Economic Development, Land Use, and the System of Cities in Northwest Ohio During the Nineteenth Century

CREATING CONNECTIONS: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, LAND USE, AND THE SYSTEM OF CITIES IN NORTHWEST OHIO DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Matthew D. Bloom A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2009 Committee: Andrew M. Schocket, Advisor David Shoemaker Graduate Faculty Representative Edmund J. Danziger, Jr. Timothy F. Messer-Kruse © 2009 Matthew D. Bloom All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Andrew M. Schocket, Advisor Examining how economics, geography, and politics interacted in the expansion and economic changes within the United States, this dissertation investigated the symbiotic relationships and their qualities among the economic transformations of an urban area and its surrounding hinterland throughout the nineteenth century. Specifically, it investigated how the economic and population changes within Toledo, Ohio, molded the development of agricultural hinterlands and how the condition and settlement of the surrounding rural areas shaped the economic changes of Toledo. The quality of transportation connections among Toledo and other nascent towns, market interactions among residents, and the relationships between land quality and usage provided for symbiotic economic development of urban areas and rural hinterlands. The ability to use certain transportation infrastructures, the condition of land, and the availability of natural resources determined the type, quantity, and strength of market connections among people, which influenced the amount and forms of economic change for the area. Conclusions of this study were drawn from analyzing census records, newspaper advertisements and editorials, agricultural reports, and business records and literature. This research introduced a new paradigm of regional economic change named the “subregional model” which included a hub, local economic centers, small villages and farms, and links of various qualities. The subregional model also contained an environmental character explaining economic change. Land conditions not only affected land use practices but also prompted policymakers to enact improvement plans supporting new market interactions among people. Integration and strength of connections provided generative economic development with cities on a iv subregional level extracting natural resources from the hinterland to stimulate urban expansion through new businesses and growing manufacturing establishments. The findings of this dissertation add to the understanding of economic changes through settlement, urban and rural development, and land use in United States history emphasizing connections whose number and quality greatly determined the pace and magnitude of economic change. Because most residents of the United States lived within systems of medium-sized economic centers surrounded by hinterlands, the study and interpretive analyses of places such as Toledo and northwest Ohio are fundamental to the understanding of the history of the United States. v We are all connected. ~Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac “The historic material of Northwestern Ohio is too voluminous to be given in detail in a work of this kind. Rather than present a dry chronologic table, we prefer to briefly review and discuss the causes which have made the country what it is.” ~ Jaeger’s Historical Hand-Atlas, 1881 vi To Laura Stuart Obenauf, Future Broadway Star and Anna Ducey, Great Ambassador of T-Town vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people provided assistance throughout this dissertation process. First, I would like to thank my parents, David and Marcia Bloom, and my sister and brother, Ellen and Michael, for the love and support throughout my academic career. I would also like to thank my grandparents for their encouragement earlier in my studies; although only my grandmother Grace Ohm lived to see me finish my dissertation, her enormous pride surely represents everyone else’s delight. I also would like to recognize and remember Grandpa’s practice drills honing my long putts and cross-table pool shots, two skills that I used during the times I should have been dissertating. Second, I wish to thank my teachers throughout my schooling. My dissertation committee, Drs. Andy Schocket, Ed Danziger, Tim Messer-Kruse, and David Shoemaker, provided insightful comments and posed the tough questions that greatly improved my work. Apple juice and stuffed breadsticks made the thinking a bit easier. Professors Lawrence Daly and James Forse listened as I explained my project and provided their non-Americanist viewpoints of it. My professors at Heidelberg provided a firm foundation for my graduate studies. Kate Bradie, Marc O’Reilly, Bonnie Fors, David Hogan, Mary Jo Murray, David Staley, and many others sharpened my skills and presented ideas (not just history-related ones) that have shaped my thinking and research. Thanks also to Heidelberg professors Dave Kimmel and Susan Carty for advising me on how to be a friend, be a leader, and be of service to many groups and individuals. Thank you to Mr. Pitts, Mrs. Croney, and Mr. Drusbacky in Port Clinton for sparking and tending my early interests in history. Third, I want to thank the many archivists and librarians who assisted me in collecting and sifting through documents and materials for my research. Nan Card, Becky Hill, Gil Gonzalez, and the rest of the staff at the Hayes Presidential Center helped in gathering viii information on roads, railroads, and agriculture in the area as well as scanning maps. Steve Charter and the staff at the BGSU Center for Archival Collections assisted in locating census information, newspapers, county records, and local manuscript collections. Colleen Parmer, down on the first floor of Jerome Library, aided me in finding government documents providing a fair portion of the policy-related analysis of my dissertation. The staff of the Way Public Library in Perrysburg showed me their local history resources and let me peruse them uninterrupted after mastering the microfilm viewer. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and colleagues over the years for their intellectual stimulation and good-natured ribbing. Dwayne, Craig, Amanda, and France were awesome lunch/dinner buddies and great friends. Mike and Katie provided thoughtful discussions on various topics and were formidable opponents in nine ball and word games. Rob, Norma, and Stephanie were often around during the later stages of the process to listen to me think out loud and discuss current events and historical issues over meals. Meredith, Kelly, Ross, and Josh always asked for updates about the progress on my dissertation. I would like to thank Maria Baldwin for first believing that a study of the economic development of northwestern Ohio was interesting and doable. Thank you to Tina Amos and DeeDee Wentland who make the History Department hum with effectiveness. They made sure I “jumped through the hoops” necessary to get my degree and often took time out of their busy schedules to answer my many questions and listen to my rambling. To those who read this piece of scholarship, thank you for keeping “cyberspace cobwebs” from forming on it. It is much appreciated especially if you are fifty miles from Bowling Green. To Professor Michael Bradie (and many others)—after many years, I am now finished. You may now call me “Dr. Matt.” ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY ............................................................................ 5 THEMES AND HISTORIOGRAPHY ...................................................................... 15 METHODS AND SOURCES ................................................................................... 23 STRUCTURE ............................................................................................................ 25 PART ONE. ESTABLISHING THE SYSTEM ................................................................... 29 CHAPTER I. BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER WITH THE MAUMEE-WESTERN RESERVE ROAD ........................................................................................ 34 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 34 POLICIES AND DEBATES LEADING TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROAD ................................................................................................ 37 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE ROAD ... 51 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 68 CHAPTER II. EARLY TOLEDO AND NEW CONNECTIONS VIA THE WABASH AND ERIE CANAL ...................................................................................... 73 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 73 ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLEDO............................................................................ 77 CONSTRUCTION OF THE WABASH AND ERIE CANAL ................................. 81 SETTLEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS ALONG THE CANAL ... 86 GROWTH OF PERRYSBURG ................................................................................. 91 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 98 x CHAPTER III. RAILS, DEPOTS, FREIGHT, AND PASSENGERS: CONNECTIONS RAILROADS CREATED IN NORTHWEST

Load more