HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 175 parochial school. The society was organized about 1889, and the present edifice was erected in 1900. Our Lady of Mount Carmel.—Desiring a church of their own, Italian Catholics of the city in 1902 organized Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, and that same year started erection of a church home on Columbus street. Hungarian Catholic.—Some years ago the Hungarian Catholics organized and built a church in that section of the city that has now assumed the name of East Ashtabula. Spiritualist.—The Spiritualists of Ashtabula and vicinity have an active organization and a neat church home on Main street. This building is said to have been the first one erected in the State of Ohio for the especial use as a Spiritual Church. It was built in 1906. Christian Science.—The First Church of Christ Scientist was organized in Ashtabula in one of the latter years of the past century and held meetings in the Fassett Block for some time, then bought its own home on Elm street, later making changes by which property on Division street was acquired. Nazareth Church.—The Church of the Nazarene, organized a few years ago in this city, has its house of worship at the corner of Pittsburgh and Washington streets. Seamen's Bethel.—The Ashtabula Seamen's Bethel Association, an independent religious and philanthropic society, was incorporated on June 6, 1899, and for many years was an active agency for good in the river district at the Harbor. In 1907 Mrs. Robert Riddell purchased property on High street and erected a fine brick building for the institution, but of late years it has been used intermittently by the Salvation Army. Colored.—There are two churches of colored denominations in the city, the Gordon A. M. E., located near the north end of Main street, and the Shiloh Baptist, on Depot street. First Schools in Ashtabula.—(Written in 1856 by the Rev. John Hall.) Several of the early settlers had made sufficient attainments in science and literature to enable them duly to appreciate the utility of giving their children a good education. The first schoolhouse erected in Ashtabula was a small log building standing near the junction of old Jefferson and South Ridge roads, opposite the house of Mr. John Faulkner. This schoolhouse is supposed to have been built in 1809, and the first teacher was Miss Julia 176 - HISTORY OF' ASHTABULA COUNTY Hubbard. After five weeks she was taken sick and was succeeded by Miss Achsa Nettleton. Subsequent teachers in this house were Warner Mann, Miss Lucia Badger, Harvey Nettleton, Betsy Nettleton, and the writer, John Hall. In the summer of 1815, Miss Sarah Booth taught this school in Amos Fisk's barn, in the center of the present incorporated village of Ashtabula, then included in this district. In the winter of 1816-17, Alden Spaulding taught this school in a log house standing on the site of the present dwelling of Mrs. Hulbert, widow of the late Horace J. Hulbert. We will call this district No. 1. The second schoolhouse in Ashtabula was a small log building on the east bank of the creek, in the woods, a few rods south of Harmon's Corners, and of the present brick dwelling of Edwin Harmon. (Editor's Note—This is the present home of B. B. Seymour.) The first teacher in this house was Israel A. Robinson, Esq., of Salem (Conneaut), in the winter of 1809-10. In the summer of 1811 this house was burned. In the fall of the same year a large house was erected in this district at the southeast corner, at the crossing of the North Ridge and East Jefferson roads. It was the third schoolhouse erected in Ashtabula. It was used as a schoolhouse, town house, meeting house and for other public meetings for eight years, and then it was destroyed by fire. This may be called District No. 2. The fourth schoolhouse, used also as a church, was erected near William Foster's, on the north road to Sheffield, and another on the south road to Sheffield, near Joseph Mann's. During these log house days the school districts were voluntary locations, dictated by convenience. The ninth and last of these schoolhouses recollected by the writer was on the corner next east of the present church in Plymouth, which succeeded the one near Joseph Mann's. These schools were supported on assessments on the individuals who sent scholars, levied by the number of pupils sent by each. Each person furnished fuel for the fire and board for the teacher, according to the number of pupils he had in the school. If scholars were sent whose parents were too poor to pay, the tuition and wood bills were levied on the rest and included in their bills. The poor were thus enabled to give their children a common education, enabling them to transact the most necessary ordinary business of life. In 1816 an attempt was made to erect a frame building in the West Village, which should be convenient for a meeting house, town house and schoolhouse for District No. 1, by subscription. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 177 Some subscriptions were made, but not more than $15.00 were paid, and that by Moses Hall and Thomas Whelpley. Noah M. Bronson also drew one of the longest timbers first upon the ground. With this assistance only, Messrs. Amos Fisk, Hall Smith, Matthew Hubbard and Philo Booth erected the frame of the building which is now the town hall, commonly called "Fireman's. Hall", on Main street, in front of the present Baptist meeting house. The frame remained uncovered until the summer of 1817, when the four gentlemen last named, feeling the great need of such a public building, enclosed the frame, laid the upper and lower floors, erected the chimney, with a fireplace in each story, and some partitions in the lower story. This house was used until 1832 for a schoolhouse, town house, house of worship and Free Masons' hall. In the winter of 1817-18 the writer taught the first school in this building. The scholars attending it daily came from an area not less than five miles square, comprehending the families north and south from the extremities of the settlement on the West Jefferson and diagonal Austinburg roads down to the lake on the west side of the Ashtabula, and five miles along both the Ridge roads in Ashtabula and Saybrook, comprehending at various times most of the scholars in the East and West Villages. In the winter term of 1820-21 this school had 95 pupils. The old common and academic school was continued on the voluntary principles until 1832. Then this school was suspended by the Ashtabula Academy, which was incorporated Feb. 6, 1833. Its use for an academy continued for 20 years, then the building was sold to the borough for $150 and converted into a town and firemen's hall: The borough moved the venerable old building to the southwest corner of the same square that it has occupied for 40 years at various points. By the enterprise and commendable public spirit of the late Hon. Thomas Smith, Esq., Dr. Elijah Coleman, Mr. Peleg Sweet, Capt. Horatio Wilcox, Mr. Anan Harmon and Mr. Jabez Manley and others, a schoolhouse was erected on land given by Mr. Sweet, near the southwest corner of the East Village public square, with a lower story for schools and an upper story for public assemblies similar to that in the West Village. It was built in 1821. Five years later this house, like its two predecessors, was destroyed by fire. In 1851-2, by contract with the trustees, Mr. Lorenzo D. Gates built an edifice of wood, three stories high and 40 by 50 feet on the ground, at (10). 178 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY a cost of $1,825, to which was added an expense of $146 for desks, furniture, etc. The stock in the Academy consists of 65 shares, held by 52 stockholders. The third story of this building is equally divided into a north and a south room. The lodge of Odd Fellows purchased the occupancy of the south room, and the Free Masons that of the north room, at a cost of $300 each. The contracts with the lodges were made with the trustees in 1851 and they commenced occupying their respective rooms in 1852. The school in the new academy was opened in 1852, its teachers being Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun. In 1856 the Academy was suspended by a village union school, as were also the common schools within the boundaries of the incorporated village. Believing that the schools should impart religious education with other sorts of learning, and conscious that this could not be brought about in the public schools, the rector of St. Peter's parish launched a project looking to the establishment of a parochial school for the children of his church and Sunday school. This resulted in the erection of a building for the occupancy of the proposed parish school, in 1850. This was 50 by 20 feet on the ground and two stories high. In the course of the year, School Association was legally organized as The Protestant Episcopal School Association, and by-laws were legally adopted. The first officers were Elisha C. Strong, R. W. Griswold and Lorenzo Tyler, trustees ; George Willard, treasurer and clerk. The board of school directors consisted of the trustees, the Rev. John Hall, rector, and the Rev. George F. Richards, his assistant. This school was opened on October 21, 1850, with the Rev. George F. Richards as principal. Here the story written by Rev. Hall ends. The parochial school continued for a number of years, but as the congregation of the church increased, and the attendance of the school grew in proportion, it finally became too expensive a proposition and was discontinued. There are still (1924) a few persons living who were pupils in that school. The public schools progressed with the passing years and today are in the highest class of common school educational institutions. The splendid system and the magnificent school buildings of the present period stand as monuments to the memory of the good men who, through their philanthropic spirit and determination that Ashtabula should hold its place with other new and growing towns, donated to the village its first building for educational and religious purposes. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 179 St. Peter's Parochial.—The next term of this flourishing and highly interesting institution will commence on Thursday, Jan. 2. The cause of education has no firmer friends than our fellow citizens of the borough of Ashtabula. We have already called attention to the Public Square Academy, and the high qualifications, as teachers, of its principal and assistants ; it is a pleasure further to announce the commencement of the second term of the parochial school and academy, St. Peter's Square, under auspices of the greatest promise. This institution has been founded by citizens of Ashtabula for the purpose of ensuring for their children and those of their neighbors the benefits of a sound, secular and moral education, continuously and without the interruptions, changes, and frequent dead stops experienced under the usual imperfect organization of our schools, which too often interrupt the progress of education, or are equivalent to a total denial of it. Accordingly, a school edifice of a style and finish in keeping with the purpose of it—solid, grave, and of ample dimensions; with excellent interior arrangements, and secured from future neglect and dilapidation by the wise provisions of its founders, has been erected, opened, and has completed its first quarter of instruction. From the commencement this school has been under the tuition of the Rev. G. F. Richards, a gentleman of learning and piety, and devoted to the labors he has undertaken. His classes speak warmly of his facility and talent for imparting instruction, and his benevolent zeal for the improvement of the young people committed to his charge. Ashtabula Academy.—The new building of the Ashtabula Academy, one of the early mediums of education, was formally dedicated on July 5, 1852, the event being in conjunction with the celebration ceremonies in honor of the Fourth of July. The womans' committee of the celebration exercises arranged the program and served supper in the new building. The charge for admission to the entertainment and dedicatory exercises was 121/2 cents and the supper was 371/2 cents. The academy had a very successful career for many years. The building was located on ground that is now the southwest corner of North Park. The upper story was occupied by the Masonic Lodge on one side and the Odd Fellows on the other. Coming of the First Railroad.—The completion of the first railroad was an epoch in the progress of Ashtabula. It brought a new life to the 180 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY village section, while it temporarily sounded the death knell of the Harbor's commercial importance. The work of construction of the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula railroad was begun in 1851, and the first regular passenger train from Cleveland arrived at Ashtabula depot at 9 o'clock in the evening of Saturday, June 19, 1852, from which date trains ran on a regular schedule between the two places. At first there was but one train a day, which left Ashtabula at 6:30 A. M. and returning from Cleveland arrived at 9 P. M. A. C. Hubbard was the first local agent for the company. The arrival of the first train of cars ever seen by many of the residents of Ashtabula was ,a signal for a demonstration. The following account of the occasion was published under a one-line caption in the Ashtabula Telegraph of the following Tuesday : "Some hundreds of our citizens were on the ground ready to give a hearty welcome to the first stated advent of the iron horse, and an outspoken welcome they did utter when the train, which had been visible in the gloom of the evening for miles on the long, level and mathematically straight line between the station at Geneva and that of Ashtabula, came like a conqueror to put a final end to slow coaches and give to the people the power to go ahead demanded in this age of progress. The passengers of too well-filled cars cordially responded to the cheers which greeted them. In the future history of Ashtabula, last Saturday can not fail to be a marked day. No neglect of Congress to provide for our Harbor can isolate us or prostrate our business. The people have, hereafter, a line of their own, cheap, swift, ever open and in their own hands." The first excursion train ever run out of Ashtabula was on Monday, July 5, 1852. The "Fourth" coming on Sunday, its general observance was made on the following day. On this occasion the railroad company "stood treat", having announced that the regular passenger train on Monday would be at the disposal of the people living along the line, who wished to take a ride on the cars and spend the day in Cleveland. Regarding this trip the Telegraph said : "In honor of the Fourth, Superintendent Beckwith, of the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula railroad, placed the line at the disposal of all people along it who might desire to celebrate the day in Cleveland. Accordingly, on the morning of Monday, the 5th of July, all was ready at the Ashtabula station, where a monster train, six hundred feet in length, HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 181 was in waiting. Long before half-past six, the hour for departure, the station grounds and the plank road leading from the borough presented an unusually animated appearance. There appeared to be a general turnout from all quarters. Some 300 took the cars for Cleveland, and when the iron horse dashed away with its forty rods of cars, there were enough of the lookerson to make a celebration there and then. This is the first excursion train out of Ashtabula and July 5, 1852, will be a day in our annals." The throwing of a railroad bridge across the valley of the Ashtabula River was no trifling undertaking in those days of early methods of construction. The science of engineering had not reached the stage where nothing was too great to accomplish, as is practically the case today. Work of installing the bridge at Ashtabula was begun on June 1, 1852, and on July 12 the first train was run over the structure. The bridge was 780 feet long and was of what was known as the Howe truss style of construction. It extended from bank to bank of the valley and was supported by a stone abutment at each end and four piers sunk to the rock in the valley. The superstructure of the bridge was entirely of wood, the timbers being intricately applied and so closely interwoven as to make them almost solid wood. The construction between the rails was of V shape, so water would run off. The sides were painted white, and from a distance it gave the appearance of being a wide, white streamer stretched across the valley. Outside the rails, on each side, the floor of the bridge was sloped and tinned over, giving the top the appearance of a tin roof. A watchman was kept constantly at the bridge, to warn people off and to look out for fire. It is related that one dark night a passenger train from the east stopped with some of the coaches on the bridge. The conductor went back through the cars to warn passengers not to get off and on the platform between two coaches he saw a man just about to step off. He hailed him with "Where are you going?" and, as the man proceeded on his way, he replied "Out there where my brother is". They picked up his body a short time after the train had reached the station and the 'conductor had reported the occurrence. This bridge was used for 11 years, when it was replaced by the iron bridge that fifteen years later caused the "Ashtabula Disaster". When this second bridge was installed, much filling was done, thus shortening 182 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY the structure. A further fill was made during the construction of the third bridge and eventually the valley was filled entirely across, a huge stone archway being built over the river channel, and from that time trains crossed on solid ground. The construction work toward the east was pushed rapidly and the regular train from Cleveland on Saturday night, August 28, 1852, was run through to Conneaut. That was the establishment of regular service between Cleveland and Conneaut, and sounded the death knell of the stage coach business. At this time a railroad was being built westward from Buffalo, which had been completed to a short distance west of Dunkirk. The stage coaches, that had been the only means of transient travel between Buffalo and Cleveland for many years, gradually shortened their journeys, as the railroad progressed, going each way only between the points touched by the railroad terminals. Knowing that Saturday night, August 28, was to open the road through to Conneaut, the proprietors of the stage lines arranged their schedules so that the night preceding, Friday, they made their last trip to Ashtabula from the east. The Ashtabula Telegraph of ugust 31 had this to say of the suspension of the stage service : "The last of the stages and the east and west line of mail stages made their last visit to Ashtabula on Friday night, the 27th, after running regularly for more than thirty-five years. Thus the four-horse stages became matters of tradition, the long whips and tin horn things of the past in Ashtabula, and stage-houses evoluted to hotels." Then followed a paragraph on the effect of this suspension on the general business of Ashtabula and especially on the smiths, harness makers, repairers, wagonmakers and many other lines of trade that relied largely on doing the work needed by the stage coaches. The original rolling stock of the new railroad consisted of four passenger and three freight engines, eleven passenger coaches, three mail cars, sixty freight cars, fifteen platform cars, twenty gravel cars, ten lumber cars, and seven handcars, said equipment representing an investment of $145,425.00. The estimated cost of 74 miles of track was $488,962.40, the price of rails then being $45 a ton. The sum of $30,700 was apportioned for erection of buildings. The locomotives were all wood-burners and nearly every passenger station had an adjunct in way of a wood shed. While the passengers were HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 183 getting off and on the trains the engine crew would be hustling to "wood-up". The company obtained their water supply here by a novel means and the water must have been good, for it came from "Orthodox Place". That name was given to a section of the village that embraced Vine street and adjoining property on its west. In the rear of the Presbyterian Church there were several very active springs, affording a voluminous flow of water. Here the railroad company built a reservoir and, catching the water, piped it to their line of road. That constituted the supply of water until the Jamestown branch was constructed, after which the pumping station was built beside the river that supplied the road until the city water was available. The original station building at Ashtabula which was erected by Contractor Loveland, and embraced waiting-rooms, telegraph and ticket office and baggage-room, all under one roof, was displaced in 1901 by the present splendid building and annex. The original Lake Shore roundhouse built in 1872 had eight stalls. Very soon its capacity was doubled and the one in service now has stalls for forty locomotives. The road was double-tracked from Ashtabula to Kingsville in 1872, and in course of a few years had two tracks its entire length. Now there are four. The Lake Shore Company had a stroke of conscience and suspended the running of freight trains on Sunday in the year 1872. How long that lasted available history fails to relate. When the change of fuel was made from wood to coal for the locomotives, the Lake Shore Company had 4,000 cords of wood on hand at this point. This railroad was first called the Cleveland & Painesville, then changed to the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula. When it had been extended to the Pennsylvania state line, the name of Cleveland & Erie was adopted. Shortly afterward it became the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, which title continued until a few years ago when it was taken over by the New York Central and assumed that title. The first accident worthy of note that occurred on the new railroad was a collision between the construction train, hauled by the locomotive "Lion", and a dead car on the track, at Kingsville. There were no casualties 184 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY but the engine was damaged to the extent of $3,000. The mishap was laid to the fact that the engine was hauling 13 cars. The Ashtabula & Jamestown branch, completed in 1873, became the southern feeder and outlet for the L. S. & M. S., additional advantages being obtained by the extension to Oil City from Franklin, to Youngstown from Andover, and then from Youngstown to Pittsburgh, by the completion of the P. & L. E., in 1879. The last direct connection was the "Clearfield" line from Franklin to connect with the Beech Creek road, which was constructed in 1906-7, with the design of acquiring for the New York Central and Lake Shore the shortest rail route between Chicago and New York by exactly ninety-nine miles. It was stated that fast passenger trains would be put on, running from Chicago to Ashtabula over the Lake Shore and from this point south, via the new route, to New York. Ashtabula was scheduled to become a great terminal point in connection with this new arrangement, but nearly a score of years have passed and the new route has not yet been adopted for fast passenger service. It is, however, an important freight line. Tribulations of the First Family (By Rev. John Hall ; 1856).—The first white man's habitation in Ashtabula is said to have been a small log cabin raised by Thomas Hamilton in 1801, a little above the shipyard on the west side of the creek. When the logs were ready for raising there happened to come into the creek a boat with a family on board, bound up the lake. Hamilton persuaded one or two of the men to assist in raising the body of his house. Daniel Baldwin, Esq., and Capt. James Montgomery, of Conneaut, having been previously invited, engaged to call and help him on a certain day, when returning from Harpersfield. The raising was finished and the house roof covered with bark by these men's assistance. It is presumed that Hamilton had no family, as the first family in this township has always been said to have been that of George Beckwith. According to Col. Hubbard, the first family residence was that of George Beckwith, erected in 1803 by the assistance of his neighbors, the pioneers of Austinburg, among whom he was one of the earliest. He perished in the snow in January, 1804, some fifty rods north of the South Ridge and a few rods west of the east line of Saybrook, as he was returning home from Austinburg with a heavy load of salt, etc., on his back. Sitting down to rest, he may have fallen asleep and thus have frozen to death. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 185 Mrs. Beckwith, with two little daughters and herself to support in the wilderness, was thus left a widow. She was a woman of great energy of character, and deserves to be numbered as a benefactress. She endured great hardships in her lone condition, but is said to have found means to assist others. Emigrants from the East would come with loaded wagons, and not know how they could cross the creek, for the depth of the water. Mrs. Beckwith would know by the depth of the water in the stream whether it was fordable or not at the crossing place, some three-fourths of a mile below her dwelling. She would row down to their assistance in her canoe. Her method was, first, to ferry the family across the river in her canoe ; then direct the men to bind on their loads stronger ; to tie a rope to he end of the tongue of the wagon, giving her the other end of the rope to carry in her canoe to the opposite shore, then, the oxen having been loosened from the wagon, drive them into the stream and let them swim over ; then roll the wagon into the creek, hitching the team to the rope, and let them draw the wagon through the water. The wheels would touch the bottom so as to prevent oversetting. The load was easily drawn, being buoyed up by the water, betwixt sinking and swimming, until its comes to the shore, when the rope must be shortened and doubled, and a strong pull by the team brings the load upon terra firma, on the western bank of the Ashtabula. They let their load stand and drain while they pay Mrs. Beckwith a liberal ferryage, well earned and much needed by her. Samuel Beckwith, a brother of George, whom Col. Hubbard found with the widow in May, 1804, about four months after George's death settled on the opposite side of the creek, where he resided until 1811. In the latter part of his life his constitution was broken with hardships, and he suffered till he became insane. About the middle of October, 1813, there fell a deep and heavy snow which broke the treetops and bent young trees of considerable size to the ground, holding them down till the snow melted. While the saplings were thus bent Beckwith took his ax and a rope and went into the woods a short distance east of his house, tied one end of the rope around his neck and the other end fast to one of the bent saplings. He then struck before him and jarred the snow off the sapling with his ax. The tree sprang up forcibly and hanged him. The staddle then bent back again by his weight and when he was found he was suspended, with his knees almost resting on the ground. 186 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY . Seventeen days after the body of George Beckwith had been buried, in the clothes in which he had died, it occurred to the wife that her husband must have had some money with him on his fatal trip, so she caused the remains to be exhumed and was rewarded by finding of $10.22 in cash in his pockets. That was a happy thought for the widow, for that was a large amount of money, to her. City Street Car Lines. The advent of the railroads at the Harbor and consequent revival of marine business caused that section of the township to suddenly become an important factor in the life of the village. The traffic between the two points was quite heavy and was taken care of by the A., Y. & P. road, which ran two trains daily to the Harbor station; and one—sometimes two—bus lines. In January, 1875, Contractor Kenneth McKenzie made a proposition to the village council to construct and equip a street-car line from "Near George Nettleton's residence on Prospect street", via Prospect, Center, Main and Lake, streets to the Harbor, a distance of a little more than four miles. His proposition specified the inclusion of equipment to the extent of four new, first-class cars to seat 14 passengers each, and two 12-passenger cars, horses and everything else necessary to the operation of the road, the price completed to be $25,000. This proposition was not accepted and the hacks continued to do a good business until 1882; when John N. Stewart, of Chicago, was given a franchise to build a street railway from the city to the Harbor. This horse-car line exacted a fare of 10 cents and was appreciated so long as it was kept up, but it was not the policy of the owner to put back for maintenance the good money that it was bringing to his coffers and the result was that in 1890 the council ordered the road removed from the streets. This order was utterly disregarded by the owner, and the outcome of the controversy was that he, while on a business trip to Chicago, received a telegram one Monday morning that he had no street railway. At midnight, on a Saturday night in the summer of 1890, by order of the city council, of which George B. Raser was president, men from the docks were put on the road with tools and by noon on Sunday there was not a tie or rail on the road where the track had been. Mr. Stewart instituted damage proceedings against the city, asking for $100,000 to reimburse him, and he carried the case to the Supreme Court of the United States, where the city won the final contest. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 187 The drastic measures that put the Stewart line out of business were the culmination of long-standing grievances. The determined policy of the owner to not make any improvements in his line, and to not keep his track in proper condition, brought forth dissatisfaction within a few months after the line had been put in operation, and in August, 1884, after he had refused to take proper care of the street, the council tore up the track in four places. He put his men at work and replaced the track, only to have it again torn out, whereupon he got out a restraining order against the city and soon had the road in operation again. Just before: the big tearup he was warned that the public would not stand for conditions much longer, in response to which he is said to have said "The public be damned". That was the beginning of the end. About the time his line was thrown out, he was projecting an extension to Jefferson. Right after the Stewart line quit, a franchise was asked for a line to the Harbor by H. H. Hall, A. C. Tombes, M. H. Haskell and B. B. Seymour, but their project did not become a reality. The elimination of the John N. Stewart line was a signal for action looking to the installation of another, and it was not long in materializing. Several projects were set afoot early, but Attorney Thomas Fricker and some Cleveland men landed the plum and secured a franchise for the Ashtabula Rapid Transit Company, which built an electric line and had it in operation within two years, the charter being granted on June 3, 1891, and the cars being started April 11, 1892. This line maintained until September 1, 1922, when it was taken over by the city and equipped with new one-man cars. Incidentally it is worthy of note that Ashtabula is the first city in the state of Ohio to own its own street railway. The Ashtabula & Lake Shore railway is an adjunct of Woodland Park, and built about 20 years ago, for a feeder for that resort. It runs from the park to the east end of Bridge street at the Harbor, a. distance of less than a mile, and it is claimed it is the shortest independent electric car line in the country. The A. & L. S. Company was incorporated on Jan. 27, 1903. Township Park Commission.—Following the passage, in 1904, by the State Legislature of an act "To authorize any township to establish a free public park", influential citizens of Ashtabula got busy and, at the September term of court, obtained the appointment of a township park commission, the personnel of which comprised the Messrs. H. M. Kunkle, 188 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY B. B. Seymour and J. F. Munsell. A levy of taxes of eight-tenths of a mill was voted, and a landscape architect of Youngstown was employed. He came to Ashtabula, looked over the different desirable locations for public parks, and recommended the acquisition of Harmon park, now Lake Shore Park. A proposition to issue $25,000 in bonds for the purchase of this property was lost in a special election held on October 1, 1906. The December installment of taxes that year yielded the commission $2,576.92. The first acquisition was the property abutting Main street, on the bank, opposite Sycamore street. This was to give access to the gulf property, of which 35 acres were purchased by the 'commission the following month. Twenty-four acres were purchased in another lot, 251/2 in another, 65 in another, 5 in another, and Mr. Munsell, of the commission, donated 22, thus giving the commission a total ownership in the beautiful Ashtabula Valley, immediately adjacent to the city, a total tract of 1511/4 acres, costing $9,500. In 1910 the commissioners purchased Harmon Park changing the name to Lake Shore Park. This tract embraces 2,542 feet of lake frontage, contains 50 acres of land and cost $1,500. In 1919 contracts were awarded for construction of a pavilion 240 feet long, 24 feet wide and to cost $40,000. The lake front has been graded and boulevard entrances built and one section of the property set apart for free camping grounds for automobile tourists. In 1913 the board bought the H. D. Kunkle and W. W. Starkey properties on Walnut street, at the end of Lake street, paying $6,000 for the former and $30,000 for the latter, obtaining thereby a frontage on the street of 378 feet, extending to the water's edge and embracing about five acres. The Kunkle house was removed and a roadway to the beach constructed, being a direct extension of Lake street. The old Starkey house was turned over to the use of the Harbor Woman's Community Club, as a headquarters, the hilltop property of the Starkey estate was converted into a public playground, with tennis courts and on the beach was erected a commodious bathing and refreshment pavilion. There is not a better bathing beach on the lake shore than the one at this resort. The present personnel of the township park commission consists of H. M. Kunkle, president ; I. H. Pardee and J. F. Munsell, the latter secre- HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 189 tary-treasurer. Mr. Munsell is called the father of Ashtabula's township parks, as he was the originator of the project. The Public Library.— (By Fred A. Williams.) The first Library Association that was established in Ashtabula was formed in 1813. It speaks well for the intelligence of the early settlers that such an association should be formed nine years after the first permanent settler came to the township. The association was formed, largely through the efforts of the Rev. Joseph Badger, assisted by a young man by the name of John Hall, who afterward became an Episcopal clergyman, and was for a good many years rector of St. Peter's Church. He was then a young man, clerking in the only store in the village. A small, but choice, collection of books was purchased, and John Hall acted as librarian. The association continued for quite a number of years, but finally the books were divided among the members and the association was discontinued. In 1830 the Ashtabula Social Library Association was formed and duly incorporated. W. W. Reed purchased the first list of books on one of his trips to New York, buying goods for his store. 0. H. Fitch was one of the most active members in getting the new library association started and was made librarian. The library was kept in his law office and he continued to act as librarian for over fifty years. He took excellent care of the books. After the death of Mr. Fitch, in 1881, E. W. Richards, who was justice-of-the-peace, was made librarian, and the library moved into his office. A few years later there was a local Y. M. C. A. established (in 1888) with rooms on the second floor of the Fickinger block, and the secretary of that organization was made librarian. About 1894 the books were stored, as no one could be found who was willing to take charge of them. Early in 1895 a committee was appointed by the school board to establish a free public library. They obtained a loan of the books of the old Ashtabula Social Library, containing about 2,500 volumes, and secured a room in the Neptune Hose Company building, which stood on the corner of Elm and Center streets, and opened the library in June of that year. In 1896 the library was incorporated and in 1903 the present library building was erected, with money furnished by Andrew Carnegie. In 1900 Miss Maria Conklin, who had been a dressmaker in Ashtabula for a great many years, died, leaving her property to establish a public library. The money 190 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY realized from her estate is now held by the library as an endowment fund. In 1923 Mr. L. Lyon died. Several years before he had turned over his library, about 2,000 volumes, which he had been collecting for some forty years, to the Free Public Library, as a reference library. He willed his property to the library to maintain and add to this collection of books. Early in 1924 the library was reorganized under the Ohio School District Library law, as amended in 1923. By this change the library secures better support than it ever before had. Proportional Representation.—The comparatively new system of voting known as the "Proportional Representation" plan was given its premier tryout in Ashtabula, thus giving to this city no small distinction, not only because of its having been the first to venture in that direction, but also because it is the home of the "father" of the method. At an election held on August 10, 1915, the proportional representation way of holding elections was adopted by a vote of the people, as an amendment to the city charter then in force. Today, 1924, 24 municipalities in the United States and Canada are using this new means of election. Like all innovations in public matters, the plan had its opponents, and after it had been regularly adopted here some of the local attorneys claimed it was unconstitutional, but that question was not taken into the Ohio courts until after Cleveland had also decided upon the new way of voting, in 1921. Then it was taken up from that city and its constitutionality was affirmed by the Supreme Court of this State, the opinion being written by Judge Florence Allen, a native daughter of whom Ashtabula county is justly proud, and who is given more extended notice elsewhere. Mr. C. G. Hoag, a Philadelphia Quaker, secretary-treasurer of the Proportional Representation League, a position which he filled for many years, without salary, was primarily responsible for the adoption of the P. R. system in Ashtabula. He brought the message of "P. R.", as it is now commonly called, to this city in 1913, soon after the adoption of the "Home Rule" amendment, which gave the people of Ohio cities the right to frame and adopt charters prescribing the form and rules of government under which the city should operate. Stopping off here, when on his way to address the charter commission of Cleveland, Mr. Hoag succeeded in getting a few representative citizens HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 191 together, and to them expounded the virtues of the P. R. plan, showing how it could be depended upon to elect a council which would be really representative in character and to which any group or party could elect its proportionate number of members. He also explained that this method of election fitted in very nicely with the city manager plan of government—in fact he made it appear indispensable to that plan, if it were to be really democratic and responsive to the will of the majority. Among those who heard Mr. Hoag explain P. R. was W. E. Boynton, a locomotive engineer by occupation, and at that time president of the city council. He was deeply impressed with the apparent importance and desirability of P. R., and adopted it as a part of his plan for a charter in Ashtabula, for which he began agitation, and of which he came to be known as the "father". Mr. Boynton, who was, an ardent advocate of public ownership of city utilities, confided to his friends that his underlying motive in working for a city manager and P. R. charter was to secure the adoption of a plan of city government, which, he believed, the people would feel they could safely trust with the ownership and operation of street cars and other forms of public service that are usually left to private corporations. At the next municipal election, in November, 1913, the proposition to elect a commission to frame a charter carried by a good majority, and early in 1914 the commission organized, with P. C. Remick as president and F. R. Hogue as secretary, and began the work of framing the charter. The city manager plan was favored by nearly all of the members, but Mr. Boynton, who was on the commission, was unable to induce them to include P. R. as a part of the charter, and the ordinary election-at-large plan of elections was used instead. Nothing daunted, however, Boynton, soon after the adoption of the charter at the November election in 1914, began to work for an amendment to it, which provided for P. R. Petitions to that end were prepared and circulated and the necessary number of signatures secured. After some delay, the council set Aug. 10, 1915, as, the date of the election on the proposition. The principal argument used by advocates of the proposed amendment was that the election of the councilmen by the straight election-atlarge plan at that time provided for in the charter would not give either the people living in the different sections of the city or people having 192 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY different opinions regarding city policies the representation to which they were justly entitled. As a "horrible example" of the possibilities of the old system, it was pointed out that some time before that, a city board of education had been elected in which the six members were all members of the same ward, five of them living in the same precinct, and three or four of them being brothers-in-law. The vote on the proposed amendment was light, and it was adopted by 558 for and 400 against the adoption. The claim of its backers that its use would give a truly representative council was fully justified by the result of the first election held under the P. R. system, on Nov. 2, 1915. This was supported by the following statement printed by the Ashtabula Beacon, which had vigorously opposed the P. R. amendment : "Proportional representation has been demonstrated and found better than expected. In analyzing the result, we find that all sections and factions are represented in the new council. There are two from the first ward, one from the second, two from the third and two from the fourth wards ; three from the Harbor and four from Uptown ; one from the east side and two from the west side, at the Harbor ; one from the west end, one from the south end and two from the central portion of the Uptown section of the city. Four of the old councilmen are re-elected. The drys and the wets are represented ; the Protestants and the Catholics, the business, professional and laboring men ; Republicans, Democrats, Socialists ; the English, Swedes and Italians—all are represented, while there were more divisions than places. It would be hard to select a more representative council in any other way." Subsequent elections have, as a rule, given similar results and the following from an editorial in the Star-Beacon of April 7, 1923, probably voices the sentiment of a majority of Ashtabula citizens, after watching the result of the P. R. plan for seven years: "Dictatorship from some political power is a thing of the past. The people have something to say as to whom shall be chosen for city offices. The P. R. system of voting works well, and we recommend it to Cleveland, or any other municipality that wants the best in government." The belief that a city manager charter, with proportional representation would give the people a government well fitted to own and operate important public utilities seems to be justified by the satisfaction of the people in general, with the service given by the street railway system HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 193 of Ashtabula, which was taken over by the city on Aug. 1, 1922, and also with the million-dollar light and power plant that was completed a little earlier that same year. While there has been considerable opposition to the P. R. method of election here, most of it has arisen from lack of proper understanding of it, and students of city government are looking forward to the time when, they believe, this plan—city manager and P. R.—in the adoption of which Ashtabula was the pioneer, will come to be the most generally accepted form of city government in America. (11) CHAPTER XIII. ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP—CONTINUED. ASHTABULA HARBOR-FIRST HARBOR SURVEY -PROGRESS OF THE MARINE INTERESTS-EVOLUTION OF DOCK FACILITIES-FLOOD OF 1878-BURNING OF' THE STEAMER WASHINGTON--WILLIAM H. VANDELBILT VISITS ASHTABULA. -.AN EARLY BENEFACTOR-INCIDENTS OF THE WAR OF 1812-TRAGEDIES OF PASSING YEARS-ASHTABULA BRIDGE DISASTER-MONUMENT TO UNKNOWN DEAD. Ashtabula Harbor, as the north end of the city is called, is the real base of Ashtabula's prosperity. In the beginning the river entrance afforded transportation facilities that were used by most of the pioneer settlers of this immediate region and those adjoining on the south for many miles, even to the Ohio River, for in the years from 1830 to 1852, when the first railroad came, there was a regular line of stages plying between the Harbor and Wellsville, connecting the two waterways. The distance of a little less than 100 miles was covered one way in a day, the scheduled time being 20 hours, and the fare $4. Lake passenger steamers were making regular stops at this port and, as an illustration of the volume of passenger traffic through this point, history relates that over a thousand travelers and emigrants were transferred from boat to stage here in the spring of 1832. So great was the number of persons moving into the new West that the vessels were unable to carry all would be passengers and many had to hire independent boats. The stage facilities were likewise taxed beyond their capacity and frequently emigrants en route had to lay over several days here. This condition brought about railroad agitation that resulted in the incorporation of the Erie & Ohio River railway, designed to be built from Erie to some Ohio River point, via Ashtabula and southward through the county. The populous center of the Harbor in those years was the east side of - 194 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 195 the river, where are now New York Central docks. The river-front was lined with warehouses and hotels or lodging-houses. What is now Columbus street was the Ashtabula & Trumbull turnpike and in later years it was planked. Within the past couple of years, the last sign of the plank-road was taken away. That was the little old house that stood on the northerly corner at top of Harmon Hill, which was a toll-gate house. The advent of the railroad brought the end of all this activity about the north end of the city and things were pretty quiet, excepting in the stave, lumber and salt traffic by boat and the vessel-building industry. Then came the railroads to the Harbor and with them a renewed rush in another line which caused, in a few years, a growth and development that had never been dreamed of. It was but a very few years before Ashtabula Harbor was known the country over as the greatest iron ore receiving port in the world, which title it has consistently held, with but an occasional season when conditions of trade would give the honor to some other port temporarily. The coming of the railroad also gave promise of further greatness. In 1874 and '75 there was a big movement looking to the establishment of a rolling-mill, to be located at Ashtabula Harbor. Youngstown capitalists proposed to furnish $35,000, if Ashtabula would donate $25,000 and install a $75,000 plant that would employ two hundred men. The proposition was not accepted. It was about this time that, foreseeing a big future for the Harbor, the city council decided it would be a good thing to take that territory in. This suggestion, however, did not meet the approval of those who could see only additional taxes to help support the city, while there were others who did not see anything but additional expense for the city, and the proposition was not favored with "clear sailing". On Nov. 23, 1874, the city council passed an ordinance for annexation "of certain contiguous territory", and a petition to annex said "certain contiguous territory" was filed with the commissioners on Feb. 10, 1875. A meeting was announced to be held in Jefferson on Feb. 15, for a general hearing on the petition and, after an all-night session, during which every angle of the case was reviewed, the commissioners made an order for annexation in accordance with the petition, whereupon the opposition promptly secured an injunction, which held matters up a couple of years, during which an agreement was arrived at and the restraining order was 196 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY dissolved on April 23, 1877, and the Harbor territory specified in the petition became a part of the city. This section has progressed splendidly and the inhabitants take great pride in their establishments. A most commendable public spirit is always evident and their Community Club is an interesting center for civic activities. The Harbor Special Schools, established in the '80s, have always been among the proudest possessions, and their high school building is one of the finest in this section of the state. W. E. Wenner, the superintendent, is a prominent Lyceum lecturer and has served this district for several terms as state senator. Turva Hall, which was built some twenty years ago by the Turva Temperance Society, a Finnish organization, was equipped with a large stage and was the first and only Finnish opera house in the United States. The organization also included a Finnish dramatic society, which for some years gave frequent exhibitions in their hall. Walnut street, which skirts the bluff overlooking the beach and lake, is one of the prettiest resident streets of the entire city. In the early years, before the railroads began improving the lake front, there was at the east end of Walnut street Point Park, which was a favorite resort for Harborites on Sundays and evenings. The city purchased this park in 1887. Gradually, with the coming of other places of amusement, its popularity waned till it was generally deserted, and when the Pennsylvania Railway Company wanted to cut it off to make room for more track room, the city made an exchange for property up the river which was needed in a project for the plant of the Great Lakes Engineering Works, the ship-building and repairing establishment that was secured for Ashtabula in 1908, through efforts of the chamber of commerce, and "The Point" disappeared. Today there is, at the west end of the street, a section of parkage which lies along the lake front, commanding a beautiful view, but which is restricted to the use of owners and residents of a certain allotment, of which it is a part. The Great Lakes Engineering Works has turned out a goodly number of modern ships, the first product being the steamer Louis R. Davidson, a 9,000-ton steamer of the 500-foot class, which was launched on April 6, 1912. A year ago this yard built two ocean-going ships of new design, and operated entirely by electricity. HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 197 The first bridge in use was a float, which was succeeded by a pontoon-bridge that usually went out into the lake with the spring freshets. The man whose business it was to open this bridge for boats, had to rely, generally, on bystanders to help in the operation, which consisted of hauling the pontoon section around against the dock on the east side by a long rope. It was great sport for the small boy to take a hand at the rope, and later, when improved methods were introduced, to help push the long bars of a sweep that worked a windlass. In 1889 the present steel draw-bridge was installed and this is to be displaced in the early future by a lift-bridge. That section of the city known for many years as "Swedetown", was always considered as a part of the Harbor. Its nucleus was the farm owned by Russell C. Humphrey, which he platted in 1889 and put on the market. The convenience of its location for the men who worked on the docks on the east side of the river at once insured its success toward a new settlement, and it built up rapidly and even enjoyed, within a few years, the distinction of having its own postoffice. Its name was derived presumably from the early settlement of Swedish families. In recent years there have been many nationalities represented in the residents of that section, and they have adopted the title of East Ashtabula, which promises to be the future name. Within the territory of this section was once the. farm of Aaron Field, consisting of 275 acres, which he purchased in the early years of Ashtabula's history from Warren owners and paid for in cheese at 4 1/2 cents a pound. First Harbor Survey.—The following pertaining to earliest marine activities is taken from a historical sketch written by 0. H. Fitch in the year 1873: "It was early thought necessary that some harbor should be secured for the vessels employed in the navigation of the lakes, and strange as it may seem to us now, after the experience of nearly three-fourths of a century, the plan was not to make use of the rivers emptying into the lakes for this purpose, but as I was informed many years ago by the late Ralph Granger, Esq., to whom I am indebted for the following statement: It was a plan suggested by B. H. Latrobe, Esq., then (in 1807) superintendent of public works and engineer at Washington, 'which was to carry 198 - HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY out, from the point nearest deep water, a solid mole, or pier, to reach the depth of water required, and to terminate this pier with a crescent shaped mole, behind which vessels might lie with safety, and on which their cargoes might be deposited'. "Timothy R. Hawley, Esq., was selected as the most suitable person to make the examination. He made a survey in 1807, and submitted his report to Mr. Latrobe, who drew a plan of a harbor, but no attempt was ever made to construct it. This is doubtless the oldest survey and plan for a harbor at Lake Erie. The survey was made from the center line of the Granger tract, about a mile below the mouth of Ashtabula Creek. After the failure of this project, the public attention appears to have been directed to the improvement of the mouth of the creek. "In 1824 an act was passed by the General Assembly of Ohio to incorporate the Ashtabula Harbor Company, for the purpose of constructing a harbor at the mouth of Ashtabula Creek, but the company never went into operation." Progress of the Marine Interests.—The first entrance of a sail-boat into Ashtabula Harbor was probably that of Moses Cleveland's surveyors, in 1796, on its way westward. Judge Austin, of whom occasional mention is made in this work, landed inside the mouth of the river in 1801, and the following year the Rev. Joseph Badger brought his boatload of personal effects into the stream, after he had gone ahead with a shovel and dug a channel through the sandbar that clogged the outlet. The river at that time emptied into the lake a considerable distance east of its present course. The early comers very soon realized that the river was to be a valuable asset to the commercial progress of the town they had started, and its development became a subject for early consideration. The Rev. John Hall, treating on this matter in his history written in 1856, said : "General Gideon Granger, proprietor of the northeastern section of this township, and Matthew Hubbard, Esq., agent for Nehemiah Hubbard, Esq., proprietor of the lands about the Ashtabula, gave early attention to the subject of constructing a harbor and a town, to promote the general interests of commerce, as well as to enhance the value of their lands lying along the lake and in the back country. Gideon Granger's plan was to build a fine commercial town and a harbor on his land at the south shore of the lake, below the present harbor, and connect them with his township HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY - 199 and contemplated county town of Jefferson by a good road. After considerable expense in making examinations, surveys, measuring of distances, soundings, altitudes, etc., this plan was abandoned. "Mr. Hubbard, Hall Smith, Amos Fisk, H. J. Rees, Capt. H. Wilcox, Thomas H.. Smith, Esq., and many other business men and their fellow citizens, realizing the disadvantages to commerce interposed by the imperfection of the natural harbor, at the mouth of the Ashtabula, after a suspension of the subject for twenty years, resolved on renewed efforts for the construction of an artificial harbor. "It is no disparagement to others to say that, from his prominent and advantageous position as a business man, with his innate public spirit, Col. M. Hubbard was enabled and disposed to be a distinguished patron and promoter of this important enterprise. He was the earliest permanent settler in Ashtabula and the first man of business. His thoughts were first turned to this subject while the thoughts and energies of his fellow-pioneers were necessarily engaged in the acquisition of sustenance for themselves and families, and could not, if disposed, bestow attention or expense upon such an enterprise. Hence he was foremost in the insipient measures necessary eventually to enlist the minds of individuals and of the public, and finally to engage the government in favor of this important object. Col. Hubbard should not be forgotten in connection with this and many other benefactions bestowed upon the citizens of Ashtabula." The condition that confronted the Rev. Badger when his boat arrived at the mouth of the Ashtabula River was generally to be found, especially after a north wind, which would invariably form a bar across the outlet, which would remain until someone wanted to get a boat across, or until high water in the river would wash it away. The first quarter of a century had passed before determined action was started to make permanent improvements looking to the establishment of a harbor suitable for regular commercial purposes. In July, 1826, T. W. Maurice, captain of engineers, made a personal examination of the local river conditions and he then recommended that the government recognize the need of an expenditure at this point. His plan was that two embankments be built into the lake until they reached ten feet of water. These fills were to run from each side of the river's mouth, extending parallel -and gradually widening until their outer ends