428 - HISTORY OF TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY
CHAPTER III.
PLANK ROADS.
IN common with many other sections of the West, Northwestern Ohio for several years was pervaded by a strong interest in Plank Roads, commencing in 1847. As elsewhere, that kind of roadway was accepted as promising most for the development and improvement of the country. Very extravagant calculations, based upon equally extravagant estimates, were accepted in that connection. These were induced largely by reports received from Syracuse and other points in the State of New York. Thus, Prof. Gillespie, of Union College, showed that the Syracuse and Central Square Plank Road was likely to divide $2,850 per mile to its owners during the seven years its hemlock plank were expected to last. The cost was $1,958 per mile-giving a total profit of 146 per cent., or 21 per cent. per annum. The editor of the Toledo Blade thought that with proper provision of Plank Roads in Ohio, no other system of improvement would be necessary. A correspondent of that paper (" Sylvania ") bad several articles, one of which was devoted to advocating the construction of a Plank Road from Toledo to Chicago, as preferable to a Railroad. His reasons for such choice were: 1. More than half of the first cost of a Railroad would be paid out at the East. 2. When built, its track could be used only by the Company; hence, it would be a monopoly. 3. Railroads had a tendency to prevent other good roads from being constructed along their lines, so that teams are prevented from coming in competition with Railroads in carrying freight and passengers. 4. Railroads consume no coarse grains; neither do they wear out any horses. 5. All materials for a Plank Road would be gathered on its line, and its cost expended there. 6. When finished, it would not be a monopoly, but there would be competition for stages and teamsters. 7. Many horses and wagons would be worn out in doing the business of the Road ; bay and oats would be consumed by said horses, and money paid out the whole length of the Road to landlords for accommodations. 8. The country merchant, instead of calling on his customers for money to pay the Railroad for taking his flour, pork, &c., to market and returning his merchandise, would call on them to do his teaming; and thus he would sell more goods, and his customers would pay their store debts without money. The calculation Of a committee consisting of four of Sandusky's most prominent and successful business men, in 1848, shows that similar ideas were then prevalent in that City, which at the time was in advance of any other in Northern Ohio in Railway advantages and experience. That committee presented this "sample case" to the people of Sandusky: "Suppose there were a Plank Road and Railroad in full operation at this time between Sandusky and Bucyrus. Assuming the toll on the Plank Road to be one cent per mile-the distance 46 miles-that a wagon and two horses will carry 100 bushels of wheat, which is the usual load for that number of horses, on that kind of road-that the trip can be made in 2 1/2 days, which is a maximum-and that the freight on the Railroad would be six cents per bushel (which is the lowest it can be carried for the distance), and the price for storage one cent at the starting point. The same 100 bushels wheat, which cost $7.00 for transportation to Sandusky on a Railroad, would cost but $3.50 on the Plank Road-putting the toll at $1.00 and the expenses of the farmer away from home at $1.00 per day, which is high enough." As to results, the same committee showed that a Plank Road running South from Sandusky would divide 25 per cent. per year, and said that their estimates were " not conjectured, but based on the experience furnished by Roads of like kind, and a knowledge of the resources of the country." The rates of toll at Milan (the pioneer Town for Plank Roads in this region) were: For 5 miles-two-horse, wagons, loaded, 10 cents ; empty, 5 cents. Single carriages, 1 cent per mile ; double carriages, 2 cents; for each additional horse, 1 cent. Horse and rider, 1 cent per mile.
It was with such information and estimates, that Plank Roads were undertaken in Lucas County, as elsewhere. The first movement here consisted of a meeting at Toledo, February 3, 1848, of which James Myers was the Chairman, and Wm. Baker Secretary. Delegates were present from Sylvania and other points on the Indiana Road. Upon the appointment of a committee on resolutions, the meeting was addressed by It. D. Mason of Toledo, Wm. M. White of Sylvania, and Mr. Gay of Hillsdale County, Michigan. The result of the meeting was an expression favorable to the construction of a Plank Road from Toledo to the Indiana State line; and also, to the Southern portions of Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties, Michigan, provided the requisite local aid be secured; and that the amount
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authorized by the Legislature ($25,000) in aid of such Road, be furnished by Toledo. The proper committees were appointed, including T. U. Bradbury, D. O. Morton, Thos. Dunlap, J. H. Whitaker, Simeon Fitch, Jr., E. Haskell and E. B. Brown.
Meetings for the promotion of this enterprise were held at different points. At Sylvania, such meeting was participated in by John U. Pease. Horace Green, P. T. Clark, H. D. Warren, James White, C. D. Warren and Erastus Morse. In Royalton Township (now Fulton County) Messrs. J. W. Scott and C. A. Ding, of Toledo, and J. G. Klinck of Richfield, took part. Meetings were held at West Unity, Williams County in Amboy; in Camden, and in Brockville, Hillsdale County, Michigan. February 8th, the citizens of Richfield, Lucas County, met, with Pliny Sanderson as Chairman, and Oristen Holloway as Secretary, when it was resolved to take $3,000 stock in the Toledo and Indiana Road, provided it pass through that Township, and John G. Klinck was appointed to hold meetings in promotion of the enterprise, and L. B Lathrop, Isaac Washburn and Hoary H. Fuller, as a committee on the location of the Road. A large meeting was held at West Unity, representing several Counties, February 26, 1848, of which M. D. Hibbard was the President, and George Rockwell and Abner Ayres, Secretaries. A committee, including F. E. Kirtland, R. A. Howard and W. Trowbridge, of Lucas, were appointed to present a synopsis of a charter for the proposed Road; and a committee on resolutions, including Allen White and W. 1). Herrick, of Lucas. Among the features of the charter were-its perpetuity ; capital stock $150,000 sufficient to build the Road, with single or double track : width not to exceed 66 feet, with a track at least 7 feet wide; the rates of toll not to exceed those charged on the Western Reserve and Maumee Road ; 5 miles of track to entitle to a agate; Toledo to take the $25,000, and each Township through which the Road should pass, $ 3,000. Resolutions were adopted favorable to the enterprise, and expressing the belief that a double track would be necessary, at least 17 1/2 feet wide, to do the business of the route."
A large meeting was held at Toledo, March 1. 1848, with E. D. Potter in the Chair, and C. M. Dorr as Secretary. C. W. Hill, H. D. Mason, W. J. Daniels, and T. U. Bradbury, constituted a committee on resolutions, whose report favored a main track, to extend through Tremainesville and Sylvania, and thence Westerly on or near the Indiana Road, with such branches as might be deemed best; and that the Road enter the City on Adams and terminate at Water street. The meeting was addressed by C. W. Hill, James Myers, D. O. Morton, E. B. Brown, H. D. Mason and Dr. Jacob Clark.
The first subscription by the City of Toledo to the capital stock of a corporation was that of $25,000 to the stock of the Toledo Plank Road Company, authorized by an ordinance passed March 20, 1848. The bonds were to be of $50 each (the same as the stock shares of the Plank Road Company), and it was provided, as an inducement to such subscription by the City, that the bonds should be for the period of three years exchangeable for the stock of the Company. Lyman Wheeler, Daniel Swift, David B. Mooney, Chas. W. Hill and D. O. Morton were appointed to represent the City in all meetings of stockholders of the Company.
As already stated, two Roads from Toledo were provided for by the charter. The one, known as the South Branch, was to pass through Springville and Swanton and the Southern tier of Townships now in Fulton County, to West Unity, near the East line of Williams County. The other, the North Branch, leaving Toledo by Cherry street, passed through Treinainesvillle, crossed Ten Mile Creek on the old United States Turnpike , thence through the Townships of Washington, Sylvania, Richfield, Amboy, Royalton and Chesterfield, to Morenci, Michigan. The charter authorized the Townships through which these lines should pass, to become stockholders in the Company, upon the vote of their electors to that effect ; and with the exception of Swan Creek on the South and of Chesterfield on the North Branch, the several Townships voted subscriptions of stock, of from $2,000 to $4,000 each ; while that of Toledo was .525,000. The subscriptions made by individuals, and especially in Toledo, were prompt and liberal, ranging from $1,000 down. On the organization of the Company, Judge James Myers was chosen President. A contract was then made with Judge A. V. Stebbins and Thomas D. Thomas, for building 10 miler of the South Branch, extending from Toledo to Thomas Ward's house on the Maumee Road. in Springfield. Four movable sawmills were purchased by the Company for use, one for each Branch of the Road. The work on the North Branch was done by the Company, under the direction of a Mr. Collister, from Norwalk. This line lay through the Cottonwood Swamp, a body of laud then supposed to be nearly valueless on account of the low and level surface which made it very wet in ordinary seasons, but which, like the Black Swamp on the East side of the Maumee, has, through drainage and cultivation, come to be highly productive and valuable. The two lines were prosecuted with much energy to completion to the two points of destination. Beside the means supplied by stock subscriptions by individuals and Townships, bonds were issued, reliance for payment being placed on prospective receipts. Unfortunately, however, the
430 - HISTORY OF TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY.
estimates of means from that source were entirely too liberal. These had been based largely upon the traffic of like improvements in older sections in Ohio, Canada and New York. But small amounts over expenses were realized in the few years when the road was in good condition ; and when, sooner than was expected, heavy repairs were required, the resources were exhausted in that direction. The result was, that after a struggle of 10 or 12 years the Company went into the hands of a Receiver, when it soon ceased to be. Succeeding Judge Myers as President, were Henry Bennett, D. O. Morton, John Fitch, and others. The officers of the Company in 1854, were as follows : President and Superintendent, Sanford L. Collins; Treasurer, Simeon Fitch, Jr.; Secretary, Chas. O'Hara; Directors, S. L. Collins, Wm. V. Dewey, Elias Richardson, S. H. Cately, J. H. Kennedy, C. B. Phillips, Edward Haskell, Simeon Fitch, Jr., P. H. Shaw, Pat. Carey, Daniel Segur. Beside those already named, there were prominent in the prosecution of the work, John H. Whitaker, Wm. Baker, C. A. King, F. J. King, C. B. Phillips, A. V. Stebbins and others ; and in the Townships, S. L. Collins, of Washington ; L. B. Lathrop, of Richfield; Elias Richardson, of Royalton ; Alanson Briggs, of Chesterfield; James Baker, of Gorham; and Messrs. Cullum of Morenci, on the North Branch ; and F. E. Kirtland, of Swanton; Messrs. Trowbridge, of York; Wilden, of German, and Messrs. Borton, of West Unity, on the South Branch. Beside these, were many also active and helpful in the enterprise, whose names are not remembered in that connection.
The chief trouble with the movement, as already stated, consisted in the overestimate of traffic on which its managers rested. The country through which it passed was largely an unbroken wilderness, a fact highly favorable in the supply of material for the Road, but fatally unfortunate in the very limited business furnished for the Road. While, however, the enterprise was not a success financially for the Company, it was eminently such in the important effect it had in opening and improving the country through which it passed, giving to it advantages of market which otherwise would have been denied it for a long time. In this way, it was a profitable investment for the Townships through which it passed. The same is true of Toledo, which was made the mart of the increased traffic thus produced. Anything like the same spirit of enterprise in the provision of good roads, would now do for Toledo like good service. Trade, like water, seeks the channels most open to it, and that mart is wisest which removes most obstructions between itself and the sources of trade. That is what the Plank Roads of the past generation did for Toledo, and is what good Stone Roads would do for the City in the present and coming generations, if judiciously furnished.
That such result was not peculiar to Lucas County, the history of Plank Road enterprises in the West fully shows. The case of the Sandusky Road (the Crawford, Seneca and Erie) is in point. With a construction investment of $27,894, the gross receipts for tolls for the year 1851-2, were $4,424; with bills receivable, $550 ; cash, $148 ; expense account, $1,480 ; and bills payable, $3,336. Notice was then given, that stock delinquent in installments should be sold at auction. Two facts seem to have been largely against the success of these Roads. 1st. The charge for tolls, while no objection to the comparatively few persons who traveled at times of muddy roads, was found to be a very serious matter during the balance and the main portion of the year, the consequence being, that the other roads were used to large extent, and trips on the Plank Road reduced to the lowest minimum. 2d. The materials of which these Roads were constructed, decayed much faster than was expected, soon involving heavy outlays for repairs. The result was, that few lines ever were replanked, while scarcely any approached the estimates which had induced their construction.
In 1868, what was known as the Tremainesville Plank Road, was constructed. It started at the old City line on Cherry street, Toledo ; and also at the same time on what is now Collingwood Avenue-the two uniting at the junction of those streets ; thence, crossing TenMile Creek on the old Turnpike, and following the line of the old North Branch Road for a distance of 5 miles in the direction of Sylvania. This Road was constructed under a law of 1867, authorizing Plank or Gravel Roads to be constructed by County Commissioners, upon petition of land owners on the routes, the cost to be assessed upon the adjoining property, according to benefits, respectively. The cost of the Tremainesville Road was nearly $21,000, or over $4,000 per mile. It was soon discovered, that without better provision for keeping the road in repair than was furnished by the law, it must soon disappear by decay. To meet this need, the Legislature authorized its transfer to the charge of a corporation-the Tremainesville Plank Road Company-in which each land-owner was made a stockholder to the amount of taxes paid for the Road. Wm. C. Earl was the first President of this Company ; Samuel Blanchard Treasurer, and John Bladen, Secretary. Mr. Blanchard succeeded Mr. Earl as President. The Company under careful management was financially a success ; while it furnished an excellent thoroughfare of trade for Toledo. At the time it was forced to surrender its Road it had $5,000 in its treasury. Unfortunately for the Road, and for all dependent upon the facilities it supplied, it was suddenly closed out by the extension of the Toledo
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City line so as to include its toll-gate and so much of its line as to render the remaining fraction useless to the Company. The Company asked the City for indemnity for such damage, and in the Court of Common Pleas obtained a judgment for the same, which was overruled by the Supreme Court, causing to the, tax-payers on the line of the Road, a loss of about $21,000. Since the closing out of that Plank Road, as stated, a large portion of its route has been supplied with a substantial graveled roadway, which furnishes an excellent substitute foor the former thoroughfare. That Road connected with a like improvement at the Michigan State line, and extended to Monroe, and is yet maintained.