��HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.
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��Brotherhood ; Labonah Encampment, No. 123 ; Crestline Commaudery, No. 21.
Crestline has gi'own rapidly, and therefore is not as healthy as towns around it that have gi'own slower. Some of its streets are narrow, winding and dirt}' ; a large majority of its business houses near the railroads, where they are the most conspicuous to public view, are weather-beaten, tumble-down frames, jumbled together, big and little, in a triangular and and almost every other shape, caused b}^ trying to build them facing the railroads, and at the same time preserve the points of the compass. In fact, its general appearance is more that of a frontier town than of a solid, substantial, well-laid-out, health}^ Ohio town. In addition to its railroads, their shops, etc., there are about a dozen hotels, and as many more board- ing houses, some of which eke out a precarious existence boarding railroad employes. The hotel business has been overdone, and some of them are standing idle, or have been converted to other uses. The Continental, kept b^^ Russell & Co., is the only first-class house. It is heated by steam, lighted by gas, manufactured on the premises, has every convenience for the comfort of its guests, and charges accordingly. One excellent feature is the establishment in the building, above the gentlemans waiting-room, of a reading-room, where the waiting passen- gers may while away a pleasant hour, among the latest magazines and papers, in a pleasant room, instead of spending their time and money at the numerous saloons which still defy, not only in Crestline but everywhere else, the " boasted civilization of the nineteenth centurj'."
The hotels are mostly located in the neigh- borhood of the depot. At present, there are five dry-goods stores, three drug, one book, three jeweler, and a large number of grocery stores and saloons ; two banks, one publishing house, an iron foundry emplo3'ing half a dozen hands, two wagon and carriage shops, one planing-mill, five lawjers, six physicians.
��besides the usual number of mechanics in every department of labor. The Continental Flouring Mill was erected in 1860, was a small aflfair, but has been in many different hands, improved many times, and is now capable of turning out 100 barrels of flour ever}- twenty-four hours. It is owned by Russell, Dail}^ & Co. It is the only gi'ist-mill in the town. Two saw-mills were erected in an early day (between 1850 and 1856), one by Lang & Miller, the other by S. B. Coe ; both were within the limits of the present corporation ; both have disappeared. It is a noticeable fact that the stationary saw- mills once so plentiful in the count}^ are fast disappearing. They will probably become a curiosity to the next generation, especially those propelled by water-power.
The Crestline Advocate was established in July, 1867, b}^ A. Billow, its first editor and proprietor. It is independent in politics. Mr. Billow died in May, 1876, since which time the paper has been conducted by his son, D. C. Billow. It is successful and permanent. Its presses are run by water-power fui'nished b}^ the water- works.
It once had a competitor called the Independ- ent Democrat^ established b}^ Jenner & Reed in 1873. It advocated the politics its name indi- cates and changed hands several times during its fleeting career. It was moved to Buc3'rus in the summer of 1876, and shortly aftei-ward discontinued.
One of the best of Crestline's institutions is its water-works ; they are simple and inex- pensive in construction, and furnish the purest of water, which, no doubt, contributes largely to the health of its citizens. The water is brought in a large wooden pipe from a power- ful spring three miles east, in Springfield Towni- ship — mentioned in the historj- of that town- ship. It has a fall of 150 feet, from which considerable force may l)e obtained. It is car- ried over the town in smaller pipes, and used for all purposes.
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