CHAPTER Vl
MARION, THE COUNTY SEAT
The First Settlers--County Seat Located and Town Platted--Marion in 1825--Population by Decades--Asiatic Cholera--Marion in 1840--organic History--The Court House --The County Jail--Public Improvements--Water-Works--Marion's Post Office and Postmasters Marion's "Diamond Jubilee"--Eber Baker.
The city of Marion is situated in Central Ohio, about 45 miles north of Columbus. Its elevation above the ocean, at the Court House, is 985 feet. The site of the city, except that portion near Columbia street, which in early times was a swale, was, up to the time of the location of the county seat, covered with forest.
THE FIRST SETTLERS.
It is impossible to say who was the first white settler within the present limits of the city. It is known that John and Ebenezer Ballentine, who arrived in the fall of 1820, soon after the first "land sales" were held in August at Delaware, found a double log cabin on the east side of South Main street, a few doors south of Church street. It was occupied by 'two squatters, John Chandler and Edmund Hanford, who left shortly after the arrival of the Ballentines. A man named Wright had also settled nearby.
When Eber Baker the founder of Marion arrived, he found in the neighborhood the Ballentines, Alexander Berry and Calvin Barnett. If tradition informs rightly, Eber Baker arrived at his new home on March 4, 1826, which was Sunday, the day previous to the inauguration of James Monroe for his second term as President. He immediately took possession of the unoccupied cabin of Chandler and Hanford, where he afterward kept the first tavern in the village.
Alexander Berry had just entered 160 acres immediately south of what was afterwards the original town plat, embracing "Berry's Hill," later called by T. P. Wallace and others, "Gospel Hill." Soon after Mr. Baker arrived and in the same year, William, Samuel and James Holmes, came. They were brothers of Alexander Holmes, one of the proprietors of the town, though he never became a resident of the place.
Alexander Holmes lived in Newark, Ohio, and owned a considerable tract of land in and about the site of Marion. It is said that he laid out a number of towns in this State, and in 1821 sent Eber Baker here as his agent to lay out the town and dispose of the lots. It was probably due largely to his influence that the county seat of the county was located at Marion. A complete sketch of Mr. Holmes will be found in the biographical part of this volume.
Benjamin Davis came in 1822. He was distinguished for the matrimonial ventures of
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his daughters. Louise married Rev. George W. Baker, one of Eber Baker's sons; Ann married Hon. James H. Godman; and Minervan, the first white girl born in Marion, married Hon. John J. Williams.
COUNTY SEAT LOCATED AND TOWN PLATTED.
A little more than one year after he arrived, on April 3, 1822, Eber Baker, together with Alexander Holmes, acknowledged the town plat of Marion. It was filed for record with the recorder of Delaware County, and by him recorded, on April 18, 1822
The ground now occupied by the Court House was designated on the plat as "Public Ground" and given by the proprietors for public buildings. Lots 57 and 58, where the Kerr House now stands, were given for the use of the county, to be disposed of in any way the commissioners might think right. Two lots were given for churches and two lots for schools.
On the same date as the execution of the plat, the proprietors, Baker and Holmes, executed a bond for $800 to the treasurer of Marion County, which recites that the county seat has been located this day on lands owned by them and contains the condition that Baker and Holmes shall furnish and deliver on the "Public Grounds" for the public buildings, towit: Court House and jail, etc., $400 worth of good merchantable and necessary material for the erection of the public buildings, four months after being notified thereof by the treasurer.
On January 28, 1822, the Legislature by joint resolution appointed Isaac Minor, Thomas Huxford and Cyrus Spink to locate the county seat. After viewing all the pros posed sites, the commission concluded to report in favor of Marion. Alexander Holmes, a practical surveyor and one of the proprietors of the town, made the survey of the village plat. Thus the town was created, though in fact there was only one house and a cleared patch of ground of perhaps five or six acres, which the squatters Chandler and Hanford had occupied. They were the persons who really determined the location, when they happened to select and clear away this spot.
The scene that followed the location is described by William Caldwell, an old citizen, who was present This is his account of the affair:
"When we first came to Marion, there was but one family living where the town plat now is; that was Alexander Berry's. He had a large family, principally boys, Abraham and Samuel being the eldest. They lived near 'Jacob's Well.' After the land was surveyed, Center township was organized, and the first election for township offices was held at my father's house, and Elias Murray and David Tipton were elected justices of the peace. There were not to exceed 20 voters in the township at that time, and we still remained attached to Delaware County until this county was organized..
"Some two years afterward when commissioners were appointed by the Legislature to locate the county seat, and came on for that purpose, they were invited to visit several locations, prominent among which were Marion, Claridon and my father's place on Rocky Fork. The interested parties of each place vied with each other in doing honors, and in giving receptions to the Honorable Board of Commissioners and other visitors, by sumptuous entertainments, which were accepted by them very gracefully. After viewing the respective localities, they struck the stake at Marion. Then the enthusiasm of the people of that place recognized no bounds. and they got up an impromptu jollification; and not having any artillery at hand, they improvised a substitute by boring holes in several large oak trees with a two-inch auger. and putting in charges of powder, which they fired. Some of the trees were shattered to fragments. The next thing in order was the election of officers."
MARION IN 1825.
In 1825 Marion contained 18 families. They were those of Eber Baker, George W: Baker, Benjamin Davis, David Tipton, Jr.,
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George H. Busby, Dr. George Holloway, Z. Higgins, John Baker, John O'Harra, James Withrow, Samuel Fish, Mrs. Dr. Miller, Hezekiah Gorton, A. C. Priest, Eber Smith, Elder Bradford, James Jenkins and Dr. Simon A. Couch. Of this number, Eber Baker kept a tavern. George W. Baker, his son, operated a horse-mill that had a capacity of four bushels of corn an hour. He received his pay in toll. the rate being, for corn. one-fourth. and for wheat, one-sixth. David Tipton was one of Marion township's first justices. Hezekiah Gorton was county auditor, George H. Busby was recorder and Drs Holloway and Couch practiced their profession. John O'Harra had a chair and bedstead shop, James Withrow a shoe-shop and A. C. Priest a tanyard Elder Bradford was a minister of the Gospel.
POPULATION BY DECADES.
Marion's growth was as at first slow For many years the railroads failed to touch Marion Bucyrus, Kenton, Delaware and Mansfield had received their "booms" before the Bellefontaine & Indiana Railroad was built. The populations of Marion by decades is as follows:
1830 ..................................... 285
1840 ..................................... 570
1850 .....................................1,311
1860 .....................................1,844
1870 ................................... 2,531
1880 .................................... 3,899
1890 .................................... 8,327
1900 ...................................11,862
1906 ( estimated ) ..............18,000
A dreadful scourge in the nature of Asiatic cholera visited Marion in the summer of 1854. It broke out about July 20th and raged for six weeks. During the first week many of the people fled in terror and all business was for a time suspended. Some of those who remained exhibited great heroism in caring for the sick and burying the dead. The list of dead included some of the village's most promising and substantial citizens, 65 of whom succumbed to the dread disease.
MARION IN 1840
The following very interesting description of Marion in 1840 is from the "Special industrial Edition' of the Marion Star, Saturday June 15, 1895 and was penned by George H. Van Fleet:
"In 1840 all the territory from north of what is now Mill street was yet a dense woods; there were but a few houses on State street; Prospect street was but thinly people; West Center street was chiefly remarkable for the old Holmes homestead, to the south of which stretched a swale. Berry's Hill was covered with woods, to the north of which as far as J. S. Reed's
corner was Father Baker's peach and apple orchard, which was used in common as if it were town property; between the Berry woods and the orchard stood a sawmill run by a man named Wheeler; to the east of the orchard, just opposite Ed. K. Uhler s property, Mr. Baker had erected a horse-power grist-mill and beyond , where now stands the Headley property, was a schoolhouse. The wedge-shaped piece of aground reaching from where the George May property is located to Greenwood street was then a meadow used as a mustering place for the militia which under General Rowe and Col. T. B. Fisher, both long since deceased, assembled there for drilling.
"To the east and north was 'Father Baker's woods. Center street. east of State,
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was but thinly built up, the little frame structure in the rear of Dr. Uhler's office, the Baker home where stands the Centennial Block, and the O. Bowen residence, now owned by S. E. DeWolfe, being the only buildings of any importance.
"What is now the business portion of the town was fairly well built up. The Marion Hotel stood where now stands the Kerr House. A fine tavern stood two miles north of town where Main street divides into the Bucyrus and Upper Sandusky roads, from which point south to Marion occasional lights, at night, gleamed through the woods, denoting the presence of a home and fireside."
ORGANIC HISTORY.
Under the old constitution of Ohio, towns were incorporated by special act. The act incorporating the town of Marion was passed February 22, 1830. This act provided for an election to be held on the third Monday of March, 1830, and on the third Monday of March annually thereafter, to elect a mayor, recorder and five trustees. At these early elections the polls were opened between 11 and 12 o'clock in the forenoon and closed at 3 o'clock of the same day.
The mayor, recorder and five trustees constituted the Town Council. One of the peculiar functions of this Council was to impose a fine of not to exceed $3 on any person for refusing to accept any office in the corporation or for neglect or misconduct in office.
The mayor was conservator of the peace with the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace in civil and criminal cases. Appeal could be taken from his decision to the Court of Common Pleas.
It was the duty of the recorder to keep a record of all the ordinances and proceedings of the Council and in the absence of the Mayor to preside over that body.
The Council had power to levy taxes not to exceed three mills. Little wonder that the early inhabitants had to travel in the mud and mire and secure all public improvements by popular subscriptions. The tax duplicate was made up by the recorder and delivered to the marshal for collection. In the event of nonpayment of taxes, the marshal was given authority to sell the real estate of the delinquent and execute a deed for the land to the purchaser. For his services in making tax collections, the marshal received six per cent. on all moneys by him collected and paid into the treasury.
By special enactment the corporation was allowed the use of the county jail for the imprisonment of persons for violation of the laws and ordinances of the town.
On the same day that Marion was incorporated, Mount Vernon in Knox County, Troy in Miami County, and Centerville in Montgomery County, were also incorporated by act of the Legislature.
The first election under the act was held on the 15th day of March, 1830, at the Court House. George Holloway and Benjamin Williams were the judges of the election and George H. Busby, clerk. The election resulted in the selection of Nathan Peters, as mayor; Benjamin Davis, as recorder; and Benjamin Williams, Eber Baker, Samuel Calvert, David Jenkins and Edward Smith, as trustees.
The first business of the Council is entered in the record as follows: "Henry Peters, present, pleaded to be excused from serving as marshal, on account of his brother Nathan being mayor. J. A. Pomeroy was appointed to the office of marshal in place of Henry Peters."
The mayors of Marion from 1830 to 1843 were in order, as follows: Nathan Peters, George H. Busby, Hezekiah Gorton, John Wick; David T. Fuller, Frederick Byerly, Curtis Allen and John Merrill. Each served one term of one year except Curtis Allen, who filled the office continuously for six terms, from 1836 to 1841, inclusive.
On February 23, 1843, the Legislature repealed the charter of the town of Marion. The corporate business was not sufficient to justify the expense of the organization. So little was the interest taken in town affairs, that during the year ending March 17, 1841, there was not a single entry made in the journal of Council proceedings. However, by the year 1847,
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the demands for a village government were such as to lead to a renewal of the charter, and Marion was again incorporated by special act of the Legislature, February 8, 1847.
The mayors of the village of Marion from 1847 to 1890, with year of their elections, were: William Brown ( 1847), William L. Hendrick (1848), William Hull (1850), John R. Knapp, Sr., (1851), James H. Anderson (1855), Timothy B. Fisher (1856), John E. Davids (1858), Timothy B. Fisher (1859), John E. Davids (1860), John R. Garberson (1861), Timothy B. Fisher (1862), J. C. Johnston (1863), George Gray (1866), H. C. Godman (1867), Timothy B. Fisher (1868), John F. McNeal (1869), W. H. Mohr (1872), E. M. Ritz (1880), C. P. Gailey (1881) and John S. Dudley (1890). Dr. C. P. Gailey was five times elected mayor and served continuously from 1881 to 1890
On February 3, 1890, the Village Council passed a resolution to submit the question of advancement of the village of Marion to a city of the second class to a vote of the corporation electors. At the special election on this question, 1,024 votes were cast for and 438 against advancement. The resolution to advance the village of Marion to a city of the fourth grade, second class, passed the Council on June 2, 1890. The members of the Council who voted for advancement were James G. Fairbanks, Amos H. Kling, F. E. Blake, F. R. Saiter, Fred Issleib, C. W. Leffler and M. H. Porch. Thomas R. Roberts voted against the resolution.
This action on the part of the Council completed the acts necessary to advance the village to the rank of a city. Previous to the election, 3,200 acres of farm territory had been taken into the village limits, and a census was taken showing a population of 7,864 within the village limits. Shortly after the advancement to a city, the territory was detached from the city. The first city officials, elected in April, 1891 were: John S. Dudley, mayor; James R. Redd, marshal; William . E. Scofield, solicitor; Charles Lensenmayer, street commissioner; Michael Clarcy, sealer of weights and measures; and J. G. Blum, James H. Vaughan, Edward Conley, Edmond Molloy, John F. Lust, Fred Issleib, M. H. Porch and Fred. Sautter, councilmen.
The mayors of Marion since its advancement to a city have been: John S. Dudley (1891-95), C. J. Nichols (1895-97), Samuel Mehaffey (1897-99), M. H. McClure (1899-1901). John G. Mader (1901-05) and Louis Scherff (1905--). Marion's solicitors have been: William E. Scofield (1891-93), D. R. Crissinger (1893-99), J. W. Jacoby (1899-1903) and Hoke W. Donithen (1903 - ).
The city's present officials are: Mayor, Louis Scherff; president of Council, S. R. Rauhauser; Council--Dr. J. G. Seiter ( First Ward), G. W. Carpenter (Second Ward), J. V. Wilson (Third Ward), W. J. Gorton (Fourth Ward) and J. E. Phillips (president pro tem), S. R. Reber and A. W. Mason, councilmen-at-large; solicitor, Hoke W. Donithen; auditor, Samuel T. Quigley; clerk, William Fies; treasurer, Charles W. Kramer; Board of Public Service--O. A. Busard (president), Benjamin F. Waples and William Morgenthaler; engineer, George E. Dwyer; Board of Public Safety--Charles E. Gompf (president) and D. H. Lincoln; chief of Police Department, Levi Cornwell; chief of Fire Department, Thomas J. McFarland; Board of Health --Louis Scherff (president), O. A. Busard (president pro tem), Benjamin F. Waples and William Morgenthaler; health officer, James P. Lutz; Tax Commission--I. A. Merchant (president), William H. Schaffner, John E. Waddell and A. C. Edmondson, Samuel T. Quigley (clerk); Trustees Sinking Fund--I. A. Merchant (president), William H. Schaffner, John E. Waddell and A. C. Edmondson-- S. H. De Long ( clerk ); Library Trustees-- E. H. Raffensberger (president); J. J. Crawley (vice-president), J. F. Dombaugh (secretary), Frank A. Huber (treasurer), Michael Waddell and Harry N. Quigley.
The tax valuation of the realty and personalty in the city in 1906 was $6,822,940, with a tax rate of 34 mills.
PAGE 95 BLANK
PAGE 96 PICTURES OF JOSIAH S. COPELAND, EBER BAKER, ALEXANDER HOLMES, FIRST PUBLIC BUILDING AND RESIDENCE OF ALEXANDER HOLMES (NEWARK, OHIO)
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THE COURT HOUSE.
The first public building erected in Marion for the use of the general public was located on Lot 142, being the northwest corner lot of the original town plat. At the session of the Board of County Commissioners held on July 4, 1824, the board determined upon the building by subscription of "A House in the town of Marion for the use of a Court, School and Meeting House." and appointed Eber Baker, Dr. George Miller and Adam Uncapher to superintend its construction. For their services the committee were allowed $30. The building, stood back some distance from Prospect street, and was of brick manufactured at the brickyard located on the site of the "Big Four" Depot, which was abandoned a few years since. For a number of years this was as the only available building for court, school and church services.
In June, 1828, the commissioners took; further steps to provide themselves and the other county officers a suitable home. During the year a brick building was built "twenty feet in front and sixteen in the rear, with a partition through the center and a fire-place at each end, two doors in front, two windows in front and two in the rear, with twenty lights each." It was located just north of the present site of the Pilgrim Inn and was not remove until after the Civil War.
On the 9th day of June, 1831, the Board of County Commissioners passed an order "that the building of a Court House on the public ground in the town of Marion be sold to the lowest bidder, on Thursday the 21st day of June, next, and that notice of the same be given for three weeks in the Ohio State Journal, the Ohio Monitor, papers printed in the town of Columbus, and the Cleveland Herald, printed at Cleveland."
The contract was let to Solomon Geller for building the Court House for the sum of $5,779, to be completed September 1, 1833.
S. S. Bennett and Elisha Hardy were empowered to borrow the money and pledge the faith of the county, to pay for the Court House. The loan was obtained of John Ferguson, and six bonds of $1,000 each, bearing six per cent. interest payable semi-annually, at the Merchants Bank in the city of New York, October 1, 1841. were issued.
On the 3rd day of September, 1833, the commissioners accepted the Court House building as complete. with a few trifling exceptions.
There was paid the contractor for extra work $362, and on October 7, 1833, an allowance was made to him of $500 for loss sustained in building the Court IIouse. The total cost of the building was $6,6 41.
This Court House was also of brick, 36 by 56 feet in dimensions, with a large portico in front. It was two stories high and had the court-room and principal offices below. The Court House yard was at first surrounded with eight cornered posts, about ten inches in diameter, four feet high, and eight feet apart. Through these posts ran a chain, and at each corner, except the northeast, were turnstiles. This fence was later replaced with a wooden panel fence. which in turn gave way to the iron fence which many still remember,
The last term of court held in the old Court House closed February 3, 1883, For half a century its walls had echoed to the voices of such eminent practitioners at the bar Bowen. Rowe, the Godmans and Bartrams, Watson, Bunker, Scofield, Fume, Osborne, Anderson and Davis. What a galaxy of Ohio's great names are associated with the history of the old Court House. men who had appeared there in official capacity, or had addressed the citizens on political subjects-- Lane, Hitchcock, Ranney, Thurman, Bartley, Sherman, Corwin, Metcalf, Lawrence, Chase, Pugh, Schenck, Bingham, Shallabarger, Gibson ,Pendleton, Vallandigham, Carey, Noyes, Garfield, West, Taft, Delano, Cox, McKinley, Keifer and Nash. These, and many more of national fame, have stirred with their eloquence the profoundest emotions of the old residents assembled within the walls of the old Court House.
The contract for the present Court House was let to Leffler & Bland, contractors of the city, on January 3, 1884, for $98,888, but
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eventually cost about $115,000. Work was begun at once by removing the old Court House on July 4, 1884, the granite corner-stone was laid amid imposing and appropriate ceremonies. M ayor C. P. Gailey was president of the day. The program began at a quarter past 1 o'clock, with an invocation by Rev. S. D. Bates. Profesor Henry then read the list of deposits placed in the corner-stone.
The box, in which the deposits were made, was a copper one and was sealed at the auditor's office. It contained the following articles: Photograph of old Court House; samples of wheat, barley and timothy raised by Edmond Conley; pens with which the Court House bonds were signed; copies of invitation and program of the day; copy of Court House specifications; one copy of each of the following--Marion Star, American Pulpit and Pew, Marion Mirror and Marion Independent; copy of act of Legislature and resolution of commissioners authorizing the bond issue; copper cent (1824), by Mrs. B. F. Waples; silver Hispan dollar (1816), by John E. Davids, Leffler & Bland's card: spear of wild grass from Calamus Swamp, by H. T. Van Fleet; copy of by-laws, rules and regulations of the Marion public schools; 5-cent postal note or "shinplaster," by Benjamin F. Waples, auditor; silver dollar ( 1884), by George Retterer, commissioner; 10-cent note, scrip or a "shinplaster," and certified copy of deed from Eber Baker for Court House ground, by S. H. Rupp, recorder; silver dollar (1884) by J. Strelitz, treasurer; 10-cent note, scrip or "shinplaster," by James L. Bell; specimens of iron ore found in Grand Prairie township, by Samuel Bell; and a short history of Marion County. The box was deposited by the commissioners, George Retterer, Samuel Mahaffey and Wilson Imbody. Two thousand people witnessed the ceremonies. Addresses were made on the occasion by Stephen A. Court, William Z. Davis, Caleb H. Norris, H. T. Van Fleet, J. C. Johnston, John T. Williams and John E. Davids, all at the time practicing attorneys at the bar of Marion. All have since passed on to higher tribunals except Mr. Court, who, for a number of years, has found the insurance field more profitable and less troublesome than the practice of the law.
In this connection, the following from the Democratic Mirror of July10, 1884, will he of interest:
"The Huber Fantastic Parade was a feature of the day. The procession formed on North Main. street, between the railroads, and was composed entirely of Huber workmen. At the head was the traction engine with steam shovel attachment, attached to which was a tank-wagon on which was the imitation of a brick wall, the wall upon which the cornerstone of the windmill was to be laid. After the water-tank, came the wagon from the boiler shop with a Huber boiler upon it and workmen hammering away for dear life. Then came two old separators mounted upon which were the fantastic band, 'Lalla Rookh' and the gun squad. Many,good points were brought out by the fantastics which were more interesting than a description and could only be appreciated by an eye witness. At the corner of Main and Center streets, the cornerstone was laid after a great speech and amid the applause of an immense crowd. It was a big hit and everybody enjoyed it."
THE COUNTY JAIL.
One of the first official acts of the Board of County Commissioners was to provide for erecting a jail on the same lot now used for that purpose. On Thursday, June 10, 1824, the board "Resolved, that there be erected on Lot No. 10 in the town of Marion, Marion County, Ohio, a log jail after the following plan, to-wit: The logs 16 X 14 feet. Two stories high, seven feet between floors, of square timber laid close together. The walls in the lower story sixteen inches thick, in the upper story twelve inches thick; two windows in the lower story opposite each other, one foot high, two feet wide, with strong iron grates set perpendicular in the center of the logs not more than three inches from each other; two windows in the upper story eighteen inches square,
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with iron grates set in the same manner as in the lower story. The sills halved together and sunk six inches in the ground. The lower floor laid with hewed timber a foot thick, with shoulders in the sills two inches. The middle floor laid with hewed timber a foot thick in a rabbet of five inches; the third floor laid as tile first. The wall plates and girders framed together on the upper floor. The roof put on with rafters and lap shingles, the gable ends studded and weather-boarded. One door in each story made double of oak plank one and a half inch thick, lined with sheet iron in the middle, two feet in width sufficiently ironed and spiked, with a good substantial lock on each, the lower door barred also with a strong bar of iron, and a padlock. The cracks pointed with lime and sand, the corners handsomely cut down, a pair of Millers' stairs on the outside to the upper door, the whole to be finished and completed in a handsome, workmanlike manner "
On the following day Eber Baker contracted to build the jail and deed Lot 10 in the town of Marion for its site, and for this was to receive $400, "which the said Eber Baker and Judge Alexander Holmes were bound to pay the county of Marion." When the county seat was located at Marion, part of the consideration was that the proprietors of the town were to furnish the county $400 worth of merchantable building material. This obligation was fully discharged by building the first jail and deeding to the county the lot on which it stood.
In 1842 the old jail was torn down and a new stone jail was built on the same site. This prison was two stories high. An old resident says that the principal occupants of this jail were horse thieves, who in an early day did quite a thriving business throughout Ohio. The prisoners frequently escaped by picking their way out through the wall. In 1878 the stone jail gave way to the present jail building and sheriff's residence, which was constructed at a cost of $28,000.
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.
In The summer of 1857, the Town Council erected the Town Hall, 35 by 80 feet, two stories high, on the northeast corner of Church and Prospect streets. The village purchased the material and contracted with William Garberson and John Venning to do the work. For three or four years it was used as a market house. At present the lower story is used as the central station of the Fire Department and as the city prison; the. upper part for the mayor's office, Municipal Court, police headquarters and sleeping quarters for the firemen. The building will next year be half a century old and is a standing disgrace and eyesore to a city which in all other respects outclasses her sister cities. The location of the present building is centrally and admirably located for a City Hall of such design and proportions as will meet the demands of the city. At present there is no hall in the city suitable for convention purposes and the city officials are tenants in the fifth story of the Huber Block. The offices of the city officials are suitable enough, but the city is setting a bad example to the youth by not owning its own home.
At this writing Marion has 22 miles of paved streets, 19 miles of sanitary sewer, and 66 miles of sandstone sidewalk. In 1905 the City Council purchased three beautiful park sites. Campbell's Grove of 40 acres adjoining city on the north was purchased for $13,000; Merchant's Grove adjoining the city on the east, with 11.59 acres, for $6,000; and Uncapher's Grove on the south, embracing 34.73 acres, for $12,465. The same year saw the completion of an up-to-date sewerage disposal and garbage plant just west of the city at a cost of $56,738.
The Police Department of the city is at present composed of a chief, captain and nine patrolmen. The fire department consists of a chief and captain, two drivers and two pipemen located at the central station, No. 1, in the City building, and a captain, driver and pipeman in charge of station No. 2, which in 1905; was completed at a cost of $5,195, and is located on the south side of West Center street: west of the railroads.
WATER-WORKS.
As early as the fall and winter of 1881-82 an effort was made for the establishment of a
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water-works system in Marion. On January 2, 1882. a popular vote was taken at a special election for the purpose of authorizing the Council, either to levy a tax of 2.5 mills yearly or to issue bonds not to exceed $75,000 for a fund to build the works. The result of the election was 442 yeas and 391 nays. Owing, however, to defects in the proceedings, the enterprise failed at that time.
In 1888 the matter was again taken up and a special election was held December 27, 1888, for the purpose of ratifying an ordinance granting the right to private parties to construct a water-works system. The result was 615 yeas and only 10 nays. The works were constructed at a cost of about $240,000. The water supply is taken from springs and wells. Its quality has been pronounced satisfactory by the State Board of Health, with the qualification that the water is excessively hard.
Recently a movement has been started looking to the purchase by the city of the present system. The owners of the water-works have asked for an extension of their franchise, to warrant them in making the extensions that are now imperatively necessary as a result of the rapid growth of the city. The City Council signified its desire seriously to consider the question of purchasing the system, and has appointed a committee of three of the city's most substantial citizens--George W. King, John E. Waddell and William H. Schaffner-- to investigate and report on the advisability of purchasing the plant. A thorough investigation of the system has been made by the committee and S. Bent Russell, consulting engineer from St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Russell has valued the system at $220,000.
The Water Works company, on the other hand, propose to dispose of the property to the city for $250,000.
Since the report of the committee was made, a proposition looking to the acquiring of the water-works plant by the city has been rejected by the City Council.
MARION S POST OFFICE AND POSTMASTERS.
John Ballentine, Marion's first postmaster, was appointed January 30, 1821. He was one of the very first settlers in this vicinity. William Holmes, who succeeded him in 1822, was in turn followed by Eber Baker, founder of the town, in 1825. Elisha H. Crosby came next after Baker, in 1827.
It is said that Dr. Robert Holmes, who became postmaster in 1828, always wore a high silk hat, and carried the letters in it and delivered them, as he made his rounds to patients. He delivered on an average of five letters a day, and the recipient of the letter paid the postage when delivered at so much an ounce.
Dr. Holmes was succeeded in 1829 by Hezekiah Gorton, county auditor at the same time, who kept the office in the Court House.
Samuel Calvert succeeded Gorton in 1830. He was at the time proprietor of the Marion House, located on the present site of Hotel Marion. During his administration the post office was located in a small frame building on the east side of South Main street, not far below Center street. He held the office for only a short time, being followed in the same year by John S. McDonald.
Robert Kennedy was appointed to the office in 1834. He was a brother of the wife of Maj. George H. Busby, and kept the Kennedy House, where the Kerr House now stands.
Richard Wilson succeeded Kennedy in 1836. At the time he was treasurer of Marion County.
John Bartram was appointed postmaster in 1837 by President Martin Van Buren, and served until 1841. Mr. Bartram was succeeded by Curtis Allen, mayor of Marion at the time, who seems to have secured about all of the prominent citizens of the town on his petition for the appointment. During Mr. Allen's administration, the post office was located in the old frame building, where Robert Storaci now conducts a confectionery store.
In 1845 Mr. Allen was succeeded by John R. Knapp, Jr., then editor of the Mirror, and he was succeeded bv Russell A. Knapp. During their terms the office was located on Lot 62 South Main street.
In 1849, with a change in the national administration, Samuel A. Griswold was appointed. He was editor of the Independent. John R. Knapp Sr., became postmaster in
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1853. H. T. Van Fleet was his assistant. Griswold kept the office where Comer's cigar store now stands, but Knapp moved it back to Lot 62 on South Main street.
Col. Albert H. Brown followed Knapp, serving until 1855, the office being located during his term in the Bennett Block on West Center street. Col. Brown had been a soldier in the Mexican War, and at the outbreak of the Civil War organized the first company in Marion.
Brown was succeeded by Philip Dombaugh, proprietor of the Mirror at the time, who served from 1856 to 1857. John B. Dumble, also of the Mirror, succeeded Mr. Dombaugh. During these two terms the office was again located in the room now occupied by Storaci on East Center street. Another change in 1858 brought Peter Beerbower into the office.
Charles B. Smith became postmaster in 1861, with his office in the west room of the Bennett Block, on West Center street. His assistant was Andrew Shields.
Samuel T. Beerbower succeeded to the office in 1869, serving continuously until 1882. Valentine Lapham succeeded Beerbower and served until 1884.
Street view in Marion in 1887 Picture
Bart Tristam became postmaster,. with the incoming Democratic administration. He was a shoe merchant and died only a few years ago. During his term the office was removed to the McNeal & Wolford Block on West Center street.
Those who have since held the position, with the respective years of appointment, are as follows Shiller Fogleson (1891), John H. Thomas (1894), James B. Fisher (1899), and M. B. Dickerson (1904).
February 20, 1904, the office was removed to the present commodius quarters in the new Masonic Temple.
The total receipts for the quarter from April to June, 1839, amounted to $146.72 1/4 and Mr. Bartram, received as his salary for the quarter, $46.88 1/4
The receipts of the local post office for the year ending March 31, 1906, were $36,243.15. The receipts for the first half of 1906 clearly indicate that the receipts for this year will exceed $40,000, which will make the local office a post office of the first class. The force of the office now consists of the postmaster, M. B. Dickerson, and Horace Williams, his able assistant, eight clerks, nine city carriers and eight rural carriers.
Hon. Grant E. Mouser, of Marion, present Congressman from this district, succeeded at the session of Congress that adjourned a year ago in securing an appropriation of $75,000 for a new post office building for Marion. The government has purchased from Judge C. H. Norris the property at the southeast corner of Church and State streets, where the new post office building will be erected.
MARION S DIAMOND JUBILEE.
Commemorating the 75th anniversary of its founding was held on August 18, 19 and 20, 1897. On the first day the keys of the city were delivered to King Quaqua by the city officials, amid imposing ceremonies. One of the features of the day was a song by the Goddess of Liberty. Charles H. Wilson represented King Quaqua; Sidney Young, Uncle Sam; and Mrs. Genevra Johnston-Bishop, the Goddess of Liberty. In the afternoon a burlesque of the morning's program was given. Jack Postal impersonated Queen Lil, B. P.
102 - HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY
Sweeney was her maid of honor and Harry
G. Thomas, her parasol bearer. Rodney J. Deigle presented the keys of the city to Queen Lil. The costumes were rare and racy in the extrerne and the program was a perfect take-off on the morning's performance.
The band concert by the People's, Waldo, Mansfield, Upper Sandusky, and Bucyrus bands was especially noteworthy.
The city's founding was fittingly commemorated under the "Old Oak" on the afternoon of the second day. This landmark then stood where the new True Block now stands on West Center street. Mrs. Genevra Johnston-Bishop, a great-granddaughter of Eber Baker, and Marion's most talented songstress, sang, and Samuel H. Bartram spoke of the history of this grand, old oak.
The feature of the last day was a cakewalk, and a pyrotechnic display in the evening ended the three days' proceedings, which were throughout witnessed by immense crowds of people.
EBER BAKER.
It is fitting in closing this chapter to add a brief sketch of Eber Baker, the founder of Marion. He was born at Litchfield Corners, Maine, April 27, 1780, of English parentage. June 29, 1802, he married Lydia Smith. At the opening of the War of 1812 he enlisted in the army, but soon employed a substitute, on account of his regiment being assigned to guard and camp duty. With his family he moved to Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), and in 1814 removed to Newark, Ohio. He remained here seven years. In 1821 he, with his family and brother-in-law, Reuben Smith, came to this county. His route from; Newark was through Greenville, Sunbury, Delaware, and from the last place by Harrison's military road. The year following he laid out the town, naming it "Marion." At this time the county had been named, and this probably accounts for the selection of the name for the town. He gave four lots for churches, five lots for Court House and jail, two lots for schools, and several acres for a cemetery, now known as the "Old Cemetery." He built a jail at a cost of $400 and contributed liberally to the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which he was a member. Mrs. Baker died in 1843,. leaving three sons and two daughters, and Mr. Baker was married, a second time, to Susan Wilson, who died March 28, 1896. Mr. Baker died October 6, 1864, aged 84 years. He was a public-spirited, liberal citizen. James H. Anderson, in his life of Thomas J. Anderson, gives this rather homely, but probably accurate, description of Marion's founder. "He was a large, coarse-featured, pot-bellied, amiable, honest, generous man, slow of movement and speech and inclined to take life in an easy, rather indolent way. He was in the habit of signing bonds and notes as surety, and was generally in need of money." It is proper to say that Mr. Anderson's recollection was of Mr. Baker as an old man. When he arrived in this locality he was past 40. He was no ordinary character as is shown by his numerous business transactions of that early day. In being land poor and signing bonds and notes as surety, he merely did as nearly every other pioneer, with the usual result, that he had many unprofitable obligations to meet. Mr. Baker, it seems, was elected to the Lower House of the Legislature in 1826, but there is no record to show that he ever qualified or served as a Representative.
The sole surviving grandchildren of Mr. Baker, now living in Marion, are: Mrs. J. C. Johnston, Mrs. T. E. Day, Mrs. E. G. Allen, Mrs. Nettie Quigley, Eber Priest and T. C. Bowen.