USA > Ohio > Washington County > Marietta > Washington County, and the early settlement of Ohio : being the centennial historical address, before the citizens of Washington County, by Israel Ward Andrews Marietta, Ohio, July 4th, 1876 > Part 3
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There was no Mayor till 1825. By the act of that year each ward could elect three trustees, and these nine could elect from their own number a mayor, re- corder, and treasurer, who with the other six should constitute the town council. The act of 1835 made the mayor to be elected by the people; he was to pre- side in the town council, but have no vote. The act itself was not to take effect unless accepted by a vote of the people. In 1837 Harmar was incorporated as a separate town, and Marietta had but two wards from that time till 1854. In October, 1853, Marietta became a city of the second class, in accordance with the gene- ral law of May 3d, 1852. In the election of 1854 the council was elected from three wards; the first being below Butler Street, the second and third above Butler, one west, and the other east, of Fourth.
In the matter of local government there are two very different systems in the United States. In New England the town-answering to the "township" of Ohio-is the political unit. In all the Southern States till recently, and in most of them now, the county is clothed with the chief political power. The town has no existence, or, if existing, it is devoid of all political significance.
The divisions subordinate to the county are gene- rally called precincts in the South. In Mississippi
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The System of Local Government in Ohio.
whole counties have no other names for their subdivi- sions than those furnished by the ranges and townships; as if we should know Lawrence only as Township 3, Range 7. In North Carolina the county seems to be divided numerically; as if Belpre were merely No. 4.
The Ohio system is not strictly the town system of New England, or the county system of the South. It is what is called the " compromise " system in the cen- sus report for 1870, and is found in the great Middle States and in most of the Western. The political power is divided between the county and the town; the for- mer has much more importance than in New England, and the latter has less.
In the incorporation of Marietta as a town in 1800, the features of the town system are seen. The estab- lishment of the Court of Quarter Sessions with many of the powers now exercised by the county commissioners, showed the influence of the other system. General Putnam and his associates from New England were able to incorporate into the new communities of the West some of the features of the town system, while Governor St. Clair from Pennsylvania and John Cleves Symmes from New Jersey introduced various laws from
those states. We may be thankful that we have as much as we have of the town system. The opinion of Mr. Jefferson on the merits of this system, Virginian though he was, was strongly expressed at different times. He recommended the division of . the counties of Vir- ginia into wards of six miles square. "These wards. called townships in New England, are the vital principle of their governments, and have proved themselves the wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect exercise of self-government and for its preserva-
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Centennial Historical Address.
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tion." Again he says: "These little republics would be the main strength of the great one. We owe to them the vigor given to our revolution in its commencement in the Eastern States, and by them the Eastern States were enabled to repeal the embargo in opposition to the Middle, Southern and Western States and their large and lubberly divisions into counties which can never be assembled."
The first court held in the territory was that of the Court of Common Pleas at Campus Martius, September 2d, 1788. A procession was formed at the Point, where most of the settlers resided, in the follow- ing order: The high sheriff, with his drawn sword; the citizens; the officers of the garrison at Fort Harmar; the members of the bar; the supreme judges; the gov- ernor and clergyman ; and the newly appointed judges of the court, Generals Rufus Putnam and Benjamin Tup- per. Rev. Dr. Manasseh Cutler, one of the directors of the Ohio Company, then here on a visit, opened the court with prayer; and Colonel Ebenezer Sproat, the sheriff, made official proclamation that "a court is opened for the administration of even-handed justice, to the poor and the rich, to the guilty and the innocent, with- out respect of persons." General Putnam alluding to this first court says: "happily for the credit of the peo- ple there was no suit either civil or criminal brought before the court."
( It is probable that the court continued to be held in the north-west block-house of Campus Martius for a number of years. As early as 1792 the Court of Quar- ter Sessions submitted estimates for a court-house and jail-$1,000 for each. In 1793 Thomas Lord was directed to take a log-house near Campus Martius and
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The Court-House of 1800.
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fit it up for a jail. Among the old papers in one of Dr. Hildreth's collections of manuscripts. now in the college library, is a bill of Nathan McIntosh for two thousand and four hundred brick "delivered for the use of the old court-house," bearing date December, 1797. This refers to a block-house at the Point. used then for courts.
In 1799, Griffin Greene and Timothy Buell were appointed, by the Court of Common Pleas. commis- sioners to build a jail and court-house. They estimated the cost to be $3001,81. Contracts were made with Joshua Wells to frame and raise the building; with Joshua Shipman to weather-board and shingle the house. make the doors, lay the floors, etc .; with James Law- ton to do the mason work; and with Gilbert Devol. Jr., to furnish "three thousand weight of good iron" manufactured into spikes, bolts, grates, etc .. etc., for which he was to receive sixteen cents a pound. The building was completed in 1800. The court-room was in the second story, being forty feet long by twenty broad. The walls of the jail were three feet thick, and the whole was built in the most substantial manner. Dr. Hildreth speaks of it in 1842 as at that time " one of the strongest prisons in the state." }
The subject of a new court-house was agitated in 1819. At a meeting of citizens held September 13th. a committee, consisting of Governor R. J. Meigs, Hon. Levi Barber, and D. H. Buell, Esq., reported in favor of a new building to be located at the corner of Second and Putnam streets-the present site. The next day the county commissioners passed a resolution to the same effect. The matter appeared to rest for two years. when the commissioners appointed Joseph Holden, the county treasurer, to superintend the delivery of the
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Centennial Historical Address.
materials. In November, 1821, they advertised for a plan, the building to be forty-eight feet square, with a fire-proof office sixteen feet square in each corner.
In the winter and spring of 1822, there was no little excitement as to the site of the new court-house. Many were opposed to the corner of Second and Putnam as too low, and favored a higher location. Some advo- cated the elevated square on Washington street; others wanted it on Fifth street near the mound. Petitions and counter-petitions were sent to the commissioners. On the 6th of March they decided to locate it on Fifth street, south of the cemetery, provided a better subscrip- tion could be obtained than for any other location. Three weeks later a public meeting was held, and a majority voted for the "Thierry lots"-where Judge Ewart now resides. At a meeting in April, the com- missioners resolved upon that location; but in the same month they re-considered their action, and again and finally, decided in favor of the corner of Second and Putnam streets. The edifice was completed in 1823.
In 1854, the additional building on the north was erected, in which is the office of the probate judge. The court-house of 1823 has undergone another trans- formation the present year by adding to its length and height. The present jail was built in 1848, according to a plan furnished by Hon. R. E. Harte. It was pro- posed to place it on the same lot with the court-house. but in consideration of $500, paid by Dr. S. P. Hildreth and Mrs. Martha B. Wilson, living on the adjoining lots. the commissioners agreed to erect it upon the old site. It should be stated that the land where the present jail is, and where the old court-house stood, was given to the county by Judge Dudley Woodbridge; and that on
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Punishment in Early Times.
which the present court-house stands was given by Col. Ebenezer Sproat. The bell is the same that was on the old court-house. It bears the inscription, " Barzillai Davison, Norwich, 1802."
In the early days the jail served a double purpose: it was "for the reception and confinement of debtors and criminals." There were, however, two separate apartments for the two classes of prisoners. But crim- inals were punished in other ways besides confinement. By the law of September 6th, 1788. whipping and put- ting in the pillory and stocks, are enumerated among the modes of punishment. Thirty-nine "stripes" was the maximum. But by a state law of 1805, fifty-nine stripes might be inflicted for robbery, and one hundred for a second offence. In ISII, fifty stripes might be in- flicted for destroying fruit trees. In 1788, drunkenness was punished by fine, but in failure of payment the offender was to sit in "the stocks for the space of one hour."
In IS00, Robert Oliver, Griffin Greene and Robert Safford, a committee appointed for the purpose, reported " that the north-west corner of the lot donated to the county by Col. E. Sproat is the most convenient place for the pound, and that in the same lot is sufficient space for the pillory, stocks and whipping post." The report is accompanied with drawings, made by Mr. Greene, who also drew the plan of the old court-house. The whipping-post, pillory and stocks. thus erected on the lot where the court-house now stands, remained prob- ably till after 1820.
In this connection it may be stated that in 1856 the county commissioners of this county, in accordance with a law of the State, made provision for the labor on
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Centennial Historical Address.
roads, quarries, etc., of convicts confined in the county jail, thus relieving the county in part of the cost of their maintenance.
( Provi
Provision for aiding the poor was made as early as 1790, it having been made the duty of the Court of Quarter Sessions to appoint overseers of the poor in each township. In 1795, a very elaborate act, of thirty-two sections, was adopted from the statutes of Pennsylvania. " Two substantial inhabitants of every township" were to be appointed yearly as overseers. The law contains this singular provision, that the overseers going out of office should return to the justices the names of two or more substantial inhabitants, from which number their successors should be appointed for the ensuing year. And a failure to make such return made the person liable in the suni of twenty-five dollars.
By a law of the first territorial assembly it was made the duty of the overseers to cause all the poor each year " to be farmed out at public vendue, or out- cry," to the lowest bidder.
From ISof the overseers of the poor were elected in each township. )
County poor-houses were authorized in 1816, to be built under the direction of the county commissioners, who were also to appoint the directors. The term of service of the directors was at first seven years, but was reduced to three. The town of Marietta applied to the commissioners in 1819 to build a poor-house for the county, but the application was rejected because, as was alleged, the townships would prefer to support their own poor. No step was taken in this direction till 1835. when land was bought of Dr. Jonas Moore for $1, 200, and a contract was made with Daniels, Westgate and Alcock to erect a house for $2,040.
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The Children's Home.
In June, 1836, the commissioners appointed Samp- son Cole, Eben Gates, and Wyllys Hall directors. In March, 1838, petitions were presented to change the location, and in December of that year a farm of 198 acres was purchased for $2,536.58-the present loca- tion. The next spring the other house and farm was sold to Dr. E. B. Perkins for $4,000.
Since 1842 the directors have been elected by the people, and in 1850 the legislature changed the name "County Poorhouse " to "County Infirmary."
The Children's Home has been in successful oper- ation for nearly ten years. The one in this county was the first established under the act providing for institu- tions of this character. The idea itself, indeed, origi- nated here. About 1858 Miss Catherine Fay, now Mrs. Ewing, took into her house a number of poor children, for whom she furnished support and instruct- ion, with some aid from the benevolent and some allow- ance from the infirmary directors. A bill was subse- quently introduced into the legislature by Hon. W. F. Curtis, the senator from this district, authorizing county commissioners to establish Children's Homes and provide for their support by taxation. The act was passed in May, 1866, Hon. S. S. Knowles then being the senator. The history of the institution, which was established soon after the passage of the act, is familiar to the peo- ple of the county. The present trustees are Hon. William R. Putnam, Hon. F. A. Wheeler, and Mr. W. Dudley Devol. Judge Putnam has taken a deep inter- est in it from the first, and has devoted to it a great deal of time and attention. ' Dr. Simeon D. Hart is the superintendent, and Mrs. Hart the matron.
The first sermon in the Territory was preached Sun-
I. For changes see Appendix.
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Centennial Historical Address.
day, July 10th, 1788, in the hall of the north-west block- house in Campus Martius by Rev. William Breck. Rev. Dr. Manasseh Cutler, who visited the colony the first summer, preached a number of times. In the spring of 1789, Rev. Daniel Story came out, having been employed by the Ohio Company. He preached for a number of years, as well at Belpre and Waterford as at Marietta. He received a part of his support from the Company and a part from the people.
The Congregational Church at Marietta was or- ganized December 6th, 1796, composed of members re- siding at Marietta, Belpre, Waterford, and Vienna, Vir- ginia. The first deacons were Dr. Josiah Hart of Mar- ietta, Joseph Spencer of Vienna, Benjamin Miles of Belpre, and Nathan Proctor of Waterford. Rev. Daniel Story was the first pastor, installed by a council convened at Hamilton, Mass., August 15th, 1798. Rev. Samuel P. Robbins became the pastor January 8th, ISO6; Rev. Luther G. Bingham, May 3, 1826; Rev. Thomas Wickes, D. D., July 28th, 1840; and the present pastor, Rev. Theron H. Hawks, D. D., October 27th, 1869. The pastorate of Dr. Wickes extended from 1840 to 1869, being longer than any other in the county.
The Congregational Church at Belpre was organ- ized in 1826, and that at Harmar in 1840. The Town Hall in Harmar was used for worship till November 27th, 1847, when the present church edifice was dedi- cated, having been erected on ground given by the late David Putnam, Esq. There are at this time ten Con- gregational Churches in the county.
The First Religious Society in Marietta was formed March 2d. ISO1. The original articles of asso- ciation, with 128 autograph signatures, have been pre-
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Religious Organizations.
served. 'This society was incorporated by the legisla- ture February 4th, ISo7, two others being incorporated the same winter-an Episcopal society at Worthington, and a Presbyterian at Cincinnati. These were the first religious societies incorporated in the State. This First Society in Marietta was connected with the Congrega- tional church, and worshiped in the "Muskingum Academy," till the present church was dedicated May 28th, IS09.
A Presbyterian congregation was gathered in Marietta very early, and Rev. Stephen Lindley was em- ployed as minister in January, IS04. On the 18th of that month the Second Religious Society was formed. The date of the organization of the church I cannot give, or the length of time that Mr. Lindley ministered to them. On the declaration of war with Great Britian in IS12, he became a chaplain in the army. January 25th, 1813, the legislature incorporated the " First Presbyterian Society in the town of Marietta. called the Second Religious Society." This society received aid from the ministerial funds derived from section 29. till ISIS.
A Presbyterian church was formed at Waterford at an early day. It is supposed to be the same as the present Cumberland Presbyterian church at Beverly, and is probably the oldest church but one in the county.
A Presbyterian church was organized at Marietta in 1841, which continued in existence about twenty- five years, though regular worship was not maintained during the whole period. The frame edifice on Third street near Greene was erected by them.
The Fourth Street Presbyterian Church was formed in 1865, and their house of worship on Fourth street
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Centennial Historical Address.
near Wooster, was erected the same year. Both this and the one formed in 1841 were chiefly colonies from the Congregational church. There are now six Pres- byterian churches in the county.
Besides the "First " and the "Second " Religious Societies formed in Marietta in 1801 and IS04, there were three other societies organized in 1805 and IS06.
The " Religious Meeting House Society." organ- ized April 15th, 1805, seems not to have contemplated the support of public worship, but simply " the impor- tant and laudable purpose of erecting a Meeting House in the town of Marietta, to be consecrated and devoted to the public worship of Almighty God." To this end the members "solemnly and irrevocably transfer " all their dividends from the ministerial rents for the period of seven years. It was this society that commenced the erection of the large brick building on Third street below Greene. As some of those who were active in this society were among those who in 1804 employed Rev. Mr. Lindley, it may be inferred that this edifice was ultimately intended as the place of worship for the Presbyterian church. But the building was never com- pleted as a church. Both the " Second Religious So- ciety " and the " Religious Meeting House Society " continued for some years to receive dividends from the rents of section 29; the former to ISI8, and the latter to 1816.
The " Fourth Religious Society" was formed in 1805, and was composed of persons living east of Duck Creek. The last ministerial dividend to that society was in 1812.
The "Union Religious Society " was formed in IS05 or 1806, and its members were chiefly or wholly
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Religious Organizations.
made up of residents of Harmar. It received dividends from the ministerial rents to 1818.
It will be noted that of the five religious societies organized in Marietta from 1801 to 1806, no one had a denominational designation, and that only one of the five is still in existence. The other four had become extinct before 1820.
The first Methodist Episcopal organization in Marietta was in 1812. The first house of worship was built in 1814-the frame edifice on Second street north of Scammel, now occupied by the German Methodists. The church on Putnam street was built in 1839, and hence its name, The Centenary Church. The Metho- dist church in Harmar, now called Crawford Chapel, was formed in 1849, and the second charge in Marietta, or Whitney Chapel, in 1860. 1.
The Universalist Society was formed in 1817, and the frame building on Second street, formerly used for worship, was built about 1842. For some years the members of this society have worshiped with the Uni- tarians, but they still maintain their distinctive organi- zation. An act was passed February 2d, 1832, to incor- porate the " First Universalian Religious Library Society of Marietta." Mr. John Delafield, Jr., in his pamphlet published in 1834, says, the "society devotes the prop- erty which annually accrues to its treasury to the ac- quisition of an extensive and valuable miscellaneous library." This appropriation of their portion of the ministerial funds long since ceased, and the library is not now in existence.
A Universalist society was organized in Harmar in 1839, and continued till 1849. The church in Belpre
I. The two congregations in Marietta have now united, and worship in the Centenary Church.
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Centennial Historical Address.
was formed in 1823, and is said to be the oldest church of. the denomination in the State. The present number of organizations in the county is nine.
A Baptist church was organized in 1818 in Mari- etta township. The first edifice in the county was the brick church near Cornerville. east of the Little Muskingum. The organization in the town of Marietta was in 1833, and the edifice on Church street was built in I835. The present church on Putnam street was erected in 1854. Rev. Jeremiah Dale was one of the carly preachers in this region, doing missionary work over a large territory. He died in 1831. Rev. Hiram Gear, who died in 1843, had been pastor of the church in Marietta for six years. There are at this time four- teen Baptist churches in the county.
A Protestant Episcopal organization was made as early as 1827 in Marietta, and an act "to incorporate St. Luke's Church" was passed by the legislature Jan. 9th, 1833. The church building at the corner of Fourth and Scammel streets was opened November 22d, 1834, and occupied by this church till IS57, when the present house on Second street was erected. Rev. Dr. John Boyd has been here since 1850, making his continuous clerical service longer than that of any other clergyman in the county except Rev. Dr. Wickes.
The Roman Catholic Society was organized in IS39, and their present church edifice on Fourth street was erected in 1853. There are two churches in Union township and one in Ludlow.
In ISto the first German Church in Marietta was organized-the German Evangelical Church, St. Pauls. Though not in organic connection with the Lutheran Synod of Ohio, their present pastor is a mem-
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Religious Organizations.
ber of that body. Their house of worship, at the corner of Fifth and Scammel streets, was built in 1848.
The German Methodist Episcopal Church was formed in i842, and has occupied from its organiza- tion the house on Second street, built by the Methodist congregation now worshiping at the Centenary church.
In IS51 a third German organization was made, the German Evangelical Church of St. Lucas. They oc- cupy as their place of worship the house erected by the Protestant Episcopal church at the corner of Fourth and Scammel streets.
The Unitarian Church at the corner of Third and Putnam streets was erected in 1855. This edifice, which is the finest in the place, was built at the expense of Mr. Nahum Ward, and with organ and bell was pre- sented to the society.
The Church of the United Brethren was organ- ized in 1857, and their house on Fourth street north of Greene was erected in 1866.
In 1871 the African Methodist Church first re- ceived aid from the ministerial rents, though they had maintained worship for some time before that. For some years they have occupied the frame building on Third street built for a Presbyterian church.
In 1812 a Bible Society was formed at Marietta, of which General Rufus Putnam was president. It is re- ferred to by the correspondents of General Putnam as the "Ohio Bible Society," and bibles and testaments were sent here from New York and Philadelphia, to be dis- tributed at prominent points both in this State and in Indiana Territory.
In 1814 (October 10th), was formed the "Society for the promotion of good morals." The object was
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Centennial Historical Address.
"to promote good morals, and discountenance vice universally; particularly to discourage profaneness, gross breaches of the Sabbath, idleness, and intemper- ance; and especially to discourage intemperance." The first officers were Rev. S. P. Robbins, president, David I. Burr, vice president, and David Putnam, secretary.
In the fall of 1818 a committee, consisting of David Putnam, Wm. R. Putnam, and James Whitney, wrote to Governor Worthington asking him to call the atten- tion of the legislature to the subject of intemperance, which he did. They then memorialized the legislature on the subject asking for action, and saying, "It has been a subject of regret to your memorialists while perusing the statutes of this State, that no paragraph or expression can be found which censures this offence."
In 1817 this society voted to establish a Sunday School, and the records for 1819 show that three schools were in operation under its general care. One was at the " Muskingum Academy," under the charge of Mr. William Holyoke, one at the "brick house on Point HIarmar," under Mr. William Slocomb, and one for small scholars at "Buell's school room" at the Point, under the care of Mrs. Whipple and Mrs. Merwin.
A temperance society was formed July 31, 1830. The officers were, president, Ephraim Emerson; vice presidents, Rev. Jacob Young and Robert Crawford: secretary, Rev. L. G. Bingham; treasurer, Wyllys Hall ; executive committee, Caleb Emerson, Junia Jennings, Douglas Putnam. Samuel Shipman.
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