COUNTY	BUSHELS WHEAT	BUSHELS OATS	BUSHELS CORN SHELED	BUSHELS IRISH POTATOES	TONS HAY OTHER THAN CLOVER
Allen Defiance Hancock Hardin Henry Logan Mercer Paulding Putnam Van Wert Wood Total	324,217 150,951 509,804 303,581 335,378 372,444 450,140 153,925 525,643 322,420 453,687 3,902,190	302,810 637,513 418,634 485,710 694,690 402,906 659,469 776,817 407,647 581,8.58 1,318,483 6,686,537	1,062,426 1,114,482 1,897,955 1,186,468 2,283,889 1,444,022 1,644,644 2,016,302 2,481,147 1,623,894 2,924,860 18,680,089	43,545 79,895 90,660 144,427 70,510 39,931 52,150 42,460 88,075 41,852 118,026 812,531	16,948 33,935 27,845 23,147 16,414 18,964 14,104 21,523 20,855 29,386 34,181 251905

In addition there was harvested a large amount of rye, buckwheat and clover. The same report furnishes statistics as to the vast quantity of vegetables produced and sold, and shows that Allen County in 1903 produced 5,350 tons of clover hay, 465,905 pounds of butter and 609,139 dozen of eggs. In 1903, 98,840 acres were under cultivation, 44,915 acres in pasture, 27,141 acres in forest and 3,826 acres were lying waste. THE CLIMATE OF ALLEN COUNTY. The climate of a country governs its products, as well as its people. History shows that the most favored portion of the world, all things considered, is a zone, extending around the globe, only a few degrees in width north and south of the 4oth parallel of north latitude. Within this zone the world's greatest events have transpired, and here have lived the largest number of the world's greatest men and women. Allen County is in this zone. F. Y. Davis, a noted observer and 5,3500orologist, says : "Some years ago when I furnished data on meteorology for the 98,8400ment, I got reports on the weather fro different parts of the country and found that Allen County compared most favorably with other parts of the continent, and the tables, which I send and which can be relied on as correct, show that, for an even temperature and a sufficient quantity of rain distributed through the 12 months of the year, Allen County is in a highly favored part of country." Mr. Davis has kindly furnished the following data, obtained from his records of 25 consecutive years, taken at his home near Lima. The table shows in degrees and tenths of degrees the average temperature in Allen County for each month of the 25 years ending December 31, 1905: 166 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY The following table shows the total number of days in each year in which rain or snow fell during the 25 years ending December 31, 1905 : The total precipitation (rain and melted snow and hail) in Allen County for the 25 years ending December 31, 1905, was 84 feet 9Y2 inches, divided among the 12 months as follows : January, 90.3 inches; February, 97.3 ; March, 102.5 ; April, 87.0; May, 111.5 ; June 100.8; July, 84.7; August, 76.9 ; September, 56.8 ; October, 54.8; November, 81.9 ; and December, 73.0. THE STREAMS OF ALLEN COUNTY. While this county is not noted for either the number or the great beauty of its streams, yet for historical purposes they cannot be omitted. The Auglaize River is one of the historical streams of Ohio. Its name is syn onymous with the names of great Indian chiefs, bold fortifications, lasting victories and disastrous defeats. Along its sedgy banks marched the serried columns of Wayne and St. Clair ; through its dark ravines the dusky warriors of Tecumseh fought; on its bank one of the earliest forts in all Northwestern Ohio was erected—Fort Amanda—and there, too, was a shipyard and a national cemetery. The United States government began business at this point for here was the first postoffice. In the days of "Auld Lang Syne," the Auglaize was a navigable stream, capable of floating heavy laden flatboats, pirogues and scows, but in the present time it is greatly reduced in size, because of the very complete drainage of the country. This stream has its source in Hardin County, flowing through the townships of Auglaize, Perry, Amanda and Marion, thence curving through the counties of Putnam, Paulding and Defiance, it enters the Maumee at Defiance. In the angle formed by the union of these two streams was located Fort Defiance. The Ottawa River, which flows through Lima, has also an interesting history. The name is fully explained in another chapter, and the very interesting account of the pioneer poet whose ear for harmonious sounds was so noted is given below. The Ottawa River has its source in the "Great Marsh" of Hardin County and flows through the townships of Jackson, Bath, Ottawa, Shawnee, German and Sugar Creek, entering the Auglaize River in Paulding County. Important among the smaller streams of the county are Riley Creek, Sugar Creek, Plum Creek, Cranberry Creek and Dog Creek. THE BEAUTIFUL "SWINONIA." There died at Findlay, May 12, 1856, at the age of 68 years, Andrew Coffinberry. He was born in Virginia and came to Mansfield, Ohio, about 1808. After the second war, with Great Britain, he studied law at Mansfield with John M. May, and then for nearly half a century he practiced in nearly all of the counties of Northwestern Ohio, beginning with their AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 167 organization. He was, says Knapp, conspicuous among the old-time lawyers of the Maumee Valley, and beloved by his professional brethren and by all with whom he came in contact. He obtained the sobriquet of "Good Count Coffinberry" by reason of his kindly nature, genteel address and extraordinary neatness of dress. When traversing the circuit from county seat to county seat, the journeys always being on horseback, he carried a considerable apparel. From his resemblance to the German count or baron Puffendorf, he was sometimes called "Count Puffendorf." Many comical stories are told of him. In 1842 the Count came before the public in the role of a poet in a small volume printed by Wright & Legg at Columbus. It was entitled "The Forest Rangers : A Poetic Tale of the Western Wilderness in 1794, connected with and comprising the march and battle of General Wayne's army, and abounding with interesting incidents of fact and fiction, in seven cantos." The scene of the book is of course the Black Swamp region, the Maumee country, wherein the words of the poem : Mustered strong the Kas-Kas-Kies, Wyandots and the Miamies, Also the Potawatamies, The Delawares and Chippewas,' The Kickapoos and Ottawas, The Shawanoes and many strays From almost every Indian Nation, Had joined the fearless congregation, Who after St. Clair's dread defeat, Returned to this secure retreat. The main subject is the story of the capture, captivity and final rescue of the maiden Julia Gray and the wedded Nancy Gibbs. The poem gives personal narratives, dialogues, Indian speeches, drinking-songs of Wayne's soldiers, death-songs of savages, etc. It also describes natural scenery wherein Hog Creek for the purposes of euphony appears under the name "Swinonia," thus : From Blanchard to Swinonia, he Hied o'er to see, who there might be. To make it true to nature the illiterate frontier characters speak their own vernacularr in doggerel rhyme. For instance, Mrs. Nancy Gibbs, who states her "maiding name was Nancy Jarred," in describing her courtship by Gibbs, says : His ways was all so dreffle nice, What maiding could reject the splice? The hook stretches out for 200 pages, and in such a curious conglomeration of intensely realistic jingle, and, as a whole, is such a strange eccentric conception that any allusion. to it in the presence of those acquainted with it seldom fails to bring a twinkle in their eyes.. His old friends on the bench and at the bar,. and they were a host, at the time of its appearance, now nearly half a century gone, enjoyed' it hugely, for it brought the good Count and. his oddities so vividly before them. For the foregoing article on Count Coffinberry and the beautiful "Swinonia," we are indebted to the account found in Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio." SPRINGS. Most springs are fed by meteoric waters in the form of rain and snow, that percolate into the soil and accumulate at some depth in the strata. This accumulation is known as ground water, and its upper surface, which is called the water level, coincides more or less closely with the surface of the ground, receding from it, however, under the hill crests and approach-. ing it closely under the valleys. When the side. of a valley is steep, or its floor is much depressed, the ground water may come to the surface and escape as a spring. Springs may also be formed by the percolating waters encountering an impervious layer of clay or cemented sand which retards their further descent, causing them to follow this dense stratum, until they emerge on some hill slope. Springs of this character are more or less dependent on rainfall. All water, in penetrating the soil and rocks, even if at no great depth, becomes more or less charged with dissolved mineral and organic matter, as 168 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY by reason of its carbonic acid it possesses marked solvent powers. Spring waters therefore commonly contain various solid substances in solution, such as carbonate, sulphate or muriate of lime, salts of soda, potash, magnesia, and iron, or more rarely silica. When the quantity of dissolved solids is unusually large, the spring is termed a mineral spring, and is often utilized for medicinal purposes. Underground waters may collect above an impervious stratum, which does not appear at the surface, and escape by slow percolation through the overlying strata, forming a marsh or swale. To such marshy tracts occurring in the arid regions of California, Arizona and Mexico, the name cienaga has been given. Mineral Springs.—The springs of the county, some of which produce mineral water, are found chiefly in Bath, Shawnee, Richland and Marion townships. The water flows directly from the waterline rock, which is charged with its current from the Niagara formation. On sections 7 and 8, Bath township, white sulphur springs are the rule rather than the exception ; while the artesian wells at Bluffton, Lima and other points afford a good supply of water strongly impregnated with valuable chemical properties. In almost any portion of the county water for domestic purposes may be found at a depth of from 10 to 30 feet. In Spencer, Amanda, the southern portion of Marion and part of German and Sugar Creek townships, a good supply of excellent water is found on penetrating the bed-rock ; while in the northern .part of Marion township on the Van Wert ridge, water is found in the gravel above the modified drift. The drift in Ohio is very largely the source of well water, and of springs. The famous old sulphur spring on the Lamison farm has long been noted in the annals of the county. Its destruction by the ruthless hand of commerce is referred to in the beautiful poem of C. W. Westbay in Chapter VI. The beautiful spring at the Children's Home in Shawnee township is a source of pleasure and comfort, not only to the children of the home but to many weary travelers, and the great flowing sulphur spring on the Spencerville road west of Lima is well worth a visit. These springs have great economic usefulness and enhance the value of the land upon which they are located. BOTANY. All the trees and shrubs indigenous to Northwestern Ohio are found in Allen County in the highest state of botanical development. Among the leading trees, those named in the following list attain the limit of growth here : Beech, sugar maple, white oak, sycamore, shag-bark hickory, white ash, flowering dog-wood, American elm, prickly ash, red oak, blue ash, June berry, thorn, swamp white oak, honey locust, water beech, black walnut, iron wood, black willow, mulberry, basswood, cottonwood, buckeye, burr oak, large-toothed aspen, plum, swamp maple, black ash, Kentucky coffee bean, black cherry, trembling aspen, sumach, black thorn, balm of Gilead, pin oak, pawpaw and a species of butternut. The flora of the county comprises no less than 400 genera, embracing about 900 species. ARCHAEOLOGY. It has been said that no portion of Ohio is without its souvenirs of that mysterious race called the Mound-Builders. In this county stone hammers, axes and chisels have been found. Flint spear-heads and stone figures have been unearthed, and many are of the finest quality. In the excavations made in water-lime and Niagara conformations, prints of leaves and tracks of animals unknown to our present botanists and geologists have been discovered. Fossils are found in both hard clay and rock. Remains of the megalosaurus and lesser lizards, the megalonyx or great sloth, mastodon, dinotherium and other huge animals known to us only by their gigantic fossil remains, have been exhumed in various parts of the county. Traces of the Mound-Builders are found along the streams. The burial mounds of the Indians, resid- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 171 ing in Allen County in the early years of its settlement, were leveled by them in 1832-33, before their migration Westward, as noted in a previous chapter. ZOOLOGY. This county, like others of Northwestern Ohio, was fully stocked with all the animals and reptiles of the Western wilderness. In 1831 the larger animals were numerous, as is evidenced by the fact that during that year a deer made its appearance in the streets of Lima. The elk was not an inhabitant at this time, though little doubt can exist of his stay here up to the close of the first quarter of this century. The bear and panther were old residents of the district, and regular visitants for many years after the settlement of the county was begun. The wolf continued to make the county his home until about 1860, so also was the red deer an old and friendly neighbor of the pioneers. The wild-hog roamed through the county as late as 1833. A hundred species of fur-bearing animals could be found in the primeval wilderness, a hundred species of beautiful birds in the forests, while the marsh and creek and river and forest and opening were inhabited by venomous reptiles. With the departure of the Indians, all the large animals as well as the most dangerous of the reptiles disappeared. SOME BIRDS OF ALLEN COUNTY. By Paul J. Stueber. We may accept as true Professor Morse's 'estimate of the value of birds to the scientist ; we need not question their importance in the -economics of Nature, but we are still far from recognizing the possibilities of their influence upon our lives. An inherent love of birds is an undeniable psychological fact, which finds its most frequent expression in the general fondness for cage birds. If we can learn to regard the birds of the woods and fields with all the affections we lavish on our poor captives in their gilded homes, what an inexhaustible store of enjoyment is ours. It is not alone the beauty, power of song, or intelligence of birds which attract us, it is their human attributes. Man exhibits hardly a trait which he will not find reflected in the life of a bird. Love, hate ; courage, fear ; anger, pleasure; vanity, modesty ; virtue, vice ; constancy, fickleness ; generosity, selfishness ; wit, curiosity, memory, reason—we may find them all exhibited in the lives of birds. Birds have thus become symbolic of certain human characteristics, and the more common species are so interwoven in our art and literature that by name at least they are known to all of us. Shakespeare makes over 600 references to birds or bird-life. If we should rob Wordsworth's verses of their birds, how sadly mutilated what remained would be! But why leave a knowledge of birds to poets and naturalists ? Go yourself to the field and learn that birds do not exist solely in books, but are concrete, sentient beings, whose acquaintance may bring you more unalloyed happiness than the wealth of the Indies. John Burroughs understands this when he writes of the study of birds : "There is a fascination about it quite 0verpowering. It fits so well with other things—with fishing, hunting, farming, walking, camping out—with all that takes one to the fields and woods. One may go blackberrying and make some rare discovery ; while driving his cow to pasture, hear a new song, or make a new observation. Secrets lurk on all sides. There is news in every bush. What no man ever saw before may the next moment be revealed to you. What a new interest the woods have! How you long to explore every nook and corner of them." Human friends may pass beyond our ken, but our list of acquaintances in the bird world increases to the end and shows no vacancies. The marsh the blackbirds loved may become the site of the factory, but no event on the calendar is more certain than that in due time and place we shall hear the tinkling chorus of the epauleted minstrels rising and falling on the crisp morning air. * * * Time may come when never more The wilderness shall hear the lion roar ; But, long as the cock shall crow from household perch To rouse the dawn, soft gales shall speed thy wing, And thy erratic voice be faithful to the spring! 172 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY The woods of our youth may disappear, but the thrushes will always sing for us, and their voices, endeared by cherished associations, arouse echos of a hundred songs and awaken memories before which the years will vanish. Whether your object be, to study birds as a scientist or simply as a lover of Nature, the first step is the same—you must learn to know them : with patience and practice the identification of birds is a comparatively easy matter, and in the end you will name them with surprising ease and certainty. There is generally more character in the flight of a bird than there is in the gait of a man. Both are frequently indescribable but perfectly diagnostic, and you learn to recognize bird friends as you do human ones—by experience. If the people of dear old Allen would find themselves early some spring morning in a tree-dotted meadow with a reed-bordered pond or stream surrounded by woods, rolling uplands and orchards, they would in all probability see a great number of the below mentioned birds : Zenaidura macroura (Linn.); Mourning Dove (Male).—Upper parts olive grayish brown; forehead vinaceous, crown bluish slate color; sides of neck with metallic reflection, a small black mark below the ear, tail feathers like back, outer ones banded with black and broadly tipped with ashy white ; breast vinaceous ; belly cream-buff. Length 11.85. Width 5.72. Nest, a flat structure of small twigs rather loosely put together on lower branches of a tree, generally within 10 feet of the ground ; rarely on the ground. Eggs, two or three have been found, white, 1.07 x .83. Doves resemble wild pigeons, but are much smaller, and their rapid flight is accompanied by the whistling sound of the wings, while the flight of the wild pigeon is said to be noiseless. The sweet, sad call of the male has won for the species its common name; it consists of several soft coos. These notes are uttered slowly and tenderly and with such apparent depth of feeling, that one might easily imagine the bird was mourning the loss of his mate, instead of singing a love song to her. Megascops asio (Linn.) ; Screech Owl (Rufous Phase).—Small size, about like a robin ; ear-tufts conspicuous, about an inch in length; upper parts bright rufous, finely streaked with black ; under parts white; toes rather scantily feathered; eyes yellow. Nest in hollow trees, woodpecker holes, etc. Eggs, 4 to 6 or even 8 and 9, white subspherical. When night comes one may hear the screech owl's tremulous wailing whistle. It is a weird, melancholy call, welcomed only by those who love Nature's voice, whatever be the medium through which she speaks. Ceryle alcyon (Linn.) ; Belted Kingfisher (Adult Male).—Upper parts bluish gray ; wings with small white spots, most of the feathers tipped with white, tail feathers with numerous spots and broken bands of white; a white spot before the eye ; throat white, this. color passing on to the sides of the neck and nearly meeting on the back of the neck ; a band. across the breast, and the sides bluish gray. Length 13.02. Width 6:17. Bill 2.00. Nest, in a hole in a bank, about six feet from the entrance. Eggs, five to eight, white, 1.34x1.05. The shores of wooded streams and ponds. are the chosen haunts of the kingfisher. Silently he perches on some limb overhanging the water, ever on the alert for food or foe. The kingfisher hunts after the manner of the fish hawk. In passing over the water it needs only the glint of a shining fin or scale just beneath the surface to catch his watchful eye. On quickly moving wings he hovers over the place, waiting only a fair chance to plunge on the unsuspecting fish below. Emerging from the water with his prey in his bill, he shakes the spray from his plumage, and, with an exultant rattle, flies away to some favorite. perch. Melanerpes erythrocephalus (Linn.) ; Red Headed Woodpecker.—Head, neck, throat, and. upper breast deep red ; upper back. primaries, bases of the secondaries and wing-coverts, bluish black ; rump and upper tail coverts AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 173 white; tail black, feathers more or less tipped or margined with white; lower breast and belly white. In the immature bird, the red head and neck of the adult is replaced by mixed grayish brown and fuscous; lower breast and belly white, more or less streaked or spotted with fuscous. Length 9.75. Width 5.52. Nest generally in a dead tree. Eggs four to six; when fresh, a beautiful pinkish white, but after incubation a glossy white. Cyanocitta cristata (Linn.); Blue Jay.—Upper parts grayish blue; under parts dusky whitish, whiter on the throat and belly; a black band passing across the back of the head down the sides of the neck and across the breast; head crested ; exposed surface of the wings. blue, the greater wing-coverts and secondaries barred with black and tipped with white ; tail blue, all but the outer feathers barred with black, and all but the middle pair broadly tipped with white. Length 11.74. Width 5.14. Tail 5.19. Nest, of rootlets, compactly interwoven, generally in a tree crotch. Eggs four to six, pale olive-green or brownish ashy, rather thickly marked with distinct or obscure spots of varying shades of cinnamorx-brown, 1.10 x.85. Like many men the blue jay needs the inspiration of congenial company to bring out the social side of his disposition. Household duties may perhaps absorb him, but certain it is that when at home he is very different from the noisy fellow who, with equally noisy comrades, roams the woods in the fall. Yes, one may hear his "jay, jay" ring out on a frosty morning air in the city. The blue jay is both a mimic and a ventriloquist. Besides an inexhaustible stock of whistles and calls of his own, he imitates the notes of other species, notably those of several different hawks. Cathartes aura (Linn.) ; Turkey Vulture (Turkey Buzzard).—Recognition marks : Eagle size or less; naked red head ; black plumage nearly uniform ; soaring flight. Nest in hollow trees, stumps or fallen logs, or in crannies of cliffs. Eggs, two, rarely three, elliptical-oval, dull white, greenish or buffy white, spotted and blotched irregularly with rich dark brown. Average size 2.80 x1.95. Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linn.) ; Bobolink.—Our June fields and meadows echo with the bobolink's "mad music" as on quivering wing he sings in ecstasy to his mate on her nest in the grasses below. What a wonderful song it is ! An inexpressible outburst ; a flood of melody from a heart overflowing with the joy of early summer. Piranga erythromelas (Vieill.); Scarlet Tanager (Male).—Bright scarlet, wings and tail black, under wing-coverts white. Nest, of fine twigs and weed stalks, seven to 20 feet up. Eggs, three to four, pale bluish white, with numerous rufous markings. High among the tree tops of the cool green woods the tanager sings through the summer days. We are first guided to him by his call and song. They are peculiar, and both have a rare woodsy flavor. Rallus longirostris crepitans (Gmel.); Clapper Rail.—Fulica americana. (Gmel.); American Coot (Mud Hen).—Actitis macularia (Linn.); Spotted Sandpiper.—Colinus virginianus (Linn.) ; Bob White Quail.—Colapes auratus (Linn.) ; Flicker, Yellow Hammer.—Chordeiles virginianits (Gmel.); Nighthawkvirginianus peelagica (Linn.); Chimney Swallowlagicailus colubris (Linn.) ; Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.—Tyrannus tyrannus (Linn.) ; Kingbird. — Sayornis phoebe (Lath.); Phoebe.—Nyctala acadica (Ginel.); Saw Whet Owl.—Falco spGinelus (Linn,.); American Sparrow Hawk.—Accipiter cooperi (Bonap.); Cooper Hawk (Chicken Hawk).— Dryobates villosus (Linn.); Hairy Woodpecker.—Comus americanus (Aud.) ; American Crow.—Agelaii:s .phoeniceus (LinCrow.—Agelaius Blackbird.—Sturnella magna (Linn.) ; Meadow -.Lark.—Icterus galbula (Linn ; Lark.—Icteruse.—Quiscalus quiscitla amens (Ridgrv.) ; Broquisculole.—Passer domesticus .(Linn.); English Sparrow. —Spinus tristis (Linn.) ; American Goldfinch. Poocaetes graminens (Gina.); Vesper Sparrow.—Melospifa fasciata (Gmel.); Song 174 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Sparrow.—Chelidon erythrogaster (Bodd.); Barn Swallow. — Galeoscoptes carolinensis (Linn.) ; Catbird. — Turdus mustelinus (Gmel.) ; Wood Thrush.—Merula migratoria (Linn.) ; American Robin.—Cardinalis cardinalis (Linn.) ; Cardinal. — Sialia sialis (Linn.) ; Bluebird.— Material has been taken from the following texts : Chapman's "Handbook of Birds" and "The Birds of Ohio," by Dawson and Jones. GEOLOGY OF ALLEN COUNTY. Geology is one of the youngest of the sciences. It has not been studied a great number of years, but it is of very great value. In the early times, the clergy began a discussion of the rocks of the earth, and of the theory of the earth's formation. James Hutton, in 1785, sounded the first note of geology, when he said he saw "no traces of a beginning and no prospects of an end." This statement is now the foundation stone of the geological structure. It was based upon a thoughtful study and upon facts gathered from a wide range. Hutton's work was taken up by Smith, and made still more modern and forceful. Sir Charles Lyell, who is sometimes called the founder of modern geology, gathered the results of former workers, added them to his own, and .gave the world a splendid system, which he entitles "Principles of Geology." This work is still a classic. The wide interest in geological study caused the various governments to take up the subject, and the result in the United States is seen in the magnificent work of the United States Geological Survey, and of the survey of the various States which have followed. The list of writers on geology now embraces such distinguished names as Agassiz, Darwin, Geikie, Lyell, Dana, La Conte, Tarr, Winchell, Prof. G. Frederick Wright and Dr. Edward Orton, the late distinguished State geologist of Ohio. The geology of Allen County is interesting and instructive. On the surface, evidences are found on every hand that the old Black Swamp once extended over its entire surface. The soil of the county is made valuable by the deposits from this old swamp, as well as from its natural richness. The geology of the county, however, is far more noted from the fact that vast oil and gas deposits are found beneath its surface. These deposits have sent the name "Lima Oil" to all parts of the world, and to-day Lima is the center of the greatest oil-producing country in the world. These interests make a somewhat detailed account of the oil industry and the oil formation of the rock a necessity. We have tried to treat both fully and accurately. The accompanying design will show very clearly the structure of the earth as it is discovered by the drill. This design is intended to show in a graphic way the various strata through which the drill must pass, before it reaches the celebrated Trenton rock or oil sand, where the millions of barrels of valuable oil have been stored away by the Creator—all for the use of man. The average depth of oil-wells in Indiana is 1,027 feet. The Trenton rock is drilled from 20 to 70 feet as the occasion demands, and it is in this porous rock that the gas, petroleum and salt water are found. The Niagara limestone, the first stone through which the drill passes on its downward course, is called the "drive." It sometimes reaches the enormous thickness of 450 feet, in which case it is almost impossible to penetrate it, and often causes great loss to the owner of the well. One oil man at Lima lost $3,000 in attempting to drill a well through the drive some AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 175 400 feet thick. In such case, it was found necessary to abandon the work on account of the great thickness of this Niagara limestone. While Allen county produces no coal, nevertheless the oil and gas are coal products, and for that reason a brief statement of Ohio coal interests will be of value here. "Coal is a hard, black, mineral substance which forms the chief fuel of the civilized nations. It consists mainly of carbon, with a proportion of bitumen, and is the product of decayed vegetable matter that flourished on the earth many years ago. Heat and pressure were the chief agents in the conversion of this dead matter, and according as these prevailed different classes of coal were formed. The two great divisions of coal are the anthracite and bituminous. Anthracite contains the most carbon—sometimes as high as 98 per cent., and the least bitumen or volatile matter. Hence it is difficult to ignite and burns without any flame, though it emits the greatest heat of any. In England and elsewhere this is called stone coal. The great anthracite coal-field of this country extends through much of Pennsylvania, Ohio and other States. The geological process that made anthracite produced graphite at a further stage. "Bituminous coal is found in almost every State, and is the cheaper and ordinary fuel of the people. Coal is mined from the beds or strata in which it lies deep in the earth. The mining is an important industry, employing many thousands of men, and very hazardous to those employed in it. Their chief danger is from the gas, called "fire damp," which gathers into corners of the mines, and, when ignited accidentally, causes terrible explosions. To guard against this danger, miners work with a safety lamp, one in which the light is covered with a gauze wire, so that nothing comes in contact with it. Besides its use fot fuel, coal yields numerous products of value. When it is burned in air-tight retorts, at a high heat, its volatile matter is drawn off in vapor, leaving coke behind. This coke has no impurities and is used for smelting metals and several industries. The vapor when cooled and purified, is our illuminating gas, the process of so cleansing it leaving a deposit of ammonia, water and tar. By distilling this tar, acc0rding to different methods, valuable oils are produced for lubrication and other purposes. Some 0f these oils are called benzoles, and are the source of aniline, from which many beautiful dyes of all shades of color are n0w produced, the blues and reds being the best known substitutes for indigo and cochineal. (Some 30 products of value are made from crude oil, at the Solar Oil Refinery in Lima.) "Perfumes, soaps, inks, papers and many other articles of commerce are now colored by aniline, but its tints are not durable enough for fabrics of cost. Ammonia and its various compounds, so familiar for toilet use, are all derived from the ammonia water deposited with coal tar. Shale is the clay contiguous to coal beds, which has been subjected to the same pressure and absorbed some of their bitumen. When this is distilled at low temperature, paraffine oils are produced, used for making fine candles and as lamp 0ils. Jet is a hard, lustrous substance resembling coal, but capable of being carved and wrought upon like marble or ivory. It is found along the sea-shore in certain countries and is supposed to be the fossilized gum of the geological period. It is made into buttons and jewelers' ornaments of various kinds." Economic Geology.—"A great number of geological products have economic value, and our industrial development of the present time is dependent up0n these products. The investigation of these from the standpoint of their occurrence, origin and uses belongs to the economic geologist. Of the topics of economic geology, undoubtedly the most important is the soil. Its origin, distribution, variations in texture and chemical composition, and the means of bettering it and of properly utilizing it, are questions of high importance. Building products—the building-stones, cement materials, and clays—form a. second important group ; mineral fuels, including coal, natural gas and petroleum, a third group ; and metallic products, including both 176 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY the precious and baser metals, form a fourth group. Besides these, there are many lesser products—the precious stones, abrasive materials, salt, gypsum, fertilizers, etc. The number of industries dependent upon this varied list of geological products, and the vital relation of several of them to modern civilization, show the value of a thorough and scientific knowledge of the nature and cause of their occurrence. It is the importance of this economic aspect of geology that has led governments, both State and national, to support expensive geological surveys. For a scientific study of economic geology, other aspects of geology must also be considered ; consequently the whole field of geology has profited from the need of study of the economic aspect." THE GLACIAL DRIFT. In Allen County, when the drill passes on its downward journey, usually the first 60 feet of earth through which it passes is known as the "drift." This varies in depth ; in some places it is only three or four feet, while others it reaches more than 100. We are very much interested in this form of the geology of Allen County, for the drift is of very great value. It is found in both America and Europe, extending over northern latitudes. It consists of sand, gravel, stones and masses of rock hundreds of tons in weight. These have all been removed from their original resting places, some only a few miles, others hundreds of miles, by glacial action. This transported finer material is called drift, and the stones or rocks bowlders. The region over which the transportation took place in North America embraced the whole surface from Labrador or New Foundland to the eastern part of Nebraska. It extended southward to the parallel of 40 degrees north latitude, and beyond this in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio. In the latter State the southern limit of the drift reaches the Ohio River at Cincinnati, and through the center of the southeastern quarter of the State. Thus it will be seen that Allen County was in the very center of the glacial drift of Ohio. The direction of the glacial drift was generally to the southeastward, southward or southwestward. It covers mountains and hills in the drift regions, and makes also a large part of the formation in the valley. When deposited over the hills it is called unstratified drift. In the river valleys, where within the reach of the waters, it is stratified drift, because there the sands and gravel were deposited in flowing water, which spread it out in beds. In drift-covered regions, the excavation for cellars and houses are often made in stratified drift, and the sands usually show a succession of beds, which is evidence of the action of water. Allen County is underlaid with stratified drift, and the real deposits of water-lime found all over the county have proved of great value in building stone and road material. The economic value of the drift to the farmer is almost beyond calculation. The vast gravel beds are used all over Ohio for roadways, and for ballasting railroad tracks. Many of the best springs in the State, and the water of wells, comes from the deposit of sand, gravel and loam of the drift. Much of the best farming land in Allen, as well as in other counties, is largely composed of drift material. In some parts of the State, the farmers have gathered the bowlders from the fields, and with them have made a very enduring fence, or stone wall, thus accomplishing a double purpose—clearing the field and forming the fence. The whole question of glaciers is one of great moment in the study of geology. In the ice age, huge masses of ice moved southward, carrying with them the material from which the present drift is formed, until they reached the limit of the ice sheet, where the temperature was sufficient to melt the ice, and deposit the debris thus carried, far from its original resting place. These moraines are seen very clearly marked in various parts of the counties, especially in the gravel beds of Allen and Putnam. The same process is going on at the present time, in the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Caucasus and in various other parts of the world. THE FIRST OIL WELL IN ALLEN COUNTY. The drill first began its work in Allen County in the spring of 1885, upon the AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 179 grounds of the Lima Straw Board Works, under the energetic direction of Benjamin C. Faurot, of Lima. The contractors were Brownyear and Martin. The well was put down for a double purpose. First, they needed a better quality of water and more of it for manufacturing purposes, and they hoped they might possibly get a supply of natural gas. Natural gas had been obtained a short time before this at Bowling Green and at Findlay, hence the operators were not without hope of obtaining the same supply of gas in Lima. The well was located within the grounds of the paper mills, on the bank of the Ottawa River, the casing having an elevation of about 850 feet above tide-water. As the drill descended into the earth, it was apparent that the same materials were obtained, and the same kind of rock must be penetrated, as had already been discovered in the Findlay wells. The lower limestone was reached at a depth of 1,250 feet or about 400 feet below tide-water. They found a small amount of gas as they passed through the shale, but when the drill struck the famous Trenton limestone without releasing any more gas, the disappointment was plainly marked on the faces of all concerned. But instead of discovering gas in a quantity, there was a richer and far more val- uable discovery, viz. : oil, at a point where the .gas was looked for. The well having proved a failure as a source of gas, nothing was to be done but to utilize it as an oil-well. Therefore, a quantity of "rack-rock" was provided and the well was "shot." The results of the .shooting were apparently satisfactory, and the well was immediately tubed, packed and pumped. During the first six days it yielded more than 200 barrels of oil, with some salt water. It was estimated as an 18-barrel well by the contractor, W. M. Martin. The oil was dark in color, love in gravity and very offensive in odor. To a Pennsylvania oil man, these characteristics seemed to condemn the new supply. This was the beginning. News of the discovery took wings and, like the discovery of gold in California in 1848, was soon heard of in every corner of the United States. Men came from all directions to obtain op- tions, and to profit by the possibilities of the future. All the conditions were unusual ; the surface of the country was flat, and what seemed stranger than all, the producing rock was limestone. I. E. Dean was am0ng the first of the strangers to visit Lima and examine this newly found oil field. He had had experience in Canada, and knew much of the history of oil-wells and the value of oil. He organized the Trenton Rock Oil Company, which had a prominent place in the early development of the great Lima field. THE SECOND OIL-WELL. Soon after it had been demonstrated that there was oil in the Trenton limestone, a number of public-spirited gentlemen formed an organization under the name of The Citizens' Gas Company. The object of this company was first to investigate the whole question and determine the actual facts as to the existence and production of oil, in and about Lima. The valuable work which this company .did stands second only to that of the well. ell. They put down immediately a second well, which is to be credited with yielding the first regular and persistent supply of petroleum from the Trenton limestone in Ohio, the pioneer well meeting with a series of misfortunes that left it useless. These two wells were completed in the fall of 1885, and the second began its course as a 40 or 45-barrel pumping well. It showed, from the first, steadiness and reliability. In December, 1885, it yielded 1,450 barrels of oil, and in the first three months of 1886 it produced an average of 26 barrels per day. It was the oil of this well that was first sent to the refineries of the country to be tested on a large scale, and the results obtained from such examinations were believed to establish the fact that Lima 0il could be thoroughly deodorized and made to yield a good percentage of illuminating oil of the finest character. THE TRENTON SERIES. This is an important stratigraphic division comprising the Trenton, Utica and Hudson 180 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY stages of the Ordovician system. The type localities of the rocks are in Central and Eastern New York, where the lowest stage, the Trenton, consists of a thinly bedded, dark gray to black limestone, while the Utica and Hudson stages are represented by carbonaceous shales. The same series of strata appears also on the northern shores of Lake Ontario in Canada, out-cropping as far west as Georgian Bay. In Ohio the Hudson stage is known as the Cincinnati shales and is of great thickness. The strata occur also in the Upper Mississippi Valley and in several of the Rocky Mountain States. The Trenton rock is the source of the great petroleum industry in the Lima field of Ohio-Indiana, and in addition yield valuable supplies of natural gas. The Salina limestone which is the equivalent of the Upper Trenton stage and outcrops in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, contains important deposits of lead and zinc ores. THE TRENTON LIMESTONE AS A SOURCE OF OIL AND GAS IN OHIO. By Dr. Edward Orton. The entire history of the discovery and exploitation of petroleum in this country has been full of surprises, both to the practical men engaged in the work and to the geologists, who have studied the facts as they have been brought to light, but no previous chapter of the history has proved as strange and well-nigh incredible as the discovery and development which are now to be described. No fact in this line could be more unexpected than that any notable supplies of petroleum or gas should be furnished by the Trenton, limestone, which is widely known as a massive, compact and fossiliferous limestone of Lower Silurian age and of wide extent, constituting in fact one of the great foundations of the continent. But when required to believe that certain phases of this Trenton limestone make one of the great oil-rocks of our geological scale, one which produces from single wells 5,000 barrels of oil, or 15,000,000 cubic feet of inflammable gas in a day, it is hard to prevent our surprise from passing into incredulity. In New York it is divided into two divisions, viz., the Trenton limestone proper and the Black River limestone. The lower portion of the latter is sometimes separated from the stratum under the name of the Birdseye limestone. The designation is derived from the occurrence of small crystalline points in the limestone. Both of these divisions belong to the true limestones as distinguished from magnesian limestone. In Illinois and Wisconsin, there is, also, a two-fold division of the formation, but on a different basis from that adopted in the East. The divisions here recognized are called the Galena and the Trenton limestone. They are respectively, 250 and 00 feet thick in maximum measurements. The upper, or Galena, division is, in its best state, a tight-colored blue or drab, coarse-grained, porous and almost pure dolomite. The underlying Trenton is, also, generally magnesian in composition, but it does not quite reach dolomitic proportions. It is also less pure in the main than the best phases of the Galena. (Geol. of Wis., Vol. I.) In Central Kentucky, again, a two-fold division of the Trenton is recognized, the two, members being known as the Trenton and Birdseye divisions. The former is reported to be 175 feet in thickness, and the latter 130. feet. (Rocks of Central Kentucky, W. M.. Kinney, Ky. Geol. Survey, 1882.) In composition, the Trenton of Kentucky is impure, and contains but a small percentage (five or ten) of carbonate of magnesia, so far as can be judged from the few analysis available. In Ohio the Trenton limestone appears to agree in its divisions with those of Wisconsin. on one side, and with those of Kentucky on the. other. In other words it has a three-fold division when all the deposits of this age in the State with which we have become acquainted are taken into account. In Southern Ohio, the Kentucky series appears in the well sections, consisting of the Trenton proper and the underlying Birdseye.. In Northwestern Ohio, we find in the new oil and gas rock a stratum which is, so far as composition goes, the equivalent of the Galena do- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 181 lomite, underneath which rocks having the composition of the Trenton and Birdseye of the South appear. The position of the Galena limestone in the geological scale, it must be added, is not entirely settled. A question has, at least, been raised in regard to it. C. D. Walcott, of the United States Geological Survey, has urged the view that instead of belonging to the Trenton epoch, it is really the equivalent and representative of the Utica shale, no trace of which in its characteristic form is found in the Wisconsin section. The absence of the shale proper is, in fact, one of the strongest arguments brought forward for the new reference. If the oil-rock of Ohio represents the Galena dolomite, then the argument above-named loses its force, because over this formation there is found the full section of the Utica shale, normal in• every particular. If it does not represent the Galena division, it still exhibits as marked a departure from the ordinary character of the Trenton limestone as the latter does and thus weakens the argument for separating the Galena. A number of analyses of the several members of the Trenton group will be given, illustrative of the differences in composition that have been already referred to. The uppermost, or dolomite division, will be represented first : Carbonate of lime. 88.64 Carbonate of magnesia 6.77 Insoluble residue 2.15 The Lima oil-rock, like the Trenton throughout the Northwest generally, is a magnesian limestone, containing from 24 to 39 per cent. of carbonate of magnesia. The composition is shown in the following analysis : Carbonate of lime 52.66 Carbonate of magnesia 37.53 Insoluble residue 4.15 There was no minute account kept of the strata traversed in the pioneer well at Lima, but, among the early wells of the town, the progress of one put down by the gas company, near the city gas-works, was fol- - 10 - owed with care and intelligence. This record has been kindly furnished to the survey by A. C. Reichelderfer, secretary of the company. It is as follows : feet. Drift 18 Limestone beginning at 18 Sulphur water, large vein, at 128 White limestone, "marble" at 268 Blue limestone at 328 Limestone with slate streaks to 385 Shale, with no more water, begins at 395 Brown shale at 880 Black shale, thin, begins at 1,228 Oil-rock, hard shell, struck at 1,243 Oil-producing rock, best 1,255 Salt-rock, softer ( ?), slushy 1,260 In the light of the facts already stated, the interpretation of the series here displayed is obvious. It can be generalized as follows : feet Drift 18 Waterlime Niagara limestone Upper Silurian limestones Niagara shale 400 Clinton limestone Clinton shale. Medina and Hudson River shales 450 Utica shale 350 THE OIL 1NDUSTRY. The story of the oil industry in Lima and vicinity reads like the tale of Aladdin's lamp. The immensity of the business involved, and the unmeasured degree to which it has added to the wealth of two States, Ohio and Indiana, is a marvelous chapter. When the first well was completed, May 9, 1885, by that once heroic figure in the financial world, Benjamin C. Faurot, people little dreamed that that was the beginning of "wealth beyond the dreams of avarice." In another part of this chapter will be found a very full history of the first oil-well, and an account of the famous Trenton rock, in which the precious oil is f0und. This oil is inferior in quality and richness to that which comes from the white sand territory of Pennsylvania, but what it lacks in richness it more than makes up in quantity. 182 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY The people of Lima and surrounding country have become so accustomed to the added wealth from oil sources that they scarcely stop to calculate its real blessings. The benefits derived from this source are so many and varied, and the wealth so great that one naturally thinks of the treasures of Monte Cristo, bringing to the entire northwestern corner of our grand commonwealth all the comforts of prosperity and affluence ; enriching present and future generations with superior advantages of educational and social development, and transforming the oil fields into the most prosperous and enlightened sections of the State ; giving it one of the most vital commercial interests within her borders. Within almost a single decade this industry has developed until it has spread over a wide .scope of Ohio, embracing parts of Lucas, Sandusky, Wood, Wyandot, Seneca, Hancock, Allen, Auglaize, Mercer and Van Wert counties in Ohio, and over an equal number of Indiana counties. To no citizen of Ohio should the importance of the Lima oil business appeal with more significance nor cause a greater source of pride than the Limaite. Within the corporation limits the industry had its start ; it has :always remained the business center of the entire field, and to-day stands as the hub around which the affairs of the Western oildom revolve, while our city's name designates the Trenton rock petroleum output wherever it goes. EXTRACTS FROM THE LIMA TIMES-DEMOCRAT, DECEMBER 23, 1905. Since the beginning of the industry there have been drilled in the Ohio-Indiana oil field approximately 60,000 oil-wells, not including thousands of gas-wells. At an average price per well, the total investment in drilling wells alone would probably run close to $70,000,000 ; added to this the cost of equipment, of rentals, of bonus, etc., it is safe to say that in the 20 years since the first well was drilled in Lima territory an investment of over $160,000,000 has been made in the producing end of it alone. Hundreds of our citizens have attained to wealth, thousands of our citizens are constantly employed, scores of our industries have been founded—all directly traceable to the oil industry. Nor is the industry one that preys upon another. It is one rather which creates new wealth ; it puts into circulation money which would never be seen in Lima, money which has quickened the entire commercial fabric of our commonwealth. The effects of this flood of wealth are seen wherever we go and were most noticeable during the great panic when most sections of the United States were practically paralyzed, while Lima and the oil region around Lima went along as if nothing of the kind had occurred. Strikes are an unknown quantity in the oil business. Employees are paid highest wages. Everyone who has anything. to do with the industry is well satisfied with it. Mil.= lions of dollars have been added to the tax duplicates of the oil regions which fact has lessened the burden of the people and has brought forth other great benefits to our citizens. Since the beginning of the oil industry in this section, Lima has been the headquarters or the "hub" of the industry. The effect of this easily seen when our industrial progress is compared with that of other cities in this territory, such as Findlay, Bowling Green, etc. To the Standard Oil Company belongs a great deal of credit for this condition. The Standard, with its unfailing insight, foresaw that Lima would be the center of the business, that its location and later its great facilities would afford this great oil company greater convenience than any other city in the territory. Millions of dollars have been spent by the Standard in Lima, that would not have been spent had it not made this city its headquarters. Its offices are sought by scores of young men annually, many of whom find lucrative employment therein. Its refinery employs hundreds of men and distributes many thousands of dollars every month, while its general fieldwork, which is directed from this city, places in circulation many additional thousands of dollars annually. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 183 The deep pay field of Indiana has 0f late drawn many operators to that section, but with all the great strikes in the deep-pay sand, the immediate Lima field 0f Northwestern Ohio continues steadily to produce new wells and to pay big returns on the investment. As will be found in estimates further along in this article, Indiana completed during the past year 1,927 wells, while Ohio completed 1,574, giving Indiana the best of it by only 353 wells. PRODUCTION OF OIL, LIMA FIELD, 1887-1905

	barrels
1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902  1903 1904 1905 (estimated)	4,684,139 8,899,004 10,255,752 11,918,910 14,515,770 13,657,737 14,451,195 16,074,350 18,415,630 22,210,011 19,670,514 17,128,897 17, 183,804 18,230,579 18,570,770 19,984,366 20,489,023 24,667,320 19,696,717
Total	310,704,488

This table shows that since 1887, or in 18 years, the total production of the Lima field has been 310,704,488 barrels, which at an average price of 60 cents per barrel would make the value of the oil produced in the Lima field $186,422,692. Practically all this money has been reinvested in and around Lima. It has gone to build schoolhouses, pave streets, build the best roads in the State, build railroads, court houses, beautiful residences and public buildings and employ thousands of men who would not have come to Lima had it not been for the oil business. These figures are stupendous. They represent new wealth. For years the Lima field has stood second to the Pennsylvania field in the production of high-grade oil. When the statistics are completed, it will be seen that Lima has held its own in the year 1905, being surpassed by the Pennsylvania field only in the production of high-grade oil. The following table represents the approximate production and consumption of the products of the various oil fields during the year 1905:

Fields	Production	Consump.
Texas, Louisiana (low grad California (low grade Pennsylvania Ohio-Indiana (Lima) Kansas, Ind. Ter. and Oka Kentucky-Tennessee   Other States	40,000,000 30,000,000 27,000,000 20,000,000 11,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000	28,000,000 24,000,000 31,500,000 24,000,000 3,000,000 1,400,000 600,000
Total	130,500,000	112,500,000

The outlook for Lima oil is certainly bright at this time. According to available statistics, the net stocks of Eastern crude oil at present in custody of the Standard, including Kentucky and Tennessee oil, are but 2,999,902 barrels. According to the same statistics, the net stocks of Ohio and Indiana crude oil are but 12,972,779 barrels. Without additional production, therefore, the present stock of crude oil from the fields of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee would not be sufficient of themselves to meet the demands of consumption for four months as gauged by the estimate shown in the pipe line reports. Furthermore the increased production in Texas, Louisiana, California and the fields of the Middle West (the first three of which do not enter into competition with high-grade oil) has not added so much to the stock that the present demands of consumption would not use them all in much less than a year if drawn on them alone. During the year 1905, according to the best source of information available, the wells completed in Ohio and Indiana, together with the production thereof for the 12 months of the year, will be found to be about as follows : 184 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY WELLS COMPLETED.

Month	Indiana	Ohio	Total Production
January  Febuary  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December (est.)	195 133 132 206 200 160 164 142 137 128 168 162	180 107 108 120 126 122 125 116 105 125 172 168	1,629,914 1,593,095 1,811,970 1,686,525 1,540,708 1,650,922 1,523,975 1,621,8o9 1,569,600 1,900,028 1,615,146 1,553,025
Total	1927	1574	19,696,717

The production of the Lima field, therefore, during c0mmunity,05 has been approximately 20,000,000 barrels, which on an average price of 90c would be worth $18,00$500,000. OIL COMPANIES OF LIMA The Solar Refining Company is the leading industrial enterprise of the city of Lima, and is a potent factor in the prosperity of the community, which it has done much to develop. The company was incorporated in December, 1886, with a capital of $500,000. The plant at that time occupied only a few acres of ground and several buildings, whereas to-day it comprises a ground area of 276 acres on the C. & E., L. E. & W. and C., H. & D. railways, utilizing 30 substantial brick buildings, with the most modern machinery and appliances and giving employment to 600 people. The company are refiners of oil, manufacturing all grades of illuminating oils and benzine, with by products of paraffine wax and lubricating oils, which they ship to all parts of the country. The company also operate their own mechanical shops, where all construction and repair work is done, the firm building the oil tank-cars in which their goods are shipped. Oil for these big works is piped from every field in Ohio and Indiana. The local officers are : W. A. Barstow, vice-president and general manager ; J. G. Neubauer, assistant general manager ; F. G. Borges, secretary and treasurer. The Buckeye Pipe Line Company, by reason of its commanding position in the great oil field, is comp0sedima's principal business institutions and is a potent factor in promoting the prosperity of the city. The company owns a handsome four-story brick building at No. 137 West North street, which it uses exclusively for office purposes. The executive staff of the company is composed of broad-gauged business men, who are actively interested in the welfare of the community. The Manhattan Oil Company.—The controlling interest in this enterprise is owned by the General Industrial Development Syndicate, of London, England. The officers are: F. T. Cuthbert, president ; E. R. Curtin, vice-president and general superintendent; Louis Platt, secretary. The general off335,000e located in Lima, and branch offices are maintained at Findlay, Bradner and Bowling Green, in Ohio ; and at Montpelier, Warren and Muncie, Indiana. The company has over 600 miles of pipe lines, 24 pumping stations and nearly 200 storage tanks, each having a capacity of 35,00o barrels, in various parts of the Ohio-Indiana field. CHAPTER IX TRANSPORTATION BY WATER AND RAIL Canals—The Ohio and Erie Canal—The Miami and Erie Canal, Formed by the Miami, the Wabash and Erie and the Miami Extension Canals—Railroads of Lima and Allen County—Story of Their Development—Changes in Names of the Roads—Electric Traction Lines, a Recent Development—Railroad and Traction Line Statistics as Relating to Lima. CANALS. The world has always been interested in canals. They are older than the Christian era. They were employed as a means of navigation and communication by the Assyrians, Egyptians, Hindus and Chinese. The Royal Canal of Babylon was built more than 600 years before Christ. The Grand Canal of China connecting two great rivers, the Yangtse-Kiang and the Peiho, was built in the 13th century. This canal is 650 miles long. It has no locks, for the Chinese did not know how to build a lock. It is a most interesting fact in history, that the common canal lock in use to-day was invented in Italy in 1481, A. D., by Leonardo da Vinci, the great Florentine painter. It is said, however, that the honor is also claimed by Holland. It is somewhat strange that this lock invented so long ago has never been improved upon ; in fact, the most expensive lock in the world, in the Sault Ste. Marie, costing half a million dollars, is constructed upon exactly the same plan as the old lock of Leonardo da Vinci. This famous lock in the "Soo" is of solid masonry, B00 feet long, T00 feet wide, and 21 feet deep. It is also a matter of surprise that so few people to-day under stand the working of a canal lock, or have ever seen one. The canal has always been recognized as a great aid to civilization, and will ever be s0 regarded. The first canal in the United States of any consequence was the Erie Canal, 336 miles long, connecting the Hudson River at Albany and Troy with Lake Erie, at Buffalo. It was begun in 1817 and finished in 1825, at a. cost of $7,602,000.00. It was this canal that made the city of New York, and the name of Governor DeWitt Clinton will ever be connected with it as its builder. The great success of the Erie Canal induced the people of Ohio to begin the great work of canal building for this State. Governor Clinton lent his great aid to the movement in Ohio and was present at the "opening" on the Licking Summit in Licking County, July 4, 1825. He made an address there and removed the first shovelful of earth. The history of the canal struggle in Ohio is one of long, continuous effort. After many years of ineffective legislation, it was finally decided by the Legislature, February 4, 1825, to construct the Ohio and Erie Canal, following the old Scioto-Muskingum route from Cleveland to Portsmouth and the Miami Canal, following the Great Miami River from 186 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Dayton to Cincinnati. It was also promised to extend the Miami Canal to Toledo in a few years. The work on the Ohio and Erie Canal commenced at once and was pushed along very rapidly. The city of Akron started from a group of shanties occupied by Irishmen who were working on this canal. The pay for laborers during the first few years of this work was 30 cents a day, with plain board, and a "jiggerfull of whiskey." The work on the Miami Canal was not to begin until December I, 1831, by legislative enactment. Construction, however, did not begin until 1833. The cost of this canal work was paid in part by land grants from the government and from Ohio and Indiana. Congress, which had on March 2, 1827, granted to the State of Indiana, to aid in opening a canal to unite at navigable points the Wabash River with Lake Erie, a quantity of land equal to one half of five sections in width on each side of the canal, did, by an act approved May 24, 1828, grant to the State of Ohio, to aid in extending the Miami Canal from Dayton to the Maumee River, a quantity of land equal to one half of five sections in width on each side of the canal from Dayton to the Maumee River at the mouth of the Auglaize, so far as the canal should traverse public land. The act reserved to the United States each alternate section of the land unsold, with the provision that such reserved land should not be sold at less than $2.50 per acre. The number of acres included in this grant was 438,301.32. Indiana, learning after examination that a canal connecting the Wabash with Lake Erie would have to pass through Ohio, thought it advisable to propose to Ohio to transfer to her such part 0f the land granted to her by Congress, March 2, 1827, as lay within Ohio, if the latter would build the Wabash and Erie Canal from the Indiana State line to Lake Erie. To enable her tp do this, section 4 of the act to aid Ohio to construct the Miami Canal from Dayton to the Maumee River authorized Indiana to convey to Ohio, upon such terms as might be agreed upon by the two States, any land in Ohio given Indiana by the grant of March 2, 1827. Section 5 of the act of May 24, 1828, gave Ohio further grants of 500,000 acres of government land in Ohio to aid her in the payment of the canal debt or interest, such land to be disposed of for this purpose and no other. Indiana having received the authority of Congress by resolution approved February 1, 1834, conveyed to Ohio her right, title and interest to lands in Ohio, which she had received from Congress for canal construction. This contract was ratified by Ohio in a joint resolution passed February 24, 1834. Thus passed to Ohio another grant of land amounting to 292,223.51 acres. These three land grants gave to Ohio a total of 1,230,521.95 acres of land to be sold for the aid of her canals. The State has sold most of these lands for $2,257,487.32, and has remaining, principally within the limits of the Grand Reservoir, land worth perhaps $100,000. A week after accepting the land grant from Indiana, the Ohio Legislature, 0n March 3, 1834, authorized the construction of the Wabash and Erie Canal. The selection of the line for this canal was made by the Board of Public Works, April 8, 1836, and Governor Lucas having recommended its early commencement, the work of construction began in 1837. This canal was completed in 1842, being 67.75 miles long from its junction with the Miami Extension Canal t0 Toledo, and having a water surface width of 6o feet, a bottom width of 46 feet, and a depth of 6 feet. The Miami Extension Canal was completed three years later, 1845, and was 114 miles long, 5 feet deep, 36 feet wide at the bottom, and 50 feet wide at the top. Just two years to a day after the auspicious opening of the canals, the first boat descended the northern section of the Ohio and Erie Canal from Akron to Cleveland. "She was cheered in her passage by thousands * * * who had assembled from the adjacent country at different points on the canal to witness the novel and interesting sight." This boat arrived at Cleveland, July 4, 1827, AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 187 after having descended through 41 locks, passed over three aqueducts, and through 37 miles of canal. It is worthy of note that this was the most difficult and expensive part of the line to construct. Besides this, several miles more of unconnected sections of the canal had been finished. A little later, navigation also began on the Miami Canal. On November 28, 1827, "three fine boats, crowded with citizens delighted with the novelty and interest of the occasion left the basin, six miles north of Cincinnati and proceeded to Middletown with the most perfect success. The progress of the boats was about three miles an hour, including locks and other detentions. The return trip was made with equal success." (See account of first canal boat in Delphos—Chapter VII. See also "History of Ohio Canals" by Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1905.) By an act of the Legislature, March 14, 1849, the three canals previously known as the Miami Canal, the Miami Extension Canal, and the Wabash and Erie, became known as the Miami and Erie Canal, and so it has remained to this day. It is impossible to state the value of this canal to the country through which it passes. In Allen County the first immigrants came by way of the canal and naturally settled near it. Thus Delphos and Spencerville were settled earlier than some other portions of the county. It was long thought that Delphos would be the emporium of all Northwestern Ohio, because of its favorable location on the great water-way. Undoubtedly the canal has greatly aided the development of the county and is yet of great financial worth. The State should protect this property and increase its efficiency, for the usefulness of the canal, both as a source of water power and as a means of cheap transportation, is not yet exhausted. The townships of Spencer, Marion and Amanda, through which the canal passes, have perhaps been more greatly benefited than other parts of the county, yet the whole county has increased in wealth very greatly since the opening of the canal to traffic. The whole length of the Miami and Erie Canal is 301.49 miles. It cost $8,062,680.80. The gifts of land by the State greatly reduced: the cost to the taxpayers. RAILROADS. The Ohio & Indiana Railroad was opened from Crestline to Fort Wayne in 1853 and in 1856 was consolidated with the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne, which is now operated by the great Pennsylvania Company. This was Lima's first railway and it now forms one of the five great trunk lines, which center in this; city. Judge Hanna 0f Fort Wayne and. Richard Metheany were the leading promoters of this enterprise. Passenger trains on the Dayton & Michigan road commenced making regular trips to Dayton on April. 5, 1858. This road was finished to Toledo in August, 1859. These two roads—the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne and the Dayton & Michigan—were at that time the shortest and best route from Pittsburg to Cincinnati and were much used for the shipping of freight between those cities. During the winter of 1859-60 a line of telegraph was opened in connection with the road offices at Tippecanoe, Troy, Piqua, Sidney, Wapakoneta and Lima. During this season the machine shops of the Dayton & Michigan road were built at Lima by Lloyd & Clippinger, who were Lima contractors. The route over which this railroad was built traverses historic ground. North of Dayton the road crosses the Mad River a short distance below the village in which Tecumseh was born. Piqua was the residence of this chief and his brother, the Prophet, before their removal to Tippecanoe. Wapakoneta (Wopocaneta) was the last resting place of the Shawnee Indians within the limits of Ohio. It is. the burial place of Blackhoof. Here Captain Logan, accompanied by Capt. William Oliver and Bright Horn, passed through the lines and gave information to the besieged garri- 188 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY son at Fort Wayne in September, 1812, that General Harrison was hastening to its relief. In 1790 Harmar was defeated below the junction of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph rivers, near where Fort Wayne was afterwards erected. Toledo is in the region of Wayne's campaign and Harrison led the Northwestern Army through the sane unbroken wilderness in 1812, there being not a single white man's habitation left standing after the capture of Fort Dearborn (Chicago) and the siege of Fort Wayne. This was less than a century ago—to-day the same region is the home of millions of souls and a network of steel forms the great highways of commerce through the land. The Dayton & Michigan road was extended to Cincinnati and is now known as the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway. It is coupled with numerous branches and subsidiary lines, thus reaching all important county seats in Western Ohio. At Toledo it is linked with the Pere Marquette, forming the "Great Central Route," one of the farthest reaching and most promising north and south railroad properties in the land. Its shops in Lima give employment to more than 500 men, while as a division point from which trains are operated to the north and to the south it is the home of hundreds of railroad men and their families. In April of 1872 the Boesel railroad bill passed the Legislature and at a special election on May 25, 1872, a vote was taken on the question of issuing bonds to the amount of $00,000 in aid of two proposed railroads,. which the people of Lima and Ottawa township had been discussing for some time previous. Something over 700 votes were cast and only eight of those were against the appropriation. The two railroads in question were the Lima, Lafayette & Mississippi and the Lake Erie & Louisville. These were put through in 1872 and were later consolidated under the Lake Erie & Western. It is to-day one of Lima's most important lines of transportation. Passing through the oil fields of this State and Indiana, its value to this city is inestimable. The shops of this road, which were brought here about 1880, give employment to more than 500 artisans. The Chicago & Atlantic Railroad, now known as the Chicago & Erie, forms a direct route between the West and the North Atlantic States and was opened from Lima to Marion on May 1, 1883. Thomas Espy, Lester T. Hunt and James S. Robinson were among the founders of this great highway. Ten fast passenger trains in addition to the mails and limited express pass daily through Lima over the C. & E. tracks, while the freight tonnage is enormous. The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway, otherwise the old Detroit Southern, was originally built as the Ohio Southern & Lima Northern. This line, once reckoned as a third or fourth-class traffic line, has rapidly advanced in importance until to-day it is recognized as a splendid piece of railroad property, recently ,selling for twice the appraised value of the line, viz : $2,000,000. It is certain to grow in magnitude and importance, and its future means much for the future of Lima. The Columbus & Lake Michigan Railway, now in successful operation, both freight and passenger traffic, between Lima and Defiance, Ohio, is another line that is bound to become of importance and great business interest to Lima and Northwestern Ohio. In addition to what is now being operated, the road is graded north from West Unity, in Williams County, Ohio, to Cold Water, Michigan, a distance of 48 miles. The route to Columbus has been decided upon, and the right of way secured. In Allen County the road passes through Ottawa, German and Sugar Creek townships. The main offices are situated in Lima. This road was commenced in 1887 by the late Benjamin C. Faurot, and was known as the Columbus, Lima & Milwaukee Railway. It has passed through various stages of litigation and contest, but under the present management, with Col. C. T. Hobart at the head of the board of directors, the road is doing a most successful business. In the western part of the county, passing through Spencerville and Delphos, is a branch of the C., H. & D., now the "Great AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 189 Central Route." Along the same line is also found the Toledo, St. Louis & Western, operated between Toledo and St. Louis. This is an old road and one that has added greatly to the advancement of the county. It is 454 miles long. Cutting across the northern corner of the county is the Northern Ohio Railway, running from Delphos to Akron. This road was built as a narrow-gauge, but later it was changed to a standard-gauge railroad. It was bought by Senator Calvin S. Brice largely for its future possibilities, but more directly from the fact that the road passes through his boyhood home, the old farm near Columbus Grove. The Western Ohio Railway, the pioneer traction line of Northwestern Ohio, was completed four years ago, in the spring of 1901. It is one of the best roads, not only from a mechanical point of view but as a financial proposition in existence. Over it an hourly service is maintained on which regular passenger traffic coaches speed north and south between its terminals, while every two hours a limited service is run between this city and Dayton, Muncie and Indianapolis. Through a combination arrangement, passengers are handled between Dayton and Toledo and St. Louis, via this city and Delphos, thence over the "Clover Leaf" into the cities mentioned. Over this line, too, heavy express and freight service cars are run at frequent intervals during the day, which carry weekly thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, fruits and manufactured products out of the city to the southward. The Fort Wayne, Van Wert & Lima Traction Company is a close second in importance to the Western Ohio. It traverses a fertile and prosperous territory, paralleling the great Pennsylvania line all the way from this city to Fort Wayne. It has been projected by' Lima men and financed in a large degree by Lima capital and is destined to become one of the greatest traction interests in the country. The Lima & Toledo Traction Company is being projected and financed by the same gentlemen who own and control our excellent city traction system, at the head of which as president is Joseph B. Mayer, one of the foremost of electric traction men of the day. Associated with him are a syndicate of Eastern capitalists while locally we have Hon. Walter B. Richie, manager ; J. A. Bendure, and other men of equal prominence, importance and stability in the list of names of incorporators. Following are some interesting facts, recently compiled, as to Lima's freight service : Average number of trains in and out of Lima each 24 hours, on all roads, 143. Average number of cars to train, 52. Average number 0f freight cars in and out of Lima each 24 hours, 7,436. Average tonnage per car, 30. Average tonnage of freight passing through Lima each 24 hours, 223,080. Average number of cars in car-load lots received at Lima freight offices each 24 hours, 127. Average tons of freight received in carl0ad lots at Lima freight offices each 24 hours, 3,810. Average number of cars in car-load lots shipped out of Lima each 24 hours, 178. Average tonnage of freight in car-load lots shipped 0ut of Lima each 24 hours, 5,340. Average number of cars of mixed freight less than car-load lots, received at Lima freight offices each 24 hours, 114, of five tons each. Average tonnage, in less than car-load lots, received each 24 hours, 570. Average number of cars of mixed freight, less than carl0ad lots, shipped out of Lima each 24 hours, 134. Average tonnage, in less than car-load lots, shipped out each 24 hours, 670. Average monthly receipts from freight charges, $288,000. Aggregate yard trackage, 73 miles. Number of shifting engines employed in Lima's railway yards, day and night, 16. Number of men employed in Lima's railway yards, day and night, 108. Number of men employed in freight offices,—agents, clerks and warehousemen, 74. Excluding Columbus and Dayton, Lima has the best railway facilities of any city in the State. She has five trunk lines, running direct to half of the counties in the State—to be exact, 46. These trunk lines are as follows : Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago, with 14 passenger and 45 freight trains daily. 190 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Chicago & Erie, with 0 passenger and 18 freight trains daily. Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, with 12 passenger and 10 freight trains daily. Lake Erie & Western, with 6 passenger and t0 freight trains daily. Detroit, Toledo & Ironton, with 6 passenger and 6 freight trains daily. Lima also has the Columbus & Lake Michigan, with 1 passenger and I freight train daily. Of the interurban lines, the Western Ohio gives the city 20 trains daily, with 4 through cars daily to Dayton. This road will, by spring, be running cars to Toledo, which will give Lima 20 cars more daily. Another inter urban line, the Fort Wayne, Van Wert & Lima, now running 8 cars daily, will in 1906 run 25 cars daily. This road will build a branch to Ottawa in 1906, which will give 16 cars daily. The Lima & Toledo line has a great deal of grading done, and expects to have 20 cars in 1906 running daily to Lima. As it is, there are 49 steam and 28 electric trains landing passengers in Lima daily, making a. total of 77 trains. And when the above-mentioned roads will have been completed in 1906, 145 trains will be landing passengers in Lima daily. It is possible to board a train in 44 different counties of Ohio, and reach the county seat of Allen County without a change of cars. CHAPTER X THE MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE OF LIMA Early Manufacturing Establishments—Lima's Business Interests in i 879—Lima Locomotive & Machine Company—Star Iron Works—East Iron. & Machine Company—Bessemer Gas Engine Company—The Lima Gas Engine Company—Sinclair &Morrison Company —National Roofing Tile Company—Hall & Woods Company—Schultheis BrothersDeisel-Wemmer Company — American Cigar Company — Eagle Stave Company—Lima Pork Packing Company Lima Creamery & Cold Storage Company—Dairy Implement Company—Knisely Shirt Company—John Cramer Manufacturing Company—Architects—Contractors—Brick Manufacturers—Lumber, Stone and Building Material Dealers—Fuel and Ice Dealers—M. Thomas & Sons—Bell Supply Company —S. A. Baxter & Sons—Insurance Agencies—Public Utility Corporations—Hotels. During the last 15 years Lima has rapidly advanced to the front as a manufacturing center, and to-day much of her prosperity is due to her manufacturing interests. The city's natural advantages aid in decreasing expenses and facilitates the distribution of its manufactured products. Its factories are prosperous and of a diversified character and many new industries are continually springing up. In her earlier days there were no manufacturing establishments of importance. In 1842 we find that "Joshua Hoover ran a small foundry ; and aside from two or three blacksmiths, one or two tailors and about the same number of shoe shops there was nothing in the form of manufacturing. Thomas K. Jacobs was tailor and county treasurer, keeping his shop and treasurer's office in the same room. He was a most faithful officer, highly appreciated by the voters who continued him in office many consecutive terms." EARLY MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS. The Western Gazette of May, 1858, calls attention to the fact that at that time all of Lima's business was not conducted on the Square, and that "Water street is one of the streets of Lima." Forthwith follows an inventory of the establishments on that street which we give below : "Commencing at the west end is the new steam mill of Hamilton & Mahon. This is one of the best mills in the State, and the proprietors, with Uncle "Sam" as flour manager, are gentlemen of the first water. Next in order is Parker's wagon shop. Mr. Parker is an honest, industrious citizen, always on hand to do work in the best order. The next establishment is rather hard to describe; there is a little of everything, all kinds of buggies, straw-cutters, etc. This is something new in the world and the inventors deserve and will surely receive a good run with their new machine. Well, we'll kite along to the crockery store of Uncle John.—This establishment is rather antiquated, yet it is useful in its way. The proprietor has recently opened a bank in connection with his former business. This bank pays out all the time and does not receive deposits. Hard by is the blacksmith-shop of Lytle & Company, where 192 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY work in their line is pounded out to order. Everybody knows where Jo Smith's extensive iron foundry is. He makes stoves, plows and 'everything in his line, from a bootjack to an anchor. Next in order is Davis' double-rigged circular sawmill. They cut up logs in double-quick time. Compton's carding machine and fulling mill is an institution of great service in this community; remember it is not Lecompton. Next in the line of travel is a heterogeneous establishment, kept by Dan Musser, et al. It is—well go and see it, then you can tell what it is. There is steam, rake teeth, men wheels, boards, saws, and—go and see it, I tell you. Now last but not least is Lee's institution. Mr. Lee is not a liar and he has lots of lye; he does not keep a doggery, yet he uses dog power ; he is not the sage of Ashland, but has lots of ashes and wants more. The fact is he has an extensive ashery. Now let's round to and come back to town or we will run .against the R. R. bridge." LIMA'S BUSINESS INTERESTS 1N 1879. The following facts and figures are taken from the Allen County Republican of Friday, March 14, 1879, Lima at the time having a population of about 7,000. Lima is situated in Allen County, on the Ottawa River in the midst of an excellent agricultural district, at the crossing of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago, and the Dayton & Michigan and the Lake Erie & Louisville railroads. All 0f these roads have shops for repairs, etc., here. The D. & M. shops cover some eight acres and employ from 200 t0 300 men. A street railroad from the Union Depot to all prominent points is now in operation through the principal streets. Our hotels are first-class. Drummers come from 50 miles around to spend Sabbath at our place. We have Baptist, Christian, Catholic, Disciples, Episcopal, Presbyterian, two Lutheran and two Methodist churches. Our city draws trade from the country for 50 miles and more around. Neither city nor county has any debt. We have a reading-room and two public libraries. Our city offers many advantages (extra facilities for transportation, cheap living, etc.) for manufacturing establishments and is fast becoming a noted manufacturing point. The streets are wide and the city is beautifully laid out and improved, containing many fine homes and residences ; it is fast becoming the most prominent point in Northwestern Ohio. Manufacturing Establishments.—Anchor Mills (flour), East & Lewis, 7 to 10 hands; D. & M. Machine Shops, 200 t0 300 hands ; I. M. Townsend & Company, furniture factory, 10 to 25 hands; Philip Kiel, furniture factory, 7 hands ; Lima Paper Mills, B. C. Faurot, president and general manager, J. N. Harrington, secretary and superintendent, 70 hands ; Lima Machine Shops, John Carnes, Fred Agerter, J. M. Coe, G. W. Disman and Ira P. Carnes, 50 to 60 hands ; Lima Wheel Company, office on D. & M. road, south of Market street ; Lima Carriage Bent Works, King & Boop & Company, 12 hands ; Smith, Dunan & Company, sash, door, blind and molding manufactory and lumber-yard ; Reichelderfer & Brewer, planing mill, 10 hands ; Ottawa Mills (flour), W. B. Gorton ; Feeman & Sons , stirrup factory, 12 to 18 hands ; Frank Roush, stirrup and whip factory, 10 to 18 hands ; Weot & Fisher, buggies, carriages, spring wagons, etc. ; Fullerton Brothers, buggies and spring wagons ; James Grove, wagon-maker ; J. C. Davis, wagon-maker ; Blocher & Berryman, wagons, buggies, etc, ; James Irvine & Company, hub and spoke factory, 35 to 50 hands ; E. Lannay, iron force pumps (pat. Aug. 14, 1877) ; J. D. Halter, mangles. Agricultural Implements.—J. R. Ashton, W. K. Boone & Company, H. Parham, C. F. Donze and D. E. Murray. Attorneys—Ballard & Mead, Cunningham & Brotherton, George Jameson, Hughes & Robb, Porphet & Eastman, Irwine & Brice, Lamison & Meily, Richie & Hutchinson and 0. W. Smith. Banks—Allen County Bank, B. C. Faurot, AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 193 president; S. W. Moore, cashier, and C. M. Hughes, Jr., assistant cashier ; City Bank, Baxter Brothers & Company ; Bank of Lima, Dague & Selfridge. Boot and Shoe Stores—O. P. Chester & Company, S. Neise and Sponsler & Romig. Book Binders—Gale 'Sherman. Confectioners and Bakers—Purtscher & Cantieny, William Hohl and Lee Williams. Contractors and Builders—D. E. Kiplinger, D. J. Shuler, J. M. McKinney and J. R. Mowen. Cigar Makers— H. Sontag and William Tigner. Coal Oil Merchants — W. L. Porter (wholesale). Clothiers.—Bowlby & Company, Lesher & Company, Lichtenstader & Company, Jake Wise, M. P. Amsorge & Brother and Edward Dunn. Dentists—G. A. Dille. Druggists—Dr. E. Ashton, Dr. J. P. Harley, A. F. Wheeler, F. A. Wheeler and John Meyer. Gunsmiths—Harley Brothers. Grain and Seed Dealers—A. E. Clutter and King & Day. Grocers—A. B0wsher, Frederick & Son, Tom Fitz, McComb & Davis, Moore Brothers (wholesale and retail), S. J. Mowen, J. Langan, John Wheeler, R. T. Hughes, Fred Holland and William Stoup. Hotels—Burnet House, S. V. Browell, proprietor; Lima House, J. Goldsmith, proprietor; French House, C. Finney, proprietor ; Forest City House (Forest, Ohio), F. S. Johnson, proprietor. Hardware Dealers—W. K. Boone & Company and C. F. Donze. Insurance Agents—I. Hooper, Houtzer & Melhorn, O'Connor & Son, Timothy Shroyer and E. D. Gamble. Jewelers—H. H. Cole, D. P. C. Tirrill, Wheat Jackson and I. N. Satterthwaite. Lumber Dealers—ReichelderTer & Brewer, Smith, Dunan & Company and Harrison Hall. Meat Markets—H. Brunt, John Huffman, M. & L. Zimmerman and John Disman. Merchants — H. Ashton (hats, caps, trunks and gents' furnishing goods), H. A. Moore, B. F. Schwab & Company, W. H. Standish, William Stump (dry goods and groceries), J. C. Thompson, W. W. Williams, J. D. & W. L. Watt (dry goods, carpets, boots,. shoes, etc.) and R. M. Funk (dry goods). Pork Packers—King & Day, 40 hands. Physicians and Surgeons—F. G. Arter, E. & C. L. Curtis, R. W. Thrift, J. B. Vail, S. B. Hiner, W. H. Harper and W. H. McHenry. Lima possesses nearly 100 classified industries, each of which constitutes a bona fide manufacturing establishment This number will be materially augmented in the next year. On the following pages are given short sketches of some of the best known concerns in the industrial and commercial world of Lima. LIMA'S MANUFACTURING, BUILDING AND COMMERCIAL INTERESTS (1906). THE LIMA LOCOMOTIVE & MACHINE COMPANY is one of the oldest industries in the city. commencing business in 1860. They started in a small way with a comparatively small plant under adverse circumstances, but they have steadily advanced until to-day the sterling reputation of the products 0f these big works is known throughout the entire country. The plant of this company, a view of which is shown on another page of this work,. covers 15 acres of ground and is situated in the southern part of the city on a site lying between the C. H. & D., L. E. & W. and C. & E. railroads. Connecting tracks, built to each of the three roads, afford convenient shipping facilities. The buildings are all connected by a system of yard tracks so that material can be transported from one department to another. The entire plant has complete sewerage, fuel gas and water systems, the different buildings are heated by hot air and all the buildings and yards lighted by electricity. This is a c0mplete locomotive plant and one that can be extended with facility, as each building is so arranged that it can be enlarged without encroaching upon another. The principal product is the "Shay" locomotive of which they build all 194 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY sizes from 10 tons to 150 tons weight. It is a geared engine especially designed for service on heavy grades and sharp curves. They also make direct-connected locomotives of all types and sizes, which are built complete from specifications and drawings. The plant was designed with the view of competing with the largest locomotive works in the country and is not only one of the substantial concerns of the city, but is one of the largest of its kind in the United States. The officers of the company are : A. L. White, president and general manager ; Ira P. Carnes, vice-president ; and W. T. Agerter, secretary and treasurer. THE STAR IRON WORKS, conducted by George S. Vicary, take high rank among the industries of Lima. In an ideal location for such a plant, these works are located at the crossing of Eureka street over the C. H. & D. and L. E. & W. railway tracks. All kinds of boilers and engines, fishing tools, oil-well supplies, pumping jacks, saw mills, tile mills and machinery of all classes are manufactured. Every part of an engine, boiler or oil-well tool is kept constantly in stock and supplied on a moment's notice. They remodel, repair and rebuild gas-engines and handle oil and gas-engine supplies. THE EAST IRON & MACHINE COMPANY occupies the old site of the Lima Locomotive & Machine Works on East Market street. The company was organized and incorporated in 1903 and is already one of the largest manufacturing plants in the city. The concern makes a specialty of structural and ornamental iron work, and during last season placed in the heart of the iron manufacturing districts many thousand dollars worth of this class of goods. Iron railings, stairways, fire-escapes, illuminated sidewalk lights, jail constructions, gray iron and brass castings, building special machinery and the construction of bridges are specialties of this company. The officers are : President, William S. East; vice-president, A. D. Neuman ; secretary and treasurer, J. L. Simpson. THE BESSEMER GAS ENGINE COMPANY.— The "Bessemer" gas-engine is manufactured at Grove City, Pennsylvania, but a branch establishment, incorporated under the laws of Ohio, and in which local capital is interested, was established in Lima in 1899 on East Elm street. In 1903 the company built a commodious factory building and office quarters on East Wayne street adjacent to the L. E. & W. freight house. The local plant, real estate and machine equipment is valued at $30,000 and is under the management of H. B. Willower. The "Bessemer" engine, on account of its seady running and great power is extremely useful for driving dynamos for the manufacture of current for electric lighting and for all similar manufacturing purposes where cheap and reliable power is desired. They are built in many sizes, from five horsepower up. In addition to manufacturing this engine, the company makes a specialty of converting, steam-engines into gas-engines by the substitution of a gas cylinder for the conventional steam cylinder. This gas cylinder is origina- with the Bessemer people and is so effective that more than 5,000 of the regular style of oil field steam-engines have been converted into gas-engines by them. This company also makes the famous "Bessemer" oil-well roller-bearing pumping power, which does more work and consumes less engine power than any other rig on the market. THE LIMA GAS ENGINE COMPANY, makers of the "Swan" gas-engine and one of the large manufacturing concerns of Lima, was incorporated in 1901 with a capital of $50,000. The plant, which is located at the corner of Green-lawn avenue and the C. & E. Railroad, covers four acres. The buildings are all comparatively new and in excellent shape. The "Swan" engine is now shipped to all parts of the United States. It is an engine especially designed for close regulation, making electric light equal to any steam-engine. The officers of the company are : President, J. O. Hover ; vice-president, J. O. Orr ; secretary and treasurer, E. Christen ; general manager, John W. Swan. THE SINCLAIR & MORRISON COMPANY, man ufacturers of drilling and fishing tools for oil, gas and artesian wells, was established in 1886 and incorporated in 1889, with a capital stock of $50,000. The officers are as follows : J. R. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 193 Sinclair, president ; T. C. Morrison, vice-president ; E. A. Dean, secretary and treasurer ; E. E. Sinclair, assistant treasurer and manager of the branch shop at Montpelier, Indiana. They were the first to open up a shop in Lima soon after oil was found in this section, and their tools are known all over the oil fields, from Pennsylvania to California. THE NATIONAL ROOFING TILE COMPANY are manufacturers of the celebrated "Klay" patent tile. The company was incorporated about three years ago for $100,000. The plant is modern in every respect and was built especially for the manufacture of roofing tile. The very best of machinery is used in turning out the best finished tile on the market. The tiles are burned in the best burning kilns known in the business to-day ; and the clay is taken from 45 acres of the best clay ground in the country. The most skilled workmen are employed and some excellent designs and pieces of clay work are turned out. The tile is rain and snow-proof, is exceedingly dense, straight and true and is sold in all parts of the country. The plant is located east of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway and north of the Chicago & Erie Railroad, south of East Kibby street. It occupies 40 acres of ground and turns out daily 50 squares, or 7,500 pieces of tile. The officers are : J. R. Sinclair, president ; J. L. Andrews, vice-president ; C. F. Stolzenbach, treasurer ; Davis J. Cable, secretary. The above named gentlemen, together with C. H. Cory, J. B. Kerr, William H. Duffield, J. D. S. Neely, A. B. Klay and J. A. Bendure, constitute the board of directors. THE HALL & WOODS COMPANY owns and operates the Model Mills, one of the best flour mills in the country. Its value to Lima is of the greatest importance, bringing indirectly to the city a great amount of business. It offers a ready market for the wheat of the surrounding farmers, who in turn leave their money with Lima merchants. The firm was established in the fall of 1894 and incorporated November 1, 1899. Its "Pride of Lima" flour has no superior on the market. The company manufactures high-grade flour, meal and feed and the mills have a capacity of 200 barrels a day. The offices and mills are located along the C. H. & D. and L. E. & W. tracks at the east end of Spring street. The raw grain and the products are brought and shipped directly to and from the establishment. The officers are : Hirm A. Holdridge, president ; J. Oscar Hover, vice-president ; S. B. Douglass, secretary and treasurer. SCHULTHEIS BROTHERS are manufacturers of oak harness leather, which they sell exclusively to jobbers and whole sale manufacturers. This is one of the oldest established concerns of Lima and has been all these years in the same location at the corner of Water and Elizabeth streets. W. Schultheis conducted the business from 1863 to 1891 when it was transferred to his sons, Charles and John Schultheis. From a small beginning with horse power and a small tannery, the business has grown to enormous proportions and the goods are sold in almost every State in the Uni0n. The main building has a frontage of 90 feet, a depth of 200 feet and is three stories high. The plant includes a tanyard, finishing and blacking rooms, stuffing and dry rooms, leach house, bark shed and boiler rooms. There are 62,700 feet of floor space. The hides are purchased chiefly of the Chicago packers. A specialty is made of the widely known "Solar" oak harness leather. The leather manufactured is adaptable for all kinds and grades of harness goods. This concern is one of Lima's big manufacturing industries and under the management of the younger generation of the Schultheis family promises to maintain the high standard already set and to still further extend a business that has already become known from one end of the country to the other for fair dealing and high grade goods. THE DEISEL-WEMMER COMPANY. —The leading factor in the growth and development of any community is not only the number of its business enterprises, but largely their character and this depends upon the energy, capacity and commercial integrity of those who direct their policies and regulate their expansion. The city of Lima is justly noted 196 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY as a manufacturing center and one of its largest and most successful industries is the immense concern founded, owned and operated by The Deiser-Wemmer Company, manufacturers of the "San Felice" and "General Stark" cigars. This business has had a remarkable development. In 1891, with practical experience in cigar making and, through close observance, with very definite ideas as to the public taste and demand, those cigar manufacturers—Henry Deisel, Henry G. Wemmer and William J. Wemmer, of Lima—conceived the project of entering upon the manufacture of a cigar not then found upon the market, which could be profitably produced through a careful combination of tobaccos and which could be given to the public at a price formerly asked for a very inferior article. A partnership resulted and a factory was started in rather restricted quarters at No. 316 North Main street, Lima, where Mr. Deisel had conducted business in previous years, with a force of 35 cigar makers. The output met with a ready welcome, encouragement came from every quarter and by 1895 it became necessary to greatly enlarge the facilities for manufacture, which resulted in the leasing of a three-story brick building on West Wayne street. At the time even the ambitious proprietors were disposed to think the new quarters would eventually become theirs as there would probably be no farther need of enlargement. No conception of the immense growth their business would make in the. next decade had come to them. By 1900 the company was employing more than 400 workmen and still could not keep up with the popular demand and it was recognized that a suitable building would have to be secured or they could expand no farther. The members of the firm were excellent business men and c0uld not consider any such restraint as this and by the spring of 1901 they had not only secured the plat at the northwest corner of Main street and the Pennsylvania Railroad, but work was started on the foundation for the present immense factory, and in the following June the company was able to take possession, having at command 30,000 feet of floor space. The main factory with its four stories and basement was considered adequate until 1905 when an addition was erected which doubled the space and the consequent capacity of the plant. The new addition, with four floors and basement, adjoins the former building on the rear and has a frontage of 65 feet, with a depth of 200 feet. In every modern equipment, both for business purposes and as the temporary home of an army of officials and workmen, this factory excels any other 0f any kind in the United States. There are no dark, unventilated apartments where dust can gather on the material used for the manufacture of the cigars, nor un-hygienic housing of ill-paid workmen. On the other hand the factory stands in the midst of its own grounds with light and air on all sides. Its interior fittings are those of a modern home, each floor having cloak rooms, lavatories and toilet rooms, and in the new building a commodious dining room has been constructed. This innovation is the result of the humanitarian ideas of the-members of the company who have, from the very beginning, given the greatest considera tion to the comfort and well-being of their employees. High wages, commensurate with good work, have always been the rule with the company and it is a matter of note that the-employees are among the most prosperous. people of the city, many owning pr0perty. In describing this great factory, mention should be made of the new spiral fire escape which has made danger from conflagations. a matter of little or no moment. It is perfect in construction and so erected that it is accessible to every employee. In addition to-this provision for safety, the company has installed automatic fire extinguishers, fire hose and hand grenades. An immense fire and water-proof stock. room is a feature of the new factory building, with a capacity for the storing of 8,000,000 cigars. The products of this great concern are,. as stated, two brands of cigars, which have' won on their own merits until there is probably no section of the United States where AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 197 the smoker cannot find, on demand, a "San Felice" or "General Stark." While the price is an object, a smoker demands quality also and it is the quality which has caused the sale to run up within 14 years to the almost unprecedented number of 200,000,000 per annum. The "San Felice," the five-cent cigar, was brought out ab0ut 1895 and two years later the firm brought out the "General Stark," which retails for 10 cents. The trade territory at first was confined to the State of Ohio, but it now covers -a large part 0f the United States. No cheap material is used in the manufacture of the goods turned out by this company. Much of the raw material is bought, through fortunate trade connections at Amsterdam, Holland, some from New York and other large tobacco centers of the world, while a very large pr0portion is procured direct from Havana. Sumatra and Havana wrapping leaf is bought in bond and the company keeps constantly on hand great quantities of this material, its curing and handling being an important part of their business. The Deisel-Wemmer Company is the second largest house in the world engaged in manufacturing and selling direct to the retail trade. Their jobbing trade is carried on with other brands of cigars than the "San Felice" and "General Stark," all their product being of such uniform excellence that the demand continues wherever they are introduced. In 1902 the business was incorporated and the officers now are : Henry Deisel, president; William J. Wemmer, vice-president; Henry G. Wemmer, general manager ; and Robert J. Plate, secretary and treasurer. It has been the policy of the company to sell stock to some of its oldest and most reliable employees, but it does not figure in the market. Although this business is not hoary with age, its beginning being easily within the memory of the majority of Lima's business citizens, its importance is not to be considered by years. Like many of the 0ther great enterprises which have reached success, its origin was humble in comparison with its present prominence, and all who view the mammoth piles of brick and mortar which represent - 11 - comfortable living and possible independence to the 1500 employees and those dependent upon them, numbering in all some 3,000 or 4,000, residents of Lima, must acknowledge the enterprise, the business ability and executive-force of those who have changed conditions: to such an extent. As a growth particularly belonging to Lima, it commands great, civic-pride. Its management is an exemplar of perfected mechanical ideas, modern industrial methods and of the success of broad-minded,. liberal and humanitarian policies. THE AMERICAN CIGAR COMPANY'S factory, four stories in height with a basement,, is located at the northwest corner of Main and Elm streets. The basement is devoted to the storage and handling of the raw material—the leaf tobacco—and here is stored, ready for use, filler and wrapper stock. This factory is supplied with excellent: light and ventilation, while the effect of the-action of the air-suction machine is to take up and carry off all the dust and impure air of the work room, thus clearing and purifying the atmosphere. This plant was opened for work on the morning of April 17, 1903, with S. Kleinberger as the local manager. In the beginning, only the famous "Cremo" brand was made but the plant soon added to its line and before long a number of brands were being made, among which are the "Benefactor," and the "General Braddock." THE EAGLE STAVE COMPANY is one of the city's representative and growing industries. The concern came to Lima from Cridersville and Minster in the early part of 1903 and took up its quarters in the old Monroe. factory on the corner of Central avenue and the C. & E. Railroad. There are also large branch factories at Gilberts, Ohio; Lindsay, Ohio, and Livermore, Kentucky. This company has a very extensive lumber-yard and makes a specialty of supplying contractors and builders with lumber, lath, shingles or whatever is needed in the building trades. Coop erage material of every class is manufactured and the firm exports much of its product, shipping mainly to Liverpool, England, as well as, 198 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY to many points in the United States. The company has its plant equipped with high-grade machinery and the manufacturing portion of its business is very large. Lima was 'exceedingly fortunate in being able to secure 'this establishment as it promises to prove of lasting benefit to the community, giving as it does employment to many men with a liberal pay-roll, the money finding its way next into the coffers of the business men of the city. At the same time the general volume of business receives quite an addition, the transportation companies being especially benefited by the large amount of material that is shipped, both in and out. The rapid growth of the company is largely due to the capable executive management of D. C. Dunn. LIMA PORK PACKING COMPANY. This company was incorporated on October 1, 1901, with a capital stock of $60,000. The first year the firm was located in a small building, which stood where the electric light plant now stands. There the firm occupied but one room and employed only eight men. At present it is located on South Central avenue just south '.of the Model Mills. In contrast with the one room, it has now two buildings, each two 'stories high. The pay-roll now shows 35 men employed, including three traveling salesmen. The annual volume of business aggregates $300,000. The company buys and slaughters all of its own live stock, practically all of which comes from the surrounding country, and manufactures all kinds of packing house products. Its equipment includes unsurpassed cold storage facilities. The officers are : B. F. Thomas, president ; Ira P. Carnes, vice-president; W. C. Bradley, treasurer; O. W. Leichty, secretary. THE LIMA CREAMERY & COLD STORAGE COMPANY'S plant is located at 223-235 South Central avenue and is equipped throughout with the most modern machinery and appliances. This company is a wholesale as well as a retail concern, having a heavy traffic which daily arrives and departs from the factory. The firm is now placing a hand separator with all farmers within a radius of 40 miles, enabling them to ship pure cream direct to the factory. Pure creamery butter is now manufactured in enormous quantities and the product of this great plant may be found in the markets of every town for miles around. The pasteurized milk and cream of this company is the finest of dairy productions. The officers are : M. Thomas, president ; C. E. Thomas, general manager and treasurer ; S. Miller, vice-president and secretary ; and R. L. Graham, superintendent. THE DAIRY IMPLEMENT COMPANY iS located at No. 220 East Pearl street and manufactures dairy implements and dumbwaiters. The business was established in 1897 and was incorporated in 1901. W. T. Agerter is president ; R. C. Eastman, vice-president and J. D. Agerter, secretary and manager. THE KNISELY SHIRT COMPANY, at Nos. 15, 16, 17, and 18 Holmes Block, is one of the oldest firms in Lima. Since 1872 the firm has been doing business in the city making shirts and underwear. In January, 1893, Hensler & Schlupp bought out J. H. Knisely, Jr., but the old firm name is retained. THE JOHN CRAMER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, located at East Market street and the C., H. & D. Railway, is Lima's latest industry, and one which promises to become one of the leading manufacturing establishments of the city. The company is composed of John Cramer, the patentee, and Theodore Feist. Finding their original quarters in the Stamets Block on North Union street too small for the growing business, the promoters erected the substantial frame building which they now occupy. The company manufactures a combination adjustable window shade and curtain pole hanger. This article, which is the product of the inventive genius of Mr. Cramer, possesses unquestioned merit, and already it is in great demand. Mr. Cramer, after securing letters patent upon his invention, secured the financial support of Mr. Feist. In connection with the factory is a modern and thoroughly equipped electro-plating plant. Electro-plating of gold, silver, brass, copper and nickel is done in accordance with the most approved methods. This plant is up-to-date