Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1923-06-22
EVOLUTION AND TRANSPORTA-
TION
BY John Bush

suggests marked advance, by sue
cessive stages, from lower to a
higher form.
The history of the marked advance
in transportation in the city of New
ark is most interesting, and in
view of the widespread sentiment be-
ing created by the rapid development
of the motor bus and the waning of
the electric railway, which like the
horse-drawn cab and the canal boat,
seems doomed to be buried in eternal
oblivion, the following article will be
of interest to the readers of the New
ark Leader.
Newark is built upon the ruins of
the works of a mysterious people,
many mounds having been leveled to
make way for streets and buildings.
1t was laid out in 1902 by Gen. Will
liam G. Schenck on plan of Newark,
New Jersey, with streets from six to
eight rods wide, all crossing each
other at right angles.
These were the days of stage
coaches, when the world and the rest
of mankind moved slowly and it is
now somewhat astonishing to think
that the stage coach was the principle
means of mails and passenger trans
portation to and from Newark for
nearly fifty years. The cal.... came
later, but it did not effect the bust
ness of the stage coach lines to a
great extent.
A Centennial History of the city of
Newark, published in 1909, contains
this statement: at is found that in
1926 Giles c. Harrington, of this
place, will commence running his
stage twice week from GAINESVILLE
to Columbus after the first of July
next" 1t may be fair to conclude
from this that but one stage per week
had been on the road between these
points before the time mentioned.
Before the building of the canal
Newark had no outlet for produce,
except by wagon, to the lake or the
Muskingum river, and thence by .oat
to New Orleans. 1t was a great un-
dertaking for the state to build the
canal, and although it's working never
paid the interest on its cost, yet
without doubt it paid for itself many
times over by the increased wealth
it brought to the state.
Licking Summit, west of Newark,
was the place selected for the begin
ming of the excavation on July 4th,
1925. 1t is interesting to note the
similarity of disposition and attitude
on the part of many taxpayers in re-
CARDS to the improvements in trans
portation from 1923 to 1923. Before
the canal was finished south of the
Summit, the north end from Dresden
to Cleveland was in operation, and
wheat sold on the canal at seventy
five cents per bushel, and corn rose
in proportion. The enemies of the
canal, all of whom were large land
holders or heavy tax payers, began
to open their eyes.
The wages for work on the canal
were eight dollars for twentysix
working days, or thirty and three
fourths cents per day, from sunrise
to sunset. The hands were fed well
and lodged in shanties, and received
their regular "jigger" of whiskey
four times per day. There are many
men today who would be willing to
work those hours and would be
ahead with their board and room and
four "iiggers" of that good whiskey!
The grand canal, as it was first
called, passed entirely across the
state, connecting Lake Erie with the
Ohio river. 1t was three hundred and
thirty four miles long, including it's
various windings. 1t commenced at
Cleveland and ended at Portsmouth.
The canal was owned and controlled
by the state, and the boats were own
ed by private individuals, who paid
toll, both upon the boat and cargo,
varying from three mills to three
cents per mile.
Before the days of railroads these
boats did a good business at Newark.
The freight boats would carry from
fifty to eighty tons. The regular
passenger packets were lightly and
neatly built and arranged for carry
ing passengers in the most comfort
able manner, and made much better
time than the freight boats.
The Sandusky, Mansfield and New
ark railroad was the first one COM
pleted to Newark in 1866. 1t ex-
tended from Sandusky to Newark,
a distance of 116 miles. The con-
struction of the roadbed was solid, it
multiplicity of timbers could make
it so. First a mud-sill was laid down
lengthwise of the road; strong cross
ties were then spiked on this mud-slll.
Into these gains were cut, and these
received the wooden rails, sawed to
fit them. These rails were about five
inches wide at the tap, broadening at
the bottom, where they entered the
gain and were about seven inches
high. On these the ribbon was
spiked being a strip of hard wood
about two and half inches wide by
one inch thick, and on this the strap
iron rail was laid. Spikes were
driven through the strap rail and the
ribbon into the large wooden rail be-
meath; the heads of the spikes being
sunken into eyes in the strap rails,
leaving a smooth surface for the
wheels. This superstructure re-
auired fully three times as much
timber as the present system of ties
and iron rails.
The second railroad that entered
Newark was the Central Ohio, which
was finished shortly after the first.
The charter was granted February 8,
1847, and work was commenced in
June 1850. 1t ran through Newark
tn GAINESVILLE,