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 30
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looms, and the quantity of labor performed on them, has not probably increased since then with the amount of pep- ulation. Our citizens now purchase much of their clothing which they were then compelled to manufacture for then- selves.
" In 1820, there were 1,022 persons engaged in mar- ufactures. This number probably includes adult artificers of every kind. There were also 59 persons employed in mercantile business, and 3,961 persons engaged in agri- cultural pursuits.
"There is at this time (1828) in operation within the county 38 grist-mills, driving from 1 to 3 run of stones; - 45 saw-milis; and 12 fulling mills. Besides these, there are various other kinds of machinery propelled by water- power, and a large amount of water-power yet to be im- proved and brought into profitable operation."
EDUCATION.
EMERSON says: "The world exists for the education of each man." The founders of the American Republic believed that a free government is a government for each man, and that without universal education a permanent republic is impossible. In the famous ordinance of 1787 are these words :
"Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."
The men who wrote the great ordinance were no dreamers. They applied their theories of government, and in educational affairs at least they were eminently successful. They provided that no State or territorial . legislature should interfere with the disposal of the public lands by the general government, and that a portion of these lands should form the nucleus of a fund for the education of the whole people.
The constitution of Ohio, formed in 1802, as well as the constitution of 1851, copied, in substance, the part of the ordinance which is above quoted. and from this it will be seen that the fostering of school- has been Que of the objects which the State of Ohio ha constantly sought to attain.
It is not sufficient to show that Butler County has borne a worthy part in the promotion of that intelligence for which the State has become so favorably known; and in which the people of the commonwealth have a landalile pride.
"There were, in 1810, in this county, 10 tanneries, and 74 stille for distilling ardent spirits. We have ao data This county was organized in 1803. The first settlers came from nearly all the older States, Pennsylvania. Vir- ginia, and Kentucky being most mmerously represented. No sooner did the pioneer finnish his cabin than he "began to plan for the education of his children. The from which we could forta any tolerable estimate of their uutchers at present, but the number of both are consider- obly increased. There was also, in that year, in it, 514 I was, upen which were woven 158,476 yards of various kinds of fabric, estimated at $150.000. The number of , primitive log school-house, with it- "stick and mortar" 16
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
chimney, paper windows, puncheon floor, slab seats, and itinerant schoolmaster, immediately followed the comple- tion of his dwelling, and although not much was attempted in these schools, what was attempted was thoroughly done.
The children learned to spell, read, write, and cipher (often as far as the "rule of three"). One of the best features in the training of pioneer children was the physical exercise which all received-boys and girls ahke. At home the boys cut fire-wood, fed the stock, broke the flax, and went to the mill, ten or even twenty miles away. The girls milked the cows, worked in the fields, spun flax and wool, wove, and did all manner of house- work, and thus became accustomed to labor with their hauds -- a schooling that is not less valuable in business life than that derived from the study of books. Nor was moral training neglected in these days. Habits of in- dustry, thrift, and patience were universally inculcated.
The children crossed the threshold of the school-room prepared to respect and obey the rules of the teacher, and when this respect and obedience were not given, the offender was promptly punished, both by teacher and parent.
The training in these schools and homes did not end with school-books and moral precepts. The first exercise at school was commonly the reading of a chapter of the. Bible; and in many a cabin, at night, before the family retired, was enacted the scene of family worship, so beau- tifully pictured by the poet Burns, in " The Cotter's Saturday Night:"
"The cheerfu' supper done, wi' serious face, They round the ingle form a circle wide ; The sire turns o'er, with patriarchal grace, The big ha' Bible, ance his father's pride. He wales a portion with judicious care, . And ' Let us worship God,' he says, with solemn air. They chant their artless notes in simple guise, They tune their hearts, by far the noblest aim, Perhaps Dundee's wild-warbling measures rise, Or plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name."
The backwoodsman's children entered the field of active life with strong bodies and good characters, and with a very fair common school oflocation. The physique and the sturdy character of these children were chiefly due to their parents, but the faithful work of the humble and poorly paid schoolmaster bad not been in vain.
The primitive teacher in Chio was either from one of the older States or from across the Atlantic. With rarely an exception, he was earnest, industrious, and conscientious. He was dignified, and could scarcely be called genial by his pupils. He believed iu his preroga- tive, and would sacrifice his position rather than humili- ate himself in his own estimation. He was offon a classical scholar. He taught for three months at a time, and boarded around among the parents of his pupils. , meu in Ohio? will find the true answer in the lives and His pay was always meager, being but a few couts per day for each pupil. Once a quarter, generally at Christ-
mas time, "the big boys" would meet at the school-house before daylight, fasten the shutters and the door, and thus " bar out" the master, demanding of him "a treat." Sometimes he would give them apples and cider, and sometimes he would not. In case he refused to comply with the demands of the boys, they would either yield gracefully to their master's firmness, or otherwise they would treat him with personal violence, such as immers- ing him in the nearest mill-pound, or, in very rare cases, inserting his head under the corner of a fence. These were rude times, which, for the goal of all, have long since passed away, never to return; but, for the sake of truth, it should be remembered that what the " big boys" did to the master was prompted more by their love of fun than by their desire to see any one soffer physical pain.
These carly schools began about eight J'elock in the morning, and continued till four or five in the afternoon, with an hour's intermission at twelve. Nearly all the pupils " brought their dinners," which consisted of apples, bread, meat, and sometimes milk.
After the dinner had been eaten, the boys would play ball, and the girls " black man," and other lighter games, till the time for books. . All played hard, and all studied bard.
In the school-room there were nearly as many classes as would be obtained by multiplying the number of pa- pils by the number of the R's. Blackboards were not known, and school apparatus had not been thought of west of the eastern cities.
The text-books were not uniform. Each pupil used what he could get. Webster's and Dillworth's Spelling- books, the New Testament, the English Reader and its Introduction, Pike's and Bennett's Arithmeties, and Mur- ray's Grammar were among those most common. Pen- manship was taught by copies written by the master, and the goose-quill pen was in general use. Occasionally there was a school in which geometry, surveying, and natural philosophy were taught, but sich wore exceedingly rare. In these schools the higher branches were recited at the noou hour, or after the lower classes had been dismissed. Nothing but the love of learning could have induced these overworked teachers, in their log school-houses, to have done such work for their oller pupil.
In these same log school-houses statesmon, enthors, and generals were inspired to study and to acquire the kuowl- edge which afterward made them a power in their day and generation. The primitive schoolmaster. as we wow call him, bailded wiser than las pattons knew. But we are mistaken if these early and true teachers did not expect to see their ambitions pupils become useful and emitent. citizens. Whoever seeks an honest answer to the Bow general inquiry, What is the cause of such a host of great services of the primitive schoolmasters of our great State. Grant, Sherman, Hayes, Garfield, Halstead (and loindreds
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EDUCATION.
of really great men in Ohio, whoin the world does not know), were not all of these the pupils of the primitive schoolmaster?
A roll of the names of those who were especially use- ful in developing Butler County into an influential part of a great commonwealth would be incomplete without Ritchie, Pardee, Proudfit, McMechan, Smith, Monfort, Beers, Marston, Gailbreath, Thomas, Bebb, Hughes, Clack, Bishop, and others who taught the children of the pioneers.
There are no records to show when the first school was held within the limits of what is now Butler County. It is said that reading and writing were taught in Fort Hamilton during the Autumn of 1791, by a soldier to some of his comrades. It is not probable that any school existed before 1805. In every new settlement, however, there was one during a part of each year. These were subscription schools, and the names of the teachers have not been preserved.
In Hamilton a Mr. Ritchie, the Rev. M. G. Wallace, Benjamin Pardee, Alexander Proudfit, the Rev. James MeMechan, Heury Baker, Hugh Hawthorne, Miss Ellen A. MeMechan, the Rey. Francis Monfort, and Benjamin F. Raleigh all taught prior to the year 1830.
In Middletown, Judge Beers, Marsha Wilson, Ephraim Gray, Joseph Worth, and Jeremiah Marston were among the earliest teachers.
In New London, Adam Mow, a Mr. Jenkins, Dayid Lloyd, and the Rev. Thomas Thomas taught school at an early dare.
The Rev. R. H. Bishop, who was the first president of Miami University, is justly entitled to a place on the roll of the great teachers of Butler County. James M. Dorsey was the first teacher in Oxford.
In Butler County the higher education has not been limited to the university at Oxford. In 1810 the Rev. Matthew G. Wallace taught the classics and the higher English branches in Hamilton.
In 1815 Alexander Proudfit, an alunmus of the Ohio University, taught Latin and Greek to the sons of Dr. Daniel Millikin, and to others. In 1818 the Hamilton Literary Society erected a substantial building for aca- demical purposes. In 1821 the Rev. Thomas Thomas established a high-school at New London, and in the same neighborhood, in the same year, a library association was forined.
One of the teachers in the New London High School was William Bebb, afterward governor of Ohio. Evan Davis taught in New Louden fom 1830 to 1836, in- clusive. For nearly forty years this gentleman orenpied a prominent place in the educational work of the county.
Of the teachers who won distinction in the New Lan- don High School. the Rev. B. W. Chilllaw deserves fn- vorable mention. Murat Halstead, who has won a more than national -reputation as a journalist, was one of his pupils.
In 1833 Nathaniel Furman established an academy in Middletown. His school was contimed for fifteen years, and became widely known for its excellence.
In 1835 " The Hamilton and Rossville Female Acad- emy" was opened. In 1836 the number of pupils in this school was one hundred and twenty-seven. Mies Maria Drummond, Miss Georgietta Haven, Miss Amelia Looker, Miss Eliza Huffinan, Mr. Nathan Furman, and others, were at different times teachers in this academy.
The educational revival, which began in the United States in 1825, bore fruit in Ohio in 1853. The new school-law then enacted put an end to nearly all private schools, except seminaries, colleges, and universities. With : scarcely an exception all the citizens of Butler County united in availing themselves of the privileges of the new law. County examiners were appointed, school directors. were elected, school-houses built. appa- ratus and school libraries purchased, teachers employed, and for once in the history of the State nearly all the children were in school a part of each year.
Under the law of 1853 the most important and influ- ential school officers in a county are the school examiners, whose duty it is to examine teachers and to give cer- tificates to those who are of good character, and who possess an adequate knowledge of the various branches studied in the scheels.
The following is a complete list of all who have been school examiners in Butler County since 1853: Evan Davis. Benjamin F. Raleigh, Andrew G. Chambers, S. V. Chase, J. T. Killen, W. H. Wynn, S. A. Campbell, J. Longnecker, John R. Chamberlin, A. . Crider, Benja- min F. Thomas, H. C. Williamson, Gilbert L. Travis, H. D. Henkley, F Z. Leiter, Wesley Thomas, A. Ellis, D. P. Nelson, S. I. MeClelland, J. Q. Baker, and L. D. Brown. The last three named constitute the present board.
A sketch of the educational history of Butler County would be incomplete without at least a brief mention oť the Western Fennile Seminary, at Oxford, and of the Oxfor Female College. The seminary was incorporated in 1833. In 1360, and again in 1871, the buildings of the seminary were destroyed by fire. Since the Jast fire, the building has been rebuilt, and the school has been more prosperous than ever before. The Female College, under the careful supervision of Dr. Robert D. Morris, has done great good to the public. As a whole, the schools of Butler County are in a highly prosperous con- dition. Hamilton, Middletown, Oxford, Monroe, New London, Amanda, and West Chester have excellent buildings and excellent graded schools. Hamilton and New London have well-equipped public libraries, and Middletown stands first in her supply of school apparatus.
To the towns the majority of the 'teachers are In lies. In the country this is not the case. Teachers still receive ; wages that are too low in comparison with what is gren- erally paid for skilled labor. Nevertheless, Butler County
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has for years paid her teachers far better than the average connty in the State has done.
. The following school statistics for Butler County have been taken from the last annual report of the Hon. J. J. Burns, state school commissioner of Ohio: Number of youths between 6 and 21 years of age, 14,844; num- ber of school-houses, 123. Value of school property, $421,550; number of teachers necessary to supply the schools, 201; number of different pupils enrolled, 9,067; average daily attendance of pupils, 5,796. Number of certificates issued, 226. Average wages of teachers per month in township districts: Gentlemen, $45; ladies, 833. In special districts: Gentlemen, 859; ladies, $46. In high schools, gentlenien, $65; ladies, $78. Average number of weeks schools were in session: Township, 35; separate districts, 37.
An interesting chapter on the growth and influence of the Butler County Teachers' Association could be written. The names of Thomas M. Mendenhall, Emanuel Richter, Alston Ellis, James A. Clarke, J. W. Judkins, J. P. Sharkey, John Q. Baker, Professor B. Starr, James M. Slicher, Isaac S. Coy, L. E. Greman, and many others, would deserve more than mere mention in such a chapter.
Were a complete list of the benefactorz of the public schools of Butler County to be prepared, many pages would be required. It is certainly in place, however, to state here that Clark Lane, the founder of the Lane Free Library, of Hamilton, is one of the greatest of these benefactors. The library that he established will be an imperishable monument in the lives of those that have been enriched by the healthful literature he made free to the people of his city.
AGRICULTURE.ª
BUTLER COUNTY contains four hundred and fifty-seven square miles. This area, as returned and assessed for taxation, contains 293,695 acres. The county, therefore, is of medium size ; there being three counties in the State which contain less than 200,000 acres, and four counties which contain over 400,000 acres, all averaging 288,346 acres.
The lands of the county, from the latest data availa- able, and from the known changes which have since taken place, are subdivided about as follows :
In arable lands, 210,000 acres. In meadow and pasture land 20,000
In wood and uncultivated lands, 63,000
Total, 293,000
The value of the lands, exclusive of the real estate in towns and cities, exceeds in value per acre the value of
the lands in any of the other counties in the State, except- ing the counties of Hamilton and Montgomery.
There are no data of recent date which exhibit the present subdivision of lands; but it is believed that the lands are now divided into about 4,000 farms of the foi- lowing dimensions :
Farms containing less than 40 acres, about . 1,400
.. between 40 and 80 acres, about . . . 1,190
16 80 and 160 acres, about. . . 1,130
=
= 160 and 320 acres. about . . 360
66 over 320 acres, about . 20
The geological formation of Butler County is identical with that which exists in the Miami Valley, known as the Lower Silurian. Throughout the county blue line- stone rocks, of good quality, are found in great abundance.
(Geographically considered, its location is not liable to serious or well-grounded objections. It enjoys superior business advantages from its proximity to the city of Cincinnati. There the farmer can, at all times, find a fair and ready market for all his productions. The facil- ities of access to the city by canal, by railroads, and by turnpikes, relieve the farmers from the unpleasant neces- sity of submitting to either exorbitant charges for trans- portation or to the unreasonable and more odious exactions of those who have control of grain elevators. If farmers are not satisfied with the margin of profit claimed by grain-dealers, they can transact their own business in cou- formity with their own views. They enjoy like opportu- nities in the purchase of staple goods for their family use. Hence, the position of Butler County in reference to business affairs is unusnally favorable.
The soil of this county is properly designated as litre- stone soil. It is exceedingly variable in character, but highly productive. Much of it is unsurpassed in fei- tility, while there is only a small portion which is not susceptible of being made of good quality by judicious husbandry. It has neither barren plains. nor sterile hills, nor marshes, nor swamps, which mar the beauty of the landscape, of generate noxions and unhealthy atmospheres.
As the characteristics and productive qualities of the soil in a county enn be more correctly estimated and do- termined by the number, size, and character of the streams which flow through it, a skeleton map of the county is herewith presented, exhibiting the course of the Miami River, and the many large ereeks, smetil creeks, runs, and streamlets which so abound and which so thoroughly ramity the entire county. This map will not only be valuable as indicating the quality of the soi!, but will exhibit the abundance of water which the streams afford, and which is used for propelling maelo- ery, as well as supplying water for farm and other purposes.
The lands known as " bottom lands" on the Miand River are generally composed of a saudy alhivial deposit. The predominant timber apou these lands is hackberry, buckeye, box-alder, sycamore, honey-locast, walnut, and
* By John M. Millikin,
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AGRICULTURE.
sometimes sugar-tree and hickory. Nearly all the lands in this county of this quality have been cleared for more than fifty years, and have since been cultivated almost entinvously. Portions of these lands have been ocea- sionally subject to inundation from backwater, and have thereby become greatly enriched, while other portions have been injured by the displacement of the soil or the covering of the same with gravel.
The same quality of rich alluvial lands is to be found along the larger ereeks, and is liable to like overflows and subject to like casualties. Such lands do not constitute either the most valuable or the most desirable farms. They sub- CAN. ject their owners sometimes to great inconvenience and Ioss, and are not so suitable for the pro- dnetion of the various grains, grasses, and other crops raised as are lands of essentially differ- ent quality. Nevertheless, these " bottom lands" are highly prized by many, and greatly preferred IREILY by a few of our farmerz.
Lands known as " second bot- tom," whether near the Miami River or in the vicinity of our S largest ereeks, constitute a larger E proportion of our good choice lands. Farms composed of such MO ACAN sol! are more highly valued, and are regarded as decidedly superior FORT in quality. Such lands usmaily abound in about the following varicties of timber: Hackberry, cherry, walnut, buckeye, blue ash, gray ash, pin-oak, white oak, burr-oak, and sugar- tree. Sometimes sycamores grow on such soils, in con- nection with elms and the several varicties of haw-trees. It is not intended to say that all these severel varieties of trees are found in the same locality : sometimes particular varieties prevail in one neighborhood, while other varieties predominate in another.
The surface of such soils not only furnishes exceed- indy eligible sites for the location of farm buildings, but i! is very favorable for farming operations. The soil is composed of a dark sandy loam, which originally abounded in vegetable mold. The land is, therefore, almost uni- "ninly friable and easy of cultivation; sometimes it is lied upon a gravelly subsoil, and at other times upon a play substratum. This quality of soil is not confined to the immediate vicinity of either the Miami River or the largest creche, but is to be found in great extent through- stet many parts of the county. Farms consisting of Lady of this quality have maintained their fertility sur- prisingly, even under improvideut cultivation. They are
easily recuperated with clover, which takes readily, and grows with vigorous luxuriance.
The "uplands" are very variable in quality. In one portion of the county, where the hills are unusually high for this part of Ohio, the land is of exceeding richness. The soil is adapted to the production of every variety of grain grown in the county. It is based upon a clay sub- soil, and was originally covered with a rich, dark-colored vegetable mold. These hills, which have an altitude above the Miami River of about three hundred feet,
SOMERVILLE
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VENICE-
Map of Butler County.
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were originally covered with a very thick growth of timber, indicating the very best quality of soil, entirely dissimilar from that which usually grows upon our up- lands. On the very highest points on these hills, syca- more, black walnut, white walnut, black locust (trees be- tween two and three feet in diameter), box-alder, gray ash, blue ash, pawpaw, etc., grew to an unusual size. And, notwithstanding the irregularities in the surface of this region, and the rich and friable character of the soil, yet there is no excessive gullying or washing away of the surface of the fiells. The rich and favorable character of these lands, and their high elevation, make them especially valuable for the cultivation of fruit of every variety.
The other uplands, although somewhat different, are nevertheless similar in quality to most of the uplands in the Miami Valley. In some places they have incorpo- rated with the surface soil a good proportion of vegetable material, while in other localities the soil is purely argil- lacecus. The farms on these uplands, usually denomi-
1
WAYNE
W A V : DANSTOWN
TRENTON
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
nated "elay farms," have for the last thirty-five year's continuously grown upon public favor. By judicious culture they have- regularly improved in productiveness. Clover usually takes readily, and all the labor and means applied in renovating these soils have been successful in producing good and enduring effects. Farms located upon these uplands are generally favorable for fruit- growing, for the production of small grain and grasses, and for general farming purposes. Indeed, farmers ocen- pying such lands are already competing in large crops of corn with those who reside upon purely bottom lands. The prevailing timber is white oak, pigeon-oak, hickory, ash, red-bud, dogwood, and elm. Intermixed with these we generally find more or less of walnut and sugar-tree.
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