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 37
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253
HOCKING COUNTY.
each side and swells into the appearance of the body of a bottle. The whole, when seen from above, appears exactly in the shape of a bottle, and from this fact, the Indians called the creek Hock- hocking."
Dr. S. P. Hildreth, in a late publication, has incidentally given a description of the wild scenery of the southwestern part of Hocking.
One of the favorite descents of the Indians was down the waters of Queer creek, a tribu- tary of Salt creek, and opened a direct course to their town of old Chillicothe. It is a wild, romantic ravine, in which the stream has cut a passage, for several miles in extent, through the solid rock, forming mural cliffs, now more than one hundred and twenty feet in height. They are also full of caverns and grottoes, clothed with dark evergreens of the hemlock and cedar. Near the outlet of this rocky and narrow valley, there stood, a few years since, a large beech tree, on which was engraven, in legible characters, " This is the road to hell, 1782." These words were probably traced by some unfortunate prisoner then on his way to the old Indian town of Chillicothe. This whole region is full of interesting scenery, and affords some of the most wild and picturesque views of any other of equal extent in the state of Ohio. It was one of the best hunting grounds for the bear; as its numerous grottoes and caverns afforded them the finest retreats for their winter quarters. These caverns were also valuable on another account, as furnishing vast beds of nitrous earth, from which the old hunters, in time of peace, extracted large quantities of saltpetre for the manufacture of gunpowder, at which art some of them were great proficients. One of these grottoes, well known to the inhabitants of the vicinity, by the name of the " Ash cave," contains a large heap of ashes piled up by the side of the rock which forms one of its boundaries. It has been estimated, by different persons, to contain several thousand bushels. The writer visited this grotto in 1837, and should say there was at that time not less than three or four hundred bushels of clean ashes, as dry and free from moisture as they were on the day they were burned. Whether they are the refuse of the old salt- petre makers, or were piled up there in the course of ages, by some of the aborigines who made these caverns their dwelling places, remains as yet a subject for conjecture.
These ravines and grottoes have all been formed in the out-cropping edges of the sand- stone and conglomerate rocks, which underlie the coal fields of Ohio, by the wasting action of the weather, and attrition of running water. The process is yet going on in several streams on the southwest side of Hocking county, where the water has a descent of thirty, forty or even fifty feet at a single pitch, and a fall of eighty or a hundred in a few rods. The falls of the Cuyahoga and the Hockhocking, are cut in the saine geological formation. The water, in some of these branches, is of sufficient volume to turn the machinery of a a grist or saw mill, and being lined and overhung with the graceful foliage of the evergreen hemlock, furnishes some of the wildest and most beautiful scenery. This is especially so at the " Cedar falls," and " the falls of Black Jack." The country is at present but par- tially settled, but when good roads are opened and convenient inns established, no portion of Ohio can afford a richer treat for the lovers of wild and picturesque views.
There is a tradition among the credulous settlers of this retired spot, that lead ore was found here and worked by the Indians; and many a weary day has been spent in its fruit- less search among the cliffs and grottoes which line all the streams of this region. They often find ashes and heaps of cinders ; and the " pot holes" in a bench of the sand rock in the " Ash cave," evidently worn by the water at a remote period, when the stream ran here, although it is now eighty or one hundred feet lower, and ten or twelve rods farther north, they imagine, were in some way used for smelting the lead.
This tract of country once belonged to the Wyandots, and a con- siderable town of that tribe, situated at the confluence of a small stream with the river, one mile below Logan, gives the name Oldtown to the creek. The abundance of bears, deer, elks, and occasionally buffaloes, with which the hills and vallies were stored, together with the river fishing, must have made this a desirable residence. About five miles southeast of Logan, are two mounds, of the usual conical form, about sixty feet in diameter at the base, erected entirely from stones, evidently brought from a great distance to their present location.
254
HOCKING COUNTY.
For the annexed historical sketch of the county, we are indebted to a resident.
Early in the spring of 1798, several families from different places, passing through the territory of the Ohio company, settled at various points on the river, some of whom re- mained, while others again started in pursuit of " the far west." The first actual settler in the county was Christian Westenhaver, from near Hagerstown, Md., of German ex- traction, a good practical farmer and an honest man, who died in 1829, full of years, and leaving a numerous race of descendants. In the same spring came the Brians, the Pences and the Francisco's, from western Virginia, men renowned for feats of daring prowess in hunting the bear, an animal at that time extremely numerous. As an example of the
View in Logan.
privations of pioneer life, when Mr. Westenhaver ascended the river with his family, a sack of corn-meal constituted no mean part of his treasures. By the accidental upsetting of his canoe, this unfortunately became wet, and consequently blue and mouldy. Never- theless it was kept, and only on special occasions served out with their bountiful supply of bear's meat, venison and turkeys, until the approaching autumn yielded them potatoes and roasting ears, which they enjoyed with a gusto that epicures might well envy. And when fall gave the settlers a rich harvest of Indian corn, in order to reduce it to meal they had to choose between the hommony mortar, or a toilsome journey of near thirty miles over an Indian trace to the mill. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, there is but little doubt that for many years there was more enjoyment of real life than ordinarily falls to a more arti- ficial state of society. True, though generally united, disputes would sometimes arise, and when other modes of settlement were unavailing, the last resort, a duel, decided all. But in this, no " Colt's revolver" was put in requisition, but the pugilistic ring was effectual. Here the victor's wounded honor was fully satisfied, and a treat of " old Monongahela" (rye whiskey) by the vanquished, restored perfect good feelings among all parties. As to deciding disputes by law, it was almost unthought of. It is true, there were somc few men 'ycelped justices of the peace, generally selected for strong natural sense, who ad- mirably answered all the purposes of their election. One, a very worthy old gentleman, being present at what he considered an unlawful demonstration, commanded the peace, which command not being heeded, he immediately threw off his " warmus,"* rolled up his
* The " warmus" is a working garment, similar in appearance to a "roundabout," but more full, and being usually made of red flannel, is elastic and easy to the wearer. It is an article generally unknown in New England, New York, and the extreme northern or southern part of our country, but is more peculiar to the Germans of Pennsylvania. If any traveller, in passing through Ohio, should chance to see a large number of " lobster back" people on the farms, or about the village taverns, he may at once know, without any inquiry, that he is among the descendants of the worthy settlers of the " key-stone state."
255
HOLMES COUNTY.
sleeves, and shouted, "Boys ! I'll be - if you shan't keep the peace," which awful display of magisterial power instantly dispersed the terror-stricken multitude. This state of things continued with slow, but almost imperceptible alterations, until 1818, when the number of inhabitants, and their advance in civilization, obtained the organization of the county.
Logan, the county seat, is on the Hockhocking river and canal, one mile below the great fall of the Hockhocking river, 47 miles sE. of Columbus, 18 below Lancaster, and 38 miles E. of Chillicothe. It was laid out about the year 1816, and contains 4 stores, 1 Presby- terian and 1 Methodist church, and about 600 inhabitants. The view, taken near the American hotel, shows in the center the court house, an expensive and substantial structure, and on the extreme right, the printing office. There are no other villages in the county of any note.
HOLMES.
HOLMES was formed January 20th, 1824, from Coshocton, Tusca- rawas and Wayne, and organized the succeeding year. The south- western part is broken and very hilly, and the soil thin; the re- mainder of the county is hilly and uneven, but produces excellent wheat. Along Killbuck's creek, coal of a superior quality abounds. The principal products are wheat, Indian corn, oats, potatoes, maple sugar, swine, sheep and neat cattle. The following is a list of its townships in 1840, with their population.
Berlin, 1151
Mechanic, 1400
Ripley, 1279
German, 1281
Monroe,
898
Salt Creeek.
1730
Hardy, 1985
Paint, 1361
Walnut Creek, 1000
Killbuck, 906
Prairie,
1347
Washington, 1457
Knox,
1178
Richland, 1088
The population of Holmes, in 1830, was 9123, and in 1840, 18,061, or 45 inhabitants to a square mile.
This county was named from Major Holmes, a gallant young offi- cer of the war of 1812, who was killed in the unsuccessful attack upon Mackinac, under Colonel Croghan, August 4th, 1814. Its settlers principally originated from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia : among them are also some Swiss Germans. It was first settled about 1810, by Thomas Butler, who settled about 7 miles north of Millersburg, on the Wooster road, and Peter Casey, who built a cabin half a mile west of the county seat. About this time, William and Samuel Morrison and George Carpenter settled on Doughty's fork, 8 miles south of the court house. In the late war, there was a block house erected, called "Morgan's block house," just over the northern line of the county, on the road to Wooster. There were 24000 acres of choice land scattered about the county of the Connecticut Western Reserve school land, which, not being in market until 1831, operated disadvantageously to the dense settle-
256
HOLMES COUNTY.
ment of the country. Since then, Holmes has more than doubled . its population.
Nearly 2 miles south of Millersburg, on land belonging to the Rev. Alexander Campbell, of Bethany, is a strongly impregnated chalybeate spring. In the northwest corner of Holmes, is " Odell's lake," a beautiful sheet of water, about three miles long, half a mile broad, and abounding in fish of various kinds.
View in Millersburg.
Millersburg, the county seat, is situated on elevated ground, sur- rounded by lofty hills, on Killbuck creek, 87 miles northeast of Columbus, and about 70 south of Cleveland. It was laid out in 1824, by Charles Miller and Adam Johnson, and public lots sold on the 4th of June, of that year. There had been previously, a quarter of a mile north, a town of the same name, laid out about the year 1816. The names recollected of the first settlers in the village, are Seth Hunt, Colonel Wm. Painter, Samuel S. Henry, George Stout, Samuel C. M'Dowell, R. K. Enos, Jonathan Korn, John Smurr, John Glasgow, Thomas Hoskins, James Withrow, James M'Kennan -the first lawyer in Holmes-and James S. Irvine, the first physi- cian in the same. A short time previous to the sale, three houses were erected : the first was a frame, on the NE. corner of Jackson and Washington streets ; the second, a frame, on the NE. corner of Washington and Adams streets; and the last, a log, on the site of S. C. Bever's residence. The Seceder church, the first built, was erected in 1830, and the Methodist Episcopal, in 1833. The village was laid out in the forest, and in 1830, the population reached to 320. About fourteen years since, on a Sunday afternoon, a fire broke out in the frame house on the corner of Washington and Adams streets, and destroyed a large part of the village. Among the buildings burnt, was the court house and jail, which were of log, the first standing on the NE. corner of the public square, and the other a few rods south of it. Millersburg contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal. Methodist, 1 Lutheran and 1 Seceder church, 2 news- paper printing offices, 10 dry goods and 3 grocery stores, 1 foundery, 1 grist mill, and had, in 1846, 673 inhabitants.
CINCINNATI, FROM THE OHIO.
HURON COUNTY.
257
In the eastern part of Holmes, is an extensive settlement of Dun- kards, who originated from eastern Pennsylvania, and speak the Ger- man language. They are excellent farmers, and live in a good sub- stantial style. The men wear long beards and shad-bellied coats, and use hooks and eyes instead of buttons. The females are attired in petticoats and short gowns, caps without frills, and when doing out-door labor, instead of bonnets, wear broad-brimmed hats.
Berlin, 7 miles E. of Millersburg, on the Dover road, has 2 churches, 5 stores, 1 foundery, I machine shop, and is a thriving business place, with a population of near 400. Nashville, 11 w. of M., has 3 churches, 3 stores, and something less than 300 inhabitants. Benton, Middletown, Lafayette, Oxford, Napoleon, Farmersville and New Carlisle are small villages.
HURON.
HURON was formed, February 7th, 1809, and organized in 1815. It originally constituted the whole of "the fire-lands." The name, Huron, was given by the French to the Wyandot tribe : its signifi- cation is probably unknown. The surface is mostly level, some parts slightly undulating ; soil mostly sandy mixed with clay, form- ing a loam. In the northwest part are some prairies, and in the northern part are the sand ridges which run on the southern side of Lake Erie, and vary in width from a few rods to more than a mile. Huron was much reduced in 1838, in population and area, by the formation of Erie county. Its principal productions are hay and grass, wheat, corn, oats, barley, buckwheat, flaxseed, potatoes, but- ter, cheese, wool and swine. The following is a list of its town- ships in 1840, with their population.
Bronson, 1291 Lyme,
1318
Ridgefield,
1599
Clarksfield, 1473
New Haven,
1270
Ripley,
804
Fairfield, 1067 New London, 1218
Ruggles,
1244
Greenfield, 1460 Norwalk,
2613 Townsend,
868
Greenwich, 1067
Peru,
1998
Wakeman,
702
Hartland, 925
Richmond, 306
The population of Huron in 1820, was 6,677; in 1830, 13,340, and in 1840, 23,934, or 52 inhabitants to a square mile.
Norwalk, the county seat, named from Norwalk, Ct., is 110 miles N. of Columbus and 16 from Sandusky City. It lies principally on a single street, extending nearly 2 miles and beautifully shaded by maple trees. Much taste is evinced in the private dwellings and churches, and in adorning the grounds around them with shrubbery. As a whole, the town is one of the most neat and pleasant in Ohio. The view given represents a small portion of the principal street : on the right is shown the court-house and jail, with a part of the public square, and in the distance is seen the tower of the Norwalk
33
3
1
Fitchville, 1294 Norwich, 676 Sherman,
692
258
HURON COUNTY.
institute. Norwalk contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, 1 Episcopal, 1 Methodist and 1 Catholic church, 9 dry goods, 1 book and 4 gro-
View in Norwalk.
cery stores, 1 bank, 2 newspaper printing offices, 1 flouring mill, 2 foundries, and about 1800 inhabitants. The Norwalk institute is an incorporated academy, under the patronage of the Baptists : a large and substantial brick building, three stories in height, is devoted to its purposes ; the institution is flourishing and numbers over 100 pupils, including both sexes. A female seminary has recently been commenced under auspicious circumstances, and a handsome build- ing erected in the form of a Grecian temple. About a mile west of the village are some ancient fortifications.
The site of Norwalk was first visited with a view to the founding of a town, by the Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, Platt Benedict, and one or two others, in October, 1815. The place was then in the wil- derness, and there were but a few settlers in the county. The ex- amination being satisfactory, the town plat was laid out in the spring following, by Almon Ruggles, and lots offered for sale at from $60 to $100 each. In the fall of 1817, Platt Benedict built a log house, with the intention of removing his family, but in his absence it was destroyed by fire. He reconstructed his dwelling shortly after, and thus commenced the foundation of the village. In the May after, Norwalk was made the county seat, and the public buildings sub- sequently erected. The year after, a census was taken, and the population had reached 109. In the first few years of the settlement, the different denominations appearing to have forgotten their pecu- liar doctrines, were accustomed to meet at the old court house for sacred worship, at the second blowing of the horn. In 1820, the Methodists organized a class, and in 1821, the Episcopal society was constituted. From that time to the present, the village has grown with the progressive increase of the country.
In 1819, two Indians were tried and executed at Norwalk, for murder. Their names were Ne-go-sheck and Ne-gon-a-ba, the last of which is said to signify " one who walks far." The circumstances of their crime and execution we take from the Mss. history of the " fire-lands," by the late C. B. Squier, Esq .*
* For some facts respecting the history of the "fire-linds," see Erie county and the sketch of the Western Reserve in this volume.
259
JACKSON COUNTY.
In the spring of 1816, John Wood of Venice, and George Bishop of Danbury, were trap- ping for muskrats on the west side of Danbury, in the vicinity of the " two harbors," so called ; and having collected a few skins, had lain down for the night in their temporary hut. Three straggling Ottawa Indians came, in the course of the night, upon their camp and discovered them sleeping. To obtain their little pittance of furs, &c., they were in- duced to plan their destruction. After completing their arrangements, the two eldest armed themselves with clubs, singled out their victims, and each, with a well-directed blow upon their heads, dispatched them in an instant: They then forced their youngest companion, Negasow, who had been until then merely a spectator, to beat the bodies with a club, that he might be made to feel that he was a participator in the murder, and so refrain from ex- posing their crime. After securing whatever was then in the camp that they desired, they took up their line of march for the Maumee, avoiding, as far as possible, the Indian settle- ments on their course.
Wood left a wife to mourn his untimely fate, but Bishop was a single man. Their bodies were found in a day or two by the whites, under such circumstances, that evinced that they had been murdered by Indians, and a pursuit was forthwith commenced. The Indians liv- ing about the mouth of Portage river, had seen these straggling Indians passing eastward, now suspected them of the crime, and joined the whites in the pursuit. They were over- taken in the neighborhood of the Maumee river, brought back and examined before a magistrate. They confessed their crime and were committed to jail. At the trial the two principals were sentenced to be hung in June, 1819: the younger one was discharged. The county of Huron had at this time no secure jail, and they were closely watched by an armed guard. They nevertheless escaped one dark night. The guard fired and wounded one of them severely in the body, but he continued to run for several miles, till tired and faint with the loss of blood, he laid down, telling his companion he should die, and urging him to continue on. The wounded man was found after the lapse of two or three days, some- where in Penn township in a dangerous condition, but he soon recovered. The other was recaptured near the Maumee by the Indians, and brought to Norwalk, where they were both hanged according to sentence.
In this transaction, the various Indian tribes evinced a commen- dable willingness that the laws of the whites should be carried out. Many of them attended the execution, and only requested that the bodies of their comrades should not be disturbed in their graves.
There are several large and thriving villages in this county. con- taining each several churches and stores, and doing considerable business. Bellevue, 13 miles w. of Norwalk, on the county line and Mad river railroad, has a population of nearly 700. Paris, or Ply- mouth, is 20 miles ssw., on the county line, and the Sandusky City and Mansfield railroad, New Haven 17 ssw. of N., on the same railroad, and Monroeville, 5 w. of N., have each about 500 inhabi- tants. Maxville, or Peru, 6 ssw. of N., Steamburg, 10 s., and Fitch- ville, 12 SE., are of less note, though villages of importance.
JACKSON.
JACKSON was organized in March, 1816, and named from President Jackson. The surface is hilly, but in many parts produces excellent wheat. The county is rich in minerals, and abounds in coal and iron ore: and mining will be extensively prosecuted whenever com- munication is had with navigable waters by railroads. The early settlers were many of them western Virginians ; and a considerable portion of its present inhabitants are from Wales and Pennsylvania, who are developing its agricultural resources. The exports are
1
260
JACKSON COUNTY.
cattle, horses, wool, swine, mill-stones, lumber, tobacco and iron. The following is a list of its townships in 1840, with their population.
Bloomfield,
721
Jackson, 410
Milton, 912
Clinton,
824
Jefferson,
752
Richland, 548
Franklin, 1055
Liberty,
474
Scioto,
931
Hamilton,
415
Lick,
822
Washington, 481
Harrison,
378
Madison, 724
The population of Jackson, in 1820, was 3,842, in 1830, 5,941, and in 1840, 9,744 ; or 20 inhabitants to the square mile.
Mr. Samuel Davis, who is now residing in Franklin county, near Columbus, was taken prisoner by the Indians, and made his escape while within the present limits of this county. He was born in New England, moved to the west, and was employed by the governor of Kentucky as a spy against the Indians on the Ohio. The circum- stances of his captivity and escape are from his biography, by Col. John M'Donald.
In the fall of 1792, when the spies were discharged, Davis concluded he would make a winter's hunt up the Big Sandy river. He and a Mr. William Campbell prepared them- selves with a light canoe, with traps and ammunition, for a fall hunt. They set off from Massie's station, (Manchester,) up the Ohio; thence up Big Sandy some distance, hunting and trapping as they went along. Their success in hunting and trapping was equal to their expectation. Beaver and otter were plenty. Although they saw no Indian sign, they were very circumspect in concealing their canoe, either by sinking it in deep water, or conceal- ing it in thick willow brush. They generally slept out in the hills, without fire. This con- stant vigilance and care was habitual to the frontier men of that day. They hunted and trapped till the winter began to set in. They now began to think of returning, before the rivers would freeze up. They accordingly commenced a retrograde move down the river, trapping as they leisurely went down. They had been several days going down the river- they landed on a small island covered with willows. Here they observed signs of beaver. They set their traps, dragged their canoe among the willows, and remained quiet till late in the night. They now concluded that any persons, white, red, or black, that might hap- pen to be in the neighborhood, would be in their camp. They then made a small fire among the willows, cooked and eat their supper, and lay down to sleep without putting out their fire. They concluded that the light of their small fire could not penetrate through the thick willows. They therefore lay down in perfect self-security. Sometime before day, as they lay fast asleep, they were awakened by some fellows calling in broken English, " Come, come-get up, get up." Davis awoke from sleep, looked up, and, to his astonish- ment, found himself and companion surrounded by a number of Indians, and two standing over him with uplifted tomahawks. To resist, in such a case, would be to throw away their lives in hopeless struggle. They surrendered themselves prisoners.
The party of Indians, consisting of upwards of thirty warriors, had crossed the Ohio about the mouth of Guyandotte river, and passed through Virginia to a station near the head of Big Sandy. They attacked the station and were repulsed, after continuing their attack two days and nights. Several Indians were killed during the siege, and several wounded. They had taken one white man prisoner from the station, by the name of Daniels, and taken all the horses belonging to the station. The Indians had taken, or made, some canoes, in which they placed their wounded and baggage, and were descending the river in their canoes. As they were moving down in the night, they discovered a glimpse of Davis's fire through the willows. They cautiously landed on the island, found Davis and Campbell fast asleep, and awakened them in the manner above related.
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