1816-1916 Cedarville Centennial Souvenir

Many roots were in all the roads of that day. The wagons had to be made very strong, the rear wheels greater in diameter than the front ones. The wagon-bed was much the shape of a schooner. Four and six big horses driven by single line. The· driver rode the horse on the near side of the wagon tongue. They often wou_ld have on the hames of each horse, save the saddle-horse, a steel bow filled with beautifully-toned small bells. These teams hauled produce to Cin– cinnati and brought store-goods in return. It was a sight to see five or six of those teams passing up street driven by a single line, the horses all adorned with fine harness and equipped with a bow of beautifully-toned bells. But the railroad came, and the overland stage-coach and big wagons are gone. It took a big wagon thr ee days to drive to Cincinnati, but one freight car will haul as much as twenty big wagons, and a train of 50 freight cars will haul as much to Cincinnati as 1000 big wagons, and make the trip in '·hree hours. In 1844, the Columbus Pike was made. It was at first a toll road and was considered and really was, a great" improvement over the clay roads. In 1845 a line of overland stage-coaches was put on by the Government to carry passengers and mail. These big coaches were drawn by four horses with a relay at towns eight to twelve miles apart. A tavern was built between Robert Bird's store and the Post-office. The barn for this tavern was located where Shroades' hardware store now is. The pike came up Xenia avenue to this tavern and thence over the wooden Newport bridge and up the slope to the U. P. Church corner and thence to . the right along Chillicothe street east. What I am to tell was thrilling. When the mail-coach drove up from Xenia to the tavern, the jaded horses were released and walked of their ·own accord to their stalls in the barn, while a fresh team was brought out, all groomed perfectly, till their hair was like silk. They were high spirited and light weight. It took two men to assist the driver to hitch them to the coach. When all was ready, the driver would climb to his seat ;i,t the top of the coach, get his double-check 0 lines and whip (a long hickory handle and long lash with silk cracker at the end) in hand; then he would shout, "Let them go," and away they would gallop at break-neck si;,eed, across the wooden bridge and up the slope, the driver cracking his whip over the running steeds, sounding like pistol shots. When the .U. P. Church corner was reached, the driver would rein up the team, thro'Y off the mail sack, which was carried into the post-office, the mail changed, the mail sack brought back, and thrown to the driver. Then the team would trot off gently and gracefully to South Charleston. This scene occurred frequently and was a very interesting sight, espe– cially to boys. They all resolved to be stage-drivers when they became men. Rev. H. Parks Jackson's old home, one mile west of Cedarville, near the Indian Mound. The buildings are now all removed, and cereals are harvested where they stood. He speaks of the old home in verse: