USA > Ohio > Miami County > Troy > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 13
USA > Ohio > Miami County > Piqua > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 13
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115
HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
From the very outset a relentless war- fare began over the establishment of the county seat upon the spot described above. The commissioners had been bothered al- most to death by the advocates of the dif- ferent sites. Piqua seemed to consider lierself in line for the county seat and could not realize that it could be placed elsewhere than within her limits. As the controversy over this important matter progressed the county seat campaign waxed extremely warm. Piqua got out a map prepared especially to establish her claims and Piqua was the only visible set- tlement on the map .. Troy, in order to controvert Piqua's assumption, forthwith went into the map business herself and produced a chart which showed Troy in the center of the county and her rival so far away, apparently, that communication with the rest of the county would be well nigh impossible. It was then that the ri- valry between the two towns began, and the first "court house war" was succeeded by another many years later by the de- scendants of those who contended in the first.
Not to be left in the lurch, Staunton put in a bid for the county seat. It was claimed that the site of the Dutch Sta- tion was the most desirable. The Hath- away and Marshall farms were offered as excellent sites for Miami's seat of justice, and Samuel Beedle and Judge Adams were anxious to sell their farms for this lauda- ble purpose. It was therefore a sore dis- appointment to Piqua and the landed lords of Staunton when it was decreed that Con- cord Township' should hold the county seat.
The town which was to be thus honored was first surveyed by Andrew Wallace,
who completed his work December 16, 1807. He was allowed $44.50 for his serv- ices, and Robert Crawford for his serv- ices as director, purchasing the site, lay- ing out and selling the lots, was allowed twenty-four dollars. There was no graft in those days, the whole proceedings were singularly free from all chicanery and everything was honestly conducted.
January 13, 1810, the court settled witlı Robert Crawford and it was found that he had sold lots to the amount of $2,820, that he had paid accounts as per vouchers, to the amount of $2,163, and paid orders on the treasury, $415. It was then or- dered that he be allowed in future on the amount of all lots sold five per cent; and on all moneys received and paid out, four per cent, and fifty cents for each deed exe- cuted to purchasers. The first survey of Troy comprised eighty-seven lots, com- mencing on Water and Clay Streets, num- bered one, extending and comprising all between the river and Back Street to Short Street.
I extract from Drake's "Picture of Cin- cinnati and the Miami Country," pub- lished in 1815, the following concerning the new county seat :
Troy, on the west side of the Great Miami, twenty miles above Dayton and seventy-two miles north of Cin- cinnati, is the seat of Justice. It was laid out by the commissioners in 1808 and incorporated in 1814. It has a public library and a post office. The houses are chiefly of wood. No permanent county buildings have yet been erected. The reserves and donations by the commission- ers are, a square for the court house: one lot for the jail, another for the cemetery and a square for an academy. The site of this place is handsome, but a bayou is oeeasionally formed across it in high floods and the plain declines into a swamp at the distance of a mile from the river. This swamp, lying to the south- west of the town, has rendered it unhealthy. but the expense of a drain that would convert it into dry and arable land is not estimated very high. As in other towns on the Miami, well water is easily obtained. Sandy limestone is quarried about two miles distant. Good timber is plentiful.
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
Shortly after the establishment of the county seat a log court house was built. It was a double-log house and was well built; one end of the structure was used for confining prisoners, the other end com- prised the sheriff's living room, while court was held in the upper story. The log court house was occupied until 1816, when it was superceded by one of brick, which was erected in the Public Square. This temple of justice cost $2,500 and stood until 1841, when a third court house, which occupied the present site of the post- office was built at an expense of $20,000.
With the establishment of the county seat west of the river the glories of Staun- ton departed. Piqua started to outrival Troy, and other town sites were laid out in different parts of the county. Beau- tifully situated on the banks of the Miami, then dressed in the emerald garb of Na- ture, the new county seat opened its doors to the world. It grew rapidly from the first. There were several additional sur- veys as new land was added to the town, and there were frequent sales of lots.
One of the first settlers of Troy was a Mr. Overfield, who became the first Boni- face of the town. He opened an excellent tavern for that day, and treated all alike. No matter whether his guests came in buckskin or broadcloth, they got the same attention, and Overfield soon became fa- mous as a tavern keeper. This tavern became a great resort for those who at- tended the first courts held at the county seat. The latest news and the latest deci- sions were discussed about his fire, and some pretty heated arguments were in- dulged in. There was good whiskey at the tavern and it is to be supposed that the flowing bowl went round during the dis-
cussions. When this first Boniface of Troy had a little leisure he was to be found nights on the Miami, fire-hunting for deer for he was a famous Nimrod and loved the sport. More than once the venison he served his guests was of his own killing.
To show some of the queer real estate transactions which took place early in Troy, I will give a deal of Overfield's as a sample. The tavern keeper bargained with Cornelius Westfall for Lot No. 2, which was on the corner of Water and Mulberry Streets. The price was $95, which Land- lord Overfield agreed to pay on or before a certain date. He secured the note by a mortgage on the premises and 150 bushels of corn, one barrel of whiskey, one mare and colt, seventy-eight hogs, one cow and calf, one yearling bull, three beds and bed clothes, four bed-steads, two tables, one chest, one spinning-wheel, one corner cup- board, ten split-bottom chairs, three ket- tles, two dutch ovens, one tea kettle, one pot, one frying pan and all the queens- ware and glass furniture-surely enough to cover the $95 note. Whether business became poor or whether he found himself in financial straits I do not know; Land- lord Overfield failed to "come to time" and indulgence was granted him on his ap- peal and the note and mortgage were at last satisfied.
Another early settler of Troy was Will- iam Barbee, commonly known as "Billy." He had been a volunteer under George Rogers Clark and during the expedition against the Indians at Piqua he had seen much of the region where he afterward settled. Barbee was a man of good parts, honest and industrious, and afterward held several offices of honor and trust in the county. He bought a lot on Market
MIAMI COUNTY COURT HOUSE
CITY BUILDING, TROY
1
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TROY CLUB, TROY
OLD COURT HOUSE
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Street for sixty-five dollars. He became soon after a land owner, for he married a young lady who owned eighty acres of good land while he himself owned about as much. He embarked in the blacksmith trade and shod many horses during the War of 1812. There was a good deal of money in blacksmithing just at this time and Barbee kept everlastingly at it. IFe went into the dry-goods business, but found it a losing venture when the sheriff seized on the stoek. This failure, however, did not discourage Barbee. He began to buy cattle, which he drove to Chicago and with considerable profit. In course of time lie amassed a good deal of money and he is said to have been worth a quarter of a million at the time of his death. Barbee was whole-souled and generous to a fault and no alms seeker ever turned from his door unsatisfied.
Another early citizen of Troy was "Squire" Brown, who erossed the river from Staunton and opened a saddlery. He was a good saddler and in his shop he dis- pensed law as a justice of the peace. He was one of the first postmasters of Troy. Brown took several apprentices who after- ward became prominent citizens. Henry Culbertson was one of these and Isaac Peek another. Nearly every person who resided in Troy at this time had a trade. There were shops of every description and stores were springing up on every street.
Joseph Culbertson had come to Troy in 1808. He was a poor boy, but he brought to Troy a trade which flourished from the first. He was a hatter and it was not long till Culbertson's hats found a ready mar- ket beyond the confines of the town. At the corner of Water and Clay Streets a plain frame house was occupied by Will-
iam Brown, who started a carpenter shop in conjunction with Jolin Wallace. Wal- lace was fond of his toddy and lost out in his intercourse with it, but his partner Brown, who was more abstemious, became a prominent citizen and at one time filled the office of County Treasurer.
Among the first doctors in Troy was De Joncourt. He was of French extraction and had his office on the corner opposite the Wallace and Brown carpenter shop. De Joncourt lanced and "pilled" his pa- tients for some years and gave place to some other disciple of Hippocrates. Doe- tors were few and far between those days and when they got established in a com- munity they did a good business, for chills and fever prevailed during certain seasons and "blood letting" was considered neces- sary.
It was not until 1815 that the people of Troy had a house of worship. Mr. Ga- hagan donated a lot on the west corner of Main and Clay Streets and soon a log church arose on the site. It was a church edifice renowned for its simplicity. No or- gan pealed forth its sonorous tones, no frescoes adorned the rough walls, no chimes called the people to worship and cushioned pews and paid choirs were un- known. In this first Methodist Church at the county seat worship was conducted for some years, or until Troy had so increased in wealth and population as to demand a larger and better house of worship.
A frame building known as the Clerk's Office was located where the Grunder store now stands. It was a double frame affair, office in front and kitchen in the rear. Later on this official building gave way for a briek affair 12x15 feet square be- tween Mulberry and Walnut. It, small as
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
it was, held about all the offices connected with the town. Cornelius Westfall, who was clerk, had a monopoly on all other offices, for he was town director and mas- ter commissioner in chancery, besides tak- ing care of the post office. There is no record showing that Mr. Westfall was not capable of filling a few more offices if they had been thrown in his way. In office liold- ing he was certainly a "Jack-of-all- trades."
In 1830 Joseph Skinner built a large brick house on the southeast corner of Main and Plum Streets. The south end of the building was constructed for a jail with heavy brick walls and sills of black walnut. This building was occupied by the following sheriffs: John Shidler, T. W. Furnas, Joseph Defrees, Stephen Johns- ton; Joseph Pearson was the first sheriff to occupy the present sheriff's residence.
During the first several decades of Troy's existence there was little to mar the even tenor of its way. In 1842 occurred the famous "Broadford War" or the "Battle of the Broadford" as it was face- tiously called. The late Stephen Johnston of Piqua was sheriff at the time, and Hon. Thomas Corwin looked after the welfare of the State of Ohio from the executive's chair at Columbus. The "war" originated in this wise:
Several Trojans, whose names have been lost from the records of fame, conceived the idea of weaning men from the wine cup by preaching a temperance crusade among the rural townships. They may have been good conscientious citizens, but they soon discovered that the ruralites did not need regeneration at that particular time. At several of these temperance meetings the speakers were assailed with all sorts of
missiles, especially stale eggs, and this so roused their indignation that they swore out warrants against the offenders, who were arrested and lodged in the old brick jail at Troy.
It was thought for a while that this would end the affair, but soon the mutter- ings of a storm reached the county seat. The people of the country were rising in their might and it came to be known that mobs were collecting for the purpose of storming the jail and releasing the prison- ers. The utmost excitement prevailed in Troy. Sheriff Johnston saw his habita- tion a heap of ruins and himself probably swinging from a convenient pole and he set about to counteract the revolutionists and maintain the peace and dignity of the county. He promptly called out the militia to help him as a posse comitatus to pre- serve peace, especially in Troy. Forth- with there was a gathering of the clans of war and all peaceful pursuits were for the time being abandoned. Captain Ad- ams and Lieutenant Carson put their com- pany of light infantry in motion and Col. Clarke and Captain E. Y. Barney appeared at the head of their dragoons. Piqua, throwing aside her jealousies for a mo- ment, came to help her sister town. The Piqua squadrons were met by the citizens of Troy and the Lafayette Blues, com- manded by Captain Mayo.
At any moment the mob might enter Troy and leave wreck and ruin in its track. Those who had gone to the "seat of war" had left weeping families at home and it was expected that blood would flow in pro- fusion in the streets of Troy. At length some wily strategist who had probably studied the Napoleonic campaigns pro- posed that the militia take up a position at
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the Broadford Bridge, where the mob could be intercepted and the battle fought outside the walls of Troy. This proposi- tion was received with delight and forth- with the legions were marched to the Broadford, where they encamped.
Here for two days and nights the ut- most vigilance was exercised. Rumor fol- lowed rumor thick and fast. The revolu- tionists, it was asserted, were not far away. Scouts were sent into the woods and the pickets were doubled. The brave militia slept on their arms, some dreaming of the homes they never expected to see again. At last it dawned on the minds on the Miami Spartans that the foe was not coming. Perhaps they had overawed him with their formidable preparations for his reception and at last the recall was sound- ed and the Broadford army broke camp and marched back to Troy. It presented a splendid appearance and doubtless
"'Twere worth ten years of peaceful life One glance at their array."
As the valiant soldiers returned to the bosoms of their families from the blood- less campaign they could exclaim triumph- antly-
"We routed them, we scouted them Nor lost a single man."
Such was the "Broadford War," for a long time celebrated in the annals of the county, and many believed that Sheriff Johnston's promptness not only saved the county buildings but probably prevented the streets of Troy from being deluged in blood.
The coming of the canal and the railroad to Troy were events of supreme impor- tance to it. The former was finished to the town in 1837 and at once there was great rejoicing. The county seat was thus
placed in touch with the outside world and Troy markets were greatly benefited. About this time produce in Troy was com- manding the following prices: Flour, per barrel $2.62; wheat, 371/2 cents ; bacon, per pound 31/2 cents; chickens, per dozen 50 cents; eggs, 3 cents; butter, 61/4 cents ; sugar, 61/4 cents; tallow, 61/4 cents. The finishing of the canal permitted the ship- ping of all kinds of farm produce from Troy and the farmer took advantage of it. In fact the canal was found inadequate for the shipping of grain and the railroad was acknowledged to be the only salvation for the town. In 1850 the first train on the C. H. & D. ran from Dayton to Troy. It was a day long to be remembered by all who inhabited the town and the surround- ing country. A large crowd came to "see the fun" as they expressed it, but it was a different kind of fun from what they ex- pected.
The cars were old flat ones with railing around the sides to keep the people from falling off. The crowd that came from Dayton was composed of a rough set of men. They had imbibed pretty freely be- fore leaving the Gem City and by the time the train reached Troy they were ready for anything and some were spoiling for a fight. They went over town in a boister- ous manner and made themselves obnox- ions to everybody. By the time they were ready to start back to Dayton they were picking up stones and throwing them at the cars. When finally they got on board they began throwing stones into the crowd composed of men, women and children who had come down to the track to see them off. This cansed a stampede on a part of the lookers-on, but the men in the crowd returned the volley of stones with
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
interest and things looked serious for a time. At last the whistle blew and the cars pushed away from the indignant Tro- jans. Such was the exciting scenes at- tendant upon the arrival and departure of the first steam cars that entered Troy.
The opening of the canal was also at- tended with more or less excitement. Soon after the water was let into the long basin a party of Troy people hired a packet and took a ride down the canal to where it crossed the river about half way between Troy and Dayton. A Mr. Crumpacker steered the boat and as it was entering the lock he steered it into a waste-way and was compelled to back out again. The occupants on the boat became frightened, thinking they were going over the waste- way. There was much excitement on board and no little screaming on the part of the women passengers; but finally the boat was righted and taken safely through the lock. At that time there was but one house in Tippecanoe and it was owned by John Clark, who was proprietor of nearly all the land in sight.
Troy was visited by a cholera scourge about 1850. The dread disease also visited other parts of the county and the death rate rose rapidly. The whole town was in a state of alarm, for no one knew when he might be attacked and it was some time before the epidemic was stayed and the inhabitants got relief.
The first Court of Common Pleas held its November session up stairs at Mr. Overfields, commencing November 5th, 1808. Troy was then a small place and had recently been made the county seat. There were as yet no newspapers in the town. As has been mentioned, Overfield kept tavern and his establishment con-
tained a bar, as did all the taverns at that early day. The late John T. Tullis, one of the pioneer residents of Troy, in his inter- esting reminiscences has this to say of the time of which we write:
"There was sometimes a little friction in running a court and bar-room as near neighbors, but Judge Dunlavy was prompt and allowed no annoyance. On one occa- sion, George Kerr, a wealthy farmer of good repute and ex-Governor Arthur St. Clair were discussing the quality of Mr. Overfield's beverage, when, getting much interested, they raised their voices an oc- tave above the key note. The Judge sent his respects to the gentlemen by Mr. Dye, requesting an interview in the court room. When they came in Judge said: 'Gentle- men, the court assesses a fine of two dol- lars each for contempt.' Mr. Kerr replied : 'It bears me in mind that you might as well say ten.' 'Well, I say ten,' the Judge answered, turning to his associate on the bench, 'What do you say, Mr. Barbee?' 'I say ten for Mr. Kerr,' said Judge Barbee, 'and ten for the Governor.' They put down the dust and Mr. Kerr, being a little excit- ed, retorted : 'Judge Dunlavy, I knew you when you were so poor you had to lie in bed until your wife washed your breeches.' Though it was very convenient to have the court so near a watering place where there was plenty of good liquor, yet it was not always held there, but in the early days of the county it was held wherever the judges happened to be."
For a time the court room at Troy was occupied by the Presbyterians for relig- ions purposes ; the same building was not very secure. Joseph Beedle and some of his friends were incarcerated for a few days for uncovering Jimmy Mackey's
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house and happening to want water, he slipped a log, a part of the floor between the two stories, and went up, bucket in hand, to the well to fill his bucket. Before the family could give the alarm he made his ingress through the same aperture through which he had made his egress. This feat admonished the county function- aries that the jail was not a safe deposit ; so Joseph Skinner was set to work about 1828-30 (the date is uncertain) to build a strong jail and a two-story brick house for the jailer on the same lot, which answered a good purpose until the new stone jail was built.
Merchandizing in Troy about 1828 was yet in its infancy. The only newspaper then published at the county-seat was the Miami Reporter, published by Micaiah Fairfield. Among the Troy merchants at this period were Mayo & Bosson, and Will- iam Barbee. Barbee had the largest es- tablishment and consequently the best trade. He was a good patron of the ad- vertising columns of the Reporter. He made annual trips to New York to select his stock and upon his return he always announced his selection for the benefit of the public. Some of the goods sold in the stores at that time have long since gone out of date, as the following inventory of Mr. Barbee's stock will show: "Super- fine Blue steel mixed cloths, satinets, bang- up-cord, Rowen Casimere; black lasting, domestie plaids and stripes, Ticking, checks, Sheeting and skirting, cambric, Jackonet, books, hair-cord, Jubilee muslin, calico; Ginghams, erape robes, satin Le- vantine, blue and black Gros de Nap; linen and cotton laces, silk valencia and Swan- down Vestings, Leghorn and straw bon- nets, Prunella and Morocco shoes, silk and
cotton shawls and handkerchiefs," etc., etc. The stores also kept groceries, hard- ware and liquors.
At this time T. W. Furnas was sheriff of the county and Daniel Grosvenor, auditor. It was at the time when the famous Jaek- son-Adams campaign was at its height and Troy was a center for the foment. Some of her citizens headed by John Wi- ley and Dr. Asa Coleman met at the house of Col. Humbert in Troy, on October 11, 1829, and organized what might be called a vigilance committee in the interest of John Quincy Adams. They issued a proc- lamation addressed to the "Friends of Order and Good Government," in which they called upon every friend of Adams to exert himself for their candidate. "Do, then," the call said, "for the sake of that liberty which you now enjoy and which you will be glad to leave as the most valu- able legacy to your children, turn out on the day of election and secure it while it is yet in your power. A little negligence on your part may prove fatal to liberty with all its concomitant blessings." The com- mittee on the part of Concord Township, including Troy, consisted of Jolin G. Tel- ford, William I. Thomas, Thomas Bar- bonr, William Tullis, David Tullis, Daniel Grosvenor, Lewis Humbert, James Knight and Asa Coleman. In this year Concord gave a large majority for Allen Trumble for Governor of Ohio.
It would seem that some of the citizens of Troy as early as 1828 had to put up with a good many trifling employees. It was the day of apprenticeship and when the young apprentices did not find things to their liking they "stayed not upon the order of their going." but took leg bail and made themselves scarce. Henry W. Cul-
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
bertson, who was a saddler at the time, by Judge Pearson. 'The Railroad House,' advertised for one of his runaway hands in the following amusing manner :
ONE-FOURTH OF A CENT REWARD.
"Ran away from the subscriber an indented apprentice to the saddling business by the name of James Gibbs, said boy about 15 years old, dark complexion, has large black eyes and black hair, very talkative and a most intolerable liar. Whoever will return said boy to me in Troy, Miami County, shall receive the above reward, but no thanks. H. W. CULBERTSON."
The result of this advertisement, if any, is not on record, but it is not likely that the subscriber was ever called upon to pay the liberal reward offered.
From the reminiscences of Charles N. Burns I cull the following data concerning the appearance of the County Seat about the year 1853.
"The schoolhouse was new, as was also the Morris House (now Hotel Troy). Ev- erything else was or seemed to be old. West Main Street beyond Elm, was in the future and the "plank road" began near that point. Main Street east of the rail- road had but few houses, Market Street south of the canal soon become a country road, and excepting at Main and Market, I think there were but two other bridges crossing the canal-at Union (the Dayton Road) and the Lover's, beginning at the corner of Oxford and Franklin and run- ning on to between George Streets and the Hafer grocery and meeting the Me- Kaig Avenue, then a lane.
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