Historical collections of Ohio in three volumes ; an encyclopedia of the state : with notes of a tour over it in 1886 contrasting the Ohio of 1846 with 1886-90, Vol. III, Part 66

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Columbus, Ohio : Henry Howe & Son
Number of Pages: 1200

USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio in three volumes ; an encyclopedia of the state : with notes of a tour over it in 1886 contrasting the Ohio of 1846 with 1886-90, Vol. III > Part 66

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" From that time forward, notwithstanding the doubt yet existing as to the Indians, all at Marietta went on prosperously and pleasantly. On the second of September, the first court was held, with becoming ceremonies," which was the first civil court ever convened in the territory northwest of the Ohio.

"The procession was formed at the Point (where most of the settlers resided), in the following order :- Ist. The high sheriff, with his drawn sword ; 2d, the citizens ; 3d, the officers of the garrison at Fort Harmar ; 4th, the members of the bar; 5th, the supreme judges; 6th, the governor and clergyman; 7th, the newly appointed judges of the court of common pleas, Generals Rufus Putnam and Benj. Tupper.

"They marched up a path that had been cnt and cleared through the forest to Campus Martius Hall (stockade), where the whole counter-marched, and the judges (Putnam and Tupper) took their seats. The clergy- man, Rev. Dr. Cutler, then invoked the di- vine blessing. The sheriff, Col. Ebenezer Sproat (one of nature's nobles), proclaimed with his solemn 'O yes,' that a court is

opened for the administration of even-handed justice to the poor and the rich, to the guilty and the innocent, without respect of persons : , none to be punished without a trial by their peers, and then in pursuance of the laws and evidence in the case. Although this scene was exhibited thus early in the settlement of the State, few ever equalled it in the dignity and exalted character of its principal partici- pators. Many of them belong to the history of our country, in the darkest as well as most splendid periods of the revolutionary war. To witness this spectacle, a large body of Indians was collected, from the most powerful tribes then occupying the ahnost entire west. They had assembled for the purpose of making a treaty. Whether any of them en- tered the hall of justice, or what were their. impressions, we are not told."

"The progress of the settlement [says a letter from the Muskingum] is suffi- ciently rapid for the first year. We are continually erecting houses, but arrivals are faster than we can possibly provide convenient covering. Our first ball was opened about the middle of December, at which were fifteen ladies, as well accomplished in the manners of polite circles as any I have ever seen in the old

475

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A Plan

of Campus Martius

D. Block Houses of Hewed Logs.

atthe City of Marietta

Territory of the

G. Gate ways,

United States SP

P. Dwelling Houses

of the River Ohio.

B Watch Tower

P PGP P

PLAN OF CAMPUS MARTIUS.

(

-----

P P

G PP

Explanations:

477

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

States. I mention this to show the progress of society in this new world ; where, I believe, we shall vie with, if not excel, the old States, in every accomplishment necessary to render life agreeable and happy."

CAMPUS MARTIUS.

Soon after the landing, preparations were made to build the stoekaded fort, Campus Martius, to which allusion has already been made; and although it was begun in the course of that year, it was not entirely completed with palisades and outworks, or bastions, until the winter of 1791.

The walls formed a regular parallelogram, the sides of which were 180 feet each. At each corner was erected a strong block-house, surmounted by a tower and sentry box. These houses were 20 feet square below and 24 feet above, and projected 6 feet beyond the curtains, or main walls of the fort. The intermediate curtains were built up with dwelling-houses, made of wood, whip-sawed into timbers four inches thick, and of the requisite width and length. These were laid up similar to the structure of log-houses, with the ends nicely dove-tailed or fitted to- gether so as to make a neat finish. The whole were two stories high, and covered with good shingle roofs. Convenient chin- neys were erected of bricks, for cooking and warming the rooms. A number of the. dwelling houses were built and owned by private individuals, who had families. In the west and south fronts were strong gate- ways ; and over that, in the centre of the front looking to the Muskingum river, was a belfry. The chamber underneath was occu- pied by the Hon. Winthrop Sargent, as an office, he being secretary to the governor of the N. W. Territory, General St. Clair, and performing the duties of governor in his absence. This room projected over the gate- way, like a block-house, and was intended for the protection of the gate beneath in time of an assault.

At the outer corner of each block-house was erected a bastion, standing on four stout timbers. The floor of the bastion was a little above the lower story of the block-house. They were square, and built up with thick planks to the height of a man's head, so that when he looked over he stepped on a narrow platform, or "banquet," running round the sides of the bulwark. Port-holes were made for musketry, as well as for artillery, a single piece of which was mounted in the southwest and northeast bastions. In these the sentries were regularly posted every night, as more convenient of access than the towers ; a door leading into them from the upper story of the block-houses. The lower room of the south- west block-house was occupied for a guard- house. Running from corner to corner of the block-honses was a row of palisades, sloping outwards, and resting on stout rails. Twenty feet in advance of these was a row of very strong and large pickets, set upright in the earth.

Gateways through these admitted the in- mates of the garrison. A few feet beyond

the outer palisades was placed a row of abatis, made from the tops and branches of trees, sharpened and pointing outwards, so that it would have been very difficult for an enemy to have penetrated even within their outworks. The dwelling houses occupied a space from 15 to 30 feet each, and were sufficient for the- accommodation of forty or fifty families, and did actually contain from 200 to 300 persons, men, women and children, during the Indian war.

Before the Indians commenced hostilities, the block-houses were oeeupied as follows :- the southwest one by the family of Gov. St. Clair ; the northwest one for public worship and holding of courts. The southeast block- house was occupied by private families ; and the northeast as an office for the accommoda- tion of the directors of the company. The area within the walls was 144 feet square, and afforded a fine parade-ground. In the centre was a well, 80 feet in depth, for the supply of water to the inhabitants in case of a- siege. A large sun-dial stood for many years in the square, placed on a handsome post, and gave note of the inarch of time. It is still preserved as a relic of the old gar- rison.

After the war commenced, a regular mili- tary corps was organized, and a guard con- stantly kept night and day. The whole es- tablishment formed a very strong work, and reflected great credit on the head that planned it. It was in a manner impregnable to the attacks of Indians, and none but a regular army with cannon could have reduced it. It is true, that the heights across the Muskin- gum commanded and looked down upon the defences of the fort ; but there was no enemy in a condition to take possession of this ad- vantage.

The garrison stood on the verge of that beau- tiful plain on the east side of and overlooking. the Muskingum, on which are seated those celebrated remains of antiquity ; and erceted probably for a similar purpose, the defence of the inhabitants. The ground descends into shallow ravines on the north and south sides ; on the west is an abrupt descent to the river bottoms, or alluvions; and the cast passed out on to the level plain. On this the ground was cleared of trees beyond the reach of rifle shots, so as to afford no shelter to a hidden foe. Extensive fields of corn were grow- ing in the midst of the standing girdled trees beyond. The front wall of the garrison was about 150 yards from the

٩٠,

478

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

Muskingum river. The appearance of the fort from without was grand and imposing ; at a little distance resembling one of the mili- tary palaces or castles of the feudal ages. Between the outer palisades and the river were laid out neat gardens for the use of Gov. St. Clair and his secretary, with the officers of the company.

Opposite the fort, on the shore of the river, was built a substantial timber wharf, at which was moored a fine cedar barge for twelve rowers, built by Capt. Jonathan Devoll, for Gen. Putnam ; a number of pirogues, and the light eanoes of the country ; and last, not

least, "the May-Flower," or " Adventure Galley," in which the first detachment of colonists were transported from the shores of the Yohiogany to the banks of the Muskin- gum. In these, especially the canoes, during the war, most of the communications were carried on between the settlements of the company and the more remote towns above on the Ohio river. Travelling by land was very hazardous to any but the rangers or spies. There were no roads nor bridges across the creeks, and for many years after the war had ceased the travelling was nearly all done by canoes on the rivers.

The names of the first forty-eight settlers at MARIETTA are, General Rufus Putnam, superintendent of the colony ; Colonels Ebenezer Sproat, Return J. Meigs, and Major Anselm Tupper and John Mathews, surveyors ; Major Haffield White, steward and quartermaster; Captains Jonathan Devol, Josiah Munro, Daniel Davis, Peregrine Foster, Jethro Putnam, William Gray and Ezekiel Cooper ; Jabez Barlow, Daniel Bushnell, Phineas Coburn, Ebenezer Cory, Samuel Cushing, Jervis Cutler, Israel Danton, Jonas Davis, Allen Devol, Gilbert Devol, Jr., Isaac Dodge, Oliver Dodge, Samuel Felshaw, Hezekiah Flint, Hezekiah Flint, Jr., John Gardner, Benjamin Griswold, Elizur Kirtland, Theophilus Learned, Joseph Lincoln, Simeon Martin, William Mason, Henry Maxon, Wil- liam Miller, Edmund Moulton, William Moulton, Amos Porter, Allen Putnam, Benjamin Shaw, Earl Sproat, David Wallis, Joseph Wells, Josiah White, Peletiah White, Josiah Whitridge.

Other settlers who came the first season to Marietta, as far as recollected, were as follows:

Of the agents, were Winthrop Sargeant, secretary of the territory, Judges Parsons and Varnum of the settlers, Capt. Dana, Joseph Barker, Col. Battelle, Major Tyler, Dr. True, Capt. Lunt, the Bridges, Thomas Cory, An- drew M'Clure, Thomas Lord, Wm. Gridley, Moody, Russels, Deavens, Oakes, Wright, Clough, Green, Shipman, Dorrance, the Maxons, Wells, etc. The first boat of fami- lies arrived on the 19th of August, in the same season, consisting of Gen. Tupper's, Col. Ichabod Nye's, Col. Cushing's, Major Coburn's, and Major Goodale's.

In the spring of 1789 settlements were pushed out to Belpre, Waterford, and Duek creek, where they began to clear and plant the land, build houses and stockades. Among the first settlers at WATERFORD were Benja- min Convers, Gilbert Devol. sen .; Phineas Coburn, Wm. Gray, Col. Robert Oliver, Major Haffield White, Andrew Story, Samuel Cushing, John Dodge, Allen and Gideon Devol, George, William, and David Wilson, Joshna Sprague, with his sons William and Jonathan. Capt. D. Davis, Phineas Coburn, Andrew Webster, Eben Ayres, Dr. Farley, David Brown, A. Kelly, James and Daniel Convers.

At Belpre (the French for "beautiful meadow ") were three stockades, the upper, lower, and middle; the last of which was called "farmer's castle," which stood on the banks of the Ohio, nearly, if not quite, oppo- site the beautiful island, since known as "Blannerhasset's," the scene of "Burr's con-

spiraey." Among the persons at the upper were Capt. Dana, Capt. Stone, Col. Bent, Wm. Browning, Judge Foster, John Rowse, Mr. Keppel, Israel Stone. At farmer's castle were Col. Cushing, Major Haskel, Aaron Waldo Putnam, Col. Fisher, Mr. Sparhawk, and it is believed George and Israel Putnam, .jr. At the lower were Major Goodale, Col. Rice, Esq. Pierce, Judge Israel Loring, Dea- con Miles, Major Bradford, and Mr. Goodenow. In the summer of 1789 Col. Ichabod Nye and some others built a block-house at New- berry, below Belpre. Mr. Nye sold his lot there to Aaron N. Clough, who, with Stephen Guthrie, Jos. Leavins, Joel Oakes, Eleazer Curtis, Mr. Denham, J. Littleton, and a Mr. Brown, were located at that place during the subsequent Indian war.

Every exertion possible for men in these eireumstances was made to secure food and prepare for future difficulties. Col. Oliver, Major Haffield White, and John Dodge, of the Waterford settlement, began mills on Wolf creek, about three miles from the fort, and got them running; and these, the first mills in Ohio, were never destroyed during the subsequent Indian war, though the pro- prietors removed their families to the fort at Marietta. Col. E. Sproat and Enoch Shep- hard began mills on Duck creek, three miles from Marietta, from the completion of which they were driven by the Indian war. Thomas Stanley began mills higher up, near the Dnek Creek settlement ; these were likewise unfinished. The Ohio Company built a large horse mill near Campus Martius, and soon after, a floating mill.

479

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

-4

FARMER'S CASTLE (BELPRE), 1791.

Belpre, 12 miles below Marietta, was the next place settled after it. The garrison was under military discipline, and religious services and schools were at once established. Over two hundred men, women and children lived in Farmer's Castle and in Goodale and Stone's garrisons, two smaller defences on either side of the castle.

Nye's Reminiscences .- During the Indian war, which soon succeeded the first settlements, the inhabitants suffered much for the necessaries of life. Although some of the settlers were killed, and others carried into captivity, yet the massacre at Big Bottom (see Morgan County) was the most alarming event. The escape of the settlers from greater suffering from this source was owing to the strong fortifications erected, and the admirable judgment and foresight they displayed in taking precautions against danger. Among the incidents connected with the troubles with the Indians, to which we have barely space to allude, was the

FORT FRYE, WATERFORD, 1792.

taking prisoner at Waterford of Daniel Convers (then a lad of 16, now (1846) of Zanesville), who was carried to Detroit ; the murder of Warth while at work near Fort Harmar; the taking prisoner of Major Goodale, of Belpre, who was, it is supposed, murdered ; the death of Capt. Rogers, who was out with Mr. Hender- son, as a spy, and was killed near the Muskingum, about a mile from Marietta ; the death of a Mr. Waterman, near Waterford, and the narrow escape of Return

480

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

J. Meigs, into Fort Harmar, by his fleetness of foot while pursued by the enemy. On the other hand retaliation was in a measure inflicted upon the Indians, and among those most active in this duty was Hamilton Carr, a man eminently distinguished as an Indian hunter and spy.

During the war a stockade was erected near the mouth of Olive Green creek, above Waterford, which became the frontier garrison, and had in it about seven or eight men and boys able to bear arms, called Fort Frye. Just before Wayne's victory, Aug. 4, 1794, they lost one man, a Mr. Abel Sherman, who went into the woods incautiously, and was killed by the Indians. A tombstone with a scalped head rudely carved upon it marks the spot where he lies.

Among the inmates of this garrison was . little over twenty-one years of age. He con- Geo. Ewing, Esq., father of the Hon. Thos. tinued to serve, with a few short intermis- sions, during the war. When the bonds fell due, they were paid in continental money, which, proving worthless, reduced him to poverty. In 1785 he migrated to the West, and remained on the Virginia side of the Ohio until 1792, when he crossed over and settled at Olive Green. Ewing. His fortune and history were similar to that of many of the revolutionary officers who emigrated tothe West at that early day. He inherited a handsome patrimony and sold it, investing the proceeds in bonds and mort- gages, and entered the continental army as a subaltern officer in 1775, he being then but

From the communication of one of the early settlers at Olive Green we annex some facts respecting their privations and the discovery of a salt well.

The inhabitants had among them but few of what we consider the necessaries and con- venienees of life. Brittle wares, such as earthen and glass, were wholly unknown, and but little of the manufactures of steel and iron, both of which were exceedingly dear. Iron and salt were procured in exchange for ginseng and peltry, and carried on pack horses from Ft. Cumberland or Chambersburg. It was no uncommon thing for the garrison to be wholly without salt for months, subsisting upon fresh meat, milk and vegetables, and bread made of corn pounded in a mortar- they did not yet indulge in the luxury of the hand-mill.

There had been an opinion, founded upon the information of the Indians, that there were salt springs in the neighborhood, but the spot was carefully concealed. Shortly after Wayne's victory, in 1794, and after the in-' habitants had left the garrison and gone to

their farms, a white man, who had been long a prisoner with the Indians, was released and returned to the settlements. He stopped at Olive Green, and there gave an account of the salt springs, and directions for finding them. A party was immediately formed (of whom George Ewing, Jr., then a lad of 17, was one), who, after an absence of seven or eight days, returned, to the great joy of the. inhabitants, with about a gallon of salt, which they had made in their camp kettle. This was, as I think, in August, 1795. A supply, though a very small one, was made there that season for the use of the frontier settlement.

Whether this salt spring was earlier known to the whites I am unable to say. It may have been so to spies and explorers, and per- haps to the early missionaries ; but this was the first discovery which was made available to the people.

Marietta in 1846 .-- Marietta, the county-seat, and the oldest town in Ohio, is on the left bank of the Muskingum, at its confluence with the Ohio, 104 miles southeast of Columbus. It is built principally upon a level plot of ground, in the midst of most beautiful scenery. Many of the dwellings are constructed with great neatness, and embellished with handsome door-yards and highly cultivated gardens. Its inhabitants are mostly of New England descent, and there are few places in our country that can compare with this in point of morality and intel- ligence-but few of its size with so many cultivated and literary men. Marietta contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal, 1 Baptist, 1 Methodist, 1 German Method- ist, 1 Universalist and 1 Catholic church ; a male and female academy, in excel- lent repute ; a college, 2 public libraries, 1 bank, 1 or 2 printing offices, a variety of mechanical and manufacturing establishments, about 20 mercantile stores, and in 1840 had a population of 1814. Ship-building, which was carried on very extensively at an early day, and then for a season abandoned, has again been commenced, and is now actively prosecuted. From the year 1800 to 1807 the

برالل صوص

481

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

business was very thriving. Com. Abm. Whipple, a veteran of the revolution, conducted the one first built, the St. Clair, to the ocean .- Oll Edition.

MHHWHIP

Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846. MARIETTA COLLEGE.

At that time Marietta was made "a port of clearance," from which vessels could re- ceive regular papers for a foreign country. " "This circumstance was the cause of a curious incident, which took place in the year 1806 or 1807. A ship, built at Marietta, cleared from that port with a cargo of pork, flour, etc., for New Orleans. From thence she sailed to England with a load of cotton, and being chartered to take a cargo to St. Peters- burg, the Americans being at that time car- riers for half the world, reached that port in safety. Her papers being examined by a naval officer, and dating from the port of . and respect." Marietta, Ohio, she was seized upon the plea

of their being a forgery, as no such port was known in the civilized world. With consid- erable difficulty the captain procured a map of the United States, and pointing with his finger to the mouth of the Mississippi, traced the course of that stream to the mouth of the Ohio ; from thence he led the astonished and admiring naval officer along the devious track of the latter river to the port of Marietta, at the mouth of the Muskingum, from whence he had taken his departure. This explana- tion was entirely satisfactory, and the Ameri- can was dismissed with every token of regard

Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846. MARIETTA, FROM THE WEST VIRGINIA SHORE.

Marietta College was chartered in 1835. It was mainly established with a view to meet demands in the West for competent teachers and ministers of the

482

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

gospel. The institution ranks high among others of the kind, and its officers of instruction are such as to merit the confidence of the enlightened patrons of thorough education. A new college edifice has lately been reared, and from the indications given, the prospects of the institution for a generous patronage are highly anspicious. The catalogue for 1846-7 gives the whole number of students at 177, of whom 60 were undergraduates, and 117 in the preparatory academy. The officers are Henry Smith, M. A., president ; John Kendrick, M. A., J. Ward Andrews, M. A., and Hiram Bingham, M. A., professors ; Samuel Maxwell," M. A., principal of the academy, and Geo. A. Rosseter, M. A., tutor .- Old Edi- tion.

The first president was Rev. Dr. Joel H. Lindsey, from 1835 to 1846 ; then Rev. Dr. Henry-Smith, until 1855. He was succeeded by Rev. Dr. J. W. An- drews, who held the office until 1885, when Hon. John Eaton succeeded him.

From its beginning the college has been doing a beneficent work. The follow- ing copy of a letter from the late Rev. Dr. Andrews, ex-president, to Henry Howe is in point :

MARIETTA COLLEGE, O., June 4, 1887.

Dear Sir : At the request of President Eaton, the following names of some of the more eminent of the graduates of Marietta College are sent to you. As your request had refer- ence to what the college lias accomplished, the list includes a few who are not now living.

JOSEPHI PERKINS, Esq., late of Cleveland, an eminent citizen and philanthropist as well as a man of business. He was one whom all men delighted to honor. REV. JOSEPH F. TUTTLE, D. D., LL. D., President of Wabash College, and Trustee of Lane Theological Seminary.

Professor EBENEZER B. ANDREWS, LI. D., for many years Professor of Geology in the college, and afterwards one of the State Geological Corps.

Rev. GEORGE M. MAXWELL, D. D., since 1865 a Trustee of the College, and for many years President of the Trustees of Lane Seminary.

Professor GEORGE R. ROSSETER, LL. D., from 1868 till his death in 1882 Professor of Mathematics in the college. Gen. WILLARD WARNER, LL. D., a distinguished officer in the Union army, a former Senator of the United States from Alabama, and an eminent and successful manufacturer. Rev. ALOAN H. WASHBURN, D. D., a distinguished clergyman of Cleveland, who lost his life at the Ashtabula disaster. Hon. JOSEPH G. WILSON, LL. D., one of the Supreme Judges of Oregon, and member-elect of Congress at the time of his death in 1873. Hon. WILLIAM IRWIN, LL. D., late Governor of California. Professor GEORGE H. HOWISON, LL. D., Professor of Metaphysics in the University of California. Hon. MARTIN D. FOLLETT, one of the Supreme Judges of Ohio, and a Trustee of Marietta College since 1871.

Hon. ALFRED T. GOSHORN, LL. D., Director-General of the National Centennial Exposi- tion of 1876, and Trustee of the College. Hon. JOHN F. FOLLETT, LL. D., a lawyer of Cin- cinnati, and late Member of Congress. Rev. JOHN HI. SHEDD, D. D., missionary to Persia. Gen. BENJAMIN D. FEARING, a distinguished officer in the Union army. Professor DAVID E. BEACH, D. D., Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy at Marietta. Professor JOHN N. LYLE, Ph. D., Professor of Mathematics in Westminster College, Mo. Gen. RUFUS R. DAWES, an eminent officer in the army, late Member of Congress, and Trustce of the College sinee 1871. Professor WILLIAM G. BALLANTINE; D. D., Professor of Old Testa- ment Language and Literature, Oberlin Theological Seminary. Doctor LEONARD WALDO, Astronomer at the Yale Observatory.

Professor OSCAR II. MITCHELL, Ph. D., Professor of Mathematies at Marietta.

Yours truly, J. W. ANDREWS. ' Is.

HENRY HOWE, Esq.

MARIETTA, county-seat of Washington, is on the Ohio river, at the mouth of the Muskingum river, about ninety miles southeast of Columbus, 206 miles east of Cincinnati, at the termini of the C. W. & B., C. & M. and M. C. & N. Rail- roads. It is the seat of Marietta College.

County Officers, 1888 : Auditor, David HI. Merill ; Clerk, Wesley G. Barth- alow ; Commissioners, J. Warren Thornily, Thomas Fleming, Mason Gorby ; Coroner, John J. Neuer ; Infirmary Directors, William T. Harness, JJames F. Briggs ; Robert T. Miller, Jr. ; Probate Judge, William H. Leeper ; Prosecuting Attorney, John W. McCormick ; Recorder, John W. Steele ; Sheriff, Arthur B. Little; Surveyor, William Eldridge ; Treasurer, Thomas J. Connor. City

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Historical collections of Ohio in three volumes ; an encyclopedia of the state : with notes of a tour over it in 1886 contrasting the Ohio of 1846 with 1886-90, Vol. III, Part 66

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893 Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Columbus, Ohio : Henry Howe & Son Number of Pages: 1200

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Columbus, Ohio : Henry Howe & Son
Number of Pages: 1200