"Tell your father, that it is his labors more than to those of any other man that the people of this country owe the continued life of this nation." General Ulysses S. Grant to Jay Cooke Jr.
There's fishing lodge along Larry's Creek, in Salladsasburg, Lycoming County Pa, where Presidents, as well as Katharine Hepburn, have stayed. In 1884 it was established by Jay Cooke as his summer vacation spot, and Cooke's accomplishments, as well as the descriptions of life there, are just as interesting as the famous visitors it brought to our area.
Who Was Jay Cooke?
We should all know the story of Jay Cooke, especially since he spent his summers right here in Lycoming County. "Jay Cooke, financier of the civil war" is his usual title in the history books, but that description is so lacking, it does him no justice at all.
He was one of the leading American financiers of the mid- to late-19th century. A railroad baron and speculator, “financier of the Civil War”, instrumental in forming the first national banking system, financed the construction of the Northern Pacific Railway, and also : "reignited war with the Sioux, rescued George Armstrong Custer from obscurity, created Yellowstone Park, pushed frontier settlement four hundred miles westward, and triggered the Panic of 1873." He developed a power plant in Minnesota, and has a state park named for him.
"Financier Of The Civil War"
Cooke didn't finance the war, he certainly wasn't that wealthy (no one was) - but he convinced Americans to finance it, through War Bonds. It was Cooke who from the start said the war would cost so much more than the budget they began with, and Cooke who spent spent more than 2,000,000 advertising the bonds in newspapers and periodicals, with no regard to their political or religious affiliation. (But he would not give a penny to the Sunday papers, his regard for the Sabbath never wavered. )Even the Quakers, who were averse to all war, subscribed, when told that their money would be used to care for the sick and wounded.And he did this several times. It is quite literally because of Cooke that soldiers had ammo, supplies, hospitals, and received pay. War is a costly business. In later years, there would be criticism of the profits Cooke made from these deals. But it should be noted that Cooke took all of the risk, which was uncommon at the time. The percentage paid to a banker for government work was typically 2 to 2.5 percent, and Cooke's commission was never as high as 1 percent, and later fell to 1/4 of a cent.
The Canton Independent, June 1900
"Cooke's service to the Union was not of the showy, exhibitory kind that attracts and holds popular admiration, and that fact, coupled with the [financial] disaster that afterward overcame...operated to deprive him of the glory in which he was entitled for the colossal part he played in putting down the rebellion."
If that was all he had ever done, it would still be mighty impressive. General Grant was certainly impressed, and thankful. But the list goes on. When Abraham Lincoln was shot, it was Cooke who kept the financial markets from collapsing. He was instrumental in forming the first national banking system in 1863. He lost all of his fortune, and when he did, he sold all of his estates and fulfilled all of his debts. He rebuilt his fortune, bought back the estates had had sold, and decided to finance the Northern Pacific, a transcontinental railroad planned from Duluth, Minnesota, to Seattle. Cooke’s gamble "reignited war with the Sioux, rescued George Armstrong Custer from obscurity, created Yellowstone Park, pushed frontier settlement four hundred miles westward, and triggered the Panic of 1873." He developed a power plant in Minnesota, and has a state park named for him there.
But most of all, he was a kind and generous, man, who loved his family.
Ottawa Indian Chief Ogontz had been Cooke’s boyhood mentor and role model. It is for this mentor that both the mansion in Philadelphia, and the lodge near Salladasburg in Lycoming County are named. And it's that part of Cooke's legacy that brought him to Lycoming County.
The Williamsport Sun Gazette
Because this pioneer of the banking industry, preferred to spend his time in the country, fishing.
Ognotz Lodge, Salladasburg Pa
".. here great fires blazed cheerfully, while venison, pheasant and trout made the table a delight to its owner. Bear and deer were found upon the estate and Mr Cooke could fish up the stream for eight miles without leaving his own preserves. He visited the camp three or four times a year.... Here, as everywhere, he had a church whose services he attended when he passed a Sabbath in the neighborhood, and the children and their elders in the country roundabout were the recipients of many gifts from him."
Jay Cooke: Financier of the Civil War, Volume 2 By Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer
Of the many local stories often told of Cooke, was that he paid the local boys 25 cents a for each rattlesnake killed on his property. Hundreds were brought to him. Rattles and skins taken back to Ogontz, where they were converted to belts, purses and other ornaments.
And he's often quoted as saying, "None of your derbies for me. You can't stick fish hooks in the brim."
The Times, August 1902
In 1905, Jay Cooke died, and the lodge was taken over by three men: grandson, Jay Cooke III, whiskey distilling magnate Hays Carstairs, and Horace Harding. (Horace Harding married one of Jay Cooke's granddaughters) It was during this time that Herbert Hoover stayed at the lodge (on at least three occasions)
Later it was owned by Laura and Barclay Harding. The Hardings were friends of legendary actress Katherine Hepburn, who also stayed at the lodge on several occasions.
Theodore Roosevelt also stayed at the lodge.
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Memories Of Ogontz
A Memoir written by the caretakers nephew
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Herbert Hoover at Ogontz, May 1928
Read More about When the Presidents Came to Lycoming County To Fish, here:
In 1905, a "red bear with pink eyes" was shot near Ogontz
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Find More Local History & Stories Here:
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Read More
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When Katharine Hepburn Vacationed Here
When Katharine Hepburn Vacationed Here
A speech given by Jay Cooke can be read here:
http://jaycookefamily.com/documents/1900%20Sandusky%20Speech.pdf
About Chief Ogontz
About Chief Ogontz
Born in the far Northwest, Ogontz was taken as a baby to be raised by French Catholic priests from Quebec after the others of his village had died from smallpox or fled. He was educated to be a missionary to native tribes, and about the time of the American Revolution, went among the Ottowas to preach Christianity. Having a strong dislike of the British provisional governor, he persuaded two tribes and some French settlers to relocate in Sandusky. The French settled on the peninsula, the Indians on the other side of the bay. There, Ogontz lived at the site of what would later become the property of Eleutheros Cooke, Jay Cooke’s father.
Ogontz decided he could be more useful as a leader than a priest, so he was adopted into one of the tribes and became its chief. This provoked the jealousy of the other tribe’s chief, who tried to sneak up and kill him. But Ogontz was on his guard and slayed his attacker instead. Although it was self-defense, a council was held to decide his fate. In an unusual move, the council decided to spare him, and he adopted the son of the man he had killed, though he knew someday the boy would avenge his father’s death.
Always on the side of peace, Ogontz foresaw the War of 1812 and led his people back to Canada so they would not become involved. After peace was declared, he and his tribe moved again to Maumee River. At a powwow there some time later, Ogontz was killed by his adopted son, as he always knew he would be.
From Historical Collections of Ohio, Henry Howe, 1890
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