USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio, containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc., relating to its general and local history : with descriptions of its counties, principal towns, and villages > Part 21
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The remains of Maj. McMahon and his companions, who fell at the time of the attack on the fort, were buried within its walls. Some years since, their bones were disinterred and reburied with the honors of war, in one coffin, in the village grave-yard. McMa- hon was known from the size of his bones, having been about 6 feet 6 inches in height : a bullet hole was in his skull, the ball having entered his temple and come out at the back of his head. He was originally from near the Mingo bottom, just below Steubenville. He was a famous Indian fighter and captain, and classed by the bor- derers on the Upper Ohio with Brady and the Wetzels.
141
DARKE COUNTY.
Fort Jefferson, 5 miles south of Greenville, was built by St. Clair. In the summer of 1792, a large body of Indians surrounded this fort.
Before they were discovered, a party of them secreted themselves in some underbrush and behind some bogs, near the fort. Knowing that Capt. Shaylor, the commandant, was passionately fond of hunting, they imitated the noise of turkeys. The captain, not dream- ing of a decoy, hastened out with his son, fully expecting to return loaded with game. As they approached near the place, the savages rose, fired, and his son, a promising lad, fell. The captain turning, fled to the garrison. The Indians pursued closely, calculating either to take him prisoner or enter the sally gate with him, in case it were opened for his ad- mission. They were, however, disappointed, though at his heels ; he entered and the gate was closed, the instant he reached it. In his retreat, he was badly wounded by an arrow in his back.
TO
View in Greenville.
Greenville, the county seat, is in the township of Greenville, 92 miles west of Columbus, and 10 from the Indiana line. It was laid off, Aug. 10th, 1808, by Robert Gray and John Devor, and con- tains 1 Baptist, 1 Episcopal, 1 Methodist, and 1 Christian church, 16 mercantile stores, 1 flouring mill, 1 newspaper printing office, and about 800 inhabitants.
Greenville is a point of much historical note. In December, '93, Wayne built a fort at this place, which he called Fort Greenville. He remained until the 28th of July, '94, when he left for the Maumee rapids, where he defeated the Indians on the 20th of the month suc- ceeding. His army returned to Greenville on the 2d of November, after an absence of three months and six days. Fort Greenville was an extensive work, and covered the greater part of the site of the town. The annexed plan is from the survey of Mr. James M'Bride, of Hamilton. The blocks represent the squares of the town, within the lines of the fort. Traces of the embankment are plainly discernable, and various localities within the fort are pointed out by the citizens of the town. The quarters of Wayne, were on the site of the residence of Stephen Perrine, on Main street. Henry House, now of this county, who was in Wayne's campaign, says, that the soldiers built log huts, arranged in rows, each regiment oc- cupying one row, and each hut-of which there were many hun- dred-occupied by six soldiers. He also affirms that Wayne drilled his men to load while running ; and every night when on the march,
142
DARKE COUNTY.
had good breast-works erected, at which the men had been so wel practiced, as to be able to accomplish in a few minutes.
Tecumseh's Point
Greenville Crock
Mud Creek
Ice House
Court House
25 Rods
Fort Greenville.
On the 3d of August, 1795, Wayne concluded a treaty of peace with the Indians, at Greenville. The number of Indians present was 1,130, viz : 180 Wyandots, 381 Delawares, 143 Shawnees, 45 Ottawas, 46 Chippewas, 240 Pottawatamies, 73 Miamies and Eel river, 12 Weas and Piankeshaws, and 10 Kickapoos and Kaskaskias. The principal chiefs were Tarhe, Buckongehelas, Black Hoof, Blue Jacket, and Little Turtle. Most of the chiefs had been tampered with by M'Kee and other British agents; but their people, having been reduced to great extremities by the generalship of Wayne, had, notwithstanding, determined to make a permanent peace with the " Thirteen Fires," as they called the federal states. The basis of the treaty of Greenville was, that hostilities were to cease, and all pris- oners restored. Article 3d, defined the Indian boundary as follows:
The general boundary line between the lands of the United States, and the lands of the said Indian tribes, shall begin at the mouth of the Cuyahoga river, and run thence up the same to the Portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum, thence down that branch to the crossing place above Fort Laurens, thence westerly, to a fork of that branch of the Great Miami river, running into the Ohio, at or near which fork stood Lo- romie's store, and where commenced the portage between the Miami of the Ohio, and St. Mary's river, which is a branch of the Miami, which runs into Lake Erie : thence, a west- erly course to Fort Recovery, which stands on the branch of the Wabash ; thence, south- erly in a direct line to the Ohio, so as to intersect that river opposite the mouth of Ken. tucke or Cuttawa river.
The following are the reservations within the limits of Ohio, granted to the Indians by this treaty.
1st. One piece of land 6 miles square, at or near Loramie's store, before mentioned. 2d. One piece 2 miles square, at the head of the navigable water or landing on the St. Mary's river, near Girty's town. 3d. One piece, six miles square, at the head of the navigable water of the Auglaise river. 4th. One piece, six miles square, at the confluence of the Auglaise and Miami rivers, where Fort Defiance now stands. 8th. One piece, twelve miles square, at the British fort on the Miami of the lake, at the foot of the rapids. 9th. One piece, six miles square, at the mouth of the said river where it empties into the lake. 10th. One piece, six miles square, upon Sandusky lake, where a fort formerly stood. 11th. One piece, two miles square, at the lower rapids of the Sandusky river.
143
DEFIANCE COUNTY.
These with the other tracts were given, " for the same considerations, and as an evidence of the returning friendship of the said Indian tribes, of their confidence in the United States, and desire to provide for their accommodation, and for that convenient intercourse which will be beneficial to both parties."
A second treaty was concluded at Greenville, July 22d, 1814, with the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Senecas and Miamies.
The commissioners on the part of the United States, were Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison and Gov. Lewis Cass. By it, these tribes engaged to aid the United States in the war with Great Britain and her savage allies. The prominent chiefs were Tarhe, Capt. Pipe and . Black Hoof. Both of .he treaties were held on the same spot, within the present garden of Abraham Scribner, in Greenville. On the 22d of July, 1840, just 26 years after the last treaty, there was a great celebration at this place, called " the Greenville Treaty Cele- bration," at which the many thousands present were addressed at length by Gen. Harrison.
From the year 1805 to 1808, the celebrated Tecumseh, with his brother the prophet, re- sided at Greenville. It was the point where they formed their plans of hostility to the whites. During their residence at this place, they were visited by many Indians, who were wrought into the highest excitement by the eloquence of Tecumseh and the cunning of the prophet.
On the plan of Fort Greenville, is laid down " Tecumseh Point," at the junction of the rivulet with Greenville creek, about a quarter of a mile from the court house. At this place are some Indian graves,-here Tecumseh had a cabin, and formerly near it was a spring, called " Tecumseh's Spring." In 1832, the remnant of the Shawnees, then moving to their new homes in the far west, from their reservation on the Auglaize, took this place on their route, instead of Cincinnati, as desired by the United States agents. They en- camped on Tecumseh's point, to the number of several hundred, and remained a day or two, to take a final farewell of a place so dear to their memories.
New Madison, 10 miles southwest of Greenville, near the site of old Fort Black, is a new and thriving village, containing about 50 houses. Fort Jefferson, Fort Recovery, New Castine, Ithaca, New Harrison, Gettysburg, Versailles, Beamsville and Palestine are small towns.
DEFIANCE.
DEFIANCE Was erected March 4th, 1845, from Williams, Henry and Paulding, and named from Fort Defiance. It is watered by the Auglaize, the Tiffin and the Maumee : this last named stream was anciently called " Miami of the Lake," and sometimes " Omee." The Maumee is navigable by steamers, in high water, to Fort Wayne, and in ordinary stages to that place for keel boats carrying 60 tons. The Auglaize is navigable for keel boats to Wapakoneta, and the Tiffin, which is a narrow, deep stream, is navigable, for pirogues of a few tons, about 50 miles. Much grain comes down those various streams. Prior to the building of the Wabash canal, Northern Indi- ana received a large part of its supplies by the Maumee. Much of this county is covered by the Black Swamp, and the surface, where cleared and drained, is very fertile. The county is divided into the following townships.
Adams,
Delaware,
Highland, Tiffin,
Crane,
Farmer,
Hicksford,
Washington.
Defiance,
Hicksville,
Richland,
144
DEFIANCE COUNTY.
Defiance having been formed since the last census, its population is unknown.
MAUMEE R.
L
D
K
The annexed plan and description of Fort Defiance, is found in the mem- oranda of Benj. Van Cleve, commu- nicated by his son, John W. Van Cleve, of Dayton, to the American Pioneer.
At each angle of the fort was a block-house. The one next- the Maumee is marked A, hav- ing port-holes B, on the three exterior sides, and door D and chimney C on the side facing to the interior. There was a line of pickets on each side of the fort, connecting the block-houses by their nearest angles. Outside of the pickets and E around the block-houses was a glacis, a wall of earth eight feet thick, sloping upwards and out- wards from the feet of the pickets, supported by a log wall on the side of the ditch and by facines, a wall of faggots, on the side next the Auglaize. AUGLAIZE R. The ditch, fifteen feet wide and eight feet deep, surrounded the whole work except on the side toward the Auglaize; and diagonal pickets, eleven feet long and one foot apart, were secu- red to the log wall and projected over the ditch. E and E were gateways. F was a bank of Fort Defiance. earth, four feet wide, left for a passage across the ditch. G was a falling gate or drawbridge, which was raised and lowered by pullies, across the ditch, covering it or leaving it uncovered at pleasure. The officers' quarters were at H, and the storehouses at I. At K, two lines of pickets converged towards L, which was a ditch eight feet deep, by which water was procured from the river without ex- posing the carrier to the enemy. M was a small sand-bar at the point.
Defiance, the county seat, is on the south bank of the Maumee, at its junction with the Auglaize, on the line of the canal, 152 miles NW. of Columbus, 58 from Toledo and 50 from Fort Wayne. It was laid out in 1822, by Benj. Level and Horatio G. Philips, and contains 1 Methodist and 1 Catholic church, 5 mercantile stores and a popula- tion of about 700. It is destined, from its natural position, to be, when the country is fully settled, a large and flourishing place ; it already has an extensive trade with a large district of country.
Defiance is on the site of a large Indian settlement, which extend- ed for miles up and down the river. Gen. Wayne, on his advance march, arrived at this place, Aug. 8th, 1794. His army found it surrounded by a highly cultivated country, there being vegetables of every kind in abundance, and not less than one thousand acres of corn around the Indian town, beside immense apple and peach or- chards. It had been a great trading point between the Canadian French and the Indians. On the 9th of August, Wayne commenced the erection of a fort, which he called Fort Defiance. The army remained here several days and then moved northward, and on the 20th, routed the Indians at the Maumee rapids. On their return,. they completed the fortress. Fort Defiance was built at the con- fluence of the Auglaize and Maumee, traces of which work are now plainly discernable. The situation is beautiful and commanding : it
JIWEDO ELL | HOUSE.
MERCHANTS EXCHANGE.
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RINTING
ALLLIANO - HAYES
DRY GOODS- b. CROCE LESAU
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SUPERIOR STREET, CLEVELAND.
.
145
DELAWARE COUNTY.
Is indicated in the view of Defiance by the flag shown on the left, Gen. Winchester, previous to his defeat at the river Raisin. in the war
Defiance from the North bank of the Maumee.
of 1812, encamped in a picketed fort, which he built on the Auglaize, about 100 yards south of the other, and named Fort Winchester.
Brunersburg, Independence, Clarksville, Evansport, Delaware and Hicksville, are small places. (See Addenda.)
DELAWARE.
DELAWARE was formed from Franklin county, Feb. 10th, 1808. The surface is generally level and the soil clay, except the river bottoms. About one third of the surface is adapted to meadow and pasture and the remainder to the plough. The principal products are wheat, corn, oats, pork and wool. The following is a list of its 21 townships, with their population in 1840.
Bennington,
1051
Harlem, 963
Peru,
737
Berkshire,
1407
Harmony,
676
Porter,
678
Berlin,
827
Kingston, 657
Radnor,
1174
Brown, 908
Liberty, 811
Scioto,
877
Concord,
1185
Lincoln,
549
Thompson,
660
Delaware, 1019
Oxford,
774
Trenton,
1188
Genoa, 1193
Orange,
789
Troy,
838
The population of Delaware county, in 1820, was 7,639 ; in 1830, 11,522, and in 1840, 22,060 or 36 inhabitants to a square mile.
The name of this county originated from the Delaware tribe, some of whom once dwelt within its limits, and had extensive corn- fields adjacent to its seat of justice. John Johnston says :
" The true name of this once powerful tribe is Wa,be,nugh,ka,
19
146
DELAWARE COUNTY.
that is, 'the people from the east,' or 'the sun rising.' The tradition among themselves is, that they originally, at some very remote pe- riod, emigrated from the west, crossed the Mississippi, ascending the Ohio, fighting their way, until they reached the Delaware river, [so named from Lord Delaware,] near where Philadelphia now stands, in which region of county they became fixed.
" About this time, they were so numerous that no enumeration could be made of the nation. They welcomed to the shores of the new world that great law-giver, Wm. Penn, and his peaceful follow- ers, and ever since this people have entertained a kind and grateful . recollection of them ; and to this day, speaking of good men, they would say, ' wa,she,a, E,le,ne' -- such a man is a Quaker, i. e. all good men are Quakers. In 1823, I removed to the west of the Mississippi persons of this tribe, who were born and raised within 30 miles of Philadelphia. These were the most squalid, wretched and degraded ' of their race, and often furnished chiefs with a subject of reproach against the whites, pointing to these of their people and saying to us, ' see how you have spoiled them'-meaning, they had acquired all the bad habits of the white people, and were ignorant of hunting and incapable of making a livelihood as other Indians.
" În 1819, there were belonging to my agency in Ohio, 80 Dela- wares, who were stationed near Upper Sandusky, and in Indiana, 2,300 of the same tribe.
" Bockinghelas was the principal chief of the Delawares for many years after my going into the Indian country : he was a distinguished warrior in his day, and an old man when I knew him. Killbuck, another Delaware chief, had received a liberal education at Prince ton College, and retained until his death the great outlines of the morality of the Gospel."
Delaware, the county seat, is pleasantly situated, on rolling ground. upon the western bank of the Olentangy river, 24 miles N. from Columbus. It was laid out in the spring of 1808, by Moses Byxbe, Esq. The engraving shows the public buildings on one of the prin- cipal streets of this neat and thriving town. The churches shown are respectively, commencing on the right, the 1st Presbyterian, the Episcopal and the 2d Presbyterian: between the two first, the Methodist church, a substantial stone structure, partially appears in the distance. The large building seen beyond the 2d Presbyterian church, is the " Hinton House," one of the largest and best construct- ed hotels in Ohio.
The Delaware Springs are situated in the southern part of the village, and large numbers of persons come here for the benefit of its waters. "Tradition states that the Indians resorted to these springs, to use the waters and kill the deer and buffalo, which came here in great numbers. Before the grounds were enclosed, in the early settlement of the country, the domestic animals for miles around made this a favorite resort in the heats of summer, and ap- peared satisfied with no other water.
" The principal spring is a fine fountain of water, issuing forth into
0
147
.
DELAWARE COUNTY.
an artificial stone basin at the rate of 12 or 15 gallons per minute. The spring is of that class termed white sulphur, or cold hydro- sulphurous water. The water is said to be similar to that of the
View in Winter Street, Delaware.
celebrated white sulphur springs of Virginia, and equal in their min- eral and medicinal qualities. The water is cooler, being as low as 53º, contains more gas and is therefore lighter and more pleasant than that of the Virginia water. Many cures have been effected of persons afflicted with scrofulous diseases, dyspepsia, bilious derange- ments of the liver and stomach, want of appetite and digestion, cases of erysipelas, when all the usual remedies had failed, and injuries inflicted by the excessive use of calomel.
Prof. H. Michell, in giving his analysis of the waters, says; "Of gaseous products, I find that one wine pint of the water, taken im- mediately from the spring, contains of sulphurated hydrogen gas, 12 cubic inches ; of carbonic acid gas, 3 do. One hundred grains of the deposit, which resulted from evaporating several gallons of the water, yielded, on analysis, of muriate of soda, 48 grains ; do. of lime, 20 do. ; sulphate of magnesia, 16 do .; do. of lime, 8 do .; carbonate of soda, 5 do .; total of the above, 97 grains. The above results show that these waters approach as nearly to the well-known waters of Aix la Chappelle and Harrowgate as those do respectively to each other ...... They are decidedly deobstruent, and calculated to remove glandular enlargements, as well of the liver as of the other viscera. In cases of slow fever, disturbed state of the functions of digestion, or more confirmed dyspepsia-morbid secretions from the kidneys or bladder, gravel and chronic eruptions on the skin, I can strongly re- commend their use ; and, though last, not least, their power of subdu- ing general constitutional irritation, and quieting and restoring tone to the system, when it has been necessary to have recourse to the
148
DELAWARE COUNTY.
frequent and long-continued action of calomel or other mercurial preparations, is, I am persuaded, of the greatest efficacy."
Ohio Wesleyan University.
The Ohio Wesleyan University has been recently established at Delaware, with fine prospects of success-the Rev. Edward Thom- son, D. D., President. The college edifice stands on a pleasant elevation, in the southern part of the village, and embraces within its grounds ten acres of land, including the sulphur spring, the position of which is indicated in the engraving by the figures seen in the dis- tance among the trees on the left. The population of Delaware, in 1840, was 898 -- since which, it has probably doubled its number of inhabitants.
=
The White Sulphur Fountain.
The White Sulphur Fountain is beautifully situated on the rapids
149
ERIE COUNTY.
of the Scioto, 18 miles above Columbus and 10 sw. of Delaware, and is surrounded for miles by a fine undulating and healthy country.
The buildings are neat, entirely new and, for the first time, opened this season (1847) to visitors. The fountain is a most remarkable curiosity, and rises from the bed of the Scioto through solid rock. It was first discovered in 1820, while boring for salt water, a hole of about 23 inches in diameter. The operators had pierced through about 90 feet of solid rock, when the auger suddenly fell two feet and up gushed with great force a stream of strong white sulphur water, which has continued to rise with its original force and violence to the present time. Experiments have shown some curious results ; among which was that of placing an air-tight tube in an upright position, one end being inserted into the hole, when the water shot out of its top with as much force as when issuing from the rock beneath. The water, which is pure, is supposed to be driven by its own gas : its tempera- ture is 50°, and it deposits on the ground around a very heavy white deposit.
On the grounds of the establishment is a beautiful chalybeate spring, having a tempe- rature of 47º. " This place has every natural advantage that can be desired for making it one of the greatest places of resort for health and recreation, west of the mountains. From present indications, it is evidently destined to become so, as soon as preparations can be made to accommodate the public to a sufficient extent, which will soon be done, as im- provements here are making rapid progress."
There are several small towns in the county : the most important of these are Sunbury and Berkshire-the first of which is 12 miles E. of Delaware, and is a neat village, containing 4 stores, 3 churches and about 300 inhabitants. (See Addenda.)
ERIE.
ERIE was formed in 1838, from Huron and Sandusky counties. The surface is level, with some prairie land. Inexhaustible quarries of limestone and freestone abound. The freestone from Margaretta township resembles the famous Portland stone: when taken from the quarry it is soft and is frequently sawed with the hand-saw, and hardens on exposure to the atmosphere. The limestone is of the species called marine-shell marble. It is of the best quality, full of organic remains, and susceptible of an exquisite polish. Quantities of bog iron ore are found. The soil is generally alluvial and very fertile. The principal crops are wheat, corn, oats and potatoes. The following is a list of its townships in 1840, with their popula- tion.
Berlin,
1628
Margaretta,
1104
Perkins,
839
Florence,
1655
Milan,
1531
Portland,
1434
Groton,
854
Oxford,
736
Vermillion, 1334
Huron,
1488
The population of Erie in 1840, was 12,457, or about 48 inhabi- tants to a square mile.
The name of this county was originally applied to the Erie tribe of Indians. This nation is said to have had their residence at the east end of the lake, near where Buffalo now stands. They are represented to have been the most powerful and warlike of all the
150
ERIE COUNTY.
Indian tribes, and to have been extirpated by the Five Nations or Iroquois, two or three centuries since .*
Father Lewis Hennepin, in his work published about 1684, in speaking of certain Catho- lic priests, thus alludes to the Eries: " These good fathers were great friends of the Hurons, who told them that the Iroquois went to war beyond Virginia, or New Sweden, near a lake which they called ' Erige,' or ' Erie,' which signifies, ' the cat,' or ' nation of the cat ;' and because these savages brought captives from the nation of the cat in returning to their cantons along this lake, the Hurons named it, in their language, ' Erige,' or ' Ericke,' ' the lake of the cat,' and which our Canadians, in softening the word, have called ' Lake Erie.'"
Charlevoix, writing in 1721, says respecting Lake Erie : " The name it bears is that of an Indian nation of the Huron [Wyandot] language, which was formerly seated on its banks, and who have been entirely destroyed by the Iroquois. Erie, in that language, sig- nifies cat, and in some accounts, this nation is called the cat nation. This name probably comes from the large number of that animal formerly found in this country."
L. ERIE
Fort Sandusky+
AWandots
+ Fort Junandat Built in 1754
A Wandots
The French established a small trading post at the mouth of Huron river, and another on the shore of the bay on or near the site of San- dusky city, which were abandoned before the war of the revolution. The small map annexed is copied from part of Evans's map of the Mid- dle British Colonies, published in 1755. The reader will perceive upon the east bank of Sandusky river, near the bay, a French fort there described as " Fort Junandat, built in 1754." The words Wan- dots are doubtlesss meant for Wyan- dot towns.
In 1764, while Pontiac was besieging Detroit, Gen. Bradstreet col- lected a force of 3,000 men, which embarked at Niagara in boats and proceeded up the lake to the relief of that post. Having burned the Indian corn-fields and villages at Sandusky and along the rich bot- toms of the Maumee, and dispersed the Indians whom they there then found, he reached Detroit without opposition.t Having dispersed the Indians besieging Detroit, he passed into the Wyandot country by way of Sandusky bay. He ascended the bay and river as far as it was navigable for boats and there made a camp. A treaty of peace and friendship was signed by the chiefs and head men .¿
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