Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway Company (Signed by John Henry Devereux)

Product Details

Historical Context

The Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad was chartered on March 14, 1836, but no work began on the road, and the charter fell dormant. On March 12, 1845, the state of Ohio reactivated the charter, and on February 8, 1847, the state amended the road's charter to permit the construction of branch lines.

Construction from Cleveland through Galion and Delaware to Columbus then began. The road entered Columbus from the north, running east and parallel to Fourth Street, then swinging southwestward to enter the passenger depot of the Columbus and Xenia Railroad. On February 21, 1851, a grand excursion train with 425 passengers took members of the state and city government to Cleveland, returning them to Columbus after a day's layover. Regular traffic began in April 1851, a full year after service was inaugurated on the C&X.

Meanwhile, the Springfield, Mt. Vernon and Pittsburg Railroad had fallen into receivership. On January 1, 1861, the portion of the road between Delaware and Springfield was sold to the CC&C, and operated as its Delaware Branch.

On May 16, 1868, the CC&C was merged with the Bellefontaine Railway to form the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway. At that time the railroad still hadn't reached Cincinnati, and it was up to the CCC&I to finish the job.

By 1872, the CCC&I made agreements to operate the Cincinnati and Springfield Railway between Cincinnati and Dayton and the Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland Railroad between Dayton and Springfield, finally providing a through route from Cleveland to Columbus to Cincinnati. In 1889, the CCC&I merged with lines in Indiana and Illinois to form the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, known as the Big Four Route.

It eventually became a part of the New York Central Railroad.

John Henry Devereux

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John Henry Devereux was originally employed as a construction engineer on the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. After its completion he found similar employment on the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad.

In 1852 he went south, and, until 1861, was engaged as civil engineer in the construction of railroads in Tennessee.

In the spring of 1862, after having made a reconnoissance for a military railroad in the Shenandoah Valley, Devereux received the appointment of superintendent of military railroads in Virginia, and under it had charge of all railroads out of Alexandria. It was early in the spring of 1862 that the forward movements of the Federal armies in Virginia called for active operation, by the government, of the railroad lines centering in Alexandria and connecting with Washington. These lines of railroads were in the most deplorable condition, and in the midst of chaos, and of imperative demands for endless transportation to and from the advancing armies, General McCallum was suddenly called to the head of the department of railroads, and in turn summoned Colonel Devereaux to act as the controller and chief of the Virginia lines. Devereux successfully rehabilitated the lines, making Alexandria a reliable transportation hub during the war.

In the spring of 1864, Devereux's military railroad work was drawing to a close, so he resigned his position, moved to Ohio and took a management position with the Cleveland and Pittsburg Railroad. In 1866 Devereux was invited to become vice president of the Lake Shore Railroad Company, and soon after accepting that position he was elected to the presidency. When the consolidation of the Lake Shore Road with the connecting lines between Buffalo and Chicago was effected, under the name of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad Company, he was appointed general manager, and had executive control of this great line with all its connections and branches.

In June 1873, Devereux received overtures from the Atlantic and Great Western and the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis railroad companies. He accepted and held, at the same time, the position of president of both the companies.

Although never a politician, Devereux always manifested an active interest in public affairs. Twice he was tendered a nomination to Congress, but declined on both occasions.

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