Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1862-12-31
Correspond9Hc9 6tthe Empire.
.u~fvrColdaNs HOUSE, TOLEDO,
December 81. 1862.

OeCbHOef 81 loOA. |
There are no localities in the West that
have interested statesmen, warriors, pr civi-
lians, so much as the Miami Of the Lake, or
mouth Of the Maumee river since the forma-
ton of our State. During the War OF 1872,
Fort Meigs, a few miles north Of this, was
Justly regarded as one OF our most important
military posts for the protection OF North
Western Ohio, and its site is still regarded
with great interest by every person who values
the early history of Ohio,
At the close Of the war, enterprising and
far.seeing men predicted that the great Com
mercial metropolis Of our State would be
located on the banks of the beautiful miami
of the Lake" but at what particular point no
one at first was able to conjecture. Specula-
tors purchased all the land along the river
from the rapids to the Lake and laid out
enough town lots to build a City as large as
London. Maumee, Perrysburg, Vistulai Port
Lawrence, and Manhattan, are some Of the
names of the towns which We, now recollect,
the proprietors OF any one Of which assured
the public that they had the only spot suitable
for a great City. Millions of money was
expended in the purchase Of these lots and
building docks TO accommodatethe commerce
Of a great city. Maumee on the West bank
and Perrysburg on the East bank at the foot
of the rapids and ut the head of navigation,
for a long time o%utstripped in growth all Of
their competitors. Both become County seats,
the first of Lucas and the latter Of Wood
County and spectators invested freely in
each. Some shrewd Yankees however de-
clared that they were both too far from the
Lake and the establishment Of a bank of issue
at Manhattan, where any amount of money
could be procured gave that place q ~notoriety
above all others. Its unexampled prosperity
was like all towns built with fictitious capital
of short continuance. The bank failed and
with it hundreds Of the inhabitants of Man
hattah. lH
Vistula and Port Lawrence were finally
discovered to be the most eligible spots for the
coming City and as they were close together
could soon be united. Men Of wealth and
enterprise took hold of the project and in a
few years builtup the respectable and populous
city of Toledo on the site Of Vistula and St
Lawrence. ~
Toledo has grown with unprecedented rapid
ity and is destined to become the greatest
Commercial CITY on Lake Erie. 1t already
contains nearly twenty thousand inhabitants
and is the second gram market in the world
and yet it is still surrounded by large tracts
of uncultivated land equal 10 anyin the West.
1t commands and always receives the grain
and lumber trade Of an immense territory,
embracing that of the rich valleys of the
wabash ana Miami. us WnOltsale tTuue is
already very extensive and some OF the largest
Dry Goods, Groceries, Hardware, and Queens
ware houses in the Union are TO be found
here. Among other large houses erected the
past summer is that OF Mr.. Henry Phillips
on Summit street. 1t has a front of forty
four feet on Summit and Water streets, four
stories high and is filled with agricultural
instruments, seeds, hardware, &c. Other
capaoious buildings intended for stores and
private dwellings are being erected and If the
war was over aud mechanics could be procur
ed no town in the West would grow as fast al
Toledo. The Wabash and Miami canals have
found employment for all their boats to thii
City during the past season and the Detroit
Dayton and Michigan, Southern Michigan
and Cleveland Rail Roads have found II diff
cult to obtain rolling stock to convey the
freight and passengers which concentrate
here. These rail roads never did as well be
fore, the Dayton and Michigan having nearly
doubled its receipts during the past season
A numerous fleet of Propellers aud sailing
vessels have left daily for Dunkirk and Buffalo
fully freighted during the past season anC
navigation on the Lakes has kept open unit
q very late period.
mechanics from Cincinnati and Dayton hav,