History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 74

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 74

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The enterprise of furnishing Crestline with pure water was due mainly to G. H. Lee, Henry Shoman and G. W. Pierce, and to their energy and exertions the work stands an en- during monument. The average expense per annum of furnishing this water supply is $450, while the income amounts to about $1,- 600. Not the least of the benefits accruing from this public-spirited enterprise, is the advantage afforded in case of fires, when all that is necessary is to attach hose to the hy- drants, and a stream of water can be thrown far enough and high enough for all practical purposes. One of the beauties, if it is no special benefit, of the reservoir, is that it is well stocked with goldfish.

The spring that supplies the water to the city, as already stated, is in Richland County. It is mentioned at some length in Howe's " His- torical Collection of Ohio," and also in Butter- field's "History of Crawford's Campaign against Sandusky." The latter work, in de- scribing the march of Crawford's army, thus re- fers to it: "Thence they passed near the spot where was afterward the Indian village of Greentown, in what is now Ashland County. From this point they struck across the Rocky Fork of the Mohican, up which stream they traveled until a spring was reached, near where the city of Mansfield now stands, in Richland County; thence a little north of west, to a fine spring five miles further on, in what is Springfield Township-a place now known as Spring Mills, on the line of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, east of the town of Crestline, in Crawford County-

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where, on the evening of the 1st day of June (1782), the army halted and encamped for the night." Thus, to sum up in a word the Crest- line water-works, there are few cities, perhaps, in the State, as well supplied with water- pure water-as the thriving and energetic lit- tle city of Crestline. It is not the water from some lazy river, reeking with the filth of a hundred towns and cities upon its banks, and filtered through charcoal and sand to purify it, but it is brought pure and fresh from the fountain head, as it were, from a flowing spring, bursting fresh from the ground.

The most destructive fire that Crestline has ever known occurred in September, 1867. The entire block from the Continental Hotel to Bucyrus street was burned out, and a heavy loss entailed upon the property-owners of the district burned, though the full extent of the loss we could not learn. There have been numerous other fires, but none so destructive as the one just mentioned. The burning of the Continental Mills, last summer, was quite a blow to the town, as well as to their owners. The city has a regularly organized fire depart- ment, two engines, with a full supply of hose, etc., but, since the building of the water-works, the engines are not used, the force of the water being sufficient to throw a stream, when hose is attached, 120 feet high.

The hotel business has been overdone, and some of them are standing idle, or have been converted to other uses. The Con- tinental, kept by Russell & Co., is a first- class house. It is heated by steam, lighted by gas, manufactured on the premises, has every convenience for the comfort of its guests, and charges accordingly. One excellent feature is the establishment in the building, above the gentlemen's waiting-room, of a read- ing-room, where the waiting passengers may while away a pleasant hour, among the latest magazines and papers, in a comfortable room.

"At present, there are five dry goods stores, three drug, one book, three jewelry, and a large number of grocery stores and saloons; two banks, one publishing-house, an iron-foundry, employing half a dozen hands, two wagon and carriage shops, one planing-mill, five lawyers, six physicians, besides the usual number of mechanies in every department of labor. The Continental Flouring-mill was erected in 1860 (now burned). Two saw-mills were erected in an early day (between 1850 and 1856), one by Lang & Miller, the other by S. B. Coe; both were within the limits of the present corpora- tion ; both have disappeared. From these observations, it will be seen that the town is a live and energetic business place."

The press of Crestline, the " art preservative of all arts," is at present represented by the Crestline Advocate. Several other newspapers have been established in the town, which flour- ished for a season and then died. The first newspaper of Crestline was the E.cpress, a weekly paper, and was started in 1853, and edited by C. M. Kenton. The office was over Brewer's store, and the publication of the paper was continued for about six months, when for some cause, most probably a lack, either of appreciation or financial support, it "gave up the ghost."

The Crestline Advocate issued its first num- ber in July, 1869. Its size was 16x20, and it was folio in form, edited and published by Adam Billow. About six months after the establishment of the Advocate, it was enlarged to six columns to a page, and from that to eight columns-its present size. It was first published in Billow's dwelling, and then re- moved to its present quarters, in the second story of the Masonic hall building. Adam Billow died, May 20, 1876, since which time the paper has been owned and conducted by D. C. Billow. The press is operated by power

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received from the water-works. The Advocate is independent in politics, has a good pat- ronage, is ably managed and conducted, and may be termed a flourishing country news- paper.

About the year 1875 or 1876, a Demo- cratic paper was established by A. E. Jenner, called the Crawford County Democrat. It continued about three years, when it followed the Express to that "bourne from whence no traveler returns." We believe there have been one or two other efforts in the newspaper line,

in Crestline, but we have no facts of a definite character in regard to them.

The burial of the dead is a sacred duty, and in all ages and all countries more or less re- spect is shown the memory of the departed. Abraham said, "Let us bury the dead out of our sight." A cemetery was laid out a few years after the laying out of the town. Efforts have been made by a few persons to have the grounds beautified, but so far, they have failed, and only slight improvements have been made by private individuals.

CHAPTER XVI.

AUBURN TOWNSHIP-DESCRIPTION-SETTLEMENT BY THE WHITES-TOPOGRAPHICAL-EARLY PRIVATIONS-PIONEER INDUSTRIES-TOWNS LAID OUT-SCHOOLS-CHURCHES, ETC.

THE historical investigator, with tireless thought, surveys the dusty memorials of forgotten years, and endeavors to select from tue strange commingling of facts and fancy those beautiful life-lessons which exemplify the noblest type of human character. There is a strange pleasure in rummaging over the relics and records of former generations, and in scanning the brief period of those lives that will be green forever in the memory of the world. It affords abundant opportunity for the derivation of useful morals, from the motives which animate the hearts of the hu- man race. The evolution of society and civi- lization from primitive man to the present time, presents a wonderful volume of instruc- tion for human inspection and guidance. The rise and fall of nations and the causes, the remorseless deeds of an inordinate ambition, brothers engaged in fratricidal warfare, in- nocence and purity trampled under the iron feet of cruelty-all are strangely interesting, and stir the heart to its profoundest depths. Countless lessons and morals of usefulness

are found among the dusty archives of human progress, from a benighted barbarism to the present imperfect state of civilization. This gives to history a value and dignity beyond any other study within the scope of intellect, and presents the human race with ideal lives of excellence, well worthy of imitation.

It often occurs in a neighborhood, that, when the question of early settlement is broached, different families present rival claims as to the first cabin built, the first birth, marriage, or death; and numerous instances are met with where the descendants of early settlers endeavor to surpass each other in narrating deeds of peril or hardship through which their forefathers passed when the forest was filled with wild animals, or when crafty In- dians, in war-paint and feathers, watched the pioneer's cabin with the eye of a hawk, ready, when darkness concealed their move- ments, to swoop down upon the unsuspecting inmates, who were deemed intruders and deadly enemies, to carry them off into hope- less captivity, or for purposes of torture more

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heart-rending than those of the Spanish Inqui- sition. It thus occurs that numerous interest- ing incidents that transpired in the neighbor- hood many years before, are wrested from falling into the fathomless depths of forget- fulness, becoming bright and ever-living me- mentoes among the heroic deeds of the past, perpetual testimonials of the adventurous spirit of pioneers, placed upon the page of history through the medium of tradition. There is no neighborhood without its inter- esting legend-no section of country without its curious or mysterious incidents, which, under the masterly hand of Genius, would become as fascinating as the strange myths of pre-historic times. On yonder elevation, the swift wheel of a busy mill once told the passers-by of the presence of the enterprising pioneer. That deep ravine, with precipitous sides thickly overspread with heavy foliage, was once the scene of a mysterious murder, that has persistently baffled the truth of the maxim, " Murder will out." "This is the spot," says an old settler, " where a pack of hungry wolves once came mighty near eating me up." "Do you see that big tree there?" asks an- other; "that's where I was treed by a bear, when that tree was a little sapling." This illustrates the common experience of those whose lot it is to gather incidents and events of early years. Every family that came into the wilderness, prepared for any and every emergency, has handed down through the generations tales of privation and danger- trials of courage and hardihood, undergone by its members, that have become imperishable portions of the family history In this man- ner, the more interesting events occurring in a neighborhood are preserved and given to future generations, that will read of them with thrilling interest and wonder as they read. There are found those traditions relat- ing to social, domestic, or hunting customs,

to family characteristics, to individual pecu- liarities, to personal danger, and to innumer- able events that combine to form an attractive family or township record.

Auburn Township, from its being one of the first, if not the first, settled in the county, presents a very attractive early history. Its earliest settlers, English from the Eastern States, Hollanders from New York, and Scotch- Irish from Pennsylvania, were almost wholly soldiers in the war of 1812, many of whom, in the military expeditions across Ohio, had seen the land which they afterward purchased. As soon as the war had closed, large numbers of pioneers arrived and settled in northern Richland County, of which, at that time, Au- burn Township formed a part, purchased their farms, and began to clear them, and to sur- round themselves as rapidly as possible with schools, churches, and other auxiliaries of settled localities. The township was early the home of those wandering hunters, the advance-guard of settlement, whose greatest annoyance seemed to be the approach of pio- neers. Their wives and families seemed proof against privation and starvation. and cheer- fully followed the husband and father into the deepest woods, where no white foot had yet pressed, and where Indians and savage beasts were every-day sights. John Pettigon, one of these roving hunters, and the first set tler in the township-the first resident land holder-built a small cabin as early as 1814, and began supporting his family almost wholly by means of his rifle, in the use of which he had but few equals and no superiors. He was a very successful hunter and trapper, and made no little money in the sale of furs. It is probable that he lived in Vernon Town- ship for a few years. He was an eccentric character, and seemed uneasy when in the presence of other settlers, and apparently much preferred the companionship of the Indians

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and wild animals or solitude. He had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and at its close had purchased a small tract of land in Auburn. He cared nothing, however, for real estate, as long as the forests were filled with an abun- dance of wild animals. It was no trouble for him to stalk a deer, and one of his favorite " deer licks" was on the farm now owned by Capt. Cummins. He killed scores of deer at this "lick," the most of them being shot soon after dark, when they came to drink. He remained in the township until six or eight families had settled within as many miles of him, when, thinking that the country began to look too much like a city, he moved farther out into the wilds of the forest. Jedediah Morehead was another of these hunters, who located for a time in Auburn and adjoining townships. He was a squatter, and roamed over vast tracts of country in search of game, often being absent from home for weeks at a time. He had a large family, and lived a few years in Northern Vernon, devoting all his time to hunting and trapping, a portion of it being spent in the swamps and cranberry marshes, within a radius of fifteen miles of his cabin. His cabin, if such it could be properly called, was located on a narrow neck of land which extended into the large cran- berry marsh lying partly in the township and partly in Huron County. His cabin was built of brush and bark, being in reality nothing more nor less than an Indian wigwam, except, perhaps, a few artistical finishes of his own device, and unknown to the natives, after whose habitations the main features of his cabin had been copied. The point of land where his cabin stood became known as " Morehead's Point," a name it yet retains, in memory of the old hunter. It is thought by some of the old settlers that Morehead lived in the township during the war of 1812, and that his cabin was erected just at its com-

mencement. This, however, is not definitely known, although it is quite certain that he built the first cabin in the township.

Among the early residents of the township were two singular old bachelors, named Var- nica and Wadsworth. They were hermits, and lived lonely and solitary lives in rude caves dug by themselves in the side of em- bankments, the roof being supported by up- right posts, standing at intervals within the caves. People called them crazy, and the eccentricity of the two gave abundant cre- dence to the report. They shunned all associ- ates except their faithful dogs, and were never seen in the neighboring settlements, unless called there for supplies or to dispose of provisions. Varnica was a German, and could handle the glib idioms of his native language with a grace and fluency that proved his education to be of unusual excellence. It became current, and was universally believed, that he had been an officer in one of the Eu- ropean armies, possibly in that of Napoleon Bonaparte. His language and manners indi- cated that he was familiar with military tac- tics, and his inability to speak English proved that he had not resided long in America. Although he lived in poverty, and went dressed in insufficient and even ragged clothing, he seemed to have an abundance of money, which he kept hid in out-of-the-way places. He entered a quarter-section of land, upon which he resided until his death. But little money was found after this event, until a will was found among his papers, bequeathing his land, and a few hundred dollars in money, to a young man named James Wilson, with whom he had lived at the time of his death. The secret of this strange man's life was buried with him. He was always silent and melan- choly, and seemed to have a deep-rooted sor- row preying upon his mind, robbing it of joys that make life endurable. By the provisions

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of the will, Wilson was made executor, and was enjoined to distribute the balance of the money among poor and friendless females. This provision was a denouement to some, who had noticed that Varnica shunned the oppo- site sex as he would the plagues of Egypt, his conduct giving rise to the report that his life had been blighted by a woman. The will disclosed the hiding-place of $2,200 in gold, which had been concealed in a gate-post, into which a hole had been bored and the gold dropped in, after which the hole had been closed with a pin of the same wood as the post. He died in 1840, and Wilson faithfully exe- cuted the provisions of the will. Wadsworth was a graduate of Yale College, and had evidently fitted himself for the ministerial profession. He lived in a cave on his land, and, though bent almost double from unknown circumstances, was possessed of enormous strength. He carried his melons, potatoes, and other provisions, in a sack on his back from house to house, or to some of the sur- rounding villages. He was a recluse, and seemed contented only when he could brood without molestation over his mysterious life. He had rich relatives living in Boston, who occasionally visited him and tried to induce him to abandon his life of poverty and lone- liness, but without avail. A happy smile was never seen upon his sad face, and, when he at last died, in about 1838, his property was claimed by his Eastern relatives.

The territory comprising Auburn Town- ship, like all the land in Western Richland County, was surveyed in 1807, by Maxfield Lud- low. It was almost universally the case, when the country was first settled, that township organizations first extended over large tracts of land, one set of officers being elected to administer the public affairs of several town- ships. Until April 3, 1820, Auburn was part of Plymouth Township, which, at that time,

comprised two full townships, one of them being Auburn. In 1820, Auburn was granted the right of self-government, and the first officers were then elected. However, while the township was yet a part of Plymouth, several settlers in Auburn served as officers of the combined townships. After 1820, the township remained six miles square, until changes were made in the boundaries of sur- rounding counties by the creation of Wyan- dot County. The four tiers of sections on the west were then severed from the remain- der, and annexed to Crawford County, consti- tuting Auburn as it is at present. When the township was created, several settlers met to decide, among other matters, what it should be named. Various titles were suggested, among them being Auburn, presented by two brothers, Palmer and Daniel Hulse, then resid- ing in the township, the name being taken from a township in New York, where the brothers formerly lived After some discus- sion, the name was adopted and bestowed upon the township. No tract of land in the State is more highly fitted for agricultural purposes than Auburn. The soil is deep and black, and contains sufficient sand to furnish abundant silica for strengthening wheat and oat straw, the want of which is experienced in Western States, where a dearth of silica in the rich alluvial soil prevents a firm growth of the straw, and causes the stalk to break before the grain is ripe. The surface is com- paratively level, although there is a sufficient number of streams to furnish ample drainage. The township lies wholly within the Lake Erie basin, and its surface, therefore, slopes gently toward the north. Coykendall Run, a small stream named after an early settler, rises in the southeastern corner, and takes a zigzag course, flowing northi across the eastern tier of sections; and it and its small branches drain almost the eastern half of the township.

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

Honey Creek rises in a low tract of land, formerly a swamp, lying on the boundary between Auburn and Vernon Townships. It flows north, the greater part of its course lying on the western tier of sections. These streams give the surface excellent drainage, although they have not sufficient slope to carry off the water so rapidly as to leave the soil without the proper degree of moisture in times of drought. These streams are branches of Huron River. A tract of land comprising several thousand acres, two or three hundred of which lie on the northern tier of sections, was, in early years, an extensive cranberry marsh, being very wet and unproductive, except for the berries which grew there in great abundance, and remained thus until a score or more of years ago, when proper sluices were dug to carry the water into Honey Creek. Berries no longer grow there, the marsh being too dry for them. The drift deposits which cover the surface are under- lain, in the southern part, by an abundance of excellent limestone, which lies too deep ever to be profitably worked, except perhaps, on the southwest quarter of Section 28, where it outerops on a small stream on the land of Samuel Hilborn. The surface, in the south- ern part, is quite thickly covered with frag- ments of granite bowlders and other stones containing a large percentage of quartz, often beautifully colored with iron oxides. The large quantity of iron in the soil of the drift deposits gives rise to many wells of ferriferous water. This water is ordinarily found in great abundance in the sand of the Waverly group of rocks.

No township in the county has a greater number of interesting incidents of personal adventure in early years than Auburn, evi- dently from the fact that there are found a greater number of the old settlers living who participated in those events, and whose recol-

lection is good, notwithstanding the lapse of time. When the first settlers appeared, the forests were yet filled with wild beasts, and the Indians were found in large numbers, camped in small detachments on almost every stream. They were mostly Wyandots, though Delawares, Senecas and members of other tribes were often seen. It frequently happened that Indians, who had been reared in the woods, and whose life-long education was a succession of hunting maneuvers, wherein the crafty experience of ancestors, which had been handed down through a long period of years, had been exemplified and imitated, were less skillful and successful in their hunting expedi- tions than the white hunters, many of whom had passed their early life where hunting was scarcely known, and whose education in wood- craft and the tactics of the chase had been extremely brief. Many of the settlers, how- ever, knowing that the time would be unprofit- ably spent, because the rapid settlement and improvement of the country was destined to cut short the brief period when wild game of the larger varieties abounded, did not endeavor to obtain a profound knowledge of hunting tactics. It thus occurred that nine out of every ten of the settlers paid no heed to the exciting adventures with wild animals going on around them, except, perhaps, for pastime, but devoted their time and labor to the clear- ing and cultivation of their farms. Deer were occasionally killed by the most unskill- ful; but, when venison was wanted, it was customary to employ a hunter of known skill -often an Indian-to hunt for a few days, paying him for his trouble, and taking the game he killed. Indian hunters could be employed for lower wages than white hunters, a small bottle of whisky being considered by them as an ample reward for an all day's tramp through the woods, whereas a white hunter was dissatisfied with less than several

Joseph Stewart

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

gallons. For the first few years after the set- tlers had become established, the slaughter of deer was carried on so wantonly that the more thoughtful and prudent settlers saw that those animals were soon destined to be- come unknown in the country, unless some means could be devised to end the useless slaughter. The Indians, who camped on the small streams throughout the country, killed hundreds of them for nothing but their skins, leaving the flesh for the wolves and buzzards. During the season when the fawns were young, the Indians, in order to kill as many deer as possible, were in the habit of what was called "bawling up a deer." They imi- tated the bleating of a fawn in distress, when the instinct of the doe to protect her young was on the alert and paramount; and when she ran to protect her offspring, she was shot by the Indians. In this manner, large numbers of does were slaughtered. After a few years, the settlers forbade the Indians coming to the neighborhood to kill deer; and on one occa- sion, when they disobeyed the command and killed a fine doe by the "bawling" process, several settlers, among whom were one of the Chilcotes, of Cranberry Township, and Enoch Baker, informed them emphatically, with a significant tap on the rifle, that if the act was repeated the Indians doing it would be shot. This put a stop to the destruction in that direction, and the settlers were requested not to slaughter the animals unnecessarily. Ira Blair, on one occasion, remained in the woods for three days, killing during that time, eight deer. It is related by Amos Morse, that, in about 1821, Jacob Byers made a contract with Rodolphus Morse, the father of Amos, to the effect that he could kill more deer the next day than Mr. Morse could bring in. The bargain was made one evening, during a heavy fall of snow. Byers knew that the following day would be an excellent one for the hunt,

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History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 74

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