USA > Ohio > Champaign County > History of Champaign County, Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 16
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115
WEALTHIEST MAN IN TOWNSHIP.
David Loudenback, Sr., the first of the family of that name to locate in the township, came from Virginia in 1817. In 1822 he removed to Concord township, where he lived until 1851. His son of the same name came back to Mad River township as a teacher in the subscription schools of the day and three years later permanently located in the township. He was one of the most remarkable men of the township, and certainly the wealthiest man the township ever produced. Elected justice of the peace in 1842, he served in that capacity by re-election until 1878, a record which has probably never been equalled in the county.
The Jenkins family were connected with the history of Mad River town- ship in ante-bellum days. John Jenkins, the original member of the family to locate in the county, was a native of Virginia, where he was born in 1789. Marrying Polly Burkholder in 1811, he and his wife came to Ohio in 1832
Digitized by Google
163
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
with a wagon and two horses, the trip consuming thirty-one days. They located at Wilmington, in Clinton county, on coming to the state, but three years later settled in Champaign county, in the vicinity of St. Paris. Eleven children made up the family. One of the sons, Morgan Jenkins, had a general store at Terre Haute for nearly half a century.
JOHN HALLER, PIONEER SMITH.
An interesting pioneer of the township was John Haller, a native of Pennsylvania, a settler in Kentucky in 1796, and a resident of Champaign county from 1812 until his removal a few years before his death to Defiance, where he spent his last days. His son, William, contributed some reminis- cences concerning his father to the "History of Champaign and Logan Coun- ties" of 1872, and the facts here given concerning John Haller are taken from that source.
John Haller was a blacksmith by trade and worked in Urbana from 1812 to 1814. He then bought a farm along Nettle creek in Mad River township and combined smithing with farming. He was an expert in tempering edged tools and such was his reputation as an axmaker, that men came to him from miles around to get his axes. He became an active member of the Methodist church when he was about forty-five years of age and was very much inter- ested in its welfare until his death. He had an intense hatred of intemperance and would not allow any alcoholic drinks on his premises, not even for the use of his friends. He served as justice of the peace for many years and his decisions were marked with a justice not always found among local "squires."
OTHER PIONEERS OF NOTE.
In 1816 Louis Cook and his brother-in-law, Earthman Warren, with their families, came from New York to Mad River township and settled on section 13. When they arrived on the site of their entry it proved to be a dense for- est. There was not even a clearing sufficiently large for a cabin, and it was necessary to cut down some trees before they could erect their first log cabin. Cook worked night and day in order to pay for his land and in the course of a few years lost two wives by death and married a third one. He and his last wife died in Illinois and are buried there. His son, Calvin, retained the old home farm in sections 7 and 13.
In 1810. John Lee, a native of Maryland, located with his family near New Lancaster, Ohio, and two years later settled three miles northeast of
Digitized by Google
164
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
Urbana. He died in 1816 and two years later his wife and children, four in number, settled on the northeast corner of section 19 in Mad River township. Mrs. Lee later married Philip Stout ( 1827) and they lived on the farm she purchased until her death in 1848. Her son, William Lee, became the owner of the old homestead.
FIRST SHINGLE ROOF IN THE SETTLEMENT.
An interesting family of eleven located in Mad River township in 1816. Peter Baker, his wife and their nine children, natives of Virginia, settled on a densely forested tract in section 26 along Storms creek. The land was entered December 24, 1816, but the family had previously erected a rude log cabin, covered, so it is said, with the first shingle roof in the settlement. Peter Baker lived to be ninety-four years of age and his son, Simon, in turn lived to a ripe old age. Simon Baker erected a large brick residence on his farm in 1835, one of the first brick residences in the rural districts of the township.
Joseph Rhodes, a native of Virginia, came with his uncle, John Craybill, to the county in 1835 and located in Mad River township. Rhodes was a shoemaker and cobbler and later settled in Urbana. He built a mill there, but after it burned down he left the state for Indiana. The year 1853 saw him back on a farm in Mad River township, in section 26; but later he sold a part of the farm to his brother, Noah, who came to the county in 1856. Joseph Rhodes is one of the few men in the county of pioneer days who did not raise a large family-he lived and died a bachelor.
SOME OF THE TOWNSHIP'S "FIRSTS."
A Virginia group of settlers came to the township in 1829 composed of about half a dozen families. Of this number, David Miller, born in 1813, became a prominent factor in the community near the present village of Terre Haute. His father had died when he was seven years of age and young David was then adopted by an uncle named Good. In 1829 Miller, with the Good, Zirkle and Kesler families, came overland from Virginia with all of their effects in four-horse Conestoga wagons. All the families settled in Mad River township. Miller later located in Clark county, where he became appren- ticed to a wagonmaker and as soon as he learned his trade he opened a shop on Storms creek, near Terre Haute. He probably had the first wagon shop in the township and he soon had all the work he could do and eventually became a man of considerable property.
Digitized by Google
165
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
Every township has its "firsts," and a few have been noted in Mad River township. As has been stated, John Norman built the first grist-mill; Abram Shockey had one of, if not the first, saw-mill; William Runkle and John Wiant opened the first tanneries; David Miller opened the first wagon shop; Charles Rector built the first brick house in the township in 1823; the first sermon on record was preached in 1801 under a sugar tree on the land of Ezekiel Arrowsmith by the Rev. James Davidson ; the first village was laid off by Archibald Magrew in 1816 and was known as Magrew for many years (later known as Westville) ; on its site Abraham Stephens built the first build- ing in 1818; a carding factory was opened in the village by a man by the name of Cook in 1818; Curtis Thompson opened the first carpenter shop about the same time.
ORIGINAL FAMILIES STILL REPRESENTED.
An effort to trace the history of the township year by year during the one hundred and twelve years of its existence would involve the historian in difficulty. The lives of many of the first settlers have been noticed; the part they played in clearing the forests is known to everyone who reads. Year by year the ownership of land has changed, but, interesting to state, there are many families who arrived in the township in its early history, who are repre- sented by their descendants on the same farms today. They built their little grist- and saw-mills up and down the creeks which furnished enough water to turn the wheel; they had their blacksmith shops, little carding-mills, cane- mills and tanneries scattered here and there over the township. As early as 1850 a man by the name of Hess was operating a distillery on the Mad River valley pike and he ran it for several years, but it disappeared long years ago, and now only the memory of it remains. Another distillery was in operation in connection with Steinberger's mill. The first steam mill in the township was the Wiant mill in section 36, about two miles west of Westville, which was changed from a water to a steam mill in 1868. At this point was a com- bined flouring-mill and saw-mill which was the largest industry of its kind in the township for many years.
The industries of the township have undergone many changes as may be seen from a study of the maps of the county. The first map of the county which has been seen was issued in 1858 and it shows mills in sections 30, 3, 2, I and 36; distilleries in section 9 (Hess distillery) and section 1 (Stein- berger distillery ) ; tannery in the northeastern corner of section 35; blacksmith shops and "shoe smiths" in several places over the township. It is not certain whether the shoesmith dealt in human or equestrian shoes.
Digitized by Google
166
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
In 1872 the map of Mad River township shows that both distilleries had disappeared, as well as some of the mills. The flourishing little industrial cen- ter around Myrtle Tree church was still in existence, but the tannery had dis- appeared during the fourteen years since 1858. In 1858 the township house was located at the crossing of the Bob Tail and Mad River pikes in the north- ern part of section 8, but in 1872 the township house stood in the west central part of section 15, about two miles northwest of its previous location. The toll gates which appear scattered over the township in 1858 had all disap- peared. In 1880 there were four flouring-mills and six saw-mills still in operation in the township, but in 1917 there was no flour-mill and only one saw-mill remaining.
PIONEERS BARRED THE NEGRO.
An incident out of the ordinary in connection with the early history of Mad River township is concerned with the attitude of the early pioneer toward the negro. A resolution was placed upon the township records when it was organized which specifically stated that persons of color should not be allowed to settle in the township. The citizens who took this summary attitude toward the colored man did not realize that they were taking the law into their own hands, and it is apparent that this resolution, backed by no authority, state or otherwise, was never enforced.
STOCK RAISING AND DAIRYING.
One of the largest farmers of the township is A. F. Taylor, who with his son, operates a large stock farm in the northeastern part of the township, between Westville and Urbana. They are extensive producers of what is known as "baby beef." One of the tendencies of the farmers of the township during the past decade has been in the direction of more extensive stock raising. The raising of dairy cattle has been given an impetus since the estab- lishment of creameries at Thackery and Urbana. An investigation shows that the farmers in the southern and western portions of the township have profited by the establishment of the creamery at Thackery and that they are producing more milk now than ever before. Then again the high price of beef and pork during the past few years has stimulated stock raising as it has not been stimulated since the days of the Civil War.
Digitized by Google
167
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
CHURCHES OF MAD RIVER TOWNSHIP.
The career of the rural churches of Mad River township presents a curi- ous study in religious history. No fewer than three barns in section 30 (southwestern corner) were formerly houses of worship. Two of these stood in the same section while the third was a former Methodist church building in Terre Haute. C. V. Goddard has the Methodist church on his farm. He bought the building when the present building was built in Terre Haute and tore it down and rebuilt it on his farm. On his farm J. S. Hill has the Luth- eran church which stood in the northeastern corner of section 30, about half a mile southwest of Terre Haute. This building was built in 1855 and Mr. Hill bought it and remodeled it into a barn in 1898. The Lutheran church, which stood about half a mile southwest of the church bought by Mr. Hill, was purchased in 1900 by Zach Zerkle and by him was converted into a barn. Harmony church, which had a long and eventful history, is now doing duty as a granary for Richard Lee on his farm two miles northeast of Terre Haute. The congregation that formerly worshiped in this building, however, now has a new building west of Terre Haute. The Nettle Creek Baptist church became so weak several years ago that it was abandoned, the building itself fell into decay, and the township trustees finally took charge of it and put a new roof on it. There is a cemetery in connection with the Nettle Creek church and the trustees of the township repaired the building and put it in first class condi- tion so that it could be utilized for funerals and public meetings of various kinds.
The only churches now left in the township are located in the villages of Westville and Terre Haute; Myrtle Tree in the northwestern part and the Thackery Lutheran church, just across the line from that village in Mad River township. This means that there are five churches which have disap- peared in the township.
LOCHARDSVILLE.
The desire to have a village called in his honor lead one Walter E. Lockard to have a town of 36 lots laid out in section 8, township 4, range 11, at the crossing of the main roads of Mad River township running through the middle of the section. The village was platted by Thomas Cowgill on September 3, 1845, and the plat was placed on record on the 6th of the same month. The proposed village never got beyond the "paper" stage and
Digitized by Google
168
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
its existence would be unknown if its plat were not recorded in the official records of the county recorder's office.
WESTVILLE.
Westville is one hundred and two years old this year, its history dating from February 14, 1815. Located in the northern part of Mad River town- ship, in sections 11 and 17, it is four miles due west of Urbana on the Piqua-Urbana road, and one-half mile north of the Pennsylvania railroad. For some reason this village, unlike many of the others of the county, was not located on a stream of any kind, being about equally distant from Ander- son creek on the east and Nettle creek on the west.
The land on which the village was laid out was entered from the govern- ment by Archibald Magrew, a native of Pennsylvania, and a substantial citi- zen of Mad River township until his death. Undoubtedly he felt that the site he chose would eventually become the seat of a flourishing village and at one time it gave promise of becoming more than a mere cross roads ham- let. It was not until 1818 that the first courageous townsman appeared on the scene ready to build a house. The first dweller was Abraham Stephens and his house stood on the northwest corner of the square-that is, the square at the northwest corner of the cross roads. Jeremiah Hoffman erected the second house in that same year and about the same time a man by the name of Cook built a shop and established a carding machine. Curtis Thompson, a carpenter, appeared on the scene in 1818 and found plenty of work in his line of business. The year 1818 seemed to be filled with building operations; dwellings, store buildings, shops and even a large log school building arose during the course of the year.
The first church in the village was a brick structure of the Methodists, which was built about 1826 and which was burned during the winter of 1877-78. It was replaced by the present building during the following year. The Universalists erected a church building largely through the munificence of David Loudenback, he contributing the major portion of the eight thou- sand dollars which the building cost. In 1876 the Patrons of Husbandry (locally known as the Grange) erected a two-story brick building, thirty- three by fifty feet, at a cost of three thousand six hundred dollars. The Grange was assisted in the erection of the building by the Sons of Temper- ance, but this latter organization soon became defunct and the building reverted to the Grange. After the dissolution of the Grange the building passed into private hands.
Digitized by Google
169
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
Among the business enterprises of the village in former years may be mentioned the folowing: Nichols & Hoak, grocers; John Richardson, gen- eral store; H. H. Baker, steam machine shop; Minnich Brothers, blacksmiths. There are two general stores in the village in 1917, operated by W. P. Ferst and Earl Walters, respectively.
There have been physicians in the town since its earliest history. Dr. R. R. Mclaughlin located in the village in 1861 and practiced there until his death in 1891. He served as postmaster for several years. His son, Clarence M,. born in Westville, August 19, 1864, was graduated from Starling Medi- cal College in 1886; at once began practicing with his father in Westville, and is still practicing in the village. In June, 1917, the population was given as two hundred and eighty, of which thirty-four were children. There are now sixty dwelling houses in the village.
TERRE HAUTE.
The village of Terre Haute is located in the southwest quarter of sec- tion 19 and stands on the banks of Storms creek. When the present Detroit, Toledo & Ironton railroad was constructed through the western part of the county the village had great hopes of having a railroad connection with the outside world, but it was doomed to disappointment. The road as finally constructed passed up the valley of Chapman creek instead of Storms creek, and thus left Terre Haute two miles east of the road, its nearest point on the road being at Thackery.
The name of the town indicates that some one with a knowledge of French was responsible for its selection, as the name of the village, the name signifying "high ground," and the contour of the townsite is sufficient explanation for the name. George Craig was the owner of the land on which the town was laid out and recorded on October 5, 1836. David Loudenback, deputy county surveyor, assisted by David Miller, surveyed it and laid out forty lots. Craig had visions of a flourishing village, if not a city, and fondly imagined that the favorable location of his site would attract a goodly number of settlers. But time has proved that his vision was not clear. While the little village, started with the best of intentions, failed to reach metro- politan honors, yet it was a prominent factor in the life of the community for many years.
The first house in the village was a frame structure erected by Abraham Rosmick and later used by John Neese as a carpenter shop. George Neese built the second house, John Davis the third and David Miller followed with
Digitized by Google
170
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
probably the fourth house. The first merchant was John Conklin, who opened a department store on a small scale in which he vended dry, hard and wet goods. The store building was later converted into a dwelling house. Craig. the proprietor of the townsite, opened the first caravansary and ministered unto the wants of man and beast for several years. His hotel later passed into the hands of Morgan L. Jenkins. The first follower of Tubal Cain was Jacob Shafer and his blacksmith shop was the only one in the village for many years. David Miller, who has been previously mentioned in the history of the township, started the first wagon shop. Morgan L. Jenkins, of whom mention has been made previously, was the proprietor of the only store in the village for many years. Among other business enterprises which have flourished in the village in the past may be mentioned the grocery store of J. H. Blose; wagon shop of Henry Eiper ; harness shop of Anson Smith; saw-mill of Isaac Evilsizor; blacksmith shops of Raper Ropp, Jacob Kiser and C. Barcater.
There seems to have been a Methodist church in Terre Haute as early as 1835, but it has long since ceased to be an active organization. Its history is given in the church chapter elsewhere. The first physician on record in the village was Dr. W. S. Hunt, a native of the county, a graduate of the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery in 1870 and a practicing physi- cian in Terre Haute for many years. He was postmaster of the village during 1877-78. Doctor Hunt left Terre Haute to practice in Springfield in the eighties. He was followed by Dr. A. H. Middleton. Doctor Middle- ton was followed by Doctor Buhrer and he in turn gave way to Dr. W. H. Tippie, who has been village physician for several years.
The first postmaster of the village was William Craybill, the office being established shortly after the town was laid out in 1838. At that time the mail was carried from Urbana to the village once a week, but a few years later the route was changed so that the village received its mail from Spring- field. In the latter part of the seventies it was again attached to the Urbana postoffice and was given tri-weekly service. Among a number of post- masters of the village it is probable that William Dernett held that office longer than any other incumbent, his service of nearly a score of years being one of the longest tenures of any postmaster in the county. Dernett was followed by J. H. Ireland, who was also a storekeeper. The next two postmasters in order, C. F. Powell and W. H. Huston, were village merch- ants, while A. H. Middleton, who served from 1896 until the postmaster was discontinued in 1900, was a practicing physician.
The present business enterprises of Terre Haute are in the hands of
Digitized by Google
171
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO.
the following: Nehemiah Lutz, general store; Robert Towler, general store; James H. Ireland, tobacco and ice cream and candy ; E. H. Smith, saw- mill; Anson Ireland, W. J. Zerkle and W. E. Gross, butchers. The last three men-Ireland, Zerkle and Gross- do not have a retail market in the village, but butcher and haul the meat in auto trucks to the public market at Spring- field on regular market days. Each man has his own abattoir and does his own slaughtering and delivering. The local physician, Dr. W. H. Tippie, is in charge of the local telephone exchange and is proprietor of what may be termed the only hostelry in the village.
It should be mentioned that the village now has as well-equipped a consolidated school building for a village of its size as any town in the state. It was erected two years ago at a cost of about twelve thousand dollars after a spirited legal fight which lasted for several years. The township now only has two school buildings, the one at Westville and the one at Terre Haute, all of the rural schools having been abandoned at the time consolidation was put into effect. The history of the schools of the town- ship is given in the educational chapter.
It may be said in conclusion that the town is in a more prosperous condition now than it has been for many years. Farming conditions are improving in the vicinity of the village and despite the fact that the town is not on a railroad and that all merchandise is necessarily hauled in, yet the local merchants have well assorted stocks and report a good business in 1917. The town will never become a metropolitan center, but it will serve a useful purpose and be appreciated by the community of which it is the center. It starts off on the second century of its existence with prospects of retaining its prominence as a good rural trading point. Its ninety inhabitants are glad to call it home.
Digitized by Google
CHAPTER VIII.
SALEM TOWNSHIP.
Salem township was one of the three townships organized by the asso- ciate judges on April 20, 1805. It included all of the present territory in Champaign county east of a line drawn due north and south, and two miles east of the present line dividing Salem and Concord townships. This origi- nal Salem also included all of the present territory of Logan county south of the Greenville Treaty Line of 1785 and east of an extension of the north and south line before mentioned. Nor was this all of the Salem township of 1805. It included in addition to the two tracts above described, all of that part of Clark county north of an east and west line drawn across the pres- ent Clark county four miles south of the present Champaign-Clark line, and east of a line drawn due north from a point between sections 20 and 26 in township 5. This north and south line was drawn from the Springfield town- ship northern line in an effort to divide all of the remainder of the extensive Champaign county of 1805 into two equal parts. It was fourteen miles east of the present western boundary of Clark, Champaign and Logan, and is the line which passes through the western part of the city of Urbana. In other words, the Salem township of 1805 included all of the townships of Goshen, Rush, Wayne and Union and nearly all of the present townships of Salem and Urbana; also the Salem of 1805 included an extensive tract of both Logan and Clark counties. Reference again must be made to the fact that the absence of the commissioners' records render it impossible to trace with accuracy the various steps by which the township was reduced to its present limits. It seems certain that by 1811 it was reduced to nearly its present size and that by 1817 it was not far from the size it is today.
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.