USA > Ohio > Clark County > Springfield > The centennial celebration of Springfield, Ohio, held August 4th to 10th, 1901 > Part 6
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In 1872, the Association being pressed for funds, decided to relinquish its work. Its indebtedness, $300, was assumed by the Board of the new Public Library, organized that year, and to which Board the cases and books of the Association were as- signed, the collection becoming the basis of our present magnifi- cent Library.
In 1879 another organization for young men was formed. From this time until 1886 some important work was done by the Association, but owing to the difference of opinion as to what the
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real work of the Young Men's Christian Association ought to be, and also to the comparatively limited amount of financial sup- port received, but little advance was made toward the last in furtherance of its high purpose. Messrs. Rev. Hastings, J. S. Crowell, E. M. Doty and Dr. Thomas King were among the prominent leaders for some years.
On December 22, 1887, under advice of S. D. Gordon, Sec- retary of the State Committee, enlarged plans were adopted for a four-fold work, $6.500 were raised, and thus a new period be- gan in the history of the Association. Messrs. George H. Frey, H. S. Bradley, D. Q. Fox. T. J. Kirkpatrick and Dr. J. H. Rodg- ers, successively have been President. and for most of this time, W. J. Fraser has been the industrious and efficient General Sec- retary. In 1892 the number of members reached 1,001. In 1895 the young men, themselves, gave $5,000 toward the purchase of a lot. In 1897 citizens completed the purchase of the lot, raising $12,000. In 1899 another fund, $55,000, was pledged for the building, Ross Mitchell giving $5,000; Governor A. S. Bushnell $10,000, and E. S. Kelly $10,000. Over 600 persons contributed the balance.
Dr. J. H. Rodgers, Robert Johnson, John Foos, Charles H. Pierce, R. Q. King, F. E. Snypp and W. S. Frazer constituted the Building Committee. The property, when completed, will have a value of near $100,000.
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IV
FORMAL OPENING DAY.
The formal opening of the Centennial occurred on Monday, the 5th, and proved to be one of the best days of the week. The various interests considered and represented touched the very life and growth of the city. The City Government, Manufactures and Mercantile Interests were sufficient to elicit the attention of all classes, and large numbers thronged the streets and found their way to the Fair Grounds, to witness the procession and to hear the papers appropriate to the day.
A parade was part of the program, which, under the direc- tion of Chief Marshal E. N. Lupfer, assisted by a number of cit- izens acting as aides, proved an entertaining feature. There were numerous carriages conveying the General and Sub-Com- mittees, Mayor of the city, members of the City Council, of the School Board, Board of Public Affairs, Police and Fire Board, followed by machinery from many of the factories, in some cases showing articles made in the early history of the plant, together with those made now; wagons and floats carrying lighter arti- cles manufactured in the city ; the Fire Department, with all its modern appliances for fighting fires, all gaily decorated and in holiday attire. When formed into line they extended for more than a mile, and showed to the people that the interests of Spring- field were many, and that when aroused to action, she could make a display both entertaining and instructive. Bands of music were distributed throughout the parade column, which greatly en- livened the occasion.
On reaching the Fair Grounds, the Chief Marshal and the various Committees and Boards ascended the reviewing stand and viewed the procession as it passed by, after which all repaired to the huge tent where the further exercises were held. Judge F. M. Hagan, 'with an eloquent address, formally opened the Centennial, and then introduced ex-Governor Bushnell as Chair- man of the Day, who appropriately introduced those who had part in the program. The papers were strong, and told a history at once useful and entertaining.
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JUDGE FRANCIS M. HAGAN.
ADDRESS OF JUDGE FRANCIS M. HAGAN,
President of the General Committee, at the Opening of the First Centennial of Springfield, August 5, A. D. 1901.
FELLOW CITIZENS: We are here to celebrate the one hun- dredth anniversary of the City of Springfield. Language can but feebly express the thoughts which press upon us as we contem- plate the history of our beloved city. It is not for me to recount it in detail. Others, each with his chosen theme, will eloquently portray the striking events of a hundred years of her civic life.
And yet it seems fitting, at the outset of this occasion, to glance for a moment at the City of Springfield. as a whole, dur- ing the century of her existence, as upon a panorama, flashing with the speed of lightning before us. As we lift our eyes we see, first an unbroken wilderness, tenanted only by wild beasts and a few savages scarcely less wild. Then appear the pioneers of another race, rearing their humble log cabins. We look again and behold the primeval forest, with its little band of hardy set- tlers, changed as if by magic to a city great, prosperous and beautiful, the home of forty thousand souls in the forefront of civilized life. The bark wigwams of the Indian and the rude huts of the pioneers have given place to thousands of commodious structures, some palatial, all fit for happy homes.
The stone implements of the red man and the primitive ap-
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pliances of his conqueror have alike been supplanted by the myr- iad conveniences which mark the dawn of the Twentieth Cen- tury. The limited barter of the first-comers with the natives of the adjacent forests, has swollen so that to-day the wares made by our people encircle the globe and their traffic is with the ends of the earth, bringing back in exchange the choicest products of other climes.
The dip light and the candle of one hundred years ago are displaced by gas and electricity, which pour floods of illumina- tion along our streets and into our dwellings. The winding trails here and there through the forests have disappeared, but in their places are miles of well-ordered streets, along which glide splen- did equipages and elegant cars, the carriages of the common peo- ple, carrying us everywhere within the city and far beyond her borders, while the great railroad systems which enter Springfield connect her with the remotest parts of the planet. Water brought from the Valley of Lagonda refreshes verdant lawns, baffles the fire fiend,and gushes in every dwelling.
The telegraph flashes our thoughts as far as civilizaton ex- tends her sway, while the telephone enables us to hold instant converse with our fellow citizens in every part of the municipal- ity, and even with those separated from us by thousands of miles.
We gaze once more and see giant factories, superb business blocks, a grand City Building, second to none in the great Com- monwealth of Ohio, a noble and well-filled Public Library, a fine Government Building, a magnificent home for the Young Men's . Christian Association, a thoroughly equipped Public Hospital. three Fraternal Homes on as many hills, a Cemetery which our renowned traveler, John W. Bookwalter, declares to be in some of its features, the finest in the world, and a Park hundreds of acres in extent, without a rival in its natural beauty, affording rec- reation to all. We perceive that progress in intellectual, social and spiritual lines has not lagged behind material development ; for here are an efficient Public School System, Wittenberg Col- lege. the pride of our people ; great and enterprising newspapers, scores of literary clubs, polite and refined society, with a social club house, whose elegance would do honor to any city ; homes for aged members of the weaker sex and helpless children, sup-
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ported by the sacrifice and untiring zeal of saintly women, and. crowning all, half a hundred churches, whose spires and faithul ministers are ever pointing toward heaven.
All these things are the heritage of a keen, alert. restless, inquiring, ambitious people, filled with the spirit of the age.
Who, under God, has wrought the transformation from the wilderness to all these things, more wonderful than the poets who sang in the gray morning of time ever dreamed of? Its archi- tects appear in three generations of brave, loyal, devoted men and women. As they swiftly pass us in review, first come the sturdy figures of Demint, Foos, Humphrey, Kenton and Lowrey. others joining them year by year, laying their axes to the roots of the trees and hewing out the beginning of the city which was to be, not forgetting even in that far-off day to establish humble schools and churches, in recognition that intelligence, morality and religion are the firm foundations upon which the welfare and happiness of every community must rest.
In the first decades, here and there an infant factory arises, prophetic of the future of Springfield. We, surrounded by all that comforts and adorns civilized life. in vain try to realize the toils, the privations and the hardships of the men who founded the city. As these veterans are about to leave the stage of life. the second generation marches to the rescue, led by the Whiteleys. the Fooses, the Warders, the Snyders, the Ludlows, Mast, Mitch- ell, the Barnetts, Thomas, Kelly, and their compeers, whose in- ventive and constructive genius has reared those vast hives of hu- man industry and developed those resources which have made the name of Springfield famous throughout the world.
Marching shoulder to shoulder with them are the men of the professions, skillful physicians caring for the bodies, and de- voted ministers, for the souls of men ; profound lawyers and jur- ists, vindicating human rights, and great educators and journal- ists, striving for intellectual improvenient. Some of these grand men are still with us, as witness Abram R Ludlow, John Foos, Ross Mitchell. Oliver S. Kelly and others, venerable men, who, as Webster said of the survivors of Bunker Hill, who stood lis- tening to his immortal oration. "have come down to us from a former generation." May they long remain to guide us with
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their wise counsel and to enjoy the fruits of their labors. John and David Snyder passed away but yesterday, leaving behind them for all the generations to follow, a precious legacy in Sny- der Park and a hospital service for the indigent. To the time of the second generation belong the Mitchell-Thomas Hospital and Warder Library. And now as that generation begins to go the way of all the earth, the third, the men of our own time, fills the breach. Among the works of their hands are industries mul- tiplied and expanded to almost fabulous proportions, material conveniences second to those of no other community; asylums for the aged. the widows and the orphans of the three greatest benevolent orders in the world. and, finally, a splendid structure to house the Young Men's Christian Association, fitly marking the closing year of the first century of Springfield.
Could we but call the roll of all the citizens of Springfield. from the day of James Demint to the present hour, and review each individual life, how gladly we should look upon the grand drama thus afforded, in order that the due meed of praise might be awarded every one who has helped to make Springfield what it is.
Here rise to view brave pioneers in James Demint, Griffith Foos, Simon Kenton, Humphreys, Lowry and Donnell; suc- cessful manufacturers. some of whom are recalled by the names of Blakeney, Buchwalter. Bushnell, Foos, Crain, Gwynn, Hoppes, Johnson, Kelly, Leffel, Ludlow, Lupfer, Mast, Mitchell, Patric, Rabbitts ,Rhinehart, Rodgers, Thomas, Warder. Whitely, Mon- tanus, Winger ; astute business men by those of Bacon, Baldwin. Black, Barnett, Blee, Burk, Benalleck, Carson. Cartmell, Crowell. Diehl, Cobaugh, Fox. Harshman, Jefferies, Kirkpatrick, Meredith, McGrew, Phelps, Pierce. Seitz. Webb, Wiseman, Zim- merman ; a fertile inventor in William N. Whitely; experts in getting Fraternal Homes for Springfield in Pearl M. Cartmell and Charles W. Constantine; profound jurists in William Rog- ers, John C. Miller, William White, Charles Anthony, Samson Mason and Samuel A. Bowman ; a great statesman and lawyer in Samuel Shellabarger: a citizen renowned in law, in states- manship and in war, in General Joseph Warren Keifer, once occu- pying the third highest station in the gift of his countrymen ; a
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world-famous advocate of temperance in Mother Stewart; phi- lanthropists in Benjamin H. Warder, John and David L. Snyder, Edward S. Kelly and Asa Bushnell, who also enjoys the distinc- tion of having been the best business Governor Ohio ever had ; a philosopher and traveler known throughout the world in the person of John W. Bookwalter; able journalists in William G. Boggs, William T. Cogshall and Clifton M. Nichols; artists in the Frankensteins and Jerome Uhl, who have made the canvas glow with life and beauty; gifted authors in General Keifer. John W. Bookwalter, Robert Brain and Minnie Williss Baines Miller ; and brilliant scholars in a Sprecher, an Ort, a Brecken- ridge, a Keller, a Prince and a Geiger.
The list might be swollen to include hundreds of others worthy of special mention. Yet not alone have the great charac ters of our city wrought to build it. Every toiler in the office, in the shop, at the counter, on the street, or on a farm, in the ad- joining region, has done his or her part in the great work. Wherever. in any capacity, however humble, men or women have done well their appointed tasks, putting the best of themselves into their calling, they should be awarded praise. The lives of patient, toiling, noble men and women may fade from earthly rec- ollection, but they dwell imperishably in the mind of God, and leave their lasting impress on the world.
"All are architects of fate, Working in these walls of time : Some with massive deeds and great, Some with ornaments of rhyme."
We should be false to those who have gone before us, false to ourselves, false to our Heavenly Father, if in this hour of our Centennial Jubilee we failed to recognize all worthy effort and aspiration in the lives of those whose labors have given us what we enjoy.
Many of the builders of Springfield sleep in sonder Ceme- teries. If they could come back to us, but for a day, how gladly · should we greet them. It may be permitted them in another sphere of existence to look upon this scene with joy, though their forms are invisible to mortal eyes. But let us be animated by
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the mighty spirit of all those, living or dead, that have toiled here. We rejoice in the triumphs of peace which our city has won. We rejoice that when war clouds hovered over the land, Springfield sent regiment after regiment to the defense of an imperiled Union, and that she has never hesitated to obey our country's call to arms. But let us turn our eyes from the glorious past and meet the great responsibilities of the ever urgent present, while we look with bright hope and unshaken confidence to the future.
Long ere the second Centennial of Springfield, we shall have passed away. Even our children will then have finished their earthly career : but, as our children's children gather. it may be on this very spot. to celebrate that day, may they say of us and of the dear ones we leave behind, as we can now say of those who have gone before us, "They did their part well in their day and generation," And now, by the authority of the General Com- mittee having this great event in charge, and on behalf of all the people of Springfield, I declare this Centennial Celebration open.
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HON ORAN F. HYPES.
A CENTURY OF COMMERCIAL LIFE.
BY HON. ORAN F. HYPES.
"Over the roofs of the Pioneers
Gathers the moss of a hundred years ;
On man and his works has passed the change
That needs must be in a century's range. The land lies open and warm in the sun, Anvils clamor and mill wheels run ;
Flocks on the hill side, herds on the plain,
The wilderness gladdens with fruit and grain."
The story of Springfield's century of business is, in minia- ture, the story of the life of the Nation. Our beginning was in the single log house erected in 1799 by James Demint, who had journeyed hither from Kentucky, and built his cabin home on the north bank of Buck Creek. On March 17, 1801, Mr. Demint, as- sisted by two others-Mr. Griffith Foos and Mr. John Daugherty- attracted by the favorable location, laid out the town. Tradition accredits the wife of Simon Kenton with suggesting the name- Springfield. From this humble beginning, Springfield, in a single century, has become a city known throughout the length and breadth of the world-wherever the torch of civilization has en- lightened the peoples of the earth.
In an address delivered at Yellow Springs, in 1829, at a pub- lic dinner given in his honor, the Hon. Edward Everett, in speak-
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ing of our early patriots and pioneers, used these words: "It is only when we consider what they found this country, and what they have handed it down to us, that we learn the efficacy of pub- lic and private virtue, of wise counsel, of simple manners, of fru- gal habits, and an inborn love of liberty."
Following the building of Demint's humble home, Griffith Foos hewed out and built the first tavern. It was opened for business in June, 1801. In this house the first preaching service was held two years later. Before embarking in business, Mr. Foos secured at the log Court House in Xenia, the necessary license for keeping tavern, the fees being eight dollars. In 1804, the town had a dozen or more houses. In addition was a settle- ment of some fourteen cabins at a fort and blockhouse just north of town, and other settlements to the west. Business was con- ducted by G. B. Fields, as a cabinet-maker, near Main and Mar- ket. Opposite was John Reed's cooper shop. Near the other cor- ner was another tavern, whose proprietor is alleged to have been an old colored man named Toney. Mr. Stowe kept a grocery store. Near Limestone street, a large, two-story log house served as a blockhouse in the alarms from Indian raids. Wearing apparel was dispensed by two Frenchmen, the firm name being LeRoy & DeGrab -- the name of the junior member having no reference. it is presumed, to their business methods.
INDIANS A MENACE.
"But these are gone Like the night's dark shade before the rising dawn."
For the first decade, Springfield failed to develop and realize on that energy and pluck that, in later years, has marked her pros- perity. The reason may readily be found in the feeling of inse- curity from the Indian depredations. Tecumseh, a son of our county, and his band of braves were a constant menace, to some of whom plunder or murder was but a pastime. Treaty after treaty could not stay their treacherous hand. What tribute shall we pay those brave and daring pioneers to whom toil and priva- tion was not all of life? Fearlessly and patiently they wrought as did the children of Israel under Nehemiah. "Every one with
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his own hand wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded."
THE INDIAN VILLAGES.
That Springfield was a favored spot before the dawn of civil- ization, is readily established, in the location near by of the Indian villages of Chillicothe and Piqua. At the latter village, west of town, when destroyed by General George Rogers Clark, in 1780, some three hundred acres of Indian corn were under cultivation. In fact, the first shipment ever made from what is now Clark County consisted of a cargo of provisions. They were loaded by David Lowry into a flat boat, built by himself in 1800, placed upon the waters of the Big Miami, and thence taken to New Orleans. Provisions thus sent were usually exchanged for sugar. The In- dians did not cease to be a threatening factor. retarding the growth and prosperity of the village, until General Harrison se- cured peace to the frontier in his famous victory at Tippecanoe. Tecumseh, brilliant, brave, but sullen-no longer able to incite nor harass the settlers of Springfield. nor yet impede the wheels of progress-but ever "against the government." met his final fate while enlisted as England's ally in the War of 1812.
OUR NATIVE WEALTH.
The early forests proved to be a friendly factor, not so much as a pronounced article of trade and commerce, as in furnishing abundant supplies for building material and fuel. A liberal growth of beech, oak, maple, walnut, ash, and hickory, have, until recent years, served as an ample source of local supply. One'part of the country, the northwest, has long been known as the "Beech." It was the mecca of many of those sturdy English folk who are a credit to any community. The story was told me re- . cently, by an old resident, of the arrival in New York years ago of a small group of the early English settlers, who, upon being asked their destination, innocently replied "The Beech." and asked where they might find it.
"Springfield limestone." as it is known, has proven thus far
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our only source of mineral wealth. In the absence of underlying coal, oil or gas, our stone quarries have proven no small factor in commercial life. The strata of rock averaging thirteen feet thick has been quarried for sixty years. ( At present 250 men are em- ployed in four quarries. In the half-century of their work- ings, thousands of cars of stone have been quarried, much of it having been reduced to lime. Shipments have been made as far south as New Orleans.) At one time Springfield limestone was the standard finishing rock for this part of the country.
EARLY WATER POWER.
Our limpid streams, Mill Run and Buck Creek, in earlier days served as a prime factor in placing Springfield upon the map as the center of commercial and manufacturing activity. With all due respect to those noble streams of the past, they may, in the absence of the rushing current that once filled their banks and turned our factory wheels, still serve the sanitary needs of modern Springfield, with even greater value than afforded by their water power of other years.
At the formation of Clark County, and Springfield as the County Seat. in 1818, the picture presented is not a hopetul one. Mr. Robert Woodward, in his sketches of Springfield, gives this summary: "The west bank of Mill Run was an exceedingly muddy and miry place. In crossing to go to the eastern part of town, it was not only necessary to wade through the mud and mire and cross the stream on a foot log. but also ascend the east bank, which was quite steep. It was no uncommon thing there to see horses and wagons drive close up to the doors of dwellings." He speaks also of a low state of morals, which is verified by other writers. The product of the "still" had not only furnished "fire water" to their Indian neighbors, all citizens more or less sharing the ill results therefrom, but was being felt also in drunkenness and brawling among the inhabitants. "But amidst all," says Mr. Woodward, "were men of upright, firm character, who did much by their influence and exertions to stem the rapid progress of iniquity in the community."
OUR VILLAGE DAYS.
In 1820 came that leavening and enlightening force and pow-
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erful aid to business. "the printing press." After varying owner- ships, the first publication of influence was the Western Pioneer. In 1825, with a vim and vigor creditable to modern journalism, the paper brought about the adoption of street lamps. They cost $25.00 each. The expense of maintaining them was a tax of I2 I-2 cents, collected from each house, to pay for oil and wick- the lamp to be cleaned by the family nearest in location. About this time, in addition to several mills producing flour, woolen and cotton products, there were eight stores, and several lawyers and physicians. In the county was a population of 9,533. Shortly after Springfield was incorporated as a village (by act of Legislature, January 23. 1827), the first complete census was taken of which. we have any record. That enterprising paper. the Western Pio- neer, in its issue of September 28. 1828, said : "We have for the information of our readers and our own gratification, taken the pains to enumerate the population of our village. There are in Springfield 935 souls-6 blacksmith shops, with 15 hands ; 4 wagon shops, with 13 hands ; 4 shoemaker shops, with 9 hands ; 3 tanneries, with 8 hands ; 6 tailor shops, with 18 hands : 3 saddle shops, with 10 hands ; 3 bakeries, with 5 hands ; 2 hatter shops, with 6 hands ; 3 cabinet shops, with 8 hands; I tin shop, with 4 hands; 3 cooper shops, with 10 hands; 2 chair shops, with 5 hands ; 14 stores, with 32 hands ; 4 groceries, with 4 hands ; I pa- per mill, with 20 hands ; I gun shop, with 3 hands."
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