USA > Ohio > Fulton County > A standard history of Fulton County, Ohio, an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and county, Vol. I > Part 10
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Probably at that ceremony and ball, most of the leading pioneers were present. And in culture, in true gentlemanliness, and in the re- finements which are the heritages of some, that gathering probably would favorably compare with a like function in an eastern or southern community of that time. It would be erroneous to assume that, as the early pioneers in the first years of settlement in Fulton county were prepared to live under the most primitive conditions, they were erude and primitively inclined, in themselves. They were not. They were, rather, men and women of noble characteristics, whole-souled, and high-minded, and thus were able to hold their thoughts on a high moral plane, even though their hands became calloused by the incessant and determined hewing with the axe. The deportment of those who at- tended that first county ball was probably as gentlemanly and lady- like as one would take pride in noting in one's kin. The Hon. Oliver B. Verity, who probably takes first place among the historians of Ful- ton county, asserted, in an article on "The Pioneers of Fulton County," that:
"These early pioneers, the advance guard of a new civilization in the wilderness, were the best blood and brains of the eastern states which formed the main composition of this growing territory: whose fathers had educated their sons and daughters for the practical work of life, and they have in turn so left their impress upon your county by their virtues and acknowledgment of a Supreme Being, together with their stern political integrity and loyalty to the government-a rich in- heritance to you, worthy your gratitude and care ...... We are apt in our present imagination, especially the generation of today, when schools are the great boast of our civilization, to look back to these old pioneers as men of little culture and learning; but in this idea you are mistaken. These noble men and women came fresh from the schools of the East, and as a whole, for noble manhood and womanhood, stand as the peers of the present generation. There were many causes in that age which induced the preference of a free, manly independent life in the woods, enduring its hardships and privations, leaving behind friends and the refinements and luxuries of the civilization of their eastern home. Freedom was necessary for the life of these very men, and the
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influence for good exerted by their teaching upon the future of your citizens will continue to widen while time lasts. We may boast of our refinement in this age, which is measured more by our large cash bal- ances and fine clothing, which compels the churches to provide sittings for its poor, and builds up an aristocracy in your midst. In answer, let me quote the words of F. A. Dewey, before the Pioneer Association of Lenawee county (in which county part of what is now Fulton county once was) : 'I claim that never in the history of the State has there been so much genuine manhood; so much of disinterested benevo- lence; of kindness of heart; so much of sociality, and, in the best sense of the word, of Christian good feeling, as evinced in the early settlement of the country. So far as these things, and many others growing out of them, are concerned, it was the Golden Age of the State.'
Consequently, the scions of the pioneers of Fulton county may take pride in that fact that the noteworthy characteristics of their ancestors did not begin and end in their ability to live in primitive surroundings while, by hard work, they built homes and independence for their children, and their children's children, out of the uninviting swamp and forest. There are very many records to prove that many of the pioneers who became prominent in township and county administra- tion were men of broad knowledge, and strong personality.
Ottokee, for almost two decades was destined to be the center of the political and judicial life of Fulton county, even though its promising development of the first two or three years was to be checked and finally deadened by the rise of Wauseon, caused by the consummation of the railroad project which gave Wauseon ready communication east and west. In the early 'fifties, it was thought that Ottokee would have railroad facilities, and the original surveys passed through, or very near to, the county seat ; consequently, real estate operators for a year or two were extraordinarily active. But, alas, when it became certain that the railroad would not pass through Ottokee, the place as a county seat was doomed. It struggled for many years to hold its dignified place, but eventually had to concede the right to Wauseon. Judge W. H. Handy some years ago wrote reminiscences of old Ottokee, finding happiness in recalling the days when that place was at the zenith of its importance among the communities of Fulton county. What great times they had in Ottokee in the 'fifties. At that time, Judge Handy was an active and observing boy. He writes:
"I have never seen old Ottokee written up. What a great old town it was, we kids thought, the greatest in the world. Its broad street and deep sand made a lovely place for boys, if it was not so well for business.
"Do you remember the old engine hall, which is still standing but changed? What a great building it was, with its stores and broom factory, and its office and living room upstairs. My, but we were proud of that. And then. our two hotels, as I recollect. the one with the sign 'Hotel by H. Taylor' on the north side, and Stow's Hotel on the south side. Once we had two newspapers, a blacksmith's shop and a couple of stores. H. Day will be a familiar recollection to very many. And then, how we kids would yell, when we thought of Delta and Wauseon down in the woods ..
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"And then our old Fourth of July celebrations. They were the stuff. Always a sahite of a Indred guns at sunrise. And we had a eannon, too, and we kept it, and fired it year after year, till Wauseon got big enough to steal it in the night, and hanl it away and bury it. When we got it back, and had finally won, the war broke out, and it went to the front, as lots of the citizens of old Ottokee did ...... These old-fashioned Fourth of July celebrations were great; processions and fireworks, and a great free dinner in the grove, south of the Court House. By the way, many of your readers will remember that free dinner when several barrels of cookies were bought in Toledo. When they were put on the table, they found that tallow had been used for shortening. I ean taste them yet. What a kick that raised. And then, at night we did not have much in the way of fireworks, exeepting bon- fires and turpentine balls. I would like to see an old-fashioned turpen- tine-ball fight again. They would get barrels of eandle wieking, roll
"AND WE HAD A CANNON, TOO, AND. ..... FIRED IT, YEAR AFTER YEAR, TILL WAUSEON GOT BIG ENOUGH TO STEAL IT IN THE NIGHT, AND ILAUL IT AWAY AND BURY IT." (Reminiscences of Old Ottokee-Judge W. H. Handy. )
into balls 5 or 6 inches in diameter, dip them in turpentine, set them on fire, and then throw them at one another. During the day, we al- ways heard the Declaration of Independence, and a rip-roaring speech by some one like Octavins Waters, who could soar: and when it eame to beautiful flights of oratory, nobody had it on Waters.
"But old Ottokee was only at the height of its glory in a politieal campaign. As the county seat in those days, it was politieal headquarters, and we always had a big political meeting. We Democratic kids, on days of big meets, always waited to see Royalton and Gorham come in. They were sure to come in long processions, headed by sheepskin bands, and some-where in each procession would be a big wagon, with pretty girls dressed in white, one for each state in the Union. .... How we kids cheered them, and the men did lots of that, too. In those days, we (the Democrats) made abont as good a show as the Republicans, much better in comparison than we did this fall. In
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the campaign of '56, the Republicans rather got it on us, for the Losure boys, of Wauseon, organized the toughest looking gang you ever saw, armed with clubs and old guns, and they marched up to Ottokee in quite a procession, with a banner labelled: 'Border Ruffians of Kan- sas.' That was considered quite unkind. But the great celebration was after election. Then old Ottokee just bloomed. I could not in a half-hour tell of all the deviltry that used to be practiced by winners, on the losers, in old Ottokee after an election. The side that won would form a funeral procession, and get a cabbage head, or beet, or something of that kind, and march to the home of the defeated candi- date, with a sheepskin band at their head, and after making the candi- date get up, they would proceed solemnly to bury the cabbage, or beet, as an emblem of the defeated one, and hold solemn rites over his grave .The first modern sort of campaign I remember was in '60, when the Wide-Awakes were organized, and their torch light procession. They were too many for us then, but we Douglas kids organized the Hickory Sprouts, and gave them the best we knew. And then came the war ...... and many of the jovial spirits. ..... forgot politics and political campaigns, and, seeing only that the old flag was endangered, turned their faces south, and marched shoulder to shoulder to the front of battle, many of them never to return; and old Ottokee was gone forever. A different Ottokee took its place ...... I drop a tear in memory of old Ottokee, and in its place there comes a smile of grati- fication that I ever knew the old town as it really was .... . Old Ot- tokec contained the choicest collection of good spirits and good men that it has ever been my good fortune to know in the same number of inhabitants."
Such were some of the activities that centered in Ottokee during its era of county importance. Other much larger and more promising villages were envious of Ottokcc, and tenaciously pursued the thought of drawing away from it the coveted seat of justice. That could not of course be accomplished without justifiable reason, but as the years passed and both Delta and Wauseon far outstripped Ottokee in business importance and in population, their arguments became more convinc- ing, and that of Wauseon eventually prevailed over Ottokee's only logical claim, that of its central situation. Wauseon, in 1863, sought to secure the passage of an act by the State Legislature by which the seat of justice would be transferred to itself, if a majority of the citizens voted in favor of such removal. It secured the passage of the act, but the resulting public vote did not bring a majority to Wauseon. In the next year, 1864, Delta, acted similarly, and with like results, excepting that in that year, the agitation was made notable and memorable be- cause of the destruction of the court house, by fire, while the agitation was at its highest. Of course, the razing of the Court House, which had cost the county about $4,000 or $5,000, was regrettable, and some people asserted that it was due to incendiarism; but the destruction of the whole of the early county records in the conflagration was a more serious loss. The records werc lost for all time, but the building could be replaced, as in fact it was, Hiram Pritchard, in 1865, building a new court house, of brick. It was not so commodious as the first frame building, but it served for court purposes, and a separate building, on adjoining land, was used for offices and apartments of county officials. The transaction of legal business was however accomplished only by
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mueh unnecessary inconvenience, and Wauseon continued its efforts to seeure the county seat. In 1869 another "enabling" act was passed by the State Legislature, and provided that in case a public vote proved that the majority of the people favored such action, the seat of justice could be transferred to Wauseon, if private citizens of Wauseon bore $5,000 of the $25,000 the erection of a new court house and county jail would entail. The responsible leaders of the faction which favored the removal entered upon an active campaign throughout the county prior to the voting date, the campaign committee being composed as follows: N. W. Jewell, chairman; J. R. Hibbard, secretary ; Alfred C. Ilough. John Newcomer, John Spillane, Joel Brigham, Alanson Pike and Anson Huntington. They took advantage of the publicity possible in the local newspapers, the Wauseon "Republican" publish- ing in its columns many explanatory articles. Those who opposed the removal raised the question of the loss to the county, in case of re- moval, of the land at Ottokee deeded to it by Burdiek Burtch, Alonzo Knapp, and William Jones, but opinions, by Judge R. C. Lemmon and Chief Justice Waite, were published to show that by the terms of the deeds the county would still hold the land, even in the event of the removal of the county scat from Ottokee.
Livermore and Munn, on September 29, 1869, wrote, for publica- tion in the local newspapers, a letter which promised to "give to the County Commissioners the right to erect the county buildings on our Park, at the south end of Fulton Street, (Wauseon) free of cost to the county"; and E. L. Barber and John H. Sargent, orginal proprietors of Wauseon, offered to donate lots upon which the court house and county offices might be built; while the county commissioners, Jo- sepli Ely, A. B. Gunn, and M. C. McCaskey, estimated "that a build- ing suitable for offices and court room can be built at a cost not to ex- ceed fifteen thousand dollars; and that the entire cost of court house and jail will not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars." They also invited "a candid consideration of the facts and figures" prov- ing that a levy of seven mills would be sufficient to cover the cost entailed by removal of the county seat from Ottokee to Wauseon." Thus presented, the question went before the voters; and on this occasion Wauscon received a safe majority of the votes cast. The five thous- and dollars demanded of those who desired the change was quickly subscribed and handed to the county commissioners, as was also deed for lots 149 and 189 of the original plat of Wauseon, which lots were situ- ated on the southwest corner of Fulton and Chestnut streets. The con- tract for the building of a court house was soon afterwards let, to F. M. Brooker, who however failed to give the required bond. The construc- tion was therefore entrusted to Alexander Voss and H. B. Bensman, whose bid was $44,350. This, of course, was far in excess of the esti- mate made by the commissioners, but apparently the specifications called for a much more pretentious and substantial building than they had had in mind. The court house is, as it quite appropriately should be, one of the finest buildings in the county. It is of briek construction throughout, with tower and belfry, and its interior, even now after a lapse of fifty years, appears adequate for county purposes. The build- ing was first need for court purposes in the early part of 1872.
J. W. Roseborough, above date of May 18, 1871, and under the eap-
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tion : "The Last Court at Ottokee," wrote as follows: ' "The Court of Common Pleas of Fulton County, for the year 1871 has closed its Spring term. Ottokee, for the last time in all probability, has wit- nessed the people of the county assembling in its limits to attend a county court, and to transact the business pertaining to the highest judicial tribunal of the county. The term was a short, but busy, one.
FULTON COUNTY COURT HOUSE, WAUSEON.
A feeling very similar to that experienced when about to remove from an old house to a new mansion, seemed to be generally felt. Still, it is very doubtful whether the cause of impartial justice can be any more promoted in Wauseon than it has been in Ottokee. But it is probable that Wauseon will be a more convenient and pleasant place for dispens- ing justice."
Evidently, it was not the last term of court at Ottokee, for the same writer, in a letter, addressed from Wauseon, Fulton County, February 22, 1872, begins :
..
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
"The county seat in this county has been removed from Ottokee to this place. On the thirteenth of this month, the first term of the Court of Common Pleas commenced here. It was held in the new mag- nificent court house, and continued one week. There was more than a usual amount of business done by the grand jury."
However, the inevitable had happened, and although the county jail continued for some years to be situated at Ottokee, that also eventu- ally was located at Wauseon, its situation being in Chestnut street, im- mediately in the rear of the court house.
Fulton county was making rapid strides. On August 19, 1872, under the nom de plume of "Ranger," a prominent resident wrote to the "Republican" as follows:
"To a person who had visited and traversed this county twenty years ago. and who should now do so, the changes that have been made would seem very great. It is doubtful whether another county in the
RECLAMATION OF BLACK SWAMP.
State has made during that time greater and more lasting rural im- . provements. Large quantities of land which twenty years ago few men would have taken as a present, owing to the wet and swampy con- dition of the same, has been converted into tillable soil of the very best quality. On the 'openings,' where it used to be said that it would require three acres to grow a single onion, we now see splendid crops growing. Those used to black soil, and accustomed to associate that color with fertility, and vice versa, are surprised to see the yellow sand of these openings producing abundantly every kind of grain. All over the county, the land, the most difficult of cultivation, either has been, or is rapidly being put into a tillable condition.
"Everywhere, on the 'openings,' neat residences are being erected, fences built, grounds cultivated, orchards planted, etc., and the whole changed from what once seemed barren desolation, to an appearance of thrift and prosperity.
"The extensive and judicious system of drainage, which has ob-
DESTRUCTION DONE AT SWANTON, BY THE TERRIBLE TORNADO OF PALM SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 1920.
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
tained in our county, has been of incalculable service in developing and making available the intrinsic wealth of our soil. The evidence of in- dividual industry and general prosperity, that one everywhere meets in passing over our county, is most cheering.
"When we consider the richness of our soil, the intelligence of our people, the number of our churches and schoolhouses, post offices, mar- ket and railroad facilities, we have reason to be proud of our county."
The reclamation of the Black Swamp has been one of the worth- while contributions of the state and nation. The pioneers of the county, either in their separate individual capacities, or severally, un- der the direction of township, and county administrations, undertook a stupendous work, and carried it through to complete success. Ditch draining was begun in 1859, in accordance with the provisions laid down by the State Legislature, and this system has been supplemented by much tilling, individual land owners spending much money in such improvements. The streams of Fulton County are not large, the prin- cipal ones being: Bean Creck, or Tiffin River, the largest watercourse in the county. It follows a southwesterly course, through Gorham, Franklin and German townships, having many tributaries which facil- itate drainage; Mill Creek, in northeast Gorham, a small stream ; Brush Creek, which passes through Dover, Clinton, and German town- ships; Bad Creek, which rises in Pike, touches York, and passes through Swan Creek township, into Henry County, in the south; Swan Creek, the source of which is in Fulton township. It flows south and east, through Swan Creek Township, into Lucas County ; Blue Creek, which originates in central Swan Creek Township, and flows south, and east into Lucas County ; Ten Mile Creek, which passes through Amboy and Royalton townships, running east and northeast into Lucas County.
Fulton County, at its highest point is scarcely 250 feet above lake level, and much of it is low-lying, and the work of reclamation at one time proceeded at such a rapid rate that "at least 100 miles of ditch, ing" had been carried out within the first ten years, from 1859. Ditch- ing projects were begun in 1859 in Royalton, Pike, York, German, Clinton, Franklin, and Swan Creek townships; in Amboy and Fulton townships in 1862; in Chesterfield and Dover townships, in 1864; and in Gorham Township in 1865. And the benefit arising from such work was soon evident throughout the county, very little of which re- mained uncultivated.
Geological, meteorological and phenological conditions in Fulton County have been extensively reviewed in former county histories, espe- cially in Thomas Mikesell's work (1905), so that it will be unnecessary here to give space to such records. Details of the destruction caused by the most recent tornado will be found in the chapter devoted to the recording of the history of Swan Creek Township, which suffered so severely from the tornado of 1920.
Enterprising pioneers early saw the advantages that would follow improvements in transportation facilities, and even before the erection of Fulton County its pioneers sought to interest capitalists to support the laying of a railroad through the county. In 1846-47 several sup- . ported a project to build a railroad from Cleveland or Norwalk, running westward, and crossing the Maumee River at the foot of the rapids, the intention being eventually to connect with Chicago market. Much work was done, and the abutments of bridge which was to span the
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Maumee began to appear, at least on the southern bank, and surveys had already been undertaken in Fulton County, with the consequent wide discussion such preparations would prompt among a people which had hitherto been denied railway facilities. However, the corpora- tion was evidently not financially strong, and although much of its stock was taken by people of Fulton County, it never carried through the project. Possibly that project, which was known as the Junction Railroad, was abandoned mainly because of the laying of another rail- way, known as the "Air Line," which was decided upon and carried through with comparatively great rapidity by a much stronger railroad corporation than was that which began the work of laying the Junc- tion Railroad. The coming of the "Air Line" railroad to Fulton County is fully described in the Clinton Township chapter of this work ; and reference is there made to later railroad developments in the county, making it therefore superfluous to review it further here.
Politically, Fulton county in its earliest days, when the principal parties were whig and democratic, was distinctly democratic, the pio- neer elections returning only democrats to office. There were how- ever few elective county offices under the old constitution, which placed with the State Legislature the power to appoint county officials other than sheriff and coroner, or to prescribe the mode of filling such offices. It seems that in Fulton County pioneer elections, the elective offices were those of sheriff, auditor, recorder, treasurer, and the three com- missioners. The offices of associate judge, clerk of courts, and prose- cuting attorney, were appointive. However the new constitution of the state of Ohio came into effect in 1851 under which the offices formerly appointive became elective. Another change was the creation of the office of probate judge, such work under the old order being within the jurisdiction of the common pleas judges. Fulton County does not appear to have elected a coroner until 1864.
The whig party was never strong in Fulton county, but a change soon came. James S. Riddle, in his "Short History of Fulton County, Ohio," states that :
"The Democratic Convention the same year (1854) nominated Martin H. Butler, of York, as Auditor; Isaac Springer, of Fulton, as Treasurer; C. D. Smith, of Royalton, as Sheriff; Wm. Dye, of Clinton, as Commissioner. Some were dissatisfied, and a people's convention was called, which nominated M. D. Hibbard, of Dover, as Auditor; Wm. Jewell, as Treasurer; Geo. Taft, of York, as Commissioner; and E. Herrick, as Sheriff. M. D. Hibbard was elected Auditor, and Geo. Taft as Commissioner, the balance of the Democrats were elected by. from 25 to 90 votes."
So, the democratic stronghold in Fulton county was undermined, the passing of the whig and the organization of the republican party effecting a distinct change in local politics. Mr. Riddle records that :
"In 1856, the republican party was organized, and elected all their officers, except Auditor A. C. Hough, who was elected to that office, be- ing the only successful candidate on the democratic ticket ...... In 1858, James K. Newcomer was elected Recorder on the democratic ticket. That was the last democrat holding a county office until 1880, when George Gasche was elected Commissioner."
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