CHAPTER VII.

CINCINNATI AS A TOWN.

THREE STAGES IN THE HISTORY OF THE CITY-GENERAL ST. CLAIR CHANGES THE NAME OF THE FUTURE CITY FROM LOSANTIVILLE TO CINCINNATI-THE TOWN IS INCORPORATED-MAYORS OF THE TOWN AND ITS RAPID GROWTH-EARLY BUSINESS AND SOCIAL LIFE, ETC.

1802-1819.

There have been three stages in the history of our city. The first as a village (1788-1802) the second as a town (1802-1819) the third as a city (1819- ). It is the second of these to which we turn attention now, and it is important to understand in what the nature of the change from village to town, consisted.

Of course, a change of this character is purely formal and is nothing more nor less than a matter of legal statutes, for a village may become a town or a town a city without so much as altering a single feature of its real self. In order, then, to understand the legal aspects by which the alteration was accomplished, we must go back again to 1790.

The County.

It will be remembered that the first political unit in the territory (acquired by the struggles recorded in the early portions of the narrative) was the county. This unit was established by a proclamation of Governor St. Clair, (prepared on the 2nd, but not) promulgated until the 4th of January, 1790.

The Naming of Cincinnati.

To John Cleves Symmes the honor of naming it was cheerfully conceded and he called it Hamilton after the great Secretary of State. At the same time St. Clair changed the name of the squalid collection of houses which became the county seat, from Losantiville to Cincinnati. No better explanation of the reasons which dictated this choice has been given than that given in a recent article in the "Enquirer," the substance of an interview with Hon. Wade Cushing. As these reasons are of great interest they will justify a considerable digression from our train of thought, to which we shall return again in a moment or two.

"The Society of the Cincinnati was organized on May 13, 1783. The Revolutionary War was ending, and many, in fact, most, of the officers in that war had exhausted their private estates and were heavily in debt for money they had expended and obligated themselves for to support and maintain their commands in the field. They appealed to the General Government to assume these personal obligations, but it was found that the government had not the power to levy and collect sufficient taxes to defray its own expenses, let alone repay the officers

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of the continental army who had bankrupted themselves to make possible the Government that we are now enjoying.

"The colonies also refused to pay the debts that had been contracted for their general good, and as each colony then had laws providing for the imprisonment of persons for debt, the officers of the victorious army realized that they had not only given up some of the best years of their lives, but had devoted their private wealth to the cause, and were now in debt and were returning home only to be imprisoned because they had bankrupted themselves and were unable to pay their debts.

"The laws then permitted the imprisonment of a debtor, but neither the creditor nor the colonies provided anything more than the place of confinement, no provision being made in the law for heat or clothing for the winter nor for food at any time. Therefore if the family or friends of the unfortunate debtor cast into prison did not furnish the necessities of life or pay his debts and secure his release, starvation and exposure were his lot.

"It was at this critical time that General Lee issued an address to the army, proposing that it take military possession of the Government until such time as the obligations were paid. Fortunately, Washington, La Fayette and other officers foresaw the disaster that was sure to follow such military possession of the Government, and that such control would defeat the establishment of the form of government—a republican representative government-for which they had fought so hard and risked so much. So this coterie of officers, headed by General Washington, formed the Society of the Cincinnati, the object of which was to assist any one imprisoned for debts contracted on account of the war, and also to free the people from military control, so that they might be at liberty to select a form of government that measured up to their standard.

"Branches of the Society of the Cincinnati were established in nearly all of the 13 colonies, and the Government which was first espoused by the founders of the society proved to be the representative form of government, divided into the three branches that we have today-legislative, executive and judicial.

"General George Washington was the first President of the Society of the Cincinnati. The society's membership was limited to the Continental officers who had served three years or who had received honorable discharges, and to the eldest male descendants of such officers. Governor St. Clair, Rufus Putnam, Nathaniel Cushing and two other members of the Massachusetts chapter of the society came to Ohio and were among the first settlers at Marietta.

"On January 2nd, 1790, Governor St. Clair, the first territorial Governor of Ohio, came to Losantiville and remained for three days. Hamilton County was then organized and named, and Losantiville was made its "county town," as it was then called, but Governor St. Clair renamed the town Cincinnati, in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati.”

The original boundaries of the county of which Cincinnati was the seat, were as follows: "Beginning with the mouth of the Little Miami; thence down the river to the mouth of the Big Miami, and up said stream to the standing stone forks; thence in a straight line due east to the Little Miami, then down that stream to the place of beginning."

This vast domain comprised about one-eighth of the present State of Ohio, but was speedily reduced in size by the creation from it of Clermont County in

1800; Montgomery in 1803; Warren in 1803; Greene in 1803; Butler in 1804; Champaign in 1805; Miami in 1807; Preble in 1808; Drake in 1809 and Clinton in 1810.

As now constituted Hamilton is bounded on the east by Clermont County, on the south by the Ohio River, (the line being the low water mark on the north. side) on the west by Dearborn County, Indiana, and on the north by Butler and Warren Counties.

The present area is about 3551⁄2 square miles or 227,516 acres.

The county having been established by proclamation, the next step was the appointment of court officers in order that the machinery of local government might be set in motion. The men upon whom the first political honors were conferred were William Goforth, William Wells and William McMillan, who were named as judges of the court of common pleas and justices of the court of quarter sessions of the peace; Israel Ludlow who was made clerk of the several courts; Jacob Topping, Benjamin Stites and John Stites Gano, who became justices of the peace; and John Brown, sheriff. Cincinnati was decreed to be the county seat when these other steps were taken.

It was under the laws of the Northwest Territory and those of the county that the government of the little village was, therefore, administered until the great changes which transpired when that territory was divided into states.

Because of its prosperity and its strategic location, all eyes turned towards Cincinnati as the probable capital of the state which everybody knew would be constituted as soon as the population reached the required number. Already, in 1798, the first territorial legislature had met there, and the citizens felt entitled to hope and plan for the permanent location in their rapidly growing community of the seat of law and government. But, as a matter of fact, there had never been any decision to this effect by a properly constituted authority and the Cincinnatians were doomed to a bitter disappointment.

In the years 1796-8 a mighty wave of population had flowed into the Northwest Territory in consequence of the subjugation of the Indians. Towns sprang up like mushrooms-such places as Dayton and Chillicothe, for example, attaining an almost instantaneous importance. In 1798 a rude census was taken and it was manifest that there was a population of at least 5,000 free white male inhabitants of full age, the number necessary for the establishment of that political organization, called, in our scheme of government, a state.. In consequence, an election of representatives by counties was advised by the governor, in the proportion of one for every five hundred population. A meeting of these representatives was held in Cincinnati on February 4, 1799, and ten persons were nominated as fit to form a legislative council. Of these the President of the United States chose and appointed five for the office, viz., Jacob Burnet and James Findlay of Hamilton county; Robert Oliver of Washington; David Vance of Jefferson and Henry Bandenbaugh of Knox. The assembly, consisting of the governor and the two bodies, then chosen, was convened at the arbitrary will of the governor at Cincinnati on September 3, 1799.

The individuals who composed this assembly were men of the highest character and ability and their meeting was formal and serious. They grappled with many hard problems, most of which arose out of the jealousies engendered by the struggles of localities for prominence, and the session terminated on Decem

ber the 19th, after William Henry Harrison had been chosen as the delegate to Congress.

The problems which began to be discussed in this first meeting of the men who were called upon to lay the foundations of law and order multiplied and grew in complexity, with alarming rapidity, when they reassembled (at the order of Congress) in Chillicothe on November 26, 1801. At the bottom of them all lay the fundamental one of the lines which were to run through the territory when its division into states was brought about. Opinion as to whether there should be two or three new states carved out at once, grew hot and hotter. General St. Clair, unfortunately for himself, chose the latter alternative, animated, it is generally believed, by party prejudices and animosities, while William Henry Harrison chose the former and successfully advocated his idea in Congress. The act by which the lines were established embodied also an authoritative selection of Chillicothe as the capital of the state of Ohio.

This was a hard blow to Cincinnati and a wild protest resulted, based upon the prerogatives of the legislature recently elected. The resentment was natural; but the contention unsound, for "the power that could divide the territory could certainly select the seat of government." The wails and protestations died away at length, but only after the little village began to discover that commercial was after all a greater object to be striven for than political prominence. What the people really needed most was a reorganization of their own local government. A phenomenal development had set in and it was clearly seen that they had outgrown the simple laws and regulations of their rude and primitive village life. What they now demanded was incorporation as a town, and their demand was granted on the 1st day of January, 1802, by an act of legislature in which David Ziegler was designated as the president and Jacob Burnet the recorder. The act provided:

Incorporation-A Town.

First. That such parts of the township of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton, as are contained in the following limits and boundaries, that is to say, beginning on the Ohio river at the southeast corner of the fractional section; thence west with the township line to Mill creek; thence down Mill creek with the meanders thereof to its north; thence up the Ohio river with the meanders thereof to the place of beginning; shall be and the same are hereby created into a town corporate, which shall henceforth be known and distinguished by the name of the town of Cincinnati.

* * *

Second. That the officers are to be a president, vice-president, recorder, seven trustees, an assessor, a collector and a town marshal who shall be duly appointed and sworn. which president, vice-president, recorder and trustees shall be one body corporate and politic with perpetual succession to be known and distinguished by the name of "the president, recorder and trustees of the town of Cincinnati."

Third. Provides for the powers of said officers and for a seal.

Fourth.

That all the inhabitants of the town who are freeholders or householders paying an annual rent of thirty-six dollars, shall and may assemble at such place within said town as the president, recorder and any four of the trustees shall appoint, on the first Monday of April yearly and then and there by a plural

ity of suffrages to elect a president, recorder and seven trustees, an assessor, a collector and town marshal to hold their respective offices during one year and from thence until their successors shall be elected and serve, etc.

Fifth. That the president, recorder and trustees shall be called "The Select Council of the Town of Cincinnati" and gives the said Council power to adopt regulations for securing the town against injuries by fire, to keep the streets, lanes and alleys open and in repair, to regulate markets and protect animals from running at large, etc.

Sirth. That the freeholders and householders shall at their annual meeting vote such sums of money as they think proper to be raised for the town for the ensuing year which shall be assessed by the assessor on objects of taxation in the town as shall be yearly subject to taxation for county purposes and on such other objects as the said meeting shall direct, provided that no poll tax be imposed by the said corporation on persons not entitled to vote.

Seventh. Gives the council power to fill vacancies, appoint subordinate officers, impose fines for refusal to accept office, and the like. The council is given the exclusive right to license taverns, ale houses and public houses of entertainment.

Eighth. Provides that persons feeling aggrieved by an officer or individual of the council may appeal to the court of the general quarter sessions of the peace.

Ninth. Gives the use of the county jail to the corporation provided "that no person shall be imprisoned under the authority of the said corporation unless for the non-payment of taxes, fines or penalties assessed or imposed and all persons so imprisoned shall be under the charge of the sheriff of the county.

Tenth. Appoints David Ziegler, president; Jacob Burnet, recorder; William Ramsey, David E. Wade, Charles E. Avery, John Riley, William Stanley, Samuel Dick, William Ruffin, trustees; Abraham Casey, collector; James Smith, town marshal.

This act was signed by Edward Tiffin, speaker of the house of representatives, Robert Oliver, president of legislative council, and General Arthur St. Clair, governor.

It was a significant and even momentous change, although not revolutionary in the least. The rivulet of village life did not become the river of a town existence by plunging over a precipice, but by simply rounding a bend. It flowed serenely on; but expanded and deepened rapidly, after the turn. To form a mental picture of the town is as necessary as of the village, and not less difficult. We begin with the facts connected with the activities of the new council, duly impressed, it seems, with its dignity and power.

From 1802 to 1815 its meetings were held in private residences or in one of the many taverns-Columbia Inn, Yeatman's, McHenry's, Wingate's and The Green Tree. There was plenty of business to be attended to by the men upon whose shoulders rested the responsibility of bringing order out of the confusion of the loose-ended life of the little village, and they and their successors wrestled bravely with their problems. There is a primitive charm in reading the accounts of their meetings, proceedings and enactments, and the little world of that distant day rises before us in vivid and life-like reality as we hear the vigorous discussions of those serious-minded men over questions whose solutions resulted