Noble County, Ohio - Chapter 9: Civil History of Noble County, 1887

Chapter 9: Civil History of Noble County

Thk County-Seat CoNTRO^^R8Y - \ts Beginning - The Question op Re-location - The Rival Sites - Sarahsville and the Caldwell Farm - A Vote Upon the Matter Provided for by Act op the Legislature, 1854 - The Election - The Result - The Vote by Townships - The Advocates op a Change Successful - A Legal Contest - History op the Litigation - Building op the Court House in Caldwell - Removal of the County Offices, 1858 - The Temporary Court House at the New County Seat - The First Jail in Caldwell - The Present Jail - Civil List - County Officers prom 1851 to 1887 - Miscellaneous Statistics - Agricultural Products - Manufacturing Establishments - Population - Politica l Statistics.

THE County of Noble had scarcely been established and the location of its seat of justice fixed by the State commissioners before dissatisfaction arose, and the people of the new county sj)eedily found themselves involved in a fight, which proved to be long and animated, over the county -seat question.

From the time when the project of a new county first began to be discussed, this topic had been prominent ; but on the principle that a rabbit must be caught before it can be cooked, all had worked harmoniously together to secure the establishment of the county. The inhabitants of the county were divided in opinion between two sites. The old village of Sarahsville, being the only town near the center of the county, naturally was favored by many as the county seat. But another portion of the county, in which resided many of those who had worked most earnestly to secure the passage of the act erecting the county, favored a site on the Caldwell farm ija the Duck Creek

Yalley as the best place for the future metropolis of the county. The question of geographical center entered prominently into the discussion, as it usually does in all such contests, but, owing to the fact that no eligible site could be found at the exact center of the county, the opponents of Sarahsville unanimously agreed upon a certain tract in the northwest quarter of section 3, Olive Township, as being the best site that could be found centrally situated. A portion of this tract was offered to the county by its owners as a donation, provided it should be selected as the county seat. Thus it came about that the entire question was narrowed down to a fight between the friends of Sarahsville and those in favor of the other proposed site.

The commissioners met and, as we have seen, decided that Sarahsville should be the county seat. Then the fight began. The dissatisfied ones charged that bribery had been resorted to in order to secure the prize to Sarahsville, and loudly declared that they would not tamely submit to such injustice. Agitation began at once in favor of a change. A i)aper was started in Olive favoring the re-establishment of the county seat. The contest grow close and interesting.

Although a fight, it was a goodnatured one. Anger was often aroused in the heated discussions which took place between the advocates of the rival sites, but no lasting enmity resulted nor were friends estranged because of the controversy. The Caldwell atlherents shrewdly looked into the situation, and by giving to the other faction whatever else they desired in the way of county ofltices, managed to elect a majority of the board of commissionei*s favorable to themselves, thus preventing the erection of anything more than temporary public buildings in Sarahsville. All the contests over county offices were fought without regard to the lines of national political parties. Noble County knew but two paities, the friends of Sarahsville and those of the Olive Township site, or, as they were locally styled, the party of '^The North'' and that of "The South."

The advocates of a change busied themselves in advancing their interests, and on the 29th of April, 1854, secured the enactment of a hiw by the general assembly authorizing the people of Noble County to vote upon the question at the next annual election.

on Tuesday, the 10th of October, 1854, and resulted in favor of a change, but by only a small majority. The total number of .votes cast was 3,630, of which twenty-one were scattering ; for the county seat to remain at Sarahsville 1,721 ; for location on the northeast quarter of section 3, Olive Township, 1,871. The vote by

Scarcely had the result been announce<I, before the defeiited faction resolved to contest the election. Fraud, illegal voting, and bribery were charged on either side, and the friends of the old county seat resol veil not to yield without a struggle. Then began an interesting legal contest, in which hundredsof dollars were spent, and no little enmity engendered, all to no purpose. Caldwell became the seat of justice of Noble County.

by the le^ voters thereof and for the erection of public buildings therein," provides in its first section, that from and after the taking effect of the act, " so far as the location of the county seat of Noble County is affected, the seat of justice of the County of Xoble shall be permanently located and fixed, until otherwise provided by law,'' at a place particularly described in the northeast quarter of section 3 in Olive Township.

The second section provides that '' this act shall take effect and be in force when and so soon as the same shall be adopted by a majority of all the qualified electors of said Noble County at the next general election after the passage of tliis act, voting in accordance with the rules and in the manner hereinafter provided.

The third section provides for the manner of voting, and that "if a majority of all the qualified electors of said Noble County, voting at said general election, shall vote for location of the county seat on said northeast quarter of section 3 in Olive Township, this act shall thereupon be considered and holden to be adopted by such majority."

The fourth section provides for counting votes, transmitting returns, etc., to the court of common pleas of Noble County. The fifth section provides for recording the certificate and notice of the result of the election in case there is a majority for the new location ; and that such record shall be legal evidence for all purposes of the result of said voting.

The sixth election (on which the contest was mainly made) is as follows: "that the commissioners of Noble County shall, within twenty days after the result of said election shall be made known, as provided for in section 4 of this act, levy a tax sufficient, together with the proceeds of the sale of the public buildings in Sarahsville, which buildings such commissioners are hereby authorized and directed to sell, to erect a court house, jail, offices, and other necessary public buildings for said county, on the premises described in section 1 of this act : provided that if a majority of all the legal voters of said county voting at said election shall not vote m favor of locating the county seat on the premises mentioned in the first section of this act, when said public buildings shall be erected by the tax above provided for, in the town of Sarahsville, in said county."

The seventh section provides for notifying the electors to vote on the question submitted to them bv the act, etc. The eighth section provides for the reinoval of the county offices, by notice of the commissioners, after buildings shall have been provided, etc.

The ninth section provides that " any elector of Noble County shall have the right to contest the validity of the vote authorized to be taken by this act, by serving a notice on the commissioners of said county," etc.; also that the court of common pleas "shall hear and determine the contest and make an order and decree determining the seat of justice of said

The vote taken in pursuance of the act resulted as already stated. Thereupon John W. Noble and oth ers instituted proceedings to contest the validity of the election. The contestors moved the court of common pleas to adjudge that " there was no law of the State at the time of said vote, authorizing and i)rescribing the manner of holding such an election, and that the law authorizing said election and removal is unconstitutional and void."

The court having heard the cause upon the evidence, overruled this motion and decided that the seat of justice of the county was '^ permanently located and fixed" at the place described in Olive Township. The contestors took exceptions, and to revei*se this decision a petition in error was filed in the district court of the county. Thence the case was taken to the supreme court which re-affirmed the decision of the court of common pleas. Messi*s. Stilhvell, Ferguson and Casey acted as attorneys for the contestors ; and Messrs. Hanna, Dudley and Belford for the defense. From the interest in the subject, the length of the contest, and the legal talent engjiged, this became, in truth, a "celebrated case."

The tract selected for the county seat (and for the donation of which a bond of $40,000 was given by Samuel Caldwell and others, and recorded in the commissioner's journal, Dec. 6, 1854) is thus described: " Beginning at the place where the Lancaster and Louisville road crosses the west line of the northeast quarter of section 3, in township number 6, of range 9 of lands sold at Zanesville, Ohio; thence north on said west line 28 rods ; thence east, 29 rods ; thence south, 28 rods ; thence west 29 rods to the place of beginning." This tract was deeded by Samuel Caldwell to the county commissioners, June 2, 1857.

December 6, 1854, after reciting the fact that a majority of the legal voters of the county have chosen the above described locaticm as the seat of justice, the commissioners passed two resolutions, as follows:

" First, That Ezra McKee be authorized to cause to be surveyed the part of said northeast quarter of section 8, Olive Township, described in the first section of the law of April 29, 1854, * * * ^ and that in making such survey there be reserved as a public square about two and onehalf acres, uj)on which to erect the court house, provided that a strip about three rods wide can be obtained on reasonable terms from the land-holders adjoining, in order to the laying out of streets all around and a tier of lots on two sides of said square.

While the question as to whether Caldwell was in reality to be the seat of justice was still pending in the couils, nothing was done with reference to the erection of new public buildings. But on the 10th of June, 1857, the county commissioners, James Archer, Jonathan Echelberry and George Baker, " ordereil and determined tliat there be erected on tlie public square, in the town of Caldwell, in this county, a court house in accordance with specifications hereafter to be determined upon," and agreed to give notice in the Ci/tisoli' dated Repuhliean that they would receive sealed proposals for the erec tion of Siiid court house, until the 2()th day of July following. IVfeantime the commissioners order a sale of the lots in Caldwell, which belong to the county, on the 4th of July. The lots, thirteen in number, were sold at prices varying from $48 to §200 each. The plans and specifications for the court house were drawn by Thomas Drake, who received $75 for the job. On the 21st of July, the commissioners having examined the bids for the erection and finishing of the building, awarded the contract to William J. Young and Dennis S. Gibbs, the lowest responsible biddere, who entered into bonds to complete the building by the 20th of September, 1858, for the sura of $13,000, to be paid in four installments. The building erected under this contract was acce])ted by the commissioners January 4, 1859, and is the present court house of Xoblo County. It is a well-built, two-stor\^ brick structure, situated on the beautiful, well shaded, neatly fenced public square of Caldwell; and though not of a pretentious style of architecture, its external appearance will compare favorably with that of most court houses in the agricultural counties of Ohio, while its size and arrangement make it am[)le for the wants of the county.

While the court house was building, the frame building in Caldwell now standing across the alley from the county jail w^as used as a temporary court house. January 21, 1858, the conmiissioners " having provided a suitable court house and other necessary public buildings" in the town of Caldwell, ordered the officers of the county to remove their resi)ective offices, books, papers and business to the places provided within twenty days ; also that the next term of the court of common pleas be held al the court house provided by the commissioners in the town of Caldw^ell. Although this order was appealed from, it was obeyed, and the transfer of every thing except the prisoners in the county jail at Sarahsville followed immediately.

October 13, 1858, the board of commissioners awarded to James Dudley, the lowest bidder, the building of a jail and jailer's residence, to be finished by the first of December, 1859. The contract price was $3,800. The jail was a small brick structure on the site of the present jail.

The present county jail and jailer's residence is a good looking two-story brick building of modern style, well arranged and well finished. It was built in 1881-2, at a cost of about $10,000. The architect was J. W. Yost of Bellaire; the contractors, ilills & Summers of Caldwell. The latter agreed to do all the work and furnish nuUerial for $9,477.55, at the same time purchasing the old jail for $425. In May, 1882, Kelly & Co. of Pittsburgh, contracted to construct steam heating apparatus, plumbing and a cistern for the sum of $985. The jail was finished in the latter part of the year 1882. The committee having it in charge was composed of the county commissioners, Adam Hamilton, John N. Shafer and John Smithson ; the clerk of courts, H. E. Petei-s; the probate judge, J. II. Brown ; the sheriff, David Miller ; and William Glidden, appointed a member of tlie committee by the court of common pleus. The jail'is a credit to Noble County, and spealcs well of the executive ability of the contractors and superintendents who erected it.

County Institutions

As soon as practicable after the erection of the county and the building of a suitable court house and jail, the commissioners turned their attention toward providing a home for those unfortunates whom dire necessity had brought to the low estate of pauperism. Accordingly in the year 1801, the commissioners, John Lemmax, James Ball and William Crum, bought of Aaron Vorhies a farm of two hundred acres situated in the northern part of Center Township, on which to establish a county infirmary. The price was $0,000, to be paid in three annual installments without interest. On the farm was a substantial brick farm house and other good buildings which were made to serve until 1805, when the present main building was erected. An addition has since been made to the building. The whole making a large and imposing structure ample for the present wants of the county. Two additions to the farm were made prior to 1883, and in that year one hundred and forty acres were bought at a cost of $8,000. This purchase included a large two-story brick dweUing which has been fitted up as a temporary children's home. The infirmary farm and the children's home lands now embrace 470 acres of excellent farming land, well improved and under a good state of cultivation. A large part of the lands are among the very best bottom lands in the county. The number of inmates of the infirmary is usually from fifty to sixty, though it was greater before the establishment of the home. The institution is not yet self-supporting, but has to be aided by county funds. The first board of infirmary dii'ectoi's were Ezra Mc- Kee, John Miley and Morris Danford. The superintendents hasp been Eastern Daniels, Benjamin Kain, Reed Johnson, John Lamley, Armstrong Johnston, Abner Davis, William Buckley and Clark E. Gray.

The children's home was established in 1884. The first board of directors were James Ball, William S. Spriggs and William Musser. This board was abolished and the home placed under the management of the infirmary directors. Emmor Davis and wife have had charge of the home from the first, and Miss Lizzie Martin has charge of the school connected therewith. The number of the youth at the home is usually from forty to sixty.

Civil List

Cmmthon Pleas Jndges, - Noble County has been, since its formation, in the eighth judicial district. The names of the judges who have presided in the common pleas courts of the county are as follows:

Recorders, - U, Hellyer, 1851-4 James K. Casey, 1854 (appointed Ai)ril 12, vice Ilellyer, resigned) John Stevens, October, 1854, died in 1859 ; Thomas W. Morris, appointed to vacancy November 12, 1S59; elected and served until 1862; balance of term filled by Jabez Belford, deputy, 1862-3; Benjamin B. Waller, 18()4-70; Thomas Lh^yd, 1870-6; Enoch W. Wickhiun, 1876-88.

Coroners. - The following list contains the names of those who have held the office of coroner, so far as obtainable, from the incomplete data to be found regjirding the same: - David McGarry, 1851 - May to October; John Bainum, 1851-5 ; Martin Heatty 1855 ; Lewis Groves, 1856 8; Allen Floyd, 1858; F. M. Brown, 1861; Richanl S. Dciil, 1868-7; Robert C. Downey, 1867-78; Michael ILNeveille, 1878-5; Hiram J. Downey, 1875 ; Joseph H. Hilton, 1879 ; W. S. Bebout 1882-4; Felix O. Neptune, 1884-6; John D. Aldridge, 1886-8.

From 1852 to 1862 Noble County was without representatives or senators of its own, the different parts of the county voting for those officers with those counties from which the}^ were taken. Since 1862 Noble has been allowed a representiitive, and a part of the county has been in the fourteenth senatorial district, and the remainder in the nineteenth. The fourteenth district is composed of the Counties of Washino:ton and

Morgan, and the Townships of Brookfield, Sharon, Jackson, Noble and Olive, and part of Elk, Jefferson and Center Townships. The nineteenth senatorial district comprises Guernsey and Monroe Counties ; also Stock, Enoch, Marion, Beaver, Buffalo, Seneca and Wayne Townships, and part of Elk, JeflFerson and Center Townshi|)s in Noble County.

Miscellaneous Statistics

In 1880 there were 22,497 acres of wheat sown in the county, which produced 290,015 bushels, or an average of 13.2 bushels per acre. The same year the county produced 1,350 bushels of rye, 1,310 bushels of buckwheat, 1,170 bushels of barley. The acreage of corn was 20,421 ; number of bushels, 757,480. Number of acres of oats, 4,000; bushels, 79,139. Number of tons of hay other than clover, 18,797 ; clover hay, 505. Number of acres of potatoes (Irish), 071 ; bushels produced, 44,984 ; sweet potatoes, 9f acres, 532 bushels. Tobacco, 2,251 acres, which yielded 2, 1 83,704 pounds. Only five counties in the State produced more tobacco than Noble. For some years Noble stood second in tobacco culture.

In the same vear the countv produced 47,287 gallons of syrup from 450 acres of sorghum. There was also manufactured 1,358 pounds of maple sugar, and 473 gallons of maple syrup. There were 1,115 hives of bees, which produced 0,484 pounds of honey. The number of jx)unds of butter manufactured was 552,130; cheese, 7,920. Number of dozens of eggs produced, 375,039. The yield of fruits was as follows: Apples, 313,430 bushels from 4,590 acres; pears, 584 bushels; cherries 2,088 bushels ; plums, 1,570 bushels. The acreage of grapes was 13, from which were gathered 28,400 pounds of grapes, and 3,445 gallons of wine were manufactured.

For five years, 1878-83, the average total number of bushels of wheat produced in Noble County was 230,890 bushels annually. The highest yield during the five years was 296,015, for the year 1880; the lowest, 161,603, in 1881.

In the year ending May, 1881, Noble County produced 266,475 bushels of coal, worth $9,024, and 513,600 gallons of petroleum, valued at $16,060. Only Washington County, which produce<l 864,000 gallons, exceeded Noble in the petroleum product.

According to the census of 1880, Noble County contained 105 manufacturing establishments in which $149,185 was invested. Employment was given to 141 hands above sixteen years of age, and to eleven children and youth. The total amount of wages for the preceding year was $20,921 ; value of materials used, $281,357; value of products, $371, 884. Since that census was taken the manufacturers of the county have greatly increaseil in importance.

Internal Improvements

Early Roads - The First Route of Travel in Noble County - Present Condition OF toe Roads - The Summerfield and Batesville Turnpike - Postoffices and Mails - Railroads - The Sharon Railroad Projected in 1849 - The "Calico" Railroad - Unsuccessful Attempts to Construct a Through Line - The Cincinnati, Wheeling & New York - The Cleveland & Marietta Railroad - Its Incfjption and Progress - Completion of the Road in 1871-2 - What Noble County Did Toward Building It - The Bellaire, Zanesville & Cincinnati Narrow-Gauge - Its Projection - Change of Routes - Companies Formed and Consolidated - CoMPLpmoN of the Road in 1883.

1)0 AD building in a hilly coun- \ try is laborious and expensive, and after the roads are made there must be a ccmstant outlay for repairs or the roads become worthless. The making of roads has been from the earliest times one of the most important subjects which has occupied the attention of the county commissioners and taxpayers of the region now embraced in the County of Noble. However, all the most important thoroughfares were built under the jurisdiction of Guernsey, Monme and Morgan Counties, prior to the erection of Noble County, in 1851. As nearly all of these roads are described in the township histories which follow, they need be only briefly mentioned here. The most important of the early roads in Noble County were those leading from Marietta to Cambridge, the State road from Bamesville to McConnelsville, the State road from Belmont County to Marietta running ma Calais, Summerfield and Carlisle, and the "Center road" to McConnelsville, through the western part of the county. The so-called Federal road, marked out in 1791, began at Grave Creek on the Ohio River, and running westward crossed Dye's Fork of Meigs Creek near Renrock. This was the earliest route of travel through the county.

Since 1851 constant efforts have been maile to im{)rove existing roads and build new ones, and especially of late years there has been great improvements. Several roads have been well graded and the main thoroughfares can now be kept in reasonably good condition during all except the winter months. The county contains but one turnpike, a costly though valuable improvement, built under a special law. This is the Summerfield, Batesville and Quaker City toll-road, built in 1869- 72, from Summerfield to the southern line of Guernsey County. This road cost over $100,000 and was built by levying a tax on the real estate lying within a distance of two miles of the road through Beaver

Township, and one mile on the ecost and two miles on the west through Marion Townsliip. The receipts of toll are not sufficient to keep the road in first class condition ; yet the turnpike is of great utility and convenience to the farmers living near it.

Old Time Star Routes

In these days when every township of the county contains from one to four |x>stoffices, suj)plied with a daily, or at the farth est a tri-weekly mail, either brought by mail trains direct to the posttown, or to some convenient point but a few miles distant; when everybody, young and old, rich nnd }XM>r, receives letters and papers, and looks eagerly for the arrival of the mail; when weekly newspapers cost but a dollar per year, and the postage on a letter is but two cents; when all can reiid and write and take pleasure in the exercise of those accomplishments; in these days of railroads, telegraphs and fast mails, it is difficult to conceive how utterly isolated in the' wilderness, how almost completely shut oflf from communication with the world were the pioneer settlers. Fancy the inconvenience to a citizen of Noble County in being obliged to go or send to Marietta, to Cambridge, or Woodsfield, for mail ? And remember also that those places were then mere pioneer settlements, reached only by roads which would now be considered impassable, or by mere bridle-paths through the forests, marked here and there by blazed trees, and that walking or riding on horseback was the only method of reaching them ; recall the fact that the mails from the Eastern and Middle States were transported only by ])ost-coaches ; that a letter posted in one of those States would be from two to four weeks in reaching the person to whom it was addressed in Ohio, and that he must pay twenty-live cents postage before taking it from the office, unless the sender had had the kindness to prepay it. Consider these things, reader, and you can form some idea of the situation of the pioneer as regarded mail facilities.

When settlements began in Duck Creek and Meig-s Creek, Marietta was the nearest ])ostoffice. Later a postoffice was established at Macksburg, and about 1820, Robert McKee, the saltmaker, became postmaster at Olive, which was doubtless the earliest office Avithin the limits of the present County of Noble. At first the mail for the Olive office was brought weekly from Macksburg, and the route extended to Washington, Guernsey County. Prior to 1830 a mail route was established from Barnesville to Mc(yonnelsville, and a weekly mail wtus carried through by a post-boy on hoi'sebacb. The offices and postmasters within the territory now comprised in Noble County were as follows in 1830: Batesville, Timothy Bates, postma^ster; Summerfield, James W. Shankland, postmaster; Olive, Robert McKee, postmaster; Sharon, Rev. Robert Rutherford, postmaster ; Iloskinsville, Colonel Erastus lloskins, postmaster. The next office on the route was at Gregg's, near where Reinersville now is, and the next McConnelsville.

Mr. C. n. Laws, now a merchant in Middleburg in this county, was the post-boy in 1830, and can relate many interesting incidents that occurred during his service in that capacity. lie says he honestly believes he has carried the sack from Barnesville to Mcconnelsville many times when there was not a letter inside of it any j)art of the entire distance. Timothy Bates's report to the postoffice department for the first quarter was made in these words: "No letters, no papers ; hope for better luck next quarter." The old State road from Barnesville led via Batesville, Timothy Bates's mill, Sarahsville, Belle Valley, Hoskinsville, the Dye settlement and Big Meigs Creek to Mc- Oonnelsville. The mail carrier followed this road a part of the way, and a part of the way he took a shorter route, following a path marked by blazed trees. His life was not an easy one; often he was obliged to make his horse leap over fallen trees, wade through deep mud, or swim a heavily swollen creek. There were no bridges, and the water sometimes raised to such an extent as to make the crossing of a creek difficult and even dangerous. But the mail carrier was regarded as a grand personage; and as he approached a |)ostofflce, blowing shrill blasts upon a tin horn to announce his coming, boys and men looked upon him with admiration and envy.

As the years went by and the country became more thickly settled, and postage became less burdensome, the mail service on the old-time routes was gradually increased ; the offices were supplied two and three times per week instead of once ; new offices and new routes were established, and some of the old ones discontinued, slow but continual progress being made until Noble County began to build railroads, and since that time postal facilities have rapidly multiplied, until now there is scarcely any part of the county where the inhabitants are Avithout a convenient postoffice.

Early Railroad Projects

With the exception of a piece of the Central Ohio Ilaih'otid* (now the Baltimore & Ohio) about half a mile long, in the northeast corner of Beaver Township, Noble County was without a railroad from the time of its organization until the building of the C. <& M., or Duck Creek Raih-oad in 1871-2. But railroads were projected through this region prior to the organization of the county, and one was partially built.

In 1849 a charter was granted to the Sharon Railroad Company to build a road from Sharon to the Muskingum River in Washington County. The incori>orators were Elijah Stevens, Samuel Aikens, Jesse M. Stone, Oliver Keyser and Isaac Parrish ; $:50,0()0. Provision was mcule that after the company was organized, by agreement of a majority of the directors and an increase of capital, the railroad might be extended to Marietta and to Cumberland, or to either place.

lion. Isiuic Parrish, who was then engaged in the milling business at Sharon, was the chief j)rojector of the railroad, the primary object of Avhicli was to enable him to transport the flour from his mill to tlie Muskingum River, whence it could be taken by boat to southern markets. Tlie summer after the charter was obtained tlie work of grading was begun at Sharon, and several miles of the road were graded. But owing to a lack of capital and to disagreements among the railroad projectors, all the labor expended was without result.

In February, 1853, by provision of the charter, and by i>ermission of the court of Guernsey County, tlie directors ordered an increase of capital of $20,000 and the extension of the railroad to Cumberland. In March, 1853, T, W. Peacock (afterwards president), was chosen one of the directors, and Hon. Isaac Parrish president. Next, it was proposed to build the road from Cumberland, (luernsey County, to McConnelsville, Morgan County ; and not long afterwards a bigger scheme presented itself, and the "Pittsburgh, Maysville and Cincinnati R^iilroad Company " was organized with the object of building a railroad from the Ohio River at or near Steubenville to Maysville, Kentucky, and thence to Cincinnati, passing through the counties of Guernsey, Morgan, Athens, and onward in a southwesterly direction. This wjis the famous "Calico" railroad project, upon which not less than $300,000 were expended during the next ten years, and though many miles of roadbed were constructed not a rail was laid. Wretched mismanagement caused the total collapse of the company, and the scheme of building a great through line slumbei'cd for many yeai-s, finally to be revived in a new form and under a new company. In 1S75 W. II. and C. B. Stevens purcluised that part of the property lying between Cumberland and Washington, Guernsey County, under certain conditions. Through their eflForts the line was completed between Cumberland and Point Pleasant, and operated under the name of the Eastern Ohio Eailroad. In 1881-2 a syndicate wtis organized by Hon. F. M. Atkinson, of Noble County. Tiie Cincinnati, Wheeling and New York Ilailroad Company formed, Mr. Atkinson made its President, and the road extended from Point Pleasant to Seneca ville and thence to Morgan Junction on the Baltimore and Ohio. The people of the northwestern j)art of Noble County invested heiivily in the enterprise with disastrous results to themselves. The great through line remains in statu quo and tlie affairs of the company are in an unsettled condition. According to the original plan the road was to follow the Beaver Fork of Will's Creek, via Bates ville. In the vicinity of that town a considerable portion of the road was graded. The road is still operated between Cumberland and Morgan Junction.

The Cleveland And Marieita Railroad

In the fall of 1860 railroad meetings were held in Marietta and Caldwell, and the project of a railroad from the former place to Point Pleasant was discussed. Hon. William P. Cutler, of Marietta, was then the leader of the enterprise. The first public discussion of the matter in Noble County took place at a meeting held in Caldwell, on

Nov. 8, 1800. Sheriff Eliab Matheny presided, and D. S. Spriggs acted as secretary. A committee, consisting of Kev. George Fetters, D. S. Gibbs, and William McKee was appointed to confer with the citizens of Marietta and Cumberland, to see if some arrangement could not be made whereby the old Southwestern ("Calico") railroad should be extended from Cumberland to Marietta. About this time and later other routes were discussed, and preliminary surveys made, one for a road along the East Fork of Duck Creek, and another along the West Fork of the same stream.

At a meeting held at Cambridge, February 19, 1808, of delegates from Washington, Noble and Guernsey Counties, after conferring with Thomas W. Peacock, president of the Southwestern Railroad, it was decided that it was impracticable to avail themselves of the charter of that road, but still advisable to build a railroad up the valley of Duck Creek, through Caldwell and Cambridge. It was also resolved that a new and independent company be fonned. Gen. A. J. Warner, of Marietta, J. S. Foreman, of Caldwell, and E. W. Mathews of Cambridge, were appointed an executive committee to carry out the provisions of the resolutions.

In September, 1808, the Marietta and Pittsburgh Railroad Company was incorporated, and on the first of October it was announced that subscriptions for building the road would be received by the following named corporators : W. II. Frazier,

William W. Gidden, AVilliam C. Okey, Caldwell; and William P. Cutler and K. R. Dawes, Marietta. Through the exertions of these gentlemen and other prominent citizens the interest of the public was aroused, and the work of securing subscriptions and the right of way went forward auspiciously. To secure the road to Caldwell, Noble County was required to subscribe ^60,000 and give the right of way. Every citizen agreed that a railroad was needed ; and the following item from a Caldwell pai)er of the date March 25, 1809, will perhaps show as well as anything how much it was needed. The picture is not overdrawn :

" Mud. - Mud to the right of us, mud to the left of us,inud all around us; mud-bound and muddy, we sit in our sanctum wnth muddy boots, trembling at the prospect of a month of nmd still ahead of us. AVe dream of mud and have dim visions of puffing locomotives and macadamized roads crossing the dismal and almost impassable barrier that separates us from the outside world - and awaken in the morning to find mud everywhere we look, that defies description and laughs at all figures of rhetoric and arithmetic."

The sum of ^175,000 having been secured in Washington and Noble (bounties, it was decided to build from Marietta to Caldwell and the work began in the fall of 1809. In the first annual report of the board of directoi-s, Dec. 8, 1809, Hon. W. P. Cutler, president of the road, gives the following facts relative to its history :

*'Tlie charter of this company covei-s the ground from Marietta, by way of Caldwell, to the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis liailroad near Uhrichsville in Tuscarawas County, Avith the design of connecting there both with that railroad and also, by way of New Philadelphia, with Cleveland and all the more northei'n lines. The eff"ort to secure foreign aid sutticient to justify the undertaking of the entire line at once having failed, it was decided to accomplish the same object by constructing first that portion of the road lying between Marietta and Caldwell, leaving the remainder of the work to be accomj)lished with local means a])plicable to that purpose, aided by the credit resulting from the com]>letion of so valuable a division of the road.

" An ai)peal was therefore made to the citizens of Washington and Noble (/ounties for subscriptions to the ca])ital stock, which has resulte<l in a total subscription of §^175,000. With this amount of actual capital secured, a contract was entered into with the firm of Warner, McArthur it Co. to build the first 38 miles of the road, and to receive in payment §5,000 per mile cash, being the proceeds of the above subscription ; $4,000 per mile in capital stock, and §8,000 ))er mile in fii*st mortgage seven per cent bonds at par; thus making in all $17,000 for the finished road ; the work to be done in two years from the 11th of May, 1809 *^* ^' '^" Under this ccmtract the work has been commenced and vigorously prosecuted. Track-laying

At the meeting at which the above report was submitted the following were unanimously elected directors for the ensuing year: WiUiam P. Cutler, R. K. Dawes, James Button, Samuel Shipman, William II. Frazier, David McKee and Thomas Green. The work was continued in 1870 and 1871, and in September of the latter year tniins were running between Dudley and Mtirietta. About the same time a vigorous canvass Avas inaugurated to secure subscriptions and the right of way for the extension of the line from Caldwell to Point Pleiusant. In November, 1871, trains began running between Caldwell and Marietta: Before the end of the year it was announced that the requisite amount had been raised for the extension of the road to Cambridge. The line was completed to Point Pleasant in August, 1872, and to Cambridge in the fall of the same year. In 1874 the road was completed to Canal Dover, its present northern terminus, where it connects with lines running north and east. At Cambridge it crosses the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and at Newcomerstown the Pan-Handle Line, thus affording important connections with both the eiist and the west. The company, organized under the name of the Marietta & Pittsburgh llailroad Company, afterwards became the Marietta, Pittsburgh & Cleveland, and is now knoAvn as the Cleveland & Marietta Railroad Company. The length of the line from

For the construction of the road through the county the citizens of Noble raised in all about $115,000. The right of way was all given with the exception of a small portion, the cost of which did not exceed $500. Among the Noble County men who were especially active in securing the road may be mentioned Hon. William H. Frazier, one of the directors; Fulton Caldwell, F. G. Okey, Judge A. P. Jennings, David Gouchenour and William W. Glidden. Several others did effective service in securing subscriptions in their respective neighborhoods. Mr. Glidden had charge of the matter of securing the right of way, and liis canviiss was very thorough and successful.

The C. & M. Railroad has had the usual experience of small local lines. It early became financially bankrupt, and passed into the hands of Gen. A. J. Warner as receiver. In 1877 it was sold at Cambridge for the sum of $200,000, and bid in by Cyrus W. Field and others. Under its present management the road is being improved on an extensive scale, and the track re-laid with steel rails.

The company was re-organized July 14, 1886, with A. T. Wikoff, George K. Nash, C. C. Pickering, William Quinn and J. I. Kidd as incorporators. July 15, 188(), the following directors were chosen: Morris K. Jesup and John W. Ellis, of New York, and A. J. Warner, A. T. Wikoff and George K. Nash, of Ohio. General A. T. AVikoff was elected president of the company, and G. R.

Thk Bellaire, Zane8Ville & Cincinnati Railway

The project of a narrow-gauge railroad from Zanesville to Caldwell and eastward was discussed as early as 1871, and in that year the Zanesville, Cumberland & Caldwell Railroad Company was incorporated. In the following year a number of local capitalists and citizens associated together for the purpose of securing a railroad through Belmont, Monroe, Noble, Guernsey and Muskingum Counties, to be called the Bellaire, Woodfield & Zanesville Rjiilroad. Neither of these projects matured, the attention of many of those interested being diverted to the work of extending the Uuck Creek Railroad (C. & M.) from Caldwell northward.

The Bellaire & Southwestern Kailroad (narrow-gauge) was built between Bellaire and Woodsfield in the years ISTfJ-O, and was formally opened between the two phices on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 1879. The company was organized with E. G. Morgan as pre^sident, l)ut the actual work of building the road was performed under the efficient superintendence of Col. S. L. Mooriey, president. Immediiitely after the completion of tlie road to AVoodsfield, measures were taken to provide for its extension westward to SummcrHcld and (yaldwell. Meantime, in December, 1879, J. II. Sullivan, of Bellaire, and F. M. Atkinson, of

Batesville, projected a new and distinct road, to be called the Bellaire, Beaver Valley & Shawnee Railroad, which was to connect with the B. & S. W. at Jerusalem, Monroe County, and run westward totlie Muskingum River. One of the proposed routes was by way of Senecaville and the "Calico" Railroad to Cumberland, and thence to McConnelsville ; the other, by way of Muddy Fork of Will's Creek and Little Buffalo to Sarahsville, and thence to Caldwell and Beverly. Supscriptions were taken for this road, and for a time railroad matters were very lively, esj>ecially in the eastern part of tiie county. The projected Beaver Valley road ultimately became merged in the Cincinnati, Wheeling & New ¥ork, or "Calico," of which Hon. F. M. Atkinson became president; and the prospect, in 1880, and 1881, that this road was to become a great through line, caused the abandonment of the j>rojected extension from Jerusalem via Batesville to Senecaville.

December 16, 1879, an enthusiastic railroad meeting was held at Summerfield to consider the matter of extending the B. & S. W. road from Woodsfield to the Muskingum River. The sentiment of the citizens was almost unanimous in favor of the proposal. Then followed meetings and discussions in the eastern townshii>s of the county, an<l great interest was awakened. The people of Summerfield and vicinity began the work of securing the right of way, and subscriptions in January, 1880. Then the project slumbered for a while, and railroad talk appeared to lose its interest for nearly a year. At a meeting held at Caldwell, in December, 1880, Colonel Ilurlburt spoke in behalf of the railroad company. W. W. Glidden, Fulton Caldwell, J. W. Tipton, Sr., W. W. Collins, George A. Smith, D. S. Spriggs and R. P. Summers were appointed a committee to Iqpk after the interests of Caldwell and to take action to secure the road. The railroad company proposed to iron, equip and run the road, provided the people living between Woodslield and Caldwell would give the right of way, and subscribe enough money to grade the road and furnish ties. This required a subscription of over $100,000 for the thirty-five miles of road between the two towns. At this time the managers of the enterprise talked of making the road a through line to Chillicothe and Cincinnati, running to Beverly or McConnelsville, and thence westward.

In September, 1881, the requisite amount having been subscribed, the subscriptions were turned over to the railroad company, who issued a bond to build the road from Woodsfield to Caldwell, via Louisville, Summerfield, Freedom and Sarahsville. Ground was broken for the extension in October, 1881. Among the citizens of Noble County to whom especial credit is due for their labors in behalf of this road we mention the following names, copied from a local paper dated August, 1881: William W. Glidden, Fulton Caldwell, John W. Tipton, Sr., F. G. Okey, Irvin Belford, George A. Smith, William Young, John Lemmax, L. W. Finley, Benjamin Danford, Jacob Hamilton and Charles Oblinger. Many others might be named, but suffice it to say that the best citizens generally aided the project according to their financial ability.

While Xoble County was preparing for the extension of the B. <fc S. W. Railroad, Zanesville capitalists organized the Zanesville & Southeastern Railroad Company, with the avowed purpose of building a narrowgauge road from Zanesville to Beverly, to connect at some point with the B. & S. W. when the latter should be extended west from Caldwell. In January, 1882, this company was consolidated with the B. & S. W., forming the Bellair, Zanesville & Cincinnati Railway Company. During the same year the proposed route to Beverly was abandoned, and instead it was decided to build from Zanesville via Chandlersville and Cumberland to Caldwell. Zanesville and Muskingum County responded liberally, pledging over $200,000 to the road, and work Ava.s soon begun in Muskingum County.

August 1, 1883, the B., Z. & C. was opened to Summerfield. November 29, the first regular passenger train ran over the completed road from Caldwell to Zanesville, and December 8, 1883, the first passenger train ran from Summerfield to Zanesville. Owing to heavy rains and insufficient ballast upon the roadbed traffic was suspended between Summerfield and Cumberland during most of the following winter, but resumed over the entire line in the spring of 1884. The distance from Bellair to Zanesville is 112 miles, and the route is tliroiigh one of the most liilly and picturesque regions in Ohio.

June, 1886, but is still running under the old name. The rolling stock has recently been increased, and the road is being improved rapidly. It is a great benefit and convenience to a wide extent of country formerly without railroad facilities.