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 73

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 73

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

When things are at their worst they begin to mend. The terrible evils . arising from intemperance finally startled the land. The first point in the reform was gained when as one entered a friend's house the latter no longer felt it a breach of hospitality not to give a sidewise toss of the head and an angular glance of an eye to the sideboard, and then with a smile of tender solicitude ask, " What will you have to drink ? "

And then farther along in the progress of the Temperance idea, when a stranger guest was present, the old, coarse, disgusting question, " What will you have to drink ?" was not put at all, and so when an invitation was extended it came from some old fossil of antiquated habits, moved by the spirit of sociality, who, in a hesitating, timid sort of manner, would inquire-" Do you ev-ever in-INDULGE?"

The Temperance Reforin began in 1832, and soon there came such a moral resurrection of the old-style American people as history has not seen-the banish- ment of intoxicating liquors as a common beverage from the homes of respectable families. Such a use had become disgraceful, for public opinion sustained what the enlightened moral sense could only contemplate with a loathing and a shudder.

This was a wonderful point gained and it came to stay, greatly blessing society.

526

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

But then in some few cases an unlooked-for extreme was reached : not only did such people banish alcoholic drinks from their homes but all sorts of stimulants, as tea and coffee ; and then came a ernsade against meat, inaugurated by Sylvester Graham, who advocated a purely vegetable diet as a preservative against a desire for stimulants. He had many followers : among his captives was Horace Greeley, who for a while lived in a vegetarian boarding house, and when there in a lady- boarder met the lady who captured him.

What may be termed a drinking song was a favorite at that time, which even a Cupid stricken youth of strict temperance proclivities might well sing without violating any canon of teetotalism. It was set to a very plaintive air. It is not thought Mr. Greeley ever sang it. It opened with

" Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine ; Oh, leave a kiss within the cup And I'll not ask for wine."

HARMER is on the Ohio river, at the mouth of the Muskingum river and opposite Marietta. It is on the C. W. & B. and M. C. & N. R. R. City officers, 1888 : Geo. P. Stevens, mayor; Henry Strecker, clerk ; A. W. Tomp- kins, treasurer; S. G. Stage, marshal; Sanford Loffland, street commissioner. Churches : 1 Congregational and 1 Methodist Episcopal.

Manufactures and Employees .- Harmar Foundry and Machine Co., 7 ; Strecker, Tompkins & Co., flour, etc., 7; George Strecker & Co., boilers, etc., 8; W. F. Robertson & Co., plows, etc., 37 .- Ohio State Report, 1888.

Population, 1880, 1,571. School census, 1888, 619; John D. Phillips, super- intendent of schools. Capital invested in manufacturing establishments, $51,000. Value of annual product, $91,000 .- Ohio Labor Statistics, 1888.

In June, 1890, Harmar lost its distinction as a corporation, having been annexed to Marietta, and its population, some 1700, is included in the census of that year.

BELPRE is on the Ohio river, twelve miles below Marietta and opposite Parkersburg, West Va., and on the C. W. & B. R. R. It has five churches. School census, 1888, 311 ; F. P. Ames, superintendent of schools.

BEVERLY is twenty-three miles above Marietta, on the bank of the Muskingum river and on the Z. & O. R. R. R. It has a normal school and is the seat of Beverly College ; W. C. Hawks, principal. City officers, 1888 : J. M. Truesdell, mayor; Chas. Wilson, clerk ; C. W. Reynolds, treasurer; Perley Chapman, marshal ; Chas. McCarty, street commissioner. Newspapers : Dispatch, Inde- pendent, Roberta Smith, editor and publisher. Churches : 1 Presbyterian, 1 Methodist and 1 Methodist Episcopal. Bank : Citizens', E. S. MeIntosh, presi- dent ; Chas. W. Reynolds, cashier. Population, 1880, 834. School census, 1888, 267.

WATERFORD is opposite it, on the west bank of the river.

LOWELL is on the Muskingum river, ten miles northwest of Marietta. Popu- lation, 1880, 322. School census, 1888, 150.

MATAMORAS, P. O. New Matamoras, is on the Ohio river, thirty-one miles above Marietta. Newspaper : Mail, Democrat, Geo. W. Tary, editor and pub- lisher. Churches : 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist. Popula- tion, 1880, 631.

MACKSBURG is sixteen miles north of Marietta, on the C. & M. R. R. School census, 1888, 248. This is in the once noted Macksburg oil district, for account of which sce Noble County.

UPPER NEWPORT, town with a population in 1890 of 1236, and LOWER NEWPORT, town with a population of 1169, are on the Ohio river, a few miles above Marietta.

527

WAYNE COUNTY.

WAYNE.

WAYNE COUNTY was established in 1796. The surface is mostly rolling, with numerous glades of level land ; the prevailing soil is a deep clayey loam, capable of the highest fertility. It has excellent coal mines and quarries of building, and is one of the best wheat counties of Ohio.

Area about 540 square miles. In 1887 the acres cultivated were 215,848; in pasture, 36,641; woodland, 55,274; lying waste, 4,950; produced in wheat, 886,580 bushels ; rye, 1,540; buckwheat, 307 ; oats, 942,657 ; barley, 2,613 ; corn, 947,969 ; broom corn, 3,495 lbs. brush ; meadow hay, 32,211 tons; clover hay, 31,328 ; flax, 174,565 lbs. fibre ; potatoes, 100,132 bushels ; tobacco, 147,685 lbs. ; butter, 1,039,793 ; cheese, 138,053; maple sugar, 15,148 lbs .; honey, 4,966; eggs, 950,512 dozen ; grapes, 63,463 lbs. ; wine, 1,312 gallons ; sweet potatoes, 235 bushels ; apples, 79,361 ; peaches, 26,549 ; pears, 3,701; wool, 134,874 lbs. ; milch cows owned, 10,770. Ohio Mining Statisties, 1888 : Coal, 91, 157 tons, employing 208 miners and 44 ontside employees. School census, 1888, 12,830 ; teachers, 354. Miles of railroad track, 153.

TOWNSHIPS AND CENSUS.

1840.

1880.

TOWNSHIPS AND CENSUS.

1840.

1880.

Baughman,

1,741

2,473

Lake,

1,145

Canaan,

1,826

2,135

Milton,

1,352

1,864

Chester,

1,985

2,105

Mohecan,

2,046

Chippewa,

1,787

3,527

Paint,

1,610

1,474

Clinton,

873

2,077

Perry,

2,100

Congress,

2,008

2,851

Plain,

2,134

1,993

East Union,

1,864

2,048

Salt Creek,

2,223

= 1,775

Franklin,

1,504

1,460

Sugar Creek,

2,223

2,093

Greene,

1,751

3,309

Wayne,

1,8441

1,831

Jackson,

1,645

Wooster,

3,119

7,061

Population of Wayne in 1820, 11,933; 1830, 23,327; 1840, 36,015; 1860, 32,483 ; 1880, 40,076 ; of whom 29,767 were born in Ohio ; 5,642, Pennsylvania ; 322, New York ; 243, Virginia; 227, Indiana ; 15, Kentucky ; 1,152, German Empire ; 348, Ireland ; 323, France ; 305, England and Wales; 98, Scotland ; 63, British America. Census, 1890, 39,005.

FORMATION AND ORIGINAL EXTENT.

Wayne county was established by proclamation of Gov. St. Clair, August 15, 1796, and was the third county formed in the Northwest Territory. Its original limits were very extensive, and were thus defined in the act creating it : " Begin- ning at the mouth of the Cuyahoga river, upon Lake Erie, and with the said river to the Portage, between it and the Tscarawas branch of the Muskingum ; thence down the said branch to the forks at the carrying place above Fort Laurens, thence" by a west line to the cast boundary of Hamilton county (which is a due north line from the lower Shawnese town upon the Seioto river), thence by a line west- northerly to the southern part of the Portage, between the Miamis of the Ohio and the St. Mary's river ; thence by a line also west-northerly to the southwestern part of the Portage, between the Wabash and the Miamis of Lake Erie, where Fort Wayne now stands ; thence by a line west-northerly to the southern part of Lake Michigan ; thence along the western shores of the same to the northwest part thereof (including the lands upon the streams emptying into the said lake) ; thence by a due north line to the territorial boundary in Lake Superior, and with

528

WAYNE COUNTY.

the said boundary through Lakes Huron, Sinclair and Erie to the mouth of Cuyahoga river, the place of beginning."

These limits embrace what is now a part of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and all of Michigan, and the towns of Ohio City, Chicago, Sault St. Mary's, Mackinaw, etc.

In February, 1846, the principal part of the townships of Jackson, Lake, Mohecan and Perry were taken from Wayne to form a part of the new county of Ashland.

This county was named from Gen. ANTHONY WAYNE. He was born in Chester county, Pa., January 1, 1745. After leaving school he became a surveyor, and paid some atten -. tion to philosophy and engineering, by which he obtained the friendship of Dr. Franklin, who became his patron. He entered the army of the revolution in 1775, and was made brigadier-general in 1777. He was in the army through the war, and particularly distinguished himself in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. His attack upon Stony Point, in July, 1779, an almost inaccessible height, defended by 600 men and a strong battery of artillery, was the most brilliant exploit of the war. At midnight he led his troops, with unloaded muskets, flints out, and fixed bayonets, and without firing a single gun, carried the fort by storm and took 543 prisoners. He was

struck, in the attack, by a musket-ball in the head, which was momentarily supposed to be' a mortal wound ; he called to his aids to carry him forward and let him die in the fort. The crowning acts of his life were his victory over the Indians on the Maumee, and the treaty of Greenville in 1795. His life of peril and glory was terminated in 1796, in a -- cabin at Presque Isle (now Erie, Pa.), then in the wilderness. His remains were there deposited, at his own request, under the flag-staff of the fort, on the margin of Lake Erie ; and were removed in 1809, by his son, to Radnor churchyard, Delaware county, Pa. Wayne was one of the best generals of the revolution. He was irresistible in leading a charge, and a man of great impetuosity of character, bordering on rashness ; but he conducted his last campaign with great caution and skill.

Kilbuck's creek, in this county, was named from Killbuck, a Delaware chief. His village, called Killbuck's town, was on the road from Wooster to Millers- burg, on the east side of the creek, about ten miles south of Wooster. It is laid down on maps published as early as 1764. When the country was first settled, Killbuck was a very old man. There were several chiefs by this name.

An Indian settlement stood just south of Wooster, on the site of the Baptist burying-ground. It was named Beaver-Hat, from an Indian chief of that name, who resided there with a few others. His Indian name was Paupelenan, and his camp or residence was called by him Apple chauquecake, i. e., "Apple Orchard." The Indian trail from Pittsburgh to Lower Sandusky passed just north of Beaver- Hat.

INDIAN TRAILS.

The Indians in their expeditions against the early settlers travelled a regular system of trails or paths as familiar to them as our highways and railroads are to us: it is a somewhat remarkable fact that many of our railroads follow the line of the same trails, they having served to point out to the engineer the best route. It is said that the carlier emigrants west of the Mississippi, aware of the singular engineering tact of the Indians (which is also possessed by the buffalo), never hesitated to follow an Indian or buffalo path, certain it would lead by the most . direct accessible route to its destination.

The early settlers soon acquired a knowledge of these trails, and by them traced marauding Indians to their villages. In later years they served as high- ways to the pioneers seeking future homes.

They were narrow paths through the forests and along the streams, more or less beaten and marked according to the amount of recent travel, and generally fol- lowed the banks of some water-course.

The first great trail was from Fort Du Quesne to Sandusky ; commencing at Pittsburg it ran northwest to the mouth of the Big Beaver, from there to the junction of the Sandy and Tuscarawas creeks at the south line of Stark county,

529

WAYNE COUNTY.

from thence northwest to Wayne county, passing south of where Wooster now is, crossing the Killbuck north of the bridge on the Ashland road ; continuing west passing near the present site of Reedsburg to Mohican Johnstown, crossing the Jerome fork of the Mohican ; thence west of north passing through Wyandot town (now Castalia) to Fort Sandusky on Sandusky bay and continuing on to Fremont; the entire distance covering 240 miles. This was a much travelled route probably for many years before white men were even known in this region. 3

This trail also branched off at Mohican Johnstown, passing through Plain township by the "Long Meadow " or perhaps a little south by Mohican John's Lake in Wayne county, thence across Killbuck some twelve . miles south of Wooster, where Rogers crossed that stream, and probably Col. Crawford also crossed and encamped near O'Dell's (formerly Mohican John's Lake) on his expedition to the Moravian settlement on Sandusky ercek, in Crawford county. There was another trail from Mohican Johnstown running north- west to Greentown, by or near the site of Goudy's old mill, to the Quaker springs in Vermillion township ; thence southwest over Honey creek to a point about three miles west of Perrysville. This trail, afterwards known as the Old Portage road, was the route of many of the pioneers in Green township. The trail continued in the direction of the site of Lucas to near Mansfield.

From Mohican Johnstown another trail ran up the Jerome fork, a favorite route of the Mohicans on their hunting excursions on

the Black river ; and the north part of Ash- land county, to the junction of the Catotaway in the eastern part of Montgomery township, where it crossed and passed near the residence of Moses Latta and Burkholder's mill, thence up the creek past the old Gierhart farm, where resided Catotaway, an old Indian hunter after whom the stream was named. There was another trail passed up in the direc- tion of Vermillion lake and down the Vermil- lion river. Various other trails generally fol- lowing the course of some stream branched out to different points.

At the early settlement of the country these trails were well marked and so worn by the Indians (who travel in single file) that they were easily followed by the pioneers. For the Indians they served as highways be- tween the Lake villages and those in the southern and in eastern parts of the State and in turn became the arteries through which flowed the hardy pioneers who re- deemed this great State from barbarism and developed its resources.

Wooster in' 1846 .- Wooster, the county-seat, named from Gen. David Wooster, an officer of the revolution, is 93 miles northeast of Columbus, and 52 southerly from Cleveland, on the stage road between the two places. It is situated near the junction of Apple with Killbuck ercek, on a gradual slope of ground, elevated about fifty feet above the latter, and is surrounded by a beautiful undulating country. To the south, from the more elevated parts of the town, is seen the beautiful valley of the Killbuck, stretching away for many miles, until the pros- pect is hid by the highlands in the county of Holmes, 12 or 14 miles distant. Wooster is compactly and well built, and is a place of much business. The view was taken near Archer's store, and shows a part of the public square, with the west side of Market street : the county buildings are shown on the left, and the spire of the Baptist church in the distance. The town contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Methodist, 1 German Lutheran, 1 German Reformed, 1 Seceder, 1 Disciples, 1 Lutheran, 1 Baptist church, a female seminary in, good repute, 4 grocery, 10 dry goods, 2 hardware, 2 book and 3 drug stores, 1 bank, and had, in 1840, 1913 inhabitants, and now is estimated to contain 2700. Carriage-making is exten- sively carried on .- Old Edition.

EARLY HISTORY.

This county lies within what was once called " the New Purchase," a very ex- tensive tract, lying south of the Reserve, east of the Tuscarawas, north of the Greenville treaty line, and extending as far west as the western line of the Reserve. The land office for this tract was at Canton, Col. Thomas Gibson, register, and Col. John Sloan, now of Wooster, receiver. The first lands were sold in this dis- triet at Canton, in 1808, when was purchased the sites of Mansfield, Richland county, Wooster, and a few scattering tracts in the purchase.

Wooster was laid out in the fall of 1808, by the proprietors, John Beaver, William Henry and Joseph H. Larwill, on a site 337 feet above Lake Erie. The

யர்.

١١

530

WAYNE COUNTY.

first house built in the county was a log structure now (1846) standing on Liberty street, in Wooster, immediately west of the residence of William Larwill. It was raised about the time the town was laid out, and was first occupied by William Larwill and Abraham Miller, a young man. The next spring the father of the latter moved in from Stark county, with his family-the first that settled in the town-and opened it as a house of entertaiment. About the same time, James Morgan, from Virginia, settled with his family on Killbuck, just north of the old Indian town. In 1810 the yellow brick building on the north side of Liberty street, adjoining the public square, was erected by John Beaver, being the first brick edifice erected in the county. In the fall of 1808 a road was cut from what is now Massillon to Wooster, which was, it is said, the first road made in the county. The first State road running through the county, from Canton to Wooster, was laid out in 1810, by the commissioners.

When Wooster was settled there were no white inhabitants between it and the lake; on the west, none short of the Maumee, Fort Wayne and Vincennes ; on the south, none until within a few miles of Coshocton, and those on the Tuscarawas were the nearest on the east. Wooster was made the seat of justice for the county, May 30, 1811. Previously, the whole county was comprised in Killbuck town- ship, which had, by the census of 1810, but 320 inhabitants. Wooster was not the first county-seat. The spot chosen by the first commissioners was on an emi- nenee now known as Madison hill, about 1} miles southeast of the town, on land then owned by Bezalcel Wells & Co., which place they called Madison. But a single cabin was afterwards built there. The selection displeased the people of the county, which resulted in the legislature appointing new commissioners, who lo- cated it at Wooster.

The first mill was erected in the county in 1809, by Joseph Stibbs, of Canton, on Apple creek, about a mile east of Wooster. Some time after, Stibbs sent a man by the name of Michael Switzer, who opened for him, in a small building attached to the mill, the store, consisting of a small stock of goods suitable for the settlers and Indians.

One morning a singular incident occurred. In the store was William Smith, Hugh Moore, Jesse Richards, J. H. Larwill and five or six Indians. Switzer was in the act of weighing out some powder from an eighteen-pound keg, while the Indians were quietly smoking their pipes filled with a mixture of tobacco, sinach leaves and kinmniekinnick, or yellow willow bark, when a puff of wind coming in at the window, blew a spark from one of their pipes into the powder. A. terrific explosion ensued. The roof of the building was blown into four parts, and carried some distance; the sides fell out, the joists came to the floor, and the floor and chimney alone were left of the structure. Switzer died in a few min- utes. Smith was blown through the partition into the mill, and badly injured. Richards and the Indians were also Innt, and all somewhat burned. Larwill, who happened to be standing against the chimney, escaped with very little harm, except having, like the rest, his face well blackened, and being knocked down by the shock.

The Indians, fearful that they might be accused of doing it intentionally, some days after called a council of citizens for an investigation, which was held on the bottom, on Christmas run, west of the town.

In the war of 1812 a block-house was erected in Wooster, on the site of Col. John Sloan's residence. It was built by Captain George Stidger, of Cantou, and was intended more particularly for a company he had here and other troops who might be passing through the country .- Old Edition.

WOOSTER, county-seat of Wayne, ninety-three miles northeast of Columbus, on the P. Ft. W. & C. R. R., is near the jmetion of Apple creek with Killbuck. It is the seat of Wooster University.

County officers, 1888 : Auditor, Thomas E. Peckinpaugh ; Clerk, Eli Zaring ; Commissioners, Imeien Graber, Jacob Hess, Andrew Oberlin ; Coroner, Solon

Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846.

PUBLIC SQUARE, WOOSTER.

Teeples, Photo., 1887.

PUBLIC SQUARE, WOOSTER

531

WAYNE COUNTY.

533

Boydston ; Infirmary Directors, Joseph Marshall, Francis Little, Elias Langell ; Probate Judge, Hiram B. Swartz ; Prosecuting Attorney, Asbury D. Metz ; Re- corder, Joseph A. Schuch ; Sheriff, Ethan A. Brown ; Surveyor, Philip Markley ; Treasurer, Rezin B. Wasson. City officers, 1888 : J. R. Woodworth, Mayor ; C. C. Adams, Clerk ; Philip Elisperman, Marshal ; Edward Miller, Street Com- missioner. Newspapers : Republican, Republican, H. N. Clemens, editor and pub- lisher ; Jacksonian, Democrat, J. F. Marchands, editor and publisher ; Journal, German-Democrat, M. E. Weixelbaum, editor and publisher ; University Voice, College, Chas. K. Carpenter and Chas. M. Mains, editors and publishers ; Wayne County Democrat, Democrat, E. B. Eshelman, editor ; Wayne County Herald, Prohibition, J. W. Campbell, editor ; Collegian, Students of Wooster University, editors and publishers ; Royal Arcanum Journal, Order of the Royal Arcanum, T. E. Peckinpaugh, editor and publisher. Churches: 1 Catholic, 1 German- Lutheran, 2 Presbyterian, 1 German Reformed, 1 Lutheran, 2 Methodist, 1 Bap- tist, 1 United Presbyterian, 1 Reformed. Banks : National Bank of Wooster, John Zimmerman, president ; Curtis V. Hard, cashier ; Wayne County National, Jacob Frick, president; A. G. Coover, cashier.

Manufactures and Employees : Plank Bros., flour and feed ; Hartman & Durstine, sash, doors and blinds, 24 hands ; Standard Coach Pad Co., coach pads, etc., 34; Landis & George, furniture ; D. W. Immel, tannery ; Fred. Weis, lager beer; J. R. Naftzger, flour and feed ; Wooster Brush Works, brushes, 27; C. K. Bowman, rye whiskey ; M. P. Huston, laundrying, 6; E. Thoman, tannery ; Wooster Co-operative Foundry Co., 12; D. C. Curry & Co., sash, doors and blinds, 24; Overholt & Co., flour and feed, 20; W. Young, bottling works; Alcock & Donald, granite works ; B. Barrett's Sons, general machinery, 10; W. H. Banker, carriages ; Underwood Whip Co., whips, 64 .- State Report, 1888. Population, in 1890, 5,901 School census, in 1888, 1,950; W. S. Eversole, school superintendent. Capital invested in industrial establishments, $256,000. Value of annual product, $371,000 .- Ohio Labor Statistics, 1887.

The UNIVERSITY OF WOOSTER was founded in 1868 by the Ohio, Cincinnati and Sandusky Synods of the Presbyterian Church. Ephraim Quinby, Jr., a wealthy and liberal citizen of Wooster, generously offered a handsome site on an elevated knoll, containing twenty-one acres of oak forest. The citizens of Wayne county raised a subscription of more than $100,000, which they offered for the ercetion of a building on the Quinby grounds. Over $250,000 in other sub- scriptions was raised by the executive committee of the university by October, 1869. The institution was formally opened and dedicated with appropriate cere- monies on September 7, 1870.

The university has been very successful from the start. In 1877 it graduated from its collegiate department the largest number of classical alumni of any college in Ohio. In 1889 it had 24 instructors ; 451 male and 225 female students, graduating in that year 32 male and 12 female students. Since its founding it lias graduated 434 male and 76 female students. It has property valued at $385,000, and its library contains 11,000 volumes. Sylvester F. Scovel, president.

HISTORICAL MISCELLANY.

The following miscellaneous collection of incidents and experiences is extracted and abridged from the valuable "History of Wayne County," by Mr. Ben. Douglas, of Wooster :

INDIAN WANTED GREASE.

John Butler, a justice of the peace, of Franklin township, had raised considerable corn in the bottoms, and had a good many hogs. A gang of Indians passed one day and shot one of them. Mr. Butler followed after,

and found them encamped in the region of the present site of Shreve. He went to the chief and told him the circumstance, and that he must pay him. The chief went to the thief and told him he must pay for the hog. He asked him why he had killed the hog, and the Indian replied, "I wanted grease."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 73

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