Twentieth Century History of Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Part 29

Author: Jacob Anthony Kimmell
Publication date: 1910
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1189

USA > Ohio > Hancock County > Findlay > Twentieth Century History of Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens > Part 29

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).

In the autumn of 1886 manufacturing estab- lishments began to locate here and inside of two years Findlay became one of the largest manufacturing cities in the state; glass facto- ries, rolling mills, brick and tile factories, pot- teries, lantern works, tube works, wire nail factories, indeed all sorts of manufacturing es- tablishments seemed to tumble over each other to gain a foothold in a place where gas seemed to be inexhausitble, and until the days of that great gas celebration over fifty manufacturing enterprises had established a foothold in the great gas center of the world.

June 8th, 9th and 10th, 1887, were probably the three greatest days that Findlay ever wit- nessed in all her history, for on them we cele- brated magnificently the anniversary of the first application of natural gas to the mechan- ical arts. The first day a large procession headed

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by five enormous bands formed in the front of the Chamber of Commerce, from which point they proceeded to and laid the corner stone of the Lagrange rolling mill amid appropriate ceremonies. Owing to the extreme heat the ceremony at this place was made to answer for the similar occasion at the Moore Chair fac- tory, Union Boiler Works, Ohio Coil and Ca- ble Chain Works, and Findlay Door and Sash factory. At 1:30 o'clock in the afternoon the same bands together with a larger procession marched to Camp Garfield at the Fair Grounds and enjoyed a very interesting time in a mili- tary contest.

Early in the evening the immense crowd of people who had come in on all the trains was largely augmented by our citizens from the country who came in to see the sights and long before dark the broad Main Street of our city was a living moving mass of humanity for over a mile in length. Doorways and windows and every point of observation were crowded. "What a magnificent sight," "What a wonder- ful spectacle," were the exclamations heard on every side when the gas was lighted on the many arches which spanned Main Street and when the gas was turned on in the standpipes from the wells the crowd for a moment stood quiet with fear and awe and then were heard murmurs, and exclamations of surprise on ev- ery hand.

The spectacle was grand beyond words to tell or brush to paint. There were eighteen arches spanning the streets, each with half a dozen flambeau flames from the top circle while on each side of the arch there were two dozen burners with different colored globes. Added to these were thousands of burners on the buildings along the streets and to this was added the roar and flames of a dozen gas wells.

The stars in the heavens were paled with the effulgent light of nature's last and best gift to man-natural gas.

For three long-to-be-remembered days, did this gala affair last. Speeches, fireworks and contests were the order until the evening of the third day when the crowd began to disperse, the sound of music gradually died away and later on the stillness of night seemed to say "'tis done." This was the height of the great gas boom. It held up on a level for a year or more and with the decline of years the gas has gone glimmering. But thanks be to him who controls the affairs of man, oil has taken its place and in a more permanent and staple form.

Daniel Dixon, an old time citizen of Find- lay, while passing by an old abandoned well near the present site of the rear of Frey's drug store, one winter morning in 1859, noticed a strong gaseous odor coming from it. The oil excitement was then at fever heat, owing to some very rich discoveries in Pennsylvania, and thinking that perhaps he had found a sign of the much sought for article Mr. Dixon pro- cured an iron bar and began forcing it through the debris. A passerby who noticed his actions inquired the meaning of the vigorous probing. Mr. Dixon with a twinkle in his eye, responded, "It's oil, Squire, it's oil." In fact it was the odor of gas but the greasy substance that came with the gas was oil. In 1861 an oil company was organized with the following citizens as stockholders: Wm. H. Wheeler, Robert S. Mungen, U. G. Baker, C. A. Crominger, Al- bert Langworthy, David Croucher, H. P. Gage, E M. Burkle, Wm. Mungen, J. B. Horn & Co., Wm. Vanlue, Jesse Wolf, Frederick Henderson, George H. Crook, Israel Green, Jesse Guise, Henry Brown, Isaac Davis, Dr.

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Bass Rawson and William C. Cox, all of whoin are now dead.

The Company was organized by electing Israel Green president; Robert S. Mungen secretary, and E. M. Burkle, treasurer. The spot selected for the well was a few rods south- east of the Presbyterian Church, but this idea was abandoned owing to the breaking out of the war and was never resumed. In 1864 a well was started on the Jacob Carr property by two men from Calliopolis, Ohio, and sunk to the depth of 141 feet when the drill stuck and the well was abandoned. This was done by a spring pole process. Other oil companies were afterwards organized but nothing ever came of them until the drilling of the Oesterlin gas well in 1884 when at the depth of 718 feet a flow of oil was obtained.

The industry, however, did not develop to any large proportions until about August, 1886, owing probably to the low price of the powerful fluid. At present, go where you may over this grand county of ours and you will see oil derricks dotting the surface of the earth, in village-like formation, giving to the entire county an appearance of the top covering of one of the best oil reservoirs located anywhere in the Buckeye State. "Not only this, imagine the thousands upon thousands of dollars ex- pended in prospecting for this hidden treasure; also the thousands upon thousands of dollars of reward in return; the hundreds of families and individuals who have made their fortune from some so called 'streak of luck,' and the hun- dreds of innocent children and loving wives fed and clothed from the profits realized from this rather undoubtful adventure. But long may she live and continue to bless the house- holds of this, one of the greatest, grandest and

noblest counties on the face of God's green earth."

An account of the banks and manufacturing industries of Findlay may be found in separate chapters of this volume under appropriate headings.

FOSTORIA.

This town, formerly known as Rome, in Seneca County, and Risdon in Hancock County, was laid out by John Gorsuch on the east part of the northeast quarter of Section 1 in Washington Township, Hancock County, and the west half of the northwest quarter of Section 6 in Louden Township, Seneca County. The plat of the present Fostoria, consisting of sixty lots, thirty in each county mentioned, was acknowledged September 6, 1832, before William L. Henderson, a justice of the peace, and recorded September 10, 1832, by Wilson Vance, recorder.

After a separate existence of about thirty- five years, the two towns were united under one name and named in honor of their eminent townsman, Hon. Charles Foster, born in Ohio in 1828, who was a member of Congress from 1870 to 1876, and served on the committee of Ways and Means. He was governor of Ohio from 1879 to 1883, and from 1891 to 1893 was secretary of the treasury in Harrison's cabinet. Fostoria has ample railroad facilities, having five steam roads converging and crossing here. as well as three out-going of electric lines. The town has a goodly number of important manu- facturing plants, all in a prosperous condition. The population is about 8,000.

HOUCKTOWN.

This village, located in Jackson Town- ship, and sometimes called North Liberty,

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was laid out in April, 1853, by J. F. Houck, John Heldman. It is located on the on the northwest part of the west half on the northwest quarter of Section 27, and originally consisted of fifteen lots. In 1867, John Doty and A. M. Houck made an addi- tion of twenty-eight lots, and in 1869 six more lots were added by Jacob Hoy. Northern Ohio Railroad in .a rich farming community, formerly known as the German - Settlement, for the reason that almost all the pioneers were Germans from Hesse Darmstead, Germany. All were poor when they arrived in America, but with the char- acteristic German industry and frugality they soon cleared up the land, built fine houses and barns that for permanence and stability were better than the common average of buildings in the surrounding neighborhood.

The place never assumed very large pro- . portions or very much importance. It never advanced beyond the proportions of a cross-road village, and its business was entirely local, being confined to the trade of the immediate neighborhood. Its loca- tion is in the midst of a rich agricultural dis- trict, but remote from railroads. It has always contained the usual general store, blacksmith shop, shoe shop, etc.

There is one church and a schoolhouse and most of the time a physician has re- sided there to look after the wants of these bodily afflicted. The town, so far as im- provements in the way of new buildings are concerned, is at a standstill, and the population is about one hundred.

In 1856 a post office was established here under the name of Houcktown, and the postmasters have been as follows: Robert Davidson, J. R. Babcock, John Garst, Israel Sampson, Eli Gorsuch and David Beagle. In 1904, owing to the establishment of the rural delivery service, the office was dis- continued.

JENERA.

The record of the laying out of this town, of Van Buren Township, is dated April 14, 1883. The number of lots is not stated, but the ground allotted is given as seven and forty-hundred acres, about equally divided between Peter Traucht, Samuel Fellers and

A postoffice was established here in 1884 with George Pifer as first postmaster, fol- lowed by George Gasman, Adam Hull, Adam Gasman, William Diller, and Elmer Diller, the present incumbent. In 1892 the town was incorporated, and B. C. Steinman was the first mayor, followed by D. E. Hull, H. O. Fellers, Andrew Hull, and the present official Dr. John L. Higbie, who is at present serving his second term.

A private bank was opened up here in 1900, and did a good business until 1909, when it was incorporated under the laws of Ohio, with the following persons as direc- tors: John VonStein, A. H. Good, John L. Higbie, Jacob VonStein, Adam VonStein, A. J. Gasman, and John Heldman. The officers are : President, John VonStein ; Vice- President, John L. Higbie; Cashier, A. H. Good; and Assistant Cashier, Mrs. A. H. Good. The capital stock is $25,000 of which $15,000 is paid in.

The People's Telephone, a branch of the Bell Telephone Company, has been in opera- tion here for nine years, and has an ex- change of two hundred and fifty phones. It operates with seven other exchanges, and

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nearly every farmer in the southern part of the county. Oscar Wise of Mt. Blanchard is the general superintendent.

The town has two general stores. two groceries, one hardware, harness and farm implement store, Farmer's Banking Com- pany, one good brick hotel with modern ap- pointments, such as heating plant, hot water, etc., one restaurant, one pool-room, meat market, shoe store, barber shop, plan- ing-mill with wood work, saw-mill, paling and stave factory, feed and livery barn, grain elevator and coal yard.

There is an elegant brick church and parsonage belonging to the German Evan- gelical Lutheran Church and a good frame church building of the Methodist Protestant denomination. There are two resident min- isters, two doctors and one undertaker. For the benefit of educational purposes there is a comfortable two-room schoolhouse and the Knights of the Maccabees have a thriving lodge here.

As previously mentioned, the people being descendants of the frugal Germans, are am- bitious and industrious, thus driving busi- ness with a vim and intelligence that gives life and prosperity to the prosperous village of Jenera. The town was named in honor of Dr. A. B. Jener, the first physician to locate here.

MC COMB.

Benjamin Todd laid out a town on the northeast part of the west half of the north- east quarter of Section 26, in 1847, and called it Pleasantville. The town originally was composed of only eighteen lots. After- wards successive additions were made by Mr. Todd, Ewing, Rawson and others. The

town is pleasantly situated on the ridge run- ning from Tiffin to Ft. Wayne, and about ten miles from Findlay. McComb is the largest town in the county outside of Find- lay, and being situated in the midst of a good farming country, and having good rail- road facilities has grown to be a place of considerable importance.

This town was incorporated in 1858, when the name was changed from Pleasantville to McComb. The first mayor was William Chapman:

For many years this town watched and waited for the completion of the Continental Railway, which had been graded for miles, both east and west of the village, alternately between hope and fear, the energies of the place became paralyzed, business gradually fell off, and a state of retrogression was set- ting in. The people, however, appreciating the situation, roused up and procured the building of the McComb and Deshler branch of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton road, and thus obtained communication with the outside world, and, as if fortune was now determined to smile upon them, the Con- tinental changed hands and under the name of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Rail- road was built through from Buffalo to Chicago, giving them splendid facilities for passengers and the shipment of freight. To say that the long expectant people of this village were jubilant but tamely expressed the situation. A post office was established here in 1847 with William Mitchell, Post- master.

For a town of less than two thousand inhab- itants, McComb has as much of a metropolitan

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air and style as any other town of its size that the writer knows of. The main street is well paved with brick pavement, and the side streets are macadamized with stone, and all are kept in a cleanly condition. A number of permanent three-story buildings occupy the business por- tion of the town, and beautiful homes with well kept lawns adorn the residence portion.

In the line of business there are three good dry goods stores, three hardware stores, two drug stores, five groceries, one shoe store, one furniture store, two harness stores, two milli- ners, one feed store, two poultry and egg ex- change and one hay shipper, one bakery, two meat markets, a hotel, a restaurant and a hotel. One state bank furnishes a place of deposit and exchange for the business men of this thriv- ing place.

Religiously the people are provided with four churches-Methodist, Disciple, Presbyte- rian and Lutheran. For educational purposes they are provided with one room of common school and a high school of eight rooms, em- ploying in all nine teachers. The industries consist of one tile mill, two lumber yards with mills, two grain elevators, one electric light plant, four blacksmith shops, Star water fil- ter, Bell and home telephone, two livery barns, and other smaller shops.

The Odd Fellows were established here in 1859, and have a flourishing lodge, known as McComb Lodge No. 354. The Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of America, Maccabees and John Howard Post, G. A. R., are also repre- sented. In professional lines, the following, named in the order in which their services are required : Five doctors, three ministers, one undertaker, and two attorneys. So that when the people of McComb are called to their

fathers, in this, as well as in all things else, they are well prepared to meet the emergency.

The oldest man now living in the town is Abraham Rother, 87 years old, but the oldest continuous resident is Elisha Todd, 85, but he has been a resident constantly since 1833, a period of 76 years. Mr. Todd is a son of Ben- jamin Todd who laid out the town, and was a soldier in the 99th Regt., during the Civil War. Among the veterans of the late war might be mentioned Capt. Porter, son-in-law of George Algire, who entered the first land in the town- ship, and Major Isaac Cusac, both formerly members of the 21st O. V. I.

MT. BLANCHARD.

In October, 1830, Asa M. Lake, one of the very earliest settlers of the county, laid out a town of fifty-three lots on a part of the west half of the northwest quarter of Section I, and the east half of the northeast quarter of Sec- tion 2, and called it Mt. Blanchard. It is sit- uated on the bluffs, on high ground on the east, or right hand bank of the Blanchard River. The location is a good one, surrounded by beautiful and rich farming lands. The town is regularly laid out in squares, the streets and alleys crossing at right angles. The buildings are mostly of wood, and the dwellings are com- modious and comfortable. The town has beau- tifully shaded streets in the residence portion and the lawns in summer time are well kept, giving the village an air of comfort and grace not always found in towns of its size. The town was incorporated in 1865, and in this event it celebrated the closing of the Civil War. Dr. John Foster was the first mayor, since which time the following persons have held the office : H. C. Pickett, J. W. Turnpaugh, J. W.

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Wingate, W. W. Hughs, A. F. Naus, Jacob Harris, R. W. McVary, Israel Bell, N. B. Clark, Isaac Snider, and at present, S. E. Lowe.

A postoffice was established here in 1834, with John P. Gordon as first postmaster, he being followed by Elijah Stradley, Chester Cook, W. W. Smith, J. Lafferty, J. Patter- son, L. A. Baldwin, Henry Greer, C. H. Stew- art, J. C. Treece, Jerome Smith, and the pres- ent officer, C. R. Burnett.

The Methodist Episcopal denomination built the first church in the town It was a frame building and built in 1838. The Rev. Thomas Thompson and Rev. Gavit, then missionaries at Upper Sandusky, were the first Methodist preachers. They organized a society at the residence of Father Greer, one half mile east of Mt. Blanchard, on the banks of Potato Creek where they continued to worship until a hewed log schoolhouse was built on a cor- ner of the Greer land, in 1833 late in the fall, where they worshipped until they built their frame house in town in 1838, where they met for about twenty years, then moved in their present house, in the south part of town. At the present time there are two ornate and sub- stantial church buildings in town, the Metho- dist Episcopal and the Methodist Protestant, both with thriving congregations and Sunday schools.

The first schoolhouse in the town was of the then prevailing style, built of round logs, with a huge fireplace, clapboard roof and other pe- culiarities not now known to builders. The Union School of Mt. Blanchard was organized in 1868, and a new house built and this was re- placed by another building in 1873. This build- ing contained three large schoolrooms beside

smaller ones for recitation and other purposes. This building and grounds cost $8,000. In 1908 it was torn down and on the same grounds was built a fine light-colored, pressed brick structure of cement basement and four rooms on the second floor, which would be a credit to any village, town or even city, at a cost of over $15,000. It is furnished with an up-to-date heating plant and the most approved furniture. The Mt. Blanchard people are proud of their fine school building, as well they might be.

The village is located on the Northern Ohio Railroad, a division of the Lake Erie and Western R. R. and run under the management of the New York Central lines and at present has the right of way for an electric road ex- tending from Findlay to Marion, Ohio, which, if completed as contemplated, will give them excellent passenger and shipping facilities to the outside world.

The town and surrounding country sup- ports a lively little newspaper, "The Mt. Blanchard Journal," which keeps the inhab- itants informed of both the local and for- eign news, and is of incalculable value in a community of intelligent people. It is at present edited by Mr. L. E. Rumer, having lately changed hands.

The business of the village has always been quite extensive, considering that until recently the town has had no railroad or 'other means of transportation, and now that they have this advantage, it has in- creased many fold, the quality of the busi- ness houses being first class. There are two good general stores, two hardware and implement stores, two meat markets, two restaurants, two barber shops, two livery

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barns, and one each of grocery, drug store, milliner, hotel, shoe shop, harness shop, coal yard, saw- and planingenill, grain eleva- tor, stock yard, flouring mill, an extensive tile factory, wagon and carriage shop, un- dertaker, and People's Telephone Co., with an exchange of 327 phones. Professionally there are two ministers, two doctors and two lawyers.

There are thriving lodges of Free and Accepted Masons, Odd Fellows (owning their own hall), with Rebeccas, Knights of Pythias (owning their hall), and Grand Army of the Republic. For beauty of loca- tion, on an undulated plateau along the banks of the Blanchard River, in Delaware Township, and for the handsome appear- ance of its homes for a town of its size, Mt. Blanchard is hard to excel. Especial men- tion may be made of the palatial residence of Attorney John M. Hamlin, built by his father on his farm in the southern limit of the town, and now occupied by Mr. Hamlin, who is engaged in the practice of his pro- fession in this pleasant village. Attorney Hamlin spent most of his eventful life in Findlay, where he practiced his profession and was otherwise extensively engaged in manufacturing.

Mr. W. S. Shoemaker, one of the leading merchants and farmers, carries on a private banking business, to the great convenience Shoemaker was the daughter of Doctor Foster, one of the pioneer physicians of Hancock County, and for many years the leading physician and surgeon in Mt. Blan- chard. Doctor Aaron F. Burson was the first physician to locate here.

The population of the town is 525. Mt. Blanchard has one rural mail route.

MT. CORY.

This town is situated in Union Township, on the Lake Erie & Western Steam Rail- road, and the Western Ohio Electric Rail- road, three miles from Rawson, and twelve from Findlay, and was laid out in Novem- ber, 1872, by Mathias Markley and Samuel Kemerer. It is located on a part of the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 22, and when laid out consisted of thirty-two lots. To these additions have since been made by Kemerer, Markley, John O. Smith and L. B. May. The lots were readily sold, and quite a number of buildings erected, and as the town is located in the midst of a rich agricultural district, the place has be- come one of some importance, and quite an extensive business is carried on. There are a number of neat and comfortable dwelling houses, mostly of wood, and several large and well arranged business houses, and a comfortable and commodious town hall.

There are two rooms for the common school and one for the high school, besides the township have voted the necessary bonds to build a township high school to cost, all told, twenty thousand dollars. The township business, and the business of the Union Township Mutual Insurance Com- pany are transacted in Mt. Cory.

of the business interests of the town. Mrs.' The Evangelical Association owns a

good brick church and the Methodist Protestant Church have a fine frame build- ing. A flourishing Sunday School is at- tached to each.

The business places are two dry goods stores, three groceries, one hardware, one

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tin store, one drug store, one restaurant, one barber shop, one meat market, two liv- ery barns, one hotel, grain elevator and hay house, Ohio Oil Co. Supply Store, one blacksmith shop. In the professions they have one physician and three ministers, with David Comer, the veteran lawyer. They have a prosperous bank, a volunteer fire department with chemical and ladders; both the Bell and Mutual telephones have local exchanges here, there is one motor cycle mail route, while the Knights of Pythias and the Maccabees have flourishing lodges in the town. The Main Street and all roads coming into the town are piked, and fine shade trees adorn the streets.

A post office was established here in 1873, called Mt. Cory, with Benjamin Wildemuth as postmaster. Since then the office has been filled by Alfred Longbrake, W. J. Staater, J. L. Asire, Mathias Markley, David Comer, Jacob Zeller, A. C. Ewing, Sylvester Davis, and the present occupant, W. H. Falk. The population of the town is three hundred.

RAWSON.

The town of Rawson, in Union Town- ship, on the Lake Erie & Western Railway, was laid out in 1855 by Fredrick Keller and J. G. Kelley, on the northwest corner of the southwest quarter of Section 13, and the northeast corner of the west half of the southeast quarter of Section 14, and origi- nally comprised but fifty-four lots. The town was named in honor of L. Q. Rawson, of Fremont, Ohio, who was then president of the railroad. The town started out fairly, and soon quite a number of buildings were erected, but as the railroad, the locating of

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Twentieth Century History of Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Part 29

Author: Jacob Anthony Kimmell Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1189

Author: Jacob Anthony Kimmell
Publication date: 1910
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1189