Ohio History Journal

THE OHIO-COLUMBUS CENTENNIAL.

August 26-September 1, 1912.

 

BY OSMAN C. HOOPER.

On February 14, 1912, Columbus had been for a hundred

years a "habitation and a name," and the capital of Ohio,

prospective or actual. It was on St. Valentine's day, 1812, that

the legislature, sitting at Zanesville, the second of the temporary

capitals of the young State, took the final action, locating the

permanent capital on a site which was described as "the high-

banks of the Scioto opposite Franklinton." That description was

necessary because as yet man had done little or nothing there

to change the face of nature. Forest trees crowned the "high

banks" of the river, as its waters, reinforced by those of the

Olentangy, started south on their way through the Ohio and

Mississippi river channels to the Gulf of Mexico. The occu-

pants of a couple of cabin homes, set in the woodland on the bank

of the stream, could look across to Franklinton, a settlement which

Lucas Sullivant, fifteen years before, had located on the low-

lands at the fork of the streams.

It was, we must believe, an attractive site that was presented

to the legislative committee by Lyne Starling, John Kerr, A.

McLaughlin and James Johnston. The lands of the plateau had

originally been patented to refugees of the war of the Revolution,

but had been sold by them to the four men mentioned who, com-

bining their interests, laid off a tract of about twelve hundred

acres, platted it provisionally, and made proposals to the legis-

lature for the location of the capital. Five other sites were

proposed-Worthington, Delaware, Circleville, an unbroken tract

near the present town of Dublin and another known as the high

banks, Pickaway Plains. There was a spiritual contest for the

prize which was finally awarded, by a substantial majority in each

house, to the Starling-Kerr-McLaughlin-Johnston group.

By the terms of the proposition thus accepted, the propri-

etors of the land were:

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1. To lay out a town on or before the first day of July,

1812, in accordance with plans presented to the legislature.

2. To convey to the state by general warranty deed such

square of ten acres, or near it, for the public buildings, and such

lot of ten acres for the penitentiary and dependencies as a direc-

tor, or such person or persons as the legislature will appoint, may

select.

3. To erect and complete a state house, offices and peniten-

tiary and such other buildings as shall be directed by the legis-

lature, to be built of stone and brick, or of either, the work to be

done in a workmanlike manner and of such size and dimensions

as the legislature shall think fit, the penitentiary and dependencies

to be complete on or before the first day of January, 1815; the

state house and offices, on or before the first Monday of

December, 1817.

It was agreed, on the part of the state, that the sessions of the

legislature should begin in the new capital at the last named date

and continue until the year 1840 and, that until the new buildings

were completed, the sessions of the legislature should be held in

Chillicothe, from which place in 1810 they had been removed

to Zanesville.

For the faithful performance of their obligations, Messrs.

Starling, Kerr, McLaughlin and Johnston gave to the state

$100,000 bond. On February 20, the legislature adopted a reso-

lution, in accordance with a suggestion by Joseph Foos, calling

the new capital Columbus; and on the same day, appointed

Joel Wright, of Warren county, director, to "view and examine"

the lands proffered and to lay out and survey "the town afore-

said." Director Wright called to his assistance Joseph Vance,

of Franklin county, and together they surveyed and staked out the

streets, public squares and building lots of the capital. In April,

the four proprietors advertised that the first sale of lots would

begin June 18 and continue for three days. And so it was done,

many lots being sold, chiefly on High and Broad streets, at prices

ranging from $200 to $1,000, one-fifth down and the remainder

in four equal annual installments.

Improvements began at once with the felling of trees and

the building of homes of logs or clapboards, a few of the first

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438       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   settlers being housed by autumn, but most of them being delayed in their occupancy till the following spring. It was a busy scene at the site of the capital for, in addition to the home-building by the settlers, there was at Franklinton a rendezvous for the sol- diers called into service for the war against the combined British and Indians. Prominent in the military preparations was Joseph Foos, who had suggested the name for the new capital. Leaving the senate, he became a captain in the militia and was soon pro- moted to the command of a brigade. While the settler's axes were resounding in the woodland of the high banks, he was recruiting and equipping troops and sending them to the north for

the battles which, in connection with Perry's famous victory on Lake Erie, were to retrieve the disaster of Hull's surrender of Detroit. Such were the events and such the scenes of a hundred years ago for the celebration of which a few thoughtful persons began to plan as early as 1907. It was the late Henry T. Chittenden who first proposed, through the newspapers of Columbus, the celebration of the founding of the city as the capital of the State. His thought found favor and the newspapers from time to time gave it expression, but it was not till March 8, 1909, that any definite action was taken. On that date, the city council of Columbus adopted a resolution, authorizing the Mayor to appoint

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four commissioners on the part of the city, to act in conjunction

with four others to be named by the Governor of Ohio, to con-

sider and report on the feasibility of celebrating in 1912 the

completion by the state and the city of a hundred years of associa-

tion as commonwealth and capital. The legislature, on the

following day, adopted a resolution providing for the appointment

of the commissioners on the part of the State. Mayor Charles

A. Bond appointed as such commissioners Dr. J. F. Jones, Messrs.

Lee M. Boda, Julius F. Stone and C. Edwards Born. Governor

Judson Harmon appointed General R. B. Brown, of Zanesville;

Mr. T. C. Laylin, of Norwalk; Mr. S. W. Crawford, of East

Liverpool, and Mr. John A. Poland, of Chillicothe. At the first

meeting of the commissioners, held December 29, 1909, General

R. B. Brown was elected president and Lee M. Boda, secretary.

At a later meeting, C. E. Born was chosen vice president and

Julius F. Stone treasurer. In April, 191O, the commission made

report to the Governor and Mayor, recommending a two weeks'

celebration to begin Tuesday, June 18, the one hundredth anni-

versary of the first sale of lots, and setting forth in detail the

meaning and magnitude of the project. In May, 1911, the legis-

lature gave further proof of its interest by appropriating $25,000

for the centennial, providing, however, that the celebration should

be held in connection with the annual State Fair.

That gave the first substance to the project, and the com-

missioners went zealously at work to secure from the city its

promised financial support and to complete the plans for the

celebration. It was no easy task for in the city, while there was

general approval of the project, there was a difference of opin-

ion as to the method of celebrating, the wish of many being to

subordinate the spectacular and to erect some permanent memorial

of the occasion. At a time when the division of sentiment threat-

ened to wreck the whole scheme, a meeting of citizens was held

at the Chamber of Commerce. Secretary Boda, upon whom the

burden of the executive work had fallen, called emphatically for

some decision.  The desire was to raise $100,000 as the city's

share of the cost, a thing easy of accomplishment, if there were

only agreement. The deadlock was broken when Robert F.

Wolfe, on behalf of his manufacturing interests, offered to give

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440       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

one-tenth of the amount, if all the remainder were subscribed

and paid. Other subscriptions followed and in the subsequent

canvass a total of some $43,000 was raised, of which Mr. Wolfe

gave one-tenth. The final decision was that as far as possible the

spectacular and the permanent memorial ideas should be com-

bined, and that the celebration should be restricted to one week,

August 26-September 1, inclusive. The subsequent work of prep-

aration proceeded rapidly. A program for the several days was

outlined and, on a chart which he prepared, Secretary Boda, upon

whom the detail work continued to fall, entered features as the

cost of them was assumed by the subscriptions.

In the mean time there had been several changes in the per-

sonnel of the commission. General Brown had resigned as presi-

dent and his place had been taken by Dr. J. F. Jones who, owing

to a necessary absence from the city, resigned from the presi-.

dency and the commission, March 12, 1912, and was succeeded

by Dr. W. O. Thompson, president of Ohio State University.

S. W. Crawford had also resigned from the commission and

been succeeded by Lowry F. Sater, of Columbus.

In the earlier period of the preparation, there had been an

effort to enlist the co-operation of other cities and counties of the

state in the making of the historical exhibit and pageant, and

there had been a generous response, but it was finally decided by

the commission to accept no outside aid and to make the cele-

bration with the funds contributed by the legislature, already

referred to, and by the citizens of Columbus.

Under these circumstances, there began with the firing of a

salute of one hundred guns, Monday morning, August 26, the

celebration of the Ohio-Columbus centennial. The full pro-

gram was as follows:

 

MONDAY, AUGUST 26-COLUMBUS DAY.

MORNING-

Salute of 100 guns.

Formal opening of the Centennial. Addresses of welcome by Gov-

ernor Harmon and Mayor Karb of Columbus, in front of State

House. 9 o'clock.

Opening of historical exhibit at Carnegie Library under auspices

of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 10 o'clock.

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Great Industrial Parade, showing manufacture and commerce by

beautiful and attractive floats. 10 o'clock.

AFTERNOON-

Opening of Ohio Centenary State Fair.

Open Air Concerts in State House grounds. 4 o'clock.

EVENING-

Carnival Parade of Ohio automobiles, with costumed characters,

escorting "Miss Columbus" and her glittering train of Court

Attendants, representing the capitals of the various states.

Brilliant ceremony of crowning the Queen of the Carnival.

7 o'clock.

Specially designed display of fireworks from the roof and dome

of the Capitol.

 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27-OHIO DAY.

MORNING-

Reunion of descendants of Ohio Governors. presided over by John

Bushnell.  Addresses by Ex-Governor Campbell, Dean C.

Matthews and Dr. W. O. Thompson. 11 o'clock, Southern

Hotel.

Meetings of County Associations and the "Home Folks."

Woman Suffrage Parade.

Reception of Ohio's German Singers.

AFTERNOON-

Ohio Centenary State Fair.

Open-air concert by the Central Ohio Saengerbund in the Capitol

grounds. 4 o'clock.

EVENING-

Splendid street pageant, "The Story of the State," told by wonder-

ful and artistic Tableau Cars, antique vehicles and over a

thousand costumed characters. 7 o'clock.

 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28-FRATERNAL AND CHORAL DAY.

 

MORNING-

Gathering of Fraternal Orders.

Grand parade of Fraternal Orders. 9:30 o'clock.

AFTERNOON-

State Fair.

EVENING-

Repetition of Historical Parade, "The Story of the State."  7

o'clock.

Grand, free concert of Ohio Saengerbund, with noted soloists, at

Memorial Hall. 8:15 o'clock.

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442         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 29-FEDERAL DAY.

MORNING-

Reception of the President and many distinguished guests.

Review of Federal troops. 10 o'clock.

Parade of German Singers. 10 o'clock.

AFTERNOON-

Meeting of Bench and Bar, Chamber of Commerce Auditorium.

3 o'clock.

Public reception to the President in rotunda of the Capitol. 3:30

o'clock.

Ohio Centenary State Fair.

EVENING-

Bench and Bar banquet. Addresses by President Taft and others.

Southern Hotel.

Mysterious parade of the Order of the Serpent. 7:30 o'clock.

Grand display of fireworks.

 

 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30-AGRICULTURAL AND VETERANS' DAY.

MORNING-

Reunion of Veterans.

AFTERNOON-

Parade of Veterans of the Civil War, escorted by Sons of Vet-

erans, Spanish War Veterans and allied organizations.

Special Session of Ohio State Grange. State Fair Grounds. 1:30

o'clock.

Unveiling of Revolutionary Tablet at Memorial Hall by Daughters

of American Revolution. 2 :30 o'clock.

Ohio State Fair.

EVENING-

Camp-fire.

Historic pageant, "The Story of the State." 7 o'clock.

 

 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31-MOTHERS' AND CHILDREN'S DAY.

(This day under the auspices of the Ohio Federation of

Women's Clubs.)

MORNING-

Pageant of the Nations, presented by 2500 children in costume.

O. S. U. Athletic field.

Lunch for distinguished women, at noon, by invitation only. South-

ern Hotel.

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AFTERNOON-

Women's meeting at Memorial Hall. Addressed by Frances Squire

Potter, of University of Wisconsin and others. Followed by

reception. 3:30 o'clock.

Ohio State Fair.

EVENING-

Grand closing display of fireworks at Franklin Park.

 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER I-CENTENNIAL SUNDAY.

MORNING-

Patriotic services in all churches.

AFTERNOON-

Open air union meeting at Franklin Park, Mr. C. L. Dickey, pre-

siding. Addresses by Rev. Dr. W. H. Scott, Rev. Dr. S. S.

Palmer, Rev. Dr. Washington Gladden. Music by massed

choirs. 3 o'clock.

EVENING-

Special meetings of religious organizations.

There was great popular interest in the parades and pag-

eantry which may be said to have demonstrated, as never before in

Columbus, the excellence of this form of celebration. In Broad

street, from High to Third, a court of honor had been created

by the erection of artistic columns. These columns, decorated

and crowned with electric lights, lined the street on either side,

leaving between them a path which was traversed by all of the

parades, while on the south side of the street a grand stand held

the reviewing parties and thousands of the spectators. Sidewalks

and the windows of buildings along the line of march held other

thousands of thoroughly delighted spectators. The capitol build-

ing was illuminated and decorated with colors as never before,

while the city buildings, business houses and private residences

were gay with flags, pennants and bunting. The State and capi-

tal were celebrating the end of one century of association and the

beginning of another, and the people were thoroughly awake to

the importance and joy of the occasion.

All of the parades were worthy of their makers-that of the

manufacturers and merchants, the carnival parade of automo-

biles, the parade of the women seeking the suffrage, that of the

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444        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   fraternal orders, the German singers and the federal troops, the Order of the Serpent and the veterans of the civil war and the war with Spain. But the prime interest of the people was in the historical pageant of twenty-six floats, prepared after specifications by Assistant Secretary H. H. Bennett, of the com- mission, and accurately representing different periods and events incident to the history and development of Ohio. These floats represented the Mound Builders, the earliest occupants of the territory that is now Ohio, in the act of making a human sac- rifice upon one of their altar mounds; a scene on the Portage path during the days of the Indians; Bienville taking possession

of the Ohio for France; a Jesuit Father preaching to the Indians on the site of Sandusky; the first sailing vessel on Lake Erie; Dunmore's council with the Indians on the Pickaway plains; an Indian attack on a settler's cabin; a flatboat on the Ohio; the signing of the first constitution; Ohio to the front in the war of 1812; the defense of Fort Stephenson; Perry's victory on Lake Erie; the Northwest Territory and her children, the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin; an early canal boat; the Harrison campaign of 1840; Ohio's schools and colleges; the departure for the war, 1861; Ohio in camp; the return from the war; honor to the veterans; the landing of Co-

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The Ohio-Columbus Centennial.           445

 

lumbus; the nations in Ohio, depicting the various peoples from

whom the population has been recruited; the electric age, with

special recognition of Thomas A. Edison, Elisha Gray and

Charles Francis Brush, all Ohioans; Ohio in the Spanish-Ameri-

can war and Ohio triumphant, illustrating Ohio's contribution to

the nation in the fields of politics, war, literature, art, philan-

thropy and womanhood.

Each of these floats was a careful study in costuming and

appointment and, as it passed, stood out like a picture on the

page. An interesting feature of the parade was the exhibit of

the development of transportation-the horseback rider, the ox

team, the stage coach, the carriage and the automobile. The

stage coach used was the one in which Horace Greeley is said

to have made one of his fast trips to keep an engagement and is

now the property of the Wells-Fargo Express company. At

different points in the line were groups representing a war party

of Indians, a company of French soldiers, a company of English

soldiers, a company of Continentals and a squadron of veteran

cavalry, the last named being led by Colonel W. L. Curry. All

these, as well as the members of the different bands in the pag-

eant, were costumed appropriately to the periods which they repre-

sented respectively. A descendant of Governor Duncan Mc-

Arthur was on the float representing the period of 1830 and de-

scendants of singers of the famous campaign of 1840 were on the

float typifying that famous struggle. For few of the people was

one view of the pageant enough. Happily, it was given three

times during the week, and everybody had a chance to enjoy it to

the full and get the import and inspiration of it all. Experts in

pageantry pronounced this Ohio historical pageant as good in

quality as any anywhere given in the country.

The historical loan exhibit, held under the auspices of the

Daughters of the American Revolution in the Carnegie build-

ing of the Columbus Public Library, was another illustration of

the fine spirit pervading the occasion. The articles composing

the exhibit numbered 701 and were gathered in all parts of the

state from the homes of those who hold them dear. The ex-

hibit was open daily throughout the week, and the number of visi-

tors ran far into the thousands,

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446    Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

The reunion of the descendants of Ohio governors brought

together one hundred and twenty-five persons who can claim that

distinction. The gathering was presided over by Mr. John Bush-

nell, of Springfield, son of the late Governor Asa Bushnell, and

was marked by many memories of Ohio's line of executives,

many of whom were further distinguished by their service of the

nation.

The coming of President Taft on Thursday marked the

national interest in the celebration. He visited the State Fair

and spoke, held a public reception in the rotunda of the capitol

and spoke again at a banquet of the bench and bar in the evening.

Early in February, the President had written to the commission

that "the occasion is one of more than state-wide interest, in-

cluding, as it does, not only the other States of the Northwest

Territory in its scope, but the commonwealth from which came

the bulk of the population of Ohio." He predicted then that the

celebration would be a success, and on the day designated as

Federal day, came to help make the prediction a reality.

While the parades, exhibits and meetings were making the

interest in the city, the greatest State Fair in the history of that

enterprise was in progress on the grounds north of the city. It

was greatest, not only in the number and quality of its exhibits,

but also in its attendance.

Other notable features of the week were the gathering of

civil war veterans to the number of nearly 4,000, their notable

reunions and the courtesies extended to them by Colonel Dodd,

commandant, and the other officers at the United States Barracks;

the concert of the Ohio Saengerbund which filled Memorial Hall

to overflowing; the pageant of the nations presented by 2,500

children in costume, on Ohio field at the Ohio State University,

and the open air religious services at Franklin park on the after-

noon of Sunday, September 1. On the last named occasion,

representative ministers of the city pointed out the lessons of the

celebration then closing and Dr. Washington Gladden read a

noble poem inspired by it.

The celebration, owing to the excellent management by the

commission, came to a close without an incident to mar the pleas-

ure of it. The four hundred thousand visitors came and returned

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to their homes without a serious accident. There was abundant

entertainment for all and there was no extortion anywhere. Every

feature of the celebration over which the commission had con-

trol was absolutely free, yet when the books were closed every

expense had been provided for.

The great Sunday afternoon meeting at the park seemed to

indicate that the "tumult and the shouting" had not driven out of

mind the more serious considerations. The glorification of the

the past seemed to have emphasized the importance of present

problems, and there was fervid expression of the hope that we of

today and tomorrow may be as faithful to our duties as were

those of yesterday to theirs.

 

 

DR. GLADDEN'S CENTENARY POEM.

[On Sunday, September 1st, the official celebration of the Ohio-

Columbus Centennial closed with the Amen of Rev. L. T. Lowe, when

he pronounced the benediction upon 3,000 persons who gathered at Frank-

lin Park in the afternoon to participate in joint exercises, which in-

cluded an original poem by the Rev. Dr. Washington Gladden, which

we herewith publish in full.]

We come at length as shadows lengthening fall,

To the last hour of our high festival;

In "God's first temple," in the summer air

We lift our hearts to him in praise and prayer,

Praise for the good that crowns the century's close,

Prayer for the light and strength his grace bestows

On all who humbly seek him; that the days

Now lying fair before us, and the ways

Through which his love shall lead us may be bright

With his o'ershadowing presence; that the night

All 'round us shall be light because of Him.

That through the murk and maze of futures dim

His shepherding may keep us, and his power

Protect us in the dark and perilous hour.

 

We wait upon his word. Who speaks for him?

Unseal our vision! Let the seraphim

Now stooping near us touch our eyes to see

The form that bends above us; set us free

From flesh and sense, that we may duly hear

The word she speaks unto the inward ear.

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448        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   "Faith of Our Fathers," let that be the name By which we know her. Evermore the same, Benignant, beautiful, with radiant face And smile that tells us of a happy place, With beckoning hand, and winning upward glance, And sober yearnings on her countenance.- "Faith of Our Fathers,"-not their dogmas drear. Filling men's hearts with trouble and with fear; Faith is no fabric by logicians wrought, No sublimate of metaphysic thought, No trap of dialectic, shrewdly set To catch incautious souls in error's net, Nor any skeleton with bony hands

That here today across our pathway stands; Nay, 'tis a Spirit, the soul of trust and truth, Of loyalty and honor, grace and ruth, Through whom we know God near, and not afar, And that in him we live and move and are; This is "Our Fathers' Faith," their living faith, That kept them whole, in loss and pain and scathe. Their creeds we could not keep; their like we need; Their life in God, for that is life indeed. 'Tis this fair form that bends now from the sky With beckoning hand to tell us God is nigh, As near to us as ever to our sires, With grace that pardons, comforts, shields, inspires.

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Spirit divine, we wait thy words of cheer:

(If any man have ears, now let him hear.)

Thou art Religion, not rite, nor book nor ban-

The life of God within the soul of man;

Thou hast been with us in the ages past;

What hast thou for us in the future vast?

"Ye seek to know"-thus saith the Voice divine-

"What visions call me, and what tasks are mine

In days that are before us. Ye do well

Thus to inquire; for oft beneath the spell

Of whirling wheels and flying fires, man deems

That nothing is, outside the mindless streams

Of elemental force; that truth and right

Are apparitions that deceive the sight;

That obligation binds no human choice;

That duty waits on inclination's choice;

That reverence springs from superstition stale;

That God's great law is but an old wives' tale.

Too prone are men, in these tumultuous years,

To still their consciences and quench their fears,

To stifle all the hopes that lift them higher,

And feed with snow the flame of pure desire;

This is Religion's task, to bring again

The torch of truth to light the lives of men;

To touch their eyes, that visions may appear

Of God's great presence, shining round them here;

To lift the veil of law that hides God's face

And show that earth is still a holy place;

That every work of man beneath the sun,

By wisdom counseled and in love begun-

All work whose purpose makes for human weal,

By hands that toil, or serve, or help or heal-

That shape the fabric or that break the clod-

Is done by men who needs must work with God.

Yea, God is in his world; no prophet old,

Could trace his power in shapes so manifold

As those which daily hold your wondering eyes

In loving work that round about you lies;

To find him here; his wise designs to see;

To join your wills with his in service free,

This is the task Religion finds for you

Who seek her ways to know, her will to do.

She brings the Holy City down to earth,

And bids its citizens to know their worth

Vol. XXI - 29.

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450        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

As sons of God; she summons them to raise

On fair foundations walls of chrysoprase

And jasper, sapphire, beryl, chrysolite-

All stones of price, all precious in God's sight-

On purity and truth and honor bright

Temples and towers and courts and halls of light

And homes of purity, and mills and marts

And shops of industry and shrines of arts-

To build all these, in days now drawing nigh

After the pattern shown us in the sky.

 

Such is the message that today is brought

From that which answers to our deepest thought;

Such are the tasks that wait upon our will

In days which mercies past with promise fill.

To build a city here of fair renown

After the pattern that the heaven sends down;

A city founded on this simple plan-

Friendship for God, and friendship, too, for man.

God's friendship! 'Tis the sure foundation stone

On which its life must rest: the faith alone

That makes men faithful, the firm tie that binds

Man to his highest fealties; clouded minds

It clears, crowns trust and truth, makes honor dear;

Kindles high courage, quells ignoble fear,

Sends cringing craft to heel, gives love the rein,

And holds in reason's thrall the greed for gain.

Friendship for God-it is the vital breath,

That cities live by, yea the prophet saith;

"Except God build the city it shall fall;

Men toil in vain upon its crumbling wall."

A godless city-what shall be her fate?

Hear what the Lord hath spoken; "Desolate

Shall be her courts, and bitter her complaints,

For the whole head is sick, the whole heart faints;

How is the faithful queen, by treachery stained,

Become an harlot; and, where justice reigned,

Red murder riots: rulers, while men sleep,

Trample on laws that they have sworn to keep;

Thieves their companions, bribers their allies,

Heedless of justice, deaf to all the cries

Of fatherless and widows."

Such the scourge

Of godless cities, such the fateful dirge

That prophets sing when cities turn from God

And recklessly defy his chastening rod.

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The Ohio-Columbus Centennial.                 451

 

O you whom God hath called and set apart

To build a city after his own heart,

Remember well, your peace is in his hands,

Your welfare waits on his benign commands.

His friendship seek, his word of life obey

And trust his grace to guide you all the way.

"Be friends with God," this is the golden text

That gives us queenly cities; and the next-

"Be friends with men," this crowns the city fair

And makes it beautiful beyond compare.

O you whom God hath called and set apart

To build a city after his own heart,

Be this your task-to fill the cities' veins

With the red blood of friendship; plant her plains

With seeds of peace; above her portals wreathe

Greeting and welcome; let the air we breathe

Be musical with accents of good will

That leap from lip to lip with joyous thrill;

So may the stranger find upon the streets

A kindly look in every face he meets:

So may the spirit of the city tell

All souls within her gates that all is well;

In all her homes let gentleness be found,

In every neighborhood let grace abound,

In every store and shop and forge and mill

Where men of toil their daily tasks fulfill,

Where guilding brain and workman's skill are wise

To shape the product of our industries,

Where treasured stores the hands of toil sustain,

Let friendship speed the work and share the gain.

And thus, through all the city's teeming life,

Let helpfulness have room, with generous strife

To serve; let those who sit at Beauty's feet

Rejoice to make this world of ours more meet

For men to live in; let the poet's art

Kindle new kindness in the human heart;

Let every hand find work to swell the store

Of common welfare, and let all hearts pour

Their offering of service, till the best

That each can bring is shared by all the rest;

Proving the Master's saying, that we live

By what we get, but more by what we give.

 

And thus, O city fair, your life shall be

Benignant, bountiful, abundant, free;

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452         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   For God shall dwell among us, and men shall say The former bitter things are passed away; Gone are our strifes and banished all our fears, For here is love that wipes away all tears; Here is the rest for which our souls have striven; This is the city that came down from heaven.     WHY OHIO IS GREAT. At the dinner participated in on Tuesday, August 27, at the Southern Hotel, by the Descendants of Ohio Governors, the

following address was made by Prof. Dean C. Mathews, of West- ern Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Mathews is a great-grandson of Samuel Huntington, third governor of Ohio, 1812-1814. MR. MATHEW'S ADDRESS. Why is Ohio great? We may say that Ohio is the result of an idea, of fortunate circumstances and favoring physical conditions. The idea of individual human freedom, granted by

• 17
 

The Ohio-Columbus Centennial.           453

the Magna Charta, reinterpreted by the Constitution of the

United States and applied in the Ordinance of 1787; the circum-

stances arising at the close of the great struggle for American

independence; the physical gifts, of land that was good and nat-

ural resources that were rich and an economic advantage derived

from situation on transcontinental waterways of lake on the

north and river on the south, great paths through which the peo-

ple of the continent presently should pass. For the westward

march of civilization was to be by way of Ohio. All these were

instruments. Ohio owes her greatness to something more than

these. She owes her greatness to her men!

From the Pennsylvania of William Penn and of the Ger-

man, from the Massachusetts and Connecticut of the Puritan,

from the Virginia of the Cavalier, came Ohio's pioneers. Some

came from New York on the north and from Kentucky on the

south but these were a vanguard from the commonwealths al-

ready named. Ohio's earliest citizenry was representative of the

best vigor of the American continent. As an Ohio historian

(Alfred Mathews) has said: "Ohio was settled by the people

of the United States.. . . Her's was the first territory to be

representative of the entire people."

Who were the leaders among these people?

Emerson says: "It is natural to believe in great men. The

world is upheld by the veracity of good men; they make the

earth wholesome   ....  When nature removes a great man,

people explore the horizon for a successor; but none comes, and

none will. In some other and quite different field the next man

will appear."

It is grateful recognition of the wise, patriotic and prophetic

labors of the fathers that we, sons and daughters, their descen-

dants of several generations, are gathered here today.

We may not speak in detail of each of the more than two

score of men who have filled the Governor's office. To do so

would require the chronicles of a historian or the extraordinary

personal acquaintance of one like the honored William McClin-

tick, of Chillicothe. Some of you will recall Mr. McClintick's

unusual address delivered ten years ago on the occasion of the

centennial anniversary of the signing of the State Constitution.

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454        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

You will then remember this patriarch's statement that he had

personally known all the governors of the state, from Edward

Tiffin, the first governor, and Thomas Worthington, to the then

governor, George Nash, with the exception of Samuel Hunting-

ton, Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., and Ethan Allen Brown. As

their descendants, we may merge our individual loyalties in a gen-

erous appreciation of all. Each proved himself the strong man

for his time.

Fortunate in her later governors, the State was peculiarly

fortunate in her first executive. Doctor, clergyman and lawyer,

Edward Tiffin sensed the spirit of his constituents, appreciated

the state's opportunity and anticipated the future with the mind

of a prophet. The promise of what he was to be in the North-

west Territory is indicated by a letter written in 1798 by Presi-

dent Washington to Governor St. Clair:

"SIR:-Mr. Edward Tiffin solicits an opportunity in the territory

Northwest of the Ohio.

"The fairness of this character in private and public life, together

with a knowledge of law, resulting from close application for a con-

siderable time, will, I hope, justify the liberty I now take in recom-

mending him to your attention.  Regarding with due attention the

delicacy as. well as the importance of the character in which I act, I

am sure you will do me the justice to believe that nothing but the

knowledge of the gentleman's merits, founded upon a long acquaintance,

could have induced me to trouble you on this occasion.

"With sincere wishes for your happiness and welfare, I am, etc., etc.,

"GEO. WASHINGTON."

This is believed to be the only letter of recommendation for

public position written by President Washington.

Tiffin became Speaker of the Territorial Legislature, Presi-

dent of the First Constitutional Convention, and the first gover-

nor of the state. As Governor he was elected and later reelected

by the unanimous vote of the people, an honor not bestowed on

any of his successors. His inaugural address urged measures for

popular education, the opening of wagonroads, the improvement

of waterways, and means of defense against hostile tribes of

Indians. Referring to the interference by Spanish settlers of the

lower Mississippi with free navigation of that river he said, ad-

dressing the Legislature:

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The Ohio-Columbus Centennial.                 455   "It would be as impossible to prevent the Mississippi River from discharging its waters into the ocean as to prevent the people of the West from asserting their natural right to force, with that stream, the fruits of their industry to every part of the world." Thomas Jefferson, as Secretary of State, in secret instruc- tions to the United States States Minister at Madrid, had written: "Impress the Spanish ministry thoroughly with the necessity of an early settlement of this matter, for it is impossible to answer for the forbearance of our western citizens." Governor Tiffin, in a subsequent message, after congratu- lating the State of Ohio and the people of the West upon the

complete purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, and after reciting that Spanish authorities and residents on the lower Mississippi refused to acquiesce and were still harassing Ameri- can traders and impeding the navigation of the river, urged the Legislature of Ohio to provide that "five hundred of our best disciplined and best officered militia be held in readiness to go down the river should the Spaniards either refuse or delay to give up Louisiana agreeably to the treaty."

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456        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

Governor Tiffin's prophetic vision again was demonstrated

in the matter of the Aaron Burr conspiracy. Some time before

the national government realized the situation the alert Ohio ex-

ecutive had discovered the facts. These he laid before the Legis-

lature, meeting behind closed doors. The attitude of the State

was unhesitant and the conspiracy was destroyed before the

official warning letters addressed by the President to the governor

of Ohio and Kentucky were received. This prompt action was

publicly acknowledged by President Jefferson who, in a letter to

Congress, wrote as follows:

"Governor Tiffin and the Legislature of Ohio, with a promptitude,

an energy and patriotic zeal which entitle them to a distinguished place

in the affections of their sister states, effected the seizure of all their

boats, fifteen in number, provisions and other preparations within their

reach and thus gave a first blow, materially disabling the enterprise in

its outset."

Samuel Huntington, nephew and adopted son of the Sam-

uel Huntington of Connecticut who was President of the Con-

tinental Congress, a Master of Arts from Yale and a lawyer by

profession, had come to the Northwest Territory upon the invi-

tation of Governor St. Clair. One of the representatives of the

Western Reserve in the Constitutional Convention, he became

also a member of the first senate and was elected to the first

Supreme Bench. Because of the light thrown upon conditions

prevailing at the time we may be pardoned for introducing pres-

ently direct quotations from letters to which we have personal

access. The Supreme Court held its sessions in the different

settlements, in circuit.  Travel for the supreme judges, as for

everyone else, was by horseback, by the wagonroads and bridle-

paths cut through the woods. But in a letter written from Chilli-

cothe, November 8, 1808, after writing of political conditions,

Mr. Huntington inserts this less serious paragraph:

"My silk stockings. I should be glad if you could conveniently

send them, also my cotton gloves which were forgotten. Do not send

them unless by some trusty person coming directly here."

Evidently the good housewife at Painesville sent the finery

safely through for to a letter written at Chillicothe on Decem-

ber 29, following, Mr. Huntington added this:

"P. S. The stockings and gloves came, safe."

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The Ohio-Columbus Centennial.                 457

 

Strange contrast, -  silk stockings, buckles, gracefully shaped

coat with white ruffles at neck and wrists, - strange contrast to

those conditions which everywhere surrounded in the far-ex-

tending woods. The records of the Assembly show that many a

day was occupied by the consideration of bills for the ridding of

the country of wolves and panthers. Judge Huntington him-

self, when making the trip from his home at Painesville to

Cleveland alone, at night, on horseback, was attacked by a pack

of wolves.

Those were the days of "wars and rumors of wars."       From

his home on Lake Erie to which he had retired at the close of his

term of office as Governor, (1808-1810), Mr. Huntington wrote,

June 3, 1812:

"It seems to be the general opinion that war is inevitable, but I

think it will be a continuance of the paper war and that more ink than

blood will be shed in it......... The blustering system has so long been

in use that we do not regard a little more of it as a sure indication of

hostilities."

But the following is from a letter which on August 26, 1812,

he wrote to his wife from Ravenna:

"It was found necessary for some person to go direct to Wash-

ington City to procure Arms, &c, and the Council of War appointed

me for that purpose - -     * * * & I consider it my duty in this

emergency to go --    despatch was necessary & I could not go home

without losing a day. I accordingly set out yesterday noon with what

preparation I could make in 2 hours. I must be in Washington in a

week and shall not probably stay there more than 2 days - -  it will

take me a week more to return and I shall return by the way of Cleve-

land -     If Frank (their son) is called for he must go: -   I hope

with George and the little boys you will suffer but little inconvenience

until I return. * * *

"The Indians have all gone down to attack Fort Wayne and from

there they will proceed to Fort Vincennes on the Wabash so that for

five or six weeks they will find enough to do in that quarter and

before that time the troops will arrive from the South & until then it

will be practical to keep our militia ready for them between Cleveland

and Miami. There is no cause of apprehension this side of Huron

River and none there but from a few stragglers who may steal the

Cattle that are left, when they find the People have gone off-  -  I

hope the people at Grand River will not be scaring one another. One

wagon going off starts fifty more.-  Col. Cass is going on with me

and we are in great haste."

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458        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   The trip to Washington was successful. Government aid was secured for the prosecution of the war.   Huntington was made Paymaster of the Northwest Army with rank of Colonel. Thenceforth he spent much time in the field. Conditions were bad. From an army camp at Lower Sandusky, July 12, 1813, he wrote home: "The troops are very sickly - great numbers die daily. If they remain at Fort Meigs or this place until the last of September there will not be one man to help another. * * *. The Indians are con-

stantly about us watching an opportunity to cut off small parties. They killed seven persons within plain sight of the garrison." In a letter addressed to his son-in-law, Dr. John H. Math- ews, of Painesville, January 3, 1814, he wrote: "From what information we can obtain the Enemy is marching to attack us either here or at Sandwich & Madden. * * * The cer- tainty of inhuman treatment from British & Indians, the retaliatory system adopted, and the exasperated state of mind of both parties on this frontier at this time, all combine to make both desperate, and to inspire a resolution in our troops never to surrender. * * * The

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The Ohio-Columbus Centennial.                 459

 

folly of withdrawing our forces from this district & sending them be-

yond the reach of intelligence in any possible time for relief, will soon

appear -    conquering Canada by proclamation and holding it by re-

treating out of it are parts of the same system of warfare."

From Chillicothe he wrote, November 8, 1814:

"We arrived here on the 6th after traveling almost constantly in

the rain. * * * I can obtain no money for the pay of the army.

The Bankers do no business & the silver is banished (from) the

Country. I shall remain here until I can hear from Washington. From

the news received since I left home it appears we are to have a long

and bloody war, that the taxes are to be doubled & the Militia are to

be called in some shape or other - how we are to get money, nobody

can tell. In this gloomy state of things we must be prepared to make

great sacrifices and we must make them or give up all of our rights &

perhaps, the property on which we subsist. If the Country is united

- we shall do well at last."

And again:

"* * * But I ought to keep home out of my head. It distracts

me from doing the duties of my office. It must enter my mind only at

certain times, & never when on business."

Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., a native of Connecticut, a grad-

uate of Yale, a member of the Territorial Legislature, a judge

of the first Supreme Court of the State, was twice elected to the

executive office. On December 9, 1812 Governor Meigs appeared

in person before the two Houses of the Legislature and his annual

message, which was startling in its terms, being the first official

notification of the Declaration of War against Great Britain.

The Legislature was asked to strengthen the arm of the national

Government and the response was instantaneous.

The impressive part which Ohio took in that war is evidenced

by the fact that this state alone furnished 24,000 soldiers of all

arms, being 33 per cent of the entire male population above

twenty-one years of age. In a later day, after another war, an

Ohio governor and President of the United States (Rutherford

B. Hayes) declared: "God loves Ohio or he would not have given

her such a galaxy of heroes to defend the nation in its hours of

trial."

It is of interest to us today to note that it was in Governor

Meigs' administration that a site on "the lands of John and Peter

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460       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

Sells, on the West bank of the Scioto River, four and three-

fourths miles west of the town of Worthington," was selected

as the permanent seat of Government.

During the administrations of Thomas Worthington, who

had served in the Territorial Legislature and as one of the first

United States senators from Ohio, of Ethan Allen Brown, a

judge of the state Supreme Court and later elected to the United

States Senate, of Allen Trimble, seven times elected Speaker of

the State Senate, of Jeremiah Morrow, a member of the Con-

stitutional Convention, the first State Legislature, a member of

the national House and Senate and declared by Governor Ander-

son to have been "the one ablest and best of all the governors,"

the National Road, and state roads were built, the state canal

system was completed, and the public school system extended.

Duncan McArthur third of Chillicothe's four governors, of

brilliant record in the Indian wars, who had resigned from a

public position to enlist as a private in the War of 1812, but by

conspicuous service became a Brigadier-General of the regular

army, was the last of the "pioneer governors."

During the administrations of these men the newly organized

state had taken an important place among the commonwealths, the

frontier had been subdued, a treasonable conspiracy had been

quashed, a war whose brunt had fallen on this outlying people

had been waged and won, state and national turnpikes and a

canal system had been constructed. Caleb Atwater, in his Ohio

History, written at about this time, says: "It is honor enough

for any common man to be a good and worthy citizen of Ohio-

travel where he may in the Union."

With the administrations of the latter governors of the

First Constitution, and of the period immediately preceding the

Civil War, we are familiar. The names of the great "War Gov-

ernors" and of those who have served since the Civil War are

household names. The earlier and later governors of Ohio have

served as Presidents of the United States, Judges of the Supreme

Court of the United States, Senators of the United States, Mem-

bers of the Cabinet of the United States and as Foreign Repre-

sentatives of the United States. Of their patriotic services we,

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The Ohio-Columbus Centennial.                  461   their descendants must speak with the emphasis of understate- ment. Again we quote Emerson: "Within the limits of human education and agency, we may say great men exist that there may be great men.    * * * It is for man to tame the chaos; on every side, whilst he lives, to scatter the seeds

of science and of song, that climate, corn, animals, men, may be milder, and the germs of love and benefit may be multiplied." "God of the prophets! bless the prophets' sons; * * * Make their hearts awake To human need; their lips make eloquent To assure the right, and every evil break. O mighty age of prophet kings, return! God of the prophets! bless the prophets' sons!"

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THE LIBRARIES OF PADDY'S RUN.

 

 

BY S. R. WILLIAMS.

The first State School Commissioner of Common Schools

of Ohio called attention to a library founded in a community

in the state by the contributions of its pioneer settlers. "To the

inspirations from this library" to quote the Commissioner, "some

of the first names in our annals owe the impulse to a distinguished

career."

The history of this library and its successors follows.

At the opening of the country west of the Great Miami for

settlement the community of Paddy's Run, or Shandon as it is

now, (twenty miles northwest of Cincinnati) was established in

large part by a group of emigrants from Wales seeking to bet-

ter themeselves financially, intellectually and spiritually. The

most of the incoming settlers from Virginia and the Carolinas

were of the same type, and one of the first deeds of the infant

community was the founding of a church-a Congregational

church which celebrated its centennial in 1903.

The next move was the beginning of a private school. Wil-

liam Bebb, one of the pupils in this first school, established one

of his own, the Bebb school which did its share towards educat-

ing the boys of the near by town of Cincinnati.

The third step was the starting of a library.

In the old library record book the first dates of withdrawal

are in the year 1817. There are many entries in 1818. The

library so flourished that on February first, 1812, we find an

agreement of the Union Library Company of Morgan and Crosby

townships which contains 18 articles and is signed by twenty-

five men.

This document is endorsed further as follows:

State of Ohio Seventh Circuit.

I, Joshua Collett, President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas

for said seventh Circuit approve of the within articles of Association.

August 29, 1821.               (Signed) Joshua Collett.

(462)

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