"WHEN BRUNERSBURG, BIGGER THAN DEFIANCE, HAD THREE SALOONS AND FOUR HOTELS.
The things I am going to tell you are what I have heard old settlers tell about and what I have seen.
At one time, the 'Burg' had a greater population than Defiance. The people had to come out here to vote. That was before 1845 when this part of the county belonged to Williams County.
At one time, the Burg had four hotels and all had plenty to do. They had large barns nearby as a place to keep horses. In those days, the travelers came on foot or on horseback. At times, the hotels were so crowded that the travelers had to sleep on straw ticks on the floor. Most of these people seeking lodging were looking for homesteads or places where they could buy cheap land. They all wanted land near some river or ravine.
I think Uncle Brice Hilton and his parents came to this country in 1822. And a few years later, he purchased a good part of the business in the Burg. Well do I remember when he had two tanneries, shoe shops, saw mill and grist mill and owned a good scope of land near the Burg.
There was a dam across the river - one end a saw mill and on the other end a grist mill. That was one of the fine dams in this country. It was built long before the dam at Independence on the Maumee river.
I saw the grist mill and two of the hotels burn down and the other two hotels torn down. The last hotel was owned and run by John Kniseley.
In those days the Burg had all kinds of business except a bank. But we had three saloons where you could deposit.
Benjamin Hilton and Daniel Bruner ran a dry goods store and a general store. They also bought grain and did a good business. They had to haul their grain to Defiance and load it on a canal boat and ship to Toledo.
This is when the Burg began to lose business. They could pay more for grain in Defiance. You remember the John Tuttle warehouse on the bank of the Maumee. It was known for miles around.
A few years later came the Wabash railroad which put Defiance on the map, and it looks like it is there to stay.
Just a few words about our bridges. There have been five bridges across the river at the Burg. The first one was about 50 rods north of our present bridge. It was built early in 1800, one which I never saw. It was built by labor and money donations mostly. In those days, the bridge was not more than 12 feet from low water. We did not have such high water nor did the water run so swift. In fact, the river would be a month rising and falling.
The second bridge was built while this section yet belonged to Williams county. It was constructed of white and bur oak, three-span, with wooden bents. The spot where the west abutment now stands was near the center of the river.
The third bridge was built right after the Civil War, probably about 1865 or '66. It was a two-span bridge, set on wooden piers and wooden abutments. The center pier was a wooden box filled with stone and dirt. The framework of this bridge was pine, with two pieces 12 x 14 inches, well bolted and dovetailed together. The siding was made of inch boards 10 feet long.
The year 1884 saw the building of the fourth bridge - a steel structure with 200 foot span. It was erected by the Youngstown bridge company under the direction of Martin Struble, Levi Colby and Michael Gorman, commissioners and T. S. Knight, surveyor. This was the bridge which the storm tore down on March 28, 1920, when a large part of the Burg was also destroyed.
The present bridge was built in the fall of 1920 by a Lima company - a three arch concrete affair which looks as if it would stand longer than all the rest combined. The same abutments were used as on the former bridge."
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