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 4
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From the character of the carly settlers more at- tention to education might have been expected than in most new settlements. As early as 1790 the directors of the Ohio Company appropriated money for 'schools
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The Muskingum Academy.
in Marietta, Belpre and Waterford. From the very first there were schools in which instruction was given by persons of high literary attainments. ) At Belpre, Daniel Mayo, a graduate of Harvard, taught for a num- ber of winters, and others who had received collegiate training were employed to some extent in the work of instruction.
( Before the first decade had passed steps were taken to establish a regular academy at Marietta. On the 29th of April, 1797, a number of the citizens convened "to consider measures for promoting the education of youth," and a committee was appointed to prepare a plan of a house suitable for the instuction of youth and for religious purposes, to estimate the expense and recommend a site. / The committee consisted of Gen- eral Rufus Putnam, Paul Fearing, Griffin Greene, R. J. Meigs, Jr., Charles Greene, and Joshua Shipman. At the end of a week the committee made their report at an adjourned meeting. They presented a plan of the house, estimated the expense at $1,000, and recom- mended city lot No. 605-the lot on Front street, north of the Congregational church. As the best mode of raising the money they suggested "that the possessors of ministerial lands lying on the Ohio river between Heart's ditch and the south end of Front street, and on Front street, and between Front street and the Muskin- gum river, do pay at the rate of one dollar for every one-third of an acre which they respectively possess." Assessments on other lands were recommended and a subscription to meet deficiencies.
The report was accepted as to the plan of the house, the cost and the location: but the method of securing funds was modified so as "to assess the pos-
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Centennial Historical Address.
sessors of ministerial lands in proportion to the value of their respective possessions." The sums thus paid, either by assessment or subscription, were to be consid- ered as stock, at the rate of ten dollars a share; and the stockholders were entitled to votes according to their shares. At a meeting in August of that year fifty-nine shares were represented, of which thirty belonged to General Putnam.
Thus originated the Muskingum Academy, which was probably the first structure of the kind erected in the North-west territory. It was used for educational purposes till 1832, when it was removed to Second street, near the Rhodes block, where it is still standing. It was also used on the Sabbath as a place of worship till 1809, when the Congregational church was com- pleted.
David Putnam, Esq., a graduate of Yale College, was the first instructor in the Muskingum Academy. Among the others who taught before the removal of the old academy, were Benjamin F. Stone, Morris B. Belknap, N. K. Clough, Caleb Emerson, Jonas Moore, David Gilmore, Edwin Putnam, Elisha Huntington,' William A. Whittlesey, William Slocomb, John K. Joline.
In 1830, Rev. L. G. Bingham established "The Institute of Education," comprising an Infant School, Primary School, Ladies Seminary and High School. The next year Mr. Mansfield French became joint pro- prietor with Mr. Bingham; Mr. N. Brown, a graduate of Williams College, having charge of the High School, and Miss Spalding, from Ipswich, Mass., of the Ladies Seminary. In 1832 Mr. Henry Smith, a graduate of Middlebury College, was the principal of the High
1. Afterwards Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.
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Marietta College Established.
School, and Miss D. T. Wells-afterwards Mrs. D. P. Bosworth-was associated with Miss Spalding in the Ladies Seminary. The High School prospered greatly. and in the December following a charter was obtained under the style of the " Marietta Collegiate Institute," and a board of trustees was appointed. ( In the autumn of 1833 it was opened as a public institution in what is now the dormitory building on the College square. A new charter was obtained February 14th, 1835, under the name of " Marietta College.")
The Seminary for young ladies also passed into the hands of the same corporation, though the two institu- tions were kept distinct so far as instruction was con- cerned. The ladies at the head of it were successively Miss Spalding, Miss Wells, Miss C. M. Webster, Miss S. Jaquith, and Mrs. L. Tenney. In IS43 the seminary property was sold by the trustees, but the institution was continued for a number of years under the charge of Mrs. Tenney.
The original trustees, of the college were Luther G. Bingham, John Cotton, Caleb Emerson, John Mills. John Crawford, Arius Nye, Douglas Putnam, Jonas Moore, and Anselm T. Nye. But Messrs. John Craw- ford and Arius Nve did not act under the second char- ter. The members of the first faculty were Henry Smith, professor of Languages; D. Howe Allen, pro- fessor of Mathematics; Milo P. Jewett, professor of Rhetoric and principal of the Teachers department; and Samuel Maxwell. principal of the Preparatory department. In I$35 Rev. Joel H. Linsley was elected president, and held the office till 1846. President Henry Smith was at the head of the college from 1846. to 1855. when he was succeeded by the present presi- dent, Israel W. Andrews.
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Centennial Historical Address.
The first class was graduated in 1838, since which the succession of classes has been unbroken. The whole number of graduates in the classical course is four hundred and thirty-five, with twelve who have completed a scientific course.1. Of the whole number, one hundred and forty-three, or thirty-two per cent. have been from Washington county. For the last few years the county has furnished to the college classes an average of forty students, being one college student for each thousand of the population.
The pioneers of this settlement and the directors of the Ohio Company showed their interest in education by causing to be inserted in their contract with the government for their purchase, a provision that two townships of land should be appropriated for a university, and one section in each township for schools. The two townships, as General Putnam says in a letter to Hon. Paul Fearing, dated November 20th, 1800, were " in fact more of a donation of the Ohio Company than of the United States, as this was a part of the considera- tion which induced the directors of the company to agree to purchase the other lands." The good General seemed to be disappointed even at that early day, that the generous example of the company had not been followed. He was looking for gifts to be made by in- dividuals, and writes: "Is there no public spirit to be found in the Territory except only in the proprietors of the Ohio Company ? Is it not possible that some worthy, able, public-spirited gentlemen in Adams and Ross counties may make donations to the institution ?" He evidently did not expect that the land would make a sufficient endow- ment, but was looking for the gift of the company to
I. This includes the class of 1877.
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Educational Institutions.
be supplemented by other gifts from generous, public- spirited men.
The author of a recent work on American State Universities. after speaking of the obstacles which the institution at Athens has had to encounter, adds: "The very movers in the work, long ago discouraged, estab- lished a college at their beloved Marietta." The college at Marietta may indeed be justly regarded as the child of the pioneers; for by the descendants of those that gave the two townships has it been established and sustained ; and its eminent success may be attributed largely to this, that it embodies and represents the spirit and culture of those who came in the last century to found here a new home.
It is an item of historical interest that about sixty of the graduates of the college are the lineal descend- ants of those who settled on the lands of the Ohio Company prior to 1800, representing more than forty of the early settlers.
As illustrative of the continuance of interest in the institution, and the increase in successive donations as the ability to give increased, this fact may be stated. Among the donors in the first effort made at Marietta in March, 1833, there were seven whose contributions . amounted in the aggregate to $2.250; the gifts ranging from $50 to $1,000. The total donations made to the college by these seven gentlemen to the present time amount to over $95,000. And the citizens of Marietta and the immediate vicinity have given, in all, the sum of $165,000.
An institution was opened at Beverly, in Novem- ber, 1842, under the name of the Beverly College, Rev. J. P. Wethec, president. It was started under the aus-
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Centennial Historical Address.
pices of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The building was erected by Mr. John Dodge, and Mr. Ben- jamin Dana made a donation in land. Besides the building and lot there is a fund of two thousand dollars or more. The institution has been in operation most of the time since 1842, as an academy or high school, and a considerable number of young people of both sexes have enjoyed its advantages; some have been prepared to enter college, in a few instances joining the Sophomore or Junior classes.
An Academy was commenced in Harmar about 1845, through the efforts of some of her citizens, and con- tinued in successful operation for a number of years, till the re-organization of the public schools. As an academy, and as the high school department of the public schools, it was an efficient institution, preparing a large number of young men for college. Among the teachers may be named Messrs. Henry Bates, John Giles, and George H. Howison.
The Marietta public schools up to 1849, were five in number, in five separate districts, each with its own directors. The question of consolidating the schools under one board of education, and introducing the union or graded system, was first agitated in the fall of 1848.\ At that time but few towns in Ohio had intro- duced the new system, but its workings had been so successful that the people of Marietta were disposed to make trial of it. The first board of education was elected in the spring of 1849, consisting of E. H. Allen, I. W. Andrews, Lucius Brigham, Robert Crawford, T. W. Ewart. and Rufus E. Harte; and the schools went into operation under what was then known as the Akron law.
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Educational Institutions.
The Marietta Liberal Institute was established in 1849, under the patronage of the Universalists. An edifice was erected on Second street below Butler. In- struction in the higher branches was given to young people of both sexes for a number of years, and the in- stitution was well patronized. The first principal was Mr. Paul Kendall.
For some years a school has been in operation in Wesley township, the Bartlett Academy, which is be- lieved to be in a flourishing condition.
Besides Marietta and Harmar, the towns of Belpre. Beverly, and Newport, and perhaps others, have the graded system of public schools in operation. Belpre has just erected a fine building, probably the best public school edifice in the county.
The township of Lawrence happens to be the pos- sessor of an educational fund of some $25,000, derived from an oil well on one of the school district lots; which it is hoped may be used for the support of a central school of higher grade for the more advanced pupils of the township.
As an educational item mention should be made of the Washington County School Association which was formed in 1837. The first officers were William Slo- comb, president, Theodore Scott, vice president, Thomas WV. Ewart, secretary. At the semi-annual meeting in May, IS3S, an address was delivered by Samuel Lewis. Esq., the first State Superintendent of Schools in Ohio. The records of this association show that many of the leading citizens of the county participated in its pro- ceedings, and that many valuable addresses were de- livered. The last meeting was held in 1854, prior to which time the school system of the State had been re- organized.
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Centennial Historical Address.
Among the public men to whom the cause of popular education in Ohio was greatly indebted in the early history of the State, none deserves more promi- nence than Judge Ephraim Cutler. He was a represen- tative in 1819-20, and in 1822-23, and a senator from 1823 to 1825; and his attention was largely devoted to the subjects of equitable taxation and the system of common schools. In 1822 he was appointed by Gov- ernor Trimble one of seven commissioners to report a system of education adapted to common schools. In February, 1825, the first general school law was passed by the legislature, providing for a liberal support of schools by general taxation. Mr. Walker, in his His- tory of Athens County, after speaking of Judge Cutler's efforts to reform the system of taxation, says: " His other great achievement at this time was the establishment of an excellent common school system. We do not aver that he alone deserves the credit for the success of the measure in the legislature of 1824-25 but he was the acknowledged leader of the friends of common schools, and his experience in public affairs and as a legislator rendered his services of the greatest value."
At different times organizations for mutual improve- ment have existed, which have called out the efforts of the members and been productive of benefit. A Lyceum was formed in February, 1831, with the following officers: John Cotton, president; Caleb Emerson, vice- president; Arius Nye, corresponding secretary; James M. Booth, recording secretary; John Mills, treasurer; Arius Nye, S. P. Hildreth, curators. Before this Ly- ceum various lectures were delivered ; among others by Dr. John Cotton, Dr. S. P. Hildreth. John Delafield, Jr., Wm. A. Whittlesey, John Brough. About ten years
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Libraries and Newspapers.
later another lyceum was formed which was very well sustained for a considerable period. Dr. Cotton gave lectures on Mesmerism, Hon. Arius Nye on Banking, and gentlemen connected with the college lectured on various subjects.
As early as 1810 the Fearing Library Society was incorporated. The act of incorporation named Thomas Stanley, Robert Baird, and Elisha Allen as di- rectors; John Miller as treasurer; and Daniel G. Stanley as librarian. The Society was limited to three thousand dollars of property besides books, maps, and charts.
The Marietta Library was formed, and books pur- chased, in 1829, and an act of incorporation obtained February 9th, 1830. The corporators named were John Cotton, John Mills, Anselm T. Nye, Samuel P. Hil- dreth, and Daniel H. Buell. The corporation was re- stricted in clear annual income to two thousand dollars. and it was provided that none of the funds should " ever be applied to the purposes of banking." This library has been in operation to the present time, and for most of the period has been kept in the brick building on Front street, which was erected by the library com- pany. The number of books is over 3,000.
The first newspaper published in the county was the Ohio Gazette and the Territorial and Virginia Herald, printed by Wyllys Silliman, and edited by Elijah Backus. It was first issued in December, ISO1. (The third number of the first volume bears the date January Ist, 1802).". Mr. Silliman within two years sold the paper to Mr. Backus, and he soon after sold to Fairlamb and Gates. In 1805 Samuel Fairlamb pur- chased it and changed the name to Ohio Gazette and
I. In the library of the Antiquarian Society at Worcester, Mass.
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Centennial Historical Address.
Virginia Herald. (Volume I, No. 47 is dated April 24th, 1806).". He probably continued it, though some- what irregularly, till ISIo.
The Western Spectator was established October 23d, ISIO. It was printed by Joseph Israel for Caleb Emerson. In December, ISII, Thomas G. Ransom be- came the publisher. Mr. Emerson continuing as editor. This paper was published for about two years and a half, and then sold to the proprietors of the American Friend.
The first number of the Friend was issued April 24th, 1813. It was edited by David Everett, and printed by T. G. Ransom for D. Everett. T. Buell, and D. H. Buell. Mr. Everett died December 21st, of that year. He was the author of the lines beginning
You'd scarce expect one of my age To speak in public on the stage.
Mr. D. H. Buell became the editor January Ist, 1814. In April of that year Royal Prentiss appears as one of the publishers. The number for March 15th, IS16, Vol. 3, No. 27, appeared as Vol. I, No. I. New Series, printed by Royal Prentiss. With the first number of Vol. 8. June 26th, 1823, the name was changed to American Friend and Marietta Gazette, printed and published by R. & G. Prentiss. Vol. II, No. I. has R. Prentiss as printer and publisher, and the paper was so continued to Vol. 17, No. 21, May 11th, 1833. Mr. Prentiss went into the printing office in ISor. and worked on the first number of the first paper.
In 1833 the paper was purchased by John Delafield. Jr. and Edward W. Nye, and was called the Marietta Gazette. In 1836 it was under the editorial charge of Mr. Caleb Emerson. In December. 1837, it was pur-
1. In the library at Worcester, Muss.
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Newspapers.
chased by Isaac Maxon. Prior to its union with the Intelligencer in 1842, Mr. Edmund B. Flagg was for a while connected with it.
The first number of the Marietta Intelligencer appeared August 29th, 1839, edited by Beman Gates, and published by G. W. & C. D. Tyler. In 1842 the Marietta Gazette was purchased and consolidated with the Intelligencer. In 1844 G. W. Tyler and B. Gates were the publishers, and in 1845 Mr. Gates became sole publisher as well as editor. A tri-weekly edition was started October 11th, 1851, and was continued to January 3d, 1861. In April, 1856, T. L. Andrews be- came the publisher and editor, conducting it till 1862, when it was purchased by Rodney M. Stimson. Mr. Stimson changed the name to Marietta Register, and conducted the paper till 1871. Mr. E. R. Alderman became the proprietor in that year, and is still the pub- lisher. The Register claims to be the successor of the Ohio Gazette and Virginia Herald, and so to have been established in 1801; having thus had, though under different names, a continuity of life for more than three quarters of a century.
There have been various other papers published in the county at different times.
The Commentator and Marietta Recorder was started September 16th, 1So7, by James B. Gardiner. In August, 1808, it was called simply The Commenta- tor; and in June, 1809, Israel and Gardiner appear as the printers and publishers. It was continued for two or three years, and in politics was opposed to the party then in power.
The Marietta Minerva appeared in October, 1823, published by John K. and A. V. D. Joline. It was sus-
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Centennial Historical Address.
pended in November, 1824. The paper advocated the claims of Henry Clay to the presidency.
The Marietta and Washington County Pilot, by George Dunlevy and A. V. D. Joline, was first issued April 7th, 1826. At first neutral in politics, it espoused the cause of Andrew Jackson in August, 1824. The last number was in May, 1830.
The Western Republican and Marietta Adver- tiser was started January 8th, 1831, by John Brough before he was twenty years of age. In 1833 he re- moved the paper to Parkersburg, Virginia, and a few months later to Lancaster, Ohio.
The Marietta Democrat, by Charles B. Flood, appeared in August, 1835. It was published for about two years.
The Washington County Democrat was started in April, 1840, by Daniel Radebaugh, Jr., continuing, however, but for a short time.
The Marietta Republican was first issued Novem- ber 28th, 1849, Amos Layman, editor. In 1853 A. W. McCormick became the proprietor, Mr. L. continuing a year as associate editor. In 1858 Mr. McC. sold to A. J. Campbell & Co., A. O. Wagstaff becoming the editor. In February, 1860, W. Scott became proprietor, with McCormick editor till October, 1861, then C. Rhodes till its discontinuance in November, 1863.
The Home News, a small paper in quarto form, was commenced by E. Winchester, January Ist, 1859. In 1862 it was sold to Mr. Stimson and merged in the Register.
The Marietta Times was established by Walter C. Hood, the first number having been issued Septem- ber 24th, 1864. Since August Ist, 1871, it has been owned and edited by S. M. McMillen.
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Taxation of Land.
The first German paper in this part of the State was established by William Lorey. August 3d, 1856, the Marietta Demokrat, which was continued for nine years.
The Marietta Zeitung was started by E. Win- chester in the fall of 1868. Since March, 1869, it has been published by Jacob Mueller.
In February, 1825, a measure was carried through the legislature, which was closely connected with the finan- cial interests of the State, and especially this part of it. Prior to the admission of Ohio into the Union a law had been published by the Governor and Judges of the Territory, dividing the unimproved land into three classes for the purposes of taxation. This division of the land into first, second, and third classes continued till 1825, and operated very injuriously to the interests of this portion of the State. A public meeting was held at Marietta, December 28th, 1816, to call the at- tention of the legislature to this unequal taxation. It was asserted that land in Hamilton County, worth $50.00 an acre, was taxed no higher than land in this county, worth fifty cents. A committee was appointed to memorialize the legislature, consisting of Paul Fearing. G. Turner, Nahum Ward, W. R. Putnam, and D. H. Buell.
In the winter of 1819-20, Judge Ephraim Cutler, a representative from this county, introduced into the leg- islature a joint resolution that property should be taxed according to its true value, which passed the House of Representatives. In the fall of 1823 he was elected to the Senate, and renewed his efforts to secure a reform in the revenue system. He was appointed the chair- man of the committee on the revenue. The projec
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Centennial Historical Address.
of a canal between Lake Erie and the Ohio river had come up and Judge Cutler succeeded in convincing the friends of that measure that it must inevitably fail unless based upon a broad. judicious, and equitable system of taxation. To him more than to any other are we in- debted for the law then enacted. The language of his contemporaries clearly shows that he was regarded as the author.
Hon. Samuel F. Vinton writes from Washington, December 21st, 1824: " We ought to offer up our most unceasing prayers that your plan for the equalization of taxes may be at the same time adopted. Without it inevitable ruin would await the sparse-peopled and sterile parts of the State. In fact those parts of the State will be virtually ruined under the present system of taxation in defraying the ordinary expenses of the government.
Ingenuity, in my opinion, could not devise a sys- tem more unequal, unjust, and oppressive. I am de- cidedly in favor of improving the inland navigation of the State by canals, if possible; but I hope you will perseveringly press upon the legislature your plan of taxation in conjunction with it."
The " Act establishing an equitable mode of levy- ing taxes of this State," was passed February 3d, 1825; and an " Act to provide for the internal improvement of the State of Ohio by navigable Canals," February 4th, 1825.
There were no mail arrangements here till 1794, and of course no post-office. On the 24th of May of that year the Postmaster-General, Timothy Pickering, writes to General R. Putnam: "It is proposed to at- tempt the carriage of a mail from Pittsburg to Wheel-
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The Post- Office and the First Postmaster.
ing by land, and thence by water to Limestone (now Maysville). From Limestone by a new road on the southern side of the Ohio to the mouth of Licking, op- posite to Fort Washington. * % Marietta will be a station for the boats to stop at as they pass; and doubtless it will be convenient to have a post-office there. Herewith I send a packet addressed to you, to be put into the hands of the person you judge most suitable for postmaster." The person selected by Gene- ral Putnam was Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr. The fit- ness of the selection is shown in the fact that twenty years later this deputy postmaster became the Post- master-General of the United States, which office he held for nine years.
In the same letter General Putnam was requested to select a postmaster for Gallipolis also, which he did. In January, 1795, Colonel Pickering requested General P. to take the whole management of this arrange- ment from Wheeling to Fort Washington (Cincinnati). He writes: " I am solicitous to commit the whole busi- ness to your direction."
The mail was first carried to Zanesville in 1798. Daniel Convers was the contractor, and the schedule required the mail to " leave Marietta every Thursday at one o'clock, P. M., arrive at Zanes Town next Monday at eight o'clock, P. M. Returning, leave Zanes Town every Tuesday at six o'clock, A. M., and arrive at Mari- etta on Wednesday at six o'clock, P. M." (The schedule and the filling up of the contract are in the handwriting of the Postmaster-General, Joseph Habersham).
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