Judge William Rayen Archives

Vintage European style engraving featuring horse racing with jockeys by Charles Simon Pascal Soullier (1861). Original from the British Library. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. Licensed under CC0 1.0

One of the most fascinating stories in Joseph Green Butler’s History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley is that of a horse race that occurred some time before 1810 on Federal Street. At stake? Whether Warren or Youngstown would be the county seat. You must remember that at this time, Warren had been designated the county seat ahead of the little village further down the Mahoning River.

The good people of Warren had a horse by the name of Dave that they thought could outrun anything. They even added a $500 wager, they were so sure of themselves.

The early founders of Youngstown were horse people. Judge George Tod, Judge William Rayen, James Hillman (who met John Young on his first surveying trip), and John Woodbridge. Judge Tod agreed to their bet and covered the $500 wager. He selected a bay mare owned by James Hillman and trained and curried the horse to perfection.

The race would begin at Judge Rayen’s home, located near Spring Common and run through the village on Federal Street ending at Crab Creek, a distance of about a mile. Everyone took off work that day. People from Youngstown lined up on the south side of the street. Those who came down from Warren were on the north side. A spectator observed that people “bet what money they had, bet watches, penknives, coats, hats, vests, and shoes.”

His account continues:

“Alexander Walker rode Fly, and under his tutelage the Youngstown horse forged ahead in passing Henry Wick’s store. At Hugh Bryson’s store Dave came alongside, but the spurt was unavailing as Walker plied his whip and gave a few Indian warwhoops and Fly shot ahead once more. Dave’s chance vanished then and there, for Fly reached Crab Creek six lengths ahead. In fact Fly had entered so thoroughly into the spirit of the affair by this time that she refused to stop at all and was brought up only at Daniel Sheehy’s cabin, a mile beyond the goal.”

Youngstown won the race and the $1000 purse. Youngstown bettors filled their pockets with winnings. But the county seat remained in Warren. It turns out that you can’t bet county seats and Youngstown wouldn’t even be the first county seat when Mahoning County was formed. Canfield held that honor from 1846 until 1876, when, after an Ohio Supreme Court decision, the county seat moved to Youngstown. It turn out that it takes more than a horse race to claim a county seat. But what a great story!

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Judge William Rayen

The name Rayen is one I encountered often in Youngstown. There was Rayen Avenue. Chaney would play Rayen in City Series sports. When we attended Youngstown State, home games were still played at Rayen Stadium. The university has a Rayen School of Engineering, which at one time used classrooms in the original Rayen School building. We used to walk down Wick Avenue from Youngstown State to downtown past the original Rayen School, which serves as the home of the Youngstown Board of Education.

So who was Judge William Rayen? Born in Kent County, Maryland October 1, 1776, he and his wife, Margaret Caree Rayen operated a mercantile in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania from 1796-1799. They moved to Youngstown by 1802 or earlier, and so qualify as early settlers. The first Youngstown township meeting to elect township officials was held in Rayen’s home on April 5, 1802. He operated a tavern and mercantile at Spring Common, near where the B & O Railroad station was eventually located.

He fought in the War of 1812 as a colonel in the First Regiment, Third Brigade of the Western Reserve. Returning to Youngstown, he filled various township positions including township clerk, postmaster (running the post office out of his store), and eventually an associate judge on the Trumbull County bench (before Mahoning County was a separate county). In 1840, the state legislature appointed him as president of the board of public works for the state. He was a director of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal Company, a stockholder in the Cleveland and Mahoning Railroad Company, the first in the valley, and first president of the Mahoning County Bank, the first bank in Youngstown. He owned extensive lands with stables, orchards, and livestock, including merino sheep.

Both of William and Margaret’s children died in infancy, and Margaret died in 1826. In later life, he was often seen sitting on a bench under a large tree in front of his home, hands folded on top of a gold-headed cane. He would talk to whoever came by and one account says he was often surrounded by young people who felt free to discuss their problems with him.

He regretted that he had not had more opportunities for education in his youth and was concerned about educational opportunities being available to the poorest youth. When he passed in 1854 it was learned that he had left a bequest that came to $31,390 to establish a public high school in Youngstown, the first in the city. In his will, he wrote:

“As this school is designed for the benefit of all youth of the township, without regard to religious denominations or differences, and none may be excluded for such or the like reasons or grounds, I hereby prohibit the teachings therein of the peculiars religions, tenets, or doctrine, of any denomination or sect whatever; at the same time I enjoin that no others be employed as teachers than persons of good moral character and habit who by precept and example will instill into the minds of those under their charge the importance of industry, morality, and integrity in all the relations of life.”

In an era where schools were sectarian, and excluded those who did not subscribe to a particular faith, Rayen was forward-looking in making educational opportunity open to all without distinction. Dying childless, he made the children of Youngstown his heirs.

The Rayen School as it appeared shortly after it opened.

In 1866, the vision behind his bequest was realized when The Rayen School opened at Wick and Wood Street. Over time, the building was added to but still stands today as a tribute to the vision of Judge William Rayen. The words “Industry, Morality, Integrity became the motto of Rayen High School. In 1923, the high school moved to Cora and Benita until it closed in 2007. The stadium lives on and has been renovated, with the field being named the Jack Antonucci Field, in honor of a Rayen alumnus. The name “Rayen” lives on throughout the city, reminding us of this city father and his vision for public education.