MUSKINGUM COUNTY
Page 324
MUSKINGUM COUNTY was formed March 1, 1804,
from Washington and Fairfield. The
word
Muskingum, said Kilbourn’s
Gazetteer, “is said to
signify in the old Indian language an
elk’s eye, or the glare
of an elk’s eye.”
Col. John Johnston stated that “Muskingum is
a Delaware word and means a town on the
river side. The
Shawanese
call it Wa-ka-tamo sepe,
which
has the same signification.”
The surface
is rolling or hilly, and clay the predominating soil.
The ancient works are numerous.
It is a rich and thickly settled county.
Area about 650 square miles.
In 1887 the acres cultivated were 101,104; in pasture,
184,065;
woodland, 61,850; lying waste, 3,428; produced in wheat, 301,744
bushels; rye,
5,807; buckwheat, 492; oats, 225,726; barley, 3,205; corn, 1,029,912;
broom
corn, 523 lbs. brush; meadow hay, 43,616 tons; clover hay, 2,971;
potatoes,
81,149 bushels; tobacco, 300 lbs.; butter, 867,128; sorghum, 4,070
gallons; maple
syrup, 1,733; honey, 5,662 lbs.; eggs, 91,200 dozen; grapes, 43,782
lbs.; wine,
794 gallons; sweet potatoes, 5,361 bushels; apples, 9,525; peaches,
9,474;
pears, 2,832; wool, 746,478 lbs.; milch
cows owned,
8,590. Ohio mining
statistics, 1888:
Coal, 211,861 tons, employing 400 miners and 56 outside employees;
fire-clay,
840 tons; limestone, 4,001 tons burned for lime; 23,634 tons burned for
fluxing; 2,120 cubic feet of dimension stone; 2,021 cubic yards of
building
stone; 1,620 square feet of paving; 9,248 lineal feet of curbing. School
census, 1888,
15,637; teachers, 348.
Miles of
railroad track, 156.
Township
and Census
Table
Population
of Muskingum in 1820 was 17,824; 1830, 29,335; 1840, 38,746; 1860,
44,416;
1880, 49,774, of whom 40,798 were born in Ohio; 1,996, Pennsylvania;
1,575,
Virginia; 339, New York; 154, Indiana; 90, Kentucky; 1,508, German
Empire; 840,
Ireland; 430 England and Wales; 113, France; 42, Scotland; 37, British
America;
and 5, Sweden and Norway. Census of 1890, 51,210.
The
Muskingum country was principally occupied
by the Wyandots, Delawares
and a few Senecas and Shawanese.
An Indian town once stood, years before the
settlement of the country, in the vicinity of Duncan Falls, from which
circumstance the place was often called “Old Town.”
Near Dresden was a large Shawanese
town called Wakatomaca. The grave-yard was
extensive, and when the
whites first settled there the remains of cabins were still visible. It
was in
this vicinity that the venerable Major CASS, the father of Hon. Lewis
CASS,
Page 325
lived and died.
He drew 4,000 acres for his military services, and the
location embraced
within its limits the ancient town plot of the natives.
THE WAKATOMACA CAMPAIGN.
The annexed narrative of an expedition
against Wakatomaca is
from Doddridge’s Notes.
Under the command of Colonel Angus McDONALD,
four hundred men were collected from the western part of Virginia by
the order
of the Earl of Dunmore, the then Governor of Virginia.
The place of rendezvous was Wheeling, some
time in the month of June, 1774. They
went down the river in boats and canoes to the mouth of the Captina,
from thence by the shortest route to the Wakatomaca
town, about sixteen miles below the present Coshocton.
The pilots were Jonathan ZANE, Thomas
NICHOLSON and Tady
KELLY. About six
miles from the town the army were
met by a party of Indians to the number of forty or fifty, who gave a
skirmish
by the way of ambuscade, in which two of our men were killed and eight
or nine
wounded. One Indian
was killed and
several wounded. It
was supposed that
several more of them were killed but they were carried off. When the army came to the
town it was found
evacuated; the Indians had retreated to the opposite shore of the river
where
they had formed an ambuscade, supposing the party would cross the river
from
the town. This was
immediately
discovered. The
commanding officer then
sent sentinels up and down the river to give notice in case the Indians
should
attempt to cross above or below the town.
A private in the company of Captain CRESSAP, of the name
of John HARGUS,
one of the sentinels below the town, displayed the skill of a backwoods
sharpshooter. Seeing
an Indian behind a
blind across the river raising
up his head at times to
look over the river, HARGUS charged his rifle with a second ball and
taking
deliberate aim passed both balls through the neck of the Indian. The Indians dragged off
the body and buried
it with the honors of war. It
was found
the next morning and scalped by HARGUS.
Soon
after the
town was taken the Indians from the opposite shore sued for peace. The commander offered them
peace on condition
of their sending over their chiefs as hostages.
Five of them came over the river and were put under guard
as
hostages. In the
morning they were
marched in front of the army over the river.
When the party had reached the western bank of the
Muskingum the Indians
represented that they could not make peace without the presence of the
chiefs
of the other towns. On
which one of the
chiefs was released to bring in the others.
He did not return in the appointed time.
Another chief was permitted to go on the same errand, who
in like manner
did not return. The
party then moved up
the river to the next town, which was about a mile above the first and
on the
opposite shore. Here
we had a slight
skirmish with the Indians, in which one of them was killed and one of
our men
wounded. It was
then discovered that
during all the time spent in negotiation the Indians were employed in
removing
their women and children, old people and effects, from the upper towns. The towns were burned and
the corn cut
up. The party then
returned to the place
from which they set out, bringing with them the three remaining chiefs,
who
were sent to Williamsburgh. They were released at the
peace the
succeeding fall.
The
army were out of
provisions before they left the towns and
had to subsist on weeds, one ear of corn each day, with a very scanty
supply of
game. The corn was
obtained at one of
the Indian towns.—Doddridge’s Notes.
Additional
to the above we give the Reminiscences of
Abraham Thomas, published in the Troy Times,
about 1839. He was
on this expedition,
and, later, among the early settlers of Miami county.
The collected force consisted of
four hundred men. I
was often at their encampment; and against
the positive injunctions of my parents, could not resist my inclination
to join
them. At this time
I was eighteen years
of age, owned my own rifle and accoutrements, and had long been
familiar with
the use of them. Escaping,
I made the
best possible provision I could from my own resources and hastened to
enter as
a volunteer under old Mike, then Captain CRESSAP.
The plan of the expedition was
for every man to cross the Ohio with seven days’ provision in
his pack. The
object was to attack the Indians in their
villages at Wakatomaca. Some were on the waters of
the
Muskingum. On the
first or second day’s
march after crossing the Ohio we were overtaken by a Colonel McDONALD, a British officer, who
highly incensed the troops
by ordering a halt for three days, during which we were consuming our
provisions. While
lying here a violent
storm through the night had wet our arms and McDONALD
ordered the men to discharge them in a hollow log to deaden the report. My rifle would not go off
and I took the
barrel out to unbreech
it. In doing this I
made some noise in beating it
with my
Page 326
tomahawk, on which McDONALD
came towards me swearing, with an uplifted cane, threatened to strike. I instantly rose on my
feet with the rifle
barrel in my hand and stood in an attitude of defence. We looked at each other in
the eye for some
time; at last he dropped his cane and walked off, while the whole troop
set up
a laugh, crying, “The
boy has scared the
colonel.” CRESSAP
heard what was going
on and approached to defend me, but seeing how well I could defend
myself stood
by, smiling at the fracas. The
colonel
having no reputation as an Indian fighter was very naturally disliked
as a
leader by CRESSAP and the men.
The Attack.—From this
encampment we
proceeded towards the Indian villages with the intention of surprising
them;
but late in the afternoon before we reached them we encountered the
Indians
lying in ambush on the top of a second bottom.
We had just crossed a branch, and were marching along its
first bottom
with a view of finding some place to cross a swamp that lay between us
and the
upper bottom. The
men were marching in
three parallel, Indian-file columns, some distance apart. On espying a trace across
the swamp, the
heads of the columns, in passing it, were thrown together, and as soon
as they
had gained the bank, unexpectedly received the fire of the enemy. The troops immediately
deployed to the right
and left, under the bank, and commenced ascending it, when the skirmish
became
general and noisy for about thirty minutes.
The Indians then gave way in every direction. In this fight we had four
or five killed and
many wounded; it was supposed the Indians suffered much more.
During
the engagement, while I was ascending the point of a bank formed by a
ravine
from the second bottom, in company with two men, MARTIN and FOX, all
aiming to
gain the cover of some large oak trees on the top, they both fell. The first was killed, the
last wounded in the
breast, the ball having entered the bone, but was drawn out with the
clothes. These men
were walking in a
line with each other, and an Indian chief, concealed behind the tree
for which
I was aiming, shot them both with one ball.
I took no notice whence the ball came, and hastened to the
tree. Just as I had
gained it the chief fell dead
from the other side and rolled at my feet.
It seems a neighbor, who had seen him fire at MARTIN and
FOX, and dodge
behind the tree, stood ready to give him a shot whenever he should
again make
his appearance. The
Indian had got his
ball haft down and peeped out to look at me, when Wilson shot him in
the head.
Cowardice of McDonald.—The Indians retreated towards Wakatomaca,
flanked by two companies in hot pursuit.
We followed in the rear, and as the last Indian was
stepping out of the
water, Capt. TEABAUGH, a great soldier and a good marksman, brought him
to the
ground. I was at
the time standing near
TEABAUGH, and shall never forget the thrilling emotion produced by this
incident.
During
this battle one of the man,
Jacob NEWBOLD, saw the
colonel lying snug behind a fallen tree, sufficiently remote from
danger, had
there been no defence. It was immediately noised
among the men, who
were in high glee at the joke. One
would
cry out, “Who got behind the log?” when an hundred
voices were reply, “The
colonel! The colonel!”
At this McDONALD
became outrageous. I
heard him inquire for the man who had
raised the report, and threatened to punish him.
I went round and told NEWBOLD what the
colonel had said. “That’s
your sort,”
said he. Raising on
his feet and going
towards the colonel, he declared he did see him slink behind the log
during the
battle. He gave his
rifle to a man
standing by, cut some hickories and stood on the defence,
at which the whole company roared with laughter and the colonel took
himself
off to another part of the line. Night
was now at hand, and the division was ordered by the colonel to encamp in an oak woods, in sight of the
Indian villages, CRESSAP’s
party lying by themselves. This
evening Jack HAYES was spying down the
creek, saw an Indian looking at us through the forks of a low tree. He levelled
his
rifle and shot him directly between the eyes, and brought him into camp.
Flight of the Indians.—Just after nightfall Col. McDONALD
was hailed from over
the creek by an Indian, who
implored peace in behalf of his tribe.
He was invited over by the colonel, who held a parley with
him, but
declined entering into terms until more Indians were present. It was then proposed that
if two white men
would go with the Indians, they would send over two more of their
number to us;
but none being willing to undertake the visit, two came over and stayed
all
night in colonel’s tent.
But their only
object was to watch the troops and gain time to remove their families
and
effects from the town. Capt.
CRESSAP was
up the whole night among his men, going the rounds and cautioning them
to keep
their arms in condition for a morning attack, which he confidently
expected. About two
hours before
daybreak he silently formed his men, examined each rifle, and led them
across
the creek into the villages, leaving McDONALD,
with
the other troops, in the encampment.
At
this time the Indians who had passed the night in the camp escaped. The village was directly
surrounded, and the
SAVAGES fled from it into the adjoining thicket in the utmost
consternation. In
this attack none were
killed on either side but one Indian by Capt. CRESSAP.
Benefit
of Tobacco.—By
this time the camp was nearly out
of provisions, with a three days’ march before them.
A small quantity of old
corn and one cow were
the entire spoils of the villages.
Those
were distributed among the men, the villages burned, and the troops
immediately
commenced their march for the Ohio river,
where they
expected to meet provisions sent down from Redstone.
The men became exceedingly famished on this
march, and myself being young, was so weak that I could no longer carry
anything on my person.
Page 327
Top
Picture
BIRTHPLACE
OF VICE-PRESIDENT HENDRICKS.
Bottom
Picture
McINTIRE’S
HOTEL, 1800.
This picture of he first
hotel in Zanesville was drawn by my from a description by those who
remembered
it, and published in the edition of 1847.
Page 328
An older brother and one or two
others kept
encouraging me. One
of them had a good
stock of tobacco. I
saw him take it, and
with an earnestness
bordering on delirium insisted on
having some. As I
had never used it
before they refused, thinking it would entirely disable me; but as I
was so
importunate they at last gave me a small piece.
I directly felt relieved.
They
gave me more, and in a short time my strength and spirits returned. I took my arms and
baggage, and was able to
travel with the rest of them, and was actually the first to reach the
Ohio.
Here
we met the
boats, but nothing in them but corn in the ear.
Every man was soon at work with his tomahawk, crushing it
on the stones
and mixing it with water in gourds or leaves fashioned in the shape of
cups, while
some provident ones enjoyed the aristocratic luxury of tin cups; but
all seemed
alike to relish the repast. A
party of
us crossed the Ohio that day for the settlement, when we came up with a
drove
of hogs in tolerable order. We
shot one
and eat him on the spot, without criticising
with
much nicety the mode or manner of preparation.
Indeed, the meat of itself was so savory
and
delicious we thought of little else.
In
a few days I returned to my parents and after a little domestic
storming and
much juvenile vaunting of our exploits, settled down to clearing.
The
following historical sketch of Zanesville is from a series of editorial
articles in the Zanesville Gazette
of
1835. In May, 1796,
Congress passed a
law authorizing Ebenezer ZANE to open a road from Wheeling, in
Virginia, to
Limestone, now Maysville, Ky. In
the
following year Mr. ZANE, accompanied by his brother, Jonathan ZANE, and
his
son-in-law, John McINTYRE,
both experienced woodsmen,
proceeded to mark out the new road, which was afterwards cut out by the
two
latter. The cutting
out, however, was a
very hasty business, in which nothing more was attempted than to make
the road
passable for horsemen. As
a compensation
for opening this road, Congress granted to Ebenezer the privilege of
locating
military warrants upon three sections of land, not to exceed one mile
square
each; the first of these to be at the crossing of the Muskingum, the
second at
the Hockhocking, and
the third at the Scioto. It
has been generally said that these were
free grants to Mr. ZANE for opening the road; but an examination of the
law
will show that it was only a
permission for Mr. ZANE
to locate his warrant on land which had not been appropriated to that
purpose.
Mr.
ZANE first proposed to cross the Muskingum at Duncan’s falls;
but foreseeing
the value of the hydraulic power created by the falls where Zanesville
now
stands, he crossed the river at that point, and thus became entitled to
a
section of land embracing the falls.
Regarding the fertility of the soil and the beauty of the
vicinity, his
next choice was selected where Lancaster has since been built, rather
than at
the crossing of what now bears the name of Rush creek, which is really
the main
branch of the Hockhocking. At the Scioto he was
obliged to locate his
warrant on the eastern side of the river, as the western shore lay
within the
Virginia military district. His
location
was made nearly opposite to Chillicothe.
These choice tracks would no doubt have all been taken up
before that
time, but they had not been surveyed and brought into market. The country east of the
Muskingum, and for
some distance west also, being hilly and comparatively poor, this was
thought
to be the least valuable section of the three, and E. ZANE gave it to
his
brother Jonathan and J. McINTIRE,
for assisting him
and opening the road.
One of
the conditions annexed to the grant of Mr. ZANE was that he should keep
ferries
across these rivers during the pleasure of Congress.
Messrs. ZANE and McINTIRE
gave the Muskingum ferry for five years to Wm. McCULLOCH
and Henry CROOKS, on condition that they should move to the place and
keep the
ferry, which they did. The
ferry was
kept about where the upper bridge is situated, and the ford was near
the site
of the present dam. The
ferry-boat was
composed of two canoes with a stick lashed across.
The first flatboat used for the ferry was one
in which Mr. McINTIRE
removed from Wheeling in
1799. Mr. ZANE
resided at Wheeling. The
first mail ever carried in Ohio was
brought from Marietta to McCULLOCH’S
cabin, by Daniel
CONVERS, in 1798, where, by the arrangement of the postmaster-general,
it met a
mail from Wheeling and one from Limestone.
McCULLOCH,
who could barely read, was
authorized to assort the mails and send each package in its proper
direction, for
which he received $30 per annum. But
the
service often fell to Mr. CONVERS, as he was more expert. At that time the aforesaid
mails met
Page 329
here weekly.
Four
years after, a number of families having settled here, a regular
post-office
was opened, and Thomas Dowden
appointed postmaster,
who kept his office in a wooden building near the river, on Front street.
Zanesville Laid Out.—In 1799 Messrs. ZANE
and McINTIRE
laid out the town, which they called Westbourn, a name which it
continued to bear until a
post-office was established by the postmaster-general, under the name
of
ZANESVILLE, and the village soon took the same name.
A few families from the Kanawha settled on
the west side of the river soon after McCULLOCH
arrived, and the settlement received pretty numerous accessions until
it became
a point of importance. It contained one store and
no tavern. The
latter inconvenience, however, was
remedied by Mr. McINTIRE,
who, for public
accommodation rather than for private emolument, opened a house of
entertainment. It
is due to Mr. McINTIRE
and his lady to say that their accommodations,
though in a log-cabin, were such as to render their house the traveller’s home.
Prior to that time there were several grogshops where travellers might stop, and after
partaking of a rude supper
they could spread their blankets and bearskins on the floor, and sleep
with
their feet to the fire, but the opening of Mr. McINTIRE’S
house introduced the luxury of comfortable beds, and although his board
was
covered with the fruits of the soil and the chase rather than the
luxuries of
foreign climes, the fare was various and abundant.
This, the first
hotel of Zanesville, stood at what is now the corner of
Market and Second
streets, a few rods from the river, in an open maple grove without any
underbrush. It was
a pleasant spot, well
shaded with trees, and in full view of the falls.
The engraving was made from the description
of one who knew it well.
Louis Philippe, the Present King of France,
was once a guest of Mr. McINTIRE. The Hon. Lewis CASS, in
his “Camp and Court
of Louis Philippe,” thus alludes to the circumstance:
“At
Zanesville
the party found the comfortable cabin of Mr. McINTIRE,
whose name has been preserved in the king’s memory, and whose
house was a favorite
place of rest and refreshment for all the travellers
who at this early period were compelled to traverse that part of the
country. And if
these pages should
chance to meet the eyes of any of those who, like the writer, have
passed many
a pleasant hour under the roof of this uneducated but truly worthy and
respectable man, he trusts they will unite in this tribute to his
memory.”
At
that time all
the iron, nails, castings, flour, fruit, with many other articles now
produced
here in abundance, were brought from Pittsburg and Wheeling, either
upon
pack-horses across the country or by the river in canoes. Oats and corn were usually
brought about
fifty miles up the river in canoes, and were worth from 75 cents to $1
per
bushel; flour, $6 to $8 per barrel.
In
1802 David HARVEY opened a tavern at the intersection of Third and Main
streets, which was about the first shingle-roofed house in the town. Mr. McINTIRE,
having only kept entertainment for public accommodation, discontinued
after the
opening of Mr. HARVEY’S tavern.
In
1804, when
the legislature passed an act establishing the county of Muskingum, the
commissioners appointed to select a site for the county-seat reported
in favor
of Zanesville. The
buildings were yet
few in number and the streets and lots were principally covered with
the native
growth; but the citizens, in order to put on the best appearance
possible,
turned out, while Zanesville was yet a candidate (if we may so speak)
for the
county-seat, and cut out the bushes from some of the principal streets,
and
especially from the public square, that the situation might appear to
the best
possible advantage in the eyes of the commissioners.
Some were anxious that the county-seat should
be at Coshocton, and others preferred the CASS section above Dresden,
but
Zanesville was finally selected, but in part because it was so near
Marietta,
as to render any county between the two places forever unnecessary. Muskingum included within
its original limits
the present counties of Muskingum and Coshocton, besides the greater
part of
what now constitutes the counties of Holmes, Tuscarawas and Guernsey,
and a
part of Perry, Morgan, Monroe and Carroll.
The County-Seat having been established,
the town improved more rapidly, and as the unappropriated
United States military lands had been brought into market during the
preceding
year (1803), and a land-office established at Zanesville, many
purchases and
settlements were made in the county.
The
first court in Zanesville sat in Harvey’s tavern.
In a short time afterwards
a wooden jail was
erected, and also a wooden building, the lower part of which served as
a
residence for the sheriff and his family, and the upper room was used
as a
court-room and as a place for all public meetings, political or
religious.
These buildings stood between the site of the present court-house and
jail, and
were afterwards burnt down by a negro,
who was
confined on a charge of larceny.
Arrest of Counterfeiters.—An anecdote may serve to convey
some idea of the
difficulties of frontier life. It
may
also show that vice and crime were
not less scorned
then than in later days. After
the
organization of the county, but before the erection of any public
buildings,
two men were apprehended on a charge of counterfeiting silver dollars. It was impracticable to
send them to the jail
at Marietta, a distance of sixty miles through the woods, until the
next term
of court, to which they were bound over. To turn them loose or permit them to escape would encourage
others to depredate in like
manner; it was necessary, therefore, that they should be punished. Under these circumstances
Mr. McINTIRE called on
Daniel CONVERS, and in strong language
stated his views, adding, “We must take them in charge and
keep
Page 330
them until court.”
This was contrary to law, but as necessity knows no law
the justice was
persuaded to surrender them to McINTIRE
and CONVERS,
as they pledged themselves that, if the prisoners were not forthcoming
at the
hour of trial, they would take their places and abide the penalty.
After
conducting them to a cabin selected for the purpose, and
putting hand-cuffs on them, they were addressed by McINTIRE,
who, axe in hand, stood by the door: “Now, boys,”
said he, pointing to the
blankets provided for their bed, “there is your bed; with
your guilt or
innocence we have nothing to do; you shall have plenty to eat and to
drink,
but,” added he, raising his right arm in a threatening
manner, “if you attempt to escape,
d----n you, I’ll
kill you.” The
firm, resolute manner
of the address deterred them from making the attempt.
McINTIRE,
with his
axe by his side, took his seat by the door; and here, day after day and
night
after night, did he and his associates
watch the
prisoners until the term of court arrived, when they were tried and
convicted. One
confessed his crime, and
told where their tools were secreted, about 18 miles off, on the Rocky
fork of
the Licking, where they were found and brought into court. Agreeably to the law then
in force, he was
sentenced to receive twenty-five lashes, well laid on, and to stand
committed
until all costs were paid. The
other was
to receive thirty-nine lashes, and also to be recommitted. Their sentence was
immediately carried into
effect, as to the stripes, which were well applied by Mr. BEYMER, the
sheriff. After
having been recommitted
to their prison, they were left on parole of honor, and their guards
once more
retired to their beds, free from care.
Next morning, to the great gratification of all, it was
found,
notwithstanding their promise to the contrary, they were among the
missing;
their hand-cuffs having been carefully laid away for the use of their
successors.
Mr.
McINTIRE, the founder
and patron of
Zanesville, was indefatigable in his attention to the interests of the
town; no
personal or pecuniary sacrifice being considered too great, in his
anxiety to
promote its prosperity.
The
seat of the government had been fixed temporarily at
Chillicothe, but for several reasons many members of the legislature
were
dissatisfied, and it was known that a change of location was desired by
them. Muskingum
possessed natural
advantages favorable to agricultural and manufacturing purposes, which
gave
Zanesville a fair prospect of becoming an extensive town; while its
nearly
central situation rendered it a desirable site for the State metropolis. It was believed,
therefore, by many, that if
once the legislature could be induced to fix the temporary seat here,
it would
not be removed, but made permanent.
The
citizens of the town and county were alive to the importance of
obtaining the
change, and a committee, consisting of John McINTIRE
and others, was appointed to visit Chillicothe during the session of
the
legislature, and make whatever pledge might be necessary on the part of
the
county, as well as to aid the Muskingum delegate in obtaining the
passage of
the desired law. At
the session of 1808
and 1809 the Muskingum delegation received assurances from their
friends in the
legislature that, if the county at its own expense would furnish
suitable
buildings for the use of the legislature, a law would no doubt be
passed for
making Zanesville the place of meeting.
Encouraged by the cheering prospect the county
commissioners determined
to erect a brick building in front of the old court-house, which would
make a
respectable state-house, in the law of removal should be passed, and,
should
they fail in that, it would make an excellent court-house. The county was without
funds, but a few
public-spirited individuals stepped forward and offered to loan the
money, and
the buildings were accordingly erected in the summer of 1809, but not
finished.
Zanesville made the State
Capital.—In February, 1810, the desired law was
passed, fixing the seat of
government at Zanesville, until otherwise provided.
The county then went on to finish the
buildings in such a manner as would best accommodate the legislature. A smaller building was
also erected for the
secretary of state and the treasurer.
This building was used as a jail after the removal of the
legislature,
and the destruction of the old jail, until a new jail was erected in
1824, and
afterwards as offices for the clerk and county auditor.
The county incurred a heavy debt in the
erection of these buildings, and the county orders were long under par,
but were
ultimately redeemed. The
legislature sat
here during the sessions of ‘10-’11 and
‘11-’12, when the present site of
Columbus having been fixed upon for the permanent seat, the Chillicothe
interest prevailed, and the temporary seat was once more fixed at that
place,
until suitable buildings could be erected at Columbus.
The
project of removing the seat of government was agitated as early
as 1807 or ‘9, and the anticipation entertained that
Zanesville would be
selected gave increased activity to the progress of improvement. Much land was entered in
the county, and many
settlements made, although as late as 1813 land was entered within
three miles
of Zanesville. In
1809 parts of the town
plat were covered with the natural growth of timber.
It was feared by some that reaction would
succeed the defeat of the favorite project of making Zanesville the
State
capital; but this was not so. The
natural resources of the country, and the numerous local advantages,
amply supplied
the necessary objects of pursuit, and saved the country from the
lethargy which
frequently follows disappointed effort.
Page 331
ZANESVILLE IN 1846.
The
following sketch of Zanesville and its resources was written for our
original
edition by MR. URIAH PARKE, editor of the Courier. He was one of the solid,
substantial men of
the Ohio of that day, strong in character and strong in physique, whom we remember with much
pleasure.
ZANESVILLE
has long been regarded as one of the principal towns in the State, and
once bid
fair to yield the palm only to Cincinnati.
But the extensive internal improvements of the State have
built up her
rivals, while they have cut off, to some extent, her trade, and checked
the
rapidity of her growth. Zanesville,
however, has advantages and resources which, when fully developed, must
again
give her a prominent place among the cities of the State.
Zanesville
is beautifully situated on the east bank, in a bend of the Muskingum river, about 80 miles above its
mouth by water, and 65 miles
by land. It is 54
miles east of
Columbus, at the point where the National Road crosses the Muskingum,
and
opposite the mouth of the Licking.
The
Muskingum seems once to have run nearly in a right line, from which,
however,
it has gradually diverged to the westward, forming a horse-shoe curve,
and
depositing, through successive centuries, an alluvion
of gravel, sand, etc., of great depth, on which Zanesville now stands. In sweeping around this
curve, through the
space of about 1¾ miles, the river falls 8 or 10 feet, and
by the aid of a dam
a fall of between 16 and 17 feet is obtained, thus furnishing very
extensive
water power, which is used for hydraulic purposes.
Near the toe of the shoe, Licking creek, or
river, discharges her waters from the west, and while above the mouth
of
Licking, West Zanesville, containing some three hundred inhabitants, is
located, South Zanesville, with nearly the same population, is situated
immediately below. Farther
down the
curve, and separated from South Zanesville by a bluff, is the beautiful
village
of Putnam, containing about 1,000 or 1,200 inhabitants.
A substantial and handsome bridge connects
Zanesville and Putnam, while less than half a mile above, another
similar
bridge is thrown from Zanesville Main street, to a point in the stream,
where
the bridge forks, and one branch connects, on the route of the National
or
Cumberland road, with South Zanesville, while the other connects with
West
Zanesville and the roads leading off in that direction.
The Cumberland Road, constructed by the
national government, and originally designed to run from the town of
Cumberland, in Maryland, at the eastern foot of the Allegheny
mountains,
indefinitely westward, as the country becomes settled, crosses the
Muskingum
river at Zanesville, bearing upon it a constant and immense travel;
while the
Muskingum, made navigable for steamboats by dams, locks and short
canals, opens
a trade southward to the Ohio, and northward to the Ohio canal, near
Dresden,
which is 16 miles above, by water.
The
low level of the Ohio canal, between Licking and Portage summits,
passes within
2 miles of Dresden, and a navigable side-cut of 2½ miles
connects the canal
with the river, at that place, which is the head of steamboat
navigation.
The Trade of Zanesville having, through
the river and side-cut, reached the canal, is conveyed southward
through the
interior of the State, or northward to the lake, and thence through the
New
York canal, etc.; or leaving the Ohio canal, through the Sandy and
Beaver, it
may branch off towards Pittsburg and Philadelphia, before reaching
Cleveland. The
freight, however,
designed for Pittsburg and other points on the Ohio, and for the South,
is
usually shipped down the river upon steamboats, and on entering the
Ohio it may
ascend or descend. One
or more
steamboats run regularly, during the business season, from Zanesville
to
Dresden, for the purpose of towing canal boats, carrying passengers,
etc.;
while others, of larger size, ply between Zanesville and Pittsburg,
Cincinnati,
New Orleans, etc.
In
addition to the hydraulic power furnished by
the Muskingum and Licking, the hills which surround Zanesville abound
in veins
of bituminous coal, which
Page 332
Top
Picture
Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846
MAIN STREET
OF ZANESVILLE.
On the left is shown the County
Court-House, originally built for the Ohio State-House, and so used for
two
sessions. On the
right is the Eagle
Hotel, and on the hiss is the distance is McIntire Academy.
Bottom
Picture
B. V. H. Schultz, Amateur
Photographer, Zanesville, 18980.
MAIN STREET
IN ZANESVILLE.
This view is taken froma bout the same point as the
above, showing on the left
the new Court-House, and on the right a fine hotel on the site of the
old “Eagle.:
Page 333
lead to the free employment of steam power, and
is almost exclusively used for fuel, except for cooking, and a good
deal for
that. But though
Zanesville seems thus
favored by nature with all the facilities for manufacturing, and art
has
constructed avenues of communication in every direction favorable to
the procurement
of the raw material and the transmission of manufactured goods, her
citizens
have not turned their attention heretofore so much as they might have
done in
that direction. Their
former great
advantages in the salt and wheat trade seem, with other circumstances
not
necessary to specify, to have shaped their course differently; but the
silent
workings of causes growing out of public improvement have satisfied
business
men that Zanesville must be made a manufacturing—a producing
place—or diminish in
importance; and a company is now,
with praise-worthy spirit and enterprise, erecting a cotton mill,
which, it is
believed, will be the forerunner of many others.
Zanesville should be the Lowell of the West;
but this will never be brought about by old capitalists whose fortunes
have
been differently made, and whose thoughts have always run in other
channels. A new
population rising up and
mingling with emigrants of skill and enterprise may do it; but it must
be in
despite of such as, having amassed wealth, would play the part of the
dog in
the manger.
At
present there are in the above-mentioned cluster of towns five
extensive
flouring mills, two oil mills, four saw mills, one paper mill on the
most
recent and approved plan of machinery; five iron foundries, in active
operation
and two others not doing business at present; two manufactories of
yellow-ware,
of beautiful finish and much used for culinary purposes, two
manufactories of
glass, two of woollen
goods, two machine ships, one
last manufactory, with numerous other establishments of less note. There are five printing
offices, four being
in Zanesville and one in Putnam. At
these are published the Gazette,
weekly; the Courier, weekly and
tri-weekly; the Aurora, weekly; the
Western Recorder, weekly; the Lord’s Counterfeit Detector,
monthly.
There
are in Zanesville two Catholic churches, two Baptist, two
Episcopal Methodist, one Protestant Methodist, three
Lutheran, one
Presbyterian, one Episcopalian, one Universalist
and
one African. Some
of these are extensive
and beautiful buildings. In
Putnam there
is a handsome Presbyterian church, of the New School order, and a
spacious
Episcopal Methodist church. For
educational purposes there is an extensive female seminary in Putnam,
designed
as a boarding-school, and male and female district schools. South Zanesville and West
Zanesville have
district school buildings; and in Zanesville much attention has been
bestowed
upon that subject for a few years past.
The founder of the town, JOHN McINTYRE,
left
his immense estate, now worth probably $200,000, to found and sustain a
school
for the benefit of the poor of Zanesville, and a handsome brick edifice
has
been erected for their accommodation.
The town owns two large buildings, one for males, the
other for females,
in which schools are kept that
acknowledge no
superiors. Each
building is capable of
accommodating three hundred and fifty scholars; and the scholars under
one
general head are classified and placed in charge of assistants, but
may, on any
extraordinary occasion, be all brought into one room.
The price of tuition for the wealthy is from
fifty to seventy-five cents per quarter; the public money pays the rest. But the beauty of the
system is, that such as
are not able to pay are admitted to all the advantages enjoyed by the most wealthy, even to the learned
languages, without money
and without price. Every
child, then, in
Zanesville, is provided with the means of education.
There
are in Zanesville upwards of thirty stores for the wholesaling and
retailing of
dry goods, besides hardware stores, wholesale and retail groceries,
drug
stores, confectionery establishments, shoe stores, hat stores, etc.
The
court-house, with a western wing for public
offices and a similar one on the east for an athenæum,
has a handsome enclosure, with shade trees and fountain in front,
making
altogether an object of interest to the passing traveller
and a place