Red Ware Pottery

 Ohio Gazette and Virginia Herald, May 21, 1810

The subscriber has the pleasure to inform his friends and the public, that, after great trouble and expence, he is enable to announce the commencement of his business in Marietta, contiguous to the Court House; and that he intends to carry it on in a manner both extensive and elegant. From many years experience, and a desire to be "at the top of his profession," he does not deem it an "inadmissible insinuation" to assure the public that he will be found to possess claims upon their patronage, to which few of the craft in this country have any just pretention.

Having, as before observed, made extensive preparations, and supplied himself with every article necessary to the execution of his work in a superior style, he will sell by wholesale and retail, on terms congenial to the wishes of his customers; and will, moreover, warrant his ware to prove more durable, cheaper, handsomer and in every respect preferable to any manufactured in this state. Orders from the country complied with on the shortest notice, and most reasonable terms.

Country produce will be taken in payment for ware, but must be paid at the time of purchasing.

He will give the highest price for good white clay, or will liberally reward any person who will inform him where it can be obtained in this vicinity.

Isaac Davis.

Marietta, March 6, 1810.

  

Marietta Christmas Advertisements of the Past

 

The Marietta Times, December 19, 1900

Leader Dry Goods Store

Marietta Daily Times, December15, 1914

Brown Piano Co.

Marietta Daily Times, December 15, 1919

The Marietta Book Store Co.

Marietta Daily Times, December 23, 1919

The Wieser & Cawley Co.

The Marietta Daily Times, December 15, 1920

The Turner, Ebinger Co.

The Register-Leader, December 21, 1921

George C. Wilderman

Marietta Daily Times, December 11, 1924

L. Gruber & Sons Co.

Marietta Daily Times, December 11, 1924

The Wainwright Music Co.

Marietta Daily Times, December 23, 1930

The Stanley & Grass Co.

The Marietta Daily Times, December 15, 1932

Montgomery Ward & Co.

The Marietta Daily Times, December 23, 1940

Broughton's

The Marietta Daily Times, December 17, 1942

The Ohio Bell Telephone Co.

The Marietta Daily Times, December 5, 1947

Otto Brothers

The Marietta Daily Times, December 23, 1954

Wun-Der Shoe Store

The Marietta Daily Times, December 11, 1968

Kresge's

May Sell Boat House

The Marietta Daily Times, March 25, 1918

Residents of Marietta will probably get their last look at the old boat house in the Ohio River during the next few days. A deal is now on between Messrs. Morton Harper and Henry Best for the sale of the craft to some Parkersburg parties. It is expected to be put through on Tuesday.

The regular wharf boat arrived from the docks at Point Pleasant on Sunday morning. All merchandise was transferred from the boat house and the Marietta wharf had its first business transacted when the steamer Reuben Dunbar docked on Sunday morning.

The boat house will be converted into a club house by the Parkersburg parties. It was recently purchased by Messrs. Best and Harper for use while the wharf boat was being repaired.

German National Bank Buys Eight Story Skyscraper

 The Register-Leader, April 10, 1916

Takes Over Building at the Corner Second and Putnam Which it Occupies

On Saturday, April 8th, a deed from The German Bank Co., an Ohio corporation, which owned the eight story fireproof, concrete steel building at the corner of Second and Putnam streets, was filed for transfer, conveying the lot and building to the German National Bank.

This building was erected in 1906 and was then considered to be quite a little in advance of the needs of the city for office buildings.

The construction, as will be remembered, was carried out by Dickison and Beardsley, under supervision of W. T. mills, architect, of Columbus, Ohio. As a striking example of the growth and progress of the city, it can now be said that this building is full occupied.

The building is equipped with two independent elevators, one of which is on direct current, and the other on alternating current, insuring continuous elevator service.

The fire-proof feature is a very attractive one to occupants, as solid concrete floors make each story independent of others, and a solid fire wall protects everything from adjoining property on the east, and streets and alleys adjoin the building on the other three sides, making all rooms "outside" rooms.

Word has just been received by the officials of the bank that the new equipment and furniture for the extension of the public lobby in the banking room and addition of six windows for the transaction of business, will be shipped April 26. This equipment will double the lobby space of the bank and give an entrance on Second Street as well as Putnam Street, which will be installed by The Art Metal Construction Co. of Jamestown, New York. It will consist of bronze and marble to correspond with the present equipment.

Stereoscopes

The Marietta Register, October 18, 1866

B. Marshall, Artist on Front Street, is now making very beautiful stereoscope pictures, and is prepared to take family groups, buildings, and any local views desired. They are bound to have a large "run." He is fitting up his Gallery especially for this business, meanwhile, this pleasant weather, is taking outside views.

Mr. M. has made some important improvements in the mode of making the above pictures, which he is about securing for his own benefit, which he is certainly entitled to.

 

Warehouse and Lumber Destroyed

 Marietta Daily Times, April 12, 1924

Blaze Gives Firemen Their Most Stubborn Fight in Years.

Pump Water on Fire All Night.

Property is Fully Insured and Building Will Be Rebuilt.

Fire of unknown origin raged for several hours on Friday evening in the heart of the Marietta Chair Company yards, burning a destructive course through a large storage house that was filled with manufactured lumber. It was one of the most spectacular blazes that have occurred in the city in a number of years. The loss is estimated by the company at $50,000.

The building destroyed was 100 feet long by some 30 feet wide, with a shed running along one side. The structure was two stories in height, and it was filled almost completely with what are known as "squares." These consist of lumber sawed to shape to be used in the manufacture of chairs, and they had been stacked solidly in the storage house to season for use in the factory. The majority of the stock in the building was of oak, although there was one lot of black walnut.

Whole Fire Force Out

Marietta's entire fire fighting equipment was rushed to the scene and the regular men of the department were assisted by volunteer forces, among the latter a number of the Marietta Chair Company employees who have been trained to use the company's own fire prevention equipment. Water for fighting the flames was obtained from the large high-pressure mains that run past the chair factory on Seventh Street, and six strings of hose poured hundred of thousands of gallons into the stubborn blaze. Water in reduced quantities was kept plying on the burning mass until after daylight on Saturday morning.

Workmen in the main plant of the chair factory discovered the fire just before 5 o'clock on Friday afternoon. Superintendent Pirrung was in the factory at the time and as soon as the alarm was sounded had the city department called. In the meantime fire extinguishers and company hose were brought into play but were not capable of coping with the flames.

Employee's Autos Damaged

As nearly as could be told the fire started in the northeast corner of the storage house. Directly in front of that point, the shell had been arranged as a shelter wherein factory men placed their automobiles. Several machines were in the place at the time and three of these were badly damaged, one being almost entirely destroyed.

As the flames swept through the solidly-packed lumber that was stored in the building, they found ready fuel and in less than a quarter of an hour they were rolling into the air to a height of nearly 100 feet, while vast clouds of gray smoke were thrown up. There was not a breath of air stirring and this was most fortunate, as the burning structure was closely surrounded by other buildings and great ricks of lumber. A wind from almost any direction might have caused further disaster.

Crowds Watch Flames

Thousands of people thronged to that section of the city to watch the fire, and the hills that overlook the Goose Run valley gave excellent points of vantage from which to witness the spectacle. Most of the streets in that part of Marietta were clogged with automobiles all during the early evening. The crowds hung about the scene until late in the evening.

S. W. Thurlow, general manager of the company, was absent from the city on Friday, but Col. John Mills, head of the institution, was there, and he with his assistants, Messrs. Pirrung and Hecker, directed operations and looked after the placing of the men who were detailed to assist the department. Agents of the company saw to it that coffee and sandwiches were supplied for the firemen, and these were served by Ensign Phelps of the Salvation Army and by Chief Putnam of the police. These men staid on the job during the evening, then detailed their assistants to follow up the work as the night advanced.

Col. Mills Gets Fall

While two or three of the volunteer firemen were overcome by the smoke and fumes arising from the burning lumber, none of them had any serious trouble. Col. John Mills sustained a fall when he stepped on a loose board as he walked through the lumber yards and suffered painful bruises over his left eye and along the side of his face.

As soon as the location and nature of the fire had been determined, officials of the water works department issued orders to the pump station engineers to speed up their machinery, and this was done with the result that they not only pumped added pressure against the hydrants being used but maintained a full head in the city reservoir all during the evening, thus being ready for any emergency. There are three high pressure mains along Seventh Street directly in front of the scene of the fire, so that there was no chance of water shortage. A 90 pound pressure was maintained until the fire was under control, and this was augmented by the fire department pumper.

It is announced by the Marietta Chair Company that the damaged property was all insured, and as soon as losses are adjusted the work of clearing away the wreckage and replacing the ruined building will be undertaken. Operation of the factory will not be affected.

Woolworth Company Starting Work

Marietta Daily Times, April 2, 1924

Work is starting this week on remodeling of the Union Block, which is to house the F. W. Woolworth Company's five and ten cent store in Marietta, and it is expected that the place will be open for business within 60 days.

The store will occupy two-thirds of the Union Block, the parts that are owned by the Blume estate and by Carrie Greenway. A new front will be put in, an elevator will be installed, and it will be made a thoroughly modern building.

A building permit was granted to a representative of the company on Wednesday. It is estimated that the repairs to the building will cost $13,000.

Some Valuable Additions

 Marietta Daily Leader, April 7, 1899

Mr. George Weiser, the undertaker, has made some very valuable additions to his business equipment in the way of wagons for the conduct of business.

He has had the home firm of J. H. Oesterle, the Wooster Street carriage builders, make for him a casket wagon or ambulance which in point of design and style of finish is much the finest that has ever been seen here. It is quite an innovation in the way of a casket wagon, as it has large plate glass panels in the sides and ends and is thoroughly up-to-date in every particular, being constructed of the very best material known to the carriage builder.

The other addition is a funeral car, which was purchased from the Riddle Coach and Hearse Co., of Ravenna, O., who made the shipment of the car to Mr. Weiser in a car of their own. In order to get the hearse into this car it was necessary to take off the regular wheels and put on a set of smaller ones to allow it to enter the freight car. 

It has a very massive and elegantly carved body, everything being of the heaviest and best wood obtainable. The workmanship is perfect. The wheels are equipped with rubber tires and the bearings are of the latest improved pattern, which makes them very easy running. There is no doubt that the car is the finest in this section of the state.

Mr. Weiser has been to great expense in getting these very handsome additions to his equipment and can feel justly proud of the selections he made when ordering the vehicles.

Pianoforte, Furniture &c.

The Marietta Intelligencer, September 10 1846

N. Cram will offer at his residence at Private Sale from 2 to 4 o'clock P.M. on the two last days of this week, being about to relinquish House Keeping.

Pianoforte, High Post Bed Steads, screw & swelled beams, low and Cot beams, Dining and Breakfast Tables, Carpets, Wash Stands, large hair Mattress, Looking Glasses, Mahogany hair-cloth stuffed Easy Chair, Nurse Chair, Scroll top Grecian cane bottomed Chairs, Side Saddle, Cook Stove, Copper Boiler &c. "Cook's favorite," Iron Ware, Hot Air Stove with Urn, Sett Bed Curtains, hair covered Sofa Bed, Barrel Molasses, Bag Coffee, 1/2 barrel Sugar, 1/4 barrel No. 2 Mackerel, &c. 

Terms Cash under $100, over that sum, six months satisfactory notes.

  

Milliner & Mantua Maker

The Marietta Intelligencer, October 29, 1846

Miss Ellen Young respectfully informs the Ladies of Marietta and Harmar that she is ready to commence the above named business at her Residence on 5th street, East of the College, at the house of M. Deterly, where she can be found at all times by those who choose to favor her with their custom. 

She intends to have on the newest Eastern Fashions.

All orders from the country shall receive immediate attention.

N.B. She will also attend to Embroidery and plain sewing.

Marietta Oct. 14, 1846.

The Barque "Muskingum"

Marietta Intelligencer, January 30, 1845

The Barque "Muskingum," a single deck vessel of 250 tons burden, Custom House measurement, was launched from the Marietta Ship Company's Yard on the 24th Inst. The Muskingum is a beautiful modeled vessel, nearly one hundred feet in length, twenty-five in breadth, and twelve feet hold. She is built of the best quality of white oak and black locust timber. Her plank are of clear white oak, & her ceiling is also entirely white oak, three inches in thickness. Her wales &c. are of white oak, four by seven inches, sixty feet in length. Her treenails are locust, and she is very heavily copper fastened. The deck floor is of clear white pine. The three lower masts are of white pine, eighteen inches through, and her spars of hard pine.

The master builder, Capt. Ira Ellis, of Portland, Maine, was employed by the day, and his instructions to have her equal in strength and finish to the best vessels built at eastern ports, he has endeavored faithfully to observe. All the men employed in her construction have been hired by the day, and thus all temptation to slight any part of the work has been removed. The manner in which their work has been done, given gratifying evidence of their skill and fidelity.

Her riggers are Messrs. Francis & William Lowe of Boston. Her rigging is of the best domestic hemp, spun at Marietta and Pittsburgh, steamlaid.

The "Muskingum" will leave Marietta about the first of March, under command of Capt. William R. Wells of Portland, Maine. She will be freighted at Cincinnati for either Liverpool or Boston. 

The vessel is owned by some half a dozen business men of Marietta, and so flattering is the promise of a profitable return for their enterprize, that the Company contemplate building more, and perhaps larger vessels, during the present year.

Business Stands

Marietta Intelligencer, December 22, 1852

Probably most of the merchants on Front, Greene, and Ohio streets are of opinion that "the point," is always to be the principal goods-selling part of the town. They know that now and then a new grocery is started "above the run," but have no idea that any Dry Goods houses will ever be established off from the three or four squares now mainly occupied by stores.

It may be so: but we think that in ten years from this time there will not be as many Retail Dry Goods stores on the point as there now are. We believe that the best locations for fine and fashionable sale stores will be in the Second Ward.

The manufacturing business will much of it be at "the point." The business necessarily connected with the river and the railroad will be in the lower ward. The warehouses will be there, and the heavy grocery and hardware stores - wholesale and retail. But fancy and domestic dry goods business will not be done where the manufacturing and wholesale grocery business is, where drays are constantly moving, and where there is so much "noise and confusion" as we hope there will be at the point in the course of two or three years.

Not all the world, not even all of this Marietta world, lives "down town." A large majority of the population of the place is even now in the second ward; and the custom from the Muskingum and from Duck Creek must all come through there.

The general idea is that, as time past, all business must center at the point; but let a good store-room (and a really good sales-room is a rare thing in Marietta) be built on a good site in the Second Ward, and a good assortment of fancy and domestic goods to be opened there, & - "we shall see what we shall see."

 

New Record Hung Up at Post Office

The Marietta Daily Times, Tuesday, December 23, 1924

Fifty Thousand Letters and Cards Cancelled on Monday.

Receive Nearly 2,000 Parcels.

Fourteen Truck Loads of Packages Delivered in City.

Fifty thousand letters and cards were sent through the cancelling machine at the post office on Monday, which was in all respects the largest single day the Marietta office has ever had. This new record for the number of letters and cards stamped makes the previous high record of 38,100 hung up during the Christmas rush of 1923, seem like the usual Monday rush.

Thirty-nine employees at the Marietta office and eight rural carriers working out of this office were pushed to the limit on Monday.

Parcel post packages to the number 18,025 were delivered. In addition, 150 C.O.D. packages were delivered and the money collected. It took 14 large truckloads to get out the parcels on Monday afternoon and the boys and men handling this mail were kept on the jump.

Postmen starting on their regular routes from the office had all the appearance of so many Santa Clauses except they were minus grey whiskers and red and white uniforms. Their pouches were loaded to the guards and they were backed up and forced to make several trips.

The large work room is the scene of intense activity. The parcel post packages were piled half way to the ceiling during the morning, letters and cards were packed here and there in masses and the clerks were working swiftly to again see light.

During the morning the letters and cards were coming through the slots so fast that it was necessary to keep two men at the counter in order to sort them. The stamp cancelling machine was kept running at capacity for a time, but because it takes longer to sort and place them to cancel, the machine was never going at its best.

Post office officials stated that it is impossible to tell yet just what the receipts for Monday were, but it is evident that they were larger than they had ever been before.

Tuesday started out like another record breaker. The indications are that this will be another big day and may surpass Monday.

While everything was being handled in an orderly and systematic manner, a good way to cause a riot on Tuesday morning would have been to stick your head in a door leading to the large work room and yell a "Merry Christmas."

John Malster

 Marietta Register, November 16, 1889

John Malster of Waterford died at the residence of Moses Malster in Waterford Township, Wednesday, and was buried at the Palmer cemetery yesterday, November 15.

He was the son of Christopher Malster who came to Palmer Township in 1795, tow years in advance of his wife who made the journey from Pennsylvania with a two year old child on horseback. 

John was born in Palmer, September 2, 1800, and was therefore past 89 years of age. His life has been spent in this county and through all his active years was one of hardship. As early as 1822 he made a trip south on a flat boat and had he been at the recent reunion would have outranked James Stowe and Christopher Greene in years and ante-dated them as flatboatmen.

He was a farmer and stock-raiser, though a man of a business turn of mind. He sold goods in Palmer for Col. Stone 55 years ago and afterwards clerked for Chapin and Fearing in Beverly.

In his diary he noted that he "had raised and bought wheat and made twenty-five barrels of flour which he sold to Col. Stone at $2.50 a barrel and trusted him six months without interest. I have bought and sold wheat for 28 cents a bushel and oats for 12-1/2 cents and hauled them to Harmar."

He never married. He was a genial and kind-hearted man. A supporter of his county paper and quite a reader. Since the announcement of the Tri-Weekly, his letter was received at this office asking for this edition. He was scrupulously honest and thoughtful in business matters and allowed no debts to stand against him. In his death a pioneer and old-time citizen is gone.

Last Car on Muskingum Line Oct. 31

 The Marietta Daily Times, October 25, 1929

Last car over the Muskingum division of the Monongahela West Penn lines will leave the court house at Marietta on Thursday, October 31, at 10:45 o'clock. It will make the regular run to Beverly, arriving there at 11:30 o'clock, then will deadhead back into Marietta and service so far as the public is concerned will be done.

The Ohio public utilities commission granted permission more than six weeks ago to discontinue service on the line which has been a losing venture for years. Expansion of the automobile industry and building of good roads has spelled ruin for this division.

The Beverly line was completed and the first car was run into the northern terminal more than 20 years ago. Sam Brittigan of Marietta was motorman on that first car. If he so desires he will be permitted to bring the last car out of Beverly next Thursday night.

The company has not decided as to what it will do with the line that it is abandoning. It will either put its own force of wreckers to the task of removing it or will sell it outright to a wrecking company that will take it up.

The Second Street spur from Second and Montgomery streets to the fairgrounds will be left in place for periodical operation. In regular service, however, no cars will operate beyond Montgomery Street after next Thursday night.

Marietta Will Attempt to Secure Button-Plant

The Marietta Daily Times, August 17, 1911

Board of Trade Undertakes to Raise a Bonus of $5,000

Plant would employ more than 100 men.

Half of money asked would not be due until wage expenditure has mounted to $75,000.

At a meeting Wednesday evening the Marietta Board of Trade got behind a movement to raise a bonus of $5,000 to secure a pearl button cutting plant for this city. A committee to secure the money was appointed. There is only two weeks in which to secure the industry, as a proposition that has been made by the manufacturers must be definitely accepted or rejected by September 1st.

About two weeks ago the McKee & Bliven Button company of Muscatine, Iowa, offered to locate in Marietta a plant that will employ in the neighborhood of 100 men, if the city will give it a bonus of $5,000. One half of this sum is to be paid to the company when it has completed its plant; the second $2,500 is not due until the concern has paid out in wages the sum of $75,000. The matter was taken up by the executive committee of the Board of Trade and thoroughly investigated. This committee has recommended that favorable action be taken.

Buttons from Mussel Shells

The concern is engaged in the manufacture of buttons from clam shells, of which there are said to be vast deposits in the Ohio and Muskingum rivers. Marietta is the natural center of the shell gathering and great quantities of the shells have been shipped from this point to cities where the factories are located.

The shell gathering has become quite an important industry in this section of the valley. Cutting plants can be established here and the expense of shipping the shells obliterated. The committee believes that there is no good reason why Marietta should not be the center of the button industry, with a finishing plant, as well as cutting departments, located here.

Proposition Looks Good

The matter was brought before the Board by President Ward after he had enumerated some of the things that the body has been doing of late and has told of some of the plans for the future. He believes that the McKee & Bliven proposition is a good one and he and the members of the executive committee believe that the city cannot afford to let it pass without acceptance.

Mr. Ward said that experts declare there is a supply of shells about here that will last for at least 25 years. In the past three years $75,000 worth of them have been shipped away from the vicinity. The cutting plants run the year around and employ men at from $10 to $16 per week. Local labor will be used, the only imported men being the business staff and experts who teach the shell cutting to the new employees.

Is Established Concern

The McKee & Bliven company has been in business for 27 years, is rated at $750,000 and has ten plants in operation. The plant it proposes to establish in Marietta would contain 100 machines and employ 110 or 115 men. "It seems to me," continued President Ward, "that the Board of Trade can put this over, but it is up to the Board of Trade. It is not a matter for the committee to tackle. The work must be done by the 1st of September, but if we can do it at all, we can do it in two weeks."

On motion of F. L. Alexander it was decided to accept the proposition and raise the $5,000 needed, after a number of the men present had expressed their opinions that the proposal was a good one and that the money could be raised without any great effort.

This committee was appointed to raise the bonus: H. G. Chamberlain, F. L. Alexander, T. M. Sheets, S. M. Thurlow, J. S. Goebel, L. Gruber, C. L. Bailey, T. B. Bosworth, John Kaiser, and L. N. Harness.

[The company of McKee & Bliven, button manufacturers, Edward M. Jones as manager, is listed at 123 Third Street in the Marietta city directories from 1912 through 1916. It is no longer listed in the 1919 directory, and 123 Third Street is shown as vacant, probably due to the lack of supplies and workers caused by WWI. McKee & Bliven reappear in the city directory at 123 Third Street in 1922, with C. E. Doty as manager. By 1924, the button company and Doty are gone.]

 

The Marietta Intelligencer, April 3, 1861

To the Public Generally

Justice to myself demands that I should be heard by the public at large in justification of myself against the unjust accusation of James S. Stowe, as I have heard he has charged against me before boatmen at New Orleans, and all along the Mississippi, and in our own community it has been published in the newspapers, and James S. Stowe, in answer to my letter to him of the 15th of March, says that he charges me with being the cause of his being cut loose, fired upon, and driven away from the landing at Lake Providence and other places below.

Now to show that James S. Stowe, to screen himself from his long known difficulties at Lake Providence, has taken this methods of shifting it on to me, whom he calls his neighbor. But we will let the community who cut him loose and fired at him, speak for themselves below.

S. M. Devol

[Simeon Manchester Devol, 1800-1876]

To Whom It May Concern

This is to certify that the cause of Mr. James Stowe being moved from Providence Landing, was not in consequence of any report made by S. M. Devol, Esq. - but was caused by remarks made against the institution of Slavery, at this landing for a number of years past, all of which can be proved by various individuals, among whom is the Town Marshal. Mr. James Stowe was moved from this landing previous to Mr. Devol's arrival here.

Providence, La., Feb. 27, 1861.

A. C. Jamison, Constable

A. W. Green

H. Stein

J. P. Gentry

W. M. Shaw, Prop'r of Wharf Boat

John W. Graves

*     *     *

James S. Stowe (1806-1895)

Note: James S. Stowe began flat-boating in 1829 and was very successful in the business, carrying a variety of goods including flour, meat, lard, beans, and butter. All along the river he had a reputation for being a “sharp but honest dealer.” His anti-slavery views were also well known. In the months leading up to the Civil War, Northerners were often threatened when traveling in the South. Stowe was a victim of this hostility while on the Mississippi River at Lake Providence, Louisiana, in 1860. His boat was tied up at the shore when news was received that South Carolina had seceded from the Union. That night Stowe, who did not carry a gun, was shot at and his tow line was cut. He was told by an angry mob that “no Lincoln abolitionists could land at their shores” and was given until four o’clock to leave. (Sources: History of Washington County, Ohio, H. Z. Williams & Bro, 1881; “Old Time Flatboatmen,” The Marietta Daily Leader, January 17, 1904)

Our Oil Wells

 The Marietta Intelligencer, February 13, 1861

We are now on the verge of a very interesting period in the progress of these wells. A great number of them are just at this time arriving at a depth at which oil is anxiously looked for and sanguinely expected. In fact, for the last two weeks, it has been no new thing to hear that someone had struck, as he thought, a paying vein; or at least, an additional one of more or less consequence. A few weeks, or a few months, at farthest, will determine whether the valley is rich with this latent treasure, or whether there is only occasionally an isolated spot of wealth. Many of the inhabitants flatter themselves that we have already passed the point of indecision in that matter. 

It is rather amusing to strangers passing along the valley to have almost constantly in view, shelters of boards about the wells, popularly called "shanties." In some places there is quite a village of them. There are, also, derricks over nearly all of the wells. These are usually made of four poles, twenty-five or thirty feet long, raised in such a manner as to very much resemble the corners of a pyramid. At the top of these poles, a pulley is attached, over which a rope is drawn and fastened to a windlass down in the shanty, by which means the drilling apparatus is hoisted from the well. These derricks present rather a novel and somewhat imposing appearance.

There are constantly persons about negotiating for sites. One would have thought that nearly all the bottoms had been let long ago. Not so, however; many of them are yet in the hands of the owners, though every nook and corner will be looked into, as the prospect becomes more favorable. 

The well usually known as "Dutton's Well," situated in Aurelius Township, one mile below Macksburg, is thought to be seriously jeopardized by the rather close proximity of two or three other institutions of the kind. The former partners, however, made a good thing of it, and some of the present ones have made in it a rich investment. A good looking engine has just been set at pumping, and a very commodious building has just been erected over the whole affair; the aggregate cost of both being, perhaps, not far from $1,500. The well has been called a "hundred barrel well." That it has produced one hundred barrels in twenty-four hours, I do not doubt, but it has fallen very far short of averaging that amount. I think that a careful calculation would show an average of about twenty-five barrels per day, from the commencement. But this at the present price of oil would have brought the snug little sum of say $35,000 and that too, in a period of about 90 or 100 days.

A few weeks ago a vein was struck some fifteen feet from the "Dutton's Well," which was thought to be a fine thing. There has, however, as yet, been no great quantity of oil taken from it. They are setting up steam works to pump it and have bored it deeper. It is owned by Dudley McKee & Caldwell of Noble County.

On the opposite side of the "Dutton Well," and but a few yards from it, are two wells owned by a company in Erie County, Pennsylvania, the affairs of which are conducted mainly by Mr. J. B. Smith of the Company. It was thought that he would make a rich "haul" from one of his wells. It poured forth for a time an exceedingly rich stream of oil. Mr. Smith, I understand, expects to procure in a short time, steam works for his wells.

So there will then be three engines almost as near each other as they can be constructed. It is not unlikely that one company will ultimately own all these wells. The net profits of them would then be much greater than when worked by so much machinery. Such, however, will not probably be the case until their aggregate proceeds shall not much exceed the proceeds of a single well if run alone.

Ruralist

 

Memories of Marietta

The Marietta Daily Times, November 18, 1933

W. G. Sibley, friend and acquaintance of many Marietta residents, writes interestingly of Marietta men of the 1870s in his column, "Along the Highway," in the Chicago Journal of Commerce. He says:

There is one place we can always write about, and that is beautiful old Marietta, where for seven years we were an academy boy and a college student. Our memory goes back to the men of Marietta in the 1870s, and of them we shall write. They were great men in our youthful eyes and (many of them) really superior individuals, whose sons and grandsons adorn great cities today. 

First, there were the lawyers, always interesting to us because our father was one of them. There were Judges Loomis and Knowles, General Richardson, who refused an election as attorney general during the Civil War; T. W. Ewart, Brigham, Alban Davies, Judge M. D. Follett and Colonel R. L. Nye, W. G. Way and Fred J. Cutter.

Then there were the newspaper publishers - R. M. Stimson and E. R. Alderman of the old Register, Theodore Davis of the Leader, and S. M. McMillan father of the violinist - all conspicuous men, the last proprietor of The Times, the only newspaper survivor after nearly sixty years.

Among the business men of that period we knew Cadwallader and Bennett, the photographers; M. P. Wells of Bosworth, Wells and Company, the senior Turner and his clever sons, Charles and Fred. Mr. Wells made himself historical by building Marietta's wonderful system of shade trees. One ornament to the town was General Edward Benjamin Dana Fearing, a gallant soldier, General Dawes and General Warner were both business men and congressmen in turn. Down Front Street were the Glines bookstore, the Sniffens, with Jake Pfaff, the caterer, on Putnam whose escalloped oysters, chocolate cake and ice cream were famous; McCaskey, the druggist, who brought the "cigars of our daddies" to town; George Eels, the shoe man and postmaster; Asa Waters, the banker; Fred Wehrs, a capable grocer, who had everything good to eat.

The town was fortunate in its preachers. There were Doctor Boyd, the Episcopal rector; Doctor Addy, the Presbyterian; Mr. Lusk, the Unitarian, and Doctor Hawkes, who presided over the Congregational Church - all gifted and pious leaders in intellectual affairs.

One man who stands out in our memory is Ben McKinney. Father told us once he was the cleverest Democratic politician in southern Ohio. His political office was the sidewalk in front of the court house where his plans and stratagems were discussed and determined. With George Wieser we thought that what McKinney did not know about politics was not worth knowing. Now his capable sons control the destinies of The Times, since the redoubtable Sam McMillan moved away from Marietta. Their daily compares with the Cincinnati papers of the 1870s in interest and volume.

There was another group of men we knew in our college years. They were, for the most part, clustered around Flat Iron Square, facing the levee, and so convenient to river travelers. There was "Windy" Wood, "Billy" Smith, the National House bar, and sundry saloons up Front Street with which we were familiar. One of them was the Philharmonic Hall, in which students liked to imbibe beer and music together, run by the Becker boys.

Physically Marietta, excepting street improvements and the court house, has not changed so very much. The old city hall stands, an example of ugliness in public buildings, to remind one of the scandal in its erection. The one marked change to us is the disappearance of the Ward home on the lower block of Putnam Street. Fronted by a row of stately and magnificently great sycamore trees, its large lawn, filled with flower bushes, was a lovely asset to the city. Diagonally across Second and Putnam by the old jail stood a huge forest monarch whose kindly shade protected the chain gang that broke rock for street repairs long before brick and concrete streets were dreamed of.

Marietta's old city hall, "an example of ugliness in public buildings."

We must not omit from our business acquaintances Eugene Warner, James Nye, A. T. Nye, the gifted Mrs. Peddinghaus who conducted a successful jewelry store, nor W. F. Curtis, the Reckards, the Browns, the elder Mills and his son John, nor S. A. Cooper of the chair factory - nor George M. Woodbridge and Doctor Hildreth, who kept records of physical phenomena.

The college families - Andrews, Rosseter, Beach, Manatt, Biscoe and Gear - were, of course, social leaders in the community, and made Marietta famous for culture. And there was the elder Oldham, a pillar of Democracy in his time.

Milliner & Mantua Maker

The Marietta Intelligencer, October 29, 1846

Miss Ellen Young respectfully informs the Ladies of Marietta and Harmar that she is ready to commence the above named business at her Residence on 5th street, East of the College, at the house of M. Deterly, where she can be found at all times by those who choose to favor her with their custom.

She intends to have on the newest Eastern Fashions.

All orders from the country shall receive immediate attention.

N.B. She will also attend to Embroidery and plain sewing.

The Marietta Intelligencer, October 29, 1846