Formal Opening of New Armory New Year's Eve

The Register-Leader, December 23, 1915

Charity Ball Will Mark the Opening of Fine New Structure in This City.

The new armory building of Company B, of the Seventh Regiment, O.N.G., will formally open to the public on New Year's Eve, the opening being marked by the Charity Ball which will be held at the armory. Visitors will be shown through the building, and an informal reception will be held.

The new hardwood floor of the main drill hall has just been completed and this completed the construction work of the building.

Now that the armory is completed, it will take a prominent place in the life of the city, for in addition to being devoted to the use of Company B, the G.A.R. and W.R.C. will meet in the armory, and social and athletic affairs will also be held there.

 

Everything is Ready for Big Public Celebration of Xmas

The Register-Leader, December 24, 1915

Marietta will observe its third annual Municipal Christmas Tree Celebration, Christmas afternoon, the program beginning at four o'clock. The Christmas tree, which was placed in its position of honor on the court house lawn a few days ago, will be lighted for the first time tonight, and the tree will be lighted Christmas afternoon at the opening of the program of Christmas songs.

The Marietta band will meet at its hall and will march to the court house steps, where it will give a short concert. As the opening hymn is sung, the lights will be switched on.

The singing will be led by Prof. James Bird, instructor of music in the public schools and the Marietta band. The hundreds of school children in the schools of the city have been practicing the songs for some time, and the six hymns will be sung by a chorus of several hundred voices.

A number of traffic officers will be stationed at the court house corner during the sing, and the traffic in that section will be stopped during the program.

The opening song will be, "O Come, All Ye Faithful," and this will be followed by "The Nativity," (O Little Town of Bethlehem), "Silent Night," "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear," "O Tannenbaum," (in German) and "Joy to the World." The program will be concluded by a selection by the band.

Supper For Kiddies

Following the program a supper will be served to more than two hundred children in the court house assembly room. The room is being tastefully decorated for the occasion, and an excellent menu will be served. A large Christmas tree will be placed in the room, and at the close of the supper, small gifts will be distributed among the children by Santa Claus himself.

Ask Loan of Automobiles

A request was made this morning by Ensign Wilson of the Salvation Army for the loan of several automobiles on Christmas morning to assist in the distribution of baskets of food and clothing which will be distributed under the joint Christmas committee. Those who are willing to donate the use of their cars and their own services as drivers are asked to notify Mr. Wilson today, or be at the Salvation Army barracks Christmas morning.

 

Stunts of Albert Ritchie

The Marietta Daily Times, November 28, 1930

Come to Marietta Thursday

The people of Washington County and all surrounding communities are invited to come to Marietta Thursday, December 4, at which time there will be presented on the streets in the business section of town, some of the greatest free attractions ever before offered in this part of the state. Albert Ritchie of Wheeling, world's superman, will demonstrate his amazing strength for the entertainment and bewilderment of the thousands of visitors expected to be here.

This giant of physical stamina will place a rope around his neck, attach it to a string of ten trucks loaded with 200 pretty girls, and pull them over some of the business streets. This will occur at the noon hour starting at Front and Greene streets.

Later in the day he will place a long bar on the back of his neck and allow 16 men to suspend their weight from it. At another period he will dance with a dozen or more young women standing on a large plank resting against his head and shoulders. Another feature of Ritchie's program will be a tug-o-war with 50 men, which will be staged on the streets Thursday.

Ritchie has demonstrated his skill and endurance to the entire satisfaction of Marietta's business and professional men during the past three weeks and there is no doubt that he can do all the things he sets claim to. He bends large pieces of iron pipe on his neck and straightens them by vicious blows on his abdomen. With his bare hand he can drive a spike through a one-inch plank and extract the spike with his teeth. Planks of most any size are splintered into kindling wood when Ritchie strikes himself across the head with them.

In connection with this event, Marietta merchants are offering special inducements, which will make the day not only pleasant but profitable for all who come to the city on Thursday. Don't fail to come. You will regret it if you miss the free show to be given by Albert Ritchie, the world's superman.

Time of Public Appearances: 10, 12, 1:30, 5 and 7 P.M.

Thousands on Streets for Stunts

The Marietta Daily Times, December 4, 1930

Nearly 300 girls, young men and children had a novel ride through the streets of Marietta Thursday when Albert Ritchie pulled by his neck the load estimated at many tons, and gave his patrons a "buggy ride" from the Hotel Lafayette to the Auditorium.  Thousands of interested spectators watched the show.

Ritchie's unusual feat was part of the free program that Marietta merchants arranged for the large crowds of people who came to the city Thursday morning for the first annual Gala Sales Day sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The streets were crowded with spectators and incidentally the stores took on a real Christmas shopping aspect that is expected to be beneficial to all concerned.

The free program of events was started promptly at 10 o'clock, just as Ritchie had promised. His first stunt was to throw away money along the streets. Small coins rattled and splashed over the sidewalks in the wake of Ritchie and there was a mad scramble for money.

The free ride started at 12:30 o'clock and ended shortly before 1 p.m.  Nine trucks of the Railway Express Company were used. They were lashed together in a long train. Ritchie lay on his back on a motor truck ahead and a rope around his neck pulled the trailing express trucks.  Girls and boys and even men and women piled on for the ride and the entire route was lined with spectators while hundreds of others walked along just to see that the thing was "on the level."

It was carried through in realistic fashion and after the ride was finished Ritchie took the young women who had made the ride to the matinee performance at the Auditorium where they were his guests.

Sheriff Grosvenor

The Marietta Register, January 16, 1873

Ex-Sheriff [Samuel] Grosevnor now lives in the oldest dwelling house in Ohio; we mean that venerable old frame on the Stockade, once the home of General Rufus Putnam, and afterwards, for thirty or forty years, the residence of Judge Nye. It was part of the fort, built in 1790, and is all that is left of that structure. Across the way is the Ohio Company's office, long used by Judge Nye as a law office. It is in good order yet.

 

Newspapers in Marietta

Marietta Intelligencer, September 19, 1839

Mr. Gates:  You enquire concerning the history of the Marietta Press.

The first newspaper published in Marietta, was the OHIO GAZETTE, AND TERRITORIAL AND VIRGINIA HERALD, by Wyllys Silliman.  Its publication commenced December 18, 1801. I know of no existing file of its numbers excepting that which Mr. Arius Nye has reserved and bound, commencing with number three, and ending August 17, 1802. (This we believe, was the third paper commenced in the State. The first newspaper published northwest of the Ohio was issued at Cincinnati, Nov. 9, 1793. It was called the "Centinel of the North-Western Territory." Its motto was, "Open to all parties, but influenced by non." It was edited by William Maxwell. After changing its name and owner, in 1796, it was continued till 1800.)

I have in possession, an imperfect copy of the first number, lent me by Francis Devol, Esq.  It was found among the papers of Capt. Jonathan Devol, who was one of Gen. Rufus Putnam's primitive band, and a distinguished first settler.

The Ohio Gazette was published till about 1811, the latter part of the time by Israel Fairlamb, and not always regularly.  I believe that Elijah Backus and Nathaniel Gates, now of Gallipolis, were, at different times, engaged in the management of it.

The next newspaper establishment in Marietta was THE COMMENTATOR, by James B. Gardiner.  It commenced in 1807, and was continued by Mr. Gardiner about a year.  In 1809, if my recollection is right, the Commentator was resumed by Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Joseph Israel, now or lately a publisher in Clarksburg, Va.  I had nearly a complete set of the Commentator, bound, which I lent to the Xenia Anti-Jacksonites, thro' Mr. Hammond in 1828.  I regret to say the volume has never been returned.  Will they correct this procedure?

It is now about twenty nine years since I commenced the publication of the WESTERN SPECTATOR.  It extended to two and a half volumes, from October, 1810, to July, 1813.

In the spring of 1813, Messrs. David Everett, from Boston, and Timothy Buell and Daniel H. Buell, of Marietta, commenced the AMERICAN FRIEND.  Mr. Everett died within no very long time after.  Mr. Royal Prentiss became an associate, and not very long after, the sole proprietor of the establishment.  Mr. Prentiss will doubtless give you a correct history of this publication during the long period in which he was publisher and editor.

Messrs. John Delafield, Jr., and Edward W. Nye bought the establishment in 1833.  Mr. Prentiss, during most of the time in which he published, had a double title - THE AMERICAN FRIEND AND MARIETTA GAZETTE.  The first title was omitted after he sold it.  Pazzi Lapham, E. W. Nye, C. Emerson, and Isaac Maxon have conducted it at various times since.

The MARIETTA MINERVA was commenced Sept. 3, 1823, by A. V. D. Joline, who afterwards became associated with his brother, John K. Joline. (At this time it zealously advocated the claims of Henry Clay for the Presidency.) In 1827 its title was changed to the Washington County Pilot. The publication has been continued at intervals, under the title of the MARIETTA PILOT - the MARIETTA DEMOCRAT, and again of the PILOT - conducted latterly by C. B. Flood.

If time and health permit, I may hereafter give you something further of the history of our newspaper press.  In the meantime I ask you to append hereto an extract from the opening address of the OHIO GAZETTE, to the then citizens of Western Virginia.

I am, sir, respectfully,

Caleb Emerson.

From the first number of the Ohio Gazette:

"The Editor this day, on presenting to the public the first number of this Gazette, is not ignorant that an apology is necessary for the alteration of its title.  He might rest this apology on the gratitude which he feels, and ought to feel for the generous and extensive patronage he has received from the inhabitants of the western parts of Virginia; but this would be taking a ground more limited than that which he wishes to occupy.  He is, indeed, proud in having this opportunity, at this time, and by this measure, to give to his Fellow-Citizens, on both sides of the Ohio, a pledge of his equal regard, and an example of that liberality of sentiment, which is not only so decorous in private character, but which forms so important a pillar in the fabric of social and political happiness.

"Breathing the same air - having the same wants - being capable of the same pleasures - talking the same language - living under the same national government, what is there to limit or divide our affections?  A river!  A river whose kindred branches we inhabit - whose current, mild and unbroken, though composed of a thousand tributary streams, affords us an impressive lesson of unity and peace!

"Surely this country ought to become one of the happiest under Heaven! blessed with a friendly climate - a rich and diversified soil - a rapidly encreasing population - and separated on all sides from the rest of the world by lakes and mountains, we form a world of our own, which can be ruined only by our own follies. Shall we admit that of all the most fatal, a spirit of discord.

"At present we enjoy the protection of a Government recognizing an equality of rights, and having liberty for its basis; may it be perpetual! but may we never forget that the best guarantors of our freedom will ultimately be found in the justness of our principles and the harmony of our feelings!"

The following facts we have obtained principally from Mr. Royal Prentiss.

The American Friend was established and the first number printed by Thomas G. Ransom, for David Everett, T. Buell and D. H. Buell, April 24, 1812.  It was edited by David Everett.  Mr. Everett died in December 1813.  The paper was still printed by Ransom for T. & D. H. Buell, the latter of whom edited it until April 1814.  It was then printed and published by T. & D. H. Buell and R. Prentiss, in company, till January 1816, when R. Prentiss purchased the establishment, and after a suspension till March, the publication was continued by him until June 19, 1823.  It was then enlarged to a super-royal sheet and printed and published by R. & G. Prentiss under the title of American Friend and Marietta Gazette till August 1826, when it was again published by R. Prentiss, till May 1833.  The establishment was then sold to Messrs. Delafield & Nye, and by them published under the title of the Marietta Gazette.  Mr. Delafield was afterwards sole proprietor and sold the establishment to Pazzi Lapham, now Editor of the Xenia Torch Light.  Mr. Lapham conducted the paper something less than a year, when he sold it to Mr. E. W. Nye, who conducted it a short time, when he sold to Caleb Emerson, Esq., who continued it until Mr. Maxon, the present proprietor, purchased it, nearly two years since.

Proclamation by the Governor

Marietta Intelligencer, December 8, 1842

In conformity with the pious usages of Christian and civilized nations, and with a view to impress upon all minds a humble dependence upon, and cheerful submission to, the Divine Ruler of all people, the Legislature did, on the 7th day of March, 1842, resolve "That the Governor be requested to issue within the present year his proclamation to the citizens of this State, recommending to them the observance of a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God, for his blessings to us as a people.

By virtue of the authority thus given by the General Assembly, I, THOMAS CORWIN, Governor of the State of Ohio, do set apart Thursday, the twenty-second day of December next, to be observed as a day of humble thanksgiving to Almighty God, throughout the State of Ohio.

It is especially enjoined upon the good people of the State on that day to refrain from their several temporal pursuits and assemble themselves together at their customary places devoted to religious worship; that they heartily invoke the continuance of those blessings which have hitherto characterized our history as a people, and implore the divine pardon for our forgetfulness of mercy and frequent abuse of the great privileges with which our State has been indulged.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and have caused the Great Seal of the State to be affixed at Columbus, this twenty-ninth day of November, A.D., 1842, and of the Independence of the United States, the sixty-seventh.

Thomas Corwin.

By the Governor:

J. Sloane, Secretary of State

 

History of the Log Cabin on the Armory Lot - Putnam Street

The Marietta Leader, June 26 1888

Marietta, June 23, '88

My Dear Sir:

I have not the time at my command just now to write to you in full of the cabin. Dr. Hildreth in his Pioneer History says:

"In the month of September 1788 the Cornplanter, principal chief of the Seneca tribe, with about forty Indians arrived at Fort Harmar escorted by a company of soldiers. This chief was an influential man with the six nations, and very friendly to the United States.

A son of the celebrated Brant, with two hundred warriors, was at the falls of the Muskingum in November, and sent a messenger to Gov. St. Clair with the request that the treaty might be held at that place. He returned a mild, but decided refusal.

On the 13th December about two hundred Indians from the different tribes arrived at the garrison.

The following day the council fire was kindled in the Council house, which was a large log house that stood near the north east bastion, on the outside of the fort.

Governor St. Clair was quite ill with an attach of the gout, to which he was subject, during the course of the treaty, and was carried daily by the soldiers in a large chair to the Council.

The treaty was on the 9th of January 1789, signed by Governor St. Clair and 24 of the chief men of the six nations."  

But how about the cabin, say you?

Dr. Hildreth says the Council was in a log house that stood near the northeast bastion of the outside of the fort. What became of that log house?

David Barber, Esq., (son of Col. Levi Barber) who died last year, and who from childhood lived near the old fort location, repeatedly told me that Solomon Dickey removed and lived in that log house near the west bank of the Muskingum. Capt. Levi Barber, who was born in the same locality, and never lived elsewhere, repeatedly told me the same thing and in one of his recent long illnesses, we visited the old cabin, which he identified and reaffirmed what he often before had to me stated.

The oldest son of Esq. Dickey says that this is the identical cabin in which the family lived from about 1818 to the death of his father, which occurred as he thinks in 1835.

I distinctly remember Solomon Dickey. He was a character in his day and generations. I remember to have heard him on one public occasion (rather in a boastful way) claim that he lived in a log cabin that had the Indian smell on it yet, and further claiming it as the house in which St. Clair's treaty was held.

I have written to a very old lady at Mansfield who should know much on this subject.

I might here add that all above claimed is verified by the recollections of a very old and honorable man who from childhood lived in this county and only left us five years ago, and is now among us to renew old friendship.

George M. Woodbridge.

Street Lamps

The Marietta Republican, October 29, 1858

The gas lamps put up on our streets by the city authorities are of great service of a dark night. They are not only a great convenience, but a protection against burglars and incendiaries. Were the gas as cheap here as in many cities, our Council would doubtless order twice as many lamps put up.

 

Harmar Market House

Marietta Intelligencer, September 12, 1839

The authorities of Harmar have erected a new market house 23 feet by 50, with wings of 7 feet width on each side. The lower story is of brick and stone, 9 feet between joints. The upper story is of wood, 11 feet in the clear. The building is capped by a cupola about 15 feet in height. The building is convenient, and on the whole it makes a very neat and respectable appearance. 

New Line of Stage Coaches

Marietta Intelligencer, September 26, 1839

Messrs. Lewis & Hildebrand have commenced running a new line of coaches from Marietta to Winchester, Virginia, a distance of 228 miles. This line passes over the Marietta and Newport Turnpike, and the Middle Island Turnpike, a distance of twenty nine miles, when it strikes the North Western Turnpike, which continues to Winchester. This line runs through in three days, with but little night traveling.

The proprietors have purchased good coaches and teams, and employ none but careful drivers. Some gentlemen of this place, who have just returned from Philadelphia, assure us that it is decidedly the best route they have ever traveled. The grade of the road is easy, the scenery beautiful, and the mountains are all crossed by daylight.

At Winchester, this line connects with rail roads to Baltimore and Washington.  Marietta being completely at the head of low water navigation, steam boats can reach this point when they can go no farther. This being the case, merchants and others from the south and west, who are traveling east, will find it for their advantage to take this route.

This line leaves Marietta every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, at 2 o'clock, A.M., and arrives in Winchester on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at 8 o'clock P.M.  At Marietta, this line also connects with a tri-weekly line of stages to Zanesville.

    

The Harmar Bones

The Daily Register (Marietta), December 10, 1897:

Two Skeletons Found by the Workmen on the Storm Water Sewer on Maple Street

Bill Muncey, one of the men working on the Wilking job on Maple Street, digging a trench for a storm water sewer, was somewhat surprised in the middle of the forenoon today, to see exposed after an unusually deep thrust of his shovel, the bones of a human leg.  He had not been hired to dig up a graveyard. Handling his shovel more carefully, he presently brought out a whole skeleton. It had been lying four feet below the surface, with its head toward the river. It was pronounced by those who saw and were familiar with skeletons to be probably that of a woman. 

An hour later another skeleton, the bones of which were larger than those of the first one, was found ten feet farther up the street, lying in the same position and at the same depth, but with its feet toward the river. The second skeleton was probably that of a man. Dark streaks of earth, below, above and on either side the skeleton indicated where the coffins had been and rotted away, and in those dark streaks were found many old fashioned home-made nails, rusty with age.

Whose the bodies were and who buried them can only be conjectured as no one seen by the reporter had any recollection of a burial place having ever been as near as that to old Fort Harmar.

The bones were found at a point about a hundred feet from the riverbank, on the lower end of Maple Street. Mr. Wilking has preserved the bones and will keep them until he knows where they will be the most appreciated.  

Marietta Daily Leader, December 11, 1897:

A Pair of Skeletons

Friday forenoon workmen engaged in digging a sewer trench on Maple Street, West Side, unearthed two human skeletons at a point about 40 yards from the riverbank. From the difference in structure it is assumed that the bones belonged to a man and a woman. They were found about four feet underground and a distance of eight feet apart. No articles were found which would give a clue to the identity of the persons whose remains were thus ruthlessly disturbed by the march of public improvement.

The skeletons were taken possession of by Dr. Hardy and if they prove on investigation to be of any historical value, will be turned over to the proper persons for preservation.  The skull of the larger skeleton was found to be in fairly good condition, with the teeth still in place and nearly all the principal bones were also sound. The find created considerable excitement for a short time. 

The Daily Register (Marietta), December 11, 1897:

Another skeleton was found this morning by the workmen engaged on the Maple Street storm water sewer. This makes three complete skeletons that have been dug out. The last one brought out was of a man who had a badly broken leg, but it had healed together. The end of another coffin was exposed by the workmen, but it has not been taken out yet.

A Grand Army button, dated 1866, was found near one of the skeletons, but it is a mystery how it came there.

The Daily Register (Marietta), December 13, 1897:

A Very Old Burying Ground

No Record on the Map of 1796

Another skeleton was unearthed this morning in the Maple Street work, and the workmen are now fully satisfied that it is a genuine grave-yard they are going through, in laying the storm water sewer. The oldest inhabitants remember nothing of any burying ground there and a mystery surrounds the finding of the old coffins and remains.

This morning the Register reporter called on Mrs. Jefferson Heston on Gilman Street and from her learned that her mother, Mrs. Fearing, spoke several times that Mrs. Heston remembers distinctly, of the fact that a burying ground had existed in the early days at the foot of what is now Maple Street, but extending rather to the northward. The people living on those lots have never known of its existence, but the findings of the last few days go to confirm what Mrs. Fearing said.

In the County Recorder's office there is a map, made April 20th, 1802 (the original copy). It bears these words, "I certify that the foregoing plan descriptions are just and true. April 20, 1802, Rufus Putnam, Superintendent of the Company's surveys." This inscription is followed by others, attesting to the genuineness of the paper, which is yellow with age. The curious thing about this map is that is shows the street now known as Maple Street, but then as Middle Street, and the adjoining lots on either side, and a considerable distance up the Muskingum is the old Harmar "Burying Ground." In another book, made since that date, but purporting to be a true copy of older books, is a plat dated January 21st, 1796, showing exactly the same streets and lots, just as they exist today in that part of town, and the burying ground located up the Muskingum, where it now is.

In a resolution bearing date of January 21st, 1796, the "Harmar Burying Ground," was set aside for public use, and also other portions of the Ohio Company's purchase, but no reference is made in the 1796 resolution or map to a burying ground in Harmar other than the one up the Muskingum, where it now is. This makes the mystery of these old graves greater than ever. It is probable that it is one of the oldest burying grounds in the State, having been used by the very first settlement here and discarded in 1796.

The Daily Register (Marietta), December 15, 1897:

Remains of the Dead Found in Harmar

The solution of the question as to whose bones are being disinterred by the digging now being done in Harmar does not seem to me difficult, but to compress into a half column newspaper article the reasons for this belief that will meet the present inquiry may be more difficult.

In 1785, under the direction of General Harmar of the United States army, the building of a fortified place was commenced on the west bank of the Muskingum near the confluence of that stream with the Ohio River. This fortified place occupied about three quarters of an acre of ground, in the center of which was the well now under the bank of the Ohio River, the location of which is marked by an immense mill stone, recently placed over its mouth.

The fort was completed in the year 1787, and soldiers under the command of Major Doughty were stationed therein.  The number of soldiers occupying the fort varied much during the next six succeeding years, sometimes numbering five hundred, at other times they were reduced to fifty.

It, perhaps, would be well here to say that during the Indian war, many families lived in and near Fort Harmar. It is frequently mentioned by Dr. Hildreth that at the various festivities at Campus Martius and the Bowery, the officers were accompanied by their wives. The presence of ladies at Fort Harmar will account for the skeleton of the woman lately disintererd.

Immediately adjoining this fortified camp, garden lots extended back some distance and up the Muskingum bank near where the old Muskingum River locks were. These gardens were planted with trees of various kinds and much of the ground faithfully worked each year, the soldiers thus raising vegetables and fruit for their own consumption. Within the pickets, which enclosed several acres, on eligible sites, were built two large hewed log cabins for the artizans, one of which was used by Gov. St. Clair to hold the treaty with the Indians, which was concluded January 9, 1789.

The writer knows of no record of deaths or burials during the ten years of the occupancy of these grounds, but it is presumable that many deaths occurred and, as danger attended any outside movements, that interments took place within the picketed enclosure, which embraced the ground where the remains of the dead are being unearthed on Maple Street.

Most happy would I be in a much fuller manner to give my views on this subject to any enquirer that would favor me with a call.

George Morgan Woodbridge.

 

Fort Harmar Well

The Marietta Register, May 13, 1869:

Since the appearance of our article on Harmar, the boys over there have unearthed the old well that once stood in the center of the Fort, cleared away the rubbish, and taken the dirt out to the depth of about four feet. They propose to go still deeper. The well is about midway between the top of the bank and the water's edge now. It is walled with boulders.

The Marietta Register, May 27, 1869:

The boys have taken out the rubbish in the old well that was in the Fort at Harmar, to the bottom, and found in it a cannon ball. The Fort embraced within its walls about three-fourths of an acre, the greater part of which caved into the river many years ago.

The Marietta Weekly Leader, November 9, 1886:

George M. Woodbridge has located and is cleaning out the old Fort Harmar Well dug in 1785. It now lies about 40 feet below the bank, though when built it was within the Fort yard and there was sufficient room for parade outside of that.

Many curious sight-seers may be observed at all times of the day congregated on the Muskingum bank, taking observations of the old "Fort Harmar Well" which is now being opened by Mr. Woodbridge.

The bottom of the Fort Harmar well being reached, it is estimated that the well proper was probably about 40 feet deep. A large pewter plate about one inch in thickness was found, besides numerous pieces of strange glass.

Hail Storm

The Home News, March 19, 1859

A sudden and violent hail storm, accompanied with high wind and a flood of rain, broke over this city and vicinity at one o'clock yesterday afternoon. The hail, about the size of peas or buck shot, soon covered the ground, but were too small to do any damage to window glass. 

Considerable havoc was committed by the wind in various quarters. The cement roofing from the brick building on Ohio Street, occupied by Cotton & Gray as a furniture store, was partially blown off, as well as that from the Wharfboat. The parapet gable of the old brick store on Ohio Street was blown over on the roof of Hall & Snider's bakery adjoining, entirely demolishing half of the roof, from front to rear, breaking a twelve-inch joist, and falling to the lower floor, within a few inches of a boy at work. 

The roof of N. Bishop's blacksmith shop on Fourth Street was blown in and fell on a man named Robert McKittrick, considerably bruising him about the head and body. A portion of the roof was carried a distance of 25 yards. About one-eighth of one side of the roof of Brown & McCarty's tannery on Third Street was lifted up and completely folded back. The window panes in the front of W. Mervine's house on the same street were dashed out. One of the chimneys on the residence of Col. Mills was overthrown, and another on the jail shared the same fate.

"The wind it blew,

The hail it flew,

And raised particular thunder

With skirts and hoops

And chicken coops,

And all that sort of plunder."

P.S.  The rain of yesterday afternoon turned to snow about midnight and this morning is half an inch deep on boards, bricks, &c. and still slightly falling, though the mercury has sun to 33 degrees only. Unless it becomes colder, fruit cannot suffer much.

The Killing of Lewis Mitchell by Colby C. Coleman

The Marietta Register, September 7, 1865:

A distressing affair occurred on Eight Mile creek in Newport Township on Thursday night of last week, August 31st, by which one citizen lost his life at the hands of another. A company, of which Lewis Mitchell was one, were on their way home from a singing school, and while passing the house of Colby C. Coleman, the former went into the orchard of the latter to get a few peaches. Soon after the report of a gun was heard, and Mitchell not appearing, search was made, when he was found under a peach tree, dead, with a few peaches in his possession. The corpse was suffered to remain where it was found until the next morning.

The Coroner was then called, a jury summoned, and a verdict given in accordance with the above facts. The ball, it seems, entered Mitchell's left breast, near the heart and lodged in the shoulder bone. Mitchell leaves a wife and two children.

Coleman was arrested, examined before Esquire Hill, bound over to Court, and placed in prison. Afterwards, he gave bail in the sum of $3,000 and was released.

The Marietta Times, September 7, 1865:

Lewis Mitchell, a citizen of this county, living on Eight Mile creek, in Newport Township, was shot and instantly killed by his neighbor, Colby C. Coleman, on Thursday night, August 31st. The particulars of this sad affair, so far as we could learn them, are as follows: A party, of which Mitchell was one, were returning from a singing school and while passing Coleman's peach orchard, Mitchell entered the orchard to get a few peaches. Soon afterwards the report of a gun was heard; and Mitchell failing to make his appearance, a search was made for him, when he was found under the peach tree, with two or three peaches in his bosom, one in his hand, and a piece of one in his mouth. The corpse was left lying until the next morning, when the coroner was summoned. It was then ascertained that the ball had entered Mitchell's left breast, near his heart, and had lodged in his shoulder-bone. 

From all we can learn, Mitchell was a quiet, inoffensive man, respected by all his neighbors. He leaves a wife and two small children.

A warrant was procured, Coleman was arrested and tried before Esquire Hill, by whom he was bound over to the Court of Common Pleas, and in default of bail, was committed to prison.

Below we give the verdict of the coroner's jury:

We, the undersigned, jurors, impanneled and sworn on the first day of September, in the year of our Lord, 1865, at the township of Newport, in the county of Washington, by Lemuel Grimes, coroner for said county, to inquire and true presentment make, in what manner and by whom Lewis Mitchell, whose body was found in Colby C. Coleman's peach orchard on the last day of August, in the year 1865, came to his death. After having heard the evidence and examined said body, we do find that the deceased came to his death by a gun-shot, fired by Colby C. Coleman. Said body was found with gun-shot wound in the left breast.

Given under our hands at the time and place of said inquisition above mentioned.

Israel Irwin

J. S. McVay

William McVay

James McCoy

Thomas A. McCoy

Adam Wagoner

The Marietta Register, September 14, 1865:

The account we gave last week in reference to the shooting of Lewis Mitchell in Colby C. Coleman's peach orchard on Eight Mile, Thursday night, August 31st, has caused much comment. We are informed that scarcely anything was true in the statement, except the fact of the killing.

We have information that we cannot reject, that Mitchell had not been to the singing school at all, which was at George W. Hill's; that if he had, he was over a quarter of a mile out of his way, while in Coleman's orchard; that about half a peck of peaches were found on his person after he was shot; and Mitchell was not, as stated in the Times, a quiet and inoffensive person, and was not respected, but was a trifling man of not good character. 

It appears further, that Coleman had been greatly aggravated; that his peaches had been stolen in large quantities; that the bark had been stripped from his trees and the branches broken down; that even boxes of peaches prepared for market had been stolen; that he had told the depredators that he would shoot them unless they quiet their evil ways. 

The result is, one man killed and another in jail to await his trial. The facts, of course, will then come forth. It is doubtless true, that if these people had minded their own affairs this distressing affair would not have occurred.

The Marietta Times, October 19, 1865:

Court of Common Pleas

The September Term closed last Saturday night. The litigated cases of a civil nature posses no interest for others than the parties who were at issue, and so we shall not report them. The criminal cases - in part - are:

. . . State of Ohio vs. Colby Coleman. Murder in the Second Degree. Guilty. Sentenced to the Penitentiary for life. This is the individual who shot Lewis Mitchell in Newport Township on the night of the 31st of August, as Mitchell was passing through his peach orchard. Mitchell was about 35 years old; the prisoner is 57. This was the most important case tried by the court and elicited a great deal of interest.

The Marietta Register, October 19, 1865:

The Court of Common Pleas for this county, Judge E. A. Guthrie presiding, closed its October Term for 1865, at about 11 o'clock last Saturday night. It was an exceedingly busy and laborious term of eleven days. . . .

The Trial of Colby Coleman, for shooting and killing Lewis Mitchell in his (Coleman's) peach orchard on the night of Aug. 31st last, on Eight Mile Creek, in Newport Township, occupied fully two days. Col. David Alban, the Prosecuting Attorney, was assisted by M. D. Follett. For the defense, Knowles & Loomis. The Jury consisted of John Milligan and D. C. Perry of Barlow, John Boston of Liberty, W. A. Hawley of Beverly, H. H. Cole of Warren, and John C. O'Neal of Belpre, of the regular panel, J. S. Sprague, D. D. Rosseter, and J. L. Deterly of Marietta, Isaac Spaulding and T. K. Wells of Harmar, and W. Priest, talismen. It was a good jury. The charge was murder in the second degree. Thirty-two witnesses were examined.

It was in evidence that Coleman's orchard had been robbed of peaches to a very aggravating extent, that some of his trees had been "barked," and some limbs were broken down. on the night of the 31st of August, about dark, Coleman went into his peach orchard with a rifle and a revolver to protect his property. After he had been there about half an hour, probably a little after eight o'clock, Mitchell went into the orchard for peaches and was there shot in the left breast and killed. It was a moonlight night. There was no evidence that Coleman gave him any warning, or that he called upon him to halt.

After a thorough investigation of the case, the Jury returned a verdict of guilty, having been out about three hours. The Jury recommended "clemency." The counsel for Coleman moved for a new trial, which was overruled by the Court.

About 10-1/2 o'clock Saturday night, the Court commanded Coleman to stand up to receive his sentence, in giving which Judge Guthrie was very much affected. He remarked that Coleman was an old man, and he pitied him from the bottom of his heart; that the law had left him no discretion in the case; the Jury had found the defendant guilty of murder in the second degree, and the penalty was hard labor in the Penitentiary during the term of his natural life. He could not say that the verdict of the Jury was wrong, or that he himself could have found it differently had he been on the Jury. It was to be hoped that the defendant thought he had a right to kill the man who was in his peach orchard; and as to "clemency," the law allowed none on part of the Court, but if the defendant went to the Penitentiary, behaved himself well, performed all his duties in the right spirit, gave evidence that he might become a good citizen, and came to a realizing sense of the wrong he had done in killing his fellow-man, there was a chance for his pardon and restoration to society.

Coleman did not appear to be much affected, not nearly so much as was the Judge. On Monday morning, he still said he thought he had done right in killing Mitchell for stealing his peaches.

To us, it is a plain case. Mitchell was a trespasser, and in trespassing upon the property and the rights of another, he lost his life. Coleman was aggravated by repeated depredation upon his peach orchard, but his remedy was not in shooting and killing his neighbor for the wrong done him, thereby committing a far greater wrong, immeasurably greater.
 
 

Marietta College - New President

Marietta Intelligencer, January 13, 1855

Our readers are aware that Rev. Dr. Smith has resigned the Presidency of Marietta College, and is to enter upon his duties in Lane Seminary in April next.  The Trustees of the College held a meeting on Thursday last, and with entire unanimity, made choice of Prof. I. W. Andrews as President Smith's successor.

Prof. Andrews has been connected with the College about sixteen years, we think, having occupied the post of Tutor for perhaps a year, and that of Professor of Mathematics for about fifteen years.  He has filled the Professorship with distinguished ability, and the best possible evidence  that he has performed its duties to the entire satisfaction of the friends of the College, is furnished by the Trustees' unanimously promoting him to the Presidency.

The friends of the Institution may well be congratulated upon the election the Trustees have made. We believe that President Andrews will fill his new office as to others, and as creditably to himself, as he has that of Professor of Mathematics. He has some peculiar qualifications for his new post - among which we may mention his remarkable talent as an Executive officer, and as a thorough, prompt, and efficient business man.

That the appointment will be a very popular one in the community generally there can be no doubt. Unlike most scholars and scientific men, Professor Andrews is eminently a practical man, and ever since he resided in Marietta he has identified himself with every enterprize having for its object the prosperity of the town and county, and the general good of the community. His active labors in behalf of Public schools throughout the State are known to all, as are his efforts to build up and sustain every cause which seeks to elevate the condition of men, and promote the best interests of all classes of society. He is, in short, a Life Man, progressive and yet conservative, neither one-idead nor one-sided, but a symmetrical, whole and true Man.

The election of a successor to Prof. Andrews in the Mathematical Department is not yet announced and probably will not be until after another meeting of the Board.

Marietta to Devola: "Our Coney Island"

Marietta Daily Times, July 24, 1917

Conditions noted along the line, and things we saw on this trip, cause us to speak of it through the press, for we believe some persons living here do not fully appreciate the many good and beautiful things of really high class that they see and pass each day, because they are either absorbed with other affairs, or don't have their "thinking caps" on.

After leaving the city and on arriving at Rathbone, we noticed with pleasure and relief, that the "avalanche" in front of Mr. Marsh's home that has advanced several times without orders or even giving the countersign, has been arrested , and that he seems now to have the conditions well in hand, all of which must have required courage on his part in trying to hold this soil where it belongs.

Then coming to the Children's Home, we find the exterior conditions in fine form, and while we did not visit the Home, we learned that Mrs. Jordan, who is in charge, is complete master of the institution, outside and in, and that much credit is due her for her faithful and untiring efforts.  She has instituted gardening, or truck growing, among the little boys, who have small lots or tracts laid off near the car line tracts from car windows, all of which show that the boys take pride in doing the work and doing it well, and through Mrs. Jordan's efforts, there is being instilled into the nature and being of these boys that grand feature in any man's life, industry and pride in what he does.

Who knows but that some of these boys may some day be leading men in many ways of agriculture.  Mrs. Jordan buys their products, pays them the money, and they are to spend it for clothing or the useful things they need, which proves another good point brought out by Mrs. Jordan.

Splendid Wheat Field

On up the beautiful paved way, through gardens galore, we next came in view of a wheat field on the land of W. W. Mills at Millgate that arrested our attention.  It has been our good fortune to have visited some of the leading wheat growing states from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Oregon, and in all our life, we have never seen a field of wheat that was better, and few that equalled this.  Judging from the thickness of same, its even height, and being so well filled, these points make it a sure prize winner this season in Ohio.  It was a grand sight for the eyes of those who enjoy and appreciate anything along this line of agriculture.

We saw it after it had been cut and shocked and should like to know how much it would yield per acre.  We understand that at a meeting of farmers and fruit growers which was held in Marietta recently, Mr. Mills and Mr. Chamberlain and other prominent landowners were present, and each addressed the meeting, both claiming they were not real farmers, but simply "agriculturists."  Well, we think Mr. Mills has the wheat growing theory on the right plan and would suggest that some of our farmers get his formula and apply his method in producing the crop for 1918.  He surely has the key on wheat growing and the soil to back it.

We did not visit his delightful summer home on the crest, above Millgate Station, the view of which is hidden from the driveway below by the canopy of trees on the hilltop, but we are told that all its beauty and grandeur are at once uncovered when you arrive at the summit, and that the view up and down the beautiful Muskingum and across the valley is extremely picturesque.  Mr. Mills, with all his wealth, generosity, hospitality and patriotism, is a grand man to have in this or any community.

One Big Garden

 

Leaving Millgate, we passed the lovely farm homes of Mr. Dawes, Mr. Cram, Mr. Dyar, and the Devol Brothers, and you are simply in one big growing garden, interspersed with fields of corn, alfalfa, barley and oats, all of which indicate great prosperity.

 

The next we find is the Country Club grounds on the farm of the Devol brothers, and they are beautiful from either the driveway or the Inter-urban car line. From the latter you see the north side and golf links, while from the driveway you see the south side and the "automobile trail" into the grounds.

 

We left the paved way at Mr. Dyar's and took the dirt road up the river front, and when we passed the Country Club we were then upon the large farm of Harry Chamberlain. He has recently erected a very fine barn, in fact about the last word in barn construction.

 

This magnificent structure, 60x100 feet, with mandrel roof and all the associate buildings surrounding it, and the beautiful grove in the background, makes a commanding appearance from the river front. Mr. Chamberlain has moved from their old resting place these associate buildings, from near the home. The new structure is very spacious and convenient, having automatic water service and complete sewerage system, with creosote blocks installed, and perfect ventilation, in which the air can be changed every twenty minutes.

 

After seeing inside, as well as the outside, we were reminded of the two battleships we once went on board, while they were anchored in the harbor at Seattle, long years ago. I refer to the Charleston and the Baltimore.

 

In the new barn, Mr. Chamberlain keeps his herd of pure bred Guernseys and high grade Guernsey Jerseys, while in the other barn, the horses are quartered.  The associated buildings comprise the chicken and hog houses, blacksmith shop and machinery or tool house. The moving of all these was a large undertaking, but their going has added much to the beauty of the surrounding home at Walnut Hills.

 

Mr. Chamberlain takes great pleasure in all of his home affairs, but especially is he proud of his herd of pure bred Guernseys and feels that in "Souvenir of Mt. Vernon," which is at the head of his herd, no better sire can be found in the country.

 

Marietta's Coney Island

 

We finally landed at Devola and took a stroll down to the beach that we have heard so much of, and where the bathing is so fine and attracts thousands of persons during the bathing season. Some are going in now, but a little later the season proper will open and the sport will be kept up until cool weather. The banks of this beautiful river are dotted with campers all summer, some of the camps being elegantly fitted up and equipped for home comfort and pleasure, by some of Marietta's leading citizens and persons from a distance, who spend their vacation here in leisure hours of bathing, boating and fishing.

 

The famous resort is to Marietta, what Coney Island is to New York City, and we readily see why it is so popular with the people.

 

Returning to the station we met a friend who wanted to show us some real estate values in the way of lots at Devola, so we walked about with him and looked them over, and I must say if Devola is to ever take on any boom, the owners of these lots, or some of them, must give the lots a shave and a haircut, for they do look wild and wooly. The mullen and weeds were "head high to a giraffe" on some lots, and such conditions lead the passerby and onlooker to think the owners had forgotten they had these lots, or decided the suburb was a "dead one," and no use to clean up. No greater mistake can be made, however, than to think that the influence of such conditions are not detrimental to Devola.

 

There are some pretty homes here, the "Flag Bungalow" of Mr. Peters, and the bungalow of Mr. Withum are new and modern in all ways, and equally so is the stucco home of Mr. Ryan. Recently a town hall has been erected on one of the lots at Devola, and it adds much to general appearances of the village. The business meetings of the township and all the elections will be held here in the future, rather than at Unionville, as has been the custom in the past. The building is frame, with brick veneer and stone trimmings, very substantial and cozy.

 

Near the town hall and station is a store and dwelling combined, owned by Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Johnson, and this serves a great convenience, not only for the residents, but also for the campers on the waterfront. We understand there are some persons living near Devola, who can do some of the "specials" in life, or that they are "combination people."

 

A combination horse is rated as one of the most useful of all horses, because he can do different gaits, and can be used under the saddle and is equally useful when hitched in harness, and I believe the same may be applied to a man who can do many things with success.

 

We were told Carl Becker, who is the leader of the orchestra at the Auditorium Theatre in Marietta, and a man who is recognized by the musical profession everywhere, and who has clerical ability unusual, is also a practical farmer and truck grower near Devola, and that Dr. Frank Sparling is a prominent physician in the community, and at the same time a very successful farmer and truck grower, employing a large force of help during the garden season, and that R. B. Ward is a pioneer farmer and truck grower on scientific principles, having educated both his sons at the College of Agriculture at Columbus.

 

Mr. Ward is sort of a "Community Father," being a man of affairs in the township and community in general and always on deck.  Ed Devol spends his summers in farming and truck growing near Devola and in the fall goes to Florida, where he spends the winter engaged in the culture of oranges and grapefruit, near Winter Haven.  We were told that other prominent truck farms were on up above Devola, and that another summer resort, called Fern Cliff, was only one mile away.

 

At this resort they have a dance hall and amusements of all kinds all summer, and that a Mr. Stowe lives near there, who is very popular with the Brotherhood of Elks, who accept and enjoy his hospitality many times during the summer, and that the United Woolen Mills people have a fondness for him and his fine home and take their vacation trip to his place each summer, where they dance and feast, and that all the girls of the company think there is no one just like "Pop Stowe."  We surely were pleasantly met by all on our little trip, and enjoyed it very much and think we would like to own a home at Devola, and some day we may.

 

Joker Starts Something

 

While were were waiting for the car, our attention was called to a sign on some stakes where pumpkins were planted. It read like this, "Pumpkin Park, California pumpkins, watch 'em grow, they say they grow to be ten feet long. Say boys! I mean the vines." We could not understand its meaning, and as we read it some gave us the laugh. So we called up Mr. Wilson, who is in charge of the Inter-Urban affairs and grounds at the station, and asked him if the company was starting an "experiment farm" on the station lot at Devola. He said they were not, and that he had advised the party who had the "nerve" to plant said pumpkins on their land that a trip to Columbus, Ohio, was in store for him for trespassing on the company's grounds. We then inquired who the "Jasper" was who did this, but no one about Devola could or would tell.

 

We wanted to return to Marietta over the gravel road and paved way, via the Putnam School and church building combined, by the way, established the same year the writer first saw the peep o'day in 1859, near which Sam H. Plumer lives, who is one of the county's best, reliable and industrious men; also the home of John Strecker and his son-in-law, Elmer Drain, who are very successful in everything they attempt, and the old "Devol homestead," where Clark Devol is "monarch of all he surveys," and the county experiment farm, in charge of that good and capable man, Owen Riley, also the "Iris," a suburban home owned by our old friend, Will Neubeck, who we regret to learn is in poor health.

 

He has made this land, bought of Charles Dyar, into a beautiful country home and farm, which is being farmed by a Mr. Davis, who is a hustling farmer, with good ideas, a fine wife and bright family, among which is a son who was strong in the corn contest of Ohio, and had a free trip to Washington, D.C., and other eastern points last year, where he enjoyed all and got much good information.

 

Right here, we are also near the land of the Devol Brothers, who not only farm and grow garden stuff with great success, but are also among the leading dealers in Ohio in "white face" or Hereford cattle, pure bred and high grade.

 

We should have called upon Mr. Devol of dairy fame, but time did not allow.  "Jimmy" is a real bright up to the minute fellow, not only in dairy work, in general farming, and the affairs of our country, and how he and his cousin, Ed Devol, of Devola, have ever escaped matrimony is more than some can understand. They are congenial fellows, who seem to have a fondness for the ladies, but a lack of courage to propose.

 

If somebody don't shoot or imprison me for this write up, I may appear again, as soon as I harvest the pumpkins at Devola.

 

We were told at the last moment that Pinchville or Pinchtown, on the way has been changed to Unionville. We asked why its original name, "Pinchville," and were informed that in days gone, booze was administered from this, a road house there, and that the frequenters were mostly from Marietta, and all got pinched; thus the name "Pinchville."

  

Rathbone Heights

Marietta Daily Times, January 30, 1914:

Observing what is being done in and near the city, it might be well to note the rapid strides the new addition known as Rathbone Heights is making at the upper end of Third Street. 

We recall the fact that only a few weeks ago this new addition was a dairy farm and since that time it has been surveyed into desirable residence lots with large frontages, some of which are 80 and 90 feet with great depths, being a great place for a good garden and to raise chickens.

The observer notes the fact that a beautiful drive, known as Sunset Drive, is almost completed from the paved street on Muskingum Drive to the top of the hill, being 40 feet wide and a good grade.

Five new bungalow houses have been contracted for and one is now nearing completion, which is attracting considerable attention. Numerous sales have been made during the past week to residents of the city, who are particularly fond of sunshine and plenty of room and fresh air.

The writer knows of no more beautiful addition, considering the location, its nearness to the city, street cars and paved streets, than Rathbone Heights Addition, and predicts for it within the next six months many attractive homes with green lawns and contented families with the ring of the carpenters' tools still there in their ears.

Rathbone Heights Sales Continuing

Marietta Daily Times, February 18, 1914:

Mr. Charles Bertram of Scammel Street has purchased of Doan & Mann a fine lot in this new addition out of high water, and will at once commence the erection of a fine home. The plans for this beautiful structure are now in the hands of the architect and the contract will be awarded at an early date. Charley says: "Rathbone Heights for him," it being out of the water.

Mr. John W. Holliday of Parkersburg, W. Va., has also purchased lot 34 of this addition and will commence the erection of a bungalow this spring. Mr. Holliday has been paying $30 per month rent for the past several years, and the liberal terms offered by Doan & Mann in securing one of these fine lots and the possibilities of getting a home of his own, appealed very strong to Mr. Holliday and family.

Lot 32 has been sold to a prominent lady of the city, who wishes her name withheld from the public and who now is perfecting plans for the erection of a bungalow the coming spring.

To the young man or young woman who is desirous of buying something in the form of an investment, or securing a home, and on the easy terms offered, Rathbone Heights lots should appeal to them.