West Jefferson in Days Gone By series 100 - 109
West Jefferson in Days Gone By series 100 - 109 site_admin
"I was born in 1936 in a house right on Main St. in West Jefferson, graduated from WJHS Class of '54. I have always been interested in the history of West Jefferson. In 1960, I decided to write a complete history of the town. I worked on this for a number of years, finally getting up to 1935 and ran out of steam. I get most of the history from history books and from the Madison County newspapers from 1855 on. I have all of these stories, and now that there is no Madison Press, there's no way for people to read them. I find them very interesting, and I think that you will also."
- Charlie Miller of West Jefferson, Ohio
To read the articles written by Charlie, click on the article below. They will be in order by Series number. If you would like a physical copy, stop by the Library to have a Staff Member print them for you free of charge.
West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 100
West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 100 site_adminWest Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 100 by Charlie Miller
____The Columbus, London, and Springfield Electric Road is now completed to the west corporation line of Columbus, while the grading force is now near Alton and expects to reach big Darby in two weeks. The rails are expected to reach Big Darby by March 1st ‘01. Steam shovels will be employed at Big Darby in making cuts and fills and several months will be required to build the piles and bridge at that point. If all goes well, cars will be running from Columbus to Springfield as early as the 1st of June, 1901.
____(Due to some of the discrepancies in the dates of expectation times and actual completion times, we can tell that the work schedule was far behind what it was supposed to have been.)
____September 14, 1901 – West Jefferson Woman’s Death Caused By the Assault of Her Husband---
Mrs. Julia Murray of West Jefferson died here after being kicked by her husband, Mr. James Murray, Sr., who was later arrested in London, England, in January of 1903. (Please note that this is no relation to the Murray family now residing in West Jefferson.)
____October 28, 1901 – Property owners on Main Street were notified to remove hitching posts and hitching racks within 6 days.
____1901-1902 – Curbs were installed on Main Street. Fire cisterns were constructed to the following specifications: 10 feet deep and 9 feet around the inside of the wall. It is made of brick, 8 inches thick, and has a capstone 3 feet square and 8 inches thick. A round hole in the center of the capstone is to be 16 inches in diameter and a cast iron lid to weigh not less than 150 lbs. and to have a ring in the center.
____1902 – The village Post Office was located in the Village Hall.
____September 1902 – W. M. Kimbro was appointed Lamp Lighter.
____An ordinance by the Village of Jefferson allowing the Columbus, London & Springfield Railway Co. (C. L. & S.) to construct, operate and maintain a line of street railway within the village. Said railway tracks shall be of the standard gauge, 4 feet 8 ½ inches wide. When the temperature reaches below 35F the cars should be heated. Said company shall have the right to charge fares as follows and no more: Single fares within the corporation limit of said village, 5c. and for 7 tickets 25c. for fares from the corporation limit of said village to other points on it’s line, 2c. per mile, but no single fare less than 5c. The grant is made and shall continue upon the condition that work on said line shall be begun without reasonable delay and finished by the first day of July A. D. 1903. Such period for said work may be extended by the council by resolution.
____June 1, 1903 – The speed limit for the Interurban will be 8 MPH in the corporation limits.
West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 101
West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 101 site_adminWest Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 101 by Charlie Miller
____Interurban stops—Beginning at the west corporation limit, the center line at Blair Pike, a stop west of the Railroad, 2,300’, stops east of the Railroad at the stop sign at McNeal’s (Twin St.). Then in front of Gillivan’s store 555’ (Parson’s), then at the station (Chevron Pool) 285’; distance from Railroad to the station, 1,490’; From the station to the east stop, 1,093’; from the station to the east corporation line, center of Little Darby Bridge, 2,105’.
___September 1903 – William Baker resigned as Lamp Lighter. (At this time, those wishing for the job of Lamp Lighter submitted bids for the village to consider.
____December 20, 1903 - Mayor George Gillivan, Mayor of West Jefferson, dies in office. (George Gillivan served as mayor from 1902 to 1903 and is buried at Mt. Calvary Cemetery. He was the son of James Gillivan, who was born in 1835 in Ireland and immigrated in 1848. He founded Gillivan Hardware in 1866, which lasted 100 years. James also served as Post Master of Gillivan, Ohio, a town that he had founded but was never platted or incorporated. It sat at the intersection of U. S. Route 42 and Blair Road.)
____In 1903, the street lights in West Jefferson used gasoline for fuel. (One of these lights is mounted upstairs in the Village Hall, and it is a gift from Earl Gregg.)
____March 14, 1904 - A contract was signed with the Sun Vapor Co. for incandescent street lights, not less than 35 in number. Lamps shall be lit 22 nights each month during the time that this contract is in force. They are to burn from dusk until 2 a.m. The contract was for 3 years.
____September 7, 1904 – An ordinance for the lighting of the railroad tracks of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis R.R.Co., operating the Columbus & Xenia R. R.
Lamps are to be posted with gasoline lights located at the intersection of the track and W, Main St, West St., Walnut St., and Pearl St. On Walnut St., it is to be located on the north side of the track west of the street. On West St., on the south side of the track, and on the south side of the street. On Pearl St., on the north side of the track, and on the east side of the street. (At this time, the tracks were not elevated.)
____1904 – A new pump was bought for the well in front of the Baptist Church and in front of Grassel’s, and the trough in front of the Church was moved to Grassel’s. (The well in front of the Baptist Church, which sat on the corner of W. Main St. and S. Center St., was well known; it had sat there for years.
____At the beginning of the 1904 school year, the Alpha Kappa Gamma and Sigma Kappa Phi Literary Societies were formed. The Jefferson Ratio, the first school annual in the County, was published.