but O'Ferrall, a younger and more vigorous man, survived. until 1850, living to see the country which he entered as a wilderness blooming with improve- ments and filled with the elements of wealth and progress.

Among the other early physicians, are found the names of Dr. Jackson, after- ward a prominent Democratic politician of Indiana; Dr. I. T. Teller, Dr. David Jordan (eclectic), Dr. Isaac Hendershot, Dr. Worrall, all of whom are now passed away.

Dr. Dorsey, who read medicine for a portion of his time in the office of Dr. O'Ferrall, commenced practice as a partner of O'Ferrall in the year 1836, and the firm continued until January 1, 1842, when it was dissolved; but Dr. Dorsey has continued the practice from that time until the present, with the exception of four years, from 1862 to 1865 inclusive, when he acted as State Treasurer, residing in Columbus. In 1842, Dr. John O'Ferrall, Jr., commenced practice with his father, and has continued in business, with some interruptions, to the present time.

The other prominent physicians of the city are Dr. J. A. Smith, Dr. V. Dorsey Brownell, Dr. Stumm (homeopathic), all now deceased ; and Drs. C. S. Parker, W. S. Parker, J. F. Gabriel, S. S. Gray. H. Smiley, A. Ashton, B Lehman, G. S. Hyde. F. W. Walton (eclectic), T. F. Spittle and C. Clemmer (homoeopathists), and E. A. Kitzmiller, all now in active practice.

STONE QUARRIES.

No account of Washington Township can be complete without a notice of the extensive quarries of limestone which add so much to its wealth, and, by the facil- ity they afford for building, contribute, also, very largely to the prosperity and progress of the township and the town. These quarries are all found on the west side of the Miami, and commence immediately south of the Rocky Branch, lying on the south border of the city, and coming out on the west side of the turnpike leading from Piqua to Troy, on the west side of the river. Stone also abounds on the east bank of the river, though the quarries on that side have never been extensively opened or worked. The first quarry below the branch is that of Mr Harvey Clark, who carries it on actively. The second is that of Henry Kitchen, now operated by Mr. J. Mitchell. The third is the well-known Hamilton Quarry, now owned by Dr. Dorsey, and carried on by James Hamilton, as agent. The fourth, is the very large and extensive quarry of Mr. David Statler, two miles south of the city, which has been for years worked by that gentleman with great success.

Until the last twenty years, the great value of these quarries was scarcely thought of; but, as the country has progressed in improvement, the demand for building material has caused them to be carefully explored and operated, and a

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

source of wealth has been developed, which, in the early settlement of the country, was never taken into account. A well-managed stone quarry has come to be re- garded as a treasure little inferior to the mines of the precious metals in the Far West.

PRIMITIVE COMMERCE.

After the development of the country about Piqua, when exportation became a necessity in order to get the sight of a little money, flatboats were constructed, and loaded with flour, bacon, corn in the ear, cherry lumber, furniture, and other products.

The boats were built here, on the bank of the Miami River, with two parallel gunwales, from sixty to seventy-five feet in length, and the boat about twelve feet wide. They were built bottom side up, the plank in the bottom running crosswise and spiked to the gunwales, with the ends imbedded in a rabbet cut into the gun- wales deeper than the thickness of the boards, so as to secure the bottom from catching while floating over shoal places.

When the hull or bottom was calked and completed, it was then turned over by raising up one side and letting it fall over upon brush piled up in sufficient quantity to save the hull from injury by the fall; it was then launched into the river, and the siding and deck completed, forming complete protection to the cargo and the boatmen. Some of the men engaged in this commerce were Joseph Bennett, a cabinet-maker ; - Tinkham, a cabinet-maker, who would ship, by this means, bedsteads in large quantities, and coast along the Mississippi River, retailing out to the people along the river whatever was in demand. The risk in navigating the Miami River required great skill and presence of mind, especially in passing over mill-dams and following the channel of the river through the " Ninety-nine Islands," as they were called, located a few miles below Troy. The pilot of noto- riety was Robert Logan, a very large man, and when in command of one of these boats about to start on its journey, and standing upon the deck disciplining his boatmen to the use of the oars, was looked upon with as much consideration as the greatest admiral who ever commanded a fleet. To see one of these boats pass through the channel of the river at these islands, was indeed a most thrilling sight, and required the most consummate skill and quickness of action to wind this unwieldy craft through its tortuous route to a safe passage. After passing into the Ohio River, the pilot and other men not wanted to coast were discharged, but some of the dangers of boating were still incident to the voyage.

Along the banks of the Mississippi are frequently found eddies, or whirlpools, into which the boat is liable to be drawn, and when once fairly in the circuit, it was difficult to cross the circuit and reach the straight current. An anecdote is told of one of these eddies in the Mississippi. The crew are each required at night to take his turn on the watch, and in case of an approaching steamboat, to swing a torch or light to prevent collision. On one occasion, a green hand was called on watch in the darkness of the night, and, shortly after taking his position on deck, the boat, without his observation, was drawn into one of these eddies, opposite to which, on the bank of the river, stood a brick church, and the boat. continued making a circuit during the whole time of his watch. When his turn was up, he awoke the man to take his place on deck, and, upon being asked how he got along, replied, "First rate," but added that "it was the darnedest place for brick churches he had ever seen in his life."

In connection with this history of flatboating, it was common for boatmen returning from New Orleans to walk all the way home again, passing through a wilderness north of New Orleans and through what was then called the Indian Nations, Choctaws and Chickasaws. Jacob Lands, Esq., and David Hunter, both of whom deceased at Piqua after a long residence, made this journey on foot, and have frequently related incidents connected with the journey through the Indian country.

Another fact in connection with this primitive commerce was the building of a large keel-boat by John Chatham on the public square in Piqua, directly west

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of Orr & Leonard's warehouse. This boat was built (the bull) and hauled to St. Mary's, the bow resting on the wheels of a wagon, and the stern on sled-runners, with eight horses, two teams belonging to James Johnston and John Campbell. It was then launched into the St. Mary's River, and was used on that stream to freight to Fort Wayne and on the Maumee River. It was about eight feet wide by fifty-five or sixty feet in length.

COMMERCIAL FACILITIES.

The Columbus, Piqua & Indiana Railroad, now called the Pittsburgh, Cincin- nati & St. Louis Railway Company, was chartered by the Legislature February 23, 1849.

The charter was drawn by Stephen Johnston, Esq., while working at a sad- dler's bench, with his sleeves rolled up. He had had some legislative experience, and was called upon to prepare the charter. The original or rough draft is now among the papers belonging to the estate of M. G. Mitchell, deceased, who was elected President of the company, and for many years during the building of the road was the principal manager of the enterprise. The road was completed from Columbus to Piqua in 1856, and gave to the northern part of Miami County facil- ities for an Eastern market. This road is now the great central railway, through fare from the East to the West, with branches and connecting lines reaching from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The Dayton & Michigan Railroad was chartered by the Legislature, March 5, 1851, and was completed to Piqua in 1856, so that Piqua was given a southern outlet by rail, and, with its present history, embraces the commercial facilities commencing about 1820, and being completed within the lapse of thirty-six years. This time, compared with the development of the West now, would seem to be at a snail's gait, but to the retrospect of the pioneer of Miami County, to him is in- deed marvelous.

WATER-WORKS AND HYDRAULIC CANAL.

The subject of creating an hydraulic power, to be displayed at Piqua, was an enterprise discussed by the citizens of Piqua for nearly forty years, and, on the 7th day of April, 1856, the General Assembly passed a bill, authorizing M. C. Ryan, James G. Haley, T. L. P. Defrees & Co., to enlarge the Lewistown reservoir, and in consideration to receive all surplus water on the line of canal created by them, for the use of hydraulic power, and these parties became an incorporated com- pany under the name of the " Miami Hydraulic and Manufacturing Company," and were for some time actively engaged in trying to induce the citizens of Piqua to co-operate with them, but the enterprise failed, and they surrendered their con- tract to the State, and abandoned the enterprise.

The next step was the incorporation of the "Piqua Hydraulic Company," drawn up by Stephen Johnston, and signed December 12, 1865.

After the organization of the company, further legislature was deemed neces- sary, and, on the 6th day of April, 1866, a bill was passed by the Legislature of Ohio, authorizing the use of the surplus water of the canal for hydraulic purposes. Under the provisions of this act this company was enabled to contract with the State for the surplus water. Dr. G. V. Dorsey was elected President, and continued as such until January, 1868, when he resigned, and Stephen Johnston, Esq., was elected President of the Board of Directors, and immediately entered upon the discharge of his duty, which was a general supervision of the work in obtaining the rights of way and raising money to carry on the work after the work was put under contract.

The enterprise at the time-in view of the stringent money market and mag- nitude of the work, was regarded by the citizens, with scarcely a single exception, as an impossible undertaking, but Mr. Johnston conceived the plan of the water works in connection with the hydraulic enterprise, and by that means secured $50,000 in bonds from the city.

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He also conceived the plan of obtaining an appropriation from the city, the sum of $15,000, to pay for drainage, which would result by a proper construction of the canal.

This fund, together with other assets of stock subscribed, etc., induced the letting of the work, on the 16th day of March, 1869, to Messrs. Boyle & Roach, who, after completion of a large portion of the work, assigned their contract to Messrs. Burns & Gallager, who proved to be most efficient contractors. A. G. Conover, Esq., was the Engineer-in-charge of the work, and Jacob D. Holtzemin, Esq., Treasurer.

During the progress of the work two serious accidents occurred, by the breaking away, during high water, of the embankment at Swift Run, which occa- sioned a loss of $40,000.

The canal is over six miles in length, and contains within its prism and reservoirs therewith connected, at least 150 acres of water-line, at an elevation of thirty-eight feet over the city, and three falls aggregating fifty-two feet six inches, for hydraulic power. The water-works, in point of efficiency in every par- ticular, are not exceeded by any other water-works of the kind in the United States, and have already saved one-half their cost by the extinguishment of fires having most alarming outbreaks at the start.

They were finally completed, and duly opened for test and display on the 14th day of June, 1876.

The plan of the work as completed was written out and foreshadowed by Stephen Johnston, and published in the preface of the City Directory in 1870.

FORTIFICATIONS IN PIQUA.

On the bank of the Miami River, near where the extensive woolen mills of F. Gray now stands, was a block-house and stockade therewith connected. The stockade remained as one of the relics of Indian warfare, and is still in the memory of some of the pioneers now living. Its north line, running east and west, was not far from the north line of Water street, extending west to the present site the Leland Livery Stable. .

THE FIRST USE OF DYNAMITE IN PIQUA.

The Piqua Straw Board and Paper Company located its mills, which are now under roof, at the intersection of Main street and the Rocky Branch.

The foundation required the blasting of shelly rock, which does not yield to powder, in consequence of the seams through the rock. Knowing this, the com- pany determined to try dynamite, a very dangerous material to handle. They found a man recently become a citizen, H. F. Ernest, who was well skilled in its use, and our people were amazed at the explosions and results of this powerful agency in blasting. Some of the blasts included as high as twenty different drilled holes, and each connected with a wire was ignited by the use of a battery, all exploding at the same moment, and at a single blast would heave up more than one hun- dred tons of rock.

The work was a complete success, and is another step in the progress of science just introduced in April, 1880. Nobody was injured during work of about one month.

NEWBERRY TOWNSHIP.

This township is situated on the northwest corner of the county, and is bounded on the west by Darke County, on the north by Shelby County, on the east by Washington Township, and on the south by Newton Township; is seven miles from north to south, and six from east to west, containing forty-two square miles, and is composed of portions of four original surveyed townships. While it does not appear when it was organized, it would seem to be about the same date as Newton-1810.

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The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 58

Author: W. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051