USA > Ohio > Butler County > A history and biographical cyclopaedia of Butler County, Ohio, with illustrations and sketches of its representative men and pioneers. Vol. 1 > Part 10
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FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP.
Beginning at the bank of the Miami, on the eastern side, at the place where the south boundary line of the county strikes the same ; thence east with the southern boundary line of the county to the southeast corner of' section No. 14 of the second township of the second entire. range; thence north to the Great Miami River; thence southwestwardly down the same to the place of begin- ning. Two justices were assigned.
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.
Beginning at the southeast corner of section No. 14.of the second township in the second entire range on the south boundary line of the county; thence north to the Great Miami; thence northeastwardiy up the Miami to the northern boundary of fractional section No. 10 of the second township in the third er military range; thoonce east to the eastern boundary of the county; thence sonth with the eastern boundary of the county to the southeast cerner thereof; thenee west with the southern boandary of the county to the place of beginning. Two justices.
LEMON TOWNSHIP.
Beginning on the west bank of the Great Miami, at the southwest corner of fractional township No. 1 in the fourth range west of the Miami; thence north to the northern boundary of the county; thence cas; with the northern boundary line of the county to the northeast corner thereof; thence southwestwardty and south with the castern boundary of the county to the southeast corner of section No. 11, township 3, in the third entire range; thence west to the Miami; thenre southwest- wardly down the Miami to the beginning. Two justicez.
ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP.
Beginning on the west bank of the Miami at the southwest corner of the fractional township No. 1 of the fourth range west of the Miami; theree north to the
.4 Laws of Ohio, Vol. 1, page 69.
34
HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
northern boundary of the county; thence west to the | shall compose a township which shall be ealled and northwest corner of the county; thence south to the known by the name of Milford Township." southwest corner of the township No. 4 of the first range west of the Miami; thence east to the Miami; thenee REILY TOWNSHIP northeasterly and northwestwardly up the Miami to the place of beginning. Two justices.
ROSS TOWNSHIP.
Beginning on the west bank of the Miami at the northeast corner of fractional township No. 1 of the third range west of the Miami; thenee west to the western boundary of the county; thence south to the southwest corner of the county; thence cast with the southern boundary of the county to the Miami; thence northeast- wardly up the Miami to the place of beginning. One justiee.
These were the original townships.
On the 21st day of Jannary, 1804, the Legislature passed a law to provide for the incorporation of town- ships. (Laws of Ohio, Vol. II, page 93.) This law em- powered the commissioners of the county to alter the boundaries of townships, and to set off new townships. At a meeting on June 11, 1804, consisting of the follow- ing persons, Ezekiel Ball, Matthew Richardson, and Solomon Line, John Reily was appointed their clerk.
On the petition of a number of the inhabitants of St. Clair Township, December 2, 1805, Wayne Township was erected as follows :
WAYNE TOWNSHIP.
" Ordered, that the following tract of land and coun- try, now part of St. Clair Township, in the county afore- said, to wit: Beginning at the southeast corner of the third township of the third range west of the Miami , theuce north with the eastern boundary line of sid third range to the north boundary live of the county; thence west with said northern boundary line to the west bound- ary line of said third range; thence south with the said last-nientioned line to the southwest corner of the aforesaid third township in the third range aforesaid ; thence to the place of beginning,-shall compose a town- ship to be called and known by the name of Wayne Township."
MILFORD TOWNSHIP.
December 7, 1807, on the meeting of James Black- burn, Matthew Richardson, and James Smith, commis- sioners, on a petition of some of the inhabitants of St. Clair Township, it was "orderedl, December 8, 1807, that so much of the township of St. Clair as lies within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning on the west- ern boundary line of the county at the southwest corner of the fourth township in the first range; thence cast with the township line to the southeast corner of the section numbered 32 of the fourth township in the seeend range; thence north with the sectional line to the north boundary line of the said fourth township in the said sec- ond range; thence west with the township line to the western boundary line of the county aforesaid; thence south with the same to the place of beginning, -: hall compose a township which shall be ealled and known by the name of Reily Township." Election to be held at the house of Henry Burget on the 2d day of January, 1808, for electing township officers.
MADISON TOWNSHIP.
May 7. 1810, at a meeting of James Smith, James Blackburn, and William Robison, conemissioner's, ou pe- tition of some of the inhabitants of Lenion Township, it was "ordered, that so much of the said township of Lemon as lies within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning on the west bank of the Miami at the south- west corner of township No. 1 of the fourth range; thenes north with the western boun dary line of the said fourth range to the boundary line of the said county of Butler; thence east with the said northern boundary line to the Miandi; thence south and southwardly with the meanders of the Miami to the place of beginning,-shall compose a township which shall be called and known by the name of Madison Township." Election to be held at the house of Jacob Kemp on the 19th of May, 1810, for the cleetion of township officers.
MORGAN TOWNSHIP.
At the same session of the same commissioners, on a petition of the inhabitants of St. Clair Towaship, it was "onlered, that the following tract of land and country, now part of St. Clair Township, in the county aforesaid, to wit: Beginning at the southeast corner of the fifth township of the second range west of the Miami; thence north with the cust boundary of the said second range to the north boundary of the county ; thene west with: the northern boundary live to the northwest corner of the county; thence south with the western boundary five of ; corner thereof; thence south with the eastern boutstary the countaty to the southwest corner of the fifth township in the first mage; thence to the place of beginning,-
March 4, 1811, at the meeting of James Blekbira, William Robison, and John Wingate. commissioners, it was "ordered, that so much of the township ot Ros as lies within the following boundaries, io wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of the county of Butler ; theace north with the western boundary line of the said county to the northwest corner of township No. 3 of the first range cast of the meridian line drawn from the mouth of the Great Miami Hver; thenge cast with the northern imamlary line of the same township to the northerst line of the same to the south boundary lhe of the wenty of Butler afore-aid : thence west with the sald soirhoce
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THE FIRST COUNTY BUILDINGS.
boundary hne to the place of beginning,-shall compose a township which shall be ealled and known by the name of Morgan Township." Election to be held at the house of William Jenkins on the first Monday of April, 1811, for the election of township officers.
OXFORD TOWNSHIP.
August 5, 1811, at a session of the same commission- ers, on petition of inhabitants of Milford Township, it was "ordered, that so much of the township of Milford as lies within the following boundaries, to wit : Beginning at the northwest corner of the county of Butler; thence south with the western boundary line of the said county of Butler to the southwest corner of township numbered five in the first rango east of the meridian line drawn from the mouth of the Great Miami River; thence east with the southern boundary line of the same township to the southeast corner thereof; thence north with the east- ern boundary line thereof to the north boundary line of the said county of Butler; thence west with the same to the place of beginning,-sball compose a township which shall be called and known by the name of Oxford Town- ship." Election to be held at the house of Sylvester Lyons on the 24th day of August, 1811, for the election of township officers.
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HANOVER TOWNSHIP.
At the meeting of the Board of Commissioners Decem- ber 2, 1811, William Robison, John Wingate, and James Blackburn being present, ou petition of the inhabitants of Reily and St. Clair Townships, it was "ordered, that so much of the said townships as lies within the following boundaries, to wit : Beginning at the southeast corner of the surveyed township No. 4 in the second rauge east of the meridian line drawn from the mouth of the Great Miami River; thence north to the northeast corner of the same township; thence west to the northwest corner thereof; thence south to the southwest corner thereof; thence east to the place of beginning .-- shall compose a township which shall be known and designated by the name of Hanover Township." Election to be held at the house of Aaron Sacket on the 21st day of December, 1811, for the crection of officers.
UNION TOWNSHIP.
At the meeting of the commissioners, June 2, 1823, "petitions being presented for the division of Liberty Township, ordered that the prayer of said petition be granted, and that the new township be called by the name of Union Township, and that an election be held," ete. No boundaries given.
This seems to be the only record of the matter pre- served in the books of the county commissioners. Foioa was the last township erected, except Hamilton. That was so made after its erection as a city and union with Rossville.
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THE FIRST COUNTY BUILDINGS.
AFTER the previous sessions of the Court of Common Pleas, the sittings of the court were transferred to one of the old buildings of the garrison, which had been erected for a mess-room for the officers of the army. It was a frame building, roughly weatherboarded, without either filling in or plastering. It was set upon wooden blocks, which elevated it about three feet above the surface of the ground, affording, underneath, an admirable shelter for the hogs and sheep of the village.
The judges' seat was a rough platform made of un- planed boards, erected at the north end of the building. A long table, similar to a carpenter's work-bench. was placed in front of the judges' seat-around which the lawyers were accommodated with benches made of slabs, for zeats. The remaining space was occupied by suitors, wit- nesses, and spectators. In this building the sessionz of the court were held from the year 1803 until the year 1810.
The Court of Common Pleas, as previously stated, at their July term, 1803, assigned the building which had previously been used by the troops of the United States stationed at Fort Hamilton as a magazine, to be the county jail. The roof came to a point in the center. Standing isolated from any other building. it was, of course, very insecure. Escapes were almost as fre- quent as commitments. In the year 1808 two persons were confined in this prison-one of them, named Henry Wason, a wild, drinking Irishman, somewhat notorious at that time, who had been committed for disorderly conduct. or a breach of the peace. Having by some means pro- cured a stone, he commenced beating against the door. and finally, putting his arm out of the aperture, he beat off' the padlock, opened the door, and came out, leaving the other prisoner, who was chained to the flom. still in een- finement. He went directly to the clerk's office, which was only a few rods distant, and told the clerk to mforri the sheriff, and get him to take care of that d-d horse- thief who was in jail; for he was determined to say no longer in sueli company; and he, accordingly, went to his home. No farther notiec was taken of hini. This building was the only jail of Butler County from the year 1803 until the year 1809.
The clerk's office was kept in a small log builling which stood south of where the fort was situated, and outside the line of pickets. It had originally been erected for a storehonse or sntler's shop by some trader attached to the garrison at the time the fort was occupied by the army. It stood on let No. 66, a few rods south of where the United Presbyterian Clairch now stands. It was built of logs about twenty feet long by eighteen feet wide and two stories high, with a porch to each story, fronting on the alley. The lower room was the office: the upper apartment was occupied as a lodging-room. The building was afterward remodeled, reduced to one story, and ten- anted by a German family.
36
HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
In this building the offices of the Court of Common Pleas and Supreme Court, the commissioner's office, the recorder's office, and the post-office were kept by John Reily from the time of the organization of the county. until some time in the year 1809. Here, in court times, when the court was not in session, and in the evenings, assembled the judges, the lawyers, and the picked men of the county. It was, in fact, head-quarters, where all the best society met to spend their leisure hours and enjoy themselves with entertaining conversation.
In the year 1809 Mr. Reily removed his office to the south room of his private residence, which he had erected, and just then completed, on lot No. 99, on the east of the public square, where he kept his office until the year 1824, when, the present brick offices on the public square having been built by the county and completed ready for the accommodation of the offices, Mr. Reily removed his office to that building.
The first building crected on the public square was a jail. Soon after the seat of justice was established at Hamilton, a subscription paper was drawn up and put in circulation for the purpose of raising funds to aid the county in erecting public buildings. It was numerously subscribed by citizens of the county and others having an interest in the prosperity of the town. Subscriptions were received in " money, whisky, or grain, stone, lime, brick, timber, merchandise, mechanical work, labor, and hauling." The amount subscribed was about $1,500. In October, 1804, the commissioners of the county appointed Benjamin F. Randolph and Celadon Symmes to make collections on the subscriptions obtained. However, it was long before they were all collected. Some of theni remained unpaid as late as the year 1815.
On the thirtieth day of September, 1805, Ezekiel Ball, Matthew Richardson, and Solomon Line, commis- sioners of the county of Butler, made a contract with John Torrence and John Wingate to furnish the materials and build a jail for the county on the south side of the public square. The building was to be of stone, thirty- three fect by twenty-two, two stories high, and to be erected and inclosed by the first day of September, 1806, for the sum of $1,600. The contractors erected and in- closed the building, according to their agreement, by the Fall of 1806.
The finishing and completing the interior of the building, securing and adapting it in a manner suit- able for a jail, was not included in their bargain, but was an additional expense, and required some time to effect, so that it was not ready for the reception of pris- oners until December, 1808. The inside walls of the prison were lined with logs about a foot square, laid close together, on which was a lining of two-inch oak-plank, well secured with iron spikes. The floor and ceiling were of hewed logs, placed in the same manner as the sides, so that the whole was very secure against escapes. The lower story was divided into three apartments, having a )
cell in the middle for a dungeon. The upper story was divided into two rooms for debtors.
On the second day of February, 1807. the commis- sioners of Butler County made a contract with William Squier to put up a building adjoining the jail, already erected, for the accommodation of the jailer and his family ; the buikling to be of stone, thirty-three feet by thirty, and two stories high, corresponding with width and height of the jail then erected; the whole making a building fifty feet long by thirty-three feet wide. Mr. Squier was to furnish all the materials, and have the building entirely completed, according to the plan laid down, by the Ist of December, 1867, for which he was to . be paid. the sum of $1,690. Mr. Squier, however, not prosecuting the work with vigor, did not complete the job by the time stipulated in his contract. It was the beginning of the year 1810 before the building was en- tirely completed, ready for the reception of the jailer and his family.
The building was divided by a hall running across the building between the prison and the other portion of it, which was divided into two apartments in the lower story for the occupancy of the jailer and his family. The upper story, over the jailer's apartments, was fitted to accommodate the sittings of the courts, in which room the courts were held from the year 1810 until the year 1817.
At the time this building was erected the numerous fine stone-quarries now known to exist in the neighbor- hood of Hamilton had not been discovered. The only stone then attainable was procured from the bed of the Miami River, and was generally of small size and of an inferior quality. The mechanical art of building had not then acquired the perfection to which it has since attained, and the whole work appears to have been exe- cuted without a sufficient regard to that strength and durability necessary to render a building designed for a prison entirely secure. While it was occupied as a prison some escapes were made by means of breaches through the walls where the fire-plac s were, which subjected the county to considerable expense. The whole building, in its architectural appearance and in its internal economy and arrangement, presented neither a model of elegance or convenience.
The present jail was built by Alexander P. Miller, to whom the contract was awarded on the 4th of March, 1846. It cost 88,581, and was finished and accepted on the 9th of August, 1848. The oldl jail was sold at pub- lie auction on the 15th of July to Robert E. Duffield for one hundred and ninety-four dollars, by whom it was pulled down and removed. The jail, as it now exists, is a stone structure two stories high. about fifty feet by ninety, presenting a handsome appearance. The front of the building is occupied for a residence by the sheriff, and the rear is appropriated to the detention of prisoners. This room is about forty five feet square, with a solid stone floor, and lined with boiler iron for twelve feet high.
37
`THE FIRST COUNTY BUILDINGS.
It has ten cells, situated in the center of the room, five | on each side. There is no provision for women in the building other than is afforded by a small and insecure room on the second story.
On the twentieth day of November, 1813, the con- missioners of the county contraeted with John E. Scott to furnish all the materials and erect and finish a court- house, according to a plan that had been drawn and agreed upon, to be completed by the expiration of the year 1816, for the sum of $9,000. He entered upon the execution of the work immediately, and had it completed by the time stipulated in the contract. The building was of brick, erected on a stone foundation. < It was fifty-four feet long by forty-four feet wide, and two stories high. The lower story, twenty feet high, was fitted up for the court-room, having the judges' seat on the south. The main entrance was by a door on the north; there was also a door ou the east and another on the west side of the building, and a private door on the south, near the southwest corner, to communicate with the jail. The. second story was eighteen feet in height, divided into a hall and four rooms, for the accommodation of the grand and petit juries, and for such other purposes as might be- required. On the top of the building, in the center of the roof, which was hipped on all four sides, was a eu- pola, surmounted with an iron spire, on which were two balls of gilded copper. The height from the ground to the uppermost ball was one hundred and ten fvet.
The contract price for building the court-house, as before mentioned, was $9,000. However, on the appli- cation of the contractor, who alleged that he had lost money on the job, the Legislature, at their session of 1817-18, passed a law authorizing the con.missioners of Butler County to make a further allowance to the con- tractor not exceeding one thousand dollars, if, in their jadgment, on an examination of the accounts of his ex- peuditures, it should appear that he had sustained a loss on the contract. The commissioners, on an examination of the account of liis expenditures in creating the build- ing, made the allowance authorized by law, and accord- ingly, on the twelfth day of October, 1818, they paid him the further sum of one thousand dollars, making the whole cost of the court-house $10,000. The sittings of the courts were transferred from the ok! stone building, and the first conrt was held in the new court-house at the April terni, 1817.
In the cupola was suspended a fine-toned bell. which was used not only for the assembling of the court, but on other public occasions, and tolled at the funer's of respectable citizens. It was also, for a number of yearz, rung regularly every day at nine o'clock in the morning. at twelve o'clock at noon, and at nine o'clock in the evening, by a person employed for that purpose, who was regularly paid for that service from a fund raised by vol- untary subscription of the citizens of the town.
The plan and arrangement of the court-house being
considered inconvenient and not well suited for the ac- commodation of the court and those in attendance on that tribunal, the commissioners of the county, in the year 1836, resolved to make an alteration and improvement of the building, and for that purpose employed William H. Bartlett, a carpenter then residing in Hamilton, to super- intend and carry into effect the plan of the alteration, which was immediately commenced by him, and com- pleted, in the manner in which the building remains at present, by the termination of the year 1837. The court- house, as at present modeled and arranged, is fifty .. four feet in length from north to south by forty-four feet in width from east to west, with a portico of ten feet projection in front on the north, with four columns of brick. plastered with hydraulie cement. The columns are of the Grecian-Ionic order, thirty-two feet in height, supporting a cornice and pediment of the same order. On the north end of the building is a handsome enpoin, surmounted by a figure of Justice, holding a sword and balance. The whole height from the ground to the top of the figure on the cupola is one hundred and eleven feet. The court-room is in the second story, which was finished in very neat and elegant style. The judges' seat is on the south side of the court-room, with a gallery on the north. The lower story is divided into four apartments. The most northern one, at the general entrance, is occu- pied as an anteroom, in which is the stairway leading to the vestibule of- the court-room. In the northwest corner is a room occupied as a sheriff's office. The remaining southern part is fitted up for the accommodation of the coroner and for grand jury rooms. The whole expense of the new modeling and alteration of the building made under the superintendence of Mr. Bartlett amounted to the sum of $15,919. Some remodeling and alteration was done about ten years ago.
In the eupola is suspended a fine-toned bell, the same which formerly hung in the capela of the old conrt- house. Between 1830 and 1840 a fine clock was pur- chased and placed in the cupola, having a face ou each side of the square, pointing out the lapse of time, and striking the hours on a bell as they pass. The clock cost one thousand dollars, which was paid for by the voinatary contributions of the citizens of the place.
In February, 1820, the commissioners of the county contracted with Pierson Sayre for furnishing the materials and building two publie offices on the public ground for the accommodation of the county offices, to be erecred, one on the east and one on the west of the court-house. some distance therefrom, and in line with the front of that building; to be of brick, one story high ; each forty feet long. by twenty feet wide, with a stone foundation; each bailding to be divided into two apartments, and madle fire-proof. The contract price for building them was 82,486. They were completed, ready for the recep- tion of the offices, by the year 1822. The mander in which the offices were made fire-proof was by laying a
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
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