Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/316

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��HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

��CHAPTER XXXL

RAILROADS.

The Mansfield & New Haven and Monroeville & Sandusky Roads — First Train in May, 1846 — Arrival OF the First Train at Mansfield and its Appearance — The Road-Bed — Breakinc Ground at Mansfield — The Depot — Grain Trade — Oxford & Huron Road — The Man.sfield & Sandusky Road — The Columbus & Lake Erie Road — Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Road — Baltimore & Ohio Road — The Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Road — Springfield & Mansfield Road — The Belle- FONTAiNE Road — Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago, or, the Pennsylvania Road — The Atlantic & Great Western (name changed) — The Mansfield, Coldwater & Lake Michigan Road — The Telegraph — The Telephone.

��" The coach stands rusting in the yard, The horse has sought the plow ; We have spanned the world with iron rails. The steam-king rules us now."

RICHLAND COUNTY contains a portion of one of the oldest railroads in Ohio. The history of the State, in preceding pages, gives an account of the growth of early railways, men- tioning the Sandusky. Mansfield & Newark (now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio) Railroad. That portion of this road 1}' ing in this county was chartered March 12, 1836, as the Mansfield & New Haven Railroad, and extended from Mansfield to a point a short distance west of the village of New Haven, in the southern part of Huron County. Work began on both ends of the line about the same time, working toward the high ground near Pl3'mouth. Prior to the building of this railroad, a charter, dated March 9, 1835, had been granted to the Sandusky & Monroeville Railroad, running from one city to the other.* This road was in running order a short time before the Mansfield & New Haven road. When the latter was built, a gap between Monroeville and New Haven, about fifteen miles

rails, and the cars were drawn by horses. Mr. Henry Newman says he has often hauled his wheat to Milan, where a water communica- tion with the lake was maintained. After this wooden railway was built from Sandusky to Monroeville, he and his neighbors hauled their produce there. They could unload into the small cars, which were drawn to the lake by the horses. This road, when first built, made Monroeville a great point for the grain trade.
 * When this road was first built, it was laid simply with wooden

��in length, was left, which was subsequently filled, before the road to Mansfield was com- plete, b}^ the connection of the two roads, and the city had a direct line to the lake. As has been noticed, the Sandusky & Monroeville road, thirteen miles long, was completed prior to the Mansfield & New Haven. The part from New Haven south to Pl^^mouth was also finished before the deep cut near the village was made, and, in fact, the gap lietween New Haven and Monroeville filled before the cut was done. Mr. W. W. Drennan, in speaking of this road, says :

'• The track was laid from the north to the south, within thirty rods or so from the county line, in the fall of 1845. Li the month of Sep- tember, the construction train brought salt and other merchandise to Plymouth. This train continued to run during that fall and winter, carrying back to Sandusky wheat in bags, and produce in barrels, upon the little open cars then in use."

This assertion of Mr. Drennan, who has an accurate memor}^, gives credence to the state- ment that the '' gap '" between Monroeville and New Haven was completed before the train could come on down to Mansfield. Below the " deep cut," as it is often termed, near Plymouth. the road was ready for the cars very probably the same autumn, but none but construction

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