History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 71

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 71

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

log schoolhouse was erected. The logs were lightly hewed on the outside after the build- ing was erected. This schoolhouse was used for religious worship, and was the first public building used for that purpose. In the year 1834, this building burned down. The next building erected for school purposes was a hewed-log building, on what is now Joel Rib- let's property, on North Market street. The gable ends were sided up and painted red; the roof was of shaved oak shingles; the walls were chinked with clay, mud, and stone. Here, in the third schoolhouse built in Galion, we find the slab seats are yet predominant. An improvement existed, however, by the innovation of desks. These were made some- thing in the shape of a box, with poplar boards. A feature of this school was a piece of furniture called the dunce block. It was separated from the other seats, and generally placed in the aisle or near the teacher's desk. More than one father and mother of Galion can now bring to recollection the shame and confusion they experienced when occupying this lowly seat. But nothing could be added to the shame, when, occupying the dunce block, the "fool's cap" was placed on the head. These modes of punishment were in full vogue during the long time Mr. John Stauffer taught, and were generally not con- sidered inappropriate. We doubt very much that a teacher would be sustained for a single day in such a course at this time. This old building outlived its usefulness as a hall of learning, and now does duty on the lot north as a wagon shop, owned by Jacob Henenom. Most of the middle-aged citizens of Galion, who obtained their rudimentary education here, have attended school in this building. It was in this building that the first Sabbath school was organized, by Sarah Ruhl and Mrs. Dr. Johnson. It was while this build- ing was in use that the township had been

divided into districts. The town of Galion was made a separate district or subdistrict, and was called No. 9. In 1845, the enumer- ation of school children for this district was 124.

As we have stated, the last log schoolhouse had yet slab seats; but, as soon as Polk Town- ship was organized, the officers of School Dis- trict No. 9 began to make improvements. Among the first innovations was a change in the pattern of the seats. We give below a contract between the directors and George Rensch, for this improvement:

"Article of agreement made and entered into this 20th day of October, 1846. The Direct- ors of District No. 9 of the first part, and George Rensch, of the second part, of Galion, Polk Township, Crawford County, and State of Ohio. Whereas, the said George Rensch does agree to make fifteen seats and fifteen desks, four feet long; desks eighteen inches wide, seats ten inches broad; one double desk and two seats eight feet long, with a division board in the sonth, a seat to be made at the end of every desk, and a platform four feet square, raised six inches from the floor, with a desk on it four feet long, eighteen inches wide, to be placed down the back to the seat that is to be put in front, with a seat to be placed behind the desk; likewise one batten door and hung, glass put in the windows, and patch the plastering, and furnish all the ma- terial. The work to be finished on or before the fifteenth of November, next, and done in a workmanlike manner. All of the work to be nailed together. And the aforesaid direct- ors doth agree to pay the said George Rensch the sum of $20, when the work is done as described above. Signed and sealed in pres- ence of witnesses. Witness, J. V. Bloomer, G. C. Wrenn. Directors, Isaac Wiley, Peter Cross, George Rensch." This third and last log school building was erected in 1834.

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

The old system of select school teaching continued for some time after the Akron school law was enacted. Select schools were taught side by side with the public system, until the comparison became odious. It was not strange that all could not see the grand possibilities of the new system; neither was the law, or its execution perfected, as it now is. Schools were opened and taught as an educational factory, exactly as one would open a door or shop, depending upon the patronage of the people. Education was doled out at so much per month, by teachers who were their own censors. If a scholar was sick, or from any cause likely to be detained from school, a brother or sister could attend, and fill up the lost time. Thus the deficiency was made good, and all were satisfied. There were always a number of teachers who would solicit pupils for each term; these teachers supplied a want in the earlier days that was very necessary to the settlers. In many cases, where the people could not afford a schoolhouse, these teachers would rent a room, and thus enable the school to go on. They generally went from house to house and solic- ited pupils. They would set forth the pe- culiar advantages of their system, and dilate upon their marvelous facilities for discipline. They charged a certain sum for each pupil, and agreed to teach a definite length of time. These teachers were their own censors. No board of examiners made them tremble and fear and grow sick with the dread of a failure. Their authority was complete. No laws of State or town interfered with them. Many of these old style -teachers were faithful in their work, and taught good schools. Among some of them were David Gill, Phares Jack- son, John Morrison, Joel Todd, James Dun- lap. Later on, before the building of the first brick schoolhouse in Galion, a select school was taught in the old frame Methodist

Church, on West Main street, by Miss Rebecca Hosford, now Mrs. Maxfield. Soon after this school, Miss White, now the wife of Mr. H. C. Carhart, taught a select school in the old hotel building, near the northwest corner of the square, now occupied as a barber shop. In the earlier times, the teacher often boarded around from house to house, visiting the home of each pupil. In many respects, this was a good custom, as it brought the parents and teacher in closer relation, and developed a greater interest in the progress of their chil- dren.

Finally, came the Akron school law, in 1847. This was the basis upon which our present perfected school system was founded. When this law came into force, Galion had grown and increased in population to that extent that new schools and a broader system was needed. To meet the requirements of this law, the schoolhouse now occupied by St. Joseph's Catholic society, was built. It was a large building for the times, and furnished abun- dant room. The first brick schoolhouse in the township, it was a matter of pride with the inhabitants. This was the first graded school also, which was a feature unknown in the an- nals of school history of this vicinity. This building was erected in the year 1854, on the corner of Liberty and Church streets. Mr. Lowe was appointed a committee of one to purchase the property. It belonged to Jacob Ruhl, who had owned the whole quarter-sec- tion. The whole block was purchased, in which there were three lots. It was some time after the new school system was inaugurated, before the receipts from taxation were sutti- cient to keep a school for more than three months. In this case, school would be kept as long as the money held out, and then the citizens continued by subscription to keep the school going for the usual length of time. There were four grades in this first organiza-

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

tion. No. 1, primary, was so crowded with pupils that extra benches were placed around the room for the scholars. It was taught by Mrs. Hackadorn and Mrs. C. S. Crimm. No. 2 was taught by Hugh Williams; No. 3, by John Clymer, who afterward edited the Bucyrus Forum; No. 4 was taught by David Kerr, who was the first Superintendent of Schools. The seats were arranged in single rows. They consisted of wooden chairs, set upon a wooden pedestal adjusted to the center of the seat and screwed to the floor; the back of the chair or slat was also screwed to the desk behind it. The desks were of wood and iron. The cast- ing was done in Galion, and the desks were made here. The blackboards were plastered into the walls. The building soon became crowded, and, to gain more room, the basement was finished off into two apartments, and a German school taught in one of them. This was a new element in the population of Gal- ion, that, from its numbers, demanded recog- nition. Abraham Underwood sold to a Ger- man the first land ever owned in Galion by one of that nationality; but foreigners were arriving rapidly, and they were so numerous at this time that they demanded and obtained a German department in connection with the public system. This schoolhouse was sold just about the time of the erection of the union school building. It was afterward fit- ted with machinery, and a stock company ran a woolen-mill in it. This failed, and eventu- ally the building was purchased by the Cath- olic society, and is now used for a church and parochial school by the St. Joseph's Society.

Mr. J. C. Hartzler was Superintendent of schools while the Union School building was erected. On the 21st of March, 1868; the last piece of ground required for school grounds was purchased. From this time on, the school board met frequently, and were chiefly occu- pied with the building. Many changes were

made from the first plans, and improvements were suggested and carried out until the build- ing was completed. The architect of the building was J. W. Thomas, who was also Superintendent of the erection of the building. The contract was taken by Bird & Woodward, at $31,000. Numerous committees were ap- pointed to visit different parts of the country for the purpose of ascertaining the best mate- rials, and the most successful furnaces and ventilators, and pains were taken to copy from the best in all the parts of the building. It was said to be built in 1869, but the work was a long time being completed. Bonds were issued as a means of obtaining money for the building. In January of 1872, at the urgent demand of the tax-payers, J. G. Meuser and S. G. Cummings were appointed a committee to report the cost of the schoolhouse, grounds, and all matters wherein expenses were incurred in the improving of the grounds. Their re- port shows that the whole cost up to that date was $87,571. The grounds cost over $9,000; the item of fence alone was $2,371.60. This building occupies ground between Boston street on the west to South Union on the east, and from Walnut street on the north to a dis- tance about one-half across the block on the south. Fine walks are laid in the grounds; fine maples almost surround the block, and line the sidewalks; the grounds have been filled up and graded till they are perfect. It is the intention in the near future to ornament and adorn the grounds by landscape garden- ing. The present Superintendent, M. Manly, has occupied this position for six years, and has been elected for a term of three years more. In the year 1879, the brick schoolhouse in the eastern part of the city was built. This is a very neat and tastily designed piece of archi- tecture. It answers to something in the nature of a ward school, although, from the peculiar outlines of the different wards, no schoolhouse

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can be erected with strict reference to them. This last schoolhouse is located north of East Main street, on the corner of Church and East streets. This building is in great favor with many of the citizens, who object to the large size of the union school building. In the east schoolhouse, there are three teachers employed. In the high school building, there are fourteen teachers, J. L. Lasley, teacher of high school, and A. W. Lewis, teacher of grammar school. The first graduating class from the high school was in 1871, and consisted of only two

-Willis Stentz, of the First National Bank, and S. S. Pague, who afterward graduated at West Point, and is now Lieut. Pague, U. S. A. There have been in all six schoolhouses erected in Galion, three of which were log buildings, and three of brick. There are but two buildings used for school purposes at this time, and both of them are an honor to the city, both as regards their architectural beauty, and the perfect manner in which they are conducted.

CHAPTER XIV.

JACKSON TOWNSHIP-INTRODUCTORY -TOPOGRAPIIY -ORIGINAL BOUNDARIES-THE WHITES - RAILROADS AND TOWNS-THE EARLY LIFE OF CRESTLINE- RELIGIONS, ETC.

TN the eastern part of Crawford County, lies Jackson Township, the smallest of its civil divisions. Like the little Republic of San Marino, situated amid the lesser ranges of the Apennines, and the smallest republic in the world, embracing but twenty-one square miles, Jackson Township is not only the smallest division of Crawford County, but probably the smallest township in the State of Ohio. From one of the largest townships, it has been whittled off and cut down, until it now comprises but eight square miles. In its original dimensions it included Jefferson Township, together with other portions of ter- ritory, and it was not until 1873, as shown in another chapter, that Jefferson was set off from Jackson. These two townships are hon- ored with good old Democratic names; the one for the hero of New Orleans, and the other for the great apostle of American De- mocracy. The latter name (Jefferson) was doubtless bestowed upon the township at the time of its creation, in consequence of the source from which its territory was taken.

Being made of a "rib" from " Old Hickory," otherwise taken from the township of Jackson, it was not deemed advisable or prudent to offend the memory of the old iron-souled war- rior-President, by calling it by any other than a good, sound Democratic name. The history of the two townships is interwoven, they being one until so recent a date that it is difficult to separate them, and to give a distinct sketch of each, without "mixing things " almost un- intelligibly. The early settlement of the town- ship is noticed principally in the chapter devoted to Jefferson, as that portion now known as Jefferson was settled first. Hence, but little will be given in this connection upon that subject.

This little township, this little San Marino of Crawford County, has experienced wonder- ful changes in the last sixty years. There are but few American readers who are not familiar with the romantic story of Rip Van Winkle, as told by Washington Irving. This story recites the strange adventures that befell the long sleeper in the Catskill Mountains,

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

which served but as a prelude to the surprise that awaited him when he awoke, no longer the loyal subject of George III, or the crony of Nick Vedder, the tapster, and the some- time boon companion of Van Brummel, the Dutch schoolmaster, but the free and sov- ereign citizen of this great Republic, then for a decade of years or more, piloting its way in "the full tide of successful experiment." Were "one to rise from the dead" who saw this country sixty years ago, in all its original wild- ness, or some of the "noble red men," whose hunting-grounds it once was, come back from the land of the Great Spirit, they would doubtless be as much bewildered at the change inwrought in these three-score years as was Rip Van Winkle when he awoke from his little nap in the Catskill Mountains. The pioneer found here an unbroken forest, miry swamps, the Wyandot Indians, and a profu- sion of game of all kinds. The visitor of to- day finds flourishing farms, palace homes, trunk-line railroads, and those concomitants of civilization-the church and schoolhouse. The patient ox, the old Cary plow, the reap- ing-hook and the scythe and cradle have given place to the improved machinery of to-day, so that the tilling of the soil is no longer a drudgery, but one of the sciences of the age in which we live. All this, the sixty years that have come and gone since the pioneer wan- dered here, have witnessed. The giant trees that have withstood the storms for ages, and in whose tops

" The century-living crow Had his birth, then grew old and died Among their branches,"

have almost disappeared before the advancing tide of immigration, until now, a more flour- ishing or highly favored locality than the eight square miles of Jackson Township is scarcely to be found in the State. The land is rich, well improved, and has every facility,

both natural and artificial, to render it valu- able to the husbandman.

The surface features of Jackson Township are not dissimilar to the surrounding country. In its original state, it was heavily timbered, and in many places flat and swampy, but with a soil of almost unexampled richness. It was a section not unlike the " Black Swamp " in the western part of the State, or the "Black For- est" of Germany, where

" Der Schwarzwald steht der finstrer Tannen,"

and when cleared of the timber, drained and properly cultivated, was very valuable. Ar- tificial or tile draining has done much to re- claim this swampy land, and reduce it to the fine state of cultivation we find it in at the present time. Its principal productions are corn, wheat and oats; also the more common of the smaller crops are grown to some extent. The timber is that indigenous to this section, and consists mainly of several kinds of oak, hickory, poplar, sugar maple, beech, elm, ash, and some walnut, and some of the common shrubs. It has but few water-courses or streams of running water, even of the smallest dimensions. One of the tributaries forming the Sandusky River, passes through the north part of the township. This, with Whetstone Creek, and one or two small brooks which are nameless on the maps, constitutes its natural drainage system.

Geographically, Jackson Township, as we have said, lies in the eastern part of the county, and is bounded north by Vernon Township, east by Richland County, south by Polk Township, west by Jefferson Town- ship, and is situated in Range 20 west, of Township 20, and is fractional, being one sec- tion short of the fourth of a regular Con- gressional township. As nearly as the facts can be definitely ascertained, the eight sec- tions now comprising Jackson Township, were

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

originally in Richland County, and the twelve western sections, a part of Sandusky Township, in this county. In 1835, a petition was pre- sented to the County Commissioners, praying for a new township, and fifteen sections were stricken off from Sandusky, and called Jack- son, as already related, for the hero of New Orleans. In 1842, a four-mile strip was added to Crawford from Richland County, and eight new sections were added to Jackson, making in all twenty-eight sections. At that time, it embraced within its limits Jefferson Town- ship, which, as we have seen, remained a part of Jackson until 1873, when the citizens liv- ing in the western part petitioned the County Commissioners to be created a separate and distinct township, in order that they might enjoy some of the emoluments of office, Crestline being in the habit of capturing the majority of them, thus leaving the west end of the township out in the cold. In 1822, we learn that an election was held at the resi- dence of one of the prominent settlers, in what is now Jackson Township, and officers elected, but their names we were unable to obtain. This, then, may properly be termed the organization of Sandusky, now Jackson Township. In 1840, the township had a pop- ulation of 636: in 1870, it had, including Crestline, increased to 4,021, and in 1880, its present territory, exclusive of Crestline, con- tained 386 inhabitants; thus showing a grad- ual increase in population, taking into con- sideration the different extent of territory at the date of census. There are no towns or villages in Jackson except Crestline; indeed, there is no room for any others; for, by the time Crestline has grown to be as large as Cincinnati, it will cover the entire township, from end to end. Two trunk-line railroads cross almost at right angles, near the center, thus affording to the good people the most ample means of both travel and transportation.

This portion of Crawford County was a fa- vorite hunting-ground of the Indian, long before the appearance of the white man. We have no record of Indian towns and villages in the present township of Jackson, but, in that portion now known as Jefferson, many facts of history pertaining to the red men are intimately connected and associated. Through it, Crawford moved upon his ill-fated cam- paign against the Indians, and within its bor- ders he encamped one night, as he marched on to his destruction. Indeed, nearly every square mile of Jefferson has some Indian in- cident or legend attached to it. In its forests, he chased the bounding deer, or howled be- hind his flying prey, and in the glare of the "wigwam fire" he "wooed his dusky mate." And in the thick forests of Jackson, as at present limited, he is only associated through that portion lately stricken off. These forests were an attractive spot to the savage in an early day, and a favorite place of hunting. But, as the tide of civilization pressed on, the poor Indian was forced backward, and the spot where he had roamed as undisputed monarch, was destined to know him no more forever. Well might he have said: "The stranger came, a timid suppliant-few and feeble, and asked to lie down on the red man's bear-skin, and warm himself at the red man's fire, and have a little piece of land to raise corn for his women and children; and now he has become strong and mighty and bold, and spreads out his parchments over the whole, and says, 'It is mine.' Stranger, there is not room for us both. The Great Spirit has not made us to live together. There is poison in the white man's cup; the white man's dog barks at the, red man's heels. If I should leave the land of my fathers, whither shall I fly? Shall I go to the south, and dwell among the graves of the Pequots? Shall I wander to the West, the fierce Mohawk-the man-

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

eater-is my foe. Shall I fly to the East, the great water is before me. No, stranger, here I have lived, and here will I die, and if here thou abidest, there is eternal war between me and thee." But as it always turns out, the strong trampled upon the weak; the red man was driven back, and upon the smoldering embers of his camp-fire the pale-face erected his cabin. He came to this part of the county close in the wake of the retreating savages, or really before the savages had left for distant reservations. The story of his life is one thrilling with border romance. It rests upon the mind like enchantment, and warms the heart with tender ties of sympathy. The old gray-haired man and the trembling grand- mother spend many a pleasant hour in dream- ing of the past, and tell the tale of early suf- fering and privation to the eager-listening child, who never tires of listening. All are eager to hear it, and all keenly enjoy it. To these good old people it revives the record of a life that has been one of toil and self- sacrifice.

The early history of Jackson Township be- longs mostly to that portion now forming Jefferson, as already stated. There the first settlements were made, and there occurred many of those pioneer events which constitute the early history of a township, such as the building of mills, schoolhouses, the formation of church societies, and the first birth, death and marriage-events of great importance in all pioneer communities. The present town- ship holds a kind of secondary place in pioneer history, and its settlement is of more modern date. The original pioneer of this immediate section is supposed to have been Joseph Rus- sell. Mr. Snyder, who now lives in Crestline, but whose father settled in what is Jefferson Township at present, in 1816-17, thinks that Russell came here as early as 1820. He located about one mile south of Crestline, where Mr.

Stine now lives, and was from this State, somewhere in the vicinity of Coshocton. He moved from here to Hancock County, and was living there last known of him. John Doyle came soon after Russell, and settled adjoining to him. He came from Jefferson County, near Steubenville, and, after remaining some years, sold out and moved to Indiana, where he died. Two other families moved into the same neigh- borhood about the same time of Doyle, or very soon afterward, whose names are utterly forgotten. Mr. Snyder tells a sad story of one of them. The gentleman, whose name he does not remember, cleared a piece of ground, and the neighbors came in and rolled his logs for him. He set fire to the log-heaps, and was in the habit of attending to the burning of them and the brush on the cleared ground at night, his wife often going out to assist him. Upon a certain night, his wife remained in the cabin to do some of her household work, and he went out alone to his clearing, which was some distance from the cabin. His wife finished her work, and, as he had not come in, thinking nothing wrong with him, however, she went to bed. In the morning, he still had not come, when she went to look for him, and found him burned to death at a log-heap. From appearances, it seemed that, in attempt- ing to "mend up" the heap, it had rolled down, and a large log had caught his feet under it, knocking him down, and, unable to extricate himself, he died in that position by slow torture, both legs being burned off above the knees.

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History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 71

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