Madison County, Ohio - Chapter 19: Town of London, 1915 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 19: Town of London

The following is an article taken from the Woman's Edition of the London Times of April 30, 1914, and it is regarded as quite certain that no better article than .this could be written as a preface to the history of that town:

The eee of London is yet to be written. Old times are becoming mere traditions. With the passing wears things as they "used to' be' are vanishing in the mists of forgetfulness.

London' needs a historian who will wrest from the shadows of the past the life, manners and customs of the early settlers, giving to them concrete form, showing the true worth and work of the old pioneers, who lived in the beginning of Madison county and London history.

To live, to work, to be happy, to suffer, to die and be forgotten, is bitterness indeed. To the Christian there is bliss unspeakable in the hope of immortality. There is a lesser, more earthly joy not alien to the heavenly, in the longing for remembrance in one's home county after this' fitful life is over. For this, records are kept, biographies written, histories compiled. Who will be London's historian?

The story is told that Patrick McLene, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, was commissioned to lay out the village of London. This he did-in 1810. Inheriting traits from. across the sea, where it rains if you look up at the sky; or, in other words, rain falls twentynine out of the thirty days, he was determined that the inhabitants of the hamlet, named after the great English metropolis,. should have, weather permitting, sunshine in every room of every house some part of. the day, which accounts for our streets not running according to the point of the compass, due north and south, east and west. Mr. McLene accomplished his purpose so well that strangers, first coming to the town, are at a loss to determine in what direction to look for.the rising and setting of the sun. But all the same, the sun performs its glorious mission of dispelling microbes and malaria, and to him, a hundred years later, we take off our hats.

In 1810 Ohio was included in the "Far West,' 'a vague region, sparsely inhabited and full of possibilities for the seeker of adventure and the man of slim purse. Land was cheap and plenty of the best could be bought for thirty-seven' and one-half cents an acre; inferior as low as twelve and a half cents. People came from the east and south in covered wagons that looked like schooners with: a coarse dirty white sunbonnet drawn over them. These wagons carried the entire worldly possessions and household goods, besides the parents and children. A pair of horses, sometimes an ox team, drew them. By 1812 London boasted six or eight families. Life was on the most primitive lines. Madison county is a high table land between the Miami and Scioto rivers. London, according to the railroad survey, is three hundred and eighty-nine feet higher than Columbus. When the early settlers came most of the land was under water. Ponds were numerous, wild fowl abounded, ague and malaria as a matter of course. The

Trundle-Bed And Grease-Lamp Time

Log cabins of one room were the first houses.' The family cooked, ate, slept in that one room and thanked God for a roof to cover them. A four-post bed with a corded bottem supported a tick filled with straw; on top perhaps was'a feather bed. At night a child was tucked in at the foot; and if father and: mother were long of limb, the poor youngster got many a prod. 'The trundle-bed; kept beneath' the larger one, was drawn out in the twilight and the larger children were sent to bed with the chickens...

Nature was prodigal of her lights in these early times and babies were' plentiful. Each cabin was a "plant" in miniature. Nearly every house boasted a weaver's loom, spinning wheels being part of the furniture. Sheep were kept to afford wool for the winter clothing. Flax was a usual crop and every stage of its preparation gone through with on the farm to fit it for being woven into linen for the household's wear. In the long winter evenings the light from the wide-mouthed fireplace illuminated the room. For more particular tasks, a grease lamp was hung on the wall, containing any kind of rendered fat that was most convenient, sometimes lard or drippings, the wick a bit of old linen or a strip of flannel. Work was work in those days. Verily they rose up early and sat up late and ate the bread of carefulness. Every occupation that is now performed by machinery was done by hand in those days. Shoes were worn in the winter by parents, if well-to-do; also'in summer. The older children were generally shod, at least' in cold weather, but it was a common sight te see little boys barefoot all the year.

For pleasures, there 'were corn huskings - just the kind that laborers get two dollars a day for now, and considered hard work; apple cuttings, quiltings, barn raisings, pastimes of a laborious sort. The first church in London was a Methodist meetinghouse. It was of logs and stood on the southwest corner of Walnut and Fifth streets, occupied at present. by a double frame dwelling house. Diagonally across the road was the Methodist graveyard, long 'since abandoned, at present converted into sites of modern residences.

What is considered to be the oldest house in London was formerly built by the Presbyterian body as a place of worship. It stands on the southwest corner of Oak and Fifth streets, a tribute to the good workmanship and stanch oak timbers of long ago. The Presbyterian burying ground was far out of the town, but the last resting place of these early forefathers and mothers, like that of the Methodist brethren, was disturbed by modern advancement and the secred ground has been taken for secular use.

As time progressed, the grease-lamp on the kitchen wall was not 'sufficient to light the house. From one room the demands of the family required more space, additions were made. sleeping apartments were built on, and then the candle. dip was evolved. They were "made of strands of candle wick, dipped and re- -dipped in a kettle of boiling water and tallow. It was a slow and laborious process, this dipping and cooling and re-dipping until the requisite size was attained. Dozens and dozens would be made at a time, sufficient for half a year at least.

When ready for use they resembled a long icicle and were placed in candlesticks, the thick end iba). the socket. By this light, the family sewing and quilting was done and other avocations, during the long winter evenings. Where did the tallow come from that made the dips? Once or. twice a year a beef was slaughtered to provide meat for the family or community. The suet was "tried out" and great cakes of tallow were produced for the candle dipping and other domestic uses. Then some genius invented candle molds. the candle dip disappeared, giving way to "molded candles." A mold, with compartments to make anywhere from three to twelve candles at a time, was a grand improvement and lightened labor. Many an attic in our London homes can count among the banished relics, candle molds that ought to adorn a museum. Snuffers were a necessity and the early instruction of children included how to snuff candles properly, for if not careful it was an easy matter to snuff the candle out, and then where would one be!

Mrs. Lucy Beach remembers when a child, attending evening service at the Methodist church in Lafayette and seeing Brother Joseph Bradley, of sainted memory, going up one side of the meeting house and down the other, while the hymn was being sung, snuffing the candles and joining in with fervor "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed," the congregation taking it as a matter of course.

Mr. Samuel Davidson, better known as "Uncle Sammy," was born in 1812. He could tell of the time when men's clothes were fastened with hooks and eyes, not like the diminutive things worn now-a-days by women, but great strong ones an inch or so long. Uncle Sammy kept a diary from his early manhood days to shortly within a few months of his death in 1901. It is to be regretted that the passing of events as noted by him is not accessible, as much of interest could be culled from its pages for the benefit of the present generation and those to come.

"Going visiting" was an important item. Formal invitations setting the day and hour, aS we do now, were unknown. "Come and see me" expressed volumes. It meant the latch string was out and the "big and little pot' would be put on. When the ploughing and spring planting were done, or the harvest over and a lull came in the work, then the springless wagon would be brought forth, the axles greased, a litter of straw or sweet smelling hay would be plentifully sprinkled in the bottom, the old gray mare harnessed in and the entire family would sally forth to swoop down on some relative or acquaintance, four or five miles away. On their arrival there weuld be a hearty welcome, the men herding off to themselves, the children to the barn or yard, and the women sitting down to a good gossip. Before noon there was a squawking and squealing of chickens. that would be later served up with the crow scarcely out of their throats. And oh! such a dinner. Everything on the table at once. It was a drop-leaf table, too - none of your extension sort.. A snowy homespun linen cloth of the mistress' spinning and weaving. Napkins were unknown. There would be chicken and mashed potatoes and tomatoes and soda biscuit and jelly and pickle and three or four kinds of pie, with a bottom crust as thick as a board and shortened with lard. Then there were butters of all sorts, at least six or seven kinds. Last of all the preserves; usually quince, the color and consistency of leather and eaten with rich cream. There was no dyspepsia those days but dinners such as described were surely the forerunner of later woes.

When the dishes were washed and placed on the dresser shelves, the women had the house to themselves and the real entertainment, from a feminine point of view, began. Then it was the old chests would be opened and patch-work quilts, many-hued and gorgeous, displayed. Proud was she who could show the "Flying Star," done in blue and white. The "Sunflower" quilt, the "Tulip" quilt in red and yellow calico. The "Nine Patch," "The Irish Chain" and many, many others. The quilting was beautifully fine and represented millions of stitches put in by hand. When the visitors' eyes were sufficiently dazzled by the display, the hostess' dresses were next on view. If the husband was a "good provider" and allowed his helpmeet the "hen and butter money," there would be at least a dozen gowns, wrong side out, hanging on nails driven intto the whitewashed wall. Calico dresses, stuff dresses, at least one "all wool delaine," a "cashmere" dress and among the "400" an "oil-boiled" black silk, sacred to weddings and usually the burying robe, when life's tasks were ended.

The Coal Oil Lamp

Following the molded candles, the acme of illumination was reached when. civilization introduced that wonder of wonders, the 'coal oil lamp!" Evil smelling though it was, it seemed to have descended with some of the radiance of heaven. It was kept on a center table along with the Holy Bible and album in a sacred apartment called "the room," kept shut for six days and on the seventh opened up for sister and her "beau." Passing time forbids dwelling on that halcyon prriod.

As the town grew its boundaries as platted by Mr. McLene, widened and nearby pasture and farm lands were swallowed up in its environs. Mr. William Crawford Minter, father of Mrs. George Van Wagner came to London in 1829 when a boy of thirteen years. He remembers when Elm 'street was a swampy tract, through which a corduroy road led to the wilds of the country. The splendid elm tree which gives the present street its name, was nearly as large then as it is now. That was eighty-five years ago. It is interesting to note that the late Mr. William Chandler had the honor of naming this street. .

Mr. Jonathan Arnett, who passed away in-1904, remembered the time ash the country girls and boys came to town. They walked barefooted until they reached this tree, when they sat down under its shade and put on their shoes and stockings and made their grand entry. This fine old tree has been a landmark for generations, measured around the trunk, about three feet from the ground, its girth is fifteen feet. It has been hacked and sawed and:chopped and badly treated. Its branches have been lopped off to make room for telegraph and telephone lines.- Its life has. been threatened again and again. . But amid all the trials and destructions and desecrations it has passed through at the hand of man, the birds build in its branches and sing their matins and vesper praise. The winds whisper sweet messages of comfort through its leaves. Nature is kind to her child, for neither storm nor tempest! or thunderbolt of lightning has ever marred its beauty. Only man is the sinner. Out Elm street way is another grand old elm measuring over fifteen feet in circumference. _ Unlike the first-named tree, it has had a happy existence, growing in the rear of the premises occupied by J. P. Skinner, few know of its whereabouts.. Early in the past 'century this part of London was a pond, and when wash day came the women from all around brought their baskets and kettles of strong soft soap and did their washings there, drying their ery on the grass and the nearby bushes. Ah, me! life was young then.

Speaking of elm trees, the finest of all is growing in the grounds of Mrs. amen Richmond, at her beautiful home, rightly named, "Elmwood." This splendid specimen towers aloft skyward, shapely and symmetrical. Three feet from the ground its circumference is thirty-one feet. Under its protecting shade children have played for generations, among the number being General Darius Warner, of St. John's, New Brunswick, who, when a lad, was a frequent visitor of his grandfather Wy BURCE: who lived close by.

A Popular Picnic Ground

To settle the question how elm trees are propagated, the writer sent a letter of inquiry to the Ohio agricultural experiment station at Wooster, Ohio, receiving the following reply:

"Some of our elm trees are as old as 200 years, but the average elm does not live that long, especially in our cities. The original forest elms also grow to 300 years of age, but the average life is 200 or 250 years. |

It were vandalism indeed to mutilate or cut down such splendid trees. They link us to the past. If tree surgery can prolong their length of days, let it be applied, no matter what the trouble or cost.

Just opposite Mrs. Richmond's residence, in the early days, was a tract of woodland, where children loved to pick the first spring flowers. It was a popular picnic ground ; Fourth of July celebrations were held there, and much good oratory and patriotism were poured forth on such occasions. It, too, has been absorbed and comfortable homes and pretty villas occupy the spot.

There are those living who remember the time when some of our prettiest streets were only a foot-path in-the trampled grass. Then plank walks appeared to give way to brick pavements. Those, too, have Oe Eran <a and concrete is the vogue; we cannot but wonder what next?

The look restrospective is tinged with Opa tenderness. The old log house, the wide-mouthed fireplace, the homespun garments have gone with tallow dip forever. We would not wish them back. Today the secrets of earth, air and water are being exploited. London today is in a state of transition..

We are living in an experimental age. "Progress" is the watchword. London of the past compared with London of the present is as different as the red springless wagon creaking along the mud road is to the electric cars whirling rapidly through the country. Possibly the solution may be attributed more to the use of. natural gas and electricity than to any other forces. Science is in the lead and through change and experiment will be. evolved the London of the future. The Greater London is reaching out long arms to embrace Summerford and Lafayette. Will they care for the moving? Perhaps our sister Lafayette may yet call the splendid temple of justice "ours." Old. times recall the story of Mrs. Mary Minter, mother of Mr. Crawford Minter, London's oldest inhabitant, when there was a rivalry between London and Lafayette as to which should be county seat, and get the new court house,. Mrs. Minter declared: "I'd be willing to carry every brick that built it in my apron!' .That was the true stuff in the makeup of Madison county. foremothers! Gran'ma Minter did not succeed, but the spirit of her « words still lives. The old 'red brick'? mansion in Lafayette, occupied by Mr. Ferguson Taylor and Mrs. Taylor, gave hospitality to. the eighth President of the United States. Martin Van Buren, traveling at. that time through the country by stage coach. The beautiful residences on Lafayette road are extending eastward to the ase little village of the same name. After awhile a will meet and then - ?

In this year of grace, 1914, the lawmakers of. the state 'decreed that a site near London be purchased for a home where, surrounded by the elevating influences of pure air, pure water, God's sky and Mother Nature, men, not altogether bad, might take heart of grace and lead a new life. Here is London's opportunity. Will London's best men and women rise equal to it? |

As the man and woman, a hundred years ago, worked together, side by side, each doing his own allotted task, not the other's, so ought the man and woman work today.

There is a wandering stream running through the town, called. Glade run;. its progress is impeded by old tin cans, brickbats and. other unsightly debris. In fhe vision of the future the stream will be made a thing of beauty, equaling the classic streams of Cam and Isis, which flow through the university towns of Cambridge,.and Oxford, England. Like these streams, Glade run (the name must not be changed, for it links the past) will be spanned with beautiful bridges where it intersects roadways and streets, the bed will be dredged to give depth to the stream. Gardens and grounds will gently slope on either side, covered with verdure. Reeds and rushes and flags with aquatic plants will abound. Fish will glide over the sandy bed, pebbled with stones rivaling those of a monarch's crown in color. Is this a TEN It can be made a reality.

The Children

And the vision of a London beautiful concerns the children. "And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof." Ab, the children ! The men and women of the future. Those who make the laws and those who keep them! In this town there is to be not a scrap of paper to be seen lying about; the school yard, the alley ways, the streets are scrupulously kept. When the boys and girls who had such a good time when they were little, grow up, the lessons in neatness learned when they were young have taken such strong hold on them, their children have imbibed the same spirit of. orderliness, so. that not a candy sack or stick or stone is to be found where it ought not to be. . ;

There would be no toy guns or slingshots in the City of Dreams. Birds would rest securely in their trees and close to the house. Their songs would be the first sound and last at daybreak and evening. Instead of few there would be many red birds and blue birds and thrushes and robins. Bunny would not fiy to cover with heart in his mouth; and the squirrels, so tamed with kindness, would eat out of the children's hands.

A building of stately proportions rises before the mental vision. Over its portals inscribed the words, 'London and Madison County Museum." Every article of domestic use associated with the old log cabin is found within its walls. Spinning wheels, both large and small; looms and their products, patch-work quilts, old dresses, rescued from the garret's oblivion and dust, and all the implements ie in early farming from ploughshare to pruning hook.

In a "loan collection" the chairs that Patrick McLene sat in and the surveying instruments he used in laying out the town would be exhibited.

As old Rome preserves the traditions of the wolf and the geese and has them enshrined at the entrance of the capital. so too, might London enshrine these early mementoes.

A Memorial. Hall

- Is it too much to ask 'that once in a while we give a thought to those who toiled, sweated and bore the brunt of flaying the forests, draining the Swans their oes racked with fever and ague?

As stated in the beginning of this article, Madison county is a high tableland. London is 1,054 feet above sea level. Compared to it, Cincinnati is a hole in the ground. From its eminence one can look down, as it were, on Cleveland, Dayton, Columbus and many other cities and towns in Ohio (of large size). When the first settlers came, theirs was the task of draining the swampy land, where London started. ..

They braved the dangers of fever and malaria and rattlesnakes. They sowed that we might reap. Then the soldiers and sailors who gave their lives and shed their blood to guard the country from foes by land and sea. What of them? . Are they. to be forgotten? When I think of Noah Thomas, handicapped from early manhood with. his empty sleeve and John Simpson, limping.on a cane, and the scarred and seamed faces of the remnants of the army. of the Blue that gather in diminishing numbers year. after year to remember their comrades on Memorial Day, and place a flag at every grave, the thought comes: Will the people of London and Madison county be so base, so heartless to let these noble men be forgotten? In the vision of. the future a splendid building will be erected called '(Memorial Hall," on whose walls be inscribed the names of these, the founders and defenders of their country. A building sacred to the memory of "The Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers."

In the visionary city, aircraft has become the most perfect and safest mode of transit. One hundred years hence the present-day motor car corresponds to the springless wagon of one hundred years ago. The horse has disappeared ; stuffed specimens being exhibited in museums to show what was once called "man's best friend."

Telephone and telegraph wires have been superseded by an improved system undreamed of at the present time. Science has solved the problem of the equalization of temperature. No longer will the torrid heat of midsummer exhaust the inhabitants, for the excessive cold of winter has been condensed in tanks to be distributed in every community; turn on a tap and the air becomes cool.

In winter the homes of the rich and poor alike will be made comfortable from the surplus heat of summer that has been stored according to the best approved methods.

During the session of the: Legislature of 1810-11, three commissioners were appointed by that body to select a seat of justice for Madison county, and on the 19th of August, 1811, the report of these commissioners was presented to the court of common pleas, then in session, which was as follows:

"We, Peter Light, Allen Trimble and Lewis Newsom, having been appointed by the last Legislature of Ohio commissioners for fixing the seat of justice in said county of Madison, having notified the inhabitants and attended agreeable thereto, we took the oath prescribed by law, and proceeded to view and examine said county, and have mutually selected and agreed on a tract or piece of land of 200 acres owned by John Murfin, including the cabin where he now lives, on the northeast side of Oak run, on the road which passes E. Langham's, and is on the plat of the county two miles and eighty-six poles from the upper center A, and one mile two hundred and ninety-three poles from the lower B, which piece of land, or such part thereof as the county may think proper, is, in our judgment (from the law under which we act), the most eligible place for the seat of Madison county. The proposition of a donation of Murfin's is enclosed to be used as the court may think proper.

"I, John Murfin, do offer my tract of land on Oak run, adjoining Elias Langham's land, containing 200 acres, which I will cause to be laid out into a town at my own expense under the direction of the county's. director, the streets and alleys to be made commodious for public good; a convenient public square shall be laid out, which, together with one-half the in- and out-lots shall be for the use of the county, and to all of which there shall be made a general warrantee deed. The above is humbly submitted for the consideration of the gentlemen commissioners. JOHN MURFIN." to prepare evidence of title of Mr. Murfin and make his report. This was subsequently accomplished, and the title proving satisfactory, it was ordered by the court "that the director proceed to purchase one hundred or one hundred and twenty-five acres, as nigh a square as possible, of Mr. Murfin's land, on Oak run, at a sum not exceeding four dollars per acre, and the donation of the lot on which his cabin may be situated, and pay for the same out of the proceeds of sale, and on delivery: of deed for purchased land, he proceed to lay out or off a town into lots, streets and alleys, the main street to cross each other at right angles one hundred feet wide, and the other streets not exceeding seventy-five feet wide, and the alleys sixteen or eighteen feet wide; the lots to be in front not more than sixty-five feet and not more than one hundred and thirty-two feet back to an alley, and that he lay out not more than one hundred and twenty even lots, the residue of the ground to be laid off in out-lots of two acres each, and that he reserve one lot for court house or public square at the intersection of main streets, two iots for churches and academy, one for jail and one for out-lot for a burial place; that he call streets and alleys by appropriate names, and that he get the plat so laid off recorded; after acknowledgment, that he sell the lots at public sale, after the purchase and laying-off as aforesaid, on the third Monday and Tuesday of September next, or at a convenient time after in the same month; that he give certificate of sale to purchaser and receive contracts for payment - one-third in three months, one-third in nine and residue in eighteen months; and the condition of sale be that, if purchaser fail to pay first installment, to sell the lot so sold to another person at the direction of the director, and that he lay off a town in neat form as convenient to the water as possible, adjourn the sale at discretion and sell after public sale, taking into consideration the average price, and that the lots on intersection of main streets be sold for not less than $50 each; and further ordered that said town or city, when so laid off, be called and known by the name of London, and that the director keep a book in which he will record regularly the conditions of sale, the lots sold and to whom, the moneys received, and make a separate and distinct entry for every purchase and exhibit the same to the court at the next term and make report of lots sold by number, etc."

The Town Of Madison

Prior to the above action relative to the county seat, as has appeared in the general history of the county, the court of common pleas of Franklin county, in 1810, appointed Phillip Lewis, director, to lay out a seat of justice for Madison county. A town was laid out and platted, which was designated by the name of Madison, which plat was acknowledged before Thomas Gwynne, a justice of the peace of Deer Creek township, November 13, 1810, and placed on record in the county recorder's office. Research has failed to reveal anything of record designating the site of the town of Madison, further than that in the index book referring to the plats of towns appears "Madison (Deer Creek T. S.)." It is a tradition that London was built upon the site of Madison. Below is set out all matters pertaining to the town of Madison that search has revealed in the records of the court house. December 4, 1810, John Pollock and George Jackson were allowed the sum of fourteen dollars each for their services for fixing on the place for the county seat of Madison county, by order of the board of county commissioners.

December 14, 1810, Robert Shannon, William Reed and Alexander Morrison, associate judges of Franklin county, were allowed six dollars and two dollars, respectively, for attending at the town of Franklinton, by the request of Philip Lewis, Esq., director of the town of Madison, for giving him directions and fixing on the day of sale of the lots in said town, by order of the board of courty commissioners. Also under the same date, "ordered that there be allowed to Elias N. Delashmutt, sheriff of Franklin county, $2.50 for summoning court at the request of P. Lewis, Esq., director of the town of Madison."

"January 3, 1811, ordered that there be allowed to Philip Lewis the sum of $20 for part of his services in laying off the town of Madison, in the county of Madison." .

January 8, 1811, the board of commissioners ordered one hundred and _ fifty dollars to be appropriated for the purpose of erecting a jail in the town of Madison, and that the same be advertised, the sale to be on the 14th of January,. mext. On the latter date the commissioners met, and after. being informed that there was a new committee appointed bv the Legislature to explore the county and affix the seat of justice, permanently, agreed to postpone the sale of the jail.

"June 10, 1811, ordered that there be allowed to John Arbuckle, Esq., the sum of $4 for acting as a crier for two days in the sale of lots in the town of Madison, by the order of the director."

Returning. to the town of London, it is found that, one hundred and three and threequarters acres of the Murfin tract was, on the 14th of September, 1811, in consideration of four hundred and fifteen. dollars, deeded to the director of the town. However, the town had previously, been laid out. and platted on this, ground, as the plat was acknowledged by Patrick. McLene and certified to before Samuel Baskerville,. one of. the associate judges of Madison 'county, September 13,, 1811. The plat comprised one hundred and twenty- -eight in-lots and twenty 'out- -lots, the former being four by eight poles in 'size. The lots were bounded on the north by Fifth street, on the south by Front street, on the west by Water street. and on the east. by Back street. The original. number of 'streets. was ten; Main and Main Cross. (now High) streets were made six. poles. wide, and all others four and one-half poles. Two lots were reserved for county buildings, 'two for churches and academies, one out-lot for burying grounds and one for John Murfin.

The cabin of Murfin as early as 1809 stood on the south side of West High street. 'He was a Virginian. His wife's name, as written in the deed for the land, was Janey, 'but very likely, if properly written, would be Jane. He removed from London at an 'early date to the state of Indiana; thence to Illinois, where he died. Three houses were built in London in 1811, one by David Watson and a second by Rey. Father Sutton, but it is not known who built the third.

Incorporation And Growth Of London

London was incorporated by an act of the Legislature, bearing date of February 10, 1881, to take effect and to be in force from and after April first of that year. For many years the officers elected by the people consisted of a president, recorder and five trustees.

- For quite a period after the town was laid out, its growth was decidedly slow, and after it had attained the growth of thirty years it seemed to remain almost entirely an statu quo. It is said that an Irishman who visited London about that 'time, after sauntering leisurely through its few streets, and 'hearing not the sound of a hammer, or the buzz of a single notable industry, is said, in the very depth of disgust, to have exclaimed, "Be dad, this is the first town I ever saw that was entirely finished!" Neither was the village very attractive at an early period. A venerable doctor of southwestern Ohio, on his first visit to London, gave offense to some of the residents, by recommending that they get their gardens lathed and plastered, to keep out the frogs. This visit was made in a wet season and it is no doubt true that the frogs were holding full sway.

After remaining in a state of torpidity for a number of years and apparently gaining a broad foundation for the building which was to come later, London began to arouse itself, and grow until the spirit of enterprise, eventually, made it what it is today, one of the most substantial, bustling, wealthy and enterprising communities in this section of the country. Its broad streets, substantial business buildings and beautiful residences 'give to it an air of solidity possessed by few towns of its size in the state. 'Non has. 'the financial side of the town alone grown at the expense of the broader sides of life. 'The literary and social, moral and ethical, have all been looked after and rank well -with the growth of the town.

Doings Of Council In .Days Gone By

'The council is the local law-making body: There can be no council until there is an incorporated village. By an act of the Ohio Legislature, passed February 16, 1810. to go into effect March 1; 1811. three commissioners, Peter Light, Ailén Trimble and Lewis Newsome, were appointed to select a location for the county seat of this' [Madison] county. These commissioners were to make a report of their proceedings to the court of common pleas of Franklin county. The commissioners made careful examination of different localities in the county and finally, April 9th, 1811, decided to" buy one 'hundred acres of land of John Murfin. The commissioners made their report and' appointed Patrick McLene; director, to lay off a town on the Murfin land 'and' to' call it London. The plot was recorded in September, 1811. Lots Nos. 9 and 10 were "reserved fora court house and jail and'two other lots were reserved for' churches. 'One lot where John Murfin's cabin stood, where the Peirce Lumber Company's yards now ate, and one for a cemetery, were also reserved. The land 'purchased was one hundred and three and three-fourths acres, and the price, four hundred and "fifteen dollars. 'There were one hundred and twenty-eight in-lots and tweétity out-lots. The' lots "were sold: by - Patrick McLene, director. Before a 'court 'house was TUBE 'here, soe was" held® 'at the home of 'Thomas Gwynne. ; ce Sr

'London* was' incorporated on February 10th; 1831. In accordance: with the provisions of an act of the Legislature for the' incorporation of the 'town 'of 'London; the first election in said town to choose' officéts 'was held "at the court house on' the 9th of April, 1831. 'David Reeves, John B. Croney and James- M. Thompson' were' chosen judges and Peter Smith-and Daniel. R. Ferguson were chosen clerks of said eléction. The officers to be 'elected were a president and five other members of council,''a recorder, now termed clerk, and a marshal. Patrick McLene' was 'elected first president' of tlie council, and P. Smith, recorder. The other members of the council elected' were S. Watson, A. 'Winchester, eee eee = - Kerr and" Ae Toland. _David Reeves was elected' marshal.

"Ordered that the trustees or common council '6f the corporation of 'the town of London meet the 28d inst., at 3 o'clock, pe m., at the office of 'P. McLene in said town of: London. 'a mae EP. McLene, President. #

At this first' meeting; S. 'N. Kerr was appointed supervisor'; Je: 'Croney,' treaeurer; W.-Jones' and A. Toland,'a committee: to "draft'a bill regulating: swine;" P.' Smith and A. Winehester, a committee 'to "draft a bill. for taxing: dogs?' 'This was all the business transacted dt the first meeting. 'At the next meeting, the committees appointed to draft bills regulating:swine and taxing dogs reported progress and obtained further time to report. At this meeting the council passed its first ordinance, one to require, "That every 'able-bodied elector is required and shall be' liable to perform and do yearly and every year two days' labor on the 'streets, 'alleys and highways who shall "have resided ter days within: the corporation of' said town' of London next 'preceding such requisition of said corporation." There are six closely written pages of this ordinance and 'from the exquisite care used to frame the' law So: that no one of the 'class could possibly escape «performing the two days' laber, by any 'means whatever, one must reach the conclusion that the observation attributed' to the Indian that '"'White man i¢s mighty uncertain," was at least as true in those days as it is now. At the first' Bas dozen meetings of the council other ordinances were passed "regulating groceries,"

"requiring the removal of dead animals from the corporation,' and ''to prevent the pollution of the streams of said village," "to prevent dogs with hydrophobia from running at large," ''to regulate the streets and alleys in said village," "regulating public shows," "for the prevention and suppression of nuisances,". etc.

The following, copied from the minutes of the second meeting of the council, shows the method of procedure in those days, and a copy in full of the second ordinance passed in this village:

"The committee appointed to draught a bill for levyitiz a tax on dogs reported that it is inexpedient to pass an ordinance on that subject at present.

"Sec. 1st. That the president of the common council of the town of London be, and he is hereby authorized, upon application for that purpose, to grant a license to any person for one year to keep a grocery and retail spirituous liquors in any part of the incorporation of said town on the payment of the sum of ten dollars per annum; which sum shall be paid into the treasury of the incorporation for the use of same and shall be subject to the order of the common council.

"Sec. 2d. That all applications as aforesaid shall be made by petition subscribed by at least twelve respectable householders of the incorporation. And before granting said license, the president shall be satisfied that said applicant or applicants has or have ten days' notice by posting advertisements'of his or her intention to apply for such license specifying the time of application in the public places within the limits of such corporation.

"Sec. 38d. That if any person or persons shall keep a grocery and sell plditicus liquors to be drank where sold in said incorporation, without first having obtained license agreeably to the provisions of these ordinances, shall forfeit and pay not less than ten nor more than thirty dollars to be recovered by an action for money had and received for the use of said corporation, before the president, and in case of inability, then before the recorder, at the suit of the treasurer; and the treasurer is hereby authorized and required to bring and prosecute said suit. Provided all suits instituted under the provisions of these ordinances shall be brought in the name of the common council.

"Sec. 4th. That if any person or persons licensed agreeably .to the provisions of these ordinances shall suffer or permit rioting, drunkenness or gambling in his or their grocery, he or they shall forfeit and pay for every such offense a sum not less than one dollar or more than fifty dollars, to be recovered and paid over in the same manner and for the same purpose and use as it provided by the preceding section of these ordinances.

"Sec. Sth. That it is largely made the duty of the treasurer to inquire into and prosecute all suits for the recovery of any forfeiture under the provisions of this act.

"Ordered by the common council the day and year above written that the above © ordinances be published at length on the door of the court house, in the town of London, ten days before taking effect of same.

Excellent Language Used

These proceedings are given verbatim to show what excellent language was used by the men of those days, who had but meager opportunities for an education. The handwriting is beautiful, quaint and legible.

Space will not permit taking up in detail the workings of the many councils of our town. It would be interesting if one of our newspapers would, from time to time, print some of the old ordinances and proceedings of council as are now sometimes printed "From our issue of 42 years ago."

Many of the forefathers of the F. F. V.'s of London took an active part in both making the local laws and in enforcing them. R. A. Harrison and H. W. Smith, two great lawyers, were members of the council at the same time. W. H. Chandler, Sr., was president of the council while George W. Wilson was clerk. Mr. Wilson was also clerk during the terms of M. L. Bryan and O. P. Crabb as mayors. W. H. Squires, Henry Warner, Amos G. Thompson, Nathan Bond, B. Custer, S. Watson, John Jones, John Dungan, Wm. Farrar, E. J. Gould, Charles: Gulcher, Philip Speasmaker, Dr. Toland Jones, George W. Lohr, Robert Rea, Valentine Bauer, Jeriah Sweetland, George Ronemus, E. R. Watts, A. Duncan, S. H. Cartzdafner, William A. Neil, J. C. Bridgman, James Ryan and Richard Peard are some of the members whu have served in the council in years long past.

In looking over the minutes of the proceedings of the council from the first down to the present, one must be impressed with the evident sincerity of purpose of those public servants. The councils seem to have been more precise in all their deliberations and business transactions in the early years of the village than are councils in later years. The people had not so many things to engage their time and attention then and life had not become so strenuous. One could hardly imagine the Hon. R. A. Harrison acting as village clerk in the last twenty years of his remarkably successful life. But as recorder of our village, performing his services gratuitously, his records show the same painstaking care as he afterwards used in drawing pleadings in important cases.

Incentive To Loyalty And Patriotism

The council is many times severely criticised and some members permitted to serve but a single term in this body because the dear people, especially the proletariat, have . some real or fancied grievance for some sin of omission or commission. The electors should bear in mind that the councilmen perform thankless service; that, like the choir in the mining camp, they humbly ask the people not to shoot because they do the best they can. They would be thankful for helpful suggestions. Things are many times neglected that should have attention because the people do not notify council of their needs. All should feel more interest in the public business and assist council to come to correct decisions. in important matters. This cannot be done by harsh criticism or meddlesome interference, but by taking time and pains to investigate matters and then as a result to offer helpful suggestions. If every citizen would do his full duty as a citizen, the labor of the council would be greatly simplified.

Many times the work of the council and the expenses of the village are greatly increased by the act or neglect of a class of the citizens and resulting from such act or neglect, criticism does not always Settle where it belongs, but frequently on the members of council. So that many times good men are greatly loath to accept a nomination for the office. If the citizens of the village would attend the meetings of council more frequently and observe the great amount of important business transacted there, they would have a higher. appreciation of the arduous and responsible labors of this honorable body. Attendance at these meetings would bring about a more intelligent conception of the business of the council and the affairs of the municipality and would result in a greater loyalty and patriotism of. the citizenship, a more generous and general commendation of the good things and less reason for criticism of the evil things.

Present City - Officers

Fire Department - Chief, John W. Byers; vice-chief, 'James Goldsberry; driver hose reel, John Gallagher; driver hook and ladder, Harry Turner.

Members of Council - Samuel Ballenger, George W. Carter,'Reed Chrisman, H. V. Christopher, Ernest Green and M. B. Cannon. ''H. V. Christopher, 'president pro: tem.

The first effort toward a public library in London seems to have been made by a group of young men who organized on September 25, 1856, as the Young Men's Library Association, with' the following officers: '"R. A. Harrison, president; Dr. Toland Jones, vice-president; D. Warner, sécretary: Janiés McLain, 'treasurer. In the fall 'of 1857; this became a lyceum, and the meetings, from November 26; were held with open 'doors and free for all.

On January 7, 1868, another' London library 'and reading- -room: was organized 'at the Presbyterian church with R. M. Hanson in the chair' ahd Otway Watson,' secretary. The 'permanent officers chosen weré R. A. Harrison, president: 3.4. McCurd, vicepresident; Otway Watson, treasurer; M. M. Thomas, secretary; R. M. Hanson, cor: responding secretary. Quarters were secured over the Davidson' & Smith dru; store, on Main street. The' room was opened about the middle of March; of that yc: = and the first lecture of 4 course that was inaugurated was delivered at Toland hall, Wepruary 24, 1868. At that time the library contained about' threé huridred volumes, one hundred and three of which were donated by the Rev. C. W. Finley, and eighty-four by Hon. R. A. Harrison.

On the 7th of February, 1874, the London' Lyceum Club wa' 'organized with a membership of ten young men, with the following ' officers : egal ss doer! © Py McKinnon, president; E. J. Myers, vice-president; A. C. Watson, corresponding secretary; and r Hubbard, treasurer. 'The executive committee consisted of A. C. 'Watson, LL." 'Dungan and M. M. Thomas. The first lecture of 'the course was delivered by John B: Gough, in the Methodist church, March 13, 1874.

London Library Association. Just when this latter association was formed and just what. its name was the historian has been unable to determine. It is. said to have been known as the Underwood Library Association, but this is evidently a mistake. It was.a library association formed by the young men and certain ladies of London, the funds of which were provided principally. by the young men.. In the winter of 1877-87 a minstrel performance was given in London. | This. local..company was known by the fanciful and somewhat significant title, of "The Symrhonie Ace-High. Minstrels.": Among those who took part were, Will Lohr, John McLaughlin, "Dick". Nickolson, Edward McCormack, Jose Kinglesmith, James Watson: Charles Lotspeich and Palmer Smith. The proceeds. were turned over to the: young men's gymnasium, then located in Toland hall. In time this sum was increased by means of an excursion to Dayton. and a lawn festival held on the public school grounds, both given..under the auspices of this association. At the time of the minstrel performance several ladies, including Mrs. Berthier Custer, Mrs. H. .W. Smith, Mrs. Auburn Smith, Mrs. Hannah D. Underwood, and others solicited the young men to use a part of the above fund to establish a circulating library. In the end most.of the money secured.by the minstrel performance, and increased by the gymnasium association, of which Ernest McCormack was treasurer,-and J. M. Warner, secretary, was so used. The ladies, with the co-operation of these young men, decided to hold a meeting in the court house. to consider the ques tion of forming a library association.. This meeting was held and the London. Library Association. was formed and the following: officers elected: Mrs. Hannah Underwood, president; James. Warner, secretary, and Wyatt Minshall, treasurer. By subscriptions, over one hundred membership tickets were sold at one dollar each, entitling the holder to the use of books for the period.of one year. The young men.were energetic and the bank account soon grew to some three hundred dollars. Several efforts. were. made to divert.this money into other channels, but .all failed. At one, time the fund was saved by the splendid effort of Hon. John. F.. Locke ata poe mass. meeting. -

London Library Association

This association was merged, in January, 1880, into the London ibeary Association. With this association began the history of real library .work in, London. Membership in this was also secured. by the method of selling subscription membership tickets for one dollar that gave the subscriber privileges of the library.- As finally organized the association consisted of the following members: H. W. Smith, F. R. Bridgeman, Mrs. E. R. Florence, Mrs. A. A. Hume, George. W. Wilson, John F. Locke, E. .R. Florence, Mrs..O. Mitchell, Mrs.. James Hamilton, William :A. Neil,- Jennie Burnley, Anna Burnley, Sallie -Minshall, Leonard Eastman,-Mrs. John Dungan, G. A. James, Hannah Underwood, P. C. Smith, W. H. Link, A. W. Gardner, Charles Ronemus, A. P. King, James M. Warner, Ada Minshall, Charles Cover, C. F. Richmond, S. W. Durflinger, Wyatt Minshall, A. C. -Watson, Robert Smith, W. H. H.: Morgan; James B. Sprague; Howard. Snyder, F, L. Creamer, Charles Cheseldine, -Williard MeNutt, S. .D. Kumler, A. H. Underwood, Thomas Wood, Jacob Sifrit, M: L. Rea, Toland Jones,- Robert Moore; 'R. G.-Jordan, W. R. Park, Val Bauer, Thomas. Turner,. Charles Guicher, Martin Dungan, W. H. McKinnon, Minnie J.. Willis, Peyton H. Acton, John Van: Wagener, George E.. Ropp, J. ©. Winchester, May Riddle, Helen Crabbe, Lizzie Maxey, L. D. Smith, J... Crain, Mack McCloud, Sallie Riddle, EB. F; Bethard,, Hdward EH.» Sparks, Pringle Lohr, Josie Lohr, R. Boyd, Stephen Watson, Mrs. Sweetland, W. H. Lohr, Philip Speasmaker, Mattie L. Henry, A. A. Hume, J. F. Morgan, Maggie Hubbard, EB. McCormack, 1. Phelps, William Ronemus, H. R.. Stuson, Mame Chamberlain, A. J. Blue, Mattie Frames, H. T. Rankin, Libbie Gains, Mrs. R. B.- Cowling, Mary Warner, Julia Willis, Mrs. George Lincoln, Jennie Morgan, Mrs. E. R. Watts, J. M. Lohr, J. C. Bridgman,

_The library was opened in the Bluff Block on February 22, 1880, and has since been maintained. It was originally modeled after a very successful library that was. being conducted at Xenia, Ohio. Anna McCracken, then a teacher in the London public schools, was the chief advisor, as she, was familiar with the workings of the Xenia library. The officers in turn served as librarians, and the expense was reduced to the minimum. But. even with the most pinching economy the supply of money for books, coal and rent was frequently exhausted, and the women of London would be called on to raise funds. Many attractive schemes were worked out to raise money. One of the first public. entertainments given was at the home of Miss Sallie Minshall, a musical and social affair, that netted some thirty-six dollars - a little sum, but very acceptable to the struggling institution. A 'Dickens Party' followed in 1883, and the sum of sixty-seven dollars was realized. One of the most successful entertainments of a local nature ever given in London was a series of the two plays, "The Lady of Lyons," and "She Stoops to Conquer," staged under the personal supervision of Col. H. H. Prettyman, presented on May 23, 1894. Great crowds are said to have thronged the rink where the productions were. given. The costumes and accessories were elaborate, and after meeting a naturally heavy expense bill the association was the richer by some four hundred dollars. Colonel and Mrs. Prettyman received the warm thanks of the library board and their efforts to help the library by means of a local entertainmnt have never been exceeded. A most successful progressive dinner was given on February 12, 1903, at the homes of Mrs. E. Richmond, Mrs. J. Watson, Mrs. 'S. W. Durflinger and Mrs. Reed Watts, that was well patronized and the sum of one hundred and thirty-five dollars was: added to the library fund. : '

Free Circulating Library

In the course of time the library was moved to another room, now the directors' room of the Exchange Bank, where a reading department was established and Robert Lotspeich was made librarian. Electric lights and tables were provided and the reading room soon became popular. ;

. During 1898 the library was changed from a, circulating library on a subscription basis to a free circulating library, three-tenths of a mill being levied by the village council against all taxable property for its support. It was at that time that the association faced a grave crisis. It was without funds, as the money to be raised by taxation would not be available for a year, and means for the support of the library must be provided. Again the merchants and the citizens of the towns came to the rescue. Benefit sales were resorted to, which, with private, donations, kept the library on its feet for the year. In 1899, the money appropriated by the village council carried the organization through that year, but the council failed to make a levy and funds again ran low in 1900. The ladies, however, not to be defeated in their efforts, borrowed sufficient funds for the library for that year, depending upon the council to make a levy year after year for its support. This it did, and the library has remained a fixture in London. As soon as it was made free the demand for books increased rapidly, and a new system of classification became necessary. Anne Watson, who had made a special study 'of library work, came from Chicago and established the Dewey decimal system, which: made for a great improvement in the service. The librarians in ordér to the present timé have been Robert Lotspeich, Hattie Smith, Anne Watson, Mrs. Elsie Minshall-Stahl, Mrs. Rilla Hornbeck, Hattie Smith, Ara 'March, Abigail Gabriel and the present librarian, Hattie Smith. At the time the initial public 'levy was made it was necessary to incorporate the library under the state law, and on March 7, 1898, the secretary of state issued articles of incorporation, the incorporators being Mrs. Anna E. Smith, Adeline Hamilton, Mary C. Finley, Elizabeth J. Watson, Mrs. J. R. Atchison and May Riddle. The purpose of the corporation, as defined in the above articles, is "to establish a free public library, to receive gifts, devises and trust funds for said library and. library association and to acquire and maintain a library of books, periodicals, and other papers and documents for the encouragement of literature and science, learning and the culture of the members of the association, and to be free for the public generally." 'The movement to have the library supported by a tax levy was inaugurated by Mrs. Anna Smith, and shé as much as any library worker in London, was responsible for that happy consummation when it was brought about. :

The Carnegie. Library

And then came Andrew Carnegie, prince of benevolence and builder of libraries. London finally crossed the range of his vision, and library lovers of that place received the glad tidings that he would erect a library building in London. This matter was first taken up at a regular meeting of the Woman's Club, on January 27, 1902, when Sallie Dooris proposed that the club "try to secure the gift of a library building from Mr. Andrew Carnegie, for London." By unanimous vote Miss Dooris was authorized to write to Mr. Carnegie asking for this gift. Others, notably Mrs. Mary Florence and Mrs. Jeannette Watson, urged him to compliance with this request, and at last his secretary entered into correspondence with Miss Dooris, and the announcement of the gift was made on February 10, 1902. ;

The corporate council appointed a library board to nave charge of the site, plans, and the erection of the building. 'That board consisted of Miss Dooris, Mrs. George Lincoln; William M. Jones, M. S. Murray,. Dr. A. J. Strain, J. B. Van Wagener and F. R. Bridgman. Under the new municipal code it was held that women could not have a place on the board, much to the regret of library lovers, and J. W.: Cartzdafner and Xerxes Farrar took the places of the deposed ladies. The present site at the corner of East First and South Union streets was purchased of Harford T. Rankin. In due season the work was begun, the handsome building finally being completed, and was formally opened on January 18, 1905.

The exercises of the opening day were in charge of the adios of the 'London Library Association, the faithful veterans of the preceding twenty-five years of library work, who graciously turned over their books to the new board appointed by the mayor. Mrs. Alice Armstrong, president of the Women's Library Board, presided at this reception and a committee of ladies gave a cordial welcome. In behalf of the board of trustees, Judge Durflinger presented the building to the town, Mayor A. T. Cordray accepting the gift. Mrs. Hannah D. Underwood read an interesting history of the library, giving due credit to the several associations that had assisted in the work. About four hundred enjoyed the social affair. Old residents and friends were asked to donate a book, with the result that four hundred and seventeen books were added to the list, the literary clubs, lodges, social clubs and others responding generously.

The Florence And Other Gifts

It is proper at this point to say soniething of the bequest of five hundred dollars left by Mrs. Mary Florence to the association. Always a lover of books, with the library interest ever dear to her, Mrs. 'Florence left something substantial to the cause that that should be an incentive to coming men and women. No finer monument could be built to her than the alcove in the library containing the valuable reference works purchased with the funds provided by her bequest.

To the following, not that they include by any means the full number of those whose time and resources have been given to the association, but that they are, perhaps, representative, tribute should be paid: ' Mesdames Anna Smith, Dixon, Neil Mitchell, Finley, Mary Florence, Adeline Hamilton, Minnie Bonner, Robert Hanson, E. P. Fisher, R. H: McCloud, Thomas Gosslee, Carrie B. Kohn, J. R. Atchison, Jennette Watson, H. H. Prettyman, X. Farrar, Butler, Ira Porter, Robert Rea, Elizabeth Watson, William M. Jones, S. W: Durflinger, Job Clark, Den Winchester, George Lincoln, James Byers, J. C. Smith, Frank Bridgman, Reese, Reed Watts, Alice Armstrong, Thomas Wilson and Sallie Robison, and the Misses Lizzie Maxey, Mary Warner, Mattie Henry, Mame Chamberlain, Sallie Minshall, - Emma Richmond, Ella - 'Maria Cartzdafner, Ella Morgan and May Riddle.

One interesting gift to the library that should be mentioned is a copy of a history of the United States by Edwin Erle Sparks, a London "boy," formerly of the history faculty of Chicago University, but now president of Pennsylvania State College, at State College, Pennsylvania. He shad written an inscription on the fly-leaf that gives such a picture of the workings of a boy' s mind that it is herewith produced :

"As I write these lines there lies before me a small note book, ragged and worn, bearing on the fly leaf the inscription, 'Ed. Sparks, London High School, 1877. On its penciled pages I find many names of my schoolmates of those days, my grades at various examinations, diaries of excursions to Columbus, the Dayton soldiers' home and Put-in- -Bay, a list of selections rendered by Cushman's Cornet Band, and 'Rules of Conduct for a Young Man.' Upon one page I find a list of books, which I have copied below so that my young friends of the future may see the reading which Miss Lizzie Maxey required in connection with the literature class, which she taught in the high school at that time. This was the first serious reading I ever did and I regard the task as an important event in my life. This public inscription is but a small 'meed of praise due to the noble teacher who strove daily for the inculeation of a liberal education in the minds of the pupils.

"Here is the list: Moore - *Lalla Rookh (boss), Fudge Family; swith craelavers Travels (heap lie); Milton - *Paradise Lost (fair), Iconoclasts; Bunyan - *Pilgrim's Progress (tolerable) ; Dryden - *Alexander's Feast (N. G. 3 Pope - *Rape of the Lock (tolerable) ; Addison's Spectator, Magazine; Thompson - The Seasons; Grey - *Elegy in a Country Church Yard (tolerable) ; Goldsmith - *Vicar of Wakefield (snide), Traveler; Scott - *Ivanhoe (good) ; Bronte - * Jane Eyre (immense) ; 3 Dickens - *David Copperfield (good); Washington Irving - *The Sketch Book (fair); Hawthurne - *The Scarlet Letter (fair) ; Holland - Katrina; Longfellow - Evangeline ; Biography of Hamilton, Webster, Clay (dry); Shakespeare - *Richard III ee *King Lear (slow), *As You Like It (slow).

The: pay. is at present in a very: prosperous condition. It has six thousand six hundred and sixty-two volumes on its shelves, with twenty-five magazines and periodi- cals in the reading room. It receives:the Colimbiis dailies and the local county papers. It has a yearly circulation of about: twelve thousand volumes and averages about three hundred readers a month in the reading room. .The building is very well equipped, consisting of a main floor and an unfinished basement. Entrance is made into. a' small vestibule that opens into the delivery lobby: On: the right is the reading: room, 'with its magazines; on the left is. the reference:room, lined with its steel shelves and their contents.. To the rear of the .reference room is: a small but well-equipped and wellarranged children's room. Behind the delivery. desk are found. the stacks. .The .shelving throughout-is of steel.. This library is very fortunate in its well-chosen book. lists. The present library board consists of J..B: Van Wagener, president; Mrs. Homer E. White, secretary; Robert W. Boyd, treasurer; Chester E. Bryan, Mrs. Sarah K. Robison and Mrs. Gideon T: Clark. Miss Hattie Smith is the preset librarian.

Despite tie fact ae it might be distasteful to a few fastidious persons, a trip through the London Produce, and, Cold Storage Company's plant would be decidedly interesting and instructive. Such a visit at this time (1915) makes one's thoughts turn to the battlefields of Europe and involuntarily a. mental comparison of the scenes there with the scene in the killing room of the packing house springs before us, and, as a big, fat porker swinging on high amid the shower of his own blood squeals out his death song to the accompaniment of the terrified and defiant squeals of his imprisoned comrades soon to meet their fate, one forgets one's surroundings and. imagines oneself standing waist-deep ip the bloody current of the Marne, while all about struggle comrades, panic-stricken by the horrible din and the sickening odor of warm blood.

_, Enough! The reader will believe it's all fiction unless the chronicler gets down to the facts. The actual operations of a packing house are few, yet they are of interest to those whose. walks of life do not bring. them into close contact with such..a business. Perhaps a detailed account of a swine's transmigration from "hog" to "pork" will be too sordid for some, yet for the instruction of the. uninitiated it is here given.

Starting in the stock pens, where the hogs are lodged pending the call from the killing room, they are driven in small bunches into a basement, pen and then, two or three at a time, up an inclined runway to the killing room. Here as needed they are captured, one at a time, by. one who, for want of a better name, might be called{ the "matadore," who fastens one end of a chain about a hind leg of an animal_and attaches the other end of the chain to a rope on a windlass, Kicking and squealing at this indignity, the hog is raised, head down several feet above the floor. Then the "matadore," armed with a gleaming, sharp knife, searches gut a vein in the animal's neck and, with a practiced thrust, opens it and steps quickly out of range of the blood, which pours in a crimson stream on to the floor.

When the hog has been bled he is. hoisted to a fable at one ane of a steaming oat of lye water, the chain is unfastened and the. carcass immersed for several moments. The hot lye softens.the hair.and hoofs.and._a moment later the animal is lifted to the cleaning table, where practiced hands soon strip him of his hair and hoofs, leaving his hide smooth and clean. He is again. hoisted by his hind legs and suspended on an overhead trolley, which. conveys him to the butcher, who with neatness and dispatch relieves. him of his entrails. At this point the United States government steps in and quietly and thoroughly inspects the animal for all signs of 'disease. The head glands, bronchial glands and mesenterics are inspected for tuberculosis and the body carefully gone over for signs of kidney worms and cholera symptoms. The successful contestants for the pork, prize are next sent to the chill-room, where they are left at a temperature of from twenty- -eight to thirty degrees for thirty- six hours. Then they are placed in the

Measures Against Infection

It is stated that about twenty-five per cent. of all hogs coming under government inspection in the United States are in some degree infected with tuberculosis. This statement, however, need cause no widespread alarm among pork eaters, for, so thorough is the government inspection that no infected meat ever reaches the consumer. There are various degrees of tubercular infection and some forms of the disease are not at all dangerous. For instance, if a form of tuberculosis is found in the head the body glands are at once carefully looked over. If no evidences of the disease are. found there the head is removed and the body passed on, for the slight infection of the head is in no wise dangerous. If, however, the least symptom shows in the body glands, the entire carcass goes to the "tank."

This tank is a huge metal 'cylinder which holds the intestines of a two-days kill and the bodies of all rejected. animals. Here also is placed the blood of all hogs that are killed. This refuse is left in the tank for six hours under a steam pressure of one hundred pounds, which leaves the entire mass a 'bone-dry powder. So powerful is this steam compression that bone left in it for six hours comes out mere dust. No germ ean live in the tank for six hours. The product of this activity is known as tankage and forms one of the best known hog feeds. Traffic in tankage is profitable, for it sells at an average of forty dollars a ton.

The London Produce Company also deals in butter and eggs, and at times makes a killing of several hundred chickens for Eastern markets. Spring lambs and calves are delicacies which they permit themselves to handle occasionally. ©

Such are the cold storage operations now going on. It is impossible to give the 'local color' which forms such an important part in this business, for odors and sounds do not lend themselves easily to printed description. While speaking of the odor it might be well to mention that the greater part of the odor so objectionable in the vicinity of a packing house has been removed by the London company through the use of a deodorizer. The steam used in the compressing tank is passed through water, which removes most of the odor. The remainder is forced into the chimney of the steam furnace and is burned. i a eae

Working at capacity speed, the London plant can kill about one hundred and seventy-five hogs a day. The daily yield of lard is about seven hundred and fifty pounds. All the dressed pork is shipped to New England and is delivered as practically fresh meat, the journey occupying but three days from London.

The building which houses this flourishing company is one hundred and seventyfive by thirty-four feet, inside measurement, with a smokehouse twenty-four by 'twenty feet, and was built in 1909, when the company was organized. The plant is near the Pennsylvania railroad, from which a seven-hundred-foot spur has just been laid to the doors of the building, which greatly facilitates loading and shipping.

The officers of the company are: Xerxes Farrar, president; P. A. Lanigan, vicepresident and general manager; Thomas J. Lanigan, secretary; W. E: Farrar, treasurer. Dr. M. R. Jollie, of the Columbus station, is the federal inspector now located at the plant.

London Creamery Company

Almost over night, in 1913, a red brick building, with a tall smokestack attached, sprang up on the old Morgan lot at Oak and Fifth streets, and London people began at once to speak about the London Creamery Company. Its approach was made quietly but steadily, for the men behind it realized its opportunities and its possibilities, and they were of the quiet, unostentatious type of boosters. The company simply decided that it was to be, and in a short time it "was." In an agricultural community the word "creamery" is familiar - everyone knows what butter is and how it is made - yet, when it is stated that the London plant is a gathered-cream creamery, it probably arouses a question in the minds of many. A gathered-cream creamery simply means a plant where only separated cream is used. Very little sweet skimmed milk is used in such a creamery, and then only for a "starter."

Delivery of cream is made by anyone who has cream to sell. Only cream is purchased by the London company, and when it is delivered at the plant it is subjected to the butter-fat test to determine its percentage of butter fat. The cream is then placed in a large vat to await the inoculation with the lactic acid germs from sweet milk. A portion of sweet milk is heated to one hundred and forty degrees Fahrenheit and held at that temperature for about thirty minutes. It is then cooled to fifty degrees and then gradually raised to seventy-five degrees, which is the, growing temperature for the lactic acid germs. This warm milk is then innoculated with a germ culture made the day before, and allowed to stand over night, forming the clabber which is used as the starter for the cream. |

About two thousand epinds of cream are 'ised: for a churning. This cream is pasteurized or heated to one hundred and forty degrees and then held thirty minutes before being lowered to seventy-five degrees, when it is innoculated with the lactic acid germs . formed the day before. The cream is then allowed to "ripen" for about four hours and afterward cooled to about forty-six degrees, which is the average churning temperature. The inoculating and ripening processes take place in large vats which hold about four hundred gallons each. Inside the vats are copper coils which are hollow and contain , hot water or steam and cold brine or simply cold water, depending on the temperature of the season and whether the cream. is to be heated or cooled.

How Butter Is Made

After the cream has ripened it is pumped into a large cylinder churn, which has a nine-hundred-gallon capacity, but which contains only three hundred gallons at a churning. The churn is revolved at high speed until the butter comes up in granules about the size of a grain of rice and floats on top of the buttermilk like popcorn freshly popped. The buttermilk is then drawn off and water is passed over the butter to clean it. Salt is added and the churn revolved again. This time, however, the workers inside the churn are set in motion and the butter is thoroughly beaten and worked and salted. It only remains now for the butter to be taken from the churn and packed for shipment. This is done in sixty-two-pound firkins for the Eastern markets, and in onepound prints for state and local consumption. It is stored away in an eight-thousandpound. refrigerator until ready to be shipped, but never does it stay at the plant more than five days, so great is the demand for the London creamery product.

Shipments are made regularly to various commission houses in.Columbus, Dayton, Springfield, Pittsburgh, and occasionally to New York and Boston. The Hartman farm, near Columbus, cannot make enough butter to supply its own demands, and has selected the London product as the one to satisfy its wants. Orders of one hundred pounds or more are sent each week to that place.

Although not in actual operation until May, 1913, the company from the date of its opening until January, 1914, did over twenty thousand dollars' worth of business. During the year 1914 the company paid out over fifty thousand dollars for cream alone, and so far this year has exceeded that average per week. The business, in spite of the war. and general financial depression, has been booming and there is every reason to. believe that it will continue to do so. -

The directors of the company are: R. W. Boyd, president; Frank Kaufman, general manager; George Langen, secretary; John B. Van Wagener and T. H. Orcutt.

London Grave Vault Company

The London Grave Vault Company was not deterred by the knowledge that there were twelve other similar factories in the United States, nor did it bother the members of the company to know that nine of those factories were in the state of Ohio. With the firm conviction that they could furnish a grave vault better than the rest and could furnish it at a price decidedly favorable to all classes of trade, they faced the competition and began the fight. Now the London Grave Vault Company fears no competitor.

Metallic grave vaults are of somewhat recent origin. Mausoleums have been in use and certain types of metallic casket coverings have been made in former years, but the light, strong, water and burglar proof metallic vault has but recently come into its own. Its rapid rise in favor and the wonderful increased demand attest its value. The vaults made by the local company are indeed beautiful. But the decorative features are not the most important. Those who purchase vaults of this type seek above all the ones that are guaranteed water- and air-tight and which are practically burglar-proof. These features are what make the London vaults the leaders with the wholesale and retail trade the country over.

The vaults are made of heavy annealed sheet steel, which is of the standard United States government specification, such as is used for battleships. This steel is placed in an enormous press, exerting a pressure of over thirty tons. Here it is bent, forming one side and.one-half of a vault top. The formed steel is then placed in another press, which places protective flanges on its edges and also punches holes for rivets and handles. © The pieces are then placed on a. frame and the seams are subjected to the territic heat' of an oxy-acetylene welder, which generates two thousand seven hundred degrees of heat. Four of these welding plants are in operation constantly, and so strong is the glare of white-hot steel that the workmen are forced to wear dark goggles. This heat welds the seams in such a manner that the top is practically formed of one piece of steel and is air-tight. One man now goes over each weided seam with a wire brush and removes all particles of melted steel and rust and leaves the surface smooth. Each vault, after the welding process, is tested for shape.. Under such a 'high temperature the steel may be warped in spots, and before allowed to go farther the vaults are reshaped. Then they are sent on to the water test. A concrete tank of water is imbedded in the floor. The vault tops are placed on forms and lowered into the water, where they are left until it is determined whether there is any opportunity for water to enter. Those that leak are rewelded.:

The Finishing Process

.ext comes the painting and finishing rooms. Here the vaults are painted with a preservative coating, not flat paint. Then they are placed in ovens: and baked with a slow heat. Again they are painted, this time with a special metallic copper solution und once more baked. The luster coating is now applied and the vault is to all appearance made of burnished copper. In order..to insure an even distribution of the copper finish, the latter is sprayed on by means of compressed air. The inside base of the vault is made of one-piece steel treated in, the same manner as the tops.. On this are placed three massive bronze rests to hold up the casket.. These rests can be.ornamented to suit the taste of the customer. 'The rests are high enough to insure a free circulation of air around the casket, which dries and preserves the casket indefinitely. Then locks are placed on each base forming a part of the decoration. Cast iron tongues and heavy steel rods lock the top and base together permanently, or, if-so desired, the locks may be set so that the vault can be opened whenever. removed from the grave. In no case can-it- be opened while in the grave..-Thus the vault can well be called airand water-tight and burglar-proof.

Vaults are made by the London company in five sizes. The smallest is fifty-two inches long, twenty-two inches wide and twenty inches high at the center, weighing two hundred and twenty-two pounds crated, while the measurements of the largest size are ninety- -two, thirty-four and twenty- -seven inches, respectively, and weighs five hun- 'dred and ten pounds. The small vault is finished: in satin; silver or copper, as desired,

Such is the product of the London factory. Their vault is not an experiment, as is proved by the fact that the company now operates branch warehouses in Columbus, Kansas City, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Peoria, Illinois, for the purpose of supplying trade in the thirty-two states in which the vaults are now sold. A warehouse on the Pacific coast and one on the Atlantic coast will be in operation in a few months.

The factory is able to supply a demand of two hundred vaults a week when operating at full speed. At the present time the pay roll numbers about thirty, including salesmen, and the gross business averages six thousand dollars a month. When it is remembered that the plant has been in operation but two years, these figures call forth praise for the men who are handling the business, and London has every reason to be proud of this growing industry.

The officers of the company are: F. 7 Potts, president; C. C. Green, vice-president; E. P. Speasmaker, treasurer; C. L. Sherwood, secretary and general manager.

The Thomas & Armstrong Company

'The origin of the present firm of Thomas & Armstrong dates back to Jones & Thomas, hardware dealers, who began business some thirty years ago. With the retirement of Mr. T. R. Jones, M. M. Thomas took in partnership, W. B. Cryder, known as Thomas & Cryder, and in 1892, Mr. M. B. Armstrong became associated with this firm, in charge of their sheetmetal and roofing department. After 1904 W. B. Cryder retired and M. M. Thomas continued to run the business alone.

However, the sheet-metal department, under the excellent and progressive management of Mr. Armstrong, had grown to such an extent that in 1906 M. M. Thomas disposed of 'the hardware business and continued the sheet-metal shop, roofing, plumbing and heat- 'ing under the name of Thomas & Armstrong Company.

In 1910 The Thomas & Armstrong Company was incorporated, to meet the increased demands; the shop had steadily grown until it had become London's foremost manufacturing concern. The members of the company are: M. B. Armstrong, Clyde and Fred Thomas, Ed and Walter Converse, Robert Boyd and Harry Hames. Mr. Harry Hames has charge of the sheet- metal manufacturing department; he has been associated with some of the largest sheet-metal manufacturing companies in the United States, including Berger Manufacturing Company, of Canton, Ohio; F. O. Scheedinger, of Columbus, and understands the manufacturing of sheet-metal thoroughly.

In 1911 one of the most modern sheet-metal manufacturing plants was built, and arrangements were completed to furnish the farmer with everything that he may need in the way of manufactured sheet-metal direct from the factory. This includes all kinds of sheet-metal, roofing, heating appliances, metal roofing, shingle-metal siding, etc. The ventilators manufactured by this company are being almost universally used in all new farm building work, as they provide a cheap means of perfect ventilation, which gives better health to all kinds of live stock. This plant is also manufacturing several special sheet- 'metal articles and doing a general line of sheet-metal stamping.

'PUSH LONDON AND PROSPER." Prior to 1910 there had not been in London any organization of the pusiness interests of the village. All cities and many villages of the size of London and some even smaller then mayor of the village, for the purpose of outlining a plan for establishment of a local business men's organization. This citizens' committee named a temporary. organization, and a called meeting was held at the council chamber on Tuesday evening, October 25, 1910, of which M. E. Dwyer was temporary chairman and Roscoe G. Hornbeck temporary secretary. Rules and by-laws were adopted and two tickets for the officers of the organization were nominated. At the close of the meeting forty men signed the declaration to become members of the association to be khown-as the London Board of Trade, and paid their initial dues of five dollars each.

As stated in the constitution, the object of this organization shall be to collect information relating to manufacurers and commerce as may promote the welfare of the village of London and to protect, foster and develop the industrial and mercantile interests of the village." The slogan of the London Board of Trade, "Push London and Prosper," was chosen,in February, 1911, by a committee appointed for that purpose from a number, submitted in competition.

Progress Of The Board

The first president of the board was M. E. Dwyer; second, M. B. Armstrong; third, R. V. D. Coons. The secretaries have been Dr. H. M. Chaney and Judge R. G. Hornbeck. The present officers of the board are as follow: President, Chester E. Bryan; secretary, J. A. Gardner; treasurer,. W. E.. Farrar; first vice-president, M. L. Rea; second vice-president, T. J.. Dwyer; third vice-president, Rea Chenoweth. Directors, George H. Van Wagener, R. G. Hornbeck. R. V::D. Coons, Robert W.. Boyd, Frank E. Noland, A. G. Cartzdafner.

..Work for the year 1914 was inaugurated at the annual banquet held at the Methodist church on Monday evening, March 28, 1914, with a membership of two hundred and three. The board had as its guests at this banquet a very distinguished. company of. men, including the governor and lieutenant-governor of the state.of Ohio, members of. the board of administration and penitentiary. site commission, the warden .of the Ohio penitentiary, the superintendent of the Mansfield reformatory, State Librarian John H. Newman, Hon. D. K.. Watson and others of prominence. The annual. banquets of the. board have always been well appointed and a time of delightful social intercourse among its members.

On Thursday evening, April 29, 1915, the annual. banquet was graced by the presence of United States Senator Atlee Pomerene, Gen. D. K. Watson, Hon. John Henry Newman and Hon. Beriah Williamson.

The first project of. intey-st to London in which this organization interested itself was the proposal to issue bonds for the erection of a new high school building and the improvement of the old building. On November 22, 1910, the board at a special meeting adopted resolutions favoring this bond issue, and gave material assistance toward the successful determination of this proposition at the polls. The troublesome questions of the waterworks contract between the village and the company owning and controlling the plant and the matter of better telephone service in the village have received the consideration of the board.

This organization is directly responsible for the location of the Bates canning factory, which concern came to London in the year 1912. The board purchased at a cost of eight hundred dollars the site on which this factory now stands and presented same to Mr. Bates as a bonus for locating in London. This concern has been of much value fin providing employment to many people in London and enabling farmers about the village to sell the produce used by this factory at a very good profit. The West Manufacturing Company and the Ohio Metallic Specialty Company while tendered no financial assistance, were given moral aid and encouragement by the board in their organization.

Secured State Reformatory

When the Legislature passed the act appropriating two hundred and fifty thousand doluars for the purpose of a penitentiary site and creating a commission for that purpose, the London Board of Trade secured an expression from its members relative to the desirability of including the commission to purchase land for the reformatory and the state farm near London. It was the sense of the majority of directors of the board that it would be of great business advantage if the insiitution were located in the vicinity of the county seat.

A committee was appointed to call on the governor of the state and the penitentiary site commission, and to invite them to inspect the land which the commission thought would be suitable for their needs. This committee succeeded in convincing the commission that the land which they inspected near London was ideal for a site on which to erect the proposed state reformatory and to carry on the farm work, with the result that the state did purchase the Ellsworth and Hardin land at a price of two hundred and fifty-four thousand dollars. It is estimated that the state of Ohio will spend in cash in addition to the great amount of labor of all kinds which will be done by the inmates of the reformatory, the sum of four million dollars, the benefit of a part of which will surely inure to London.

The board has been in communication at various times with individuals and companies desiring to establish factories and concerns of many kinds in London, and has held options on several sites with the purpose of locating one of these factories there. The local council has always received the hearty support 'of the board in its effort to improve and beautify the town, and has contributed in no slight degree toward bringing about the laying of cement sidewalks and the building of paved streets.

One event in which the board takes great pride was the celebration of the Madison county home coming and centennial, held the week of July 4, 1911. A five-days celebration with events appropriate to the anniversary occasion was carried on in a highly satisfactory manner. The parade held on Wednesday, July 5, 1911, woman's day, was a beautiful spectacle, showing much originality and variety in the design of the floats and was enjoyed by the thousands who congregated on both sides of the line of march.

Thursday, July 29, 1915, was signalized by the board by inaugurating London's first annual holiday. The project was received with unanimous enthusiasm by all business interests. All business houses, banks, offices, shops, factories and saloons were elosed from six o'clock in the morning until six in the evening. The streets were entirely deserted and apparently everybody had left town. Various excursion parties were inaugurated, the largest being at Cedar Point, under the direct supervision of the board. A special train had been secured over the Big Four railroad and over four hundred Londoners spent the day on the breezy shores of Lake Erie. The Board of Trade's holiday is to become an annual event.

Besides these concrete examples of the work of this organization it is constantly in touch with matters affecting the business future of London, and has an eye single to its success. Better than the tangible results, which may be noted from the efforts of the London Board of Trade, is the kindly trade spirit which it has fostered between the varied business interests of the village. London is remarkably free from the petty jealousies and factional disturbances which at one time were evident here and which always deter the mercantile growth of municipalities. 'That London is now about to enter on an era of increased business opportunity is the opinion of those who are observant of local conditions and the London Board of Trade will in the future, as in the past, do its valiant part to prove the truth of its slogan that "to push London is to prosper."

The London Waterworks

The first reference found to a waterworks plant in London is when the London Waterworks Company submitted to' the village council a contract for a franchise to lay water mains in the streets of the village. The council referred the contract to a committes composed of C. D. Rayburn, Edward Armstrong and William Neil, and later voted to submit the proposition to the voters of the village for their decision, which was done on August 23, 1884, with the result that three hundred and sixty- three votes were cast against the proposition and one hundred and eighty-one for it.

'~The waterworks proposition then lay dormant for about five years, when, after much agitation and public discussion, the council, on July 26, 1889, passed "An ordinance to submit to the qualified voters of the incorporated village of London the question of ratifying the contract between John P. Martin and 'assigns and the incorporated village of London for supplying water to London and its inhabitants for fire and other purposes, dated the 26th day of July, A. D. 1889, as therein set forth, and contingently upon the satisfactory ratification of said contract, granting to the said John P. Martin and assigns the right to lay, relay and maintain in and under the streets, lanes and alleys and public grounds of said village, water mains for the purpose of conveying water to said corporation and the citizens thereof." 'The contract to bé voted upon ealled upon John P. Martin and -his assigns "to supply the corporation for fire purposes, cisterns, streets, squares and public buildings, citizens for private use; the system to be of 2 combination of the standpipe and pumping, capable of being operated as either; mains to embrace eleven miles of from four to fourteen-inch pipe; to erect and maintain one hundred double-delivery, frost-proof fire hydrants, two duplicate steam pumps with a daily capacity of one million five hundred thousand gallons; two steam boilers, building for a pump. -house and boiler-room, a standpipe one hundred and twentyfive feet high and inside diameter of twenty feet." This proposal was voted on by the voters of the town on August 26, 1889, and was ratified by a vote of four hundred and sixty-nine to two hundred and thirty-nine.

Before the ratification vote had taken place, Martin, on August 13, had obtained a sixty-day option on the famous Lohr artesian wells. However, some trouble arose, and the Lohr wells were not used. A well that was intended to be used was drilled on the bottom land of J. C. Bridgman, but 'this well proved unsatisfactory and the well was sold to Mr. Bridgman. It was several months before the wells were finally located. Work began on the waterworks plant immediately, and in the early part of August, 1889, Councilman Lenhart was the first to break the ground, and Councilman Bridgman the first to use the shovel in the trenches at the station below Placier's mill.

Construction Of The Plant

The water-plant is located on a ten-and-one-half-acre tract, three squares west of the court house on West High street, facing the Big Four railroad tracks. The most noticeable feature of the plant is the mammoth standpipe, which towers upward one hundred and twenty-five feet. The first ground broken was for the foundation of this pipe, which is eight feet thick and thirty-eight feet in diameter. In the foundation were placed eight hundred barrels of cement to solidify the broken stone into a monster stone of two hundred and fifty cubic yards. The base is above the high-water mark. The standpipe is made of rolled steel, the lower plates being five-eighths of an inch and the upper three-eighths of an inch in thickness. It has a diameter of twenty feet, with a capacity of two hundred and ninety-five thousand gallons, and its height gives a pressure through the mains of fifty-five pounds to the square inch.

The water-mains running from the plant embrace about eleven miles of the best cast-iron pipe of five to eleven inches in diameter. To these were attached one hundred and one double-delivery, frost-proof fire hydrants, so distributed by order of the council as to protect every dwelling house in London with the aid of two hundred feet of hose. The pipes were laid by R. B. Carothers, of Newport, Kentucky, and were furnished by the Addystone Pipe and Steel:Company, of Cincinnati. . '