The Brown Family Homestead in Maryland. (Clapboard siding is a newer recent addition.)

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Edward and Peggy Brown

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We now turn to Edward Brown, son of George and Mary Brown. Edward Brown has been confused by genealogists seeking to attach a family to a name. Roe's genealogy of the Wells, Browns, and Holmes Families tells us that Edward Brown was a sea captain. Edward Brown was a sea captain in Rhode Island, but not our ancestor.

Edward has a much more interesting story to tell.

 

Central Maryland and the Pipe Creek Hundred, circa 1728 (left) and 1745 (right) (Credit: Unknown)

Edward was born on September 16, 1733 or 34, depending on which calendar you use, and he was born on the family estate in what is now Westminster, Maryland. It is important to note that during and after Edward's time, local government was developing. Edward's father, George, was counted in the Pipe Creek Hundred. A 'Hundred' was an old system that was not based on land area, but on an area capable of raising a militia of 100 able-bodied men. The Pipe Creek Hundred was not the same land area as the neighboring Monocacy Hundred. Later, the County System came along, and as counties developed, Brown's Plague was listed as part of Frederick County or Carroll County, depending on the time period. It is not that the Brown's were moving, it was a government developing.

Edward married Margaret Durbin. Margaret went by Peggy. Peggy came from established Baltimore families, the Durbins and the Logsdons. Edward and Peggy were married in 1753 and started a large family. This list comes from combination of the will of Edward Brown (the first number) and the Brown Family Bible (the second number),

The Children of Edward and Peggy Brown

i - i Ruth Brown, b 1753; d May 28, 1827; m James McGuire
ii - v John Brown, b November 8, 1760 (1756?); d February 12, 1802
iii - iii Joshua Brown (GAR), b 1758; d January 5, 1826, Madison County, Kentucky; m Honor Wells
iv - iv Caleb Brown, b March 23, 1759; d August 30, 1837
v - ii Nancy Ann Brown, b 1760; d September 9, 1802; m1 _________ Tesch, m2 William Jessup
vi - vi Jane "Jinney" Brown, b 1762; d October 18, 1822 or 1831; m Richard Wells
vii - vii Sarah Brown, b 1764; d September 11, 1829; m Solomon Porter
viii - viii NICHOLAS BROWN, b October 17, 1765; d June 29, 1858; m SARAH WHITACKER
ix - ix Margaret Brown, b 1768; dsp July 29, 1849; m James Sappington
x - xi Mary Brown, b 1772; d 1849
xi - x Hugh Brown, b June 8, 1770; November 1, 1843; m Keziah Hoy

Edward was a farmer and owned a grist mill and distillery. In those days, excess grain was often turned into whiskey. This fact has led genealogist to speculate that his father's origins lie in Scotland.

Enlisted by Capt. John Reynolds, Frederick Co., July 18th, 1776.

Passed by Joseph Smith.

William Walker	Wm. Patrick	Edward Brown
Moses Hobbins	Archibald Mullihan	Henry Coonse
John Ferguson	Edward Pain	George Deale
Wm. Bradford, volunteer	Wm. Coffeeroth	Benedict Eiginor
Jacob Hosler	John Wade	Edward Dumatt
Thomas Fowler	Thomas Stogdon	Daniel Murphey
John Been	Silus Tomkins	Ludowick Kiding
David Grove	John Class	Christopher Curts, (Cortz)
Thos. Bissett	John Hurley	Henry Knave
Wm. Messersmith	Thomas Pitcher	Thomas McKoy, D. S. T.

Edward served in the Militia during the Revolution; he was in his forties. At the time, the general rule for service in the militia was 'any able-bodied man, fifteen to fifty.' His sons served as well - which could have been Edward's contribution in and of itself - even down to 12-year-old Nicholas. Also of note is Daniel Murphey, who was close to the family. Family lore states that Edward was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis.

Following the Revolution, Edward and Peggy decided that the area was becoming too crowded to live in. The Western Frontier was opening up and Edward moved his family to near Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh near the Ohio River. This was not new territory to Edward. His Land Warrant shows that by 1773, Edward had built a cabin near Cross Creek along with several members of the Wells family.

We the Commissioners for adjusting the claims to unapportioned lands in the Counties of Monongalia and Yohogania & Ohio do hereby certify that Edward Brown is entitled to four hundred acres of land in right of pre-emption in Yohogania County situate on the waters of Cross creek to include his cabin & other Improvements made in the Year of our Lord Seventeen hundred & seventy three.

          Given under our hand [...] the third day of February 1780 [...] of the Commissioners [...]

Edward appears on the Tax Roll for Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1780. Members of the Wells family appear in Washington County, Pennsylvania, as well. On March 23, 1780, Edward Brown took up 276 acres on a Virginia treasury warrant and Joshua Brown, Edward's brother took 396 acres known as "Brownfields" in 1788. It might seem odd that Virginia was giving land to people in Pennsylvania, but it was not. At that time, nobody really knew where Pennsylvania and Virginia was out here. Pennsylvania's charter gave a north and south boundary, but no one said how far west Pennsylvania could be. Virginia's Ohio Company was busy sending people west to occupy as much land as possible, but Virginia and the Ohio Company were pre-occupied with Kentucky. Soon, a committee was formed and Pennsylvania took responsibility within the present day borders of the state.

Edward named his tract "Fair Hill." A present day map of the area shows a combination of well-cleared farm land and thick woods. We often think of a farm as clear and flat, but in this part of the country, there is little flat land. Fields are good to plant crops and pasture livestock, but wood was an important commodity too. Logs are useful for building houses, barns, and other buildings, and the branches provide heat as firewood.

Edward was not far from Cross Creek. Fair Hill was due east of Eldersville on the Jefferson Township line with Cross Creek Township on what is now Walker Road. Edward was just a few miles from the village of Cross Creek. At the time, Cross Creek was an important, vital, and prosperous village for trade and as an a stop for people travelling west. Fair Hill seemed like a good place to live. Edward and Peggy arrived in time for two important events.

Gnaddenhutten

Here triumphed in death ninety Christian Indians, March 8, 1782

Inscription on the Monument at Gnaddenhutten

On March 6, 1782, militia men from Washington County, Pennsylvania, killed 96 Indian men, women, and children.

Nathan Rollins & brother [who] had had a father & uncle killed took the lead in murdering the one Indians, ...& Nathan Rollins had tomahawked nineteen of the poor Moravians, & after it was over he sat down & cried, & said it was no satisfaction for the loss of his father & uncle after all

Obadiah Holmes, Jr, objecter to the Raid on Gnaddenhutten

The village at Gnaddenhutten was started by Moravian missionaries who had succeeded in converting quite a few Indians to Christianity. The village featured all the necessities of frontier life - a church, a school, cabin dwellings, stores for supplies.

The problem with being a Christian Indian was two-fold. Indians did not view you as Indian and frontiersmen did.

The people around the greater Fort Pitt had grown tired of Indian Raids across the Ohio River. The British, eager to sow seeds of choas against the new United States, had lied to the Wyandots. The Wyandots were taken to believe that the American Revolution had failed, the leaders of the Revolution had been hung for treason or taken to England to be hung for treason. The British, as the Indians were told, were in control of the colonies. These people who had come from the East had fled the British. The Lanape believed it.

Likewise, they did not take much stocks of the Moravian missionaries, led by David Zeisberger. The Lanape raided Gnaddenhuten, as well as Shoenbrunn, another Moravian mission village, and either took or destroyed crops. They also raided in and around Fort Pitt.

On March 8, 1782, the Americans destroyed Gnaddenhutten under the belief that these were the Indians who had attacked them.

The event is much richer and more complex. There is no evidence that a Brown took part in the Gnaddenhutten Massacre.

The Whiskey Rebellion — 1791-1794

The Whiskey Rebellion was about taxation. One side of the argument was that the new Federal government was trying to raise money to pay for the debt of war. The other side argues that the tax was unfair. Because farmers could make whiskey more cheaply in the West and ship it to the East, the Whiskey Tax was a tariff. Further, they argued that because the Western farmers and distillers were not represented in Washington, this amounted to nothing more than taxation without representation. Accordingly, most of those who rebelled against the Whiskey Tax were soldiers who had fought in the Revolution.

Even the term "Whiskey" is a bit misleading. This was actually a liquor or 'spirits' tax on products distilled from grain, any grain. Thus, if a farmer produced alcohol from leftover corn, wheat, barley, rye, or any mixture made from these grains, the result was a tax. Since reliable currency was not readily available, whiskey was often substituted for currency. For Westerners, a Whiskey Tax was a tax on income, and this was rejected.

There were other problems. Stills had to be registered. If an unregistered still was found, the summons was issued for the Federal Court in Philadelphia. The accussed did not have the option of appearing in a local court and instead had to travel more than 300 miles, over the Appalachians to appear in court. This was a long, arduous, expensive, and potentially fatal journey. Finally, the frontiersmen felt the Federal government was doing to little to protect the Western Frontier from Indians making this tax the straw that broke the camel's back.

The Colonies at the beginning of the American Revolution

While Western Pennsylvania was portrayed as the location of the Whiskey Rebellion, resistance to the tax was found throughout the Appalachian states except Kentucky. No one in Kentucky could be convinced to become a collector for this tax and Kentucky remained a place where Whiskey could be made in peace.

To both lawmakers and President Washington, the Whiskey Rebellion appeared to be an armed revolt against the Federal government. To this end, the President sent a diplomatic contingent to negotiate a solution, while at the same time, raised a militia army in case diplomacy failed. Many, including Washington, saw this as the supremacy of Federal government over local government.

The Rebellion failed when the rebels disappeared before the march of Federal troops into Pittsburgh. By October, 1794, the Rebellion was considered to be finished. While many researchers will claim that the Southwest Pennsylvania families moved into Kentucky, taking their whiskey with them, this is not true. Many families moved from Southwest Pennsylvania to Kentucky, but the Whiskey industry was already working in Kentucky. They moved to escape the troubles of Western Pennsylvania.

In Southwestern Pennsylvania, hanging the portrait of Alexander Hamilton upside-down shows support for the Whiskey Rebellion.

On April 1, 1796, Edward sold fair Hill to Daniel Henderson. Two years later, Henderson sold it to David Walker. The farm remained in the Walker family for at least a century.

The Browns then moved further west to Holliday's Cove, West Virginia, on the Ohio River. The Ohio River was the practical western boundry of United States at the time. The Ohio Territory was just opening up thanks to the Coxes in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and the Van Cleaves in Kentucky.

Peggy died at Holliday's Cove on March 20, 1795, and is buried there.

At some point around the time of Peggy's death, Edward purchased land on Tate's Creek in Madison County, Kentucky. At about the same time, the Logsdon family was moving into Madison County. Logsdon family historians indicate the Browns and Logsdons tended to move together. These Logsdons are relatives of Peggy through her mother. The land was located south of Lexington and the Kentucky River somewhere near Old Boonesborough Road and Lexington Road. Hoy's Station and Tate's Creek Baptist Church are located here. It should be said that the Browns were Episcopalians. Edward moved his family down the Ohio River to Kentucky after Peggy's death and remarried on November 29, 1797, in Madison County, Kentucky. His new wife was Sarah Calloway, the widow of Major William Hoy. These are people that had been through the Indian Raids with the Van Cleaves. Sarah had a large number of children. One of Sarah's children, Keziah, married into the Brown family, namely Edward's youngest son Hugh.

Hoy's Station

Fort Boonesborough gives us an idea of what Hoy's Station may have looked like

Capt. Edmund Baxter, whose 1781-82 militia company of Weirton, West Virginia- Burgettstown, Pennsylvania is in the Pennsylvania Archives. This document is mislabeled as a Chester County unit. […] This company had service in the Moravian Massacre. Interestingly, John Sappington Sr. was also in the company and led militia members of the Logan Massacre of 1774.

Clifford W. Lanham

At least 15 men of Captain Baxter's Company found their way to Madison County, Kentucky.

The residents of Hoy’s Station, which was described as being on the dividing ridge between Tates and Otter Creeks, were the founder Major William Hoy, who was killed, and his wife; Jonas Hoy, son of William, who was captured by Indians; Jack Calloway who was taken prisoner with Jonas Hoy; the daughter of William Hoy who was married to Jno. Newland; Rowland Hoy who was killed; old man Crook (Crooks) who was killed; Jonathan Crook (Crooks); Daniel Williams; Ven (?) Williams; George Brown ["The Patriot," Brother of Edward Brown]; Jos. Durbin [Brother-in-law of Edward Brown]; Thos. Lanham; John Sappington [father of James Sappington - the 'Sappington Boys'] whose first wife was a sister of James Hoy; and Mr. and Mrs. Calloway, she being the mother of Major William Hoy, with her second husband.

Draper Papers (MMS12,CC190)

Having a large family tended to be the rule among pioneer families. There are many benefits,

• An investment towards retirement, your children take care of you in old age.
• Free labor, you need help with the planting and harvest, livestock, chores, and so on.
• Defense, there are a lot of people and animals which were deadly.
• A hedge against infant mortality, not all children survived.
• Entertainment, a large family means something is always going on.
• Community, these children will marry and form communities.
• Population growth for a new country in a sparsely populated land.

Apparently, watermelons were hard to come by in Kentucky in the late 1700s.

Major William Hoy was a native of Virginia. He married the Miss Sarah Callaway and William went west into Kentucky and had a large family. William established a pioneer station, "Hoy's Station," south of Lexington. The Hoys and Callaways, perhaps as well other associated families lived there.

On August 10, 1782, the men of Hoy's Station went out to cut a race from Tate's Creek. Back then, a race was a channel of water, often diverted from a creek, that could be used to power a mill. Two young boys, Jonas Hoy, and his younger uncle, John "Jack" Callaway - large family phenomena - went out to help the men dig the race. Along the way, they stopped to examine the Watermelon Patch. There, they were kidnapped by Indians. Although a pursuit was taken, the Indians escaped and the boys remained captive for a number of years. This became a pivotal event among the pioneers and shaped what would happen next.

The Children of Major William and Sarah Callaway Hoy

i Elizabeth (Betty/Betsy) Hoy, m April 20, 1784, John South
ii Roland Hoy, d 1790, Madison County, Kentucky
iii Jonas Hoy, born May 1,1773; m July 1, 1805, Elizabeth Brown
iv Theodocia Hoy, m 1791, Lawrence Flournoy
v William Hoy, b January 5, 1783; m January 25, 1805, Mildred DeJarnette
vi Kezia Hoy m Hugh Brown
vii Faunia (Fanny) Hoy
viii Celia Tania Hoy, m John Newland
ix Parthenia Hoy, b 1782; d September 7, 1834; m1 May 20, 1804, John DeJarnette; m2 John Sappington

William Hoy died at the hands of Indians in Madison County, Kentucky, in 1790. Sarah married Edward Brown in 1797, and according to Hoy and Callaway family sources, died in Estill County, Kentucky, after 1822.

Edward Brown passed away on August 14, 1823. Most genealogist place his death in Madisonville, Hopkins County, Kentucky, while others place his death in Estill County, Kentucky, next to Sarah. Most of Edward's estate goes to those closest to him. In his will, he leaves One Dollar to his son Nicholas. Nicholas has his eyes on Ohio.

Mr. and Mrs. George Brown, Esquire

The Flag of Maryland

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Mr. and Mrs. George Brown, Esquire

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The origins of the Brown Family in England are uncertain. For some time it was thought that the Browns originated in the Colony of Saint Mary's in Maryland. This has been disproven. Likewise, some place the origin of the Browns in America on the Mayflower. This has also been disproven. Still others claim the Browns were Germans who settled in Pennsylvania. They were not, they were English who lived in Pennsylvania amongst Germans. Research is being conducted for that one piece of evidence that will link our Brown ancestor to a family of Browns in England. Several researchers now think there might have been a minister seeking religious freedom might be involved. For now, the origins of the Browns in England remain undiscovered.

We begin with George Brown. Here is what we used to think — George is the first Brown of our family born in the New World. George was born in Baltimore, Maryland somewhere around 1714. Sometime around 1730, George married Miss Nancy Stevenson, who was apparently 16 at the time, the daughter of Colonel Stevenson. The couple had a large family and there are conflicting lists of their children. George died in 1770. No date of Nancy's death was recorded.

Recent research offers a more complete picture — George Brown was a gentleman of wealth who was born in Nottinghamshire, England, in 1690. In 1712, in Baltimore, Maryland, George married a native of Baltimore, Mary Stevenson, daughter of Edward and Mary King Stevenson. Col Edward Stevenson was George's brother-in-law. George's first child, Mary, was born about 1715.

George was a landowner, which speaks to his wealth. George's marriage into the Stevenson family speaks to his social status. There is another section devoted to the Stevenson Family. Mary's brother was a Colonel in the King's Army, which is fairly high in the aristocracy of the colony. Further, George's grandson, George Brown, DD, states his grandfather was known as George Brown, Esquire, which denotes a degree of landed gentry. George Brown goes on to say, "My Grand Father was from England. He was about five feet one inch in height, strongly built, and of great strength." The following lists the Land Patents of George Brown with the year, name of patent, and size,

• 1734 — Brown's Chance, 150 acres, near Baltimore, Maryland.
• 1743 — Brown's Delight, 350 acres, near Westminster, Maryland.
• 1743 — Pleasant Grove, 50 acres.
• 1761 — Brown's Plague, 565 acres, includes a resurvey of Brown's Delight.

George died on February 24, 1770, and Nancy passed sometime between 1771 and 1776. It is a long-held belief that George and Mary were laid to rest near Westminster, Maryland, on land originally patented as Brown's Delight. George's will is instrumental in establishing the family.

Will of George Brown, Esquire

In the name of God, Amen I, George Brown of Frederick County in the province of Maryland being sick in health but of sound mind and memory Thanks be to god for it [illegible] to the c[illegible] of nature my departure draweth near, so this nineteenth day of February in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred and sixty seven make and publish this my last will and testament in the manner and form following. That is to say, Item: I will and bequeath unto my son John Brown, all that [illegible] tract of land called Pleasant Grove containing fifty acres lying in Baltimore County to him and his heirs forever and nor more of my estate real or personal. Item: I also give and bequeath to my sons, George, Edward, and Richard, each of them the sum of one shilling sterling money to be paid unto each of them on demand at the end of one whole year after my decease and no more of my estate real or personal. Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughters, Mary and Elizabeth each of them the sum of one shilling sterling money to be paid unto them on demand at the the end of one year after my decease and no more of my estate real or personal. Item: also I give and bequeath unto my daughter Rachel, one feather bed and furniture and no more of my estate real or personal. Item: also I give and bequeath unto my four sons William, Henry, Hugh and Joshua after the payment of my just debts all that part of the tract of land called Brown's Plague which I shall [illegible] of being by estimation near three hundred acres to be equally divided among them after the decease of my well-beloved wife Mary Brown, to them and their heirs forever. Item: also, I order and desire that sale be made of such goods and chattels as is not above disposed of with all convenient speed in order to pay my debts. Otherwise, some part of my land called Brown's Plague as to my [illegible] hereafter mentioned shall sum and convenient and I also make and ordain my well-beloved wife, Mary Brown and my son, Henry, executrix and executors of this my last will in trust for the [illegible] in this my last will contained. In witness whereof I the said George Brown have to this my last will and testament set my hand and seal this day and year first written above. George Brown - Signed, sealed and delivered by the said George Brown as and for his last will and testament presence of us Jost Runkly, John Logsdon, William Logsdon

Children of George and Mary Brown (as listed in the Will of George Brown)

i Mary Brown, b. 1717; d. 1757; m John Baxter

ii [Nancy Anne Brown, b 1723; d 1765; m Richard Tidley Wells - assigned by tradition]

iii John Brown, b 1725; d 1810; m Elizabeth McQueen

iv [Sarah Brown - assigned by tradition]

v George Brown, Junior, "George the Patriot", b 1730, d 1812, m Mary Hall

vi EDWARD BROWN, b September 16, 1734, d August 14, 1823; m MARGARET DURBIN

vii Richard Brown b 1739; d February 8, 1811; m Honor Wells

viii Elizabeth Brown, m Jacob Sappington

ix Henry Brown, b 1741; d 1827; m Regina ________

x William Brown, b 1742; d 1771 (age 29); bur Suffolk, England October 26, 1771

xi Rachel Brown, b 1743; d 1818; m Michael McQuire

xii Hugh Brown, b 1745; d July 11, 1811; m Ruth Barney

xiii Joshua Brown, b 1748; d September 17, 1832; m Susanne ________

xiv [Assigned by tradition]

xv [Assigned by tradition]

xiv [Assigned by tradition]

Licking County Railroads, Part VII - The Columbus, Buckeye Lake, & Newark Traction Company

This glimpse into the past has its origin namely with Edith Irwin.  In the early 1900s, Edith lived in a then new house on Alexandria, Ohio's, west side.  For her day, Edith dressed properly and modestly, but always liked her wardrobe to be current.  She told me this story of how she went shopping before the automobile.

Granville had sought ways to connect themselves to lines of communication --the Granville Feeder Canal and the alignment of the Panhandle Route stand in witness -- but the interurban began in Newark and caused some concern in Granville.  Because inexpensive commutes could be made to Newark, Granville businessmen believed they would lose their customers.  There is also some evidence to believe that the students at Granville's centers of higher learning were also involved in the decision to connect Newark and Granville.  Along the way is a prediction that one day, Newark and Granville would grow into a single metropolis.  These arguments meant little for the interurban was begun.

The Newark and Granville Electric Street Railway

One source indicates that the Newark and Granville Electric Street Ry. began in Newark at the Baltimore & Ohio RR Depot at First and Yearly Streets.  Another source indicates the main N&G depot faced the Courthouse on the square in downtown Newark.  If the latter case is true, then the B&O Depot would have been at the end of a spur to satisfy the first source.  That is not true either.  A picture from circa 1902 shows the end of the tracks on Second Street in downtown Newark.  Plainly visible in the background is the steeple of the Second Presbyterian Church on East Church Street.  The Depot would have been on the northeast side of the square on Second Street near the current Midland Theater.  The line then worked itself out of downtown Newark on West Main Street and continued down Main Street to Central City where it followed present day Cherry Valley Road and crossed the Raccoon Creek on the Showman Arch Bridge.

The Showman Arch Bridge was originally built to carry the Granville Feeder Canal over Raccoon Creek.  It becomes obvious that by the time of the interurban, the Granville Feeder Canal was no longer in use.  In fact, the Toledo & Ohio Central RR Field Engineer's Survey indicates the Granville Feeder Canal at the end of Clouse Lane was filled in by 1890.  Because the T&OC built a trestle over the canal, this indicates that the canal was open in 1881 when the railroad was built.  Because no facility was made to make the bridge movable, canal traffic could not have passed beyond the trestle.  The Newark and Granville Street Ry began planning before the 1890 T&OC survey, so with these dates it is possible to estimate that the canal was filled, at least at the Granville end and the Showman Arch Bridge, in the early 1880s.

On December 28, 1889, The Newark and Granville Electric Street Railway was placed in operation from downtown Newark to a location on Centerville Street approximately where Clouse Lane intersects Centerville Street, or as it is called today, Newark-Granville Road.  This is the same proximate location of the original canal port.  That is where the N&G ran out of money, so they placed the system in operation to start making money.  As revenues began to come in, the line was continued into Granville on Broadway with the station in the old Alexandrian Bank building, the current home of the Granville Historical Society.  Shortly after, the tracks were run to Main Street and down the hill to the Toledo and Ohio Central Depot saving transfer passengers an uphill climb to downtown Granville.

All Those Names!

Along the route to Hebron, the CBL&N rides the canal berm.

By 1902, the Columbus, Buckeye Lake & Newark Traction Company was completed with a total of 34 miles of track from Columbus to Hebron, then north, along the old canal route, to Newark.  The CBL&N actually leased the berm of the canal from the State of Ohio for the run from Newark to Hebron, following, more-or-less, the path of State Route 79.  This eliminated grade problems, but because of the meandering of the canal, the road had 19 curves in the nine mile stretch between Newark and Hebron.  By this time, a power generating station had been built at Hebron to furnish electricity for the route.  Additionally, a substation was employed at Hibernia between Reynoldsburg and present-day Whitehall to provide power to downtown Columbus.  There is a connection with the Columbus, London, & Springfield Railway to allow power transfer and the substation provides power back towards Hebron as far as Etna.

Railroads and the interurban preferred straight and level track.    Hills cause problems with speed -- read timetables -- and can reduce the amount a car can carry.  Curves just slow the interurban down.  For this reason, access to the Ohio and Erie Canal berm was an expedient for the Newark-Hebron run, it was already fairly level and graded.  Early on, the CBL&N made a decision to install a 'Dead Man's Switch.'  While most curves between Newark and Hebron were gentle, some mischievous youngsters between Newark and Hebron tried their aim by throwing rocks at the interurban as it passed.  One rock connected with the motorman's head knocking him unconscious. The throttle shut down when the motorman's grip relaxed and prevented the car from careening off one of the sharper curves while the car was travelling at a fairly high speed.

The CBL&N route along the National Road near Kirkersville.

For the Columbus-Hebron leg, the CBL&N followed the right-of-way along the National Road.    This road was fairly straight and level through southern Licking County.  This allowed those towns that were serviced by the National Road to grow and provided access to downtown Columbus with a minimum of maneuvering.  In Columbus, there was a large interurban depot providing convenience to the passenger, whether for work, business, or pleasure.  The greatest obstacles for the road was crossing Big Walnut Creek and Alum Creek, which the interurban did without problem.  As an aside, the Columbus, New Albany, and Johnstown Traction Company started in Columbus with the goal of connecting Johnstown and northwestern Licking County to Columbus, but stopped in Gahanna.  The Big Walnut Creek was as far as they got.

By 1903, a power generating station had been built at Hebron to furnish electricity for the route.  The August 1, 1903, edition of the Street Railway Journal describes the CBL&N as the most important property of the syndicate that was forming under Tucker-Anthony, the value of which would be enhanced by the extension to Zanesville.  This article also points out the N&G was sold to the CBL&N earlier in 1903 following a rebuilding of the route with heavier rail.  In 1904, a 30-mile stretch was built from Newark, through Black Hand Gorge to Zanesville creating the Columbus, Newark, and Zanesville Electric Railway.  Three interurban lines now existed under the Tucker-Anthony corporate umbrella:

• The Newark and Granville Electric Street Railway (N&G) - The interurban that started it all.
• The Columbus, Buckeye Lake, and Newark, (CBL&N) - named "The Pleasure Line" for the spur to Buckeye Lake.
• The Columbus, Newark, and Zanesville Electric Railway</b>, (CN&Z) - named "The Scenic Line" for the route through Black Hand Gorge.

The Tucker-Anthony Traction Syndicate had its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.  Another syndicate, Appleyard and Companies, was already working with Tucker-Anthony in 1903 to create through trains between Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Toledo.  It should be noted that Arthur E. Appleyard was listed as the Vice-President of the road in 1903.  Mr Appleyard is also the President of the Great Northern Construction Company, which oversaw the construction of the line.

Appleyard would come under legal scrutiny for some of his financial dealings with the German Bank of New York.  Then, in 1906, the Indiana, Columbus, and Eastern Traction Company took in the Columbus, Newark, and Zanesville Electric Railway.  In 1907, the Ohio Electric Railway Company leases the IC&E Traction -- formed from the Appleyard syndicate holdings -- and all goes well until... 1921, when the Ohio Electric goes bankrupt and returns the IC&E with the CN&Z to independent operation.

But wait, in 1925, IC&E sells the CN&Z which then becomes the Southern Ohio Public Service Company.  Then, in January, 1929, the Southern Ohio PSC is abandoned to Columbus and the last car left Zanesville a month later.  The interurban was gone.

CN&Z Combine asks, "Are highways paid for by those who use them?"

To the side of the owners and operators of the interurban, there were a lot of financial obstacles and public opinion to overcome.  First, the interurban was built at a time when the only competition for roads was the horse.  The interurban could dominate their world because they offered a service and a price favorable for their convenience.  In return, the interurban funded itself.  Investors paid for the materials and construction and expected a return on their investment from the revenues.  On the other hand, the rise of the automobile in the 1920s was helped, at least in part, by the government.  The government spent tax money on building and improving roadways that made personal travel and freight shipment easier for the automobile owner and more competitive for the interurban.  The interurban syndicates asked for assistance in kind to help them maintain their roads and bridges.  Instead, the automobile became the preferred form of transportation.

Second, cities became upset, rightly or wrongly, with the interurban.    In order to subsidize passenger operations, the interurban, like their railroad cousins, relied on freight business to provide revenue; passenger service, generally speaking, was doing good to break even for the company.  Since passenger service ruled the road during the day, freight and maintenance operations was night-time business.  For motorists, the interurban disrupted traffic during the day and kept you awake at night.  There was a general feeling in the cities that the world would be better without the interurban.  In many places, the interurban accepted their invitation to leave and were gone by the late 1920s or early 1930s.

Idlewilde Park and Buckeye Lake

As the interurban established itself, it also started looking for additional sources of income.  Minerva Park was just one such location in Columbus.  The CBL&N was no exception and procured land the old Licking County Fairgrounds.

Idlewild Park started out as an ancient Moundbuilder earthwork that the early settlers called 'The Old Fort' under the belief that the whole purpose of the place was an Indian defensive position.  The place was cleared of trees and became the Fairgrounds under the Licking County Agricultural Association.  By the late 1800s, initial cries for preservation rang out.  The Agricultural Association moved the fair, and in a fit of irony, an amusement park broke out!  The CBL&N quickly turned this into a destination and it was popular among the elite and fashionable.  Looking around for the bigger and better, land came available at Buckeye Lake for the CBL&N.

Buckeye Lake started as a swampy remnant of an ancient, pre-glacial river that cut through the middle of Ohio.  The glaciers carved new topography leaving a large swamp where this mighty river once flowed.  When the canal was planned, the need for a water source for the locks to raise and lower boats over the summit dividing the drainage districts of the local streams, creeks, and rivers.  Buckeye Lake was dammed to about a five-foot depth and a feeder canal was cut to get the water to the canal.  By the time of the CBL&N, the State of Ohio had turned Buckeye Lake into a state park.  The CBL&N turned Buckeye Lake into a bigger, better destination.

The CBL&N soon turned Buckeye Lake into an amusement park with rides and galleries, a swimming beach,    dance halls, and popular performers of the day.  Much local history has been written on Buckeye Lake, so no effort will be made to duplicate this.  Buckeye Lake's popularity did outlive the CBL&N and survived into the second half of the Century.

Hebron, Where the Action Took Place

The then-newly built Hebron Powerplant in operation.

While the main offices and car barn along with a power sub-station were located in Newark, the bulk of day-to-day work to support the interurban took place in Hebron.  Hebron, a once prosperous canal town had fallen in both population and activity as the canal business dried up, so to speak.  Hebron was also more-or-less located centrally to the CBL&N.  Here is where Tucker-Anthony built their new powerhouse.  A modern brick building with two wings, this building housed boilers for steam production -- and was sited there for the proximity to water -- steam-powered electrical generators, as well as the dispatcher's office.  A separate gas pressure reduction and regulator building was built to handle the flucuating gas pressures in the transmission line from Newark.  A coal dock was also built to store coal as back-up power should the gas fail.

One wing of the building held four boilers in two banks with a thick safety wall between.  Three boilers were set to run on gas while the fourth was held in reserve as a coal-fired boiler.  The three gas boilers were also convertible to coal.  The other wing housed the electrical generators and power transmission equipment.

The dispatcher was perhaps the most critical member of the operations team.    Before an interurban car could leave a station stop, the train conductor had to call the dispatcher to receive permission to move.  The dispatcher would check the line ahead and clear or hold the car depending on whether the track ahead was occupied.  A system of train orders was devised to ensure that the conductor read back the train order so that no communication error occured.  Because of the effectiveness of the method used, a similar system is in use today at airport control towers for safety.

To the passenger, Hebron offered a choice.  Another former rider of the CBL&N, Dorothea Lynd of Kirkersville, tells that as a young lady, it was a temptation to choose between going shopping in Newark or going for relaxation at Buckeye Lake.

At least by some timetables, the stop at Hebron required switching cars, whether it be to get off the Newark or Columbus car to transfer to Buckeye Lake, or some other combination of routes and transfers.  Additionally, the Limiteds ran directly from Newark to Columbus and did not stop at Hebron.  Either way, Hebron was an important community for operation of the system.

Operations on the CBL&N

At the heart of the interurban was daily operations.  On one hand, we tend to think of public transportation as a public service, but the reality is that the interurban was a for-profit company intended to put money into the pockets of employees and investors.  With this in mind, the interurban wanted to offer the maximum amount of service for the minimum cost.  Trains ran hourly from Columbus and Newark with upgraded Limited service available for a premium price.  Although this was a great convenience, there were times during the day of the week or month of the year when the cars ran fully loaded and times when they ran nearly empty.  The following timetables show times, distances, and prices one could expect in the early 1900s.

Timetables and Fares on the CBL&N in 1903

    Leaves hourly until 10:00 PM    Fares/Round-trip    Miles    Population

    Columbus 6:00 AM - / - 0 145,000

    Capital University 6:25 AM 5 ¢ / 10 ¢ 4.2

    Doneys 6:30 AM 10 ¢ / 20 ¢ 6.9

    Reynoldsburg 6:40 AM 15 ¢ / 25 ¢ 11.1 400

    Wagram 6:50 AM 20 ¢ / 35 ¢ 14.9 150

    Etna    7:00 AM 25 ¢ / 45 ¢ 17.3 350

    Kirkersville 7:15 AM 35 ¢ / 60 ¢ 21.9 300

    Hebron (Transfer) 7:30 AM 45 ¢ / 75 ¢ 27.6 650

    Newark 7:50 AM 60 ¢ / $1.00 36.9 19,324

    NOTES:

    1.  Newark-Granville: 15¢ one-way, 25¢ round trip.

   2.  In 1904, the CN&Z began Sleeping Car Service between Columbus and Newark, 25¢ extra, and Columbus and Zanesville, 35¢ extra.

  Leave Newark 6:00 0.0 36.9 7:50 Arrive Columbus

    Hebron 6:30 9.3 27.6 7:30 Hebron

    Kirkersville 6:45 15.0 21.9 7:15 Kirkersville

    Etna (3) 7:00 19.6 17.3    7:00 Etna

    Wagram 7:10 22.0 14.9 6:50 Wagram

    Reynoldsburg 7:20 25.8 11.1 6:40 Reynoldsburg

    [ Hibernia (1) ]

    Doneys (2) 7:30 30.0 6.9 6:30 Doneys

    Capital University 7:35 32.7 4.2 6:25 Capital University

    Arrive Columbus 7:50 36.9 0.0 6:00 Leave Columbus

    NOTES:

    1.  Hibernia is often listed as an interurban stop after Reynoldsburg heading into Columbus. Hibernia is now a ghost town located around the intersection of Main Street and Noe-Bixby Road in Columbus.

    2.  Doney's Station is located in Whitehall where the former C&O crossed Main Street.

    3.  Etna is the meeting point for the East- and Westbound cars.

    4.  Freight stops seemed more numerous along the route:  Columbus - Capital University - Crumms (this is possibly another name for the stop at Hibernia) - Reynoldsburg - Wagram - Etna - Parkinsons (probably the intersection of the National Road and Watkins Road) - Kirkersville - Luray (at the intersection of the National Road and State Route 37) - Hebron - Buckeye Lake - Taylor's Bridge (location unsure, possibly a couple miles north of Hebron on the old Taylor farms) - Armstrongs (location unsure, possibly in the area of the current Indian Mound Mall) - Newark.  Stops at Parkinson, Luray, Taylor's Bridge, and Armstrong seemed to be stops for freight only.

Armed with this information, we know that Edith Irwin can leave Granville 7:00 AM and arrive at about 7:30 AM.  After a short wait, the car from Columbus arrives and boards, and Edith leaves Newark at 8:00 AM.  A short 20 minutes later and we transfer at Hebron to the Columbus car and arrive at downtown Columbus at 9:50 AM.  At this time, the interurban station was at 36 West Gay Street in Columbus between High and Front Streets.  Here, the City of Columbus had a unique problem to surmount.  Already congested with streetcar traffic, Columbus built an interurban loop that ran on Rich, Third, Gay, and Scioto/Water Streets.  The interurban would enter the loop and circle until they reached their appropriate station.  Besides the station at 36 West Gay, other interurban companies had their depots further down the street.  To leave, the motorman would continue around the loop and exit where they came in.  This station was in use until 1912 when a new station was built on the west side of Third Street between Rich and Town Streets.

After a couple hours of shopping, lunch is easily obtained.  While downtown Columbus offered a variety of diners, if memory is correct, Edith enjoyed eating at Lazarus’ in-house restaurant, that is, after 1914.  Lazarus offered a tearoom on the Fifth Floor, later renamed The Chintz Room, which would have certainly been right for Edith’s tastes.  Then some last-minute shopping before catching the return car at 2:00 PM.

Edith is back in Hebron at 3:30 and arrives back in Newark at 3:50.  At 4:30, the car leaves Newark for Granville returning Edith home for a 6:00 PM for dinner.  In this way, many turn-of-the-Twentieth Century from outlying areas women stayed fashionable with the most current of styles.  Likewise, Edith was able to enjoy a sophisticated style, even if just for a day.  So, the next question becomes, 'How did she get there?'

Equipment of the CBL&N

The CBL&N's most photogenic car, #70, along the way (top)

 and pulling out of the Columbus Interurban Depot years later (bottom).

1903 Car Inventory of the CBL&N

Hourly Service

• Four - 62' Barney & Smith Cars - 62 seats, baggage compartment, water cooler, restroom, smoker lounge.
• Four - 50' Barney & Smith Cars - 50 seats, baggage compartment, water cooler, restroom, smoker lounge.

Limited Service (Direct from Columbus to Newark and back)

• One - 62' Barney & Smith Parlor Car with Chair Seats.

Express Freight Service

• Two - 60' Barney & Smith Express Freight Cars

Summer Service (to accommodate extra traffic)

• Five - 62' Jewett Car Company semi-convertable cars (window glass is removable) with slat seats and a large center aisle to accommodate standing passengers.

N&G Line

• One - 50' Jewett Combination Car (Large baggage compartment with reduced area for passenger seating)

Newark City Service

• Six - 34' Jewett double-truck cars
• Ten - Single-truck open cars
• Two - 15-Bench Open Excursion Cars

NOTE:  These numbers do not include any Trailers (unpowered passenger or freight cars) or Maintenance-of-Way cars (for example, catenary work or track repair).

Journals of the very early interurban era tout the CBL&N as the most modern, pleasant, and comfortable of interurban for the time.  Even so, this would be compared to the horse and buggy travel on unimproved roads and not today's smoothly paved highways in automobiles with shock absorbers and rubber tires.  In those times, streets, if they were paved, were more often than not paved with cobblestone or brick.  There can be no doubt that the interurban was a better ride, comparatively speaking.

Edith Irwin would have spent her $1.00 on the hourly interurban and in return would have taken the hourly car, a Barney & Smith built coach.  Barney & Smith had been building railroad cars in Dayton, Ohio, for some time.  When the interurban came along, they competed openly with other start-up companies such as the Jewett Car Company of Newark, Ohio, or the McGuire-Cummings Car and Coach Company of Paris, Illinois.  In either case, the car would have been largely constructed of wood, well painted, and finished with several coats of varnish.  The seats would have been slatted wooden seats, not altogether different from a porch swing, unless she took the Limited.  Since the suspension on the interurban was steel springs, the ride would have been rough and uncomfortable, especially in light of the clothing of the time.  She would have been glad to return home to her favorite, a finely upholstered wingback chair that looked out her picture window.

Gone Are the Days...

Two cars pass at Wagram.

From time to time, initiatives come around to revisit light rail mass transportation.  There are proponents and critics, some newspaper articles and public conversation, then the idea all goes away.  Yet Licking County was a pioneer with the interurban, perhaps a turn-of-the-Twentieth-Century fad.  The public preferred the automobile and before the first half of the Century passed, most interurban had stopped running.  The capital investment in infrastructure became the profits of realtors, scrap dealers, and auctioneers as the companies sold out after spending a couple short decades trying to consolidate their holdings while remaining solvent.  Several articles make a point of showing pictures of the Ohio and Erie Canal, National Road, steam railroads, and the interurban as an illustration of the progress made in transportation.  Today, the Ohio and Erie Canal has been largely filled in and the T&OC mainline is a bike path... and we still complain when we enlarge roads to meet our needs.  From time to time I stop by to see Edith Irwin, her body lies buried not far from my plot.  I always reflect on this little vignette whenever I do.

Edith Scott Irwin was born in Indiana in 1884 to Canadian immigrants.  She married St. Albans Township native Lawrence C. Irwin in 1907.  This happy couple had two daughters, then tragedy struck.  Lawrence developed tuberculosis and spent his final years in and out of the TB Sanitarium in Newark before dying in 1930.  Edith raised her daughters by herself and loved to take them to Columbus to shop.  During World War II, Edith was an Air Raid Warden and her daughters were active with the USO.  At this time, her oldest met and married an Army Air Corp pilot who would go on to be a career officer.  The youngest became a school teacher.  Edith enjoyed hosting and attending teas, dinners, and a bridge club.