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CHAPTER XIII

EARLY SANDUSKY

Origin of the Name "Sandusky."—A map published in Amsterdam in 1720 founded on a great variety of Memoirs of Louisiana, represents within the present limits of Erie County a water called Lac Sandouske. There is also a map published by Henry Popple, London, in 1733, where the bay is called "Lake Sandoski." A very probable account of the origin of the name is the tradition of aged Wyandot warriors given to General Harrison in the friendly chat of the wigwam from which it appeared that their conquering tribes in their conflict with the Senecas, centuries ago, having landed at Maumee, followed th4 lake shore toward the east, passing and giving names to bays, creeks and rivers until on coming to Cold Creek, where it enters the bay, they were so charmed with the springs of clear cold water in the vicinity that they pitched their tents and engaged in hunting and fishing, and by them the bay and river was called Sandusky, meaning in their language "At the Cold Water." Butterfield gives a conversation of John M. James, with William Walker, principal chief of the Wyandots at Upper Sandusky, at Columbus, 1835. He said the meaning of the word was "at the coldwater," and should be pronounced San-dons-tee. The Lower San-doos-tee (Cold Water) and Upper San-doos-tee being the descriptive Wyandot

Indian names known as far back as our knowledge of this tribe extends.

The exact derivation of the name of "the road that runs," is uncertain. Three Wyandot terms are at our service : Siihun-dus-kee, clear water ; or Sandoostee, at the cold water; or Saundustee, water-within water-pools. The last name is applicable to the extensive marshes along the river, which are intersected by open, water ; while the other two would naturally describe the clear, cold water of the Sandusky basin springs, of which Castalia is the best known example. The early French traders called the river Sandusquet. By 1784, when Jefferson drew up his ordinance for the division, nomenclature and government of the western territory, the orthography was practically settled and he wrote Sandusky, suggesting that the district which this river drained be called Metropotamia!

THE FIRST SETTLERS OF SANDUSKY

The first permanent settlers came here in 1816. Money at this time was very scarce and produce high, prices ranging as follows : Flour, $10 per barrel, and a poor article at that ; salt, $8 per barrel; domestic

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shirtings, 50 to 62 cents per yard ; satinetts, $2.50 to $3.50 per yard; green teas, $1.50 to $2.50 per pound ; brown sugar, from 25 to 30 cents per pound ; loaf sugar, from 40 to 50 cents per pound, etc., etc. There being so few mills and little wheat at this time, families mostly depended on buying flour by the barrel. Corn could not be bought for less than $1 per bushel, nor butter for less than 25 cents per pound. One principal cause of these high prices was the cost of transportation. There were vessels on the lake at the time, but freight could not be brought from Buffalo here short of $2.50 per barrel bulk. For several years the settlers consumed all the products that was raised though this section; but as soon as a surplus accumulated, a ready market was found at Detroit, Monroe and other settlements in the upper regions of Lake Erie.

ISAAC MILLS MRS. ISAAC MILLS

In the spring of 1817 the Town of Portland was laid out by its then proprietor, Zalmon Wildman, of Danbury, Connecticut. It embraced that portion of the present area of Sandusky which lies between Hancock Street on the east, Decatur on the west, and Jefferson on the south. During the ensuing year a claim was interposed by Hon. Isaac Mills, of New Haven, Connecticut, to an undivided portion of the whole tract embraced in the present city limits, which resulted in a compromise by which three-fourths was allotted to Mr. Wildman and the other fourth to Mr. Mills. In the spring of 1818 they united in laying out the present plat of the town under the name of "Sandusky City," since changed (by the provisions of an act to provide for the organization of cities and incorporated villages) to "Sandusky." Its location is on the south side of Sandusky Bay, being in 41̊ 32' 10" north latitude, near the

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center of the north side of the state ; 100 miles due north from Columbus, 60 from Cleveland, 60 from Detroit, 50 from Toledo and 218 from Cincinnati; situated in an extensive and fertile region known at that time as "Sandusky Country."

In 1819 a man named Kelly kept a store at the corner of Water and Hancock streets in a wooden building a story and a half high. His son, W. E. Kelly, of Port Clinton, had his account books in his possession before his death. The high cost of living at that time is shown by a few

of the items when the scarcity of money is considered:

To postage on letter - .19

To cake soap - .19

To 7 pounds lump sugar at 44 cents - 3.08

To six yards calico at 5 shillings - 3.75

James Ogontz, Indian Chief (Ogontz Place) 

To 2 quarts whisky -.50

By three deerskins - 2.75

To one pound salts, Z. Wildman - .37 1/2

To one pound candles, Eleutheros Cooke - .50

To 30 pounds nails at 25 cents - 7.50

Tea, cost per pound - 1:50

Gunpowder - 1.00

Salt, per barrel - 8.00

Pins, per paper - .25

Axes - 3.00

SANDUSKY IN 1822, AND ITS BUILDINGS

The late F. D. Parish settled and commenced the practfce of law here in 1822. The following memorandum of the different buildings at that time in this city, made by himself, was found among his papers since his decease :

Dwelling houses on Water Street :—

1. Steamboat Hotel, corner of Water and Wayne streets, two stories.

2. Brick, with frame in rear next west of hotel, two stories.

3. Log house on lot next west of last, back 20 or 30 feet from the street, front of it a frame not covered.

4. Portland House on lot next west, two stories. (This was kept as a hotel in 1835 and for some years afterward.)

5. Moors Farwell's dwelling, on lot corner .of Water Street and Columbus Avenue, one-story building back 20 or 30 feet.

6. One-story house on east side of Water, lot 35, where the Caswell Block is.

7. One-story house on lot next east of lot on corner of Jackson and Water streets.

8. Two-story house on lot on corner of Jackson and Water streets, east side of lot.

9. Story and a half house on corner of Water and Decatur streets, John Weeden's.

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10. Log house west of Lawrence Street. (Captain Martin's.) Stone Houses :— •

1. William Townsend's store, now owned by railroad company, and warehouse on end of dock.

2. Jennings & Darling's brick store, corner of Columbus Avenue slip and Water Street, and warehouse on dock.

3. Old White Store on parts of two water lots now occupied by east end of Reber's Block.

4. Warehouse under the bank opposite the Steamboat Hotel. Market Street:-

Market Street.

1. One story and a half house on the easterly part of lot 8, Columbus Avenue.

2. One story and a half house on the west end of lot, corner of Wayne and Market streets.

3. Two-story house on middle part of lot, corner of Hancock Street and Market, north side of

Wayne Street :

1. One-story building on lot 1, next south of (balance of sentence obliterated).

2. Two-story house on west end of lot 1, Washington Row.

3. Two-story house nearly opposite the last mentioned house.

Columbus Avenue :—

1. House on lot, corner of Water Street and avenue on the ground next south of what is now Graham's new block, front over 21/2 stories and part one story.

2. One-story house on south end of lot on which West House stands and now covered by Miller's Block.

3. One-story house on west side of lot, corner of Market and avenue, Doctor Anderson 's.

4. House on corner of avenue and Monroe Street (MeGees.) 5. School house on west end of lot at corner of Columbus Avenue and Washington Row.

Times still continued hard. In 1820 and 1822 money was so scarce that many of the settlers left their improvements and moved farther west, unable to pay for their lands. And those who had their laids paid for were obliged to lay up sixpences and shillings to meet their taxes. All kinds of trade was carried on by barter.

During the summer of 1822 a stage route was established from here to Columbus. Also the steamboat Superior, Jedediah Rogers, master, made tri-monthly trips from Buffalo to Detroit, stopping here on her way up and down. She was the second steamboat that navigated Lake Erie, and was built to take the place of the Walk-in-the-Water, a steamer built in 1818, and made regular trips until the fall of 1821, when she was lost. The Superior was built under the inspection of Captain Rogers at Buffalo Creek, and launched on Saturday, the 13th day of May, 1822, amid the cheers and acclamations of a numerous concourse

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of people from this and adjacent towns. A salute of thirteen guns was fired from her after she had safely descended to her destined element.

During the year 1824 the channel across the flats into the bay was staked, the water in the channel ranging in depth from seven to nine feet. Since that time the channel has been changed and improved, making the depth in the lowest place eleven feet. On Sunday night, June 6th, during this year, Sandusky was visited by one of the most tremendous thunderstorms ever witnessed. The flashes of lightning were so vivid as almost to deprive one of sight ; so rapid in succession as to keep the whole heavens in a seeming blaze, and attended with the most terrific electric explosions, while the drenching rain descended in absolute torrents. In noticing the above we feel inclined to give place to another, occurring soon after, though of less importance, yet its devastating effects will probably illustrate the times of which we write as much as anything we can adduce, and we know of only one circumstance in the history of disasters to which it may be comparable, and that is a collision and wreck on the "raging canal." As the staunch upper deck cabin horseboat Pegasus, Captain Tyler, commander, was on the way to this city from Lower Sandusky (Fremont) a violent thunderstorm arose, increasing in its fury, throwing down one of the horses and thereby rendering the boat unmanageable, leaving the passengers and crew to the mercy of the wind and waves. The boat being disabled in consequence of losing her motive power, ,was driven ashore and dashed upon the beach, but by this fearful catastrophe, we are happy to state, no lives were lost.

During this year 1824 Sandusky was incorporated.

Former difficulties existing between the inhabitants and original proprietors being in a measure removed, the place commenced to thrive and settle faster than at any former period. The stage making her regular weekly trips to Cincinnati by way of Columbus, and the tri-monthly visits of the steamboat Superior, together with the shipbuilding, domestic trade and business of the place, produced a stir and activity interesting in those times.

Because Sandusky did not get the state canal, the project of a railroad to connect with the canal from Dayton to Cincinnati was suggested. As a matter of history which may be interesting to the present citizens of Sandusky we have been favored with and here insert the following authentic statement by a worthy citizen, of the names and first active movers in this enterprise, which has for many years exerted a powerful and marked influence upon the prosperity of the city and but for which she could never have made headway against the implacable and perpetual hostility of her neighbors :

"W. D. Root, Esq.—Dear Sir : According to request, I cheerfully present my recollections of the first Rail Road movements in Northern Ohio. Shortly after the final location of the Ohio Canals—by which the Central Route was defrauded of its claim—as the cheapest, nearest and most natural line ; and certainly as early as 1826, the Hon. E. Cooke devised and suggested the project of a Rail Road from Sandusky to

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Dayton, through whose influence a meeting of the citizens was convened at the 'Portland House,' then kept by Col. A. Root, for the consideration of the subject. There were present at that meeting, David Caswell, eh'm ; Doct. George Anderson, E. Cooke, Hector Kilbourne, C. W. Marsh, Moors Farwell, Aaron C. Corbit, and as I think David Campbell, John N. Sloane, Abner Root and others.

"The meeting was addressed by Mr. Cooke, who made a thorough and searching exposure of the manner in which Sandusky and the Central Route had been defrauded out of the Canal, and proposed as the only panacea which could effectually heal the malady, the construction of a Rail Road from Sandusky to Dayton.' Resolutions Were submitted and adopted by the meeting— commending the project—which were afterwards noted by the paper then published at Cleveland, and held up to public odium and ridicule—but owing to the novelty of Railroad enterprises, the newness of the country, the extent of the proposed route, and perhaps other causes, the project was permitted for the time being to sleep `but not to die.' This movement, then, made at this early period, may - justly be considered the germ from which sprung into life and being the Mad River and Lake Erie Rail Road.

"Very respectfully yours, etc.,

"John N. Sloane."

The legislature of the state, on the 14th of February, 1824, passed an act providing for the incorporation of the Town of Sandusky, and providing for the election of officers thereof. The limits of the town, as provided by the act, were as follows : Commencing at a point in Sandusky Bay, eighty rods from low-water mark, directly opposite the north end of McDonough Street ; thence running a direct line to the north end of McDonough Street, and along said street to Washington Street ; thence east along said Washington Street to Decatur Street ; thence south along said Decatur Street to Jefferson Street ; thence east along said Jefferson Street to Hancock Street ; thence north along said Hancock Street to Washington Street ; thence east along said Washington Street to Warren Street ; thence north along said Warren Street to the shore of Sandusky Bay ; thence to a point in said Sandusky Bay eight rods from low-water mark, directly opposite the north end of Warren Street ; thence running directly to the place of beginning, shall be, and the same is hereby erected into a town corporate, henceforth to be known and distinguished by the name of Sandusky ; subject, however, to such alterations as the legislature may from time to time think proper. to make ; and the remaining part of said town, as shown by the plat thereof on record, shall be, and the same is hereby vacated, excepting the streets and public grounds thereof.

On the first record book of proceedings of the authorities of the town there appears the following entry :

"Be it remembered that in pursuance of an Act of the Legislature of the State of Ohio, passed February 14, 1824, entitled 'An act to incorporate the town of Sandusky, in the County of Huron, the qualified electors who had been residents of the said town of Sandusky six months

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then immediately preceding, convened at the school house in said town on the first Monday of May, 1824, and filen and there, according to the direction of the said act proceeded to the election of nine suitable persons, being citizens, house-holders or free-holders, and inhabitants of said town, to serve as mayor, recorder and common council of said town, by ballot ; at which meeting John Weeden and Benjamin Gregg were chosen and qualified as judges, and Frederick Devoe as clerk.

"Whereupon, after closing the polls and canvassing the votes which had been duly given by the qualified electors aforesaid, according to law, it appeared that George Anderson, Aaron C. Corbett, William Townsend, William Kelly, Cyrus W. Marsh, Alexander Clemons, Eleuthorus Cook, John Wheeler, and M. Farwell were duly elected to serve in the capacity aforesaid ; and the said judges thereupon declared and in due form certified the said persons duly elected, as will more fully appear by their certificate and return on file.

WHEN SANDUSKY WAS LARGER THAN CLEVELAND, TAKEN FROM THE FIRST EDITION OF HOWE'S HISTORY OF OHIO, PUBLISHED ABOUT 1847. THIS PICTURE WAS USED As A HEAD BY THE SANDUSKY CLARION ABOUT 1848.

"In pursuance of the act of common council met at the office of Eleuthorus Cook in the town of Sandusky, and on the 10th day of May being within ten days from the aforesaid day of election, and then and there proceeded to elect by ballot from their own body, three persons to serve as mayor, recorder and treasurer, with the following result : Mayor, M. Farwell; recorder, William Townsend ; treasurer, William Kelly."

Thus organized, the town proceeded to elect a town marshal, Wesley Anderson being the fortunate candidate. He resigned on the 12th of February following, and Daniel Newton was appointed in his stead.

The town grew rapidly in point of population, industry and trade during the first few years, and among the many who availed themselves of the grand business opportunities that were offered the names of a few max be recalled, as follows : Moors Farwell was in mercantile trade, representing Zalmon Wildman. There were also Jennings & Darling, who came from Connecticut and opened a dry goods store in 1818 at the corner of Water Street and Columbus Avenue. William Townsend started in the same line of business in 1819 in a small frame building standing near the corner of Water and Lawrence streets. Mr. Townsend

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died of cholera in 1849. David McMurray, in the fall of 1817, built a store on the site of the Register Office Building, in which he started the drug business. One year later William Kelly became a partner of Mr. McMurray. There was in trade here as early as 1819 a Hebrew named Cohn, who had a small jewelry establishment on Water Street. In this same line was John N. Sloane, but the latter did not commence business until some years later.

Other of the early tradesmen in various branches of business but whose location and time of coming cannot in each case be definitely fixed, were : Galin Atkins, 1820, boots and shoes ; D. C. Henderson,, 1820, baker ; Wheeler & Galloway, about 1821 or 1822, hotelkeeper and merchant ; A. M. Porter, 1820 or 1821, tanner and currier ; S. Pennewell and S. H. Stearns, tanners ; Milton & Jennings, 1819, cabinetmakers ; Alexander Clemons, 1820 or 1821, cabinetmaker ; J. C. Hurd, 1823 or 1824, hatter ; Col. A. Root, 1822 or 1823, harnessmaker and saddler ; Sylvanus A. Cone, 1820 or 1821, butcher ; Bush & Hollister, merchants ; 0. & L. Cook, dry goods ; Bassett Bethel, tailor ; D. H. Tuttle,. lumber dealer; Samuel and Leicester Walker, carpenters ; Abner Lyman, carpenter; George Anderson, physician.

The early plats of Sandusky show Water Street as the most northern street in the city, Railroad Street and the land north of Water Street being mostly made land. In a decision of Judge W. F. Stone, printed in the Register of November 27, 1871, there is a meagre description of the history .of the street. In August, 1848, a petition was filed in the Court of Common Pleas, asking that a street to be called Railroad Street be laid out north of Water Street from the east side of Lawrence Street to the west side of Franklin Street. The petitioners were lot owners and their petition was heard in the October term, 1848. The court ordered the street established on condition that the street be kept in repair free of cost to Portland Township or Sandusky City. In 1852 the council of the city authorized the filling up of the street to the prescribed grade and the cost was assessed upon the adjoining lot owners. In 1853 the street was extended to the east line of the city, and the city council, by contract with the Mad River road and the Junction Railroad authorized both of these companies to extend their tracks through this street.

The Register of July 14, 1873, contains a column obituary notice of Judge Samuel B. Caldwell, one of the old associate judges of the Common Pleas Court. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, and came to Ohio in 1817 and to Sandusky in 1825. He boarded at the Steamboat Hotel, now Scott 's American, which was kept by Mr. Boalt, the father of John M. Boalt, afterward postmaster at Sandusky, and Susan Boalt, who became later the wife of Judge Caldwell. In 1835 he built the stone house now standing next north of the Presbyterian Church as his family residence. He had been mayor of Sandusky, and died July 13, 1873, at the age of eighty-one years.

In the Sandusky Register of March 19, 1909, T. R. Davis, of Leaven-

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worth, Kansas, gives the following description of Sandusky as it was in 1826 :

"The few business houses of the town were confined to Water street. `Billy' Townsend 's unpretentious store marked the extreme western limit of the business section. All beyond to Mills' creek was covered with timber and brush. On the North side of Water street, between Mr. Townsend's store and the foot of Jackson street there was but one building: that a small stone dwelling house that stood something like twenty rods oast of Mr. Townsend's store. On the South side between these points the most business-like establishment was Solomon Moore's blacksmith shop. There were several very small and common frame buildings that stood just west of Moore's shop, one a small tavern, as such were called in those days.

"On the South side of Water street between Jackson street and Columbus Avenue there was a class of very common buildings, most of them frame and many of them only one story. On the corner where now stands the stately West block then stood a very common one and a half story frame building occupied much of the time as the lowest kind of a dramshop. On the opposite corner where now stands Mr. Graham's drug store then stood Moors Farwell's common frame store building. On the South side of Water street, between Columbus Avenue and Wayne street there were several small trading establishments, and one or two business shops. There was a hotel at about the middle of this block with a covered driveway on the WAt side leading to a large barn in the yard at the rear of the hotel. I think it was understood at the time that this hotel was the headquarters of a stage line. Most of the retail stores of every kind were on the North side of Water street between Columbus Avenue and Wayne street. There was no business house of any kind on Market street. Later there were two frame market houses erected, one on East Market street and one on West Market street.

"I can recall to mind only one residence on this street at this time that the city would now be ashamed of : this was the residence of old Captain Ransome, it stood about midway between Columbus Avenue and Wayne street on the South side.

"I can now recall to mind no improvement that had as yet been made on Washington street. All to the South of this for a considerable distance was an open common.

"Columbus Avenue was at this time as devoid of any manifestation of business as a prairie dog town of the West in Mid-Winter. Captain Charles Rice was then the only wagonmaker in the county. His shop stood out on the common to the Southeast of the present Masonic Building. Boots, shoes and clothing were not imported then as now. All such were made by local tradesmen and dressmakers. Blacksmiths made their own shoes and nails. The only paper was the Sandusky Clarion, a small-sized weekly.

"Something like twelve years after arriving in the county I attended one Winter the only $ublie school then maintained in Sandusky. This

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school was held in the basement of a church that stood out on the common not far from the present courthouse."

A correspondent who signs his name "G." writes the Register a letter published in the issue of December 24, 1885, in which he says:

"I was born in 1827. My first school was between Fulton and Lawrence on the Bay Shore. It was a stone house situated on Water street opposite the Western Exchange or Hammond Hotel near Jackson street. The school was kept by Mr. Tower. My next school was bn Water street between Fulton and Decatur one door East of John Wheeler's store. Jay Cooke went to this school kept by 'Mandy Rogers.' My next school was at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Water street where the West House stands. This school was kept by Mr. Roscoe and some of the scholars were Henry, Pitt and Jay Cooke, Philander Gregg and John

THE TOWNSEND HOUSE. THE CRACK HOTEL OF THE CITY IN THE FIFTIES

Homegardner. The next school was kept by Mr. Cooke, the father of George, William and Charles Cooke, in the basement of the original Methcidist church, a stone building on the West side of the courthouse square. The first shipyard was at the West battery where the steamer `Sandusky' was built."

THE GERMANS IN SANDUSKY

Notwithstanding a popular impression to the contrary, there is abundant evidence that the Germans began to come to Sandusky early. In a paper showing individual research, written by Mrs. Sarah Sloane and published in the memorial to the Western Reserve pioneer women on the subject of "The Women of Sandusky," Mrs. Sloane quotes Mrs. Martha Eldis as saying she came to Sandusky in 1828, and that for four years her family was the only German family in the village.

The following is the list of names of residents of Portland Township

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for the year 1829. The list includes the names of those who lived in the town as well as those within the township and outside of the town.

This enrollment was made in May, 1829, by the trustees of the township for the purpose of dividing the same into school districts, and to be numbered one and two, respectively. All that part of the town and township lying east of Columbus Avenue and a line drawn south in continuation thereof to constitute School District No. 1, while the land to the west of Columbus Avenue and the line above mentioned should form District No. 2.

The resident householders of District No. 1 were as follows: Thomas Galaway, McGovern, Jerome Hardenbrook, David B. Smith, Chauncey Terry, John Hamer, William Chapman, James Foreman, James Wright, Michael Green, Marble Tatie, Gurdon C. Burnham, Davis Dougherty, William Lisle, Joseph Darling, Widow Amsden, Alexander Clemons, Isaac Darling, Jesse Withington, Conrad Rhodes, Thomas T. White, Presley Thompson, Leicester Walker, Samuel Walker, Richard Hill, Daniel R. Ellsworth, Lewis Ellsworth, Abner Lyman, Aaron C. Corbett, Winslow Corbett, Abner Root, Roswell Jennings, Widow Cook, William Cogswell, John Turk, Charles F. Drake, David Campbell, Erastus Cooke, George Anderson, Cyrus W. Marsh, Judah W. Ransom, Darwin H. Tuttle, Jacob Goodrich, Martin Eldis, Adolphus Woodbridge, Thomas McGee, Hezekiah Bigford, Widow Hurd, Widow Hancock.

Householders of District No. 2: Benjamin Gregg, Francis D. Parish, Daniel Newton, Erastus S. Gregg, Ezra Wells, George Lantes, Benjamin Withington, Elijah Belknapp, Isaac Tupper, Jacob Houck, Rufus G. Carter, Widow Martin, Daniel Wisopp, George Dorrell, Joshua Fairchild, W. D. Colvin, Kelly Smith, Knoulton Youngs, Hewitt Hastings, Augustus Cook, Elias Hand, Andrew Grimes, Isaac Rice, Richard Martin, Amos McLouth, Samuel Pennewell, Widow Henderson, Widow Bishop, H. H. Wilcoxen, E. D. Clemons, Michael Gill, John M. Sloane, A. M. Porter, William Louther, Lucas Hoskins, John Poorman, William Townsend, John Morgan, Joyn Wheeler, Henry Victor, Russell Woodruff, John Wedden, Widow Costello, Widow Falley, A. M. Moore, George S. Reynolds, Henry I. Slater, Perry Darby.

In 1816 Zalmuna Wildman laid out the town and called it Portland, and built the first frame building, which was long known as the old White Store, and occupied a portion of the ground covered by the east end of the Reber Block on Water Street, where the United States Express Company is now situated ; and back of this store Mr. Wildman built the first dock. In 1817 William B. Smith built the first frame dwelling house, on the lot next west of Voltaire Scott's American Hotel, a little back from Water Street. The next year he built a brick front coming up to Water Street, which still stands. In this year C. W. Marsh erected the first frame at the corner of Wayne and Water streets, and called it Marsh's Tavern. Next year it was again christened the Steamboat Hotel, because the first steamboat, the Walk-in-the-Water, had commenced her lake trips, and it boil that name till 1847, when Alexander T. Porter built a veranda across the front and it was called the Veranda Hotel.

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The first justice of the peace was Esquire Crippen. The first doctor was George Anderson, who came from New York and died of cholera in 1834. The first lawyer was Eleutheros Cooke, and the second one was F. D. Parish, who crowned a long life of labor for reform by seeing slavery abolished and advocating temperance and prohibition. He was also the first postmaster of Sandusky, in 1818, followed by Erastus Cooke, D. Caswell, E. Brink, W. B. Smith, D. Powers, John M. Brown, T. C. McEwen, E. B. Sadler, A. C. VanTine, John M. Boalt, Charles M. Keyes, George Daniel.

In 1817 the first sawmill was put in operation by Dr. S. B. Carpenter on Mills Creek, and shortly after another, was erected on Pipe Creek.

John G. Camp built the first grist mill, still standing, and is the two- story portion of the stone building at the foot of Franklin Street now used by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

The first stone structure was built by Hon. Eleutheros Cooke on Columbus Avenue, where the Star Theater now stands. Mr. Cooke was laughed at for undertaking to build of stone, and the wise ones said he would never procure enough of that material in this locality to finish his house, but he found all he needed and considerable left over. This house originally had two wings, one on either side, and was used by Mr. Cooke as a dwelling until he moved into another stone house he had built, and where Dr. Eugene Stroud had his office on Columbus Avenue. In this latter house Gen. William Henry Harrison was entertained when here in 1840, and it was from the porch of this house that the log cabin banner made by the ladies was presented by Judge Sadler on their behalf. to General Harrison.

William B. Smith, one of the old settlers, erected the first frame dwelling house in 1817. It was built on the lot next west of Scott's American Hotel, and a little back from Water Street. The next year he built a brick front coming up to Water Street and made the bricks. Mr. Smith was a gentleman of the old school, always highly respected, having several times been placed in office of trust and responsibility by his fellow citizens. He visited the place as early as 1810, and- lived to see a wilderness, with its savage inhabitants, give place to cultivated fields, to rising cities, and to a civilized and commercial people. The. Register of September 30, 1878, contains a full account of the death of W. B. Smith at the age of eighty-two years on September 25, 1878, and of his burial with Masonic honors.

The second frame dwelling was erected in the fall of 1817 by Mr. Cyrus W. Marsh, and forms the rear portion of what is now known as The Scott's American Crystal Dome. A few years later the proprietor added the front part and opened the first tavern, giving it the name of Marsh's Steamboat Hotel. Since that time it has been known as Porter's Verandah Hotel, Raymond Hotel, Scott's American.

The first stone dwelling in Sandusky was erected in 1821 or 1822 on Columbus Avenue by Hon. Eleutheros Cooke, a gentleman whose name and memory will ever fill a proud position in the annals of our city, as also in the category of our most learned, zealous and earliest pioneers.

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The first merchants were (in addition to Mr. Farwell for Z. Wildman) Messrs. Jennings & Darling, whose business was in dry goods. They came from Connecticut and opened about 1818, the same year building themselves a brick store on the corner of Columbus Avenue and Water Street, where now stands the Hubbard Block. Mr. Townsend, also in dry goods, commenced in 1819 a small frame store opposite the present New Lawrence Hotel. He died in 1849 of cholera, and the lot whereon stood his store was purchased as a site for the C. S. & C. passenger depot. David McMurray and William Kelly were also wholesale merchants, the former commencing the first drug store in the fall of 1817 on the lot where now stands the Register office.

THE OLD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL BEHIND IT, WHICH WAS USED As A HOSPITAL IN 1849, AND STOOD WHERE THE PRESENT COURT HOUSE STANDS.

Of the first jeweler, one Cohen, of Jewish descent, who was in business on Water Street as far back as 1819, we have been unable to ascertain any facts. The second was Mr. John N. Sloane, who came here about 1823-4 and first occupied a small shop on Water Street. He afterward erected more convenient premises where the Graham drug store now stand, at the corner of Columbus Avenue. He was a shrewd business man and always alive to the interests of the city, having served it four successive years as mayor.

The first tavern was erected by Mr. C. W. Marsh in 1817 who came here from Greenfield, Connecticut. He was very successful as a livery man and coacher Ina olden times. He closed out somewhere between 1830 and 1832. Colonel Root also kept what was known as the Portland House, the second tavern in the city, the lot now occupied by the Register office on Water Street. Subsequently the house was sold to

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Mr. D. Campbell, who used it as a book store, in one portion publishing the Clarion for many years, and it was ultimately burnt down.

The first bakers were Mr. Darius C. Henderson and Thorpe, who occupied a frame store where the United States Express office now stands. Mr. Thorpe also had a bakery and grocery store where the Euterpean Hall stood, now the American Express Company.

The first carpenters and joiners were Samuel and ,Leicester Walker, having no regular workshop, but Samuel lived in a . house on Market Street back of where Mr. Facer conducted his hack business, now the Ferguson bakeshop. Mr. Abner Lyman was also in this line of business and resided on Wayne Street. He was also for many years a justice of the peace.

The first tanner and currier was Col. A. M. Porter. who came from Virginia about 1820-21, and for many years conducted business near the brewery in the West End. The colonel was subsequently for some years proprietor of the "Verandah Hotel" and much respected as "mine host." Mr. S. Pennewell and Mr. S. H. Stearn were also in the same line of business at an early date.

The first shoemaker was Mr. Galens Atkins, who erected and ran a small shop near the Colton House, now the New Lawrence Hotel.

The first cabinetmakers were Messrs. Milton & Jennings in 1819 and conducted business at the corner of Wayne Street and Washington Row. In 1830 they closed out and went south. Mr. Alexander Clemons embarked in this business about 1820 or 1822 but later moved to Marblehead.

The first hatter was Mr. J. C. Hurd, coming here from New York about 1823 or 1824, and for many years conducted a frame store on Water Street.

The first saddle and harnessmaker was Col. A. Root; who came from Mansfield in 1822 or 1823, and commenced business in a frame store on Water Street, now occupied by Neill Bros.

The first butcher was Sylvanus A. Cone, coming from the east about 1820, who killed and peddled meat around the city, having no regular store.

The first justice of the peace was Squire Crippen, Who for many years traveled from village to village "dispensing justice with an even hand." He was first elected in Oxford, but eventually came to reside in Sandusky, and here it was his privilege to perform the first marriage ceremony, which though somewhat creating a breach of our classification of subjects, we cannot resist referring to. The contracting parties were a widow Scott and Captain Woodard, who on arriving at the squire's residence were met by a few friends anxious to witness the ceremony. The squire, first addressing the widow, asked her if she would take Woodard to be her wedded and lawful husband, to which a nod was given and received as a sufficient response. Woodard was next asked if he would take the widow to be his wedded and lawful wife, to which he promptly replied with much fervor, "yes, by G—d!" The squire then said, "In the presence of these persons I pronounce you man

HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 165

and wife," whereupon the ceremony was ended and the happy pair left for Cleveland.

The first doctor was Geo. M. Anderson, who catne from New York. He was skilful in his profession, but died of cholera in 1834.

The first lawyer was Hon. Eleutheros Cooke, who came here in 1821, having previously resided at Bloomingville. The second legal practitioner, Mr. F. D. Parish, came here in 1822, and formed a partnership with Mr. E. B. Sadler in 1836, which continued to 1847, when it was dissolved in consequence of Mr. Sadler being appointed judge of the judicial district.

Up to 1819 or 1820 the Government postal arrangements here were of the most primitive character, postmen on horseback, collected and delivered letters from stage to stage, for which the nominal charge of 25 cents was imposed. But about 1820 a small shanty was opened on Water Street, and Mr. Hector Kilbourne was appointed postmaster. The business of this institution was subsequently removed several times to different parts of the town, until the prosperity of our commercial interests warranted its removal to the premises where it is now located.

The following is a list of all the postmasters who have down to the present filled that office : Hector Kilbourne, F. D. Parish, Erastus Cooke, D. Caswell, E. Brink, W. B. Smith, D. Powers, J. M. Brown, T. C. ,McEwen, E. B. Sadler, A. C. VanTine, John M. Boalt, Chas. M. Keyes, George Daniel, C. B. Dennis, John J. Molter, Chas. A. Lehrer, Jas. E. Melville, Chas. Schippel, James Ryan.

Sandusky Bay was the first port of entry defined under the act passed in 1805, establishing among others "the District of Miami," which in 1812 was changed, by another act, to Sandusky. The earliest representative institution in said district was at "Danbury" on the peninsula, Peter P. Ferry being the officer, but in 1821 it was transferred to Portland Township, and, under another act, passed in 1842, it was styled Port of Sandusky. In 1854 the treasury department invested $11,000 in purchasing a site, upon which during the years 1856 and 1857 was erected, at a cost of over $64,500, the present block now standing on the corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street.

SANDUSKY IN THE YEARS 1831 AND 1832

In the year 1831 George W. Garrett opened the Lawrence Hotel near the site of the present Lawrence Hotel (the old Colton House) to the traveling public. At that time the low water mark was within sixty feet of the hotel, and two Buffalo steamers landed daily at the wharf now used by the Big Four Railroad. The Steamboat Hotel was then the favorite hotel.

The store of A. Root had recently been opened with a stock of new goods such as were uually kept in country stores in the building previously occupied by A. C. Tuttle opposite the Portland House near the corner of Market and Decatur streets where the Wiedeman House now stands. Directly opposite the Steamboat Hotel on Water Street J. W.

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ORIGINAL PLAT OF SANDUSKY IN 1818. THIS PLAT IS ESPECIALLY

INTERESTING FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS :

(A) It proves that Sandusky was the legal name as early as 1818. On July 24, 1822, the Clarion editorially says that only ignorant people call the place Portland.

(B) It shows that Water Street was the most northern street and that all the land now between Water Street and the water line was made land.

(C) It shows Washington Street running through the park according to the original intention of the plat.

(D) It shows the reason why the most southern street was named Monroe Street, because Monroe was then president.

HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 167

Hollister & Company kept a grocery and their next door neighbors on the east were Caswell & Mills who, on the 11th day of June, 1832, opened a large stock of groceries, dry goods, crockery and hardware. John Wheeler occupied a building at the corner of Decatur and Water streets, where he displayed a large stock of staple and fancy goods, boots and shoes, shot and powder. He was largely patronized by the sporting element. There were no saloons, but many stores sold whisky. The Clarion of July 25, 1832, quotes it at 30 cents a gallon.

On Wednesday, July 18, 1832, the Clarion published an extra giving the first known case of the cholera in Sandusky up to that date. On the same day the board of health of the city issued a circular attributing the death of the deceased to cholera aggravated by the use of liquor and expressing the hope the disease was limited to the one case. In this they were disappointed, for within a few days three deaths occurred.

Sandusky had in its earliest history more wholesale and commission houses than at the present time. Of the many firms that advertised in the Clarion in the years 1822 to 1832 are mentioned the following, all out of business at this date : William Townsend, J. W. Hollister, Isaac Darling, Wildman & Mills, E. Gregg, L. & M. Farwell, Wilcoxon, Swearingen & Company, Michael Gill, S. Sherwood, W. H. Caswell & Company, A. C. Corbett, Venice, Ohio ; S. H. Smith, Venice, Ohio; E. Jessup, Venice, Ohio; E. Merry, Milan, Ohio.

It was also at one time the largest fresh-water fish market in the world, and the freight carried every day during the busy season by a large fleet of pondboats to the warehouses for disposal was often so enormous that with a day and night force it would not be properly handled and taken care of. The small fish were dumped back into the bay and everybody was welcome to a basketful to save the trouble of throwing them back.

It was also at one time the third largest grain market in the world, excelled only by Odessa, in Russia, and Massilon, Ohio.

The Sandusky Clarion of date of October, 1828, refers to the fact that on a given date 285 teams, heavily loaded with grain, passed through the streets of Sandusky, coming from Mansfield, Fostoria, Tiffin and other settlements, to unload their freight at the different warehouses.

One of the first gristmills in northern Ohio was located and operated at Venice about seventy years ago. This mill, at present owned by Gallagher Bros., is still in operation, although the warehouse and the Haywood dock, which extended fifty years ago far into the bay, have become obliterated, as well as the cooper shops that were running full blast night and day, manufacturing the thousands of flour barrels in demand. This old gristmill was constructed by three time-honored German pioneers, Peter Gilcher, Fred Reinheimer and Valentine Nicolai, whose children are still living and prospering.

In 1834 two Ehglish clergymen, Head and Matthewson, visited Sandusky under the auspices of the English Congregational Union. Mr. Head thus describeS his visit to Sandusky : "In the middle of the day we reached Sandusky. It has not more than seven or eight hundred

168 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY

inhabitants, but it is nevertheless a city in its corporate rights and officers. It is surely a city in a forest, for the large stumps of the original pines are still standing in the main street and over the spots that have been cleared, the new wood is springing up with amazing vigor as if to defy the hand of man.

"We went to the best inn in the town, which had been better had it been cleaner. It was, however, welcome to me, as a heavy thunderstorm was just beginning to put forth its tremendous power. I congratulated myself on my safety, but my confidence was quickly shattered, for the rain soon found its way into the house and came spattering in the rooms in strange style and onto my portmanteau. Few things seemed water proof here. A second time my baggage soaked through. I had placed it in the upper deck of the officers cabin as a place of safety, but a heavy rain came on during the night, the deck leaked and my baggage suffered. However, I made up my mind that I would not be inconvenienced by anything that might be injured, lost or stolen on the Fay—a precaution that certainly had more wisdom in than I was aware of, for .without it I might have had a pretty good share of disturbances. Already much was injured and some was stolen.

"There were two places of worship, one for the Presbyterians and the other for the Methodists. The first is without a minister: and neither of them in a very flourishing state. They stand on the 'greensward, they are about 30 feet square and for the want of paint have.-a worn and dirty aspect. The people here reverse the Dutch proverb,—it is not `paint costs nothing,' but 'wood costs nothing,' and they act accordingly. They will, however, improve with the town and at present have enough for their wants, but the adult population certainly go nowhere. Indeed the state of religious and moral feeling is evidently very low here and I heard more swearing and saw more sabbath breaking than I had before witnessed.

"There were many groceries, as they called themselves here, grog- genies, as their enemies call them, and they were all full.

"Manners which are consequent on religion and morality were proportionately affected."

Rev. Cyrus P. Bradley, who visited Sandusky in June, 1835, gives the following description in his journal: "We had a low prairie to cross, worse than anything It had previously experienced. We left the turnpike, for the aggravation of this miserable track, (a road it was not) was greatly enhanced by the sight of a gate with the rates of toll in glaring black paint, every ten miles, and took the old road, about a mile longer, and our driver hoped, better. We proceeded, occasionally getting out and pushing. When about half across, we espied before us two heavy wagons, stalled, fast in the mire, the very tops of-their wheels concealed in the mud and the poor beasts standing with drooping countenances and submissive look, before. We could not pass them—the same hole would add our misfortune to theirs, and as if a warning to us, across the prairie, we could see in the turnpike the indistinct form of

HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 169

the broken coach, in which we would have gone if we could. The driver spoke of returning, but we persuaded him to turn off, try to cross the ditch into the deep grass, and wallow along until he gained higher ground, which was in sight. He did so, whipping up and encouraging his poor beasts at every deep hole or ditch, and we following, wading and jumping behind. We got out safe, but the heavy plunges the coach had made had broken one of our thorough braces and bent to an awful angle, the axle of the hind wheel. Most preferred walking to trusting themselves to this crazy vehicle ; for myself, I was very tired and rode, bracing myself up on the highest side of the coach, and at every hole we crossed, expecting a catastrophe. We finally arrived at the land of rail fences again, and having propped up the broken strap and axletree, for they were broken, we all jumped in and proceeded. We changed horses

THE FIRST STONE BUILDING IN SANDUSKY, THE HOUSE OF ELEUTHEROS

COOK. THIS STOOD WHERE THE STAR THEATRE NOW STANDS

at a very respectable frame tavern, ten miles from Sandusky, the landlord of which was a native of Dunbarton, exchanged our used-up vehicle for a lighter coach, and proceeded over a good road and for a novelty, at a good round trot to Sandusky City. Near that placql, we passed over a high, level plain, which was absolutely sandy. There were swells, too, several gravel banks, small pebbles and even large stones, all comely sights to see, most surely.

"Sandusky City alias Portland. Gallinippers.—We arrived at Sandusky about two o'clock and put up at the principal house, kept by a namesake of my own. I shall never forget my ride across those gloomy, unhealthy prairies, which produce nothing but long grass, horned cattle, disease, mosquitoes and rattlesnakes. One species of meadow grass was shown to me, to which is given the singular cognomen of Roman Catholic grass. Why, I did not learn. Sandusky is not so large a place as I had anticipated, judging from its early settlement and notoriety. The

170 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY

insalubrity of its climate, rendering it almost impossible for a stranger to live there, is without doubt the principal obstacle in its way. As a gentleman very significantly observed to me, 'A great part of the inhabitants are over the other side of the hill,' for there is their cemetery. Other settlements, such as Cleveland, etc., have been 'at first nearly as unhealthy, but have improved in process of time. The fever and ague formerly infested the center of New York, much as it now does Ohio, and was not uncommon in the valley of Connecticut, within the memory of the present generation. But in this respect, Sandusky does not improve. The village is not quarter so large or populous as Concord, but was full of business, for the Sabbath day. There is, in fact, to a majority of the inhabitants, no Sabbath. I was struck with one singularity— the air was filled and every sunny wall or building was covered with myriads of a disgusting fly, about an inch long, with large wings and feelers. They are sluggish in their movements and perfectly harmless —nobody seemed to notice them. When flying, if they strike an object, they either cling to it or fall, and 24 hours is the extent of their brief existence. Like mosquitoes, they breed on the water and generation daily follows generation in inconceivable numbers. The inhabitants did not appear to notice them, and gentlemen and ladies as they passed the streets were covered with these reptiles. They find their way. into the houses and infest everything; even the table-where we dined swarmed with them. A gentleman assured me, that he was on board •a steamboat last week which ran aground at the mouth of the Detroit river in the night, and they were obliged to remain till daylight. In the morning, vast heaps of these vermin were found on deck, particularly congregated about the funnels, being either dead or nearly so, and that the quantity shoveled overboard was variously estimated by the passengers at from 6 to 8 bushels. Similar accounts have been given me -by others, and from what I myself have seen, I do not doubt their truth. They are considered as certain forerunners of the cholera, and were unknown here till just before the arrival of that disease. They are called, improperly, gallinippers, that being the name of a fly which, in common with other species, oddly enough called pontiacs, from the old chief of that name, are exceedingly troublesome to horses. We ate our dinner in haste and hurried on board a steamboat which had just touched on her way from Buffalo to take in wood and passengers."

The Register of June 9, 1875, quotes from the Chicago Tribune an article on the lake vessels, and says:

"There are yet living those who can extend their vision back to the days of the birch bark canoe, now displaced by a fleet equal if not superior to anything in the world. This has been brought about with such astonishing rapidity that at this juncture the supply exceeds the demand, and never before have vessel men found themselves so' greatly embarrassed. From four to five months in the year the navigation is almost closed by ice and in two instances even that time has been exceeded, the first in 1807 when the lake did not open at Buffalo until

HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 171

June 1, and again in 1811, June 4. The east shore of Lake Michigan, the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers are rid of ice much earlier than at other places between March 20 and April 15. While at Mackinaw it is still further delayed.

"Lake Superior is the latest cleared of ice. The ice varies from two to four feet thick and in 1875 from 5 to 6 ft. thick.

"In 1836 the total amount of tonnage on the lakes was 24,045.76 tons consisting of 45 steamboats, two ships, seven brig, one barge, 47 sloops, 144 schooners, and ten scows, total 256 vessels. Sandusky owned 4 steamboats, 9 schooners, and 6 sloops. Toledo 3 steamboats and 5 schooners. No steamers or vessels were owned on Lake Michigan and those owned on Lake Huron were mainly Canadian. In 1836 there were 18 steamers plying from Buffalo west, of which 2 were from Sandusky, the steamer Sandusky, Capt. T. J. Titus, of 377 tons, and the Str. United States, Capt. Asa Hait, of 366 tons."

There were eight steamers lost that year with a loss of 900 lives.

EARLY VOTERS OF SANDUSKY

Here are the names of the men who voted in Portland Township at the state election held at the mayor's office, Sandusky, October 10, 1837 : Peter June, Augustus Cook, Walter Wilbour, Rhoderick Willestine, Zacariah Brown, E. B. Sadler, John N. Beatey, Earl Bill, Daniel Dibble, George S. Dorrell, Daniel VanFleet, H. B. Radcliff, James B. Griffith, Winslow Corbett, John G. Camp, William H. Caswell, R. J. Jennings, J. W. Beatty, Isaac Wits, George Lawton, W. A. Simpson, James M. Davidson, Robert Whitney, Ezra Wells, Hiram Cowel, Oran Follett, Edward Foreman, William N. Crain, J. P. Stephens, Carlton B. Graw, Orlando Ransom, David Caswell, Austin Allen, Abel Holbrook, John N. Sloane, James Foreman, James McDonald, George R. Morton, Roswell W. Mockabee, Daniel Phillips, Charles White, Isaac A. Mills, S. E. Hubbard, Jonathan Richmond, S. R. Danforth, Charles F. Drake, Luther McGee, J. W. Upp, Amos Earl, Solomon C. Moore, Daniel Newton, William White, David Campbell, Foster M. Follett, William W. Curtis, Samuel L. Pierce, Erastus Cook, Asa Pierce, Appelton H. Corbett, William Townsend, John H. Williams, William B. Smith, Hudson A. Gaskil, Henry Raymond, Samuel M. Lockwood, F. W. Pomeroy, Leonard Beatty, James White, John Dunks, Abner Root, James Anderson, A. H. Barbour, Michael Gill, Charles Coles, William Silverthorn, Henry Daskum, Benjamin Withington, David Conner, Lora Wittiny, Samuel Hammond, Moors Farwell, George Bradley, Granville B. Beppeto, Jacob Riley, John M. Boalt, John Kinney, Connell Tinney, George H. Wells, Hezekiah 'Bickford, Francis Hull, William Benscoter, James B. Radcliff, David White, Austin Parks, Edward Foreman, Charles A. Barnes. Josiah W. Hollister, Thomas Neill, Samuel B. Caldwell, E. D. Bradley, Parley H. Pierce, A. P. Towar, John Weeden, William Neill, Jeremy Hopkins, Daniel Mallory, J. W. Ransom, Asborn Calkins, John Martin, 0. F. Wood, I. S. Cochran, Robert Hathaway, L. G. Harkness, David

172 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY

Everett, Elisha Alvord, James Goosbach, John Wheeler, Derius Madison, Erasmus Benknapp, William Marshall, Era:Stus L. Gregg, George Hand, John Von Saick, Ray Briggs, Andrew Turnbull, Jacob Winterstein, I. W. Graves, Thomas Eldridge, James W. Done, Stephen VanFleet, H. J. Snyder, William Langwell, Z. W. Barker, William H. Orton, Joshua Fairchild, Abram Simms, Coval McGee, James Sweet, Thomas Bickford, John S. Gustin, Gilbert Traverse, Joshua Harlow, Frederick Smith, George Littleton, Timothus Evans, Thomas Comstock, Jeremiah Dewey, Henry F. Merry, David Campbell, Ellery Taylor, Thomas T. White, Ezra Barnes, David Ingraham, Martin Eldis, William H. Cone, Henry Converse, John Cline, John Hull, William Durbin, Jr., Solomon Sanciny,

COLUMBUS AVENUE, LOOKING SOUTH, WITH OLD COURTHOUSE ON THE LEFT

Sylvester Whipple, I. A. Simms, Andrew R. Thompkins, Andrew Hasselett, Charles Rice, Daniel Loverall, William Shepherd, Henry Victor, Alvin Nash, Jacob Row, John B. Mugg, John Nicholds, Amon C. Bradley, Asa Cook, Jr., David Francisco, Samuel Moss, H. N. Converse, Charles Carr, Lewis C. Ellsworth, William Briggs, Thomas C. McGee, Lewis Ingram, Mason Converse, Benjamin I. Mann, Stephens Phillips, Reuben Russell, Joseph Burt, William Spaulding, Matthew Danielson, Nathaniel Holbrook, George DeWitt, Thomas Harvey, Joseph Darling, Peter Chance, Stewart Bell.

The original poll book is now in the possession of Dr. F. E. Weeks, of Clarksfield, Ohio.

The Sandusky Mirror of August 21, 1854, says editorially : "In 1837 on our first visit to Ohio we landed from the old steamboat Monroe,

HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 173

Capt. Atwood, in the city of Sandusky and remained one day. It was scarcely a city then—though we have but a faint recollection of its appearance. We believe, however, that much of the ground where the wharves and docks now are was yet a part of the bay, and Water street was much nearer, if not pretty much under the water. Indeed, we remember of seeing neither docks nor warehouses, but remember climbing up a steep bank from the steamboat landing to reach the public house."

"On the arrival of a steamboat at the Sandusky wharf there was a general rush to the landing. On one of these occasions Henry Victor, who kept a hotel where he later erected the Townsend House, was approached by a young man with a bundle under his arm, inquiring for a tavern. Victor started to escort him to his hotel. Before reaching the hotel the young man asked if they had milk, and on entering called for a quart, which was produced. He then opened his bundle and proceeded to crumb his bread into the milk, when he suddenly asked how much do you charge for this milk. He was told a sixpence. He replied 'My mother has given away pans and pans full of milk and never charged a cent. Dad said you was a set of sharpers up here and to look out for you. I won't have the milk.' And taking his hands he scooped out the saturated bread from the bowl of milk and walked off with it in his bundle." —Register, September 14, 1868.

In a careful article written by Hon. T. M. Sloane, now judge of the Probate Court, the author says, concerning the courthouses and jails of Sandusky :

"The Ogontz Seminary, which had only been recently completed, was donated by the citizens to the county for a court house and served that purpose many years. It stood just west of the present High School Building.

"The first jail in Sandusky was at the corner of Jackson Street and Washington Square, about on the site of the Lutheran Church which was torn down some years ago. It was a stone structure, sides and roof, with a double board door and padlock. It had one room. One man by the name of Mockabee was so often incarcerated there and was almost the only occupant that it came to be known as Fort Mockabee.

"The next jail was on East Market space, and though once destroyed by fire a portion of the walls are still intact and form part of a two-story tenement now standing there and in use. It was in this jail that Evans, the only man ever legally hung in this county, was confined before his execution. He had killed a man named Ritter. Evans, though a one- legged man, escaped from the jail and got away as far as Pipe Creek before he was recaptured.

"The next jail was a stone building now standing on the south side of Jefferson Street, just east of Franklin, and is used now as a dwelling.

"The next one was on Jackson Street where the residence of Capt. Brown and the house north of it now stands, and was torn away to make room for them when the present jail was constructed."

The following item from the Sandusky Register of March 20, 1873, will convince the believing that the inhabitants of the struggling little

174 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY

village were fed by divine interposition, like the ancient prophet, and that even at that early date the Sanduskian was not devoid of imaginative humor

" The inhabitants of the village were seriously threatened with a famine. At that time there were large numbers of wild hogs in the adjoining woods that were in the habit of coming down to the bay for water. Owing to the vast fields of fine sand on the shore the hogs became blind. In their extremity they were obliged to select a leader that had a partial sight, a blind hog taking his tail in his mouth, another his, and so on until a long line was formed, then the first hog •would lead the drove to the bay to drink. One of the villagers, by the euphoneous name of John Smith, conceived the idea of making his name famous as well as legion by a masterly deed of charity. He therefore, with trusty rifle in hand, repaired to the haunts of the wild hogs. Having secreted himself, he awaited the approach of the drove. As the leader came abreast of him he fired, severing his caudal appendage close to his body. His leadership stood not upon the order of his going, but broke and fled. Our hero quickly stepped forward, took hold of the amputated tail still in the mouth of the now foremost hog and led the innocent drove not where waves invaded the pebbly shore but within the corporate limits of the famishing village of Sandusky, and by this•strategy saved the people."

Beginning with December 7, 1885, the Register contains a series of articles on Sandusky in 1840, from which I have taken liberal extracts. The articles are unsigned. Sandusky is thus desiribed :

"Young hickory trees and hazel bushes were then thick on our public squares. The stage—the old yellow stage with its leather boot—used to come rushing and thundering along the West square, taking a. diagonal line from the Northeast corner of the Court house square, striking Jackson street where it intersects Washington Row, thence going North on Jackson street to where the residence of George Hart now stands. It was used and occupied as a residence and post office by Erastus Cooke, brother of Eleutheros Cooke.

"And then the old postmaster, in summer time when the shades of evening came down, would come out in front of his residence on the steps, bringing his clarionet with him, and fill the stillness of the night with sweet, homely music, and it could in those days be heard over the greater part of the town.

"Where now stands the Wiedeman House once stood the 'Mansion House' (later the Townsend House). The old, generous, genial landlord was Harry Victor. The Mansion House was a frame building, nearly square in its shape on the ground. It fronted on Decatur street. Large wooden columns rose from sandstone bases, with Corinthian capitols, and they supported upon a level with the second story a porch, surrounded by ballusters running the length of the Decatur street front. Under this porch innumerable swallows used to swarm and twitter in their season, and to this hotel came the elite of those days, their beauty and their chivalry."

175 - PICTURE OF RIVER VIEW, SANDUSKY

176HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY

POPULATION OF SANDUSKY

In 1820 Sandusky had 300 population.

In 1830 Sandusky had 594 population:

In 1840 Sandusky had 1,500 population.

In 1850 Sandusky had 5,000 population.

In 1860 Sandusky had 8,478 population.

In 1870 Sandusky had 13,000 population.

In 1880 Sandusky had 15,838 population.

In 1890 Sandusky had 18,471 population.

In 1900 Sandusky had 19,664 population.

In 1910 Sandusky had 19,989 populatioff.

On February 15, 1845, Amos Earl took a census of Sandusky and reported its population as 1,469. The census of 1850 showed, according to the Clarion of February 12, 1851, Sandusky having 5,088 population; Cleveland, 17,074; and Toledo, 3,819.

Why has Sandusky not grown ? The author does not care to discuss politics, but it is proper to show the falsity of reasons usually given. It is said that the early surveys of Sandusky were faulty and caused a large amount of litigation. This was nearly a century ago, and after three-quarters of a century all questions of that kind have been settled.

It is also said that prices were high at an early day in Sandusky. This allegation is not sustained by the proof.

It is charged that the people of Sandusky refuse to offer any inducement to manufacturers to locate, but as early as 1854 the city was drafted for $15,000 to locate a shipyard where the Tool Company is now, which shipyard was never built.

It used to be said Sandusky needed a few funerals. But all those people have been dead for twenty years.

If there were no other conclusive proof that Sandusky's failure to progress was not due to the cholera, the address of Eleutheros Cooke to the Congressional Committee of Commerce on February 6, 1850, in the effort to procure an appropriation for the improvement of Sandusky Harbor, would be sufficient. A copy of this address is on file in the Carnegie Library.

In this address he states the amount of the value of goods and the duties at the port of Sandusky for the four years ending with the beginning of 1850: