USA > Ohio > History and geography of Ohio > Part 16
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Madison. Madison County, named in honor of James Madison, fourth President of the United States, was first settled in 1796.
London, the county seat, has won fame throughout the Central and Western states because of its live-stock sales. These sales have occurred monthly since 1856.
Madison County is the birthplace of Jonathan Alder, who was captured when a boy by the Indians and lived among them for twenty-four years.
Mahoning. Mahoning County derived its name from the river. Mahoning is an Indian word meaning "at the lick."
Youngstown, the county seat, was named after John Young of New Hampshire, who platted the town in 1797. David Tod, one of Ohio's Civil War governors, was born here. This city is located in a rich mineral region and is noted for its coal and iron industries.
Marion. Marion County was named in honor of General Francis Marion of South Carolina, a noted Revolutionary officer.
Marion, the county seat, is today famous as the home of our President, Warren G. Harding. The city was laid out in 1821, and has become an important railroad and manufacturing center.
Medina. Medina, the county seat of this county, was called Mecca in early days in honor of the Arabian city, Mecca, the birthplace of Mahomet. The city is located in the center of a fertile farming region, the principal products being grain, butter, and cheese.
Medina County was the scene of the "Great Hinckley Hunt" on December 24, 1818, when 400 men engaged in ridding the county of wolves, bears, and deer.
Meigs. Meigs County was named in honor of Governor Return Jonathan Meigs. The first settlers came from Washington County.
Pomeroy, the county seat, is located on the Ohio River. It is an important center for a large mining district.
The county is noted for its coal, salt, and iron industries.
FIG. 163. Panorama of Toledo, Ohio, showing the East Side coal docks
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240
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
Mercer. Mercer County was named for General Hugh Mercer, who was killed while fighting at the battle of Princeton in 1777.
St. Clair's defeat took place in the southwestern corner of the county, near the Indiana state line. The town of Fort Recovery
FIG. 164. Where flour is packed and weighed
At the end of the milling process, thirty or more streams of flour are mixed together and discharged into hoppers above the packing machines. Each packing machine can be adjusted to fit the size of the sack being filled. As the flour pours from the hopper into the sack, a revolving spiral blade or auger forces it down into the sack, and si- multaneously the platform on which the sack stands is automatically lowered. When the sack is filled it is removed and weighed, (Courtesy of the National Milling Com- pany, Toledo, Ohio)
now marks the site where his army was destroyed. It is located about fifteen miles from Celina, in a gas region.
Near Celina is the Mercer County reservoir, which feeds sixty miles of canal and is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world.
Miami. The word Miami in the Indian language means "mother."
The county abounds in excellent limestone and has a vast amount of water-power. In agricultural resources it is one of the richest counties in the state.
Troy, the county seat, is the center of a fertile agricultural region.
24I
THE COUNTIES OF OHIO
Piqua, located on the old Miami and Erie Canal about eight miles north of Troy, has extensive manufactures (Fig. 165).
Monroe. Monroe County was named in honor of James Monroe of Virginia, who was the fifth President of the United States.
FIG. 165. Knitting room in a hosiery company
In the foreground of this picture are the large bobbins on which the thread is wound. In the background are the latch needle machines on which the hosiery is knit. (Courtesy of the Piqua Hosiery Company, Piqua, Ohio)
The first settlement was made near the mouth of Sunfish Creek in 1799. Many of the original settlers came from western Pennsyl- vania. One township was settled by Swiss. Woodsfield, the county seat, was founded in 1815 by Archibald Woods.
Montgomery. Montgomery County was named for General Rich- ard Montgomery, an officer of the Revolutionary War, killed in the attack on Quebec.
Among its early settlers was Colonel Robert Patterson, who was the original proprietor of Lexington, Kentucky.
Dayton, the sixth city of Ohio, was the meeting place of a great Harrison convention in 1840. The National Military Home for dis- abled volunteer soldiers is located here. The city is also noted as the home of the National Cash Register industry (Fig. 166).
242
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
Morgan. Morgan County was named for General Daniel Morgan, an officer of the Revolutionary War. The first settlement was made at Big Bottom on the Muskingum River by thirty-six young men from Marietta.
One of the most remarkable natural curiosities in southern Ohio is located three miles from McConnelsville, the county seat. This is
FIG. 166. Assembling cash registers
"One a minute" is the average number of registers assembled in this department. (Cour- tesy of the National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio)
the Devil's Tea Table, an immense table of sandstone which weighs 3000 tons, and which is supported by a slender slab of slatestone.
The county is noted as the birthplace of Jeremiah Rusk, governor of Wisconsin for several terms and Secretary of Agriculture in Presi- dent Harrison's Cabinet.
Morrow. Morrow County was named for Jeremiah Morrow, who was governor of Ohio from 1822 to 1826.
Mt. Gilead, the county seat, was laid out in 1824 and named Whetstone. In 1832 the legislature changed its name to Mt. Gilead.
Muskingum. The name Muskingum is an Indian word meaning "town on the river side."
243
THE COUNTIES OF OHIO
Zanesville was laid out in 1799 by Ebenezer Zane, the builder of Zane's Trace. The city is noted for the famous "Y" bridge spanning the Muskingum River. This bridge divides in the middle into two parts, which lead to different localities.
Noble. Noble County was named in honor of James Noble, one of its first settlers.
The first oil well in Ohio was drilled in 1814 near Caldwell, the county seat.
John Gray, the last surviving soldier of the Revolutionary War, was a resident of this county.
James M. Dalzell, originator of the Soldiers' Reunion, had his home at Caldwell. About 25,000 soldiers were present at the first reunion held at Caldwell in 1874.
Ottawa. Ottawa is an Indian word meaning "trader."
Port Clinton, the county seat, is situated on a beautiful bay and has a splendid harbor.
The group of islands off the shore of Ottawa County is known as the Wine Islands because of the great quantities of grapes grown there.
Gibraltar is the small island upon which Jay Cooke erected a monument in memory of Commodore Oliver H. Perry. Perry's great victory took place on Lake Erie a few miles from the shore of Ottawa County.
Put in Bay, a famous summer resort, is an island of Lake Erie, twelve miles north of Port Clinton.
Paulding. This county was named in honor of John Paulding, one of the three men who captured Major André in the Revolu- tionary War.
The original county seat was Charloe, but it was afterwards moved to Paulding.
Paulding County has had a marked development, for in 1840 it had the smallest population of any county in Ohio.
The surface of the county is so level that it is said one can stand near the depot in Defiance and see the headlight of a locomotive at Antwerp, twenty-three miles away.
Perry. Perry County was named in honor of Oliver H. Perry.
The first cabin in the vicinity of Somerset was built in 1807. This town was at first called Middletown, because it lay halfway between Zanesville and Lancaster. Somerset was the boyhood home of General Philip Henry Sheridan.
244
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
New Lexington, the county seat, was laid out in 1817.
Perry County is one of the coal-producing counties in the state.
Pickaway. The name "Pickaway" is a misspelling of Piqua, the name of a Shawnee Indian tribe.
Circleville, the county seat, is on the site of two ancient forts. One of these, built in the form of a circle, suggested the name of
FIG. 167. Sugar factory
The capacity of this large factory is 1000 tons of beets daily. When the beets reach the factory, they are washed, cut into small strips, and placed in large pans filled with hot water where the sugar is soaked out of the beets. The juice is first treated with lime, then with carbonic acid gas which leaves a clear liquid. This liquid is filtered and boiled down until the sugar crystals are formed. The liquid is then put through a centrifugal machine which separates the sugar from the sirup. (Courtesy of the German- American Sugar Factory, Paulding, Ohio)
the city. Circleville is noted as the home of Caleb Atwater, Ohio's first historian. It lies in the center of a fertile agricultural region.
Pike. Pike County was named for Zebulon Pike, the discoverer of Pikes Peak.
The first permanent settlers in the county were from Pennsylvania and Virginia. Waverly, the county seat, was laid out in 1829.
Portage. The name of the county was derived from the old Indian portage path between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers.
The first cabin in Ravenna, the county seat, was built by Ben- jamin Tappan in 1799.
245
THE COUNTIES OF OHIO
The noted Indian fighter, Samuel Brady, made his famous leap across the Cuyahoga River about two hundred yards above the bridge at Kent. The chasm across which he leaped is today known as Brady's Leap.
Kent is the seat of the Kent State Normal College.
Preble. Preble County was named in honor of Edward Preble, a naval commander who served during the Revolutionary War.
FIG. 168. The Logan elm, near Circleville, Ohio
Beneath this famous elm a treaty was concluded in 1774 between the Virginia troops under Lord Dunmore and the Shawnee Indians who occupied the region now known as Pickaway County, At this conference Logan, the Mingo chief, delivered a speech regarded as one of the finest specimens of Indian eloquence
Eaton, the county seat, was laid out in 1806 and named for General William Eaton. The city is noted for mineral springs of medicinal value.
Fort St. Clair was erected one mile west of Eaton in 1791.
Putnam. Putnam County was named in honor of General Israel Putnam. One of the reservations granted to the Ottawa Indians by the Treaty of Maumee was located in this county.
During the War of 1812, General Harrison erected Fort Jennings on the Auglaize River, on the site of the present village of Jennings.
Ottawa, the county seat, was originally called Tawa Town.
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FIG. 169. How airplanes are made
This is the model room of a large airplane factory. Before construction on any airplane is begun, an exact-scale model is made of the type of airplane to be built
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FIG. 170. Making the wings
The highest grade of spruce and the best grade of linen are used in making airplane wings, since it is necessary that this part of the machine should be light and durable. (Courtesy of the Dayton-Wright Company, Dayton, Ohio)
FIG. 171. The assembly department
The different parts of the airplane which have been made in the other departments are assembled in this room to make the finished product
FIG. 172. The De Haviland-4
This was the first battle plane manufactured in the United States, and of this model, 2703 were completed and shipped to France. (Courtesy of the Dayton-Wright Com- pany, Dayton, Ohio)
248
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
The first road in the county was built from Fort Recovery to Defiance by General Anthony Wayne. This was in the year 1794.
Richland. Richland County was so named because of its fertile soil.
The county is famous as the home of "Johnny Appleseed" (John Chapman), who did much to develop the fruit orchards of Ohio.
Mansfield, the county seat, was laid out in 1808. Here John Sher- man practiced law for eleven years before his election to Congress. Sherman's thirty-two years of service in the United States Senate exceeded that of any other Senator. He also served in the House of Representatives for six years, and in the President's Cabinet for five years.
Ross. Ross County was named in honor of James Ross.
General Nathaniel Massie was the founder of Chillicothe, the county seat. This city was at one time the capital of the Northwest Territory and was also the first state capital.
Chillicothe was the home of Edward Tiffin, the first governor of Ohio, and was also the early boyhood home of Allen G. Thurman.
From early days the county has been noted for fine cattle. The first English cattle brought to Ohio were driven from Kentucky to Ross County ; this county also sent the first herd of cattle to an eastern market.
Sandusky. Sandusky is an Indian word meaning "at the cold water."
The first settlers in the county were from New England.
The present site of Fremont was an Indian reservation, two miles square, granted to the Indians by the Treaty of Greenville. The town was once called Lower Sandusky, but later was named Fremont in honor of the great pathfinder, John C. Frémont. Fort Stephenson, defended by Colonel Croghan against the British and Indians in 1813, was built within the limits of the present city of Fremont. Spiegel Grove at Fremont, the home of President Rutherford B. Hayes, has been given by his son to the state of Ohio for a memorial park.
The village of Clyde is noted as the birthplace of General James B. McPherson. The cartoonist, James A. Wales, was also born here. Scioto. This county was named from the Scioto River.
As early as 1740 there was a French trading post about a mile and a half from the present site of Portsmouth, the county seat.
249
THE COUNTIES OF OHIO
The city was laid out in 1803 by Henry Massie, one of the early settlers, and named for Portsmouth, Virginia, his former home.
The county is noted for an excellent quality of building stone.
Seneca. Seneca County derives its name from the Seneca Indians, who had a reservation here.
Fort Seneca, a military post built during the War of 1812, was about nine miles north of Tiffin.
Tiffin, the county seat, was laid out in 1821 by Josiah Hedges and named in honor of Edward Tiffin, the first governor of Ohio. The city occupies both sides of the Sandusky River, including the site of old Fort Ball. Heidelberg, a noted institution of higher education, is located at Tiffin.
Fostoria, twelve miles northwest of Tiffin, is located in three coun- ties-Seneca, Hancock, and Wood. This city is a distributing center for grain and live stock. One of the largest flour mills in the state is located here.
Seneca County lies in one of the richest agricultural districts of Ohio.
Shelby. Shelby County was named in honor of General Isaac Shelby, an officer of the Revolutionary War and the first governor of Kentucky.
Sidney, the county seat, was laid out in 1819. The site is a beautiful one, on a high elevation on the west bank of the Miami River.
The Loramie Reservoir contains 1800 acres.
Stark. Stark County was named in honor of General John Stark, a valiant officer of the Revolutionary War.
The first Moravian missionary came to Ohio in 1761 and settled in Bethlehem township of this county.
Canton, the county seat, was the home of President William Mckinley. A beautiful memorial has been erected here in his honor (Fig. 173).
Mount Union College, located at Mount Union, is an important institution of higher education.
Massillon was laid out in 1826 and named for a celebrated French divine, John Baptiste Massillon. The city is one of the important wheat markets of the state.
Summit. Summit County derived its name from the fact that it was the highest point on the Ohio and Erie Canal. It was originally called the Portage Summit.
250
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
The first settlement was made at Hudson in 1800 by David Hud- son. The village was the early home of John Brown, of Harpers Ferry fame. Western Reserve University was formerly located here, but was moved to Cleveland in 1882.
Akron, the county seat, received its name from a Greek word meaning "an elevation." The city has extensive rubber industries, and is today Ohio's fifth city in population.
Summit County is noted for its many and beautiful lakes, which were formed during the glacial period (see pages 96-100).
FIG. 173. Memorial to William McKinley, Canton, Ohio
This monument was unveiled September 30, 1907, in the presence of President Roose- velt and members of his Cabinet. A gallant soldier of the Civil War, William McKinley afterwards served six terms in the House of Representatives, two terms as governor of Ohio, and was twice elected President of the United States. His second term had just begun when he was shot by an anarchist
Trumbull. Trumbull County was named in honor of Governor Trumbull of Connecticut. The county was formed in 1800, and in- cluded within its original limits the whole of Connecticut's Western Reserve.
Niles, in the heart of the great mining industry of Ohio, is noted as the birthplace of President William McKinley.
Warren, the county seat, was laid out in 1801. Kenyon Cox, the. noted painter and author, was born here.
Tuscarawas. Tuscarawas County derived its name from that of an Indian tribe. The word means "open mouth."
The Moravian Indians had a mission in the county long before Ohio was settled by white men.
The first white child born in Ohio was Mary Heckewelder, daugh- ·ter of a noted Moravian missionary. She was born at Salem in 1781.
25I
THE COUNTIES OF OHIO
Gnadenhutten, eleven miles south of New Philadelphia, is the site of the massacre of the Moravian Indians, which occurred in 1782.
Near Bolivar are the remains of Fort Laurens, erected during the Revolutionary War.
In 1803 this district became the home of numerous emigrants from West Virginia and Pennsylvania. New Philadelphia, the county seat, was laid out in 1804.
Union. Union County received its name from the fact that it was formed from portions of several adjacent counties.
FIG. 174. Tanning leather
About thirty processes are involved in the manufacture of leather. This shows the tanning operation. From the pickle paddles the skins are brought in to the tan wheels, where they are tanned in the chrome liquor solution for several hours. They are then pressed to drive out the excessive moisture, after which they are split, shaved, and colored. (Courtesy of the Ohio Leather Company, Girard, Ohio)
The first settlement in the county was made in 1798 by settlers who came from the states of Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Marysville, the county seat, is often called the Shaded City because of its beautiful maple trees.
Richwood, fifteen miles northeast of Marysville, is the center of a rich agricultural region.
Van Wert. This county was named in honor of Isaac Van Wert, one of the three captors of Major André in the Revolutionary War.
One of the early settlers of the county was Captain James Riley, who founded Wellshire in 1822.
Here the erection of a Y. W. C. A. building, a County Hospital, and a Nurses' Home emphasizes the idea of the county unit.
252
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
Delphos has the distinction of being situated in two counties. The Miami and Erie Canal divides the town into two equal portions.
Van Wert, the county seat, was incorporated in 1848. It is a center for important industries, including railway and machine shops, flour mills, and manufactures of pianos, gloves, and overalls.
Vinton. Vinton County was named in honor of Samuel Finley Vinton, a distinguished Ohio Congressman.
The first settlers reached the county in 1805.
Mc Arthur, laid out in 1815 under the name of Mc Arthurtown, is sometimes called the Mineral City.
Warren. This county was named in honor of General Joseph Warren, who was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill.
Deerfield, near South Lebanon, is probably the oldest town in the county.
Lebanon, the county seat, is the location of the National Nor- mal University, which has given many of its graduates to public life. This city was also the home of Thomas Corwin, a distinguished Ohio statesman and governor (Fig. 34).
Warren County was the home of John McLean, Postmaster- General during President Monroe's administration and later Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Jeremiah Morrow, one of Ohio's early governors, also lived here.
Washington. Washington County, named in honor of George Washington, was the first county formed within the limits of Ohio. The first settlement was made at Marietta in 1788 by General Rufus Putnam (Fig. 8).
Marietta, the oldest town in Ohio, was the home of Manasseh Cutler, also of Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., governor of Ohio from 18II to 1814.
Washington County is the birthplace of General Don Carlos Buell.
It is said that this county contains more graves of officers of the Revolutionary army than any similar extent of ground in the entire United States.
Wayne. Wayne County, established in 1796, was named in honor of General Anthony Wayne, hero of Stony Point and victor at the battle of Fallen Timbers (1794).
Wooster, the county seat, was named for General David Wooster, an officer of the Revolutionary War. When the city was settled in 1808, there were no white inhabitants between it and Lake Erie.
253
THE COUNTIES OF OHIO
The University of Wooster, which first opened its doors in 1870, is one of Ohio's well-known institutions of higher education.
Williams. Williams County was named for David Williams, one of the three captors of Major André.
Bryan, the county seat, was named in honor of John A. Bryan, then Auditor of State, who donated the land for a county seat. The first artesian well in northwestern Ohio was sunk at Bryan in 1842.
Montpelier is the second town of importance in this county.
Wood. Wood County was named in honor of Captain Wood, General Harrison's chief engineer at Fort Meigs during the War of 1812.
Major Amos Spafford, appointed Collector of the Port of Miami in 1810, was probably the first permanent resident and landowner in Wood County.
The first oil field to be developed in the county was at North Baltimore in 1886. At present the oil production in the county has decreased, but it is still an important industry.
Bowling Green, the county seat, is the center of the North Lima oil field. The Bowling Green State Normal College is located here.
The original county seat was at Perrysburg, which was laid out in 1816 just below Fort Meigs.
Wyandot. This county was named for the Wyandot tribe of Indians. A monument marks the spot where Colonel William Craw- ford was burned at the stake in 1782.
The county did not settle rapidly until the Indians were removed in 1843, when their lands were opened up to white settlers.
Upper Sandusky, the county seat, was laid out in 1843. Carey is the second town of importance in the county.
The county is rich in agricultural resources and has extensive gas and oil territory.
FACTS AND FIGURES
TABLE I. THE COUNTIES OF OHIO
NAME
ORGANIZED
AREA IN SQUARE MILES
POPULATION (1920)
COUNTY SEAT
Adams
1797
546
22,403
West Union
Allen .
1820
406
68,223
Lima
Ashland
1846
421
24,627
Ashland
Ashtabula
1807
723
65,545
Jefferson
Athens
1805
487
50,430
Athens
Auglaize
1848
397
29,527
Wapakoneta
Belmont
180I
5.30
93,193
St. Clairsville
Brown
1817
481
22,621
Georgetown
Butler
1803
452
87,025
Hamilton
Carroll
1832
387
15,942
Carrollton
Champaign
1805
421
25,07 I
Urbana
Clark .
1817
. 407
80,728
Springfield
Clermont
1800
465
28,29I
Batavia
Clinton .
1810
4II
23,036
Wilmington
Columbiana
1803
534
83,131
Lisbon
Coshocton .
ISII
558
29,595
Coshocton
Crawford
1820
409
36,054
Bucyrus
Cuyahoga
1807
463
943,495
Cleveland
Darke
1809
586
42,91 I
Greenville
Defiance
1845
405
24,549
Defiance
Delaware
1808
445
26,01 3
Delaware
Erie
1838
256
39,789
Sandusky
Fairfield
1800
495
40,484
Lancaster
Fayette .
1810
413
21,518
Washington C. H.
Franklin
1803
517
283,951
Columbus
Fulton
1850
405
23,455
Wauseon
Gallia
1803
449
23,31I
Gallipolis
Geauga .
1805
416
15,036
Chardon
Greene
1803
415
31,22I
Xenia
Guernsey
1810
518
45,352 493,678
Cincinnati
Hancock
1820
535
38,394
Findlay
Hardin
1820
473
29, 167
Kenton
Harrison
1814
40I
19,625
Cadiz
Henry
1820
414
23,362
Napoleon
Highland
1805
549
27,610
Hillsboro
Hocking
1818
4II
23,291
Logan
Holmes .
1824
41
16,965
Millersburg
Huron
1815
494
32,424
Norwalk
Jackson .
1816
404
27,342
Jackson
Jefferson
1797
407
77,580
Steubenville
Knox.
1808
513
29,580
Mount Vernon
Lake .
1840
241
28,667
Painesville
255
Cambridge
Hamilton
1790
407
256
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF OHIO
TABLE I. THE COUNTIES OF OHIO (CONTINUED)
NAME
ORGANIZED
AREA IN SQUARE MILES
POPULATION (1920)
COUNTY SEAT
Lawrence
1816
443
39,540
Ironton
Licking
1808
669
56,426
Newark
Logan
1817
45I
30,104
Bellefontaine
Lorain
1822
497
90,612
Elyria
Lucas
1835
342
275,721
Toledo
Madison
1810
497
19,662
London
Mahoning
1846
427
186,310
Youngstown
Marion
1824
409
42,004
Marion
Medina .
1818
435
26,067
Medina
Meigs
1819
412
26,189
Pomeroy
Mercer
1820
4 50
26,872
Celina
Miami
1807
408
48,428
Troy
Monroe
1813
448
20,660
Woodsfield
Montgomery .
1803
455
209, 532
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