USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The suburbs of Cincinnati : sketches, historical and descriptive > Part 8
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On the verge of the village there are many places of comfort and beauty springing up, which must, ere long, become a part of Glendale proper.
In the northern part of the village, on Jefferson avenue, is the tasteful story-and-a-half cottage of R. K. Brown.
Adjoining Mr, Brown's is the residence of W. M. Yeatman, who has seventeen acres of undulating land, that rolls gently to the southward
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His dwelling is a comfortable two-story frame, occupying a pleasant site.
Captain Murray has a neat one-story frame cottage, recently erected, and N. L. Bernard, just above the former, has a tasteful two-story frame resi- dence, with roomy verandas, shrubbery, and flowers.
Adjoining both Mr. Brown's and Mr. Yeatman's are the premises of E. L. Thomas, consisting of eighty-four acres of finely-improved land, with a two-story dwelling that occupies a commanding position and has inviting surroundings.
In the north-western part of the village, as well as in some other locali- ties, many small dwellings have in the past few years been erected. These are principally occupied by the laboring classes, and are more numerous in the vicinity of the Catholic Church than elsewhere.
South of the village, but immediately adjoining it, D. M. Marsh, in 1869, erected a capacious two-story brick dwelling, amply provided with verandas and modern conveniences, and surrounded by broad grounds.
GOVERNMENT.
One of the favorable features of Glendale is that it is well governed. Its good citizens do not allow things to take care of themselves, or, what is about as bad, commit them to persons whose only business is politics. They participate in elections, and allow themselves to be used as the officers of the corporation. The following are the municipal officers for the year 1870-71:
Mayor-S. T. CRAWFORD.
Clerk-A. C. TYLER.
Treasurer-R. H. WOOD.
Council-C. H. ALLEN, R. K. BROWN, C. C. KOHL, GEORGE W. GALLAGER, J. J. PACKER, C. J. WRIGHT.
Marshal-M. DOOLEY.
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The regulations of the village are such as to completely protect property, there being no necessity of closing gates either by night or day.
STORES.
Among the good features of Glendale are the general stores that have been enticed to the place. These provide so well for the wants of the fam- ily that it is quite unnecessary to go away from the village, save for articles of considerable value. There are four stores, belonging to John Walsh, J. J. Parker, R. H. Wood, and Wm. H. Blair. These gentlemen came to Glendale in the order in which their names here appear. They generally have commodious business rooms, and have their residences, we believe, under the roof each of his respective store.
The place is regularly and abundantly furnished with good meats, and vegetables are supplied, if desired, from the neighboring gardens, though the citizens generally raise on their ample grounds all of the latter that their wants demand.
ACCESSIBILITY.
Glendale is by rail fifteen miles from Cincinnati, and by the Carthage turnpike eleven miles. The distance by the latter renders it less desirable than many other suburbs to persons who wish to reach the city by their own conveyances. There is, however, a redeeming feature about this that goes far to compensate for the inconvenience of reaching Cincinnati by pri- vate conveyance. It saves its inhabitants from visitors that would other- wise, on the Sabbath, as well as at other times, swarm in their streets, and build up beer and wine gardens that would rob them of their quiet, and soon convert Glendale into quite another community.
Again, it is upon a railroad that now offers ample facilities to persons who desire to reside in the village and transact business in Cincinnati. In coming in on the usual trains about forty-five minutes are consumed. Trains run upon the road at all times during the day when it is desirable either to
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leave Glendale or return. Trains that stop at this village now reach the city at 6:50, 7:30, 8:05, and 10:40 A. M., and 2:15, 6:30, and 10:15 P. M .; returning, leave Cincinnati at 7:15 and 9:30 A. M., and 2:30, 4:00, 5:30, 6:30, and 9:45 P. M. On Sundays a train reaches the city at 7:00 A. M. and departs at 9:45 P. M. This general arrangement will scarcely be changed, save to still further increase the facilities of reaching and departing from the city.
Under the present system of commutation tickets adopted by the road, a ticket can be purchased for twenty-five dollars, forty-five dollars, and sev- enty-five dollars, for three months, six months, and twelve months, respect- ively, that will entitle the owner thereof to pass over the road from Cincin- nati to Glendale or return, on all the trains that stop at the latter place, as many times a day as he desires. This does not permit a man's family, or any person save the owner of the ticket, to use the road, but it furnishes to all who avail themselves of this arrangement the privileges of the trains alluded to at the rate of less than twenty-four cents per day. This, it will be observed, is less than one cent per mile, admitting the holder to pass over the road, both ways, once per day. Tickets for school children are sold at half these rates.
Another system used by this road is that of discount tickets, to be sold in numbers of not less than twenty-five, to and between all stations on the road from Cincinnati to Dayton, where the fare is thirty cents and upward, at a discount of twenty per cent. from the regular local rates. These may be used by the purchaser, members of his family, or employes, or given to other persons, though the company will not permit them to be resold.
Thus we see that persons doing business in the city can be here for busi- ness in ample time, and, indeed, with the same convenience that citizens can who live at less remote points and have to depend upon their own con- veyances. The time consumed each trip is regarded by many persons with disfavor, but in some respects it can not be denied the expenditure is profit- able. "There is that scattereth and yet increaseth." A man who has been crowded with business during the day, and on all sides beset with its
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cares, wants relaxation ; and he who teaches a business man how most easily and perfectly to dismiss the cares of the day when he enters the portals of his home, makes no small contribution to the sum of human hap- piness. In the first place, a man at Glendale cultivates the habit of ceas- ing work at a certain hour. However hard he may labor for the time being, he does not entertain the idea of postponing his departure beyond the regular period, because he does not control the departure of the train. Again, the railroad company has a car that is specially set apart for Glen- dale passengers, so that the moment a man enters he is at once among a considerable number of his acquaintances. With these he engages in con- versation that rapidly dislodges the burdens of business or the perplexities of public duties. Or, if he chooses, he reads the evening papers, and, in the midst of the world's events, soon forgets the load with which he leaves his counting-room or office. If he chooses to do neither, but rather to look out upon the panorama of loveliness that swiftly glides before him, and watch the play of the light of the declining sun upon the adjacent hills, and the shadows in the valleys, as evening prepares the sweet fields and pleasant homes for the drapery of the night, what could more successfully relieve him of the harness of the day, and prepare him, with cheerfulness and gratitude, to approach the loved ones who anxiously await his coming ?
CONCLUSION.
Thus we have endeavored to give a picture of another of the beautiful surroundings of Cincinnati. If it is not acceptable, it is the fault of the artist, not the subject, for the latter abounds in a combination of attrac- tions that distinguishes it among the many beautiful suburbs of this city.
Nor is the village finished. Each year the roads are improved, new dwellings erected, and new inhabitants attracted to its quiet borders. A town hall will soon be erected, the council having been authorized by a vote of the people to build a brick edifice for municipal purposes that shall have rooms for the public offices, besides a hall for general meetings.
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A company has been formed for the erection of gas works, and permis- sion granted to run pipes through the avenues. In a comparatively short time petroleum and candles will have been supplanted by coal gas, and dwellings and streets will alike bid farewell to one of the serious objections that can be urged against much of our suburban property.
The great advantage about Glendale is, that it is a complete community. Too far removed from the city to depend upon it for general society or amusement, it becomes a society itself, bound together as well by common necessity and the intimate friendships that frequent intercourse fosters, as by common effort to supply the want of entertainment and amusement which absence from the city occasions.
Again, society is not alone thus created and fostered, but finds, to some extent, a common cement in similar education and tastes. The inhabitants are generally intelligent and refined, and their influence is expended on such objects as promote the public good. Then, too, there is an influ- ence silently working that is no less potent because of the quiet manner in which it employs its forces. A school of high grade will temper a com- munity and leave an impress upon its character. The inhabitants may not be fully aware of the work that is going on, but it is nevertheless reaching out its roots through the very foundations of society, and quietly, with its fibers, permeating every household within its reach.
With ample church facilities, excellent schools, refined society, whole- some government, combined with accessibility, beauty, and healthfulness, Glendale is, indeed, one of the most charming of the country places that now hang like pearls around the neck of the Queen City of the West, and adorn the crown that rests so becomingly upon her brow.
MOUNT AUBURN AND CORRYVILLE.
EARLY HISTORY.
OUNT AUBURN, to most persons who have visited Cincinnati, needs no introduction. Its early settlement, its proximity to the city, its natural and artificial beauty, have all combined to acquaint both citizens and strangers with its attractions. For a time it was purely suburban, and, indeed, almost the only place of the kind about Cin- cinnati. Of late years, however, it has undergone a change. The city crowding up the hillside, and its citizens seeking an outlet from crowded streets below, have changed the whole aspect of affairs, and really made Mount Auburn a part of Cincinnati.
The fact that the property is well known, and that to describe it would be like undertaking such a work in the thickly-settled city, is a sufficient reason for varying from the rule observed hitherto of entering into a detailed description of private improvements. The reader, consequently, must be content with a description of the public institutions and a very few of the notable private improvements, together with such other matters per- taining to Mount Auburn and its contiguous territory-Corryville and Vernonville-as may be of general interest.
That which was originally known as Mount Auburn was embraced within the limits of section 13, in Millcreek township. This was conveyed by John Cleves Symmes to James Henry. There was a peculiarity about the
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conveyances of Mr. Symmes, inasmuch as he reserved a square tract of land, consisting of one hundred and six and two-thirds acres in the north- east corner of each section, which he called the "forfeiture." He would convey the section with the condition annexed, that if the grantee did not enter upon the land and occupy it, or was not represented by an actual set- tler, the "forfeiture" should revert to the grantor, to be conferred upon some person who would actually make a settlement.
His object was to procure inhabitants, to open up the country, and to render it absolutely certain that, on each section, there should be some one to begin the work of subduing the forest and tilling the soil. In the case of this section, Mr. Henry not entering upon the land, the "forfeiture " finally became the property of John Vance, who sold it to Levi and William Woodward. The conveyance to Levi Woodward was made February 18, 1793. This embraced lands east of the Mad river road, the location of which was nearly the same as the present Auburn street, and known on the records as "out-lots for the town of Cincinnati." It will be observed that in those days they were not unwilling to call what was to be the Queen City, with its hundreds of thousands, a "town." Mr. Woodward's por- tion of the purchase lay west of the road. The remainder of the section was conveyed by James Henry to Israel Ludlow, August 24, 1800. From this time forward the lands underwent more frequent changes, and were sold, from time to time, in smaller parcels.
Among those who figure upon the records in the earlier period of Mount Auburn, are General James Findlay, Gorham A. Worth, Thomas Hughes, James Keys, John Bigelow, and Hugh Glenn. Later, appear the names of James G. Speer, whose house stood where Mr. Mitchell's house has since been built, Robert McGregor, Osmond Cogswell, Samuel Williams, and James Cooper, whose residence was on the site of the Baptist Church. Still farther from the city was the home of George Arbegust, who removed to the place near where Mr. Bullock has recently erected his residence, in January, 1826. The Ludlow property passed into various hands, several tracts being sold in parcels of about thirty acres, with frontage
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on the section line, now Liberty street. One of these was subse- quently owned by Thomas Hughes, whose name is associated with the public schools of Cincinnati in a manner so enduring that it will, with that of Mr. Woodward, go down to other generations closely linked with the name of the city itself. Another one of them became the property of Arthur Henry, the north half of which was sold to James Keys, April 17, 1819. This embraced the brow of the hill at the head of Sycamore street. On the summit Mr. Keys erected a dwelling, which yet stands, and which was among the earliest, if not the first, country residences erected in this locality. This was known as "Keys' Hill," and continued so until about the year 1837, when it was changed to Mount Auburn.
Who is entitled to the honor of suggesting the latter name, is a mooted question. It has been supposed by many that the late Dr. Reuben D. Mussey should have the credit, while others are inclined to confer the honor upon Eden B. Reeder. Mr. Reeder awards the credit to the late Samuel Williams, and gives a somewhat circumstantial account of the part Mr. Williams took in the matter. Mr. Williams' son, however, is quite con- fident that Mr. Reeder is mistaken, and feels satisfied his father believed the suggestion was made by Mrs. Sumner, concerning whom a correspond- ent has said :
"The honor belongs, we believe, to Mrs. Sumner, the mother of Mrs. Wm. Street, afterward Mrs. Augustus C. Hopkins. Several names had previously been proposed, among these Montesano, or 'Mountain of Health;' but, in the incertitude and hesitation as to the name, Mrs. Sum- ner, or, perhaps, Osmond Cogswell or Dr. Elzar Flagg, at her suggestion, procured a painted sign-board, and erected it as a finger post at the foot of the hill, on Liberty street, with the simple legend, 'Mount Auburn, 1 mile.' This fixed the name, without any public meeting or other public statement of preference. Mrs. Sumner was from New England, where the name Mount Auburn was just coming into repute as the locality of the beautiful cemetery at Boston."
About the time of Mr. Keys' location, Gorham A. Worth, cashier of the
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Branch Bank of the United States, erected here a country residence. This building and the lands became the property of Robert McGregor, whose heirs, in 1868, disposed of a part of the latter in the well-known McGregor subdivision. The house is now owned and occupied by Truman B. Handy, and, with the exception of some additions recently made, is very much as it was at that early period. Mr. Worth may have erected the dwelling before Mr. Keys' settlement here, inasmuch as the conveyance made to Mr. Worth was May 6, 1818, a year earlier than that of Mr. Keys. A cotemporary of these was John Bigelow, who purchased, Octo- ber 11, 1820, the property embracing Hopkins Park. Here, on the brow of the hill, he erected the frame dwelling now owned by the Rev. J. M. Reid, D.D., of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and until recently occu- pied by that distinguished Methodist divine. This was the beginning of Mount Auburn.
A NEW ERA.
About the year 1838 the old Mad river road, which was early known as Wayne's trace, was changed by the county commissioners to the present location of Auburn street. The old road ran along the crest of the hill, about where the residences of Adam N. Riddle and Eden B. Reeder now stand. This was rough and difficult of ascent. The improvement of the new road was almost at once begun, and though this was not itself the beginning of a new era at Mount Auburn, it was one of the changes that marked the period at which the place entered upon its career of suburban prosperity. Various improvements followed, among which was the resi- dence of Hugh Glenn, built in 1833, on a tract of seventeen acres. This subsequently became the property of John McCormick, who removed the old building and erected the one now occupied by his widow.
About the same time Mr. Woodward began selling lots of from two to three acres, though there was no subdivision, nor was there any such thing as the numbering of lots, until the sale of the McGregor property, to which allusion has been made.
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The first of these lots was purchased by James G. Speer, for which he paid one hundred dollars per acre. Subsequently he sold similar lots at about the same rate. The difference between that and present prices, of about two hundred dollars per foot for lots of ordinary depth, enables the reader to see the remarkable change that has taken place since that time.
WITHIN CITY LIMITS.
Until recently only about one-half of Mount Auburn was within the corporate limits of the city, the northern boundary of which was McMillan street, that runs immediately north of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Mount Auburn. In the month of March, of this year, all of Mount Auburn not previously included was annexed to the city, and now forms a part of both the Eleventh and Twenty-third Wards. The Eleventh Ward embraces the territory extending from Liberty street on the south to McMil- lan street on the north, and from Burnet avenue on the east to a line run- ning north from the intersection of Main street with Liberty street. The Twenty-third Ward includes the whole of Section 14, running from Burnet avenue on the east to the west line of the section, and from McMillan street northwardly to the north section line.
AVENUES.
The main avenue of Mount Auburn is Auburn street, into which Syca- more street directly leads. This runs from its intersection with Saunders street, in a northerly direction, until it unites with Vine street in Corry- ville. It is sixty feet wide, has good sidewalks, and, since 1867, has had the Nicolson pavement, which makes it one of the finest drives in the coun- try. Here are to be found the greater number of residences, though there are many excellent improvements on other streets.
The first avenue intersecting this on the right, after passing Saunders street, is Southern avenue, about fifty feet wide, and well improved to the
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brow of the hill that overlooks the Deercreek valley and Lebanon road. This is well paved and curbed, and is provided with sidewalks. There are many good residences on this avenue, which is a very quiet one, and rapidly improving.
Albion Place, between Hon. Samuel S. Fisher's and Mrs. Blunt's, an avenue opened by L. C. Hopkins, is as yet but little improved.
McGregor avenue, formerly Central avenue, is sixty feet wide and well improved. About one year ago the grade was so changed as to materially benefit the adjacent property. It is confidently expected that the avenue will very soon be opened through to the Lebanon road or Hunt street.
Summit avenue, on the north side of the Cincinnati Orphan Asylum, is fifty feet wide, well paved and improved. At present this runs only a short distance beyond the asylum, though it will, doubtless, at some time, be continued to Vine street. There are on this, several tasteful dwellings. This avenue is about the only one of consequence on the west side of Auburn, save Mason street, which is a narrow street between the lots of Judge Stallo and R. A. Holden, Esq., on which there are three or four residences.
Estelle street, on the south of Mr. Riddle's, is thirty feet wide. This, however, at this time, has but one improvement upon it, save those front- ing on the main avenue.
The next avenue in importance to Auburn street is Auburn avenue. The latter leaves the former a little way beyond McMillan street, and runs in a north-easterly direction until it reaches Highland avenue, a short distance south of the residence of Mr. Shillito. It will be observed, the only difference between this and the main street is, that the latter is called Auburn street, while the former is known as Auburn avenue.
In addition to these, a street fifty feet in width is being opened by Jason Evans and George K. Shoenberger, from Auburn street to Vine street, leaving the former immediately south of the residence of B. S. Cunning- ham. This street will have a plain, easy grade to Vine street, and will be macadamized and well improved.
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Suburbs of Cincinnati.
Nearer the old parts of the city, along and in the vicinity of the Mount Auburn street railroad, streets have been opened during the past few years, some of which have on them attractive as well as expensive resi- dences. Of these, Bigelow, Saunders, and Josephine streets are the most important, though improvements have been multiplying along Ringgold and Price, as well as other streets.
RESIDENCES.
On either side of Auburn street, Mount Auburn is exceedingly well built up. The houses are more closely situated, and the whole appearance is more of an approximation to the city than any other suburb. In that part of the city lying east of Hopkins Park, which has been made accessible by the street railway, the improvements are nearly all recent. Avenues have been opened, curbs set, and, in many cases, the streets macadamized and paved. In the vicinity of the tasteful residences of Judge Noyes, Hugh Stewart, and W. H. Doane, deep ravines have been filled, and a new appearance put upon the whole locality.
The residences of Mount Auburn are distinguished for their comfortable appearance and general tastefulness. They are usually owned by the per- sons occupying them, who have consulted neatness rather than display, and cultivated flowers and shrubbery rather than sweeping lawns and extensive drives. Unlike other suburbs, the old dwellings and the new are side by side, the one bearing the French roof and extensive ornamentation, the other modestly wearing the simplicity of the earlier days.
RESIDENCE OF JOHN SHILLITO.
The most notable private improvement is within the former limits of Corryville, and yet, like the German Orphan Asylum and Widows' Home, it is recognized as a part of Mount Auburn, to which all these very naturally belong. We refer to that of John Shillito.
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The lot comprises an entire square, the northern half of which is improved to show the building to the best advantage. With lands gently rising to the spot occupied by the residence, with an abundance of ever- greens and young shade trees, and splendid graveled drives, the surround- ings, for their age, have not their superior about Cincinnati. The whole is inclosed by a substantial wall, finished with cut molded coping of freestone.
The style of the building is Elizabethan. It has a frontage on Highland avenue of over eighty feet, and on Oak street of one hundred and five. The material is blue limestone. The walls are broken ashlar work, with angles, windows, and doorways heavily trimmed with freestone, and a eor- nice constructed entirely of the same material. What distinguishes this building from many others built of this limestone, is the large quantity of freestone entering into its composition, by which the structure is entirely relieved from an appearance of coldness. This at once dissipates the appearance of the castle, and clothes it in the warmth of the hospitable home. The building is entered through a magnificent stone porch, eleven feet by eight feet six inches, ornamented and faced, within and without, by tooled stone work.
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