The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1915-08-26
OHIO'S 'UNLUCKIEST
VILLAGE MUST GO
Osborn Is 70 Be Wiped Out Of Existence
to Assure Safety Of Dayton and
Whole Miami River Basin.

Osborn. - Osborn, Ohio's "unlucki-
est village" must go. Doing laz-
lily under the protecting brow of q
semi-circle of Greene county hills, the
little town was an innocent bystander
in the great flood of 1918. Now It is
to be wiped out of existence to assure
the safety of Dayton and the whole
Miami river basin.
Wherever the townspeople gather
they are discussing the news that the
Miami conservancy district is going to
buy out the town for $1,000OO0 and
turn it into a great flood reservoir.
They look at the bright little houses
set well back on well ordered lawns,
lined along full stretches with giant
trees throwing their shade on easy
going passersby, and they assume the
air that marked the last moments of
Roman gladiators:
I'VE, about to die, salute YOU"
Even the bright little houses and
the nodding trees insist on partaking
of this grim heroic. In fact, it's a
happy funeral.
Some rainy days the waters of
humble little Mad river, tossed back
by a proposed conservancy dam, will
suddenly engulf the remnants of Os-
born village and make lake of the
pretty, fertile valley.
About 1850 the Old Bee Line rail-
road, branch of the Big Four, was
built, and Osborne became a station
For half a century Osborn logged
along at a leisurely pace, now and
then sucCumbing to a few new
tangled fads. A municipal light and
water plant was established, and then
cement walks were laid on every vii
lage street. The families multiplied un-
til 800 people lived in the community.
Then the prosperous existence was
changed and the last few years have
witnessed a train of misfortunes that
brought the village to a standstill and
prepared it for the last blow, the eli
max of the 'unluckiest village"
IhO SoDOlu UdIlh, du Olu nome
made financial institution that had the
confidence of every townsman and
farmer for miles around, went smash,
due to unwise investments. Business
suffered body blow.
An epidemic of smallpox ravaged
the town for an entire winter and
sent buyers and sellers and many of
the transient workmen scurrying to
other towns and cities.
The whip factory, that had main
tained close relations with the defunct
bank, finally was forced to the wall
after years of haphazard existence.
An egg case factory and a boiler
works that promised for while to
bring employment to a few people
found that they couldn't live.
Even a company which started to
build aeroplanes invented by the viii
lage marshal, Charles Snyder, went
up in the air when it was found that
the machines wouldn't.
The village owned light and power
works proved an expensive venture,
largely because of careless administra-
tion, and the taxpayers were burdened
with the recurrent indebtedness.
So, except for the % retail concerns
and fair sized milling industry,
things were on the decline. But the
people accept the situation more than
philosophically; they say it's the best
stroke of luck the town has ever had.
Osborn people have been scared
ever since the legislature three years
ago passed flood prevention law. 1t
was planned then to build two dams,
one on either side of Osborn, and the
township declared that the first freshet
would sweep their village from it's
The Erie and Big Four railroads
thought so, too, and few days ago
they served an ultimatum that their
stations would be moved away. This
would have left Osborn high and dry
commercially.
1t was at this juncture that M. L.
Finnell, Osborn's first citizen, half
owner OF the quarter million dollar
milling interests, took hand anu told
the conservancy directors to try a
new deal
Finnell showed that with the traffic |
ines moved property values would de-
1reciate so per cent and hundreds of
people would be ruined. Then he
preached the idea of building single
lam at Osborn instead of two else
where and of buying out everything
N the town at fair valuation. After
he directors recovered their breath
hey agreed that it was bully idea