USA > Ohio > Darke County > The history of Darke County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; > Part 54
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111
In 1860, the town had made striking and gratifying progress. Three impor- tant railroad lines had been constructed. four turnpike roads had been built, and, diverging from the county seat, connected with as many thriving and prosperous villages. The population had increased ; two good newspapers. the Democrd and the Journal, were being published,, each with about eight hundred patron, and then, in the midst of this satisfactory growth, war broke in and engossed attention.
Again, this time in 1869, we survey the prospects of the city. Never in its previous history had the town made such rapid advance in the construction of new buildings. In May of this year, there were over sixty buildings in curse of construction or of remodeling. A foundry and machine-shop was erectedand put in operation by Messrs. James McKhan, A. T. Bodle and John Stoltz, a Third street. A building and loan association was organized and in full peration. stimulating and aiding in the building of homes. Messrs. Linderworth & Winget were busy running their planing-mill. The German Reformed congregation had bought the Presbyterian Church, on Broadway and Fourth streets. freets had been graded, the question of a park was mooted. and, while teachers institutes indicated interest in education, popular attention was being directed tothe public schools.
The town had become now, if not before, a prominent business commercial center, with rich and wealth-producing surroundings. The principal merchants of this time were La Mott & Farver, also, in the fur trade ; Sumter & Cmpton, F. & J. Waring, Workman & Daily, Hart, Arnold & Co .; G. B. Wilson kepta book store on the corner of Main street and the public square, and John Van Mater was successor to Schmidt & Knox. There were dissolutions of old patnerships and new combinations. There was selling out and moving in-all the changes incident to vital energy, restless activity. dissatisfaction and plucky hopefuless, while some
425
HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY.
l'ew, continued year after year in one place, in the same business, and, in time, became known and prosperous. A large, artistic school building attracted the eye, and exerted an attractive influence on the stranger. Along the broad streets were lines of sbade-trees. Old structures were demolished, and upon their sites rose new ones. In June, there were in process of erection twenty-three dwellings, and a number more were contracted for the near future. In the line of manufacture, there was the steam planing-mill of Messrs. T. P. Turpen. William Kerr and M. C. Benham ; on the first floor were four machines. a planer, rip and other saws, operated by Messrs. Wallace and Mills. There were turning rooms, cabinet finish- ing rooms, and on the second floor were seven machines in use for finishing. The buoyancy of hopeful expectation lent courage to business men and professionals and to citizens, and in both public and private concerns the county seat felt the healthful stimulus of trade and improvement in the county, and maintained its supremacy unbroken. An event calculated to exert a potent influence on the fort- une of Greenville transpired in the spring of 1877. On more than one occasion, citizens of large tracts of closely built cities have been alarmed by claims to the ownership of their lots, and to this Greenville was another instance. Samuel and James Armstrong, of Cincinnati, two brothers, sons of the early proprietor of Greenville, and owners of considerable real estate about the city, put in the market sixteen acres at $15,000. This was laid off in the south-middle part of the town, streets were graded, and already full half the area is occupied by good residences. The Armstrongs still hold over an hundred acres. Railroads and the schools take off a part. In 1859, four acres were condemned by the city and appropriated for school sites, upon which the present imposing and roomy structure stands. The brothers left Greenville in their boyhood and returned about 1850. to assert that lands in the city were held by a defective title, that the right of ownership was in their hands, and they served a notice of ejectment upon persons residing upon the disputed lands. The citizens employed able attorneys, and the litigation continued four or five years, at considerable expenditure of money. The prospects were dark and discouraging, when aid came from an unexpected quarter. The son of a former Sheriff, at Troy, Miami County, while looking over the papers of his father, espied an old receipt with the name of Armstrong attached. This paper was promptly sent to the city's attorneys, at Greenville, and proved to be a receipt for the final payment on the disputed territory. This, being adduced as evidence, decided the case and gave the citizens security.
In 1851, Moses Hart, Esq., erected a steam flouring-mill, which was put in motion by the proprietors, Messrs. Turner. The millwright work was done by D. R. DeRush, of Preble County. The mill had a capacity to grind and pack 150 barrels of flour per day. This improvement noted here was at the time spoken of as one of the most important thus far made in the county. At the commence- ment of business, numbers of citizens were assembled and expressed their gratifi- cation at the result. This, in connection with the building of five large, commodi- ous business houses, each of three stories. dwellings in process of construction and churches contracted, marks one of the most favorable crises of the city. The old court house stood in the center of the capacious public square, and as a new house was imperative to meet the demands of a greatly increased official business, and to make a proper representation of Darke County, a dispute arose among citizens generally, and the business men located about the square, concerning the location of the new house. In 1874, it was intended to leave the old walls of the court house standing, and to build a vestibule tower to them, which would make the building the same as at present, but after the tower was built, excavation having been made for a basement, a wet time set in, during which the rain undermined a corner of the building, it settled, and an ominous crack showed the necessity of pulling it down, which was done, and the present handsome structure was erected, and is known and used as the city hall. It is of two stories, sixty-five feet square, a hall above, and Mayor's office, engine room and election room below. The
1
426
HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY.
contract for building was let to R. L. Robinson, A. P. Gorsuch being Mayor at the time. The cost was about $14,000.
There are in this new-old town a number of houses which have stood many years, and are, for this reason, noticeable. One of these stands on the north side of the public square, and is in use as a livery stable. It is a brick structure, among the very first erected here. The brick structure of John Hoofnagle. built by Dr. Perrine, many years ago ; the brick house of Dr. Briggs, now occupied by J. R. Knox, his son-in-law; the Wagner House, with timely additions, stands as one of the first in town, and still in use according to the original purpose, and the " poor house," now occupied by T. P. Barkalow, and situated on the west end of Main street, are examples of structures of the earlier day. Prominent even in the present, they were doubtless imposing in the past, and stand as monuments of an earlier enterprise.
Greenville has many fine residences, of which brief mention is here made of notable examples. The home of Charles Roland, at the west end of Fourth street, is a handsome dwelling, with tasteful grounds. It was built at a cost of $10.000, by E. C. Shay, in 1871. In 1861, William King built on Main street, at a cost of about $5,000, the residence of Michael Miller. In 1876, E. C. Shade erected the building on East Main street, occupied by Daniel Harney. Judge D. L. Meeker is now having built a residence, which, when completed, will be the finest in the county. Among others to attract the attention are the homes of Dr. G. Meesie, West Third street, and of G. W. Studabaker.
The fire department of the city is of recent date, and all the more complete and reliable. Previous to its organization, Greenville was dependent upon volun- tary aid of citizens, as occasion required. On December 13, 1855, the Buckeye House took fire in the third story and burned to the ground. The night was favorable to the people, the air was quiet, and a rain had wet adjacent roofs, and these concurring circumstances confined the conflagration to the one building. Fears of a general destruction of property induced the removal of goods from the stores on the east side of Broadway, from the square to Third street. Goods were damaged, but the losses were covered by insurance. The house was owned by John L. Winner, and, as there was no insurance, the loss to him was heavy. The citizens, who had put forth strenuous exertions to restrict the fire to the hotel, congratulated themselves on their success. Meetings were held shortly after this experience, for the purpose of purchasing a hand fire-engine and organizing a company, but the excitement soon died away and nothing was done. A destruct- ive fire early in 1871 again awakened public sentiment to the necessity of having some efficient protection, and led to the ordinance creating the fire department.
The ordinance creating and regulating the Greenville Fire Department was passed by the Council on June 1, 1871. A Silsby steamer, entitled "Greenville," and two hose carts were purchased at a cost of $7,200. A company was enrolled, of which H. K. McConnell was Chief; P. P. Turpen, First Assistant ; Frank E. Moore, Second Assistant ; John C. Turpen, Secretary ; D. M. Stevenson, Treas- urer, and E. J. Hickox, Engineer. Ten months later. the last named resigned to accept the position of Marshal, to which he had been elected, and Mahlon Swartz succeeded as engineer till November, 1878, when Mr. Hickox assumed the position, which he has since held. J. L. Bascom was appointed Assistant Engineer Febru- ary 1, 1877. The present officers of the Greenville Fire Department are : Chief, J. H. Rice ; First Assistant, A. H. Hyde ; Second Assistant, J. P. Winget ; Secre- tary. Jonas Hahn ; Treasurer, M. Huhn ; Engineers as stated. The department has 1,500 feet of first-class hose, and 600 feet of second-class. The engine- house is in the rear of the City Hall, and is 22x45 feet, with thirteen-foot ceiling, plastered neatly wainscoted in oak and walnut, and numerous pictures hang upon the walls, and adding to the attractiveness of the room. It is claimed for the " Greenville" that the steamer has projected water twenty feet higher than the eagle above the dome of the new court house, or about one hundred and ninety
427
HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY.
feet perpendicularly, and that water has been thrown by it 275 to 280 feet hori- zontally, and much confidence is based on her power when needed in extremity. In 1871 and 1874, at well-remembered fires, the department, with their steamer, confined the flames to narrow limits, and prevented what might have been. otherwise, disastrous fires. There are three Fire Wardens. The members of the company receive pay when on duty, filling cisterns, etc., by order of the Coun- cil. The salary of the engineer is $50 per month, and of his assistant, $35. The water supply is furnished from five cisterns, as follows : Public square, corner of Ash and East Main streets ; corner of Third and Broadway, corner of Third and Locust, corner of Main and Elm, and on the corner of Elm and Fourth streets. The present Wardens are Daniel Murphy, Alexander Harter and Joseph Saettle.
The Greenville Gas Company is another public improvement, contributing greatly to the comfort and convenience of the population, and handsomely reward- ing the projectors of the enterprise. The Greenville Gas Company, of Greenville, was incorporated June 11, 1874, by C. Calkins, Charles Roland, John L. Winner and Wesley Gorsuch. The capital stock is $30,000, divided into 600 shares of $50 each. The first annual election of officers, held June 17, resulted in the choice of Hon. William Allen, President ; John Devor, Secretary ; J. T. Meeker, Treasurer. and for Directors-Messrs. Allen, Devor, Moore, Meeker and Cole. In 1877, Eli- jah Devor superseded H. M. Cole as Director. In 1878. J. A. Ries succeeded Mr. Moore, and Mr. E. Devor became Treasurer, vice Meeker. On January 17. 1880, Hon. William Allen was President ; John Devor, Secretary ; Elijah Devor, Treasurer. These three gentlemen own the greatest part of the stock. A contract to build works was completed with Messrs. Connelly, Naylor & Co., of Pittsburgh, Penn., for $27,000. Ground was broken April 1, 1875, and the work was com- pleted by August 17 of the same year.
The company has four miles of main pipe, and eighty-nine street lamps in use, at $2.50 per month each, and 180 customers, at $3 per thousand feet, with a reduc- tion for prompt payment. The average of private consumption is 100,000 feet per month. There are six retorts, but only three are required to furnish the above supply. The gasometer measures thirty-eight feet in diameter by twelve feet in height.
Railroads have done much for Greenville, as the city contributed much to secure their assistance. The old depot was located on part of Lot 21, near to the Christian Church, on Walnut street. It is still standing, but not occupied. The new depot is a fine frame building, situated at the intersection of Walnut, Jackson and Martin streets, on a part of Jackson street vacated for the purpose and donated by the city to the company. It was built by J. J. Bloomer, of Indianapolis.
The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis depot, a frame, was built in 1867. at a cost of $4,000. Its dimensions are 72x42 feet. Frank McWhinney was the builder and owner. The old depot, now standing about one hundred rods west. was abandoned on completion of the new structure.
The benevolent secret organizations of Greenville are comprised in three asso- ciations, of which we have the following record :
Greenville Lodge, No. 143, F. A. M., reaches into the past thirty-three years. On July 3, 1847, John C. Potter, Elias Brumager, William Schmidt, David Beers. William M. Wilson, Adam Koogler, Simon B. Carey and John Tomlinson. all Master Masons, met and resolved that an application should be made for a charter to the Grand Lodge of Ohio. Thereupon, a petition to that effect was prepared and signed by the above-named brethren, and subsequently by John Sweetzer, R. D. Oldfield and A. W. Sanford. This application was recommended by Ward Lodge. No. 24, of Piqua, Ohio, and July 24, 1847, a dispensation was issued to the above-named brethren by George Keiffer, D. G. M. of the Grand Lodge, Bro. . W. M. Wilson to be first W. M .; John Tomlinson, S. W., and Adam Koogler. J. W. On the 20th of October. 1847. a charter was duly signed and sealed by the Most Worshipful Master of the Grand Lodge, to the brethren above named, constituting
428
HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY.
them the Greenville Lodge, No. 143, F. and A. M. The following tabular statement shows who have filled the office of Worshipful Master in the lodge since the date of the charter: W. M. Wilson, 1847 to 1849 ; John Tomlinson, 1849 to 1850, and 1851 to 1858 ; O. A. Lyman, 1850 to 1851; W. C. Porterfield, 1858 to 1859 ; Moses Hart. 1859 to 1860; C. G. Matchett, 1860 to 1861, 1865 and to 1872, 1873 to 1875; L. S. B. Otwell. 1861 to 1865 ; F. E. Manes, 1872 to 1873 : A. J. Arnold. 1875 to 1879. and M. F. Allen. 1879. The present number of members is ninety-four. This lodge is one of the most flourishing and best furnished in the United States.
Greenville Chapter, No. 77, was chartered October 17. 1857. It is one of the best-working and most prosperous chapters in the country. It has eighty-seven members. The following presents, in order of service since the date of the char- ter. the names of those who have officiated as High Priest: W. M. Wilson. 1857 to first election ; A. P. Gorsuch, December. 1857, to 1861 : E. B. Putnam, 1861 to 1865 ; C. G. Matchett, one year ; W. H. Matchett, 1866 to 1870 ; Mr. Gorsuch, one year ; C. G. Matchett, one year ; E. J. Hiekcox, 1872 to 1873; W. H. Match- ett. three years ; C. G. Matchett, 1876 to 1878, and W. H. Matchett. 1878. and yet presiding.
Greenville Council was chartered in October, 1878. C. G. Matchett. T. I. M .; G. D. Farrar, D. M., and A. J. Arnold, C. O. W.
Education in Greenville at an early day received but little attention. There were schools in churches and other localities by various persons. Two ordinary brick houses were built about 1839 or 1840. Some desired to unite effort and build one good house, but this was overruled, and two buildings were erected. One stood on the lot numbered 13, granted by the county in lieu of the lot sold by the Commissioners by mistake. These lots were sold a few years since. Of the teachers were John Talbert, John Beers, H. D. Williams, persons who. accord- ing to method prevailing, taught three-months winter schools. In 1851. the first effort was made to grade the Greenville school by Ebenezer Bishop, who was employed at $400 a year to take general charge of the school. This effort was only partially successful, and the schools were afterward organized in four grades, and for a number of years were successfully conducted under A. T. Bodle. L. S. B. Otwell, F. Matchett (now deceased) and G. H. Martz, all efficient teachers. Mr. Mays, of Troy, Ohio, was afterward employed as Superintendent, the school was graded. and has been conducted as a graded school in charge of a superintendent to date. J. W. Legg, of Van Wert; William T. Wallace, of Columbus ; Alexander Miller, deceased ; J. W. Muck, E. J. Macomber, J. S. Wilson and J. T. Martz have respectively superintended the same, and the school has had a constant growth in numbers and efficiency. The Greenville High School was organized in 1868. Henry Gunder, Superintendent of the public schools of North Manchester, Ind., was the first teacher. He is a self-made man, is thorough in his explanations and practical in their application. G. S. Harter, now a teacher in the Dayton High School, had charge of the Greenville High School for four years, and though he had but little experience in teaching when he assumed the responsible position, by perseverance, diligence and strict attention to his schoolroom duties, he soon established himself as a successful teacher.
In August, 1862, being then only sixteen, Mr. Harter enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Tenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served through the war. In the battle of the Wilderness, in the spring of 1864, he was taken prisoner by the rebels, and for four months suffered the horrors of Andersonville, and for three months more those of Florence Prison. Upon his liberation on December 7, 1864. he was found reduced to a living skeleton by exposure and starvation. and was sent home to die. Under careful medical treatment he recovered, returned to his regiment, and, in June following, was mustered out of the service. His education was obtained in a two years' course at Heidelberg College, Tiffin, and a five years course at Western Reserve College, Hudson, Ohio. from which latter
429
HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY.
institution he graduated in the summer of 1875. He is a close student, and is devoted to his profession. E. B. Seitz, now Professor of Mathematics in the State Normal School at Kirksville, Mo., had charge of the mathematical depart- ment of the Greenville High School for several years, and was a member of the Board of County School Examiners during this time. He took a mathematical course in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, leaving that institu- tion in the summer of 1870, and has been following the profession of teaching since that time. Mr. Seitz possesses very superior mathematical talent ; has a special fondness for this branch of study, and has already taken rank as one of the very finest mathematicians of the State. for we still claim him. He is, more- over, a contributor to the leading mathematical journals of the country, among them the Analyst, the Mathematical Visitor, and the Educational Times, of London, England. He is a close student, a fine reasoner, and perfectly at home in the mathematical and scientific, as well as the astronomical field.
C. H. Frizell, one of the present teachers in the High School, was born in the town of Greenville. His father was Colonel of the Eleventh and Ninety-fourth Regiments Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Our teacher's parents are both dead. He entered the Naval Academy, at Annapolis, Md., but, his health failing, he was com- pelled to resign his position. His education was principally obtained in the school which he is now teaching, and the facilities there offered enabled him to obtain a thorough knowledge of the sciences and mathematics, as well as a familiar knowledge of the Latin and German languages. He is thorough and practical in his teaching, mild but firm in his methods of government, and has secured the confidence and esteem of his pupils.
H. L. Frank, also teacher in the high school, was born in Darke County. Having a desire to obtain a good education, he repaired to Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio, and completed a six-years classical course, graduating with honors in June, 1876. He has taken a complete course in mathematics and the languages, is a good scientific and classical scholar, and is familiar with the branches he teaches. He was promoted from a lower grade in the Greenville school to his present position, and has sustained himself in both grades.
The Greenville High School was organized in 1868. It now enrolls over one hundred pupils, and is in a prosperous condition. The room is furnished with ninety-eight single seats and desks for pupils, two teachers' desks and an organ which cost $175. It is the largest and best furnished school room in the county. Of the pupils attending, sixty-two studied United States history ; ten physiology ; nine, physical geography ; fifteen, natural philosophy ; twenty, German ; thirty- two, algebra ; fifteen, geometry ; eight, trigonometry ; seventeen, Latin ; two, Greek ; thirteen, Constitution of the United States ; ten, chemistry ; eleven, geol- ogy ; ten, botany ; eight, book-keeping ; ten, surveying ; thirteen, astronomy, and two, meteorology. The school building was completed in 1868. It covers an area of twenty-four and one-half square rods, is three stories high, contains seven- teen rooms exclusive of the basement, the laboratory and Superintendent's room. The building contains over seven hundred and twenty-three thousand bricks, and was erected at a cost of $25,000. exclusive of heating apparatus and gas fixtures. The basement contains the coalroom, janitor's workroom and furnace and boiler. The entire building is heated by steam supplied from this boiler, which is twenty- six feet in length, four feet in diameter, and contains a capacity of seventy barrels of water. The heating apparatus has not given general satisfaction, because of the want of proper arrangement of the heating surface, and the school board has been at a heavy expense yearly in increasing the heating surface, and making the necessary repairs. Citizens have also objected to the location of the boiler in the basement of the building, deeming it unsafe ; and the intention is to remove it at the close of the present school year. The laboratory contains over $500 worth of philosophical and chemical apparatus, and the Board of Education has placed in the library the Revised American Encyclopedia, and Webster's Unabridged
430
HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY.
Pictorial Dictionary, at a cost of $104. The rooms are supplied with the necessary globes, outline maps, charts, cubical blocks, etc., and the school is in a prosperous condition. Within the past year, the board has placed a neat, substantial iron fence around the school lot, at an expense of $1,975, while the lot, containing over four acres of ground, has been set in costly shade trees. making it thereby both pleasant and attractive to the pupils. At present, there are fourteen grades in the school, with a total enrollment of 900 pupils. Many non-resident students avail themselves of our school facilities. and the tuition paid into the treasury from this source has been over $2.50 per year, exclusive of the amount received from the normal school.
The average cost of running the school one year may be summed up as fol- lows : General expenses, including janitor's salary and his fuel, $1,313 ; coal, for furnace, $460.70 ; salary of seventeen teachers. $7,365 ; total cost of school one year, $9,138.70.
The building and grounds are in charge of Harvey Tucker, the janitor, who is also the engineer. He is a practical workman, diligent and careful in the dis- charge of his duties, is an ingenious mechanic ; makes the erasers as well as the blackboards in the school building, and thus saves the board many items of expense. His salary is $40 per month, with his house rent and wood furnished. The Board of Education has also provided a fund which furnishes books for those pupils whose parents are unable, financially, to get the same, and thus no child is deprived of the advantages of education which the school affords.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.