History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 65

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Ohio > Crawford County > History of Crawford County and Ohio > Part 65

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Just north of Galion, where David Gill and George Wood settled, there can be seen the remains of their orchard; the young trees for this orchard were taken from one of Johnny Appleseed's nurseries. The west orchard, on the Clymer land, was raised from seedlings planted by the same man, as was also the orchard on the Sharrock homestead. Many more such instances could be made known of settlers availing themselves of these fruit- trees, but enough have been mentioned to show the usefulness of this strange man. He brought with him numerous varieties of seeds (to be sown through the settlements), mostly of a medicinal character; altogether, he was a strange, simple, good man, and worthy of all

the praise that has been given in his memory.

Asa Hosford came from Richfield, Mass. At the age of twenty-one, he left New York (where his father had emigrated) with his brother Horace; they arrived at Cleveland in the first boat that ever sailed on Lake Erie. They started afoot for the interior, and arrived at Galion September 19, 1819, on Saturday evening; they rested over Sabbath at the house of Benjamin Leveredge; they passed the win- ter in Huron County, and in the spring were met by their father's family; who were on their way to Galion; near the Corners, before any road was opened, and before any general travel was expected, the father erected a double log cabin. As settlers came in and travelers became numerous, Mr. Hosford, like all other settlers, was importuned for meals and lodging. All this while Asa Hosford was single, and working wherever he could find employment; he worked for some time with his brother Horace, who had a blacksmith-shop near his father's dwelling. He worked along several years before he had saved $100, with which to procure a piece of land; the father never kept a hotel, but merely entertained those who could not find accommodation elsewhere, or had not facilities for camping out. Finally, Mr. Hosford sold the property to his son-in-law, but he never occupied it or used it for any purpose. In 1824, Asa Hosford opened a tavern in the double log house which he had bought from his brother-in-law; he was not yet married and he contracted with his sister to act as landlady; these duties she performed with success. Mr. Hosford was a year finding a landlady that would promise to remain with him for all time; he married Miss Alta Kent, of Bucyrus. He prospered in this tavern for eight years, at which time they sold out to John Ruhl; they have three children living- Rebecca, Eri and Stephen. In the year 1824, the Corners was known as Galion; it had a

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

commodious hotel. Here two roads crossed, one of which was a stage route, and the other was a highway to market for a hundred miles south of the lake. The settlement of Galion had a post office, a store with assorted goods, a blacksmith-shop, a schoolhouse, and a grist- mill in the vicinity. George Wood was a car- penter and ready to put up such work as was wanted. Soon followed the distillery at the springs on Atwood street, which consumed some of the grain, and enabled the people to enjoy their whisky at 18 to 25 cents a gallon. Nathaniel Story was hunting and working " time-about;" hunters abounded all over the country. and some trapping was done. Three or four old beaver dams exist in the vicinity of Galion, but have never been inhabited since white men settled in the vicinity. It is quite probable that some of the old British fur companies had their trappers at work here years before; they certainly got large quanti- ties of fur; these furs were, doubtless, traded to China for the very tea for which the Ameri- cans were taxed before the Revolution.

Many persons at an early date engaged in bee-hunting. A Mr. Schauber sold enough honey to secure the purchase money on what is known as the Schauber farm. The beautiful forests abounded in bee-trees; it is surprising to see the countless swarms that spread over the West. The Indians considered them the harbinger of the white man, as the whites do buffalo and deer of the Indian, and note that as the larger game retires the bee advances. The Indians with surprise found the moldering trees of their forests suddenly teeming with ambrosial sweets, and nothing can exceed the greedy relish with which they banquet for the first time upon this unbought luxury of the wilderness. The honey-bee swarms in myriads in the noble groves and forests that skirt and intersect the prairies, and along the alluvial bottoms of the creeks and rivers. The hunters

generally place a piece of comb on a tree, and await the arrival of workers. As soon as the bees have loaded themselves with honey, they take their flight straight for their own tree with their load. The hunters run after them with head erect and eyes aloft, frequently stumbling over obstacles at their feet; in this manner they track the bees to their individual colonies, mark the trees, and seek for more. They dare not cut down the trees until fully prepared to take away the honey, for the bears, skunks, raccoons and possums have sweet teeth and would soon devour any honey within their reach. The bear will gnaw for days together until they make a hole in the trunk, big enough to insert their paws, and then draw out honey, bees and all. Mr. Story states that in an early day, Doudy, an Indian, with his squaw, cut down a bee-tree. The grandfather of Story was along; the honey was very fine, and the Indian, who was very fond of Mr. Story, sent him a large piece of comb on a piece of shellbark. Story was quite overcome by the generosity of the Indian, who, he says, was gentle in peace, while desperate and brave in war.

Altogether, this was a prosperous communi- ty. Farms were being cleared in every direc- tion, and there were no more doubts about the prosperity of the country.

We have spoken somewhat of the attention the settlers paid to religion, and will now devote some space to education. Mr. Phous Jackson is credited by Mr. Dunlap as the first teacher in the township of Polk. This may be true, outside of Galion, but David Gill was certainly the first teacher in Galion. However, we give Mr. Dunlap's statement, and when we write of Galion we will give the school history from beginning to end. He says that Phous Jack- son, a cousin of Judge Jackson, had taught two months in the winter of 1825, in a private house, the first and only school that had ever

439

been taught in the township. In the fall of the next year, Mr. Dunlap concluded to teach; he held school for three months, at $1.25 per pupil. The people soon put up a log cabin, 12x14, seven logs high to the eaves, for a schoolhouse; they split some slabs or puncheons for a floor, spread some clapboards overhead for a loft, had foolscap paper greased for win- dows, had slabs for seats, and a board for writing desk. Among the first scholars who attended that school now living, are Dr. Story, of Iowa, a Free-Will Baptist minister; James Reeves, a preacher, and Gen. George Row, of Marion, a lawyer. We cannot find the date of organization of school districts in the county, nor of subdistricts in Sandusky Township; at the first division, Galion formed Subdistrict No. 9, and it remained so some time. Galion was advanced to a borough in 1840, and elected her first Mayor, Joel Todd, but the school re- mained in the same order. The law under which school districts are formed is such that opportunities are ever present for making new districts or changing their form, adding to or taking from. Not even an attempt can be made to give the boundaries of old or new dis- tricts and their changes; their outline might present a geometrical figure, whose area a Newton would be puzzled to compute. The township was not settled in its different por- tions with the same rapidity, and while a " dis- trict " would be imperative in one part, perhaps the same area would have but a few families in some other portion of the township. However, they got along with their primitive schools and primitive teachers, and at this time have seven school districts and seven good brick school- houses. Nothing could be more prosperous than this conditon of things. The reports of these schools show prosperity, and a full and realiz- ing sense of the importance of education. The names of the schoolhouses in the several districts are as follows: Dice's, Rhinehart's, Hillgrove,

Klopfenstein, Jackson's, Williams', Bergner's. These schoolhouses have each good furniture, and in every respect are models of neatness and comfort, and each district is strenuous in its efforts to secure good and efficient teachers. Certainly the youth of Polk Township have no reason to complain of a lack of educational facilities, as they will compare favorably with those of any other State. The earliest record of the schools of the township are dated 1843. There were at that time nine districts, Galion forming Subdistrict No. 9. The whole num- ber of school children for the year was 397.

The following is the annual report of the enumeration of youth between the ages of five and twenty-one years in Polk Township, Craw- ford County, taken and returned to the under- signed township Clerk of said township, by the Local Directors, between the first and third Mondays in September, 1863:

Number of Sub-

NO. OF YOUTH.

district.

Males.

Females.

Tp. 14, R. 20.

Tp. 16, R. 21.

Tp. 20, R. 20.

Tp. 15, R. 21.

No. of Section.

Total Number.

3 and 4

5 and 6

2 and 3

26, 27, 34,

35.

36, 1, 25, 26

2) and 30

27, 28, 29,

₹87

Total

192

205

The trade of Polk continued for many years along the Columbus and Sandusky City road. Small lots of goods were brought back by the farmers, such as salt, groceries, etc .; but many of the stores throughout the county brought their stock from Philadelphia and Baltimore, over the mountains. This was expensive and tedious, but paid better than to buy goods at the lake that had passed through so many hands. In the year 1840, a strap railroad was built from Sandusky to Monroeville; the cars were drawn by horses. After this, the

33, 34.

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

440

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

farmers of Polk and vicinity took their prod- uce to Monroeville, thereby saving three or four days of time, this trip consuming on an average not more than three days. Eventually the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark road was built; as soon as it was finished to Mansfield and Shelby, the latter place became the market for Polk Township, as Mansfield had been in the beginning. There it continued until the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati road was brought to Galion. Then the era of taverns and long roads to market was ended forever in Polk Township. The reason that the Colum- bus & Sandusky road was not a stage route, was the fact that a north-and-south road, east and west of it, passed through the county seats, and those routes were selected for stage travel.

The building of the railroad was an era in the growth and development of Polk Township as well as that of Galion; she took rapid strides in growth; for many years, the popu- lation of Polk and Galion was far behind Bucy- rus and its township, but ere many years Galion and Polk led their rivals by a large majority.

The census of 1880 gives to Polk Township, outside of Galion, a population of 883. This is a gain of only 37 during the last decade. We can hardly expect the population of Polk Township to ever rise to a very high figure. From the present geographical location of Polk, it is evident that no other town will ever exist within its limits other than Galion. The whole township is given to agriculture, with almost no waste of untillable land, and no great interest can exist here. At the time the lands were mostly taken up, there was peace throughout the territory, and everybody felt secure in making large purchases and invest- ing all their means. The natural result of this method of buying has been to create large farms. Thus, from your to year, the forests have been cut away, swampy and wet land has

been drained, and nearly all of what was once considered poor land has been reclaimed. Year by year the acreage has increased; each farmer has widened out his domain of tillable land, while labor-saving machinery has lessened the demand for working hands. The gain of thirty-seven inhabitants in the last decade, bears no relation whatever to the increase of productiveness and large gains of marketable produce.

Two miles east of Galion are the tile works of Messrs. Weaver & Reed. This factory was started in May, 1879; they have a dry-kiln, 14S feet in length, with a commodious engine- house; there is a capacity for burning 2,500 tile at one time. They have five men constantly employed, who average 7,000 tile per day. There is a large and increasing demand for tile throughout this and adjoining townships; the draining of lands, by means of a system of tiling, has passed from the domain of experi- ment to that of an assured and valued success. There are on the Infirmary grounds, or county farm of Crawford County, about two and one- half miles of tiling. Nearly every farmer in the township is acquainted with the system, and is well informed as to its value, where needed. There is no doubt but that a permanent de- mand will be made for these tile, that will in- sure their constant manufacture. The con- venience of the factory to the farmers of Polk is a matter of congratulation, as it always is when the requirements of the farm can be produced in the near vicinity of their consump- tion.

There is but one church in Polk Township, outside of Galion. This is what is known as the old Baptist Church, just east of Galion.

A short trip through Polk Township in the spring of the year will reveal the fact that most of the wheat has been drilled in, and not sown broadcast. Good fences inclose all the farms, and the buildings are models of beauty

443

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

and utility. When the grass is cut, you do not hear the continual whet, whet, of the back- breaking scythe; but you do hear the rattle of machinery, and see the farmer comfortably seated on his mowing machine, driving his sleek and well-conditioned horses across the meadows; and, when the hay is cured and be- ing collected for housing away, you see the horse-rake gathering in the scattered hay in a rapid and cleanly manner. Then, at the barn or stack comes in the horse-fork, which per- forms the work that has always been laborious and tedious to the farmer. This same fork, in combination with an improved hay-knife, enables the farmer to load his ricks with ease, and haul to market with a great saving of time and labor. Then comes the grain. It was thought to be the acme of perfection, a few years ago, when wheat and grain were cut down rapidly enough to keep two rakers and binders busy behind a machine. Now, with the driver comfortably seated on the machine the grain is rapidly swept down, gathered up in bundles and tied, and when a sufficient number are accumulated can be dropped in one spot for putting up in shocks; and, suppose, under unavoidable circumstances, the grain be too dry to cut in this manner. They have only to take another machine, called the header, that will cut off the heads only from the straw, and the grain can be taken to the barn in tight wagon boxes. During the early days, wheat was threshed with aflail, or by tramping of horses and cattle; men went from farm to farm and contracted to do their threshing for them, generally at the price of one-tenth of the yield. The horse-power threshing machine involved considerable work and many hands and teams, yet it was a great advance over hand-flailing and tramping. Now, after harvest, can be seen all over the country, wreaths of smoke curling upward, which mark the spot where some little engine, run by steam, threshes the grain much

more perfectly than was ever done by hand All hands are not obliged to stop and give the horses a rest; the motive power in a steam- thresher never gets tired. What a compari- son! The farmers of Polk ride in carriages every week, that, sixty years ago, would have stamped them at once as aristocratic in the extreme.

Polk Township as it now exists (1880) is a model of what may be accomplished by pa- tience and well-directed industry. The early pioneers who have labored over sixty years to make of this a vineyard, to transmute the howl- ing wilderness into a blooming garden, are worthy of praise, honor and emulation. They have received the reward of their daring en- terprise, as far as material interests are con- cerned. The heavy timber and thick under- growth have been cleared away; their orchards are abundant, and they blossom and bear fruit; broad acres of ripening grain redeem the promises of a full yield; an abundance of fine horses, cattle and sheep, with all kinds of stock, show well the luxuriousness of their rich meadows; the large and well-filled barns, the beautiful country homes, with a thousand comforts and luxuries, above all attest that a bountiful harvest has succeeded from the first sowings of civilization sixty years ago.

The experiences and necessities of successive generations have brought their legitimate results. From the first rude log cabin and barn, we can now see many beautiful mansions of frame and of brick, with spacious barns and outbuildings of the finest work. From the first rude schoolhouse, that was a wonder when it was built, we can now see seven well- appointed brick schoolhouses. Not only these opportunities are ever present, but it is rapidly becoming a custom for the farmers to send their sons and daughters to a higher grade of schools when they have done with their own, and the barrier between the country and city bred, is

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

fast disappearing. Now it is a common cus- tom for the wealthy and retired merchant to have his country seat, and the farmer, after

years of toil and accumulation, bethinks him- self of a city residence with its advantages of school and cultivation for his children. .

CHAPTER XII .*

CITY OF GALION-FIRST PLAT AND ADDITIONS-SOME OF ITS BUSINESS MEN-GROWTH AND BUSINESS-HOTELS, BANKS. MILLS, ETC-INCORPORATION-FIRE DEPARTMENT-CEMETERIES.

G ALION was laid out September 10, 1831, by Michael and Jacob Ruhl. At this time, it was in Sandusky Township, Richland County. The original plat consisted of thirty-five lots, and extended from Lot No. 1, on which the Ristine Block stands, to the second alley on West Main street. The first addition was made by the same parties December 14, 1833, and consisted of thirty-three lots. Over sixty separate and distinct additions have since been made. The nearest towns to Galion, when it first made its appearance as a geographical location, were Mansfield, Upper Sandusky, New Haven and Mount Gilead, and by calling them towns at that time they received a dignity that would hardly be accorded them now. Galion was the natural inheritor of what little business and enterprise existed at the Corners. About the public square was higher ground and a more desirable location in every respect for a village; the Corners were built upon low, swampy ground; they were in close proximity to the sluggishi head-waters of the Olentangy, and the land rose higher on every side of the settlement; nothing but the crossing of the roads ever gave that spot any prestige over any other locality. The business was not long in being transferred to the vicinity of the square, and the plat of the old settlement was taken up. It was, as we have intimated, known by numerous names; but when a post office was *Contibuted by Dr. J. C. McIlvaine.

established in 1824, it began to curtail some of the titles, and select one upon which there could be some unanimity. The petition signed by the residents, named Goshen as the most euphonious, but the Postmaster General in- formed the good people of the burg that there was already more than one Goshen, and with their permission he named the new post office Galion. The name can be found no- where else in the world. What suggested it, or whether it was arbitrary upon his part, is unknown. John Ruhl, the father of Michael and Jacob Ruhl, had entered several quarter- sections in the vicinity of Galion. He came from York County, Penn., direct to Galion and moved into a log cabin at the Corners. The cabin was without a floor, except the earth; the fam ily consisted of father, mother, Michael, Jacob, Levi, Henry, Peter and Rebecca; the daughter, Rebecca, was married to Mr. J. Criley, who lived on a farm, which now forms the southeast portion of the city; the west line of this farm is now South street, on the corner of which stands the residence of Samuel Myers. Mr. Criley had a carding machine and fulling mill; the motive power of this machinery was a steam engine, the first that ever did service in Galion. Mr. Ruhl, Sr., was possessed of considerable means in lands and money; he purchased and sold to Jacob, liis son, the northeast quarter of Section 31, and to Michael the southeast quar- ter of the same section. Henry Ruhl owned

445

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

the Gill farm, and Levi owned the land that was known as the Brewery land, on the State road, and Peter Ruhl owned a farm east of Asa Hos- ford's mill. Jacob Ruhl was an active member and a zealous worker in the Lutheran Church, and gave much of his time and influence toward the erection of the first public edifice that was dedicated to God in Galion. He erected the first saw-mill in Polk Township or near vicinity of Galion. James Nail had erected a saw-mill at a much earlier date, but, as near as can be determined, it was just without the present south line of Polk Township. Mr. Ruhl's saw-mill was on North Market street, at the creek; traces of the old race and dam are yet remaining east of the street. Michael Ruhl kept a store on the square in a frame house; Jacob Ruhl kept a tavern where the Sponhauer Block is. This was the first frame house erected in Galion or Polk Township. It had been built by Asa Hosford, who, some time before, had erected a frame barn near the old Corners, which was also the first frame barn in the township. This barn was entitled to special recognition, as its walls and rafters had been witness to the word of God and hymns and prayer long before any building had been specially consecrated to Him.

Michael Ruhl kept a varied stock in his store south of the square; goods of all descrip- tions that could be wanted in a frontier town were there. It has been said of him, however, that he inclined to drugs, and that he carried quite a stock of medicines, patent and other- wise; also that he possessed as much medical skill as was possible without a special prepara · tion for the practice, and was always proud to be able to assist in alleviating suffering and pain. John Ruhl, the father, died in Galion. Jacob and Michael are both dead, and Peter yet resides in Galion. Jacob has three daughters living in Galion-Mrs. O. T. Hart, Mrs. Seth Cummings and Miss Mary

Ruhl. The latter lady has her home with her sister, Mrs. Seth Cummings. Mrs. O. T. Hart, while a young girl, went to school at the old log schoolhouse on Main street. One day, while they were conning over their les- sons and deep in the mysteries of Webster's old speller, a man on horseback came riding from the west, at a breakneck speed; his hair was disheveled, his clothing hung in the wind, and his countenance had an appearance of abject terror. He shouted and gesticulated in a loud and excited manner, saying that the Indians were coming in force, and bidding each one seek safety in flight. School was promptly dismissed, and the little ones fled with unabated speed to their homes for safe- ty. No Indians came, and the excitement died away. No one has ever accounted for the ori- gin of the alarm. Soon after the arrival of the Ruhls, they began to plan the work, which they afterward accomplished. They already possessed a manifest advantage in the great quantity of valuable land they possessed, and it was soon known that they were in posses- sion of money with which they could purchase more; and they determined to possess more ; they bought of others such pieces as they would need to carry out their enterprise, or that would sell at a good advance after their improvements were made. They were considered good men, of an enterprising na- ture, and valuable additions to the little com- munity. There were others in the settlement who had hoped to do much, and contemplated the very work that the Ruhls were evidently engaged in. But they knew they could not compete with the new-comers and their wealth. The result was that they com- bined their labor with the Ruhls and hon- estly aided them in the furtherance of their plans. It is not known that any of the Rull family ever took advantage of any man's por- erty or financial embarrassments when they

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History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 65

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1034