100 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY filling finally conquered, however, and toward the middle of the century it had been made into as good a course to travel as any. However, there were times when drivers realized that something further must be done, and that led to the subject of planking. Some time in the late forties a move was set going seeking to interest the people who used these roadways in the organization of a stock company to be formed for the purpose of building and maintaining a plank road between these two important points of the county, and how they succeeded, and some idea of the joy over the accomplishment, is to be deduced from the following item taken from the Ashtabula Sentinel of Saturday, Nov. 16, 1850 "Ashtabula Central Plank Road.—The road from Ashtabula Harbor to Jefferson, a distance of 12 1/4 miles, is now completed. The last plank was laid on Thursday, and the laborers have been paid off and discharged. This important work was commenced about the first of May last and has been prosecuted under the efficient superintendency of John A. Prentice, Es., and assistants, with energy and success to its final completion. We can now boast of 12 1/2 miles of as handsome and durable plank road on one of our principal thoroughfares as there is in the State of Ohio, or any of our sister states. Its benefits are just beginning to be appreciated. The towns at its terminals have received an impulse in the way of business and durable improvement, such as they have not seen before for years. The farms and real estate along the whole route have increased in value almost enough to pay the cost of building the road, and are in good demand to all those who desire to sell. The traveling community who have business at Ashtabula Harbor now find at all times of the year, in all kinds of weather, a pleasant and agreeable road to travel over, and what they pay in tolls is more than made up to them in the increased loads they can draw, the saving of horseflesh, and the comfort of body and mind they receive in going to and returning from market over a good road. The expense of this important work will not be far from $22,000. The stock will pay a fair per cent. and will be eagerly sought for at par. On the whole, we regard this enterprise, now successfully completed, as a profitable one for the public, for the people of Ashtabula and Jefferson, for the stockholders, and for all concerned." This new piece of improved roadway was built from Ashtabula Harbor to the city on Lake street, and to Jefferson over the present direct road. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 101 There was a toll-gate on Lake street, near where is now the bridge over the railroad tracks. Another toll-gate was located a short distance out on the Jefferson road, and one or two more between that and the southern terminus of the improved road. This plank road was calculated to take care of its own upkeep and pay a dividend to stockholders, through its receipts for tolls at the pay stations indicated. Whether the stockholders ever received any dividends is not stated in available history, but the road was kept in passable condition for several years, and then the owners seemed to get careless about keeping it up, though they were not careless about collecting their tolls. In course of time the road got so bad that those who had to traverse it protested against its condition. This had the effect of lowering the rates for passage, which were based on the nature of traffic. Clark Tar-bell, of Ashtabula, said he well remembered what a time was had over the condition of the road when many of the planks had broken out, leaving great holes for wagons to drop into. Still the owners compelled the gatekeepers to charge as high as 18 cents for a loaded wagon with team. Other rates were lower, as the conveyances and loads were lighter. Mr. Tarbell said : "The conditions finally got so bad that the people who had to use the road daily, or frequently, got together and agreed that they would not pay any further tolls till the road was put in proper shape. I remember of seeing Jack Gary pull up, as a gate dropped before his team. He did not stop to banter words with the keeper, but, unhitching his team from his wagon, he hitched them to the gate and dragged it away and into a gully nearby. Then, as the owners of the roadway would not fix it, and those who had right of way on the public highway refused to pay toll, the road gradually went to pieces." Following closely on the completion of the new road, the stockholders held a meeting in Jefferson and organized their company, electing the following original officers : R. W. Griswold, R. Warren, E. C. Root and S. McIntyre, directors O. H. Fitch, treasurer, and J. A. Giddings, clerk. At this meeting it was decided to open stock books to raise money with which to continue the new plank road on toward the southeast, going from Jefferson via M. Barber's, Richmond, to Kinsman. Also to take steps looking to an extension to Rock Creek and other interior county towns. O. H. Fitch, William Knapp and M. Barber were the committee named to look after this stock project. This effort did not have immediate results, but 102 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY money was raised later and an extension built from Jefferson to Dorset in 1852, and to Lenox in 1853, and eventually on through the county. The Ashtabula end of the original road was double-tracked through Main street of the city of Ashtabula, to meet the needs of the users in the "congested district". This was one of several roads through the county that were improved by the planking method, but as the timber disappeared the method became more expensive and the "improvement" by graveling became common. Plank roads had disappeared years before the modern brick, macadam and cement roads came in, to meet the demands occasioned by the development of the automobile. Today there are hundreds of miles of "improved" roads, and one can cross the county from either direction by several of the principal highways and, can go hundreds of miles in most any direction without getting onto dirt. North Ridge Road.—The obtaining of flour was a matter of no little inconvenience during the early years of the occupation of the Western Reserve by the white man. Those who settled in Conneaut had to obtain their bread material from the mill at Elk Creek, Pa., 16 miles away, to which point they had to "pack" their grain to be ground and then carry it home in like manner, on their shoulders or back, there being no suitable road for even a horse to travel. The way lay mostly along the beach of the lake, and afforded good footing, generally, but at certain times of the year the crossing of streams was a problem and it was not infrequently that it was necessary to wade through deep water to accomplish this. Aaron Wright, prominent among the early settlers, soon found this means of transportation irksome and he discussed the situation with his neighbors from time to time, until he had convinced them that the near future was going to see such development in this section that regular roads would be indispensable and that it devolved upon those who had come ahead to take immediate steps toward improvements that would make it convenient and easy for the influx of emigrants from the East that was certain to follow within the next few years. Thus it came about that Aaron Wright, Nathan King and Seth Harrington got busy and laid out a road extending through their domain from east to west, a distance of ten miles from the Pennsylvania state line. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 103 This road followed in a general way an old Indian trail which coursed the crest of the ridge and was always high and dry. In addition to this advantage, it afforded a point of vantage that was an attractive feature, giving, wherever there were clearings, a splendid view of the lake on the north, and of the hills and valley on the south. This road was a section of what is now the North Ridge road. Nathan King was the first man to have supervision over the new road as supervisor, his authority extending to Kingsville. In the same year these men also laid out the South Ridge road to a point westward beyond the present city of Ashtabula, where they joined the road built eastward by residents of Harpersfield. This completed a means of easy access to the Reserve for those who were to follow. The Old Girdled Road.—This was not, however, the first road projected in this eastern section of the Reserve. The officials of the Connecticut Land Company, in 1797, foresaw the needs of the future and appointed a committee to select a route for the construction of a road from the Pennsylvania state line to the Cuyahoga River. The committee conferred with the company's surveyors, who had pretty well covered the northern part of the Reserve, and had acquired a general knowledge of the topographical conditions. Taking some of the engineers along, they traversed the sections suggested by the surveyors and, after selecting a route, they submitted a report to the company, making the following recommendations : "Your committee appointed to inquire into the expediency of laying out and cutting roads on the Western Reserve report that, in their opinion, it will be expedient to lay out and cut through a road from Pennsylvania to the city of Cleveland, the small stuff to be cut out 20 feet wide, and the timber to be girdled 33 feet wide, and sufficient bridges thrown over the streams as are not fordable ; and the said road to begin in township No. 13 in the first range, at the Pennsylvania line, and to run westerly through township 12 in the second range, No. 12 in the third range, No, 11 in the fourth range to the Indian ford at the bend of Grand River; thence through township No. 11 in the fifth range, No. 10 in the sixth range, No. 10 in the eighth range, and the northwest part of No. 9 in the ninth range, and to the Chagrin River, near where a large creek enters it on the east ; and from crossing of the Chagrin River, the most direct way to the middle highway leading from the city of Cleveland to the hundred-acre lots." 104 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY The men who composed this committee were Seth Pease, Moses Warren, William Shepard Jr., Joseph Perkins, Samuel Hinkley and David Waterman. The company issued orders for the immediate laying out of the road over the route as recommended by the committee. It passed through Conneaut Township, taking a generally southwesterly direction, traversing the successive townships of Sheffield, Plymouth, Austinburg and Harpers-field, and cutting across the northwestern corner of Trumbull, as it passed out of the county to the west. This avenue of communication was known for many years as the "Old Girdled Road". Mail Service.—The Rev. John Hall wrote the following sketch in 1856: "The first mail contractor and carrier of mail to and from Ashtabula was John Metcalf of the East Village. His first contract for carrying the U. S. mail was made, it is supposed, in 1808, and his route extended between Cleveland and Erie. From the early part of 1809 he carried the mail on his back till 1811. Such was the wild state of the country and the badness of the roads that Mr. Metcalf was subjected to dangers, privations, labors and various obstacles. It is said that he sometimes waded and even swam the swollen streams, with the mail bag poised upon his head to keep it above water. In 1811 Asher Bigelow was employed by Gideon Leet, Esq., then the postmaster in Ashtabula, to carry the mail on horseback between Ashtabula and Buffalo. Under the best conditions of traveling, he was allowed twelve days for the round trip, and fourteen days when the mud was deep and waters high. In the beginning of 1812 John Metcalf is found again carrying the mail in a heavy lumber wagon, with a span of spirited horses, the team and vehicle being furnished by Anan Harmon, and driven by Metcalf with surprising velocity over his old route from Cleveland to Erie. About A. D. 1815 the wagon was succeeded by a decent little stage coach, with two seats for passengers, and the driver's box, and drawn by two horses. In this carriage Metcalf carried the mail and passengers back and forth, on the Cleveland and Erie route, perhaps until 1818. About that time William Whitman of Ashtabula, Calvin Pool of Painesville, and others established a regular line of stages extending east and west far beyond Metcalf's old route, and conveying mail and passengers in an improved style of wagons through this place. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 105 This company was succeeded by Edwin Harmon of Ashtabula, who furnished the route from Erie to Cleveland with four-horse coaches of the best description, drawn by excellent horses. He commenced running stages on this route of 100 miles, both ways, every twenty-four hours. From this time onward daily morning and evening stages passed through this place, bringing the eastern and western mails. Mr. Harmon thus occupied the route- for perhaps seven years, and was succeeded by Col. Henry J. Rus of Ashtabula for a considerable time. Then Rus and Converse, who were succeeded by Col. H. J. Hubbard and Mr. Rus, until 1838, when they were succeeded by Neil, Moore & Co., until stages on this route were suspended by the more rapid railroad cars, in 1852." Post-Roads.—"The Ridge road from east to west was from 1808 to 1852 the great thoroughfare and the principal post-road on which the mails were brought to Ashtabula. The old road from Ashtabula through Saybrook and Austinburg and other townships of the fourth range, to Warren, a dreadful wilderness road from the beginning of the present century to 1819, continues as it has been from the beginning, the principal post-road (with some changes in the northern 20 miles) from the south. In 1819 this road was converted into the Trumbull and Ashtabula turnpike, which was used for about thirty years to transport the mails to and from Warren by stage coaches, and eventually to and from Wellsville and Ashtabula. It thus constitutes a continuous post-road from the Ohio to Lake Erie, its northern part passing now from Rock Creek, in Morgan, through Eagleville, in Austinburg, to Jefferson, the county seat, and thence to Ashtabula. Daily morning and evening mails are received at Jefferson and Ashtabula, and tri-weekly mails at the offices south of Jefferson on this road. The north part of this road was for a few years used to convey the mails to and from the temporary postoffice at the harbor and village postoffice. "In 1817 a road was laid from Ashtabula to Jefferson through the great marsh in South Ashtabula (now Plymouth), which was important as the most direct and shortest route from the northern part of the county in the vicinity of Ashtabula village, and from the Ridge roads to the county seat, which could be projected. By subscriptions, and by $300 from the county treasury, the expense of opening this road and rendering it barely passable through an almost unbroken wilderness were defrayed. Other subscriptions and grants were obtained from time to time and the road gradually improved until it became a good one. 106 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY "The patrons and projectors of this important road in Jefferson were Timothy R. Hawley, Quintus F. Atkins, Durlin Heacock, Esq., and Messrs. Noah Hoskins, Loomis and others in Ashtabula, Matthew Hubbard, Esq., Thomas Whelpley, John Hall, Walker Richmond, Joshua Rockwell, Dennis Hoadley and Jonas Buffum. Quintus F. Atkins performed the greatest job on the road in causewaying the big marsh. This road was covered by the plank road from Ashtabula Harbor to Jefferson, built by a chartered company in 1850, at a cost of $12,000. This post-road, together with its connections radiating from Jefferson, forms the most important communication between Ashtabula and the southern country to the banks of the Ohio." First Mail Routes.—The first United States mail route in the Western Reserve was authorized by Postmaster General Gideon Granger and service was established late in the fall of 1801. It was a loop route from Cleveland to Warren and return, and residents of Windsor, Jefferson, Austinburg and Harpersfield, in Ashtabula County, had the advantage of the service. Another mail route in the pre-railroad days was from Cleveland eastward through Geneva, on the South ridge, and through Austinburg, Jefferson and Pierpont, and on over the Pennsylvania line to Conneaut Lake, to connect with mail to Pittsburgh. Ezra Gregory, who conducted a tavern on the South ridge in Geneva, carried mail over this route from Painesville to Conneaut Lake for some years. In the days before the government had established routes through this county, the small interior villages could only get their mail by going long distances, as was the case in numerous instances, some one in the town would volunteer to take the mail through a certain territory without expense to the government, thus accommodating his neighbors at his own expense. The daily mail service from New York to Ashtabula was established in 1863, the first through mail from the metropolis being received on Oct. 29 of that year. Rock Creek and East Trumbull were so anxious for daily mail service that they determined to secure it without expense to the government and independent of official sanction. To this end they clubbed together, raised a fund and pledges of support and put on a daily hack line touching at Rock Creek, East Trumbull, Mechanicsville and Ashtabula. It does not appear HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 107 that the Postoffice Department raised any objection to this proceeding ; in fact, they were glad to have any one get the service without making additional expense. In the fall of 1850 the following mail routes were established in the county : From Ashtabula, via Plymouth, North Sheffield and Kelloggsville to Elk Creek, Pa. From Kingsville, via Monroe, Pierpont, Denmark, Richmond, Andover, Williamsfield and Kinsman, to Greenville, Pa. From Ashtabula Harbor, via Plymouth and Denmark, to Richmond. In 1838 Geneva received mail by a post route that was established along the North Ridge from Painesville, via Arcole and North Perry. Daily mail service between Ashtabula and Warren was instituted on July 1, 1852, being carried by a line of stages that was put on the route on that date. The mail left Ashtabula each morning at 7 o'clock for Jefferson. From Jefferson south the route on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays was via Rock Creek, Orwell and Bloomfield, to Warren, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays through Lenox, New Lyme and Colebrook. The paper said : "The stages were built in the barouche style, and were both genteel and comfortable." Prior to 1856 there were no postage stamps, and transportation of letters was paid in cash, either by the sender or the addressee. In that year the Postoffice Department issued stamps and an order that all letters must thereafter be prepaid with stamps affixed. The order also stated that postmasters would provide themselves with stamps to sell to the public for accommodation. Rural Delivery.—The introduction of the rural delivery service, at the beginning of the present century, proved a wonderful boon to the farmer, who had always theretofore had to "go to town" for his mail, or have a neighbor bring it, and it was not an uncommon things for residents of the rural districts to get their mail but once a week, or less frequently. This was a great boon to the beneficiaries of the system, as were also the telephone, the automobile, the paved roads and the electricity for lighting and power, as well as the tractor and other power machinery. The farmer of today might be said to be right in town and his condition is a wonderful blessing as contrasted with that of the brave and ambitious forbears who suffered many hardships for the benefit of succeeding generations. CHAPTER VII. RAILROADS. FIRST INCORPORATION - EARLY CITIZENS INTERESTED - MEETINGS - VARIOUS ROUTES CONSIDERED--SALE OF STOCK-SURVEY-OTHER PROJECTS- CONSTRUCTION- FIRST TRAIN - LATER ROADS - CONSOLIDATIONS - ELECTRIC LINES. On Jan. 26, 1832, incorporation papers were granted for the Lake Erie & Ohio Railroad Company, which projected a road from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, the northern terminal to be located in either Ashtabula or Geauga County, but nothing further was done in the matter and the charter expired. In the fall of 1835 there arose a renewal of interest, and Columbiana, Geauga and Trumbull Counties held meetings, with a view to securing a new charter for a road to extend through their sections and end at Fairport. Ashtabula County people were not slow to see that this county had a valid claim for a railroad to Ashtabula Harbor, so it seemed advisable to get into the conferences. A convention was called to be held in Jefferson on Oct. 21 to elect delegates to meetings to be held in Columbiana and Trumbull Counties, on Oct. 27 and Nov. 12, respectively. R. W. Griswold, Horace Wilder, Henry and Matthew Hubbard and O. H. Fitch were appointed a committee of Ashtabula citizens to ascertain, through correspondence, all available information regarding what was being done by other counties and what would be necessary to get Ashtabula County into the running. At the Jefferson meeting, R. W. Griswold, O. H. Knapp, Selah Whiting, Johnathan Warner, Aseph Turner and O. H. Fitch were named as a committee to draft resolutions on this occasion, one of which called for appointment of delegates to the convention in Warren and Salem, in Trumbull and Columbiana Counties, respectively. This committee consisted of - 108 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 109 the following leading citizens of their respective townships : Solomon Fitch, Geneva ; Eliphalet Austin, Austinburg ; Horah Miner, Wayne ; George G. Gillett, Kingsville ; Horace Wilder, M. M. Sawtell and William Hubbard, Ashtabula ; Lynds Jones, Jefferson ; Robert Lyon, O. H. Knapp and George Morton, Conneaut ; James M. Blass, Monroe, and S. Wing, of Lenox. This delegation met with a disagreeable surprise when they presented their credentials at the Columbiana County meeting, and what followed demonstrated that the Ashtabula County representatives were not to be easily disregarded. One of the delegates from this county, relating their experience, after their return, said that after waiting for some time for the Geauga and Wellsville delegates to complete "their secret arrangements", the convention organized by the appointment of Albert G. Richardson of Wellsville, chairman, and Gen. Charles C. Pain of Painesville, vice-chairman, and with Painesville and Wellsville secretaries. The delegates from Geauga County and Wellsville then presented their credentials and were admitted to the convention. Next appeared the Trumbull delegates, whereupon one of those already seated arose and stated that no delegates would be admitted to a seat who were not favorable to the Wellsville-Fairport route. This led to a heated discussion that ended with the Trumbull and Ashtabula and part of the Columbiana delegates leaving the building and organizing a counter-convention, at which they protested against the proceedings of the other body. The date for the Warren meeting was changed from the 12th to the 6th. This convention was held, but no definite action looking to actual future activities was accomplished, and it was adjourned without date. While the Ashtabula and Trumbull County delegates refused to pledge themselves on a road from Wellsville to Fairport, it did not signify that they would insist on the northern terminal being at Ashtabula. They made it very plain to members of the Salem convention, from which they had been excluded, that they were ready to support the best route, whichever would show to be the most feasible, after both had been subjected to a government survey. On Dec. 22 Trumbull and Ashtabula County citizens got together in the Presbyterian Church at Warren and declared themselves in favor of a railroad over the Ashtabula route and adopted a resolution urging their congressmen to "use their influence to cause the charter of 1832 for a 110 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY railroad from the Ohio River to Lake Erie to be renewed and so to amend the same as to designate Ashtabula and Warren as points on said road". The next definite step in a railroad project was the passage of a bill by the State Legislature to incorporate the Ashtabula, Warren & East Liverpool. Railroad Company, in February, 1836, giving twenty years in which to complete it. The passage of this bill resulted in a land boom at Ashtabula Harbor. Illustrative of the way valuations rose, one case is noted where a piece of property that was offered for $800 the previous fall sold for $1,800. An enthusiastic resident at that time, foreseeing a great city at the northern terminal of the proposed road, suggested that it would be appropriate to change the name of Ashtabula Harbor to Manchester. Then. with (East) Liverpool at one end and Manchester at the other, two great cities of England would be memorialized. Maybe that man was not an Englishman. The Ashtabula Sentinel of March 12, 1836, says editorially : "Real estate here still continues to rise in proportion to the increased confidence which is felt that the stock of the Ashtabula, Warren & East Liverpool Railroad will be taken. Large purchases have recently been made at the Harbor by capitalists from abroad who will make extensive improvements there next summer. The land on both sides of the creek, at its mouth, has been laid out into lots, which are now selling to bona fide purchasers at prices which only six months ago would have astonished the natives. One lot 50 feet by 120 feet, on which the forest trees are now standing, was sold to a gentleman from Trumbull County this week for $650, with a condition that he shall erect a good building on it within a year. It could have been purchased twelve months ago for as many cents." After the incorporation of said railroad, subscription books were immediately opened for the sale of stock to the public, in each of the counties through which the proposed route was projected. In the city of Ashtabula the stock books, drawings and all desired information were available at the home of James Post. The projectors lost no time in effecting a survey of the proposed northern section of the railroad to be, and under date of April 12, 1826, the engineer on the survey made his first report. The line was laid from near the lake on the west side of the Ashtabula Creek and southward over practically the course that is now traversed by the P., Y. & A. branch of HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 111 the Pennsylvania Lines. The estimated expense was named at $276,928.08. That figure contemplated grading for a double track. When it came to selling the stock in the proposed company, it soon developed that the people, in general, were not so enthusiastic as the comparatively few who had given so much time and spent a considerable money in an effort to bring to this county the much needed line from the south. After a few months of effort through public meetings and other means of publicity to popularize the railroad proposition, the projectors finally became discouraged and decided to drop the matter until such time as the people were awake to the need, or leave it for another generation to work out to a finish. The real cause of the inability to get the public to show an active interest in the project was, doubtless, largely due to the fact that just at this time the country was in the throes of one of the periodical financial crises that paralyze business and make everybody hang onto their spare dollars until they find out what the future has in store for them. After more or less informal talk of the project, a meeting of Ashtabula promoters was held on Dec. 28, 1851, in the Ashtabula House, to which the public was invited, for the purpose of considering the construction of a railroad to the Mahoning Valley. Henry Hubbard called the meeting to order, and E. C. Root was appointed chairman, and George Willard secretary. W. E. Scarsdale, Henry Hubbard and O. H. Fitch were appointed a committee to draft resolutions and present to the gathering for consideration. The committee presented the following resolutions, which were adopted: "Resolved : That this meeting views the project of connecting Ashtabula with the Mahoning Valley, by railroad, as one of vital importance to the interests of Ashtabula County, and that immediate action is called for to secure the advantages of our geographical position. "Resolved : That we are of the opinion that the star of internal improvement is about to dawn upon 'benighted Ashtabula', and that it is our duty as well as our interest to follow its leadings." Engineers were employed to make a. survey for a railroad from Ashtabula Harbor to Warren, 49 miles, and submit an estimate of what it would cost to construct. The report came that it would cost $101,300 for grading and $276,828 for the superstructure. The estimate contemplated the use 112 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY of the "old flat rail", and added that if the "heavy T rail" were used, it would add $720 a mile to the expense of construction. On December 29, 1851, a similar meeting was held in Austinburg, at which Lucretius Bissell, Esq., was chairman, and L. B. Austin secretary. At this meeting a committee appointed for the purpose offered for consideration the following resolutions : "Resolved: That we view it as a matter of the highest importance to the people of Ashtabula County that prompt and efficient measures be taken for the construction of a railroad from Ashtabula to Warren. "Resolved: That as Austinburg is (as we understand) the banner township in this county, in amounts subscribed to the Lake Shore Railroad, and was amongst the first and most efficient townships to aid in the construction of that road, we are resolved to be the first to speak, and not behind any other in action in relation to the road from Ashtabula to Warren. "Resolved : That as Ashtabula County has heretofore been behind most counties in behalf of internal improvements, and is therefore falling far behind most other portions of the State of Ohio in such improvements as are now adding greatly to the improvement and prosperity of other more active portions, the results of such dilatory action on our part being duly seen in the low price of real estate in this county, when compared with many other sections of the state, we deem it time for 'Old Ashtabula', now, to wake up to efficient action such as shall cause the speedy construction of the proposed railroad." In reporting the meeting of Austinburg enthusiasts to the weekly paper, the Ashtabula Telegraph and Lake County Advertiser, Secretary Austin wrote a long article on the proposition, from which we quote the following paragraph : "Judging from the goaheadativeness of our people in these modern days of steam and lightning, as also from the present prospects of all railroads now opened in Ohio, we feel safe in saying, 'Open a railroad where you will, it can not but prosper'." The enthusiasm of Ashtabula and Austinburg spread to other towns along the proposed route and similar meetings were held. The agitation was spontaneous and resulted in the calling of a general meeting at Warren, in January, 1852, at which all towns interested were represented. The HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 113 published accounts give the following representatives for their respective towns : Ashtabula, Henry Hubbard, J. B. Hall, Henry Fassett, George Willard and H. L. Morrison ; Austinburg, L. B. Austin and Myron Whiting ; Morgan, W. C. St. John and E. DeVann ; Rome, Richard Tinan and Ichabod Champion ; Orwell, R. Barnard and R. C. Newell. On July 15, 1853, an organization meeting was held in Warren, when Anson L. Brewer, Esq., of New Lisbon, was elected president ; 0. H. Fitch, Esq., of Ashtabula, treasurer, and a Mr. Young, of Canfield, secretary. The Hon. Joshua R. Giddings was authorized to take subscriptions for stock and relinquishments for the rights-of-way for the northern section. The boast was made that this road would be exceptional, in that it would be the first in the United States to be constructed by the people without any capitalist interest in the concern. Engineers were employed and they began a survey of the proposed routes in the early fall of that year. There was considerable uncertainty' in the beginning, as to which would be the better route, via Jefferson, or via Austinburg, and interests lying along each course pulled all the strings they were able, to have the line laid out their respective routes. The preliminary surveys continued through the winter of 1853-54 and in the spring a summing up of the results resulted in the choosing of the route via Austinburg and southward through the fourth range of townships, practically the route that is now traversed by the P., Y. & A. road. This selection was, of course, a great disappointment to the people in range three, the Jefferson way, but they accepted the matter very philosophically and were ready to lend their moral support to the successful culmination of the project to the other fellow's advantage. It was agreed that the depriving of those of the eastern range of the great advantage that the road was expected to be to their territory, if built through that range, released them from their pledges for support through the purchase of stock they had subscribed, though it did not prevent their taking it if they chose, and many did so. The survey showed that the expense that would be incurred by getting across Hubbard Run and by making the cut at Plymouth Ridge would be about twelve thousand dollars more than that of getting up Munson Hill, and that the Austinburg route would be three-tenths of a mile shorter. The stock proposition was a very amicable "gentlemen's agreement", it (6) 114 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY being understood that, in consideration of the loss through the Jefferson route, the stock of those recalling their pledges would be offset by many of the Austinburg routers doubling their pledges. The disappointment of the third range people was soon alleviated by the launching of a bran-new railroad project. That was to build a line from Ashtabula Harbor to Jamestown, Pa., to connect with the "Clinton Line" road that had been located to run across-country south of the Ashtabula County line. On June 1, 1854, a mass-meeting was held in the courthouse, for exploitation of the proposition and the taking of preliminary steps. Abel Krum was chairman and A. S. Hall secretary of this meeting. That the promoters of the Ashtabula & New Lisbon Road were not averse to this new possibility was demonstrated when H. Hubbard, of the former company, arose and stated that he was heart-and-soul in sympathy with this, or any other project that would benefit "Old Ashtabula County". He thought it a very feasible undertaking, gave facts and figures to show that it must be a paying proposition and offered the aid of the A. & N. L. on very reasonable terms through the use of that company's right-of-way sufficient to enable the proposed new line to carry its traffic over the heavy grade in getting down to the harbor. All who attended this meeting went away sanguine of the early realization of this latest commercial hope. With all this railroad excitement in the wind, was it any wonder that a local bard should be moved to perpetrate the following ? "When the Iron Horse, south from Ashtabula, Starts upon its course, will they take it cooly ? Sheep that graze in Rome, stately steers in Morgan— Will they feel at home, roused by such an organ? "Starting stoutly on—Wheezing with a witness ; Swiftly come and gone, with all ease and fitness ; Such a train to see, eyes of stock are straining, And immediately go into 'General Training.' "Soon the panic's o'er; Austinburg in quiet ; Orwell's flocks and herds turn out from their diet. Thousands roll along—from their homes, or to it ; Freight trains in a throng, all foresaw and knew it. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 115 "In a railroad path progress is surprising. All the region hath all its fortunes rising. Warren loud resounds, soon a city, truly, Spreading wide its bounds. Ditto, Ashtabula. "All along the line, is enthusiasm. Mountains, none to climb, nor dark, yawning chasms. Level lies the way, joining lake and river. Judgment needs no stay— ‘Let the railroad sliver'." The work of soliciting for each of the lines was pushed vigorously, but nothing was done on any of the projects in way of other preliminaries, excepting the A. & N. L., which organized and the directors kept things moving, spending lots of their own money in traveling up and down the line. They secured pledges on rights-of-way through over half of the proposed route, with depot sites, etc., but a bad season for the farmers slowed up the work very materially the first year and this had a dampening effect on the enthusiasm of the people. This made the work harder for the solicitors, but they kept up spirit. However, desultory work was done from time to time and a great amount of grading accomplished. Up to 1857, the work showed a considerable amount of grading done over the 36 miles between Harbor and Bristolville, and over $80,000 had been expended. Then came three successive famine years, during which all work was suspended. Periodically the directors would publish a statement of progress, but they did not seem to accomplish much, and, when the hard times of the early months of the Civil War hit the country, in the beginning of the year 1861, the directors held a meeting and passed resolutions, one of which was : "That in the present embarrassed condition of the country, prudence and sound judgment require that until a change shall take place for the better, no further expense or liability shall be incurred, farther than may be necessary in collecting the debts due the company, and discharging every honorable or legal obligation it may owe, and thus place the officers of the company in a position to resume operations so soon as circumstances will warrant the ultimate completion of the work." 116 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY This was rather disheartening, but the promoters were men who had seen many things go and come in the early growth of the country and they stuck to the ship. They kept the project before the people, and were determined to see it through to a successful issue. The people at the southern end of the line disposed of the section from Niles to New Lisbon to a company which agreed to have that much road running by 1869. And they did. In 1869, Aug. 11, a meeting of the northern interests was held at Youngstown, at which Henry Hubbard of Ashtabula reviewed the history of the A. & N. L. Company, and urged some sort of action that would revive the work. No definite action was taken, however, until Sept. 20, 1870, when a meeting was held in Ashtabula for the purpose of turning over the Ashtabula & New Lisbon Company to the Ashtabula, Youngstown & Pittsburg Railway Company, that had been formed for that purpose. This change of ownership brought all the necessary backing for the early completion of the railroad and work to that end was pushed forthwith. Work of grading and excavating was rushed along for some months and in the early spring of 1872 it was thought expedient by the directors to accept a proposition made by the Pennsylvania Central Company to take the project over and complete the work. This was done and there was never after that any doubt about the ultimate outcome of the effort that had been in the works for forty years. On June 14, 1872, the work of laying rails was commenced at a point between Prospect and Center Streets in Ashtabula. A locomotive and several flat cars were transported from Pittsburgh and the gang of thirty trackmen began work amidst a great crowd of spectators and blowing of all the whistles in town. The first train was run to Austinburg on July 4. It was the construction train with the flats rigged up with temporary seats. The officials of the company and many citizens were on board, the trip being a public picnic excursion. A big program was to have been given in the grove where the picnic was to be held, but rain poured all day and the men turned to and erected a temporary canopy-top of lumber, which served to shelter the crowd. The first through train from Pittsburgh arrived at Center Street, Ashtabula, at 3 P. M. on December 13, 1872. It consisted of a baggage-car and two private cars, and brought a party of road officials. The conductor HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 117 was J. H. Scott. Henry Groebing was engineer. The train was met at Center street by a local reception committee and taken in carriages to the harbor, then returned to the Fisk House, where a banquet was served and felicitations offered. The formal opening of the Pennsylvania branch to the south was on May 26, 1874, when a party of officials from Pittsburgh and other points along the line assembled at Ashtabula with the local officials. All went to the Harbor and boarded the schooner Snowdrop, on which they took a lake ride, after which they returned to the city and enjoyed a banquet, which was served in the Opera House. In the evening the celebration closed with a grand ball in Haskell's Hall. The first freight conveyed to Ashtabula from the south over this line was a train of 12 cars of coal, consigned to J. M. Clark's coal yard at Center Street. The name of the railroad was changed several times, being called, successively, Pittsburgh, Youngstown & Ashtabula ; Ashtabula & Pittsburgh ; Ashtabula, Niles & Youngstown, finally, by a coalition with connecting branches, it became the Pittsburgh, Youngstown & Ashtabula in 1887, which name still maintains. The first regular passenger train for Pittsburgh left Ashtabula on the morning of May 1, 1873. Ashtabula was, for a number of years, the division headquarters of this line, the old two-story depot building at Center Street housing the offices of Superintendent D. B. McCoy, Dispatcher C. W. Jaques and Station Agent A. D. P. Young. There was regular passenger service to the Harbor for ten or a dozen years after the opening of the line. George B. Raser was the agent at that place. The Oil City and Youngstown division of the. New York Central system was not so long in contemplation and uncertainty as was the Pennsylvania branch. This was because of the substantial backing, the well established Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula (later the Lake Shore and then N. Y. C.) road, the directors of which realized the importance of a southern feeder. What was for many years known as the "Jamestown Branch" was first the subject of consideration in the early '60s. In 1864 the agitation began in earnest, with two northern terminal routes under consideration. The C., P. & A. wanted a right-of-way for the terminal 118 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY donated and Conneaut came immediately to the front with an offer of all the rights desired. Ashtabula hustled into the game, and, by an offer of all the needed land and the depot grounds, secured the plum. Preliminary surveys were at once begun, three routes for entry into the village of Ashtabula being considered. One was through the East Village and to the harbor via the east side ; another across the gulf over Cemetery Hill, and the third somewhat farther west. The Cemetery Hill route was chosen and actual operations began at that point in the early spring of 1865. This initial work embraced the building of a bridge 450 feet long across Hubbard Run, a cut through the hill, about twenty feet deep and a highway bridge to span this excavation ; also a long and high stone culvert to take care of the gulf stream. This work consumed many months and gave employment to a large number of men. The earth from the excavation was dumped into the gulf to fill over the culvert. This section of the new road was completed in December, 1871, after several interruptions that caused uneasiness lest the project might have been dropped. Contracts for the construction of the entire line were awarded in July, 1871, and on August 5, 1872, the road was completed, ready for business. During one stage of the work, the ascendancy that Ashtabula village proper had many years before gained over East Village was seriously threatened. When the line had been completed to a point near Ashtabula, the company asked the town committee to ratify the pledges that remained unfulfilled to the extent of about $7,000. For a time this looked as if it would fail of accomplishment, but when the company threatened to change to the east side route that had been surveyed, and to move their passenger station to a point east of the river, their terms were met in short order. The opening of the road was celebrated by a meeting of officials from both directions held in Jefferson, within which place the rails being laid from each way were joined. The first regular through passenger train left Ashtabula at 10 A. M. on the date above mentioned and was loaded with railroad officials, citizens and county politicians, the Republican county convention having been called to meet at the "Hub" on that date, also. Before the Jamestown branch was completed, the Mahoning Coal Road Company commenced operations on a line from Youngstown to connect with the Ashtabula & Jamestown road at Andover. That company HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 119 also projected an extension of the A. & J. road from Ashtabula city to the harbor, but discovered that the Pennsylvania company had tied up the only right-of-way feasible. Then began an interesting series of conferences which ended in the A., Y. & P. officials coming across handsomely. W. H. Morrison, of Ashtabula, whose father, Hon. H. L. Morrison, was one of the principal promoters, officers and directors of the A., Y. & P., gives the following account of this controversy : "The P., Y. & A. had secured options on lands abutting both sides of the river and affording rights-of-way thereto. When the Youngstown branch had been put through, the Lake Shore interests immediately took it over and decided to build to the harbor section at once. P. H. Watson, who had supervised the building of the A. & J. road and was handling the company's interests as Father was those of the opposition line, sent word to father to come to his (Watson's) office to meet him and other officials regarding the harbor right-of-way. Father sent word back that if they had any business with him it was no farther for them to come to his office than it was for him to go to Watson's. And they came. At first they assumed a brow-beating manner and intimated high-handed procedures, but when they learned that Father had the contracts right in his pocket, they changed their tactics and got down to a reasonable basis of dickering which, after several conferences resulted in the A., Y. & P. company giving the Lake Shore not only a share of the right-of-way to the harbor section, but also first choice as to which side of the river they would like to adopt. They chose the east side, and that's how the Lake Shore got to the harbor." The progress of work on the Harbor extension of the A. & J. was hindered by inability to get men. It happened that just at this time the Painesville & Youngstown road was in course of construction and shortage of labor was also felt there. The contractors on the Ashtabula work hired men in Buffalo and paid their fare to Ashtabula, several times, but none of them ever showed up. It developed that the Painesville contractors were coming to Ashtabula and meeting the imported laborers as they got off the train, and, by offer of more pay, inducing them to continue on to Painesville. The Lake Shore's line to the harbor section was completed to the Harbor June 9, 1873, but no ore was received, nor coal shipped until the following spring. From that time the business grew with great strides 120 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY and the seven-ton ore cars and correspondingly small locomotives also increased in size and capacity to the formidable rolling-stock of today. The growing trains, in weight and length, caused the company to look for some means of escaping the heavy grades of the old line and, in 1901, a survey was made for a low-grade line, leaving the A., J. & F. (the name of the road had some years previously been changed to the Ashtabula, Jamestown & Franklin) main line at Plymouth, making a short cut, bearing to the east and south and crossing it at Dorset, to the west side, and hitting it again at Hubbard. This short-cut lessened the distance about ten miles and also eliminated all the heavy grades. This new "low-grade" line was completed the following year. The Andover-Youngstown branch was completed and ready for operation on August 4, 1873. During the construction of the southern lines, other parties undertook to arouse interest in a proposition to build a line from Fairport, via Perry, Madison, Harpersfield, Austinburg and Jefferson, across to Albion, Pa. This finally ended in the construction of the Painesville & Youngstown line, now a part of the B. & 0. system. There were one or two other cross-country roads projected in the southern part of the county, but they never materialized. The New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, which was opened for business in 1882, was created in record time. Incorporation papers were taken out in New York in April, 1881, for a railroad to be built from that city to St. Louis. The actual construction necessary was the gap between Buffalo and Chicago and the work was begun in Buffalo soon after the incorporation had been effected, and was finished in Chicago and the road ready for operation on October 23, 1882. This road was calculated as a competitor of the Lake Shore lines, but had been finished only a month when it was purchased by the Vanderbilt interests, which controlled the Lake Shore, and the result was that' the Nickel Plate did not do much for several years. Then the attention of the Interstate Commerce Commission was called to the suppression of the business of the new line and the parent company was given to understand that the law prevented ownership of competing parallel lines by one interest, and that the Nickel Plate must be disposed of. There were no purchasers, however, and eventually the line became an important freight road. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 121 In 1916 a sensation was created by the sale of the Nickel Plate line, on July 6, to O. P. and M. J. Van Sweringen, two young Cleveland men who had gone to that city from a Geneva Township farm and started life as newsboys. Neither of the young men was out of his thirties when this transaction took place, and the story as to how it came about is still more remarkable. To tell it briefly : When they were of school-going age, country life began to pall on their aspirations and Geneva became too small for them. They went to the big town, continued in school for a time and then got jobs in offices. They took a stroll out into the outskirts of the city one Sunday and became interested in a certain section with beautiful surroundings. With borrowed money they purchased a few lots in this section and put them on the market. They sold readily and the boys plunged a little deeper and arranged for the purchase of 2,000 acres and then the public began to hear about "Shaker Heights". To insure success of this remote allotment, it was necessary that they furnish proper transportation facilities, so they asked the Cleveland Railway Company to extend their car lines out there, but they declined, whereupon the young men proceeded to get right-of-way and build their own line. There was one mile of territory they needed to complete their transportation plan, and that was occupied by the Nickel Plate railway and the only way they could get possession of the 5,280 feet was to purchase the 523 miles of railroad, which they did, paying $8,500,000. Under the aggressive management of the Van Sweringens, the Nickel Plate has absorbed the "Erie", the Chesapeake & Ohio, and the Pere Marquette, and is after the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western and the Wheeling & Lake Erie. One evening in the year 1897, Dwight Crowell, E. L. Hills and Charles Lawyer sat in the office of the first-named in Jefferson, chatting on topics of the day, when the subject of transportation was brought up, just as Frank Fortune, then postmaster of Jefferson, dropped in. Within a few minutes the quartet of long-headed business men were projecting an interurban electric line from Painesville to Conneaut Harbor, via Ashtabula, To think was to act with these men and next morning the three first named took train to Painesville, hired a team and drove through to Ashtabula over what they thought should be the route to be followed by an electric line. The next step was the procuring of incorporation papers for the 122 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY Pennsylvania & Ohio Electric Railway, which were issued in the early spring of 1898. Then followed the preliminary survey and securing of the right-of-way. The company awarded a contract for construction of the proposed line and the work was about to be started just before the price of steel took such a big jump that the contractors forfeited their agreement. Then the projectors decided to do the work themselves and operations were actually begun in the summer of 1899, at the eastern end, and in the spring of 1900, the city line in Conneaut was put in operation. On Nov. 11, 1901, the first car was run over the line to Ashtabula from Conneaut, with officials of the company, and on Thursday, Nov. 21, 1901, the cars were put on regular schedule between the two points. The projected continuance of the line. to Painesville never materialized, but in the following year, 1902, the line was extended to Jefferson. The road was constructed entirely of capital raised in Ashtabula County and it never paid a dividend. It continued to operate under varying conditions, being conducted by a receiver for several years prior to Feb. 29, 1924, when the service was suspended and a few months later the property was sold for junk. In 1923, several months prior to the finish of the electric service, a bus line styled the Cleveland, Ashtabula & Conneaut Bus Company was established and began regular trips between Cleveland and Conneaut. When the P. & 0. suspended, this company immediately instituted their service between Ashtabula and Jefferson. This line is still in operation and gives promise of being a permanent convenience. The projected extension of the Pennsylvania & Ohio from Ashtabula to, Painesville did not become a realization, but at about that time the Everett-Moore syndicate was developing the first great system of inter-urban electric lines in the world, with Cleveland as the pivotal point. They had originally intended coming only so far east as Painesville and Fairport, but the field looked good farther east and they decided to come as far as Ashtabula and connect with the P. & 0. They proceeded to the preliminary work and were antagonized so strenuously when they asked a franchise to come through Main street in Geneva that they proceeded to obtain rights-of-way south of town, and threatened to go around Geneva. This brought the opposition to time and the result was that the railroad got what they wanted and Geneva took a step forward in the transportation line. The line was completed and operated through to Ashtabula in 1902, HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 123 and has been running since that time, but is being sorely hampered by the C., A. & C. bus line. In the early years of this century, a railroad, to be run by gasoline, was projected to run from Conneaut, down through the first range of townships to Youngstown. Rights-of-way were secured over a goodly portion of the proposed route and, for a time, it looked as if the line would be built, but opposing influences arose that finally resulted in the abandonment of the project. In 1900-01 rights-of-way were secured and franchise granted for a proposed electric line across country from Geneva, via Austinburg, Jefferson, Pierpont, Penn Line, Linesville and Harmonsburg, to Meadville. That, also, is one of the blasted hopes of the past. CHAPTER VIII. IN THE WARS OF THE NATION. WAR OF 1812-COL. RICHARD HAYES' REGIMENT-CAPT. JOSHUA FOBES- EXPERIENCES-PARTICIPATION IN THE CIVIL WAR-WAR WITH SPAIN-ASHTABULA COUNTY. HEROES OF THE WORLD WAR-COUNTY RED CROSS. A detailed history of the participation of Ashtabula County residents, men, women, boys and girls, in the activities incident to the disturbed periods occasioned by wars, would suffice to fill a volume by itself, consequently it can only be touched upon briefly in this history. Scarcely had the pioneer families become settled down to an organized system of existence on the Western Reserve, when the War of 1812 was precipitated upon this country and the proximity of the "New Connecticut" to the border gave the greatest element of danger to this immediate vicinity. Riders were sent out to warn the settlers and to notify them of the likelihood of their being called upon at any time to rush to the lake districts to help ward off invasion of the enemy. This had the result of placing all men in readiness with such arms as were available, and when the word came of Hull's surrender at Detroit, on August 16, 1812, every man was prepared for whatever might arise. The effect was very soon felt, for a few days later an order was issued to Col. Richard Hayes, of Hartford, to assemble his regiment at Kinsman, and prepare for immediate military service. The regiment embraced eight companies and as soon as they were marshaled an order was issued for their advancement and they started northward, passing through Ashtabula County and spending the first night in camp in Williamsfield Township and the second night out in Jefferson. Next morning they marched to Austinburg, where they found teams with supplies awaiting them. The next day, at Harpersfield, the brigade commander, General Simon Perkins, joined the regiment, and orders were received to send back a - 124 -