The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Springfield (Ohio)

SPRINGFIELD, a city and the capital of Clark co., Ohio, at the junction of Lagonda creek with Mad river, 45 m. W. of Columbus and 70 m. N. E. of Cincinnati; pop. in 1850, 5,108; in 1860, 7,002; in 1870, 12,652, of whom 2,169 were foreigners. It is in the heart of one of the richest and most populous agricultural regions in the Union, and is well laid out and handsomely built. Six lines of railroad intersect here, viz.: the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis; Cleveland, Sandusky, and Cincinnati; Columbus, Springfield, and Cincinnati; Little Miami (Springfield branch); Springfield and Jackson (narrow-gauge coal road); and Atlantic and Great Western. A large trade is carried on in wheat, flour, Indian corn, and other produce, and many cattle and swine are shipped to eastern markets. Water power is abundant, and about 80 factories are in operation, employing 4,000 hands. These include flouring mills, iron founderies, machine shops, manufactories of agricultural implements, linseed oil mills, and a paper mill. More than 30,000 mowers and reapers are manufactured annually. Limestone is largely quarried and burned. Four national banks have an aggregate capital of $900,000. There are six large public school buildings, including a fine new high school house. The Springfield seminary is a flourishing institution. Wittenberg college, under the auspices of the Evangelical Lutheran church, was opened in 1845; in 1874-'5 it had 10 instructors, 163 students (100 in the collegiate department), and a library of 6,000 volumes. Springfield has a free public library of 4,000 volumes, a daily, a tri-weekly, and five weekly newspapers, two monthly periodicals, and 20 churches.