The Civil War monument on the square in downtown Wooster was erected in 1892 — the same year the Experiment Station (today’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center) was moved from Columbus to Wooster. The monument was dedicated May 5 of that year before a crowd of 10,000.
Forbes Alcock of Aberdeen, Scotland — widely considered to be one of the foremost stone carvers of the 19th century — had carved the statue that, at one time, was enclosed by a wooden fence with Civil War soldiers’ names written on it. Made of Richmond granite, the statue stands 22 feet in height, weighs 30 tons and took seven months to carve. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Frick were the donors.
More:Battlefield cross honors fallen soldiers in Wooster Cemetery
According to background information written by the late Daily Record columnist Elinor Taylor back in 1976, each of the monument’s two Parrott cannons weighed 1,700 pounds and came from the U.S. Navy Shipyard in New York City. Along with the cannons, the city received 30 solid iron cannonballs weighing 64 pounds apiece (with the fuses removed). They came from the U.S. Warship Pensacola which was part of Admiral Farragut’s fleet during the Civil War.
More:Headstone dedicated in honor of Civil War veteran brothers
Former Daily Record Publisher E.C. Dix was quoted in a column published in 1942 that the statue had been “turned out by the Alcock Granite Works and was dedicated to posterity with appropriate ceremonies. It was complete in every way and even had a little fountain for dogs to drink from … which has fallen into disuse with the passing of time.“
Outhouse dig
Back in 1890, gold coins worth $10,000 were stolen from the Wayne County National Bank on the square.
The crime was traced to a young Wooster man by the name of Joseph Dore and the money was found buried in the outhouse behind his North Market Street home.
(Yuck!)
A smiling Indian
A decade ago, Carolyn Wellman of Wooster explained that her parents, Gladys and “Pat” Murphy, helped run the Hamburger Inn for a time with Glenn Barnett.
“It had,” she recalled, “the look of a streetcar but it was actually a long narrow building next to Neil Furniture on East Liberty Street.”
Next to the restaurant was a barber shop where Wellman’s Uncle Clem Franks (a justice of the peace) and her grandfather, Welty Franks, cut hair.
Wellman remembers there was a ceramic Indian in the window and, if the Cleveland Indians won their baseball game that day, her grandfather would turn the smiling Indian toward Liberty Street. If the team lost, the Indian would be positioned so his back was toward the street.
“That’s how many people in town learned if the team won or lost that day,” she said.
Eventually, Wellman said her mother left the Hamburger Inn to run the Hillcrest Drive-In.
Early pottery
The earliest pottery in Wayne County was operated in Doylestown by Samuel Routson between 1838-47. After spending nine years as the owner of a mercantile in Doylestown, Routson moved to Wooster where he opened a pottery on Pittsburgh Avenue — the location of the old Lincoln Way Elementary School. The pottery was closed following Routson’s death Nov. 8, 1882.
Today his pottery is extremely collectible.
FYI
Glory Hole was what Highland Park was called back in the 1800s. The little community was named by early settlers who came to the Wooster area back in 1812. The area later became known as Quinby Park.
Thought you should know.
Columnist Ann Gasbarre can be reached at agasbarre@gmail.com or 330-345-6419.
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