USA > Ohio > Hardin County > A twentieth century history of Hardin County, Ohio : a narrative account of its historical progress its people and principal interests, Vol. I > Part 37
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The following farmers deal in thoroughbred stock : H. E. Sponsler, Cad Wallace and E. B. Fent.
The returns of the township assessor for the spring of 1909 give
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this township 794 horses, valued at $47,067; eattle 1,330, $18,861; mules 15, $1,030; shecp 6,244, $20,127 ; hogs 2,503, $7,985.
Among the prominent farmers are H. E. Sponsler, Cad Wallaee, A. Moore, Jos. McConnell, E. B. Fent, Ira Williams, Lute Stewart, William and Frank Kinnear, Geo. Sheldon and J. N. Schwimmer.
Marion township has about 9,000 aeres of Marsh land lying along the Scioto river, and the whole township is marked by a high degree of fertility. The farms are large and well cultivated, the farm buildings remarkable for their size and convenience, and the eitizens thoroughly awake to the best interests of an agricultural community. Much fine stock is raised and the close proximity to markets, together with the fertility of the soil, keeps up the price of land far above some other townships. The old villages of Huntersville on the Kenton pike, and Maysville on the west county line, have lost all importanee as eommereial centers, but the new and thriving towns of MeGuffey and Alger on the C. & E. railroad are bustling, active shipping plaees. At each plaee are located large onion store houses, and from these stations in the busy season thousands of bushels of onions are shipped each year to eity markets.
There are about thirty miles of pike in Marion township, many of the Marsh roads being used only in summer and consequently needing no stone or gravel on them. Outside MeGuffey and Alger there are no mills of any kind, the whole country being given over to farming and stock raising. S. H. Cooney breeds full blood Percheron horses and high class Jacks and Jennets.
The returns of the township assessor to the county auditor in the spring of 1909 give Marion township 505 horses, valued at $26,520; cattle 773, $12,180; nmules 11, $790; sheep 2,279, $7,130; hogs 1,619, $5,480.
Pleasant township, which is the one in which the county seat is situated, is a very important sub-division of the county both on that account and because of its fertile soil. Being easy of aeeess to market the land is valable, and under a high state of eultivation. There are forty miles of fine pike in the township, every road leading into Kenton being piked and many of the cross roads. Outside of the city the occu- pation is almost wholly that of agriculture, and the farms present a pleasing appearance when erops are growing, thus showing that it is rightly named.
Aside from the regular work of farming, there are some industries that give employment to many men in Pleasant township. Grove ceme- tery employs from three to a dozen men in summer, and several all the year round trimming the lawns and caring for the shrubbery, beside the usual work of digging graves and burying the dead. Salisbury's Sum-
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mer Resort is a very busy place during warm weather, being a beautiful lake and grove convenient for pleasure seekers, and several men are employed to care for the grounds and look after the wants of the patrons. The Infirmary farm, a description of which appears elsewhere, employs several men regularly, as does the beautiful College farm lying on the Lima pike, which Dr. B. F. Cessna gave to the O. W. U., at Delaware. This fine farm is under the control of the college, and is rapidly increas- ing in value for that institution. The City Waste and Disposal Plant, a plant for disposing of the sewage of North Kenton which cannot be drained into the Scioto river, lies just north of the corporation on the Forest pike, and is an important building in guarding the health of the city. There are a number of large dairies in this township to supply the city with milk, among them being the Mrs. B. B. Wentz dairy west of Kenton on the Lima pike; the Lehr Jones dairy north of Kenton on the old Hamilton farm; the Sprang or City dairy on the Sprang farm next the Infirmary west of town, and the Hannan dairy, east of Kenton about three miles.
W. Schmidt owns and operates a large brick and tile factory on his farm of thirty-two acres, most of which is given over to the factory, on West Franklin street just at the edge of the corporation. This plant was started in 1878 with a force of nine men and that year 700,000 bricks were turned out. In 1908 thirty-two men were employed and 3,000,000 bricks manufactured. The demand for these superior bricks is always above the supply, many orders being booked far ahead. In 1900 the manufacture of tile was taken up in connection with the brick business and 15,000 were turned out that year. Last year, in addition to the manufacture of the large number of bricks, 300,000 tile were manufac- tured, and the plant is constantly increasing in capacity.
In the spring of 1909 Pleasant township returned 765 horses, valued at $51,500; cattle 1,783. $27,995; mules 20, $1,330; sheep 3,738, $14,700; hogs 2,493, $2,845.
Pleasant township abounds in fine farms, among the most notable being those belonging to Mrs. B. B. Wentz, Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware), John Hall, Frederick Steiner, G. J. Carter, F. L. Damon, Mrs. L. M. Strong, D. J. Grindell, E. E. Jones, Arthur Salisbury, Charles Morison, John Bloom and Ben Bloom.
Roundhead township is one of the most fertile of the county, and also one of the first as regards intelligent and progressive citizens. The valley of the Scioto is noted for productiveness, and this township em- braces some of the famous Scioto Marsh which produces such immense crops of onions, corn and potatoes. It has about twenty-eight miles of good pike, connecting the community with other townships and towns, and its citizens are noted for their thrift and industry. Of course the chief occupation is farming, the land being too fertile and level to be
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much of a stock country, though a great deal of good stock is kept in connection with the fine farms. Mr. C. W. Goslee raises Poland China hogs, and though few of the other farmers are engaged in the production of thoroughbred animals, yet a high standard is kept up on all farms as regards domestic animals.
Geo. W. Osborn owns and runs a large saw mill and onion erate factory for the manufacture of the crates used in onion farming, and Isaae Gilmore also makes onion and potato crates. At Holden, a little settlement of Roundhead township which can scarcely be called a town, W. T. Bowdle runs a saw mill and also grinds corn for his patrons.
At various times there have been postoffices established in Round- head township to accommodate the citizens, each of these settlements re- ceiving a name, but at present the whole county has rural delivery and the offices are abandoned. Formerly there was a star office at Holden, also stores at each of these places; but now the mail is delivered.
Among the prominent farmers the following names appear on the list : A. D. Henkle, Donglas Poe, D. A. Simpson, Frank Given, Jas. V. Hill, William Dunlap, John Dunlap, O. E. McClung, William Breece, Mel. Darby, Mrs. Stamats, Andy Stuber, William Zimmerman, T. J. Spencer, Albert Tidd, HI. S. Tidd, Henry Dysert and Geo. Tidd.
The Roundhead township assessor returned the following property to the county auditor in the spring of 1909: Horses 82, $36,920; cattle 927, $17,410; mules 2, $160; sheep 1.010, $2,720; and hogs 1,875, $8,210.
Taylor Creek township has thirty-five miles of good pike, and still has an abundance of pike building material in its numerous gravel pits. This township contains the greater part of that enrious formation known as the Devil's Back Bone, a relie of the glacial period, which resembles a small mountain range running north and south through the country and at the foot of which flows the spring fed Taylor creek. The land is admirably adapted to grazing and farming, and the taking out of gravel has formed an important industry for many years. The Big Four and T. & O. C. railroads at different times put in side traeks to reach this gravel, taking out millions of square feet to ballast their tracks. Of course this has cut up the Back Bone to a great extent, but there is still an abundance of gravel and sand in the township. The soil is very fertile and the country the most picturesque of the whole county.
Among the people engaged in raising thoroughbred stoek are Levi Pickering, whose annual sales of Poland China hogs attract much atten- tion ; George Geiger, who raises Jersey Red swine, and M. A. Deerwester, who also has Poland China hogs.
The returns of the township assessor this spring give the following interesting statistics: Horses 464, $3,017; cattle 1,171, $17,600; mules 4, $280; sheep 4.647. $13,240; hogs 2,083. $7.120; pianos 27, $1,060.
The township hall is located on the Bellefontaine pike, seven miles
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south of Kenton. It is a neat little frame building and is used for vot- ing and social purposes.
Washington township, which at one time looked very nnpromising on account of its many acres of marsh land, now is one of the most pro- gressive and highly improved of the group that makes up Hardin county. The majority of its citizens are of German descent, and the proverbial thrift and energy of this nationality is seen by a drive through this section of the county. Fine houses, large barns, well cultivated fields, many schoolhouses, good churches and fine pikes all combine to make it a very attractive place to live. There are few farms for sale in Wash- ington township, and those that are sold bring good prices.
There are twenty-nine and one-half miles of pike in this township, connecting it with the other parts of the county and furnishing fine highways for the farmers to market their erops. With the draining of the Hog Creek Marsh and the opening of the fine farms there located, the necessity for pikes became apparent, and every year sees the extension of some stone road.
Geo. P. Wilcox raises Rambouilet sheep in this township; O. S. Powell Poland China hogs; Rev. Panl Dirnbier and C. W. Lease breed Delaine sheep, and Mr. Lease is also engaged in the raising of Polled Durham cattle. A mimber of the farmers have grade stock, and the whole township is noted for its fine domestic animals.
Dola is the chief market place of the citizens, though Ada and Kenton are not too far distant for trading purposes. Since the old village of Blocktown has been abandoned there are no manufactories in the township except a portable saw mill owned by John Obenour.
Washington township returned to the county auditor this spring 607 horses, valued at $40,860; cattle 1,196, $21,110; mules 10, $490; sheep 2,799, $10.435; hogs 1,529, $5,425.
Among the prominent farmers are the following: Amos Shelly, W. HI. Getz, William Zehner, Geo. P. Wilcox, Andrew Daniels, Adam Kramer, Homer Vaughn, C. W. Lease, Mathias Casper, Geo. Hively, E. S. Mathews, Harmon Shroll, C. E. Jamison and C. E. Ludwig.
Scioto Marsh, this wonderful tract of land that lies in MeDonald, Roundhead, Marion and a very small part in Cessna townships, really deserves a whole chapter to describe its merits. When the pioneers came to Hardin county they found this vast tract of land under water a great part of the year, and always low and marshy at all seasons. It was a refuge for bears, wolves, deer and other smaller animals, while myriads of wild pigeons and other birds found nestling places on the "Islands" and also went there at night to roost. Some of the older citizens of the county tell marvelous tales of flocks of pigeons, but since the great Audubon is responsible for the statement that often these birds
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obscured the light of the sun, so numerous were they, that noonday seemed like twilight, it is safe to say that the years have added nothing to the first accounts of these vanished flocks of game birds. Hunters used to force their way in boats through the numerous channels of the Marsh, and even after the county was well settled and the greater part under cultivation, it still furnished a place for game to hide. The "Islands" were merely the high knolls in the Marsh, and here the game was forced to retreat during high water in winter and spring. The whole place was overgrown with a tall, rank grass that was much used for tving up corn fodder, many of the present generation of Hardin county farmers going there some years ago for a supply of the tough, strong material to be used instead of string on the fodder.
On June 8, 1850, there was held a meeting in Roundhead over which Daniel Campbell presided, and then it was that the agitation about draining the Marsh began. At that meeting the Scioto Marsh Draining Company was formed, and steps were taken looking to the reclaiming of the fertile lands. It was estimated that 15,000 acres could be reclaimed, and that it would cost about $18,000 to complete the work. On January 2, 1851, a petition was forwarded to Judge William Lawrence, then senator from this district, asking that the work be done necessary to improve the river and drain the Marsh, and it was by him presented to the legislature. It was granted, and among the provisions of the con- tract it was decided to pay all who worked on the Marsh in the draining in lands at $1.25 per acre, a price that seems astonishing at the present day.
Matters dragged along until March 9, 1859, when John McGuffey of Columbus was awarded the contract to straighten three miles of the Scioto river and construct broad cross ditches to drain the lands in the Marsh. Owing to a lack of fall in the river and the really small amount of work accomplished, the whole scheme failed. In April, 1873, Jacob Kishler was given the contract to clean out the river from the Marsh to Gary's Mill, near the present Damon farm east of Kenton, but this was more for the protection of the town than for draining the Marsh, as the presence of refuse in the stream endangered the public health and re- tarded the current materially. On February 28, 1891, W. E. Morris of Dayton took the contract to dredge the river under the direction of the Lower Scioto Marsh Improvement scheme for $31,575 and then it was that the real work of reclaiming the lands was begun. An immense dredge boat scooped out the soft, rich soil and changed the course of the winding river, thereby making it possible to run branch ditches at regu- lar intervals across the black lands, and dispose of the surplus water. In 1892 The Whitney Dredging Company took a contract to dredge a part of the Scioto river where the old company, which was disbanded, left off. This work was really not in the Marsh, as it began just west of Kenton near Riverside, and continued to Gary's Dam, but it relieved the
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lands west of the town of the mighty volume of water that quickly found its way into the river channel through the cross ditches. It also was a great improvement to Kenton in that it helped relieve the residents of South Kenton in time of high water. At the Big Four and T. & O. C. railroad bridges the dredge boat had to be dismantled, but all other bridges were taken out and replaced by the company in doing the work. In the summer of 1906 the river was cleaned out by means of a dredge boat, and the great mass of drift and refuse that clogged the current was again removed, making Marsh farming much safer than before.
At first the soil of the Marsh was very soggy and it was necessary to have special shoes on the horses in doing the farm work. The products were not held in high favor at first, as they had a rank, wild flavor, but as the water disappeared and cultivation followed, the flavor of the vegetables improved, and now they rank with the best in city markets. The deep muck soil grows most vegetables, but the land is a great deal too valuable for onion growing to use it for any other crop, though potatoes and corn are grown. Wind and water are the enemies of the Marsh farmer, as the former often blows the valuable seed out of the ground and the latter, coming when the crop is getting a fair start, drowns out the valuable plants, or else gives the weeds such a start that nothing can be done to save the crop. However one good year on the Marsh makes up for a number of poor ones, and thousands of dollars are made every good year by the farmers located there. In time all danger from water will disappear, as the land is growing more and more dry as the years pass, and in all probability there will be additional drainage to safeguard the valuable crops in the future. Each succeeding year sees more permanent farmers on the Marsh and a better state of affairs along all lines.
In all about 16,000 acres of land were reclaimed, but of this only about 2,000 acres are used for onion culture. The first onions were raised in 1886 and were of an inferior quality, owing to the newness of the soil. The river has been redredged several times to clean out the accumulation of soil, refuse and underbrush, the last time being in 1907 when the boat came nearly to Kenton. Something of the value of the draining of the Marsh may be learned by noting the difference in the price of the land before and after the river was dredged and the lateral ditches were made. Land that brought in the wild state about one dollar per acre, with few buyers at that, now sells for one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five. The largest Marsh land owners are The Scioto Land Company with 4,500 acres, Albert Moore, 350 acres; C. McGuffey & Son, 200 acres, and Hardin County Onion Company, 150 acres. There are many smaller holdings ranging from one hundred acres down.
Of course the great problem on the Marsh is the labor question, the weeding calling for a small army of men, women and children all at once.
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It is estimated that one man can take care of two acres of onions alone in a good season, but many of them do less. Men who have had long exper- ience with Marsh onions say that from 1,200 to 1,500 workers are required every season to harvest the crop. The land is easily plowed, being soft and mellow, but the same fine soil that brings a good crop of onions also produced millions of weeds, and these have to be gotten rid of, for the most part by the slow and painful process of weeding. Hand cultiva- tors are also employed, but the great part of the work must be done by hand. To see dozens of workers crawling along the green ribbons across the fields in June is to get some idea of the cost of producing this valu- able erop. Little shacks are erected here and there, where people camp out in onion scason, and often school boys and college students make
ONION FIELD
vacation a profitable time by weeding onions. Wages are high and living a sort of camping ont, so business and pleasure are combined by young men needing funds for the next college year.
Red, white and yellow Southport onions are grown ; yellow Danvers and the yellow Ohio Globe, which was originated in Lake county, Ohio, some years ago. The seed of the red onions sells for $1.50 per pound, and it requires 4 to 5 pounds per acre. The white seed sells for $2.00 per pound and the crop requires 5 to 6 pounds per acre. There have been small fields that yielded one thousand bushels per acre in good years, and many large fields from 500 to 800 bushels, but 350 per acre is considered a good crop-a paying crop. In the fall the onions are topped and crated in the fields, and then cleaned and sorted. There are machines for cleaning onions, but the work is done by hand for the most
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part. They are sorted as to size and graded by experienced men before ready for market.
To dispose of this immense crop three towns sprang up in a very short time along the Chicago and Erie R. R., which runs through the marsh. At convenient distances these little towns furnish places where the crop may be loaded onto cars for city markets, but the loading is not done direct from field to car, unless the demand is very great. Im- mense storage houses which are so constructed as to be frost-proof stand near the railroads and there the crop is stored until prices are good. The business of buying and shipping is a separate industry by itself, and thousands of dollars are invested in the storage houses and their contents. Among the important shippers are Allen Edwards, superintendent of the Scioto Land Company's ownings; Seymore and Bartholomew, Albert Moore, Jolm Stanbaugh, W. W. Bowers, Will MeGuffey, Dunlap Brothers and R. B. Hindman. Having the storage houses, prolongs the season for selling and shipping, and also serves to keep prices steady. The onion houses at Foraker have a capacity of 35,000 bushels; those of Alger, 65,000 bushels, and at MeGuffey 196,000 bushels.
There are many fine permanent homes on the marsh and orchards and good fences and other improvements are becoming common, con- sidering the very brief space of time since the land was drained. The whole tract is watered by fine flowing wells, and the place that was once given over to water, weeds and wild animals now begins to look like the garden spot of the county. Good pikes enable the farmers to get their crops into the towns ; schoolhouses are placed at convenient dis- tances for the children of that section ; the markets of Alger, McGuffey and Foraker supply the needs of the community, and for a new coun- try, the marsh bids fair to outrank some of the older sections if it does not now, as some of its farmers claim for it. In winter the floating population scatters, but the next summer the little shacks are again opened and the Scioto marsh is the busiest place in the county, from early spring until the onion crop is in the storage houses.
CHAPTER VII. HARDIN COUNTY NEWSPAPER HISTORY
THE EARLY NEWSPAPERS SKETCHED CONTEMPORANEOUSLY WITH EACH OTHER, WITH SOME OF THE MEN AND EVENTS THAT SHAPED THEIR ENDS.
BY CHARLES D. KELLEY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, NEWS-REPUBLICAN, HARDIN COUNTY REPUBLICAN AND GRAPHIC NEWS.
The world's first known newspaper made its appearance at Nurem- burg, Germany, in the year 1534 and its title was Neue Zeitung aus Ilispanien und Halien.
The first newspaper in America was printed in Boston, Massachu- setts, on September 25, 1690, and its title was Publiek Oeeurrenees.
The first newspaper to be published in Ohio was dried by the sun of November 9, 1793, at Cineinnati, and its name The Centinel of the Northwest Territory.
The first newspaper for Hardin county, Ohio made its bow to the world at Kenton, on October 7, 1843, and announced its name as the The Hardin Intelligeneer.
Those years, 1534, 1690, 1843, tell of the march of eivilization west- ward; for the elaiming of the world to modern eivilization and the development of the newspaper have come hand in hand.
The first strides in the career of "the fourth estate" were uneertain. The oldest existing English newspaper is conceded to be The London Gazette, born at Oxford in the year of the great plague, 1665. The pioneer paper in "the land of the free" made its debut at Boston only a quarter of a century later. It was ealled Publiek Oeeurrenees; but it oeeurred only once! The legislature suppressed it before ye editor had time to get out the second issue.
The muzzle was effective, for it was fourteen years from that time before any one had enough eourage, joined with enterprise, to start another paper. The Boston News-Letter was born April 24, 1704-three- quarters of a century before the Revolution. The first name in the English language for the commodity we eall newspaper was newsletter. The papers were then only two columns wide.
The first American newspaper to be issued outside of "bean town"
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appeared under the title of Weekly Mercury in little old New York city, as early as 1719. During the Revolution there were but thirty- seven journals.
The first newspaper published west of the Allegheny mountains was issued on the 29th of July, 1786, and was called the Pittsburg Gazette. The foregoing were all weekly papers. The present day Philadelphia North American lays claim to the title of America's oldest daily. It began under the name of the Pennsylvania Packet and General Adver- tiser in 1771, and the daily issue became established in 1784. The world's first daily is said to be Die Frankfurter Oberpostants Zeitung, started in Frankfurter, Germany, in 1615 and still published.
Today there are at least eighty-two newspapers in the United States that have existed for over a century, and although Hardin county has no century-old newspaper, our own Buckeye state has nine of that eighty- two.
The first newspaper published in Hardin county started one hundred and thirty-nine years after that first regularly printed paper began at Boston. But those brief one hundred thirty-nine years were of the very greatest in the world's history. So great a change was wrought by them that it would have been very strange for the legislature to have thought of suppressing Kenton's first newspaper, as in the case of Boston's. A hundred and fifty years had not only created a new nation here, but had raised it to one of importance in world action. A hundred and fifty years had transformed hills of a new continent into cities of influence ; and far-reaching wildernesses full of savages into great, world-famed states ruled by Caucasians. The end of those one hundred and fifty years found Hardin county, Ohio, organized for business and good gov- ernment and ready for its newspaper to help both.
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