Turtlecreek Township

Turtle Creek Township

1832 - February 12, the greatest flood known in the country; February 22, John Wallace and his fellow-apostates attempt to take and hold possession of the grist-mill; March 25, flax barn set on fire and burned; April 11, west saw-mill set on fire, but the flames were extinguished.

1835 - February 7, mercury sixteen degrees below zero; February 8, eighteen degrees below zero; June 9, greatest flood known in the history of the society; all three mills swept away, clothier's shop carried away, oil-mill much injured, a considerable part of the grist-mill race filled up; damages estimated at from $10,000 to $12,000; September 9, Nathan Sharp leaves the society. [The defection of Nathan Sharp, who was a leading business man and financial agent of the society, caused the Shakers much trouble.]

1839 - During this and the succeeding year, there prevailed a remarkable revival, which was accompanied with communications from the spirit world, which are recorded in the sacred records of the society. There were also wondeful bodily exercises, such as jerking, shaking, bowing, dancing, falling in a trance and singing new songs learned by the visionists in the spirit land. The records describe frequent displays of heavenly lights playing upon the walls of the rooms. The balls of light often had brilliant writing inscribed upon them, which were read by the inspired visionists. The record, under the date of May 22, 1839, contains the words and music of a little song received through a girl under inspiration. w She learnt the song from a company of angels who were singing it, and we soon learned the song from her as she sang it with the angels."

The town of Lebanon was laid out in September, 1802. The original pro^ prietors of the lands on which the town, as originally platted, stood, were Ichabod Corwin, Silas Hurin, Ephraim Hathaway and Samuel Manning. The original plat of the town embraced portions of four sections of land.

At the time the new town was projected, the formation of a State government was under consideration by the people of the Northwest Territory, and the projectors of Lebanon hoped that in the division of the new State into counties their town might become the capital of one of the counties. A number of the land-owners in the neighborhood about the site of Lebanon, it seems, were anxious for the establishment of a town in the Turtle Creek Valley, which had already become well known for the fertility of its soil and the good character of its inhabitants. It is reported that there was a meeting of the citizens of the vicinity for the purpose of selecting a name for the town, and that the . one agreed upon, and which was given it, was not satisfactory to Francis Dunlevy. It is also a tradition that the land to the east of the original plat, and now included in the eastern part of Lebanon, was desired for its location, but Samuel Manning, the owner, refused to lay-out a town upon his farm, saying that, " it would never be anything but a nest of thieves." Only a narrow strip of Mr. Manning's land was included in the original plat. In after years, however. he laid out additions to the town, and it is said that these proved more profitable to him than the original lots to their owners. The latter were compelled to make liberal donations for the purpose of erecting county buildings in order to make the town the county seat.

ii The original plat of the town comprised only 100 lots, which were bounded on the north by Silver street, on the south by South street, on the west by Sycamore street, and on the east by the alley between Cherry and East streets. The plat was the seventh document received by the Recorder of Warren County for record, although it was not acknowledged before a Justice of the Peace for more than one year after the survey was made. Attached to the plat were the following descriptive heading and certificate:

An accurate pi at of the town of Lebanon, as laid out in September, Anno Domini One Thousand Eight Hundred and Two, containing one hundred lots, each lot containing fifty square rods, except the four lots bearing the following numbers : No. 1, No. 97, No. 57 and No. 68, each of which four lots contain twenty-five square rods, the half of said lots being given to the publick by the proprietors. The street marked and named Broadway, being six poles wide, the remainder of the streets are four poles wide. The alleys are twelve feet wide, all of which lots, streets, alleys, are due east, west, north and south.

Warren County, ss. : Personally appeared before me, one of the Justices, in and for said county, Samuel Manning, Ichabod Corwin, Silas Hurin and Ephraim Hathaway, proprietors of" the town of Lebanon, and acknowledged this plat as surveyed by Ichabod B. Halsey, to be their free act and deed for the purposes and uses herein mentioned.

Among the early additions of lots made to the town were those by Peter Yauger and Ephraim Hathaway, in 1806; by Samuel Manning, in 1807; by Levi Estell, in 1808; by Ichabod, Corwin, in 1809; and by Matthias Ross, in 1814. Moses Collett was the surveyor of the first-named addition.

The town was laid out in a forest of lofty trees and a thick undergrowth of spice-bushes. At the time of the survey of the streets, it is believed that there were but two houses on the town plat. The one first erected was a hewed-log house, built by Ichabod Corwin in the spring of 1800. It stood near the center of the town plat, on the east of Broadway, between Mulberry and Silver streets, and, having been purchased by Ephraim Hathaway, with about ten acres surrounding it, became the first tavern in the place. The courts were held in it during the years 1808 and 1804. This log house was a substantial one, and stood until about 1826. The town did not grow rapidly the first year. Isaiah Morris, afterward of Wilmington, came to the town in June, 1803, three months after it had been made the temporary seat of justice. He says: " The population then consisted of Ephraim Hathaway, the tavern-keeper; Collin Campbell, Joshua Collett and myself." This statement, of course, must be understood as referring to the inhabitants of the town plat only. There were several families residing in the near vicinity, and the Turtle Creek Valley throughout was perhaps at this time^ more thickly settled than any other region in the county. The log house of Ephraim Hathaway was not only the first tavern and the first place of holding courts, but Isaiah Morris claims that in it he, as clerk for his uncle, J ohn Huston, sold the first goods which were sold in Lebanon. Ephraim Hathaway's tavern had, for a time, at least, the sign of a Black Horse. At an early day, the proprietor erected the large brick building still standing at the northeast comer of Mulberry and Broadway, where he continued the business. This building was afterward known as the Hardy House.

The second house erected on the original plat was the residence of Silas Hurin, which stood south of the crossing of Main and Cherry streets, ana near the southeast comer of the plat. About 1800, Silas Hurin and his brother-inlaw, Capt. John Tharp, became the joint owners of the west half of Section 35, on which the southeast portion of Lebanon stands. Esquire Hurin built the residence here referred to and established a tan-yard, which with a shoeshop afterward added, he carried on successfully for several years. Capt. John Tharp had served in several campaigns against the Indians, and, it is said, was Captain of the artificers in Wayne's army. He settled at Lebanon about 1804.

The first two white children bom on the original town plat, it is said, were bom in the houses just referred to as the first houses on the plat. The eldest of these was Mrs. Catherine Skinner, wife of Richard Skinner and daughter of Silas Hurin, bom November 28, 1800. The second was Mrs. Lucinda Dun levy, wife of A. H. Dunlevy and daughter of Ichabod Corwin, bom ten days later. Both reached a venerable age.

The town was incorporated January 9, 1810. For many years, the officers elected by the people consisted of a President, Recorder and five Trustees, who were required to be either freeholders or householders of the town. These officers appointed a Marshal, Collector and Treasurer. The name of the body corporate was w the President, Recorder and Trustees of the Town of Lebanon." In after years, a Mayor, Clerk and six Councilmen took the places of the President, Recorder and Trustees, and the legal style of the corporation became M the Incorporated Village of Lebanon." Since 1878, the legal style has been the village of Lebanon." The device of the corporate seal is M a cedar tree in the center, surrounded with the words, The Corporation of Lebanon, Ohio."

The Site Of Miami University

In 1809, Lebanon was selected as the seat of Miami University. The township of land granted for the support of this institution was intended for the benefit of the inhabitants of the tract between the Miami Rivers known as Symmes' Purchase. The township not being selected until all the townships within that purchase had been sold in whole or in part, in 1803, the township of Oxford, west of the Great Miami, was selected, in lieu of one between the two rivers. In February, 1809, the Legislature passed an act M to establish Miami University," the first section of which provided that the institution should be established " within that part of the country known by the name of John Cleves Symmes' Purchase, which university shall be designated by the name and style of the Miami University." The act appointed Alexander Campbell, Rev. James Kilbura and Rev. Robert G. Wilson, Commissioners, to fix the place of the institution, and directed that they should meet at Lebanon, and, after taking an oath or affirmation, should proceed to select the most proper place for the seat of the university in Symmes' Purchase.

At the appointed time, the first Tuesday in June, 1809, Rev. Mr. Wilson was sick and unable to attend, but the other two Commissioners met There were three places presented for their consideration - Cincinnati, Lebanon and Dayton. After examining all the places proposed, they agreed upon Lebanon as the seat of the university, and so reported. By this action, it was generally supposed at the time, says Judge Burnet, that the location of the institution was unalterably fixed. Ichabod Corwin offered a tract of about forty acres, now occupied in part by the Lebanon Cemetery, as grounds for the university. It is said by A. H. Dunlevy that at the time of the meeting of the Commissioners, a large walnut tree stood on the western part of these grounds, and this spot was selected by the Commissioners as the most suitable place for the erection of the main college building. This spot is now the grave of Gov. Thomas Corwin.

Jeremiah Morrow, of Warren County, was one of the Commissioners appointed in 1803 to select the township of land for the institution. John Bigger and Iehabod B. Halsey, of Warren County, were appointed, in 1809, members of the Board of Trustees; the first meeting of the board was held at Lebanon, June 7, 1809.

The citizens of other places which had desired the institution were greatly disappointed, and at the next meeting of the Legislature after Lebanon had been selected, a proposition was made by Mr. Cooper, of Dayton, to establish the university on the lands which had been selected for its support, although these lands were outside the tract for whose benefit the institution was intended. The Legislature thought this was the wisest plan to pursue, and, in 1810, provided that the Trustees should lay out the town of Oxford on the college township, in Butler County, and located the university on that township. It has been the opinion of eminent lawyers that Miami University was legally located at Lebanon, and that the change of the site to a point outside of the Miami Purchase was in violation of the intention and purpose of the original grant by Congress of a township for the support of a seminary of learning. No attempt, however, has ever been made to remove the institution from Oxford.

Dr. I. W, Andrews, President of Marietta College, said some years ago that Miami University had graduated more distinguished men than any other institution west of the Alleghany Mountains.

In 1805, Lebanon was made a post office. The following is a list of the Postmasters of the town, with the dates of their appoinment, obtained from the records of the Post Office Department at Washington:

Electric Telegraph And Telephone

The electro magnetic telegraph was brought into successful use in this country by a line established between Baltimore and Washington, March 27, 1844. The first telegraph office in Lebanon was opened Augnst 1, 1851. It was on a line from Cincinnati to Cleveland. For some years, the receipts of the Lebanon office were barely sufficient to pay the salary of the operator.

During the years 1880 and 1881, a number of telephones were constructed in the town. Telephonic connection between Lebanon and Middletown, via Red Lion and Franklin, was completed May 20, 1881.

Fire Department

The first provision made by the village for protection from fire was the organization of the lot-owners into a fire-bucket company, and the purchase of hooks and ladders for the use of the village. Four sections of the earliest ordinance of the town relating to fires which has been found are given below:

Section 1. Be it ordained by the Trustees of the town of Lebanon , -That each freeholder within the corporation of Lebanon, who shall own any lot or lots in said corporation, on which is erected any dwelling-house or store-house, shall, on or before the lOtn day of February next, furnish him or herself with a fire-bucket for each and every such building, the fire-bucket to be made of good and sufficient soal leather ; the bucket to be made thirteen inches in height ; the diameter at the top nine inches, and at the bottom seven inches in the clear, the bucket to be bound round the top with a rope covered with leather, and a rope handle covered with leather, which bucket shall be well and sufficiently jacked ; on the side of each bucket shall be marked with paint the initials of the owner's name, which bucket or buckets shall be kept by the said freeholder (or his or her tenant, as the case may be), in the most convenient place in each house and store, to be had on any emergency.

Sec. 2. Be it further ordained , That on any alarm being given of fire, it shall be the duty of every householder within the corporation aforesaid (females excepted), to repair with his bucket to the place of such fire, if within the limits of the corporation, without delay, and there assist in extinguishing said fire.

Sec. 8. Be it further ordained , That the fire hooks and ladders belonging to the corporation shall be deposited at the market house under the care of Thomas Best, and shall in no case be used except in a case of fire, under the penalty of five dollars to be imposed on the person so offending.

Sec. 9. Be it further ordained. That all fines and penalties incurred under this ordinance, shall be recovered by an action before the Trustees for the use of the corporation ; this ordinance to take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

The first fire engine of the village was purchased about 1828, and was called "Minnie." The "Minnie" is described as a home-made engine, of novel construction, consisting of a rude device for throwing water, placed in a box about four feet long, three feet wide and two feet deep, and the whole mounted on four small wheels. The water was thrown into the box by a line of men with buckets extending from the nearest supply. From the box the water was pumped by hand-brakes and thrown upon the fire. This little engine was more effective than might at first be supposed. It could be drawn along the pavement, lifted over obstructions, and taken into dooryards through gateways.

The second fire engine was purchased about 1835, and was called the "Whale." This was a side-bar suction engine, large and cumbersome. It was bought in Cincinnati and cost $1,400. Soon after, the Lebanon Fire Company, composed of property-holders of the village, was organized. The Franklin Fire Company was organized about 1840.

The third engine was called " The Franklin," a two-stream suction engine, with improved pumps and two sets of brakes, one above the other, the upper one worked by men standing on a platform. This engine was used until about the commencement of the civil war, when it was sold to the village of Franklin.

The hand engine, "Union, No. 1," was bought of Button & Blake, the manufacturers, at Waterford, N. Y., in 1861, for $920. It is still in use, and is an improved three-stream apparatus, and has proved an excellent engine.

The first steam fire engine was purchased in 1871. It is called " The Belle of the West," is a rotary Silsby engine, purchased of the SiJsby Manufacturing Company of Seneca Falls, N. Y. , at a cost of $6, 000. It is drawn to and from fires by members of the fire company and citizens. Horses have never been used in the service of the fire department

Public Ground

The four half -lots on the respective corners made by the crossing of Broadway and Main streets were designated on the original plat of the town as " public ground," and have been popularly known as the public square. These lots have an interesting history. It is believed that it was the intention of the proprietors of Lebanon to vest the use of these lots in the county for the purposes of a court house, jail and other county buildings, but they were unfortunate in the use of the proper words on the plat to designate the purpose intended. The plat was executed under a law of the Northwest Territory, passed

December 6, 1800, which provided that lots and parcels of land designated on town plats for special purposes should forever be held for the uses and purposes therein named, and for no other use or purpose whatever. The history of the erection of the first court house and jail on these lots has already been given in the historic sketch of the county.

After the erection of county buildings on two of these lots, in order to remove all doubts as to the right of the county to their use for county purposes, the original proprietors, Ichabod Corwin, Silas Hurin, Ephraim Hathaway and their wives, on May 24, 1809, executed their several deeds, with covenants of warranty, conveying to the Commissioners of the county and their successors in office the four lots designated as public ground for the use of the county forever.

These lots, one or more of them, continued to be used for county purposes for about thirty years. After the erection of the court house in the eastern part of the town, about 1834, they ceased to be used for any county public purpose, yet the County Commissioners still assumed the right to control and lease both the old court house and all the four lots of the public ground. Although they were advised that the lots were dedicated to the public as public ground, and could not be used for private purposes, the Commissioners persisted in their course, divided the grounds into small lots, and leased them to various persons for long periods of time. After being advertised, the old court house, on April 12, 1834, was leased, the town of Lebanon becoming the lessee. The record of the County Commissioners shows that Joshua Borden, on behalf of the President, Recorder and Trustees of the town of Lebanon, leased the old court house for twenty years, at an annual rental of $86.50, the lease commencing to run in June, 1834.

The lessees of the small lots erected buildings on the north and east of the old court house, and business was carried on in them for several years before any complaint was made. At length, when a building was about to be erected on the northeast lot of the public ground, legal proceedings were commenced in the Supreme Ctfurt, held in Lebanon, to stay the erection of new structures, and to remove all obstructions from these grounds. A. H. Dunlevy and Thomas Corwin were the solicitors for the town; George J. Smith and John Probasco, Jr. , for the Commissioners. Legal proceedings were begun J anuary 3, 1839. Two years elapsed before the cause was finally decided. The Commissioners claimed the % lots to be the property of the county by virtue of the original intention of the proprietors in their dedication, the deeds of conveyance to the county, and the constant and continued use and appropriation of the property by the county for thirty years, without any objection on the part of the authorities of the town. The court decided that the lots were dedicated by the proprietors to the use of the inhabitants of the town of Lebanon, as a common or public square, and that they were only held by the county in trust for that use. The court enjoined the Commissioners from leasing, selling, incumbering or in any way interfering with the grounds, and ordered that w all structures, erections and obstructions on said public ground, now held by either party, shall, within ninety days, be removed by the party now holding the same, and at the party's own cost, and on failure, a writ of assistance be directed to the Sheriff to remove such obstructions."

The language of this decree was so sweeping that it was feared that the old court house would have to be tom down. This was not desired by either party to the suit. The citizens of the town especially were anxious that the old building should be preserved, as it had long been used as the only town hall in the village. The solicitors of the town, therefore, filed their petition for a re hearing of the cause and a modification of the decree of the court, which was allowed, and a final decree was made, May 4, 1842, under which all buildings for private purposes were removed, but the old court house was allowed to remain to be used for public purposes only. It was declared by the court that the lots belong beneficially to the town of Lebanon, for the use of the town for public purposes connected with the town, and that they should not be appropriated to any purpose not of a public nature and for the common or general use of the village.

Thus was secured to the town authorities the right of controlling the four lots of the public square, but, unfortunately, their situation and small size rendered them of no value as a public common, and almost the only useful purpose they could serve was as sites for public buildings, and for this use the town did not need more than one of them. The northeast lot was dedicated to public purposes by Ephraim Hathaway; the northwest lot, by Ichabod Corwin; and the two lots south of Main street, by Silas Hurin.

The Old Town Hall

After the completion of the second court house, the old one became known as the town hall. About 1844, 'a third story was added to the building by the Masonic order of Lebanon, and used as a lodge for many years. The Mechanics' Institute held its lectures and discussions, at first in the lower, and afterward in the second, story. As the first court house of Warren County, the first town hall, the first library and reading room of Lebanon, the memories clustering around the quaint old building make the spot on which it stood historic ground. There* Francis Dunlevy, Joshua Collet and George J. Smith sat as President Judges under the first constitution of Ohio. There John McLean and Thomas Corwin made their earliest efforts at the bar. There, in the court of justice, the town meeting and the institute, were often heard the voices of men whose names have given the people of Lebanon a just pride in its early history . The old building was destroyed by fire on the morning of September 1, 1874.

Washington Hall

In 1855, the Town Council resolved to build a new market house, with quarters for the fire department. The old market house stood in the middle of Silver, at the intersection of Mechanic street. The site selected for the new structure was the southwest corner, at the intersection of the same streets. The old town hall being inadequate to the wants of the village, the plan was devised of building a new public hall, as a second story of the new market house.

The Town Council were favorably disposed toward the proposition, but great opposition to it was soon manifested among a considerable portion of the citizens. The question being hotly contested, the Council ordered the matter to be submitted to a vote of the electors of the town. The election was held September 8, 1855, and resulted in the following vote: Hall, yes, 118; hall, no, 129; blank, 3: total, 250. The friends of the proposed hall then formed a stock company, and raised the money for building the hall in connection with the new market and engine house. The town became a stockholder in this company to the amount of $1,500, or one-half of the estimated cost of completing the hall. This action of the Council in making the town a stockholder in a joint stock company was in violation of law, but no effort was made to prevent this union of public and private money, and thus was completed a hall, belonging in part to the town and in part to private citizens. The new hall was dedicated with a festival, given on the evening of December 24, 18^6, by the Franklin Independent Fire Company. On the 10th of the following month, the stockholders met and christened the hall Washington Hall, and agreed upon rates of Chargee for its use, varying from $3 to $20 per night. The first lecture in the hall was delivered Friday evening, January 23, 1857, by Kev. C. Giles, of the New Jerusalem Church, then a resident of Cincinnati, on w Humanity in the Nineteenth Century." About 1859, this hall was leased by the Town Council to the proprietor of the normal school at Lebanon, and since that time has been used chiefly for the purposes of that institution.

In the year 1874, the citizens of the town were divided into two parties on the question of a tax for the enlargement and repair of this hall. The tax was advocated by one party as a necessary and proper means of making suitable provision for accommodating the increased attendance at the normal school, which institution, it was alleged, would be removed to some other locality if such accommodations were not furnished. By the other party it was argued that taxation for such a purpose was improper, and that the proposed extension to the length of Washington Hall was an ill-advised mode of accomplishing the purpose. The contest waxing warm, the question was submitted to a vote of the people at an election ordered by the Council. The result of the vote was a very large majority in favor of the tax. The Council then assessed the tax necessary for the proposed extension. The collection of this tax was enjoined by the Court of Common Pleas on the petition of a large number of the taxpayers of the town. The petition for the injunction stated that the tax, while professedly for the purpose of providing public buildings for the town, was really designed to furnish rooms for the normal school, and thus to aid a private citizen in his private business, and that the hall on which it was proposed to expend the money was owned in part by private persons. The court, without passing on the question as to what were the rights of the town in the hall, held that the proposed tax was clearly in violation of the provision of the constitution against taxation in aid of joint-stock companies, and must therefore be restrained. No further efforts were made toward extending Washington Hall.

Lebanon Public Hall

On the morning of September 1, 1874, occurred the most disastrous fire in the history of Lebanon, destroying the old town hall, Congregational Church, Ross Hotel and other buildings. Two months later, the Council authorized an election to decide the question of levying a tax of 3£ mills for eight years, aggregating about $45,000, for the purpose of erecting a public hall, corporation offices, etc. The election was held November 10, 1874. It attracted but little attention, and resulted in a vote of 197 yeas and 33 nays. The first plan approved by the Council was for a building 148x64 feet, three stories high. Numerous tax-payers obtained from the court an in junction against this gigantic structure, and the Council found, on opening the bids, that the cost of the structure would exceed the amount they proposed to expend. A new plan was adopted, which made a great improvement in the audience room. The third floor being left off gave an increase in the height of ceiling from twenty-four feet in the old plan to thirty-two feet in the new one; the length was diminished nearly twenty feet. A special act of the Legislature authorizing the sale of bonds and the erection of the hall was passed March 31, 1877. The stone work for the foundation was begun July 16, 1877; the building was fully inclosed before the severe weather of the succeeding winter set in, and was dedicated on September 2, 1878. The edifice is the finest public building in Warren County. Though not built on high ground, it presents a fine appearance on approaching the town, especially from the west and south, looming up above surrounding buildings, and is the most conspicuous and imposing structure in Lebanon. It is built of Lebanon brick, the south and west fronts presenting a variety of ornaments of freestone, galvanized iron and saw-tooth brick work.

On the Broadway front are two handsome tablets, a date block at each side of the pediment bearing the figures 18 and 77 respectively, and a coping for the pediment, all of freestone; and on a circular tablet of Berea stone, the seal of the corporation, viz. : " A cedar tree in the center, surrounded by the words,

'Corporation of Lebanon, Ohio.' " The expanse of the high slate roof is relieved by seventeen chimney-tops and twenty dormer ventilators. The cresting and finials of roof, dormers and towers are of galvanized iron painted blue, with prominent points touched with gold.

Architect, George P. Humphreys, Cincinnati; excavation, William Saint, Dayton; stone masonry, Charles Seifred, Dayton; cut stone, Brice & Webber, Dayton; brick work, S. V. Boren, Dayton; tin, galvanized iron and slating, W. F. Gebhart & Co., Dayton; cast and wrought iron, McHose & Lyon, Dayton; carpenter work, Beaver & Butt, Dayton; plastering, William Jones, Waynesville; painting and glazing, J. N. Turner, Lebanon; gas-fitting, M. J. Gibbons & Co., Cincinnati; gas apparatus, Coleman Gas Works, Cincinnati; gas fixtures, McHenry & Co. Cincinnati; frescoing, F. Pedretti, Cincinnati; scene-painting, Waugh, Levoy & Co., Cincinnati; stage machinery, A. Shrimpton, Cincinnati ; chairs for main floor of hall, G. Henshaw & Sons, Cincinnati ; chairs for gallery, J. -N. Oswald, Lebanon.

The following figures, taken from the plans and specifications of the architect, are here placed on permanent record: The building outside, 132x64 feet; main audience room, including stage, 101x60 J feet; height of first story inside, 14 J feet; height of main hall, 32 feet; height of spire above pavement, 132 feet; Mayor's office, 33x24 J feet; council chamber, 24£x24£; library, 31£x24£; dressing rooms, 12x12; store rooms, 60x16; inside vault, 5x3; main stair hall and vestibule, 60x12 feet; width of east and west hall, 8 feet 2 inches. The foundation wall starts from footings 5 feet 2 inches wide, placed 11 feet below the pavement, and is 2 feet 6 inches wide at the top, constructed of large-sized Dayton stone from an old canal lock. The north and south side brick walls are 25 inches wide for the first story, and 21 inches for the second. At each end of the building are two walls, 12 feet apart, continued to the roof, the thinnest of which is 17 inches wide. Three of the brick walls of the main tower rest upon the walls of the building. The fourth rests upon a wrought -iron box lintel 12x12 inches and 14 feet 8 inches long. The frame of the spire consists of eight uprights, 10x10 inches, resting on four cross-beams 10x16 inches, built into the walls. The tie-beams for ceiling and roof are of two pieces of 5x16- inch timber, bolted together, 63 feet 4 inches long, in one length. Principal rafters are 9x12 inches; struts and straining beams, 8x8 inches.

Connected with the Council chamber is a vault for the preservation of books and papers. It is doubtless more nearly perfectly fire-proof than the common iron safes, and at the same time more capacious. It is built of two brick walls 13 and 9 inches wide with 4 inches space between them, and arched over with walls of the same thickness. It has two iron doors two feet apart, the outer one having a combination safe-lock. In the rear hall is the elevator, 4 feet square, extending from cellar to the stage. There is a cellar under the entire structure 8 feet in the clear and divided by the foundation walls into twelve compartments.

From the front hall two broad flights of stairs lead to an upper vestibule 12 feet broad, from which two wide double doors, opening outward, lead into the main hall, and two higher stairways to the balcony. The first view of the auditorium when it is fully lighted up is very pleasing. The room is large, and with sufficient height to make it imposing. Good judges pronounce it one of the neatest and handsomest halls in the State. The frescoing by Pedretti produces a very pleasing effect from the harmony and taste in the colors. The center-piece serves the double purpose of a ventilator and a beautiful ornament. The proscenium, which is six feet wide, plastered and frescoed, has pilasters at the sides, and at the top an excellent portrait in oil of Gov. Thomas Corwin. The beautiful balcony is supported by iron rods from the ponderous roof frame, leaving the view below unobstructed by columns. A good view of the stage can be had from every chair in the balcony. The floor of the main hall, which is deadened by two inches of mortar under the flooring, is level for about twenty feet in front of the stage, and then rises toward the rear about one-third of an inch to the foot. The main floor is seated with light, comfortable and graceful oak chairs, with bent backs and perforated wood seats. The balcony has chairs of a different pattern. The seating capacity of the hall is about 1,100. When the stage is filled and the hall is crowded, it will hold 1,500.

The stage is large enough for all ordinary plays and show performances. It is 60 feet wide and 30 feet deep. The front is 4 feet high, and the floor rises slightly from the front to the rear. The proscenium opening is 28x26 feet. The stage is lighted by fifty-six gas-burners.

There are four sets of grooves and four entrances on each side, and there maybe ready for use at one time on the grooves twelve scenes and twenty wings.

Street, garden, wood, rocky pass and six good wings; horizon and two wings; plain chamber and four wings; parlor, palace-arch and four wings; prison and four wings; kitchen and four wings; four set rocks, rustic bridge, set cottage, set waters, balustrade, mantelpiece, set parlor door, set kitchen door, two drapery and three sky borders, proscenium wings and drop curtain.

The total cost of the edifice was about $36,000. The hall, which has received the popular name of Lebanon Opera House, was dedicated with a series of Shakespearean plays and modem comedies on the evenings of the week beginning Monday, September 2, 1878, by a full and efficient dramatic company, which included such actors as W. H. Power, Selden Irwin, E. R. Dalton, Julia A. Hunt and others.

The Lecture System

In the earlier days of the town, lectures and other evening entertainments were usually free, and given by the literary persons of the community. The lawyers, ministers, physicians, teachers, and ambitious students of the learned professions responded to the call of their fellow-citizens for an occasional literary address or lecture on a scientific topic. Before the close of the civil war, it was rare indeed that a public speaker of national fame appeared before a Lebanon audience as a paid lecturer.

The lyceum or lecture system may be said to have originated in New England about 1838. Horace Mann was one of its earliest friends, and Wendell Phillips one of its most popular speakers. This system has grown and extended from New England over the whole country. It has given rural communities the opportunity of hearing the most eminent lecturers of this country and of Great Britain. As a means of popular instruction and entertainment, the lecture is not to be despised. In a great city, it is of less importance, but in an inland town the assembling of the people in a bright, comfortable hall, filled with neighbors and friends, to listen for an hour to one who tells of a great discovery, explains the newest science, gives the results of foreign travel, or points out the beautiful in art and literature, is pleasing, inspiring and instructive.

with lectures have been sustained. Lectures have been given by John B. Gough, Bayard Taylor, Wendell Phillips, Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, Joseph Cook, Dr. A. A. Willitts, Prof. R. A. Proctor, Hon. William Parsons and others; readings and musical entertainments by Mrs. Scott- Siddons, Helen Potter, Mendelssohns of Boston, Remenyi, Anna Louise Cary, Clara Louise Kellogg and others. The most successful public entertainment ever given in the town was the lecture of Henry Ward Beecher in the public hall, May 9, 1879, on u The Reign of the Common People," which was attended by 1,200 persons, and the proceeds of which were over $800.

Celebrations Of The Fourth Of July

The anniversary of American independence was celebrated much more generally in the earlier history of Lebanon than in later years. The oration was generally delivered at the earlier celebrations in one of the churches or in a grove north of the town. After the oration, there was almost always a dinner at one of the hotels, or some other public place, and after the dinner, toasts were read. The oration was in most cases published in the local newspaper at the request of the Committee of Arrangements. We are able to give a brief account of the celebrations at Lebanon from the year 1821 up to recent times:

1821 - The oration this year was delivered by George J. Smith, Esq., at the Presbyterian Church, after which the procession moved to the court house, where as many as thought proper partook of a dinner prepared by Col. D. F. Reeder, and a number of appropriate toasts were drank. The oration of Judge, then Mr. Smith, was afterward published in the Star.

1827 - No formal celebration of the day. A congregation, however, assembled at the Methodist Church, where a discourse was delivered by Bishop Soule, from Psalm cxliv, 15 - "Happy is that people whose God is the Lord" In the morning, a salute of twenty -four guns was fired.

1829 - At a celebration this year, the Declaration was read by Phineas Ross, Esq, but the name of the orator is not given in the report before us.

Esq. Judge McLean, who was present, also addressed the meeting, being called out by a toast. This speech of the Judge was ridiculed in letters written from Lebanon to Jackson papers in Cincinnati and Columbus, and the celebration was said by these letter-writers to have originated in a concerted plan of the Whig partisans for the purpose of making a demonstration in fator of McLean for President. One of these letters said: 44 The Judge, being toasted with fulsome adulation, made an electioneering speech of nearly an hour in length." The Star replied by saying that the presence of Judge McLean was entirely accidental and unexpected, and that his remarks did not occupy more than twenty minutes.

1835 - Two celebrations. One party assembled at the Presbyterian Church, where an oration was delivered by John Probasco, Esq., and the Declaration read by Dr. I. L. Drake. Dinner at the grove north of the church. The other party met at the Baptist Church, with Hervey Brown for orator, and L F. Wright, reader. Washington's farewell address was read by Franklin Corwin, Esq. Dinner at the Henry Clay House. Hon. Thomas Corwin, then our Representative in Congress, was drawn out by a toast, and addressed the company for about half an hour, chiefly oh the dispute then existing between the State of Ohio and the Territory of Michigan concerning the boundary between them. He deprecated any appeal to arms for obtaining our rights.

1838 - Address to the Sunday schools by A. H. Dunlevy, Esq. Declaration read by William H. P. Denny. Fireworks in the evening under the direction of Mr. Dolan t, a practical pyrotechnist, among which the line rocket attracted particular attention. A beautiful balloon was also prepared, but failed of success.

1841 - Declaration read at the Presbyterian Church by Judge Smith, and an oration delivered by J. Milton Williams, Esq. After the exercises at the church, the citizens marched to the public square, where, under an awning, a dinner was prepared by William N. Schaeffer, of the Mansion House. After the cloth was removed, toasts were read.

1842 - Oration by William Bebb, of Hamilton, afterward Governor of Ohio. J. C. Sabin, reader. " A dinner prepared on temperance principles " was announced to be served at Mr. Schaeffer's hotel.

1844 - Celebration by the Ohio Stand-Bys, under the command of Capt J. P. Gilchrist. Wilfred Dey, Esq., reader, and Durbin Ward, Esq., orator.

1845 - Temperance meeting in the forenoon at the Baptist Church. Declaration read by Judge Smith. Addresses by R G. Corwin, Esq., and Rev. S. Newell. Colonization meeting in the afternoon. Declaration read by A. G. McBurney. Address by Rev. F. G. Black.

1849 - Sunday-school meeting at Methodist Protestant Church in the morning. Exhibition by the students of the academy at the court house in the evening.

1850 - Oration at the Baptist Church by Rev. S. Newell. Declaration read by A. P. Russell. " Fireman's Festival " at the court house in the evening.