OTTAWA COUNTY OHIO - HISTORY: County History Part 4 (published 1898) *********************************************************************** OHGENWEB NOTICE: All distribution rights to this electronic data are reserved by the submitter. Reproduction or re-presentation of copyrighted material will require the permission of the copyright owner. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. *********************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Submitted by: MRS GINA M REASONER Email: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com Date: August 21, 1999 *********************************************************************** Historical Collections of Ohio By Henry Howe, LL.D., 1898 OTTAWA COUNTY PART 4 THE WINE ISLANDS The group of Islands in the western part of Lake Erie, sometimes called "Wine Islands," lie principally whithin the State of Ohio, but the largest island -Point Pelee -and a few of the smallest are British possessions. They are as follows: AREA Rock Island, alias South Bass, alias Put-in-Bay 1,500 acres Floral Isle, alias Middle Bass 750 acres Isle St. George, alias North Bass 750 acres Rattlesnake Isle 60 acres Sugar Isle 30 acres Strontian, alias Green Island 20 acres Ballast 10 acres Gibraltar 8 acres Glacial, alias Starve Island about 2 acres Buckeye about 2 acres The above are the islands forming Put-in-Bay township, Ottawa county. Besides these are Mouse, a small island of Scott's Point, belonging to Ex-President Hayes; Kelley's Island, belonging to Erie county (see Vol. I, page 585); Gull, a small island, just north of Kelley's and West Sister's Island, some eighteen miles west of North Bass. North of the National boundary are Point Pelee Island, Middle Island, the small group known as Hen and Chickens, and East Sister's and Middle Sister's Islands. Until 1854 these islands were sparsely settled. In that year Mr. J.D. Rivers, a Spanish merchant of New York, having been favorably impressed with their natural attractions purchased five entire islands, viz.: Put-in-Bay, Middle Bass, Ballast, Sugar and Gibraltar, at a cost of $44,000. He at first turned Put-in-Bay into a sheep ranch, having at one time a herd of 2,000, but gradually disposed of these and converted the island into a fruit farm. In 1858 Phillip Vroman, L. Harms, Lawrence Miller and J.D. Rivers commenced the cultivation of the vine. Their success was so great that others followed their example and now the principal industry is the growing of grapes. The quality of the soil, natural drainage and climatic influence surrounding the islands is specially favorable to the growing of fruits. The development of this industry is shown by the facts that in 1887 more than one-third of the grape product and nearly one-half of the wine product of the entire State is credited to Ottawa county, while nearly three times as many peaches were produced as in any other county in the State. The varieties of grapes grown are mainly Catawba, Delaware and Concord, with some Ives, Norton, Clinton, etc. At one time the wines from these islands had an extended reputation and were pronounced by the best judges "worthy of being compared to the most prized productions of France;" but the alarming extent of wine adulteration and competition of California wines has seriously affected the industry. Nevertheless, there are several companies that manufacture large quantities of wine of a high grade. One of these has in its cellars two of the largest casks in the United States, each capable of holding 16,000 gallons of wine. Some fifteen or twenty years ago Put-in-Bay was a famous summer resort, but the destruction by fire in 1878 of the principal hotel, and in recent years the influx of unwholesome characters on excursions from the cities of Cleveland, Toledo and Sandusky, who are encouraged to come here and patronize the numerous saloons that have sprung up, has done much to bring the place into disrepute. Happily, within the past year a project has been got under way which may once more bring this historic and picturesque isle again into popular favor as a summer resort. A large hotel and cottages are to be erected and efforts made to prevent the lawless element from monopolizing this, Nature's outing place, for the people of Ohio. The sanitary conditions of these islands are unsurpassed, and although there is nothing striking or grand in the scenery, yet taken altogether they form a sense of great beauty, while the morning and evening breezes that blow from the waters of Lake Erie are bracing and invigorating. Rock bass and perch abound in the water; better boating could not be desired. Propellers ply between the islands and steamers make several daily round trips to Sandusky. These islands are favorite places of resort for clubs from the larger cities. Ballast Isle is owned by the Cleveland Club; they have a fine club-house and numerous cottages are occupied in season by their Forest City owners. On Floral Isle the Toledo and Lake Erie Boating and Fishing Association have a fine club-house surrounded by the cottages of the club members. Near the centre of Put-in-Bay Island is a subterranean cavern that is quite an object of interest. It is 200 feet long, 150 feet wide and has an average height of 7 feet. At the farther end is a lake, whose pure, limpid waters are ice cold and said to be fifty-feet deep in one place and to extend under the rocks to regions and depths unknown. Early in this century these islands were overrun with rattlesnakes. The caves, crevices of the limestone rocks, afforded secure retreats at all times, and in the spring season they were wont to come out and lie upon the warm rocks and look in the sunshine. The name of this horrid reptile is perpetuated in Rattlesnake Island, so called because its line of rocky humps suggested to its christener the rattles of rattlesnakes. JAY COOKE was born in Sandusky, Ohio, August 10, 1821, and went in 1838 to Philadelphia, where he entered the banking-house of E.W. Clarke & Co. as a clerk, and when twenty-one years of age became a partner. In 1840 he wrote the first money article that appeared in Philadelphia, and for a year edited the financial column of the Daily Chronicle. In 1858 he retired from the firm of E.W. Clarke & Co., and in 1861 established a new firm of which he was the head. In the spring of 1861, when the Government called for subscription loans, the firm of Jay Cooke & Co. at once organized and carried into operation the machinery to obtain and forward to Washington large lists of subscribers. This was done without compensation. In 1862 Mr. Cooke was appointed by Secretary Chase the special agent of the government to negotiate the five hundred million five-twenty loan. In this great transaction the government assumed no risks. If the loan failed the agent was to receive nothing, and with full success the remuneration was not one-twentieth of the amount which European bankers are accustomed to receive from a foreign power, in addition to absolute security from loss. The enormous negotiations of the great war loans of the Untied States were taken by the subscription agent, with the possible prospect of receiving no benefit therefrom, and the chance of ruining his own fortune and those of his partners. The loan was sold, but even its remarkable success did not save Mr. Chase and Mr. Cooke from the detractions and accusations of the political enemies of the Secretary, who sought to damage his Presidential aspirations by charges of favoritism. Whitelaw Reid, from whose Ohio in the War this sketch is abridged, says: The clamor of the opponents of Mr. Chase increased and finally succeeded. The treasury attempted to negotiate its own loans and failed. The consequence was that the Rebellion, which might have been suppressed in the later part of 1864, was defiant when the first of January, 1865, came. The force of financial success would have defeated the Richmond conspirators, but, familiar with the condition of National finances, the rebels waited confidently for the relapse of the Union effort to subdue them. The prospect was dark and dreary. The treasury was in debt for vouchers for the Quartermaster's department, the armies were unpaid and heavy arrearages due, and a debt of three hundred millions of dollars stared the new Secretary in the face, while the financial burden steadily accumulated at the rate of four millions of dollars a day. This was the condition of affairs when Mr. Fessenden was at the head of the Treasury Bureau. The government could only pay in vouchers and these were selling every part of the country at a discount of twenty-five to thirty per cent, and gravitating rapidly downward. This was known to the Confederate authorities and excited the hopes of the Rebel armies at home and their sympathizers abroad. Had this condition continue gold would have reached a much higher premium, the vouchers of the government became unsaleable and ruin resulted. The government then tried to obtain money without the aid of a special agent. The endeavor was made, backed by the assistance of the National banks, but proved entirely abortive. With all his powerful machinery the receipts of the treasury averaged but seven hundred thousand per day, one-sixth of the regular expenditure. Mr. Chase and the leading friends of the government earnestly advised Mr. Fessenden to employ Mr. Cooke as the special agent of the Treasury Department, and the Secretary sent for the banker. The interview was successful. Mr. Cooke asked the amount of the daily sales which would meet the urgent demands upon the treasury. The reply was "Two million five hundred thousand dollars; can you raise the money? "I can," was the ready reply. "When will you commence?" "On the first of February," and the conference ended. This was on the 24th of January, 1865. His commission was sent to Mr. Cooke; he organized his staff of agents and by the first of February was in full operation. Innumerable assistants were appointed; special and travelling agents were set at work; advertising was ordered by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in a few days money began to flow into the depleted treasury and cash instead of vouchers paid the purchases for the maintenance of the government and the subsistence of the army. From the first organization of Mr. Cooke's machines for popularizing the loan the daily sales averaged from two to three millions of dollars, and steadily increased, until at the close of the loan the receipts averaged five millions of dollars per day. In about five months the last note was sold, fifteen or sixteen millions of dollars being sold occasionally in one day, and once forty-two millions. The result of these grand successes was the speedy collapse of the hopes of the Rebels. The vouchers of the government were paid at a saving of from thirty to fifty per cent on former prices. Since the close of the war Mr. Cooke has continued to act for the government in connection with other parties in many important matters. He was also the most efficient assistant in the establishment of the National banking system. It should be added that Mr. Cooke's' profits from the per centage allowed by the government were far less than has been generally supposed; they were three-eighths of one per cent. There are on file in the Treasury Department letters from him making repeated offers to give up the per centage and do the work for nothing, if the government would release him from his liabilities for loss through any of his thousands of agents -a risk which constantly threatened him with ruin. The department always refused this offer. -continued in part 5 *************OH-FOOTSEPS Mailing List***************************