Worthy S. Streator
Encyclopedia
Dr. Worthy Stevens Streator (October 16, 1816 – March 6, 1902) was an American physician, railroad developer, industrialist and entrepreneur after whom the city of Streator, Illinois
is named. He was instrumental in the creation of the Atlantic and Great Western Railway in Ohio, was president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
(B&O) and financed the first large-scale coal mine operation in Northern Illinois in 1866. He served as an Ohio
State Senator in 1869, and was the first mayor of East Cleveland, Ohio
. He was an influential in the development of many civic institutions in his home city of Cleveland, Ohio
. He co-founded the Christian Standard magazine, he was an original endower of Case Institute of Technology
and was a principal in the creation of the James A. Garfield Monument
; the first true mausoleum created in the United States in honor of President James A. Garfield. He was a pallbearer at President Garfield's funeral in 1881.
on October 16, 1816, Streator's lineage traces back to the 15th century in Kent, England. His great-grandfather, Dr. John Streator served in the American Revolutionary War
as a private in the Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Militia. At age eighteen he entered medical school and upon graduation moved to Aurora, Ohio in 1838. In 1839 he married Sarah Wakeley Sterling, of Lyman, New York. They had five children; Helen Gertrude (born May 20, 1842), Sterling Rush (born December 31, 1845), Henry Doolittle (born August 26, 1851), Edward H. (born August 20, 1855) and Harold Arthur (born August 5, 1861). By 1850, Streator moved to Cleveland, Ohio
and retired from medicine.
In 1862 he began plans for the Oil Creek Railroad, which would bring newly discovered oil from the Oil Creek
fields in western Pennsylvania to the town of Corry, Pennsylvania
. This highly coveted railroad was a great financial success for Dr. Streator. The publics interest in the oil fields was so great that crowds gathered to view the oil being loaded onto the railcars. By 1866, Streator sold his interest in the Oil Creek line to the New York Central Railroad
. He then began construction of a new line from Corry to New York Central's Buffalo and Erie Railroad line in Brocton, New York
.
learned first of the vast, untapped coal fields on the banks of the Vermilion River, Streator gathered other investors and formed the Vermilion Coal Company in 1866 with Streator as its President and Plumb as the Business Manager. Plumb and Streator "invited" Streator's friend, then Ohio Congressman, James A. Garfield to sign on as an investor. In return, Garfield was expected to work with Robert C. Schenck
, then the president of the American Central railroad, in getting the railroad to "bend their lines" to the coal mine in the area known as Hardscrabble in LaSalle County, Illinois. Eventually the plan did not work. The Vermilion Company then made arrangements with the Fox River line for their needed rail service.
The company purchased 3000 acres (12.1 km²) of land and dispatched Col. Plumb to begin work. Plumb surveyed the area for the incoming Fox River Line, platted the land for the new town and commenced to build a total of eight mine shafts.
Plumb needed laborers for his mines, but the Vermilion Coal Company was unable to afford European employment agents. Instead, it alerted steamship offices of the new job opportunities and convinced local railroads to carry notices of Vermilion Coal's promise. Scottish, English, Welsh, German and Irish immigrants came to the area first, followed later by scores of mostly Slovaks. Czechs, Austrians and Hungarians came in lesser numbers.
The coal operation was an immediate success due to the increasing appetite for coal in the United States. In 1870, the Dwight Division of the Chicago and Alton Railroad was commenced. The Chicago, Pekin and Southwestern rail line came next and was followed by the Chicago and Paducah railroad. This increase in rail construction gave the region unparalleled advantages in shipping. By 1877, the Vermilion Coal Company employed 1,2000 miners.
In 1868 the newly developed town that was created in conjunction with the mines was incorporated as Streator, Illinois
, named in honor of Dr. Streator. Colonel Ralph Plumb served as the new city's first mayor. Worthy Streator, himself, never visited the city named for him.
The success of the local mining operations and the introduction of the new glass making industry allowed for improvements in the living conditions and personal wealth of its miners and laborers.
In his 1877 History of LaSalle County, author H.F. Kett states:
Streator continued to flourish for much of the 20th century. Ultimately the demand for coal was replaced with the new demand for oil. Many of the mines closed in the 1920s, with the last of the mines finally shutting down in 1958. Since then, growth has stagnated, but Streator remains a viable manufacturing town with a glass bottle and a heavy equipment industry in addition to retail and agriculture.
's 20th senate district. In 1872 he left the senate after one term and was named by then Ohio Governor (and later U.S. President) Rutherford B. Hayes
as trustee of the Ohio Agricultural College
. He served as a presidential elector
for the Ohio 20th district in 1874 and voted for Hayes. In 1879, Hayes appointed Streator as Collector of Internal Revenue for the Northern District of Ohio. He was re-appointed by Presidents Garfield and Chester A. Arthur
.
Throughout his life Dr. Streator maintained close ties with the civic and business leaders in Cleveland and Ohio. He was involved with his church, the Disciples Church. He was a long-time resident of a grand mansion on 240 acre (0.9712464 km²) on "Millionaires' Row" along Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. His neighbors included the first American billionaire, John D. Rockefeller
.
In 1865, Dr. Streator along with James A. Garfield and J.P. Robison organized the Christian Standard publishing company. Its periodical, Christian Standard became one of the leading independent religious magazines in the church. In 1887, Streator was instrumental in founding the Disciples Union of Cleveland.
After the death of Dr. Streator's friend, Leonard Case in 1880, Streator along with other Cleveland leaders enacted Case's plan to create a first-class research institute in Cleveland. The initial endowment by the group, led by the estate of Leonard Case created what was later to become the Case Western Reserve University
.
By 1886, Dr. Streator returned to business, when he partnered with William Halsey Doan
in creating the firm of W.H. Doan & Company. They began selling crude oil on commission, shipping it from the oil fields of northwestern Pennsylvania to Cleveland.
Garfield represented Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 until his election as President in 1881. Garfield was in office for only four months, when he was shot and fatally wounded on July 2, 1881. Garfield died from complications of his wounds on September 19, 1881. The funeral held on September 26, 1881 was a majestic, solemn affair. An estimated one hundred thousand visitors came to Cleveland for the service and two-hundred and fifty thousand people lined the streets to view the five-mile procession which concluded at Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery
. Dr. Worthy Streator was one of twelve friends and colleagues who took their place alongside Garfield's funeral car to serve as pall-bearers.
A year after Garfield's death, Dr. Streator became a principal member of an association created to build the Garfield Monument
, in honor of their friend. Construction of the 180 feet (54.9 m) graystone mausoleum began in 1885. It contained a chapel in its center which hold the crypt of President Garfield and his wife, Lucretia. The monument was dedicated by Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes
and Benjamin Harrison
on May 29, 1890.
.
Dr. Streator is known primarily for the city of Streator, Illinois. In Cleveland, there was a street named Streator Avenue for many years, and currently there is a Streator Court. Streator Park, in Lorain, Ohio
houses the headquarters of the city's Parks and Recreation Department on land donated by Dr. Streator's estate. It is located at the corner of Long & Streator Streets.
The Parks Department building was, until 1957, the Lorain Public Library.
Streator, Illinois
Streator is a city in LaSalle and partially in Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River approximately southwest of Chicago, Illinois in the prairie and farm land of north-central Illinois. It is the center of the geographic region known as...
is named. He was instrumental in the creation of the Atlantic and Great Western Railway in Ohio, was president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
(B&O) and financed the first large-scale coal mine operation in Northern Illinois in 1866. He served as an Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
State Senator in 1869, and was the first mayor of East Cleveland, Ohio
East Cleveland, Ohio
East Cleveland is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and is the first suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. The population was 17,843 at the 2010 census....
. He was an influential in the development of many civic institutions in his home city of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. He co-founded the Christian Standard magazine, he was an original endower of Case Institute of Technology
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
and was a principal in the creation of the James A. Garfield Monument
Lake View Cemetery
Lake View Cemetery is located on the east side of the City of Cleveland, Ohio, along the East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights borders. There are over 104,000 people buried at Lake View, with more than 700 burials each year. There are remaining for future development. Known locally as "Cleveland's...
; the first true mausoleum created in the United States in honor of President James A. Garfield. He was a pallbearer at President Garfield's funeral in 1881.
Background
Born in Hamilton, Madison County, New YorkHamilton (town), New York
Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 5,733 at the 2000 census. The town is named after American patriot Alexander Hamilton....
on October 16, 1816, Streator's lineage traces back to the 15th century in Kent, England. His great-grandfather, Dr. John Streator served in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
as a private in the Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County is a non-governmental county located on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,219. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield...
Militia. At age eighteen he entered medical school and upon graduation moved to Aurora, Ohio in 1838. In 1839 he married Sarah Wakeley Sterling, of Lyman, New York. They had five children; Helen Gertrude (born May 20, 1842), Sterling Rush (born December 31, 1845), Henry Doolittle (born August 26, 1851), Edward H. (born August 20, 1855) and Harold Arthur (born August 5, 1861). By 1850, Streator moved to Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and retired from medicine.
Railroads
Once in Cleveland and removed from the practice of medicine, Streator embarked on his second career in developing railroads. With his partner, Henry Doolittle, their firm built the Greenville and Medina Railroad. In 1853 they contracted for the construction of the 244 miles (393 km) Atlantic and Great Western Railroad in Ohio. Work continued on this and other ancillary lines of the railroad until completion in 1861, when he sold his unfinished contracts upon the death of Doolittle.In 1862 he began plans for the Oil Creek Railroad, which would bring newly discovered oil from the Oil Creek
Oil Creek State Park
Oil Creek State Park is Pennsylvania state park on in Cherrytree, Cornplanter and Oil Creek Township Townships, Venango County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is adjacent to Drake Well Museum, the site of the first successful oil well in the United States, that was drilled under the...
fields in western Pennsylvania to the town of Corry, Pennsylvania
Corry, Pennsylvania
Corry is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. With a population of 6,834 at the 2000 United States Census, it is the second largest city in Erie County. Corry is a part of the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. This highly coveted railroad was a great financial success for Dr. Streator. The publics interest in the oil fields was so great that crowds gathered to view the oil being loaded onto the railcars. By 1866, Streator sold his interest in the Oil Creek line to the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
. He then began construction of a new line from Corry to New York Central's Buffalo and Erie Railroad line in Brocton, New York
Brocton, New York
Brocton is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States.The name was derived by combining the names "Brockway" and "Minton," two prominent local families...
.
Vermilion Coal Company
Upon completion of the Corry to Brocton railroad line, Streator suspended his involvement in rails and began a third career developing coal mines on the Vermilion River in North-Central Illinois. While it is unclear as to whether Streator or his cousin, Col. Ralph PlumbRalph Plumb
Ralph Plumb was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Born in Busti, New York, Plumb attended the common schools.He engaged in mercantile pursuits.He moved to Ohio....
learned first of the vast, untapped coal fields on the banks of the Vermilion River, Streator gathered other investors and formed the Vermilion Coal Company in 1866 with Streator as its President and Plumb as the Business Manager. Plumb and Streator "invited" Streator's friend, then Ohio Congressman, James A. Garfield to sign on as an investor. In return, Garfield was expected to work with Robert C. Schenck
Robert C. Schenck
Robert Cumming Schenck was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, and American diplomatic representative to Brazil and the United Kingdom. He was at both battles of Bull Run and took part in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, and the Battle of Cross Keys...
, then the president of the American Central railroad, in getting the railroad to "bend their lines" to the coal mine in the area known as Hardscrabble in LaSalle County, Illinois. Eventually the plan did not work. The Vermilion Company then made arrangements with the Fox River line for their needed rail service.
The company purchased 3000 acres (12.1 km²) of land and dispatched Col. Plumb to begin work. Plumb surveyed the area for the incoming Fox River Line, platted the land for the new town and commenced to build a total of eight mine shafts.
Plumb needed laborers for his mines, but the Vermilion Coal Company was unable to afford European employment agents. Instead, it alerted steamship offices of the new job opportunities and convinced local railroads to carry notices of Vermilion Coal's promise. Scottish, English, Welsh, German and Irish immigrants came to the area first, followed later by scores of mostly Slovaks. Czechs, Austrians and Hungarians came in lesser numbers.
The coal operation was an immediate success due to the increasing appetite for coal in the United States. In 1870, the Dwight Division of the Chicago and Alton Railroad was commenced. The Chicago, Pekin and Southwestern rail line came next and was followed by the Chicago and Paducah railroad. This increase in rail construction gave the region unparalleled advantages in shipping. By 1877, the Vermilion Coal Company employed 1,2000 miners.
Streator, Illinois
Streator, Illinois
Streator is a city in LaSalle and partially in Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River approximately southwest of Chicago, Illinois in the prairie and farm land of north-central Illinois. It is the center of the geographic region known as...
, named in honor of Dr. Streator. Colonel Ralph Plumb served as the new city's first mayor. Worthy Streator, himself, never visited the city named for him.
The success of the local mining operations and the introduction of the new glass making industry allowed for improvements in the living conditions and personal wealth of its miners and laborers.
In his 1877 History of LaSalle County, author H.F. Kett states:
Perhaps no city...in Illinois, outside of the great city of ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, presents an instance of such rapid and substantial growth as the city of Streator. From a single small grocery house... the locality has grown to be a city of 6,000 prosperous and intelligent people. Churches, school-houses, large, substantial business houses and handsome residences, with elegant grounds and surroundings, now beautify the waste of ten years ago, while the hum of machinery and thronged streets are unmistakable evidences of business importance and prosperity.
Streator continued to flourish for much of the 20th century. Ultimately the demand for coal was replaced with the new demand for oil. Many of the mines closed in the 1920s, with the last of the mines finally shutting down in 1958. Since then, growth has stagnated, but Streator remains a viable manufacturing town with a glass bottle and a heavy equipment industry in addition to retail and agriculture.
Political life
With the success of the Vermilion Coal Company in Streator, Illinois, Dr. Streator turned his attention back to his home in Cleveland and specifically toward politics. In 1869 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate representing Cuyahoga CountyCuyahoga County, Ohio
Cuyahoga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. It is the most populous county in Ohio; as of the 2010 census, the population was 1,280,122. Its county seat is Cleveland. Cuyahoga County is part of Greater Cleveland, a metropolitan area, and Northeast Ohio, a...
's 20th senate district. In 1872 he left the senate after one term and was named by then Ohio Governor (and later U.S. President) Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
as trustee of the Ohio Agricultural College
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. He served as a presidential elector
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
for the Ohio 20th district in 1874 and voted for Hayes. In 1879, Hayes appointed Streator as Collector of Internal Revenue for the Northern District of Ohio. He was re-appointed by Presidents Garfield and Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
.
Cleveland civic life
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
.
In 1865, Dr. Streator along with James A. Garfield and J.P. Robison organized the Christian Standard publishing company. Its periodical, Christian Standard became one of the leading independent religious magazines in the church. In 1887, Streator was instrumental in founding the Disciples Union of Cleveland.
After the death of Dr. Streator's friend, Leonard Case in 1880, Streator along with other Cleveland leaders enacted Case's plan to create a first-class research institute in Cleveland. The initial endowment by the group, led by the estate of Leonard Case created what was later to become the Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
.
By 1886, Dr. Streator returned to business, when he partnered with William Halsey Doan
William Doan
William Doan was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.Born in Maine, Doan attended the common schools.He moved with his parents in 1812 to Ohio and settled near Lindale, Clermont County....
in creating the firm of W.H. Doan & Company. They began selling crude oil on commission, shipping it from the oil fields of northwestern Pennsylvania to Cleveland.
James A. Garfield
Dr. Streator had a long association with President James A. Garfield. Streator offered Garfield a partnership in the Vermilion Coal Company in 1866. Garfield partnered with Streator in creating the Christian Standard publishing company. Garfield appointed Streator to political positions.Garfield represented Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 until his election as President in 1881. Garfield was in office for only four months, when he was shot and fatally wounded on July 2, 1881. Garfield died from complications of his wounds on September 19, 1881. The funeral held on September 26, 1881 was a majestic, solemn affair. An estimated one hundred thousand visitors came to Cleveland for the service and two-hundred and fifty thousand people lined the streets to view the five-mile procession which concluded at Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery
Lake View Cemetery
Lake View Cemetery is located on the east side of the City of Cleveland, Ohio, along the East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights borders. There are over 104,000 people buried at Lake View, with more than 700 burials each year. There are remaining for future development. Known locally as "Cleveland's...
. Dr. Worthy Streator was one of twelve friends and colleagues who took their place alongside Garfield's funeral car to serve as pall-bearers.
A year after Garfield's death, Dr. Streator became a principal member of an association created to build the Garfield Monument
Lake View Cemetery
Lake View Cemetery is located on the east side of the City of Cleveland, Ohio, along the East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights borders. There are over 104,000 people buried at Lake View, with more than 700 burials each year. There are remaining for future development. Known locally as "Cleveland's...
, in honor of their friend. Construction of the 180 feet (54.9 m) graystone mausoleum began in 1885. It contained a chapel in its center which hold the crypt of President Garfield and his wife, Lucretia. The monument was dedicated by Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
and Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
on May 29, 1890.
Death and legacy
Dr. Streator died at age 85 on March 3, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was buried at Lake View CemeteryLake View Cemetery
Lake View Cemetery is located on the east side of the City of Cleveland, Ohio, along the East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights borders. There are over 104,000 people buried at Lake View, with more than 700 burials each year. There are remaining for future development. Known locally as "Cleveland's...
.
Dr. Streator is known primarily for the city of Streator, Illinois. In Cleveland, there was a street named Streator Avenue for many years, and currently there is a Streator Court. Streator Park, in Lorain, Ohio
Lorain, Ohio
Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....
houses the headquarters of the city's Parks and Recreation Department on land donated by Dr. Streator's estate. It is located at the corner of Long & Streator Streets.
The Parks Department building was, until 1957, the Lorain Public Library.