(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) PAGES 700 TO 701 NOT SHOWN 702 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND CHAPTER LXXII. THE LAKE TRAFFIC. Our lake has been our greatest boon to climate, to commerce and to manufacture. The first white men fo visit the site of the city came here by boat. For centuries the deep embayment into which the Cuyahoga empties, was the rendezvous of the Indians' canoes, and after the town had been founded and the wilderness begin to recede before the settlers' advance, the lake remained the most important highway between the east and the new west. The development of steam navigation brought an enormous growth to the traffic both in passenger' and freight service, and finally, when the vast deposits of iron ore were discovered in northern Michigan and Minnesota, lake commerce vied with that of the ocean in magnitude and industrial importance. The "Casket," of 1833, predicts our city's greatness because of its strategic location. "Few places in the western country are so advantageously 'situated for commerce, or boast greater population and business. Here is the northern termination of the Ohio canal, three hundred and nine miles in length, by which the village will communicate with Columbus and Cincinnati, with Pittsburg, St. Louis and New Orleans. * * * An inspection of the maps will show that Cleveland has a position of extraordinary advantage and it only requires a moderate capital and the usual enterprise of American character to advance its destiny to an equality with the most flourishing cities of the west. Two years ago it had one thousand inhabitants. It has now two thousand, and is rapidly increasing. The vicinity is a healthy, fertile country, as yet mostly new, but fast filling up. An artificial harbor, safe and commodious, constructed by the United States, often presents twenty or thirty sloops, schooners and steamboats." The first ship to sail Lake Erie was the "Griffin," built by the intrepid La Salle, near the mouth of Cayuga creek, New -York, in the winter of 1678-79. She was sixty tons burden (some say forty-five tons), fully rigged, with an emblematic griffin at her bow to protect her from fire, and a vigilant eagle on her high cabin. She set sail in the spring of 1679 and probably followed the northern shore of the lake, thus passing beyond the view of the Cuyahoga. She sailed to Green Bay and started from there on her return voyage, September 12, 1679, laden with a precious cargo of furs. Neither her griffin nor her eagle could preserve her from the evil fate which has shrouded her destiny in mystery, for she was never heard from after her departure southward. The earliest traffic on the lakes was carried on by batteaux, long boats, well built, following the shores, carrying cargoes of several tons that weathered the gales and squalls of the lake quite as well as the sail craft that followed them. A considerable traffic had developed between 178o and 1794 with the traders in these regions. Presque Isle (Erie) was the principal port on the southern shore. Cleveland was a trans-shipment station in the route from Pittsburg, and when in 1794 General Wayne needed supplies on the Maumee, they were sent by way of the Cuyahoga and Lake Erie. "The old Indian highway from Beaver to this place became a notable thoroughfare along which ninety horses and thirty men were continually passing. From this place goods and provisions HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 703 were taken, sometimes in vessels or in batteaux to the Maumee or Detroit, and sometimes through by land on horses." (1) In 1796 when Moses Cleaveland skirted our southern shore, he found Presq' Isle (Erie), the leadmg port, and several small schooners and sloops were then on the lake. Arriving at the Cuyahoga, he no doubt had the batteaux traffic on the river and the large lake craft in mind when he .provided an "upper landing" for the former, and a "lower landing" for the latter. Schenectady batteaux were used by the surveying party. "At the time of their arrival at Cleveland there were two small schooners (it is just possible that there may have been one or two others, but of such we are not advised), called the 'Mackinaw' and `Beaver' and belonging to Detroit." (*) It is not known what schooner first entered our port. But it is certain that the sand bar at the mouth of the river was an effective barrier against the entering of the river by craft of large draught. Boats were compelled to anchor outside and were unloaded by lighters. "In 1800 or 1801, a vessel landed one hundred barrels of salt on the beach, which was carried off on horses or carried' up the beach. * * * The general landing was near the foot of Superior lane. Vessels could seldom get into the river. They anchored off and had lighters. When they came in, they landed at the foot of Superior lane." (2) In 1805 the mouth of the river was made a port of entry and a collection district called "The District of Erie," embracing the south shore. John Walworth was the first collector. In 1807 the legislature gave permission to raise twelve thousand dollars by means of a lottery, the money to be used in clearing the channels of the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers and widening the portage path into a wagon trail. Although some tickets were sold, the drawing never took place. SAILING VESSELS. In 1808 Alonzo Carter, the most useful of the pioneers, built the schooner "Zephyr," the first vessel built in Cleveland. She was of thirty tons burden, was built "up on the hill" and hauled down to the water by oxen. (3) Captain Cummings commanded the little schooner and for several years she did a brisk trade in taking Cuyahoga's furs, grindstones and produce to exchange for salt, merchandise, iron, groceries and other necessities. She was destroyed by fire near Black Rock, New York. In 1809 Joel Thorp built a small schooner the "Sally," five or six tons and Alexander Simpson built the "Dove," about the same size. In 1810 the "Ohio," sixty tons, was built by Murray and Bigsbey. Captain John Austin commanded her. In 1812 she was sold to the federal government and became a gunboat in Perry's squadron, commanded by Captain Dobbins. She did not take part m the battle of Lake Erie. She was captured in 1814 at Fort Erie. In 1812 the schooner "Sally," twenty-five tons, was built here, Captain Abijah Baker in 1 - Whittlesey "Early History," pages 462-3. * - "National Magazine," December, 1845. 2 - Statement of Alonzo Carter, Whittlesey's "Early History," pp. 396-7. 3 - Some authorities say the boat was forty-five tons burden. 704 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND command. In 1813 Levi Johnson built the "Pilot," thirty-five tons. The boat was built where Euclid avenue and Sheriff street now meet. Twenty-eight yoke of oxen hauled the hull to the river. Captain John Austen sailed her. In 1813 the "Lady of the Lake," thirty tons, was built by Gaylord and sailed by Captain Stone. In 1815 Levi Johnson built the schooner "Neptune," sixty-five tons. She was launched in the spring of 1816 and was afterward in the employ of the American Fur Company. In 1821 Philo Taylor built the "Prudence." In March, 1822, Noble H. Merwin launched the schooner "Minerva," forty-four tons, at the foot of Superior street. Her chains were forged in a Cleveland blacksmith shop and tested by twelve yoke of oxen. The "Minerva" was the first vessel registered in Washington from the district of the Cuyahoga, under the new revenue laws. She was built at the corner of Superior and Merwin streets. In 1826 John Blair built the "Macedonia," sixty tons, and the "Lake Serpent," forty tons, and the schooner "Comet," fifty tons. (4) In 1841 there were nineteen sailing vessels built on Lake Erie. Of these only two were built in Cleveland. In the spring of 1842 of eleven sail vessels building on the lake only two were built here. In 1841 about two hundred and fifty sailing vessels were in the Lake Erie fleet. They varied from fifty to three hundred and fifty tons and cost about one million, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and their earnings were seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. (5) Their cost was about fifty dollars a ton, three-fifths of this for the hull, and two-fifths for the equipment. The crew usually consisted of a captain, a mate, five hands and the cook. A two hundred ton boat could store six thousand bushels of wheat, or two thousand bushels of wheat and two thousand barrels of flour. The development of these sailing vessels can be traced from 1812, when ship carpenters were brought to the lakes to build vessels for the war fleets. They naturally followed the coast models, these were later modified to meet the lake traffic requirements. This evolution through schooner and brig was completed when the clipper schooner "Challenge" was launched at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1851. This new model was eighty feet long, twenty-two feet wide, six and a half feet deep, had longer and sharper bows, a lighter draught and a greater proportionate breadth than her predecessors. She paid for herself in two years, a feat that insured the popularity of the clipper model. This boat combined great length and fullness of body and almost straight sides, with the broadest portion well forward, a square broad stem and a well pointed bow. There were usually three masts, varying in length, at least one large lower yard on the fore mast. The spread of canvas was enormous, and a clipper with all her sails spread was a magnificent sight. About 187o a few four masted schooners were built for the grain trade and by 188o there were at least nine five masters, the "David Dows" of Toledo, of two thousand, five hundred tons burden. (6) White oak was the favorite material used in building these schooners, the decking, house and spars were of white pine. With the depletion of the 4 - There seems to be some doubt as to the date of the building of the "Macedonia." Some authorities say she was built in 1823 by Merwin. 5 - "Herald," Vol. 27, No. 33. 6 - United States Census, 188o, Vol. 8. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 705 forests came the decline in the sail craft, and today there are only a few left, relics of the time when the harbor teemed with a forest of masts and the blue lake was dotted with their white spread canvas. Among the last of the older sail craft was the "Southwest" owned by Captain Bradley of Cleveland. The traffic of these sailing vessels consisted almost 'entirely in an exchange of the raw materials of the lake region, for the manufactured products of the east. Whiskey, corn, furs, fish, lumber, grindstones, hogs, and later flour, were thus exchanged for machinery, groceries, and merchandise. A typical cargo is thus described : "The schooner 'Detroit' cleared from Cuyahoga in 183o with a full load, consisting of ninety-one barrels of flour, one hundred and one barrels of whiskey, sixty- three barrels of pork, fifty-one barrels of dried fruits, twenty-four barrels of cider and sixteen barrels of beef." (7) The freight rates from Buffalo to Cleveland in sailing vessels in 1837 were thirty-four cents to forty-six cents the hundred pounds. In 1804 the freight from Buffalo to Cleveland was three dollars the barrel. In 1819 it was a dollar a barrel and the passage on sailboats, ten dollars. STEAM SHIPS. A revolution in lake traffic was wrought by the steamboat. In 1807 Fulton's "Clermont" made her trial trip on the Hudson. In 1809 the first steamboat sailed on the St. Lawrence, in 1811 the first one on the Mississippi, and in 1816 "The Ontario" was built at Sacketts Harbor, the first steamboat on the Great Lakes. Two years later the "Walk in the Water" was built at Black Rock near Buffalo, the first steamboat on Lake Erie. She was of three hundred and forty-two tons burden. Eber D. Howe, one of her first passengers, describes her launching. "In August, 1818, I was present at Black Rock and saw the first steamboat launched that entered the waters of Lake Erie. It was called 'Walk in the Water' and was a memorable event of that day. At this time there was no harbor at Buffalo of sufficient depth of water for a craft of that size, and owing to the crude manner of constructing engines at that time, she had very great diffi culty in getting up the river into the lakes, consequently she was obliged to wait for a 'horn breeze,' as the sailors term it, and hitch on five or ten pair of oxen by means of a long rope or cable and together with all the steam that could be raised, she was enabled to make the ascent. Sometimes the cable would break and the craft float back to the place from whence she started." (8) The same writer continues to describe his first voyage to Cleveland and the perilous position of this pioneer steamboat as she rode our shallow harbor in a gale. The "Cleveland Gazette" of September I, 1818, has this to say of the first arrival of a steamboat in Cleveland. "The elegant steamboat 'Walk in the Water,' Captain Fish, from Buffalo, arrived in this place on TueStay last on her way to Detroit. On her arrival she was greeted with a salute of several rounds of artillery from the point. She was visited by a number of gentlemen and ladies from the village, who Were treated with the greatest attention and politeness by the officers and crew. She is calculated to carry three hundred tons and to accommodate about one hundred passengers in the cabin, exclusive of steerage and fore- 7 - "History of the Great Lakes," p. 182. 8 - "Autobiography and Recollection of a Pioneer Printer," Eber D. Howe, p. 20. 706 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND castle, for the accommodation of families. After remaining off the mouth of the river for a short time she proceeded on her way to Detroit. "The 'Walk in the Water' will run, propelled by steam alone, from eight to ten miles an hour. She is schooner rigged and in a gale will possibly work as well as any vessel on the lake." (9) The run from Cleveland to Buffalo was made in forty-four hours and ten minutes. The first trip in 1820 was made on May 7th, and the two hundred miles from Buffalo to Cleveland were made in twenty-nine hours. (10) In March, 1821, she was wrecked at the mouth of Buffalo creek near the lighthouse. A gale drove her on the sandy beach and a line passed to the shore served to ferry all the eighteen passengers and the entire crew to safety. The loss to her owners was about twelve thousand dollars. The second steamer on Lake Erie was the "Superior," launched April 13, 1822, at Buffalo. The engine of the wreck "Walk-in-the-Water" was placed in her hull. In order to get her into the lake it was necessary to deepen the channel at Buffalo creek. Captain Jedediah Rogers commanded her and for some years she was the only steamboat on the lake. She was built by a company that had been granted the exclusive privilege to navigate the navigable waters of New York. a monopoly promptly stopped by the Federal Supreme Court. In 1831 the "Superior" was sent over Niagara falls as a spectacle. The old boat, however, stranded on Goat island. At this time began the enormous expansion of lake traffic. Sidewheel steamers multiplied. In 1826 the completion of the Erie canal added a great stimulus to traffic, as did also the opening of the Welland canal in 1829. A vast stream of emigrants poured into the lake region and the Mississippi valley through the lake ports. The rapid growth of population stimulated commerce. In 1820 there were four steamers on the lake. In 1830 eight more had been added and by 1839 there were over thirty. In 185o the sidewheel steamer was at its height of popularity. There were sixteen steamers running from Buffalo to Chicago. The earliest steamers were built with shallow draft, huge sidewheels, somewhat pointed bows and had at least one mast. The Welland canal modified this type. Vessels intended for canal passage were built with bluff sides and dull bows. The tonnage of the first boats ranged around two hundred tons. The first steamship built in Cleveland was of this type. It was the "Enterprise," built by Levi Johnson and the Turhooven Brothers in 1824. She was of two hundred and nineteen tons, engine about seventy horse power. She ran between Buffalo and Detroit and was commanded by Captain Johnson. In 1828 she was sold and Captain Johnson retired from active service. The first steamboat named after the city was the "Cleveland," built in 1837, at Huron, Ohio, for passenger service only. This boat was one hundred and thirty-nine feet long, twenty-nine feet broad, of five hundred, and seventy-five tons burden, and cost eighty-five thousand dollars. The boat was provided with a gentlemen's cabin with one hundred and twenty berths, and a ladies' cabin with twelve berths, as well as ten staterooms of three berths each. Her engines were low pressure. This boat is en- 9 - "The History of the Great Lakes," p. 299, gives July 31, 1818, as the date when the "Walk in the Water" first entered Cleveland's harbor. The date was August 25. 10 - "Herald," Vol. I, No. 30. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 707 titled to special notice because she carried the first steam whistle used on the lakes. Prior to this time bells and guns were used for signals. Captain Asa E. Hart commanded the "Cleveland." The era of larger sidewheel steamers began with the building of the "Empire" in Cleveland in 1844, the "finest ship on the lakes and the pride of our citizens." She was too large for the Welland canal and intended only for Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan. The "Empire" was of one thousand, one hundred and thirty-six tons burden, the first steamboat in the United States over a thousand tons and two hundred tons larger' than any other steamship in the world. (11) Her keel was two hundred and fifty-four feet, her deck two hundred and sixty-five feet long. The dining cabin on the upper deck was two hundred and thirty feet long, with the staterooms arranged on either side and the ladies' cabin at one end. The engines were five hundred horse power and her huge sidewheels were thirty feet in diameter. The "Empire" was also the first boat on the lake to have fire engines on board. In 1846 new engines were installed, one thousand, four hundred horse power, with the highest pressure cylinder then in use. Her model was new and chaste. Instead of a bluff bow and square stern of the earlier type, the bow and stern were gracefully pointed. She was the fastest boat on the lakes, sailing from Detroit to Buffalo in twenty hours and twenty-five minutes and from Cleveland to Buffalo in twelve hours and forty-four minutes. She was built by G. W. Jones for D. N. Barney & Company of Cleveland and was commanded by Captain O. Howe. Subsequently she was transformed into a propeller. The sidewheelers increased in size until in 1854 the "Plymouth Rock" of Buffalo registered one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-one tons, and her sister ship "The City of Buffalo," built in 1857, registered two thousand, and twenty-six tons. In 1859 the "Western World," two thousand and two tons, was launched. These fine ships marked the culmination of the sidewheel type. By 1863 they were dismantled and made into propellers for the grain traffic. The railroads had robbed them of their passenger traffic. These sidewheel passenger steamers were graceful boats, with great speed, handsome cabins, provided splendid meals, often had a band of music on board and were usually crowded with passengers, four or five hundred not being an uncommon number. They were built of oak throughout, except the decks and spars, which were of white pine: well "salted." In 1859 there were on the lakes ten of these steamers over one thousand tons each, twenty-one over four hundred tons, fifty-eight over two hundred tons, seventy over one hundred tons, sixty-three over twenty tons and sixty-one under twenty tons. There were over three hundred sidewheelers built on the lakes during this period. The fare on the "Walk in the Water" from Buffalo to Detroit was eighteen dollars. Previously the sailboats occupying about thirteen days for the trip, charged thirteen dollars. In 182o the fare from Buffalo to Cleveland was ten dollars. In 1836 the cabin fare from Buffalo to Cleveland was five dollars, steerage two dollars and fifty cents ; in 1847, cabin three dollars, steerage one dollar and fifty cents. 11 - "History of the Great Lakes." 708 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND Rates to Detroit, Chicago and Mackinaw were in proportion. Freight rates in 1837 from Buffalo to Cleveland by steamer for "heavy" goods, forty-four cents the one hundred pounds and for "light" goods, sixty cents. In 1839 from Buffalo to Cleveland, twenty-seven and forty cents. In 1841 to transport a horse from Buffalo to Cleveland cost five dollars; heavy freight, twenty-seven cents the hundredweight ; light freight, forty cents and barrel bulk, fifty cents the hundredweight. In 1843 the freight on wheat from Cleveland to Buffalo was four to five cents the bushel; flour, sixteen to eighteen cents the hundred pounds; pork, twenty-five to twenty-eight cents the barrel. It is difficult to obtain accurate information as to the amount of tonnage and number of passengers that arrived and cleared from Cleveland in those years. While in the earliest period of steam navigation the principal lines ran between Buffalo and Detroit and later Chicago, Cleveland was always an important port. Most of the passenger steamers stopped here and a number of liners ran from here to other lake ports. In 1822 the "Superior" left Buffalo every Tuesday and Detroit every Friday, stopping at Erie, Grand River, Cleveland and Sandusky. In 1826 the "Superior," "Henry Clay," three hundred and forty-eight tons, and "Enterprise" plied the same route. In the following year the "William Penn" and the "Niagara" were added to the fleet, and in 1831 the "Ohio," one hundred and eighty-seven tons. In 1833 the "Uncle Sam," two hundred and eighty tons, from Sandusky. In 1833 the "Herald" records that up to July 1st of that year, two hundred and thirty ships had arrived in the harbor, that the docks were "thronged with passengers," that there was a great amount of freight handled and that the canal was in a prosperous condition. (12) Over one hundred buildings had been built m the town the previous year as the result of this commercial prosperity. In the week of July 20, 1833, fifty-two vessels arrived here, heavily loaded, twenty-four had come via Welland canal, and eleven from Canadian ports on Lake Erie. (13) In 1834 the "Herald" says with pride that often fourteen steamboats arrived in forty-eight hours, crowded with passengers. (14) In 1837 the steamboat "Bunker Hill" from Black River, Ohio, built largely for freight, was one of the largest on the lake, capacity, four hundred and fifty-seven tons, three thousand barrels in bulk. She plied between Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo and Chicago. Other steamboats between Cleveland and Chicago in 1837 were the "Pennsylvania," three hundred and ninety-five tons, the "Constellation," four hundred and eighty-three tons, and the "Constitution," four hundred and forty-nine tons, all new boats. In 1836 the "DeWitt Clinton," four hundred and ninety-three tons, built at Huron, was added to the Cleveland fleet. She was sunk at Dunkirk, 1851. In 1838 the "Great Western," seven hundred and eighty tons, was built at Huron, Ohio, the largest steamer of that year. She was burned at her wharf in Detroit, September 1, 1839. The city directory of 1837 states that in 1836 there entered the port nine hundred and eleven vessels and nine hundred and ninety steamboats, aggregating four hundred and one thousand, eight hundred tons. One hundred and eight were foreign vessels ; the same number cleared the harbor. The following com- 12 - "Herald," No. 709. 13 - "Herald," No. 711. 14 - "Herald," No. 770. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 709 prise the greater part of the fleet, stopping regularly at Cleveland, for both freight and passengers in 1836-7 ; the steamboats "Cleveland ;" "Robert Fulton," three hundred and sixty-eight tons, built in Cleveland in 1835 and wrecked at Sturgeon Point in 1844; "DeWitt Clinton," "Erie," four hundred and ninety-seven tons, built at Erie in 1837, burned in 1841, two hundred and fifty lives lost ; "United States," three hundred and sixty-six tons ; "New York," three hundred and twenty-five tons ; "Charles Townsend," three hundred and twelve tons ; "Representative," North American," three hundred and sixty-two tons ; "0. Newbury," one hundred and seventy tons ; "Eclipse," two hundred and thirty tons ; "S. Thompson," two hundred and forty-one tons. The following table, taken from the "National Magazine' December, 1845, shows number of boats belonging to Cleveland port, and the number of arrivals and clearances. (CHART NOT SHOWN) One of the finest Cleveland boats was the "North Star," one thousand and six tons, built in Cleveland in 1854 and burned in Cleveland February 2, 1862. She was one of the first boats to pass through the Sault canal, June, 1855. Many of these sidewheelers were hastily built, without proper precaution against the severe gales that come with sudden fervor over the lakes, without protection against fire that their wooden hulls and cabins and loads of cordwood for fuel constantly invited, with flimsily constructed boilers unguarded against overheating. A train of horrible disasters followed in the wake of early steamboat navigation on the lakes. These catastrophies culminated for Cleveland in the burning of the "Griffith," about twenty miles east of the Cuyahoga June 17, 1850, with a loss of two hundred and eighty-six lives out of two hundred and fifty-six steerage passengers, forty-five cabin passengers and a crew of twenty- five. The steamer was about two miles from shore when the fire was discovered and might have reached the beach in safety. But she stranded on a sand bar a half mile from shore, the passengers became panic stricken at the rapid spread of the flames and hurled themselves into the water. When the horrible details of this disaster reached Cleveland a public meeting was called in Empire Hall and an agitation started for adequate inspection laws that resulted finally in precautionary legislation enacted by congress. It was estimated that from 1840-50 one thousand lives had been lost by explosions and fire on lake steamers. The state of the rules of navigation was far from stable in those years. There was much rowdyism among the navigators and sailors. The demand for seamen had increased much more rapidly than the supply, with the result that many unfit men became masters and mates. In February, 1848, at Buffalo, a meeting of 710 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND masters and vessel owners was held to consider ways for lessening collisions by uniting on-a plan of signals and lights. They agreed upon a series of such signals and also "Resolved : That so long as a master of a boat at the slightest appearance of rough weather shall be obliged to retreat to a room with a basin and nurse, no light or system of lighting boats or vessels can effectually prevent collisions. "Resolved, That as no man goes to the blacksmith to get his shoes mended, or to the shoemaker for his coat, so none but an experienced seaman can be a safe or trustworthy vessel captain and the best light we can recommend for such as have not the requisite experience is the light to the thorough knowledge that the business will give. "Resolved, That we recommend to owners of steamboats, propellers and sail craft as one of the most effectual methods of avoiding collisions, to appoint none to the command except such as have had an opportunity of acquiring at least the rudiments of seamanship." (15) The series of disasters, the agitation of citizens and seamen, finally brought action from congress and navigation laws were passed August 11, 1859, providing for the inspection of hulls and boilers, and other precautionary measures. In 1847 the first great convention in behalf of river and harbor improvements was called in Chicago. It was instigated by the veto of the river and harbor bill of 1846, by President Polk, a bill that appropriated five hundred and twenty- four thousand dollars for this cause, including twenty thousand dollars for the Cleveland harbor. The lake region in its indignation called the convention, which convened July 5, 1847, with two thousand, three hundred and fifteen delegates from nineteen states, including Thomas Corwin of Ohio, and a Cleveland delegation headed by Hon. John W. Allen. The convention stimulated the cause of lake and river navigation. Among its distinguished delegates was Thurlow Weed, the potent politician and gifted editor of the Albany "Evening Journal." For this paper he wrote a series of charming letters, describing his journey from Albany to Chicago and giving a realistic picture of lake travel in those years. At Buffalo he took the Cleveland built steamer "Empire." "I am afloat for the first time on Lake Erie in the magnificent steamer The Empire,' Captain Randall, who had steam up and was waiting the arrival of the cars. In ascending to her beautiful saloon, we found some three hundred ladies and gentlemen grouped around upon sofas, divans, etc., as luxuriously as on board of our own splendid 'Isaac Newton' and 'Hendrik Hudson' * * * "July 1. We had a delightful night and at sunrise were a few miles above Conneaut, Ohio, gliding rapidly along, some six miles from the shore. At 8 o'clock nearly three hundred passengers were seated in the Empire's spacious saloon to an ample and well served breakfast. During the forenoon the eye at a single glance took in a commercial fleet consisting of fifteen sails all from Cleveland and the neighboring ports and all heading for the Welland canal. We reached Cleveland at 1 o'clock, where we lay an hour, which hour we improved first by riding through its busy, bustling streets and then along one or two of its broad avenues, adorned with tasteful mansions, surrounded by a profusion of fruit trees, shrubbery and flowers. Cleveland at the outlet of the Ohio canal, is 15 - "Herald," Vol. 31, No. 8. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 711 fortunate in possessing a safe and 'snug' harbor. The fact that since the opening of navigation one million, three hundred thousand barrels of flour and one million, two hundred thousand bushels of wheat have been shipped at Cleveland, `speaks for itself.' "Hon. John W. Allen, a former representative in congress and one of the most useful, as well as one of the most deservedly esteemed citizens of Cleveland, with several other delegates from that town, joined us. Mr. Allen, after completing his law studies at Oxford, Chenango county, came to Cleveland in 1825 in a schooner of less burden than an Erie canal boat, and landed in a yawl on the beach, there being neither harbor nor dock there" * * * "July 2. At 8:3o o'clock this morning we came alongside a dock upon the Canada shore, to wood. A hundred and six cords of wood (hickory, maple, beech and oak) were seized by the deck hands, steerage, passengers, etc., and transferred from the dock to the boat, and at 12 o'clock we were under way. I learn that `The Empire' in a single trip, consumes over six hundred cords of wood. This requires for each trip the clearing up of over ten acres of well wooded land. The wood which was taken on board today cost one dollar per cord." "July 3. We had another calm, beautiful_ night, and Lake Huron this morning is scarcely moved by a ripple. The evening was again passed in conversation and dancing. And here let me say a word about the mode of 'killing time.' I had heard much about the gambling on the lakes. But if this habit continues, `The Empire's' passengers form an exception to the rule. The time so far has been most rationally appropriated. Many volumes of `cheap literature' have been devoured. Lakes, harbors and river improvements have been freely discussed. But cards seem to have gone out of fashion." "July 3. We reached Mackinaw at 12 m. * * * Having added some fifty cords to our supply of wood, and replenished our larders with an abundance of salmon, trout and whitefish, we are again under way." "July 4. At 1 o'clock today our steamer bell was tolled for the purpose of assembling the passengers in the saloon for divine service. The services were impressive, the audience large and attentive * * * We have now been nearly four days 'at sea' and everything has gone just right. The steamer is well managed. Though nearly three hundred passengers draw around the table, the fare continues as abundant as it could be if Fulton Market was at hand every morning." The return trip was made in the steamboat "St. Louis," chartered for the purpose. "The boat goes where the passengers direct and remains as long as they choose for two dollars a day, including board." WOODEN PROPELLERS. While the vast passenger traffic was shifting to the railroads and putting the graceful sidewheelers out of commission, the rapid industrial and agricultural development of the lake regions multiplied the freight traffic and increased the needs for carriers. A new type of steamboat succeeded the sidewheeler. In November, 1841, the "Vandalia," one hundred and thirty-eight tons, was launched in Oswego, New York, and fitted with an Ericcson's screw propeller. She was sloop rigged, with cabins on deck for passengers. The spring of 1842 she passed 712 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND through the Welland canal into Lake Erie, where she aroused great interest among vesselmen. It was soon discovered that this long, narrow, flat bottomed, straight sided, schoonerlike hull, was better suited for the freight and canal traffic than the sidewheeler. The machinery away-aft made handling easier and allowed the maximum room for cargoes. Within ten years fifty-three propellers were on the lakes, all but ten under four hundred tons. The popular size .was about three hundred and fifty tons. They were built of oak plank and frames firmly bolted together, and were supplied with masts, and fore and aft sails, almost constantly used as auxiliaries and many had centerboards. The first propeller built in Cleveland was the "Emigrant," two hundred and seventy-five tons, 1843 ; cost, fifteen thousand dollars. In 1845 she was altered to a brig and the same year wrecked at Avon Point. In 1845 the propeller "Phoenix" was built in Cleveland, three hundred and five tons, Captain B. G. Sweet, and owned by Pease and Allen of this city. On November 2, 1847, while upward bound on Lake Michigan, about fifteen miles north of Sheboygan, she was discovered afire and of the two hundred and fifty souls on board, mostly emigrants from Holland, nearly all perished. In 1846 the propeller "Oregon" was built in Cleveland, three hundred and forty-six tons, Captain John Stuart, owned by G. W. Jones. Early in April, 1855, while on her way from Detroit to the St. Clair river, and when nearly opposite Belle Isle, her boiler exploded, hurling the engine completely out of the boat, taking ten lives and sinking the hull. By 1855, the year of the completion of the Sault canal, larger boats were demanded, and Cleveland again led in the building of the newer type, with five hundred tons burden. In 1865 twelve large propellers were built in Cleveland, aggregating six thousand, eight hundred and twenty-three tons burden. In 1867 Cleveland launched the "Roanoke," one thousand and sixty-nine tons, a pioneer in the one thousand tons class. She did service until 1894, when she was burned off Fourteen Mile Point. The following table of propellers built by Thomas Quayle & Sons, Cleveland, shows the final development of the wooden propeller : In 1878 Radcliff's yards in Cleveland built the "John N. Glidden," one thousand, three hundred and twenty-three tons, two hundred and twenty-two feet keel, thirty-five feet beam, twenty feet hold ; in 188o the "A. Everett," one thousand, two hundred tons, two hundred and ten feet keel, thirty-five feet beam, eighteen and one-half feet hold, and the largest one measured one thousand, three hundred and ninety-three tons, two hundred and forty-eight feet keel, thirty-six and one-half feet beam, nineteen and one-half feet hold. These splendid oak propellers cost from seventy-five thousand dollars to one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. The largest required seven hundred HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 713 and fifty thousand feet of oak, fifty thousand feet of white pine and over one hundred tons of iron. From 1841 to 1882 over six hundred of these propellers were built on the lakes, for the coal, grain, iron, lumber and general freighting business. (17) But the growing scarcity and increased cost of timber compelled the adoption of another material and the example of England led to the using of iron. IRON PROPELLERS. The United States government in 1843 built the "Michigan," five hundred and thirty-eight tons, at Erie, entirely of iron, excepting the spar deck. The first commercial iron boat on Lake Erie was built in Buffalo, where tugs had been made of that material as early as 1861. In 1870 the Anchor Line contracted for four new ships for the upper lake trade and the following year the "India," "China" and "Japan," each two hundred and ten feet long, thirty-two and one-half feet beam, fourteen feet hold and one thousand, two hundred and thirty-nine tons, and the "Alaska," one thousand, two hundred and eighty-eight tons, were placed in service. These are still in commission. But the prototype of the modern iron freight propellers was built in Cleveland at the Globe works in 1882, the "Onoko," two thousand, one hundred and sixty- four tons. She was a remarkable combination of the canal boat type and that of the oak propellers and was one of the marvels of the lakes, carrying the unprecedented cargo of one hundred and ten thousand bushels of corn. She was two hundred and eighty-two feet long, considered by vesselmen at that time the practical limit of size. Her earning capacity was a revelation to the carrying trade. "She has run on the lakes sixteen seasons and has earned money enough to load her down." (18) But the development has not ceased. In 1897 the "Amazon" carried a cargo of two hundred and thirty thousand bushels of corn and there are a number of propellers of over 3,000 tons. OTHER TYPES OF BOATS. The barge was first used in the early '60s, in the lumber trade. In 1871 the first barge for carrying grain was used and practically revolutionized the business. Later it was adopted for the iron business. The whaleback was attempted in 1889 but has not proved popular. In 1895 the first fleet of steel canalboats was sent from Cleveland to New York. It had its origin in an inquiry set on foot by the Chamber of Commerce, to determine why the manufacturers of Cleveland could not more successfully compete for the eastern market. It was learned that the Erie canal gave Buffalo an advantage in freight rates and to overcome this handicap, Charles E. Wheeler proposed the building of steel canalboats to take a cargo from Cleveland direct to New York without trans-shipment. A steamer and five consorts made the first trip in August, 1895, with a cargo of rails for the New York street railways. 17 - United States Census, 188o, Vol. 7. 18 - "History Great Lakes," p. 413. 714 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LINES AND COMPANIES. With the development' of shipbuilding and traffic came of necessity the development of business organization. The ruinous competition of the sidewheeler days compelled a merging of interest. In 1833 the first association was formed. In the following year it controlled eighteen boats. It was discontinued in 1836, followed by another in 1839. In 1840, forty-eight boats valued at two million, two hundred thousand dollars were in the pool. This association fluctuated in power from year to year. Its headquarters were in Buffalo. They agreed on rates and fares between Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago, but met violent opposition. The year 1849 was a poor year for vesselmen and a new "combine" was formed among the vessel owners. Each boat was appraised and its appraised value given in scrip, was held in lieu of a stock certificate. The association then sent each boat where it pleased. The earnings were pooled and paid as dividends on the scrip. It was reported that from three to four million dollars were in the combine. The "Herald" says "The association is a giant one but we can see no more reason why the lake interests should thus combine and fix rates of freight and passenger, than that dry goods merchants should do the same thing in regard to the price of goods." (19) Considerable popular sympathy was worked up for those not in the combine. In 1850 transportation companies were being organized on the modern corporate plan. These usually owned small steamers plying between given points. The old haphazard plan of sending boats wherever there was a cargo was gradually abandoned. The Northern Transportation Company was organized in 1851, operating a number of propellers between Chicago and Ogdensburg and way points, and for twenty-four years was one of the leading lines on the lakes. One of the first distinct Cleveland lines was the Lake Superior Line between Cleveland. and the Sault, organized about 1853. The Michigan Central railway ran a boat, the "Mayflower," one thousand, three hundred tons, between Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo, in 1849. She was a splendid boat, with eighty-five staterooms and room for three hundred cabin and five hundred steerage passengers. In 1851 she stranded near Erie but was released. In 185o the "Atlantic" and the "Ocean," nine hundred tons, were added to the fleet, and in 1852 the "Forest City," four hundred and seventy-nine tons (later became the "Bay City") and the "May Queen," six hundred and eighty- eight tons (burned at Milwaukee, 1866), were put on the Cleveland route exclusively. The "Buckeye State" took the place of the "Atlantic" in 1853. "Plymouth Rock" and the "Western World," the finest boats on the lake, were added in 1854, and in 1855 the "Mississippi." These boats were each about three hundred and sixty-three feet long. The opening of the Great Western Railway through Canada, from Detroit to Buffalo, put the boats out of commission, and in 1858 they remained at their wharves. This was in its day the most prosperous passenger line that served Cleveland. The Union Steamboat Company, one of the first freight transportation lines, began in 1851, when the New York & Erie railroad chartered a number of side- 19 - "Herald," Vol. 33, No. 17. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 715 wheelers and with Dunkirk as a terminus, ran lines to Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit. In 1869, merging with various small lines of steamers, the Union Steamboat Company was organized as an adjunct to the Erie railway. In 1872 the company purchased stock in the Union Dry Dock Company and its ships were from that date built by the Dry Dock Company. In 1896 the steamboat company was virtually merged with the Erie railway. The Western Transit Company began in 1855 as the Western Transportation Company with many vessels on the lakes and two hundred canalboats on the Erie canal. Its boats ran to every principal point on the lakes. The Anchor Line, or the Erie & Western Transportation Company, as it is legally known, is the Pennsylvania Railway line, and does both a passenger and freight busmess. The company was organized in 1865. Its passenger boats, the "India," "China" and "Japan," stop at Cleveland. The Northern Steamship Company was incorporated in 1888 under the tutelage of James J. Hill of St. Paul. It at once commenced a large freight and passenger business. It built a fine dock in Cleveland, where its two splendid passenger steamers, the "North West" and the "North Land," stop. These boats are sister ships, each three hundred and eighty-three feet long over all, forty-four feet, five inches deep, gross tonnage four thousand, two hundred and forty-four, quadruple expansion steam engines, the first of their kind. on large ships, with seven thousand indicated horse power. The Gilchrist Transportation Company was organized in Cleveland in 1902 by the consolidation of all, the vessel interests controlled by J. C. Gilchrist. It was engaged in the general transportation business on the Great Lakes and had more than eighty boats of all varieties, the second largest fleet on the lakes. J. C. Gilchrist was president and manager. It is now composed of thirty-four steel ships and thirty wooden vessels. In 1901 the Pittsburg Steamship Company was organized by a combination of numerous fleets including the tonnage of many iron ore mining companies, among them the Carnegie fleet, the Pickands & Mather fleet, the Rockefeller fleet, the Lake Superior Iron Company, the M. A, Hanna fleet, the Menominee Company, the Mutual, and the Minnesota fleets and the Whaleback fleet. They have added many vessels since their organization. This fleet forms the marine branch of the United States Steel Corporation. Harry S. Coulby, prominent among marine circles, is president and general manager of this vast fleet. Other important fleets are those of the Pickands & Mather Company, the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company, the Cleveland Steamship Company, the C. H. Hutchinson Company's fleet, W. R. Richardson & Company, the Hawgood Brothers' fleet. The Wilson Transit Company, which once owned fourteen vessels, has sold the outclassed types, and now owns seven of the largest vessels. It was founded by Captain Thomas Wilson. Among the prominent vessel men, known in all the ports of the Great Lakes, will be remembered Captain John W. Moore, Captain Thomas Wilson, Captain William S. Mack, Captain Phillip Minch, Captain Henry Johnson. Also the vessel broker, W. J. Webb, who had offices in Cleveland for many years, and Captain C. E. Benham, marine surveyor. 716 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND There are many other freight transportation lines with offices in Cleveland. Last year there were ninety-eight of them but few of them have docks of their own here. Many railways touching the lakes also operate boat lines. Of the passenger lines, the oldest now in operation is the Detroit & Cleveland Steam Navigation Company. It was begun in 185o, when Captain Arthur Edwards of Detroit ran the "Southerner" and the "Baltimore" between Cleveland and Detroit. In 1852 the steamer "Forest City" was operated between the two cities. In 1868 the company was incorporated under the laws of Michigan, with three hundred thousand dollars capital. John Owen was the first president. In 1882 the Lake Huron Division was added with "The City of Alpena" and the "City of Mackinaw" running to St. Ignace and Mackinaw island. The steamers in the company's service follow : 1850-1852 "Southerner," five hundred tons, built at Trenton, 1847 and wrecked on Lake Erie in 1863, and the "Baltimore," five hundred tons, built at Monroe, Michigan, 1847 and wrecked at Sheboygan, 1855. In 1852 the steamer "Forest City," the "St. Louis" and the "Sam Ward" were operated. The "Forest City," four hundred and seventy-nine tons, was built at Trenton in 1851. In 1852 her boilers exploded and three lives were lost. She was later called the "Bay City" and wrecked in 1862 at Clay Banks. The "St. Louis," six hundred and eighteen tons, built at Perrysburg, 1844, was wrecked in 1852, near Kelley's island. The "Sam Ward," four hundred and fifty tons, was built at Newport, 1847, and was made a barge afterward. In 1853 the "May Queen" and the "Cleveland" were the fleet and did service for several years. The "May Queen," six hundred and eighty-eight tons, was built in 1853 for this route. She was burned at Milwaukee, 1866. The "Cleveland," five hundred and seventy-four tons, was built also for this service at Newport, in 1852, and wrecked in Lake Superior in 1864, at Two Hearts river. In 1856 the "Ocean," nine hundred tons, was put on and ran for a year and a half. The steamer "City of Cleveland," seven hundred and eighty-eight tons, was next placed on the route. In 1867 she was transferred into a barge, and the following year was lost in Lake Erie. In 1856 it was attempted to run boats morning and evening but this did not pay. In 1856 the "Ocean" was put back on the route, and in 1862 was replaced by the "Morning Star." Until 1867 the "City of Cleveland" and the "Morning Star" formed the fleet. The latter boat was built in Trenton in 1862, was one thousand, one hundred and forty-one tons and one of the finest boats of her day. She was sunk in a collision with the bark Cortland, in 1868, on Lake Erie, and thirty-two lives were lost. In 1867 the "R. N. Rice" replaced the "City of Cleveland." The "Rice," one thousand, and thirty tons, was built at Detroit in 1866, was partially burned in Saginaw in 1877, and was lost in Lake Michigan in 1888. In 1868 the "Northwest" took the place of the "Morning Star." The new boat, one thousand, one hundred tons, was built the previous year in Manitowoc, was rebuilt in 1876 and named the "Grey Hound." In 1878 the "City of Detroit" replaced the "R. N. Rice." The new boat was the finest of its day, built at Detroit, one thousand and ninety-five gross tons, and cost one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. She was later called the "City of the Straits," and did service on the Put-in-Bay and Toledo route. In 188o the "City of Cleveland," the second, was built in Detroit, a twin in size and pattern of the "City of Detroit." The "City of Detroit" was put on the Mackinac route and HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 717 in 1883 the new "City of Mackinac," eight hundred and seven tons, built at Wyandotte, was also put on the Mackinac route. In 1886 the "City of Cleveland," the third, was built at Wyandotte, at a cost of three hundred thousand dollars, one thousand, nine hundred and twenty-four gross tons, was put on the main route, and the "City of Cleveland," the second, was renamed the "City of Alpena" and put on the Mackinac division, where with the "City of Mackinac" she did service until the close of the season of 1893, when these two boats were sold to the Buffalo Line and were replaced by two splendid new steel steamers of the same name. From 1885 to 1889 the "City of Detroit," first, and the "City of Cleveland," third, were on the Cleveland division. In 1889 a new ship, the "City of Detroit," second, was built at Wyandotte, at a cost of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars ; tonnage, one thousand, nine hundred and nineteen. The old "City of Detroit" was shifted to Lake Michigan to run between Chicago and St. Joseph but the route was not profitable and her name was changed in 1893 to the "City of the Straits" and put on the Cleveland and Put-in-Bay route, where the fol lowing year she was joined by the "State of New York." - In 1907 the "City of Cleveland," fourth, was ready for her equipment at the yards in Wyandotte, when she was destroyed by fire. Immediately she was rebuilt and in 19o8 was put in commission. This fine boat cost five hundred thousand dollars ; tonnage four thousand, five hundred and sixty-eight. She is a magnificent ship, her splendid equipment bespeaking the great progress that our lake traffic has made in these last decades. The "City of Cleveland," third, was named the "City of St. Ignace" and put on the Huron division. The Cleveland and Buffalo Transit Company was organized in 1892 by Cleveland men : M. A. Bradley, president ; George W. Gardner, Harvey D. Goulder, J. K. Boles, S. Shurmer and R. C.. Moody, directors ; T. F. Newman, general manager. The company purchased from the Detroit & Cleveland Company, the "City of Mackinac," changing her name to the "State of New York" and the "City of Alpena" changed her name to the "State of Ohio." These boats were from the start too small for the traffic, and in 1896 the new "City of Buffalo" was put in commission. This fine new boat was built by the Detroit Dry Dock Company ; gross tonnage two thousand, three hundred and ninety-eight ; capacity three thousand passengers, and eight hundred tons of freight. In 1898 her sister ship the "City of Erie," was placed in commission. The old steamers were put on the Toledo route. By means of these two companies Cleveland has splendid passenger service between Buffalo, Erie, Put-in-Bay, Toledo, Detroit and Mackinac. The Northern Transportation Company provides for service with Duluth and Chicago, while a number of lesser boats provide transportation to Georgian Bay, Port Stanley and other minor ports. In 1895 a number of the freight lines allied with the various railroads formed an association under the supervision of a commission. Cleveland has a branch office of this association. The Great Lakes Towing Company, commonly known as the "Tug Trust," operating in all of the Great Lakes, was organized in Cleveland. It developed from the Vessel Owners Towing Company and the Cleveland Tug Company. 718 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND The headquarters of the company are in Cleveland. The presidents have been, T. F. Newman, Cyrus Sinclair, and Edward Smith. In 1880 the Cleveland Vessel Owners Association was 'formed. Captain Alva Bradley was its first president, succeeded at his death by H. M. Hanna. The Cleveland association had a stimulating effect on vessel owners of other cities and several attempts at a general organization were made but none succeeded until in 1892 when The Lake Carriers Association was organized, with M. A. Bradley president ; Charles H. Keep, secretary ; Captain George P. McKay, treasurer; and Harvey Goulder, counsel. This association has been potent in bringing many needed laws and reforms to the lake traffic, and keeps a vigilant eye on every phase of this extensive commerce. Prior to this formal organization, conventions had been held from time to time to formulate concerted action. Such an important convention was held in Cleveland, September 24, 1872, to discuss the action of government inspection in forcing certain patents on vessel owners. III. TRAFFIC. The iron ore traffic is of course paramount, and several large transportation companies and myriads of independent boats are engaged in its transportation. The Cleveland Iron Mining Company, to which reference was made in a previous chapter, was the pioneer in this industry and through its enterprise and that of its successors Cleveland has become the largest iron ore port in the world. This company in 1856 shipped the first cargo of Superior iron on the steamer "Ontonagon." It was a small cargo of only two hundred and sixty-nine tons and arrived at Cleveland June 24th. The company shipped six thousand, three hundred and forty-three tons the first year. In 1869 the company bought a half interest in the bark "George Sherman," five hundred and fifty tons. H. J. Webb, Cleveland's pioneer vessel broker, owned the rest of the shares. Several stockholders of the company in the early '70s organized the Cleveland Transportation Company : Samuel L. Mather, president ; John Outhwaite, vice president ; F. A. Morse, secretary. In 1889 they built a number of steel propellers, among the first to carry iron ore. In 1890 the Cleveland Iron Mining Company and the Iron Cliffs Company, owning adjoining acreage in Marquette county, Michigan, were united under the name the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company. On the death of Samuel L. Mather in 189o, W. G. Mather became president ; J. H. Wade, vice president ; and J. H. Sheadle, secretary. The Cleveland-Cliffs Company has built a large fleet of vessels. They are one of the largest independent producers of iron ore operating in the Superior region. Hanna-Garretson and Company, composed of Dr. Leonard Hanna, Hiram Garretson and Robert Hanna, began the wholesale grocery business in 1851, but in 1857 became interested in Lake Superior copper and iron and built several vessels for the lake trade. In 1874 Marcus A. Hanna and H. M. Hanna organized a transportation company to operate with the Cleveland Iron Mining Company. Their boats were known as the "black line." In 1889 the company went out of business, and later the firm of M. A. Hanna & Company was organized, doing a vast business in ore and coal mining and transporting. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 719 The United States Steel Corporation in 1900 purchased a vast acreage of ore land and a large fleet of boats, and at once assumed a commanding place in the business. Pickands, Mather & Company early became interested in the mining and transportation of iron. They own a large fleet. The rapid increase in iron ore traffic brought with it the development of the modern ore dock, with its great unloading machines, with a capacity of six thousand tons a day. This machinery is made in Cleveland, the Brown Hoisting Machinery Company being the pioneers in this line of work. The coal traffic is scarcely second in importance. In 1847 Cleveland exported eight thousand, two hundred and forty-two tons of coal ; in 1848, eleven thousand, four hundred and sixty-one tons; in 1851, eighty-one thousand, five hundred tons. Of the grain traffic Cleveland has had but little in late years. The canal brought thousands of bushels m the earlier days but the railroads shifted this trade to Buffalo, the eastern terminus of the water route. The lumber trade has always been brisk. Cleveland is a distributing center for lumber for the northern part of the state. Of late years the depletion of the northern supply has diminished the amount brought by boat and correspondingly increased the amount brought by rail from the southern forests. 1V. SHIPBUILDING. In the development of this vast industry, Cleveland has long assumed the lead. Shipbuilding on the lakes received its first impetu! from the War of 1812, when ship carpenters were brought to Lakes Ontario and Erie to build the stanch fleets that added so much to the glory of American valor. The rapid expansion of population and trade in the years when these waters were the great highway, brought the necessary commercial stimulus to the industry and by 1816 small shipyards were found in all the leading ports. Vermilion, Sandusky and especially Huron, were strong rivals of Cleveland in boatbuilding. Reference has already been made to the first boats built here. These early boats were built by their owners. There were no regularly established shipyards until later. In 1835 Seth W. Johnson established a yard where he built the steamer "Rob-, ert Fulton," three hundred and sixty-eight tons in 1835. This steamer was wrecked at Sturgeon Point in 1844. In 1837 he built the "Constellation," four hundred and eighty-three tons. In 1844 he formed a partnership with Mr. Tisdale under the name of Johnson & Tisdale. In 1863 the firm was dissolved. In 1844 they built a ship railway and later a floating dock, the old substitutes for a- dry dock. E, M. Peck opened a yard and built his first ship, the schooner "Jenny Lind." In 1855 he formed a partnership with I. U. Masters under the firm name of Peck & Masters, which existed until 1864, when the firm was dissolved. Over fifty vessels had been built in their yards. Mr. Peck continued the business alone, building for the government the revenue cutter "John Sherman" in 1865 and the "A. P. Fessenden." Two government boats, the "Commodore Perry" and the "Fessenden," had an exciting race from Cleveland to Detroit in 1866. The "Fessenden" 720 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND won by forty-five minutes. He built also a number of the largest ships on the lakes. In 1847 Stevens & Presley built a floating dock ana in 1870 a dry dock. This dock was two hundred and fifty feet long, with ten and one half feet of water on the sill. In 1876 it was lengthened to two hundred and ninety feet. Later the Cleveland Dry Dock Company acquired it. In 1868 Captain Alva Bradley brought his noted shipyards from Vermilion to Cleveland. Here were built many fine boats before Captain Bradley retired from business. In 1827 Thomas Quayle came to Cleveland from the Isle of Man. He became apprenticed as a shipbuilder, and in 1847 formed a partnership with James Cody, within three years Luther Moses became a partner. The firm was prosperous, often having seven vessels on the stock at once. John Martin succeeded to the partnership and as Quayle & Martin, the firm became well known, building from twelve to thirteen vessels a year. When Mr. Martin died in 1874, George Land and Thonias E. Quayle were made partners under the name of Thomas Quayle & Son. They built some of the largest wooden ships on the lakes, being pioneers in the development of the large wooden propellers. Among the first of these were the "E. B. Hale," one thousand, one hundred and eighty- six tons, in 1874, foundered on Saginaw bay in 1897, and the "Sparta," one thousand and seventeen tons, in 1874; and the "Commodore," two thousand and eighty-two tons, in 1875, at that time the largest ship on the lakes. In 1882 upon the retirement of Thomas Quayle, his third son, William E., entered the firm, which continued as Thomas Quayle's Sons. The firm discontinued when wooden vessels were supplanted by the steel vessels. (*) Captain Alva Bradley, one of the pioneer navigators of the lakes, retired from the command of ships to build boats at Vermilion in 1852. In 1859 he came to Cleveland and in 1868 he transferred his shipyards to this city, where he built some eighteen vessels before he retired from active business. In 1869 Robert Wallace, John F. Pankhurst, John B. Cowle and Henry D. Coffinbery, secured an interest in a small machine shop and foundry of Sanderson & Company on Center street. This establishment rapidly grew in importance and became the Globe Iron Works, and when Stevens & Presley, who were operating the Marine Railway in the old river bed were in need of financial assistance, in the building of a dry dock, the Globe Iron Works purchased an interest, and the Cleveland Dry Dock Company was organized. Gradually the Globe Ifon Works was drawn into the building of ships at its old plant. Soon this was outgrown and a new shipyard that has attained mammoth size, was built at the head of the old river bed. The demand for iron ships became so great that the new yards were at once fitted up for the building of the steel ships, and in 188o the Globe Shipbuilding Company was organized by the original partners, Messrs. Wallace, Pankhurst, Coffinberry and Cowle, and John * - The "Herald," Sept., 1865, says : "Cleveland now stands confessedly at the head of all places on the chain of lakes as a shipbuilding port. Her proximity to the forests of Michigan and Canada affords opportunity for the selection of the choicest timber, while the superior material and construction of the iron manufacturers of the city give an advantage. Cleveland has the monopoly of propeller building. Its steam tugs are the finest on the lakes, whilst Cleveland built sailing vessels not only outnumber all other vessels on the chain of lakes but are found on the Atlantic coast, ill English waters, upon the Mediterranean and in the Baltic." HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 721 Smith, the general superintendent. A company was also organized for building and owning the first ship to be constructed in the yards, the first iron ship built in Cleveland and one of the wonders of the lakes, the famous "Onoko," which became the prototype of the modern huge freighter. Besides the Globe Shipbuilding Company, the following were interested in the corporation that owned the fortunate "Onoko :" Phillip Minch, J. W. Nicholas, John N. Glidden, George W. Jones and Captain William Pringle. In 1886 the Globe Iron works was reorganized as the Globe Iron Works Company and absorbed the Globe Shipbuilding Company. In 1890 several of the original holders disposed of their holdings and H. M. Hanna became president, John F. Pankhurst, vice president and Luther Allen, secretary-treasurer. The Globe Iron Works was the first shipyard in Cleveland to undertake to build a vessel complete for service, and the old custom of dividing the work among several contractors, one for hull, another for engine, etc., was largely supplanted by this method. The steamers "Republic," the "Colonial," one thousand, five hundred and one tons, and the "Continental," one thousand, five hundred and six tons, and their consorts, built in 1882 for the Republic Iron Company, were the first to be thus delivered. The Globe yards have not only launched scores of great freighters, but they built the passenger steamer "Virginia," one thousand, six hundred and six tons for the Goodrich Transportation Company of Chicago, and the magnificent twin ships, the "Northland" and the "Northwest," for the Northern Steamship Company, to ply between Buffalo and Duluth. They have also built several lighthouse tenders, one for Portland, Maine, one for Portland, Oregon, and the revenue cutter, "Walter Q. Gresham." In 1888 the Ship Owners Dry Dock Company was organized by the efforts of William H. Radcliffe, who for some years had operated a shipyard on the old river bed, and who became Manager of the new dry docks. The officers of the company were Captain Thomas Wilson, president ; M. A. Bradley, vice president ; H. D. Goulder, treasurer ; Gustave Cold, secretary. Later George L. Quayle succeeded Mr. Radcliffe as manager. Its first dock was completed in May, 1889, and enlarged in 1895. A second dock was commenced in 189o. In 1897 the Globe Iron Works Company purchased the plant and by them it was united under the management of the Cleveland Dry Dock Company, owned by the Globe corporation. In 1886 Robert Wallace and Henry D. Coffinberry, together with William Chisholm, J. H. Wade, Valentine Fries, Captain Phillip Minch, Robert R. Rhodes, William M. Fitch, Quincy Miller, Omar N. Steele and Thomas W. Bristow, organized the Cleveland Shipbuilding Company. They secured the site of the old Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Company on the Cuyahoga river. In 1897 a plant was built in Lorain, where the largest dry docks on the lakes were constructed in 1897-98. On the retirement of Mr. Coffinberry in 1893, Robert Wallace, Jr., was elected president and James C. Wallace, vice president. The American Shipbuilding Company, incorporated March ,i6, 1899, purchased the plants of the Cleveland Shipbuilding Company, the Globe Iron Works and the Ship Owners Dry Docks Company, of Cleveland and shipyards at Buffalo, Detroit, Milwaukee, West Superior, West Bay City, and Chicago and Milwaukee. 722 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND The headquarters of the corporation are in Cleveland. J. C. Wallace is president, R. C. Wetmore, vice president, Robert Wallace, Jr., general manager. V. EARLY DOCKS AND WHARVES. The first docks in Cleveland were built along the river near the first rude warehouses. Pettit & Holland had a warehouse in 181o, about which date Carter built his warehouse between Meadow and Spring streets, where it was easily accessible , to the flatboats that lightered the craft in the harbor. After the war of 1812 which brought considerable traffic to the village, the lake undermined Carter's warehouse. In 1811 Elias and Harvey Murray built a warehouse on the lower river. Another small log storage house was built near Superior street on the river. Leonard Case and Captain William Gaylord in 1816 built the first frame warehouse on the river, a little north of St. Clair street. This was followed in a year or two by one nearer the lake, built by Levi Johnson and Dr. David Long. John Blair built a third still farther north. "From Blair's warehouse down the river, to the point of ground on which Murray's built, was then an impassible marsh." (*) It was later lined with docks. The first attempt at building a wharf into the lake was made in 1816, when the "Cleveland Pier Company" was chartered by the legislature. The agreement reads : "We, the undersigned, hereby covenant and agree to associate and form ourselves into a company, to be known and distinguished by the name and title of the 'Cleveland Pier Company,' for the purpose of erecting a pier at or near the village of Cleveland, for the accommodation of vessels navigating Lake Erie. Agreeable to an act of the legislature of the state of Ohio passed at their session in 1815-16, authorizing the incorporation of a company for the above said purpose. Alonzo Carter, A. W. Walworth, David Long, Alfred Kelley, Datus Kelley, Eben Hosmer, Daniel Kelley, George Wallace, Darius E. Henderson, Samuel Williamson, Sr., Irad Kelley, James Kingsbury, Horace Perry, Levi Johnson. (20) This list includes all of the villagers then active in lake shipping. The light structure built was soon wrecked by the storms and no piers were built into the lake for dockage until J. G. Stockly built his famous "Stockly's pier," at the foot of Bank street. One of the most historic of the old warehouses was the one purchased by Noble H. Merwin in 1816, at the foot of Superior street. Merwin formed a partnership with Giddings. Later the firm was Giddings & Baldwin, then Giddings, Baldwin & Pease, and Griffith, Pease & Company. In 1854 the buildings fronting on the river from Superior to Canal streets were destroyed by fire. "Conspicuous during the period (1825-36) we had many noted business men as forwarders and commission merchants of energy, education and thrift, all eager to fill and help on the tide of prosperity. Steamers, sail vessels and canal boats were built and pressed into service and lines formed for transportation 'eastward and westward, to the north and the south. In fact the pressure and nature of employment was much like that of our railroad system." * - Whittlesey's "Early History," p. 465. 20 - Whittlesey's "Early History," P. 466. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 723 "At this time (1847), there were engaged in business on the river as produce and shipping merchants, grocers and ship chandlers and supply stores, some twenty firms among which I can mention the names of Gillespie, Joyce & Company, George C. Davis, Griffith, Pease & Co., Robert H. Backus, Bronson & Hewitt, George A. Foster, Hutchinson, Goodman & Co., John E. Lyon, W. G. Oatman, A. Penfield, Ransom, Baldwin & Co., J. L. Wheatherby, R. Winslow & Co., Barstow & Co., Ross & Lemon, Smyth & Clary, Beebe, Allen & Company and A. S. Cramer & Co." (21) The firm of Hewitt & Lyon, later R. T. Lyon & Son, should be added to this list. With the opening of the river direct into the lake, and the development of the harbor, slips were built at River street, below St. Clair, for the schooners and steamers that now entered the river. The opening of the canal brought a large cluster of warehouses on Merwin street. With the development of the railroads, the tonnage of the lakes was transferred to the trains, and better dock facilities were required. By 1853 six piers were built into the lake, immediately east of the river. These were occupied by the railroads and the government later had considerable difficulty in dislodging them, when the enlargement of the harbor required it. Small railroad tracks were laid along these piers. This was the beginning of the extensive docks that now fringe the lake and river. The old river bed early became the site for shipyards and later of vast ore docks, with their gaunt arms reaching eagerly for the great cargoes. VI. OCEAN GOING SHIPS. One of the dreams of the lake men was a fleet of lake boats going direct to Europe, with the products of this region. In 1849 the barge "Eureka," three hundred and fifty tons, Captain William Monroe, sailed with fifty-nine passengers for the gold fields of California. They successfully rounded the Horn and reached the Eldorado safely. In 1856 the steamer "Dean Richmond" sailed from Chicago to Liverpool. The bark, "D. C. Pierce," was the first to clear from Cleveland for Europe. She left in 1858 with a cargo of staves and black walnut timber. Ten ships followed her the same year. In 1858 fifteen ships sailed from the lakes to England with cargoes of wheat and lumber. The number gradually increased until in 1860, "At least thirty-nine lake vessels passed down the St. Lawrence to the seacoast." (22) The Civil war put an end to this traffic, and at the close of the war internal expansion taxed the carrier capacity of the lake fleets. VII. LIGHTHOUSES. The first lighthouse on Lake Erie was built at Erie in 1818, the year "the steamboat," as the "Walk-in-the-Water" was called, appeared. In 1829 Cleveland had its first lighthouse. It stood on the bluff on Main and Water street overlooking river and lake. It had a sturdy tower of brick that was re- 21 - Address of R. T. Lyon, "Annals Early Settlers Association," Vol. 4, p. 254. 22 - "History Great Lakes," p. 592. 724 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND placed in 1872. It was eighty-three feet high, but towered one hundred and fifty-seven feet above the water. Its white light was visible about twenty-one miles. Its original cost was fifty-five thousand, seven hundred and seventy-five dollars, this including the substantial keeper's house. There were two keepers, one receiving five hundred and sixty dollars per year and the other four hundred and fifty dollars. The lamps consumed three hundred and one gallons of "mineral oil" per year. In 1892 it was discontinued, for a modern lighthouse had replaced it. This new light is at the end of the breakwater or pier. Its foundations were contracted for in 1884 and the iron tower from Genesee Station, New York, was removed to it, when the foundations were ready. It is provided with a powerful flash lantern red and white alternately. In 1889 congress appropriated five thousand, two hundred dollars for a fog signal for the harbor and it was placed on the breakwater. Its noise was so annoying to the people on shore that a reflector was built to send the sounds over the water. A lighthouse was built on the west pier in 1831 and rebuilt in 1875. It has a white light. The east pier is provided with a fixed red light, built in 1869 and rebuilt in 1875. (23) Cleveland is in the tenth lighthouse district. "The Marine Record" was established in 1878 by Frank Houghton. In 1890 Captain John Swainson became the editor and publisher. Later the Marine Record Publishing Company was formed to publish the journal, with George L. Smith, president ; C. E. Ruskin, manager; and Captain John Swainson. editor. It was sold to Chicago parties about 1894. The first number of the "Marine Review" was issued March 6, 1890, by F. M. Barton and John M. Mulrooney. Mr. Mulrooney was the editor and in 1898 he became sole proprietor, upon the withdrawal of Mr. Barton from the firm. It is now published by the Penton Publishing Company. The Blue Book of American Shipping has been published in Cleveland since 1896, at first by Mulrooney & Barton, and now by the Penton Publishing Company. CHAPTER LXXIII. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HARBOR. The development of the harbor to meet the increasing requirements of trade has been the result of the cooperation of the city and Federal government. The city has confined its activities almost entirely to the inner harbor or river while the Federal government has levoted itself to the development of the outer harbors. I. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OUTER HARBOR. The work of the Federal government may be divided into four periods. The first period begins in 1825 with the first government appropriation brought 23 - "History Great Lakes," p. 370. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 725 about by the urgent request of the citizens of Cleveland that something be done to prevent the forming of the sand bar at the mouth of the river which annually obstructed navigation.(*) The sum of five thousand dollars was appropriated and used in the building of a pier at the mouth of the river, but this pier was so damaged the first winter and was of such little practical value that Captain Q. W. Maruice of the corps of engineers submitted a plan for closing the mouth of the old river bed, thereby compelling the river to flow straight into the lake, and then building two jetties about two hundred feet apart into the lake to the depth of twelve feet of water. It was estimated that this would cost $27,653.91. In March, 1827 congress appropriated $io.000 for carrying out the project. A dam two hundred and fifty-five feet long was thrown across the bed of the river to deflect the current and in the spring of 1828 the river had made a straight cut through the bar to the lake. Work was at once commenced upon the piers. The channel in this year was from six to eight feet deep. In 1831 the west pier was completed and a beacon light erected on its outer end. By 1833 a channel eleven feet deep had been secured. The piers were built of timber frames resting on the lake bottom and filled with stone. The construction was evidently not calculated to withstand the onslaught of heavy seas, for they were constantly in need of repairs. From 1849 to 1843 no appropriations were made by the government, and when Captain A. Canfield examined the piers in 1844 he found them in a very dilapidated condition. The west pier had to be rebuilt from the water level up. No appropriation was made from 1846 to 1857 inclusive. In 1852 and 1853 appropriations were made for repairs, but from 1854 to 1864 no money was forthcoming. In September, 1864, Colonel T. J. Cram of the corps of engineers reported that the west pier was falling to pieces and that the east pier was preempted by railroad companies who were using it for wharves, while at the entrance of the channel a sand bar had formed preventing vessels of a greater draught than eleven feet from entering. He recommended the rebuilding of the west pier at the cost of $20,836, that the east pier should be repaired at the expense of the parties who had taken possession of it, and that Congress should pass an act prohibiting the use of government piers by private parties. The repairs on the west pier was begun at once, but it was many years before the railroads were dispossessed of the east pier.. In 1868, Major Walter McFarland was placed in charge. He found the piers in dilapidated condition and recommended their rebuilding with crib construction. The first period of government improvement ends in 1875. During this period the government had spent $346,881.61. This expenditure had in no sense kept the harbor in con- _ dition to meet the increasing needs of our lake commerce. It had at most provided temporary piers that needed constant repair and an artificial channel that required constant dredging. 2. After considerable public agitation in Cleveland the war depirtment was induced to investigate the greater needs of the harbor and in 1875 a board of engineers met in Cleveland for that purpose. In June a report was submitted recommending as follows : * - A. W. Walworth went to Washington and demanded a hearing before the committee, and opened their eyes to the needs and possibilities of our commerce. 726 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND "A pile pier starting .from a point on shore about 70o feet west of the extremity of the old bed of the Cuyahoga river, extending into the lake on a line running about north ten degrees west (and making an angle with the general shore line of about sixty-eight degrees) to the fourteen foot curve, a distance of one thousand feet, the width of the pier being fifteen feet, the height above water about seven feet, and both sides being well riprapped. "From the fourteen foot curve the line is proposed to be continued by crib work filled with stone resting upon a foundation of rubblestone, five feet thick, and riprapped on both sides as fast as cribs are sunk, the .riprap having on the outside a height of about eight feet above the bottom, and a base of about sixteen feet, and on the inside a height of about five feet, and a: base of about ten feet. At a point one thousand, four hundred feet beyond the end of the pile pier construction and two thousand, four hundred feet from the shore the direction of the line is to be changed to one nearly parallel to the shore, and lying in an average depth of twenty-seven feet. The line parallel to the shore is to extend about 4,70o feet to a point nearly in the prolongation of the present west channel pier, which it is proposed to extend about boo feet, leaving an opening into the new harbor of about thirty feet." The west breakwater was completed in 1883, a total length of 7,130 feet, forming a harbor of refuge with an area of a hundred acres for anchorage in depths varying from seventeen to twenty-nine feet. The board also recommended that a harbor master be appointed and that a strong seagoing tug be purchased to be used in placing vessels which could not be handled by the river tugs. It was a number of years, however, before these latter suggestions were adopted. The commerce of Cleveland was growing so constantly and the art of ship building was progressing so rapidly that before the proposed plan could be entirely carried out the marine interests of Cleveland vigorously urged enlargement and modification. The War Department ordered a second board of engineers to meet in Cleveland, September to, 1884, for studying the situation. This board recommended an eastern breakwater beginning at a point on the extension of the lake arm of the west breakwater and 30o feet from. it, and extending eastward 'Jo̊ feet than inclining toward shore 2,40o feet. This plan has been modified from time to time. 3. The third period begins with work on the east breakwater in 1888. Lieutenant Colonel Jared Smith was placed in charge of the work and he pushed it vigorously forward. He found that the old piers Were "in a condition of positive ruin." The east pier was so decayed "as to be unfit to work upon." The location of these piers was somewhat changed and they were entirely reconstructed by casting huge blocks of concrete and sinking them in place. It was found that the water enclosed between the shore arm and the west breakwater was contaminated by the refuse that flowed into the river and thence into the lake. In 1895 an opening of two hundred feet was made in order to allow a current to sweep in and cleanse the water. The first large wharves constructed on the lake front east of the river were begun in 1894 when two docks were built with a large slip between them. These HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 727 wharves were equipped with coal loading machines with a capacity of twenty cars per hour. In 1896 congress authorized the completion of the improvements at an estimated cost of $1,354,000. This included the completion of the east breakwater with an extension of 3,000 feet added to the original plan of 1888; the removing of the superstructure of the old west breakwater and replacing it with concrete masonry ; reen forcing the cribs below the masonry ; sheathing the face of the huge breakwater with blocks of stone, and entirely removing and rebuilding the old east and west piers and widening the mouth of the river. In 1899 congress authorized the dredging of the channel and the sheltered area to a depth of twenty-one feet, and the act of June 13, 1902, authorizes the dredging to a depth of twenty-five feet. 4. The fourth period of development begins with the river and harbor act of June 13, 1902, which authorized the development of the breakwater eastward to Gordon park a distance of 16,000 feet, at an estimated cost of $4,481,456. By 1904 the superstructure on the west breakwater was completed. The substructure of timber cribs filled with stone remains as the foundation. The survey of the east extension to Gordon Park was completed in September, 1903. In the fall of 1904 the first United States dredge was delivered at the harbor. It was named after Congressman T. E. Burton, and has been used almost continuously since that date in perfecting the harboi. This dredge was built especially for work in this district. The improvement and enlargement of the main entrance to the harbor was virtually completed by 1908. In 1907 an appropriation of $98,000 was made for the building of a government dock at the foot of Erie street. The improving of the outer harbor of Cleveland, then, is based upon the authorization of congress as planned in the basic acts of 1875, 1896, 1899, 1902 and 1907. To June 30, 1908, $5,004,604.93 has been expended. This amount. has made possible the widening of the mouth of the river, the rebuilding of the east and west piers and capping them with concrete, the rebuilding of the superstructure of the west breakwater and the protection of the lake face of their cribs, the repairing of the old east breakwater, the extension of the breakwater eastward toward Gordon Park and the partial dredging of the entire enclosed area. About seventy-five per cent of the entire project is now completed. The net result is a twenty foot channel at the mouth of the river and a vast harbor six miles in length available for docks and anchorage. II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INNER HARBOR. When the first surveying party landed at the mouth of the Cuyahoga river they found a substantial sand bar closing its entrance to large boats. The spring floods usually washed it away so that boats could pass up the river to the foot of Superior street but during the latter part of the summer and early fall the storms would wash up a new sand bar. Boats anchored outside and unloaded by lighters. As the harbor was unprotected these boats were often damaged by storms while at anchor. The dependence of the new town upon the lake and therefore upon a safe and. convenient harbor was early recognized. The commercial interests formulated a demand upon congress in November, 1825, for fifteen thousand dollars for a "desirable harbor." This demand brought little fruit. On the first of September, 1826, a town meeting was held with Samuel Cowles as 728 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND chairman and John W. Allen, secretary, where it was unanimously resolved that the young town needed a harbor and a committee was appointed to prepare a petition to congress for aid. The result of this has been shown above. In 1828 the harbor admitted vessels of seven and one-half feet draught and the townspeople were delighted. The "Herald" records that : "Schooners and steamboats daily come up to our wharves and load and discharge their cargoes." By March, 1829, however, the water had fallen again to five feet at the mouth of the river and there was a sand bar awaiting the spring freshets. The building of the cribs was delayed on account of the quicksand and the delay' was very irksome to the townspeople. In 1837 the old river bed was opened to the lake, giving one hundred men work during that season of great financial depression. The same year the outer harbor was surveyed by the town with a view of building a breakwater. This was the first agitation for building a mole or outer harbor. The inaction of the Federal government led to a public indignation meeting. February 3, 1844, in the courthouse. This meeting was vehement in its spirit and emphatic in its memorial to congress. By 185o the citizens had come to believe that they could not depend upon congress for the development of their harbor. Private interests had from the beginning of the town improved the river front for shipping purposes. Stone's levee was one of the earliest landing places. In 1851 the Cleveland & Toledo and Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula railroads began to build six piers at the foot of Water street, near the passenger station. In 1854 the inner harbor was so narrow that boats lying at wharves on either side seriously obstructed the passageway, and the Board of Trade began an agitation which resulted in the city cooperating with the owners of the wharves in the dredging of the old river bed. Previous to this, some dredging had been done in the main channel of the river. By 1855 the congestion had become so acute that much trade, especially in grain, was lost to the harbor. The annual sand bar still persisted at the entrance. Finally the city through costly experience learned that if the inner harbor was to be fitted to the needs of the city's commerce it would have to be done at the city's expense. The city has continued down to the present day to dredge the river. In 1870 the mayor complains "the dredging of the river is a source of continued expense" and the engineer reports that "every freshet makes a sand bar." The variation in the amount expended from year to year, depended largely upon the size of this sand bar. One half of the expense of dredging was shared by the property fronting on the river. It was attempted to have the depth of the channel keep pace with the increasing size of the vessels. In 1874 the depth was fourteen feet. But the ambition of the city was not realized. In 1875 Mayor Payne in his annual address said, "But if vessels drawing twelve or fourteen feet of water stick on sand bars in the mouth of the harbor or lodge in the mud before they reach their destined docks, as was true last season, the best lake trade will shun us and will seek accommodation where it can be had at less cost and no annoyance." He suggested that the dredging might be done in March and April instead of midsummer. The fluctuations in the lake level have always directly influenced the amount of dredging in the river. For instance in 1879 the water was ten inches lower than in 1878. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 729 The finishing of the Valley and Connotton railroads gave a great impetus to trade in the upper river. Great quantities of coal, ore, limestone and lumber were handled there, and more dredging became necessary. In 1881 the Cleveland rolling mills built a large blast furnace on the upper river near the N. Y. P. & 0. railroad tracks and a depth of fourteen feet became necessary. The great bends in the river were increasingly a menace as the size of the vessels increased. By 1887 the deeper draught vessels found it difficult to reach the N. Y. P. & 0. bridge even in a sixteen foot channel. Meantime a great many bridges had been built across the river so that Walter P. Rice, the city engineer reported that, "the river has been robbed of water way at every bridge crossing, The result being a lot of undermined, sliding abutments and a choice assortment of ice gorges." In 1888 the work on the inner harbor was finally placed upon a more scientific basis. The work was systemized ; water gauges were established at different bridges ; trained inspectors were employed and daily reports made ; the channel was widened from fifty to seventy-five feet ; the old river bed was enlarged for dry dock purposes ; piles were driven near the Cleveland & Canton railroad bridge and at the Willow street bridge ; and a sixteen foot channel was maintained as far as the upper blast furnace. Instead of the yearly contracts for dredging, the city entered into a five-year contract thereby greatly lessening the expense. The year 1896 marks the beginning of the larger development of the inner harbor. The city undertook to secure the necessary land and donated it to the general government for the rebuilding of the west pier one hundred and eighty feet west of its former location. It was planned to widen the river to the Elm street line; to dredge its channel to a depth of nineteen feet and a width of one hundred and thirty feet, wherever practicable. In 1896 the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroad opened a channel one hundred feet wide from the old river bed to the lake. In 1897 the river widening was continued. The city obtained the land necessary for increasing the width from one hundred and eighty feet to two hundred and seventy-six feet between the Main street bridge and Superior street. Between Seneca and Mahoning streets the average width was increased from one hundred to one hundred and forty-two feet. February 12, 1900, the city council authorized the purchase of land between lower and middle Seneca streets bridges for straightening the sharp turn called "Collision Bend." The purchase of land was also authorized for widening the river between the old river bed and Main street and for widening the river between Sycamore and West River streets, and between Columbus street bridge and the Big Four bridge. In 1901 the widening was continued from Columbus street to Voltaire street and land was purchased for straightening the channel opposite the canal lock. In September of the following year, the dredging began in the upper river. This marks the last epoch in the development of the upper harbor. In 1908, the river had a navigable depth of twenty feet to Jefferson street, four miles above its mouth, and sixteen feet for one and a half miles further. Soon after the Federal government had begun to build the east breakwater, the city began the improvement of the lake front. Piles were driven at a considerable distance from the shore and the intervening space filled with earth. A 730 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND bridge was built over the railroad tracks to this new made land, and a city dock established, at the foot of Erie street. This work has so far progressed that it is contemplated to have passenger docks ready in the summer of 1910. Major Dan C. Kingman of the corps of engineers wrote in his report of 1902 : "I am of the opinion that a satisfactory harbor can never be had along the Cuyahoga river. The approaches from the land side are too contracted and difficult. I believe that as the east breakwater is extended to its full length, advantage will be taken of the fine facilities that it will offer, and that docks will be built under its shelter, the land approaches changed to conform to the new conditions and the lake business of Cleveland will be done to a very large extent in the new harbor which the present act of congress provides for." During the current year, the question of expanding the harbor facilities along the river has received a genuine impetus through the cooperation of the city and the adjacent property owners. If the present extensive plans are carried out, the next decade will find the wide valley of the Cuyahoga filled with manufactories from the viaduct to Willow station. For our river will no longer be the "Crooked River," but will have been made straight and its deepened channel will afford an easy waterway to the shipping of the lake. CHAPTER LXXIV. RAILROADS. The first locomotive was seen in Cleveland only sixty years ago, November 3, 1849. The economic importance of this event overshadows all others, because transportation is the life of the modern city. The attitude of society toward the railroad was radically different from that of today. Large sums of public money were voted to their aid and the city of Cleveland pledged its credit to several roads. The building of a new line was prefaced by large public meetings and several years of general discussion. The leading financiers of the country were the promoters and the public had faith in their operations. The state legislatures were very lavish in granting charters. They extended only to the state lines and were often very vague. In order to make interstate connections, charters in the various states were necessary. The most determined opposition was met from property owners, who believed their farms and buildings would be ruined by the railroads. Obstructions were frequently placed on the tracks and the operations of the trains hindered in every way. Early the sympathy of the juries was with the culprits, as it was soon after with the complainants against the companies for damages. There has been a remarkable development in the building and equipping of railroads. The oldest lines used "strap rails" of iron, three fourths of an inch thick, three inches wide and fifteen to twenty feet long. The straps were spiked to the ties. In 1851 the Cleveland railroads began the use of the T rail. Those used on the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula railway in 1851 were made in England, from twelve to eighteen feet long and weighed fifty-six pounds to the HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 731 yard. The estimated cost of this road was fifteen thousand dollars a mile. The first engines were as primitive. A speed of twenty miles an hour was satisfactory. The first passenger coaches were about forty feet in length, the baggage cars twenty-eight feet in length, the freight cars fifteen to twenty feet. The Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula passenger coaches were of the largest then in use, about fifty-six feet long, with eight wheels and brakes. The freight cars were ' twenty-six feet long, also supplied with brakes. This road had six engines, ample for its traffic. Two of them the "Eagle" and the "Osprey" (all engines were named before they became so numerous), were made in the Cuyahoga Locomotive works at Cleveland. They had six foot drivers, fifteen inch cylinders, weighed about thirty tons and were considered the finest in the state. They burned wood and the wood train was a necessary adjunct to the equipment. This train supplied the sheds along the route with cord wood. In 1854 the "Herald" recorded a "great performance of a locomotive," when the "Eagle" ran from Cleveland to Erie, ninety-five miles, "with only a single tender of wood" and that enough wood was left to run thirty miles farther. This was due to a new device, patented by the Cuyahoga Locomotive works. (1) June 4, 1856, a locomotive on the Cleveland & Pittsburg road burned coal, the first one to do so out of Cleveland. The locomotive ran one hundred and one miles in eleven hours and twenty-five minutes, on nine thousand, seven hundred and ninety-eight pounds of coal. (2) All the roads soon adopted the new fuel. In May, 1866, the first "sleeping coach" was seen in Cleveland. It arrived on the Cleveland & Toledo road and was in service between Cleveland and Chicago. The "Herald" of May 18th says, "two very handsome, commodious, comfortable and well ventilated sleeping coaches, manufactured at Adrian, Michigan, have commenced going through without change." The coaches accommodated fifty- six passengers each. The first schedules were meant for local traffic and convenience only. Freight trains were run haphazard. Only the consolidation of the short lines made through trains possible and brought the elaborate time tables of today. The history of each of the lines entering Cleveland will be briefly outlined. THE OHIO RAILROAD COMPANY. The first railroad project in this vicinity was the Ohio Railroad Company, organized April 25, 1836, in Painesville by R. Harper, Eliphalet Austin, Thomas Richmond, G. W. Cord, Heman Ely, John W. Allen, Jolin G. Camp, P. M. Weddell, Edwin Byington, James Post, Eliphalet Redington, Charles C. Paine, Storm Rosa, Rice Harper, Henry Phelps and H. J. Reese. Nehemiah Allen of Willoughby, representative in the legislature, was responsible for the charter that granted liberal banking powers as well as the usual rights to build a railroad. By act of March 24, 1837, the legislature loaned its credit to the amount of one third of the capital stock in railroads, turnpikes and canals, when the other two thirds had been subscribed. The state issued its bonds in payment for stock in the company. This "plunder law" was repealed March 1 - "Daily Herald," February 28, 1854. 2 - "Daily Herald," June 25, 1856. 732 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND 17, 1849, after the state had stock in railroads amounting to $751,915 ; turnpikes, $1,853,365 ; canals, $600,000 ; total, $3,205,280. This was nearly all lost. The Ohio Railroad Company planned to build not only a trans-state railroad, but at its termini two great cities, Richmond on the Grand river and Manhattan on the Maumee. The railroad was to be built on stakes driven into the ground. The visionary scheme fitted into the financial fantasies of the day and vanished before the hot breath of the panic of 1837. The state auditor reports in 1843 that "The original subscriptions to the stock of the company were one million, nine hundred and ninety-one thousand, seven hundred and sixty-six dollars. Of this sum only thirteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty dollars had been paid in cash ; eight thousand or ten thousand dollars in labor or material ; and five hundred and thirty-three thousand, seven hundred and seventy-six dollars in land and town lots. These have been reported as a basis for the credit of the state ; also there has been added two hundred and ninety-three thousand, six hundred and sixty dollars in donations of lands for right of way, all of which of course are conditional to revert upon failure to complete the work. The lands received in payment for subscriptions were all taken at the most extravagant rates." The state had paid the company two hundred and forty-nine thousand dollars, and its return was "some sixty-three miles of wooden superstructure laid on piles, a considerable portion of which is already rotten and the remainder going rapidly to decay." Out Lorain street and over the ridge toward Elyria, remnants of these stakes were visible for many years after this picturesque collapse. (3) THE CLEVELAND, COLUMBUS & CINCINNATI RAILROAD. This road, subsequently expanding into the "Big Four," had its origin in Cleveland enterprise, when John Barr visited Cincinnati in 1835-36 and in- and John W. Allen. Cleveland voted $2oo,000 of its credit as a loan but private capital was loath to invest. Only $25,000 could be raised in Cleveland by stock subscription, and Mr. Woolsey's endeavors to enlist Cincinnati, Philadelphia and New York capital were almost futile. In 1847 through the earnest personal ef- forts of Richard Hilliard and H. B. Payne, an additional $40,00o were raised. Al- Witt were given the contract to build the road, agreeing to take part of their pay- was amended March 12, 1845, permitting the building as far as Columbus, where it could connect with any road "then or thereafter constructed * * * lead the plans of all railroad building and it was not until 1845 that the commercial interests had sufficiently revived to reopen the subject. The charter of this line ing from any point at or near Lake Erie to or toward the southern part of the state." The new company chose John W. Allen as .president, and the following directors from Cleveland : Richard Hilliard, John M. 'Woolsey, Henry B. Payne terested capital there to work with Cleveland in the securing of a railroad char- ter. On March 14, 1836, the charter was granted for constructing a line from Cleveland to Cincinnati via Columbus and Wilmington. The great panic foiled Fred Kelley was elected president. Frederick Harbach, Amasa Stone and Stillman Witt wre given the contract to build the orad, agreeing to take part of their pay- 3 - See "The Ohio Railroad, that famous structure built on stilts." C. P. Leland, "Western Reserve Historical Society Tract No. 81." HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 733 ment in stock and actual construction began. The following paragraphs give a detailed account of these early operations. "In order to save the chillier which had fain dormant for a time, it was thought best to make a show of w on the line already surveyed. One bright autumn forenoon about a dozen men got themselves together near the ground now occupied by the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Company's depot with the noble purpose of inaugurating the work of building the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati road. Among the number were Alfred Kelley, the president ; T. P. Handy, the treasurer ; J. H. Sargent, the engineer; James A. Briggs, the attorney; and H. B. Payne, Oliver Perry, John A. Foote, and others besides your humble servant. On that memorable spot one could look upon those vast fields of bottom lands, and nothing could be seen but unbroken wide meadows. The brick residence of Joel Scranton, on the north and the mill in the ravine of Walworth Run of the south were the only show of buildings in all that region round about. These gentlemen had met to inaugurate the work on the railway, yet there was a sadness about them that could be felt. There was something that told them it would be difficult to make much of a railway without money and labor. Yet they came on purpose to make a show of a beginning. Alfred took a shovel and with his foot pressed it well into the soft and willing earth, placing a good chunk in the tranquil wheelbarrow close at hond, repeating the operation until a load was attained, and dumping it a rod or so to the south. We all shouted a good sized shout that the road was really inaugurated. Then Mr. Handy did a little of the same work, as well as Sargent and Briggs, while I sat on the nearest log, rejoicing to see the work going on so lively and in such able hands. All that fall and winter one man was kept at work on the great enterprise, simply to hold the charter. There was a serious hindrance in the progress of the work, which came in this wise: The laborer who had so great a job on his hands took a look and thought at what he had to do. It was one hundred and forty miles to Columbus, and it was best to hurry up or the road would not be ready for use for quite a spell to come. He set to work with renewed energy for a while, then threw himself quiet out of breath on the ground for a brief rest, when the rheumatism took hold of him and sciatica troubled his limbs so much that the great work was brought to a standstill: he struck for his altars and his fires at home, while the next fall of snow obliterated the line of his progress toward the south, and the directors got together to devise ways and means to keep the work moving onward." (4) A meeting was held in Empire hall this same year to discuss the conditions of the road. While Alf red Kelley was graphically describing the fate of Cleveland if the town did not soon have railroad connections with the central part of the state, the doors of the hall were locked and the people were compelled to stay until enough subscriptions were received to make sure the road. November 3, 1849, a throng of eager people watched the first locomotive seen in our city, pull a work train of wooden flat cars up the River street grade. All the small boys in town were there, and overcrowded the cars so that the train was stopped and the boys put off. This culmination of the anticipations of the people 4 - George F Marshall, "Annals Early Settlers Association," No. 1, p. 102. 734 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND was enthusiastically received., The "Herald" said : "The whistle of the locomotive will be as familiar to the ears of the Clevelander as the sound of church bells." The first coaches for this road arrived in Cleveland in 1849, by boat. They were made in Springfield, Massachusetts, and were "elegantly finished inside with crimson plush." The locomotives were made here by the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Company. In February, 1851, the last two rails were laid and the final spike was driven at Iberia, by Alfred Kelley and Mayor Case, in the presence of many spectators from Columbus and Cleveland. On the i8th of February the first locomotive passed the entire distance from Columbus to Cleveland. It was welcomed by a salute of artillery. On the morning of February 21, a delegation of four hundred and twenty-eight citizens and officials, including members of the legislature, state officers, municipal officers and others from Cincinnati and Columbus left the latter city and reached here in the evening, where they were greeted by a jubilant throng, the firing of guns and the music of bands. The following morning (Saturday), a parade was formed ending in a public meeting on the Square, where the visitors were welcomed by Mayor Case. The response was spoken by Hon. C. C. Converse, president of the senate, and the oration by Samuel Starkweather. Short speeches were made by a number of those responsible for the road's successful completion, including Governor Wood. The company then returned to the depot and went to Hudson, over the newly laid track of the Cleveland & Pittsburg railway, returning in the evening for a banquet at the Weddell House, followed by a torchlight parade. The following day, Sunday, the "churches were crowded with listeners from abroad." Dr. Aiken, the distinguished pastor of the Old Stone church, preached his famous sermon on railroads, afterwards published by the officers of the new road. On Monday morning the visitors left for a jollification at Columbus, accompanied by a Cleveland delegation. A boat, typifying the lake commerce, had been carried in the parade. This was placed on a flat car and sent to Columbus to participate in a similar service. M. J. Greiner, "the Railroad Poet," composed an "original song" for this occasion. He later became state librarian. The building of this railroad from St. Clair street to Superior street, parallel with River street, necessitated the taking down of many old buildings. In November, 1849, the city council passed the first ordinance regulating the speed of locomotives. Four or five miles an hour was thought safe. In March, April and May of 1851, the road's revenue from passenger service was $56,625.21, and from freight, $25,929.85, total, $82,554.06. Number of passengers carried 31,679%. This was considered a splendid beginning. The total gross earning of the Big Four system in 1908 were $24,621,66o.85. (*) The line immediately began to expand. In March, 1859, the Springfield & Mansfield Railroad Company was chartered. The name was later changed to the Springfield, Mount Vernon & Pittsburg Railroad Company. In 1869 it was in the hands of a receiver, and on January 1, 1861, it was sold, the division between Springfield and Delaware being purchased by parties who, in January, 1862, resold it to the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Company, and was known as the Springfield branch. * - Moody's Manual. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 735 December 26, 1864, the Indianapolis, Pittsburg & Cleveland Railroad Company of Indiana, and the Bellefontaine & Indiana Railroad Company of Ohio were consolidated under the name of the Bellefontaine Railroad Company. In May, 1868, the Bellefontaine and the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati lines were consolidated under the name of Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad Company. Soon thereafter this line by perpetual lease secured the Cincinnati & Springfield Railroad Company's line. In April, 1880, the Mount Gilead branch was secured. June 23, 1882, the Indianapolis & St. Louis railroad was purchased. This line extended from Indianapolis to Terre Haute. On the same date the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute was secured, forming connections between Terre Haute and St. Louis. Thus a through line was established between Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and St. Louis. In 1882 the branch to Alton, Illinois, was absorbed. In June, 1889, these lines were merged into the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad system, immediately called the "Big Four." Other lines have since been leased or purchased. The road is operated by the New York Central system. It has 1,680.97 miles of main track and operates 2,628.72 miles. THE CLEVELAND & PITTSBURG RAILROAD. Local interest in this line began in 1835. On January 12, 1836, a meeting was held at Hudson "for the purpose of devising means to construct a railroad from Cleveland to Pittsburg." Delegates from various towns were present. Frederick Whittlesey, the chairman, N. C. Baldwin, S. J. Andrews and H. B. Payne represented Cleveland. Several committees were appointed to prosecute the work of organization. N. C. Baldwin was chairman of the committee to frame a charter. John Barr, David Long and E. T. Stirling were the committee to raise funds in Cleveland. (5) November 6, 1838, delegates from Ohio and Pennsylvania met in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to discuss the building of a railroad from Cleveland to Pittsburg through Harrisburg to Philadelphia. Samuel Starkweather, C. M. Giddings, John Barr, William B. Loid and Frederick Whittlesey were the Cleveland delegates. (6) March 14, 1836, the road was chartered as the Cleveland, Warren & Pittsburg to build from Cleveland to the eastern line of the state. After the panic the charter was resuscitated March II, 1845, giving the privilege of avoiding Warren if need be to build "the most direct, practicable and least expensive route to the Ohio river at the most suitable point." In October, 1845, the company organized at Ravenna, with James Stewart of Wellsville, president ; A. G. Cottell, secretary ; Cyrus Prentiss, treasurer. No contracts were let until July, 1847, when the construction from Wellsville northward was let. Lack of money and great financial distress delayed the work on the Cleveland end. At a public meeting in the courthouse, March 23, 1847, it was resolved that the city council be asked to submit to the people the question of voting aid to the enterprise. In April, 1848, a vote was taken on subscribing one hundred thousand dollars. Only 5 - "Cleveland Whig," January 18, 1836. 6 - "Magazine of Western History," Vol. 8, p. 110. 736 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND twenty-seven votes were cast against the proposition and one thousand, one hundred and thirty for it. (7) In November, 1850, the branch to Steubenville was authorized and ultimately the road was extended to New Philadelphia. In February, 1851, the road was finally opened from Cleveland to Hudson, in March to Ravenna, in November to Hanover, ninety-five miles from Cleveland, and in 1852 the Pittsburg connections were completed. On March 4th the mayor of Cleveland, the council and invited guests wend to Wellsville on the first train, where a three days' celebration took place, the visitors going to Pittsburg and Wheeling. When the road had reached Hanover, the stockholders resolved "that the directors be requested to give a free ticket to each stockholder and his lady, to ride over the road from Cleveland to Hanover and return at any time within thirty days, and that landholders through whose land the road passes shall be entitled to a free ticket for themselves and wives from twenty days from the opening of the road, and that the same privilege be extended over the other portions of the road, when completed." The line was ninety-eight and a half miles long. In April, 1853, the Pennsylvania legislature incorporated the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad Company, to connect with the Ohio Company. Later the line was extended to Rochester, Pennsylvania, and to Bellaire, Ohio, In December, 1862, a joint agreement was made between the Cleveland & Pittsburg and the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad for a common use of the tracks of the latter from Rochester to Pittsburg. In October, 1871, the Pennsylvania railroad leased the Cleveland & Pittsburg for nine hundred and ninety-nine years, running from December 1, 1871. The consideration is recorded as seven per cent on the capital stock, the payments of interest and bonds, the maintenance of lines and other considerations. R. F. Smith, for many years general manager of the road, in 1871, in a report to the Cleveland Board of Trade speaks of the early history of the road as follows : "The enterprise thus completed and about to enter upon what seemed a course of prosperity was overtaken by the financial revulsion of 1857, and the stagnation of business, combined with a heavy floating debt, threatened total loss of the invested capital. The stock which six years before had ranged above par was brought down to seven and even five, cents on the dollar in the market, and only by the most economical and skillful management was the road saved to the stockholders. Upon the breaking out of the war the road shared with other northern lines, the traffic diverted by the closing of the Mississippi and the stimulated business consequent on the war, and rapidly emerging from its low estate its stock reached the high rate of one hundred and forty-five per cent." In 1908 it operated 255.53 miles and carried 1,859,194 passengers. (8) THE NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA & OHIO RAILROAD. February 22, 1848, the Cleveland & Mahoning Valley Railroad Company was given a charter, and the first meeting of its stockholders was held in Warren, 7 - "Herald," April 12, 1848. 8 - "Moody's Manual." HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 737 June, 1852, when $300,000 had been subscribed. The directors were Jacob Perkins, Frederick Kinsman, Charles Smith, of Warren, David Tod, of Youngstown, Dudley Baldwin, of Cleveland, Robert Cunningham, of Newcastle and James Magee, of Pittsburg. The road is a monument to the devotion, energy and ability of Jacob Perkins. The financial difficulties were of the most discouraging kind. The Pennsylvania & Ohio railroad and the Pittsburg & Erie, then building, refused to aid the new venture. Offices were opened in Cleveland, surveys were made, some land was purchased, but subscriptions failed to come. Attempts to have the legislature of Pennsylvania permit an extension to Pittsburg were thwarted by several rival roads. The impossible money market of 1854 added its despondency to the situation and President Perkins went to Europe for aid, but that country had. needed confidence in American rail- road securities and he returned without the eeded funds. As a final resort he proposed the heroic measure to the directors of pledging their personal fortunes to the venture, he leading the list with a pledge of one hundred thousand dollars. This succeeded. In 1857 the road was completed to Youngstown and the productive coal fields of the Mahoning valley were opened to Cleveland and the lake ports. The road was a success from its first train. In October, 1863, the Atlantic & Great Western railroad leased the line for ninety-nine years, for an annual rental of four hundred and five thousand, eight hundred and two dollars and forty-five cents and the purchase of the equipment. July 25, 1872, the Cleveland & Mahoning, the Liberty & Vienna and the Niles & New Lisbon railroads were consolidated and called the Cleveland & Mahoning Valley railway. July 1, 1880, the consolidated lines were leased with the Atlantic & Great Western system to the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad Company for eighty-two years, the old Cleveland & Mahoning road becoming the Mahoning division. The road is now owned and operated by the Erie system. THE LAKE SHORE & MICHIGAN SOUTHERN RAILROAD. The text-books on transportation cite this railroad and its eastern connection, the New York Central, as the classic example of the tendency of railroads to amalgamate into great trunk lines. There are six sections of Development in the history of this system. The history of the first section, the Michigan Southern development, begins in Michigan with the chartering of the Erie & Kalamazoo Railway Company, April 22, 1833, the line to extend from Toledo, then claimed by the territory of Michigan and called Port Lawrence, to some point on the Kalamazoo river. Only thirty-three miles of the road were built, from Toledo to Adrian. It seems anomalous that this shore road, miserably constructed of oak stringers with strap rails five eighths inch thick ; at first operated by horse power, then by two puny engines ; built wholly upon credit, with a charter giving it the right to issue paper money and indulge in all the vagaries of a "wild cat" bank, including the repudiation of its debts ; plunged into the inevitable bankruptcy within a few years, and managed by a receiver in Toledo and a commissioner at Adrian. who were constantly in each others' hair, it seems anomalous that this puny line should be the first tottering step that culminated in the continental trunk 738 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND system between the first and second cities of our continent. The state of Michigan, in 1838, began the construction of the Southern railway, surveying the line from Monroe to New Buffalo on Lake Michigan. ,..November 30, 1840, the first train reached Adrian. Not until September, 1843, did it reach Hillsdale, sixty-six miles from Monroe. This was as far as the state built the road. May 9, 1846, the Michigan Southern Railway Company was chartered and in May, 1849, this company leased in perpetuity the Southern railway from the state and purchased the bankrupt Erie & Kalamazoo railway. The road from Monroe to Hillsdale was at once pushed southward to the state line, where eventually it connected with the Northern Indiana Railroad Company that had been chartered in Indiana, February, 1835. At this time European capital began to invest in American railway securities and the Michigan Southern and the Michigan Central were both provided with ample funds that stimulated them; to a great race of construction from Detroit to Chicago. The Michigan Southern and the Northern Indiana united in building from Jonesville to Chicago, one hundred and seventy-two miles in what was then considered the incredible time of twenty months. In 1851 the second section, or the Northern Indiana development, began. Ohio chartered the Northern Indiana Railroad Company, giving permission to build from Toledo westward to the Indiana state line, and northward to the Michigan line. The latter line was called the Detroit, Monroe & Toledo railroad. The completion of these roads furnished Toledo with connections with all the northern Indiana lines. On July 3, 1853, the Northern Indiana Company of Ohio and of Indiana were consolidated under the name of the Northern Indiana Railroad Company. In November, 1850, extensions into Illinois were planned, when the Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad Company was incorporated to build from Chicago, southeasterly to the state line and connect with the western division of the old Buffalo & Mississippi railroad. February 7, 1855, the general consolidation of the western division of the Buffalo & Mississippi, the Northern Indiana Railroad Company and the Northern Indiana and Chicago was consummated under the name of the Northern Indiana Railroad Company. Connections were now completed from Toledo to Chicago. Within a few months the new company absorbed the Michigan Southern Railroad Company and subsequently leased the Detroit; Monroe & Toledo Railroad. The new consolidation was called the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad Company. The third section, the Buffalo and Erie development, began April 12, 1842, when the Erie & Northeast Railroad Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania to build from Erie to the eastern line of Northeast township, and twenty miles of this line were built. October, 1849, saw the organization of the Buffalo & State Line railroad for building from Buffalo westward to connect with a road leading to Cleveland. This road was permitted to join the Erie & Northeast by act of New York legislature, March 9, 1867, the consolidation being known as the Buffalo & Erie Company. Connections now were built from Erie to Buffalo. The fourth section, the Cleveland and Toledo development, was begun on March 2, 1846, when the state chartered the ,Junction Railroad Company to build from a point on the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati, within thirty miles of Cleveland, westward through Elyria to Bellevue, or some other point on the HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 739 Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad and thence to Fremont, and a branch from Elyria to Fremont, via Sandusky. The latter branch followed the ancient Ohio railroad, "the road on stilts." In March, 1850, a line was incorporated to extend from Toledo eastward to pass through Norwalk and connect with the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati at Wellington. Later the company was given the authority to build to Cleveland. This was the Toledo, Norwalk & Cleveland railroad. Still a third line to Toledo was chartered in October, 1852, the Port Clinton railroad, to build from Sandusky to Toledo via Port Clinton. The inevitable unification took place on July 15, 1853, when a new corporation, the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad Company, absorbed these projected lines, none of which had built their allotted portions. The lines now completed extended from Chicago to Toledo, from Toledo to Cleveland and from Erie to Buffalo. The sixth section remained, the Cleveland-Erie line. This was distinctly a Cleveland enterprise. Alf red Kelley, "the Railroad King" and William Case were the prime movers. It began in 1848 with the charter of the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula railroad, to build from Cleveland eastward through Painesville and Ashtabula to the state line. Heman B. Ely was the president of this company ; Abel Kimball, treasurer ; Frederick Harbach, engineer. The directors besides these officials were Alf red Kelley, Samuel L. Seldon, Heman B. Ely, George E. Gillett, David R. Paige, L. Lake and Peleg P. Sanford. They began work with the full knowledge that they were building an important connecting link, for an early report of the directors says "Aware that the road must of necessity be the common thoroughfare of two great lines of road converging from the westward at Cleveland, and two great lines converging eastward from Erie, the directors have spared no labor or expense in ascertaining the best possible route, and the result is that the road is located, all things considered, upon the most direct line. * * * 'Though not required for immediate use, in order to lay down a double track, the roadway throughout is one hundred feet wide." And upon this broad gauge policy ninety- five miles were built. The contract for construction was let July 26, 185o, to Frederick Harbach, Amasa Stone and Stillman Witt. The first locomotive traveled the entire line in the autumn of 1852. A distinguished delegation went from Cleveland to Erie to celebrate the event. In May, 1854, the legislature of Pennsylvania gave authority to extend the road to Erie, along the old Franklin Canal railway line. This last link, to us the most important, was long delayed because the general opinion doubted the ability of the railway to compete with the popular passenger steamers between Cleveland and Buffalo. At Erie the new road connected with the Erie & Northeast Railway, a line twenty miles long, running from Erie to the New York State line, there connecting with the Buffalo and State Line road. This small strip of road so essential to the through traffic, was for some reason of a different gauge from either of its larger connecting roads, causing great expense and inconvenience in .transferring passengers and freight. When permission was secured for making the gauge uniform, the people of Erie objected and a mob ripped up the tracks and burned a bridge. The people in Cleveland, December 27, 18,53, held a mass meeting in the courthouse, denouncing the lawless men of the Pennsylvania town and 740 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND demanding redress. The courts soon put a stop to the disgraceful pettiness of Erie. The various sections of this system were now built and the railroad at once demonstrated its power to draw traffic. The opening of the far west sent vast streams of travel through the Buffalo-Chicago route, and the inconvenience in transfer, the loss in operation and other considerations led to the inevitable unifying of these diverse sections. The consolidation began in Cleveland. October 8, 1867, the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Company leased the Cleveland & Toledo Company. June. 17, 1868, the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula was changed to the Lake Shore Railway Company. In 1869 the Cleveland & Toledo became an integral part of the Lake Shore and one corporation owned from Erie to Toledo. May 8, 1869, the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana was merged with the Lake Shore and a single new corporation, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, operated from Erie to Chicago. This name remained unchanged, when on August 10, 1869, the Buffalo & Erie railway was absorbed by the Lake Shore. This was the last step in the consolidation of 1,013 miles of railroad into one of the greatest railway systems of this country. Later the merger with the Vanderbilt system of New York was completed. In 1873 the extensive railroad shops were located at Collamer, where one hundred and sixty acres were purchased by the company for six hundred and fifty dollars per acre. In 1908, 1,511.1 miles were operated and 8,558,745 passengers carried. (9) THE ERIE RAILROAD. The local branch of this lme began as the Franklin & Warren railroad, chartered March. , 1845, to build from Franklin, now Kent, in Portage county, through Warren to the eastern boundary of the state, and from Franklin southwest or west. A road was built from the Pennsylvania line to Dayton, through Warren, Akron, and Springfield, which in 1854, was called the Atlantic & Great Western. In April, 1858, a Pennsylvania connection was made, when the Meadville railroad was merged with it and the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad of Pennsylvania incorporated. In December, 1858, the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Company of New York was incorporated. These various state corporations were all consolidated August 19, 1865. Later the line was leased to the Erie railroad and then began that series of manipulations of stock, of bankruptcy proceedings and of forced sales that made the unfortunate Erie conspicuous among the lines of the country. (10) Two Cleveland men acted as receivers at various times. Reuben Hitchcock, from November, 1869, to February 24, 1870, and General J. H. Devereux from December 8, 1874, to January 6, 1880. On the latter date the road was sold on foreclosure to trustees, who acted for the bondholders. On March 17, 1880, a new corporation was formed, the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad Company. 9 - "Moody's Manual." 10 - "See Adams' "Chapters of Erie." HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 741 CLEVELAND, AKRON & COLUMBUS RAILROAD. February 19, 1851, the charter of the Cleveland, Mt. Vernon & Delaware railroad was issued to the Cleveland & Pittsburg railroad Company to build a branch from Hudson, Cuyahoga Falls and Akron to connect with some road between Massillon and Wooster. In March, 1852, the company was organized and the road was built from Hudson to Millersburg in Holmes county. It was at first known as the Akron branch. This name was changed in 1853 to the Cleveland, Zanesville & Cincinnati. From 1861-4 it was operated by a receiver, who sold it to parties who in July, 1865, transferred the road to the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago, and with this latter road it passed into the control of the Pennsylvania railroad in 1869. In May, 1869, the Pittsburg, Mt. Vernon, Columbus & London railroad was incorporated. In the following December this new corporation purchased that part of the Springfield, Mt. Vernon & Pittsburg railway, east of Delaware, and November 4th purchased the Cleveland, Zanesville & Cincinnati railroad from the Pennsylvania railroad. A lease of the Massillon & Cleveland railroad built from Massillon to Clinton, was also acquired by the latter sale. December 20, 1869, the new line was called the Cleveland, Mt. Vernon & Delaware Railroad Company. On December 17, 1872, the company filed in Columbus, a supplemental certificate for building a branch for Holmes county to other roads running through Muskingum county. In default of interest, December 1, 1881, the road was sold at foreclosure sale, to the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus Railway Company, and operated by them until April 23, 1882, when the courts set aside the sale and appointed a receiver, who again sold the road, on June 9, 1882, to the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus railroad. January 1, 1886, the road was reorganized and is now operated by the Pennsylvania system. THE CLEVELAND, CANTON & SOUTHERN. March 9, 1850, the Carroll County Railroad Company was chartered. It laid a strap railroad from Carrollton to Oneida, twelve miles, operated with horse power. Within nine years the road was sold at a receiver's sale. In 1873 the Ohio & Toledo Railroad Company secured the road and extended it northward to Minerva, and southward to Cannonsburg, afterward called Del Rey, planning to connect Youngstown and the Panhandle line. But the company failed before this could be done and George L. Ingersoll, of Cleveland, purchased the road in 1878, and sold it to eastern capitalists, who at once organized the Youngstown & Connotton Valley Railroad Company. But the plans were soon changed, the new company deciding to make Canton, not Youngs-- town, the northern terminus and the name was changed to the Connotton Valley railroad. In 188o the line was opened to Canton and the same year the Connotton Northern railroad was incorporated to build from Fairport to Canton, but when the line had been projected into Portage county it was decided to make Cleveland the lake terminal, and in January, 1882, trains were run to the Commercial street depot. The Connotton Northern and the Connotton Valley were 742 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND consolidated under the latter name and a branch was built into the Straitsville coal fields by way of Zanesville and Coshocton. In January, 1884, Samuel Briggs, of Cleveland, was appointed receiver for the line upon suit brought for foreclosure, the bondholders and stockholders agreeing upon a plan of reorganization. The road was purchased and on June 24, 1885, at a meeting in Cleveland, the road was reorganized under the name of Cleveland & Canton Railroad Company. The road was sold in 1888 to the newly organized Coshocton & Southern railroad and extended southward to Zanesville. In May, 1892, the Cleveland & Canton, the Waynesburg & Canton and the Chagrm Falls & Northern roads were consolidated and called the Cleveland, Canton & Southern railroad. In 1892 this road leased the Massillon railroad. September 15, 1893, the court appointed J. W. Wardwell and Frederick Swift, receivers, the latter resigning July 15, 1894. In May, 1899, the Pennsylvania Company acquired control of the road. In 1901, the Apple Creek Branch was completed and the Howard Branch in 1906. Its total trackage is 210 miles. CLEVELAND, LORAIN & WHEELING RAILROAD. This line began as the Lake Shore & Turcarawas Valley, incorporated July 2, 1870, to build from Berea to Mill township, in Tuscarawas county, there to connect with the Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis railroad, a branch to run from Elyria to Medina county. In August, 1873, the road was completed from Elyria to Ulrichsville. Meantime it had acquired eight miles of road from Elyria to Black River Harbor, now called Lorain. In July, 1874, interest was defaulted and a receiver was appointed. The following January the road was sold to Selah Chamberlain, who organized the Cleveland, Tuscarawas Valley & Wheeling Railroad Company and the road was built to Wheeling in 1880. In 1882, it was again in the hands of a receiver and Selah Chamberlain and others bought it and reorganized the company under the name of Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railroad Company. November 23, 1893, the road was consolidated with the Cleveland & Southern railroad, which extended from Cleveland to Lester, a distance of twenty-eight miles, thereby giving a Cleveland terminal. The company is controlled by the Baltimore & Ohio Railway Company. Its total trackage is four hundred and fifty-one and fifty-nine hundredths miles. THE VALLEY RAILROAD. The need of a railway to the coal fields in the central part of the state was realized when the Mahoning supply became depleted. In February, 1871, a public meeting was held in the city council chamber to consider the question. Meetings were held in South Brooklyn and other places along the proposed route. The charter for this road was granted August 31, 1871, giving authority to build from Cleveland southward to Wheeling, through Akron and Canton. The building began in 1873, just as the panic was sweeping the country. The stress of financial matters stopped the work until 1878. A number of public meetings were held in Cleveland to consider means for continuing the work. In 188o cars were running from Cleveland to Canton, and July 1, 1882, to Valley Junction. It is a coal carrying HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 743 road, entering Cleveland by the old canal bed, which the state ceded to the city on condition that a new junction of canal and river should be made and a new weigh lock built. The city in turn leased the bed to the railroad company for ninety-nine years, receiving in bonds two hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars as a consideration. (*) When the panic overtook the road the city wished to help the construction and it was proposed to issue bonds for this purpose but voters determined against this. The business men of the city, however, raised $500,000 dollars in stock subscriptions. J. H. Wade, N. P. Payne, James Farmer, S. T. Everett and L. M. Coe were especially active in this enterprise. In February, 188o, the road was completed. September 10, 1895, the Valley railway was sold under foreclosure proceedings. October 3, 1895, the Cleveland Terminal & Valley Railroad Company was organized and purchased the road. The Baltimore & Ohio now controls and operates the road under the name of the Cleveland division. Its total trackage is 187.85 miles. NEW YORK, CHICAGO & ST. LOUIS RAILWAY. This road, popularly known as the "Nickel Plate," was chartered in New York, April 13, 1881. It was planned from the first as a through line from Buffalo to Chicago via Cleveland and Fort Wayne. It was built by the Seney syndicate in record breaking time, traffic begmning October 23, 1882, 523.02 miles built and equipped in less than eighteen months. It was built as a competitor of the Lake Shore system and was purchased for the Vanderbilts in November, 1882, by Judge Stevenson Burke. In March, 1885, D. W. Caldwell, vice president of the road, was appointed receiver. In May, 1887, the road was sold at foreclosure and immediately the company reorganized, changing its terminology from railway to railroad, so that the new company was the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company, which operates the line today. Its total length is 523.02 miles. THE CLEVELAND BELT & TERMINAL RAILROAD. This road is six and a half miles long, extending from the Cleveland, Canton & Southern tracks to the "Nickel Plate" in Newburg. It was built to facilitate freight shifting. THE BELT LINE. The latest addition to Cleveland railroads is the "Cleveland Short Line Railway," called the "Belt Line." It encircles the city from Collinwood to Rockport. For years the rapidly increasing freight traffic of the city was congesting the railways. A method of transferring the through freight without sending it into the city had often been sought. But the engineering difficulties presented by the steep grades of the "Heights" and the broad Cuyahoga Valley seemed to make the work impossible. By long and painstaking investigation, W. R. Hopkins and his brother Ben Hopkins, became convinced that such a line could be constructed. Senator Charles Dick and H. M. Hanna were drawn into the plan, and in July, 1906, building operations were begun. The road will be completed in 1912. The active work of promotion and guiding the building operations de- * - Act of April 29, 1872. 744 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND volved upon W. R. Hopkins, to whose energy and perseverance the success of the task is due. DEPOTS. In 1853 the Cleveland & Columbus, the Cleveland & Erie and the Cleveland & Pittsburg railroads united in building a "passenger house" on the lake front, three hundred and sixty-three by one hundred and twenty-five feet, an "eating house," two hundred and twenty by forty feet, and a "freight house," one hundred and forty-five by eighty feet, all of wood, with tin 'roof. The total cost was seventy-five .thousand dollars. These buildings were destroyed by fire and in 1864 work on the new Union depot was begun. It was as ample a structure in its day as it has latterly become inadequate, filthy and unworthy. A grand Union station is planned as part of the group plan. Long delayed litigation between the city and the railroads over the ownership of lake front property has delayed its erection. The Lake Shore, Big'Four and the Pennsylvania lines enter the Union depot. The other roads have isolated and inadequate stations. The Baltimore & Ohio in 1901, built a new depot at the foot of Water street. A few years later the Erie renovated its old depot near the Superior viaduct, and in 1909, the Wheeling & Lake Erie built its present station on the site of the rookery, formerly occupied as a depot. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers established its headquarters in Cleveland in 1873. The first head of the organization was P. M. Arthur. His successor is Warren S. Stone, the present executive officer of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen located in Cleveland in December, 1899, P. H. Morrissey was the president of the organization and in 1909 was succeeded by William G. Lee, the present president. CHAPTER LXXV. STREET CARS AND SUBURBAN LINES. On the 3d of March, 1834, the legislature incorporated the Cleveland & Newburg Railroad Company, with authority to construct a railroad "from some point in lot No. 413, in Newburg township, to the harbor in Cleveland," for the purpose of transporting freight and passengers "by the power and force of steam, animals or other mechanical force, or by a combination of them." The capital was authorized at fifty thousand dollars. The incorporators of this first local railway were Aaron Barker, David H. Beardsley, Truman P. Handy, John W. Allen, Horace Perry, Lyman Kendall, James S. Clark. The line was built from the stone quarries in the lot, named in Newburg township to the Public Square, where its depot was the barn of the Cleveland hotel, located where the Forest City house now stands. The track was laid along the roadway of Euclid road across Doan brook, where the college buildings now stand, to the quarries. The rails 1 - For thorough discussion of the street railways in Cleveland, see "Street Railway Problem in Cleveland," by W. R. Hopkins, "American Economic Association Studies," 18g6. HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 745 were of wood, and two horses driven tandem hauled the rude cars that made two trips a day. The line was abandoned after a few years. (2) Omnibus lines were the real forerunners of the modern street car system. In 1857 a line was started at Euclid street called the Euclid City Station line, for accommodating passengers from the Cleveland & Pittsburg depot, thus "avoiding the noise and confusion of the lower depot." (3) Other lines in operation that year are shown by the following time card taken from the daily papers : "Kinsman street. To Water Cures at 9:30 and 12 a.. m. and 3:00, 5:00 and 8:30 p. m. returns to corner Superior and Water street at 8:00 and 10:30 a. m. and 4:oo and 6:30 p. m. Prospect street. To corner Hudson, 9:30 and 12 a. m., 3:30, 5:00 and 8:30 p. m. returns to corner Superior and Water street at 8:00 and 10:00 a. m. and 1:30, 4:00 and 6:3 p. m. Westside. To reservoir at 9:30 and 12 a. m. and 5:00 p. m. returns to Commercial hotel at io a. m. and 1:30 and 6:30 p. m. Tickets at all the book stores. Signed H. S. Stevens." In 1862 an omnibus line to Collamer via St. Clair street was running. Its "bus" left the "City Hotel" at r I a. m. and 5:15 p. m. Left Collamer, returning 7:15 a. m. and 1 :15 p. m." The fare was twenty cents. In 1863 the omnibus service was as follows : Left City Hotel for Chagrin Falls 3 p. m.; for Chardon, p. m.; for Collamer and Euclid via Euclid street, 11 a. m. and 5 p. m. To Collamer via St. Clair street, 11 a. m. and 5 p. m. ; to East Cleveland 11 a. m. and 4 p. m. Stage coach to Hinckley and Wadsworth at 8 a. m.; Medina from the Bennett House at 9 a. m.; Newburg from the Commercial hotel, 11 a. m. and 4 p. m.; Richfield and Copley from the City hotel at 8 a. m. Most of these "buses" were running as late as 1865. The city found it necessary to fix hack and car fare in 1856, when an ordinance provided that it should be twenty-five cents to Erie street and fifty cents beyond Erie. Late in 1858 an ordinance was introduced into the city council, granting a franchise to operate a horse railway from the depot to Woodland cemetery. On January 11, 1859, this ordinance was called up and discussed. The route was to be from the depot to Superior street, thence to Erie and Kinsman (Woodland) to the railroad near Woodland cemetery, the tracks to be laid on unpaved streets. There was to be a strap rail and the sleepers were to be covered with gravel even with the roadway. "The cars are simply long omnibuses on wheels." It was estimated that the cost would be five thousand dollars a mile exclusive of the rolling stock. The fare was fixed at five cents a ride until 8 p. m. and ten cents thereafter. The ordinance was signed by Councilman Thayer. It produced a great deal of discussion and on June 7th came up for vote, when it was defeated by a vote of four to sixteen. (*) This was the beginning of the street car business in Cleveland. The ordinances were later amended and in 1859 the East Cleveland and Kinsman (Woodland) street lines were authorized by the council. 2 - See "Sketch of the Early Times," by George F. Marshall, "Annals Early Settlers" Association, No. 1, p. MO. 3 - "Daily Herald," July 30, 1857. * - See "Leader," June so, 1859, "Daily Herald," January 12, 1859. 746 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND The first railroad to operate was the East Cleveland Railway Company. Traffic was begun in 1860 between Bank street and Willson avenue. The first president of the company was Henry S. Stevens. He broke ground on the 6th of October and then "invited the stockholders and patrons present to meet at the other end of the route at Water street, three weeks from that date to celebrate the completion of the first street railroad in Cleveland and in the state." The capital stock was fifty thousand dollars. Eater the following officers were elected : president, Dr. A. Everett ; secretary, Chas. D. Everett ; superintendent, Edwin Duty. In 1860 the franchise was extended on Euclid from Willson west to Case, thence to Prospect, also from Case to Sterling avenue to Prospect. In 1879 a twenty-five year renewal was granted, the council reserving the right "to increase or diminish the fare." 'In February, 1882, an extension franchise was granteu from Prospect to Hayward, to Cedar, east to Fairmount ; in April, 1883, an extension on Euclid from Willson to Fairmount ; and the following year an extension on Cedar from Fairmount to Doan brook. In 1886 the council extended the franchise east on Euclid to the city limits, which was then near the present East 115th street. In July, 1886, extensions were granted on Water, Lake and Bank streets. In February, 1888, the right to lay a double track on Cedar to Willson was granted. In 1889 an extension on Case from Euclid, northward to Perkins, eastward to Wilson, thence to Hough, east to Dunham and to Wade Park avenue, eastward to the city limits. In July, 1890, the St. Clair street extension from Bank to Water was granted. The next company to receive a franchise was the Kinsman Street Railroad Company. On October 25, 1859, it received an original grant for twenty years for a single track, also on Kinsman avenue from Wilson northwest to Erie, thence to Superior, thence to the public square, around the north side of the square to Superior, to Bank, to Wall and to Bath streets. Its capital was fifty thousand dollars. E. G. Williams was secretary and superintendent. The directors, in 18624 were E. G. Williams, H. W. Clark, H. Griswold, C. C. Cobb, M. Y. Turril. 'Cars were run from the Atwater building through Superior, Ontario, Pittsburg and Kinsman streets to Williams park and Woodland cemetery. In 1860 it abandoned the route on Erie and Superior around the Public Square and was granted permission to build from the east line of Erie along Kinsman (Woodland) street, Pittsburg and Ontario, and Superior to the west side of the Square. It also abandoned the same year the route on Bank and Wall street and instead was given the right to build on Superior from. Bank to Water. In 1879 the franchise was renewed for twenty-five, years from September 20, the council reserving the right to reduce fares. In 1883 an extension on Woodland from the Cleveland & Pittsburg crossing to Corwin street was granted. The East Cleveland Railroad Company was given its routes on Garden (Central avenue) street, January 14, 1868, when the council passed an original grant for twenty years on Brownell and Prospect to Garden, and on Garden to Willson. These lines were successively extended to the Cleveland & Pittsburg track and to the city limits, on Quincy and Central avenues. The St. Clair Street Railroad Company was granted its first charter June 9, 1863, for twenty years, to run from the north side of the public square eastward HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 747 to Willson avenue, Incorporators were R. F. Paine, O. H. Payne, Hiram Garretson, James Pannell, John M. Sterling, Jr., A. S. Sanford, Peter Thatcher. In October, 1869, a renewal for twenty years was granted. In January, 1885, a renewal for twenty-five years was given on St. Clair from Water to Becker street, and in 1888 certain rights were given on Superior street. The West Side Street Railway Company was given its first grant, February io, 1863. It was, however, amended on the 5th of May. It started from Seneca street southward on Superior to Champlain, thence to Vineyard, thence to Center, over Canal street bridge and Center street bridge along Center street to Detroit, thence to Kentucky, to Harvard, south to Lorain, northeast to Pearl, thence back to Detroit. Its original capital was fifty thousand dollars. Dan P. Rhodes was president and H. S. Stevens secretary. Extensions were made from time to time in 1879, particularly on Pearl and Lorain. In 188o it was given the right to cross the viaduct. Important additions were granted in 1882. The Brooklyn Street Railway Company was given an original grant for twenty years, December 7, 1869, to run across on Pearl street from the center of Lorain, south to the city limits. Various extensions were granted from time to time, notably in 1882, an extension on Clark avenue; in 1883 to the east end of the viaduct east to Woodland cemetery along Scovill avenue ; in 1885 a renewal grant of twenty-five years ; in 1887 the Abbey street extension. The Broadway & Newburgh Street railway was organized in 1873 and received its first grant August 26th of that year. It was a twenty year grant allowing double tracks on Broadway from Kinsman (Woodland) street to the city limits. Notable extensions were granted in 1886, 1887 and 1889, and the lattetr year a renewal for twenty-five years was granted. The South Side Railroad Company received its twenty-year original grant June 16, 1874, to run from Seneca between Superior and Frankfort place, southeast to Scranton, thence to Jennings, to the city limits. In 1875 a Fairfield extension was granted, and in 1889 the Clark avenue extension. The Superior Street Railway Company received its original twenty-year grant March io, 1874, to lay a double track on Superior from the public square to Willson avenue. This was extended Within a few months to east Madison. In 1883 the Payne avenue extension was granted ; in 1885 a renewal for twenty- five years as well as an extension on the East Madison and Hough avenue lines. The Woodland Hills Street Railway Company was given a twenty-year grant July 28, 1874, to lay a line on Kinsman (Woodland) to Willson, southeast to the Cleveland & Pittsburg tracks. This line was purchased in 1882 by the Woodland Avenue Street Railway Company. Thus the period of original grants resulted in a number of competing lines in the city. The condition soon became intolerable and the inevitable consolidation began. In February, 1885, the council authorized the Woodland Avenue and the West Side Street Railway Companies to consolidate in one company, called the Woodland & West Side Street Railway Company. It received various extensions from time to time. In 1889 the three parallel lines on St. Clair, Superior and Payne avenue, owned by the Superior and St. Clair companies, were 748 - HISTORY OF CLEVELAND consolidated and called the Cleveland City Railroad Company. About the same time the Brooklyn and south side lines were united under one ownership, although not operated as a unit. In the meantime, the East Cleveland Company consolidated the operation of its Central avenue, Cedar and Wade Park extension. In 1893 a grand consolidation took place, when the Cleveland City Railway Company was authorized by ordinance of May 15th. This was a consolidation of the Superior, St. Clair and Woodland avenue and West Side lines. A second great consolidation took place the same year, when on May 29th, the Cleveland Electric Railway Company was authorized by resolution of the council. It was the unifying of the Broadway, Newburg, East Cleveland and South Side companies. Thus were Merged in 1893 into two competing companies the nine original grants. These were popularly known as the "Big Consolidated" and "Little Consolidated." They were competing lines showing each other no amenities. Their inevitable consolidation took place in 1900, when they were united into the Cleveland Electric Railway Company, popularly known as the "Con-Con." From the day of this universal consolidation dates the Great Street Car War. Soon thereafter Tom L. Johnson was elected mayor on a three cent fare pronunciamento. Then followed in quick succession innumerable injunctions, the organizing of "low fare" companies, who were given grants as rapidly as the old franchise expired, dramatic midnight maneuvers, picturesque tent meetings and all the varied attendants that follow in the train of a great war between master minds for great stakes. Election after election strengthened the position of the mayor until in 1907, his control of the field seemed absolute. A "Municipal Day" of free rides for everybody inaugurated the new regime, only to be followed by a strike of street car men, financial distress of the Municipal Company,. an appeal to the Federal court who appointed receivers and the refusal of the voters to sustain the new grants at the referendum election. Compromises and arbitrations were suggested. Finally Judge Tayler of the United States District Court patriotically consented to act as arbiter and after a long and painstaking investigation prepared the comprehensive plan of settlement, known as the "Tayler Plan," which was accepted by the electors at the referendum election, February 17, 1910. The vote was 27,307 for the ordinance, and 19,197 against the ordinance. Some future historian must record the details of this important War, when the years shall have shown its effect upon the municipal mind and its far- reaching influence upon other municipalities. The original motive power of these lines was the patient horse. When the Cleveland City Cable Company was organized in 1889, the right to use a cable was granted by the council. This expensive and cumbersome motive power was a great advance. But in 1884 occurred an event in Cleveland which transformed the street railway business in the entire country. 014411ply 26, 1884, the first electric street car in America was operated here. The Associated Press Dispatch July 27, 1884, said : "The first electric railroad for public use in America went into operation in this city yesterday, in connection with the East Cleveland Street Railroad Company, which has just HISTORY OF CLEVELAND - 749 completed a mile road. The experiment was so successful that the company expects to change its entire system, comprising over twenty miles, into electric roads. The Bentley-Knight system was used and the current was carried on underground conductors, laid in conduits like those of cable roads. The cars were started and stopped with the greatest ease. Any number of cars up to five can be run at one time on a single circuit and from one machine, which is a result not attained by any of the European systems now in operation. The success of the new road has made a great sensation in both street railroad and electrical circles and is expected to greatly extend the field of electrical development, as well as enhance the value of street railroad properties." This was the message sent to the world, announcing the achievement that made possible the remarkable development of electric lines in recent years. The route of this car began on Garden Central) street, two blocks west of Willson, thence to New Street, thence into Quincy street. Later it was extended beyond the Cleveland & Pittsburg tracks dOWn Quincy to Lincoln avenue. The tracks were the old strap rail variety, laid on wooden stringers about eight mches deep. Owing to popular objections to overhead wires, the trolley was laid in a wooden conduit, at the railroad crossing-the conduit was of iron. The power was generated from a Brush arc light machine in the Euclid avenue car barns. The subsequent expansion of the system is proof of the success of the experiment. (4) The first rate of fare was five cents during the day and early evening and ten cents thereafter, although in 1876 the West Side line was authorized to charge six cents fare and twenty tickets for a dollar. Three years later this was changed to five cents. About 1879, during the period of extensions and renewals the council usually reserved the right to mcrease and diminish the rate of fare, a right, however, which was rarely exercised. Three cent fare was inaugurated by the companies that were chartered during the Street Car War. Many experiments were made by the Cleveland Electric Railway Company, including a "zone system," the charge of a penny for a transfer with three cent fare, seven tickets for a quarter, etc. Under the "Tayler Plan" the fare is at present ( 1910) three cents, with one penny for a transfer. SUBURBAN ELECTRIC LINE. Cleveland is the hub for numerous suburban electric lines, radiating to all of the nearby towns, some of them extending eastward to Pennsylvania, westward to Indiana, southward to Columbus. The Northern Ohio Traction and Light Company. In November, 1894, the Akron, Bedford & Cleveland Railway Company was chartered, a pioneer line in Ohio. October 26, 1895, the first cars were run. The line was 27 1/2 miles long, eleven and a half miles on its own right of way. It extended from Akron through Cuyahoga Falls to Newburg, where it connected with the Cleveland Electric railway. Its first Cleveland directors were Henry A. Everett, E. W. Moore, I. N. Topliff. The officers were : president, Henry 4 - For description of equipment, see "First Electric Street Car in America," by E. M. Bentley, "Electrical World and Engineer," March 5, 1904, p. 430.