john riley robinson; part 2

Second installment of a series about the man who built Oak Hill Cottage

The business directory on the 1853 map of the city shows Robinson’s freight forwarding office at the same location as the flour mill.

Ten lots along N. Walnut street in the 1850 tax record are divided between seven to the railroad and three to Robinson & Riley, with the total tax value lumped together at $150,000. This is a staggering sum, considering no other property in the city topped $8000.

The flour mill, on three of these lots, was almost on the end of the line for the railroad, but not quite! A track from Walnut Street curved SE to a warehouse next to where City Mills stands at North Main and 5th Street. The descendants of that track, an old siding, can still be seen there today. This track, in 1850, served the Sherman and Emminger Sash Factory, a joint venture of Jacob Emminger and John Sherman who was still in his 20s at that time.

John Sherman’s wealth early on was associated with the railroad, a fact made clear by a brief mention in his biographical reminiscences; “I had in addition to my practice [law], engaged in a profitable business with Jacob Emminger, a practical mechanic, in the manufacture of doors, blinds and other building materials. We acquired valuable pine-lands in Michigan and transported the lumber to our works at Mansfield” [by the SC&M Railroad].

The depletion of the forests of Maine and the opening up of timber lands for the harvest of the white pine forests in Michigan had brought about a bonanza in land speculation that created more wealth than the California Gold Rush of 1849.

There evidently were strong connections between John Riley Robinson and the Shermans. John Sherman was admitted to the Bar in 1844 at the age of 21, and partnered with his older brother Charles T. Sherman, a prominent lawyer in Mansfield. One of John’s earliest jobs as an attorney was representing the railroad in the acquisition of the right of way from Plymouth to Mansfield. This would have closely associated Sherman with John Robinson, even if there was no other connection. In fact, Robinson named one of his sons Charles Sherman Robinson, indicating there was a close friendship between John and the older Sherman brother. They were equal major shareholders in the railroad and probably had other business dealing together.