476 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY

CHAPTER IV.

BY COL. C. L. POORMAN.

INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL -- COAL OF BELMONT COUNTY - LIMESTONE, SANDSTONE, CEMENTS AND CLAYS - MANUFACTURING INTERESTS - IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRIES - GLASS WORKS - STATISTICS - RAILROADS, ETC.

HILLY characteristics of Belmont county expose to view or easy access more natural resources than are easily found in leveler counties and make it a desirable field for manufacturing. Its high lands, 500 feet or more above the level of the Ohio river are divided by streams that on their way to that river pass through ravines with hillsides from which crop out great beds of stone, clays coal and minerals of great value, and furnish pathways along which the railroads of modern invention pass with their immense traffic, as the ridges thus formed furnished pathways for the roads and pikes along which the earlier traffic passed in road wagons.

The " Indian trail, the Zane road " and then the National road passed in early days along the ridge between the waters of Wheeling and McMahan's creeks, and along this passed for fifty years the trade and commerce of the county. The " Grade road " was for the southern half of the county what the Zane and National road was for the northern half, running from the river along the ridge between McMahan and Captina. creeks, it was the great drove road along which most of the horses, cattle and hogs of eastern Ohio passed on their way to the east.

This conformation not only exposed to view and easy access the coals, minerals, clays and stone, but the streams furnished excellent water power for early mills and factories. These advantages, coupled with a rich and productive soil, have kept the county well at the front among the counties of the state, during its wonderful growth in

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population and wealth, and deserve special mention in any history of the commercial and industrial growth of the county. As the immense beds of excellent coal, stand at the top in point of value, it will be treated of first.

Extent and Quality of Bituminous Coal. - This being a history and not a scientific treatise, it will deal with concrete and well settled facts, and not with theories and deductions. The geologist may theorize as to how many ages have passed in the formation of strata of the earth's surface, and what special conditions in those successive ages produced a stratum of coal between two layers of sand-stone in one case, and in another case a stratum of coal between two layers of lime-stone, but we are satisfied with the fact that the coal, sand-stone and lime-stone are there, and by the early settlers were made available for building and commercial purposes, and at various times since, as the county grew in population, new discoveries were made until we now know of six well-defined seams of coal, within the limits of the county, of sufficient size to be valuable for fuel, nearly all available, and above the level of the river. What is termed the " Pittsburgh coal seam, is, at present, because of its superior quality, small residum after combustion and great heating power is most largely worked and used.

What is termed the "Four Foot Seam," about seventy-five feet above the Pittsburgh coal, is a valuable coal of great heating power, but interspersed with " nigger-heads" or sulphur stone, and with a larger per cent of incombustible matter, will be valuable in competition with many other coals now used in large quantities, when the " Pittsburgh coal " is not a competitor. These two seams are co-extensive with the county, but the second is not as valuable in the west side of the county as upon the east side.

The " Badgersburg coal," quite thin in seam at the river, increases in thickness until at Barnesville, it reaches a thickness of five feet and is extensively worked. These three seams are now worked, the first along the river front, up McMahan creek and its tributaries to near Glancoe, and up Wheeling creek to the west side of the county, and available with moderate shafting all over the county, the second for domestic use, where the first is not as easily accessible, and the third. in the western part of the county, and jointly furnish an area of available coal within the county, little if any less than 1,000 square miles, averaging more than four feet in thickness, of which not more than twelve square miles in area has been mined. •

Early coal mining was for domestic purposes, and the first shipment of coal we have any record of was by Capt. John Fink, and was from the mouth of McMahan creek, where Bellaire is now situated, to Maysville, Ky., in 1832. A little later Mr. Fink began to boat coal to New Orleans, and building boats for this purpose, and mining coal to fill them was for a long time the principal business of the people settled about the mouth of McMahan creek. The coal mined from the hill south of the creek was hauled to the river in carts and shov-

478 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.

eled into boats and when the river raised floated to New Orleans, selling it to sugar refineries at as much as $1.50 per barrel, containing two and three-fourths bushels, to be used in connection with wood to make the heat great and regular enough to produce the best results. The coal was carried out of the boat in a barrel with a rope bale which was swung over a pole on the shoulders of two men,

A few years later a family of English miners named Heatherington, consisting of the father John, and his four sons Jacob, John, Jr., Ralph and Edward, came to Pultney township and assisted in the development of the coal industry. In 1837 Jacob rented a coal bank from Captain Fink and purchased eight acres of land on credit and com- menced business for himself mining his own coal and wheeling it out on a wheelbarrow. He soon commenced shipping by river, and furnishing steamboats with fuel, finally building two boats and towing his coal to points down the river, and for many years mined and shipped more coal than any man in the county. He made money buying additional land, increasing in wealth as the city of Bellaire grew up around him, until he is one of the heaviest taxpayers in the county and still actively engaged in mining, having two mines, one for river shipping and the other for supplying factories and families. Peter Shaver, five miles below Bellaire, on the Ohio river, was an early coal operator, mining for steamboat and river shipping purposes. The great development of the coal industry in Belmont county has occurred since the construction of the Central Ohio railroad 1n 1854, and the subsequent construction of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh and the Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling roads, the latter being in fact the heaviest coal shipping road coming into the county. The following figures will show the growth of the coal industry within the past fifteen years in the county.

Coal Mined. - In 1875, 213,955 tons; 1883, 469,339 tons; 1886, .533,779 tons; 1887, 721,767 tons; 1889, 822,148 tons. This is an increase of 300 per cent. in fifteen years, and a product exceeded by but five counties in the state.

Limestone, Sandstone, Cement, Clays, Oil and Gas. - In the exposures along the streams emptying into the Ohio river there are disclosed strata aggregating 118 feet of limestone; 186 feet of sandstone; twelve feet of cement rock and 183 feet of clays and shales.

Limestone. - The distribution of limestone is pretty general over the county, but in larger quantities as the lower strata are reached next the river. They are generally excellent carbonates, and make a good quality of quicklime for building purposes. Some of them have been used at the blast furnaces of the county and neighborhood as fluxes in the production of pig iron, and others have been ground as fertilizers and are likely to be used in greater quantities for these purposes in the future. The supply is unlimited.

Sandstone. - There is an ample supply of sandstone, accessible in all parts of the county, chiefly used for home buildings and paving purposes, and within a few years, quarried and shipped beyond the

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county for building purposes, but being generally of the softer and coarser grades than found in some of the northern counties of the state, they have not been produced in large quantities for shipment.

Cement.- Hydraulic limestone, or cement, is as general over the county as coal, and crops out on the east side of the county about fifty feet above the " Pittsburgh coal." This rock was first tested in 1871 by C. L. Poorman, who, with Isaac Booth, erected a cement mill that year with a capacity of 20,000 barrels per year. This mill has recently been idle, but has passed into the hands of pushing, energetic men, who intend to increase its capacity and put it in motion again. This cement rock is six feet thick, of which over four feet is first-class hydraulic lime, and if care is taken in its separation, will produce a cement equal to any in the country.

On the western side of the county, if geologists are not at fault in tracing the coal and other strata in Belmont county, there is another cement seam of nearly the same size, about forty feet above the one used at Bellaire, and not found in the west. This cement was first manufactured by Thomas C. Parker, who erected a mill in 1858 about one mile west of Barnesville. During the war the mill remained idle, but was started up again in 1868 with a force sufficient to produce about 12,000 barrels annually, for which he obtained a ready market.

The following analysis of the Barnesville cement, by Dr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, and the Bellaire cement, by Prof. Wormley, chemist of the Ohio geological survey, and compared with the Kingston, N. Y., and Shepley, English, shows their standing:

Fire Clay. - There are several seams of what is called fire clay, but none of them have yet been practically developed. A number of tests have been made by preparing this clay and making it into bricks, that have shown very excellent qualities and satisfied those who have made them that we have fire clay of high qualities; there has been no movement to develop their production and use. Within a recent period Mr. William Barnard, of Bellaire, has opened a stone quarry upon the top of the hill from which he was quarrying ruble stone for building purposes. There seemed to be a large amount of silica and mica in a part of the seam, and a test by the Bellaire blast furnace company established the fact that it made a much better lining for

480 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.

their furnaces than any stone ever used, lasting in the intense heat of the furnace about twice as long as the stone shipped from Pennsylvania. This stone with the overlying strata of fire clay about five feet thick, is found along the river front the entire length of the county, south of Bellaire, and will some day be utilized for clay and brick purposes.

Gas and Oil. - Gas and oil have been found in nearly all parts of the county where drilling or excavating for any purpose has occurred. In the coal mines near Dillie's Bottom both gas and oil appear in small quantities. Gas is found in all coal mines in quantities dangerous to life unless extreme care is taken in ventilation. At the coal mine at Captina, about ten miles from the river, on Captina creek, oil was found in quantities worth taking care of and a large number of wells have been sunk for gas or oil, and some of one or the other found in nearly all of them. Several wells have been drilled within two years in the neighborhood of Glencoe, on the line of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, ten miles west of Bellaire, and a pipe line laid from there to the river through which some oil has been pumped, and the claim made that one of these wells produced twenty barrels per day. Other wells followed, but there has been no such developement as warrants the conclusion that oil has been found or will be found in paying quantities. Two wells have been sunk at Barnesville for gas. They were both pronounced good wells, with a capacity to supply the town, and are to be piped for that purpose, but the average citizen is incredulous and it will be difficult to convince him that either gas or oil will be found in sufficient quantities to pay.

Manufacturing- Industries. - The early manufacturing in Belmont county, like everything else, was primitive in its character and confined to grist-mills, saw-mills, woolen factories, nail makers and tanneries. The horse-mill supplanted the hand-mill, morters, pounding block and dried skins, between which grain was pounded. The first hand-mill of which there is record, was built by a man named Clarke in Pease township, in 1800, which was soon turned into a horse-mill. In 1804, John Harris built the first flouring mill run by water, on Wheeling creek, on section 24, in Colerain township, near where the present iron bridge spans Wheeling creek. It was used as a mill for sixty years. The same year George Gates built the first mill in the south part of the county, on Catte run, and a little later Judge Dillon built one on Captina creek, where the Potts-Dorsey mill now stands. In 1805, Caleb Engle built a log mill on McMahan creek, near the present site of Lewis mill. About this period and subsequently a number of mills were built along Wheeling, McMahan, Captina and Pipe creeks, growing in size and capacity as the country grew in population and grain production, but most of the old mills have been abandoned or remodeled, and most of the grain is now ground at the two steam mills at Bellaire, two at Bridgeport, and one each at Barnesville, Flushing, Hendrysburg, Morristown, St. Clairsville, Fairmont, Somerton, Powhattan, Captina, Armstrong's and Belmont.

Woolen Mills. - The first fulling mill of which there is authentic

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record, was erected by John Warnock, on McMahan creek, in .1813, and is still in existence and owned by John McNeice. In 1817, Samuel Berry built a fulling mill in Wayne township, and the next year put in carding machinery. Several other woolen mills -followed on the several streams, but perhaps the most complete woolen mill ever erected in the county was built by G. L. & J. Boger, at Powhattan, in 1850. It had good machinery and turned out excellent cloth and blankets, but the business of manufacturing woolen goods has never been much developed in the county, although it is one of the leading wool-producing counties in the state.

Early Tanneries. - Hugh Park established a tannery in section 18, Colerain township, in 1799, which is the earliest of record. He continued the business for fifty years. Nicholas Rogers started a tannery at Morristown at an early date, of which there is no authentic record. Others followed at St. Clairsville, Barnesville and Hendrysburg.

Distilleries. - Distilleries came with the early settlers, and have been persistent in their existence. The first of record, and there were no " moonshiners " in those days, was owned by Josiah Dillon in connection with a horse mill, within the present limits of St. Clairsville, on the lot afterward occupied by the Friends meeting house. Michael Grove ran a still house in St. Clairsville at an early date also, and Major Thompson, who was one of the early settlers in that place, says " distilleries were quite numerous, and could be found on nearly every other farm." At present there are but three distilleries in the county, only one of which is in operation; one in Pease township, one in York township, and one in Kirkwood township. The York township distillery, by John Rumser, is the only one in operation.

The Iron and Steel Industry. - In 1808 there were two cut nail factories in St. Clairsville, and in 1810, James Riggs came from the state of Maryland and started the largest factory of this kind ever established in the county. He erected a factory with three forges, and over the entrance had a sign in large letters, " James Riggs' Nail Factory." Each forge turned out daily from fifteen to twenty pounds of nails, which sold readily at thirty cents per pound. During the war of 1812 he did a large business and made money, but the " cut nail machine " was invented soon after, and the rapid decline in the price of nails ruined the wrought nail business. There are now in the county two nail factories — the Laughlin, at Martin's Ferry, with 192 machines, and the Bellaire nail works, with 150 machines, capable of turning out about 17,000 kegs of assorted cut nails per week.

Blast Furnaces. - The first blast furnace in the county was erected in 1857 by Cyrus Mendenhall, Moses Mendenhall and George K. Junkins, near Martin's Ferry. They had made some tests of the ore found in the adjacent hills, and purchased fifty acres of land on which it was found. This furnace was the first built southwest of Pittsburgh, and east of Lawrence county, Ohio. It Was soon discovered that the native ore needed admixture with other ores to produce good pig iron, and the furnace was removed in 1865 to the bank of the river,

31 - B.

482 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.

at its present site, between railroads and river. The furnace subsequently passed to the control of the Benwood, W. Va., rolling mill, and has run steadily, except when off for repairs, and produces about 100 tons of mill iron per day. In 1872 the Bellaire blast furnace was erected by the Bellaire nail works company, with a capacity of about sixty tons per day, but the furnace has since been enlarged, and improved machinery and methods adopted by which the capacity has been increased to about 140 tons per day.

Nail, Iron and Steel Mills. - The first nail mill in Belmont county was erected in 1867, at Bellaire, by a company organized under the name of " Bellaire Works," the charter members were: Thomas Harris, Jr., A. L. Wetherald, James B. Gonell, J. P. Harden, G. R. Leasure, Herman Hartenstein and H. L. Beck, with a capital stock of $155,000. In March, 1867, the name was changed to Bellaire nail works. B. R. Cowan, now clerk of the United States district court, of the southern district of Ohio, was the first president of this company; D. J. Smith, secretary. It was started with twenty-five nail machines, but had scarcely started when almost entirely destroyed by fire; was promptly rebuilt. In 1872 the capital stock was increased to $375,000, and a blast furnace erected, and the number of machines increased to ninety. In 1875 the capital stock was again increased to $500,000, and in 1884 a large steel plant, the first in eastern Ohio, erected at a cost of $200,000. This establishment, when running full in all departments and on double time in steel plant, has a capacity to produce 50,000 tons of pig iron, 75,000 tons of steel billets and slabs, and 300,000 kegs of nails yearly, and employs 600 hands on a monthly pay roll of $35,000. These works are located on the bank of the Ohio river, and the Cleveland & Pittsburgh, Baltimore & Ohio, and Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling railroads run through their premises and into their stock yards.

The present officers are: President, James Wilson; secretary, A. B. Carter; superintendent steel works, J. C. Cabot; superintendent of furnace, Edward Jones, Jr.; superintendent of nail department, William Sharp.

The Laughlin Nail Company. - In 1873, William Clark and others organized " The Ohio City Iron and Nail Co. " and erected their works north of Martin's Ferry, on the land of William Clark. The mill was started in March, 1874, with fifty nail machines, and run until May, 1876, when the low price of nails and the stringency of the money market, the company being a large borrower, forced its suspension. For a time the Benwood nail company leased and run the mill until sold in 1878 to the Laughlin nail company, organized April, 1878, with Alexander Laughlin, president; W. L. Glessner, secretary, and A. L. Wetherald, superintendent. When this mill was purchased by this company it contained but fifty nail machines—it now contains I 92 —the second largest cut nail mill in the world. The number of employes amounts to about 275. The monthly pay roll amounts to about $20,000.00. The capacity of the works is i0,000 kegs steel cut nails per week. The value of the product for 1889—running about

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half time - amounted to about $750.000.00. The present officers are W. L. Glessner, president; F. M. Strong, secretary; William Lewis, mill manager, and M. A. Chew, factory manager. When the present company bought the mill, their product was iron nails, now the product is steel nails, and the steel is made by their own steel plant located at Mingo Junction, Ohio.

The AEtna Iron and Nail Works. - The AEtna Iron and Nail works company was organized in 1873, with a capital stock of $200,000, with W. H. Holloway as president, W. H. Tallman, secretary, and Levi Jones, manager. The works were located in Pease township, north of Bridgeport, and went into operation in 1874, manufacturing small T rail, sheet and bar iron. The works, by careful management, were kept running during the hard times following the panic of 1873 and ever since, being enlarged several times, and now has a large trade in sheet and corrugated 1rons, employing a large number of men, running steadily on good pay. The present officers are: President, W. H. Tallman; secretary, John A. Topping; general manager, B. M. Caldwell.

The Standard Iron Company. - This company was organized in 1882, with L. Spence, president, and W. T. Graham, secretary, with a capital of $200,000, for the manufacture of sheet and plate iron. The works are located north of Bridgeport, in Pease township, and have been successfully managed. The present capital is $350,000, with a bi-weekly pay roll of about $11,000, and produces annually 15,000 tons of plate and sheet iron and steel, galvanized iron, corrugated V crumped and beaded roofing and siding and ceiling. The present officers are: L. S. Delaplain, president, and W. T. Graham, secretary.

The Foundry Business. - The foundry and machine shop business is confined to the towns of Barnesville, Bellaire, Bridgeport and Martin's Ferry, the latter leading. The first foundry in Belmont county was started at Martin's Ferry, about the year 1837, in connection with the manufacture of threshing machines. There are now two foundries and three machine shops in Martin's Ferry, the largest being known as the Ohio Valley Agricultural works of L. Spence, devoted to the production of agricultural machinery and general machine shop work, employing about thirty hands. In 1836 Wiley & Griffith manufactured the first threshing machine in Martin's Ferry, and since then a number of others have engaged in the business, including Benjamin Hoyle, Griffith, Moore & Sanders, E. J. Hoyle, Griffith & Co., E. J. Hoyle & Bros., Henry Heberling, A. D. Rice, Hobensack & Reyner, and White & Wiley. At present L. Spence and Hoyle Bros. are engaged in the business. The Mann & Co. Foundry and Machine works, Martin's Ferry, was first started in 1837 as a foundry to make threshing machine castings and under several different owners continued that business until it passed into the hands of Culbertson, Wiley & Co., who enlarged the works, increased their capacity and commenced making heavy castings for rolling mills, blast furnaces, etc., and added a machine shop for the construction of heavy mill machinery. Wiley & McKim succeeded the above firm and they in

484 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.

turn were succeeded by Mann & Co., who are now doing a good business on portable and stationary engines, mill machinery, etc.

The Belmont Foundry at Bridgeport, was established in 1849 by William B. Dunlevy, sold in 1853 to James Gray, who sold in 1855 to the present firm, Woodcock & Son, who have run the foundry successfully on stove and miscellaneous castings. The first foundry in Bellaire was erected in 1870, in connection with the Bellaire Implement and Machine Works, C. L. Poorman, president, which in 1879 passed to the /Etna Glass and Manufacturing company, and is still running in connection with the machine works. About the same time a stove foundry was erected in South Bellaire, by Parks & Co., that rapidly increased in business, was enlarged several times, was incorporated as the Ohio Valley Stove company in 1883, and was completely destroyed by fire in 1888. A new company has since been organized and the contracts sold for the erection of a new foundry on the same grounds. The foundry now owned and run successfully by J. H. Watt & Bros., at Barnesville, was erected in 1862, by Joseph Watt, assisted by his son, J. H. Watt.

It passed to the present management, his three sons, in 1867, and they have developed a very large business in the construction of coal bank cars, using a self-oiling car wheel, patented by the firm. They now employ twenty hands on the construction of these cars, and will this year enlarge their works to meet increasing orders.

The Glass Industry. - For years Belmont county has been in the lead in the production of flint and window glass in the state of Ohio, having eleven flint glass factories and six window glass factories. The discovery of gas in the northwest part of the state has temporarily drawn attention from this part of the state, and secured the new factories erected within the past two years, but Belmont county fact0ries are all running, and when gas fails as a fuel, will again take the lead in this industry.

The Excelsior Glass Works. - In 1849, Ensell & Wilson erected a small furnace, the first in the county, on the grounds now occupied by the Excelsior Glass works, and run it as " Bottle works" until 1852, when it passed to Wallace, Giger & Ensel. It had a precarious existence, passing in turn to Dites & McGranahan, and Hohn & Sonner, until in 1861. Michael and James Phillips, of Wheeling, then built a new furnace, but lacking means, James McCluney, of Wheeling, became a partner, and in 1863, Joseph Bell, also of Wheeling, entered the company now styled Sweeney, Bell & Co. The factory was rapidly enlarged before 1868, until it had three ten-pot furnaces, and 1s the largest factory in this county. In 1876 this factory passed into the hands of a Wheeling company that has run it with success.

The Belmont Glass Works. - The second factory organized in the county to make flint glass was organized in 1866, 1n Bellaire, by practical glass men from Pittsburgh and Wheeling, in the name of Barnes, Fanpel & Co., with a capital of $10,000. They erected a ten-pot furnace at the foot of Cemetery Hill, with necessary buildings, and commenced the production of " table ware." The company was in-

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corporated in 1869 with Henry Fanpel, president, and Charles Cowen, secretary. A second furnace was erected in 1872, and the works greatly enlarged, and has been run with varying success ever since, furnishing more practical men to start other factories here and elsewhere than any other in the state. Its present capital is $79,250, when full it employs 160 men, pay roll $2,000 per week, and produces about $150,000 worth of glassware per annum. The present officers are M. Sheets, president; H. M. Kelley, secretary; Harvey Leighton, factory manager.

National Glass Works. - The National Glass works, Bellaire, were organized in 1870, by James Dalzell, Francis Eckles, Robert Crangle and others, and a ten-pot furnace erected on lands of Capt. John Fink, south of the creek. In 1873 the factory passed into the hands of a joint stock company, which failed in 1877, and was then purchased by Albert Thornton and John Rodafer, and has since been run in the name of Rodafer Bros., on lamp chimneys, lantern globes, and some specialties. Capital, $35,000; hands employed, .120; annual products, $75,000. The business is managed by the three brothers.

Bellaire Goblet Works. - This company was organized in 1876, by E. G. Morgan, C. H. Over, Henry Carr, John Robinson, M. L. Blackburn and W. A. Gorby, all practical glass men from the Belmont glass works, except Mr. Morgan, who had the capital. The capital stock was $40,000. A ten-pot furnace was erected and nothing but goblets manufactured. These works were remarkably successful, and in March, 1879, the company leased the Ohio glass works then recently suspended, which they subsequently purchased, and erected a large fourteen-pot gas furnace alongside of the eight-pot furnace in these works, and for several years run both with great success. In 1886, this company leased their works here and erected a large factory at Findley, where they are now operating, but both works here are occupied by the Lantern Globe works in the production of lantern globes, for which a ready market is found.

The Bellaire Bottle Works. - The Bellaire Bottle works were organized in 1881, with a capital of $23,000, and the works were erected with a ten-pot furnace, and operated by practical glass workers, Julius Armstrong, president; John Kelley, secretary, and Thomas K. Sheldon, factory manager. The factory has run steadily since finding a market for its products, and doing a fair business, employing about t00 hands, paying them $1,300 per week, and turning out about $80,000 worth of fine prescription and other bottles annually. The present officers are, Thomas K. Smith, president; G. W. Yost, secretary, and D. A. Colbert, factory manager.

The La Belle Glass Works. - These works are situated in Pease township, below Bridgeport. Were incorporated in 1872, capital stock, $100,000; officers, E. P. Rhodes, president; F. C. Winship, secretary, and A. H. Boggs, manager. The product was table ware of all kinds, and introduced a great deal of fine cut and etched ware. It was destroyed by fire in 1885, and again rebuilt, but has not since been successfully run.

486 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.

The Elson Glass Company. - In 1882, W. K. Elson and M. Sheets, secretary and manager of the Belmont Glass works, at Bellaire, organized a company as above named, and constructed a large and complete glass factory, with a sixteen-pot furnace, at Martin's Ferry, with W. K. Elson, president, and M. Sheets, secretary, with a capital of $120,000, employing about 175 hands, running steadily, and turning out about $150,000 worth of glass ware, of large variety and much of it of fine quality, annually. Present officers are, W. H. Robinson, president; Charles J. Gill, secretary, and W. K. Olson, manager.

The AEtna Glass Manufacturing Company was organized in 1879, and purchased the property formerly occupied by the Bellaire Implement and Machine works, on the banks of the river at Bellaire. It continued the foundry and machine shop business, and in connection with it erected a twelve-pot glass furnace, and commenced the production of fine cut and etched glassware, which it continued until 1890, when it discontinued the glass business and leased the furnace to the. Bellaire Bottle Company.

The Window Glass Business. - The production of window glass was commenced in this county some years after the pr0duction of glassware. The first window glass factory erected in the county, was in Bellaire, in 1872. Since that date the original factory has been doubled in capacity and three other factories erected in Bellaire, and one with two furnaces at Barnesville.

The Bellaire Window Glass Works. - This was the pioneer factory, and was erected in 1872, by an incorporated company, with S. M. Sheets, president; John Sanders, secretary, and James Heburn, manager. The original capital was $45,000, subsequently increased to $60,000, and an additional furnace erected in 1880, started under peculiarly favorable circumstances; this establishment was very successful. A labor trouble in the old factories stopping their production, this factory found a ready market at high prices and made large dividends to the stockholders. This incited the investment of capital in other factories here and elsewhere, and created competition that has reduced the prices and profits. Star Woodbridge in the secretary and manager, and the factory employs about 120 men.

The Union Window Glass Company. - Among the new factories induced by the profits of the Bellaire, the first in order was the Union, organized in 1885, with a capital stock of $45,000. Its factory was erected in Bellaire, near the Bellaire Nail works. Its first officers were W. C. Stewart, president; C. C. Kelley, secretary, and W. T. Blackston, manager. The works employ about seventy hands, and turn out 75,000 boxes of glass annually. The present officers are, H. Roemer, president; D. J. Smith, secretary, and John T. Adams, manager.

The Crystal Window Glass Company.- In November, 1882, this company appointed a board of control to facilitate the construction of their factory, while giving legal notice for election of board of directors, December 30, 1882. The first officers were R. W. Muhlman, president; D. J. Smith, secretary. The paid-up capital was $50,000;

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hands employed, fifty-five; average capacity 38,000 boxes glass annually, worth from $70,000 to $80,000. The present officers are R. W. Muhleyman, president; A. W. Voegtly, secretary. This entire plant was destroyed by fire in March, 1886, and was promptly rebuilt entirely of iron, and started up in February, 1887, since when it has run successfully.

The Enterprise Window Glass Company. - This company was organized by the employes of the Bellaire Window Glass company, during a lockout in that factory in 1883, with a capital stock of $45,000. A ten-pot furnace was erected and business commenced under the following officers: A. Schick, president; D. B. Cratty, secretary, and Joseph Bates, manager. The company employs sixty-five hands, and produces about 30,000 half boxes of glass annually. The factory runs steadily, and the present officers are: Andrew Schick, president; J. H. Johnson, secretary, and Joseph Bates, manager.

Stamped Iron and Tin Ware. - In 1871 the Barnon manufacturing company was organized at Bellaire with a capital stock of $30,000. The principal business at the start was the manufacture of lanterns and plain tin ware, but the business has increased and new articles made, until it has three or four times its original capacity, and is now producing a complete variety of stamped ware in steel, 1ron, tin, and brass, and nickel and silver plated ware. The present capital is $200,000. The factory recently doubled its capacity; employs 225 hands. It has been one of the most prosperous manufacturing establishments of the county. Col. John T. Mercer has been, and still is, its president; A. P. Stewart, secretary.

The following table shows the number of hands employed, amount and value of products of leading manufactures in the county:

488 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.

The Barnesville Window Glass Company. - In 1873, a company was incorporated at Barnesville, with a capital of $60,000, to erect a window glass factory. The original officers were: J. J. Buchanan, president, and J. M. Lewis, secretary, who are still in charge of the works. Shortly after the completion of the first eight-pot furnace, a second furnace was commenced, and this company has run successfully, the two factories employing about 125 hands, paying monthly about $8,500 in wages, with an out-put of about 6,500 boxes of glass per month.

The Railroads. - Nothing has contributed so much to the growth of Belmont county in population and wealth during the past thirty years as the construction of railroads. The principal increase in population and wealth in the county during that period has been along the lines of the railroads. To these more than any other cause has been due the building .up of Bellaire and Martin's Ferry, the leading centers of population in the county, as large manufacturing towns and the growth of Bridgeport, Barnesville and other towns along them. All roads built or contemplated through the county or any part of it terminate or form connections at Bellaire, where the great bridge constructed by the B. & 0. and Central Ohio companies in 1869-70, crosses the Ohio river. These roads, in the order of their construction, are the Central Ohio, now managed by the B. & 0. railroad company; the Cleveland, Pittsburgh & Wheeling, managed by the Pennsylvania company; the B. Z. & C. railroad; the Bel- laire & St. Clairesville railroad; the B., L. & W. railroad; the St. Clairesville Northern railroad, now running, and the Wheeling & Lake Erie railroad and the Ohio Valley railr0ad in process of construction, the latter by the Pennsylvania company.

The Baltimore & Ohio or Central Ohio. - The Central Ohio railroad was chartered in 1848 by act of the general assembly. The incorporators were: Robert Neil., Samuel Medary, Joel Buttles, Joseph Ridgeway and Bela Latham, of Franklin county; David Smith, Daniel Duncan, Adam Seymore, Israel Dillie, Albert Sherwood, Nathaniel B. Hogg, Levi J. Haughey, Jacob Glessner, George W. Penny, Jonathan Taylor, A. P. Prichard and Wickliff Condit, of Licking county; James Ragnet, Robert Mitchell, Daniel Brush, James Hamm, Soloman Sturges, Richard Stilwell, Daniel Converse, Levi Claypool and Solomon Woods, of Muskingum county.

The company was vested with power " to construct a railroad, with single or double track, commencing at Columbus, thence by the towns of Newark and Zanesville, to such point on the Ohio river as the directors might select." The capital stock of the company was fixed at $1,500,000, with the privilege of increasing to $2,500,000; shares $50 each. The $10,000 required by law before organization was subscribed by the incorporators, and a meeting for organization called, which met at Newark, August 26, 1847, at which the following directors were elected: Solomon Sturges, John Hamm, William Dennison, Jr., George James, Albert Sherwood, Charles B. Goddard, Daniel Marble, Levi Claypool, Daniel Brush and Stephen R. Hosmer. Solo-

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mon Sturges was elected president; Daniel Brush, treasurer, and David H. Lyman, secretary. The meeting authorized a survey, and called upon the cities of Newark and Zanesville to raise money to complete the survey. During the first year but little progress was made, and at the next election held August 22, 1848, a change was made in the board of directors and officers, the following being elected: Lewis Claypool, Israel Dillie, A. Sherwood, R. McCoy, William Dennison, Jr., James Ragnet, John Hamm, Solomon Sturges, Daniel Brush, C. B. Goddard, S. R. Homer and John Sullivan. In September, Mr. Sullivan was elected president; Daniel Brush, treasurer, and Israel Dille, secretary. This organization commenced a vigorous canvass for stock and stock subscriptions by counties along the line, and the road was opened from Zanesville to Newark in 1849, and from Newark to Columbus in 1850. This was called the "western division." The work on the "eastern division," from Zanesville to the Ohio river, was pressed by Mr. Sullivan with great energy, and to his efficient management and remarkable canvassing ability was largely due the collection of the stock subscriptions from individuals and county with which this part of the work was constructed. The road from Zanesville to Cambridge was opened in 1853, and from Cambridge to Bellaire in 1854. The road from Columbus to Bellaire is 137 miles long, and its construction cost about $7,000,000, only $1,600,000 of which had been subscribed as stock, so that when the road was built there was a debt of about $5,400,000. A one-half interest in the road between Newark and Columbus was sold to the P., C. & St. L. railroad company for $800,000, which reduced the debt to $4,600,000 and the scaling of the stock at date of re-organization, in 1865 the debt and stock were fixed at $5,500,000, upon which the lessee, the Baltimore & Ohio railroad company now pays interest. The bridge across the Ohio river, at Bellaire, completed in 1871, was constructed by the B. & O. and C. O. companies, the former paying two-thirds of the cost and the latter one-third of the cost.

The Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad. - This company was chartered by an act of the general assembly, passed March 14, 1836, and was amended March II, I 845 . Active work, however, was not commenced until 1847, when the line was located from Wellsville to Cleveland. Work was commenced in August, 1847, but progressed slowly, for want of money, but the whole main line was let in the summer of 1849, to Joseph and Silas Chamberlain, and was completed and opened for traffic from the lake to the river, in March, 1853. In the fall of 1853, the Beaver and Bellaire division of the road was put under contract, and on January 1st, 1857, opened for business. The Bayard and New Philadelphia branch was opened for traffic in 1856. At the first organization of the road, Cyrus Prentiss was elected president; Samuel Folzambe, secretary, and William Wadsworth, treasurer. In 1857, the board was re-organized and J. T. McCullough was elected president and has held the position since. At the time of the completion of the road the stock was worth 80 to 90 cents, but after the panic of 1857, the stock ran down and much of it changed hands at as low as 5 to 8

490 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.

cents. The road now runs through an almost continuous town, and when leased to the Pennsylvania company, it was on the basis of 6 per cent. interest on the stock valued at $1.47.

The Bellaire, Zanesville & Cincinnati. - In 1875, the Bellaire & Southwestern railroad company was organized to build a railroad through Belmont, Monroe, Washington and Athens counties, from Bellaire to Athens. The first division of the road was located, and the work of raising subscriptions undertaken, and the amount subscribed on this division in 1876, was $240,000, about half the estimated cost of a narrow gauge road. Much of the work of raising this money was done by Col. John H. Sullivan, who had charge of the construction of the Central Ohio railroad. This road was completed to Woodsfield in 1877, over a rougher country than traversed by any road in the state, at a cost of 11,500 per mile. The name of the company was changed in 1882, to the Bellaire, Zanesville & Cincinnati Railroad company and the road completed, first, to Caldwell, in Noble county and then to Zanesville, in Muskingum county. The road passed into the hands of a receiver in 1887, who ran it, paying some of the debts and improving the road, until 1890, when the re-organized company again obtained possession, having paid or adjusted all the claims against it. Hon. S. L. Mooney, of Woodfield, is its president.

The St. Clairsville & Bellaire Railroad. - This was constructed first as a narrow gauge railroad from St. Clairsville to Quincy, or St. Clairsville Junction on the B. & O. railroad, four miles west of Bellaire. After the serious high waters of 1883, it was changed to a standard gauge road, and is now run in connection with the B. & O., making five trips a day from Bellaire to St. Clairsville and return.

The St. Clairsville Northern Railroad.- This is also a short line running from St. Clairsville on the north side, to connect with the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling railroad, on Wheeling creek, and by that road to Bellaire. It also makes five trips a day from Bellaire to St. Clairsville and return.

The Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railroad. - This road was completed to Bellaire in 1888. It was constructed from Dennison, Tuscarawas county, to Bridgeport, Belmont county, in 1876, and has developed an immense coal trade along the Wheeling creek valley west of Bridgeport, carrying over a million tons of coal annually toward the lake. Its length from Lorain to Bellaire is 161; its capital stock, $5,600,000; funded debt, $850,000; gross earnings, $1,170,976; operating expenses, $815,484.

The Ohio Valley Railroad. The Ohio Valley Railway company - was chartered April 26, 1871, to construct a railroad on the north side of the Ohio river from Bellaire to Cincinnati. The surveys were made and the road located over the route laid out, and partly constructed in 185-, by the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad company. For a number of years little was done by the present company, but three years ago the Pennsylvania company became the owner of its franchises, and the work of construction was commenced at Bellaire by the construction of two miles of track from the C. & P. railroad depot to the

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southern corporation line, and last year further work was done, extending the line to Pultney Bottom. Contracts have now been made for the construction of the road between Bellaire to Powhattan, which will be followed by others, placing the whole line under contract.

The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad. - This road running from Toledo on the lakes, to the Ohio river at Portland, twelve miles above Bellaire, and now being constructed to Bellaire, was organized in 1886. The road was completed from Bowerston to the river in 1889, and will be completed to Bellaire the present year. It has 250 miles of main track. Its paid-up capital stock is $3,600,000; its funded debt, $4,000,000; its earnings in 1888 were $818,353; running expenses, $576,518.