(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE)

380 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY CHAPTER XII ST. MARYS TOWNSHIP AND THE CITY OF ST. MARYS, St. Marys township, occupying the central part of the western tier of townships in Auglaize county and the oldest civil division in the county, is a true congressional township (town 6, south of range 4 east) of thirty-six square miles and is bounded on the north by Noble township, on the east by Washington township and Shelby county, on the south by German township and on the west by Mercer county. The Grand Reservoir (Lake St. Marys) extends into this township from the west almost to the western edge of the city of St. Marys and covers about four square miles of the township's surface. This reservoir, as previously has been set out in connection with the narrative relating to the Miami & Erie canal, is the largest artificial body of water in the world and was constructed as a source of water supply for the canal, which flows through the township from St. Marys on the northern line of the township in section 3 a bit east of south and on out in section 35. The township has ample drainage through the St. Marys river and its tributaries, supplemented by an adequate system of ditches, the river being formed at the south edge of the city of St. Marys by the confluence of the East, Center and West branches, this forming a waterway which determined settlement there at the beginning of historic times hereabout, the head of pirouge navigation here having been selected as a site for the establishment of a trading post in the days of the French traders and later as a site for a fort when the military campaigns against the Indians were being carried on throughout this section, all of which has been set out in an earlier chapter in this work. The township is entered by two railroads, the Toledo & Ohio Central, skirting the northern border of the township and having its western terminus at St. Marys, and the Lake Erie & Western railway, HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 381 entering the city from the northeast and proceeding west, with a southern branch terminating at Minster on the southern edge of the county. The Western Ohio electric line from Wapakoneta to Celina also follows the northern border of the township, passing through St. Marys, at which place the traction company maintains its power house. ST. MARYS AS FORMER SEAT OF JUSTICE. It is said that when St. Marys township, then a civil division of Mercer county, was organized in 1824, at the time St. Marys was established as the county seat of Mercer, there were but twenty-nine taxpayers in the township and that the total taxes collected amounted to but $26.64. As has previously been set out, St. Marys remained the seat of justice for Mercer county until 1840, when the county seat was removed to Celina. This was eight years before the erection of Auglaize county, when St. Marys township was disannexed from Mercer and attached to this county. In the meantime settlers were coming in and taking up the lands in the township, so that by the time Auglaize county was erected in 1848 the township was pretty well settled. The impetus given to this settlement by the construction of the canal, beginning in the late '30s, and the gigantic work connected with the construction of the Grand Reservoir, was maintained when the commercial ant industrial importance of the canal began generally to be recognized and the later settlers thus were of a substantial character, this giving a "tone" to the community which ever has been maintained. When Auglaize county was organized St. Marys township was pretty well populated and the farmers and landowners there naturally joined with the people of St. Marys in demanding that the county seat be located there, but the central location of Wapakoneta, the other claimant of county seat honors, was an argument against them which apparently could not be overcome and they had to swallow their disappointment; a not particularly agreeable potion, according to all accounts. This township profited 382 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY greatly by the construction of the plank road between St. Marys and Wapakoneta and between St. Marys and Ft. Wayne in the early '50s, these roads and the canal giving the people of that part of the county what then were regarded as the best possible advantages for transportation. Besides affording an exceptional outlet for labor, the plank roads also afforded a ready market for the valuable timber needed in their construction, for it is recalled that none but the best timber was used in the construction of these roads and many of the land owners in that section were able thus profitably to dispose of their timber that otherwise would largely have been a dead loss, for that was in the days before the woodworking industries had begun to develop a local market for the timber which had to be cleared away before farm land could become available. The Ohio & Indiana plank road from St. Marys on northwest through Mercer, Shanesville, Wiltshire, Decatur (Ind.) and thence to Ft. Wayne opened a tremendous traffic in hoop poles which in season were poured in almost ceaseless caravans into St. Marys for further transportation thence by canal. This road was built by subscription and was completed in 1852, about the time the plank road east to Wapakoneta was completed, a story of which is carried elsewhere. For almost a quarter of a century, or until the coming of the free gravel pikes in the middle '70s, these plank roads were maintained by the owners, who collected toll for maintenance and such profit as might accrue to the stockholders. St. Marys township was among the first in this part of the state to take advantage of the law authorizing the construction of free turnpikes and upon the beginning of that work in 1876 plans were adopted for an extension of the work until the township was equipped with a complete system of gravel roads, many of which later were further improved by the macadam process and some of these later giving way to paved highways. HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 383 TALES OF THE OLD MILITARY TRAIL. Agriculturally, St. Marys township is abreast of the times. The soil generally is a rich black loam of high productive qualities and since the drainage of the township has been exceptionally well taken care of by numerous county, township, state and private ditches, "it has become a leader in all lines of agricultural improvement," according to one well informed reviewer, while another emphasizes this by observing that "the lands adjacent to the great reservoir and along the St. Marys river and its tributaries are unsurpassed in their fertility." The old Wayne military road passes through this township and there is a well defined local tradition to the effect that General Wayne was compelled on one occasion, owing to the difficulties of the march and the necessity of abandoning stores, to bury a large sum of money, said to be as much as $150,000, upon his approach to St. Marys and that this money never was reclaimed. The point of burial of this money is said to be on what is now the farm of County Commissioner Elmer H. Youngs, in section 21 of St. Marys township, about two miles and a half south of St. Marys, along the line of the old military trail, now the St. Marys-New Bremen road. Mr. Youngs is living in confident expectation that some day his plow will turn the money up, but he has laid no plans for retirement pending such discovery. Concerning this old military trail, which later was used in the Harrison campaigns, it perhaps will be recognized as an excellent sidelight on the conditions of the swampy soil here in the early days and the consequent difficulties of transportation in those days to introduce here the following description penned by Capt. Robert B. McFee, an officer in Harrison's army during the War of 1812, as a part of the official report he made concerning the progress of the army: "The roads were bad beyond description. None but those who have actually seen the state of the country seem ever to have formed a correct estimate of the difficulties to be encountered. The road from Loramie's block house to the St. Marys and thence 384 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY to Defiance was one continuous swamp, knee deep to the horses and up to the hubs of the wagons. It was found impossible to get even the empty wagons along and many were left sticking in the mire and ravines, the wagoners being glad to get off with the horses alive. Sometimes the quartermaster, taking advantage of a temporary freeze, would send off a convoy of provisions, which would be swamped by a thaw before it reached its destination. These natural difficulties were also increased by great deficiency of funds and inadequacy of other resources which were requisite in the quartermaster's department. The only persons who could be secured to act as packhorse drivers were generally the most worthless creatures in society, who took care neither of the horses nor the goods with which they were entrusted. The horses, of course, were soon broken down and many of the packs lost. The teams hired to haul were also commonly valued so high on coming into service that the owners were willing to drive them to debility and death with a view to get the price. In addition to this, no bills of lading were used or accounts kept with the wagoners, and of course each one had an opportunity to plunder the public without much risk of detection." The picture of the old trail here presented in Captain McAfee's report compared with that of the present admirable highway which marks the former trail affords a most illuminating commentary on the progress which has been made along that line since the days of settlement here, and the memory of the pioneers ought to be kept green, for certainly they wrought well. PIONEERS OF ST. MARYS TOWNSHIP. The tax duplicate for 1848 reveals the following landowners in this township when Auglaize county was erected: Daniel Ayers, David Armstrong, Samuel Armstrong, John Armstrong, Sr., John Armstrong II, James C. Anderson, Demas Adams, Joseph D. Blew, William Botkin, Margaret Botkin, James Botkin, Christian Benner, R. R. Barrington, Joshua Benner, E. T. Bates, George Craft, Joseph Combs, HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 385 Joseph Catterlin, Edward Cooper, James Carr, Asahel Cleveland, Joseph Doute, Pickett Doute, Frederick Dubling, Amos Doute, Thomas Doute, William Fink, Frederick Fry, Henry Franz, Jonas Farlin, R. B. Gordon, H. M. Helm, John Hawthorn, William B. Hedges, B. F. Harmes, Henry W. Hinkle, Mary Hinkle, James D. Hoy, B. H. Huckerider, Jones Haney, John Helm, John S. Houston, William A. Houston, William Hollingsworth, George Kipp, William L. Helfenstein, Samuel Johnston, John W. Jones, G. F. W. Kolhorst, Frederick Koop, James Kay, William Kenning, H. F. Kenning, William Kirten, Jared Kelsey, Samuel Long, Lewis Lake, Thomas Longworth, J. Longworth, Samuel Lynch, Jacob Long, John Luneman, Henry Ludecke, Elizabeth McCoy, J. Miller, John Mause, Frederick Marquand, M. G. Mitchell, William Mines, John H. Mohrman, John C. Mohrman, Thomas McKee, Samuel A. Major, Mark E. McMahon, J. H. Neismeyer, John B. Neiman, Gottlieb Neitert, William Preston, John Pickerel, Daniel Rankin, J. W. Riley, O. C. Road, Sabert Scott, Samuel Scott, Ann Sackett, B. F. Schroader, F. H. Schroader, M. W. Smith, Herman V. Shafer, Thomas Skillman, R. W. Stearnes, J. G. Strasburg, John D. Strasburg, John D. Seimer, Thomas S. Sturgeon, H. H. Schroerluke, Elizabeth Smith, G. H. Studheite, Henry A. Smith, H. H. Shearholtz, J. F. Smith, Samuel Statler, William Tellman, Diederick Tohle, Lawrence Tafe, D. H. Tangerman, Evan O. Thomas, P. VanMiddlesworth, Charles Walker, John Wappenhorst, J, N. Millenbrook, Henry Weirwile, William Weirwile, Charles Watkins, Peter Wagner, William White, James Wilkins, John W. Weimeyer, John T. Weimeyer and George Young. In the town of St. Marys at that time were the following land and lot owners : The Armstrongs, David, John and William; John Achey, James Anderson, John Aley, R. R. Barrington, Barbee & Sherrick, Charles Bowser, H. T. Brandenburg, Barbee & Kinsley, Robert Bigger, Peter Bugh, John Baker, David Bender, Lewis Broadwell, Randall Black, John (24) 386 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY Blew, George Berk, Valentine Burget, Nancy Beauchamp, Joseph D. Blew, L. R. Brownell, George Berry, Aaron Chester, Crane & Davis, Robert Cooper, N. & C. Chapman, Joseph Curtis, William M. Crane, R: J. Crosier, C. W. Cowan, ____ Craighead, Isaac Demherst, C. Dennison, C. P. Dunbaugh, L. D. Dowty, William Draline, Eli M. Dennison, David Eastwood, F. C. Estabrook, Cyrenus Elliott, Daniel Eichleburger, John Elliott, Robert Elliott, William A. Elliott, John Eicher, J. W. Fulton, B. Gilbert, Reuben P. Graham, Daniel S. Gaus, Bernard Gilbert, R. B. Gordon, Michael Goddard, Gordan & Sawyer, John Gardner, Isaac House, Robert Harvey, J. Harshman, John Hawthorn, William Hollingsworth, Nicholas Holtz, William L. Helfenstein, John S. Houston, David Hays, H. M. Helm, John Hollingsworth, J. E. Hollingsworth, George Holtzbecker, Lewis Holtzbecker, Nancy Houston, Philip V. Herzing, John Hawthorn, Henry L. Huesch, Garrett Handley, Frederick Henick, Henry A. Hapson, John House, Samuel Imhoff, John W. Jones, William Johnston, George Johnston, Jared Kelsey, Joseph Kelsey, Benjamin Linzee, Adam Linch, Peter P. Lowe, Franklin Linzee, Henry Lemcohl, A. D. Levering, Herman Long, Dennis McMannis, G. W. McLaughlin, A. V. Medberry, M. G. Mitchell, Medberry & Stearns, James Major, Caleb Major, Henry Morvelius, George C. McCune, L. D. McMahon, Samuel McKee, Thomas McKee, Samuel A. Major, Samuel R. Mott, Jacob Morvelius, William M. Murdock, L, D, Mann, M. W. McLean, Erastus Porter, Joseph Plunkett, Daniel Piper, George Piper, Elisha Phelps, Benjamin Patton, John M. Parks, John Pickerel, E. M. Phelps, Bartholomew Rapp, Roher & Sherick, Daniel Rankin, Charles Route, Chas, F. Risse, John J. Rickey, 0. C. Rood, J. W. Riley, Samuel Ruckman, Frederick Romagle, W. L. Ross, Patrick Stone, William Sawyer, Sawyer & Williams, Samuel Scott, M. W. Smith, Scott, Linzee & Co., John W. Stoker, C. M. Statler, L. C. Shawyer, Charles Spankenburg, R. W. Stearnes, Samuel Statler, Sabert Scott, T. J. Stephens, John Stephens, Thomas Stone, John Stromenger, David Simpson, Diederick Schroe- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 387 der, G. W. Timmonds, Joseph Tangerman, Hector Topping, A. H. Trimble, D. Vandervol, Cuthbert Vincent, Isaac Wingart, J. R. Wagner, L. Worst, Lewis Whiteman, V. H. Weaver, S. J. Worthington, John S. Watts, J. F. Whiteman, George Wise, Christian Whiteman, William Youngs, Robert Younger and E. D. Zimer. The practicing physicians then located at St. Marys who paid the physician's license fee of Si for the year 1848 were Doctor Goodrich, Doctor Holderman, A. O. Connell and R. W. Stearnes, and the lawyers who paid a similar tax levied on the attorneys were William M. Crane, C. W. Cowan, F. C. LeBlond, S. R. Mott, Joseph Plunkett and E. M. Phelps. DEVELOPMENT OF ST. MARYS TOWN. As has been set out in the chapter relating to the settlement of the county and the pioneer period, the growth of the village of St. Marys was a gradual development which received no real impetus until the village became established as the county seat of Mercer county in 1824. As Professor Simkins has it in his review (1901), "no material growth was manifested at the isolated settlement at St. Marys before this date, and even then the outlook was not promising." There was a little grist mill down the trail on the creek at Loramies and another and somewhat more pretentious mill on the Miami farther down at Piqua. To the west there were a few scattered settlers, mostly "squatters" whose chief business was hunting and trapping. The adjacent county of Jay over the line in Indiana was not erected until in 1836, when it was disannexed from Randolph county, which at that time covered a somewhat vague stretch of territory to the north and west. To the east the Indians on the Wapakoneta reservation still held their lands, while to the north there stretched the desolate Black Swamp country, dreary and forbidding. A mail route was not established at St. Marys until in 1827, the mail then being brought up by post rider from Piqua and distributed to the settlers who by that time had begun to make themselves known in the district. Ten years later, in 1837, work on the 388 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY canal was begun and the real development of the village dates from that period, commercial development following rapidly after the completion of the canal in 1845. In the meantime, the neighboring village of Celina over to the west was being developed as a commercial center and in 1840 the county seat was removed to that place, St. Marys thus losing whatever prestige at that time attached to the civic center. The value of the canal, however, more than compensated for this blow to civic pride and St. Marys maintained its steady growth, which was given a further stimulus upon the completion of the first railroad to that town in 1877, the present Lake Erie & Western. The manufacturing industries that had developed with the coming of the canal took on new life with the coming of the railroad and have since maintained their own. With the passing of the pioneer period of development in the village a new interest was taken in general promotion and advancement was made along all lines. When natural gas and oil were revealed in the vicinity of the city in the late '80s, as has been set out elsewhere, the town profited largely by the stimulus this gave to industry and a new period of development ensued. In June, 1895, a destructive tire in the very heart of the city created a loss in excess of $100,000, this destruction including the woolen mills, the Neitert Koops mill, the Neitert building, the Hoffer building, the Koehl building, the Wendeln bock, the Holkamp building, the Bishop building and the Pauck building. The reconstruction of the burnt area produced a modern type of buildings which added much to the appearance of the commercial district and all construction that has taken place since has been of a substantial and attractive character. It also was during the '90s that the residence section of the city was practically rebuilt, many of the present handsome residences having been erected during that period. Civic development also took on a new spurt about that time, water works and electric light, uniform sidewalks and street paving coming in about that time and in 1907 a comprehensive sewer system was completed. With the HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 389 erection of the beautiful Memorial park following the World war, a real beauty spot was created where before had been an unsightly group of old buildings, interesting but valueless relics of canal days; the armory of Company K., O. N. G., and the library building were erected facing this park and other plans now in hand, including the erection of a new city hall and a new high school building fading the park, contemplate the eventual development of a real civic center that will add greatly to the appearance of the town. A picture of Memorial park and pictures of street scenes in St. Marys presented in this work convey better than words a proper impression of the "down town" section of the city. ST. MARYS COMMERCIAL CLUB. As a recent commercial review of the city of St. Marys sets out, "to the last man all of the members of the Commercial Club take great pride in the growth of the city along so many lines, not only in the manufacturing line, but in the erection of new business blocks and the improvement and remodeling of many others." This same review also points out that the citizenship of St. Marys "is made up of an element of most intelligent workmen and of business men that possess sound judgment and integrity, her banks are controlled by men who are acknowledged financiers and who have always taken a firm stand against all speculative schemes and have at all times vigorously upheld all that promised permanence." The points also are made that "St. Marys has more miles of paved streets than any city of its size in Ohio," and that "our farmers are all well to do, roads are kept in excellent condition, scenery beautiful and picturesque and crops rarely ever fail, owing to the fine soil." The St. Marys Commercial Club, which it was pointed out "is composed of practically every manufacturer and merchant, most of the professional men and numerous farmers," was organized in 1915 with the following officers: President, C. C. McBroom, superintendent of city schools; vice president, C. W. Schemel ; secretary, L. C. Brod- 390 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY beck; treasurer, C. F. Limbacher, and directors, William Jaspersen, Edward Wust, Albert Herzing, C. W. Schemel, A. B. Kohler, Frank Ausman, C. C. McBroom, H. B. Casperson, Ernest Wiehe, William Geiger, Paul Graetz, A. L. Saum, A. C. Buehler, Jacob Victor, J. D. Hollenbaugh, Charles Limbacher, L. C. Broadbeck, Herman Haberkamp, Henry Koop and Ewald Kellermeyer. This old commercial club recently was reorganized under the name of the St. Marys Chamber of Commerce, a body designed to promote both the civic and industrial advancement of the city, which adopted as its motto "Progress and Prosperity" and started in to work out a laudably ambitious program of city betterment. The officers of the Chamber of Commerce are as follows : President, Jacob Victor ; vice presidents, Harold G. Neely and A. C. Buss; secretary, H. S. Jenkins, and treasurer, W. J. Kishler, these together with William Jasperson, Roy Heap and W. C. Fisher forming the directorate of the chamber. INTERESTING BIT OF REMINISCENCE. In an earlier commercial review compiled as a "souvenir" of Home-coming Week at St. Marys in 1907 the point was made that "St. Marys is not a boom city. The population is stable, not of a transcient nature, but is composed of an industrious and intelligent class of citizens, the sort who do things. The increase in population has been both natural and steady and the working of natural laws cannot help but continue its growth." The census for 1920 gives St. Marys a population of 5,679. In this same "home-coming" review there is carried an interesting bit of reminiscence concerning the early history of St. Marys prepared by Mrs. T. G. Touvelle and to which reference has heretofore been made, in which it is set forth that "near the confluence of the three branches which form the St. Marys river, named by French traders, was built in 1811 Ft. St. Marys. The St. Marys river is indeed a historic HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 391 stream. Three times crossed and twice bridged by General Wayne, it was protected by a line of forts which extended from St. Marys to Defiance. On its banks Generals Hull and Harrison encamped and at Ft. St. Marys troops were concentrated, organized and sent to Ft. Wayne and Ft. Defiance. By the Greenville treaty of 1795 the United States was given the right to navigate the St. Marys river from its head one mile south of town to Ft. Wayne, and for nearly half a century this crooked stream was the way through which passed nearly all the military and pioneer supplies for the northwest. Upon the east bank, nearly opposite the fort, stood the cabin of brave, friendly Simon Kenton; through its narrow channel glided the canoe of Simon Girty as he plotted treachery and revenge, and down its swift currents passed the rafts of the French traders, Anthony Shane, Madore, Mazane, Labadie and Murray. Through the dense woods came to its banks the Indian braves and their squaws to exchange with the traders venison and skins for whisky, tobacco, beads and gay cotton goods; and the brave pioneer alone or with his family, with no protection but his rifle and unerring aim sped northward on its waters toward the prairies, there to find a home. "In 1820 St. Marys was partly laid out by Charley Murray, the village consisting of two streets, Main street and Wayne street. Main street was a continuation of the Piqua road, the great highway of Government and pioneer travel, wagons coming from Piqua and points south to St. Marys with goods to be rafted north by the river. * * * In 1824 St. Marys was made the county seat of Mercer county. The earliest courts were held in a tavern. In 1825 the commissioners purchased thirty lots and donated fifteen for county purposes and fifteen for village public buildings, school houses and churches. In 1825 the county jail was built on the site of the present school building, corner of Wayne and Spring streets. In the year 1827 the court house was built at the corner of Main and Spring streets. It was a two-story frame building and cost $290. * * * After the removal of the county seat the building was sold to William Porter, who 392 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY moved it a few feet back from the corner and turned it around, the end facing Main street. This building is still standing (1907) and is owned by Mrs. George Wegely. In 1839 the first bridge was built across the St. Marys river, At this time there was but one human habitation on the east side of the river, a log cabin built on the present site of the Wust block, until recently occupied by the Ohio House, and owned by Samuel Salter. The building of the bridge extended Spring street across the river and several additions were made to the plat of St. Marys." Concerning the completion of the canal, Mrs. Touvelle's observations have it that "on the Fourth of July, 1845, the firing of cannon and the music of fife and drum announced the coming of the first through packet from Piqua to Defiance. As the horses appeared in sight on the tow path and the packet came slowly around the bend, a flag floating at the wheel and the bell ringing in slow, steady tones, nearly every inhabitant of St. Marys gave a welcoming shout. Next in importance as an event in St. Marys was the completion of the Ohio and Indiana plank road, extending from St. Marys to Ft. Wayne. The building of this road, passing through deep swamps and almost pathless forests, was a great undertaking. * * * It took two years to build it and in the summer of 1852 the formal surrender by the contractors to the stockholders was made. Hon. A. P. Egerton, M. C., of this district, received the surrender in behalf of the stockholders along the route. The meeting was held at the north end of Wayne street, the terminus of the road. With the opening of the plank road began the traffic in hoop poles, the long caravans of which passed down Main and Wayne streets and through Spring street and unloaded on the bank of the canal. * * * The first tavern kept in St. Marys was in a frame house built in 1829 on the corner of Main and South streets and was kept by Samuel Stattler. It was near the court house and the same bell that called the meals rang for the opening of the court, In 1835 a tavern was kept by Mr. Bigger on Main street. In 1856 the Bates brothers, of Rochester, N. Y., who were large HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 393 contractors on the canal, built the Mercer hotel. This was the finest hotel north of Dayton and for many years it was the stopping place of distinguished men. After the death of the owners it became a tenement house, but later was converted into the Dieker House, which enjoyed a long and excellent reputation. The Sawyer House (recently the Ohio House) was built by William Sawyer in 1848 and for many years claimed the canal travel. The National House on the east side of Main street was built by S. S. Rickley in 1844. It was on the direct road from Piqua and was the stopping place for this travel and was the favorite home of young lawyers and physicians. This house afterward became the Bimel carriage manufactory. Perhaps the strongest association of pioneer taverns is attached to the Helm House, built in 1840— a real hostelry. It stood on the west side of Wayne street, between North and High, and was a long, two-story frame with several additions and back porches and wooden pumps. Back of it was a large barnyard and long stables. For miles from the west and north came the great Pennsylvania farm wagons drawn by four horses, a yoke of bells on the necks of the leaders, the owner riding one of them and with great flourish of whip turning into the barnyard. In the bar room could be seen every type of the early settler." IN THE DAYS OF THE STAGE COACH. Regarding the old Dieker House, mentioned above, it will be proper here to state that the historic old building which years ago was moved back off Spring street, was sold at a mortgage sale in May, 1922, and that it was sold at about two-thirds of its appraised value. It long had been abandoned as ilk a hostelry, and is now occupied as a rooming house. This hotel in the palmy days of the stage lines was a companion to the old Wapakoneta House, previously mentioned, the first inn erected at Wapakoneta and which gave way after the Civil war to the Burnett House which is still doing business at the county seat. Concerning this stage line, an advertisement 394 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY in the Democrat (Wapakoneta) in 1865 carried the information that the stage "leaves St. Marys at 6:45 a. m., 9 a. m. and 1 p. m. ; leaves Wapakoneta, 6 :25 a. m., 10 :45 a. m. and 2:45 p, m." An advertisement of the Dieker House carried in the St. Marys Courant as late as 1873 set out that there was an "omnibus line and good livery exchange stables connected with this house," while in the same paper Fred Dieker's advertisement of his livery and feed stables connected with the Dieker House announced his proprietorship of "a nice hearse, carriages and spring wagons for use at funerals," as well as the "daily buss line from St. Marys to Wapakoneta and Celina and return. Passengers can be forwarded on arrival of busses to any part of the country at any hour." The Hotel Fountain occupying the site of the old river wharf was erected in 1888. In closing her interesting reminiscences, Mrs. Touvelle presented a brief list of St. Marys "firsts," including the first minister, the Rev. J. B. Finley, 1827 ; the first resident lawyer, E. M. Phelps, 1836; first resident physician, R. W. Stearnes, 1836; first store keeper, Peter Vanosdoll, 1827; first blacksmith, Capt. John Elliott, 1824, and first harness maker, William Breckon, 1839. She concludes her illuminative little tale of the olden days with the observation that "the strongest associations which attach to St. Marys and are precious memories to her children and her children's children are the river and the beautiful springs on the Westside. They well remember the spring at the foot of the bluff by the river bridge, where the water was cool, plentiful and delicious ; and they remember that a little farther north there was a spring almost hidden among rough stones, and they have not forgotten the little stream just touched with sulphur that flowed from the spring near the old brewery; and also that between them all were the deep, dark pools, where the unsuspecting minnow and sunfish dwelt. Farther down they remember the 'Ripples' where the river widened and the shallow, pebbly bottom was a ford and watering place and where the venturesome small boy found a safe swimming place. Nor have they forgotten the great elms and willows that grew on either side of the river, HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 395 whose branches, hanging low over the rippling stream, cast the cool shadows which made them the favorite trysting place of many long since gone away." Gratifying to relate, many of these magnificent trees still adorn the river banks. OLD CHARLEY MURRAY. The name of Charles Murray ("old Charley") has been mentioned often in this chronicle. "Old Charley," who must be regarded as "the father of St. Marys" and who despite his Scottish name is sometimes referred to as a French trader and by one reviewer as an Irishman was on the scene there at St. Marys when the historic treaty at that point in 1818 opened lands thereabout and over to the west in Indiana to settlement and had been there for years carrying on a trading business with the Indians, he having been the successor to the infamous James Girty, brother of the equally infamous Simon Girty, whose earlier trading post there had given the place its original name of Girty's Town. When the treaty was concluded and the troops were removed from old Ft. St. Marys, Murray continued on the scene, carrying on his trade with such settlers as slowly came in or with hunters and adventurers passing through, so that by the time the place came to be recognized as the nucleus of a town he had become well established and was known throughout all northwestern Ohio and eastern Indiana. As has been mentioned above, he created an informal town site there in 1820, but it was not until three years later in the summer of 1823, that he and his associates got for St. Marys an official place on the map. The plat book in the office of the county recorder in the court house at Wapakoneta reveals that the original plat of the city of St. Marys was surveyed for Charles Murray, William A. Houston (the surveyor) and John W. McCorkle on August 8, 1823, and was filed for record with the recorder of Darke county, "to which the county of Mercer is at this time attached," on the following August 20. This original plat carries sixty-eight lots of one-half a block each, beginning 396 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY with No. 1 in the southeast corner of the plat and running to 68 in the southwest corner, all lying in section 3 of township 6, south of range 4 east. The plat contains a square in the approximate center reserved for court house purposes, "should the seat of justice of the county of Mercer be located in said town," and two lots also were "set apart and donated by the propositors to any regular organized society of professing Christians that may erect thereon suitable churches." North street forms the north line of the plat, Front street, so named from its position facing the river, on the east, South street on the south and Perry street on the west, the plat being laid out more with respect to the course of the river than to the points of the compass, a variation of 30̊ west of north, "according to the magnetic variation", being noted on the plat. High street and Spring street are the intermediate east and west streets and Main and Wayne streets the intermediate north and south streets, while Wharf street is noted as an eastern extension of Spring street to the river. When the bridge was thrown across the river, as mentioned above, the town began to grow east, as well as on the west side of the river, and as population increased and need of corporation extension demanded, additions were made to this modest original plat until now the city limits take in all of section 3, one-fourth of section 2 and a fraction of section 11, nearly half of section 10, one-eight of section 9 and one-fourth of section 4. According to the list of taxable lots in St. Marys returned for taxation by the lister in June, 1824, the year following the filing of the above original plat, Charles Murray owned sixteen of these lots; James Lord, one ; Leander Houston, one: James Miller, one ; John Manning, thirty; William A. Houston, sixteen, and Christian Benner, three. The valuation of the lots was placed at $1 each and they were taxed at the rate of 5 mills to the dollar, or a total of 34 cents for the entire town site. In 1903 St. Marys, previously incorporated as a village, became incorporated as a city. HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 397 THE PIONEER MILL OF CHRISTIAN BENNER. The Christian Benner above noted as one of the owners of lots in the town in 1824 was the miller, who had come in about that time and had set up a small grist mill, run by horse power, perhaps finding this more economical and convenient than the erection of a water mill with its attendent dam. In the Linzee collection referred to elsewhere in this work there is a pencil drawing by A. J. Linzee of the old Benner horse mill which was standing there when the Linzee family came up here in 1831. This drawing shows a square structure a story and a half in height, with a wide door and three windows at the front, one of these windows lighting the half story. At the rear there is a small "lean-to" which is indicated as the "power house," evidently the shelter for the patient animals that operated the treadmill. The main part of the building is indicated as the "grist room," and a notation on the sketch locates the structure as having stood on Spring street. A fence corner shown at the opposite side of the street would indicate that the pioneer mill probably (and reasonably) occupied a position at the intersection of two of the highways of that period. Benner was listed for taxation on lots 7, 8 and 17, which cover the east side of the block facing Front street south of High street to the alley and the north half of the block facing High street between Front street and Main street, hence it might be assumed that this mill occupied that site, a square west of the High street bridge across the river, though this does not agree with the Linzee reference to Spring street, nor with the well defined local tradition amounting almost to positive assurance that the Benner mill occupied the site now occupied by the First National Bank of St. Marys at the southeast corner of Spring and Front streets, which would be a likely site for a mill, there on what then was the brow of the river bank leading down to the wharf. Christian Benner lived to be an old, old man and his last days were spent in his pleasant home on South Main street, south of Market street, opposite the pres- 398 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY ent handsome home of Albert Herzing. His mill probably served well the pioneer needs of the community, but in good time it was succeeded by mills of ample capacity to take care of the growing trade, one of the best of these having been the Reservoir mill established by Scott, Linzee & Co. in 1847, the year before the erection of Auglaize county, and presently taken over by Robert B. Gordon, which mill (with modern extensions and improvements) is still in operation, and St. Marys thus early became widely known as a milling point. ORGANIZATION OF MERCER COUNTY. It was in June, 1824, the year following the platting of St. Marys, that the county seat was established there, Mercer county then deciding to have a nearer point for the transaction of its civil business than at Greenville, the county seat of Darke county, to which Mercer had been attached for civil purposes. John P. Hedges was appointed by the commissioners of the new county to act as treasurer and he appointed Samuel Hanson to be collector of taxes, it being noted on the record of the commissioners for Mercer county that "the said Hanson agreed to collect for $5 all the taxes of Mercer and VanWert counties." W. B. Hedges was the auditor of the new county and his notation on the record has it that "the above business was done before David Hays and Solomon Carr, commissioners of said county; which I do certify is a correct proceedings of all business ordered by said commissioners to enter on said day's proceedings." The records of the auditor's office as of that same day (June 7) show that to John Dougerty, Asa Coleman and Samuel Newell were issued orders for $42, $36 and $33 respectively "for locating seat of justice," and thus' St. Marys became the county seat, an eminence maintained until deprived of its position by Celina in 1840. On the following October 12 (1824), an order was issued to Isaiah Dungan "for listing and appraising property in St. Marys township, $1," and an order to Judge James Wol- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 399 cott "for services rendered in opening last election returns, 2.50." Among other orders issued by the commissioners on the auditor was that of the following ,December 10 to Joseph Steward "for surveying the State road from Sidney to St. Marys, $6.121/2," and on the same day orders were issued to Asa Hinkle and John Johnson, commissioners to locate said road, for $3.90 and $3.34 respectively, while to John Bloks and Henry Bryan, chain bearers in the survey of the road, orders were issued for $1.67 each. On the following March 5 (1825), Joseph D. Blew was allowed 75 cents "for carrying chain in surveying town lots in St. Marys" and James W. Riley was allowed $1.50 "for surveying town lots in St. Marys," while to Robert Linzee a claim of $10 was allowed "for services as judge of common pleas in November term," and on the same day an order was issued to Caleb Major in the amount of $1.75 "for services as blazer on State road from Mrs. Flinn's to Waupaughkonetta (sic) out of Allen county funds." Certainly the demands on the treasury for public service do not seem to have been unreasonably high in those days. It was on Saturday, June 11, 1825, that the commissioners, Isaiah Dungan, Ansel Blossom and Solomon Carr, "met pursuant to adjournment and proceeded to take from the proprietors of the town of St. Marys a deed for the lots donated for county purposes. They also appointed Thomas Scott agent to sell and convey the lots (Nos. 1, 7, 15, 25, 33, 35, 39, 44, 48, 57) on the following conditions: one-third in hand; one-third in one year, and one-third in two years." It then is recorded that after a division of the lots by the commissioners they set apart fifteen lots on which to build public buildings, the proceeds of the other fifteen lots to be used for other county purposes. On that same day the commissioners received the resignation of W. B. Hedges and appointed David Armstrong to succeed him as county auditor. Evidently there presently was trouble in the treasurer's office, for a notation as of June 5, 1827, sets out that "the commissioners met pursuant to adjournment and proceeded to settle 400 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY   with the treasurer for Mercer county levee And received $52.57, leaving a balance of $94.05 which could not be accounted for; also $35.83.7, the whole amount of the State and canal tax, for which he could not account." It then was noted that the treasurer was allowed until November 1 following to prepare for final settlement and the commissioners "then appointed Robert Bigger treasurer, who gave bonds to the sum of $1,000 according to law." In an earlier chapter in this work there are given further details concerning the time when St. Marys occupied the position of county town, with descriptions of the old court house and jail and of the court there held in pioneer times. THE OLD COUNTY SEAT "WAR." The story of the claim of St. Marys for a resumption of county seat honors when Auglaize county was erected in 1848 and of her disappointment in that direction has been told elsewhere. It is an old story to which some mystery seems to have attached from the beginning, and even to this day is told with variations. Many at St. Marys insist that ballots that would have shown a public preference to the site at the western edge of the county were stolen. The commissioners' records, set out elsewhere, make no reference to what perhaps at the time was a pretty warm local row, simply dealing with the Wapakonetans' payment of $5,000 'for public buildings. The Sutton review of 1880, written about thirty years after the dispute, does not clear up the mystery of the missing or "manipulated" returns, the story there being told as follows: "At the organization of the county a strife arose between St. Marys and Wapakoneta for the location of the seat of justice. The former, as the oldest town, located in the more populous portion of the county, urged these facts as grounds for priority. The latter urged geographical advantages, being more centrally located, and thus entitled to priority. The claims of both were well founded, and with this status the question was submitted to the people. There was HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 401 little doubt of the ascendancy of St. Marys, as the populous settlements in the south were favorable to her interests, while Wapakoneta was largely; dependent on the more sparsely populated section of the east. When the question was thus submitted to the voters of the county, German township (then including also. Jackson township), holding the balance of power between the rival factions, was generally conceded to have favored St. Mary's, but by some manipulation of the returns they were never handed in with those of the other townships and Wapakoneta, in the absence of these returned, had a decided majority and thus secured the prize. It is impossible to determine what the result would have been had this self-disfranchised township expressed its real sentiment, but it is evident that it lay in its power to dictate between the rival towns. This rivalry, naturally enough, developed into enmity and this, in turn, has retarded the progress of both towns. Perhaps the most prominent illustration of the evil results produced was in the case of the P., F. W. & C. R. R., which was driven from the county by the jealousy of these two towns." The review of this situation made by Professor Williamson is given elsewhere, in connection with the story of county government. As will be recalled, he has it that over night "the returns from German township were taken from the files by some one and could not be found," but that they were restored "some time in the year 1849." PIONEERS WHO LACKED FORESIGHT. While the above statement regarding the loss to this community of the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago railway doubtless is true, the main reason of the county's failure to secure the construction of that road through Auglaize county was the inability of its more prominent citizens to look into the future and to visualize what the construction of the new road (now the main line of the great Pennsylvania system) would mean to, the county. Unfortunately they did not have a vision. They thought only of immediate conditions. To (25) 402 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY illustrate : John C. Bothe, who had a warehouse in Wapakoneta and did an extensive business in grain and was quite well off in the matter of worldly goods, refused to give aid to the building of the road for the reason that he would lose some grain trade, apparently never thinking that his loss in that direction would more than be made up by the advanced value of his real estate. When asked to subscribe a reasonable amount of stock to aid in securing the road, he said: "I will not subscribe anything. If the road is constructed through the county by way of St. Johns, Wapakoneta, Moulton and St. Marys it will be but a short time until grain warehouses will be erected at St. Johns and Moulton and our grain trade will be cut off from the east and the west. If they want to build the road let them go ahead, but I will give nothing." Joseph Kelsey, who was doing an extensive retail and ;jobbing business in general merchandise on the west side of the canal on Spring street in St. Marys, was equally shortsighted. When appealed to to give aid and encouragement to the building of the proposed railway, he said: "I will not give much toward the construction of a railway east and west through Auglaize county. St. Marys has the Miami & Erie canal and that is good enough for me." Those who were enthusiastic supporters of the project lost heart on account of the failure of some of the more prominent citizens to give aid and encouragement to the enterprise, with the result that the effort was a failure. It was a well known fact that the promoters of the road preferred the route through Auglaize county, for various reasons, but that knowledge did not deter them from making the effort, Fortunately for Lima and Allen county their business men and more prominent citizens were wise enough to look into the future and to see the possibilities of great gain in population and consequent increase of values and material prosperity if they secured the road. With intuitive foresight they effected an organization and went to work with a will and a determination to win, and their efforts were successful. HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 403 If the well-to-do citizens of Auglaize county, especially in Wapakoneta and St. Marys, had put forth the proper effort and thus have secured the road both St. Marys and Wapakoneta today each would likely have a population of 30,000 or more. Property owners could have aided in securing the road, even to the amount of half the value of that they possessed, and have bettered their condition. FRIENDLY FEELINGS FOSTERED BY NEWSPAPERS. Despite the traditions of rivalry that seem to persist between the towns of St. Marys and Wapakoneta, the county seat newspapers apparently always have sought to speak well of the neighboring town and have ever displayed a friendly attitude toward that place, as witness the following from the old Wapakoneta Republican of May 14, 1851, George W. Andrews then having been editor of that paper (now the Democrat). Under the heading "St. Marys," the editor of the Republican observed that "we made an agreeable visit a few days since to our little sister town, St. Marys. While there we noticed many substantial evidences of improvement —buildings in process of erection, plans for street improvements, etc. In the way of accommodations for the wayfaring public there are some two or three good hotels, with fine, sprightly, gentlemanly and very good looking landlords. They are always provided with what makes the stomach as well as the heart glad—no disciple of Epicurus can gainsay this. The business men are quite pleasant in all their intercourse—have cultivated habits that cannot fail to please ; and last, though not least, the town in miniature is said to contain as many pretty, bright-eyed, rosy-lipped ladies as any little village hereabouts (of course we except Wapakoneta in this and all things else, when compared with other places). All things considered, St. Marys is considerable of a little town and when it shall be connected with Wapakoneta by the plank road now in course of construction, the place will be greatly benefitted by the influence of the county seat, just 404 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY as the smaller satelites are benefited by the controlling influence of the superior planet. We think the day is not far distant when St. Marys may in some things even compare with our own Wapakoneta. If a good, clever, upright set of people can obtain that great desideratum, she will stand a good chance of it." Another evidence of this friendly attitude on the part of the press of the county seat is disclosed in the following little item from the Democrat (Wapakoneta) of August 24, 1874, more than twenty years after the above was written: "We almost envy the people of St. Marys their clean, beautiful streets and alleys. The town has an air of neatness and comfort always ; then too, you never fail of finding good, pleasant people when you go there, whatever your business. We can't explain why, but certain it is, Nye feel quite at home whenever we visit the town. A good deal of manufacturing is carried on there, but a great volume of water unused wastes away every year. Why don't capitalists from a distance away go there and invest in manufacturing? No better inducements can be found anywhere." This was the picture of St. Marys painted by a friendly visitor at a time that may be regarded as the close of the pioneer period there and throughout this section. St. Marys even then was laying plans for commercial and industrial expansion. It had its own newspaper, Ed Walkup's Courant, and was amply able to speak for itself. Its wood working industries were begining to develop and it had one of the best .flour mills in northwestern Ohio, the old Reservoir mill, as well as its celebrated Farina mills which Philip von Her- zing had established there in 1855 and which by the time the above was written had attained a wide reputation throughout this region, besides the woolen mill erected in 1866 by William Gibson and later taken over by a local stock company, and regarded then as one of the most substantial industrial enterprises (even as it is today) along the whole course of the canal. Two years later, in the fall of 1876, E. M. Piper, who then was president of the company operating the woolen HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 405 mill, Albert Althausen and Fred Dieker started; the first bank in the town, the Bank of St. Marys, a partnership concern, and in 1879 erected a bank building which perhaps may be regarded as the forerunner of the rebuilding program which during the '80s and '90s resulted in the practical reconstruction of the business section of the city along modern and substantial lines. The Bimel woodworking and carriage factories were running then on a basis which carried far the reputation of their products, while a whipstock factory (Woolworth & Cowles) was turning out whipstocks at the rate of more than 350,000 a year. In 1876 Christian Buehler established his machine shop and foundry, the first concern of its kind in the county, and other manufacturing enterprises began to be attracted to the place, so that by the time the "gas boom" ;came on in the late '80s St. Marys was quite ready to take proper advantage of this new impetus to its growth. COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL STATUS OF THE TOWN. As the terminal point for the Toledo & Ohio Central railroad, St. Marys enjoys such advantages as this terminus gives and as the seat of the great power house of the Western Ohio electric railway, which supplies electric power and light throughout a wide territory hereabout, it enjoys an additional advantage, while its situation at a division point of the Lake Erie & Western railway is a further advantage. Among its present industries, in addition to the woolen mills and the flour mills above mentioned, are a wheel and spoke works, an extensive machine shop, a box board factory which is the successor to the old straw board company which began operation there years ago, a chain works which has been in operation there for more than twenty years, an extensive branch of a nationally known cigar factory, a carriage factory and a concern for the manufacture of farm tractors, a creamery, a lumber and finishing mill, besides numerous lesser industries, while the commercial interests of the city 406 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY are well and substantially represented, and the grain elevators provide ample grain market facilities. The city has a daily newspaper, the Leader, John L. Sullivan, editor. As noted above, the first bank at St. Marys was the bank of St. Marys, founded in 1876 by E. M. Piper, Frederick Dieker and Albert Althausen. In 1887 the latter retired from the institution and the remaining partners, Messrs. Piper and Dieker, in February, 1890, reorganized the institution as the First National Bank of St. Marys, Mr. Piper being elected president; Mr. Dieker, vice president, and 0. E. Dunan, cashier. Following the death of Mr. Piper in 1900, Mr. Dieker was elected president and upon his retirement was succeeded by Mr. Dunan, who is still serving as president of the bank, the other officers being D. W. Jay, vice president, and Charles H. Pauck, cashier. In 1907 this bank erected its present substantial building at the corner of Spring and Front streets, across the street from its original location. The bank is capitalized at $60,000 and the current bankers directory shows its surplus and profits to be $27,730; deposits, $979,890, and resources in excess of $986,000. It was in 1890, the year in which the First National Bank was organized, that the Home Banking Company of St. Marys (a state bank) was organized, with Albert Althausen as president, S. Bamberger as vice president and W. G. Kishler as cashier. Not long afterward Mr. Bamberger disposed of his interest in the bank to John J. Hauss and C. R. Backhus and the officiary was reorganized with Mr. Althausen continuing as president and John J. Hauss and Albert Herzing, vice presidents, with C. R. Backhus as cashier and H. H. Brinkmeyer as assistant cashier. Upon the death of Mr. Althausen Mr. Backhus became president and Mr. Brinkmeyer cashier, and following the retirement of Mr. Backhus, Mr. Brinkmeyer, the present president of the bank, was elevated to that position. E. M. Veenfliet is the present vice president of the bank and W. A. Mackenbach is cashier. The bank originally was capitalized at $30,000, which capitalization was raised to $40,000 and then to HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 407 $100,000. The current bankers' directory shows this bank to possess resources in excess of $1,000,000 ; surplus and profits amounting to $50,000 and deposits aggregating $950,000. The American State Bank of St. Marys, a reorganization of the St. Marys Banking and Trust Company, organized in the summer of 1903, is capitalized at $50,000 and according to the current bankers' directory has resources in excess of $500,000, with deposits aggregating $471,170 and surplus and profits amounting to $21,740. The present officers of this bank are H. G. McLain, president; L. G. Neely, vice president, and T. A. White, cashier. The St. Marys Banking and Trust Company (present American State Bank) was originally capitalized at $30,000, which was raised to $50,000, and its original officers were O. E. Dunan, president; L. G. Neely, vice president ; H. G. McLain, secretary, and R. B. Gordon, treasurer, with T. A. White as assistant, the other members of the directorate being Charles H. Pauck, Richard Barrington and W. F. Brodbeck.