Chippewa Township Canaan Township Congress Township Chester Township Clinton Township Baughman Township Greene Township East Union Township City of Wooster	2,937 2,401 2,407 1,648 2,028 2,497 3,318 1,805 6,063	Franklin Township Paint Township Plain Township Wayne Township Salt Creek Township Sugar Creek Township Wooster Township Milton Township	1,201 1,276 1,666 1,711 1,556 2,274 7,160 1,978
CITY, TOWN AND VILLAGE POPULATION
Applecreek Burbank Congress Creston Dalton Fredericksburg Doylestown	387 325 198 893 666 511 1,057	Marshallville Mount Eaton Orrville Shreve Smithville West Salem Wooster	357 232 1,901 1,043 473 650 6,063

CITY OF WOOSTER BY WARDS. First ward, 1,102 ; second ward, 2,227 ; third ward, 1,211 ; fourth ward, 839; fifth ward, 684. 404 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. VILLAGE PLATS OF THE COUNTY. There have been almost fifty villages platted within Wayne county since its organization. The following is a list of a large per cent. of the plattings: Aukerman, in Congress township, platted. Amwell (Sterling), in Milton township, platted January, 1880. Apple Creek Station, East Union township, April 11, 1854. Austen, "Hamlet," Plain township, December 7, 1894. Burbank (Bridgeport), Canaan township, December 3, 1868. Burton City (Fairview), Baughman township, December 14, 1850. Blachleyville, Plain township, December 16, 1833. Bloomington (near Wooster), Wayne township, July 3, 1907. Canaan, Canaan township. Chippewa, Chippewa township, May, 1816. Congress (Waynesburg), Congress township, March 6, 1827. Creston, Canaan township, June 30, 1881 (known as Saville Station in 1865). Cedar Valley, Chester township. Centerville, Clinton township, March 5, 1851. Dalton (Dover), Sugar Creek township, October 16, 1817. Doylestown, Chippewa township, December 9, 1827. Edinburg, East Union township, August 16. 1822. Fairview, Baughman township, December 14, 1850. Fredericksburg, Salt Creek township, 1843. Jefferson, Plain township, June 30, 1829. Lattasburg (West Union), Chester township, February, 1851. Milton Station (Rittman), Milton township, 1869. Milibrook, Plain and Clinton townships, August 10, 1829. Moscow, Sugar Creek township, 1815, vacated 1878. Madison (first county seat), Wooster township, vacated 1814. Marshallville,. Baughman and Chippewa townships, February 7, 1817. Mount Eaton (Paintville), Paint township, 1813. Moreland, Franklin township, January 17, 1829. Madisonburg, Wayne township, 1873. New Pittsburg, Chester township, May 6, 1829. Overton, Chester township. Orville, Greene and Baughman townships, September 9, 1864. Pleasant Home, Congress township. Rittman Station, Milton township, 1869. WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 405 Reedsburg, Plain township, December 23, 1835. Seville, May, 1865. Slankersville, Chippewa township, February 24, 1843. Springville, Plain township, December 16, 1844. Shreve, Clinton township, 1853. Smithville, Greene township, 1831. Sterling (Russell), Milton township, January 21, 1880. Wooster (original), Wooster township, September 7, 1816. West Lebanon, Paint township, 1833. West Salem, Congress township, June 13, 1834. West Union (Lattasburg)., Chester township, 1854. INDIANS CAUSE POWDER EXPLOSION. Howe in his "Historic Collections" mentions a singular incident as having occurred in a small building near or adjoining the old Stibbs mills, built in 1809 near Wooster. This building had been fitted up for a small general store, such as would accommodate the settlers and the few remaining bands of Indians. It was managed by Michael Switzer. In this store were William Smith, Hugh Moore, Jesse Richards, J. H. Larwill and five or six Indians. Switzer was in the act of weighing out some gunpowder from an eighteen-pound keg, while the Indians were quietly smoking their pipes, filled with a mixture of tobacco, sumach leaves and kinnikinnick, or yellow willow bark, when a puff of wind coming in at the open window blew a spark of fire from one of their pipes into the powder. A terrific explosion occurred. The roof of the building was blown off and carried a long distance, the sides fell out, the joists came to the floor and the door and chimney alone were left. Switzer died in a few minutes ; Smith was blown through the mill and badly injured ; Richards and the Indians were also badly hurt and seriously burned. Larwill, who happened to be standing against the chimney, escaped with little or no harm, except, like all the rest, his face was well blackened and he was knocked down by the shock. The Indians, fearful of being accused of causing the accident intentionally, some days later called a council of citizens for an investigation, which was held on the bottom, on Christmas run, west of Wooster. THE FULLER SISTERS. Among the literary characters produced in Wayne county should not be forgotten the names of two sisters—Frances and Metta Fuller—whose combined poems were compiled within one joint volume. The former was a 406 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. native of Rome, New York, while the latter was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. In 1839 the family removed to Wooster, when Metta was but a babe of but a few months old. At the age of fourteen Frances was supplying the local press with gems of poetry and prose. She rose rapidly and soon established a reputation in the literary world. Willis and Morris, of the Home Journal, a popular literary paper of New York city, containing sweet stanzas of her writings, pronounced her as among the most brilliant of women writers. Edgar Allen Poe, famous as author of the "Raven," classed her with the most imaginative of American poets. In 1853 she married Jackson Barrett, of Pontiac, Michigan, to which state she removed. Later she moved to the Pacific coast where "rolls the Oregon." She did not live happily and was divorced and later married a Mr. Victor, brother to the husband of her sister Metta. In that far-away clime she improved in her literary tastes and did most excellent work. Metta, like her sister, attended the schools of Wooster, and at fifteen years of age composed a romance founded upon the supposed history of the dead cities of Yucatan, entitled "The Last Days of Tul." Metta's nom de plume was the "Singing Sybil." She grew to be a woman of charming graces and wonderful endowments highly improved upon. "The Senator's Son," a plea for the Maine law, written at the age of twenty, had an extensive sale both at home and in foreign lands. She married, in July, 1856, O. J. Victor and removed to New York city where for many years she followed literary work with success. One of her poems was "Body and Soul," one stanza of which reads : "A living soul came to the world— Whence came it ? Who can tell? Of where that soul went forth again, When it bade the earth farewell ? A body it had this spirit knew And the body was given a name." No less authority than the celebrated N. P. Willis wrote concerning this Wooster girl after this fashion "We suppose ourselves to be throwing no shade of disparagement upon anyone in declaring that in the 'Singing Sybil,' her not less gifted sister, we discern more unquestionable marks of true genius, and a greater portion of the unmistakable inspiration. of true poetic art than in any of the lady minstrels—delightful and splendid as some of them have been—that we have heretofore ushered to the applause of the public. One in spirit, and equal in WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 407 genius, the most interesting and brilliant ladies—both still in their youth—are undoubtedly destined to occupy a very distinguished and permanent place among the native authors of this land." AN AMERICAN "OLE BULL." Wooster produced Alf Howard and he became the American violinist —named "America's Ole Bull." He was the son of Horace Howard and brother to Harvey, Charles and William Howard, of Wooster. He died aged fifty years, in February, 1873, at Prophetstown, Illinois. He was a man of a phenomenal musical genius. Early in life, even before his tenth summer had passed, he developed a peculiar fondness for instrumental music. At the age of fifteen he went to Detroit, Michigan, engaged as a dry-goods clerk, but soon repaired to Niles, Michigan, where he conceived his niche in life and at once set about developing his talents. He organized a troupe and appeared before many western audiences beyond the Mississippi river. In 1841 he joined the June, Turner & Company circus, with which he traveled one season, then returned to Wooster. Here he formed a minstrel company, traveled throughout the entire West and finally, like a shining star, appeared suddenly in Philadelphia, where he was first known as the "Ole Bull" of this continent. After 1844 he was connected with Barnum's show of New York, where, with his single violin, he drew immense throngs of music-loving people. He next went to the Old World, where he sought and won great musical fame as a violinist. After coming home, he traveled and played in almost every state in this country. He made money fast, but this was not his aim—it being rather to entertain and excel in his chosen profession. "JOHNNY APPLESEED." Jonathan Chapman, better known as "Johnny Appleseed," was born in Boston, Massachusetts, about 1775, and become somewhat of a noted character in Wayne county, Ohio. As a fruit grower and early-day nurseryman, he was celebrated. Hon. John H. James, of Urbana, Ohio, in an address before the Cincinnati Horticultural Society many years ago, had this to relate of him : "I saw him first in 1826, and have since learned something of his history. He came to my office in Urbana, bearing a letter from Alexander Kimmont. The letter spoke of him as a man generally styled 'Johnny Appleseed' and 408 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. that he might desire some counsel about a nursery he had in Champaign county. His case was this : Some years after he had planted a nursery on the land of a person who gave him leave to do so, he was told the land had been sold, and was now in other hands, and that the present owner might not recognize his right to the trees. He did not seem to be very anxious about a, and continued walking to and fro as he talked, and at the same time continued eating nuts. Having advised him to go and see the person that he might have no difficulty, the conversation turned. I asked him about the nursery, and whether the trees were grafted. He answered 'no' rather decidedly, and said that the proper and natural mode was to raise fruit trees from the seed. "In 1801 he came into the Territory with a horse load of appleseeds, .gathered from cider presses in western Pennsylvania. The seeds were contained in leather bags. which were better suited for his journey than linen sacks. He came first to Licking county. Ohio, where he planted his seeds. I am able to say that it was on the farm of Isaac Stadden. In this instance, as in others afterwards, he would clear a spot for the purpose and make some light enclosures. He would then return for more seeds and select other sites for new nurseries. When the trees were ready for sale, he left them in charge of some one to sell for him, at a low price, which was seldom if ever paid in money. If persons were too poor to pay they received the trees free. Nearly all of the nurseries in Licking county were planted from his nursery. He also had numerous nurseries in Knox, Richland and Wayne counties. "It is claimed that on the remote borders of Chester and Congress townships he scattered seeds, and that some of the earliest orchards of that settlement were produced from his nurseries. One thing is certain, that his nurseries in Wayne county prior to the establishment of the county of Ashland supplied the pioneers of that and adjacent counties with the settings of their future orchards. In East Union township there is no doubt that this fanatical wanderer located one of the nurseries. On Little Sugar creek, near the residence of David Carr, he selected the site, which a hundred years ago. in the primal silence of its wild environments, must have been poetically picturesque. "On account of superstition among the Indians, and as he dressed in a fantastic manner and seemed to interpret their strange dreams for them. they were all his fast friends. They looked upon him as a great white medicine man. During the war of 1812, when the other settlers on the frontier were harassed and butchered by the Indians. he pursued the even tenor of his ways, undisturbed by the brutal savages. He, being in their confidence, gained many points which benefited the whites, whom he warned to flee when WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 409 danger seemed lurking near. At the time of Hull's surrender, Johnny Chapman rode clay and night to herald the disaster and admonish the people to flee for safety and life. Indeed he was an odd, but humane man. He disliked to injure or kill even the least insect, or reptile, or bird of the forest. Kind, true to man and beast, endowed with genius and intellect far above the average person, it is no wonder that newspapers and state historians have ever kept publishing details of his half nomadic, half civilized life. He died in Allen county, Ohio, in the summer of 1847, aged seventy-two years, forty-six of which had been consecrated to his self-imposed mission, of giving out apple seeds and doing self-sacrificing deeds for his fellow pioneers. Peace to his ashes !" CHAPTER XXI. THE CITY OF WOOSTER. Wooster, the county seat of Wayne county, so named by Hon. Joseph H. Larwill in honor of Major-Gen. David Wooster, of Revolutionary war fame and a member of a celebrated colonial family, is situated at nearly the center of the county, within Wooster township, and is three hundred and seventy-seven feet above Lake Erie. It was made the seat of justice May 30, 1811, having been platted by John Bever, William Henry and Joseph H. Larwill in the autumn of 1808. Wooster was not the original county seat of Wayne county. The place designated as such by the first commissioners was on the elevated land lying southeast of the city of today and on lands owned then by Bazaleel Wells & Company, and was called Madison. This not suiting a majority of the citizens, the Legislature appointed new commissioners, when the present Wooster was selected for the county seat. Only a single log cabin had been erected on the site of Madison. The townsite proprietors had sold some few town lots in Madison, but after the change was made they at once refunded the money paid for same to the purchasers. John Goodenow, their attorney, applied to the court on February 21, 1814, to legally vacate Madison, which was done in April, 1814. Wooster is forty-two miles south of Cleveland and is within one of the richest, most fertile portions of Ohio. It is the seat of Wooster University and the Ohio State Experimental Station. Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, is one hundred and thirty-five miles to the east, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, one hundred and eighty-five miles to the west, while Cincinnati, Ohio, is two hundred and thirty-nine miles south and Chicago Illinois, is three hundred and thirty-four miles to the west. The earliest settlers in Wooster were brothers, William, Joseph and John Larwill, who came in 1808. The first house erected in the town, and Wayne county as well, was a log cabin on East Liberty street, directly west of what was later designated as the William Larwill property. The tools employed in the construction WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 411 of this pioneer "temple" were a broad-ax and drawing-knife. It was raised at the time the town was being laid out, and its first occupants were William Larva and a young man named Abraham Miller, whose father, Benjamin Miller, removed in the spring of 1809 from Stark county, with his wife and family, and opened a, house of entertainment. The first married man who settled in Wayne county, or Wooster, was Benjamin Miller, who also kept the first tavern in the county, on land where later stood the J. B. Power dry goods store. Mr. and Mrs. Miller were also honored by being the parents of the first white child born in town and county. It was a daughter • and was christened Tillie Miller, the honor of naming her being bestowed upon Hon. John Bever. She attained womanhood and married John Lawrence, father-in-law of the pioneer editor, Joseph Clingan, by which union there resulted seven children, one of whom became a distinguished Disciple minister. The first attempt at merchandise in Wooster was the opening of a general store by William Larwill. The first brick house in town was built in 1810 by John Bever, on the corner subsequently occupied by J. S. Bissell & Brother, dry goods merchants. This was also the first brick structure of Wayne county. The first wagon road cut through the dense timber in this county was the one from Wooster to Massillon in 1808. The first state road running through the county, from Canton to Wooster, was laid out by the commissioners in 1810. The first mill for grinding purposes in the vicinity was built at Wooster in 1809 by Joseph Stibbs, then a resident of Canton. In 1811 Hon. Benjamin Jones left Youngstown, Ohio, passed through Wooster and on to Mansfield, in search of a location for "Priest" Jones. He finally selected Wooster and so reported to the "Priest." The following year the Priest Jones family came on, bringing with them goods, and started a store in a rough wooden building erected by Robert McClarran. The first carpenter of the town was Robert McClarran, who was also the first justice of the peace in the town and county. It is believed that the first white man to die in Wooster was Alex. Crawford, in 1808. The first resident lawyer, who died in Wooster, was a Mr. Raymond. The first physician in Wooster was Thomas Townsend, as early as 1813. The first in Wayne county was Dr. Ezekiel Wells, of East Union. The first minister of the gospel was Rev. Thomas G. Jones—"Priest" Jones—who was a Baptist and arrived in 1812, and this denomination erected the first church building. The date was 1814. 412 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. The first school teacher was Carlos Mather, a young lawyer of New Haven, Connecticut, who taught in 1814. The first postmaster in Wooster was "Priest" Jones. The first school house—a brick—was built on the site of the third ward school building of later days. The first Fourth of July celebration in Wooster, or Wayne county, was west of town on Christmas's run, the water for cooking purposes being procured from a spring at the base of the hill, on land later owned by Judge Downing. The dinner was under the supervision of William Hughes; the Declaration of Independence was read by James Hindman, and "Priest" Jones made the oration. The first mail from Wooster, New Lisbon and Mansfield was carried by Rensselaer Curtis. The first will on record in the county recorder's office was made by Frederick Brown, of East Union township. The first real estate transfer recorded at Wooster is from Oliver Day to Elam Day, of East Union township. The first court of common pleas was held in Wooster in 1812. The first election held in Wooster was on the first Monday in April, 1810. The subjoined is a list of the electors : Josiah Craw ford, Jesse Cornelius, Jacob Matthews, William Larwill, Addy Chest, Robert Cam, Benjamin Miller, Jacob Wetzel, Luke Miller, Samuel Martin, Matthew Riley, John Driskel, William Smith, John Rodgers, John Wright, Christian Smith, Joseph Hughes and William Riter. The first fire company in Wooster was established in 1827. The first town watchman was Frederick Kauke, assisted by Joseph Bergen, in 1829, at a salary of eleven dollars per month. When Wooster was first settled there were no white inhabitants between it and the Great Lakes ; on the west none nearer than Maumee, Fort Wayne and Vincennes; on the south, none until within a few miles of Coshocton. WOOSTER INCORPORATED. Six years after Wooster was platted and made the county seat, it began to put on "city airs" and was incorporated, October 13, 1817, and chartered as a city of the second class and divided into four wards February 9, 1869, having been made a second-class city in September, 1868. The at the house of Joseph McGugen for the purpose of electing a president, re-first election after the incorporation as a town, in March, 1818, was held WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 413 corder and five trustees for the incorporation. Isaiah Jones was elected president, John Patton, recorder, T. G. Jones, Thomas Taylor, Joseph Eichar, Thomas Robison and Benjamin Jones, trustees. These officers were duly sworn into office on March 12, 1818, agreeing under oath to. support the -:Constitution of the United States and that of the state of Ohio. At their first regular business meeting, in the same month and year, they proceeded to appoint a marshal, treasurer and collector, when David Hoyt was elected marshal, Thomas R. Knight, treasurer, and Henry St. John. collector. April 3, 1818, the board met, and on motion it was resolved to appoint a committee of two to prepare and bring in a bill for the prevention of immoral practices. At the next meeting a bill for the abatement of nuisances, introduced by John Patton, with some amendments, became a law, and as such is the first on record in Wooster. ELECTION OF MARCH 29, 1824. The following is the record of the election held for incorporation officers at the above date : "President, Samuel Quimby, Edward Avery, Thomas Robinson, candidates. Recorder, Cyrus Spink, John Patton, William Larwill, candidates. Trustees, Edward Jones, David McConahay, Francis H. Foltz, Matthew Johnston, William McFall, Joseph H. Larwill, John Christmas, John Patton, William McComb, Moses Culbertson, Cyrus Spink, Charles Hobert, David Robison, Thomas Robison, Thomas Townsend, Horace Howard, William Nailer, Samuel H. Hand, Edward Avery, Benjamin Jones, Col. John Hemperly, all candidates.. "We do hereby certify that Samuel Quimby had fifty-three votes for president, and William Larwill had thirty votes for recorder, and Edward Avery had fifty-two \rites for trustee, Thomas Robison had thirty-seven votes for trustee, William McCombs had thirty votes for trustee, William Nailer had twenty votes for trustee, and Thomas Townsend and John Patton had each nineteen votes for trustee. (Signed) "MATTHEW JOHNSTON, "WILLIAM MCFALL, Judges." "Attest : JOHN LARWILL, Clerk of Election.  ENTRIES IN BOARD'S JOURNAL. Ordered, That Joseph Alexander be allowed twenty-five dollars for services rendered by digging up stumps in the public square, in July, 1816. 414 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Ordered, That Cyrus Spink be allowed two dollars for attending on David Wolgamot, a state's prisoner, as guard, in July, 1816. Ordered, That Joseph H. Larwill be allowed the sum of five dollars and twenty cents for digging a drain to the court house, October, 1817. Ordered, That Thomas Robison be allowed twelve dollars and fifty cents for making six poll boxes for the use of the county, 1817. Ordered, That Joseph Alexander be allowed two dollars for waiting on grand jury, at October term, 1816. Ordered, That Benjamin Franks be allowed two dollars for blazing a road from Paintville in a north direction. Ordered, That Nathan Warner be allowed to spend two hundred dollars of the three per cent. fund allotted to this county, on the state road west of Wooster, for which he shall receive eight dollars. Ordered, That Benjamin Thompson and Ezekiel Kelly, trustees of the Baptist church of Wooster, be allowed fifty dollars for use of same, to hold court and transact other public business in, for the term of two years, ending June, 1831. Ordered, That David Wooley, deputy assessor, be allowed twenty-four dollars and seventy-five cents for assessing the townships of Sugarcreek, Baughman and Chippewa, June, 1830. A contract will be sold at the auditor's office, November 17, 1830, to the lowest bidder, for the safe keeping and providing for of an idiot called "Crazy Sam." TOWN PRESIDENTS. 1818—Isaiah Jones 1820—William Nailer 1822—Samuel Quimby 1825—Thomas Wilson 1826—John Smith 1827—Thomas Wilson 1828—J. M. Cooper 1829—Benjamin Jones 1831—Thomas Wilson 1832—Thomas Wilson 1833—Matthew Johnston 1834—Mr. McConnahay 1835—John Larwill 1836—Lindol Sprague 1837—Lindol Sprague 1838—H. Lehman 1839—J. W. Shuckles 1840—John H. Harris 1841—E. Eyster 1842—Kimball Porter 1843—Christian Eyster 1844—Charles E. Graeter 1845—Henry Lehman 1846—Evans Parker 1847—Thomas Wilson 1848—Samuel L. Lorah 1849—Everett Howard 1850—A. McDonald WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 415 1851—Christian Eyster 1852—Jacob Vanhouton 1853—S. R. Bonewitz 1854—S. R. Bonewitz 1855—William Childs 1856—I. N. Jones 1857—Neal McCoy 1858 - Neal McCoy 1859—A. Seybolt 1860    J. H. Kauke 1861—J. H. Kauke 1862—George Rex 1863—R. R. Donnelly 1864—J. H. Downing 1865—G. W. Henshaw 1866—James Curry 1867—A. Wright 1868—R. B. Spink MAYORS OF WOOSTER. 1869—Charles S. Frost 1871—Charles C. Plumer 1873—James Henry 1875—Owen A. Wilhelm 1877—H. B. Swartz 1879—H. B. Swartz 1881—Dennis W. Kimber 1883—Dennis W. Kimber 1885—Lemuel Jeffries 1887—James R. Woodworth 1889—James R. Woodworth 1891--James R. Woodworth 1893—Lemuel Jeffries 1895—Lemuel Jeffries 1897—Lemuel Jeffries 1899—Robert J. Smith 1901—Robert J. Smith 1903—Robert J. Smith 1905—W. M. VanNest 1907—W. M. VanNest 1909-W. M. VanNest PRESENT CITY OFFICERS. The city officials for 1908-09 are as follows : Mayor, W. M. VanNest; solicitor, Benton G. Hay ; auditor, James B. Minier ; treasurer, Crosley M. Tawney; board of public safety, William A. Lott, Emett Lee, N. F. Roberts, Henry Leiner, Charles F. Kingsley. City Council—Charles A. Weiser, president ; Harley H. Franks, clerk; members-at-large, Max Bloomberg, Charles Lautenschlager, Charles F. Schopf; first ward, John M. Russell; second ward, Wellington Matz; third ward, P. U. Rice; fourth ward, Samuel Kready. Health officer, Dr. J. W. Lehr; tax commissioners, George J. Schwartz, John McSweeney, Alvin Rich, W. D. Tyler, James B. Minier. Library trustees, James Mullins, A. D. Metz, James A. Shamp, Rev. Frank Heilman, D. L. Thompson, John N. McSweeney. In 1905, under a new state law, cities of the class of Wooster were 416 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. put under a new "municipal accounting system," and the office of city auditor created. It is one of the most important offices in the municipality, involving as it does a large amount of especially particular accounting for the various funds of the city. Prior to this modern system, the bonds, refunding bonds, and many accounts were lumped together and were hard to understand or get information from, but with the new way all is clear and understandable. However, it requires more than an ordinary accountant or bookkeeper to form and run the various series of blanks and different books required in conformity to the new state law. James B. Minier was . the first city auditor of this class, and has made an enviable and state-wide reputation as an expert in his office. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. The first fire company organized in the city of Wooster was, according to the minute-book of the company, organized between 1825 and 1827. One entry reads that : "At a meeting of the Wooster Fire Company No. 1, convened at the house of William Nailer, Esq., on Saturday, the 20th of January, 1827, Capt. John Smith called the company to order and Samuel Quinby was appointed secretary. "On motion it was resolved, that said company appoint two persons to act as engineers ; six 'persons to act as ladder-men ; two persons to act as ax-men and two as pike-men for said company. "Thereupon, William Goodie and D. 0. Hoyt were elected engineers; Samuel Barkdull, David Lozier, James Nailer, John McKracken, Calvin Hobert and Benjamin Jones were appointed ladder-men ; William H. Sloane and C. H. Streby were appointed ax-men, and I. E. Harriott and pike-men." By-laws were drafted in 1827 and approved at the monthly meeting for January of that year. From that small beginning away back in .1827 has come the efficient department of the twentieth century. The present department, under city control, has a paid chief and two drivers, but the twenty men who respond to the fire alarm are men-about-town, who work at other employment days and sleep in the City Hall in rooms prepared for them especially, and for their services they get forty cents per hour when at fires. The engine house is within the municipal building, occupying two floors for the men and apparatus. A Gamewell system of alarms is in operation here. The apparatus includes a light hose wagon and modern ladders, with a chemical engine WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 417 for certain places, and also there is in readiness a fire engine, but ordinary fires are extinguished by the direct pressure of the pumping station at the city water works. WOOSTER OPERA HOUSES. The first public hall of much consequence in Wooster was known as Arcadome Hall, that was built so as to be dedicated December 18, 1857. Its proprietors were Jo H. Baumgardner and Samuel Woods. The name Arcadome was coined in the poetical fancy of E. G. Clingan. It stood on East Liberty street near the present postoffice, and was destroyed by fire March 23. 1874. Another hall or opera house in the city was Quinby Opera House, located on the corner of Buckeye and Larwill streets. It was formally opened February 1, 1877, at which time "As You Like It" was presented to an overflowing house. This building was the enterprise of the Quinby Opera House Association, composed of Messrs. E. Quinby, Jr., president; E. P. Bates, secretary; J. H. Kauke, D. Q. Liggett, Ira H. Bates and D. C. Curry. Its dimensions were seventy by one hundred and four feet the auditorium was sixty by seventy feet, encircled on three sides by roomy balconies, the whole having a capacity of one thousand persons. It was named in honor of Mr. Quinby against his protest. This served many years and was finally razed to the ground and the lot used for other purposes. The next provision for an opera house was in 1887 when the city of Wooster planned the erection of its magnificent brick city building, when a portion of it was built for opera hall purposes, and is still the pride and comfort of the theater-loving people. It is modern and has all the conveniences of a well-regulated theater. It is in all appointments a modern hail and has the latest fire-proof appliances, exits, screens, etc. It is managed by a local man and leased to him by the city, on the per cent. plan. This building was built in 1887 and is spoken of under head of City Buildings. What is known as the Academy of Music, on West Liberty street, was erected originally in 1870 by John B. France, on the lot where stood the first banking institution of Wooster, the old German Bank. This was a profitable enterprise and in 1883 was raised one story higher, making a very large stage room and increasing the seating capacity. This is perhaps the largest hall in Wooster today. All of these opera houses have from time to time been the merry scene of gay theatrical troupes. (27) 418 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. THE CITY HALL. The present City Building was erected in 1887 and is a massive, beautiful building. It has office rooms for the various city offices, in front, on the first floor; an engine house and upper story rooms for the use of the department, and the central -portion of the first floor is an excellent opera house, which has all modern conveniences. This is leased out to local men of the city, who have charge of it. The building is an ideal, imposing structure, on East Liberty street, and great care is taken to make its front very attractive by the cultivation of rare and common flowers and plants, with vines covering almost the entire front in summertime. The cost of this municipal building was ninety thousand dollars, including ground and all furnishings.. PAVING, SIDEWALKS, AND SEWERS. The city is well supplied with sidewalks, having, in 1909, twenty-three miles, the same being constructed of either cement, flag-stones or hard brick. Of sewerage, the city boasts at present of ten miles, while in paved (brick) streets it has an even six miles. CITY WATER WORKS. The following was written by Ben Douglas, in his 1878 county history, concerning the water-works system : The first water works established in Wooster were constructed under a contract negotiated between the original proprietors of the town and the county commissioners, bearing date May 13, 1811. The conditions of the contract were that the county seat should be permanently located at Wooster, and among other specifications, it was agreed that the proprietors were to bring "water of the run, which at present runs through the town, in pipes of sound white oak timber of a proper size, well bored and laid, and raise the water ten feet above the surface of the center of the town." The contract was complied with by the proprietors, and water was delivered to the town of Wooster, conducted through pipes, from 1815 to 1829. When the authorities of the town undertook to repair the pipes conveying the water one of the lot owners through whose premises the pipes were laid, prohibited them from so doing by an injunction of the court, and from that time no further attention or effort was made to sustain the enterprise. WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 419 Subsequently the subject of supplying the city with water from springs of Mr. Reddick to the north of the city became a matter of grave consideration. May 14, 1874, G. Gow and John Brinkerhoff, civil engineers, gauged the stream and found it sufficient to protect the city against fire. The work being inaugurated, the reservoir was constructed under the supervision of Mr. Gow, during the summer of 1875, by throwing a dam across the ravine immediately 'below the springs, thus raising the water to the depth of eighteen feet. No further labor was performed until the spring of 1876, when the works were commenced and conducted through the summer of 1876, under the immediate supervision of John Brinkerhoff, civil engineer. In the construction of the system the pipes used amounted to 3,980 feet of twelve-inch piping, 4,988 feet of ten-inch pipe, 6,432 feet of eight-inch pipe, 20,023 feet of six-inch pipe and 4,404 feet of four-inch pipe, in all 46,277 feet, or Over eight miles. The total cost of pipe and special castings was $36,390, the entire cost of the works being $76,256, and with later additions made it amount to $86,000.. The surface of the water at the reservoirs is 128 feet above the public square. The water from eighty-eight fire plugs located on the line of the streets can be projected to various heights, ranging from forty to one hundred feet above the surface, by force of gravity alone. Gravity being the agent in the propulsion of the water, the expense of running it to the works was merely nominal. The supply of water is sufficient for all wants of the present city, and under improvements introduced by M. M. Smith, superintendent, during the summer of 1877, the water delivered in the city was as pure as spring water. This system, with its additions and changes, served until, in 1907, the Applecreek pumping station was placed in operation, to the east of the city. Here two model gas engines pump the water from Applecreek. A brick pumping station is maintained there ; the entire bonded indebtedness for this improvement to the water-works was nine thousand dollars. This supplies a great abundance of water for all fire and city street purposes, but is not of good enough quality to be used by the people for cooking purposes. The city is at this date (summer of 1909) making an experimental well north of town, with the view of obtaining a good supply of pure water, which the city badly needs. WOOSTER GAS LIGHT COMPANY. June 18, 1856, the village of Wooster passed an ordinance : "To provide for gas in the incorporated village of Wooster," by which it provided 420 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. that William Stephenson, of the city of Cleveland, and his associates, should use the streets, lanes, alleys and other public grounds of said village for the purpose of laying down and maintaining of their pipes for the conveyance of gas in and through the same for the use of the village and the inhabitants thereof. The ordinance granted the right for a period of ten years, and restricted the company to three dollars per thousand cubic feet for gas to citizens, and two dollars for city, except lamp posts, three dollars, whilst the company owns the posts and lights and extinguishes them. June 20, 1856, J. H. Kauke, J. H. Baumgardner, Isaac N. Jones, D. Robison, Jr., H. R. Harrison, John P. Jeffries and C. C. Parsons, Sr., duly incorporated, under the laws of Ohio the Wooster Gas Light Company, with a perpetual charter, and said company was duly organized January 14, 1857, by electing J. H. Kauke, Daniel Black, J. H. Baumgardner, I. N. Jones and J. P. Winebrenner directors, and by-laws were enacted for its government. The capital stock was twenty thousand dollars, divided into eight hundred shares of twenty-five dollars each. The gas works were erected in 1856 and 1857, and the village of Wooster was lighted with artificial gas in February, 1857, there being then one hundred and five consumers and twenty street lamps. In 1859 the capital stock was increased to twenty-three thousand seven hundred dollars. The demand for gas was so great that in 1864 the company pulled down the old arches or ovens and erected larger ones, and greatly increased the gas-producing capacity of the plant. In 1867 the company extended the pipes and increased the capital to thirty thousand dollars. In 1871 the old works becoming entirely too small to supply the demand, the directors resolved to erect a new plant. They purchased the old oil well on East Henry street, from the heirs of William Henry, and four lots adjoining from E. Quinby, Jr., giving them a frontage. on Henry street of three hundred and ten feet, on which they erected new gas works with all modern improvements then known and of sufficient capacity to supply a city of fifteen thousand population. This gas company thrived well until about the date that natural gas was first introduced in Wooster in 1905, when it was soon abandoned. ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT. The first ordinance looking toward the establishment of electric lights in the city of Wooster was dated March 5, 1886, and was granted to the Schuyler Electric Lighting Company of New York city. It has always WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 421 been conducted by private corporations and in later days was reorganized, and recently a central heating (hot water) plant was connected therewith. The stock is largely held abroad. The heating plant will furnish heat to residences and public buildings at the lowest possible cost to consumers, and guarantees to give any desired temperature in rooms, by use of an automatic device. The cost is little or no more than the ordinary methods of heating houses. The city has the advantage of using either artificial gas, electricity, natural gas (which was first piped to the city from Knox county in 1905), or the less expensive methods employed by using gasoline or kerosene oil. WOOSTER POSTOFFICE. The first postoffice established in the county of Wayne was at the point where Wooster now stands. The date was December 8, 1812, when Thomas G. Jones was appointed postmaster. Just where the office was kept is not certain, but likely at the log residence of the postmaster, who was also the first Baptist minister and conducted a small general store. Following him came: John Patton, commissioned November 20, 1818 ; Ezra Dean, April 14, 1829 ; Bezaleel L. Crawford, March 26, 1841 ; Jacob M. Cooper, July 22, 1845; Thomas T. Eckert, April 26, 1849 ; George W. Allison, November 24, 1852 ; Jacob A. Marchand, November 17, 1853 ; reappointed April 2, 1856; James Johnson, January 10, 1860; Enos Foreman, April 17, 1861; re-appointed March 17, 1865 ; Reason B. Spink, November 13, 1866; Addison S. McClure, April 19, 1867 ; re-appointed March 28, 1871, and also March 10, 1875; P. C. Given was next postmaster and served until L. P. Oblinger was appointed and he in turn was succeeded by the following postmasters : Samuel Metzler, John F. Marchand, T. L. Flattery and the present postmaster, W. B. Bryson. The postoffice took its present quarters in 1892, having been moved from the Frick Memorial building on West Liberty street. The first rural free delivery route was started out from this city April 1, 1899, and it has been increased in number to eleven routes with a total mileage of two hundred and sixty-six miles. Wooster first had free delivery carriers in the city July 1, 1887, and at this time has six city carriers. The number of mails received daily by mail trains is twelve. WOOSTER BOARD OF TRADE. There have been various organizations for the development and further commercial and industrial improvement of the city of Wooster, but that which took on the most important and tangible form was the Board of Trade, 422 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. organized August 3, 1900, and which was duly incorporated under the laws of the slate of Ohio December 14, 1908. This organization has been instrumental in obtaining several additions to the city's industries and is still energetic in working for more. It now enjoys a membership of almost three hundred representative citizens. Its 1909 officers are : President, Walter D. Foss ; first vice-president, John C. Schultz ; second vice-president, M. M. Van Nest ; secretary, Albert Dix ; treasurer, Chas. M. Gray ; directors : Nick Amster, Wm. Annat, W. R. Barnhart, W. G. Christy, Albert Dix, Walter D. Foss, H. Freedlander, G. Gerstenslager, Chas. M. Gray, E. S. Landes, J. C. Schultz, Geo. J. Schwartz, E. W. Thompson, M. M. Van Nest, John M. Criley. It has committees appointed to look after the following matters : Public improvements, railroads and transportation, new enterprises and industries, finance and location of office, local mercantile interests, real estate and insurance; statistics and advertising, legislation, produce and grain, manufactures, membership, lumber and coal, taxation, streets and pavements. WOOSTER PUBLIC LIBRARY. The early-day library was a small affair and was carried on by the efforts of a few of the more thoughtful and educated citizens who saw the need of such a place in the city. Soon after the beginning of this decade the matter of further increasing Wooster's library facilities was advocated, and as a result the old library association was re-organized as a city institution in fact, and a new board of officers elected. In 1905 the present beautiful brick library, on the corner of Quinby and Bowman streets, was completed and first occupied. It cost, grounds and building, thirty thousand dollars, of which amount the philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, donated fifteen thousand, with the provision that the city of Wooster was to annually raise the sum of one thousand five hundred to be used for maintenance of the same. It is a modern structure, having two stories, the upper one being used for museum purposes, and in which they are now already many rare specimens and articles of interest. The library also has in connection with it a fine reading room department. The present year's report shows the number of volumes in the library to be five thousand, to which are being made frequent additions. The board of trustees is : James Mullins, president ; A. D. Metz, vice-president and treasurer; James Schamp, secretary ; Frank W. Miller, John McSweeney, D. L. Thompson, Rev. Frank Heilman. WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 423 OLD MARKET-HOUSE DESTROYED BY A MOB. The first market-house Wooster had, and the last as well, was built in 1833 on the southwest side of the public square, under direction of the town council, of which Thomas Wilson was the president and J. H. Harris, recorder. The building was about forty by seventy-five feet in dimension, one story high, paved with brick, with ceilings arched and plastered. It was supported by fourteen columns of brick-work about two feet square,. twelve feet high, firmly set on stone corners, eight to ten feet apart, between which the stalls were situated and each numbered. It was not many years before the men doing business near the square declared this market a nuisance that ought to be abated ; but the town authorities refused to remove it. As a result it narrowly escaped "purification as by fire" at the hands of an incendiary. Finally, on August 9, 1847, a. number of men, disguised beyond recognition, went at night time and, assembling about the building, armed with axes, hooks, ropes and tackle, and a horse strong in pulling qualities, they pulled down the offensive building, which at daylight lay a heap of smouldering embers. The destroyers were termed a "mob" and excitement ran high for a time. The mayor offered a reward for the detection of the vandals who had profaned the "temple of mutton and soup bones," but without resulting in anybody being arrested; yet many of the "culprits" were well known, but praised for their public improvement spirit. Perhaps some are still honored residents of Wooster—at least a number were living a few years since. This was the first and last market-house Wooster has ever had. OAK HILL CEMETERY. The care which the living exercise over the "silent cities"—the churchyards and cemeteries—is always an index of the refinement and Christian grace and sentiment of any given community. Prior to 1852 the dead of Wooster were buried in churchyards of the various denominations ; also many from the near by communities, and there today many of the first fathers and mothers of Wooster "sleep and heed it not." July 12, 1852, a number of Wooster's citizens, prominent among whom were Levi Cox. John Larwill, Cyrus Spink, E. Quinby, Jr., Constant Lake, R. B. Stibbs, K. Porter, James Johnson, Harvey Howard and others, agreed to form themselves into a cemetery association, to be known by the name of 424 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. the Wooster Cemetery Association, and for that purpose signed and published a notice. In pursuance to the publication of the notice, and at the time named therein, a majority of the association met at the court house and there resolved to elect, by ballot from their number five persons to serve as trustees and one as clerk of the association. The trustees chosen were Henry Lehman, James Johnson, Constant Lake, R. B. Stibbs and E. Quinby, Jr: The original grounds consisted of thirty-two acres and a fractional part of an acre, purchased of Joseph H. Larwill, the price to be paid being one hundred dollars per acre. Five promissory notes were executed and the following persons agreed to assume their respective proportions of the notes the same as if they had been the original signers to them : Samuel Woods, John H. Harris, J. M. Robison, E. Avery, J. A. Anderson, E. Quinby, Jr., John McSweeney, Samuel L. Lorah, Thomas Stibbs, William Spear, William Henry, John P. Jeffries, J. N. Jones, J. S. Spink, J. H. Kaube, William Belnap, Benjamin Eason, Enos Foreman, E. Dean. Superintendents were then appointed and the grounds surveyed and graded. November 13, 1853, it was ordered that a public sale of lots be had in the cemetery on the 25th of said month. From 1852, when the original by-laws were adopted, there was but little change in the instrument with the passing years, but in• 1904 there was a revision, but only on minor points. The office of superintendent being in many ways of most importance of any of the officials, the list is given for the years since organization : Henry Lehman, 1853-54 ; Lucas Flattery, for same term ; James Jacobs, 1854-63; Lucas Flattery, 1863-77; Isaac Bechtel, 1877-93 ; John F. Barrett, 1893 to April, 1909. The first president of the association was Reasin B.. Stibbs, who served from 1858 to 1875. When the "old part of the ground" was purchased it was in its primeval woodland state and glory. Since that time additional purchases have been made, materially increasing the holdings ; many avenues, drives and allotments have been laid out with artistic skill ; buildings have been erected in conformity to the requirements of the association ; public vaults have been constructed; a complete water system established to provide all parts of the grounds with a good supply of water ; much grading to bring in closer harmony the various sections of the cemetery, without the least sacrifice of natural beauty and effect. In all there have been ,purchased ten different lots of land, making in all at this date eighty acres, which land has cost on an average of one hundred and ten dollars and thirty-seven cents per acre.