History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 59

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592

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PIONEER HISTORY.

John Dunlap was the first settler in Colerain township. A native of Coleraine, in the North of Ireland, he possessed the sturdy and aggressive qualities of his race, and when an opportunity was presented to become associated with Judge Symmes' colonization enterprise he eagerly accepted it. Columbia, Losantiville and North Bend were projected on the river, but, more venturesome than the projectors of either of those places, he formed the design of founding a town and settlement in the interior. The site he selected is a level plat of ground on the east bank of the Great Miami, in the extreme northwestern part of Colerain township. Here he located in 1790; a settlement of modest proportions was soon formed, and among its members were Thomas Larison, Martin Burkhardt, Michael and Nicholas Lutz, John, David and William Crum, David and Isaac Gibson, John Young, Samuel Carswell, James Barrett and Michael Hahn, nearly all of whom had families.

It early became apparent that trouble with the Indians was to be anticipated, and in order to provide for the defense of the settlement the cabins were built together, fronting toward each other and inclosing a space of about one acre. Between the cabins a stockade was constructed, and at the corners of the inclosure blockhouses were erected. The surrounding land was partially cleared.

The worst anticipations of the settlers were early realized. Says John G. Olden: " Within a few months after the station was built, David Gibson, a young unmar- ried man, was captured while out hunting, about a mile south of the settlement. He remained five years in captivity, during which time he married a white woman that had been taken by the Indians in Pennsylvania ten years before his own cap- ture. He and his wife, on being released by the terms of the treaty of Greenville,

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settled for a time in Butler county, Ohio, but afterward moved to Indiana. A short time after the capture of Gibson, John Crum, a lad of thirteen, was taken while out in the woods gathering grapes. He had left his hat at the foot of the tree ; he had climbed to obtain the grapes, and the Indians seeing it came up and ordered him down. Soon after this Thomas Larison and David Crum were chased into the station at the peril of their lives." These occurrences produced such alarm that Gen. Harmar, the commandant at Fort Washington, was applied to for troops, in response to which Lieut. Kingsbury was stationed at Colerain with thirteen men.

Early in the year 1791 a party composed of Col. John S. Wallace, John Sloan, Abner Hunt and James Cunningham was engaged in exploring the Miami valley, and encamped for the night near the present site of Venice, Butler county. The next morning they were attacked by a party of Indians. Cunningham was killed by the first volley; Hunt was taken prisoner; Wallace and Sloan succeeded in reach- ing Colerain, but the latter was so severely wounded that he died the next morning.

This was but the prelude to a most severe and trying ordeal which that post was to experience. The following account is taken from McBride's Pioneer Biogra- phy: "Before sunrise on the morning of the 10th of January, just as the women were milking the cows in the fort, the Indians made their appearance before it, and fired a volley, wounding a soldier named McVicker. Every man in the fort was immediately posted to the best advantage by the commander, and the fire returned. A parley was then held at the request of the Indians, and Abner Hunt, whom they had taken prisoner as before mentioned, was brought forward securely bound, with his arms pinioned behind him, by an Indian, or, as some say, the notorious Simon Girty, the leader of the party holding him by the rope. Mounting him on a stump within speaking distance of the garrison, he was compelled to demand and urge the surrender of the place, which, in the hope of saving his own life, he did in the most pressing terms, promising that if it were done, life and property would be held sacred. Not a single individual in the fort, however, would agree to a surrender. Lieut. Kingsbury took an elevated position where he could overlook the pickets, and promptly rejected all their propositions, telling them that he had dispatched a mes- senger to Judge Symmes, who would soon be up to their relief with the whole set- tlement on the Ohio. He failed, however, to impose on them. They replied that it was a lie, as they knew Judge Symmes was then in New Jersey, and informed him that they had five hundred warriors, and would soon be joined by three hundred more, and, that, if an immediate surrender was not made, they would all be massa- cred and the station burned. Lieut. Kingsbury replied that he would not surrender if he were surrounded by ten thousand devils, and immediately leaped from his posi- tion into the fort. The Indians fired at him, and a ball struck off the white plume he wore in his hat. The prisoner Hunt was cruelly tortured and killed within sight of the garrison.

" The station was completely invested by the Indians, and the attack was most violent. They commenced like men certain of victory, and for some time the garri- son was in great danger. The Indians fired, as usual, from behind stumps, trees and logs, and set fire to a quantity of brushwood that had been collected by the settlers, and then, rushing in with burning brands, attempted to fire the cabins and pickets. The vigilance and close firing of the besieged, however, prevented the accomplishment of this object. One Indian was killed just as he reached the build- ings. In the night they threw blazing arrows from their bows against the stockade and upon the roofs of the buildings, with the intention of firing them, but in this they were also unsuccessful. The garrison, well knowing that their lives depended

. upon it, met them at every point. The attack was continued without intermission during the whole of the day and the succeeding night, and until nine o'clock in the morning of the 11th, when the Indians, despairing of success, and, perhaps, appre- hensive of the arrival of reinforcements from Cincinnati, raised the siege and

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retreated in two parties, one to the right and the other to the left, as was afterward discovered by their tracks.

"The whole strength of the garrison was eighteen soldiers and eight or ten of the settlers capable of bearing arms. The entire number in the fort, including women and children, not counting the soldiers, did not exceed thirty souls. The Indians were estimated by those in the fort at from three to five hundred, led by the infamous renegade, Simon Girty, as was ascertained seven years after, on the return of a white man who had been taken prisoner near the station a few days before the attack.

" The little garrison, although but a handful compared with the host by which they were assailed, displayed great bravery, in some instances amounting to rash- ness. During the incessant fire from both sides they frequently, for a moment, exposed their persons above the tops of the pickets, mocking the savages and dar- ing them to come on. Women, as well as men, used every expedient in their power to provoke and invite the enemy. They exhibited the caps of the soldiers above the pickets as marks to be shot at. According to their own accounts they conducted themselves with great folly as well as bravery, though their apparent confidence may have induced the Indians to raise the siege the sooner. When the garrison was in danger of falling short of bullets the women melted down all their pewter plates and spoons to keep up the supply.

" The garrison, though in imminent danger, sustained but little injury. On the first fire the Indians shot into a building called the mill, where the hand-mill was kept for grinding the corn of the neighboring settlers and the garrison. It stood on a line with and near the blockhouse, and, being neither chinked nor daubed, the Indians shot between the logs, by which means they killed one man and wounded another. The body of Abner Hunt, who had been taken prisoner by the Indians a few days previous, was found near the fort, shockingly mangled and stripped naked, his head scalped, his brains beaten out, and two war clubs laid across his breast."

There has been some disagreement regarding the date and other circumstances of this attack. William Wiseman, one of Kingsbury's soldiers, and Samuel Hahn, a son of Michael Hahn, who is mentioned among the members of the settlement, gave February 7 as the date; January 10 is assigned by Col. Wallace, and also by Thomas Irwin and John Reily, who were among a rescuing party that marched to the fort from Cincinnati and Columbia. This party numbered about one hundred. The detachment from Columbia was commanded by Lieut. Luke Foster, and that from Cincinnati by Lieut. Scott Traverse, while Capt. Alexander Truman, of the regular army, accompanied them with soldiers from Fort Washington. Mr. Olden, from whom these particulars have been obtained, says that two conflicting stories have gained currency regarding the manner in which the people of Cincinnati were apprized of the conflict at Colerain. According to William Wiseman, he alone bore Lieut. Kingsbury's dispatches to Cincinnati, and accompanied the relief party on his return; Col. Wallace asserts that he and Wiseman left Colerain together, went down the Great Miami, and met the relief party, which had been raised upon infor- mation furnished by hunters. However this may be, there is substantial unanimity regarding the essential circumstances and occurrences as narrated.

Colerain township shared in the general influx of settlers that followed the suc- cessful conclusion of Wayne's campaign. As evidenced by its early organization, it was settled rapidly, and, in the first decade of this century, was already marked by the presence of a comparatively numerous population.

ROADS AND STREAMS.

The West Branch of Mill creek drained the southeastern part of the township. The principal stream on the southern line is Taylor's creek, and, north of this, the next considerable affluent of the Great Miami is Blue Rock creek. Dunlap's creek

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

rises near the post-village of that name, and flows a general westerly course into the Miami. Bank Lick creek drains the northeastern part of the township, and flows a general northerly course. Situated thus between the valleys of Mill creek and the Great Miami, the township presents a great variety of topographical feat- ures. Its surface is in many places quite broken.

The township is traversed diagonally from northwest to southeast by the Cole- rain pike, one of the most important thoroughfares in the county. Next in impor- tance as a local line of travel is the Blue Rock pike, so named from the stream of that name. The Harrison pike passes through the extreme southwestern part of the township, and the Hamilton pike is situated upon its eastern boundary for a distance of several miles. The township is traversed by a large number of public roads, among the most important of which are: the Pippin road, which bisects the eastern tier of sections from the county line almost to the southern boundary of the township; the Stone Mill road, the Bank Lick road, the Pottenger road, the Hughes road, the Dunlap road, the Owl Creek road, the Dry Ridge road, the Thompson road, and the Taylor's Creek and Springdale road, one of the oldest public highways in the county.

VILLAGES.

Colerain has already been mentioned. It was platted by John Dunlap, and he succeeded in inducing a number of persons to purchase from him and locate upon the site of the prospective termini. Unfortunately, however, he encountered diffi- culty in completing his title, and this embarrassed his prospects and those of the town.

The modern village of Colerain derived its chief importance as the location of Giles Richards' cotton factory and Joseph Pinney's flourmill. The former was situa- ted on Toad creek near the pike. The latter derived its water power from the river, and was one of the most extensive mills on that stream. Pinney employed from fifty to one hundred men in his various operations, while the farmers in the adja- cent region found the transportation of the product a constant source of revenue. Pinney subsequently erected a distillery, but it did not prove a profitable venture; his mill was damaged by a flood, and finally abandoned. From this time the vil- lage steadily declined, and now scarcely anything remains to mark its site.

Georgetown (Dunlap) occupies an elevated location in the northern part of the township. William and Asher Williamson formerly owned the larger part of the village site. They sold it to a Mr. Parker, who, in 1849, platted a number of lots on the Colerain pike and Hamilton road. South of this is the Yeatman or Glisson subdivision, laid out in 1850 by Thomas S. Yeatman, attorney in fact for Oliver S. Glisson, an officer .in the United States navy; here his father, Thomas Glisson, re- sided. The farm of George Struble was on the east side of the pike; he built sev- eral of the first houses in the village, and when the time arrived to select a name, Georgetown was chosen in his honor. The first business established was a black- smith shop, opened by Thomas Gray, who moved here from Bevis. Asher William- son kept the first store, and George Struble the first hotel. Dunlap post office, which was first established at Richards's cotton factory in Colerain, was removed to the incipient village, but its popular name has always been Georgetown, and will probably so continue. The village has two churches, a schoolhouse, and several stores and local industries.

Bevis is so named in honor of Jesse Bevis, its first postmaster. It was through his efforts and those of James Struble that the office was established. Before the pike was constructed Bevis conducted a hotel. In 1835 he erected a large brick building which still stands a short distance east of the pike; it was then directly upon the road, but the pike having been opened upon a more direct route, he found it necessary to build again, and in 1849 the frame hotel was erected. This was for

AKahn. In

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

many years the polling place for the whole of Colerain township, and here Fourth of July celebrations were frequently held.

Groesbeck comprises two hotels, a blacksmith shop, and a church. Charles West was the first resident in the immediate vicinity. In 1850 Martin Lusinger's grocery store constituted the village. The first local name was West Union, for which the present was substituted by the postal authorities.

Taylor's Creek is a post- village on the Harrison pike in the extreme southwestern part of the township.

CHURCHES.

The West Branch of Mill Creek Baptist Church was constituted October 18, 1810, by a council composed of William Jones, Ross Crosby, and Henry Morton, of the Columbia church; Richard Ayers, Cyrus Crane, and Thomas Higgins, of the Car- penter's Run church; Isaac Sellers, of the Pleasant Run church, and Richard J. Compton, of the Muddy Creek church. The constituent members were Jacob R. Compton, Armena Compton, Elizabeth Brown, Catherine Larison, Martha Runyan, John Runyan, Jonathan Burge, Rachel Burge, Benjamin Runyan, Sr., Benjamin Runyan, Jr., Ann Runyan, Joseph Merrill, Charity Merrill, and Sarah Compton. The first pastor was Rev. Hezikiah Smith, and among his successors have been the Revs. James Lyon, Wilson Thompson, Flint, Southard, Joseph A. Johnson, Sam- uel Danks, Peter Sawin, John Weaver, Robert Thompson, and J. G. Eubanks, pres- ent pastor. The first church at the present site was a brick building, which was demolished by a tornado April 11, 1833. The present brick place of worship was erected in the same year.

Bevis United Brethren Church .- Rev. Elias W. Hoffner conducted the religious services resulting in the organization of this church. Among the first members. were Jesse Bevis, Martin Bevis, David Bevis, John Hunt, Joseph Mullen, and John Looper. Mr. Hoffner preached in the brick hotel at Bevis. The first church was. built in 1842, upon ground given by Jesse Bevis. It was a brick building. The present brick church edifice, which occupies the same site, was dedicated March 26, 1893, by Bishop Castle. Among the first preachers were Revs. Hadder, Scanahorn, Kemp, Emerick, and Bonebrake. The present pastor is Rev. J. E. Yingling. Bevis is the residence of the pastor of Colerain circuit, which embraces the churches: of Bevis, Georgetown, Zion, Mt. Airy, and Bethel.

Dry Ridge United Brethren Church is an old organization. The present frame. church building was dedicated in January, 1890, during the pastorate of Rev. Henry Frank. The frame church that previously occupied its site was built many years ago.

The English United Brethren Church, at Georgetown, was organized, in 1847, by Rev. Jacob Scanahorn. The society at first numbered only four members, viz., L. Burns, Margaret Joyce, Mary Ogg, and William Pickens, of whom L. Burns was class-leader. The Joyce schoolhouse and Mrs. Margaret Joyce's residence were the. first places of worship. In 1850 Giles Richards donated a building site at George- town, and the present church edifice was erected thereon. It was dedicated by Rev. Christopher Flinchpaugh. Its cupola has been added in recent years.

Bethel United Brethren Church. - Among the early members of this society were Parmenus Corson, Ithamar Corson, William Shipman, John Dean, Swain Corson, and Benjamin Davis, of whom the last named was the first class-leader .. The organ- izer was Rev. Thomas Thompson. The first services were held at William Ship- man's wagon shop, but in 1855-56 the present frame church was built. Its site was donated by Benjamin Davis.

The German United Brethren Church at Georgetown was organized by Rev. William Mittendorf, and worshiped in the English church at that place until 1872, when the present frame church was erected. The trustees at that time were George Luechauer, Jacob Bernhardt, and John George Horning.

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

White Oak Christian Church was organized August 15, 1848, by Revs. Joseph Trowbridge and B. U. Watkins. The first officers were William Pool, William Conger, Samuel J. Pouder, and Garrett Vanarsdale, elders, and Daniel Barnes and ~ Dawson Hubbard, deacons. The present pastor is Rev. J. M. Land. The present church was dedicated in December, 1887, and occupies the site of a similar structure erected shortly after the organization.

Groesbeck Methodist Episcopal Church began its history as the Olive Branch church, of which the place of worship was located on the Blue Rock pike. The site of the present church was deeded, November 28, 1849, to William Biddle, Sr., Charles West, James B. Crail, Joseph Sparks, and George Gosling, trustees, and in the same year a brick place of worship was erected thereon. The present frame church was built upon the same site in 1882. This church, and Asbury church, in Green town- ship, are united to form the Groesbeck charge, of which Rev. William Brown is the present pastor.

Trinity Lutheran Church is an organization of the Missouri Synod. Its organ- izer was the Rev. Polloch. The site was given by a Mr. Biermann, and the church building was erected in 1851. It is a substantial stone building, popularly known as " The Old Stone Church."

Pleasant Run Presbyterian Church is situated in the extreme northeast corner of Colerain township, and is the most northerly place of worship in Hamilton county. The site was donated by Christian Slonaker, and the church is a frame building. The organization occurred about the year 1853, and prominent among the early members were William N. Hunter, Abraham Huston, Sullivan Symmes, Cornelius McLean, J. H. Mesler, Noah Hunt, and James Cornelius. Rev. Andrew Reynolds is the present pastor.

St. John's Catholic Church was built in 1860. The congregation was attended from Mt. Pleasant until 1866. From that year until 1873 Rev. Gebhard Egger was resident pastor, and in the latter year he was succeeded by Rev. Franz Karl Julius Voet.

St. Bernard's Catholic Church, Taylor's Creek, was built in 1867-68, and is a substantial stone building. The church site, pastoral residence, cemetery, and adjacent grounds comprise three acres, which were given for this purpose by George Wingirtir. The following is a list of pastors: 1868, Rev. George Feik ; 1871, A. M. Feldhaus; 1874, G. P. Steinlage; 1879, J. H. Hoernschameyer; 1888, H. Proeppermann; 1889, H. Mueller, present incumbent.

St. Paul's Evangelical Protestant Church .- The present constitution of this church was adopted in 1874, at which time the officers were Charles Kress, presi- dent; D. Ruckel, vice-president; George Kern, financial secretary; Adam Hussel, recording secretary; Jacob Westermann, treasurer; John Fuchs and George Kern, trustees. The present brick church was built in 1874, and since that date the pas- tors have been Revs. Malcahn, Abele, Paul Hering, F. H. G. Foelker, J. G. Mueller, and C. Hummel. In the rear of the present church stands an old frame building, the first German Protestant place of worship in this locality.

CHAPTER XXVII. COLUMBIA TOWNSHIP.

ERECTION AND BOUNDARIES-PIONEER HISTORY-VILLAGES-CHURCHES.

C OLUMBIA TOWNSHIP comprises twenty-five entire and eleven fractional sections, embraced in fractional Range II, Townships IV and V. On the north it is bounded by Sycamore and Symmes, on the west by Mill creek, on the south by Anderson, Spencer and the city of Cincinnati, and on the east by Clermont

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

county. Its extreme length from east to west is nine miles, which it attains upon its northern boundary line. This diminishes with the course of the Little Miami river, and becomes three miles and a half upon the southern boundary. From north to south the distance is four miles. The territory thus enclosed presents a great variety of topographical features. Along the Little Miami there is an alluvial bot- tom of varying width, bounded on one side by the river and on the other by the river hills. In the interior of the township, and extending in the direction of its greatest length, is a valley of considerable extent and great natural beauty, inclosed between parallel ranges of hills, in many places precipitous. Duck creek, Syca- more creek, and Walton creek flow into the Little Miami; Mill creek receives several affluents from the western part of the township.

No township in the county has better railroad facilities. The Little Miami fol- lows the course of that stream from the extreme southern to the extreme northeastern part of the township, while the Cincinnati & Richmond line of the Pennsylvania Company crosses it diagonally toward the northwest. The Baltimore & Ohio South- western, the Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern and the Cincinnati, Portsmouth & Virginia also pass through its territory.

The original erection of Columbia township occurred in 1791; Cincinnati and Miami townships were also formed at the same term of court, but as Columbia was assigned the letter A as its cattle brand, it may fairly be regarded as entitled to priority in order of formation. The original boundaries were thus described: "Be- ginning at the foot of the second meridian east of Cincinnati on the Ohio bank ; thence north to the third entire or military range; thence east to the Little Miami; thence down the Miami to Ohio river; thence down the Ohio to place of beginning."

In 1803, Butler county having been erected, a redistribution of the territory of Hamilton county was made, when Columbia township was restricted to the following limits : "Commencing at the southeast corner of Cincinnati township; thence north to the northwest corner of Section 36, in fractional Range 2, Township 4; thence east to the Little Miami; thence south to the Ohio; thence westward to the place of beginning."

The name of the township was derived from Columbia, the first settlement in the county, included in the township as originally formed, and until the erection of Spencer. The first township officers (appointed by the court of quarter-sessions in 1791) were Ephraim Kibby, clerk; John Gerrard, John Morris, constables; Luke Foster, overseer of roads; James Matthews, overseer of the poor. By the action of the court in 1803, the township comprised, in addition to its present area, all of Spencer and that part of the city east of a line corresponding to the present western line of Columbia extended southward to the river. The following is a list of early township officers: Justices: James Mason, John Armstrong, John Jones, David Mc- Gaughey, William Perry, William Armstrong, E. Meeks, Enos Huron, Rice Prichard, Zaccheus Biggs, Abner Applegate, James Armstrong, John Ferris, Smithi Clason, William Baxter, William H. Moore, Thomas B. Mccullough, Eleazar Baldwin, John T. Jones, Ratio Evans, E. Noble, William Tingley, George W. Holmes, Hiram Bodine, John Summers, Oliver Jones. Trustees: Joseph McKnight, N. Shepherd Armstrong, John Seaman, John Eliot, Cheniah Cavalt, John Jones, Peter Smith, John Mann, John Beazly, Samuel Hilditch, Uzal Ward, John McKee, Joseph Reeder, Calvin Ward, David McGaughey, John Clark, Joseph Ferris, John Ferris, Lewis Drake, Enos Huron, William McIntire, Abram Smith, William Armstrong, Andrew Ferris, Richard Morgan, William Perry, James Ward, John Armstrong, William H. Moore, Smith Clason, Andrew Baxter, Andrew McMahan, Lindley Broadwell, John Warren, William Highlands, Oliver Jones, John G. Leonard, Samuel Earhart, Seth C. Lindsley, John Jones. Clerks: John Jones, 1801-02; James Mason, 1803; David McGaughey, 1804-08; William Armstrong, 1809; William Schillinger, 1810-11; Samuel Johnson, 1812-13; Moses Morrison, 1814-21; William A. Moore, 1822-26;

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History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 59

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1592

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592