Crestline's First Railroad
Did You Know
About Crestline.
_______________________
Written by Dr. Ernest G. Hesser
for the Crestline Advocate June 23, 1949
Interesting Facts about our town and its History of Close
to A Century.
A interesting newspaper clipping from the Cleveland Leader
with important historical information regarding Crestline just
came to our attention. The Article was written about 50 years
ago and the title reads The Lost Opportunity of an Ohio
Town. The account is written by J.F. McMahon and with
it in the Leader appeared a picture of the the old
Bauer Building which stood on the south side of East Main Street
just north of the present Evans Grain and Supply building along
the Big 4 tracks about where the coal pile stands.Here is the
article dated Crestline Ohio December 27.
The Bauer building in this city was burned to the ground a
short time ago was one of the pioneer landmarks of Crestline.
It stood on the south side of Main Street, which is the original
Mansfield and Bucyrus Road and was built in the summer of 1850
by the late Thomas C. Hall. Who afterwards removed to Bucyrus
and resided there for many years prior to his death.
The Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, later known
as the Bee Line until it merged into the Big
Four system about a dozen years ago, was the first railroad built
in Crawford County. Chartered in 1836, it lingered on paper for
many years and it was the original intention of the promoters
to build the railroad through the country know known as Leesville.
But the Leesville people strenuously refused and would not sell
the railroad any land, because the Leesville Quarry was the sole
support of the village and a great many of the residents made
their living hauling stone from the quarry to different points,
sometimes forty and fifty miles distance. They argued that if
the railroad came through their village it would do the stone
hauling and thereby rob the residents of their only means of
making a living. At that time Leesville was a thriving village
with excellent prospects, but their refusal to let allow the
Big Four to build through there was the cause of their downfall,
and Crestline's growth. The work of the construction of the railroad
was finally begun, and in 1850 trains were run from Cleveland
to Crestline.
The old Bauer building recently destroyed was the scene of many
conferences between the promoters of the railroad and the people
of Leesville.
The Mansfield and Bucyrus road was the principal highway of the
vicinity-one of the great thoroughfares of the state. To the
thirteen mile to the East was Mansfield and in the same distance
to the West was Bucyrus, while only 3 miles to the west was thriving
village of Leesville. For those days those were trifling distances,
and at the crossing of this railroad the company loated its station
calling it
Vernon station, The next year the village of Livingston was platted
and around the building Mr. Hall had erected a town grew up.
Mr Hall continued in this location for two years. His dwelling
and store as well as the Post Office were located there. Mr Hall
was not the only pioneer merchant of the town , but the man who
handled its mail. He was the Post Master for 4 years. In 1852,
it having become evident that the Pennsylvania and Ohio and the
Ohio and Indiana Railroads which together were to for a continuous
line, would cross the Bee Line farther south, Mr.
Hall built down closer to the crossing and was established when
the new railroad came through in 1853. This Railroad later became
the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne and Chicago, now a leased line of the
Pennsylvania North West system. The town of Crestline was platted
in 1864 though a plat which was substantially the same had been
filed two years earlier. Crestline absorbed Livingston and Vernon
Station and those names for years have been mere historical reminiscences.
The original Hall building passed to other hands but continued
to be used for dwelling and business purposes. It was finally
purchased by the Bauers, who went to Crestline from the German
Settlement. Jacob Bauer, who died a few years ago, owned it for
years before his death, and from him it became known as the Bauer
Building. The last tenant of the building was Patrick Rayle,
who suffered the heavy loss. Thus has gone out of existence the
building that had become the oldest in Crestline, its first Post
Office and business place and its most ancient landmark. Soon
even its memory will pass away, as things of yesterday give way
to those of today. This article was kept through the years by
W.A. Blicke of Bucyrus who's father was the late Thomas C. Hall.
The Crestline Historical Society is very glad to preserve this
valuable information.
Abstracted from the June 23, 1949
Crestline Advocate-Crestline Public Library
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