1000 -CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. several years, and the presumption is that he quit only when it became unprofitable. Strange as it may seem, there was a revival of the carpet industry about ten years ago. Rather the new industry was engaged in carpet and rug cleaning rather than in the manufacture of carpets and rugs. This firm, known as the Urbana Carpet Cleaning and Rug works, was established at 133 South Locust street in 1906 by F. L. Reynolds, who manufactured what was known as the "foreign Vassar rug" for a time, but his stay in the city was short lived. THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY. The furniture industry of Urbana goes back to the year 1811, when Anthony Patrick located in Urbana: He was a cabinet-maker and at once began the making of furniture on a small scale, finding a ready market for all he could produce. He was soon well established in a shop which stood on the corner of Scioto and Kenton streets. For three-quarters of a century the word furniture in Champaign county would recall the name Patrick, so well identified was the name of Patrick with the furniture business. Anthony Patrick took his son, William Patrick (later judge), in as his partner as soon as the latter grew to manhood and later (1841) William Patrick became associated . with his son, E. B. Patrick, in the business. William R. Patrick, another son of the Judge, later joined the firm and in 1857 Judge Patrick turned the entire business over t0 his sons, E. B. and W. R. Patrick. The two sons, starting in together in 1857, remained partners for upwards of half a century. They built the three-story building on the site now occupied by the establishment of the Mammoth Furniture Company. For many years before they quit the business they had ceased manufacturing furniture, but today there are still remaining hundreds of pieces of furniture in Champaign county which are the handiwork of one or more of the three generations of Patricks who made furniture in Urbana. Johnson & Rock became owners of the store in 1899 and the present Mammoth Furnishing Company was incorporated in 1907. The Barlow-Kent Furniture Company came to Urbana following the destruction of its plant at Plain City by fire, November 23, 1890. The company had been a valuable asset to Plain City and after it burned out there a delegation of citizens from Urbana conferred with the owners relative. to the removal of the plant to this city. The result of these negotiations was followed by the removal of the plant to Urbana and a new factory building was at once erected. The factory had just about completed one year of successful operation in Urbana when it was totally destroyed by fire, March CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1001 14, 1891. Notwithstanding their loss the owners at once began to rebuild, and soon had two buildings, one building two hundred and thirty feet in length, and the other one hundred and fifty feet in length. The plant was soon in operation and employing a hundred men. Other buildings were later added and the plant gave every evidence of being one of the most substantial institutions of the city. It gave most of its attention to medium-priced wardrobes and cupboards, although it manufactured other kinds of furniture. On February 14, 1907, the company suffered a fire loss of fifty thousand dollars, but it continued in business with a decreasing output until 1915, when it went into the hands of a receiver. Other enterprises undertook to establish themselves in the plant, but none of these proved successful. At one time an attempt was made to start the manufacture of cigar-boxes in one of the buildings. In the spring of 19 T 7 the Urbana Furniture Company was organized to take over the buildings and machinery of the defunct Barlow-Kent concern and was duly incorporated with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars. The factory now gives employment to eight, people and the articles manufactured consist of toys and juvenile furniture. The present organization consists of the following : F. C: Gaumer, president; J. C. Thackery, vice-president ; J. H. Brown, treasurer : H. S. Earsom, secretary. IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRIES. The followers of Tubal Cain were the first artificers in metal in Urbana, and naturally the first interested in the iron and steel industry. Their manufactured output was more important than we of the present generation imagine; they made nearly all the metal tools and implements used by the settlers—axes, hoes, scythes, sickles, plows--and made their own horseshoes (few of which were in use) and all blacksmiths put in their spare time making chains, nails, open-rings, clevises,. etc. Thus it may be seen that the pioneer blacksmith was much more of a manufacturer than he is usually credited with being. The present tool-and-die factories are of recent establishment, but more than eighty years ago there were prominent foundrymen in Urbana. In the fore part of the thirties the first foundry made its appearance and in 1833 David Parry was well established in his foundry on Miami street. He was engaged in the casting of a variety of products; in fact, he would undertake anything if there was enough money in it—and he was able to make the molds for the casting. This factory passed through a number of 1002 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. hands before the Cranes got hold of it during the Civil War. Parker & Sheldon were the proprietors in 1839; Sheldon & Winslow in 1845; French, Sanderson & Company in 1852 ; French, Rigdon & Guthridge in 1853; Whitehead, Moore & Morrow in 1858; Moore & Crane in 1862. The beginning of the real prosperity of this foundry dates from the time Crane secured an interest in it. In 1864 Crane bought out the interest of his partner, and a few years later the firm became Morris & Crane, followed still later by the firm of M. H. Crane & Company. One of the main products of the Crane company was stoves and they made hundreds of the early stoves of Champaign county. The success which attended the efforts of David Parry led to the establishment of a second foundry in 1830 by Tutton & Scorah, six years after Parry had ventured into the field. This firm made turning-lathes, parts for machines of all kinds, hot-air stoves for large buildings (furnaces), and miscellane0us castings of all kinds. This firm was in existence for a number of years. MANUFACTURE OF REAPERS. During the latter part of the forties there were two firms in Urbana engaged in the manufacture of reapers. McCormick had startled the world with his reaper and within ten years there were more than a dozen different kinds of reapers on the market. Of this number Urbana had two and at one time it promised to rival Springfield in the manufacture of reapers. Between 1845 and 18 50 the firm of Goble & Stuart had a shop on Market street, near the present city building, and were making Cook's patent reaping-machine. This machine was not a pronounced success, at least, not as successful as the improved Huzzey reaping-machine, which was manufactured in Urbana by Minturn & Allen. About 1848 this firm, backed by Kauffman & Nels0n, began to manufacture this machine on an extensive scale. They also manufactured the Gatling grain-drill. The Huzzey machine was a very ponderous affair and required f0ur horses to pull it, but Kauffman & Nelson were firm believers in the future of the machine and advanced the machinists, Minturn & Allen, money to make experiments to improve the machine. In the course of their experiments they really produced a very superior machine, but just about the time they had it where it was giving satisfaction another firm claimed that the Urbana firm had infringed on their patent. A lawsuit was threatened, and, after lo0king into the matter, the financial backers of the concern were convinced that such an action would ruin them. Consequently they withdrew their support and the fact0ry closed down at once. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1003 THE GWYNNE INDUSTRIES. With two factories and two machine-shops running in the fifties Urbana was assuming the importance of an industrial center, but these four establishments did not deter D. & T. M. Gywnne from starting another factory. Their first attempt in the industrial line does not come under the class of an iron-and-steel industry, but was a forerunner of what they attempted to do later in that industry. In the early fifties they started a large steam cooperage shop on Russell street and later installed machinery for the manufacture of stave-making machinery. Shortly after they became interested in this line of work they became associated with Cyprian and Henry A. Wilcox, the latter being a skilled mechanic. They soon had one of the most successful machine shops and foundries in this part of the state. By 1854 this concern was manufacturing steam engines, and the merit of these engines was such that they were awarded first prizes at the state fair in 1854 and again in 1855. Sixty men found employment in the Gwynne. foundry and machine-shop and everything pointed to a prosperous career for the concern. After Wilcox died the firm became known as Gwynne's Urbana Machine Company, with S. B. Whiting as superintendent. Everything was moving along smoothly until the panic of 1857 swept over the country and the crash which ruined thousands of industrial plants in the country played havoc with the little concern in Urbana. It failed and never again reopened on its former scale. The Gwynne shops were closed down for nearly a year and then reopened with a voluntary association, not an incorporation, composed of a number of mechanics and business men of Urbana, among whom were William Scanlon, Jacob Lisle, Conrad Marshall, David Tough, and William Purdon ; but whether it was from lack of capital, lack of management or for some other reason, this intangible sort of a company so0n suspended operations. The valuable machinery and prestige of the old company was such that it was easy to get up another company to take charge of the plant. The next firm, known as the Barnett-Franklin Company, took up the burden, but they were handicapped by a lack of capital and for a third time the plant was shut down. A firm from Piqua took charge of the plant in 1869. This firm was known as the Eldridge, Borger, Fritz & Balzart Company, all members of which were experienced mechanics. This firm gave such evidence of their ability to give the city an industrial establishment of worth 1004 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. that a year later (1870) it was possible to organize the largest company Urbana had ever had up to that time. This company was known as the Urbana Machine Company, and for many years the plant was known as the Urbana Machine Works. URBANA MACHINE WORKS. This group of about thirty citizens of Urbana and vicinity organized a company in 1870 known as the Urbana Machine Works for the manufacture of the Excelsior steel plow, the Dougherty waterwheel and the Excelsior grain-drill. It was capitalized at fifty thousand dollars. The waterwheel did not prove a successful affair and its manufacture was discontinued, and shortly afterward the company turned its attention to the manufacture of a turbine wheel, designed and patented by E. S. Small of Urbana. From the start the plow was their best product and in 1872 and 1873 the company turned out nearly two hundred for the market. In 1874 the output amounted to nine hundred and in 1875 it rose to fourteen hundred. By the time of the distressing period of 1877-79 the company was doing a good business, but it was compelled to curtail its output along all lines because of the financial stringency which confronted industries all over the country. The company added the manufacture of Burns' corn-planter, a sulky breaking-plow, and mill-gearing, shafting and pulleys, and also had a foundry in connection for the casting of the special machinery which they used in the manufacture of their products. The company might even have weathered the panic of 1877 if it had not wasted so much money on the water-wheel, and paid more attention to the grain-drill and the Excelsior plow. The drill soon fell into the hands of a Springfield company, which made a fortune out of it. When the local plant went into insolvency in 1877 it ruined several business men of Urbana. This disaster, however, was not so disheartening, for the reason that such financial catastrophies were occurring all over the United States at that time. When the shops closed down during the panic of 1877 it seemed that there was little hope of finding a company to take them over. The United States Rolling-St0ck Company was in a flourishing condition and bid fair to be the biggest industry the city had had up to that time. Nevertheless, a firm known as the Valequette, Anderson Company, established a foundry in one of the buildings in 1880, but they soon suspended operations and were succeeded in turn by Russell, Anderson & Company. This company CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1005 had only a brief career and it was none too prosperous. The big new industry in the north end of town proved too strong for competition in getting the best machinists. URBANA BRIDGE COMPANY. It is somewhat of a mystery why there was such an influx of iron and steel industrial plants trying to get established in Urbana during the seventies. The city is not close to the coal fields and it is certainly much farther from the iron fields than many other cities. The answer is found in the business men of Urbana. They were a progressive set of men, intent upon building up the city and willing to expend not only their time, but also their money in order to bring enterprises to the city. The citizens in 1879 secured a firm known as the Black & Motherwell Machine Works Company, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but from the comment in the local papers in 1880, it seems that there must have been a serious misunderstanding between the company and the business men of Urbana regarding the amount of financial aid which the latter were to give the company. The company was forced to operate on a much smaller scale than it had originally contemplated, but it managed to weather the storm. This company made a number of changes and eventually became merged into the Urbana Bridge Company. The bridge company was a prosperous establishment for a number of years and continued operation down into the nineties. UNITED STATES ROLLING-STOCK COMPANY. The fifth large industrial plant to find a home in Urbana during the seventies was the United States Rolling-Stock Company, which reached here in 1875. This company, with changes, exists to the present day and the shops put up forty years ago are still standing and in use throughout the year. The history of this company dates from 1871, when it was organized in the state of New York for the purpose of manufacturing, selling, and leasing, locomotives, freight and passenger cars, etc. Four years after it was organized the company made an effort to secure a location farther to the West and with this end in view came to Urbana in May of that year. The president of the company, J. W. Hodgskin, and C. F. Jauriet, the master mechanic of the company, came to Urbana to confer with the business men relative to moving their shops to this city. A mass meeting of business men was called for Tuesday evening, May 25, 1875, the call for the meeting 1006 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. being signed by such men as John H. Young, James Taylor, R. H. Cheatham, Lemuel Weaver, John B. Smith, H. T. Niles, E. W. Staff0rd, W. R. Warnock, J. H. Patrick, John Kirby, H. H. Thompson, H. N. Benjamin, Matthew Weaver, John S. Leedom, C. G. Smith, H. McDonald, Edward Jennings, and Dr. J. H. Ayers. A committee was appointed to interview citizens and see whether they would be willing to buy stock in the company and on the following day this committee of fifteen received such encouragement from the business men of the city that the president of the company decided to move the shops to this city. By June 15, 1875, there had been a large amount of stock subscribed and the stockholders held a meeting and elected E. W. Stafford, C. G. Smith and Matthew Weaver as trustees of the subscribed funds and authorized them to find a location for the shops. Several tracts of land were examined, and it was decided to. buy forty-seven and one-half acres east of North Main street and between the street and what is now the Pennsylvania tracks. The sum of twelve thousand dollars was paid for the land and on Monday, August 16, 1875, the company broke ground and began to construct the buildings. The original buildings consisted of two buildings thirty by seven hundred and fifty feet, one building sixty by seven hundred and fifty feet, one thirty by eight hundred feet, a blacksmith shop forty by one hundred and fifty feet, and a st0rehouse thirty by one hundred and fifty feet. Within a year the shops were opened and doing a good business, mostly repairing of all kinds of railroad rolling-stock. The number of men employed during the early career of the company ranged from two hundred and fifty to four hundred. In the early, nineties financial distress nearly caused a suspension of business, but the company managed to keep from going into bankruptcy. The company was reorganized under the name of the Illinois Car and Equipment Company, and has since operated under that name. The first president of the reorganized company was David Cornfoot, an Englishman. J. M. Maris, of Chicago, was general manager ; S. H. Dick, of Chicago, secretary-treasurer; T. A. Edmonson, of Urbana, chief clerk. Twenty years have elapsed since this change was made and now T. A. Edmonson is the secretary and general manager of the company, having been connected with it for upwards of a quarter of a century. Alfred E. McCord is president and treasurer of the company. During 1916 the company enjoyed one of its most prosperous seasons and with the increased demand for rolling-stock there seems to be a good reason for a new lease of life of the, company. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1007 URBANA TOOL AND DIE COMPANY. The Urbana Tool and Die Company was organized by James K. Cheetham in August, 1912, for the purpose of manufacturing tools, dies and automobile parts. On January 19, 1913, Cheetham became the sole owner. The present officers are James K. Cheetham, president; R. C. McDonald, manager; Joe Cheetham, treasurer. The company occupies the building of the old woolen-mill on East Water street, and has excellent quarters for the particular business in which it is engaged. During the past year the company has doubled its output and in the spring of 1917 employed one hundred and twenty-five hands. Its output for 1916 amounted to two hundred thousand dollars, and the indications so far in 1917 point to a much larger output for the current year. AMERICAN TOOL AND DIE COMPANY. The American Tool and Die Company, located on West Court street, was established in 1914 by H. P. Creighton and Philip J. Schneider. It is an unincorporated concern employing on an average of twenty-five machinists and during the past year has produced about sixty thousand dollars worth of tools, jigs and dies. The, company has had so much business that the plant was operated twenty-four hours a day during the spring of 1917. The plant now occupies the building formerly used by the Gaumer carriage factory, but at the time this volume went to press the company was getting ready to move to new quarters. The company is now the owner of the old Niles Sanatorium on North Main street, the sale of the property being confirmed on July 25, 1917, by Judge Gibbs. It belonged to the estate of the late Marion W. Thomas and was sold for $5,786.26. The new owners began at once remodeling the property into a new home for their business. They at once closed a contract with J. A. Poss, of Springfield, for the re= modeling of the building. The west portion will be torn down completely and the part will be utilized in the construction of a new factory building on the west end of the big lot on which the building now stands. The east end of the structure will be left standing, remodeled, and made into a residence property. URBANA STRAW BOARD COMPANY. The first paper manufactured in Urbana was in 1892. This first paper-mill was a straw board factory and was first. known as the Urbana Straw 1008 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. Board Company. It had been established at Plain City, Ohio, in 1883, by K. L. Wood & Son and in 1891 it was removed to Urbana and incorporated in June of that year with forty thousand dollars capital stock. Its capacity at the beginning was twelve to fifteen tons a day, most of which was paper board for egg cases and shoe boxes. An auxiliary company was shortly afterwards started, the Urbana Egg Case Company, which used the fillers manufactured by the straw board company. The Urbana Egg Case Company was organized by W. M. Baker and in 1905 the company was reorganized, the stockholders being W. M., L. M. and L. J. Baker. L. J. Baker became the manager and W. B. Shepard the foreman at that time. The present brick factory of the company was erected on Miami street next to the Pennsylvania tracks in 1908 after fire had destroyed the original building. The business is now carried on under the name of Indiana Board and. Filler Company, formerly of Decatur, Indiana, which secured control of the former company in 1914. The company has done a large business and their double-locked cold-storage fillers are known throughout the United States. It should be stated that W. M. Baker established both egg case plants, his second being a very active concern at the time it .was purchased by the Indiana Board and Filler Company. OHIO STRAW BOARD COMPANY. In 1894 local capitalists organized the Ohio Straw Board Company which was later taken over by the paper trust. The stockholders were given two shares for one, but the generosity of the trust was soon shown up in a different light and the stockholders eventually received by a very small per cent of their investment. The company now operates under the name of the United Paper B0ard Company and has a daily capacity of thirty-five tons. The present officers, none of whom is a resident of Urbana, follow : Sidney Mitchell, president ; Mathias Plum, Jr., vice-president and general manager; Luther M. Bodman, secretary; G. Wuerst, treasurer; Frederick Davenport, second vice-president; A. M. Boothby, third vice-president. HOWARD PAPER COMPANY. One of the largest industrial plants in Urbana is the Howard Paper Company, which has been in operation since May, 1910. The Howards came to Urbana and interested a number of capitalists and as a result there came into existence the Howard Paper Company, incorporated for five CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1009 hundred thousand dollars. The company at once built a handsome brick, reinforced-concrete and steel building, one hundred and ten by four hundred and ten feet. They have a daily capacity of thirty tons and have built up a business which extends to all parts of the United States and also to foreign countries. They manufacture all grades of writing paper and evidence of the quality of their work is shown by the fact, that they were one of the mills selected by the United States government to furnish a regular monthly amount of paper. The company is equipped with the latest modern machinery for the manufacture of paper and has been in continuous operation since it was established seven years ago. The officers of the company are : President, H. M. Howard; vice-president, Ward Howard; secretary-treasurer, L. S. Howard. W. B. MARVIN COMPANY. The last tool-and-die company to enter the local field is the W. B. Marvin Manufacturing Company, which was incorporated in 1915 with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars. This company occupies the building formerly used by the American Automatic Telephone Company. Beginning in a small way the company has made a steady growth and now employs from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and seventy-five men, the number varying with the season. They are engaged in the manufacture of jigs and dies, and special machinery of all kinds. The output for the last year amounted to about one hundred thousand dollars. The present officers of the company . are : C. H. Marvin, president; Donald Colwell, secretary-treasurer. DESMOND-STEPHAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY. The Desmond-Stephan Manufacturing Company located in Urbana about 1900. The firm manufactures injectors, emery-wheel dressers and ejectors. The goods manufactured by this company are of the highest standard and by judicious advertising the company has established a large foreign and domestic trade. The men in control of the affairs of the company are George McConnell, president, and C. N. Kohler, treasurer. The injector was patented by Desmond, who is the inventor of nearly every kind of injector on the market today. Desmond & Stephan sold to George McConnell and C. N. Kohler, the former serving as president and the latter as treas- (64) 1010 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. urer of the company. They employ about forty machinists and are now running at full capacity. Their plant is located on Walnut street between Water and Reynolds streets. JOHNSON BROTHERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY. The Johnson Brothers' Manufacturing Company was organized in Urbana in 1902 for the purpose of manufacturing oil cans, buckets and all kinds of goods of this character used by railroads. It is interesting to note how the company came into existence. J. B. Johnson made a trip through the West in 1902 in the interests of the W. H. Marvin Company and his attention was directed to a certain ingenious device placed in an oil can to control the flow of the oil. He immediately negotiated with the parties owning the device and after securing it began at once the manufacture of oil cans using this device. At first the company manufactured only oil cans for railroads, but as the business expanded other departments were added and eventually other railroad supplies were manufactured. Thus the company began the making of engine buckets, tallow pots, torches and a general line of railroad tin and galvanized-iron ware. In 1904 the company took up the manufacture of rural free delivery mail boxes and was engaged in this for some time. The business developed to the point where it was necessary to provide a larger plant and the company erected a fine two-story brick building on Miami street, between the Big Four railroad tracks. The officers of the company are : Charles F. Johnson, president ; J. W. Johnson, vice-president; Isaac T. Johnson, secretary-treasurer. GREEN HALTER COMPANY. The Green Halter Company is owned by the Johnson Manufacturing Company and the halters are manufactured in the same building. The halter company dates from 1899, when it was incorporated with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars. The foreman and the twenty-five employes are all colored men. Rope halters, leads and ties to the value of thirty thousand dollars are manufactured annually. Like the oil-can industry there is a story behind the halter industry. In the nineties two farmer boys near Mt. Vernon, Ohio, patented a cheap kind of a rope halter. They borrowed ten dollars to buy rope with which to make them and then peddled them about the country. Eventually they started a little factory at Me- CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1011 chanicsburg and, when it burned down, J. B. Johnson, of Urbana, bought the patent and started manufacturing the halter in Urbana. Several million halters have been sent out of Urbana by this firm. SANDERS' GLUE AND SOAP FACTORY. The oldest citizen living in Urbana in 1917 was for many years connected with an industry in the city which is all but forgotten by the present generation. In 1853 Robert Sanders, a Scotchman, came to Urbana and at once began to organize a company for the manufacture of glue. He at first associated himself with William B. Moore and William F. Mosgrove and later different men were associated with Sanders in the business, among diem being David Hovey and Newton Ambrose, but finally Sanders became the sole owner of the plant. His first little factory was located on what was known as the Mosgrove farm, northwest of the city, and was replaced by a large, substantial frame building in 1884. In order to utilize the by-products of his business Sanders established a soap factory in connection and made large quantities of soap of several different varieties for laundries and wool factories. Some of the soap was moulded into bars, but the greater part of it was shipped in kegs and barrels to factories where it was molded for the retail trade. When the glue factory was running at full capacity it was capable of producing five hundred pounds of glue daily. Much of the raw material used in the manufacture of the glue came from the extensive tannery of C. G. Smith & Company, of Urbana, although there was considerable raw material shipped in from other tanneries. The glue was shipped to Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Cleveland. In 1900 Sanders discontinued the manufacture of glue but continued making soap seven years longer. The cost of securing raw material and the fact that the plant was not equipped to compete with modern plants at larger centers, caused Sanders to close it in 1907. It was the only industry in the city which had been in continuous operation since before the days of the Civil War, and it is doubtful whether there was another industry in the state which had been under the control of one man for so many years. Sanders sold the plant and an acre of land to C. B. Grove on April 13, 1914, the new owner securing it in order to start a dairy in the building. It was so used until it burned to the ground shortly afterwards, and now the old smokestack of the once flourishing factory is the only thing remaining of an industry which existed in Urbana from 1853 until 1907. 1012 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. CARRIAGE AND WAGON FACTORIES. The beginning of carriage and wagon manufacturing in Urbana dates back to about 1840 and . from that year down to the present time Urbana has supported at least one factory of this kind, and usually two or more. The first to venture into this field was John Cohan and his shop on lower Miami street was a busy place for several years. Later Cohan located in Dayton and there became the leading manufacturer of carriages in that. city. Following close to Cohan was F. .L. Childs who opened an establishment on Court street in 1842. Four years later D. C. Jamison started a shop on West Church street and later moved it to East Church street. It was this latter establishment that became the first shop of the firm of A. Heiserman & Aughinbaugh in 1866. This firm was dissolved in 1872 and B. A. Aughinbaugh continued the business with a number of different partners until 1891, since which time he has been alone. The shop on East Church street was later made into a dwelling house and is still so used. Aughinbaugh .later built a factory on Court street, near Walnut street, where he is now located. The factory is practically shut down, only a small amount of repair work being done at the present time. The Warren-Gaumer factory opened in 1854 and continued under this firm name until the death of William Warren in 1890. The firm became known as E. B. Gaumer & Sons and continued as such until the factory was sold. E. B. Gaumer arrived in Urbana on March 1, 1854, and at once associated himself with William Warren in the establishment of a carriage factory 0n West Court street. This firm enjoyed a long and prosperous career, but the automobile industry swept it under and caused it to close its doors. During the last few years of its existence it was engaged in the manufacture of pony vehicles. The plant is still able to turn out a buggy, carriage, or any other vehicle upon order, but no effort is made to keep the factory in operation. The factory is now owned by A. H. Gaumer, a son of the founder of the business. The factory of J. H. E.. Dimond & Sons, located on the northwest corner of Main and Water streets, like the other two factories just described, has recently closed down. The gasoline vehicle has caused it to suspend operation and, as the irony of fate would have it, it is now used as a garage and salesroom for automobiles. The second and third floors are still in a condition to do vehicle repairing and painting and an occasional buggy may be turned out. The Mohrlite Company was located in part of the first story of this building. before moving into its new plant in 1916. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1013 J. H. E. Dimond learned the carriage trade at Mitchell, Ontario, and before coming to Urbana in 1875 had worked in carriage factories in Detroit, Chicago and Indianapolis. After coming to Urbana he worked in the Gaumer factory for five years and then decided to go into business for himself. He at once erected the brick building above mentioned, a structure forty by ninety feet, three stories in height, and at the same time, erected a building to the rear, which contained the blacksmith shop and repair department. Here he carried on a successful business until the automobile industry compelled him to curtail his output and finally to suspend operations entirely. THE BROOM INDUSTRY. The broom industry has been in existence in Urbana for more than half a century. At one time Urbana was said to produce more brooms than any other city in the United States. While the industry in 1917 is not what it was in the eighties, yet it still is one of considerable consequence. There are at least one hundred employees in the two broom factories in the city in 1917 and this would .indicate that the industry is still to be reckoned among the important ones of the city. Formerly there was a large amount of broom corn raised in the county. Dugan prairie produced hundreds of tons of this product, among the largest producers being David Perry, David Carey, J. W. Ogden, Mark Higby and a. few others who made a specialty of this crop. The first plants, two in number, were located on North Main street near the railroad, and, were established by David Perry & Brothers and J. J. Robinson & Sons, respectively. In 1880 these two firms were reported as having from thirty to forty hands and turning out sixty to one hundred dozen brooms a day. The broom industry has continued in Urbana from the time of its establishment and two flourishing plants are still in operation, the Urbana Broom Company and the White-Valentine Company. The Urbana Broom Company has been operating under this name since 1898. Its plant is located on Court street near the Big Four station, and it is probable that the plant as it stands today is the most complete broom factory in the United States. Its factory building was remodeled in 1915 and now presents a most attractive appearance. It is forty by one hundred and fifty-five feet, three stories in height, and equipped to turn out one hundred and seventy-five dozen brooms a day. It employs an average of sixty men and has an annual output amounting to one hundred thousand dollars. The factory is owned by 1014 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. W. R. Wilson and L. C. Shyrigh, the former acting as manager and the latter having charge of the manufacturing end of the business. The White-Valentine Company is located at the corner of North Russell and Gwynne streets. This factory dates back to 186o1860, wherewas put in operation by the Perry Brothers. Later the firm became Perry & White and in 1868 the present company was incorporated for one hundred thousand dollars, under the name of the White-Valentine Company. J. D. Valentine is president and G. L. Valentine, secretary-treasurer. They employ about sixty men. For many years the central figure in the broom industry in Urbana was the late David S. Perry, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1840 came to Champaign county in 1862 and in 1878 to Urbana, where he lived until his death, in the forepart of 1917. In the early nineties Perry and his son-in-law, L. C. Shyrigh, operating under the firm name of D. S. Perry & Company, established a concern in Urbana which dealt in broom corn and broom-makers' supplies. This was the largest concern of its kind in Ohio. In 1897 the establishment was destroyed by fire and the firm at once0nceght the old Washington House, an old hotel across the track from the Big Four station. It is this building, lately stuccoed, that is now the home of the Urbana Broom Company. W. H. MARVIN COMPANY. William H. Marvin came to Urbana in 1886 and since that year the name Marvin has been connected with more industrial enterprises in the city than any other name. There are always a few men in every community who are financial leaders and from the time that W. H. Marvin came to Urbana until his death he was such a man. Marvin relinquished the presidency of a bank at Cardington, Ohio, in 1886 to come to Urbana and begin the wholesale grocery business in partnership with J. F. Brand. They continued together until 189o1890,n they began to specialize in evaporated and cleaned fruits, particularly imported currants and raisins. In 1897 the company discontinued the wholesale grocery business and decided to devote all of its attention to the cleaning and evaporating of fruits and the making of mincemeat It incorporated in that year for one hundred thousand dollars and during the past year has done business in excess of half a million dollars.. It employs on an average of one hundred hands throughout the year. The present officers are: C. H. MarVMarvinesident ; W. M. Johnson, vice-president ; Joseph E. Brand, secretary ; C. H. Marvin, Jr., treasurer and general manager. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1015 CANNING FRUIT. Urbana is credited with being the first city in the world to witness the canning of fruit in hermetically sealed jars. Samuel C. Ward and Samuel Keener were the first men in the world to put up tomatoes in pottery. Keener shipped some of these potted tomatoes to his brothers in Baltimore and some of them eventually found their way into a grocery store in that city. No one in Baltimore had ever seen canned tomatoes and the store there which happened to get a can of Urbana tomatoes promptly seized upon the idea of canning them and proclaimed the fact to the world that they had originated the idea. Helmick Brothers at once began Making- pots for canning tomatoes and soon were turning them out by the thousands. The authority for the statement about the fruit canning is the late George A. Weaver, who, in turn, gave William Helmick as his authority. MCCOY CANNING COMPANY. The McCoy Canning Company was organized in December, 1903, by R. G. McCoy with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars: The plant is located adjoining the Panhandle, Big Four and Erie railroads and consists of five buildings. The main building is a three-story frame structure, fifty by fifty feet, and contains the office and machinery department. The company has enjoyed a continuous and prosperous existence and today is one of the sound and responsible industries of Urbana. During the past year the output of the company amounted to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The company maintains branch factories at Woodstock and New Carlisle. The factory cans sweet corn, garden peas and tomatoes, "Purity" being the name for the first grade, "Mad River" for the second and "Cuba" for the third. The plant has been improved from year to year and now contains all the latest machinery used in the largest canning factories in the country. R. G. McCoy, who organized the company, held half of the stock until his death in 1909. In June, 1911, the interest of the McCoy estate was purchased by local capitalists, among whom were T. E. Dye, and he was elected president and treasurer of this company. Edward Inskeep, who had been with the institution since its establishment, was made vice-president and manager. At that time C. D. Northrup became secretary and C. C. Inskeep assistant treasurer. The present officers are : C. H. Marvin, president; T. E. Dye,. vice-president and treasurer; C. D. Northrup, secretary. 1016 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. URBANA CANNING COMPANY. The Urbana Canning Company, located on North Beech street, was established in 1907 by local capitalists. It is an unincorporated company and during the ten years of its existence has paid out thousands of dollars to the farmers of the county for tomatoes and peas. This company came into existence four years after the McCoy Canning Company, but it has never been as prosperous as the first company, due, in large measure, to the fact that the farmers of the county could not be induced to raise enough corn, tomatoes and peas. The 1916 crop was so short that the stockholders lost money and the plant was finally placed in the hands of a receiver. George McConnell is now the controlling factor in the management of the plant. It is the intention to operate the factory to its fullest capacity in 1917. THE URBANA PACKING COMPANY. Preparing meat for the market has been carried on in Urbana for more than half a century, but the firm known as the Urbana Packing Company has been in existence only since 1904. As early as 1850 Mosgrove, Winslow & Wiley had a packing house on the site of the present Urbana Broom Company. They butchered, cured and packed a large amount of pork for several years. The Urbana Packing Company, with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, has about fifty employees and during the past year has produced over half a million dollars worth of meat products for the market. This firm probably distributes more money in the county than any, other firm in the city. The present officers are : William R. Wilson, president ; James Swisher, vice-president and treasurer ; Walter C. Gifford, secretary ; R. J. Rasmussen, superintendent and manager; board of directors, W. W. Wilson, J. P. Neer, James Swisher, W. E. Kidder, W. R. Wilson, R. J. Rasmussen and L. C. Shyrigh. THE URBANA CREAMERY. The Urbana Creamery was started on April 15, 1897, by D. McCrery & Son and continues under the same management. The company pays to .the farmers of this and adjoining counties several thousand dollars each year for milk and cream. They produce large quantities of pasteurized milk and cream, which have become popular for their healthfulness and "keeping" qualities. The creamery is located at the corner of Locust and Market streets. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1017 BUNNELL MONUMENTAL WORKS. The monumental art, one of the oldest in the history of civilization was practiced thousands of years ago before the days of recorded history. Little by little, as the centuries passed, the science and art of stone-cutting was perfected until it achieved wondrous perfection at the hands of the Greeks. It has ever held a high place of honor among industries, for when all else of an age has perished and been forgotten the worthy creations of this craft remain. The Bunnell Monumental Works at Urbana was started by D. M. Bunnell in 1868, and for forty-two years he was proprietor of the industry. Due to his wide experience as cutter, letterer, carver, architect, sculptor and contractor, and his excellent business ability, he was enabled to make this industry one of the most important of its kind in this section of the state, for his business spread from this and adjoining counties to the neighboring states. He was a competent judge of stone for building purposes, and did much of the cut-stone work for the churches, school houses and business blocks in Urbana for twenty-five year. Mr. Bunnell made a study of mausoleums, and his system of ventilation is perfect, so that the building is free from odor at all times and under all circumstances. Due to his efforts repairs to these buildings have become almost negligible; all of which widened the market for his products so that many of them can be seen in Indiana as well as in Ohio. Since the death of Mr. Bunnell in 1910 the business has been conducted by his son, Leslie Bunnell, and two brothers of the founder. The building in which are located the offices and display rooms is of brick, sixty by one hundred and twenty feet. In the display room can be seen fine m0numents of granite and marble, and beautiful statues. A cutting shed, twenty by forty feet, is in the rear. Among the stone buildings constructed by the Bunnell Monumental Works are the Murphy residence on Scioto street, the. First Methodist Episcopal church on Main street, the Southard residence in Marysville, and the West Liberty school Among the first of the mausoleums erected by the Bunnells are those of the Leeson, Edwins and Dehority families, of Elwood, Indiana; the Pepperday mausoleum at Mount Vernon, Indiana, and the T. P. Kite Mausoleum at St. Paris, Ohio. URBANA ARTIFICIAL ICE AND COLD STORAGE COMPANY. In the years 1888 and 1889 the winters were so mild that little or no ice was harvested, and in consequence the price of ice advanced from seven 1018 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. to twenty dollars per ton. Artificial ice was being manufactured in adjoining cities and the idea of establishing a plant in Urbana was looked upon with favor by some of the local business men. In April, 1890, the above-named company was formed by J. S. Kirby, John Mayse, C. O. Taylor, S. L. P. Stone, and Henry Helps, with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars. In the beginning a plant with ten-ton capacity was erected, but in 1903 a large brick building was erected and a twenty-ton plant installed, thus doubling the capacity and providing a cold-storage plant fox' butter, eggs, fruits, meats,-furs and the like. Three teams and wagons are now kept busy making deliveries in the city, while considerable ice is shipped to other towns. Pure distilled water is also delivered to many customers in the city. FLORISTS AND GARDENERS. The beginning of the florist business in Urbana dates back to 1852, when the firm of C. H. & P. Murphey established the first greenhouse in the town. The Murpheys have been in the business continuously since that year and have built up one of the most extensive industries of this kind to be found in the United States, in a city the size of Urbana. They have an extensive plant in Oakland street, in the northeastern part of the city, and have a branch .plant in Springfield. As stated above the first firm of the Murpheys was known as the C. H. & P.. Murphey Co. This was succeeded by C. H. Murphey in 1875 and in 1882 Murphy took his.sons into partnership and the firm became known as C. H. Murphey's Sons. This firm was dissolved in 1884 and R. H. Murphey became the sole owner. In 1907 the present firm of R. H. Mlqurphurphey'stook charge of the business. The firm is now engaged entirely in the production of rose plants for the wholesale trade. During the past year they have grown over a million plants of two hundred different varieties. They ship plants to all parts of the country and find ready sale for all the plants they can produce. They have sixty-seven thousand square feet under glass and their extensive plants cover nine acres. The Urbana Floral Company, on North Main street, is owned by Samuel W. Carey. It was established in 1901 and makes a specialty of ferns and geraniums. Carey started in with two greenhouses, seventy feet in length and now has seven greenhouses. The company does an extensive business. J. J. Botkin has a greenhouse on East Lawn street. He devotes his Plant to the culture of a wide variety of flowers for the cut-flower trade and CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1019 to the raising of large quantities of celery, lettuce, and other garden vegetables. He started out with six hotbeds and now has more than tw0 hundred and fifty. He also has more than six thousand square feet of glass-covered houses for the growing of flowers and vegetables. His plant of nine acres is locally known as the "East 'Lawn Gardens". Charley Freyhof started in with a few hotbeds in 1892 and has gradually built up a prosperous business in the raising of vegetables. He has three thousand square feet under glass. CIGAR FACTORIES. The first cigar factory in the city was established by W. T. Busser, who came from Pennsylvania in the fifties and began the manufacture of cigars about 1857. The wife of Busser was an expert cigarmaker and is said to have been the, first woman in the town to work at the trade. Busser continued in the business until about 1880. His business was then taken over by J. B. Hitt & Company, which latter firm was in continuous operation until 1910. The latter company also engaged in the manufacture of fine cut chewing tobacco, and was for several years the largest tobacco company in the city. The firm of Smith, Davies & Company opened a cigar factory in 1864 in the building now used by Cooper's hardware store and soon had a big business. They disposed of their factory to Adolph Nipping in 1872 and the new owner transferred the business to the room now occupied by the Model barber shop. Nipping did business in a small way for four years and then sold out to J. P. Herman. The latter continued in the same room occupied by Nipping and remained in the business until his death in 1914. His son, Frank, continued the business in a small shop in the rear of his home on' North Main street until his death within the past year. The largest cigar factory in the city is owned by Peter Armbruster and his three-story factory, 464 Sycamore street, turns out more cigars of the "stogie" variety than all the other factories in the city. In 1890 the Armbruster brothers, Peter and John, started a factory in the building now occupied by the Daily Citizen and from the beginning made fifteen hundred "stogies" daily. The business had increased to such an extent by 1899 that the brothers built a two-story brick building at 464 Sycamore street, adding a third story in 1908. The building has a basement which is utilized, so that there are now four floors wholly devoted to the business. In February, 1916, Peter b0ught his brother John's interest and has since been the sole owner of the factory. The cigar-makers are girls and from thirty to forty are given 1020 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. steady employment the year round. The chief brands are known as "1890", "A. B. S.", "A. B. C." and "New Armbruster". The most expert of the girls can turn out from one thousand to fourteen hundred "stogies" daily. It is estimated that this factory has made more than fifteen million "stogies" since it .started operations in 1890. Elmer E. Little established his cigar factory at 327 North Main street in November, 1896, and has been engaged in business continuously since that year. He employs two hands all the time and spends part of his time at his desk. His principal cigar is a five-cent brand, "El Toda". The firm of Murphy & Koehle on north Main street was established in 1898 and now employs nine cigar-makers. Their chief brand is known as "Alvaro". The Union Cigar Company, a partnership of G. A. Shetter and William Schief, dates from 1901. The two members of the firm are the cigar-makers of the company, and make two brands—"S. B.", a five-cent cigar, and "John Adams", a ten-cent cigar. John J. Downey is a jobber and manufacturer, with his place of business at 23 ½ Monument Square. He has been in business since 1905 and employs four workmen. THE MOHRLITE COMPANY. The Mohrlite Company, an Ohio corporation, started its corporate existence in Urbana in January, 1916. This company purchased the patents, trade-mark, good will, models, patterns, etc., from the California Company, and that company quit active business January 1, 1916. M0hrlite fixtures have been manufactured since 1910. The factory in Urbana, which manufactures all kinds of artistic lighting fixtures, was equipped and the actual manufacture of fixtures started on March 21, 1916. The first factory was located in the Dimond building on South Main street, with a floor space of three thousand square feet. The present factory building was built by the company and completed in 1916, and has a floor space of nearly nine thousand square feet. That the -merits of the Mohrlite fixtures are recognized is shown by the fact that they were given the gold-medal award and honorable mention, the highest award given any lighting fixtures at the San Francisco International Exposition. Shipments for the first month in 1916 amounted to three hundred and twenty-seven dollars, and have increased until at the present time the output per month is more than seven thousand dollars. The authorized capital stock of the company has just been increased from fifty thousand dollars to one hundred thousand dollars, and with orders being CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1021 received from all parts of the world and installation being made in many of the public buildings in the United States, prospects for the future are very flattering. The present officers are : W. M. Dixon, president ; J. H. Brown, vice-president ; B. P. Dixon, secretary and treasurer. THE OIL REFINING AND. DEVELOPMENT COMPANY. The Oil Refining and Development Company of Urbana was incorporated on November 17, 1916, with the following officers : Dr. C. B. Forward, president; W. H. Warner, vice-president ; A. J. Vance, Jr., treasurer ; Ross Warnock, secretary. The offices and buildings of the company are near the Pennsylvania depot. This company is still in its infancy and its promoters have every confidence in its ability to succeed. It proposes to manufacture three times as much gasoline from a given amount of crude oil as is done by the methods now in use. The process has been worked out by Doctor For ward and the whole idea is one on which he has been working for several years. SUMMARY OF INDUSTRIES OF URBANA IN 1917. In the preceding pages an attempt has been made to summarize the industries of the city for the past hundred years. Many commodities once made in the city are no longer manufactured here. No longer does the city manufacture steam engines, reapers, corn and wheat drills, plows, stoves and iron castings of all kinds, woolen goods, automatic telephones, alum, baking powder, soap, glue, leather, tile, brick, carriages buggies, wagons, rugs, beer, hominy, clocks, screw drivers, pumps, chairs, crackers, lawn mowers, washing machines and wind mills. The times have changed and while all of the products are manufactured in other places the probability is that none of them will ever again be made in Urbana. But other things have come to take, their place. The summer of 1917 finds the following products manufactured in Urbana.: Awnings, beef products, biscuits, buns, bread, butter, buckets, buggies, brooms, brushes, canned goods, cans, railroad cars, cigars, candy, cement blocks, dies, egg cases, electricity, electrical fixtures, furniture, flour, flowers, gimlets, harness, halters, hinges, injectors, ice, ice cream, jigs, meat products, mince meat, mineral waters, oil cans, paper, pork and poultry products, roasted coffee, sash, "stogies", straw-board, saddles, tools and whisks. There are a number of other articles manufactured on a small scale. Urbana, like every community, has its full quota of tailors, dressmakers and the like, all of which contribute in a small way to the industrial life of the city. 1022 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. Then there are the blacksmiths and woodworkers, who are as essential to the welfare of the community as the minister or teacher, and Urbana is well supplied with skilled artisans in these lines. The advent of the automobile has brought in the garage and the men who take care of it. Even the word "garage" was unknown two decades ago. The next historian of Champaign county will have to tell about the introduction of the hangar and the men who take care of it. Urbana is well supplied with skilled men in all trades. In addition to these mentioned it has its painters, paperhangers, well-diggers, carpenters, lathers, plasterers, masons, upholsterers, vulcanizers, shoe cobblers, etc., all of whom find their place in the industrial life of the city. Mark Twain says that when Captain Stormfield went to Heaven the Captain saw a few things which surprised him, but the most startling was the sight of Shakespeare, the poet, a shoe cobbler from Tennessee, and a camel driver from Egypt, walking down the streets -of Heaven arm in arm. The Captain could n0t understand why the immortal Shakespeare should be found in such company and turned to his guide for an explanation. "Here in Heaven," said his guide, "every0ne is ranked according to the good he did on earth". "Even so," said the Captain, "but that does not account for this illy-sorted trio". "On earth", continued his guide, "Shakespeare did no more for his community, in proportion to the talents which God gave him, than the shoe cobbler and the camel driver did for their respective communities in proportion to their ability. Each of the three did the best they could and in Heaven are rewarded accordingly". And so it is in Urbana, the humblest workman in the city fills as important a niche as the highest-paid workman in the city the blacksmith and the jeweler are necessary and it is just as important for the farmer to have his plow fixed as to have his watch repaired. Sometimes we get the wrong perspective and need to detach ourselves from ourselves in order to get a new grip on the value of things around us. Does the fact that a man has clean or dirty hands make him any the less important in the eyes of his fellowmen ? Wherefore would the lawyer be if it were not for the rest of mankind ? Urbana boasts of men in more than a hundred different occupations and as long as a man is doing honest work he is entitled to the same consideration as every other man. The democracy of labor sh0uld bring us all to a common level. INDUSTRIES THAT NEVER MATERIALIZED IN URBANA. A study of the industrial situation of Urbana as revealed in the various enterprises which have attempted to get started here since 1900 shows some CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1023 very interesting sidelights on human nature. Barnum said that one was born every minute and there have been some minutes in Urbana where the birth rate exceeded this number. The man does not live who does not want to make money and it is this desire which has been at the basis of all of the prosperous industrial plants of Urbana as well as of all those which have been otherwise. It is a long story and a sad story; the story of unscrupulous promoters and unsuspecting investors. More than half a million dollars has been taken from Champaign county since 1900 which yielded not a cent to their investors, and the interesting thing about all these worthless investments is the fact that the people were warned against most of the vampirish financiers who bled the people of the county. A few of the most notable of these companies are noted in the following paragraphs, not that they made any history particularly worth recording, but that future generations may read thereof and be profited thereby. The story begins with the Hedge Fence Company which appeared on the horizon about 1900. The representatives of this company laid before a gullible public the possibilities of an investment in a company which they proposed to organize in Urbana for the manufacture of a kind of fence that would eventually girdle the earth. The people of Urbana heard the glad tidings and responded with a pecuniary promptness that augured well for the fence promoters. Even a judge of the local court subscribed stock and from the judicial bench in the court house to the humblest home in the county the subscriptions rolled in. Then the whole scheme was exposed—the promoters fled thepeople lost thousands of dollars—and the first lesson in high finance had been learned by the people of Urbana. It is hardly possible to follow in consecutive order the many schemes which in some mysterious manner appeared in Urbana following the success of the fence people. The next one on a large scale appeared in 1906 under the guise of the American Aut0matic Telephone Company. The Automatic Telephone Company, for the present purpose addressed as Autotelco, was conceived and born in sin. The strange thing about this enterprise is the fact that the pe0ple of Urbana were warned in a most striking manner that the scheme would end disastrously. A man who had formerly worked in Urbana, but who at the time was living in Chicago, was placed in a position where he learned what the promoters of the Autotelco intended to do. This man immediately telegraphed the fact to Urbana, the news was spread around, but despite this forewarning, the promoters descended on the town like a plague of Egyptian locusts and five years later they left—and the people of Champaign county had contributed more than one hundred and fifty thousand 1024 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. dollars of their hard-earned money to these followers of Captain Kidd. This company, unlike the fence company, actually began operations and did make a pretense of acting in good faith. But. it was only pretense—they were, so it might be said, only chloroforming their patients before robbing them. The fence people did not even stop to drug their victims; the Autotelco people had a more humane way about them. These two enterprises are the most notable of several such enterprises. Among the lesser public larcenies may be mentioned the Eagle Glass Company which died "a-bornin' ". It was dissolved on May 18, 1914, before it -had made so much as a bottle, and was merged with a Cincinnati concern. This company did little more than thrust a pistol into the face of Urbana people and threaten to hold them up ; it was a harmless highwayman. It got only about forty thousand dollars of the people's money. In the same class, but with more evil designs on the public, was the North American Chemical Company of 1912. This company got so far as to build a very respectable. looking sort of a building in the north part of town and even attempted to give the people a run for their money. The only trouble was that the run was all in one direction and that was not towards the people of the town who had invested their money. This company was going to bring alum-bearing mineral from Georgia and manufacture commercial alum here in Urbana. Despite the fact that the source of raw material was so far distant the people of Urbana felt confident that the venture would be profitable. The people invested their money just as they had in the fence proposition, the Autotelco and the glass company—and within a year from the time the factory was started it was ready for the receiver's hands. He was the only one who received anything from it—and it was probably a very, small amount. Another enterprise, in Urbana which fell by the wayside because of the rapacity of mankind and misplaced confidence was the late Niles Sanitorium. A good man and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. John M. Niles, died a few years ago and left a fortune to the sanitarium and in their honor the sanitarium was rechristened. The institution not only received this benefit, but scores of people of Urbana and vicinity were led to believe that this institution furnished a profitable investment. People reasoned that men might traffic in fences or telephones or glass or alum, but certainly they would not traffic in human lives. But again they were mistaken. Another institution soon closed its doors. Urbana people had again lost all of their investments. The Urbana Straw Board Company of Urbana went into the hands of a trust and at the time of its absorption it was doing such a thriving business CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1025 that the magnanimous trust very considerately gave the local stockholders two shares, for every share that they owned. The people could hardly believe it, but they had not reckoned with their benefactor. Within a short time the company went into the receiver's hands and was sold, and the erstwhile "bloated stockholders" of Urbana received a paltry fifteen cents on the dollar for their investment. Enough has been said of these schemes to indicate their general character. Not all of them were reprehensible at the outset, but they developed Machiavellian tendencies which boded ill for all who ventured near them. Some of these companies might have succeeded if they had been properly managed ; even the Autotelco might have succeeded if it had been properly managed. The alum industry probably failed because the process of manufacture had not been sufficiently developed beforehand.. WESTERN MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY.  Industries and business enterprises may come and go, but Urbana has one business institution which has weathered the vicissitudes of the country's financial fortunes for seventy-one years. That institution is the Western Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which is the oldest continuous concern in the city. There are few living in the county who can remember when it started in the spring of 1846, basing its legal existence on an act of the state Legislature, approved February 28, 184.6. The incorporators of the company Were David Gwynne, Jacob Kaufman, Lemuel Weaver, William H. Harback, Philander B. Ross, Ira A. Bean, Theodore A. Wick, S. A. Winslow and Colin McDonald—names which stood for the best' of everything in commercial life in those days. The first directors were David Gwynne, Ira A. Bean; Jacob Kaufman, Lemuel Weaver and Philander B. Ross. David Gwynne was first president, Ira A. Bean, the first secretary, and Seymour .A. Winslow the first treasurer. When the company was first organized, it was intended to handle only local fire insurance business and this policy was pursued until 1870. At that time the directors decided to extend its operations throughout the state, and the extension of the company's field has proved to have been for its best interest. Now, it is regarded as one of the best of the Ohio fire insurance companies. The business of the organization is confined exclusively to Ohio, and practically all of its policies are in cities and towns which have adequate fire protection. This is the principal reason for its remarkable success. Because of its conservative method of doing business, the company extends cheap and (65) 1026 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. reliable insurance to its patrons, to whom it gives prompt adjustments and payments of losses. The financial statement of the Western Mutual Fire Insurance Company for January I, 1917, bears out the foregoing assertions. The amount at risk was $6,750,529; premium notes, net, $666,479; real estate, $12,000; furniture and fixtures, $900; cash in bank, $11,340.97; bonds and stocks, market value, $53,635 ; accrued interest on bonds, $514.59 ; assessments due, net, $1,850.67; l0sses unpaid and in process of adjustment, estimated, $1,497; losses paid in 1916, $29,108.29. Not only does the company show an excellent financial statement after its many years of faithful service, but it also owns one of the handsomest business blocks in Urbana, the same having been erected on Miami street in 1914. It is interesting to recall the names of the officers of the company. This coterie of men is representative of the sound financial ability of Urbana. In 1881 J. H. Patrick was president; Joshua Saxton, vice-president, William R. Ross, treasurer ; Wilson Baldwin, secretary ; Joseph S. Carter, general agent. The directors were J. H. Patrick, P. B. Ross, Joshua Saxton, C. G. Smith and J. S. Carter. In March, 1890, William R. Ross was elected president. He served the company in that capacity until .1915. C. A. Ross became secretary in December, 1898, and served until 1914. In that year, Charles A. Ross, Jr., assumed the duties of secretary and still retains them. In 1915, J. F. Brand, who had been general agent and treasurer since 1905; was elected president and still serves in that capacity. E. E. Cheney is now vice-president. The directors are E. E. Cheney, E. M. Crane, Joseph Valentine, Charles F. Johnson and J. F. Brand. PUBLIC UTILITIES. The public utilities of a city may either be owned by the city or by private corporations. A public utility, as the name indicates, refers to some public service which is enjoyed by the citizens at large. If a man owns a well on his lot, it is not a public utility as long as he uses it himself, but if all of the wells in the town but his were to go dry, then this particular well would become a public utility. For years water was not considered as a public utility in Urbana; everybody had his own well or spring; but in the course of time the village grew to be a town, the town to a city, and it was not possible for everybody to have a well. Furthermore, the demand for fire protection necessitated the installation of some kind of water service, and hence there came into existence the waterworks plant—the first public utility of Urbana. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1027  The waterworks plant is only one of several utilities which the people of Urbana now enjoy. The invention of the telephone was followed a number of years later by the introduction of telephone service into the city; the electric light followed later and finally the city expended more than one hundred thousand- dollars in installing a public utility to take the place of the old slop buckets—and so was born the magnificent sewerage system and sewage-disposal plant, the finest in the state. The city also has a street-cleaning department which may be regarded as a minor public utility. The library is a public utility maintained by a tax amounting to about one thousand five hundred dollars a year. The cemetery has been a municipally-owned institution since 1856 and costs the city from five th0usand to six thousand dollars a year to maintain. The streets and sidewalks are sometimes classed as public utilities and as such are coexistent with the life of the city itself. More money has been spent on streets and sidewalks than on any other public utility of the city. They are not usually considered in the light of public utilities, but in reality they are, just as much so as a waterworks system, sewerage system or electric-light plant. While paving has come within the past few years, yet the city has been expending thousands and tens of thousands of dollars on streets and sidewalks during the past hundred years. In fact, there is no public utility used so extensively, so often and so universally, as the streets and sidewalks. The following pages are devoted to a discussion of these several public utilities of Urbana as they appear in 1917. All are owned by the city, with the exception of the electric-light and telephone systems. The city owns the gas mains, but not the wells from which the gas is piped. The city owns everything connected with the gas system inside of the corporate limits of the city, while the company furnishing the gas owns the wells and the mains to the city limits. The waterworks system is first discussed, followed in order by the other utilities just enumerated. URBANA WATERWORKS SYSTEM. It was forty years ago that a system 0f waterworks was established in the city of Urbana, although the subject had been discussed for several years prior to the actual installation of the same. In 1877. a group of public-spirited citizens of Urbana organized a company for the purpose of providing the city with a 'waterworks system. While the need for a more adequate system of fire protection had been agitated for several years it was not until April 7, 1877, that a company was incorporated to build a waterworks plant, 1028 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. and it was nearly a year later before the plant was ready to be turned over to.the city. The Urbana Water Works Company was incorporated on April 7, 1877, with a capital st0ck of one hundred thousand dollars, the incorporators being George M. Eichelberger, Dr. J. H. Ayres, Henry Fox, S. L. P. Stone, Matthew Weaver, R. R. Colwell, James Taylor, Frank Houston and Charles H. Ganson. The city council on May 21, 1877, entered into a lengthy contract with H. P. Clough and T. J. McGowan, operating under the firm name .of H. P. Clough & Company, ..the company to build the plant, dig the necessary wells, lay the mains and install all and such machinery as was needful. for the construction of the waterworks plant outlined in the specifications. The city on its part agreed. to give the company the use of the streets for a period of ten years, and pay an annual sum of six thousand dollars, one-half payable on April i and the other half on October 1, payments beginning in 1878, the stipulated amount to cover the rental of sixty hydrants. The city was to pay seventy-five dollars annually for each hydrant in excess of sixty. The company agreed on its part to begin actual construction in May, . 1877, and have it ready to turn over to the city on or before November I, 1878and sell the plant to the city for the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars at any time the latter might decide to purchase it. While there was a practical unanimity on the part of the citizens of the city in favor of the contract made by the council, that body ordered a special election for Monday, June 25, 1877, in order to give the voters the opportunity to confirm or reject the proposition. Of the 857 votes cast, 822 were in favor of the proposition and only 35 opposed to it. At a meeting of the city council held a week later, July 2, 1877, the plans and specifications of the company were formally accepted and placed on file. However, it was soon discovered that there was a statutory provision then in f0rce which prohibited a municipal corporation from entering into a contract binding itself for a period of ten years. Consequently, it became necessary to enter into a new contract with the company and this, was done on July 31, 1877, the new contract embodying some features that had not been incorporated in the previous contract. The second contract, among its many provisions, stipulated that the company should erect a power house which should be supplied with triplicate machinery and be capable of furnishing one million five hundred thousand gallons of water daily ; lay seven .miles of mains ; install sixty hydrants, for which the city should pay one hundred dollars each per annum, and such additional hydrants as the city might demand at an annual rental of seventy- CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1029 five dollars ; all public buildings to be supplied with water free, while the United States "Rolling-Stock Company's yards should also have free water ; the cost to private consumers not to exceed the rates charged at Cincinnati in 1876; and finally that the city might have the privilege of purchasing the entire plant at any future time for eighty-five thousand dollars, or for a sum which might be agreed upon by a commission appointed by the council and company. AGAIN BROUGHT TO A STANDSTILL. The delay occasioned by the change in the contract postponed the actual beginning of work on the plant until August 14, 1877. The construction had but fairly begun when another unfortunate turn, of affairs again brought everything to a standstill. The McGowan Pump Company, of Middletown, Ohio, became insolvent and had to abandon the contract. The local situation at this time is summed up in an article which appeared in the Urbana Citizen and Gazette the week following the announcement of the inability of the company to proceed with the work of construction: "Under this state of affairs the prospects were slim indeed. But just then there arrived on the ground T. T. Flagler, president of the Holly Manufacturing Company, of Lockport, New York, who stepped into the place of Mr. McGowan. There followed immediately a re-organization of the Urbana Water Works, with T. T. Flagler, president; J. H. Ayres, vice-president ; H. P. Clough, secretary ; L. C. Hovey, treasurer; Flagler, Clough, Ayres, James Taylor and Joel Read, directors; E. G. Wiley and Joel Read, trustees." The re-organization of the local company and the resumption of the work by construction by a new company made it necessary to enter into a new contract. Accordingly a contract was at once entered into between the city council and the Holly Manufacturing Company, the latter agreeing to all of the propositions formerly agreed upon between the city and the Clough company. The time for the completion of the plant was extended to January 21, 1878, and the plant was practically' completed by the expiration of the specified time. The plant was subjected to a rigorous test by the contractors on January 29, 1878, and the city authorities expressed themselves as being thoroughly satisfied With the test. At the regular meeting the following week the city council formally accepted the plant on behalf of the city, and at the same Meeting perfected plans for the formal 0pening of the system on the 22nd of February. 1030 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. NEW CHAPTER IN LOCAL MUNICIPAL HISTORY. Washington's birthday probably never received a more enthusiastic celebration in Urbana than it did in 1878. An elaborate program was prepared for the occasion. The mayors and other officials of the neighboring cities were invited to attend the celebration and they responded to the invitation in goodly numbers. Promptly at one o'clock on the eventful day, a spectacular parade started to make the tour of the main streets. Although there was a drizzling rain falling it could not dampen the enthusiasm of the parade. Headed by a band, the .parade started. A company of local militia followed the band and was in turn followed by the different volunteer fire companies of the city, more bands, civic organizations, carriages with officials, school children and other citizens. After the parade there was a display of the power of the waterworks plant which satisfied all skeptical persons as to the service that might be expected from the system. The day closed with an evening program in the city hall. J. H. Young presided and made the opening speech, and was followed by George W. Wilson, the state senator from this district. Other speakers included Dr. Thomas A. Cowgill, John F. Gowey, O. E. Lewis, David W. Todd, W. R. Warnock, G. Ellis and S. D. Clayton. The music for the evening was provided by several bands and a specially trained choir. And with the close of February 22, 1878, Urbana opened a new chapter in its municipal history. For twenty years the company continued to serve the city and the service was uniformly satisfactory until the last few years of its second contract. This contract of the city with the Urbana Water Works expired August 6, 1899, and because of the poor service of the company the city refused to renew the c0ntract. Shortly before the expiration of the contract the city council asked the company to make a demonstration of the full pressure of their plant. The showing was so unsatisfactory that the council felt that the city was not getting adequate service for fire protection, and consequently when the company's contract with the city expired on August 6, 1899, the council, as before stated, refused to renew it. AN ANOMALOUS POSITION. When the company notified the city on September 11, 1899, that if the rent was not paid by noon of that day, it would proceed at once to remove the hydrants used by the city, affairs reached a crisis. The city refused to CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1031 pay the rent and on the afternoon of the aforesaid day the company, intent on carrying out its threat, began to tear out the hydrants around the public square. The city retaliated by having the company's representatives arrested and the courts sustained an injunction against the company removing the hydrants. On October 2, 1899, Judge Heiserman handed down a decision to the effect that the company had to furnish water as long as it occupied the streets and public grounds. Shortly afterward the city agreed to pay a. satisfactory amount to the company for service rendered, but the final solution of the difficulty was not settled for more than ten years. On August 13, 1900, the city council and water company agreed upon a contract, although there was then an election pending on the question. The citizens of the city were seemingly about unanimous in condemning the contract entered into by the council and company. An ineffectual attempt was made, to prevent the holding of the election on the question of accepting or rejecting the contract, but it was held on September 14, 1900, and the voters of the city rejected the contract by a vote of 202 to 93. The city was now in an anomalous position. Its council had entered into a definite contract, only to have the same repudiated by the voters of the city a month later. The company appealed to the court for relief and on December 10, 1900, Judge Heiserman declared the election of September 14, 1900, void. The situation remained practically unchanged f0r three years—the city on its side refusing to meet the demands of the water company, and the company on its side giving only such service as the law compelled it to give. But the company could not exist long under such circumstances. On December 12, 1903, it went into the hands of a receiver, Robert W. Kirby, who, filed a claim against the city in January, 1904, for water furnished by the company to the city from 1888 to 1904. The city refused, as it had in 1899, to the demand, on the ground that the water company had failed to live up to its part of the agreement. Kirby proceeded to file suit against. the city in the sum of $4,500.75, this amount, according to his claim, including the additional rental due the company from the city and the interest on the accrued debt. The city replied t0 the suit by setting forth what it claimed was a justifiable cause for not paying the amount specified in the suit. In other words, the city's contention was that the company had not at any time prior to the termination 0f its contract on August 6, 1899, furnished the service which it had agreed to furnish per contract. The city did, however, acknowledge a just claim on the part of the company to $2,632, this am0unt being the rental from the expiration of the c0ntract in 1899. down to the date of the bringing of the suit. 1032 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. Now followed a seven-year struggle during which time the waterworks plant was bandied back and forth with a reckless abandon which augured ill for it at times. It was in court and out of court, but all the time it continued to supply water for the city. On January 30, 1904, the city filed a demurrer to Kirby's suit; on February 23, 1904, the following entry was made on the journal of the common pleas court of Champaign county : Robert W. Kirby, Receiver vs. The City of Urbana. Entry Overruling Demurrers—The court finds the same not well taken and overrules them, to which the defendant excepts; and the defendant is ruled to answer the bill on or before March 20, 1904. MUNICIPALIZATION OF THE PLANT. The litigation which consumed the years between March 20, 1904, and May 11, 1910, at which time the city of Urbana finally purchased the waterworks plant, is a story that need not be told here in detail. It is sufficient to state that the city finally decided to float bonds in the amount of $100,000 and purchase the plant from Kirby or his successors. With the purchase of the plant it was decided to make extensive improvements at once and to this end an additional bond issue of $31,500 was floated and subsequently combined with the original issue of $100,000, the bonds bearing four and one-half per cent. interest. The city retired $10,000 worth of bonds in 1916 and will retire $15,000 worth in 1917. On May 17, 1911, the city council voted to sell $25,000 worth of bonds to. purchase a new fire engine, to enlarge the engine house, and to lay new pipe lines. The bonds were issued in denominations of $500, $15,000 being payable on July 1, 1920, and $10,000 on July 1, 1930, interest four and one-half per cent. Between the time of the purchase of the plant and 1914 the city was engaged in constant improvements on the plant. In 1912 a large pump was installed, with a capacity of 4,000,000 gallons daily, and a 160-horse power boiler and two years later another engine for the same size was installed at a cost of $5,500 and a second pump with a daily capacity of 2,000,000 gallons. At the present time the plant pumps about 1,000,000 gallons daily and, with a capacity of 6,000,000, it will be seen that the plant has ample capacity for many years to come. Two engineers and two firemen are employed at the pumping station and one employee gives all his attention to the mains. The CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1033 chief engineer is Sherman Lingrell. The superintendent of the plant :is Lincoln Burnham, who has been serving in this capacity since the city purchased the plant in 1910. Since Superintendent Burnham has taken charge of the plant he has given it his entire attention and has gradually brought it to a state of efficiency which gives it rank as one of the best plants in the state in a city of this size. Seven years ago the station and mains were in very poor condition; the pumps were so weak they could not furnish the pressure, and the mains were in such a poor condition that they could not have stood .up under the pressure if it had been forthcoming. The building has been enlarged, newly equipped, additional hydrants have been provided, old hydrants have been repaired and put in first-class working order, additional mains have been laid to the number of 17,225 feet, and, in short, the plant is in first-class condition. The city may well be proud of its waterworks plant—a plant which is now easily worth $150,000. The rates are as low as can be charged consistent with the service rendered. The average, flat rate for a modern house is about sixteen dollars a year. The meter rate is 25 cents per 1,000 gallons, if an average of 250 gallons daily is used ; each additional 250 gallons per day is at the rate of 10 cents per 1,000 gallons. The city has 28 miles of mains; five drinking fountains ; eleven watering troughs; one hundred and eighty-seven hydrants; twelve driven wells; a one-hundred-and-ten-pound pressure for fires and seventy-pound pressure for ordinary purposes. FIRE DEPARTMENT. The days when Urbana had only a volunteer fire department have long since passed. The good work and deeds of bravery of the volunteer firemen are matters of history. The scenes connected with the old oaken bucket, the town pump, the town branch and the famous pine sticks are gone along with the men who used those primitive methods of fighting fires. Urbana had no waterworks plant until 1878 and up to that time all fire fighting was a matter of "main strength and awkwardness", as one old fireman explained it. In the early days the bell in the court house was used to call the populace together to fight fires. When the crowd reached the fire the men formed in line from the nearest water supply to the fire and then the water was passed in buckets from hand to hand, the last man receiving it having the honor of throwing it on the fire. There was not such a thing as a hose in the village for several years after it was laid out, and the bucket brigade was the sole 1034 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. dependence of the village for fire protection. History does not record that the village suffered unduly from fires, despite its insufficient fire protection ; in fact, the most destructive fires the city has ever had have been since the present system of fire fighting has been installed. The first hint of a fire company—an organization of men for fire fighting —is found in the year 1833. The town itself took the matter in hand in that year and bought a fire engine, which was promptly named "Champaign." A volunteer fire company, "Champaign Fire Company," was organized to take charge of the engine and it may be imagined that there was no difficulty in finding plenty of recruits. It is known that judge William Patrick was one of the company, but the roster of the fire fighters has long since disappeared. The engine was operated by hand and in case the fire was of a serious nature most of the able-bodied men of the town got an opportunity to swing the handles of the affair. The introduction of the engine, crude as it was, marked a big step in advance of the old method of fighting fire. For twenty years the "Champaign" was the backbone of the fire department of the town and the main reliance of the villagers for protection against the devastating element. The next chapter in fire protection history opens in the winter of 185455, when the celebrated "Molunkee" Fire Company came into existence with the following officers : James V. Guthrie, president ; T. G. Keller, secretary; John T. Zumbr0, treasurer. This second fire company was followed in 1857 by a third company bearing the name of "Young America." The "Young America" company was outfitted in neat and attractive uniforms consisting of a white flannel shirt, trimmed in red, regulation blue caps and black trousers. The first chief was Henry Nichtman. This company, as well as the Molunkee company and the Hercules company of 1867 (a hook-and-ladder company), participated in celebrations where fire companies from all parts of the state competed for valuable prizes. All cities of the state had at least one uniformed fire company, the uniform, of course, being provided primarily for the annual occasions. Certainly they would have been illy suited to fire fighting. Many stories are told of the prowess of these old volunteer companies, of the fleetness of their best runners, of the number of feet 0f hose they could unreel and reel up in a given length of time, of their ability to climb ladders, ropes, trees, sides of houses, etc. In the course of time a romance has grown up around and about these heroes of other days, but they chiefly relate to their exploits at these annual exhibitions of their prowess. The local team was at Bellefontaine in 1857 and carried off the prizes. They also won prizes at Crestline, Ohio. In 1869 the State Fire- CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1035 men's Association held their annual tournament at Urbana. Ten cities were represented. The Young America and Hercules companies continued in existence until the eighties. At the time of their discontinuance the latter company was in charge of the colored men of the city, their headquarters being in the rear of the city building. The Young America company was located in a building on the site of the present city building. This company had charge of the .steam fire engine which the city had purchased as early as 1866, although at first it was in charge of the Molunkee company, the engine being christened "Molunkee" in honor of an Indian whom tradition killed on King's creek in Champaign county. It appears that the engine was intended to be drawn by hand, but a few years of ter it was put in use the city purchased horses to draw it, arid even hired one man to have general charge of the team. The team was used on the streets when not engaged in fire duties. PAID FIRE. DEPARTMENT. The city installed a paid fire department in 1873 and five years later the waterworks system completely changed the method of fire fighting in the city. Among the first of the paid officers were the following : R. P. Wilkins, engineer ; John Pratt, fireman ; Samuel Hedges, driver ; S. J. Dixon, driver of hose wagon and captain of the engine house. After the opening of the waterworks system on February 22, 1878, the old steam engine—Molunkee was retired from service, and at the same time improved fire apparatus was purchased by the city. After 1878 only one of the volunteer companies continued in existence, Young America, the city continuing to pay their hall rent and allow them two hundred dollars annually until 1885. In that year they were released on the ground that they were too much of an expense to the city. In 1880 there were ten men in the employ of the department, five at each house, one driver, and four hosemen to each reel. A fireman was required to sleep at each house. At that time the city had about two thousand five hundred feet 0f hose in the engine houses—one house being in the city: building in the first ward, and the other on Russell street near Gwynne street, in the third ward. The "steamer" was kept in the city building along with one, hose reel, while in the other h0use was kept hose reels. The officers in 1880 were : Aaron Wiley, chief of fire department; S. J. Dixon, driver f hose reels ; D. H. Brown, E. A. Hill, J. H. Pratt and Jack Cavanaugh, 1036 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. first ward hoseman ; William McNally, driver of second ward hose wagon; Thomas Berry, Mathew Whalon, Walter Groves and James McNally, hose-men of second ward. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IN 1917 The present equipment of the fire department is found in the two engine houses, one on East Market street (city building) and pne on North Russell street, and consists of the following: Two hose wagons, two combined hose-and-ladder wagons, four horses—total value, three thousand five hundred dollars. There is no fire-alarm system, alarms being sent by the nearest telephone to the department. There is a bell at each engine house which serves in a manner as a fire alarm. The department employs ten men in addition to the chief, the same number employed in 1880--five 'regular firemen and five pipemen, the chief and the regular firemen being regularly employed on full time. The chief receives eighty dollars per month and the regular firemen, seventy dollars per month. The pipemen stay at the station houses at night and hold the hose at fires. For several years prior to June, 1917, they received eighty-five dollars a year (not a month), but in June, 1917, they made such a representation before the city council that they succeeded in having their yearly stipend increased to one hundred and ten dollars. The chief of the fire department is William H. Pindar ; the regular firemen are Michael McGree, Gasper McIntire, John McGraw and James Doyle. Among the fire chiefs of former years may be mentioned Wilbur McDonald, Todd Rolls, Otto Buck, Noah Cromer, U. H. William and Aaron Wiley. The present fire department is as efficient as it can be made with the present equipment. The city intends to purchase an automobile truck as soon as it has money to spare, and add other equipment so that the department may be brought up to the highest standard possible in its method of fighting fires. There is an abundant supply of water' and one hundred and ten pounds pressure is available in an emergency. Insurance rates are as low as could be expected considering the protection afforded by the department. The present "fire zone," measured from the public square, covers three squares north, two squares south, one square east and one square west. In 1916 there were forty-three fires recorded with a total loss 0f eight thousand three hundred and forty-one. The largest loss amounted to five thousand dollars and was sustained by W. E. Brown, clothier. There have been a few heavy fires in the city, but several individual establishments have CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1037 been burned without endangering adjoining-property. The high-school building burned to the ground on December 12, 1896; the Barlow & Kent Company's plant was burned twice, March 14, 1891, and February 14, 1907. The worst fire of the first half of 1917 occurred in April and endangered the northwestern comer of the public square. The Hardware Supply Company on Miami street was completely flooded, the Knights of Pythias lodge lost all of their paraphernalia and other losses were sustained, making the total fire loss amount to about fifteen thousand dollars. DISASTROUS FIRE OF 1901. One of the most disastrous fires the city of Urbana has experienced occurred on Sunday morning, February 24, 1901. The fire was first seen in the Boston store about 3:15 in the morning and within a few minutes the fire department was on the scene ready for action. Within an incredibly short time the fire had spread, a bitter cold Wind sweeping the flames along and fanning them into fury. The fire was got under control by the middle of the forenoon, but by that time the roofs of several of the buildings on the west side of North Main street from the Boston store north to the court house corner had fallen in and the rear portions of many of them burned out. Strange to say the front part of .none of the buildings was seriously dam-aged, but the rear portions of several were practically gone. The main losses fell on the following firms and individuals: Boston Store, $18,000; Times-Citizen Printing Company, $15,000; J. K. Cheetham, bakery, $5,000; National Bank of Urbana, $10,000; W. M. Rock, office fix-tures, $150; Thomas Berry, grocery,$10,000; Julius Weber, barber, $1,000; Young Busser, $1,000; J. B. Hitt, tobacco store, $2,000. These major losses totaled $62,150, while there were minor losses estimated at $18,000, the total losses amounting to $80,150. No one was killed or injured during the prog-ress of the fire, although there were a, number of narrow escapes. The cause of the fire was never exactly determined. The fire insurance companies refused to pay the insurance demanded by the company operating the store in which the fire was discovered. One of the first firms to have their rooms ready for occupancy was the bank, which resumed business in its old quarters on Monday March II, 1g01. SEWERAGE SYSTEM AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL PLANT. The city has been provided with a water system since 1878, but it struggled along for more than a hundred years without an adequate sewerage 1038 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. system. Until 1911, when the first definite steps were taken toward providing a sewerage system, there were, only a few private sewers, practically all the waste of the city finding its way into private vaults. It is a wonder that the city escaped an epidemic of typhoid fever, but that it did so is more the result of good fortune than anything else. The question of installing a sewerage system was brought to a climax when it was decided in 1911 to pave the streets. Everyone recognized that it would be the height of folly to pave without first putting in all the sewerage connections, gas pipes and all other pipes that future wants might demand. An effort was made in 1905 to begin the installation of a sewerage system, but a lack of funds stopped the agitation at that time. The state board of health had approved plans for a proposed sewerage system and sewage-purification plant, but it was not until six years later that the plans took definite shape. The system as finally accepted provided for separate storm sewers and sanitary sewers in the city, this plan being much cheaper, as well as providing just as efficient service as if they were c0mbined. It would have taken a disposal plant of twice the present size to handle all of the storm water as well as the sewage proper. The plant was designed by A. E. Kimberly, of Columbus, Ohio, a graduate of Massachusetts School of Technology, and recognized as one of the leading men of his pr0fession in the United States. After the city council decided to install the system there was a great deal of discussion as to where the disposal plant should, be located before it was finally decided to purchase six acres of the John Muzzy farm, about one and one-half miles west of the city. On May 17, 1911, it was voted to issue four thousand dollars worth of bonds to buy the six acres and a' right-of-way between the corporation limits and the tract itself. Two thousand dollars' of the bond issue fell due on July 13, 1914, and two thousand dollars 0n July 13, 1915. On February 7, 1912, Carey S. Pratt, city engineer 0f Urbana, submitted plans for sanitary sewers for the city, but they did not include provisions for a sewage-purification plant. For this reason the board of health on February 15, 1912, voted to withhold its approval of his plans until they were changed so as to include a sewage-purification plant. A. Elliott Kimberly, consulting engineer for the city, submitted plans on March 9, 1912, for sewage-purification works to be constructed in connection with the prop0sed sewerage system and they were approved on March 21, 1912. With the approval of the plans the next step was to let the contract of the installation of the system. The contract for the construction of the sewerage system was let to Boyd & Cooke. The contract for the sewage-purifica- CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1039 tion works was let as a separate contract to Cooke & Cooke, of Clintonville, Ohio, their bid being $37,077.05. The sewerage system as installed in 1912 had 13.7 miles of sewers and was constructed with a view of extending it to twenty-one miles. The main trunk sewer ha14,460tal length of 14,46o feet, beginning with an eight-inch pipe and increasing in size until it reached twenty inches. The last 2,970 feet were of twenty-inch pipe, all pipe being of vitrified tile. The laterals were of eight56,300en-inch pipe, 56,300 feet being of eight-inch and 1,63o, of ten-inch pipe. The main-trunk sewer carries the sewage in .a southwesterly direction to Dugan creek, about four thousand feet from the corporation line of the city, and from thence it is conveyed to the disposal plant. The complete system was turned over to the city on December 17, 1914, and has proved very satisfactory. Its total cost was $90,307.04. The construction of the work was under the direction of Emmett F. Sweetman, city engineer. THE SEWAGE-DISPOSAL PLANT. While the sewerage system was being completed work was begun on plant, the-disposal plant,.the contract for which was awarded on April 24, 1914, to Cooke & Cooke for $37,077.05. The plant was to be completed by October 1, 1914, but it was not ready to be turned over to the city until June, 1916. The disposal plant as well as the sewerage system proper was designed by A. E. Kimberly. Raymond H. Smith, a graduate of the engineering department of Ohio State University, was the resident engineer in charge of the construction of the disposal plant. The sewage-disposal plant has been given a high ranking among the disposal plants of the country, not only because of its efficiency, but also because it embodies several features which had previously never been embodied in similar plants. The plant proper consists of a screened chamber, two settling tanks, a sludge filter, primary-contact filters and a by-pass. The plant is designed to serve a population of 13,800 and a sewage flow of 600,000 gallons a day. The plant, as above stated, lies about a mile and a half west of the city. The tract is two hundred and thirty feet by one thousand two hundred feet in size. The twenty-inch outfall sewer enters an uncovered rectangular, concrete screen chamber four feet by eight feet, and two feet in depth. A single screen, constructed of iron bars with free spaces of one inch, is provided. The screen is placed at an angle of forty-five degrees with the horizontal. In cleaning, the screen is not removed, a rake being provided for this purpose. A weir, making possible the measur 1040 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. flow, is placed in slots in the screen chamber. From this screen chamber the sewage flows through an open concrete channel twenty inches wide to the settling tanks. To provide for reversal of the sewage flow through the tank, this channel leads to both ends of the tank, the direction of flow being controlled by stop planks. The settling tank is of concrete construction, uncovered, and consists of a sedimentation compartment, rectangular in plan, beneath which are two circular sludge wells. The sedimentation compartment is fifty-four feet, four inches in length and sixteen feet in width, and has a depth from the flow line to the apexes of its false bottom of eight feet. The false bottom of the sedimentation compartment is built with two V-shaped sections, at the apexes of which are slotted openings ten inches in width extending the length of the compartment through which the subsidiary solids enter the sludge compartment below. Hanging baffles are provided, extending across the ends of the tank to a p0int eighteen inches below the flow line. A submerged baffle extends across the central portion of the tank to retard and distribute the flow. The sludge wells are each twenty feet in diameter and have inverted conical bottoms, the apexes of which are at a depth of nineteen feet below the flow line of the tank. The gas produced by the digestion of the sludge escapes through rectangular openings extending through the sedimentation compartment directly upon the central portion of each sludge well. For the removal of the accumulated sludge, eight-inch castiron pipes leading from the apexes of the sludge wells to a valve -box at the surface, are provided. There is thus available a static head of five feet to create a movement of the sludge. To provide means for lowering the sludge, should this become necessary, a system of two-inch water piping is provided at the bottom of the sludge well. For the present this piping is not used as no water pressure is available, but if necessary a portable pumping outfit can be provided. The capacity of the sedimentation compartment is 34,000 gallons, which corresponds to a period of retention of 1.37 hours based on an ultimate sewage flow of 600,000 gallons. This sewage flow will not be reached for a number of years and in the meantime the tanks will provide a period of retention greatly in excess of the above figure. This slow movement of the sewage through the tank may or may not be detrimental to the quality of the effluent. The capacity of the sludge wells is such as to provide for four months accumulation of sludge on the basis of a deposition of .0035 cubic foot per capita per clay. As has been stated, the direction of flow through the tanks may be reversed, and this will follow in its proper operation in order to provide equal deposition of -sludge in both wells. The sludge is removed from the tank at CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1041 intervals and discharged upon a sludge filter located near by. This sludge filter has a total area of one thousand square feet, being thirty-one feet, seven inches square in plan. The area is assumed on the basis of one-sixth of a square foot per capita tributary to the sewers.. The filtering material consists of a layer of coarse sand nine inches in thickness, resting upon graded gravel of an average thickness of nine inches. The area of the sludge filter provides for the discharge of one thousand cubic feet at an application, or approximately forty per cent. of the storage capacity of one sludge well. With the plant operated at its capacity, therefore, sludge is removed every three months. The settled sewage from the settling tank flows to a control house through a twelve-inch castiron pipe. The apparatus located in the control house is one of the latest in design. It was designed by the Meritt Hydraulics Company and built by the Universal Cast Iron Pipe Company. It is probably the first of its kind to be built in the United States. The control of the sewage into the different contact beds is done automatically and needs no attention. By means of apparatus installed in this control house, the sewage is applied to each of the contact filters in sequence. The primary filters, of which there are four units, are of concrete construction throughout and are built as nearly watertight as possible. Each unit is 82 feet 6 inches by 104 feet in plan and has a depth of filtering material of 3.76 feet. The total area of the primary filters is 0.75 acre. The filtering material consists of locomotive or boiler cinders of a high grade, screened to a size ranging from three-quarters inch to one and one-half inches. The sewage is applied at the surface of each unit by shallow concrete channels extending along the dividing walls between the units. The sewage flows over the edges of these baffles at an elevation of about four and one-half inches above the surface of the filtering material. Small holes are provided in the floor of the channels to provide for a complete drainage after the bed has been filled. Drainage from the filters takes place through central collecting conduits which slope to the center of each unit. Laterals spaced eight inches on centres lead to this collecting conduit. By this means satisfactory drainage is secured. Main collectors conduct the effluent from the center of each unit to the main effluent drain leading to the outlet chamber. The design of the primary contact filters is such as to provide an ultimate rate of 800,000 gallons per acre, 213,000 gallons per acre foot, and a population tributary of 8,000 per acre and 2,130 per acre foot. The capacity of each unit, assuming 33 per cent. of voids in the filtering material, is 78,800 gallons, which corre- (66) 1042 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. sponds to one cycle in 12.6 hours. The average period of filling with a sewage flow of 600,000 gallons is three hours, and it is designed to provide a period of contact after the bed has been filled of one hour before discharging to the outlet by pass line. The secondary contact filters are in their principal features similar to the primary filters. The effluent from any unit of the primary filters may be applied to either of the two secondary filters, and thus flexibility of operation is provided. The secondary filters are each 82 feet 6 inches by 118 feet and have a depth of filtering material of 3.33 feet. The capacity of each of the secondary filters is equal to that of one of the primary units. The filter, ing material is of a high grade of cinders, washed and screened to a size ranging from one-quarter inch to three-quarter inch. The primary filter effluent is applied in a manner similar to that used in the application of the primary filters, and the effluent after a contact period is discharged by the operation of timed siphons. The capacity of the secondary filters, assuming 33 per cent. voids, is 79,320 gallons, and with a sewage flow of 600,000 gallons there will be a rate of application of 1,364,000 gallons per acre per day, or 409,000 gallons per acre foot. The population tributary is 13,640 per acre and 4,090 per acre foot. There may also be constructed any number of settling tanks as The increase of population may warrant. From the outlet chamber the effluent is intermittently discharged into Town branch, which passes the plant a short distance to the west. The invert of the main outlet is at an elevation 0.5 foot above high water mark of the stream, and it will therefore be seen that high stages in the stream will not affect the operation of the plant. The disposal plant was formally accepted by the city in June, 1916, and has been in successful operation since that time. The superintendent of the plant is Arnold Crowl. NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL GAS. Gas has been burned in Urbana for more than sixty years, but from 1855 until 1890 it was all artificial gas, the first natural gas being piped into the city in 1891 from Mercer county, Ohio. Artificial gas was manufactured until 1910 and then discontinued, the city having used mainly natural gas since January 1, 1891. The Urbana Gas Light and Coke Company came into existence in 1855, in which year it was incorporated under the laws of the state of Ohio by Nelson Rhodes, John D. Kirkpatrick, W. F. Mosgrove, I. A. Corwin and CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1043 William B. Moore. W. F. Mosgrove became the first president. In 1876. the company was reorganized, with the following stockholders : D. C. Spinning, president ; Charles C. Kiefer, Charles Kiefer, Jr., Joseph Light, George Light and Frank Spinning. The reorganized company had a capital stock of forty thousand dollars. In 1901 Joseph Light, a well-known man of Dayton, became president. He was at that time president of the Piqua Gas Light and Coke Company, and was superintendent and general' manager of the Dayton Gas Light and Coke Company, making his home in the latter city. At that time Joseph E. Light was made resident manager and superintendent of the Urbana plant and M. F. Colwell became secretary. The Urbana Light Company took over the Urbana Gas Light and Coke Company, the artificial gas plant, on May 1, 1905. The company continued the manufacture of artificial gas until July 1, 1910, or, to be exact, ceased its manufacture on the night of June 30, 1910. The story of natural gas in Urbana begins on August 5, 1890, when the council voted to float a bond issue of $250,000 t0 cover the cost of lease, piping and installation of the, service in the city. The contract was let in three parts : R. G. Kerlin, $27,795.58; Riverside Iron Works, Wheeling, $191,000; Jarecki Company, Pittsburgh, $4,665.41—total, $223,460.99. The gas commission leased seven hundred acres in Mercer county, Ohio, for ninety-nine years and took an option on as many more acres. Actual work began on September 1, 1889, and gas was turned on in Urbana for the first time on January 1, 1891. At that time there were only three wells drilled, but they had a total capacity of ten million cubic feet of gas. The main line from Mercer county to the regulator on Miami street was forty-four miles in length, and there were fourteen miles of pipe laid in the city at the beginning. The gas was brought from the wells in a six-inch pipe. The city went into the gas business without realizing what it was going to cost and it was not long until it was seen that it had the proverbial "white elephant" on its hands. The records show that on January 31, 1892, the cost of building the plant and operating it up to that date amounted to $276,311.27; the receipts for 1891 amounted to $32,511.48 and the expenses for the same period amounted to $31,983.95. It is not necessary to follow the history of the gas question in detail during the next few years ; it is one which does not leave a pleasant mem0ry in the minds of the citizens of Urbana. By 1898 the city was ready to dispose of its interest in the gas field and its mains from the field to the city limits, but wanted to keep the reducing station and the mains within the city. A lessee was found in the Central Gas Companv, and on July 3, 1898, the citizens of the city voted by a majority of 1044 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. three hundred and six to thirty-seven to ratify the. lease and sell everything (except the mains in the city) pertaining to the gas system which had cost it more than a quarter of a million dollars. The city still owns the reducing station on Miami street and the city mains, while the Ohio Fuel Company owns the wells and the pipe line therefrom to the city limits. R. S. Pearce was secretary and superintendent of the plant from the time of ifs installation until 1898. From July, 1898, to January, 1917, he was agent of the Central Gas Company, and since the first of the present year has served in a similar capacity for the Ohio Fuel Supply Company. There has been an ample supply of gas until the last few years, but during the extreme cold weather of 1916-17 the supply became very low. There are one thousand eight hundred and fifty consumers of the service, all within the city limits. The city has paid off all its gas bonds. ELECTRICITY 1N URBANA. Every improvement in Urbana since 1890 has caused the taxpayer to make caustic remarks concerning the city's investment in natural gas. The city's experience in gas and water has been an expensive one, .but now that neither utility is any longer a financial burden it is possible to look .back over the years and wonder that a wideawake city could get into such a condition as Urbana got into in connection with its gas and water supply. The question of the installation of an electric-light plant in the city came to the fr0nt before the ten-year water fight opened; if it had been postponed until 1899 the chances are that it would have been several' years later before electricity would have been introduced. Certainly the water situation postponed the paving of streets for several years and it is reasonable to suppose that it would have had the same effect on an electric-light plant. The agitation for electricity began shortly before the city leased its interest in the gas business (outside of the mains in the city) to a private company. The first electric light plant was installed in 1895 by Edward Ellicott, of Chicago, who was acting in the interest of local parties. Shortly after it was installed and put into operation it was acquired by a local company operating under the name of the Urbana Light Company. The officers of the c0mpany were : Frank Chance, president ; Charles H. Ganson, vice-president ; John C. Powers, secretary-treasurer ; Frank Valentine, general manager. In 1898 this company sold the plant to the Dayton, Springfield & Urbana Electric Railway Company (now the Ohio Electric Company), but in the following year the Urbana Light Company again became the owners of the CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1045 local plant. The officers of the company at that time were Clitus H. Marvin, president ; John F. Brand, vice-president; John C. Powers, secretary ; Thomas A. Edmonson, treasurer ; J. G. Barrett, general manager. In 1905 the company erected a new plant and installed new and up-to-date machinery. The old plant was torn down and the new one placed on the old site. No change was made in the officers of the company between 1899 and 1913. In the latter year the local company sold out t0 the Northwestern Ohio Light Company, a foreign corporation with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. Lindsey Cooper is president and Charles A. Olson, secretary-treasurer. This company still owns the local plant and is now operating under a franchise granted in 1905 for a period of twenty-five years. The local officers of the company are William P. Hurd, district manager; Willis T. Augur, superintendent; C. D. Loudenback, cashier and office manager. Clarence Shrader is the chief engineer. There are eight local employees in addition to those mentioned. The present equipment of the plant is in good condition. When the Northwestern Ohio Light Company secured control of the plant in 1913 it proceeded at once to install new machinery and equipment throughout and the plant is now as well equipped as any plant in the state in a city of the size of Urbana. The plant is valued at one hundred thousand dollars. The company has seven hundred and fifty consumers of light and power within the city. The largest individual user of the service is the W. B. Marvin Company which uses about forty-five dollars worth of current• each month. The company has, in addition to the consumers in the corporation, about four hundred consumers outside of the city limits, most of whom are to be found in North Lewisburg, Woodstock, Mechanicsburg, Cable, Mutual and Catawba. STREET LIGHTING. The records in the city building fail to give the date when the first street lights were installed, but it was not until after the introduction of kerosene. When artificial gas was introduced in the fifties a few street lights were scattered around the public square and in the business section of the city. Gradually, lights were extended to the main residence streets, and by the time electricity was introduced in 1895 the city was well covered with gas lights. Since that time electric lights have supplanted the old gas lights, but the service is not altogether satisfactory. The appearance of many of the lights on any night is sufficient proof that the service is not what it should be. Many of the lamps on the street are nearly out and some of them are wholly out 1046 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. of commission. The pedestal system is in use in the business part of the city, and suspended lamps in the residential section. There are now a total of one hundred and ninety street lamps in operation ; or at least, that number for which the city pays sixty-five dollars a year. The main trouble with the lamps seems to lie in the lack of attention to their care. The lamps are all right and the current is amply sufficient, but they are not taken care of in such a way as to give satisfactory result's. THE TELEPHONE IN URBANA. It is dteleph0neto believe that the telephone was in existence so many years before it was installed in Urbana, but facts are facts and the historian must set down the year 1898 as the beginning of the telephone in Urbana. Frequent attempts, more or less spasmodic and storadic, had been made prior to that year to bring the "talking machine", as the local papers liked to call it, into the city, but it was not until September 23, 1898; that the first tangible step was taken toward installing a telephone system. The incorporators of this first company in Urbana were James B. Johnson, C. H. Marvin, E. M. S. Houston, J. I. Blose, D. B. McDonald, E. L. Barber, James S. Bailey, Jr., Charles D. Juvinall, John H. E. Dimond, John C. Powers and Colon McDonald. The incorporators organized by electing the following officers : James B. Johnson, president ; J. H. E. Dimond, vice-president ; C. H. Marvin, secretary ; John C. Powers, treasurer. The men instrumental in organizing the company had secured a twenty-five year franchise from the city in the spring of 1898, but it was not until the fall that definite steps were taken toward the installation of the system. The original capital stock was $30,000, which was increased to $50,000 in 1900 and to $100,000 in 1902. Originally the incorporators were the only stockholders, but as the system has been extended the company has taken in new stockholders until in 1917 the latter number more than eighty. Barber & Bailey of Wauseon, Ohio, installed the system known as the manual system, and shortly afterwards sold out their interests to local capitalists. Starting out with about 400 subscribers, the company soon had 800 and by 1908 the numt0r of patrons had increased to 1,200. In April, 1917, the number of patrons was more than 1,600 and it is constantly growing. The first headquarters of the company were in the Houston building on south Main street. When the automatic 046em was installed in 1908 CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1047 the company moved its quarters to 201 Scioto street, where it is still located. They own the building where they have their offices. The company has endeavored to install all improvements which would enable it to give better service, and to this end all its earnings above six per cent have gone back into the plant for the good,. of the service. They have extended their service from year to year and are now operating in the townships of Salem, Wayne, Union, Mad River, Concord and Urbana. The exchange at Westville is owned by the company. In April, 1917, the com-pany had 1,072 miles of aerial cable and 467 miles of underground cable. From Westville the following mileage radiates : Pole lines, 151 miles; aerial cable, 8 miles; underground cable,  mile. The company's. chief toll outlet is over the lines of the Ohio State Telephone Company. Some idea of the amount of business which is transacted over the com-pany lines radiating from Urbana may be seen when it is stated that there are, on an average, 12,000 local calls daily, in addition to the hundreds of country calls. The country and Westville exchange add 3,000 more calls to the daily total—an average of ten calls each day on the 1,600 telephones in use. A conservative estimate of the saving brought about by the use of the automatic system indicates that one girl under this system now does the work formerly performed by at least twenty telephone girls. The company owns its own dynamo and power plant, and, in order to meet any possible emergency which might arise, is connected with the city electric-light plant. It operates on sixty volts by means of storage batteries, the system being so devised that it is sufficiently flexible to handle a load up to. three-horse power. The nineteen years of the local company's service has seen a number of different managers in charge. In the order of their service they are as follow : E. E. McConnel, Frank M. Reifsnider, C. A. Ross, Jr., O. F. Frazee, H. F. Murphy, C. L. Carr, O. F. Frazee, C. L. Humbert, J, W. Cherry, Fred M. Quayle and A. C. Neff, the present manager, who has had charge of the plant since 1910. E. V. McNichol has been line foreman since 1909. C. D. Brown has been switchman since 1910. Revilla Dolph has Veen chief oper-ator since 190. William A. Ferst has been in charge of the Westville exchange. since 1909 and was in the company's employ for three years prior to that time. Mary McClellan has been cashier since 1904. The present day wire chief is Fern Wilson, while Fay Apple serves in a similar capacity at nig-ht. The present operating' force consists of Iva Heller, Grace Larimore, Gladys Whalen, Annarae Clark, Evanell Lansdonne and Eva Holmes. The outside line force includes J. S. Eichelberger, Roy W. Groves, John W. McNichol and H. W. Knotts. The officers of the company in 1917 follow : 1046 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. C. H. Marvin, president; J. I. Blose, vice-president; E. E. Cheney, secretary J. C. Powers, treasurer. The officers and the following stockholders constitute the directorate : A. E. McConkey, R. H. Murphey, J. F. Hearn, J. H. E. Dimond, F. Brand and T. T. Brand. . TELEPHONE SERVICE IN CHAMPAIGN COUNTY. The extent of the service given by the Urbana Telephone Company has already been given. According to the last report of the county auditor there are ten other companies operating lines in the county, the Farmers and Merchants Telephone Company being the largest. Some of these companies have their headquarters in other counties. The names of these companies are listed in the appended table together with their mileage in Champaign county and the value placed thereon by the local authorities for the purposes of taxation.

The Urbana Telephone Company is credited with 2,18,7.70 miles of lines and is listed for taxation at $100,170. The Central Union Telephone Company, mileage not given, is listed at $35,490 for- taxation purposes. The one telegraph company in the county, the Western Union, has 533.68 miles of wire in the county listed on the tax schedule at $35,070. A study of the telephone situation in Champaign county as it exists in 1917 shows that the county is exceptionally well covered with lines. While all the towns and villages are supplied with service and have been for several years, iris to be noticed that each of the twelve townships has seen the service extended into their rural districts within the past few years. It is estimated that at least one hundred telephones are installed in the county each year. The rural lines bring the telephone within the reach of practically every farmer in the county. Now the farmer has the mail brought to his CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 1049 doorstep each day. If the mail should, by any misfortune miscarry, he could call up Urbana, Bellefontaine, London or Springfield and find the price of corn or hogs. Truly the times have changed. The telephone at the farmer's elbow is making him more than ever the monarch of all he surveys. CEMETERIES OF URBANA. Thy present beautiful cemetery of Urbana is a fitting tribute to those public-spirited citizens whose far-seeing wisdom selected the grounds now composing Oak Dale cemetery. Few cemeteries in the state combine so many elements of natural beauty and adaptability to burial purposes as does Oak Dale cemetery. The inception of the cemetery dates from 1855, although it was not until July 19, 1856, that the ground was cleared up, platted and ready for dedication. Before taking up the history of Oak Dale cemetery it is necessary to discuss the provision for burying in the city prior to the time the present cemetery was opened. The first burial lot in the village was set aside by William Ward, the original proprietor of the town. When he laid out the town into two hundred and twelve lots in the summer of 1805 he designated lots 211 and 212 on East Ward street for burial purposes. At that time (1805) Ward street was not yet qpened and when the street was later opened it was found that some graves had been made in the path of the street. The bodies were exhumed and reburied in other parts of the cemetery. The city owned the south side of the cemetery and at the present time the dwellings of Clyde Earnhart, Ora Nichols and Mrs. Eliza M. Gaumer are on the site. The city continued to use the burying ground on East Ward street until 1856, but before that time it had been recognized that new and more extensive grounds would have to be provided. Accordingly, a group of men organized a company and purchased twenty-five acres of the present Oak Dale cemetery. On October 23, 1855, there was a meeting of the village council with the trustees of Greenwood cemetery—the first name applied to the cemetery—and at this meeting the city became officially connected with the cemetery. The minutes of this first meeting follow : In pursuance of an appointment of the Council of the Incorporated Village of Urbana in the County of Champaign and State of Ohio, and a previous notice, the following gentlemen, Trustees of Greenwood Cemetery, met at the Mayor's office, to wit : Messrs. Lemuel Weaver, Jno. Poffenberger, Jno. H. Young, Jacob H. Patrick, David Gwynne and W. F. Mosgrove, Henry Crabill, the other Trustee not being present. An organization of the Board of Trustees was effected by the election of the following officers, to wit : Lemuel Weaver, President ; W. F. Mosgrove, Secretary ; W. F. Mos: grove, General Agent.