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FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION OF GREENE COUNTY TO THE WORLD WAR.

It has been stated that Greene county. up to April 1, 1918, had furnished approximately five hundred men for service in the great World War, but those who are remaining at home are also doing their share to make the world safe for democracy. Three successive Liberty Loans have been ordered by the government and Greene county has exceeded its quota on each occasion. The first loan was subscribed to the amount of $300,000; the second loan found $680,000 in Greene county ready to help the country ; the third and last loan reached approximately $500,000 in the county. This indicates that the county has bought considerably more than a million and a half dollars worth of Liberty Bonds. In addition to this large amount the county raised more than $30,000 for the Red Cross, and contributed more than its quotas to the Young Men's Christian Association drive and the War Chest fund. The Knights of Columbus have also raised considerable money in the county for war purposes. Furthermore the county has been apportioned $580,000 to be raised during 1918 by the sale of War Saving Stamps and Thrift Certificates, which means that the county will have to sell a little more than $10,000 worth each month in the year. There is no doubt that the close of the year will see the full amount sold.

Finally, it must be said that Greene county is ready and willing to do its part in every way to bring this World War to a successful conclusion. It is giving freely of its sons and of its money to the end that the government will have any army of sufficient size to force the war to a victorious end for the Allies and at the same time have the money to finance the undertaking.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

BANKS AND BANKING.

There was little need of banks in the first half century of the existence of Greene county. The people had very little specie and such banks as did exist prior to 1850 were largely banks of issue, few of them receiving money for deposit. They bought and sold the notes of other banks and their profits were in a great measure due to the shrewdness of their managers in guessing what notes would be worth buying and how long they could be held before selling them with any reasonable assurance of making a profit. In the days of "wild cat" banking, the banker and merchant had to consult a price sheet which showed the fluctuating value of paper money from week to week, or from day to day. A n0te worth ten dollars 0ne week might be worth only half as much the following week, or, on the other hand it might be worth fifteen dollars. Such a thing as a stable currency was unknown; in those days the federal government had practically no control over the banks of the country. Any man with enough credit with a printer to get some notes struck Off could set up a bank. He did not need any money, and thousands of banks were started with no other capital than was invested in the printing of the paper they issued. It was not until the days of the Civil War that banking in the United States was placed on anything like a firm basis.

If the people of Greene county did not have an abundance of "hard" money, they had a kind of currency which took its place. The paper money of the banks was called "wild cat" currency, while the term "shin-plaster" was also in current use and described the same kind of fluctuating currency. Merchants frequently issued paper money with their own name on it, in denominations as low as five cents, and it circulated at its face value in the immediate community—that is, as long as the merchant's credit was good. The farther the merchant's "shin-plaster" wandered from his place of business, the less valuable it became. A "shin-plaster" of a Xenia merchant in Columbus would probably not be accepted at all. Merchants also issued a species of "hard" money, minted from s0me cheap metal, which was called "token" money, the pieces being known as "tokens." The redeemable value of the "token" was stamped on it, but it, like the "shin-plaster," was dependent on the credit of the merchant issuing it. The merchant redeemed his "tokens" at their face value, and in many cases his "money" became in a sense part of the circulating medium of his community. Even to this day, this kind of "money" is issued by some merchants.

Another method of providing a circulating medium of exchange was

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the issuance of what were known as "due bills," which, in effect, were the same as "tokens" and "shin-plasters." It must not be understood that there was no specie of the government in circulation, but it was very limited and so limited, in fact, that the custom arose of actually cutting up the coins to represent smaller fractional values. Silver dollars were cut into nine pieces, sort of triangular shaped, with the sharp point tapering toward the center of the coin. The pieces thus cut off were called "sharp-shins." It /was also customary to cut the twenty-five cent piece into two pieces, the resultant pieces being known throughout the western states as "bits," a word which is still in current use. Frequently, even the "bit" was halved, and -the early treasurers of Greene county took over many a six-and-a-quarter-cent piece as part payment in taxes. The local records of the commissioners bear constant witness to the fact that the pioneers of the county cut their money into pieces. Scarcely a tax-payer in the county but found his annual bill to the county treasurer with a fractional cent thereon.

BANK OF XENIA.

The first bank of the county concerning which definite information has been preserved was known as the Bank of Xenia. It opened for business on June r, 1835, with the following officers : President, John H. Hivling; vice-president, John Ewing; cashier, Henry Clark. Later E. F. Drake became cashier. The bank was started as a private enterprise and so continued until 1846, when it was reorganized, under a newly enacted act of the General Assembly, with the new name of Xenia Branch of the State Bank of Ohio. Abraham Hivling became the first president of the bank upon its reorganization, while E. F. Drake was continued as cashier.

Drake resigned in 1848 and his place was filled by J. W. Merrick, who had been connected with the bank as teller. Upon the death of Merrick, John B. Allen became cashier. The bank continued a successful career until it was reorganized under the national banking act of 1862 and became the First National Bank. Upon the expiration of its charter at the end of twenty years, it was reorganized as the Xenia National Bank, the name by which it is still known.

SECOND NATIONAL BANK, XENIA.

The Second National Bank, of Xenia, was organized on March 7, 1864, with a capital stock of $100,000. The first officers were as follow James Allison, president ; David Millen, vice-president ; John S. Ankeney, cashier. Allison died in August, 1864, and Thomas P. Townsley was elected president, a position he continued to hold until 1884. Ankeney was cashier of the bank during its existence. Robert Lytle entered the bank as book-

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keeper upon its organization, awl was .promoted from time to time until he became teller. When it was found that the bank was in serious financial difficulties in 1884, Lytle, although he protested that he felt unable to straighten out the affairs of the bank, was elected cashier. He struggled for four years to put the bank on a firm basis, but he was unsuccessful, and in 1888 it closed its doors.

CITIZENS NATIONAL BANK, XENIA.

The Citizens National Bank, of Xenia, was organized in 1881 with a capital stock of $100,000. The first directors of the bank were J. W. King (president), John Little, E. H. Munger, Dr. Leigh McClung, J. D. Edwards, H. H. Eavey, and J. H. Harbine. The bank opened for business in November, 1881, in a rented building on Greene street, but has since purchased the building at the corner of East Main and Greene streets, where it is now located. The present officers are as follow : H. H. Eavey, president; R. S. Kingsbury, vice-president; M. L. Wolf, cashier ; T. D. Kyle, assistant cashier. The directors are H. H. Eavey, R. S. Kingsbury, H. L. Smith, Henry Getz, George Galloway, S. B. LeSourd and R. D. Adair.

The bank has been unusually prosperous, a fact which is evidenced by the fact that its resources are near the million-dollar mark. The bank now has a surplus and undivided profit of $125,000, with deposits of $750,000.

THE COMMERCIAL AND SAVINGS BANK COMPANY, XENIA.

The Commercial and Savings Bank Company, of Xenia, was organized on June 18, 1906, by H. H. Conklin, Ed. S. Foust, C. L. Babb, W. L. Miller, A. E. Faulkner, R. R. Grieve and C. M. Austin. Its first officers are still serving in the same capacity, there not having been a change in the twelve years of the bank's history. They are as follows: President, H. H. Conklin; vice-president, Ed. S. Foust; cashier, C. L. Babb. The directors include these three officials and W. I. Miller, A. E. Faulkner, R. R. Grieve and C. M. Austin. The bank is located in the Allen building at the southwest corner of Detroit and Main street. The bank statement of March 4, 1918, shows that it is in a flourishing condition :

CEDARVILLE BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATION.

The Cedarville Building and Loan Association was organized in January, 1895, largely through the efforts of Andrew Jackson. The institution was started with a capital stock of $200,000 and still operates with the same capital stock. J. H. Wolford was the first president and Andrew Jackson was the first secretary-treasurer. Mr. Jackson has served continuously in the same capacity since the association was established. W. J. Tarbox is now president and A. Z. Smith vice-president. There are scores of the

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citizens of Cedarville who have been able to build homes with the help of he association. At the present time there are 179 stockholders, and a total of 244 running stockholders. The office of the association is in the town hall, Mr. Jackson, the secretary, conducting the business in connection with his duties as township clerk.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

TRANSPORTATION-HIGHWAYS, STEAM AND ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

The building of roads was one of the first problems that confronted the early settlers of Greene county. From the days of the now forgotten Pinkney and Bullskin roads down to the present time the road problem has been one of the most important with which the taxpayers havehadto deal. With the settlement of the county there arose the need for some means of communication between the different communities, and this need was met by the local authorities as fast as possible. It was natural for the first settlers to settle along the streams and rivers or along the old Indian trails.

The construction of roads and bridges has been in the hands of the county commissioners since the beginning of the county, although during the past few years the General Assembly has provided a state highway department which is taking over some of the duties of the once omnipotent commissioners. A study of the records of the county commissioners from the time of the organization of the county in 1803 down, to the present time shows that more' Than deliberations have been concerned with the building of roads and bridges. Many of the sessions of the board have been wholly taken up with the consideration of new roads, the alteration of roads already established, the building of new or the repairing of old bridges, hearing of claimants for damages on account of new roads, overflowing streams or faulty bridges.

As might be expected, the roads in the county for many years after it was organized were little more than trails through the forests, over the hills, around the swamps and across the prairies. Most of the earliest roads simply followed the old Indian trails and were usually, just, wide enough to allow the passage of one wagon, it being necessary in the thickly wooded parts to cut out here and there a wider place in the trail in order to allow two wagons to pass.

In the building of roads there are many different factors to be taken into consideration, and certainly Greene county has had a number to contend with since the days when it laid out the first road. The fact that the county was heavily forested for the most part made the initial cost very expensive. Again, the county is crossed by a number of rivers and streams of considerable size, and their bridging has entailed a heavy expense on the county.. The. presence, of.. rivers the size, of the Little. Miami.. and, Mad costs

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the county thousands of dollars, not only to keep them bridged, but also to keep them free from obstructions. The early records of the commissioners bear expensive testimony to the fact that frequent appropriations were made to remove obstructions from the Little Miami river, as well as smaller streams of the county. At the present time there are 3,200 bridges and culverts in Greene county, and the county surveyor, Joseph M. Fawcett, has a system by which he has every one of them tabulated. He keeps two record books for each township, one for the bridges and one for the culverts. In case there is a complaint about any particular bridge or culvert in the county, he can turn instantly to his records and tell at a glance the location, size, date of erection, condition at last inspection, etc., of the bridge or culvert in question. He keeps the same close tab on the roads of the county, and with a system of maps, is enabled to show at a glance the character of any road in the county. He also has a card index of the bridges and culverts of the county.

Greene county has 732.85 miles of roads, divided ampng the various townships as follows (exclusive of the roads in the incorporated towns and cities) : Bath, 81.35; Miami, 56; Cedarville, 65.5; Ross, 55; Silvercreek, 48; New Jasper, 44; Jefferson, 55; Caesarscreek, 53; Spring Valley, 64; Sugarcreek, 41 ; Beavercreek, 80.5 ; Xenia, 92. The road mileage of the towns and cities is as follows : Xenia, 22 ; Yellow Springs, 15; Osborn, 5.8 ; Cedarville, 4.63; Jamestown, 3.61; Spring Valley, 2.8; Bellbrook, 2.3; Fairfield, 2.27; Clifton, 1.59; Bowersville, 1.59; Alpha, .56.

Still another factor which confronts the road builder in Greene county is the character of the county's topography, it being decidedly rolling in many places and as decidedly swampy in others. For this reason there are many of the county roads which still follow the same general direction of the old Indian trails which they superseded. The Indians made their trails on the principle of following the line of least resistance, and the first settlers in many instances followed in their footsteps—and in many cases the automobiles of 1918 are coursing down the path trod by the Indian centuries ago. The trail of the Indian was "corduroyed" by the county commissioners in the '40s and macadamized only within the past few years. Following organization these came to be what were known as "state" roads and "county" roads, the former being those which extended beyond the limits of the county and the latter those within the county. Undoubtedly the first state road in the county was the so-called Pinkney road, which, starting from Cincinnati, led northward through Hamilton and Warren counties and entered Greene county near the southwestern corner. The main street of the village of Bellbrook is coincident with this first road into the county, and from there it veered to the north and a little to the east, reaching the present village of Alpha In Beavercreek. township: It will be recalled that

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the first court house of the county, the rude log cabin of Peter Bowers, was located at Alpha on Beaver creek. It was this Pinkney road which first opened the way from Cincinnati northward to Greene county ; over its treacherous path, filled with stumps and swamps, came the first lawyers to Xenia ; along it moved the patient ox-teams of the forefathers with their meager belongings ; over it came the first supplies for the pioneer merchants of Xenia.

Just north of Alpha the Pinkney road was crossed by an east and west road, running from Xenia to Dayton, which was known in the early days as the "Beer road," a designation applied because there was so much beer hauled over its devious path. Another famous road of a century ago was known as the "Bullskin road," this being the first road into Xenia from the south. It was given its name because of the fact that it started from an Indian village of this name on the Ohio river.

TOLL ROADS IN THE COUNTY.

It is not certain when the first toll road appeared in America, but Pennsylvania had one in 1792, and there may have been other colonies which had them even before that date. Ohio is credited with its first one in Trumbull county as early as 1809. It is not certain when the first toll road appeared in Greene county, but they were in operation in the '30s. During that decade the General Assembly provided that county commissioners might assist in the building of turnpikes by purchasing stock in private companies. At one time Greene. c0unty was a network of these toll roads, and it cost as much to travel these pay-as-you-drive roads as it does to travel on steam or electric trains today. It was not until the '80s that the General Assembly abolished the law providing for public money to be expended through these private companies. In repealing the act allowing county commissioners to appropriate money- for toll roads, the Legislature made provision whereby the commissioners could purchase the roads already in the hands of private companies. But it was not until 1910 that a law was passed which made it mandatory for all counties to take over all toll roads within their limits. Furthermore, the counties were authorized to issue bonds for this purpose if they could. not otherwise provide the money for their purchase and there are a number of counties in the state that are paying interest on bonds issued for the sole purpose of buying toll roads, and which in some counties extend until 193o.

SOMETHING ABOUT ROAD LAWS.

The building of public highways in Ohio is hedged about with a multiplicity of enactments. From the earliest days of the state down to 1915 the road laws of the state were a miscellaneous patchwork of legislative acts, the

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result of more than a century of legislation. Prior to 1915 those interested in good roads had been demanding that the state revise its road laws, but it was impossible to get the legislative sanction necessary to bring' this about. It is fruitless to follow the vagaries of highway legislation since the first act was passed on August I, 1792, by the Legislature of the old Northwest Territory. Subsequent road laws were passed by the same body on. October 28, 1799, December 13, 1799, and January 23, 1802. This latter act was in force when the first state constitution was adopted in 1802, and consequently was the first road law in the state of Ohio. During the period of the old constitution (1802-51) there were hundreds of road laws placed on the statute books of the state, but most of these were of local application only and not concerned with highways at large. After the adoption of the 1851 constitution there was a considerable change in the management Of highways, but the law until 1912 still permitted road taxes to be worked out by those against whom they were assessed. In 1892 an effort was made to provide a highway committee, or rather a commission, which was to investigate general road conditions in the state and make such recommendations to the Legislature as they might see fit. It is interesting to note that this commission of 1892 reported that public highways were matters of purely local concern, and that their maintenance was a matter which should be left in the hands of the local authorities. It is this idea that has been responsible for the backward condition of the roads of the state. Not until 1904 did Ohio awaken to the necessity of establishing a centralized highway department.

With the legislative act of 1904 the state started on a new era 0f road making. Between 1851 and 1904 the state made no appropriation for roads, but on the other hand contributed freely of legislative acts to assist the local authorities. The act of 1904, supplemented by acts passed up until 1915, placed road construction in the state on a new basis altogether. The most revolutionary change was brought about by an amendment to the constitution in 1912 which abolished the principle of w0rking out the road tax. This antiquated system is fast disappearing all over the United States, and Ohio was one of the last states to rid itself of this obnoxious system. The present system of highway construction is, based on the legislative act of 1915, known as the Cass highway act, a comprehensive act covering ninety-two pages of the Laws of Ohio. It is not possible to go into detail to set forth the various provisions of this act, but its general provisions may be briefly summed up as follows : The county surveyor was designated as the county highway superintendent and was general supervisor of all the roads and bridges in the county. He was given the authority to appoint such assistants as he might require in the performance of the duties connected with his

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office. The county has twelve townships and each township is divided into road districts. The law provided that each township may have from one to four districts each. Each district in the township is in charge of a township highway superintendent appointed by the township trustees, the official receiving a per diem of $2.25. He is restricted to a definite number of days during the year, for which he may draw a salary, the number being determined by the trustees.

The law of 1915 underwent several radical changes at the hands of the 1917 General Assembly.
The changes are embodied in the White-Mucahy act (March 10, 1917). While the main features of the old act were continued, its administration as regards the counties was changed. The office of county highway superintendent was abolished and to the county surveyor, who, in most of the counties of the state, had served as highway superintendent during the past two years, was given most of the duties formerly in the hands of the highway superintendent. With the abolition of the office of highway superintendent the surveyor was placed upon a straight salary basis and the fees formerly attached to the office of highway superintendent now revert to the county. In other words the county surveyor is still highway superintendent, but is not officially recognized as such by title. He does practically the same work, exercises the same jurisdiction over roads and performs the functions as were prescribed by the act of 1915.

Ohio has a set of names for its roads which are somewhat confusing. There are township reads, county roads and state roads. State roads are of two kinds—inter-county and market. Each road is in a distinct class regarding the method of providing and paying for the same. Main market. roads are the main roads leading from a large city in one county to a large city in another. Inter-county roads follow the same principle between counties. Under late enactments of the federal Congress, federal roads will be established as the main roads in the United States, such as the national pike south of us. The county and township roads are the less important roads in the county. The best roads of the county are the inter-county highways. Greene county now has eight of the inter-county highways. Their official designations are obtained by hyphenating the towns which they connect. They are as follows : Dayton-Springfield, Columbus-Cincinnati, Dayton-Chillicothe, Springfield-Xenia, Wilmington-Xenia, Springfield-Jamestown and Jamestown-Hillsboro. These roads have a total length in Greene county of 89.60 miles of the total road mileage of the county.

The act of 1915 provided that all roads shall be numbered and named and that all bridges shall be located and numbered. A traveler would, therefore, be able to follow a road by the numbers on the bridges and culverts. For instance, he comes to a bridge numbered "125/1o." The first number,

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"125," means that the road is No. 125, while the "10" means that the bridge is the tenth one on that road. Thus the county surveyors are enabled to keep a more accurate record of the bridges under their supervision. Surveyor Fawcett already has all of this work done in Greene county.

Greene county has two rivers within its limits which require bridges of considerable size. There are four bridges over Mad river, two of the old-fashioned wooden bridges with a shingle roof over them, and two modern steel structures. The Little Miami river is spanned by fifteen bridges, seven covered wooden bridges, seven steel bridges, and one stone-arched bridge (at Clifton). The branch of the Little Miami which runs through Yellow Springs is crossed by two bridges, 0ne steel and one stone. The largest bridge in the county is known as the Roxanna bridge, and is near the southern line of the county. This bridge is a steel structure, 390 feet in length, and was constructed in 1908 at a cost of approximately $15,000. There is only one unbridged road leading across the Little Miami river, that being the road running northwest from Xenia, commonly known as the Fair Ground road. It might be noted that the county did not have a single bridge swept out in the devastating flood of 1913.

RAILROADS.

In many ways Greene county was fortunate in not being in the path of any of the numerous canals which were built up and down and across the state of Ohio. The counties crossed by canals were not quite as anxious to have the railroad as th0se that did not have them, besides the canal counties came into close touch with some high finance that made. them somewhat skeptical of all public improvements for many years to come. Greene county happened to lay in the path, however, of the first railroad built in the state. The day in August, 1845, when the first train pulled into Xenia was a red-letter day in the history of Greene county, for with the coming of the railroad the growth of the county was stimulated in every direction. The railroad gave the farmer's an outlet for their products ; it made it possible for the manufacturer to increase his output and 'reach hitherto inaccessible markets. The Little Miami railroad opened the way to Cincinnati to the south in 1845 and the following year the road was in operation as far north as Springfield. This eighty-four miles of railway between Cincinnati and Springfield was soon hauling all the passengers and freight that its meager rolling stock could handle.

In 1918 Greene county is well supplied with both steam and electric roads. The Little Miami railroad after many changes in name finally became a part of the great Pennsylvania system, while the same system has a road entering the county .from the west and, passing through the county seat.

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goes across the northeast corner of the county to Columbus. The old Dayton & Western, later the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, and now a branch of the Baltimore & Ohio, parallels the Pennsylvania from Dayton to Xenia. Thence it runs eastward through the county to Washington Court House and points farther east in the state. These three roads are the only roads through the county seat, and the only roads traversing the entire length of the county.

There are three other steam roads which reach the county, but which do not pass through the county seat. Two of these cut across the northwestern corner of the county, being roads running between Springfield and Dayton, one the Big Four and the other the Erie. Both roads run through Osborn. The third steam road of the county cuts the southeastern corner of the county, passing through Bowersville. This is a branch of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton railroad.

THE PENNSYLVANIA LINES.

The first railroad of the county, the Little Miami, now a part of the Pennsylvania system, dates its inception from an act of the General Assembly of the state, approved March 11, 1836. Its charter called for the construction and maintenance of a railroad from Cincinnati to Springfield, a distance of eighty-four miles. It was this road which reached Xenia nine years later, the road that now passes through the city along the west side of the public square. Work was not begun on the road until 1837, and it was not until December, 1842, that the road was ready for traffic between `Cincinnati and Mulford, a small town a few miles northeast of Cincinnati. By August, 1845, the road was opened between Cincinnati and Xenia. Just a year later, the road was opened throughout its entire length.

A volume might easily be written about the old Little Miami railroad; about the crude manner of its construction ; the trouble its promoters had in financing it ; about the trouble they had in getting through the towns along its right-of-way; about the queer little engines, all wood-fired, and the flimsy little coaches which were first used. But such a discussion, interesting as it might be, is not particularly a part of history of Greene county. It should be said, however, that a long and even violent argument ensued when the question arose as to which street of Xenia should have the honor of having the road on it. The argument narrowed down to the streets on either side of the public square. The tax-payers on the east side wanted the road, but they felt the company should pay something for the privilege of using their street. The citizens along the street west of the public square, headed by the Hivlings, came forward with a proposition to give the company a right-of-way. The Hivlings had just completed a fine hotel

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at the southeast corner of Main and Detroit streets and were naturally very anxious that the railroad be built along Detroit street. Dr. Joshua Martin, who lived farther down the street in probably the finest brick house in the town, was very much opposed to the road coming down Detroit street, but the Hivlings seemed to have more influence with the town council, and when the final vote on the question came, it was voted to allow the railroad the use of Detroit street. And it was so ordered, and the railroad is there to this day.

Another interesting phase 0f the Little Miami railroad and Xenia is concerned with its stations in the city. As every one knows, all the Pennsylvania trains running to and from Springfield make two stops in Xenia: One at the little, old-fashioned building on the southeast corner of Second and Detroit streets, and the other stop at the union station at the crossing of the two branches of the Pennsylvania about three blocks (the company now calls it two-tenths of a mile) southwest of the original station. The first station mentioned was formerly the property of Ryan Gowdy, and when he died he left a will in which he bequeathed the little brick building in question to the railroad company as a station house, but with the stipulation that the company should, for all time to come, stop all of their trains at the station. The company accepted the property with this understanding, and it is for this reason that the Springfield division of the Pennsylvania has two stations in Xenia. Another land-mark connected with 'the Pennsylvania roads in Xenia is the ancient station at the crossing of the two branches of the road. This was built at the time the Columbus & Xenia branch of the Pennsylvania was ii the process of construction in the latter part of the forties. This venerable brick building was a combination hotel-station and for many years was the only first class hotel in Xenia. John Durant, the superintendent of the Little Miami, lived in this building with his family for years. The trains used to make a dinner stop here—in the days before the modern dining car was known.

It is necessary at this point to digress a little to bring in the story of that part of the Pennsylvania which runs from Dayton to Xenia, and from the latter city to Columbus. It must be understood that there were three roads originally, the three now being combined as a part of the Pennsylvania lines : (1 ) the road from Cincinnati to Springfield via Xenia, that is the Little Miami originally ; (2) the Columbus & Xenia road; (3) the Dayton & Western road.

The Little Miami road has been discussed. The next road was the Columbus & Xenia, chartered on March 12, 1844, and ready for operation in February, 1850. The next step in the history of these two roads was taken on November 3o, 1853, when the Little Miami and Columbus & Xenia

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roads were consolidated. To add to the complicated railroad history of the county about this time, a third road, which had been in the process of construction since 1850, was opened for business. This third road was known as the Dayton & Western, and in 1853 the road between Dayton and Xenia was ready for operation. But the '50s saw still another railroad running through Greene county, and while it was not completed for nearly a score of years afterwards, yet it figured in the railroad mergers of the '50s and '60s as they affected Greene county.

It might seem a little strange that men with money would build two railroads between towns sixteen miles apart, as are Xenia and Dayton. But as a matter of fact there were two steam roads projecting between these two towns about the same time-1850. This may not appear so strange when it is within the memory of citizens now living in Xenia that the same financial interests furnished the capital to build two electric lines between Xenia and Dayton within the last score of years. The fact remains that a company was organized in the fore part of the '50s to build a road from Dayton to Belpre, a town on the Ohi0 river in Washington county. This company, known as the Dayton, Xenia & Belpre Railroad Company, commenced grading at once through Greene county. Some of the townships of the county, particularly Silvercreek, voted to bond themselves to the extent of ten thousand dollars to help matters along. Nine thousand dollars was actually paid over to the company before it was found that the company was going to suspend operations. The road was graded from Dayton through Xenia and as far east as Jamestown in the '50s—and stopped—and stopped for about twenty years.

It has been mentioned that the Little Miami and Columbus & Xenia roads were consolidated in 1853, and that the Dayton & Western between Dayton and Xenia was completed the same year. The next step in the railroad history of the county was taken on January 1, 1865, at which time the consolidated Little Miami and Columbus & Xenia roads entered into a joint lease of the Dayton & Western. On the 4th of the following month these same two companies bought the Dayton, Xenia & Belpre railroad from Dayton to Xenia. This somewhat complicated merger was dissolved on November 30, 1869, and a new contract was negotiated. The new agreement provided that the Little Miami should lease the Columbus & Xenia railroad for a period of ninety-nine years, and with the privilege of renewal in 1868. Within a month from the time this contract was entered into, on January 1, 1870, the Little Miami road entered into a lease with the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway Company, whereby it leased to this company for a period of ninety-nine years, renewable forever, its road, all rolling stock and equipment of all kinds, together with its leased roads (the branch

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between Columbus and Xenia, and the one between Dayton and Xenia). And it is this company which is today a part of the great Pennsylvania System.

It has been noticed that an effort was made to build a road from Dayton through Xenia to Belpre in the '50s, but that the company failed. In the middle of the '70s, just after the panic of 1873, the agitation for such a road to open up the coal fields of southeastern Ohio culminated in the 'organization of a company to take over the old right-of-way and build the road. Greene county, as well as the other counties through which the proposed road was to pass, was ready to help the project. It was thought that most of the old grade could be utilized, and thus the road could be built quickly and without a heavy outlay. Twenty years before this time Silvercreek. township had voted ten thousand dollars for a road to go through Jamestown, and, as previously stated, had paid in all but one thousand dollars of the amount. In 1875 the township came forward with the other thousand dollars. The road was soon under construction, but it was found advisable in many places to change the right-of-way from the original road of the fifties. Parts of the 1850 grade may be seen east of Xenia to this day. While the road was never built through to Belpre, it was soon running as far east as Chillicothe.

The Pennsylvania road parallels this road from Dayt0n to Xenia. It subsequently came to be known as the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, and was operated under this name until the summer of 1917, when it passed into the hands of the Baltimore & Ohio. This road now runs two passenger trains each way daily between Dayton and Wellston. Xenia and Jamestown are the only two stations on the road in Greene county.

BIG FOUR AND ERIE RAILROADS.

The Big Four and the Erie railroads cut across the northwestern corner of Greene county, that corner of the county falling between a direct route from Springfield to Dayton. The Big Four, the first to be built, was first known as the Mad River & Lake Erie road, and was chartered by the General Assembly in 1832. Its charter stated that the company proposed to build a railroad from Sandusky on Lake Erie to Cincinnati on the Ohio. It was built finally, but it was eighteen years before it was completed across the state. Construction work began at both ends of the line, and at places between, but financial difficulties had to be met and solved year after year, the result being that it was nearly a score of years before trains were running its entire length. Trains were running from Sandusky south as far as Urbana in the summer of 1848, and north from Cincinnati to Dayton about

GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 697

the same time, the part between Urbana and Dayton, via Springfield, being the last constructed. History records that the first train between Springfield to Dayton made its maiden trip on January 1, 1850. The road through Greene county passes east of Mad river and through the village of Osborn, all of the road in the county being within Bath township. The village of Osborn was laid out after the road was built through the township, and was named in honor of E. F. Osborn, the superintendent of the railroad at the time.

DETROIT, TOLEDO & IRONTON RAILROAD.

The newspapers of Greene county make frequent references to railroads that were being projected through the county. From 1850 to 188o there was scarcely a year in which some railroad was not proposed that would pass through the county. But for the score of such proposed railroads there has been just one which gave any promise of what its promoters claimed for it, and this railroad stands today midst its grass-grown environment as the dream of someone who had hoped to build a straight line railroad between Cincinnati and Columbus.

A glance at a map of the state of Ohio will show a railroad running from Sedalia, in Madison county, to Kingman, in Clinton county. This road wends its rusty way across Greene county, passing through the village of Bowersville on its way across. Behind this road is a story, a story which will probably never find its way into the records of the state's history. It has been the ambition of m0re than one company to construct a direct line from Cincinnati to Columbus, but it was not until the Miami Valley & Columbus Company was organized that any definite work was done toward the construction of the road. The road as planned was to run between Columbus and Waynesville, at which latter town it was to connect with what was then called the Cincinnati Northern, now the Pennsylvania. Waynesville is a small town in the northern part of Warren county, about three miles south of the Greene-Warren county line.

Construction began on the road in 1877 and all seemed to be going well. Suddenly, in 1880, the whole plan collapsed and since that year not a shovel of dirt has been thrown or a tie laid on this road about which the papers had been talking for years. All that is left of the project is the road connecting Sedalia and Kingman, and about twenty miles of grade. The total distance between Columbus and Waynesville is about seventy-five miles, and the newspapers of the day reported that at least fifty miles of the distance had been graded when work was suspended. There were several different propositions to complete the road as originally planned, but as nearly forty

698 - GREENE COUNTY, OHO

years have passed since work on the road was suspended it does not appear that anything will ever be done with it. The part built belongs to the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton and is usually referred to as the Kingman branch of that road, or, for some reason, is locally known as the "Grasshopper."

GREENE COUNTY BUYS RAILROAD BONDS.

It is not generally known at the present time that when the first railroads were being built through the state that practically every county in the state through which a railroad passed bought railroad stock and bonds. Greene county was one of the number to indulge in the luxury of railroad stocks and bonds, and, interesting to state, made a handsome profit on the venture. For several years the county paid much of its current indebtedness with the dividends from its railroad stocks and bonds. The old iron fence around the public square, for instance, was paid for with railroad dividends. The present jail was paid for entirely out of railroad dividends, and scores of other much needed improvements were made possible because of the big dividends which the county enjoyed from its railroad stocks and bonds.

A complete tabulation of the railroad stock and bonds owned by the county in 1858 may be found in the county commissioners journal, Vol. VII, pp. 525-526. A summary of the stocks and bonds there listed is as follows (all the stock being listed at $50 par value):