Month: May 2025

A Most Pleasant Party

Candace W Leave a comment

One of the most pleasant parties of the season took place last Friday evening at the capacious residence of H. B. Williams, Esq., in East Ottawa. The evening was a delightful one for those who drove in from the country and every one seemed to be in a good dancing humor. All seemed to feel that it was to be an evening of enjoyment, and such without doubt it proved to be. The guests (about forty-five in number) were pleasantly received by Mr. and Mrs. Williams, who cannot be excelled for kind hospitality. As dancing was to be the prime amusement of the evening, a good programme had been arranged, the floors of two large parlors had ben nicely waxed, and soon, to the delicious strains of Prof. Sweet and wife’s fine music, the merry couples went whirling thro’ the mazy dance. Mr. C. B. Hess played the part of floor manager in a very happy manner. A few enjoyed themselves in a quiet way by a pleasant game of cards and others listened to the “Melican Man” by Chas. Green.

At a late hour the party dispersed with many pleasant adieus to the host and hostess. The music was praised by all present as the finest we have enjoyed during the season, and the hope was expressed by many that we might enjoy their fine music again in the near future. Prof. Cliff Sweet, formerly of Plano, but now of Aurora, has been engaged in the music business a number of years, teaching, party playing and piano tuning, and is a fine violinist. Besides his party playing he has dancing schools at Aurora and Mendota, and is building up a fine reputation as a musician and teacher. His wife accompanies him on the harp and is also quite a fine musician. His quadrilles are mostly new and his waltzes, polkas and schottisches are delicious.

The following were present: Mr. and Mrs. Thos. E. McKinlay, Prof. and Mrs. C. W. Tufts, Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Hess, Misses Clara Angevine, Josie Stout, Cora Dunavan, Bertha Angevine, Maggie Stout, Jennie Dunavan, Louise Watts, Belle Dunavan, Delia Craig, Cora Childs, Etta Barnes, Winnie Childs, Ethel Marriner, Misses Loy and others, Messrs. Chas. Angevine, W. Trumbo, John Hall, Ross Mitchell, James Butters, Geo. Dunaway, N. Flick, N. Clawson, of Oglesby, Chas. Green, Chas. Dunavan, Joseph Green, S. Dunavan, T. H. Green, Wm. Dunavan, James Green and others.1

  1. Ottawa Republican, March 7, 1884, p. 5.

Another Dayton Water Power Fight

Candace W Leave a comment

Dayton dam with feeder in the foreground

In 1899, the Merrifield Electric Light company made a proposal to the Ottawa city council to grant them a franchise to supply electric light to Ottawa, with the power to be supplied from Dayton, on wires running down the feeder bank. The source of the power would be the mill property situated on the feeder in Dayton which Louis W. Merrifield purchased from Miles Masters in 1897. One Ottawa newspaper, The Republican Times, urged caution in accepting the proposal:

Some of our city contemporaries have come out for and against the proposed granting of an electric light franchise to Mr. L. B. Merrifield, of the Organ Company. If the city council is asked for such a franchise the aldermen should take whatever time is needed to examine into the probable results of such an enterprise, not only in the matter of lights, but in its effect upon the industries using the water power furnished by the Hydraulic Company. The Republican-Times holds that a careful and impartial investigation should precede action on any application for special privileges.1

The paper then provided some historical information on the Hydraulic Basin:

Although an old institution, the people of Ottawa have very little real knowledge of the Ottawa Hydraulic Company and of the advantages in an industrial way that it has been to this city. The canal from Dayton, called the Feeder, was constructed by the state to feed the Illinois-Michigan canal. The side-cut and the oblong basin it empties into, called the hydraulic basin, were constructed by the state for commercial purposes and to regulate the level of the main canal. At one time on the banks of these artificial bodies of water were located six or eight great elevators, with a capacity of 25,000 or 30,000 bushels of grain per day. Then Ottawa was the greatest grain market in the world where the grain was handled direct from the wagon.

A number of citizens of Ottawa in the year 1852 leased of the state of Illinois the surplus water of the hydraulic basin, side-cut and canal. Heretofore that water had run to waste in a race to the Illinois river at La Salle street. The company organized was called the Ottawa Hydraulic Company.

At present the following industries are operating on leases from the Ottawa Hydraulic Company:
The Pioneer Fire-Proof Construction Company
The Illinois Valley Milling and Shipping Company
The Ottawa Electric Light Company
The Ottawa City Electric Light Company
The T. J. Nortney Manufacturing Company
The H. C. King Box Factory
The Sanderson Refrigerator Factory
The Ottawa Harness Company
The McCully and Flick Mold Factory
The Yockey Carpet Renovating Factory2

The concern voiced by the paper was that in order to supply the electricity for the proposed lighting the Merrifields would use more than their share of the Dayton water power to generate electricity, thus depriving the industries in the hydraulic basin of the water they needed. Another article laid out the history of the Dayton water power.

DAYTON WATER POWER
The Facts and Figures About the Leases of Power, the Parties and Amounts
THE MERRIFIELD CONTRACT
Ottawa Factories Would Suffer Material Damage From Lack of Water

The publication in the Republican Times of the description of the hydraulic basin and its dependent manufacturing institutions and the danger threatening them through a drawing off of the water at Dayton has created much interest among our citizens. Many inquiries have been made as to the real relations of the parties at Dayton and their rights there.

Dayton, by the terms of contract between the Illinois & Michigan Canal and Green & Stadden, is entitled to ONE FOURTH OF THE SURPLUS WATER that comes into the feeder, after the canal is provided for. From several measurements made one-fourth of the surplus water amounts to from 125 to 250 horse power, according to the stage of water. Most of the year the total surplus water power that could be legally used at Dayton is 150 to 200 horse power.

The Merrifields bought out Masters, who owned three thirty-seconds of the power, less 34 horse power, which had been sold to Basil Green. This gives the Merrifields the right to use, at the highest stage, a run of 64 horse power; at a medium stage 32 horse power, and at a minimum stage the limited amount of only 13 horse  power. The Merrifields, on taking possession, took out the Masters’ wheel of about 90 horse power and put in two wheels which will produce 218 horse power.

The past season has been a very wet one, but, notwithstanding this, a considerable more than the one-fourth they are entitled to has been drawn out at Dayton, and had the Pioneer Construction Company been running in September and October they would have suffered material damage from lack of water. Now that the Pioneer Company has built their modern factory they are prepared to and expect to run all the time, and will suffer great loss if forced to shut down. The Merrifields, it is claimed by Ottawa parties, have wheels that will use not only the power they are entitled to, but more water than all Dayton is entitled to for over six months in the year. Notwithstanding the consequent and evident injury to all Ottawa’s industries that use water power, they are asking for a franchise to use all their power.3

The Merrifields responded by denying that they had ever taken more than their share of the water. They claimed that they had made improvements which generated more power from the same amount of water. 
The Ottawa Hydraulic Company sued the Merrifields for damages. Meanwhile, the city council could not vote on the question of the Merrifield franchise because the original ordinance had been lost and Merrifield had failed to make a copy, so the vote was postponed to the next meeting of the council. 

There is likely to be a lively scrap between Lew Merrifield on one side, the Canal Commissioners, Ottawa Hydraulic Water Power Company and other owners of the water power at Dayton on the other. Under a decision of the court that Merrifield was using more than he was entitled to, the Commissioners constructed a flume leading to the Merrifield electric plant which would give him no more water than he was entitled to. Yesterday morning Mr. Merrifield tore the flume out, claiming it prevented him from getting as much water as he was entitled to. Today a gang of canal workmen went up to rebuild the flume and it is likely that an injunction will issue to prevent a repetition of the tearing out of the flume.4

The trouble between the Illinois and Michigan Canal Commissioners and the Ottawa Hydraulic Company on one side and L. W. Merrifield on the other, in which the Commissioners and Hydraulic Company claim that Merrifield uses more than his share of the water at Dayton, will most likely be settled by a bill for injunction filed in the Circuit Court this afternoon by Brewer & Strawn for the Commissioners and Hydraulic Company. It will be remembered that about two weeks ago Merrifield tore out a water gauge which had been placed in his flume by the Canal Commissioners to prevent him using more than his share of the water. The Canal Commissioners replaced the gauge and a few days ago Merrifield tore it out for the second time.5

The canal commissioners, on behalf of their patrons, the Ottawa Hydraulic Company, caused their engineer to construct a weir at Dayton which limited the quantity of water to each owner down to the amount they were entitled to. Mr. Merrifield tore this out. The canal authorities replaced it and Mr. Merrifield again removed it. The third time the weir or flume was rebuilt the court was appealed to and granted an injunction which prevented Mr. Merrifield from interfering with it. After the court enjoined him, a motion was made to have the injunction dissolved, and that matter is now being heard. There are quite a number of affidavits from engineers on the quantity of the flow and amount each is entitled to and, that used by Mr. Merrifield, and the court will undoubtedly take the matter under advisement.6

In June 1901, the court refused to dissolve the injunction. In May 1902, the matter was still in the courts. Then in March,1904, the dam at Dayton was swept away in an ice jam. In spite of this, it took another  seven months to close the books on the  Great Dayton Water Power Fight.

The Canal Commissioners’ Case

Another of the cases decided was the suit brought by the Canal Commissioners and the Ottawa Hydraulic Company to restrain L. W. Merrifield from diverting more than a certain amount of water of Fox river from the feeder at Dayton to his factory at that place. It is needless to say that the proceedings were commenced before the dam at Dayton was wrecked by ice and floods. The contention on behalf of Mr. Merrifield was that he was entitled to use two sixteenths of the water of the river while the Commissioners contended that he was entitled to only one sixteenth. Some controversy also arose as to the weir put in by the Commissioners. The Supreme Court seems to have decided that Merrifield has a right to but one sixteenth of the water but the weir interfered with his rightful use of that. Hence the cause was reversed and remanded to the Circuit Court for a new trial.7

Since the dam had been torn out , the court case died a natural death a few weeks later.

Rehearings were also denied in the case of the Canal Commissioners vs. L. W. Merrifield, which had been reversed and remanded to the trial court. The question involved related to the amount of water which Merrifield was entitled to use from the Fox river at Dayton. Since the commencement of the suit, however, a permanent injunction has been placed on any water being diverted from the natural course of the stream, the dam having been carried away by floods and ice.8

  1. Republican Times, November 24, 1898, p. 4.
  2. Ibid, January 12, 1899, p. 1.
  3. Ibid, January 19, 1899, p. 2.
  4. Free Trader, March 8, 1901, p. 7.
  5. Republican Times, March 21, 1901, p. 4.
  6. Free Trader, May 24, 1901, p. 7.
  7. Republican Times, October 29, 1904,
  8. Daily Republican Times, December 10, 1904, p. 8.

Relay Riders’ Good Time

Candace W Leave a comment

A Twelve and a Quarter Mile Spin Over Country Roads
An Important Message Delivered

A large crowd congregated at the Clifton Hotel Wednesday evening to see the start of the relay cycle run from that point to Dayton and return, by a circuitous route. The start here was made at 6:50 by Theo. Crane. He ran to the Dayton road, where Will Pitcher took up the run and rode to the Dayton bridge. There he was met by Charlie Flick, who in turn gave way to Frank Wing, at the Chicago road, who made the final spurt. The time of the run was 37 minutes and 10 seconds, and the distance covered was twelve miles and 550 yards. Before leaving Mr. Crane was handed the following message by Mayor Schoch, to be delivered to President Richardson, of the Kazoos:

OTTAWA, June 14, 1893.
J. F. RICHARDSON, ESQ., Ottawa, Ill.,
Dear Sir: Upon receipt of this message from the relay riders of the Kazoo Cycling Klub you will please present the letter to my esteemed friend, Alderman Alshuler, and I am satisfied the same will be good for a box of cigars, which you can smoke for the cause with the Klub.
Yours respectfully,
AL. F. SCHOCH.

The mayor’s conjecture was correct, the members say. It was decided last evening that another relay race will be arranged shortly.1

  1. Ottawa Republican Times, June 22, 1893, p. 2, col. 2.

Veterans of 1812

Candace W 1 Comment

 

VETERANS OF 1812
(From the Ottawa Free Trader, Oct. 3d, 1874)

On the occasion of the La Salle County Soldiers’ re-union at Ottawa, Sept. 29th, when the picnic festivities, speeches, songs, music, greetings &c., had concluded six of the veterans of the war of 1812 were conveyed in carriages to the Clifton Hotel for supper prior to leaving for their respective homes. As usual, the “ubiquitous photographer, Bowman,” was on hand to secure the shadows of these time honored subjects, and accordingly in less time than we can write it, had the group arranged on the porch of the hotel, and secured an elegant stereoscopic view of the entire number as follows:–

Commencing on the left in standing position, is Perry Pedicord, of Marseilles, aged 81; sitting to his left is Mathias Trumbo, of Rutland, aged 97; to his left stands Judge A. W. Cavarly, of Ottawa, aged 81; to his left in front is seated Capt. James Reed, of Utica, aged 99; standing in the rear to the left is Jacob Stroop, of Ottawa, aged 81; and to the extreme right is seated William Meader, of Port Byron, aged 91. All are residents of this county except Mr. Meador. Their general health and prospects of living to a good old age is excellent, save the tottering steps and failing eyesight of Mr. Meador.

The likenesses are all good, and much better than could be expected, considering the lateness of the hour, to produce an almost instantaneous picture. Mr. B. informs us that he will furnish copies for the album or stereoscope at 25 cents each.

Published by W. E. BOWMAN, Portrait and Landscape Photographer, Ottawa, Ills.

This text appeared on the front page of the Free Trader, but the picture was only available from Mr. Bowman’s studio. Luckily, one of my ancestors came up with the 25 cents needed to acquire a copy so that I can show  it here. The connection to Dayton and the Green family is Mathias Trumbo, the father of Jesse Green’s first wife, Isabella. He was also the uncle of Mary Jane Trumbo, wife of Isaac Green, and Oliver Walcott Trumbo, husband of Rebecca Green; Isaac and Rebecca being children of John Green.