MANUFACTURES - 325

THE COLUMBUS BUGGY CO. AND THE PETERS DASH CO.

(See pages 329, 324, 326 and 327)

326 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

of the forges settled down, he and Mr. Benns did their fine painting and varnishing above the smithshop. About 1865 they bought out the Moore carriage shop on Town Street, just west of the market house, and manufactured carriages in the old fashioned way under the name of Peters, Benns & Co. But Mr. Peters believed that carriage making could be revolutionized by proper division of labor and the use of steam power and machinery, and that instead of selling buggies for $300 apiece, as they then did, they might furnish them for less than half that price. His partners thought he was a little wild on this subject and would not encourage him, but at last they allowed him to have his own way, and he contracted with Ayres, Mithoff, Dann & Co., in the Penitentiary, for the wood parts of one hundred buggies, precisely alike, on the duplicate plan, and then put them together cheaply by systematizing the work. Mr. A. Sells, auctioneer, later of the Sells Brothers' Circus, sold these cheap buggies on the marketplace at auction, as rapidly as they could be finished up, at good profits. This was perhaps the first attempt ever made to build and sell buggies on this plan. But Mr. Peters's partners got frightened, thought their wellearned reputation for fine work would be ruined, and refused to make any more. Nevertheless, after a year or two of hard times and struggles, Mr. Peters induced C. D. Firestone, a soninlaw of Rev. Lovett Taft, Mr. Peters's pastor, to put in $5,000 and join them. Mr. Firestone was a promising young man, born and raised near Canton, Ohio, and was at that time engaged in railway business at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mr. Taft was anxious that his son-in-law should come to Columbus to reside and therefore induced him to accept Mr. Peters's offer to join the firm of Peters, Benns & Co., but it only took a few years for them to sink all they had, and by 1870 they were deeply in debt and practically had failed. However, their extremity seemed to be their opportunity, for Mri Peters told his firm that he was going to give up all and start out on his hobby of making buggies and dashes on the duplicate plan. He begged his partners to join him, but none of them would do so except Mr. Firestone, who, though not a practical carriage maker and still young, felt sure that he could make the new departure a success. Without a cent, and deeply in debt, Messrs. Peters and Firestone leased from John R. Hughes the lot on the northeast corner of High Street and Hickory Alley. By going in debt they provided a cheap, frame shanty, costing one hundred dollars, and with a few traps which they bought of the bankrupt firm of Peters, Benns & Co., and for which 0. G. Peters furnished them security as he had frequently done. Thus equipped they began business life over again, this time as the Iron Buggy Company. They manufactured one kind of buggy only, most of which was of iron, and was the invention of Mr. Peters. They succeeded rapidly because Mr. Peters could devote his mechanical skill and genius to invention, to division of labor and to systematizing the manufacture of vehicles as he had desired to do years before. Mr. Firestone also entered the field with great energy and ability, and the business grew with wonderful success. Just then the infant establishment burned down, but it soon rose from its ashes and in 1875 its proprietors sold their small establishment to H. K. Tuller, now of the Buckeye Buggy Company, and formed the Columbus Buggy Company and Peters Dash Company, taking with them as a partner Oscar G. Peters, who had gained valuable experience as bookkeeper and cashier with Brotherlin, Hahn & Co., and Kelton, Bancroft & Co., also in army positions which he held in the commissary department during the Civil War. Mr, 0. G. Peters had also successfully carried on a grocery business for some years.

With their joint experience and about $20,000 capital, these three men started the Columbus Buggy Company and Peters Dash Company at the close of the year 1875. They began business in a small frame building still standing in the rear of the P. C. & St. L. R. R. offices, on the northeast corner of Wall and Locust streets, but added building after building along the railway tracks and High Street, year after year as their business rapidly developed. Their sales, amounting to about $50,000 the first year, have increased until they now reach the sum of about $2,000,000 per annum on an active capital of about $1,000,000, The products of their great factory are now exported to nearly all the countries of the world. They employ over twelve hundred persons and have facilities for producing about one hundred

MANUFACTURES - 327

vehicles and fifteen hundred carriage dashes per day. Their semi-monthly 'pay-roll amounts to about $15,0000. The Peters Dash Company manufactures carriage dashes, wheel fenders, washers, straps. etc., for sale to carriage hardware dealers and carriage manufacturers. These articles are made mainly under patents and by machinery invented by George M. Peters.

Of the Hayden establishment in 1850 the following account is given in Glover & Henderson's City Directory of that year :

The Birmingham Works, the property of P. Hayden, are situated on State Avenue, and on the east bank of the Scioto River. The main building is built of limestone, 196 feet long, consisting of a centre building 46 feet, 4 stories high, surmounted by a handsome cupola, and two wings, each of 75 feet long. In the rear of the centre building is the engine house, in which are two engines, one of 50 horse power, the other of 100. Adjoining the engine house, in the north yard, is a mill for rolling scrap iron into bars and rods, capable of producing six or eight tons of bar iron and three tons of rods daily. In this yard is also a smith's shop, 115 feet long by 32 wide, for making chains, &c. In the south yard is a tannery, SO by 30 feet, three stories high, designed principally for the manufacture of morocco. The main building is designed principally for the manufacture of saddlery hardware and drawing wire. The first floor in the centre building is fitted with machinery for the latter purpose, and about three tons of wire, a part drawn to the smallest size, is made each week. In the north wing, on the same floor, are machines for making buckles and rivets. The two upper rooms are used for filing, plating and finishing iron and brass work. Over the wire room, in the centre building is machinery for spinning, carding, &c. Mr. Hayden employs from 100 to 150 hands 10

The Ohio Tool Company was incorporated in 1851, with a capital stock of $190,000. Martin, writing in 1858, stated that it employed at that time about two hundred workmen, and named the following as its officers and directors: President, George Gere; secretary and treasurer, A. Thomas; superintendent, C. H. Clark ; directors, O. Allen, W. A. Platt, A. McNairy, J. R. Swan, George Gere, P. Hayden, and J. M. McCune. Its chief product consisted for some time of carpenter's planes ; hence it was commonly known as the "plane factory."

The Columbus Woolen Factory, incorporated in 1851, began operations April 1, 1852 ; first directors, A. P. Stone, F. C. Kelton, Theodore Comstock, John Butler and James Lennox. The factory building stood by the canal, at the foot of Mound Street. It was equipped with 640 spindles, 20 power looms, nine carding machines, one napping and brushing machine, and extensive apparatus for pressing and dyeing. It consumed 52,000 pounds of wool annually, and produced a considerable variety of fabrics, including satinets, cassimeres, tweeds, flannels, blankets and yarns. One quality of its cloth was known as Olentangy doeskin. The company's dividends, says Martin, were usually paid in additional stock, or in manufactured goods. The enterprise was never financially successful, and finally ended, much to the relief of its stockholders, with the accidental destruction of the factory by fire. This event took place August 4, 1870. The superintendents of the establishment, successively down to 1858, were J. L. Haughton, John H. Stage, and A. P. Mason.

In the spring of 1853 Brotherlin & Halm erected a four story brick building for the manufacture of cabinetware, and in July of the same year, their production actively began. Their factory, situated near the canal, in the southwest part

328 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

of the city, was destroyed by fire in 1856, but was immediately rebuilt. Their warerooms were located on. High Street. Their employes numbered about forty. 11 The factory building was again destroyed by fire in March, 1861 but was rebuilt, and in October, 1862, operations were resumed. In 1864 Mri Brotherlin died, and the name of the partnership was changed to that of Halm, Ford & Stage.

A company for the manufacture of hollow wooden ware by steam driven machinery, erected buildings on the west bank of the Scioto in 1855, and in July, 1856, began operations. The company had a capital stock of $28,000, which sum proved to be insufficient to pay for the buildings, and start the business advantageously. On May 10, 1858, the factory building was set on fire by lightning and destroyed. Its officers at that time were : President, George Kanemacher ; secretary, W. Li Hughes; treasurer, H. Crary ; superintendent, W. H. Beebe.

The Novelty Mills, originally erected by Theodore Comstock west of the canal, took the name of City Mills, under the ownership of A. S. Decker & Co.—Comstock, Harrison and Decker— and in 1857 were transferred to a new building on Fourth Street.

Of additional establishments in successful operation in 1858, Martin enumerates the following:

The Saw Factory at the corner of Water and Spring streets, propelled by steam — proprietors, Messrs. Ohlen and Drake ; several Planing Machines propelled by steam, at which are also manufactured doors, sash, blinds, etc. ; Messrs. Swan and Davies's Foundry and Machine Shop, on the west side of the river, established a few years since, and giving employment to some twenty-five to thirty men ; the new steam Paper Mill of Messrs. Hines and Miller, erected in the fall of 1857, and which commenced manufacturing paper in January, 1858; the Coffee and Spice Grinding Mill, established by Messrs. Rose and now owned by C. P. L. Butler, Esq., worked by steam power ; Messrs. Shoedinger and Brown's Furniture Manufactory ; and two extensive breweries in the south end of the city, one owned by Messrs. Hoster and Silbernagle, and the other by Mr. John Blenkner.

The first Franklin County Fair was held in October, 1851. A newspaper review of the exhibit said : " Of manufactured articles there were but very few. A fine assortment of cabinet work from the shop of Dryer & Co., and a splendid lot of harness work and saddles, a large portion of which was from the shop of Mr. Starr, comprised nearly everything under this head. . . . Of farming implements there was but a small assortment."

One of the current industries of 1851 was the manufacture of iron fencing, and kindred articles, by J. G. & M. Krumm, whose shop was on South High Street, near Peters's Run. Rickly's new distillery is mentioned in 1852 ; also a new machine shop, near the railway station ; Halm's cabinet shop and Chadwick's carriage factory, on Rich Street ; the Columbus Stone Dressing Company, "in rear of Howlett's Factory ;" the carriage factory of E. & H. F. Booth, corner of Third and Gay streets ; and the Lennox machine shop, in rear of the American House. In 1853 the Booths employed forty-five persons in their carriage business and manufactured two hundred buggies. Their sales for the year amounted to $40,000 ; average wages paid, $2.00 per day. In 1865 they erected a new factory building of four stories. J. A. Shannon's carriage factory, on the eastern bank of the Scioto, just below State Street, employed, in 1853, over seventy persons. Its wareroom was on

MANUFACTURES - 329

East State Street. In November, 1854, Mr. Shannon sold his establishment to Blake, Williams & Co. In April, 1853, a new machine shop was opened at the corner of Front and Spring by Charles L. Lewis and B. F. Sylvester. The Buckeye Machine Shop was fitted up about the same time by C M. Ridgway. It occupied the building known as the Old Paper Mill, at the east end of the National Road bridge. The repair shops begun about the year 1853 by the Columbus & Indianapolis Railway Company soon became extensive. They were located about a quarter of a mile west of the station. In November, 1862, these shops were destroyed by fir•, but they were immediately rebuilt on a more extensive scale, and were equipped and used for the manufacture of cars,. as well as for repairs. William Romans, a master mechanic and an inventor of considerable note, was in charge of their machinery.

OFFICE AND MAIN SHOPS OF

THE KILBOURNE & JACOBS MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

COLUMBUS, OHIO.

ON C. C. C. & I. R. R., 1-4 MILE N E. OF UNION DEPOT.

The furniture factory of Hughes & Beebe rose to noticeable magnitude in 1854. It stood beside the canal, near the commission house of Buttles & Comstock. In the same year Hyde & Schlapp erected a brick building for the manufacture of doors and blinds at the foot of State Street. A contemporary enterprise was that of the Stone & Lime Company, which purchased five acres of ground just west of the Penitentiary, " leased Colonel Medary's farm for ten years, with the privilege of quarrying stone on any part thereof," and put down a branch track connecting- their quarries with the Piqua & Indianapolis Railway.. The Ohio Tool Company's establishment was mentioned this year as " one of the most entensive of the kind in the West." Its payroll averaged about $6,000 and its product a value of about $20,000, monthly. The steel used by the company was manufactured expressly for it by William Jessup & Sons, England ; its iron was supplied from Pittsburg and from the works of P. Hayden. In 1857 the com-

330 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

pany employed about 350 hands and its sales were roundly stated at $200,000. A corn broom and brush factory was conducted by B. E. C. Bardwell, on High Street, opposite the County Courthouse. The trunk factory of J. R. Hughes, situated on High Street, near Long, obtained conspicuous mention. In 1853 about eighteen million bricks were manufactured and laid up in walls, but the supply was not equal to the demand. In 1854 the number of bricks produced was about twenty millions and the yards then in operation were thus catalogued : Atchison five, Ramsey two, O'Harra two, Temple, Stipe and McElvaine each one ; whole number of workmen employed, 185. Common laborers in the yards were paid twenty-two, and moulders thirtyseven to forty-five dollars per month, In 1859 Stipe's yard produced 30,000 bricks per day.

1855—Boiler shop, H. D. Langdon and Neil McKennon ; blacksmithing, Tresenrider & Noble ; bookbinders, Neereamer & Behmer ; sash, doors and blinds, Biddle & Bancroft ; tubs and buckets, Leaman & Carlisle.

A new brewery, by Charles S. Say, on Front Street, was announced in June, 1858. On June 20, 1859, the hub and felloe factory of Adam Luckhaupt, one mile east of the city, on the National Road, was destroyed by fire. In 1865 a company organized by John Short, began the manufacture of agricultural machines ; its shops and office were at the west end of the National. Road bridge. In 1862, the Columbus Cabinet Company was organized, with eighteen stockholders, and bought the building know as the Comstock property, to which, in 1864, a two-story addition was made. Rishtine, Leonard & Co's paper mill on Friend Street, west of the canal, is mentioned in 1863. The firm of Ford, Stage & Co. was organized in February, 1865, for the manufacture of furniture, in which it soon became extensively engaged, employing, in part, convict labor.

The Ohio Furniture Company was incorporated June 28, 1866, by George Gere, John G. Mitchell, J. Si Ford and Alfred Thomas. Its factory was established on West Mound Street, its salesrooms on South High. In 1890 it employed 125 men and its trade bad extended to many States besides Ohio ; its officers were, B. S. Brown, president; D. E. Phillips, secretary, treasurer and general manager ; Charles Baker, Smith Spencer, W. H. Stage and F. E. and Charles H. Hayden. The company's factory was destroyed by fire during the spring of 1867, but was rebuilt. On June 6, 1866; a " steam brick company " was incorporated, by David Auld, Henry Miller, Theodore Leonard, Edward Hall and J. C. Auld ; capital stock, $50,000. During the same season the Franklin Machine Works were established on Water Street by J. S. Andrews, William McNulty, M. R. Williams and D. H. Royce, all practical mechanics. The Capital Manufacturing Company was incorporated December 26, 1866, by J. A. Campbell, W. J. Conger and D. W. H. Day ; capital stock $30,000. Its purpose was the production of brushes and wirework by convict labor.

A business in sawmaking was begun about the year 1854, by James Ohlen, who, with very modest resources, made such progress as to enable him to erect a factory at the corner of Spring and Water Streets. In 1866, this establishment was considerably enlarged ; in 1869, it was producing about eight hundred saws, of different sizes and patterns, per day. The Capital City Foundry, McDonald &

MANUFACTURES - 331

Shilling, made a specialty in 1867, of the Wilson steel plow. In March, 1867, Albert Gemunder engaged in the manufacture of pipe organs on South Sixth Street.

In December, 1866, the tanneries then in operation were thus enumerated : D. A. Hamilton's, at the foot of Rich Street; Kraner & Co's., at the foot of Bank Alley, near Hoster's Brewery; Louis Buchsieb's, on South Front Street ; Frank Schlegetter's on the canal, near the south corporation line; Adolph Bick's, on Mound Street west of the canal ; and C. C. Smith's steam tannery, then recently established, situated on the canal, near the Mound Street crossing.

Of the origin of the Columbus Sewer Pipe Company, incorporated March 7, 1869, the following interesting account appeared on September 29, 1870, in the Ohio State Journal :

Some two years ago it was discovered that the peculiar clay and soapstone shale along a ravine on the farm of Mr. Joseph Guitner, three miles north of Columbus, was much like the clay out of which was manufactured the celebrated Middlebury stone sewer pipe. Samples of this clay were taken to Middlebury, put through the ordinary process, and the result was a very superior article of sewer pipe. This led to investigation by scientific men and more experiments. The clay was pronounced superior in many respects to the clay at other places where sewer pipe was manufactured, and the equal of the best in every respect.

The Columbus Sewer Pipe Company was organized with $100,000 capital, and B. F. Rees, Windsor Atcheson, S. Medbery, James A. Wilcox, Philemon Hess, Joseph Guitner and S. S. Rickly as directors. B. F. Rees was elected president and William Wassail, superintendent. Mr. Wassail had managed several sewer pipe manufactories in England and in this country, and brought to the business here the lessons of experience. The company purchased of Mr. Guitner fifteen acres of land along the ravine, and made preparations to secure machinery and put up a large manufactory. Last spring work was commenced in earnest, the manufactory was erected on the high ground near the Worthington road, the machinery was put in place, two kilns were erected, and in May operations were commenced. This was in the way of an experiment.. The result was satisfactory beyond the brightest anticipations and the work was extended. Two more kilns were put up and machinery perfected.

The Brown, Hinman & Huntington Company—B. S. Brown, E. L. Hinman and B. N. Huntington—dates its origin back to the early fifties, when it was know as the partnership of Hall, Brown & Co., which title it retained until 1866, when the name of Brown, Hinman & Co. was adopted. In 1885, the company was incorporated, with a capital stock of $200,000. Its business is chiefly that of manufacturing agricultural hand-implements. The company's trade has had a wide range including considerable export.

On December 29,1866, the Columbus Rolling Mill Company was incorporated by J. F. Bartlit, R. E. Neil, Theodore Comstock, P. W. Huntington and William Dennison; capital stock, $400,000, of which $383,000 was ultimately paid in. The first meeting of stockholders was held in January, 1867. Subscription books were opened in that month, extensive buildings were erected on a tract of thirty acres of ground purchased for the purpose on the left bank of the Whetstone, near the Panhandle Railway crossing; and on September 2, 1872, the mill began operations. Its officers elected in January, 1873, were : B. S. Brown president; H. A. Lanrnan secretary and treasurer ; C. Lewis superintendent, and Samuel Thomas

332 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

general manager. The primary purpose of the mill was the manufacture of iron rails, in which business it made a fair profit until the railways began to lay tracks of steel instead of iron, in consequence of which change the establishment was converted, at considerable expense, into a steelrail mill, and continued as such until January 1, 1883, when, in consequence of the increased cost of raw materials, all of which had to be imported under heavy duties, the concern ceased operations. It employed at that time about four hundred men. In July, 1883, a plan was broached for changing the equipment and business of the concern to the manufacture of structural iron, but this did not meet with general acceptance. After consuming a large part of its resources in repairing the damage done by a tornado which wrecked its buildings, the company resorted to the manufacture of open hearth steel, in which it continued for about six months, under the presidency Of Mr. E. -L. Hinman. Insufficiency of capital. and excessive cost of materials, compelled the suspension of this business also, throwing some hundreds of workmen out of employment. After remaining idle for some time the property was sold, at great sacrifice for what it would, bring. The fate of the Columbus Rolling Mill was that which has overtaken most of the smaller establishments of its class, and of many others of other classes; it succumbed to the competition of stronger establishments and the insupportable cost of raw materials.

In 1870 the blast furnace of the Columbus Iron Company was erected on the left bank of the Whetstone, a short distance north of the rolling Mill. It was put into operation December 21. Its original directors were S. Baird, president and superintendent ; Bi E. Smith, William. Dennison, H. J. Jewett, D. S. Gray, M. M. Greene, R. E Neil, B. S. Brown, .Walter C. Brown and P. Hayden, In March, 1871, the company decided to increase its capital stock from $150,000 to $200,000, and build an additional furnace, but this was not done. The establishment was finally broken up and removed to the Hocking Valley.

The Franklin Iron Company was organized in 1872; capital. stock $150,000; directors, Isaac Eberly, president ; E. Barcus, superintendent; John Greenleaf, secretary and treasurer; B. E. Smith, W. G. Deshler, Theodore Comstock, W. B. Brooks,H. Mith off and J. Reinhard. The furnace was located on the east bank of the Scioto, in the southwestern part of the city; and was erected under the supervision of Samuel Thomas, of Zanesville. Its equipments being complete, its fires were first lighted on October 28 1873, the match being applied by Miss Florence Eberly, daughter of the president.

The Columbus Pipe Foundry, for the manufacture of cast iron pipe, did its first moulding on December 1, 1870, in the presence of about forty interested citizens.

The Door, Sash and Blind Factory on Broad Street, West Side, started in 1871 with the following directors: W. A. Platt, R. B. Adams, A. D. Rodgers, R. F. Trone and T. Price. William A. Platt was chosen president and Frank Hickock secretary and treasurer.

The Columbus Window Glass Company was organized August 30, 1873; capital stock $75,000; F. C. Sessions, president; J. A. Jeffrey, treasurer; Edward Ford, superintendent; G. S. Brooks, secretary. The company's factory was

MANUFACTURES - 333

erected on the west side of the river near the lower bridge of the Hocking Valley Railway. Active operations began early in 1874. In 1880 the establishment was leased for a term of years to Robert C. Schmertz, of Pittsburgh. After a brief period of active existence the enterprise was abandoned.

The Columbus Chair Company, for the manufacture of cane seat chairs, was organized April 25, 1872 ; capital stock $40,000 ; S. S. slickly, president ; Henry Mason, secretary and superintendent ; Horace Wilson, treasurer.

COLUMBUS MACHINE COMPANY.

The Schaefing Tile Company was a creation of 1872, and began to erect its works in November of that year on East Friend Street, near Alum Creek ; capital stock $50,000; directors, Lorenzo English, Thomas Miller, R. C. Hoffman, Michael Haviland and Messrs. Thone and C. S. Glenn. Other enterprises of 1872 were the scraper factory erected in the northeastern part of the city by Mitchell, Doty & Leonard ; and the Ohio Bent Work Company's factory situated near the Whet.

334 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

stone, west of Goodale Park. The directors of 'the Bent Work Company were : Thomas Hibben, president; Ri H. Gardner, secretary and treasurer ; R. E. Neil, J. W. Andrews, George J. Rodenfels, H. M. Neil and W. W. Williams. The destruction of the company's factory by fire caused it to cease business.

A meeting of rail manufacturers was held January 14, 1874, at the Neil House ; president, Daniel Mathias, of Pittsburgh. Numerous cities were represented. The Western Rail Mill Association held a meeting in Columbus on April 8, same year. An Ohio Tile Makers' Association was organized at a meeting of the tilemakers of the State held in Columbus, on February 8, 1880. The Western Nail Association held a meeting at the Neil House May 13, 1885, for the purpose of fixing a scale of prices and transacting other business. The factories represented were numerous.

Brief mention of some of the larger industrial establishments of Columbus may now form a fitting climax to the story of the rise and development of the manufacturing interests of the city.

The Kilbourn & Jacobs Manufacturing Company, incorporated in October, 1881, has become known the world over for its productions in wrought steel, for which it has a large export trade. Its present officers are: James Kilbourn, president and general manager ; H. L. Jacobs, superintendent; F. C. Eaton, treasurer; and F. W. Hubbard, secretary. The present capital stock of the company is $500,000 ; its annual business exceeds the value of $1,000,000. The company's principal shops, twelve in number, cover, with storage grounds, a space of eleven acres.

The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company had its beginning in 1878. It is a large producer of coalmining machinery propelled by compressed air and electricity ; also of chain belting. Its principal factory building covers an entire acre of ground. J. A. Jeffrey is its president and general manager, C. W. Miller its secretary.

The Columbus Bolt Works have held a conspicuous place among the more prominent manufacturing establishments of the city since 1874. The president of the company that year was R. E. Neil ; its treasurer and general manager, H. A. Lanman ; its secretary, F. G. Waddle. It is a producer of bolts, nuts and carriage hardware, tor all of which its trade has a continental range. The value of its annual product is about $400,000.

The Columbus Machine Company is the present culmination of the oldtime Eagle Foundry and Machine Shop of Ambos & Lennox. Its principal products are blast furnace, Corliss and stationary engines, and other heavy machinery. Its works occupy an entire square fronting on Broad Street, west of the Scioto. Robert B. Collier is its superintendent and manager, R. M. Weaver its secretary, and Stephen Monypeny its treasurer. William Monypeny is its president.

The Newark Machine Company, transferred to Columbus from Newark, Ohio, where its shops had been destroyed by fire, began operations in the old Gill Car Works October 30, 1884. The company employed at that time about 300 men, and manufactured about $5,000 worth of agricultural machinery and implements per day. Its present officers are : President, J. P. McCune ; vice president, F. J.

MANUFACTURES - 335

Picard ; secretary, Thomas Woodward ; treasurer, F. S. Wright ; superintendent, Abraham Miller.

The Case Manufacturing Company takes its name from J. M. Case, whose patents it uses in the manufacture of mill machinery and equipments. Its career among the great industrial establishments of Columbus began in 1879; the value of its present annual product is about $400,000. Its president is James Watson ; vice president, John F. Oglevee; secretary and treasurer, David Greene.

The Fish Press Brick Company was incorporated March 17, 1887, by W. and W. H. Fish and Edwart Herbert. Its principal proprietors are now largely interested in cutstone, cement and other industries.

The Ohio Paving Company is identified in its origin and development with the street improvement enterprises which, during the last of the eighties, revolutionized the thoroughfares of Columbus. The company manufactures the Hallwood paving blocks, of which it has a capacity of producing 100,000 daily. Its officers are: President, N. B. Abbott ; vice president, Theodore Rhoads ; engineer and manager, H. S. Hallwood ; secretary and treasurer, L. E. Putnam. Captain Abbott, the company's president, established the Columbus Paving Company in 1876.

The Columbus Watch Company had its origin in 1876 but became incorporated in 1882, and on July 27 of that year moved into its new building at the corner of Thurman and New streets. Its president, Dietrich Grun, has studied and applied himself to watchmaking as a profession all his life. Associated with him are many skilled mechanicians of similarly thorough training. The secretary and treasurer of the company is W. Hi Savage. The works are extensive, covering nearly two acres of ground.

The Patton Manufacturing Company began business in Columbus in 1874. It has an important branch at Jeffersonville, Indiana, under the management of William D. Patton. The founder, chief manager and proprietor of the business is Colonel A. G. Patton, whose son, A. V. H. Patton has charge of the Columbus department. The company manufactures hollow ware, of which it claims to be the oldest and largest producer now in existence.

The Columbus Cabinet Company, organized in 1862 by eighteen German mechanics, manufactures all kinds of furniture and bank and bar fixtures on an extensive scale. An account of its origin has already been briefly given. Its present directors are: Henry Lower, president; John Strickler, manager; Louis Foster, secretary and treasurer; J. W. Bleile, I. S. Beekey, Frederick Kolb, J. R. Cook, C. R, Wheeler and J. W. Lauterbach.

The Jonathan Mills Manufacturing Company is a large producer of flouring mill machinery and apparatus ; L. C. Newson, president, Jonathan Mills, vice president and general manager, W. A. Hardesty, secretary and treasurer.

The Columbus Bridge Company is a corporation dating from 1886. Its chief products are viaduct and railway bridges, roofs and iron substructures. President D. C. Sawyer ; vice president, B. J: Arthur ; treasurer, Theodore G. Gordon ; engineer and superintendent, F. C. Lewis.

336 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS

HALLWOOD PAVING BLOCK FACTORY

MANUFACTURES - 337

The Buckeye Buggy Company began business in 1882 on High Street, near Spring. It is now one of the most important factors in the great carriage manufacturing interest in Columbus. In March, 1888, its splendid seven story factory, located near High Street, west of the Union Station, was destroyed by fire. The company rebuilt its works on a two acre tract fronting on High Street, north of the Station. The officers of the company are: President, A. L. Wilson ; vice president, F. L. Hughes ; secretary, F. W. Hughes.

Additional manufacturers of wheeled vehicles and their fixtures are the following : Anderson Carriage Company, Capital City Carriage Company, Columbus Carriage Manufacturing Company, Franklin Buggy Company, M. & E. K. Hayes, John Immel & Son, Joyce Brothers, Moehl Brothers, New York Steel Vehicle, Wheel & Carriage Company, Ohio Buggy Company, Pioneer Buggy Company, The M. E. Schrock Company, Scioto Buggy Company, Snyder & Miller, United States Carriage Company, White Brothers, The William C. Reynolds Company, The Griswold-Sohl Company, The Ohio Forging Company and The John W. Brown Manufacturing Company.

The M. C. Lilley & Co. Regalia Manufactory, said to be the largest establishment of the kind in existence, was founded in 1865 by Captain M. C. Lilley, John Siebert and Henry and Charles Lindenberg. Its productions cover the entire range of emblems, badges, banners, jewels and other paraphrenalia used by secret societies and kindred organizations. Its present officers are : President, Charles H. Lindenberg; vice president, John Siebert; secretary and treasurer, William Scarlett.

It has not been intended nor has it been possible to mention, much less to fully describe in this chapter, all the manufacturing enterprises which have been attempted or established in Columbus during the eighty years which have elapsed since the origin of the city. To have done this, had it been possible to do would only hay.e wearied the reader without enlarging essentially the scope of his information. The purpose of the chapter has been accomplished if it has traced in general outline the progress of manufacturing in the city, and presented such details as intelligibly indicate the character and measure of its development.

NOTES.

1. Martin.

2. Ibid.

3. The following statements concerning this mill appeared in the Ohio State Journal of August 6, 1866: "Another landmark gone. The old mill near Worthington, the first considerable mill built in Franklin County, is being demolished and the material used in the construction of a private residence for H. Kilbourn Tuller, Esq. It was built in 1805 by Colonel James Kilbourn, Agent of the Scioto Company."

4. Martin.

5. Ibid.

6. Western Intelligencer.

7. Board of Trade address.

22*

338 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

8. As part of the history of the starchmaking industry in Columbus, the following document has some points of interest

" This is to certify that the undersigned Julius J. Wood and Eli W. Gwynne have this day formed a limited partnership pursuant to the provisions of an act of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio "to authorize and regulate limited partnerships," passed January 20, 1846, under the name and firm of Julius J. Wood — that both of said partners reside in the city of Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio — that Julius J. Wood is the general, and Eli W. Gwynne is the special partner — that the general nature of the business to be transacted is the manufacture and sale of starch and such other business as is ordinarily incident thereto — that said Gwynne is to contribute to the common stock the sum of five thousand dollars of which he has paid in one thousand, and is to pay in the residue in monthly instalments of one thousand each, commencing on the eighth day of December next—and that said partnership commenced on the eighth day of November, A. D. 1849, and is to terminate on the eighth day of November, A. D. 1851."

9. Mr. Lennox was originally proprietor of a small shop at the corner of Broad and Third streets.

10. Peter Hayden, the founder of this establishment, came to Columbus from the State of New York about the year 1835. He was quick to observe that Central Ohio abounded in timber useful for certain kinds of manufacturing, and immediately made propositions for employment of the Penitentiary convicts, most of whom were then idle. The propositions were accepted, and resulted in Mr. Hayden's settlement in Columbus. Thus he began a business which soon became important. Meanwhile his New York interests developed rapidly, and in due course of events he started an additional factory at Newark, New Jersey, and made engagements for employment of prison labor in California. For the sale of his large product, resulting from these various enterprises, Mr. Hayden opened wholesale stores in the principal cities, east and west. In order to obtain a regular and reliable supply of fuel for his factories, he bought considerable tracts of coal land in the Hocking Valley, and thus became extensively engaged in mining.

11. The pioneer in the manufacture of furniture in Columbus was Andrew Backus' who opened a small shop for the purpose near the Mound, in 1816.

12. The following table compiled from the reports of the Board of Trade shows the

variety and the extent of the manufacturing interests of Columbus in the year 1888:

MANUFACTURES - 339

MANUFACTURES IN 1888.

ARTICLES

ESTAB-LISH-MENTS

CAPITAL

INVESTED

W’RKM’N

EMPLOY-ED

WAGES

PAID

VAULE OF PRODUCTION

Agricultural Implements

Awnings, Tents, etc.

Bakingpowder and Yeast

Baskets

Blacksmithing

Bolts and Nuts

Bookbinding and Blank Books

Book. Newspapers and Job Printing

Boots and Shoes

Boxes (Wood and Paper)

Brass Foundry and Finishing

Bread, Crackers, Confectionery, etc.

Brick Makers

Brick Contractors

Bridges

Brooms and Brushes

Candles, Soaps, Oils, Animal Fat

Carpentering, Contractors, Builders

Carriages and Wagons

Carriage and Wagon Material

Carriage Mountings and Platings

Cement, Lime and Plaster

Chemicals and Drugs

Cigars

Coffins and Coolingboards

Coffee and Spices

Coloring, Dyeing and Laundry Work

Cooperage

Carpet Weaving

Doors, Sash and Blinds

Drain Tile

Edge Tools and Files

Electrotyping

Engraving

Flouring Mills and Mill Machinery

Foundry and Machine Shop Products

Furniture

Galvanized and Sheet Iron Work

Hair Work

Harness and Saddlery Hardware

Hosiery and Knit Goods

Ice

Iron Fencing

Jewelry and Watches

Leather

4

2

2

3

51

2

5

42

79

2

6

72

18

23

2

7

11

114

23

7

3

3

4

41

3

4

18

2

8

5

2

3

2

3

4

15

8

7

3

13

2

5

3

3

2

$ 768,000
11 000
13,000

2,750
41,445
2J5,000
55,100
532,400
507,500

4,250

7,200
175,400
107,050
72,300
30,200
38,075
192,500
535,000
1,433,250
171,700
25,400
90,500
173,000
69,500
101,000
110,000
55,700
50,000

4,500
381,800
33,000
113,000
15,000

1,850
264,000
1,138,700
487,735
40,500

2,600
138,000
25,500
87,500
16,000
352,000
68,000

642

23

11

15

124
315

69

617
398

37

21

433
333
278

43

82

97

1,321

1,513
195

47

102

80

422

62

61

160

65

19

189

24

102

14

6

114
1,008
397

45

10

147

56

111

16

331

62

$ 213,748
18,000
10,920
4,250
51,550
105,000
40,400
323,700
169,740
11,150
8,475
154,875
101,820
101,525
68,750
30,800
51,400
617,475
807,635
96,800
19,000
40,300
53,000
92,840
30,400
26,635
43,550
16,500
4,100
76,814
12,250
43,100
7,625
3,475
62,850
487,146
166,046
22,265
3,700
59,510
12,500
36,450
8,350
163,000
32,500

$ 707,000
46,750
62,000

8,320
195,115
301,000
103,500
724,594
1,002,950
24,800
29,500
854,500
266,000
466,000
132,583
105,950
742,500
3,189,100
2,211,300
315,500
54,000
106,000
795,000
357,640
175,000
370,440
181,500
105,000
10,400
343,000
26,500
130,000
18,000

8,378
1,015,000
1,559,000
485,641
98,200

7,900
261,500
55,000
126,200
26,000
312,000
235,000

340 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

MANUFACTURES IN 1888.-CONTINUED.

Liquors (Malt)

Lithographing

Locks and Locksmithing

Lumber and Mill Work

Mantels and Grates

Marble and Stone Work

Mattresses and Bedding

Merchant Tailors

Mineral and Soda Water

Millinery

Oil Cans and Pressed Work

Paper

Painting and Paper Hanging

Patterns and Models

Patent Medicines

Photographs

Pumps, Plumbing & Plumbing Sup’ls

Steam Engines and Boilers

Shirts

Sewer Pipes

Stoves,Ranges, Hollowware, Tinware

Trunks and Valises

Warm Air Furnaces

Miscellaneous

3

2

5

16

2

11

4

36

5

28

2

2

35

6

5

13

27

6

4

2

21

3

3

43

$ 850,000
10 000
4,100
660,400
14,000
99,500
6,500
153,000
25,700
39,800
48,000
95,000
123,500
34,100
38,500
51,600
152,672
215,000
6,500
205,000
283,500
36,500
29,000

2,290,509

180
12

8

397
27
102
27
579
19
115

64
184
289
25

40

62
261
216
37
150
507

65

34

1,193

$ 132,637
7,475
2,950
173,920
14,750
49,925
5,920
154,395
4,620
34,250
25,750
61,800
110,650
9,779
14,818
25,884
114,228
99,176
8,300
65,000
155,304
27,075
20,750
557,117

$ 911,525

58,000

8,150
1,049,800
31,500
202,650
13,900
692,500
33,320
96,400
105,000
440,000
331,200
20,500
91,400
112,000
508,414
242,200
26,050
245,000
733,269
88,850
62,006
2,682,826

Total

915

$14,310,277

14,804

$6,368,392

$26.075.215

CHAPTER XXI.

INDUSTRIAL EVENTS.

On June 26, 1843, the Mechanics' Beneficial Society, of Columbus, met for the formal opening of its new hall. The occasion was important. The society was the first enduring association of industrials organized in the city. Its building, the completion and occupation of which it celebrated, had been built from its own resources, and was named the Mechanics' Hall. Its president, at the time of the opening, was A. G. Hibbs, its secretary John Greenleaf. On behalf of himself and four others the president presented to the society a portrait by William Walcutt, which he described as a likeness "of our distinguished follow citizen and mechanic, Mr. James Russell, the inventor of the matchless planetarium." Continuing Mr. Hibbs said: " Mr. Russell commenced life in the State of New Hampshire without the advantages of wealth; his trade was that of a cabinet maker. At something above the age of twenty years he moved to Ohio, and for the last thirty years [he] has been extensively known as a machinist of almost unparalleled ingenuity. During all this time he has been originating and perfecting the peculiar and apparently complicated yet simple machinery by which a little child may be made to exhibit, with unerring fidelity, the motions and position of the solar system.'' 1

Another speaker of the occasion was Aaron F. Perry who delivered a formal address in the course of which he said : "This society was instituted in the year 1830, and received an act of incorporation from the legislature of the State in the following year. For several years its members were very few, and it received little attention. But there were some who continued to cherish the impulses which first prompted them, and under every discouragement adhered to their original design and kept up its organization."

Speaking of the objects of the society Mr. Perry said:

It was originally designed to be, and now is, a society of mechanics, and as such the members contribute to a fund for the relief of each other in case of sickness. Provisions are also made for visiting and attending upon sick members, and that upon the decease of a benefit member a specified sum of money shall be paid to his widow. . . . It has another general purpose in view, the benefits of which are intended to be confined to no particular class of citizens ; that is, to create and sustain a fund devoted to facilities for general improvement in literature, science and valuable knowledge by means of a library and public lectures.

[341]

INDUSTRIAL EVENTS - 343

thousand, assembled within and around the Baptist Church" on July 1, 1839. A. Stotts was chairman of this meeting, and George W. Slocum and W. D. Morgan were its secretaries. Its resolutions declared : " That the present Penitentiary system should be wholly remodeled; and while we unhesitatingly proclaim our conviction of its injustice, and its degrading tendency and demand its repeal, we deny that we are called upon, either by good sense or precedent, to provide a substitute."

This meeting was followed by another, on the sixteenth of the same month, at which " the mode of employing the State convicts in the Ohio Penitentiary under the authority of law" was severely denounced. The matter had its partisan phases then, as since, and the competition of convicts in the labor market was always a fruitful text for the party which did not happen to have, for the time being, the responsibility of penitentiary management.

The stock books of the Mechanics' Savings Institution were opened to subscribers October 30, 1838; commissioners, P. H. Olmsted, J. Neereamer, N. B. Kelley and Thomas Woods.

On February 25, 1832, the General Assembly passed an act " to authorize and encourage the establishment of agricultural societies " in the several counties of the State. It did little more than provide a method for the organization of such societies. An act of similar purport was passed on March 12, 1839.

A called meeting of the Ohio State Agricultural Society was held at Circleville July 14, 1837, and the following officers were elected : President, Joseph Vance ; Vice Presidents, John I. Van Meter, Felix Renick, Allen Trimble and William Miller ; Treasurer, S. G. Renick ; Secretary, P. K. Hall; also a board of directors. The next annual meeting was appointed for Circleville, October 17, 1838.

On January 8, 1839, in pursuance of a suggestion from the Licking County Agricultural Society, "a numerous meeting of the citizens of Ohio" was held at the Statehouse for the purpose of forming a State Agricultural Society. Anthony Walke, of Ross County, was chairman of this meeting ; George W. Sharpe, of Delaware, and Alexander Waddle, of Stark, were its secretaries. The representatives of Franklin County in this convention were : J., J. L. and G. R. Miner, J. Sullivant, A. W. McCoy, R. Neil, David Nelson, A. S. Chew, John A. Lazell, A. Stimmel, A. Brotherlin, William Miller, William Styerwalt, John Noble, Samuel Medary, William Doherty, B. Thompson, J. Ridgway, Junior, William N. Hubbell, Demas Adams and John McElvain. A constitution was adopted declaring the purpose of the society to be " to encourage domestic industry in general." Any citizen of the State could become a member on advance payment of a fee of one dollar, and any county society might become auxiliary to the State organization. Samuel Spangler was chosen president, M. L. Sullivant recording secretary, A. S. Chew corresponding secretary and Lincoln Goodale treasurer. One of the nineteen vice presidents was Jeremiah Miner, of Franklin County, which was further represented by Robert Neil, Alfred Kelley, S. G. Renick and William Neil in the Board of Directors. Resolutions were adopted favoring the early establishment of an agricultural paper, under direction of the managers of the society ; pro-

344 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

viding for a committee to memorialize the General Assembly for an appropriation from the State treasury; recommending the organization of auxiliary societies ; in the different counties ; requiring the Board of Directors to appoint each year some member of the society to deliver an annual address ; directing that the General Assembly should be memorialized, in the name of the society, to provide for an Agricultural Survey of the State in connection with the Geological Survey then in. progress ; and providing for a committee of five to consider the propriety of purchasing a tract of land for experiments and establishing thereon an agricultural school. A further resolution provided for memorializing the General Assembly for an act to incorporate the society as a joint stock company ; shares, ten dollars each. The following persons were named as members of the Executive Committee : Eli W. Gwyne, Robert Neil, A. S. Chew, M. L. Sullivant, Ji A. Lazell, W. Mi Anderson and J. Dille. This committee was instructed to establish an agricultural paper in Columbus, as soon as the necessary funds could be had, and appoint a suitable person to conduct it.

On July 12, 1840, a meeting of stockholders of the State Society was held at Circleville ; on October 22, 1841, the society held an "annual exhibition " at Chillicothe.

These attempts at the organized encouragement of agriculture seem to have produced no permanent or very satisfactory results. They awakened popular interest, however, and led to the establishment of an agricultural paper, which served an exceedingly useful purpose as a monitor and medium of communication to the farming element of the State. That paper was the Ohio Cultivator, published in Columbus by M. B. Bateham, beginning in January, 1845. Early in its existence the Cultivator suggested that a State convention should be held for the organization of a permanent State Board of Agriculture by which proper encouragement might be given to county agricultural societies, an agricultural survey promoted and means found to stop the destruction of sheep by dogsin. Upon this suggestion the following contemporary comment was made : " There are not probably, more than half a dozen regularly, organized agricultural societies in the eighty-one counties of the State ; and not more than half that number are in healthy, vigorous operation."

In pursuance of Mr. Bateham's advice and solicitations a state agricultural convention numbering about 200 delegates was held at Columbus, beginning June 25, 1845.2 It was called to order by Governor Mordecai Bartley, on whose motion Ex-Governor Allen Trimble, of Highland, was chosen chairman. J. T. Worthington of Madison, G. Keen of Portage and S. Medary of Franklin were appointed vice chairmen ; Alexander Waddle of Clark and W. H. Ladd, of Jefferson, were 'named as secretaries In the afternoon the delegates inspected an exhibit of plows and other agricultural implements, accompanied by samples of wool from different parts of Ohio, and from New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Some specimens of Durham cattle, owned by M. L. Sullivant, were also exhibited. During the sittings of the convention reports were received from committees on plows, silk and wool, a State Board of Agriculture was appointed, and the General Assembly was memorialized to pass, at its next session, a law to accomplish

INDUSTRIAL EVENTS - 345

the following objects: 1. The formation of county or district agricultural societies with corporate powers, said societies annually to choose delegates to a State Society which should assemble once a year at Columbus and choose from its own membership a State Board of Agriculture. 2. An appropriation of seven thousand dollars annually, $2,000 of which should be at the disposal of the State Board, the rest to be distributed to the county boards. 3. Protection of the woolgrowing interest by the imposition of a tax on dogs. 4. Collection of agricultural statistics. 5. More effectual punishment for fruitstealing and the destruction of fruit trees. 6. Better facilities for the education of young men in the country, especially in such sciences as pertain to agriculture. 7. Formation of township farmers' clubs and libraries. 8. More general diffusion of agricultural information. 9. Repeal of the existing law relative to agriculture. The proceedings of the convention were published in the form of an address to the farmers and friends of agriculture in Ohio.

On October 22, 1845, the members of the State Board appointed by this convention met at Columbus. There were present Messrs. Allen Trimble, Greenbury Keen, Samuel Spangler, Darius Lapham, J. P. Kirtland, J. H. Hallock, Joseph Vance, Samuel Medary and M. L. Sullivant. Mr. Sullivant was chosen chairman and Mr. Lapham secretary. Joseph Ridgway was appointed to prepare a memorial to the General Assembly and the following resolution was adopted :

That this Board do recommend to the farmers and mechanics of the State to hold a Convention and Fair at the City of Columbus in the last week of September or first week of October next.

As a result, doubtless, of the foregoing proceedings " an act for the encouragement of agriculture" was passed by the General Assembly, and became a law on February 28, 1846. This law provided for county-treasury aid to county and district agricultural societies; and for the award of premiums by such societies on improvements and products; also for an annual report of such awards and improvements, and of county agricultural conditions to the State Board of Agriculture. After thus providing, the act named fifty-three persons who should comprise that Board, and prescribed the manner of its organization and succession. The act further directed that on the first Wednesday in the next ensuing April after its passage the members of the Board, " or any ten of them," should organize ; that it should thereafter meet annually in Columbus on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in December ; and that " the president of each county agricultural society, or other delegates therefrom duly authorized," should be admitted to take part in such meetings and during the same should "elect suitable persons to fill all vacancies in the Ohio State Board of Agriculture." An annual report from the Board to the General Assembly was required, and the act of March 12, 1839, "to authorize and encourage the establishment of agricultural societies " was repealed.

On the appointed day in April, 1846, ten of the members named in the act of February 28, met in Columbus. They were Felix Renick, A. E. Strickle, Allen Trimble, S. Medary, M. L. Sullivant, William Gill, David Gregory, Anson Howard, Jacob Pugsley and John Chaney. Allen Trimble was chosen president of

346 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

the Board, S. Medary secretary and M. L. Sullivant treasurer. An executive committee was appointed and rules for the government of county societies were prepared, together with a list of questions in response to which such societies might furnish the information on which the annual report of the Board might be based.3 At a subsequent meeting held on October 28, same year, the Board adopted resolutions urging the county societies to report statistics and appoint delegates to the annual meeting ; advising the formation of farmers' clubs for mutual improvement, and admonishing the General Assembly to provide for the traveling expenses of the Board's members. The first salaried member of the Board was Professor W. W. Mather, who, in 1850, was chosen as its agricultural chemist and corresponding secretary.4 After serving two years Professor Mather resigned and was succeeded as corresponding secretary by George Sprague, who served four years. In 1857, J. H. Klippart became the secretary, in which position he died (in 1878) after serving nearly twentytwo years. His successor, for six years, was W. T. Chamberlain, who resigned to accept the presidency of the Iowa Agricultural College, and was succeeded by L. N. Bonham, the present secretary. Before the Board employed a secretary its annual reports were prepared by its president.

On February 8, 1847, the General Assembly passed an act limiting the membership of the State Board to ten, five to be elected annually for the term of two years. The original members named in the act were Allen Trimble, Mi L. Sullivant, S. Medary, Darius Lapham, A. E. Strickle, Arthur Watts, M. B. Bateham, John Codding, J. P. Kirtland and Isaac Moore. By further legislation a State Agricultural Fund was created and placed at the disposal of the State Board.

On December 6, 1848, the Board met in Columbus and resolved to hold a State Fair in the ensuing September. A committee was appointed to receive propositions as to location, but owing to the subsequent outbreak of the cholera the action of the Board was recalled and the first Ohio State Fair did not take place until October 2, 3 and 4, 1850, when it was held on the ground then known as Camp Washington, near Cincinnati. One of its notable features was an "agricultural ball," given at the Burnet House. During continuance of the exhibition a daily extra train was run between Columbus and Cincinnati.' Since 1850 the State Fairs have been held, in the order of their occurrence, at the following places : Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, Newark, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Sandusky, Zanesville, Dayton (twice), Cleveland (twice), Columbus (twice), Dayton (twice), Toledo (twice), Springfield (twice), Mansfield (twice), and, since

1874, continuously at Columbus.

The project of organizing a horticultural society for the city was broached and currently discussed in December, 1844. It was carried into effect at a meeting of citizens held at the United States Courthouse on April 10, 1845. At that meeting, of which Bela Latham was chairman and M. B. Bateham secretary, a committee was appointed to frame rules of government. The members of this committee were M. B. Bateham, Joseph Sullivant, Samuel Medary, John Burr, A. E. Glenn. Joseph Ridgway, Junior, and Joel Buttles. At a subsequent meeting, held May 12, a constitution for the Columbus Horticultural Society was adopted,

INDUSTRIAL EVENTS - 347

and its officers were chosen, as follows : President, Bela Latham ; vice presidents, W. S. Sullivant and Samuel Medary; secretaries, Joseph Sullivant and M. B. Bateham; treasurer, John Wi Andrews ; and a board of managers. The society's first regular meeting was held at the United States Courthouse, June 7, 1845, and on September 26 of that year its first exhibition of fruits and flowers took place. Another exhibit was made at the Ambos Hall July 9, 1846, and on September 3 and 4 of that year the society held its annual fair at the Senate Chamber. The display at this fair was very highly commended. Premiums were awarded to the excelling exhibitors. The society's third annual fair was held on September 8 and 9, 1847, in a lower room of the Old Statehouse. This was a meritorious display of fruits, flowers and vegetables, and numerous premiums were awarded. At the annual meeting in March, 1848, Doctor I. G. Tones was chosen president in lieu of Bela Latham, who bad served until that time, but owing to failing health declined to continue in office. Doctor Jones continued to serve until his death. In 1848 the society regularly met and held an exhibition every Saturday evening in " its room back of Gwynne's store." Its fourth annual fair was held on September 5 and 6 in the Old Hall of Representatives, which, says a contemporary chronicler, was " fitted up in the most tasteful style, with sheaves of corn, festoons of evergreen and beautiful collections of living exotics." The exhibit, it was said, was very rich and beautiful. Of apples alone there were about seventy kinds, while the flowers included " all the varieties that grace the garden or grow in the conservatory, wreathed into bouquets by the fair hands of the ladies." During 1849 and 1850 the society's active operations were suspended on account of the cholera. The expediency of establishing a society garden began to be discussed early in 1851, and on July 5 of that year a committee which had been appointed to consider the project reported that various offers of land for a garden had been received, the tract preferred being one of ten acres " situated on the west bank of Alum Creek, about two miles from High Street, on the Granville Plank Road." This tract was offered by Samuel Barr for two hundred dollars, conditioned upon its use as a garden for five years. The ground was purchased, and on July 18, 1851, a picnic was held upon it by the society, but after much money had been spent in improving the tract it was found to be too wet for a garden. It was therefore sold April 1, 1866, to Jane Bell, from whom it was purchased by the Franklin County Agricultural Society. In 1868 suit was brought by the heirs of Samuel Barr for the proceeds of this sale because of alleged forfeiture of the conditions on which the land was originally deeded to the society. The suit was settled in 1872, the society agreeing that $3,000 of the proceeds of the sale and accrued interest, should be held perpetually by the society as a " Samuel Barr Fund for horticultural purposes." The purchase money not being all paid until 1878, the society, meanwhile dormant, was then reorganized, with Henry C. Noble—elected in 1866 and now reelected— as chairman. Exhibitions were held by the society in June, 1878, at the rooms of the State Board of Agriculture, and in September, same year, at the City Hall. At the annual meeting in May, 1879, Hon. N. S. Townshend was elected president.

348 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

In 1841 we hear of more protests by workmen against the "farming out" of " felon labor " at the Penitentiary. In 1844 an Anti-Prison Monopoly Association " conspicuously opposed the system of contract labor then in vogue, and vigorously petitioned the General Assembly for its abolition. The association was represented to be an organization of the " mechanics and workingmen of Columbus." A meeting of " mechanics " at the United States Courthouse November 20, 1845, condemned "the unjust system of prison monopoly," as the contract system was then called, and suggested that a State cony ntion be held to denounce it.

The scheme of industrial association advocated by Charles Fourier was considerably discussed throughout Ohio in 1845, a d lectures on the subject were delivered in Columbus by the apostles of the sche e during that year.

A State assembly of nurserymen and fruit growers was held in Columbus on September 29 and 30, 1847. Its proceedings were published in pamphlet form.

One of the earliest labor strikes of which we have any record was an affair of journeymen carpenters in 1848. On April 12 of that year about fifty members of that craft held a meeting at the United States Courthouse and marched in procession, with a band of music and a banner conspicuously inscribed " $1.50." Franklin's birthday anniversary, January 17, was celebrated on that date, in 1848, by the printers of the city, who signalized the occasion by holding an oyster supper at the American House, at which addresses were delivered by Samuel Medary, Henry Reed, J. H. Ewing, State Senator George D. Hendricks, Matthias Martin and others. A " Farmers' Association " was organized January 20, 1849, for the purpose of regulating the price of cordwood. The Ohio Statesman of April 21, same year, said : Such is the extent of improvements going on in this city at present that it is difficult to find hands to do any kind of work, not already engaged. As regards bricklayers and stonemasons, they cannot be got at all." A World's Industrial Fair was held at London, beginning May 1, 1851. The following committee to receive and forward Ohio exhibits was appointed by Governor Ford: M. L. Sullivant, president ; S. Medary, treasurer ; M. B. Bateham, secretary ; Peter Hayden, Joseph Sullivant, J. G. Gest and Arthur Watts.

By action of the State Board of Agriculture, it was directed that the Second Annual State Fair should be held at Columbus in September, 1851, provided the citizens of the capital would contribute the sum of $3,000 to pay expenses. A committee to raise this sum was appointed by the City Council, and was successful. 6 The fair took place September 24, 25 and 26, 1851, on a tract of thirty-five acres lying in the angle formed by the National Road (Broad Street) and the Washington Turnpike, near the Old Courthouse, in Franklinton. This land was owned at that time by M. L. Sullivant. In the organization of its management the State Board made the following appointments: Police Marshal, A. W. Brown ; Superintendent of Mechanics' and Manufacturers' Hall, W. A. Gill ; Superintendent of Machinery, James Lennox ; Superintendent of Domestic Hall, J. M. Westwater ; Superintendent of Horses, B. Blake ; Superintendent of Refreshment Department, C. P. L. Butler ; Superintendent of Improvement of Grounds, R. M. Peckham. Hon. William Allen was chosen to deliver the annual address The fair surpassed in some respects that held in Cincinnati the year before and was

INDUSTRIAL EVENTS - 349

very largely attended. The receipts at the Cincinnati fair wore $7,285; at Columbus, $8,209. An agricultural ball was given at the Odeon.

The Franklin County Agricultural Society met at the City Hall, September 6, 1851. A constitution for, its government was reported by M. L. Sullivant, John Clark; G. S. Innis and S. G. Harris, and was adopted Officers chosen : President, Samuel Medary ; Vice president, Samuel Brush ; Treasurer, G- M. Peters ; Secretary, William Dennison ; Managers, Pliny Curtis, David Taylor, James O'Hara, William L. Miner and W. H. Rarey. A committee for each township was appointed to obtain subscribers to the constitution. The society held its first annual fair on the State Fair Grounds; near Franklinton, October 22, 1851. The exhibit was well spoken of but was evidently very meagre in some departments. Sixty-five county fairs were held in Ohio this year, about twenty-five of them for the first time. The State Board of Agriculture met in Columbus, December 3, 1851, M. L. Sullivant presiding, and adopted resolutions offered by Ex-Governor Trimble asking the General Assembly to provide an experimental farm. A proposition to remove the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb to such a farm was stricken out. It was decided at this meeting to hold the next State Fair at Cleveland.

The Franklin County Agricultural Society held its annual meeting at the City Hall May 1, 1852, and elected the following officers : President, Samuel Brush ; Vice President, Jacob Sly ; Treasurer, Robert Hume, Junior ; Secretary, Benjamin Blake ; Managers, M. L. Sullivant, W. H. Rarey, W. L. Miner, Eli F. Jennings and Lucian Buttles. Efforts were made to raise funds to purchase a permanent site for the fair, and resulted in the purchase of a tract described as "a beautiful lot of five and one half acres" called Eastwood, two miles east of the city. Lucian Buttles, W. L. Miner and M. L. Sullivant were appointed to superintend the improvement of these grounds. The State Agricultural Society assembled in the Hall of Representatives on December 8, 1852, Arthur Watts, of Ross, presiding. Delegates were present from sixtythree counties, and reported total receipts, $23,823.69; total expenditures, $17,524,18. The General Assembly was memorialized to authorize county societies to purchase permanent sites for their annual exhibitions. It was decided to hold the next State Fair at Dayton. The World's Fair to be held in New York in 1853, was extensively advertised this year in Ohio. On June 24, 1852, a National Agricultural Convention was held at Washington. Among the Ohio delegates thereto were M. L. Sullivant, W. Wi Mather, S. Medary, S. P. Chase and N. S. Townshend. On October 31, 1852, a State Pomological Convention was held at the City Hall. A large variety of fruits was exhibited, a State Pomological Society was organized, and delegates to an American Pomological Congress to be held September 13, 1852, were appointed.

The Second Annual Fair of the Franklin County Agricultural Society was held in 1852, beginning-October 7. At the annual meeting of the society, held at the City Hall April 30, 1853. it was reported to be in a highly prosperous condition. Eight acres of land had been bought and paid for, and had been provided with appropriate buildings and stalls. The Fourth Annual State Fair was held at Dayton in 1853, on September 20, 22 and 23.