Summit County, Ohio - Chapter 4, 1881 (part 3 of 3)

On the final determination of the matters in issue, the road was again sold by Receiver Devereux, acting as Special Master Commissioner, at the door of the court house in | Akron, on the 6th day of January, 1880, for 36.000,000, to S. A. Strang and R. G. Rolsten, | as trustees for a new organization, composed principally of the foreign bondholders of the road, the name and style of the new organization being "The New York, Pennsylvania & | Ohio Railroad Company." Since the transfer | of the road to its new management, the track of the road has been reduced from six feet to the standard gauge of four feet eight and one- | half inches. the rolling stock. of course, having been correspondingly changed. The old com- ; plications and embarrassments of the road | having been thus cleared away, and the finan- | cial and commercial embarrassments of the | country having aiso disappeared. it is to be | hoped that this road, notwithstanding the heavy |; liabilities assumed by the new company on be- | coming the purchasers thereof, may, in common | with all other lines of railway passing through | | Summit County, enjoy long years of uninter- | | rupted prosperity. We have not the data at | hand to give the names of all the citizens of | Summit County who have held official relations | with this road, but,in the published reports before us, we find among the names of the differ- | | ent boards of directors the names of Daniel | | Upson, of Tallmadge, and Jacob Allen, Lucius ' V. Bierce, John H. Chamberlin and William | | H. Upson, of Akron. July 1, 1863, Mr. Upson | | was appointed attorney for the road, at a meet- | ing of the directors, at which time the company | executed to him a deed, in trust, of the Ohio | | | division of the road, for the purpose of securing | a loan of $4,000,000, with which to finish and | equip the road. Mr. Upson's relations to the | road as its attorney, at that time, existed only | about a year and a half; but he was again appointed in 1873, and has ever since acted in | | that capacity, and still holds that relation to |

The Baltimore & Ohio Extension - In the spring of 1870, a proposition was made to extend the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and its intermediate connection, the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad. westward from Pittsburgh to Chicago, and to make Akron, in Summit Connty, a point upon the line on certain conditions, which are fully set forth in the sub- | scription books opened in Akron in the summer

Whereas. the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, and the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Rail- | Company propose to construct a railroad from | Pittsburgh, Penn.. westward through Akron, Summit County, Ohio. and to secure the location of | said road through Akron. it is necessary for the citizens of Akron to subscribe to the stock of such

| proposed railroad are legally opened, and the bal- _ ance in monthly installments of 5 per cent each, as the work progresses in Summit County.

| erally ~gree to save them harmless from the payand. for certain persons, on behalf of the sub- - scribers. prior to the incorporation of said proposed company. to pledge to said Baltimore & Ohio and Pittsburgh &© Connellsville Companies said sum of $300.14). to aid them in locating and constructing ° said proposed railroad through Akron. aforesaid. Therefore. we. the subscribers, on the succeeding pages of this book. for the purpose of authorizing David L: King, Lewis Miller and Charles Brown, to ledge and guarantee to said Baltimore & Ohio and Pinebareh & Connellsville Railroad Companies, said sum of $300,000. and to save them harmless, by | reason of said pledge and guarantee, and for the | further purpose and consideration of securing the loeation of said proposed railroad through Akron for our mutual benefit. we do agree with said David : L. King, Lewis Miller and Charles Brown, and with | each other, to subscribe to the stock of said com- | pany, when organized, under whatever name the | same may he incorporated. and to pay the several | persons as may be legally authorized to receive the | same, payable 10 per cent when said railroad is located through Akron, and the stock-books of said |

And we ledge to onnellsville Railroad Companies, or either of them, said sum of $300,000 for the purpose aforesaid, and to the extent of our respective subscriptions we sevauthorize said King, Miller and Brown, to ment of said sum: And we hereby authorize the corporators of said proposed company, when duly incorporated, under whatsoever name, when said road is located through Akron, to transfer to the stock-books of said company, when opened, our respective subscriptions here made, and agree that they shall have the same force and effect as if said | company was now incorporated, and said amounts respectively signed and entered by us in said stockbooks, after they were formally opened by the corporators of said company for that purpose. Through public meetings and personal solicitation on the part of Messrs. King, Miller, Brown and others, the full amount, 3300,000, with a sufficient margin to cover contingencies, was speedily subscribed by the enterprising citizens of Akron, all classes, from the largest manufacturer, merchant, banker, etc., to the humblest mechanic and laboring man, contributing to the guarantee fund in proportion | to his several ability. Then came long days of | waiting, expectation and suspense, until, finally, in the spring of 1871, for reasons never satisfactorily explained to its Akron promoters, the project was indefinitely postponed, leaving the subscribers to the above document free to

& Canton Railway, which atterward developed into the larger and more important enterprise, the Valley Railway, duly incorporated on the 21st day of August, 1871, the incorporators being Henry Chisholm, Nathan P. Payne. James

Farmer. Warwick Price and 3. Cleveland, and David L. King. of Akron. The authorized capital stock of the company was $3,000.000, the road to run trom Cleveland, in Cuyahoga County, via Akron, in Summit County, Canton, in Stark County, through Tuscarawas and Carroll Counties to Bowerston, in Harrison County, on the Pan Handle Railroad. The first first great movement for the promotion of the enterprise was made at a meeting held at the Academy of Music, in Akron, on the 4th day of January, 1872. Representatives from Cleveland, Canton, Wheeling and intermediate points on the contemplated route were in attendance, together with a very large number of business men of Akron and other towns in Summit County. The meeting was presided over by James A. Saxton, Esq., of Canton, with Mr. R. H. Cochran, of Wheeling, as Secretary, and Hon. Stephen H. Pitkin, of Akron, as Assistant Secre- stated the objects of the meeting, saying that the project of a road down the valley of the Cuyahoga. from Akron to Cleveland, and south from Akron to Canton and Wheeling, was no new project. Such a road, Mr. King said, would develop large quantities of coal and other minerals south of Akron, and a locomotive. after drawing an ordinary train to Akron, could by reason of continuous down grade, draw as many points on the route to aid in raising the necessary stock. Committeemen for Summit County were appointed as follows: Northfield. Lucian Bliss ; Boston, Frederick Wood, Frederick B. Wadhams, John Douds; Richfield. Orson M. Oviatt, William C. Weld ; Bath. William Barker, Andrew Hale: Northampton. James R. Brown. William Hardy. John C. Johnston; Portage, S. W. Miller; Akron. Jacob H. Wise; Middlebury. Thomas H. Peckham: Coventry. Alexander Brewster; Springfield. Cyrus Yerrick, Robert V. Sawyer. Frank W. Myers: Green. Alexander Johnston. Speeches were made by Messrs. Newell D. Tibbals. Alvin C. Voris, Charles Brown. Stephen H. Pitkin. Lewis Miller, David L. King and others. of Akron: James Farmer. of Cleveland; R. H. Cochran of Wheeling; James A. Saxton and Josiah Hartzell. of Canton. and William McNeil. of Peninsula. The importance and feasibility of the road was conceded by all. the discussion being mainly over the standard. four feet eight and one-half inches, and the narrow. three feet tracks. At the conclusion of the discussion, the following resolution was unanimously adopted :

Resolced, That it be the sense of this meeting that all our efforts be devoted to raising stock for the ordinary four-foot eight and one-half inch gauge.

the necessary funds to build the road. Cleveland parties were pledged to raise $500,000. the quota assigned to Akron and Canton being $150.000 each, with such additional amounts as could be raised at intermediate points in the

| several counties interested. Meetings were held, ; Speeches were made and subscriptions were ob- ; tained with commendable celerity, so that by the 20th of March, $60,000 of Akron's quota had been subscribed. Canton was the first to announce that her full share was raised, Akron coming in soon afterward with a similar good report. Cleveland, however, was backward. trusting to the plan of raising the requisite amount, under the Boesel law, by a tax upon the city. The proposition, however, was voted : down, precious time being thus wasted, though | the amount pledged was subsequently raised by her soliciting committees. Other localities also subscribed more or less liberally, so that the total amount subscribed in each of the three counties was as follows: Cuyahoga, 3508.25) ; Summit, $191,700 ; Stark. $149,750. The first stockholders meeting was held April 24. 1872.

elected Directors. the Directors the same day. James Farmer was elected President ; David L. King. Vice President. and Warwick Price, Secretary and Treasurer. Ata meeting of the Directors. held May 10, 1872: Plymouth H. Dudley. then Akron's most efficient City Engineer. was appointed Chief Engineer for the new road. Two routes from Akron to Cleveland were surveyed. one directly down the valley of the Cuyahoga River. the other ~ overland." through Bath. Richfield.

pledged along the latter route, should the location be determined in their favor. The valley route was finally adopted. and the contract for building the entire line from Cleveland to Bowerstown was awarded to Messrs. Nicholas EK. Vansickle and Arthur L. Conger, of Akron. on the 3d day of February, 1873.

Ata meeting of the stockholders. April 16, 1873, David L. King and John F. Seiberling were chosen as Summit County's representatives in the Board of Directors. Mr. King being continued as Vice President and Mr. Dudley as went vigorously to work, the result of the first four months' operations being thus tersely stated by Engineer Dudley, in his report of the progress of construction made to the Directors on the 15th day of August, 1873, as follows: "On the line between Cleveland and Canton, a distance of fifty-seven miles, the graduation was commenced last March ; but on account of the wet weather in April and May, and other causes, has not proceeded as fast as could be desired. All the bridges are under contract, and part of them up. I am, however, pleased to say that nearly two-thirds of the distance from Cleveland through the stringency of the times, to secure aid in this country to complete the road, at the | earnest solicitation of the board, Mr. King sailed for England, on the 6th day of February, | 1875, to present the advantages of the invest- | ment to the capitalists of London. After weeks of | patient effort, struggle and disappointment, he © continue favorable, I see no reason to prevent the completion of the remainder, ready to commence laying track in October. This would give you the use of the road most of the coming winter, which would be an advantage you no doubt fully appreciate."

The Engineer's anticipations, however, were not realized, and the winter of 1873-74 set in without witnessing the laying of the track or the completion of the grading, bridging, etc. On the 24th day of April, 1874, Hon. Reuben Hitchcock, of Painesville, Lake County, was elected President, Mr. King being continued as Vice President and Mr. Dudley as Engineer. Owing to differences of opinion between the Directors and the contractors, Messrs. Vansickle and Conger, the contract was canceled and the work suspended on the 16th day of the sale of the company's bonds on highly advantageous terms, and a time was fixed for the execution of the contract. On the morning of the day agreed upon for closing the matter up,

| particular, together with a cable dispatch received from New York, published in the same papers, that the Wabash & Western Railroad (a very large amount of the bonds of this road hands of a Receiver, presented so discouraging a prospect for the placing of American securities of any kind. as to cause the withdrawal of the proposition and the non-execution of the contract. By the advice of the parties with whom he had been in negotiation. Mr. King returned home without having accomplished with James Farmer, of Cleveland, as Vice President. The general stagnation of business, and especially of all new railroad enterprises, growing out of the panic of September, 1873, with the failure of Jay Cooke & Co., having rendered the immediate resumption of work imto Mr. King's acceptance of the Presidency, individually assumed the entire liabilities of the company, which, owing to inability to collect stock subscriptions, amounted to over $150,000 - a burden from which the devoted Directors were not relieved until April, 1879. But, by the self-sacrificing assumption of this responsibility, the life of the company was saved through the long period of financial distress the country was then experiencing. Failing, of events,' as it was considered damaging to future sales, on the return of prosperity at home. to urge the bonds of the company further upon the attention of English capital- The merits of the line were, from time to time, brought by President King before the capitalists of Cleveland and the Kast, and a succession of struggles to keep the been increased from $3,000,000 to $6.500,000. On the 7th day of August, 1878, the work on the line between Cleveland and Canton was resumed by the new contractors, Messrs. Walsh and Moynahan, the first rail upon the line being laid and the first spike driven by President King, at Akron. at a point near the "Old

Forge." at 12 o'clock, M., on the 26th day of October, 1878, track-laying being immediately proceeded with from this point both ways. and also commenced in Cleveland a few days there- after. The operations of the new contractors not proving satisfactory to the company, the contract with them was annulled on the 25th day of January, 1879, and the work again temporarily suspended. Subsequently, a new contract was made with Messrs. Strong and Cary, and work resumed on the 3d day of June, 1879. The road was finally completed through from Cleveland to Canton, in the winter of 1879-80. The first continuous train from Cleveland to Canton, with the officers, Directors, and other friends and promoters of the road on board, started from Cleveland at 9:30 A. M., January 28, 1880. Making short stops at the several stations on the route, the train arrived Starting from

_ Canton on the return trip at 3 o'clock, P. M., ' the run from Canton to Akron, twenty-two _ miles, was made in thirty-eight minutes, the entire trip from Canton to Cleveland, fifty-seven | miles, being made in two hours - a remarkable | the road-bed. The first regular trains commenced running February 2, 1880, and have continued uninterruptedly to the present time, with constantly increasing freight and passenger traffic, and though, by reason of the partial occupation of the ground by other similar enterprises and prospective connections, the extension of the road beyond Canton has been indefinitely postponed, the Valley Railway may promoters, and a very valuable acquisition to the travel and transportation facilities of the people all along the line, as well as a material addition to the enterprise and prosperity of the city of Akron, and of Summit County generally.

1872, to April 15,1873. Treasurer - S. T. Everett, from April 20, 1873, to date. Secretary - S. T. Everett, from April 20, 1873, to May 13, 1873. Secretary and Auditor - L. D. Clarke, from May 13, 1873, to April 17, 1878 ; William B. Porter, from April 17 to date. Superintendent - Sam Briggs, from November 1, 1879, to date. Present Board of Directors - J. H. Wade, H. B. Payne, John Tod, W. J. Boardman and L. M. Coe, of Cleveland; David L. King, of Akron; L. V. Bockius, of Canton; and H. M. Flagler, of New York.

The Tuscarawas Valley Railroad. - This road, a comparatively new enterprise, running from Lake Erie, at Black River, in Lorain County, to Bridgeport, opposite Wheeling, W. Va., on the Ohio River, via Grafton, in Lorain County ; Medina and Seville, in Medina County ; Clinton, in Summit County ; Massillon, in Stark County ; New Philadelphia and Urichville, in Tuscarawas County ; passes through about three-fourths of

The Connotton Valley Railway. - The latest accession to the railroad system of Summit County is the Connotton Valley Railway. It is strictly a narrow-gauge road (three feet) and though intended more especially for the transportation the city of Cleveland. The line passes through | Carrollton, in Carroll County ; Canton in Stark | County ; Mogadore, in Summit and Portage | Counties ; Kent and Streetsboro, in Portage ©

Rotch, of New Bedford, Mass., President ; Sam- | uel Allen, of Del Roy, Carroll County, Vice President; A. B. Proal, of Canton, Stark County, | Secretary and Treasurer; W. N. Moffett, formerly of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, Superintendent, and Robert Leamouth, formerly of the Pan Handle road, Roadmaster.

offices of the company, are located at Canton. The entire length of the road is 118 miles, sixty-two miles of which is now (April, 1881) in | running order, being completed as far north as

_ Mogadore, and as far south as Del Roy, in Carroll County. and it is expected that cars will be running over the entire line by July of the present year. This road passes through from fine beds of iron ore, potters' clay, buildingstone, etc., besides having on its line some of the most enterprising manufacturing cities and _ At Mogadore. the road passes on the Portage County side of the village, but strikes into Summit County for a short distance, in circling around a hill just north of the village, thence bearing northeasterly to reach the village of Kent. and thence, in a northerly and northwesterly direction, again strikes into Summit County on the east line of Twinsburg Township, running diagonally across the township, and passing the village about one-fourth of a mile east of the public square. The Connotton Valley will prove especially valuable to the people of Mogadore. in furnishing them an inlet for the large quantities of coal which they consume yearly, and an outlet for the immense quantities of stoneware which they yearly manufacture, which has hitherto required a haul of eight miles. over | (at times) the very muddiest kind of mud roads, to the nearest railroad shipping-point, Akron. The road will also give the people of and the invaluable building stone so abundant in that township, and in obtaining their needed supplies from Cleveland and other portions of the outside world.

The Pittsburgh, Youngstown & Chicago Railroad. - This road was projected early in 1881, by Chauncey H. Andrews, Esq., and other wealthy men of Youngstown, with other outside backing. The company fully organized March 18, 1881, with Mr. Andrews as President, when 31,500,000 of the $2.000.000 au- | thorized capital was reported to be subscribed. - The plan is to build the road from Pittsburgh. | valley of the Little Cuyahoga River. enteriny Akron via the Sixth Ward upon the east. and Wolf Ledge Valley in the south part of the city. Though not yet actually commenced. there is at this writing (April 1. 1881). great

Summit County have been to-day ? Not a manufacturing establishment. other than our waterpower mills, limited to some half-dozen in number - with diminished usefulness at that.

' lands, instead of being worth from $75 to $300 | | per acre, as they now are, would have remained. | _ like those of the other non-railroad-penetrating | counties of the State, at from $25 to $60 per | ' acre.