Marietta College and the Floating Dormitory

Colleges are struggling to maintain enrollments these days, primarily because of fewer college age students in the population. Marietta College ("MC"), for example, has seen its enrollment decline in recent years. That forces a grim balancing act - cutting back and conserving resources while maintaining a quality experience for students.

Imagine the exact opposite occurring - a quintupling of enrollment and a frantic search for more resources - in just a year's time. It actually happened at Marietta College and colleges across the nation. The year was 1946 when millions of veterans returned from World War II. Many had postponed college and wanted to return. And the GI Bill provided incentives with education and training benefits. 

MC enrollment had dropped to 200 students during the war as most men were on active duty. By late 1946, enrollment surged to 1,000. That was good news....but where would they be housed? Who would teach them - and in what classrooms? Dormitory space at the time housed only 95 students. MC began an aggressive campaign to find housing and administrative space.

Fortunately there were multiple sources of help available: temporary buildings provided by the government, purchase by MC of some nearby homes for housing, and opening of private homes for students. Then there was The Pioneer, a floating dormitory purchased from the Coast Guard. More about that novel set-up later.

The Federal Government made available a variety of temporary buildings at no cost for housing and educating veterans. Marietta College was the first institution in the country to apply for such facilities through the Federal Public Housing Authority (FPHA).

The community also assisted. Area churches, civic groups, and the American Legion worked to locate homes that would take in students. There was also a Citizens Committee headed by Eloise Grafton and Silas M. Thurlow. A Marietta College report stated that a "large number of men were placed in private homes in the city."

As part of the student housing solution, 23 men were able to live it up on a houseboat. Well, it wasn't an actual houseboat. MC purchased a 111 ft. long U. S. Coast Guard barracks boat and converted it to a dormitory. It was christened The Pioneer, in deference to MC's being the first to use this innovative type of housing - and recalling Marietta's pioneering settlers. The Pioneer was moored in the Muskingum River at the base of the "Start Westward" monument. 

Copy of article from Columbus Dispatch Magazine July 14, 1946, courtesy Marietta College Special Collections

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The "shipmates" were from 11 different states. 20 of the 23 were veterans. The second deck had been a barracks room which would hold 50 men. MC knew that veterans would prefer to avoid a barracks-style setting, so The Pioneer second deck was remodeled into 14 two-man rooms. Dorms at that time were unisex - men or women only. The Pioneer was a men's dorm, though a photo shows women being invited on board for a dance.

The first deck included a kitchen, dining hall which doubled as a lounge, showers, and quarters for the dorm master, John E. Sandt, who happened to have been in the Army.

Life on The Pioneer was a little different from conventional dorm living. The guys living there at the time said they notice "a bit of rocking" when a boat passed in the river. They could fish if they wanted to, but college life and studies left little time for that. MC policy prohibited swimming. In warmer weather, some lounged in the sun on the roof, studying or just hanging out.

Some of The Pioneer's resident men were interviewed at the time by the Marietta Daily Times. James L. Stolberg of Williamsport, PA was glad to return to MC. He attended earlier as a member of the 25th College Training Detachment, U.S. Air Crew, which was stationed on campus. Ex-Marine James M. Bossert of Oakmont PA had not heard of Marietta College as he hitchhiked through Ohio. A Marietta man gave him a ride. Bossert mentioned how hard it was to get into the larger universities. His "driver" said, "Try Marietta (College)." Bossert diverted from his trip and headed directly to MC.

The Pioneer chapter at Marietta College ended when the vessel was sold after the housing crisis ended. It remains an amusing footnote in Marietta College history. The pioneering spirit of resourcefulness which it evidenced lives on. 

Image of The Pioneer from The Tallow Light publication of the Washington County Historical Society, Vol. 27, No. 1, Summer 1996; original photo courtesy of Marietta College Special Collections.

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There is an interesting sidebar to The Pioneer story: The Pioneer is said to have inspired the concept for a 1960's NBC TV series It's a Man's World. That series portrayed the life of four teenage guys attending a midwest college and living on a houseboat named The Elephant. The setting for the show was a fictional town on the Ohio River, loosely based on Marietta, Ohio. Some background scenes for the series were filmed in Marietta.

The series was itself a pioneer: It introduced more real-life characters and situations involving teenagers coming of age in the emerging unrest of the early 1960's. Other programs of that period featured idealized family shows like "Ozzie and Harriett." Kerry Pechter, wrote about the show in a 2001 New York Times retrospective column about the show. "The show's co-creators Peter Tewksbury and James Leighton, set out to capture the rootlessness, idealism, and iconoclasm....of the early 1960s. And their themes - premarital sex, tragic loss, and the gulf between adults and adolescents - were at times treated in a startlingly candid way."

Critics were excited about the innovative dramatic formula of the new series. With great anticipation It's a Man's World premiered in September, 1962. Unfortunately, the show failed to catch on with viewers. Ratings dropped and reviews were mixed. Sponsors - critical to the financial success or failure of television programs - were restless about the edginess of some episode situations. NBC decided in late November to cancel the show.

Tewksbury, cast members, and fans of It's a Man's World mounted a furious publicity campaign to save the show. The controversy gained national media attention. Cast members Ted Bessell (later starred in sitcom That Girl) and Randy Boone began a cross-country drive in a battered jeep used on the show to generate publicity. They contacted local media outlets along the way and organized protest events. They stopped in Marietta on December 18 and appeared in a demonstration at he Parkersburg WV NBC affiliate WTAP TV with students from Marietta College. A photo of that event included signs saying "Viewers of the World Unite" and "No Cancellation without Representation." The network received thousands of letters protesting the cancellation.

But, all the effort did not change NBC's mind. The show's broadcast on January 28, 1963, was it's last. The pioneering series faded into obscurity, though 50 plus years later, some video clips and details still survive. 

The Thomas Cisler Family

A stately thirteen room brick home sits nestled in the trees, mostly hidden from view. Many are unaware of its presence along Seventh Street in Marietta - and its rich history. Three generations of the Thomas Cisler family lived at the “Cisler Terrace” home built in 1886.

Cisler Terrace home, restored by current owners Dr. Jesse and Laurie Ada. For more information about the home and the restoration click here. 

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Heinrich and Anna Zeissler* were natives of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, who moved to Marietta from Baltimore with their family in 1838. They lived on a 1,000 acre farm outside of town, near the intersection of today’s Colgate Drive and Glendale Road. The tract of land stretched from Glendale Road to Duck Creek. It was purchased in Baltimore from an agent of the Ohio Company of Associates, the original founders of Marietta. The farm became known as “Home Farm.” 

The family grew to include ten children - seven sons and three daughters. The family name was changed to “Cisler” because of confusion about the pronunciation and spelling of “Zeissler.”

Thomas Cisler

Son Thomas Cisler (1836-1920) began the Cisler Brickyard in 1856 - at age 20. It was located where Frontier Shopping Center is today. Cisler Brick provided brick for Marietta buildings and streets and was also a major economic force in Marietta. It was the largest of several brick makers and employed hundreds of people during its 70 year existence. 

Circa 1900 Photo of Thomas Cisler and Son brickworks, copied by author from Century Review of Marietta, Board of Trade Edition. The home appears in the upper right of the photograph. 

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Wider view of the brickworks area. Photo courtesy Mike Tewkesbury from Memories of Marietta, Ohio Facebook page. CLICK TO ENLARGE

Thomas Cisler was active in the community. He was described by one historian as "a true and able champion of the democratic party, (who) is held in the highest esteem...., both in commercial and social circles." Thomas was a person of deep faith and prominent in St. Luke's Lutheran Church. He served as Chairman of the Church Council for 25 years.

His obituary noted that he “has always been identified with everything that was for the best interests of the city.” One such action to help the city: He donated a 40 foot wide strip of land through his property to allow Seventh Street to be extended from Putnam Street to Tupper Street.

Walter Dow, a Marietta postman, was an astute observer of community people and events in the early 20th Century. About Cisler he wrote:

“Grandpa Cisler was low in voice.” He was “pleasant, would answer your questions, but was of a quiet nature. Gossip was not a major topic of his.”

“He would show an employee how do (a task) by actually doing it before him.”

“He was slightly built and nearly six feet tall. His eyes were deep set, forehead high. His hair had a tendency to lay over his shirt collar int he back. He always wore a blue shambry shirt starched to a high degree. His shirt was buttoned clear to the top but no tie. His trousers were of a tough material....and they drooped over his stretch canvas-sided shoes.”

“The Cislers were frugal and small things were given wide consideration.”

Despite being frugal, Cisler gave his employees a turkey at Thanksgiving 1899. The employees posted a thank-you note in the Marietta Leader newspaper. A year earlier, the employees had given Cisler a Thanksgiving turkey, also reported in the The Marietta Leader, November 26, 1898: “The employees of Thomas Cisler and Son agreeably surprised Mr. Cisler Thanksgiving morning by presenting him with a fine turkey.” CLICK TO ENLARGE

Both Thomas and his son Thomas H. persevered through business challenges. They rebuilt the brick works after major fires in 1890 and 1910 and tornado damage in 1902.

Thomas married Caroline Schneider in 1860; they had three children, Thomas H., Carolina, and Eleda S. He died May 9, 1920.

Thomas H. Cisler

Thomas H. was born in 1869. He joined the brick business in 1889 after graduation from Marietta College and continued it after his father died. He married Lillie E. Weiss on July 30, 1900. The couple enjoyed an extensive wedding trip in the western United States. They held a reception for employees when they returned:

Marietta Daily Leader newspaper article about the reception, August 25, 1900. Newspapers of the day often reported social activities in very genteel language. CLICK TO ENLARGE

His wife died in 1905; he never remarried. They had two daughters, Lillian and Grace. He lived at the Cisler Terrace home with daughter Lillian Eleda Cisler until his death in 1950.

Like his father, Thomas H. was an energetic civic and religious leader. He was an 1889 graduate with honors of Marietta College and became a lifelong supporter of the College. His donations to the College included family bibles printed in 1491 and 1641 as well as land for an astronomy observatory on “College Hill,” site of today’s Marietta Middle School. He was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree by Marietta College in 1946.

Copy of Marietta College “The Marietta Alumnus” publication shortly after Thomas H. Cisler's death in 1950 with his photograph on the cover (Courtesy Marietta College Special Collections).
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Thomas H. Cisler was active in the St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, serving as organist, choirmaster, and head of the church council. He was organist for 26 straight years, missing only one Sunday - due to the death of his wife in 1905. He promoted missions of the Lutheran Church, leaving the Cisler Terrace home to the local church to foster world wide missions.

Thomas H. Cisler dressed formally (as seen in the photo above) when not at the brick works. Observer Walter Dow: “Mr. Thomas (H.) Cisler, Jr. was always dressed to perfection. In fact, he could go to a funeral or wedding or tea on short notice. He was conservatively dressed - a black alpaca suit, white shirt, black tie and shoes, and....a derby hat. He was friendly (and) spoke pleasantly...”

He founded the Marietta Bach Society in 1923 to foster interest and enjoyment of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach’s music. Concerts were held annually at the Cisler Terrace home on July 30, the date of Bach's death. His daughter Lillian E. Cisler continued the program until her death in 1993.

Cisler was intensely interested in astronomy. He founded the Marietta Astronomical Society. Discussions focused on the theme of “The Heavens Declare the Glory of God.” He donated land on the hill where Marietta Middle School is today to Marietta College for a new observatory. He invited noted astronomers to speak in Marietta. Cisler reportedly drove to the Chicago to pick up a meteorite that had fallen in someone’s backyard in the 1930’s.

The Cisler and Son brickyard closed about 1930 after supplying brick for the Marietta High School building. He became involved in oil and gas production after that.

1915 Pittsburgh Post Gazette newspaper article mentioning Thomas H. Cisler’s well in Windsor Township near Stockport in Morgan County. It was a  "5-barrel pumper well" (presumably 5 barrels per day) in the Peeker (AKA Second Cow Run) sand.
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He left the City of Marietta land for what became Ephraim Cutler Street and land for a landscaped park which eventually was the site for the YMCA. He bequeathed a plot next to the Cisler Terrace home for a park. Marietta Civitan Club now maintains the park.

Dr. J. Glover Johnson, Professor of Religion at Marietta College, wrote in a tribute at Thomas H. Cisler’s death in 1950: “...Marietta will never forget Dr. Cisler, for he did so much for it and the life of its people.”

Lillian E. Cisler
For more detailed personal recollections about Lillian, refer to a separate post “Lillian Cisler, Personal Recollections.”

Lillian E. Cisler was Thomas H. Cisler's daugher born in 1903. She never married and lived at Cisler Terrace from 1947 until her death in 1993. Lillian was well educated, gifted in music, and deeply spiritual. She was well known locally for her unusual appearance (wore all black all the time), hitching rides, love of children, and the Bach festival. Her wearing of black dresses is explained by many as a memorial to her father. Others aren’t so sure. One plausible explanation was that she had limited funds for a wardrobe; black dresses were economical and could be worn for all occasions.

Lillian met Albert Schweitzer, then a renowned physician, musician, and theologian, while at Northwestern University. They shared a love for science, religion, and Bach's music. They maintained a correspondence for many years.

Lillian possessed a encyclopedic knowledge of history - about the Cisler family, brick making, and the Marietta community. The late Jerry Devol, himself an expert local historian, lamented, “How negligent we were not to have interviewed and queried Miss Cisler about her family, her church, the Cisler Brick Co., and Marietta history in general.”

Marietta Times article about Lillian and her love of music. She is pictured in the Cisler Terrace home with the organ and piano in the background. (clipping courtesy of Marietta College Special Collections) CLICK TO ENLARGE

Miss Cisler was truly a multi-faceted personality. 

• A deeply spiritual person. St. Lukes Lutheran Church pastor Jim Couts remarked at her death: “...Lillian could put any clergy, including (me), to shame, with her  understanding of the scriptures and...the church.”
• A skilled and knowledgeable musician who played the organ and organized yearly concerts of Bach’s music.
• Kind to neighborhood children, allowing them to sled ride at the house and inviting them in to warm up and for hot chocolate. Mary Hoye Antons and her sister Nancy as children were next door neighbors who were special to Lillian. She often invited them over and gave them gifts at Christmas and birthdays.
• Loved her pets, especially Princess, a large black poodle. She held birthday parties for Princess. When she died, Princess was embalmed and placed in a casket at Cisler Terrace for viewing.
• Lacked financial judgment. She was her own worst enemy, often spending extravagantly far beyond her means. As a result, she was often destitute. Bills went unpaid, and utilities were sometimes shut off.  A few sympathetic residents offered financial help. Next door neighbor Mrs. Hoye brought meals to Lillian daily for thirteen years. Mr. Hoye helped with household tasks. Businessman Bob Kirkbride, her yard boy as a teenager, arranged to have a phone set installed which was specially programmed to make only local phone calls. Lillian would otherwise run up long distance phone charges, including international calls to Albert Schweitzer.
• Strong willed, impetuous, presumptuous (describing Lillian’s personality requires long words), in recruiting - or nagging - people to play for the Bach music concerts and in asking favors. She regularly asked, demanded, or cajoled bank officials for more money from the modest trust fund at People Bank which her father left her. William K. Hamer, President of Peoples Bank, when forewarned of her frequent visits, sometimes hid out in the rest room adjoining his office. Bank directors were also targeted. Lillian would station herself by the bank entrance on board meeting days and accost directors to request more money. She could be very convincing - or a nuisance, depending the situation.
• Legendary in hitching rides (she had no vehicle or money for a taxi) by literally opening the door of a stopped vehicle in the middle of the street and getting in. She hopped in my car more than once as I drove home from Peoples Bank. Drivers were known to run a red light to avoid her.

Locals have many fond memories of her; some quotes from various people in Facebook posts: “Loved that eccentric old gal, one of a kind, one of the best story tellers, always wore black, lonely but very nice, nice but eccentric, her father’s hat and cane were on the table, gave her rides, a little creepy, pretty pushy - jumped into my car, eccentric...but I liked her, I remember general decay of that fine old home, I played for the Bach concert, quite a hoot to talk to.”

Most people respected her and overlooked or tolerated the eccentricities. Mary Hoye Antons said “There was so much more to this lady who always dressed in black and begged for rides...” Dale Wagner was a Civitan Club member who assisted in creating the public park at Cisler Terrace. About Lillian, he said “As far as I’m concerned, she was really a brilliant lady. I thought a lot of Lillian and that’s why we wanted to complete this park for her.” He hoped that the park would keep alive the memory of her and the Cisler family.

She died in 1993. The home sat vacant for several years. It fell into severe disrepair. Dr. Jesse and Laurie Ada purchased the home and restored it. It once again became the beautiful home that Thomas Cisler created in 1886. The home, grounds, and history are testimony to a remarkable family, one of Marietta’s many latter day pioneers.

*The original family name also appears in some records as “Zeiszler.”

Sources:

Facebook posts on various dates

Personal recollections:
Mary Hoye Antons, Robert E. Kirkbride, David B. Baker

Marietta College Special Collections:

• Newspaper clippings from Marietta Times 2/6/1993, 11/29/1950; Marietta Register Leader 5/10/1920
• “Cisler Family Tree, Heinrich and Anna Zeissler” document 

Washington County Local History and Genealogical Library:

• “One Brick at a Time,” by Phil Foreman, Marietta Times 3/13/1999, copy provided by Washington County Local History and Genealogical Library
• Dudley, Bruce, “T. H. Cisler,” Navy Blue and White, Marietta College, 1991, copy provided by Washington County Local History and Genealogical Library
• ”Thomas Cisler Family,” Article in unknown publication
• Pritchard, Joan, “Looking Back on Old Friend Walter Dow,” Parkersburg News and Sentinel, 10/23/2011

Newspapers.com web site

• Articles from The Marietta Daily Leader 9/23/1890, 11/26/1898, 11/30/1899, 8/25/1900, 5/15/1901, 4/2/1910
• Article from Pittsburgh Post Gazette 4/15/1915
  
  
  
  
  
  

Marietta College Ambulance Corps

     There is a monument at the corner of Gilman and Virginia Streets in Harmar. It sits near busy traffic lanes, yet offers a serene view of the Ohio River. It was a gift of France, donated as part of the Northwest Territory Sesquicentennial Celebration in 1937-38 in appreciation for the service of the World War I Marietta College Ambulance Unit. On October 17, 1920, French military attaché General Collardet decorated the Corps members for their “noble service.” The solemn ceremony took place in Muskingum Park in the presence of college faculty and community members.

Twenty young men, primarily students from Marietta College and Miami University, had volunteered in 1917 to serve in the Ambulance Corps. Beman G. Dawes, Jr. organized the group with help from his father and others. The group received a rousing send-off by thousands of Mariettans on May 22. 

Photo of Ambulance Corps Ceremony in Marietta College Yearbook, from Marietta College Legacy Library Special Collections. CLICK TO ENLARGE

They landed in France at Bordeaux bearing the first American flag carried by a military organization in WW I. The Corps were actually assigned to “camion service,” not ambulance service, driving large Pierce Arrow trucks to move supplies because that was the most pressing need when they arrived. Yet the “Ambulance Corps” moniker stuck. It was strenuous, dangerous duty, often conducted at night. 

Photo of Ambulance Corps in France with last names written at bottom. From Marietta College Legacy Library Special Collections. CLICK TO ENLARGE.

Several letters from corps members gave fascinating views of their experience. 

Donley Parr from Dayton OH reported in a letter to his brother that the liner Rochambeau which transported the men was followed by German U-Boats. In the U-Boat zone of the Atlantic, “passengers slept on deck in chairs.” Luckily for them, they saw no submarines, but U-Boats sank the Mississippi which followed their boat. The cruise ship menu - offering “French bills of fare” - were not to the group’s liking; they missed their typical American food from home.

On landing at Bordeaux, no one greeted them; they had to fend for themselves at first. Parr described the country as “very attractive and beautiful…It’s wonderful to see the great (patriotic) enthusiasm for their cause. We in America do not appreciate what it means to be fighting for existence.”

 H. Ellis Sibley wrote in a letter that they saw other Americans there. “A fellow named Hall knew friends” of the group. He went out yesterday and failed to come back…So it goes….It is a pretty grim business…..Today we (saw) part of the Aisne battlefield. There were barb-wire entanglements and trenches by the hundreds…We have heard big guns often.”

“The weather here is most peculiar to us…we roast during the day and nearly freeze during the night under three blankets…it rains frequently and our barracks leak!”  

Sibley learned about the war first hand from men on the front. A Canadian soldier was on leave after 32 months. Physically he was ok, but “his nerves were shot.” “Sherman was right,” Sibley astutely observed, referring to General William Tecumseh Sherman’s quote admonishing those who glamorize war. “War is hell,” Sherman bluntly stated. 

A newspaper article reported on Rutherford M. DeArmon’s experience with “the famous Marietta College Ambulance Corps.”  He said the corps members were treated well, including a seven day leave after three months during which they toured Nice. His photos and the reporter’s narrative document the destruction wrought by German artillery. Orchards were “laid waste,…houses shown in ruins, churches were not spared….” Other photos show “stacks of shells ricked up like wood” in public parks and captured German planes on exhibit, plainly showing the German cross. 

The “Ambulance Corps” turned truck drivers worked until mid-November of 1917 when their enlistment ended. Many transferred to other American military units after that. The French recognized not only their dedication but their excellent work doing a difficult task - as civilian volunteers.

Sidebar notes: 

I was surprised to read that the president of Marietta College at the time, George W. Hinman, criticized the Ambulance Corps group. The Marietta Times reported that he called them “cowards,” saying that they recruited their parents to pull strings for them to avoid the draft. I saw no other indication of draft dodging as a motivation for their service.

Your author was curious how the idea for the Ambulance Corps came about. Before researching, I had thought it was a purely grass roots student idea which became an altruistic reality. But I noticed the names of some prominent business people, including parents, who provided financial and other help. So, did the students recruit the parents to help or did the parents recruit the students? It’s not clear; perhaps it was a team effort

Notice of Beman G. Dawes, Jr.’s engagement to Miss Janet Newton appeared in the Washington D. C. Times Herald on July 9, 1917 while Dawes was in France.

H. Ellis Sibley’s father, W. G. Sibley was in New York to see off his son to France. He was editor of the Gallipolis (OH) Tribune and quite a renowned angler. The Idaho Statesman newspaper reported on Sibley’s advice given at New York for successful fishing. He extolled the value of “spitting on the bait” to improve fishing success. “Many fishermen scoff at the idea,” he explained, “but the practice is one of the best aids to anglers.” Why would an Idaho newspaper publish fishing advice given by a man from Ohio offered while he was visiting New York City? Who knows, but it’s entertaining.

The French Historical Plaque and Celoron Lead Plate

 

French Historical Plaque and Celoron Lead Plate

Background: The government of France donated a plaque now located at the intersection of Virginia and Gilman Streets in Marietta, Ohio, in appreciation of the Marietta College Ambulance Unit which served in France during World War I. The Ambulance Corps was organized at Marietta College early in 1917. It landed at Bordeaux early in June, flying the first American flag carried by a military organization in World War I. The monument was dedicated in 1939 as part of the Northwest Territory Sesquicentennial Celebration. The plaque documents the Celoron Lead Plate (see narrative below for details) buried by the French in 1749 at a nearby location.

Flag of New France, in North America, mid 1700’s

French Flag

Marietta College, chartered 1835

Image of French Monument Plaque at Marietta, Ohio from hmdb.org

Image of French monument dedication ceremony on May 19, 1939 by Harry Fischer, courtesy of Marietta College Special Collections. Flag covers the monument.

Narrative as it appears on the monument plaque:

[Main top plaque]

The inscription appearing below is a replica of the one engraved on a lead plaque buried on this spot on August 15th, 1749 by CELORON De BLAINVILLE and of which a fragment recovered in 1798 is preserved by the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.

English translation of the Celoron lead plate:

In the year 1749, in the Reign of Louis XV, King of France, We, Celoron, Commander of a detachment sent by Monsieur le Marquis de la Galissoniere, Governor General of New France, to re-establish tranquility in some Indian villages of these cantons, have buried this Plate at the mouth of the Muskingum River on this 15th day of August 1749, near the Ohio River, otherwise "Beautiful River," as a monument to the renewal of the possession that we have taken of the said river Ohio, and of all those which empty into it, and of all the lands on both sides as far as the sources of the said rivers, as enjoyed and ought to have been enjoyed by the preceding Kings of France, and that they have been maintained as such by arms and by treaties, especially those of Ryswick, of Utrecht, and of Aix-la-Chapelle.

This plaque presented by The French Government In remembrance of the services rendered in France by the Marietta College Ambulance Unit  During the years 1917 to 1919. 

[Lower Plaque Left Side]

In 1749 the French Governor of Canada sent Celoron de Blainville (sometimes called Celeron de Bienville), with 235 French and Indian troops down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers to re-possess the western lands for France.

Along its route the expedition buried six leaden plates. The bronze tablet above contains their common text.

The Indian tribes had changed their affiliations from the French to the English, and failing to regain their support, Celoron and his troops retreated hastily to Canada.

The campaign was one of the incidents precedent to the French and Indian War.

[Lower Plaque Right Side]

Two of the plates have been found, one at Marietta and one at the Kanawha River.

The Marietta Plate was found by boys in 1798, almost on the site of this monument. Before its importance was realized much of it had been cut up to make bullets.

The remaining portion of which replica is shown at left, is in the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Note: The monument’s image of the plate went missing some years ago. Below is a photograph of the actual plate. 

Photograph from The American Antiquarian Society of the Celoron plate buried at the Muskingum River in 1749 and discovered in 1798. Over half of the original plate was destroyed to make musket balls. About halfway down, note the word “Yenangue”, part of the hyphenated Yenanguekouan, an early Indian name for the Muskingum River. In the next line down, see “Rivière Oyo,” French for Ohio River.

[Lower Plaque Middle]

Marietta College Ambulance Unit - In appreciation of whose work the government of France gave this monument as a feature of Northwest Territory celebration, 1937-38, was organized at Marietta College early in 1917. It landed at Bordeaux early in June, flying the first American flag carried by a military organization in World War I. Its members were: 

* Carlos W. Baer 

John S. Bailey 

Malcolm O. Cook 

Vivian F. Crawford 

Beman Gates Dawes, Jr. 

William M. Dawes 

Rutherford De Armon

Charles P. Dudley, Jr. 

*John F. Frazer 

* Lee D. Ikard 

Paul W. Lindsley 

Francis R. McIntyre 

Thomas M. Marton 

Dudley D. Nye 

Donley J. Parr 

Clark R. Piggott 

Benjamin H. Putnam 

Hiram E. Sibley 

* Kramer G Tabler 

Norman W. Van Ausdall 

Paul G. Westfall 

Warwick T. Wilder 

John W. V. Wygkoff 

* Died on the field of battle

Pioneers Trounce Ohio State 24-0

     Yes, this football score is for real. The year was 1895. Sure, the game then was new and far different from today. But that year the Marietta College Pioneers were dominant. The Parkersburg News in a 1964 article suggested that the 1895 Marietta College team might have been the best ever.

     Marietta played OSU eight times in the 1890s - and won two of those games. Not bad since MC Football had just been started in 1893 by Joseph Manley, a Harvard graduate who had played four years of football there. He taught Greek at Marietta. Manley coached and played quarterback; eligibility rules then allowed that.

     The October 1995 Marietta College student newspaper The Olio: "The football season of 1895...seems most encouraging. Except for three, the entire team has returned..." It credited "magnificent coaching," hard work, and student body enthusiasm for the team's excellence.

1895 Football team. Photo courtesy of Marietta College Special Collections

     Preseason optimism was justified: MC went 4-1-1 that year, outscoring opponents 148 to 12. Wins including beating Ohio State 24-0. The Olio: "The State University went down on November 23, before the superior teamwork and science of the Marietta team. Marietta made gains through the lines, around end and wherever and whenever she wanted to. This was a great victory..."

   They lost only to WVU. But the 6-6 tie game at the University of Cincinnati proved the toughest. The game was a big deal. There were 3,500 in the stands for the "Greatest Game the State Ever Knew." It was a bitterly fought, controversial game. Marietta endured unfair officiating and insulting behavior from the UC community.

 

     Referees were openly partisan; two of them wore UC colors. Coach Manley: "No grosser insult was ever offered to gentlemen, under the name of sport." Officiating favored UC. Holding by UC was blatant but not flagged. "Slugging" (hitting with fists or body blows) by UC players was not penalized, causing some MC players serious injury. UC was awarded a touchdown though the ball was a foot short of the goal line. UC was not penalized for fielding "ringers" - ineligible players who played for pay or for other teams. Marietta fans and alums - including the College President John Simpson - were cursed and insulted by unruly UC fans.

 

     There are always two sides to the story. Did MC do or say things that triggered the UC abuse? Don’t know. If reporting is correct, UC was the primary instigator.

 

     Games then often featured similar infractions, though not as extreme as at UC. These issues prompted the college presidents of Ohio to propose new rules in 1896 regarding eligibility, conduct, and safety of players. Team members must be actual students, no compensation of players, referees must be neutral, "slugging" and other foul play would be prohibited.

 

Other observations about football in that era:

• The word football appeared in print as two words:  foot ball.
• Some strategies had been devised for this new sport, as indicated by the term “scientific football” which appears in The Olio several times.
• Only 11 guys are in the team photo. It’s likely that most had to play on offense and defense.
• Many games drew good crowds, though football was new at the time.
• With few dedicated football facilities, game sites had to be carefully planned. Few games were at home fields; some were played at neutral sites. 
• Transportation was always an issue - no cars, vans, or buses yet. They mostly went by train or trolley.
• Scoring was different. A touchdown was 4 points, the "point" after was 2 points.

Today MC and OSU are in separate divisions, so we can root for both. Go Pios! Go Bucks!

Thanks to Linda Showalter at Marietta College Special Collections for research assistance on this article.

Brickmaking in Marietta: The Captain, The Doctor, and Miss Lillian

Brick streets and stately brick buildings are one of Marietta's defining characteristics. Brickmaking began in 1788 and continued almost without interruption until the 1930's. Native clay soil made the area a natural for brickmaking. The Ohio Company in 1788 authorized purchase of supplies, including bricks, for the block houses at the Campus Martius fortified stockade in Marietta. Bricks were used to build chimneys and beautiful homes as the new settlement grew. We'll explore the history of brickmaking in Marietta and some of the fascinating personalities involved. Brick streets will be discussed in a later blog post.

The first bricks were "burned" by The Captain, Captain William Dana in 1788. Dana was a Revolutionary War officer who served with the Minutemen at Lexington in 1775 and commanded an artillery company. He suffered a financial loss due to the devaluation of continental currency and eventually relocated to Marietta in May of 1788 with his two sons. He was given permission to build a cabin near what is now Putnam and Front Streets. Captain Dana's son-in-law Joseph Barker paints the picture in his Recollections of the First Settlement of Ohio: "As it was too late to plant, he & the boys cleared a small piece...and made a small Kiln of Bricks which were probably the first Kiln of Bricks burnt in Ohio." Barker used the bricks to build a chimney for Captain Dana in Belpre and later transported some of the same bricks to build his own home up the Muskingum River at Wiseman's Bottom in 1795. Major Ezra Lunt also made bricks in the same location in 1789 and 1790.

The Doctor was Nathan McIntosh was another adventuresome early leader with a connection to brickmaking. He was trained as a doctor in Boston and admitted to practice in 1786. In 1788 he decided to head west and set off for Marietta on horseback, only to fall ill with smallpox in Pennsylvania. He practiced medicine at Waterford, then Clarksburg, VA (now WV). The trip to Clarksburg was a challenge. The doctor travelled there with his wife and infant son, escorted by 15 militiamen. There were no roads or inns along the way, so they had to camp out at night. To keep the baby's crying from attracting Indians, it was dosed with paregoric and muffled with a handkerchief to suppress its cries.

Dr. McIntosh built a large practice there and also embarked on a business venture to build a bridge across the Monongahela River. Soon after completion, the bridge was swept away in a flood, resulting in a large financial loss. He returned to Marietta and continued practicing medicine. He was renowned for his caring manner and surgical skill. He was also held strong religious views which he expressed in lectures and writing. In 1806 he started a brickyard and building brick houses.

Dr. McIntosh's baby son - the one sheltered from the Indians - was named Enoch. He was born in 1793 and began working as a laborer in the brickyard at age nine and at age twelve began laying brick. Williams' History of Washington County, Ohio noted that "He thus early began a life of severe and unremitting toil, which occupied all his time until fortune rewarded his labors." and that "his capacity for work....was phenomenal." He built many beautiful brick homes in the area, including for Benjamin Putnam and Colonel John Mills in Marietta, Benjamin Dana, and Dr. John Baptiste Regnier. Regnier was one of the French immigrants who first settled at Gallipolis and later became a prominent doctor in Marietta.

Image of Enoch S. McIntosh copied from H. Z. Williams' History of Washington County, Ohio

Enoch McIntosh left the brick trade in 1813 and became a successful businessman in the Beverly-Waterford area, operating a store, mill, and founding The First National Bank of Beverly. He lived to age 96 and was characterized in Williams' History as a "man of strong vital and moral force.......strong, robust......(who) in all his years never tasted intoxicating liquor or tobacco in any form." Brickmaking was apparently a good foundation, so to speak, for a long and productive life.

Brickmakers in the mid-1800's are not well documented. But there was one infamous brick-related episode in the mid-1850's involving the Sacra Via Hopewell earthworks. Sacra Via (Latin for Sacred Way) is the graded pathway from Quadranaou platform mound to the Muskingum River. It was to be protected..."never to be disturbed or defaced, as common ground, not to be enclosed." But the dramatic boundary walls were destroyed due to a regrettable lapse in governance. A city council member, who was a brickmaker, talked the city council into selling the earthen walls to him for bricks. The bricks were used in the construction of the Unitarian Church. If those bricks could talk......

Political song writer John Greiner of Zanesville spoke to the Oddfellows Lodge in Marietta on May 12, 1869, and sang a song he composed for the occasion. I was surprised to find a verse which laments the desecration of Sacra Via:

Proudly thought the ancient builders

Of these Mounds and Way and Plain

Monuments of skill and labor

Should forever here remain.

Vain! - for hands so sacrilegious, 

Clay upheaved so long ago,

Make the bricks for Marietta,

On the river Ohio.

Brickmaking became a boom industry in the late 1800's. Brick possessed much more strength and durability than other construction materials available at the time - and was fireproof. Demand surged for brick construction for residential, institutional, public works, and industrial buildings. A single large building could require a "ton of bricks." Construction of the state mental hospital in Athens, Ohio, for example, required 12 million bricks. In 1893, about 44 brick plants in Ohio alone were making 290 Million bricks per year.

By 1900, there were several brick plants in Marietta, making that industry the area's largest employer. The Century Review Board of Trade Edition lists four brick companies:

• Thomas Cisler and Son located where the Frontier Shopping Center is today, just beyond the intersection of Seventh and Putnam Streets.
• Sterling Brick spread out along Montgomery Street between Seventh and Eighth Streets.
• Acme Brick in Norwood, along Acme Street near the rail line
• City Brick Co., at Montgomery and Sixth Streets 

The City Directories in the 1890's also listed brick makers Simon Zoller at Second and Montgomery Streets, L. W. Phillips at Eighth and Warren Streets, and James Cameron on Lord Street in Harmar. All except Zoller appear on the 1902 Atlas of the City of Marietta, Cram and Roe.

More is written about Cisler than the others. Thomas Cisler was a first generation immigrant from Germany; the family name of Zeissler was later Americanized to Cisler for convenience. He started the brick works in 1856, and it grew into the city's largest by 1900. The expansive yard was spread over 25 acres. 

Cisler Brick complex copied by author from Century Review of Marietta, Ohio, Marietta, Ohio, Marietta Board of Trade, 1900. The Cisler home is in the background.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

He built an iconic home in 1886, which remains today, on a knoll overlooking the former site of the brick plant. The home featured terraced grounds, intricate woodworking, and ten rooms. It was the first in the area to have indoor plumbing and gas lighting. Click here to read an early account about the home just after it was built.

Cisler Terrace home as it appears today, viewed at https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cisler_Terrace.jpg

Thomas Cisler was interviewed by the Marietta Times in 1890, just after he had installed a pressed brick machine. This machine compressed the bricks under 300 tons of pressure before they were placed for firing in the kiln. Clay for the bricks was taken from "College Hill" (site of the current middle school) which he had recently purchased from Marietta College.

The 1902 tornado destroyed most of the Cisler brickworks (and Acme Brick in Norwood), though it apparently rebuilt the operation. The company closed for good the 1930's, after having been re-opened to make bricks for the "new" Marietta High School. It was built on the hill which also supplied the bricks for its construction.

Thomas's son, Thomas Henry, also lived in the family home and had three children, one of whom was Miss Lillian E. Cisler. Miss Lillian was an eccentric spinster who lived in the home after her father's passing in 1950. She wore all-black clothing all the time as a sign of mourning for her late father, lived in spartan conditions (no car, no phone, utilities sometimes shut off) because of poor money management, was obsessive about continuing the traditions of her father - including an annual Bach music festival at the home, and became legendary for brazenly jumping into cars of people she knew while they were stopped in traffic and "asking" them to take her home. But she had a softer side, was intelligent and deeply religious. More about Miss Lillian in a future post.

Sterling Brick was incorporated in 1899, owned by Marietta investors. It claimed a capacity of 30,000 bricks per day. Directors included D. R. Rood, T. H. Sugden. C. W. Sugden, F. P. Morse, C. L. Flanders, and Wm Morse.

Sterling Brick, along with narrative from, copied by author from Century Review of Marietta, Ohio, Marietta, Ohio, Marietta Board of Trade, 1900

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Acme Brick was given the longest write-up of the brick plants in the 1900 Century Review Board of Trade Edition. It was not yet in full operation at the time, but claimed capital stock of $50,000 ($1.2 Million in today's dollars), the latest equipment, and "indefinite" supply of shale and clay from soil at the site, a daily capacity of 30,000 brick and 25,000 shale shingles for roof tiles, and "six, tunnel dry houses...which will make.....production a success in rainy weather as well as sunshine." The roof shingles were superlatively described as "the most economical and as well as ornamental roofing that has been bought to us in modern times. The ruins of Pompeii is said to have disclosed it as a revival of a lost art." It's not clear whether the roof tiles and bricks lived up to the hype.

Acme Brick: Symbols on the map show its location along Acme Street, which is not named on the Atlas map. Could it later have been named after Acme Brick or was Acme Brick named after the Street? 1902 Atlas map viewed at: 

http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/63745/Plate+003/Marietta+-+Ohio+and+Williamstown+-+West+Virginia+1902/Ohio/
CLICK TO ENLARGE

L. W. Phillips operated a brick plant at Eighth and Warren Streets. His facility was not listed in the Board of Trade publication - maybe because he was not a member of the Board of Trade (predecessor organization to the Chamber of Commerce). But he did make the April 12, 1894 Marietta Register newspaper under the unflattering headline of "Geo. Phillips Imbibes too Freely and Raises Trouble Around His Father's House." 

George Phillips was the 23 year old son of brick operator Lyman Phillips. George got drunk and set fire to several buildings at the home and brickyard. His rampage continued into the family home where he tried to destroy more property; he was subdued by "a number of men." The Register reported solemnly that "George Phillips is not known as a vicious or ugly man when sober, and the above occurrence is due solely to an over indulgence in liquor. It is an unfortunate affair." It was an observation as true today as then.

Brickmaking declined from its peak in the early 1900s as better alternative construction materials – such as steel – became available. The brick plants were all closed by 1930. Jobs and businesses supported by brickmaking soon faded away. Few remnants remain, having been removed by successor owners. The last feature at the Cisler plant, a stack for one of the kilns, came down more than 50 years ago when the Frontier Center was built. But thousands of local bricks remain in dozens of area homes and buildings, testimony to the once thriving brick industry. If those bricks could talk, they’d have many more stories to tell about the people who made them and used them.

Sources: (most of these were viewed in websites or digital editions)

Atlas of the City of Marietta, Washington County, Ohio etc., Fred'k B. Roe, C. E., Supervisor, Chicago, IL, Geo. F. Cram & Co., 1902, viewed at historicmapworks.com.

Baker, David B., "Marietta Earthworks," earlymarietta blog, February 18, 2016, viewed at http://earlymarietta.blogspot.com/2016/02/marietta-earthworks.html

Barker, Joseph, Recollections of the First Settlement in Ohio, George Jordan Blazier, editor, Marietta, Ohio, Marietta College, 1958, pages 44-45

Century Review of Marietta, Marietta Board of Trade, 1900, page 80-82

"Cisler Terrace a Gem in Downtown Marietta," The Marietta Times, April 10, 2015.

Devol, Jerry Barker, "Lillian E. Cisler, Last of a Long Line," Tallow Light, Volume 23, No. 2, Page 60

Keith930, "What Likes Beneath our Cities' Asphalt Jungles? A Mosaic of Brick," dailykos.com website, January 5, 2012

Marietta College Historical Collections, Volume 1, "The Records of the Original Proceedings of the Ohio Company, 1917, Marietta, Ohio, Marietta Historical Commission, pages ci and 61, viewed at https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Records_of_the_Original_Proceedings.html?id=3x8mAAAAMAAJ

Marietta Register, "New Residence, Cisler House," April 23, 1886, viewed at HistoricalMarietta.blogspot.com

Marietta Register, "Running Cisler's Brick Plant to Its Full Capacity," November 27, 1890, viewed at HistoricalMarietta.blogspot.com

Marietta Register, "Too Much Whiskey," April 12, 1894, viewed at HistoricalMarietta.blogspot.com

Marietta Times, "John Greiner Song," May 20, 1869, viewed at HistoricalMarietta.blogspot.com

Marietta Times, "Cisler Brick Works: Industrial Center of City Now Site of City’s Frontier Shopping Center," April 8, 2013

Pritchard, Joan, "Local Brickmaking - A Business That Hit It Big But No Longer Exists," Tallow Light, Vol 22, No. 2, pages 68-69

Wikitree, Captain William Dana, viewed at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dana-306

Williams, H. Z., History of Washington County Ohio, H. Z. Williams and Bro., Cleveland OH, 1881, pages 544, 407-408