USA > Ohio > Darke County > History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume I > Part 51
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576
DARKE COUNTY
Rev. Klefeker donated the ground on which the building and cemetery are located and the church was popularly called "Klefeker church" for many years. The old Concord Chris- tian church on the Milton pike and the Oakland U. B. church located northeast of East Zion have both recently discontin- tted as have also the Dininger Lutheran church, on the west- ern township line, and the Grand View U. B. church, on the Ansonia pike about four miles north of Greenville.
The supremacy of Greenville township, due largely to. early settlement, exceptional size, natural productiveness and the location of the county seat within its precincts, is shown by the tax duplicate of 1913, which lists real estate, outside of Greenville at $4,128,420 and personal property at $2,008,500. When Greenville is included the totals reach $9,556,480, $4,920,244, respectively. It is expected that the amount of chattels listed in 1914, under the new law, will be increased by about $500,000.
The population of Greenville township, including Green- ville City, was given in 1910 at 9,263, showing an appreciable increase over the 1900 census, while many townships showed a decrease. This was due largely, but not entirely, to the growth of Greenville. The population in 1850 was 2,366.
For an approximate idea of the development of the live stock industry the reader is referred to the biographical sketches of Lewis Dininger, Jonas Dininger and A. J. Warner.
Neave Township.
This township contains all of township 11 north, range 2 east, except the two northern tiers of sections which were thrown into Greenville township. It was erected December 5, 1821, and, at that time, contained eight sections of Van Buren township which were detached when Van Buren was organized in June, 1838. If this township had been created to include all of township 11, north, range 2 east, its northern boundary would now run on Sater street, Greenville, thus throwing the county seat in two townships. It was probably to prevent this that the northern tier was detached, while the second tier was included, it seems, on petition of a number of residents, who thought that it would be advantageous to live in the township containing the county seat. Had the second tier been retained it would have made Neave township nearer the normal size and would probably have been better for all concerned.
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DARKE COUNTY
This township is drained by the upper waters of Mud, Bridge and Painter creeks and the surface, especially in the western portion, is somewhat hilly. The Mud creek prairie was originally almost impassable and, with its bluffs, formed a distinct landmark for the original inhabitants. A distinct glacial moraine passes through this township, leaving unmis- takable traces of its origin in the glacial gravel cairns hereto- fore mentioned at length in Chapter I, to which the reader is referred for a proper conception of this remarkable feature. Although one of the smallest townships in the county, it is one of the most intensely interesting from an archeological and historical standpoint.
From the meager scraps of information that can now be secured it would seem that an ancient and well marked Indian trail entered the southern part of the township, practically fol- lowing the present Ithaca pike, which is built on the Moraine belt, extending along the Twin creek valley into Preble county. This trail, it seems, was joined by the old White- water trail, leading from Miami county, along Greenville creek to Greenville, then south along the east bluff of Mud creek, to below Fort Jefferson, where it joined the above men- tioned trail and then probably turned southwest approximately running in direction of the present New Madison Pike. During the war of 1812, this was known as Fort Black trail. The meet- ing point of the two trails was a few rods north of the present junction of the Ithaca and New Madison pikes, near the point where the latter road is crossed by the line separating sections 27 and 34, Neave township. St. Clair probably came into this trail between Beech Grove and Matchetts Corner following it some three or four miles to Fort Jefferson. It is generally conceded that Wayne cut a trail from Eaton to the neighbor- hood of West Manchester, and thence in a direction west of north, keeping on the west side of Twin creek, and the pres- ent right of way of the C. N. railway, passing just west of the Butler township house, crossing to the cast side of the railway in the southern part of section 9, about a mile below Tecum- seh (Savona) and then striking directly toward Fort Jefferson. Tradition says that his army camped on the present site of the Schlecty farm in the northeastern part of section 33, where there is a fine spring of water and a good, level, elevated site suitable for that purpose. It is probable, however, that Wayne also used the trail running through Lewisburg, Ithaca and Matchett's Corner for transporting some of his supplies, and (37)
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the bringing up of some of his troops. An old resident of Neave township said, "The old corduroy road built by General Wayne ran inside the fence to the right of the road leading toward Matchett's Corners. I have many times traversed it as far as I could, at time losing all trace of it."
As before noted, St. Clair built the most advanced post established on his campaign in October, 1791, on the present site of the village of Fort Jefferson. Here three soldiers were hanged, being the first execution of white men in the county. To this post the defeated army of St. Clair retreated on the evening of November 4, 1791, but found it too small to con- tain any but the most severely wounded, and were compelled to continue on toward Fort Washington.
The wounded were left in this little post with a small de- tachment of soldiers, and lived in horror of a prospective at- tack in this exposed position. It is supposed that Captain Shaylor was left in charge of this fort as his name appears in that capacity on January 30, 1792.
An outpost, so far advanced in the enemy's country could only serve as a menace, and of necessity must irritate the In- dians. As the Indians were bent on having the Ohio river for the boundary line, they determined to take the fort. On June 25, 1792, a band of Indians to the number of one hundred made an attack on a party of soldiers, who were cutting hay near the fort. Sixteen of the soldiers were killed and missing.
The Indians were dressed in white shirts, and one of them had a scarlet coat on. They also had along with them three horses. They came from and retreated towards the Tawa river. Who commanded the Indians is unknown, but it is positively asserted that the notorious Simon Girty was present.
As General Wilkinson brought the news of the battle from Fort Jefferson, it is probable that he assumed command dur- ing the engagement. In his letter to the Secretary of War, dated July 5, 1792, Rufus Putnam, one of the commissioners to the Indians, thinks it was the purpose of the Indian raid to take him prisoner, for he was to have been at Fort Jefferson at the time of the attack, and the Indians had been so notified.
I have been informed, with how much truth I am unable to say, that the engagement took place between the fort and the site of the school house.
Another story is to the effect that some Indians knowing Major Shaylor to be quite fond of hunting, concealed them-
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DARKE COUNTY
selves in the neighborhood of the fort and imitated the call of the wild turkey. This enticed the major and his son away from the fort to pursue the game, whereupon they were as- sailed by the Indians, and attempted to return to the fort. The son was killed but the major got into the fort after a hot pur- suit.
As Wayne built Fort Greenville some five miles in advance of this post in the fall of 1793, it is supposed that he had no use for the little fort, regarding it as badly located for his purpose. In commemoration of the building of this post the Greenville Historical Society caused a memorial to be erected on its site, which was unveiled with appropriate ceremonies in October, 1907, as noted in the chapter on "Notable Events."
Andrew Noftsinger is credited with settling in this town- ship as early as 1810. It seems that he built a block house on the high ground on the western side of Mud creek prairie in the northern part of section 20. In 1817 he built a grist mill on Mud creek, which was said to be the third erected in the county. James Hayes was probably the earliest settler on the site of Fort Jefferson. During the years 1816, 1817 nd 1818, John Ryerson, Moses Arnold, George W. Hight, William Townsend, Hezekiah Vietz. John Puterbaugh and Christian Schlecty came. Dennis Hart settled on Bridge creek in 1819. In 1820 the settlers in this section erected a log school house on the Eaton pike about three-fourths of a mile south of the present site of the county infirmary. Here Mr. Hart taught in the winter of 1820-21.
Peter Weaver came in 1819 and located in the northeast quarter of section 29. He built the first house in what is now known as Weaver's Station. John Puterbaugh erected a mill on upper Mud creek, near the southern line of the township, in 1819, which was run by oxen.
Later settlers were George Noggle, T. C. Neave, William and Simeon Chapman and Adam Beeles.
A singular story is told about the naming of the township as follows :
"When the township was formed, H. D. Williams and John Douglass played a game of cards against Eaton Morris and T. C. Neave, to decide who should name it. Williams and Douglass won, and on playing again between themselves, Wil- liams won, but Neave was so anxious to name the township that he paid Williams $10 for the privilege, and named it after himself."
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DARKE COUNTY
One of the most striking features of this township are the gravel knolls, located just west of Fort Jefferson and formerly known as the "Hills of Judea." For an extended notice of these, the reader is referred to Chapter I.
The Pennsylvania and C. N. railways cross the western part of this township in a north and south direction, following the Mud creek valley. The D. & U. railway cuts diagonally across the northeast corner while the Ohio Electric railway runs due west from Jaysville to the Eaton pike, and then north on that road towards Greenville. The township has several excellent pikes, but on account of their early construc- tion and the location of the creek valleys they are built largely on the high ground regardless of section lines.
The principal villages are Fort Jefferson and Weaver's Sta- tion. The former is located on the line between sections 27 and 28 and now contains an excellent brick M. E. church built in recent years, the township hall, and a memorial monument elsewhere described, besides a store and several residences. The railway station of this name is about half a mile west on the C. N. railway.
The remains of Gosbary Elliot, who was killed by the In- dians near Beech Grove, in 1813, are buried in the old ceme- tery just north of the M. E. church as are also the remains of the following six soldiers who served in the war of 1812: George Calderwood, William DeCamp, Peter Fleck, Richard Matchette, Jonathan Nyswonger and Peter Robinson.
Weaver's Station is on the P. C. C. & St. L. railway, about a mile and a fourth west of Fort Jefferson in section 29. It contains a store, station and elevator. Special school district No. 1 is located a short distance southwest of this village and Mt. Zion U. B. church a short distance west in the center of section 29. The only other church now in the township is the German Baptist in the southwest corner of section 18 along the western line.
There are six school districts in this township, all of which are special.
The real estate was listed for taxation in 1913 at $1.325,680 and the chattels at $799.030.
The population in 1910 was given at 1,091.
The village of Sampson was laid out in the southeast corner of this township in 1846, and within a few years contained several buildings and business enterprises. The building of the D. & U. railway and the location of the town of Delisle on
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DARKE COUNTY
that road about two miles to the northeast caused the decline and final absorption of this village, which is no longer on the map.
Butler Township.
This geographical unit is identical with township 10 north, range 2 east, and is six miles square, containing 36 sections. It is one of the southern tier of townships and lies between Harrison and Monroe townships.
There seems to be some confusion concerning the date of its organization, which was probably effected in 1819 or 1820.
Many of the early settlers were from Butler county, Ohio (which took its name from General Richard Butler) and it probably owes its name to this fact.
Twin creek rises near the northern boundary of this town- ship, flows southward and eastward, and, with the numerous small rivulets forming its head, drains the central and south- ern part of the township, except a small district in the extreme southwestern corner, in all about two-thirds of the entire area. In early days an extensive swamp covered the central part and cansed General St. Clair to turn his army eastward from the neighborhood of Castine towards Beech Grove. As before noted, this morass was long known as "Maple Swamp" on ac- count of the large number of soft maple trees growing in it and was unfit for cultivation until a large ditch was run through it by the county commissioners. This district is now one of the fertile spots of the county. The upper waters of Mud creek drains the northwestern section, and the east fork of Whitewater formerly extended into the western part.
The land is generally level, except in the northwestern and western central portion, and was originally covered with a heavy growth of fine timber. There is practically no waste land in the township and the average fertility is probably equal to that of any other township in the county. It is gen- erally supposed that Wayne's trail crossed the south line near the intersection of the Eaton pike and kept about half a mile west of the main north and south stream of Twin creek, pass- ing a few rods west of the present township house in the cen- ter of the township, and continuing on toward Fort Jefferson.
During the war of 1812 the more western and "round about" but higher trail through Fort Black (New Madison) was probably used.
John DeCamp came in 1814 and was probably the first per-
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DARKE COUNTY
manent settler. James Mills and Francis Harter and sons came in 1817 or 1818. The early years witnessed the coming of Jacob Weingardner, Abram P. Freeman, Charles Harriman, Jonathan Pitman, Joseph Danner, John Ellis, Jacob F. Miller and Peter Fleck.
This township has been one of the strongholds of Democ- racy for many years, which condition is said to be due largely to the fact that quite a number of families moved in from Ken- tucky and the south just prior to the Civil war.
The first school house was built near the present site of New Castine, in the year 1824. Samuel Saterley is credited with having been the first teacher. James L. Hunt and P. V. Banta were also early teachers.
Probably the first church building erected in the township was Otterbein Chapel, built in 1840, or land donated by George Coblentz in the northwest corner of section 28. This was a log structure but was replaced in later years by a more substantial building. A quarterly conference was held here in 1844. This congregation has maintained an active organiza- tion throughout the succeeding years and has probably done more toward building up the interests of the United Brethren denomination than any other single rural church in Darke county. Before the erection of this church religious services were held in houses, barns and school houses. The United Brethren also built a church at Castine in 1849, and have an active society today.
The Reformed Society built a church in the southeast cor- ner of section 2, along the Greenville and Ithaca pike, about 1859. Rev. John Vogt was largely instrumental in erecting this church and was its first pastor. This congregation has continued its organization and is one of the prosperous rural churches of the county. It is known as "Beech Grove" church, from the fact that a fine growth of beech trees orig- inally covered that section of the township.
Butler township is well supplied with pikes, there being roads on all of the east and west section lines, and part of the north and south lines, besides the pikes leading to New Madi- son. Ithaca and Eaton. The Eaton road was piked in 1869, being the first in the township to be permanently improved.
Three railways pass through the township. The P. C. C. & St. L. railway cuts across the northwest corner; the Peoria and Eastern crosses the east line near the northeast corner of section 12, runs due west to the New Madison pike in north-
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DARKE COUNTY
ern part of section 8, then turns northwesterly and crosses the western line near the northwest corner of section 6; the C. N. crosses the south line of section 35, ruus north to Castine, thence west of north to the center of section 9, thence north- erly, crossing the northern line near the intersection of the New Madison pike.
In early days this community was comparatively isolated with respect to the county seat and seems to have been in closer touch with the older settlements to the south in Preble county. Produce was carried to Dayton and Cincinnati by the hucksters, and much of the milling was done at the stone mill of James A. B. Frazer, on Twin creek, a short distance above Lewisburg. This mill was built in 1838, and was regarded as a remarkable structure in those days. Coopering, blacksmith- ing, shoemaking were prosperous occupations carried on out- side the homes, in the days when splint-bottom chairs, spin- ning wheels, candle molds and fireplaces were in vogue. In spite of comparative isolation the pioneer families lived well on game, fish and fruits from the forest which stretched its dark mantle on all sides, and laid an enduring foundation for future generations.
There are now two villages in Butler township.
New Castine.
Is located on Twin creek at the center of the line between sections 6 and 35, one mile north of Preble county. Its loca- tion was probably determined largely by the fact that it lies at the intersection of the Greenville and Eaton pike with the old New Garden road. In early days the latter road was trav- eled extensively by the Quakers from Miami county when attending their semi-annual meetings at New Garden, Indiana.
New Castine was first platted in 1832, on land belonging to John Ellis, Joseph Danner and Frederick Smith. About a year later Dr. J. P. Love and Samuel Brosserman bought out Danner and Smith's interests and replatted the town, claiming that the original proprietors had not conformed to the law, requiring legal notice of the act.
In the early years of the history of this village there was a blacksmith's shop, a pottery, a hatter's establishment, a hotel, etc. A directory published in 1857 shows the following en- terprises :
John E. Matchett, physician and surgeon.
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DARKE COUNTY
Dr. J. P. Love, dry goods, groceries and medicines.
F. Michael, dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes.
P. V. Banta, dry goods and groceries.
Frank Ford, Castine house.
P. Stephenson, boot and shoe maker.
J. Longanbaker, blacksmith.
A. Henderson, cooper.
Jacob Roller, harness maker.
S. B. Minnick, sawyer.
J. W. Hamiel, sawyer.
P. C. Hetzler, minister U. B. church.
The village grew and prospered but the building of the Little Miami railway through West Manchester some two miles to the south, and the growth of the latter village seemed to retard its progress. The building of the Cincinnati North- ern railway through here about 1894 was a "red letter" event for the village. The village now has a U. B. church, a German Baptist church (built bout 1871), an I. O. O. F. hall, an ele- vator, stock yards and station. The population in 1910 was given at 142.
Tecumseh (Savona P. O.)
This village was laid off in the north central part of section 9, and given the name of the distinguished Indian chief, who lived for a short time in Darke county. In recent years the post office and station have been called "Savona," probably to avoid confusion, as there is now a town by the name of Tecumseh in Michigan. The Peoria and Eastern and the C. N. railway cross at this place, making it a good shipping point, and giving it some prospect of future development.
The village now has a U. B. church, a store, a station, an elevator and about thirty buildings in all.
The census of 1910 gave Butler township a population of 1.592. The tax duplicate of 1913 showed real estate listed at $2,425,100, and chattels to the extent of $1,114,660.
Wabash Township.
This township was erected in 1841, and contains all that part of townships 14 and 15 North, of range 2 east, and 12 and 13 north of range 3 east, that lay in York township, except two tiers of sections on the south. In 1848 township 15 north, range 2 east, and township 13, range 3 east, were taken into Mercer county, and in June, 1848, sections 2, 11, 14 and 23
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DARKE COUNTY
were taken from Patterson township and added to the east side of Wabash, making it four sections north and south and about five and one-half sections east and west. It probably derived its name from the Wabash river which drains its up- per portion.
Some of the early settlers in this township were William A. Davison and Nimrod Ross, who came in 1838. They were followed by Isaac Finkbone, Elijah Shook, Justin Skinner, Samuel Hayes, Jolın M. Houston and A. D. Birt.
The first school house was built in 1840 in section 13 and the first M. E. church in the southeast quarter of the same section in 1844, where a church still exists. The first teacher in the above school was Elijah Raines, from Greene county. The elevated plateau between the Wabash and Stillwater creeks runs through the southern part of the township and is covered with a light soil, underlaid with a stiff clay, subsoil capable of producing good crops of grain. The northern part of the township is drained by branches of the Wabash and contains much good fertile bottom land. Besides the M. E. church mentioned there is a Christian church in the northwest quarter of section 12, a church in the southeast corner of sec- tion 3, a Lutheran church in the southwest quarter of section 15, and a Catholic church at Delvin, in the northeast corner of section 15. The latter is called St. John's church and was organized in 1892 with thirty families under the Rev. Leo Boehmer. The first church building was completed in 1893, under Rev. Louis Hefele. Rev. Charles Votheis succeeded Hefele. Later it was attended from Versailles, Ohio. In 1906, it was attached as a mission to St. Nicholas church, Os- good, Ohio. Rev. J. Rahrle looked after the interest of the parish from 1906 until 1912, and was succeeded by Rev. B. H. Franzer. This mission will soon be consolidated with the church now building in North Star.
There is no railway in this township. The entire popula- tion in 1910 was 1,225. The real estate was listed for taxation in 1913 at $1,331,470, and the chattels at $229,390.
North Star.
This is the principal village in the township, and is situated at the quartering of sections 8, 9, 16 and 17 near the center of the township. It was laid out in 1852. It is seventeen miles from Greenville and eighteen miles from Celina on the pike
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surveyed by John Devor in 1841. It now contains a town hall, postoffice, public school, store, Christian church and a Catholic church.
York Township.
This township was organized in June. 1837, being detached by the commissioners from Richland township. At first it comprised all that part of the county lying north of a line commencing at the southeast corner of section 15, township 11 north, range 3 east, and running west to the southwest cor- ner of section 13, township 13, range 2. In June, 1841. Wa- bash township was detached from the northern part of this territory as elsewhere mentioned leaving York practically five miles long, north and south, and four and a half miles wide, east and west. The northern part of this township is drained by Swamp creek, which runs in a direction generally east and west through nearly all of the northern sections. Indian creek drains the southern part of the township. It enters near the southwest corner of section 1, flows in a southeasterly di- rection and crosses the eastern boundary near the southeast corner of the township. The soil in the southern portion is of a clayey nature and the land is level. Along Indian creek the soil is a warm sandy loam which is very fertile. In the east- ern central section the soil is a light clay and the surface is rolling. The original forest comprised much excellent hard- wood including beech, maple, oak, hickory and some walnut.
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