Columbus City (part 40 of 57)

And so the story runs on through the years, the city gradually, but reluctantly, drifting to a paid department basis. Charles Ridgway resigned as chief engineer in 1856 and Mr. Trowbridge was elected, the Council committee having established its supremacy. The burning of the Neil House in 1860 showed the inadequacy of the department. Two rotary steam fire engines were purchased, and the department was put under the authority of the chief engineer, John Miller being appointed to that place at a salary of $600. One of the new engines was put in the Gay street house and the other in the Third street house, the first steam engine being sold. A third steamer was purchased a little later. John Miller resigned as chief engineer and was succeeded by Isaac H. Marrow, in November, 1863, who organized a system of fire alarms by church bells, the number of the stroke denoting the district in which the fire was located. The fire alarm telegraph was installed in 1868 at a cost of $1,500. Wm. S. Huffman became chief engineer in August, 1868, vice Marrow resigned. The equipment of the department in the following April consisted of one chief engineer, one superintendent of fire alarm telegraph, three steamer engines, three foremen, three engine-drivers, three horsemen, two truckmen, four steamers, four carriages, one hook and ladder apparatus, ten horses and a supply of hose, 5-1 wells and 72 cisterns. On April 12, 1869, Henry Heinmiller became chief engineer and served for 11 years, during which time the Flowers engine house and the Soutli High street engine house were opened and the equipment of the department was increased,, the fire insurance companies adding at their own expense a chemical engine and salvage wagon combined, provided the city would properly house and man it. On September 6, 1880, D. D. Tresenrider was appointed chief engineer. He was suspended from office March 2, 1882, by the Mayor, on charges preferred bv former employes; the Council refused to acquiesce, and the case was settled by a Supreme Court decision in favor of Tresenrider the following month. In 1886, Charles Bryson was nominated by the Mayor as chief engineer, but the Council refused to confirm. Bryson undertook to act anyway, and the Supreme Court, again appealed to, deciding adversely to Bryson, the Mayor appointed Joseph Grovenberrv, who resigned soon after on account of an injury, when the Mayor appointed W. P. Callahan. Council rejected the nomination and reinstated Tresenrider who was suspended by the Mayor. The ease was taken before Judge Bingham, of the Common Pleas Court, who enjoined the Mayor, Callahan and all others from interference witli the department, and Tresenrider ao-ain took charge December 1, after a struggle extending over six months. Henrv Heinmiller again became chief engineer, succeeding Tresenrider in 1890, and in the following April reported that the department then possessed, fully manned, six steam fire engine companies, seven hose companies, two hook and ladder companies, one engine supply wagon ane one telegraph wagon, with the following apparatus in reserve: Two second-class steam fire engines, three chemical engines and one four-wheeled hose carriage.

Public Utilities

begun in a wrangle, the department grew and served acceptably for years until a department without Lauer seemed almost an impossibility. At his death, Chief Lauer was succeeded by Jenkins Daniels, who is serving with the fidelity of an old fireman. The personnel of the fire fighting force now runs to nearly 300 men. There are seventeen engine houses and most of the apparatus has been motorized so that a run can be made at 50 miles an hour. Besides fighting fire, the department does much by inspection to prevent fire. A recent report showed the annual expenses to be $335,711.09.

Prior to 1849 there was nothing but surface drainage in Columbus. In that year the State and city jointly constructed a brick sewer in Broad street from the old Asylum for the Insane at Broad and Lexington to the Scioto river. In 1852 Spring street was sewered from Third to Front, and in the following year there was considerable demand for sewers, chiefly to drain the stagnant pools in what is now the east-central part of the city. In 1851, 12,500 feet of underground sewer was in operation. Peters' Run sewer was begun in 1867 and was originally intended to furnish drainage for the greater part of the city through its connection with the lateral sewers. According to the city engineer's report in 1872 there were main sewers in Fourth street, South Public lane (Livingston), Centre alley, Oak street, Cherry alley, Broad street, Mound street and West street, which had cost $101,617. Peters' Run sewer was connected with the Fourth street and Oak street sewers and conducted the sewage to an intercepting lateral in Front street which, it was planned, should disgorge into the Scioto below the city. But legal difficulties compelled the emptying of the lateral into Peters' Run, thus creating a nuisance in the southern part of the city. At the same time the discharge of other sewers into the river above the dam made a cesspool of the stream. In 1873-74, the Peters' Run sewer was carried across the canal to the river by a conduit - a proceeding which did not correct, but simply changed the location of the nuisance.

Up to this time there had been no systematic construction of sewers. A sewer was put in where it seemed to be needed to carry sewage to the river, that being the ultimate place for the deposit of all the filth of the city. There was much sickness which was attributed to defective sewerage and the unsanitary practice of pouring all the foulness into a stream which, because it was dammed for canal purposes, was no longer a stream. The north-east trunk sewer was projected in 1879, and the Franklin Park sewer followed, both emptying into Alum creek, the idea being to divide the nuisance by using two streams instead of one. The Southeast and Northwest trunk sewers were built, with discharge into the Scioto, and the streams became more polluted as the city grew. The General Assembly was asked in 1885 to permit the use of the abandoned canal as a trunk sewer, but refused: the canal, it felt, might sometime be needed. As it also refused to allow the destruction of the dam, through which the water was pouring, at times leaving the polluted bed of the river almost dry, a new dam was constructed in the thought that it would maintain the water at a sufficient stage to cover the mouths of the sewers. That proved no relief and the dam was finally blown up.

In 1887, under the incentive of the Citizens' Sanitary Association, the Council passed a resolution authorizing the city engineer to secure the services of a sanitary ens>ineerinoexpert to devise a complete system of sewerage. An intercepting sewer on the east side of the river connecting with all the sewers leading to the river and carrying the sewage to a point below the city was proposed. On March 23, 1888, the General Assembly authorized the issue of $500,000 bonds by the city to build that sewer, and one January 21, 1889, the contract was awarded to L. C. Newsom at his bid, $460,838.61.

Until 1897, the sewers on the West Side had been constructed without system and with the same general idea of emptying everything into the river. In that year a system of separate storm and sanitary sewers was devised, all being later extended to the main sewage pumping station, where its sewage unites with the sewage from other parts of the city.

With the completion in 1892, of the East Side intercepting sewer, the dry flow from the numerous main sewers until then outletting along the east banks of the Olentangy and Scioto rivers and draining the greater part of the city, was diverted to a single outfall into the Scioto at a point two and a half miles south of the State House. The nuisance arising from a foul stream in the heart of the city was thereby abated ; but the condition of the river itself was not bettered, and the situation, with the rapid growth of the population, soon became again acute, and a permanent solution of the problem became imperative.

Preliminary steps toward the construction of a sewage disposal system were taken in the investigation of local conditions by Engineers Alvord and Griggs in 1898 and by Engineers Griggs and Hering in 1901. In 1901-05 an experimental purification plant was operated under direction of Rudolph Hering and George W. Fuller, consulting engineers, the results there obtained determining the process to be adopted for the sewage disposal system. Construction was immediately begun with John H. Gregory as engineer in charge, and in November, 1908, the improved sewage works were completed and put into regular service. A single purification plant to which sewage from all parts of the city is conducted for treatment was provided. An P^ast Side sewage pumping station at Main street and Alum creek was provided to lift the dry flow sewage from the Alum creek district over the ridge into the East Side intercepting sewer district. The intercepting sewer was extended across the Scioto, and the West Side sanitary and storm sewer systems were extended to the same point, whence the combined sewage of the city was relayed by the main sewage pumping station to the purification works below the city. The work required two and a half miles of levee construction and the building of two miles of railroad track and a railroad bridge across the Scioto, the purchase of 358 acres of land at a cost of $78,980, and a total outlay of $1,351,020.

The East Side intercepting sewer has its origin north of Dodridgc street near the Olentangy river ; it roughly follows the Olentangy to its mouth and then the Scioto to a point 3,000 feet south of Green Lawn avenue, where it crosses under the river and discharges into the suction wells of the main sewage pumping station. The treatment of sewage consists of sedimentation and clarification in large open concrete tanks, aeration and oxidation in sprinkling filters and final sedimentation and clarification in open shallow concrete basins, preceding the discharge of the treated liquor into the river.

Chapter Xvi Public Utilities. Ii

Artificial Gas for Illumination - Advent of Electricity - Private Companies - Municipal Plant - Columbus the "Arch City" - Cluster Street Lamps - Natural Gas for Heat and Light - The Levees - Grade Crossing Elimination - Public Parks - Telephones - Cemeteries - Garbage and Refuse Disposal - The Markets - Street Cleaning - Lei'ees.

The use of artificial gas for illumination indoors and on the streets began to be talked about as early as 18-tf. Prior to that, illumination had been by candles and sperm oil lamps, and there was no real escape from that primitive method until 1850. In that year, Lockwood & Co., operating under a charter that had been granted to the Columbus Gas and Coke Co., and under an ordinance granting the exclusive use of the streets for 16 years, erected buildings on West Long street and began the laying of pipe. On November 16, 1850, Council decided to light High street, the market house and engine houses with gas. Gas was turned into the pipes December 7, 1S50, and a number of private consumers began using it. On the 12th Council invited proposals for furnishing 31 street lamps and posts, it having been provided in the original ordinance that the company should furnish the gas at not to exceed $20 per lamp per year. In 1854, the city had 111 lamps in use on the streets. Private consumers paid at the rate of $3 a thousand feet. About seven miles of pipe had then been laid in the streets, and 9,500,000 cubic feet of gas had been produced and consumed in a year. In May, 1878, the price of gas was reduced to .$2 per 1000 cubic feet and in 1883 to .$1.25 and 1892 to $1.

Electricity had come into the field as a competitor, and gas as an illuminant was out of favor. In March, 1881, a company was incorporated to introduce the Brush system of electric lighting in Columbus. June 20 following, the Council authorized an experimental contract with the company, but it was never carried into effect. On February 9, 1882, the Edison system of electric lighting was demonstrated in the office of the Ohio State Journal, and on May 14, 1887, the Columbus Electric Light Co. was incorporated bv Will C. Turner, W. D. Bri'ckell, C. H. Lindenberg, J. W. Collins, W. S. Ide and Luke G. Byrne. The company organized by electing Mr. Lindenberg president, J. F. Martin vice president, Will C. Turner secretary and E. Kiesewetter treasurer. The company erected a plant at Third and Gay streets in 1887-88 and began furnishing power and incandescent lighting, an ordinance having granted the privilege of laying pipes, mains, conductors, etc., for the transmission of current.

On February 18, 1881, the Columbus Electric Light and Power Co., incorporated in 1883 with a plant at the west end of the Broad street bridge, was authorized by Council to erect and maintain its poles and wires in the streets and alleys. Wm. Monypeny was president, A. D. Rodgers vice president and J. G. McGuier secretary and manager. The city entered into a five-year contract with this company to light the streets and 800 lamps were put up, the charge being $7.5 a lamp per year. It also sold light and power for commercial use.

Both of these properties were subsequently bought by Emerson McMillin and W. D. Briekell who, in turn, sold them to the present Columbus Railway, Light and Power Co., which owns and operates the street ears and sells current to private consumers for light and heat.

The street lighting problem became acute in 1896, and there was talk of a municipal electric lighting plant. Besides the opposition of the existing private companies, there was official and general reluctance to enter on the project. Mayor Cotton H. Allen, in a communication to Council, opposed it, but there was sufficient public opinion favorable to it to induce Council to appropriate $68,000 to install an experimental plant in the West Side water works pumping station. Mayor Samuel L. Black in his message to Council in 1897, announced that the plant should be in operation in 90 days. Provision was first made for 500 arc lights and the streets in the northeastern part of the city were first supplied, the other streets being lighted on contract with the Columbus Electric Light and Power Co.

Council made no appropriation for operating the plant in 1900, and Director of Public Improvements Linus B. Kauffman closed the plant in July, reporting that the cost of operating for the first half of the year had been $11,016.39, or at the rate of $68.38 per lamp per annum, not counting deterioration.

On April 30, 1901, Council passed an ordinance authorizing the establishment of an electric light plant for the city. The ordinance recited that in 1896, the people had voted a bond issue of $300,000 for electric light works and that of that amount $68,000 had been spent in the experimental plant, and directed the director of public improvements to provide the plant, buying ground if necessary, using the machinery already bought and supplementing it as needed. Another issue of $110,000 bonds was authorized. In October, 1901, operation of the light plant was resumed, and it was officially reported that the cost per lamp per annum had been reduced to $ 16. The first superintendent of the plant was L. B. Lyman ; then John Morris and after him Perry Okey. There were other appropriations up to the $300,000 authorized issue of bonds, and the complete plant, with William Willcox as superintendent, was put in operation in December, 1903. Street lamps to the number of 1,600 had then been installed, ffm. Reid succeeded Willcox in 1905 and was himself succeeded by Herman Gamper in 1908. Mr. Camper instituted many economies and in 1910 was operat- ing 2,600 street arc lamps at an annual average cost of $12.17. Called to a better paying position, he was succeeded by H. E. Eichhorn. In May, 1912, the people voted the issue of $265,000 bonds for the extension of the plant, but it was not till February, 1916, that it resolved upon the extension. Then it re-employed Mr. Gamper as expert engineer, approved the plans he prepared and appropriated the money. In November, it fixed the rate for residence and commercial lighting at six cents per k. w. h., with discounts for large use, and four cents per k. w. h., witli graduated lower rates for large consumption.

lor several years Columbus was to some extent known as the "Arch City" because of the lighting of High street and some other streets by a system of arches, each witli a number of small lamps, extending over the street. The arches were first used with gas in 1888 as a part of the street decoration on the occasion of the Ohio Centennial and Grand Army Encampment. They were then turned over to the city, equipped with electric lamps and maintained partly at the expense of the merchants. In 1911 they were superseded on High street and other streets by posts, each with a cluster of five lamps.

Public Utilities. Ii

The discover}' of natural gas in promising quantity in the vicinity of Columbus - Fairfield and Licking counties - led to the organization in January, 1886, of the Columbus Natural Gas Co., to which a franchise was voted by the Council, April 11, 1887. This was followed, December 17, 1888, by an ordinance fixing a schedule of prices for 10 years. Meanwhile the Columbus Natural Gas Co. had been prospecting and had acquired options on a large amount of territory between Newark and Lancaster and had sunk a well at Hadley Junction which was producing in large quantity. July 24, 1889, the Central Ohio Natural Gas and Fuel Co. was incorporated and to it were transferred all the franchises of the other company. John G. Deshler was president, H. D. Turney vice president, J. H. Hibbard secretary and George W. Sinks treasurer; C. D. Firestone, M. H. Neil, Walter W. Brown and G. C. Hoover, directors; J. O. Johnston, superintendent. The authorized capitalization was $3,000,000.

The gas was piped to the city and through it and on December 31, 1889, was used for the first time in the Columbus Club and in the homes of John G. Deshler, George W. Sinks and H. D. Turney. It was offered to private consumers at 20 cents per 1,000 cubic feet, and was used by many for both fuel and light. On January 24, 1890, there was an explosion of natural gas in a double brick dwelling, 29 Noble street, which killed four persons and injured many others. It was found that the gas had leaked from the main in Wall street into the cellars of the dwelling and had exploded from a contact with a naked flame. January 14, 1891, owing to low pressure and danger, the gas was turned off to the great inconvenience of all who had equipped their houses for its use, and there was much speculation as to what it all meant. The company had laid 25 miles of main from the wells to the city and put nearly 100 miles of pipe in the city streets at a cost of over a million dollars. The consumers' disappointment was great, and there were charges that the company had shut off the gas to exact a higher rate. In February it was announced that more gas had been found though six other wells had been sunk without result. On March 30, 1891, the Council, acting on the petition of 83 % of the consumers of gas, passed an ordinance allowing the company to charge 25 cents per 1,000 cubic feet, for a period of 10 years, witli 20% reduction for prompt payment. On July 6, 1901, Council fixed the price of natural gas at 35 cents a 1,000 feet, with a discount of five cents for prompt payment, and so it has remained.

In 1899 a rival natural gas company entered the field. It offered gas at 15 cents per 1 ,000 cubic feet and finally secured a franchise by which it agreed to pay into the city treasury 10^,' of all moneys received from the sale of gas at a rate of more than 15 cents per 1,000 cubic feet. This company, having laid its pipes and begun service, about 1903, went into the hands of a receiver. The stock was bought by the Ohio Fuel Supply Co., which maintained it as a separate organization. The price of gas was increased until it reached the maximum of 30 cents per 1,000 cubic feet. In 1904 suit was brought by the city against the Federal Gas Co. for the percentage which it had agreed to pay the city. This litigation, in which the city lias been represented by four different solicitors or directors of law - George S. Marshall, Edgar L. Weinland, Stuart R. Bolin and Harry L. Scarlett - has raised a number of questions, chief of which are the interpretation of the franchise clause and whether the city has a proprietary right in the streets and can legally make a bargain of the kind. The latter has been definitely decided in favor of the city, and the clause in the franchise has been interpreted to mean that the company was to pay to the city 10rr of moneys received in excess of 15 cents per 1,000 cubic feet. In January, 1918, the Federal Gas Co. offered to pay the city $375,000 in settlement, but the offer was rejected. In the United States Supreme Court the city was sustained, and a settlement to July 1, 1916, was for $458,800. Settlement on account of sales since that date is at this writing still to be determined.

In 1914 the Ohio Cities Gas Co. was formed, Beman G. Dawes president, F. S. Heath secretary-treasurer. It bought the stock of both of the local companies which maintain their identity as distributing agencies, the Ohio Fuel and Supply Co., a producing concern, delivering the gas to them at the city limits. The president of the Columbus Gas and Fuel Co. is T. J. Jones, and the secretary-treasurer is G. C. Scott. The old offices at Front and Long streets were abandoned August 1, 1918, the company moving into new quarters in the Gasco building (1918) at the southeast corner of Chestnut and High streets. Natural gas is now supplied to Columbus through more than 55,000 taps.

The levees on the west side of the Scioto were begun by the State about 1833 to prevent overflow of the river above the canal dam. They extended from a point below Rich street to a point near Sandusky street. Levees above and below were built from time to time after that as a protection to farm lands. A deed to the city from Michael Sullivant in 1853 provided for an extension by the city of a levee built by him. The right-of-way grant to the Columbus, Sandusky & Cincinnati Railroad Co. in 1870, along the Scioto provided that the proposed railway embankment should form a part of the levee. In 1889-90 the levee from Mound street to Rich street was built wider and higher; also from Frank street to the west end of Rickly's mill race. The levees thus constructed were found adequate till the flood of March, 1898. Then it was decided to raise the levee six feet above the high water mark of 1898 at a cost of $150,000. In 1899 the city rebuilt, raised or strengthened two and a half miles of levee, 4,200 feet of it being east of the river south of the Franklin furnace. In 1900, the T. & O. C. Railroad Co. changed its track, under agreement with the city, constructing for the latter 2,500 feet of levee from Rickly's mill to Sandusky street, and the city built 3,650 feet more. The city's expenditures in the three years (1898-00) amounted to $139,034.50, and Engineer Julian Griggs estimated the cost of completing the levee at $39,290. The 1913 flood proved that levee-building was vain and protection must be otherwise sought.

With the coming of railroads there began the inconvenience, delay and loss arising from the interruption of street traffic. High street, the main thoroughfare of the city north and south was crossed by the first railroad and later by others until a considerable section of the street was occupied by railway tracks over which there was not only the passage of passenger trains, but the switching of freight cars in the making up of trains for other points. This not only caused a serious interruption of traffic, but created a real menace to life and property. The matter early became a source of irritation which increased with the years. In 1873, the Council declared that there must be a bridge over or a tunnel under the tracks, and in 1871, tunneling, having been decided upon, was begun. The tunnel was completed in the following year, and the street railway company was authorized to lay its tracks through. The tunnel cost $15,050 and for 20 years it continued to offer its opportunity of escape from delay and danger. But it was ill ventilated and little used except by the street cars.

At the end of that time came the successful agitation for something better. The tunnel was torn away and, after much negotiation with the railroad companies and much bargaining with property-owners for damage or fancied damage to their abutting property, the present High street viaduct, with approaches from Naghten street and Maple street, was erected. Josiali Kinnear was the city engineer in charge, and the cost was approximately $369,000. Practically contemporaneous with this great improvement, the Union Depot Co. at an outlav of something less than three-quarters of a million dollars built the fine new Union Station, with train shed, concrete driveways and covered walk from train shed to viaduct. The front of the station along the viaduct, with its beautifully arched and pillared entrance, was designed by Burnham, of Chicago. The interior arrangements are excellent and elegant, and there is provision for the convenience and safety of passengers. The Union Station was completed in 1897. The first Fourth street (originally Buckeye street) viaduct was built in 1890-93 at an approximate cost of $120,000. and the Front street viaduct was built in 1894 at a cost of $69,000. Thus, there were three safe avenues of travel between the northern and southern sections of the city. In 1915, the present Fourth street viaduct, on the site of tlie one the construction of which had been begun in 1890, was built under the direction of City Engineer Henry Maetzel at a cost of $233,000.

By this time the situation on the West Side had become acute. The flood of 1898 made it apparent that increased protection must be afforded, and flood protection and track elevation were taken up together. Up to that time tlie law provided that the cost of track elevation should be borne equally by the railroad company and the city. The companies affected were reluctant, but in 1907 the people of the city voted to issue $1,000,000 of bonds to pay the city's share, and the companies finally agreed to the proposition. The work of eliminating the West Side grade crossings was begun by the city and tlie railroad companies jointly in the spring of 1909 and, in a report to Director of Public Service George

A. Borden, October 21, 1916, Henry Maetzel, chief engineer, announced the practical completion of the work, except for the adjustment of a few damage claims, enumerated in detail the construction of 20 subways and two viaducts - Mound street and South High street - and gave the total cost to the city as $1,096,283.37. In all of the track elevation the city's share was 50% or less. The city's half of the cost of the Mound street viaduct was .$157,44,6.87. Of the cost of the South High street viaduct it paid one-fourth, or $124,897.66. The Parsons avenue viaduct was built by the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad Co., under requirements of its franchise, without cost to the city.

In the meantime the people had voted another bond issue of $700,000 to eliminate the remaining grade crossings on the east side of the river. This work was begun, and a number of the grade crossings north have been eliminated, those north and east of the State Fair Grounds and those along the Norfolk & Western track east remaining to be treated. "In grade crossing elimination,'' to quote City Engineer Maetzel, "Columbus has gone further and accomplished more than any other city of its size."

In this work Franklin county has materially helped by constructing viaducts on Cleveland avenue, St. Clair avenue, Taylor avenue and Joyce avenue at points which were at the time outside of the city limits, but have since been included.

The park area in Columbus is about 280 acres, a little more than half of which is in Franklin park now lying on both sides of Alum creek. The other parks are : Goodale, in the north central part of the city, with 32.7 acres; Glenwood, West Side, 10.1; Livingston, southeast, 9.6 acres; Washington, south, 23.5 acres; Nelson, east, 22.1 acres; Lincoln, 13 acres ; Iuka, Glen Echo, Hayden and Glen View, each with something less than four acres, and a number of smaller tracts in various streets and avenues in different parts of the city.

It was July 14, 1851, that Dr. Lincoln Goodale offered to donate to the city as a public park and pleasure ground the tract of woodland that now bears his name. It was then described as "adjacent to the northern boundary of the city." Now it is not far removed from its geographical center. The offer was joyously accepted by the Council in a series of resolutions, and William Armstrong, John Miller and William Miner were appointed to serve with Dr. Goodale on a committee to take charge of the grounds and report suitable plans for the protection, improvement and ornamentation of the same. The park was enclosed with a fence and the underbrush growing among the trees was cut away. Little more seems to have been done in the few years that followed prior to the Civil War. In 1861, the park was temporarily used as a military rendezvous under the name of Camp Jackson. After the removal of the troops to Camp Chase, the park was cleaned, its sod restored and its park-like character resumed. In 1872, four years after the death of Dr. Goodale, drives were laid out and a lake was excavated; and in 1888 a bronze bust of the donor, executed by J. Q. A. Ward, the Ohio sculptor, was erected on a pedestal facing the south gate, at a cost of $5,000, one-half of which was paid by the city and the other half by the Goodale estate.

In April, 1867, the city bought from David W. and William G. Deshler and Allen G. Thurman the tract of woodland up to that time known as Stewart's Grove, but christened at a public meeting on the following Fourth of July as City Park. The price paid was $15,000. In 1868 the park was laid out according to plans of R. T. Brookes ; an ornamental fountain was erected in 1871, and in 1873 a lake was excavated. In 1891 a bronze statue of the German poet, Schiller, was donated to the city by German-born residents. The foundation for the pedestal had been laid two years before, with a parade of the German societies, addresses by Governor J. B. Foraker, Mayor P. H. Bruck, Henry Olnhausen and Hermann Determan and music by the Mannerchor and the Fourteenth Regiment band. The dedication of the monument when completed, was attended by similar exercises. Henry Olnhausen was president of the day and there were addresses by Governor James E. Campbell, Mayor George J. Karb, Hermann Determan, Alfred E. Lee and Joseph Dauben. The Declaration of Independence was read by F. F. D. Albery, and the German singing societies sang. The bronze statue of Schiller, cast in Munich, weighed 2,640 pounds; its cost was $3,000. The height of base and statue was 25 feet, and the total cost was $6,500. Subsequently the name of the park was changed to Schiller and remained so until 1918 when,

Franklin park became such in 1881. In 1851 the Columbus Horticultural Society bought from Samuel Barr for $200 a ten-acre tract, "situated on the west bank of Alum creek, about two miles from High street on the Granville plank road." The society wanted it for a garden and the tract was sold on condition that a garden was maintained there for five years. After considerable money had been spent in improving the tract, the society found that the ground was too wet for the desired purpose and therefore sold it, April 1, 1866, to Jane Bell who in turn sold it to the Franklin County Agricultural Society. In 1868 suit was brought by the heirs of Samuel Barr for the proceeds of this sale because the condition of the original sale had not been complied with. The suit was settled in 1872, the society agreeing that the $3,000 and accrued interest should be held perpetually as a "Samuel Barr fund for horticultural purposes." At the time of its purchase of the Horticultural Society tract, the Franklin County Agricultural Society already owned about 15 acres contiguous. Subsequently it bought 30 acres from David Taylor, 20 acres from John M. Pugh and other small tracts. County and State fairs were held on the grounds until 1881 when the State Board of Agriculture bought the tract north of the city and established the fairs here permanently. Then by an act of the General Assembly, May 17, 1886, the old site was transferred to Franklin county as a public park for all the people of the county and the management was vested in a commission of five members, two members to be appointed by the county commissioners and two by the Mayor, who was to be the fifth member. Other pieces were bought and added to the park and in 1913 Robert F. Wolfe gave to the city as another addition about 11 acres on the east bank of Alum creek between Broad street and Fair avenue.

Mr. Wolfe's gift was the largest that had up to that date been made to the city for park purposes and it opened up possibilities of park development that had hardly been dreamed of and have not yet been realized - a great tract of rolling wooded land, with a picturesque stream of considerable size running through it, with tine facilities for recreation, boating and bathing. The Council, in accepting the gift, adopted resolutions lauding the philanthropic act and declaring that "this magnificent gift to this community and its posterity fills one of our urgent needs and constitutes a distinct act of splendid civic interest and an important event in the history of our beloved municipality." The resolutions were ordered engrossed and permanently placed on prominent display in the archives of the city.

The tract now known as Livingston park was bought for a graveyard in 1839 and for many years was so used. Mathew King sold it to the city for $1,125. About 1885 it was transformed into a park.

Glenwood park was private property till 1911 when it was bought by the Society for the Prevention and Cure of Tuberculosis as the site for an open air school. Protests bv people of that section led to its purchase by the city and conversion into a park, the following year.

Nelson park was given to the city in 1911 by Anne Eliza, Mary F., Howard B. and Ada Ella W. Nelson, in memory of David Nelson. It lies along Alum creek just north of Broad street and west of Nelson road.

The smaller parks named above and the street parks have been laid out or set aside bv persons making- additions to the city because of their natural beauty.

Experimentation with the telephone began in Columbus in 1879 and was attended with such success and promise that the Columbus Telephone Co. was organized and incorporated, its principal promoters being George H. Twiss, Charles W. Ross, D. W. Caldwell, W. D. Briekell and John Miller. The first experimentation had been from Mr. Twiss' rooms in the Sessions block, High and Long streets, but the business was soon removed to the building at the southeast corner of High and Gay streets. In 1887 the business was sold to the Central Union Telephone Co. and moved half a square south to the Roberts building.

Charles W. Ross and his brother Frank continuing in the local management. The exchange was located there until 1908, when the company's own building at the corner of Third street and Lynn alley was occupied. In 1903, E. A. Reed became division superintendent and, under that and other titles, has since been in charge of the business in Columbus.

The Columbus Citizens Telephone Co. was incorporated December 19, 1898, by E. R. Sharp, Frank A. Davis, W. A. Hardesty, Henry A. Lanman, J. B. Hanna and others representing the Everett-Moore syndicate of Cleveland. On December 23, nine directors were elected, the Columbus representatives being H. A. Lanman, J. B. Hanna and E. R. Sharp. The first officers were: H. A. Lanman president, H. A. Everett vice president, and E. R. Sharp secretary and treasurer. Operation was begun in 1900 in rented rooms at the southwest corner of Long and Third streets. In 1901' the Everett-Moore syndicate sold its interests and with the addition of local capital represented by John Joyce, Frank A. Davis, Frank L. Beam and Lorenzo D. Hagerty, the company set out to erect its own building on Third street and to install the automatic system. At that time John Joyce became vice president and Frank A. Davis became a member of the executive committee. The building was erected and the new system installed in the early part of 1905. About the same time the Franklin County Telephone Co. was organized as a subsidiary and established a system of local toll lines covering Franklin county and extending into Fairfield county. On July 23, 1914, the Ohio State Telephone Co., resulting from a combination of 15 independent companies in different parts of the State, acquired the property of the Columbus Citizens Telephone Co., including a 50-year lease of the property of the Franklin County Telephone Co. Frank A. Davis is chairman of the board of directors, C. Y. McVey president, F. R. Huntington and F. L. Beam vice presidents, YV. L. Cary vice president and secretary, H. B. Taylor treasurer. The company has 25 exchanges in the county, with 23,680 subscribers. It operates 863 miles of pole line and 125 miles of underground cable, with a total of 51,496 miles of wire.

The original franchise of this company required that it pay a percentage of its receipts into the city treasury, but there was an effort to escape that obligation, and the question of the power of the city to enforce it is now in the United States Supreme Court.

The first burying-ground for the settlers in P'ranklinton was on the west bank of the Scioto near the mouth of the Olentangy. Long since abandoned, the little tract, now hemmed in by railroad tracks, is retained by the city and now constitutes a part of its system of parks. The remains of some of the dead were removed to Green Lawn and other burial sites, but in the case of others there were no living relatives to render that kindly service.

At the founding of Columbus a tract of land at and near the site of the present North Market House, then far out in the country, was donated by two of the land proprietors, James Johnston and John Kerr. Formal transfer, however, did not occur until 1821. Eight and a half acres adjoining was' added in 1830, a gift by Colonel Wm. Doherty, and an additional strip, in which he reserved five grave lots for himself, was given by John Brickell. Robert W. McCoy, the first regularly appointed superintendent, under direction of the Council in 1831 built a fence around the tract and a road leading to it. Under this municipal ownership $5 was charged for a lot, and there was a reservation for free burials. This, which came to be known as the North Grave Yard, was used until the establishment of Green Lawn. Then the remains were removed, some by surviving relatives and some by the city. Part of the tract was given over to railroad purposes ; part went into the hands of Green Lawn Association by an exchange of lots, and the market house was built on a part. A son of John Kerr sought to establish his reversionary rights in the Kerr gift of land, then valued at $24,000, and finally sold them outright to J. M. Westwater for #3,000.

In 1841 Council bought a tract of ll^j acres on the north side of Livingston avenue for cemetery purposes, but subsequently found it unsuited to the purpose. The tract was known as the East Grave Yard, but was not much used. It is now Livingston park.

In 1848 it became evident that better cemetery accommodations must be provided, and a Cemetery Association was organized and incorporated, witli the following trustees: ffm. B. Hubbard president, Joseph Sullivant, Aaron F. Perry, Thomas Sparrow, A. P. Stone, Wm. B. Thrall, John W. Andrews and A. E. Glenn. The trustees invited offers of tracts and selected one of 40 acres, which they bought from Judge Gershom M. Peters at $40 an acre. This and 44 acres besides, bought from William Miner, all on the Harrisburg pike, became the nucleus of the beautiful acreage now known as Green Lawn. There was a real community interest in the project, people volunteered their services in clearing the ground, and others served dinner to the workers under the trees. On July 11, 1 8 19, the cemetery was formally dedicated as Green Lawn. There was a presentation address by Wm. B. Hubbard, a dedicatory address by Dr. James Hoge ; the reading of an ode by Benjamin T. Cushing, prayer by Rev. H. L. Hitchcock, and chorus and congregational singing. Many improvements have since been made by the association and in the years that have ensued there has been constructed on the original and subsequently acquired tracts, a veritable city of the dead.

The first Catholic burying-ground was a three and a quarter acre tract at the corner of Mt. Vernon and Washington avenues. It was bought early in the 1840's from Samuel Brush by Peter Urv, who in 1818 deeded it to Bishop Pureell of Cincinnati for $600, the amount he had paid for it. Like the other early cemeteries, this, too, was in time surrounded by the growing city and it was abandoned for burial. In I860 the first tract for Calvary Cemetery was acquired, additions were made in 1866 and 1869, and the burying-ground was in 1874 formally consecrated with elaborate ceremonies in which Bishop Rosecrans was the leading figure. As in the case of Green Lawn, many improvements have since been made. Some years ago, as the available area of Calvary grew less, a tract of ground on South High street bevond the city limits was bought and opened as St. Joseph's Cemetery.

In 1906 Columbus took over the work of collecting and disposing of its refuse as a municipal enterprise. For a time, wagons bought from the men who had done the work under contract were used, and the garbage was buried on the English (now city) farm. In the meantime, a reduction plant on the Scioto adjoining the sewage disposal plant and buildings for the collection division at Short street and the Hocking Valley railroad were being constructed. These were completed in 1910 and put in operation. Rubbish and ashes collection was begun by the city in May, 1911, with an attempt to salvage things of value. The cost of this municipal equipment was reported in 1916 to be more than $150,000 but the net profits from the sale of grease and dry material recovered had in six years almost covered the cost of the plant, the average net profit for the six years, 1911 and 1916 inelusive, being reported slightly more than $24,000 a year.

As narrated elsewhere, a public market was one of the first utilities provided. There was but one until the removal of the old North Graveyard provided a place in the 1880's for the North Market. A few years later the East Market at Mt. Vernon avenue and Nineteenth street was established and later the West Market, west of the river. These market properties are appraised at $250,000. Stalls and stands are rented by the city and business conducted under the supervision of a Market Master. The houses are heated, lighted and kept in a sanitary condition by the city, and a profit of approximately $15,000 over operating expenses is annually reported. It is estimated that more than $12,000,000 worth of meats and foodstuffs were sold at the four markets in 1918.

A street cleaning department is also maintained at an average cost of $127,000 a year, provided for in the first instance by an issue of bonds and then assessed against the abutting; property. A recent annual report shows that 6,200 miles of street was so cleaned. Stables and shops arc maintained on Short street.

Chapter Xvii

The Scioto the First Avenue of Travel - Road-Budding an Early Interest - Mail and Stage Coach - Coming of the Canal - Buckeye Lake - Early Taverns and Tavern-Keepers - Coffee Houses and Political Party Headquarters - Modern Hotels and Apartment Houses.

For many years after the first settlement, the Scioto river was the chief avenue for incoming merchandise and outgoing produce. New Orleans was the great mart for this region because of the comparative ease of reaching it by river. Early settlers who became dissatisfied went west by floating down the river to the Ohio and thence west, either to the Wabash or the Mississippi, on which they traveled to their destination. Boats and "broadhorns" for produce were moored at the foot of Broad street in the river, which was deep and the water unpolluted. Lyne Starling was the first to build barges, load them with produce and float them from Eranklinton to New Orleans. That was in 1810-11. These barges went with the current ; they had an oar on either side for escape from dangerous places and one at the rear for steering, but there seems to have been no thought of using them for motive power. In 1809 the General Assembly declared the Scioto navigable as far north as the Indian boundary line and prohibited obstruction of the stream by mill dams, except under regulation. The river was crossed between Eranklinton and Columbus, either at a ford near Main street or by ferry. James Cutler maintained a canoe ferry for a time, and Jacob Armitage another. In 1815 by authority of law Lucas Sullivant built the first bridge across the river at Broad street. It was a toll bridge and continued to serve as such till 1832, when, falling to Joseph Sullivant as a part of his share of his father's estate, it was bought for $10,000, citizens contributing $8,000 and the county $2,000, with the understanding that it would be replaced by the federal government with a free bridge as a part of the National Road. In the early channel of the river there were three islands - a strip of land extending from Broad street south; another just above the mouth of the Olentangy and a third near the present Penitentiary, variously called Brickell's island, Willow island and Bloody island. The last name was given to it after a bloodle is duel had been fought there by two fellows who wanted to dance with the same girl. The girl had accepted one and told the other to settle it with the favored swain later. The taunting remark led to a challenge, and the parties with seconds repaired to the island where thsy exchanged shots with guns the seconds had carefully unloaded. Then, unhurt and with "honor" satisfied, they went home.

Supplementing the river as a means of trade and transportation were the few crude roads that the countv had opened prior to the laying out of Columbus. There were four of these - from Franklinton to Lancaster, from Franklinton to Newark, from Eranklinton to Springfield and from Eranklinton to Worthington - none of them much more than a trail. The General Assembly saw the need. In 1814 it authorized the State Director to apply a portion of the taxes to improvement of the road from Columbus to Granville, and in the following year, out of a federal grant of $16,000, appropriated $1,000 toward the improvement of the roads in Franklin county leading to Newark, Springfield and London. The great work, however, was left to individual enterprise. In 181(5, the Franklin Turnpike Road Co. was incorporated to build a road from Columbus to Newark. It was the first of an almost innumerable throng, its incorporators being Lucas Sullivant, James Johnston, John Kerr, Lemuel Rose, Timothy Spelman, David Moore, John J. Brice, William Taylor, Zachariah Davis, Wm. W. Gault, Stephen McDousal, Lyne Starling, Joseph Vance and Joseph Miller, This, like all the other companies, was authorized to establish tailgates and traffic on its investment. Sometimes there was financial success and sometimes there was failure. Always there was complaint of the roads and a restiveness under the toll payment.

In 1823 the Granville road crossed the Scioto from Franklinton by ford at Gay and Spring and passed over Alum and Bi»- Walnut creeks by toll bridges erected by David Pugli. The road up the Olentangy to Worthington had be-n extended to Delaware. The Lancaster road passed through the cornfields and meadows so'ith of Franklinton and crossed the river at the old ford south.

The Columbus and Sandusky turnpike was one of the greatest ventures of the time. It was built by a joint stock company incorporated January 31, 1826. The incorporators were John Kilbourne, Abram I. McDowell, Henry Brown, Wm. Neil, Orange Johnson, Orris Parrish and Robert Brotherton, of Franklin county, and 19 others who lived along the route. The capital stock was $100,000, with authority to increase it to $'200,000. Congress appropriated to Ohio half of a strip of land from one end to the other, reserving alternate sections to the United States and providing that no toll should ever be charged the mail stages, troops or property of the government. The amount of land thus conveyed to the State in trust was 31,840 acres. The estimated cost of the road was $81,640. In 1827 the company organized and elected nine directors. James Robinson was the first president and Orange Johnson was one of two commissioners to locate the road. In 1828 Joseph Ridgway became president. Bela Latham secretary and Orange Johnson superintendent. Mr. Johnson remained the principal agent from first to last. The road was completed (106 miles) in the autumn of 1834 at a cost of $74,376. The road proved unsatisfactory and in 1843 the General Assembly repealed the company's charter and forbade further collection of tolls. The company asked the State for relief but never got it. The road was repaired by the State and declared a public highway in 1845.

In the meantime and later, roads were constructed in all directions by incorporated companies at a cost of from $700 to $2,000 a mile, plank and corduroy roads being tried in an effort to get something that would serve better than the gravel. The crv for good roads rang through the years. It was not enough to have roads; they must be good enough for comfortable travel all the year. The effort to meet the demand engaged the efforts of the best citizens. Among these were John Noble, Christian Heyl, Jeremiah Armstrong, Robert E. Neil, R. W. McCoy, Michael Sullivant, Jacob Grubb, Adam Brotherlin, Nathaniel Merion, Winsor Atchison, Wm. Trevitt, Wm. A. Piatt, John M. Pugh, D. W. Deshler, Adin G. Hibbs, and Levi Strader. There were others, but these names are enough to show that the most progressive men of the capital city were engaged in an effort to make it an easier place to reach, as well as a better place to live.

In the period beginning in 1825, the National Road was projected through Ohio. On October 5, 1825, Jonathan Knight, engaged in locating the road from Zanesville west, reached Columbus. He was accompanied by a corps of engineers, one of whom was Joseph E. Johnston, afterwards a famous Confederate general. The route from Newark to Columbus was a subject of much controversy, but the Hebron route was finally chosen and in July, 1830, proposals were received by the superintendent of the road, in Columbus, for grubbing, clearing and grading the road from Columbus to Big Darby. The location of the road through Columbus was also a matter of much contention, the North and South sides striving for the benefits it was supposed the road would bring. Finally a compromise was reached by which the road was to enter the town from the east by Friend (Main) street, run north on High to Broad where it was to make its exit to the west, crossing the Scioto at the old bridge site.

Travel, Tavern And Hotel 133

The mail and stage coach waited on the roads. Therefore there was haste to have roads and discontent with poor ones, for the desire for communication with the outside world was keen from the ver}r first. As already related, the Franklin county postal service began in 1805 in Franklinton, when Adam Hosaek took the first contract and was first postmaster, Andrew McElvain being the first mail-carrier. Hosaek's successors were: Henry Brown, in 1811; James B. Gardiner in 1813, Jacob Kellar in 1815, Joseph McDowell in 1819, Wm. Lusk in 1820, Wm. Risley in 1831. A few years later the Franklinton office was discontinued.

The first wheeled mail and passenger service through Columbus was provided by Philip Zinn in 1816; he carried mail once a week between Columbus and Chillicothe. This service soon became semi-weekly and in 1819 he began a coach service to Delaware. C. Barney ran a stage to Mt. Vernon in 1822, and C. W. Marsh maintained a line to Lower Sandusky in 1821. In 1823 Wm. Neil and Jarvis Pike bought out Philip Zinn and began a stage line service between Columbus and Chillicothe, Springfield, Cincinnati and Zanesville. In 1826 Wm. Neil and A. I. McDowell announced that their line of stages would run from Cincinnati via Dayton and Columbus to Lower Sandusky in four days. Two years later Wm. Neil, Robert Neil and Jarvis Pike were associated in the mail coach business, and in 1829 the Ohio Stage Co. made its appearance, carrying the President's message from Washington to Columbus in 34 hours and 45 minutes. In 1831 over 70 coaches arrived in Columbus every week, all with passengers and generally filled. In 1831 Robert Neil sold his interest in the stage business to Wm. Neil, and in 1831 the firm became Neil, Moore & Co. (Henry Moore of Wheeling.) In 1836 an opposition line sprang up and at times rival coaches came into town racing to their destination. Passengers often joined in the sport and made up purses for the driver who should win. George W. Manypenny was agent of the opposition line, the office of which was at Russell's Globe Inn, while the office of Neil, Moore & Co. was at the National Hotel. In 1839 the last named established a line of stages between Columbus and Cleveland, adding to the driver of each coach a guard to look after the baggage and passengers and to see that the horses were changed promptly at the relay stations. This precaution was due to the fact that robbery of the mail stages had begun. The lines of this company at one time had an aggregate length of 1,500 miles and extended not only to all the principal points in Ohio, but also into the neighboring states of Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana and Michigan ; and the repair shops in Columbus gave constant employment to about 20 workmen. It was a great business transacted over bad roads, in all kinds of weather and amid the perils of robbery and flood. When the Ohio Stage Co. sold out its business in 1853, after the advent of the railways, it had 50 coaches and a large number of horses. Much of its equipment was bought and transferred to Iowa for service there.

In 1819 D. Tallmadge established a daily line of stages between Columbus and Pomeroy by way of Lancaster, Logan and Athens. In 1850 W. B. and J. A. Hawkes engaged in the stage business in central Ohio, with mail contracts to numerous points out of Columbus, and ran its principal line to Portsmouth.

The greatest mail robbery durina; the stage coach service was in 1850 when one Gen. Otho Hinton, an agent of the Ohio Stage Co., was arrested in Cleveland charged with the theft of $17,000. He was arraigned in Columbus and released on $10,000 bond, which he forfeited, going, it was believed, to the Pacific coast.

While roads were still being projected and built by private corporations under authority of the General Assembly, the project for a series of canals was agitated. Governor Thomas Worthington recognized the virtue of internal waterways, but to Ethen Allen Brown, of Cincinnati, who began the agitation in 1816 and promoted the improvement with vigor after he became Governor in 1818, the greatest credit is universally given as "Father of the Ohio Canals." After much discussion in the General Assembly which in the earlier stages ended in disagreement as to methods and locations, the General Assembly, February 1, 1825, passed an act providing for the construction of the Ohio canal from Cleveland to Portsmouth, via Licking Summit, and of the Little Miami canal from Dayton to Cincinnati. This was a compromise - the adoption of parts of three available routes, but of none in its entirety. The same act created a board of canal commissioners of seven and a board of canal fund commissioners of three. The canal commissioners were Benjamin Tappan, Alfred Kelley, Thomas Worthington, Micajah T. Williams, John Johnson, Isaac Minor and Nathaniel

Beasley. The canal fund commissioners, who were to negotiate loans, make expenditures and keep accounts, were Ethan Allen Brown, Ebeneezer Buckingham and Allen Trimble.

The beginning of the work was celebrated July I, 1825, at Licking Summit. Governor DeWitt C. Clinton, of New York, three of his staff and two New York capitalists who had loaned money for the enterprise were present by invitation. A great crowd was present and Governor Clinton, of New York, and Governor Morrow, of Ohio, threw the first shovelfuls of earth. The Clinton party went to Lancaster under escort, for the night, and came to Columbus on the 6th, being formally received on the 7th, with a civil and military escort consisting of General Warner and staff, Colonel P. H. Olmsted's squadron of Franklin Dragoons, Captain Hazel's company of light infantry, Captain Andrew McElvain's Rifle Corps and Captain O'Harra's Artillery. There was speaking in the densely packed State House and then a public dinner at the Robinson Tavern, sign of the Golden Bull.

On April 30, 1827, work was begun on the lateral branch of the Ohio canal connecting Columbus with the main channel at Lockbourne. There was a civic and military procession from the State House to a designated spot on the east bank of the Scioto, where Joseph R. Swan delivered an address and General Jeremiah McLene, then Secretary of State, and Nathaniel McLean, then keeper of the Penitentiary, excavated the first earth which was wheeled away by Ralph Osborn and Henry Brown, amid shouts of the gathered people. The procession then reformed and moved to the brow of the hill where refreshments were served and toasts drank to Ohio, the canal, the canal commission and the citizens of Columbus.

The contractors for the dam across the Scioto and the Columbus locks were William and Andrew McElvain and Benjamin and Peter Sells. The first mile of excavation was done by 45 prisoners in the Penitentiary, their punishment being commuted to work on the branch canal. In 1829 Nathaniel Medbury and John Field took charge of the work on the branch and pushed it rapidly to completion. Water was turned into it for the first time, September 13, 1831, and on the 23rd of the same month, the firing of cannon announced the arrival of the first canal boat, the "Governor Brown," with a party of citizens from Circleville. The boat was visited by a party of Columbus citizens and greetings were exchanged in the well appointed craft, painted white, with green shutters and scarlet curtains. There was a cabin in the center and a stateroom at either end for women.

The first collector of canal tolls here was Joseph Ridgway, jr., with an office in the Ridgway wareliou.se at the foot of West Broad street, to which all boats ascended to discharge or receive freight. Others during the next 30 years were M. S. Hunter, David S. Doherty, Charles B. Flood, Samuel McElvain and Benjamin Tresenrider.

The canals served a most important purpose in establishing communication between different parts of the State, opening up trade and making travel more comfortable. They helped to build up communities and to develop the resources of the State. The growth of Columbus from 1,500 in 1827 to 25,000 in 1857 may in part be attributed to the canals, and so with every other community that was touched. As there was an increase in population. so also there was an increase in wealth - more rapid in the canal counties than the others. The railways quickly eclipsed the canals as common carriers, but tile presence of the canals long kept the railway charges in check.

The canals are no more, but the people of Columbus and central Ohio have a pleasant reminder of them in the preservation of the Licking Summit Reservoir under the name of Buckeye Lake, now a body of water of irregular shape, measuring about six miles from tip to tip and an average widtli of three-quarters of a mile. The lake has been dedicated as a public park by the General Assembly and for years has been a popular resort. Many Columbus people have leased ground from the State and built cottages along its border. The lake is reached by interurban electric and steam roads.

As in Franklinton, so in Columbus, tavern-keeping was an early occupation. In 1813, Volncy Payne opened a tavern in a two-story brick building on the west side of High street. the second lot south of State. It was called "The Lion and the Eagle" till Robert Russell bought it in 18 18 and named it "The Globe." Russell, either personally or by proxy, conducted the tavern till 18 17, when the building was devoted to mercantile purposes and subsequently replaced by the Johnson building.

Travel, Tavern And Hotel

David S. Broderick opened what was ealled "The Columbus Inn" in 1815 in a frame building; at the southeast corner of High and Town streets. It was later known as "The City House" and as Robinson's tavern and at different times had as landlord James B. Gardiner, (the facetious "Cokeley"), James Robinson, Samuel Barr, and Col. P. H. Olmsted. The first sessions of the borough Council were held in this tavern, hence probably its earlier names. Hotel-keeping- ceased there about 1850. In 1854 the building was torn down and I). W. Deshler erected a business block on the site.

"The White Horse Tavern" was early established in a story-and-a-half frame on the east side of High street between Town and Rich, by Isaiah Voris. In 1829 David Brooks became its landlord and made it a popular stopping place for a dozen years, under the name of "The Eagle Hotel."

"The Swan Tavern," which was a development of a bakery conducted by Christian Hevl, was located on the east side of High street between Rich and .Main. Later it was known as "The Franklin House." Colonel Andrew McElvain bought the hotel from Mr. Heyl in 18-41, selling in the following year to J. W. Dryden. For years after its abandonment as a hotel the building housed small and temporary business.

"The Red Lion Hotel" of Jeremiah Armstrong stood on the west side of High street between Rich and Town, nearly opposite the "White Horse." It dates back to 1822 and continued to serve till 1850, when the front part of the building was made over into shops.

In 1816 James B. Gardiner opened the "Ohio Tavern" on Main (then Friend), just west of High street. Jarvis Pike succeeded him in 1818, when he went to the "Columbus Inn." Then came James Lindsey who called it "The Swan" and later "The Sheaf of Wheat." In 1822 Jarvis Pike opened "Pike's Tavern" on West Broad street. Others of the period were "McCollum's Tavern" (Black Bear) northwest corner of Front and Broad; "Tavern of the Golden Lamb" by Henry Brown (1825) High street opposite the state buildings; "The Golden Plough," west side of High street near Rich, by John D. Rose, later by General

Besides these taverns, there were numerous so-called coffeehouses, where coffee was the least of the beverages drank and where men gathered to gossip and often to gamble. The most famous of these was "The Eagle," which was originally, in 1826, designated as a bakehouse and grocery, a few rods north of State on the west side of High. Under John Young, who conducted it until 1839, this resort acquired a wide fame. Its subsequent proprietors were Basil A. Riddle, Culbertson & Vinal, who called it "The Commercial," and Samuel West, whose specialty was billiards. The building was torn down in 1876. Another coffeehouse, favored by Democrats, as "The Eagle" was by Whigs, was "The Tontine," which was situated on the south side of State street just west of High. Its principal proprietors were Samuel Pike, jr., and Francis Hall. At each of these places, party caucuses were held, political plans were laid and slates were made up. Drinking was the rule in those days and politics the business in which everybody engaged. According to the best testimony, few. indeed, were the men who were not to be found at some time at these convivial resorts. The first saloon, so-called, is said to have been opened by one Krauss, about 1832, on the west side of High street, three or four doors north of Main. But there were real temperance resorts, too, the Washington Temperance House having been opened in 1845 by Mr. Alsten and a temperance restaurant in 1816 by W. Tolliver.

The present Neil House traces its lineage back to 1832 when Colonel John Noble opened in a building on that site the first place of public entertainment called a hotel. The lot and building were the property of William Neil and had previously been used for tavern purposes. Colonel Noble named it the National Hotel and announced that the stages of the Ohio Stage Co., whose office was attached, would stop there. The building was a two-story brick, and the office of the stage company adjoining was of one story. The announcement was that the hotel "will be furnished and attended to in a style equal to the highest expectations." And so, indeed, it was done and the foundation for the later popularity of the hotel well laid. In 1839, the construction of the original Neil House was begun by William Neil and completed at a cost of .$100,000, a great enterprise at that day. Colonel P. H. Olmsted at the same time succeeded Colonel Noble as proprietor. On the night of November 6, 1860, (election day), this original building was destroyed by fire. Mr. Neil at once proceeded to rebuild and in September, 1862, the new Neil House, 150 rooms, was opened with Walstein Failing in charge. Among the later managers of the Neil have been Erank McKinney, Samuel Pentland, W. S. Sater, and Ben H. Harmon. The last named has served since 1905.

The American House building at the northwest corner of High and State streets, was erected by Robert W. McCoy in 1836. The site had been that of his dry goods store. The first proprietors of the American House, opened in November, 1836, were C. F. Dresbach and William Kelsey ; then Pike & Kelsey, the latter continuing in the management till 1870, when he was succeeded by Colonel A. J. Blount, who conducted it until 1879. After that the American House had a precarious existence, the front part of the building was made over into store rooms, the office retiring to ths State street side.

The site of the Chamber of Commerce building on East Broad street was long occupied by a public house, sometimes known as the Buckeye House and at other times as the Broadway Hotel. It was owned in 1810 by Colonel John Noble, and among its managers were Ira Grover and H. Hurd. As a hotel it was inconspicuous, and was variously occupied until the site was bought for its present use.

At the northwest corner of Town and Higli streets, the United States Hotel flourished for a number of years beginning in 1846, when Colonel P. H. Olmsted was proprietor. The building continued to be used for hotel purposes under varied management until about 1880.

The Virginia Hotel at the southeast corner of Gay and Third streets was built about 1903 by the Hartman interests on the site that had for some years been occupied by the Eirst Christian church. Subsequently it passed into the hands of F. W. Schumacher. The Hotel Virginia Co., W. E. Biefeld president and A. C. Lloyd secretary and manager, now operates it.

The northwest corner of High and Spring streets has been the site of a hotel since 1889 when a five-story business block was transformed by its owner, Henry T. Chittenden, into a hotel. The change, with the equipment, cost about .$320,000. Minn the hotel had been operated about a year, it was destroyed by fire. The loss of that hotel and the burning of the Metropolitan Opera block a little later created a demand for both a hotel and an auditorium and theater. Mr. Chittenden decided to meet the demand, erected a new hotel on the site of the old, a theater called the Henrietta directly in the rear and an auditorium in the rear of that. Both hotel and theater were opened in 1892, while the work on the auditorium was delayed by litigation. On November 21, 1893, all three structures were destroyed by fire, with a loss approximating $1,000,000. Harvey Thompson, care-taker in the employ of Mr. Chittenden, lost his life. The hotel was rebuilt on a more elaborate scale and was opened to the public March 16, 1895, under the ownership and management of a company, A. P. Rusk secretary and treasurer. The manager of the original Chittenden was Joseph Shoup, who was succeeded by John Y. Bassell ; then came A. P. Rusk, W. S. Sater and Nicholas A. Court, the present manager, who has served since 1900.

The Great Southern Hotel and Opera House at the southeast corner of High and Main streets was erected in 1894-96 by a company of which N. Schlee was president, Allen W. Thurman vice president, F. J. Reinhard treasurer and J. P. Bliss secretary. The other members of the board were Emil Kiesewetter, George J. Hoster and Ralph Lazarus. H. E. Kennedy was in charge of the construction. The cost of the two structures was approximately $1,500,000. The hotel has been operated by various firms and individuals, among them being William Foor and H. E. Kinney, Halloran & McNamee, Wm. H. Mosely & Co. The hotel building and opera house are now owned by the Rose Realty Co., and the hotel is operated by the New Southern Hotel Co., Simon Lazarus president, John A. O'Dwyer vice president, Frank A. Davis, jr., secretary, Fred Lazarus treasurer, Walter A. McDonald, manager.

The Deshler Hotel, a 12-story building of the Pompeiian style of architecture, at the northwest corner of High and Broad streets, was built in 1915-16 by the Deshler estate. It stands in part on the lot bought by David W. Deshler when he came to Columbus in 1815. the remainder of the site having for years before been occupied by the old Deshler block on High street. The building was the realization of a purpose long entertained by William G. Deshler, the youngest of his sons, and John G. Deshler, a grandson. The work of construction covered 500 days, and the hotel was opened August 23, 1916, under lease to L. C. and A. L. Wallick. There was a week of festivities at the opening in which a New York party of 100 participated. A dinner and ball with music and dancing by professionals brought here for the purrjose, were followed by entertainments of various sorts. At one of the gatherings John G. Deshler and the Messrs. Wallick made brief addresses, formally opening the hotel to the public.

The Hartman Hotel was opened in the fall of 1902 at the corner of Fourth and Main streets, in a five-storv building erected by Dr. Samuel B. Hartman for another purpose, but subsequently- remodeled for hotel purposes. Its managers have been John G. Dun, B. F. Welty, J. A. Hadley, R. E. Pellow and W. E. Kinney, now serving. The hotel is operated bv the Hartman Hotel Co., Earl S. Davis president, John Spitnagle vice president and Samuel Matthews secretary and treasurer.

The Columbus Hotel, Long and Fifth streets, was built in 1911-12 by the Central Ohio Land Co. The officers and directors are: Daniel J. Ryan president, L. B. Tussing vice president, J. Edgar Butler secretarv, J. H. Butler manager and treasurer, A. C. Armstrong and A O. Gloek. It was opened August 20, 1912.

The southeast corner of High and Naghten has been a hotel site for 50 years. There the National Hotel flourished in a three-story building in Civil War times and later. The six-story Davidson Hotel is now there. The Exchange Hotel, owned by William Powell, did business for years on a site about midway of the High street viaduct. The building disappeared when the viaduct was erected. The northwest corner of Goodale and High streets was the site of the Park Hotel which in 1905 became the Northern Hotel and in 1911 the Rai'way Y. M. C. A.

Among the familv hotels are the Seneca, built in 1916-17, nine stories, southeast corner of Broad street and Grant avenue, by the Broadway Co., Cyrus Huling president and Frank Hulina: vice president and manager; the Lincoln, Broad street and Jefferson avenue, built bv H. H. Barbour in 1900; the Normandie, Long and Sixth streets, built by Wm. Monypenv in 1898.

Chapter Xviii Federal And Other Institutions

The Postoffices from 1805 to 1920 - Postmasters and Postoffice Sites - Automobile Service in the City and Betxceen Cities - Origin and Development of the U. S. Barracks - Federal Storage Depot - County Infirmary - Court House and Penal Institutions - City and School Libraries - Memorial Hall - Children's Home.

The history of the postoffice in Columbus dates from 1805 when Adam Hosack, of Franklinton took the first mail contract and became the first postmaster. The first mail carrier was Andrew McElvain, who was employed by Hosack to carry weekly mail from Franklinton to Markley's Mill on Darby creek, thence to Chillicothe. thence to Thompson's on Deer creek, and thence to Franklinton. The trip consumed three days. Telling of the service in after years, Mr. McElvain said that he was 13 years old at the time and twice had to swim Darby and Deer creeks with the small mailbag on his shoulders. Between Franklinton and Darby there was one house, and one between Chillicothe and Deer creek. There was then no regular carrier between Franklinton and Worthington but a clerk in one of the stores - Mr. Matthews, he thinks - carried the small mail to and fro. The Franklinton postoffice was maintained till about 1835, and the other postmasters were: 1811, Henry Brown; 1812, Joseph Grate; 1813, James B. Gardiner; 1815, Jacob Kellar; 1819, Joseph McDowell; 1820, Win. I.usk; 1831, W. Risley.

The postoffice in Columbus was established in 1813 through the instrumentality of James Kilbourne, founder of Worthington, then a member of Congress. In recommending the establishment of the postoffice here, Mr. Kilbourne nominated Matthew Matthews as a suitable person for postmaster. Mr. Matthews, who was a clerk in the branch store of the Worthington Manufacturing Co., was appointed and, without opening an office, distributed from his desk the mail that was brought from Franklinton and Worthington. He resigned in 1814 and was succeeded by his employer, Joel Buttles, who retained the office until 1829 when, under Jackson, he was displaced for partisan reasons.

When General Jackson's inaugural address was sent out (March i, 1829) it was by express mail, which had horses stationed at every ten miles from Washington to St. Louis. The mail was carried in a valise similar to those now carried by commercial travelers. This valise was swung over the postboy's shoulder, and he was required to make his ten miles on horseback in one hour without fail. At each station he found a horse saddled and bridled ready for a start, and it took but a moment to dismount and remount, and he was off. The rider was furnished a tin horn with which he used to announce his coming. His arrival here was about 10 a. m. and it was amusing to see the people running to the postoffice when the post rider galloped through the streets blowing his burn. The few letters carried by this express bore double postage.

Prepayment of postage was not required, and the recipient of a letter, prior to 1816, paid in proportion to the distance, eight cents for -10 miles or less up to 25 cents for 500 miles or over. In 1816, an additional charge was made for each additional piece of paper and four rates for each letter weighing more than an ounce. After 1815 weight and distance combined fixed the charge, which was often more than was charged by private individuals. An announcement by Postmaster Hosack in 1812 indicates that the recipients of mail were trusted by the postmaster and the arrearages became so great that he threatened to withhold mail till the sum due was paid.

The mail coach era began in 1816, when Philip Zinn, aided by his sons, Daniel, Henry and Adam, extended his service which had begun in Pennsylvania to include Columbus and took a contract to carry the mail once a week between Columbus and Chillicothe. Then, as roads were constructed other stage coaches were put on and the service extended and made more frequent. In 1822 there were three mails a week to and from the cast; two mails a week to and from the south and north and one a week from the west. William and Robert Neil, Jarvis Pike and A. I. McDowell were among the early promoters of these

Federal And Other Institutions

Bela Latham succeeded Joel Buttles as postmaster in 1829 and continued in the office till 1811 when he was succeeded by John G. Miller. The credit system at the postoffice obtained during Mr. Latham's service and we find him in 1810 giving notice that "letters will be delivered to no one who has not a book account, without the postage being paid at the time of their receipt." Frequent losses, he adds, compel him to pursue this course, but "book account may be opened by making a deposit, the account to be balanced each month."

Mr. Miller served as postmaster till 1815, when he was succeeded by Jacob Medary, who announced that, in accordance with an act of Congress, from and after January 1, 18-17, all sums due for postage must be paid in gold, silver or Treasury notes. Stamps were authorized by Congress March 3, 1817, and Postmaster Medary received instructions that stamps should be sold only for cash, and so announced to the community. It cost live cents for a letter of half an ounce a distance of 300 miles, and 10 cents for a greater distance, an additional rate for every additional half ounce or fraction. Newspapers were carried free for a distance of 30 miles ; private competition was suppressed by prohibiting transmission of mail by express unless the postage was first paid. In 1851 postage for a letter of half an ounce was made three cents for a distance of .3,000 miles; for more than 3,000 miles, six cents. It was not until 1855 that prepayment of postage was required.

The first site of the postoffice, so far as records go, was on East State street, at the southwest corner of Pearl. In the latter part of 1861 the postoffice was moved to the rear part of the Odeon building, High street, opposite the State House. There it remained till November 7, 1874, when it was moved to the northwest corner of the ground floor of the City Hall, the room being furnished at a cost of .$1,000, subscribed by citizens. The Council fixed an annual rental of $500. In the spring of 1879 a mail room was fitted up in the Union Station and used for assortment and transfer.

As early as 1858 there was a movement in Columbus for the erection by the Federal Government of a building to house the postoffice, judicial and other business of the government. A petition for such a building, signed by 800 citizens, was presented in Congress by

S. S. Cox, then representing the capital district. He pointed out that during the 36 years from 1820 to 1856, a United States Court was maintained in Columbus and that publicspirited citizens had provided a building rent-free. He thought it was time the Federal Government did something in return, but Congress did not agree with him. He made another unsuccessful effort for a federal building in 1860; and it was not till 1880 that Congressman George L. Converse secured the passage of an act for the construction here at a cost of not more than $250,000 of a building to house the federal courts, the postoffice, the internal revenue and pension offices, etc. The site at the southeast corner of State and Third streets was purchased for $46,000 and the cornerstone was laid October 21, 1881. During the period of construction the postoffice occupied temporary quarters on Third street opposite the Capitol, and was moved into the new building October 1, 1887. By 1907 the business had so outgrown the building that Congress enlarged the building, erecting a structure that covers the entire Third street frontage of the site. At the southwest corner of Chestnut and Third streets, David C. Beggs erected a one-story building which the government rented during the four years and more of construction. The remodeled building was occupied by the postoffice. courts and other federal departments in February, 1912. It seemed all sufficient then, but it is crowded now, the business of the postoffice having grown at an enormous rate in the last 10 years. For the year ending June 30, 1888, the receipts were .$140,309. 42 ; for 1898 they were $312,328.59; for 1908, $691,144.23; for 1918, $1,570,907.61.

In the spring of 1918 Postmaster Kinnear put on a motor service for parcel post as far as Hillsboro, and later a similar service as far as Zanesville, with the prospect that it would be extended and that other routes for motor carriage would soon be established. Up to that time, too, the automobiles for delivery and collection in the city had been contracted for. but as a measure of economy and in recognition of the growing service, the Postoffice Department in 1918 decided to install its own automobile service and authorized Postmaster Kinnear to contract for a garage with a capacity for the care and repair of 2.5 automobiles. A garage was built at the corner of Lazelle and Capital, and the government occupied it in October. About 40 men are employed in this service, making the total of postoffice employes 360. It is interesting to contrast the volume of this service with that of of 100 years before when the postoffice consisted of a desk in a manufacturing establishment.

During the Civil War the Federal Government established in Columbus a cartridge manufactory. It was located on West Gay street, and there was a branch on the West Side. It is said to have turned out 100,000 cartridges a day. By this success, the war department seems to have been favorably impressed with the location of Columbus, and in 1863 a bill was introduced in Congress to establish here a National Armory and Arsenal. Columbus promptly sent a delegation to Washington to promote the enterprise. The delegation consisted of William B. Hubbard, Samuel Galloway, William G. Deshler, William Dennison. Walstein Failing, John S. Hall, J. H. Geiger and Peter Ambos, representing the citizens, and A. B. Buttles, Horace Wilson, Luther Donaldson and C. P. L. Butler, representing the City Council. Finding the bill in a comatose condition, the Columbus delegation secured the introduction of another providing for the location of several arsenals, one of them at Columbus. This bill passed and General C. P. Buckingham was designated to select the sites and on October 9, invited proposals of ground for the arsenal at Columbus. The result was the purchase for $112,377 of 78 acres belonging to Robert Neil. The building which was subsequently erected was originally intended solely for the deposit and repair of arms and other munitions of war. Buckingham street in front of the tract was named for the officer who selected the site. Early commandants were Captain J. W. Todd and Colonel George B. Wright. For many years the one building the government had erected was known as the arsenal. Then it was made a regimental post and other buildings were constructed, troops being moved here from Newport, Ky. After the war with Spain it was changed from a regimental post into a recruiting station and as such served a useful purpose, largely owing to the exceptional location of the city. A fine hospital, administration building, recruiting station, laundry, gymnasium, company quarters and residences for the officers were erected and the tract transformed into a veritable park. Such it was when the nation entered the World War and every available foot of the tract was used for housing troops, as elsewhere

Federal And Other Institutions 141

In June, 1918, as one of the necessities of war, the Federal Government decided to erect just east of the city a number of great warehouses for the storing of supplies needed for the army. This was to be one of several depots established in the country for the same general purpose. Work was at once begun under the direction of Major T. Frank Quilty, of the Quartermaster's department, the contractors being the Hunkin-Conkey Construction Co. of Cleveland, N. E. Blair superintendent. With a view to haste, more than three thousand men were employed in the construction. The barracks was first erected and then the warehouses, nine in all with a floor space of 50 acres and 10 miles of railroad trackage. The estimated cost was .$1,000,000. By the middle of August the work so far progressed that some supplies such as canned pork and beans and rope had begun to arrive for storage, with other foodstuffs, clothing, medical and ordnance supplies to follow as room was prepared - all destined for shipment overseas as needed by the great army there. On August 17, the 100th day of construction work, there was a flag raising on Building No. 1 with music by the Barracks band. All the buildings were completed in December, and the work of receiving, storing and shipping was maintained by a military force, with the aid of several hundred laborers. The end of the war found the depot still a busy place, for there was need of room to store the supplies that had been bought until they could be disposed of. The enlisted personnel, under Captain F. A. Grimmer, had been discharged by the middle of March, a few being retained for guard and fire protection and several hundred civilians were employed as laborers. In July the perishable food in cans was offered for sale.

Aside from the liberal quota of State institutions which have from time to time been placed in the city, the county has an equal number within the confines of the city, and some of civic outgrowth also in the immediate vicinity.

Only the older citizens know that the first Franklin County Infirmary was originally located northwest of the city, in what was once called Sellsville on the present King avenue, just west of the Olentangv bridge. The foundations were put in, when it was realized a mistake had been made, that the site was too close to the city, and that there was not enough land obtainable for the infirmary farm. The work was stopped and after almost endless wrangling, the infirmary was located southeast of the city, and the first site was sold. For a long time the people of the North Side felt they had been tricked by the change, and the loss of an institution which would enhance the value of their own holdings. But that feeling lias long since died out, and the location has become one of the city's most promising residence sections. Prior to building the present infirmary the county kept its paupers in "the poor-house" - an old stone structure of not more than a dozen rooms, on the Pennsylvania railroad, in Grandview; later in an old building, still standing on Mohawk street. The present Infirmary on the Lockbourne road was built in 1883-8-1, southeast of the city. It is a commodious building, delightfully situated, with 100 acres of farm land which is cultivated in part by the inmates themselves. In 1908 the County Commissioners erected on the grounds adjacent to the Infirmary building two frame structures called shacks for the care of sufferers from tuberculosis and, subsequently, when the need appeared, built near by a brick hospital for their care. The hospital, which is well equipped, was one of the first county hospitals in the State. Both the hospital and the shacks are maintained by county funds free to all who are unable to pay for the service.

The first Court House, as narrated elsewhere, was located in l-'ranklinton on the site of the present Franklinton school building, and there was a jail near by. When the county seat was moved to Columbus in 1824, the Common Pleas Court sat in the building on the State House grounds that had been erected for the United States District Court, the county officers also occupying rooms therein, hater, a building for the county offices was erected on the State House grounds directly west of the Court House. In 1810 a building was erected on the site of the present Court House for the use of the county judges and officers, and was used till 1887 when the present structure was erected at a cost of $100,000 and dedicated, as described in the chapter on the events of that period. The County Jail was constructed at the same time.

The City Prison, at the northwest corner of Town and Scioto streets, was built in 187S-79. Prior to that date, the prison had been in a brick structure on the alley between Town and Rich streets, across from the present Central Market House. The Work House was built in 1891 at Sullivant and McDowell streets, and there misdemeanants were worked on contract until 1912 when the new state constitution abolished all contract prison labor. Since then as many of these prisoners as possible have been used in cultivating a farm acreage owned by the city, in the parks and on other municipal work. The treatment of prisoners has taken on the color of helpfulness, as well as punishment and there is a prospect that even more will be done to return these prisoners to usefulness.

On February 8, 1869, the City Council bought the site for the present City Hall, paying $23,000. Despite the protest of the minority that the amount was exorbitant the deal was consummated. On May 21, 1869, the contract was let to Hall, Fornoff & Co., for the building, at $121,822. R. T. Brooks was the architect. May 27, 1869, ground was broken, with the usual elaborate exercises, a banquet being given in the evening to the members of the Board of Education and the City Council. The first Council meeting was held in the new building March 25, 1872, and the dedication was three days later. Studer in his history described the building as "one of the most beautiful and imposing public edifices that adorn the capital." It long since lost that reputation and for years there has been a desire for something more commodious, convenient and beautiful.

The present Public Library building on Grant avenue at the head of State street was erected in 1903-06, at a cost for site, building and equipment of $310,000, of which $200,000 was given by Andrew Carnegie, the remainder by the city which agreed, in accepting the Carnegie gift, to appropriate not less than $20,000 annually for its maintenance and growth. The building was turned over by the contractors to the city November 11, 1906, and was formally dedicated April 1, 1907. Governor Andrew Harris, Mayor D. C. Badger, Dr. Washington Gladden and others made addresses. That event was the culmi- nation of 35 years of effort to secure such an institution for the city. It was June 15, 1871, that at a meeting of citizens, among whom were John W. Andrews, Joseph Hutcheson, Joseph R. Swan, S. S. Rickly, Charles Breyfogle, James Westwater and Dr. W. E. Ide, petitioned the City Council to establish a public library. Others joined in the movement and a plan for a library under the joint control of the City Council and the School Board was evolved. The formal opening of the library and reading room in the east ground floor room of the City Hall occurred March 1, 187.3. The Columbus AOhenaeum contributed 1,200 books, the High School library 358 and the Horticultural Society 33; Council and School Board were to make annual appropriations for new books and maintenance. Rev. J. L. Grover was the first librarian. The establishment of alcoves followed - one by John G. and Win. G. Deshler; a second by Henry C. Noble, a third by John W. Andrews, a fourth by Mrs. Mary X. Bliss, in memory of her father, Wm. B. Hubbard; a fifth by Wm. D. Brickell and later a music alcove by the Women's Music Club, Mrs. Ella May Smith president. These were all endowed or otherwise guaranteed to make yearly additions of books.