(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 400 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND There is an ancient Hebrew proverb which runs : "When the tale of bricks is doubled, then comes Moses." Thus at this crisis compensating influences began to make their appearance. In 1881, a distinct organization had been effected known as the Society for Organized Charities, the headquarters of which were in the Crocker building on Superior street. This was based upon principles less distinctly sectarian than those, however admirable, which distinguished the Western Seaman's Friend society and of its offspring the Cleveland Bethel union. Following the improved ideas of modern philanthropy, namely, first to alleviate but ultimately to prevent misery, its constitution embraced a system of registration to prevent overlapping of agencies, as well as of kindly investigation to forestall indiscriminate giving and to make sure that none who needed help should be overlooked. It became more and more apparent that if the best work was to be accomplished there must be mutual understanding among societies. The society for Organized charities and the Cleveland Bethel union were in 1884 amalgamated under the title of the Bethel Associated Charities. Its charter provided for the nomination of fifteen of its twenty-five trustees by those of the Cleveland Bethel union, which also furnished the new society a commodious home on Spring street, embracing a Wayfarer's lodge and wood yard, the latter a test of willingness to earn meals and lodging. A member of the executive committee, William J. Akers, who had been especially active in various emergencies, was appointed in 1896 to be director of charities and corrections for the city of Cleveland. Resigning for the time his connection with the private charity, he wisely used his position to forward the system of general registration of the recipients of relief, generously contributing a large part of the cost. Thus a long forward step was taken, which was never to be retraced. The superintendents of the Bethel Associated Charities were Henry N. Raymond, 1884-1898 and William R. Seager, 1898, until May, 1900, when the society was incorporated under the title of the Cleveland Associated Charities, purchasing the charities building from the Bethel union. In this movement the president, General James Barnett, was foremost. Indeed the respect and affection with which he was universally regarded by his fellow citizens gave the greatest weight to his recommendations. The first board of trustees of the Associated Charities was constituted as follows : W. J. Akers, General James Barnett, president, Starr Cadwallader, George E. Collings, Joseph Colwell, Dan P. Eells, Thomas A. Graham, Rabbi Moses J. Gries, Harry R. Groff, Peter M. Hitchcock, Frederick C. Howe, Joseph Ingersoll, Thomas L. Johnson, Oliver G. Kent, Mrs. Daniel E. Lester, Mrs. J. M. Lewis, Hon. C. B. Lockwood, .vice president, L. F. Mellen, Mrs. Anna. M. North, Benjamin L. Pennington, auditor, E. C. Pope, George C. Ross, Stiles C. Smith, vice president, Mrs. F. A. Sterling and J. W. Walton, secretary and treasurer. Mr. Seager continued to be superintendent until failing health obliged him to resign in 1903. In 1904 the Associated Charities called James F. Jackson, of Minneapolis, to become its leader, and he continued as such for more than five years of phenomenal success. In the year 19oo a spontaneous movement manifested itself in no less than three separate circles—ganglia—of the community. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 401 This looked toward a still closer relation between and supervision of the numerous charitable agencies. After consultation it was determined that the strong and vigorous body known as the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce should take the public initiative. Ten of its representative members were appointed a committee on benevolent associations. Its work was twofold, to foster and support the useful charities and to discourage, and as far as possible eliminate those who were found to be unworthy of confidence. The former, after thorough investigation, were furnished yearly cards of commendation, which not only the two thousand seat holders, but the still larger public who look to them as leaders, were taught to demand before considering a request for contribution. Churches and other purely religious organizations did not come under the scope of this scheme, but all charities appealing to the public for aid found the card of approval essential to any wide success. Results have proved the wisdom of this plan and other cities have copied it. It has met with violent opposition, it is true, but only from those whose living was made by preying upon the credulity of a long suffering city. Nor did the work of the Chamber end here. Numbers of worthy—but unworldly—societies were instructed in business methods of bookkeeping, expensive solicitors were lopped off,, direct methods of support were encouraged. Was a gap in benevolent work discovered, the proper persons were induced to fill the same by forming a new society; were efforts seen to be duplicated, societies were advised to amalgamate. A number of important charities have since been inaugurated, such as the Visiting Nurse Association, Martin A. Marks, president ; the Workingmen's Loan association, under the leadership of F. F. Prentiss ; the Babies' Dispensary and Hospital association and the Anti-Tuberculosis league, whose president is - Dr. John H. Lowman. This latter absorbed the Milk and Eggs Fund association, its former auxiliary. The Chamber of Commerce also concerned itself actively with the betterment of conditions in the work shops and factories of the city. The question,. "What more than wages ?" was a watchword in its relation to various groups of employes. Committees with a competent paid secretary wrought diligently and effectively in this field. The result was extremely gratifying. Many comforts and conveniences were inaugurated, until the great commercial and manufacturing establishments of Cleveland have become noted throughout the civilized world for their thoughtfulness in providing means for the elevation in body and mind, of their working people. The history which has thus passed before our eyes has contained the names of many noble men and women. The greater number of these pioneers, after having faithfully served their day and generation, have fallen asleep, and their works are their highest monument. Men like the great representative Hebrew, the Hon. Benjamin Franklin Peixotto, have become distinguished in broader fields. Benjamin Rouse, together with his worthy wife, Loren Prentiss, William H. Doan, Truman P. Handy, David Wightman, E. C. Parmalee, Joseph Perkins, Amasa Stone, Jr., H. B. Hurlbut, Mrs. John A. Foote, Miss Sarah 402 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND Fitch, Miss Ann Walworth and many others whose names are bound up in any story of Cleveland's philanthropy, born leaders in good works, have passed on to their reward. One of the latest of this noble band to pass into the unseen was Mrs. Flora Stone Mather, daughter of Amasa Stone and wife of Samuel Mather. Blessed with large means, she gave generously, and, more important still, intelligently, begrudging neither time nor thought to make her benefactions reach their mark. Cleveland is distinctly poorer for her loss. Such wise discrimination has marked the benefactions of another large giver, John D. Rockefeller, who has shown a deep interest in the city where the foundations of his vast fortune were laid. To single out individuals among the living, however, worthy of honor, would seem invidious, yet we cannot refrain from reference to one who has been a citizen since the early days, linking the past with the present, whose identification with a large number of the charities which we have been considering has been peculiarly close. In his brochure on the History of the Charities of Cleveland, laboriously compiled during the city's centennial year, 1896, Lucius F. Mellen might fittingly have used the classic phrase of Aenias when addressing the queen of Carthage, "All of which I saw and much of which I was." Widely known and beloved by all who know him, Major General James Barnett, "the first citizen of Cleveland," has been closely identified during his long and useful life with the charities of his city. Rarely has one kept to his old age such pace with the march of ideas in the world of modern charity. We have thus hurriedly swept over the vast field of effort and accomplishment which has bounded the private philanthropies of the Forest city during its comparatively few years of existence. At the present time about one million dollars are yearly expended in various directions embraced under the term of charities. Some of this money is returned, in kind or in work, from those who are the beneficiaries, some comes from bequests, a certain part from the interest on vested funds. After all, about one half remains to be contributed by the living, the present citizens of Cleveland. We have noted the feeble, yet growing attempt to systematize the raising and disbursing of this large sum. If the tendencies of the past may serve as a guide to the future, this movement will continue and will finally prevail. Already have the Jewish community accomplished this end. The scheme of a federated board to collect and disburse all funds given to ofganizations of private charity, already proposed, and being favorably considered by the Chamber of Commerce, has strongly seized the imaginations of thoughtful men and women. What we have set down is history, and our task properly ends just here. Some future historian must record the result. Should felt need surmount all minor objections and difficulties, should the wish and the thought be projected to their logical conclusion, then will our philanthropic city continue to be known throughout the world as a leader in charity, and the prophetic bud of today will expand into a great spreading tree bearing all manner of fruits of nourishment and healing. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 403 CHAPTER XLIII. PUBLIC CHARITIES. The first public charity in Cleveland was the "Ragged school." It was not strictly a public charity, for it was maintained largely by private funds. It was at first a public school for poor children.* Gradually it was found that it was quite as necessary to provide clothing and food for some of the children as to provide books and learning. About 1855 it was reorganized into a "City Industrial school" and the attention of the city council was brought to the work of the school. The council then gave the use of the old Champlain schoolhouse as a school for vagrant and pauper children and made an appropriation for its maintenance. Later this beneficent work was organized into the Children's Aid Society and was put upon a private foundation. In 1867 it was moved to Detroit street. The city council that year discontinued its aid. Through the generosity of J. H. Wade, Mrs. E. G. Leffingwell, Mr. Jennings and other wise givers, the home enjoys a beautiful location and well equipped buildings. CITY INFIRMARY. During the village days no legal means were provided for the care of the poor from public funds. On the incorporation of the city the paupers were taken to the "poor house" which stood in the rear of the Erie Street cemetery, facing what is now Brownell street, on land owned by the township. It was torn down in 1851. In 1849 the legislature empowered the city council of Cleveland "in their discretion to locate and establish a poor house and hospital for the poor and infirm of said city," that the "said city shall have power to purchase such tracts of land within the county of Cuyahoga as they may judge necessary and shall also have power and authority to erect suitable buildings thereon. It shall be the duty of said council to appoint three persons, residents of said city, who shall form a board of directors and take charge of and manage the affairs of said poor house and hospital, The said council shall fix the compensation of said board of directors in any sum they may deem advisable, providing such compensation for one year shall not exceed the sum of four hundred dollars." In May, 1849, the city council levied a tax for the establishing and maintaining- of a poor house and hospital and the ordinance establishing the poor house empowered the directors to provide such outdoor relief as they deemed necessary. In 1855 the main building of the city infirmary was completed, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. Forty inmates were immediately received. By 1860 there were two hundred and forty, and in 1862 a large addition was necessary. In 1876 two three-story wings were built for accommodating the insane, and in 1885 two more wings were added for the insane department. In 1858 the city council decreed "that the infirmary heretofore established by the city shall in addition to poor purposes, be used as a house of correction of all children under the age of sixteen years, who shall be convicted of any offense made punishable by imprisonment under any ordinance of the city, may be confined to such house of refuge * Dr. Reeves told the author that he remembered when a school boy that there was the most unfriendly feeling between the children from the private schools and the pupils in the ragged school. 404 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND and may there be kept or apprenticed out until they arrive at the age of eighteen years." Until 1871 the work house and the house of correction and city infirmary were all maintained together. In that year the work house and house of correction were separately established. A work house was built on Woodland avenue near the Cleveland & Pittsburg tracks, and the house of correction was placed with it. It was a large building of pretentious architecture and spacious grounds. The house of refuge for juvenile offenders was also placed in the work house to the detriment of the poor children, who were sent there by the courts. In 1891 the refuge department was discontinued and until the establishment of the juvenile court and its beneficent work, no separate provision was made by the city for juvenile offenders. BOYS' FARM. A few years ago the city purchased a farm at Hudson, Ohio, that is called the boys' farm, where juvenile delinquents may be sent. Its administration is under the charge of the division of charities. The first purchase of land now included in the boys' farm at Hudson was made June 23, 1902. There were one hundred and twenty-three acres in this parcel, which cost four thousand four hundred and sixty dollars. November 30, 1903, one hundred and sixty acres were bought for seven thousand eight hundred and forty dollars. There are now two hundred and eighty-three acres of land, which cost twelve thousand three hundred dollars, eight cottages, four barns, an engine house, a bakery and a laundry, carpenter shop and a gymnasium. Bonds to the amount of seventy thousand dollars have from time to time been issued to build up the institution at Hudson. The institution accommodates one hundred and thirty boys and most of the time its capacity is taxed. WARRENSVILLE FARMS. Nearly ten years ago, Rev. Harris G. Cooley, director of public charities, conceived the plan of moving the public 'charitable institutions into the country and grouping them on a large public estate. Warrensville township was chosen as the site. The first purchase of land was made in 1902 when the Highland Park cemetery was bought. In 1904 the idea of locating the infirmary at Warrensville had taken definite shape and eight hundred and fifty acres more were purchased. Since that time more land has been absorbed in the tract, until today v e have one thousand, nine hundred and forty and a fraction acres. This land has been purchased at an average cost of one hundred and 'sixty-eight dollars and sixty-one cents per acre. Approximate cost of the entire tract is three hundred and thirty-six thousand, two hundred dollars. The service building of the infirmary is completed and occupied ; also the small building for aged couples. There are temporary quarters for a few tubercular patients of the city. On that part of the farm given over to the house of cor- HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 405 section, the main quadrangle the service building is in process of erection. In addition there is a wooden building, purely temporary in nature, which has been used as a lodge for trustees of the house of correction. Together with the new buildings, there are a number of old farm buildings scattered about the property which were upon it when purchased. The completion of this "city farm" will place Cleveland well in the forefront in the work of public charities and corrections. CHAPTER XLIV OTHER INSTITUTIONS. YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. The Woman's Christian association of Cleveland was organized October 20, 1868, by women from various denominations in the city. In 1869 Stillman Witt gave the association a house and lot on Walnut street. In 1869 a retreat for unfortunate women was established on Perry street, in a house given by Joseph Perkins. In 1872 Leonard Case gave a plot of land, upon which a house was erected largely through the beneficence of Mr. Perkins. In 1873 the house was thoroughly equipped and completed. In 1876 Amasa Stone erected a home for aged women on Kennard street and placed it in the hands of five trustees, who turned its management over to the association. The home was formally opened July 14, 1877. In July, 1884, seven and a half acres of land on Detroit street was given to the association by Miss Eliza Jennings as a site for a home for incurable invalids. In September, 1888, the home was dedicated. On March 15, 1882, the Day Nursery and kindergarten committee was formed and in 1886 the Educational and Industrial union. In May 1893, the Day Nursery and Kindergarten society was made independent from the association. In 1893 the Educational and Industrial union was incorporated with the association and the corporate title, the "Young Women's Christian Association" was assumed. In December, 1893, the association moved to Euclid avenue from the Penn block, where it had been housed for some years. In 1908 the association moved into its splendid new building on the corner of Prospect avenue and Eighteenth street, where its work is continually increasing in influence. Under its care are now The Stillman Witt Boarding home, the Retreat, the Home for Aged Women, the Eliza Jennings home and Rest cottage, as special institutions. A multiplicity of work, educational and philanthropic, is conducted by the association. Among those who have aided in developing the splendid work of the association none deserves a higher place than Miss Sarah Elizabeth Fitch, who was president from its inception in 1868 until her death on the l0th of April, 1893. Her devotion to the cause of humanity, linked with her untiring energy, her great self-sacrifice and her executive ability made her a leader in the work of the women in our community. 406 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. (2) A group of young men, including Messrs. L. F. Mellen, Loren Prentiss, S. P. Churchill, L. M. H. Battey, and several others, began a series of informal devotional meetings in 1853. This nucleus gradually enlarged until on February 7, 1854, the following notice was published in the Cleveland papers : "At a meeting called for the purpose of organizing a Young Men's Christian Association, held on Monday evening, February 6th, the Rev. Dr. Aiken was called to the chair and S. B. Shaw appointed secretary. "After the object of the meeting was stated, on motion of Dr. Cleveland it was resolved that a committee of five be appointed to draft a plan of operations and a constitution and by laws, and report at as early a date as possible. "On motion, S. H. Mather, Presbyterian; Loren Prentiss, Baptist ; L. M. H. Battey, Congregationalist; E. W. Roby, Episcopal ; and E. F. Young, Methodist, were appointed said committee and authorized to fill vacancies therein. "On motion the committee were instructed to present to the public a short address, setting forth the object and use of the association and to call a meeting when ready to report. "At the suggestion of Rev. Mr. Claxton and on motion of Rev. Dr. Perry, the committee were instructed to invite Bishop Potter of Philadelphia to address the association on Wednesday evening of next week. "On motion the secretary was directed to put the proceedings of this meeting in several daily papers of the city. "On motion of Rev. Mr. Canfield the meeting then adjourned. C. S. Aiken, chairman; S. B. Shaw, secretary." On February 25th a notice appeared in the papers that the association would meet on Tuesday evening in the lecture room of the First Baptist church on Seneca street, for the election of officers and other business. Constitution and by laws were adopted, dated February 28, 1854. Sixty names were included in the list of those who were virtually charter members. This was the- beginning of a movement that from its origin has enlisted the wisdom and energy of the best met) of the community and whose complex organization today ramifies into every portion of our community life. The first officers were : president, John S. Newberry, the distinguished scientist ; vice president, E. W. Roby ; directors, Dan P. Eel's, R. F. Humiston, James M. White, J. J. Low, H. Montgomery ; recording secretary, Samuel B. Shaw ; corresponding secretary, Loren Prentiss ; treasurer, A. W. Brockway ; board of managers : S. W. Adams, G. W. Whitney, F. T. Brown, F. B. Culver, E. F. Young, D. C. Hoffmann, T. G. Cleveland, Henry Childs, L. M. H. Battey, M. C. Sturtevant, S. L. Severance and S. B. Churchill. The first rooms of the association were in Spangler's block on the southeast corner of Superior and Seneca street. In 1858 the association moved to the Strickland block fronting on the public square. The association moved about in various mercantile buildings until in 1870-71, the first association building was secured through the gift of James F. Clarke. This building stood on the north side of the public square. This building was occupied until the five story brick structure, still standing, at the corner of Euclid avenue and Sheriff street, was purchased in 2 - See, for details, "History Young Men's Christian Association," by Russell Thompson, 1905. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 407 1880-81. This commodious building was outgrown within a few years and the building, still occupied by the association, was projected in 1887-88 and the cornerstone laid on the l0th of July, 1889. With the occupancy of this building, in 1891, begins a third era of exceptional development for the association. The vitalized power of the present association is due in large measure to Glen K. Shurtleff, who was called from Denver in 1893 to assume the general secretaryship. He served until his untimely death in 1909. Mr. Shurtleff was in every way an exceptional man. He became not only the leader of the Young Men's Christian Association, but was identified with every movement for civic betterment. For many years he led the work of the Social Service Club, was active in the Municipal Association and in the Chamber of Commerce. Many of the leading business men of the town relied upon his rare judgment of men, and association secretaries from every city came here to seek his advice. The beautiful Gothic structure designed by Architect Schweinfurth on the corner of Erie, Huron and Prospect, has long since been outgrown. Announcement was recently made that it had been sold for a large sum of money. During thirteen days of February, 190, a campaign of money raising was conducted by the members of the Young Men's Christian Association which resulted in subscriptions aggregating $540,956 from 17,084 subscribers, being nearly $41,000 more than was asked for. While the enthusiasm was at white heat, a second effort on behalf of the Young Women's Christian Association resulted in the raising of $00,000 more. This is said to exceed all previous records. HIRAM HOUSE. By Geo. A. Bellamy, Headworker. The Hiram house is an outgrowth of a discussion held by one of the Young Men's Christian Association Bible classes at Hiram college during the winter of 1896. This Bible class sent a committee to Cleveland, of which the present head worker was a member, to investigate the need of social settlement, work. The committee reported that there was abundant opportunity for such service and wished such an undertaking might be carried out. After a series of conferences, seven of the students of Hiram college agreed to come to the city and locate in the needy portion with a view of establishing what was then called "Hiram House," a social settlement. It was entirely a volunteer committee without any financial or official backing. The present headworker assumed the responsibility of the work, agreeing to raise funds, and if possible, to, establish the work. The house was opened July 1, 1906, in furnished rooms at the corner of Hanover and Washington streets, as temporary quarters, during which residence, a permanent location was to be decided upon. October 1st the Orange street district was selected as a permanent location and the work opened up at 141 Orange street. There were kindergarten and day nursery, social and educational clubs" and classes. In the spring of 1897 the work was enlarged by renting two houses at 183 Orange street and the summer camp opened up on a farm near Chagrin Falls. 408 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND In the fall of 1898 the public library opened a subbranch. May 1, 1898 a voluntary board was organized to stand sponsor foi- the work at the settlement. The summer camp was changed to the fair grounds. A store was rented in addition to the two buildings and used as a gymnasium. On May 1, 1899, the voluntary board was incorporated under the name of The Hiram House. The present location at 2723 Orange street was purchased from the Society for Savings and money raised for erecting the three stories of the present main building. With the new equipment in 1900 there was a general enlargement of all work of the house. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Mather at a cost of eleven thousand dollars purchased and equipped the present play ground, paying for the current expenses of the work. In 1901, twenty-five thousand dollars more was raised to complete the top story of the present main building. New departments were added to the work, such as the work in connection with the visiting nurse, the city district physician, the opening of the skating rink, the securing of the arrangements with suburban societies to send in flowers once a week on Flower day, which custom has continued ever since. In 1902 the present main building was completed, refurnished and equipped for larger and more useful work. In 1903 Mr. Samuel Mather gave fifty-two acres of land for camp property and Mrs. S. H. Morse erected the present spacious building and the summer camp was removed from the fair grounds to our new property. Mrs. S. H. Morse assumed the responsibility for the maintenance of the sewing and cooking classes. During 1904 the work continued to grow and under the auspices of the Milk Fund association a free clinic for babies was opened during the summer. In 1905, forty thousand dollars was raised for improvements and land adjoining the present building site, upon which were a number of buildings. One of the. buildings, an old church, was remodeled into a gymnasium and auditorium. Three of the buildings were used for families and residents. One frame building was equipped for our model cottage for demonstrating the purposes of home keeping. In 1906 Bishop D. Williams, the first president of the incorporated board resigned. Mr. F. F. Prentiss was selected to fill the vacancy: The work was enlarged by appointing a special director of boys' and men's work and position of neighborhood visitor was created. The corner at East Twenty-ninth and Orange avenue, upon which were three buildings, was purchased with a view of holding it until a public library could be erected upon it. All debts' and mortgages were cancelled. Mrs. John Tod bequeathed to the settlement five thousand dollars for endowment. There are at present eleven. different departments of work, which require the time of one or more persons. Each department is managed by a special person and the expense thereof met and the work directed by the settlement. These departments are kindergarten, girls' club work, boys' club work, gymnasium, playgrounds, neighborhood visitor, manual training, domestic science, boys' game room, summer camp and Progress City. There are four other departments of HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 409 work directed by committees not officially connected with the house-the library, the work of the visiting nurse, the district physician and the babies' dispensary. There are about three thousand different people coming to the settlement with a total enrollment of seven thousand. There are twenty-six persons in residence and about ninety volunteer helpers who come one afternoon or evening a week. The cost of maintenance of the different.departments of the work approximates twenty-one thousand dollars annually, which is paid through the beneficence of friends of the institution. The present headworker, Mr. G. A. Bellamy, organized the work in its beginning and still directs the institution. The board of directors is as follows: President, F. F. Prentiss; vice president, Horace Andrews; secretary, O. C. Saum; treasurer, C. R. Bissell; Samuel Mather, W. H. Canniff, H. A. Sherwin, W. R. Stearley, S. P. Fenn, J. D. Williamson, Paul O. Sutphen, Frank Billings, W. S. Tyler, Chas. A. Nicola, Edgar E. Adams, Lyman H. Treadway, Wm. H. Hunt, E. S. Burke, Jr., Wm. Bingham, 2d, F. H. Goff, Bascom Little, Geo. A. Bellamy. GOODRICH HOUSE. By John H. Chase, Headworker. The idea which gradually grew into Goodrich house was born in the mind of Mrs. Flora S. Mather about the year 1894, when she thought of establishing an appropriate building for the social work of the Old Stone church. In 1895 boys' clubs, a sewing school for girls, and a woman's guild were started in the basement of the Old Stone church, but during the next two years, an idea gradually grew of transforming this work into a settlement, instead of an "Institutional church." So when the house was dedicated in 1897, it was named "The Goodrich Social settlements" and was not connected with the Old Stone church, except that the nucleus of the first clubs came from the church basement, and the name "Goodrich" was bestowed because of the much beloved Rev. Dr. William H. Goodrich, who had been pastor of. the Old Stone church twenty-five years before. On May 15, 1897, The Goodrich Social settlement was incorporated with the following trustees : Flora S. Mather, Lucy' B. Buell, Samuel Mather, William E. Cushing, M. R. Swift, Elizabeth H. .Haines, Edward W. Haines, Hiram C. Haydn, Charles D. Williams, Sereno P. Fenn, Henry E. Bourne, Samuel E. Williamson, Glen K. Shurtleff. The headworkers have been, Mr. Starr Cadwallader, 1897, Mr. Rufus E. Miles, 1903, Mr. Howard B. Woolston, 1906, Mr. John H. Chase, 1908. In the year 1900, Mrs. Flora S. Mather felt that the house had proved itself worthy of permanence, and she therefore presented the deed of the Goodrich house property to the above trustees with the following letter: "To the Trustees of The Goodrich Social Settlement: "I hand you with this a deed of Goodrich house, No. 612 St. Clair ave., and I intend to give certain sums from year to year to form an endowment fund for the house. "I desire the house to be used (as named in your articles of incorporation) for a Christian Social settlement so long as, in the judgment of the trustees, that 410 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND is a useful and needful work in that neighborhood; but if ever in their judgment there comes a time when, through the changed character of the neighborhood, to continue such a work there would be a waste of energy, the trustees may dispose of the property. "The building is constructed so that it can be used for business purposes. My object in erecting the building in the locality was to provide for the social, spiritual and material betterment of the neighborhood, and I want such a work to continue there as long as it is needed. "If it shall be deemed wise by the trustees to discontinue the work there, I wish them to use the funds, including the proceeds of any sale of the house, to carry on a similar work in some other down town locality ; but if the coming years bring something better which I have not named, then I wish the trustees to devote the funds to such charitable use as may be best fitted to that end, and as near as may be to that to which the property is now applied. "FLORA S. MATHER. "331 Euclid avenue, March 26, 1900." July 15, 1903, Mr. Samuel Mather presented to the Goodrich Social settlement, a beautiful eighteen acre summer home on the lake shore, which he equipped with tents, cottages, swimming and boating facilities, playgrounds, etc., and arranged so as to accommodate fifty club members at a time during their week or two weeks' summer vacations. The Goodrich house is well equipped with a public laundry, public baths, a gymnasium, bowling alleys, library, large assembly rooms, clubs and class rooms, residential quarters, and besides, the regular activities of kindergarten, reading room, baths, etc., the report of 1900 shows nine girls' clubs, seven boys' clubs and six outside organizations. Gradually; more outside organizations were invited to have their headquarters or meetings here until the year 1908 showed that besides the public baths, laundry, kindergarten, etc., there were nineteen girls' clubs, fourteen boys' clubs and seventeen outside orgatizations, such as the Children's Fresh Air camp headquarters, Cooperative Employment bureau for women and girls, Blind Industrial work, Women's Civic and Literary clubs., Principals' Sociological club, Cripple kindergarten, Home Gardening association, etc. In 1909 the work enlarged to the extent of buying two cottages at 1406-1416 East Thirty-first street, one of which was turned into a boys' and men's club house, and the other into a domestic science cottage for girls and young women. ALTA HOUSE. In the summer of 1885, Rev. A. B. Christy, pastor of Lakeview Congregational church, accompanied by Joseph Carabelli, visited the president of the Cleveland Day Nursery and Free Kindergarten Association and asked that something be done for the children of the Italian quarter of the city. After due investigation and counsel, the board of directors decided to open a nursery and kindergarten on Mayfield road, to be known as the Alta House, in honor of Miss Alta Rockefeller, who pledged the support of the nursery. Mr. Carabelli and other Italian citizens contributed fifty-seven dollars, while a mothers' class c0nnected with the HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 411 Training school, and the treasury of the association supplied the expense of the kindergarten. One month's time sufficed to burst the bonds of the small house, and a removal was made to the Ford homestead, at the corner of Mayfield and Fairview streets. There were developed boys' clubs, sewing school, mothers' meetings, social evenings for the neighborhood, etc., accessories gathered around the original features. So time went on, bringing much of labor and great inconvenience on account of the lack of ordinary facilties until September 22, 1898, when Mr. J. D. Rockefeller stated that he would be responsible for the construction of a suitable building, with a further pledge of liberal assistance in its sup, port. February 26, 1899, ground was broken for Alta house, and it was dedicated to neighborhood service February 20, 1900, with its place already prepared in the hearts of its neighbors. Two thousand Italians attending the opening and attested by word and deed their loyal, kindly regard for its work and workers. The former agencies of the house were augmented by a school for crippled children, medical dispensary, gymnasium and public baths, with much personal, social service. Before the close of the year, Mr. Rockefeller had purchased three adjoining houses and a tract of land to be fitted for a playground. Other additions and rearrangements were proposed to meet the plan of expansion. Such a vast and complicated enterprise, involving more than double the original appropriation for maintenance, demanded trained intelligence in social economics and practical financiering. Alta house, with its fine equipment, was made an independent social settlement with a governing body common to such organizations : Chairman, Mr. J. G. W. Cowles; secretary, Mr. Paul G. Feiss ; treasurer, Mr. George Rudd; head worker, Miss Katherine Smith; Mrs. Alta Rockefeller Prentice, Mrs. M. E. Rawson, Mrs. O. J. Campbell, Mrs. H. D. Goulder, Miss Belle Sherwin, Mr. J. D. Rockefeller, Jr., Professor M. M. Curtiss, Mr. Wm. J. Truesdale. The work has continued to grow and expand in endeavoring to meet the needs of a community which has grown from twenty-five hundred to ten thousand in a period of less than ten years. The house provides a kindergarten, industrial classes and clubs, gymnasiums, manual training, social and educational classes for adults, classes in chorus work and instrumental music. It further provides public baths, public laundry, a dispensary and visiting nurse and supplies a room for a branch of the public library and conducts a large playground. The settlement continues to be unique in that its neighbors are entirely Italian. The board of managers at present are: President, Mr. F. E. Abbott ; secretary, Mr. Paul L. Feiss; treasurer, Mr. G. A. Rudd; headworker, Mrs. John H. Lotz ; Mrs. M. E. Rawson, Miss Myrta L. Jones, Miss Belle Sherwin, Miss Caroline Welch, Miss Lilian T. Murney, DIVISION VII. SOCIAL LIFE. CHAPTER XLV. EARLY SOCIAL LIFE AND AMUSEMENTS. From rugged New England came the pioneers into our wilderness with the homing instinct of the Anglo Saxon. They brought with them their families and household goods. The difficulties of the overland journey cannot now be realized. Sometimes it was undertaken in a wagon, consuming many months, sometimes they embarked in batteaux, or sail boats from Buffalo. They found their way through the dense forest to the selected site and at once cleared a small space for the log cabin that was to be the first home. This portion of the state of Ohio was covered with a magnificent forest of hardwood trees and upon the brush pile of the intrepid pioneer was burned many a stately oak, walnut and chestnut that would today be a source of pride and profit. The entire family aided in raising the rude one room cabin, perhaps eighteen by eighteen feet in size, its floor of hardened earth or sometimes of split, logs or puncheons, its small window of greased paper, and its doorway of boards split from straight grained logs held together by wooden pegs. A huge fireplace, also of logs and backed with clay or stone, formed the center of the family life. Around it were brought in the evening rude benches made of split logs and over its flames hung the kettle which served for all culinary purposes. Their furniture was made from wood supplied by the forest, a bed of poles, a rough table and one or two rude benches comprised the entire domestic outfit. Sometimes a Dutch oven was built, and the more fortunate families had several kettles and long handled spiders. The problem of bedding was not easily solved. The few blankets that were brought from the east served as quilts. A mattress filled with straw was a great luxury, and men traveled miles to secure a bundle of straw. This was the rude shelter of the early pioneers. The supply of food was obtained largely from the abundant game in the forests. The first crop of corn and vegetables was planted among the stumps in the small clearing. The seed was evidently not fitted for the soil, for the early crops of wheat were miserable and scarcely ripened, the corn bore only scanty ears, the potatoes were watery, and all other vegetables were small in size and poor in quality. Salt, a prime necessity, was brought at great expense from the salt springs in Trumbull county. The old salt road still reaches from the mouth of Conneaut creek, Lake Erie, to these springs. "New York salt" was brought from Onondaga to Buffalo and then by ox team or boat to the Reserve and it cost twenty dollars per barrel. 416 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND The distilled sweetness of the maple tree furnished the only sugar of the pioneers. Their flour they ground themselves in the crudest pestles and mortars, made from the hollowed trunk of a tree; sometimes a mill with a stone turned by hand, was used. About 1800 several gristmills had been built on the Reserve and the pioneers made long and laborious journeys through the forests to have their scanty wheat crop ground into flour. For clothing the skins of animals were extensively used. After clearings were made considerable flax and wool was raised. These were manufactured into clothing by the women of the household and shaped into ill fitting garments. Later raw cotton was traded for the wool, and cotton cloth woven in the home. Leather was almost a luxury. Both men and women went without shoes as long as the season would permit. The wilderness gave no welcome to these planters of a civilization, and the rigors of the seasons were relentless. Their health was made miserable by the miasmas of the forests. Ague and fever excepted none. They had for their inspiration only their innate courage and resolution, and for their pleasures the joy that came from the knowledge that they were founding a state, and from the unrestrained hospitality that is characteristic of all pioneer hearts. Fortunately there are preserved to us the stories of the oldest survivors. Some of these will be embodied in this chapter for their recital is more vivid than any transposing could make them. "In 1815, when I was between four and five years old, my father removed from Richfield county, Connecticut, into Nelson, Portage county. * * * We left Connecticut in a one-horse wagon, with hoops drawn over it and cloths spread over the hoops, and a provision chest of such eatables as could be got at handily, and in coming from Connecticut to Nelson, Portage county, we were thirty-six days on the road. * * * Now no conception can be formed of the privations and hardships those endured that came into the country as late as that; but several years before the .country had been to some extent settled and the Indians had been driven out from that part of the country at that time. But they had left plenty of bears and wolves. I can remember when I no more dared to go out at night without a brand of fire than nothing. My mother would not permit nor would my father, nor would I dare to do it if they would. * * * Every farmer had a little flock of sheep growing, and every farmer had a pen where he put them at night and fastened them in, and the pen was built so high that the wolves could not get into them at all, and we had fourteen sheep. One night when the snow was very deep, the wolves came around the pen and scared the sheep so that eight jumped out and every one of them lay there in the morning and we had pelts and mutton plenty for sale, and that would be the case of every farmer who suffered his sheep to be exposed at night. And as far as personal safety was concerned I can remember the daily charge of my mother to my father when he left home in the morning to be sure and get back before dark. * * * I remember he went to the center of Nelson and he wanted to get a tap fixed for sap trees. Mother kept going to the door and listening and at length we heard somebody halloo in that direction, and mother said 'Is that father's voice?' Well, we were pretty well scared. In about three fourths of an hour father came in HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 417 leading a big dog by the ear, and the history of his adventure was that he had got belated within two miles of home and was treed by two wolves and kept up in the tree until he hallooed, and a dog that belonged to a man a half mile away on the other side came up and drove off the wolves, and father to protect himself took the dog by the ears and led him home. I recollect one day he came with a long forked stick with a rattlesnake on it which he had killed. * * * Now I never had a pair of shoes. I don't think I had a pair of shoes until I was ten years old. We wore moccasins made of deer skin. Our house was a log house of course; the floor was made of split logs and I have seen them try to dance on then; danced myself on them. When I would jump on one end the other end would fly up in your face pretty near. The table was about as rude, and no child was supposed to sit at a table; was supposed to stand at table. I stood at the table until I got tall and then they got me a bench. There were no dishes of any kind scarcely. There was an old fellow by the name of Luke Vokes of Trumbull county who made wooden dishes and his advent into the neighborhood with a lot of wooden dishes would excite more interest than the establishment of another national bank in the city of Cleveland today. We all ate on what we called trenchers. They were wooden dishes like a plate but would wear through after a while; and the method of- serving up meat in those days was to have a deep dish in the centre of the table, have the meat cut up into mouthfuls in the frying pan and returned after being cut up to the spider again and cooked a little more and turned into this dish in the centre and every guest at the table had a knife and fork and if he wanted any meat he must dig it from that dish in the centre of the table. * * * That was the rude way in which all lived. The neighbors, so far as I know, were all in the same condition, using wooden plates, wooden bowls, wooden everything, and it was years before we could get the dishes that were any harder than these and when we did, they were made of this yellow clay." (1) "In 1811 my grandfather, Jacob Russell, sold his farm and gristmill on the Connecticut river and took a contract for land in Newburg (now Warrensville) Ohio. His eldest son, Elijah, my father, shouldered his knapsack and came to Ohio to get a lot surveyed; he made some improvements, selected a place for building and then returned to New York, where he lived. In the spring of the following year he with his brother Ralph came again to Ohio, cleared their piece of land, planted corn, built a log house and went to Connecticut to assist in bringing the family to their new home, which was accomplished in the Autumn of the same year. Father's brother Elisha and brother-in-law Hart Risley with their families accompanied him with their families, the wagons were drawn by oxen, my father walking all the way so as to drive, while grandmother rode on horseback. When they were comfortably settled as might be, father returned to his family whom he moved the next Summer, 1813, embarking at Sackett's Harbor, New York, August 1st, and arriving at Cleveland, August 31st. There being no harbor at that time the landing was effected by means of row boats. We then pulled ourselves up the bank by the scrub oaks which lined it, and walked to the hotel kept by Major Carter; this hotel was the only frame house 1 - Address of Hon. R. F. Paine, "Annals Early Settlers Association," No. 4, pp. 16-26. 418 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND in Cleveland. We staid there over night and next day walked to Rodolphus Edwards', staid there that night and the next day walked to grandfather's. * * * "Father was taken sick with ague the next day after we arrived, so our house was built slowly and with the greatest difficulty mother hewed with an adz the split ends of the floor boards and put them down with the little help father could give her. We moved in the last of November without door or window, using blankets for night protection. At that time two of the children were sick with ague. Father worked when the chills and fever left him for the day putting poles together in the form of bedsteads and a table upon which we could put the little we could get to eat, and benches to sit upon; there was no cabinet shop at that time where such articles could be purchased. * * * "The only flour we could get had become musty in shipping and was so disgusting to the taste that no one could eat it unless compelled by extreme hunger. I was then eight years old and not sick so I had to satisfy myself with it and give the others more of a chance at the scanty corn meal rations. The bread made from this flour was hard as well as loathsome. I could only eat it by making it into pellets and swallowing it whole. * * * Toward the last of February father and one of his brothers started for Aurora, Portage county, with an ox team, taking an ax, gun, and means for camping out. In due time they arrived, paid ten shillings a bushel for corn and two dollars and a quarter for wheat, bought an iron kettle for making sugar and turned their faces homeward. A glorious surprise awaited them in the woods in the form of a bee tree from which they obtained nearly a hundred pounds of honey. * * * Father bought a cow, paid for her in part and gave his note for the rest and before the time came to pay again, the cow died, having been in use by the family only three months. When spring opened father made sugar, with the help of mother and the children. In May, mother and three children were taken sick with ague. Every few days father would have a relapse, but he managed to get in some corn, and in the autumn some wheat. Wild meat could be had in abundance. * * * "I remember the bears killed a nice shoat in harvest time. We were then in need of meat beef was an article never spoken of. A man at Doane's Corners had a barrel of pork to sell, valued at twenty-five dollars. Our neighbors were also in need of pork and agreed to take a part if father would go and buy it; he did so. When the barrel was opened, they were surprised and dismayed to find only three heads and the ribs and shanks of three shoats. * * * In the winter of 1814 father's sister 'started to return home from Rodolphus Edwards' where she had been spinning, a distance of two •miles through the woods, lost her way in a snow-path and was out all night and the next day until evening, when she was found. Her feet were badly frozen and she was so thoroughly chilled that a long illness ensued. "I remember the wolves coming into enclosures for four winters, but the sheepfold was built so high they could not get over it; they only annoyed us with their hideous noise. Rattlesnakes were common, and surprised us often, but only one ever came within six feet of the house.(2) 2 - Reminiscences of Malinda Russell, "Annals Early Settlers Association," No. 4, p. 65. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 419 This experience is told in a letter dated August 25, 1887, to Harvey Rice by Horace Taylor, of Ravenna : "We were four days from Warren to Aurora, a distance of less than thirty miles, when our journey of forty-five days terminated June 22, 1807. "When we built our first log cabin the nearest neighbor on the north was thirty miles away, on the west sixty miles, on the east about eight miles, and on the south of Aurora about ten or eleven miles. "At that time northern Ohio was a vast wilderness with but few inhabitants except the Indians, who outnumbered the whites two or three to one; but the forests were filled with deer, bear, wolves, elk, raccoon, wild cats, turkeys and various other kinds of wild animals, including a good supply of serpents of several varieties. During the nighttime we had serenades from the hooting of owls, the growling of bears, or the more enlivening howl of the wolf. The Indians were generally peaceable and kind and supplied us with honey, sugar, venison, turkeys and various other necessary articles; which we could not obtain from any other source; but when the Indians had visited some trading post and had procured a supply of bad whiskey, they were noisy and gave us a sample of the Indian yell and war whoop. * * * My father died of camp fever when I was about thirteen years old, leaving my good old mother with a large family of nearly helpless boys and girls to feed, clothe and educate as best she could, with only a few acres of poorly improved land filled with stumps and roots and surrounded with a dense forest. "In the spring of 1813 she hired me to a neighbor for the sugaring season of five or six weeks and was to receive for my services my weight in sugar at the end of the term. At the close of my service my weight was just seventy pounds and the sugar was delivered and sold for nine dollars and fifty cents and the proceeds applied to the support of the family." (3) Still another account given by George Watkins to the early settlers in 1886 tells us : "It is just sixty-eight years ago when I took my first look at Cleveland from the back of a covered wagon drawn by oxen. It was natural that the tide of emigration from Connecticut should flow to the Western Reserve. My father's family in company with five others were caught in the flow and emigrated in the summer of 1818. It was my father's original intention to go to Illinois, but we stopped to visit the Strong families in Cleveland for a few days and were soon induced to remain. So our loaded ox team, weary with five weeks' journey through the woods, was halted in front of a log cabin on Euclid avenue, which was destined to become the home of the family for one year. This house had neither doors nor windows nor were they added during our year of occupancy. * * * "My father made the first pair of pegged shoes made in Cuyahoga county. He made the pegs too and killed the animal that furnished the hide. In those early days one of the first things to be thought about as soon as a clearing had been made, was to sow a small piece in flax so that there should be some prospect for the tow cloth for summer wear. This flax was pulled in June and spread upon the ground to rot, and wet twice each day until it was ready to be broken. It was then swingled, hatcheled and spun, and woven into cloth. The spinning 3 - "Annals Early Settlers Association," No. 8, p. 143. 420 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND and weaving are an important part 0f the household industries. My mother and sisters carded by hand, spun the yarn and wove the cloth for our clothes. The tow cloth or flax was made into summer wear. One long frock was the only garment worn when at work in the fields in the summer. This was called a smock frock. It was for service, but not very dudish. When the women of the household could not manage all the spinning, a woman was hired at seventy-five cents per week. There was nobody idle, even the child of tender years must do something to accustom him to habits of industry and to inculcate virtue by teaching him thus early that there was work for all to do faithfully and cheerfully. The only other article needed by the farmer except shoes was a straw hat. Mrs. Danhaus braided all the straw hats and bonnets, which we had for a long time out of rye straw. Somebody attempted to make hats of buckeye shorings. These went by the name of 'buckeye hats.' " (4) Amid these severe rigors every gathering of people was a social event to be enjoyed to the utmost. Election day, raising bees, even religious services were social occasions. A jug of whiskey or peach brandy was the token of generous hospitality. In Cleveland the one-room tavern of Lorenzo Carter was the center of early social pleasures. Here on the 14th of July, 1797, the first wedding in Cleveland took place. Carter's "hired girl" was married to a Mr. Clement of Canada. The Rev. Seth Hart, then general agent of the Connecticut Land Company, performed the ceremony. The bride wore "domestic" colored cotton and the bridegroom homespun sheep's gray. In this cabin also took place the first public dance in Cleveland. This occurred July 4, 1801. "The entire party when assembled consisted of fifteen or sixteen couples. They occupied the front room or parlor of the cabin which was not carpeted but had a substantial puncheon floor. The violinist, Mr. Jones, proceeded at once to harmonize the strings of his instrument, and then struck up 'Hie Bettie Martin,' the favorite dancing tune of that day. The dance commenced with unrestrained enthusiasm, and with orders to cast off right and left. * * * The refreshments which had been. provided with a liberal hand, consisted of plum cake and a cordial of raw whiskey sweetened with maple sugar. The dance continued until 'broad daylight' when the boys went home with the girls in the morning." (*) The method of courtship in those days was graphically described by J. D. Taylor at a meeting of the pioneers held at Rockport. "I am reminded of the 'good old times' and of experiences to which none of the speakers have alluded : I mean pioneer courtships. Topics of this kind are always interesting, especially to the ladies. Courting, or sparking, in those early days was not a flirtation but an affair of the heart and conducted in a natural way. The boys and girls who were predisposed to matrimony used to sit up together Sunday nights dressed in their Sunday clothes. They occupied usually a corner of the only family room of the cabin, while the beds of the old folks occupied the opposite corner; with blankets suspended around it for curtains. During the earlier part of the even- 4 - "Annals Early Settlers Association," No. 7, pp. 14-20. * - Harvey Rice, "Pioneers of the Western Reserve," p. 66. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 421 ing the old and young folks engaged in common chitchat. About 8 o'clock the younger children climbed the ladder to the corner and went to bed in their bunks under the garret roof, and in about an hour later father and mother retired behind the blanket-curtains, leaving the `sparkers' sitting at a respectful distance apart before a capacious wood fire-place, looking thoughtfully into the cheerful flame or perhaps into the future. The sparkers, however, soon broke the silence by stirring up the fire with a wooden shovel or poker, and soon a smack would be heard by the older people behind the curtains. If chilly the sparkers would sit closer together to keep warm. All this accords in a large degree with my own experience." (5) The early social life of the village was not unlike that of the country folks in the neighborhood of the town. One of the early socials is thus described. "When I was at Governor Huntington's there was a social party at his house, so far as I can recollect all females except myself. There were several married ladies. I recollect particularly but two, Mrs. Walworth and Mrs. Huntington. We had all, or nearly all, the young ladies in the place. * * * Those present were she that is now Mrs. Long, Mrs. Matthews, of Painesville and a daughter of Mr. Carter, afterward Mrs. Miles and subsequently Mrs. Strong." (6) As more pretentious houses were built in the village the social aspect of the community took on a more formal nature. The first carriage brought to town was the one horse chaise in which Alfred Kelley brought his bride in 1817 to his new brick house, the second one built in town, on Water street. James S. Clark "imported a grand and elegant carriage to our city and had it propelled about our streets by a span of lively mules, it became an epoch in our history worth recording, for we were not familiar with such turnouts. It was a master stroke of republican independence to send out the ladies in his household in an elegant landaulet drawn by a pair of mules driven by a man as black as Erebus. We had to stand and look as the establishment passed us in the muddy streets. To say that we had no cultivated style in those days would not be true. About all of us had studied up what was elegant and how had we wanted such just as much as any other young and thriving city. "There were men who sent their measures for coats to New York, while they would consent to let Shelly make their pants and vests. So it was in other things-a growing disposition to outdo someone else." (7) The first piano was brought to Cleveland in 1832 by a Mr. Bennet, who at that time was the only brewer in the town. Cleveland's first fancy dress ball was held February 1, 1854, in Ballou's hall. Music was furnished by Leland's noted band. The "Herald" gives an account of the ball, describing the various costumes and naively reciting the names of the ladies and gentlemen who wore them. Among them : "A Swiss Girl," "Goddess of Night," "A Quakeress," "A Village. Peasant," "Grecian Lady," "Turkish Lady," "Spanish Lady" and "Highland Lady," all of whom took great delight in waltzing with "Rob Roy," "A Yankee," "The Red Knight," "Henry the VIII,". and many other celebrities who were present. 5 - Harvey Rice "Early Pioneers," p. 72. 6 - Statement of Thomas Webb, "Early History of Cleveland," p. 7 - "Annals Early Settlers Association," No. i,.p. 112. 422 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND Nor should the church sociables be forgotten in the annals of the early social events, nor the singing schools of the village. The modern pretentious social castes were entirely unknown. Our fathers sharing common dangers, shared also their possessions in common and found in their primitive surroundings a genuine social enjoyment that is wanting in the days of artificial classification. An early function of importance was the ball, held in the Mansion house to celebrate the completion of the Ohio canal. One who ,was present speaks of it as follows : "I attended with my parents and sat awhile in the lap of Governor Allen Trimble, who had honored the occasion by his presence. It took all the men, women and children in the village to make a set for the contra dances and the quadrilles. A violin player by the name of Hendershot, who lived in Euclid, was the musician for many years." John D. Taylor in 1890 before the Early Settlers speaks of the dance : "Dancing among the younger members of the pioneer families was their most cherished recreation though they had no better place for a ball than a log cabin with a puncheon floor. * * The young man went with his girl on foot if the distance was not over a mile or two; otherwise he went on horseback and took her behind him on the horse. In the summer the ball commenced at 4 :00 o'clock p. m. and continued till the 'wee sma' hours ayont th' twa'l' with a recess for supper. At one time when a ball was at my father's cabin and the fiddler failed to come, and the youngsters knowing that I could sing all the dancing tunes, set me in the fiddler's place to sing for them to dance. I sang till my tongue was near being paralyzed." Other social family gatherings were given in the winter "when several families with their ox sleds would start out for an evening's visit to a neighboring log cabin. The women, of course, took their knitting work, as no woman among the pioneers was ever idle. As soon as the visitors were seated around the blazing fire, the women commenced knitting and chatting, the sterner sex putting in a word when there was a lull in the conversation." Abraham Teachout gives an interesting account of how the merry couples were taken to these dances. "When I came to Ohio in 1836 it was no uncommon thing to see two strong, red cheeked ladies on one horse with a basket of eggs and a pail of butter riding along happy and contented to their town store to do their shopping. * * * But you say, how about going to socials and parties among the young people ? Of that I had some personal experience myself. If it was to be a mile or more away, we invited our girl and told her we would be there at the proper time with our best horse to take her to the place. She would be in waiting, dressed in her best and smiling. The horse was trained to place itself up to the horse block. She would give a spring, as few ladies can do now, and throw her strong arm around her friend in a way to make him feel that she was a friend indeed. Talk about your fine carriages or automobiles to take your sweetheart to parties ! There was no comparison to the real solid pleasures of the days of long ago." (8) The celebration of the 4th of July afforded annual opportunity for social enjoyment. It was celebrated with vim and patriotic ardor. The "Herald," of July 15, 1825, reports a celebration at Doan's Corners. Ahimaz Sherwin was president of the day ; Seth C. Baldwin, vice president ; Humphrey Nichols, Dr. 8 - "Annals Early Settlers Association," Vol. 4, p. 609. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 423 Ezra Graves and N. C. Cozad the committee on arrangements, and Ahimaz Sherwin, Jr., marshal of the day. "An elegant and spacious bowery having been erected near the big spring, the ladies of the place and vicinity assembling at an early hour, prepared a most superb dinner, consisting of all the varieties the country affords. Indeed families vied with each other which should furnish most bountifully and of best quality. The dinner was served up in elegant style about r o'clock p. m. It was pleasant to see the harmony that prevailed. The first table was sufficiently spacious to accommodate all the married ladies and gentlemen, amounting to about ninety, after which all were served at other tables, as it was the determination that none should go away hungry, rich or poor. The Declaration of Independence was read by the vice president. The president followed with a very appropriate and handsome discourse." These exercises were followed by thirteen "regular toasts" and eleven "volunteer toasts," beginning with: "The Day—sacred to liberty and beloved by freemen, the nation's jubilee. Let its principles pervade the world:" and ending with, "The American Fair—may their sons be as brave as a Washington or a Jackson and their daughters as virtuous as a Porcia or a Lucretia." July 4, 1818, in Cleveland there was a parade, the Declaration was read and an oration delivered from a bower in the Square, and the "Herald" announced that, "Immediately after the exercises are over at the courthouse the gentlemen will again form in order and march to the hotel, where dinner will be served up and toasts drank, accompanied with the discharging of artillery." "Of all the days in the year, the Fourth of July, or Independence day, as it was then called, was the one most longed for and the longest remembered. It was the grand holiday of holidays. It was planned for months ahead. The hoeing was done and the haying never touched until this memorable day had passed. To these early settlers it was truly the 'glorious Fourth.' Many of the pioneers had taken part in the struggle for independence. It was nearer to them in point of years than our great Civil war is to us today. When this day was to be ushered in, long before the dawn appeared, in East Cleveland, Kilberry's old blacksmith's anvil had been fired off by the boys to wake up the people, and every one was astir earlier than usual. Several days before, a president of the day and a committee for various. things had been appointed. That everything might be ready, this committee met the previous day and constructed a bowery in the orchard of Job Doan's tavern, the liberty pole was also brought from the wo0ds and set up. * * * This orchard of Job Doan's was used for the Fourth of July celebration for a good many years. It was directly back of the present East End postoffice. The bowery was made in the following fashion : Crotched sticks were stuck into the ground at regular intervals over a space one hundred feet or so in length and wide enough to enclose a table with seats upon either side. The table and seats were made of rough boards and the top of the bowery was covered with fragrant hemlock boughs upon the eventful morning. The first thing was to raise the flag, and then the jollification began. * * * Baskets were brought and tables were spread with all the dainties the land could afford. The greatest ornaments of the table, however, were the three roast pigs, each with a corncob in his mouth. One was placed in the centre of the table and the others at the ends. The rest of the long board was filled in 424 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND with rye and corn bread and a bountiful supply of all the vegetables that we cultivated. The drinks were rye coffee, tea, egg-nog, toddy and whiskey straight. Everybody got mellow ; it was one of the privileges of the day. After dinner the women folks stored the slight remnants of food in the Indian baskets and the speechmaking began. Every speech was impromptu, but I remember such ones as stirred our souls with enthusiasm. * * * "A few years later came the dance, which lasted from noon until daylight— eighteen continuous hours to trip the 'light and fantastic toe.' " (9) Hunting was the favorite sport of the frontiersmen. Great hunts were organized by various townships or counties. "The whole region of northern Ohio was overrun with game of all sorts at the time of the first settlement, among which were bears, wolves, panthers, deer and turkeys ; the bears killing the pioneers' pigs and the wolves their sheep, if they had any ; and the panthers were a source of great terror to the women lest they might carry off their children if they wandered too far away from the house. It used to be said that the scream of a panther was like the scream of a woman when in distress. To hear the wolves howl in the night was common in the west part of the county until about 1820. * * * Though the wild animals were a fear and annoyance to the first settlers, yet there was much sport and no small profit in hunting the game. A wild turkey was as delicate and tender as a domestic one and much larger. I have seen wild turkeys that weighed twenty-five pounds after being dressed. Deer and turkeys used to get very fat from eating acorns, chestnuts and beechnuts ; hogs got fat on the mast in the fall of the year. The pioneers used to salt venison in the fall and dry the hams, which were far better than dried beef. Raccoon hunting was rare sport. The coons would commence their raid on the corn in the night time as soon as the corn was large enough for roasting ears. A good coon dog was all important in catching coons in the cornfield. A party starting out in the night, on arriving at the cornfield, if the dog understood his business, he would make a circuit around the outside of the field and when by his scent he struck a coon track the hunter would hear from him. In 1820 a deer hunt was organized in the western part of Cuyahoga county and part of what is now Lorain county. The program was to surround the territory from the mouth of Rocky river to the mouth of Black river, a distance of about twenty miles, with a circle; the distance from the center of the circuit to the lake shore being about six miles. The hunters from far and near, numbering about one hundred, were early in the morning of the day and hour agreed, at their post in the circle, each with his dinner horn suspended by a string around his neck. Joseph Dean, of Rockport, being captain, blew his horn at the eastern terminus of the circle, then the next, and so on till the sound reached the last hunter at the mouth of Black river, when they all commenced their march toward the center of the circle toward the lake shore. As the hunters advanced, they came nearer each other as a matter of course * * * and soon the crack of their rifles was a continuous roar. Many deer were killed, with turkeys and a few bears. They then commenced gathering their game preparatory to skinning it. At the place where they gathered resided a man by the name of Gant, who kept a sort of hotel and had whiskey to sell by the drink, 9 - George Watkins, "Annals Early Settlers Association," No. 7, p. 15. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 425 quart or gallon. Whiskey was cheap then, only twenty cents a gallon. Everybody drank it. * * * After the hunters had finished dressing their game, they were hungry and every man had taken with him a knapsack well stored with provisions, but they wanted roasted venison and Gant had salt wherewith to season it. Many large fires were built, over which they roasted their venison. Gant's bar was liberally patronized. Hilarity prevailed. He offered a gallon of whiskey for two venison hams. The hams commenced going over the counter into a room behind the bar, which room had a back door. As the hunters became more, and more hilarious, some one would go to this room and get the hams and present them again over Gant's counter for more whiskey." (10) "Logging bees," for burning logs and brushwood, and "raising bees," for the raising of the more pretentious houses and barns, the immediate successors of the primitive log structures, also were the occasion for social enjoyments. Mr. George Watkins describes a "logging bee": "The day for the bee had been appointed some days ahead so that the men could arrange their work beforehand. * * * The men were assembled. They were divided into two parties and each party had a yoke of oxen. One man drove, one carried the log chain and four or five rolled the logs together. The piles were about ten feet high and about the same in width and from twelve to sixteen feet long. In one day from forty to fifty log heaps were made. Some of these logs had been chopped, others `niggered! This process of niggering helped matters. One log was rolled across another and set on fire where they crossed. This would burn at night and in its way help along. Of course this had been done before the logging bee. There was nothing for the neighbors to do but draw the logs together and pile them up. There was little market for wood, but such trees as were thought to be suitable had been drawn away and cut and split into firewood by the boys. When the men had finished, the fun began. About sunset the boys and girls set fire to the heaps. It was the dry season and the flames leaped and darted over the dry wood and an immense conflagration was soon well under way. As soon as the coals appeared, the nearest corn field was raided for roasting ears. No other corn was 'half so sweet as that common field corn roasted by those blazing wood fires. The next move was to find a watermelon patch. * * * After the work was done, the old folks repaired to the house where the women folks had already assembled, and ate nut cakes, corn bread and potatoes, and drank tea, eggnogg and whiskey. When the men had drank enough to unloose their tongues they talked about the hardships of men who came to a new country as pioneers before they could get ready to live. Of the future outcome of their labor, they entertained no doubt. These talks were never in a complaining spirit but always with the idea of tiding over, in the best possible manner, the intervening time that must elapse before they could hope for the comforts and advantages of the older settlements 0f the east. * * * "The singing school was among our early institutions. About 1824 Elijah Ingersoll, who lived on the ridge at Newburg, started a singing school for the winter evenings. This was held once a week or once in two weeks at the log schoolhouse on the corner of Giddings and Euclid avenues and also in the school- 10 - John D. Taylor in "Annals of the Early Settlers Association," No. II, p. 44o. 426 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND house on Fairmount street. * * * When it was time to begin, Elijah brought his pitch pipe to his mouth and blew on it. Then he pulled a string that stopped at the pitch that he desired to start the tune. This wind instrument was book shaped, about ten inches long and four wide. To the youngsters it was a wonderful affair. The tuning fork was a later invention. He lined and we sang and the woods rung with the melody." (11) Horse racing became an amusement in Cleveland in the early '20s. The first speedway was on Water street from Superior to the north end of the street. About this time the horse took the place of the patient and enduring oxen. Some of the early races aroused much enthusiasm. In 1826 a series of contests were held between a horse owned in Cleveland, named "Billy," and one owned in Portage county, named "Portage Polly." Considerable money was bet on this race and the outcome was watched with great interest. The "Herald," of June 2, 1826, gives an account of the second race. "The second trial of speed between Portage Polly and the black horse, Billy, took place on Saturday last and a purse of two hundred dollars was won by the mare. The mare got about a length and a half the start and came out about a half length ahead. Both kept the track the whole length of the course and run one hundred rods in thirty or thirty-one seconds." May 23, 1820, the first theater is advertised in the "Herald." The performance was held in P. Mowry's hall, the dining room of his tavern, and consisted of comic opera, farce, drama and variety all in one day. The comic opera was "The Purse Won the Benevolent Tar ;" the drama was "The Strangers ;" the farce, "The Village. Lawler," and the vaudeville consisted of singing and dancing. On the 31st of May, 1820, the play, "The Mountaineers," was given. In August, 1830, Mrs. Lane gave a "polite comedy," with an interlude of singing and dancing, in the bank building in the rear of the "Herald" office. In 1834 Italian hall was used for a theater by the traveling companies that in those years annually visited_ the town. The early theater yielded to the circus as a form of popular amusement. The first circus held in Cleveland was September 29 and 30 and October I, 1825. From that time forward the circus was an annual event. The first circuses were composed of men and their acts were nearly all equestrian; very few acrobatic feats were performed. There were no menageries and no bands. In 1838 a giraffe was the drawing card, and in 1841 a circus advertised "a number of elephants and accomplished ladies," and a band. The early circus grounds were vacant lots in various parts of town. In 1838 a circus was held in the enclosure near the courthouse on the south side of the Public Square. About 1847 they were held on Banks street. About 1853 there was a great rivalry among the traveling circuses, sometimes as many as eight visited Cleveland in one season. In 1857 the first steam calliope, was heard here. The papers announced that about three thousand people followed it around town. The circus grounds in 1860 were on Erie street, then for many years they were on the west side. In more recent years they were on the corner of Madison and Cedar and . lately they have been moved again to the west side. 11 - "Annals Early Settlers Association," No. 7, pp. 15-20. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 427 The intervals between circuses and traveling theatrical companies were filled in with special exhibits. In 1827 a mummy was exhibited in the Oviatt block on Superior street, and in 1833 the Siamese twins at the Franklin house. Later Tom Thumb visited Empire hall. In 1833 the "Herald" prides itself upon the number of exhibits that are being held. "Thus it will be seen that in the course of a few days the theater and two circuses have been in operation. The Siamese twins and Black Hawk have been figuring at the same time, and last, though not least, the menagerie, a wild child of the forest (orang outang) came on the boards for their share of patronage. These exhibitions were sufficient to satiate the votaries of pleasure." The panorama or diorama was introduced about 1850. Their crude canvasses proved very popular. In 1853 Richardson's museum was opened opposite the courthouse, and in 1854 the Amphitheater was opened on Center street, where the old Variety theater stood, and in 1852 Barnum's grand colossal museum and menagerie was exhibited in the city. CHAPTER XLVI. EARLY TAVERNS AND HOTELS. (1) In the days of the stage coach there was no need of the great hotels that the extensive traffic of railroads has demanded. The lonely transient was entertained in a tavern that resembled a private house quite as much as a public place. The proprietor and his family lived in the house,, ate in the dining room with the few guests, and was host as well as landlord. These taverns were places of public meetings, political- caucuses, dances and informal gatherings for the discussion of public events. Some of them were called "Coffee Houses," after the English custom, and even in the primitive day the pretentious French "hotel" was appropriated by some very modest establishments. The first public house in the village was Major Lorenzo Carter's cabin, built in 1797 near the river at the foot of St. Clair street. It was a rude, one room but with probably a loft reached by a ladder. It was hardly large enough for Carter's own family, but the wayfarer was always welcome to a meal, a bed and a drink of good New England rum. In 1801 the Major was given a license to keep a tavern by the court in Warren. In September, 1802, he purchased twenty-three and a half acres of land in two parcels, one of twelve acres fronting on St. Clair street, just east of Water street, and the other an irregular parcel on Superior street and Union lane and the river. About where the Bethel stands, Carter built his second cabin, a framed house, which burned to the ground before its completion. It was immediately rebuilt of hewn logs, boarded on the outside. This pretentious house had two rooms and a large attic. It was kept as a tavern by Carter until his death, February 8, 1814, when Phineas Shepard leased it. For a few years Major Carter's son, Alonzo, kept a tavern on the west side of the river, 1 - For interesting details concerning early taverns, see O. J. Hodge, "Cleveland's Early Hotels," "Annals Early Settlers Association," Vol. V, p. 435. 428 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND just opposite Superior street, where the Carters had purchased a large acreage. Its coat of primitive red paint gave it the name of "Red House." MERWIN'S TAVERN OR THE MANSION HOUSE. In 1807, Amos Spafford, the surveyor, kept a small inn on the southeast corner of Superior street and Vineyard lane, on original lot 73. This lot was then owned by Peter B. Parkman, who on January 20, 1809, sold it to Diocletian Alvord, who in turn sold it to George Wallace, June 13, 1815. Wallace had kept a tavern since 1812 on the south side of Superior street, west of Seneca. This old place fell into the possession of Michael Spangler who kept "Spangler's Inn," as late as 1824. Spafford's tavern became the "Wallace House." September, 1817, Wallace sold it to David Merwin of Palmyra, Portage county, who June 1, 1822, sold it to Noble H. Merwin, The Merwins built a new hotel, a two story frame building. It stood on an eminence overlooking the river and was called grandiosely "The Mansion House." It was a mansion of modest size, for we are told that when Judge Wood stopped there on his arrival in Cleveland, he could not stand upright in its chambers. He was over six feet tall. (*) For over twenty years it was Cleveland's favorite hotel, and its owner, a popular and progressive man, was a leader in business and civic affairs. Here was entertained DeWitt Clinton in 1825. After Mr. Merwin relinquished the active management James Belden and later E. M. Segur were the landlords. In 1835 the hotel was destroyed by the big fire that swept the south side of Superior street as far east as the present site of the American House. The "Herald" of January I, 1822, contains the following: "A. Kingsbury respectfully informs his friends and the public in general that he has opened a house of entertainment in the village of Cleveland, at the stand lately occupied by P. Mowry on the public square, where he will at all times hold himself in readiness to accommodate customers. He flatters himself that his preparation, assiduous attention and reasonable charges will secure him a share of patronage.". August 5, 1825, J. Boughton opened a tavern on the corner of Water and St. Clair streets. "His house is spacious and convenient. Ladies and gentlemen can at all times be accommodated with separate rooms ; and every attention will be paid to render the situation of visitors agreeable," recites the naive advertisement. In May, 1824, the Navy hotel on St. Clair street was "just opened and in readiness for travelers. It being the nearest tavern to the lake renders it very convenient for all persons that wish to take passage from the place by water." (2) THE FRANKLIN HOUSE. The Franklin house occupied a large place in the tavern life of Cleveland. It stood on the north side of Superior street on lot 50, two hundred and thirty-six feet east of Water street. Nathan Perry, a large landholder, sold fifty 'feet front of this lot to 'Timothy Scoville of Hector, Tompkins county, New York, June 6, 1820, for three hundred dollars. Here Philo Scoville (later spelled Scovill), * - "Herald," Volume 31, p. To. 2 - "Herald." HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 429 son of Timothy, built, in 1826, the largest tavern Cleveland had yet seen, and named it after Benjamin Franklin. It was a three story frame building, "very spacious and furnished in a style not surpassed in this part of the state." It was the headquarters for the various stage lines that centered in Cleveland and was a lively place in its day. Most of the stage lines were managed by Levi Sartwell, a good natured and well liked man. "Mr. Sartwell had his office in the Franklin house to the left of the front door entrance. Here in this office might be seen almost any evening, Mr. Melancthon Barnett-, father of General James Barnett, the Spangler brothers and other well known men of Cleveland, telling stories, discussing topics of the day and drinking mint juleps, or something stronger. Every morning about 8:00 o'clock there was seen in front of the hotel several coaches with either four or six horses ready to start away at the word of command. The drivers would crack their whips and away the coaches would go with a whirl. People would congregate sometimes in considerable numbers to see the start." (3) The itinerant lawyers following the courts from one county seat to another made this their stopping place, as did also many lake captains during the winter season. In December, 1833, Edward Lyon assumed its management. Two years later Benjamin Harrington became proprietor and in 1838 Scoville again assumed charge. In 1844 it was rebuilt, and called the New Franklin house. It had a frontage of seventy-eight feet on Superior street and two wings, sixty and thirty-four feet long, was of brick, five stories high, the entrance supported by Doric stone columns. The hall and reading room had "tessellated marble floors." There were seventy-one bedrooms and the dining room, twenty-six by sixty feet, was "calculated to spread two tables." A cistern in the attic supplied "soft water for washing" and "inside window blinds" were found "a great improvement over outside shutters." (4) In January, 1852, Patrick & Son became the managers ; the hostelry had degenerated into a mere boarding house. In 1855 when they retired from the management the "boarders" gave them a "testimonial of regard," a compliment not often paid to boarding house keepers. March 31, 1855, the old house was closed and the building converted into stores. The "Franklin house was especially famous for its neatness, good order and sumptuous fare. Its enviable reputation was largely due to the care and skill of Mrs. Scoville, the landlady." (5) The old building is still standing (1910), ragged and apologetic of its unearned degeneracy. The city directory of 1837 enumerates the following "Principal Hotels and Coffee Houses :" "American House, I Newton, 42 Superior street ; Cleveland House, A. Selover, public square ; Cleveland Center House, Cleveland Center block ; City Hotel, Perry Allen, Seneca street ; Clinton House, William Harland, Union lane, corner St. Clair ; Eagle Tavern, Richard Cooke, Water street, corner St. Clair ; Franklin House, B. Harrington, 25 Superior street ; Farmers and Mechanics Hotel, George W. Sanford, Ontario street, corner Michigan ; Globe Tavern, Isaac Van Valkenberg, Merwin street ; Washington House, William Martin, 35 Water street. 3 - Colonel O. J. Hodge "Annals Early Settlers Association," Vol. 5, p. 440. 4 - '"Herald," Vol. 26, No. 52. 5 - "Annals Early Settlers Association," No. 6, p. 58. 430 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND "-Coffee Houses : City Coffee House, John Bennet, 21 Water street ; Cleveland Recess, E. Adams & Company, 64 Superior street ; Shakespeare Saloon, Joel Hood, 9 Water street." This should be enough hotel accommodation for a town of about eight thousand yet the "Herald" in 1836 contains this paragraph : "We would respectfully inquire of our capitalists and owners of real estate how much longer the traveling public are to suffer for want of the necessary accommodations for their comfort while sojourning with us. The city is really acquiring a notoriety in this respect by no means enviable. True, it is no doubt that the keepers of public houses, many of them at least, do all in their power to remedy the evil in question, but it is equally true that more places of entertainment for those who require good accommodations, are necessary, for those we have, which are of this class, are thronged to that degree that the landlords can neither do justice to themselves nor their customers." THE AMERICAN HOUSE. The American House, the first large hotel opened in the city, was built the following year and in September, 1837, received its first guests. It is still in use, the oldest "tavern" in Cleveland. The building stands upon lot 76, the site of the cabin built by the second surveying party in 1797, and where Samuel Huntington in 1801 built his first Cleveland home, a two room log house. Hutington purchased the lot of the Land Company. He agreed to sell it in 1807 but the deed was not passed until 1817 when Huntington's administrator conveyed the lot to Robert B. Parkman, who sold it to Dr. David Long the same year. A. W. Walworth became its next owner and he sold to Irad Kelley in 1828. In 1831 James S. Clark bought it. The panic of 1837 compelled a sheriff's sale and Truman P. Handy bid it in. The building was erected by James Kellogg and was originally known as the Kellogg block. Its first lessees were Norton and Canfield and its first landlord was I. Newton. It immediately became the place for holding the fine balls and banquets of the town. The fire department and the Cleveland Grays held their annual balls there. From its little iron balcony have spoken many of the great men of the nation among them : William Henry Harrison, General Scott, Lewis Cass, Martin Van Buren and Henry Clay. Daniel Webster was its fleeting visitor in the year of its opening. He remained only an hour, but long enough, tradition has it, to patronize its bar. Stephen A. Douglas was a guest in 186o. It was the gathering place of politicians, and visiting statesmen often shared its hospitality. In 1852 a great dinner was given there to John P. Hale of New Hampshire. Ladies were present and liquor absent, so that the distinguished guest was prompted to say that it was the first time he was ever at a dinner where the "bottles were discharged and the ladies admitted." Salmon P. Chase and Joshua R. Giddings were among the speakers. When in July, 1853, the body of Henry Clay arrived here, a committee of noted Kentuckians who came to Cleveland to receive the remains of the great statesman stopped at the American House and there planned the journey of the funeral car through Ohio to Lexington. Its fame waned with the opening of the Weddell House. In 1848 Bennett Smith was the proprietor, succeeded in 1851 by William Milford. Originally the HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 431 hotel occupied only the upper stories of the block. In 1851 it was remodeled, a reading room and lobby were put on the first floor and a veranda two stories high supported by iron columns and pilasters was placed at the entrance. WEDDELL HOUSE. The most noted of Cleveland's earlier hotels was the Weddell House "the Astor House of the Lakes." This famous hostelry was opened June 25, 1847. The original building occupied one hundred twenty-five and one-half feet on Superior street and one hundred and eighty-five and one-half feet on Bank street. There was an eighty foot wing in the rear parallel to Superior street. It was four stories high with an attic and was built of sandstone and brick. The corner portico was supported by Doric columns. The dining hall was on Bank street, on the second floor, and above it was an assembly hall. The main entrance was also on Bank street. The crowning feature of this hotel was its octagonal cupola, sixteen feet in diameter, "with a promenade on top." "The view from the principal cupola is the best in the city. The elevation is so great that the eye takes in the entire city of Cleveland, Ohio City, the valley of the winding Cuyahoga, its forests of masts, and farms and forest covered banks stretching far away to the southward and a large sweep of lake and adjacent country." (6) Thurlow Weed stopped in Cleveland, July 15, 1847, on his way home from Chicago by boat. He writes for his "Albany Journal :" "We arrived at Cleveland before sunset last evening and enjoyed another view of this thriving city. Among the striking features is the Weddell house, one of the most magnificent hotels in America. This building looms up like the Astor house, and is furnished with every attainable luxury. The furniture would compare favorably in value and beauty with that of the drawing rooms of our 'merchant princes.' The house was built by Mr. Weddell, who had accumulated a large fortune in business in Cleveland. When returning from New York last spring where he had been to purchase furniture for his house, he took a severe cold, from the effects of which he died. The house is well kept by Mr. Barnum, who was formerly with his uncle in `Barnum's Hotel' at Baltimore." Thurlow Weed was a competent judge of this "Astor House of the West," for his headquarters in New York were in the Astor house of the East, where, in the famous room "No. II" presidents, governors, senators and judges were made. The hotel's advertisement in the papers of 1854 that the "bills of fare are printed entirely in English," indicates the prevalent sentiment against the invading French. In 1856 an addition of one hundred and eight feet long and four stories high was built on Bank street, adding seventy-three rooms with parlor and baths. A. S. Barnum, of Baltimore, was its first landlord. In two years he was succeeded by H. S. Stevens, who in about four years was followed by J. P. Ross, who was landlord in 1854, after the burning of the New England hotel, of which he had been manager. C. S. Butts & Son were in charge when it was closed for remodeling, January 1, 1863. On January 20, 1864, it was reopened under the 8 - "Herald," Vol. 28, No. 25. 432 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND management of J. H. and A. W. Kirkwood, of the Kirkwood house, Washington. (7) The house was entirely refurnished and painted brown. The main entrance was moved from Superior street to Bank street and the 'two bronze lions so familiar to Clevelanders for many years were placed at the private Superior street entrance. In 1903-4 the historic building was torn down to make way for the Rockefeller building. It was Cleveland's most historic hotel. From the day of its opening until about 1872 it was the leading hotel of the city and was widely known throughout the west. It was constantly crowded before the war and often cots were placed in the parlor and halls for accommodating the guests. Its contemplative eagle, looking down from the cornice above the classic portico, beheld many historic pageants pass beneath and saw many of the nation's great men enter the doorway. Here stopped Horace Greeley, Salmon P. Chase, John Sherman, Jenny Lind in 1851, Kossuth in 1852, Don Cameron in 1853, Madame Sontag, Bishop Potter in 1854, and scores of other celebrities. And here Abraham Lincoln was a guest in 1861 on his way to Washington to assume the presidency. In the Weddell house, on the evening of July 7, 1848, was founded the Board of Trade that later developed into our potent Chamber of Commerce. Here was held the great banquet, February 22, 1851, that celebrated the opening of Cleveland's first railway, the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati. The first dinner of the New England society was given there December 22, 1855 ; and for thirty years brilliant social functions were held in its spacious halls. THE FOREST CITY HOUSE. Original lot 82, southwest corner of the Square and Superior street has always been a tavern site. Samuel Huntington bought the lot in 1801 from the Connecticut Land Company. He sold sixty-six feet fronting on Superior street to Phinney Mowrey (sometimes spelled Mowry) in 1812. The deed was not passed until May 10, 1815, and that year a modest inn called Mowrey's Tavern was erected. In 1820 Donald McIntosh bought the property for four thousand, five hundred dollars and called the tavern the Cleveland Hotel. In 1824 James S. Clark rebuilt the house. It was advertised as "commanding a fine view of the lake." There were then no large buildings to the north of it. Mathew Cozens soon after became landlord and in 1837, A. Selover from New York city. It was later called the City Hotel. It was entirely destroyed by fire, February 10, 1845. In 1848' David B. Dunham replaced it with a brick building, called the Dunham House. In 1852 it was purchased by William A. Smith, of Poughkeepsie, New York, who had been, for some time the manager of the Franklin house. He greatly enlarged the hotel and named it the Forest City House. It has undergone but few changes in the past four decades. In 1820, in the dining room of Mowrey's Tavern, was given the first theatrical entertainment in Cleveland by a traveling company. In the old livery barn that fronted the square to the south of the hotel, the Cleveland Grays were organized in August, 1837, by Timothy Ingraham. September 6, 1852, picturesque Sam 7 - "Herald." January 20. 1864. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 433 Houston of Texas spoke from the balcony facing the square,' The hotel gained considerable notoriety because in 1856, Frederick Douglass was entertained there. THE NEW ENGLAND HOTEL. The New England Hotel was a favorite stopping place for commercial men during its brief existence. It was built in 1846 by G. M. Atwater and opened the following year. It was an imposing building and stood at the foot of Superior street. It was entirely destroyed by fire in 1856. W. J. Gordon's wholesale grocery and warehouse was built on its site. For many years the City Hotel on Seneca street was a popular house with farmers and traveling men. It was built in the '30s by Perry Allen. It was sold in 1840 to J. E. Lockwood, who refurnished it and built new livery stables. T. B. Brockway was the next landlord, followed in 1861 by H. H. and H. C. Brockway. In 1858 it was rebuilt. THE ANGIER HOUSE. In 1852 a new fashionable hotel, the Angier House, was built on the corner of Bank and St. Clair streets, by Alexander Garrett, J. C. Vaughan and Ahaz Merchant. The building was formally opened April 17, 1854, by a banquet and fashionable reception, attended by two hundred and fifty guests. The new hotel was five stories high, was heated "by the steam process," and had a reservoir on the roof for distributing water throughout the building. Its landlords up to 1866 were R. R. Angier, William Odell, Rogers & Richards, Silas Merchant, J. P. Ross and R. M. N. Taylor. In 1866 its furniture was sold, the house completely remodeled and refurnished in "solid black walnut," and reopened on the evening of June 14, 1866, as the Kennard Houses. (8) The new hotel was owned by T. W. Kennard, and R. M. N. Taylor was its first landlord. "The Exchange," with its fountain, created great enthusiasm. It was supposed to be a copy of one of the rooms of the Alhambra. The Angier House was the fashionable hotel of the town. It entertained among its guests John C. Breckinridge in 1856, Lewis Cass, General Franz Sigel. In 1860 when the Perry monument was dedicated, the notable visitors were entertained there and a great dinner was given Governor ' Sprague, of Rhode Island, and his staff. Later, at the Kennard House, General W. T. Sherman was given a splendid reception, July 29, 1866. He arrived here from Buffalo on his way to St. Louis but found a telegram awaiting him from General Grant, calling him to Washington. He attended church services in the morning and in the afternoon drove around the city. Throughout the day a great throng gathered at the hotel but the modest General kept close to his room. The leading citizens, however, arranged an informal reception and serenade for Monday morning. At 5:30 o'clock Leland's band appeared under his window on Bank street and while it was playing patriotic airs the General appeared on the balcony with Amos Townsend, who introduced him to the early morning crowd. The General said: "Gentlemen : I am sorry to disturb you at this early hour in the morning but I am glad 8 - "Herald," May 9, 1866. 434 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND to see you. I am always glad to see my friends. I do not feel much like talking and you probably do not care to listen to what I may say. If any of you wish to see me I will come down." 'here was naturally a unanimous call for him to come dlown and the great soldier held an informal reception on the sidewalk. After breakfast he was driven down Euclid avenue to the station. As he passed the residence of Dan P. Eells his carriage was halted and Mr. Eells came out with a bouquet of flowers and a great cluster of grapes from his famous garden. The General also stopped to call on his friend, Judge Willson, who lived near the depot. The observant reporter records that the great soldier was not in uniform— that he wore a "military vest and an old linen duster." (9) The Angier House passed through the vicissitudes that an exclusive hotel in a new western city experiences. It changed hands many times. When it metamorphosed into the Kennard, the moving of wholesale houses into that vicinity made it popular with the traveling men. The tinkling fountain still plays in the lobby and the faded Spanish maidens still gaze from the walls, reminiscent of a brilliant past. The Stillman on the north side of Euclid avenue just beyond Erie succeeded the Angier house as the exclusive hotel of the city. It was built by the Stillman Witt estate and opened June 2, 1884. Its imposing building was placed well back from the street on a spacious lawn in keeping with its stately surroundings. On April 12, 1885, fire destroyed its upper floors. In 1901-2 it was torn down at behest of the irresistible commercial invasion of the avenue. It had been the scene of many brilliant social functions. In 1852 the Johnson House was built on Superior street, opposite the American house. Its first landlord was J. R. Surbury who had served in both the American House and the Franklin House. In its first years it was popular with commercial travelers. In 1910 it was torn down to make room for an addition to the Rockefeller building. Among the hostelries that flourished in the later '60s, '70s and '80s may be mentioned the Hawley House, which is still receiving guests ; and the Streibinger House on Michigan street, which was discontinued some years ago. CHAPTER XLVII. THE DRAMA. By Maurice Weidenthal. PLAYHOUSES OF LONG AGO. Ever since Cleveland was Cleveland, or more properly speaking, Cleaveland, the spot fronting on the southwest section of the Public Square has always been occupied by a hotel. Today it is the Forest City House, and before the present structure was built, a country tavern stood upon the same spot, known as the Cleaveland House. 9 - "Herald," July 29, 1866. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 435 This old hotel will serve as an introduction to the drama in Cleveland, for it was in the Cleaveland House ball room the early pioneers of Cleaveland witnessed the first theatrical entertainment ever given in the city. It was in 1820, when the present metropolis of Ohio was a village of some five hundred, and this included the farmers who drove into town on their ox carts and lumber wagons, all the way from "Doan's Corners." Let us pause long enough and reflect what would have happened to the unfortunate prophet who in 1820—when the lumber wagons and ox carts stumbled along rocky roads and crossed swollen creeks to the show house of the town— would have had the hardihood to tell his companions on the long, tedious journey that the time is coming when Cleveland will have scores and scores of show places and theaters, many of them real and more than a hundred exact reproductions of all the world and its peoples, moving as they move in life and nothing to distinguish them from living, breathing humanity and that dozens of those thearters would be located "way out Doan's Corners," where the farmers came from, and that folks, instead of going to them in ox teams, would be whisked down town in an inexpressably brief space of time by the unseen power of electricity, and that people would own their own horseless carriages, thousands of them all in the future great city of Cleveland, the cost of every one of which would be greater than a thousand acres of good timber and farm land on Euclid road, near Doan's Corners. "Yes indeed," Prophet Si might have said to his girl, Mandy, "and these fellers in them 'ere horseless carriages could get down to the show house in the Cleveland Hotel in ten minutes." "You must be crazy, Si," Mandy might have truthfully replied, and any probate judge would have agreed with her. There is a great span between the little ball room of the old Cleveland tavern and the Hippodrome on Euclid avenue, probably the second largest theater in the United States, But to return to Cleveland's first theatrical entertainment. It was a week of the legitimate, not a one night stand show-such as villages of today are inflicted, with, but Manager Blanchard's troupe stayed a week. Not because Cleveland could patronize a company for that length of time, but traveling was a tremendous hardship those days, and it was difficult to journey from place to place. "Douglas" was the best known among the plays presented, with Julia B. Blanchard, the manager's pretty daughter, as the leading lady. When it was all over the show folks packed up their wardrobes, had the trunks and things carted down Superior Lane, and while the lads and lassies of early Cleveland shouted their farewells from the little wooden dock, the show folks moved down the Cuyahoga river on the sailboat "Tiger," into the lake seeking other worlds to conquer. Following this initial triumph on the Cleveland stage other companies came and went, and for ten years the same little Cleveland tavern ball room was the only theater in town, the companies staying until the attendance fell off and when the boys and girls "went broke" as the result of too much show, the companies quit. Then came Shakespeare, and early Cleveland liked him. The town in 183i had grown to one thousand one hundred, and a company under the management of Gilbert & Trowbridge, with Mrs. Trowbridge as leading lady, gave a round of 436 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND the legitimate drama in the little brick courthouse, located on the northwest section of the Public Square. Cleveland has witnessed numerous theatrical "smash ups," the first of which occurred in 1832, when the Mestayer troupe, which made its way from Boston by easy stages and finally by way of the Ohio canal, succumbed to financial disaster. Members of the company quit town the best they could. Mr. and Mrs.. Mestayer were financially unable to do so, and to eke out an existence and save up enough funds to get back to Boston, they gave what were called "comic shows" in Abbey's Hotel on the corner of Ontario and Michigan. This was really the first vaudeville performance ever given in Cleveland, and it was during one of these performances, Dan Marble, who years later became a famous comedian, made his debut in a sketch and songs. When the little brick courthouse became too small to accommodate play loving Clevelanders, capitalists put their heads together and erected a theater on the spot where the Western Reserve block is now located, but the entrance faced the other way, being located at the corner of Superior Hill and Union Lane, at that time the center of the town's activities. The first floor was used for stores, and the theater proper, containing an auditorium of seventy by fifty, was up one flight of stairs. It was built of wood, by William and Samuel Cook, and leased by an actor named Parsons, who engaged a fairly good company to support him, the season continuing about half the winter. Parsons soon tired of acting and became a parson, joining the Methodist ministry, and when tired of the job of preaching and the small salary he again donned the sock and buskin. Bye and bye, in 1835 or thereabouts, Cleveland became quite a theatrical center. A circuit was established here by Dean & McKinney, who played the company in Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Buffalo and small towns between these then larger cities. The company was one of the best in the country and included in its makeup the then celebrated comedian, possibly the best in the country, Billy Forrest, also Dean, whose daughter, Julia Dean Hayne, ultimately became a well known actress. In the '30s another theater was opened in Cleveland. It was a marvel, one of the few brick buildings in town and known as Italian Hall, John Mills, proprietor. It was located on the West side of Water street, near Superior, the theater proper being on the third floor, the real novelty in the house being the raised seats. It was the fashionable house of the town and the stopping place for famous stars. In the course of time Italian Hall became a variety house. In 1837 a project to build a theater on Seneca street was abandoned on account of the panic. The association was composed of Dean & McKinney and a number of moneyed men of the town. During the dramatic year of 1839-40 there stood a building at Ontario street and Prospect avenue, where Bailey's is now located, known as Mechanic's hall. This was fitted up as a theater. It was, however, too far up town, and one of the early companies that played there, headed by Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey, suffered great financial loss. The theater did not succeed. In 1848 a frame theater, seating five hundred, the largest up to that time, was built by John S. Potter on Water street, near St. Clair. It was opened August 14, of that year. The most noted actors of the day appeared there, including Chas. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 437 Webb, but it brought financial disaster to Mr. Potter and two years later it fell prey to the flames. Then came Apollo hall, and a sample program in existence of a performance given July 27, 1848, illustrates the character of the performance enjoyed by early Clevelanders. First, there was a performance of "Damon and Pythias" with Webb and Neafe in the title roles. Then a dance by Miss Walters and Mr. Goodwin, and comic songs, the entertainment concluding with the farce, "The Two Gregories," in which a Mr. Booth played the leading part. You could get a box seat in Apollo hall for fifty cents, and a chair in the pit for twenty-five cents. THE GLOBE THEATER. Then came the old Globe with its interesting history of about forty years, a longer life than any playhouse in Cleveland had before or since. Nothing escaped it. Every possible form of entertainment was given within its walls, from grand opera and lectures, fake spiritualists, to the cheapest vaudeville and minstrel shows. Nothing like it was ever known anywhere on earth. It was located on Superior street on the spot occupied by the temporary postoffice, while the new postoffice was under construction. Built in 1840 by J. W. Watson, it was known for some time as Watson's hall. In 1845 when the owner became financially embarrassed, he sold the lease to Silas Brainard, the founder of the well known Brainard family of Cleveland piano dealers. The name of the place was changed to Melodeon hall, and was so called up to 1860, when it was changed to Brainard's Hall; then to Brainard's Opera House, and when in 1875 the Euclid Avenue Opera House was opened, it was again changed to the Globe Theater. Laura Keene played in this theater, so did McKean Buchanan, the Lingards, the Parepa Rosa Opera Company, the divine and glorious Adeline Patti, the greatest singer in all history, the Kellogg and Strakosch Grand Opera companies, the Kiralfys made their first Cleveland appearance here, J. K. Emmett made his first appearance here as Fritz, and in 1880, the old house died, and wonder of wonders, the final performance in the old house being "Uncle Tom's Cabin," January 29th of that year by the Anthony & Ellis Company, with Minnie Foster as Topsy. A few days after the final curtain was rung down the bricks began to fly and the erection of the Wilshire block began the following spring. THEATER COMIQUE. A house which promised to be an honor to the community when it started and which wound up in disgrace, was the Theater Comique. It was located on Frankfort street near Bank, just back of the Weddell House, and was built about 1848 by G. Overacher. For a short period it was the fashionable place of the town and the best stars appeared there, but with the opening of the Academy of Music it started on the downward grade. It is generally supposed that Clara Morris, long retired, and generally accepted as the best emotional actress this country has produced, made her first appearance on the Academy of Music stage. That, however, is erroneous. Her real name was Clara Morrison and in 1862 I. H. Carter brought a company to play at the 438 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND Theater Comique. Carter boarded with a Mrs. Miller where Clara Morris' mother also lived. Clara was stage struck and was anxious to see real actors back of a real stage. This heightened her ambition and she was given a few minor parts to play. Shortly thereafter John Ellsler opened the Academy of Music and gave Clara Morris an opportunity to shine in very small parts in a good company. After the house was sold by the sheriff, a Frenchman named Adolph Montpellier made many changes in it. He made the stage of easy access for the young sports about town who frequented the orchestra chairs, and for years it was regarded by respectable Clevelanders as a hell hole of iniquity. Montpellier made a fortune out of it, retired, and other managers, including Kellacky, Vincent and B. C. Hart, took hold of it. but morally the place never improved, despite the crusades of newspapers and activities of city councils and police departments. Taken all in all no more wicked place of amusement ever existed in Cleveland, and few worse ones in the country. THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC. It was early in the '50s, about the winter of 1852, when Charles Foster came from Pittsburg to show the people of Cleveland what a real theater should be, and he built the historic old Academy of Music on Bank street, now West Sixth, taking a lease of the property for a score of years. And thus began the career of the most famous theater in the history of Cleveland, and one of the most celebrated in the United States. Foster was well to do but in a short time he sunk his money and returned to Pittsburg penniless. Foster opened the house on a Saturday night with a production of "The School for Scandal," by the stock company. Ben Maginley, who later became a celebrated comedian, played the leading comedy role. W. J. Florence, better known as "Billy" opened for a week the succeeding Monday in Irish comedy. Then came John Ellsler, "Uncle John" as he was affectionately known by the people of Cleveland. He was a Philadelphian, had been traveling a good deal, especially with Joseph Jefferson, whom he taught the Dutch dialect for Rip Van Winkle, and made up his mind to stop the road 'and settle down as a resident actor manager. As an actor he was wonderfully versatile and among the best, and as a manager, regarded from the artistic side, he had few if any peers any where. However, "Uncle John" was never a good financier, and he lost fortunes as quickly as he made them. The academy always bore the reputation of being one of the best dramatic schools on the continent and some of the foremost American actors graduated from there. Edwin Forrest, Charlotte Cushman, Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth—the assassin of Lincoln-Fechter, Davenport and in short, the greatest actors of the times played starring engagements in that theater. John McCullough was unknown when he first appeared there as Virginius, Lawrence Barrett was a struggling genius when Ellsler gave him a chance. And so, the list might be extended interminably for to make it complete it would be necessary to print the name of every star who gained prominence in those days. From the day Ellsler took hold until it started on its downward journey, many years later, Ellsler's stock company bore the reputation of being one of the most HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 439 complete in the west. The best leading men and women graduated from its boards. James O'Neill, who later gained fame as Edmond Dantes m "Monte Cristo," played "leads" there in the early '70s, shortly after Clara Morris had sought better fields in the east; Jimmie Lewis, comedian, acquired his first rudiments of the art there, so did Roland Reed and Effie Ellsler, Uncle John's daughter, who later became famous as an emotional actress and is now retired as Mrs. Frank Weston, practically grew up on the Academy of Music stage. The year 1874 brought Joseph Whiting, who recently died, as the leading man. Whiting later became famous in the part of "Jim the Penman." Ellsler's ambition led him to build and manage the Euclid Avenue Opera House which opened in 1875. The academy stock company was transferred to the Opera House and vaudeville was played at the old house. Finally, "Uncle John" began to realize that the Opera House was too far up town, so he managed both as legitimate houses, hoping to make enough in the Academy to make up what he sunk in the new theater, so on January 14, 1878, he reopened the Academy with Denman Thompson as Joshua Whitcomb, followed by other high class attractions and finally again transferring his stock company to the old theater. The best stars and companies played there, and even grand opera was sung there as late as 1881. Janauschek and Frank Mayo, Fred Warde, Marie Geistinger, Annie Pixley, Kate Claxton and others remained faithful to the old house as late as 1883. In 1885 Ellsler surrendered and B. C. Hart, former manager of the Comique, took up the managerial reins. It was at this period the old house began to go to pieces. In 1886 E. T. Snelbaker ran it as a cheap variety house. He was succeeded by J. L. Cain, who gave it up. In 1887 the name of the house was changed to the Cleveland Variety Theater with C. S. Sullivan as manager. In March, the same year, H. B. Strickland became the manager. In October, 1887, it was opened as James Doyle's Winter Garden. After a brief period of darkness it reopened, January 6, 1888, as Phillip's New Casino Theater. Again it failed, and June 4, 1888, it was called the Theater Comique and failed again. In September, 1888, Decker -& Eagan changed the name back to Academy of Music. June 3o, 1889, the house was partially destroyed by fire, was rebuilt and reopened by Captain Decker in August as a vaudeville house. Then it became a Quaker church, and once more a variety theater, and again a fire destroyed the interior, September 8, 1892. It was rebuilt for a dance hall and labor meeting room, and the old walls of the historic house, now a factory, still remain. THE ATHENAEUM. The Athenaeum had a short and inglorious career. It was built on Superior street opposite Bank, now opened through, by the great showman, P. T. Barnum, who engaged a man named Nichols to manage it. This happened about the time the Academy of Music was opened, and was conducted as a vaudeville house. Nichols did not succeed and A. Montpellier took it off his hands and ran it as a variety house until the Comique abandoned the legitimate. Then Montpellier gave up, abandoned the Athenaeum and took hold of the Comique. There was no attempt made to resurrect the place when Montpellier left it. 440 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND THE OPERA HOUSE. "Too far up town," everybody said when John Ellsler made public his plan of building a theater on Sheriff street, now East Fourth, near Euclid avenue, to be known as the Euclid Avenue Opera House. The pessimists were right, for Euclid avenue almost to the Square was, in 1875, an avenue of homes, without a single place of business. Five years prior to that time, scores of plans for a new theater were advanced. Stock was sold for the Forest City Opera House, but when Ellsler made his plans known all gave way to him and many pitched in to help him financially, taking an interest in what then proved to be one 6f the most beautiful and perfect playhouses in the west. The front facing Sheriff street was ornamental and artistic, intended for the main entrance, but the street being narrow Ellsler leased a store room in the Heard block, Euclid avenue, and converted it into a vestibule and main entrance, used as such to this day. The ornamental entrance on Sheriff street, observed by few and scarcely known to exist, still stands as a monument to Uncle John's enthusiasm, love for the beautiful and artistic and—if you please—folly. On September 6, 1875, the theater which cost two hundred thousand dollars to build, was opened. It was the greatest theatrical event in Cleveland's history, for playgoers loved Uncle John and really intended to help him put the theater on a self-supporting- basis. Bronson Howard's "Saratoga" Was the play, with the following cast :