USA > Ohio > Darke County > History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume I > Part 54
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idle mill on the west end of Main street and spread eastward consuming all but two business rooms on the six blocks to the east, besides two blocks of buildings on the south side of Main street. Fifty-one business houses and twenty-nine dwellings- the best of the town-were consumed. The enterprise and re- source of its citizens was soon shown in rebuilding in a much more substantial way than before, making it one of the best built towns in the county. Today it has two large overall factories employing about forty operatives each ; an immense poultry and produce establishment operated by H. B. Hole, with branch establishments at Dayton, Arcanum, Greenville, Sidney, Covington and St. Paris; the Charles Masoner tobacco warehouse employing about forty people ; the Geo. H. Worch lumber plant with branch establishments at Sidney, Osborn, Springfield, and New Carlisle; the J. M. Blue Co., dealing ex- tensively in Canadian lumber and shipping ship lumber to Europe; besides grain elevators, mills, monumental works, brick and tile factories and extensive mercantile establish- ments.
The Christian church is the oldest existing in the village and is said by some to have been organized as early as 1818. Among the charter members were the Whitmans, Brandons, Hoels, Baymans and Carsons. The present church building was erected in 1883, at a cost of about $6.000. Recent offi- cials in this church were: Superintendent of Sunday school, Ralph Stamm; president Missionary society, Mrs. Stella Mar- tin ; deacons, M. A. Finfrock, W. C. Hile and James Young ; trustees, H. A. Gilbert, Ed Reed, E. T. Swincheart, Charles Shade; financial secretary, B. B. Campbell; treasurer, Marion Martin : pastor, Rev. H. F. Smith. The present enrollment is about 380. This congregation is now planning to erect a new church structure in the near future.
On account of the large number of French citizens who be- long to the Catholic church, a brief sketch of that organization rightly belongs in a history of the village. As before noted in the sketch of the Frenchtown church, the first place of Cath- olic worship was at St. Valbert's, two miles north of Ver- sailles. To this church came the French pioneers of the Rus- sia and Frenchtown settlements. The services were then held in the French language. On Easter Sunday, 1849, the great Archbishop Purcell preached in the English tongue, using the stump of a great oak for a pulpit. When, in 1846, churches were built at Frenchtown and Russia, St. Valbert's, the cradle
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of Catholicity in Darke county, lost some of its early popu- larity, became the resting place of the earliest settlers of the place. Desirous of having their church closer to their homes, the Catholic families of Versailles, in 1864, bought the prop- crty of the old Baptist church heretofore mentioned, standing at the corner of Main and Second streets, for $350. This struc- ture was refitted and enlarged and became the first Catholic church in the village under the rectorship of Rev. Brissard. Here Rev. Kreish served from 1864 to 1873; Rev. J. B. Kay- ser, 1873-1876; T. Richard and F. J. Roth, 1876-1878, and A. N. Bourion from 1878-1886. Rev. Leo Boehmer succeeded Rev. Bourion and gave a new impetus to religious matters. Under his pastorate the present beautiful and commodious church building was dedicated in 1888. The St. Denis Cath- olic school was also erected about the same time and is now conducted by the Sisters of the Precious Blood. The follow- ing pastors have officiated since Rev. Boehmer : Revs. Louis Hefele, Jacobs, Otto Missler, Joseph Denning, John Cattes, James Fogarty, B. Bechmeyer and the present pastor, Rev. Henry J. Schuer, who has successfully guided and guarded the destinies of St. Denis since 1906. Although organized at a later date than the Christians, the Methodists now have a thriving congregation with a neat and substantial brick church building on the corner of Wood and West streets, of which Rev. J. O. Moffit is the present pastor.
The Lutherans have two churches here: Trinity Evangeli- cal Lutheran on East Wood street of which Rev. Isaiah Whitman is the present pastor ; and Emmanuel's Evangelical Lutheran church on East Ward street.
Versailles has taken an active part in political matters for several years and has furnished several county officials includ- ing Treasurer John Simons and Auditors J. C. Klipstine and Frank Snyder. James R. Marker, the present state highway commissioner, and formerly county engineer, is a son of Leonard Marker and was raised in this village. Several ex- cellent family physicians have practiced here and the town is proud of the name and fame of Dr. John E. Fackler, M. D., who practiced in Versailles from 1870 until prevented by the sickness which resulted in his death, January 7, 1898. He was at one time a member of the Darke County Medical Associa- tion, and for about twenty years, of the Ohio Medical Society. He was a painstaking student, a clear and forceful writer on medical topics, and a progressive but careful experimenter.
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At the time of his death he was president of the Versailles Medical Association. Dr. J. S. Neiderkorn, Dr. W. C. Guter- muth and Dr. C. F. Ryan have practiced several years in this village and vicinity and are well and favorably known.
An idea of the development of Wayne township may be formed from the tax duplicate of 1913 which shows over $2,000,000 of real estate and nearly $700,000 of chattels in the township exclusive of Versailles, while this village is listed with $1,120,080 in real property and $533,870 in personal prop- erty. Versailles has a water works and electric light plant built by the city in the years 1900-1901, at an original cost of $25,000, and is planning to pave Main street and portions of intersecting streets this year. It has two papers, the Policy and the Leader, before noted. The first school in the village was built in 1821. The present school house is a substan- tial brick structure in which are housed eight grades and a high school. It was built in 1876 at a cost of some $25,000.00. The enrollment in the spring of 1914 was 321. The high school was established in 1881 and has graduated 227 pupils to date, 17 of whom were in the class of 1914. Its graduates are admitted to standard colleges without conditions and its teachers are all college graduates. A library of 2,200 volumes is maintained by the school and the laboratory apparatus is excellent. T. F. Johnson, J. E. Yarnell, T. E. Hook and Chas. E. Doust have served as superintendent in recent years.
The Masons, K. of P., I. O. O. F. and Woodmen, each have a flourishing lodge in the village.
The following are the present city officials: Mayor, H. B. Hole : clerk, John Meyers; treasurer, Alfred Simon ; marshal, Oliver Miller ; fire chief, Charles Begin ; members of council : H. A. Frankman, J. F. Gephart, John Voisard, A. J. Reed, Carl Earhart, Caradon Hole; Board of Education: Dr. John Bal- linger, C. F. Whitney, L. L. Lehman, Ed Wood, A. F. Prakel ; Board of Public Affairs: Nick Alexanders, Frank Ash, P. J. Grilliot ; superintendent of the water works, Wm. Marl. Wes- ley Ault, county sealer of weights and measures, is also a resi- dent of Versailles.
In Greenlawn Cemetery a mausoleum was promoted and built by Dr. J. P. Collett in 1913 and dedicated Sunday, May 24, 1914. It is constructed in pure Egyptian design, single corridor plan of the same material as the Greenville mauso- leum. It contains 120 crypts, and is said to be the finest small mausoleum in the central states.
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The population of Versailles in 1910 was 1,580, and is now estimated at about 1,800.
Adams Township.
This township was organized in March, 1819. It originally contained all the land east of a line running from the north- west corner of section 4, township 10 north, of range 3 east, to the southwest corner of section 28, township 9, of range 3, and was taken from the east end of Greenville township and the south end of Wayne. In 1820, sections 3, 4, 9 and 10 of township 10, range 3, were taken into Richland township. In June, 1838, all of township 8; range 4, and township 9, range 3, that were in Adams, was taken into a new township named Van Buren, leaving it with about thirty-five square miles of territory. Greenville creek, with some minor branches, drains almost the entire southern part of the township. The main stream runs in a general east and west direction, meandering through the two tiers of sections. The Stillwater drains about four sections in the northeast corner and Harris creek the bal- ance of the northern portion of the township. The surface is rolling, especially along Greenville creek in the southwest portion. Lime rock is exposed along this stream near Cromer's mill and Gettysburg and signs of considerable gla- cial action are seen in the knolls and boulders which abound in this region. The Pennsylvania railway, which divides into two divisions at Bradford, near the center of the east line, has two lines across this township. The Logansport division runs north of west in a straight line from Bradford, and leaves the township near the northwest corner of section 15. town- ship 10 north, range 3 east. The Indianapolis division runs in a straight line from Bradford to Gettysburg and then turns almost southwest and leaves the township near the southwest corner.
The original forest contained much beech, together with ash, maple and hickory.
This township is the second largest in the county and was the second in order of settlement. It is in the center of the first tier of townships along the eastern line of the county. Abraham Studabaker, the second permanent rural settler in Darke county, located on the south bank of Greenville creek, opposite Gettysburg, in section 25, in 1808. Here he erected a block house and remained during the perilous times of the war
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of 1812, as elsewhere related. A few families settled about Greenville and the nearest of these was six miles from this lonely settler. David Studabaker was born here in 1814, being the first white child born in the township. In 1816, the family moved about two miles south of Greenville, in what was after- wards known as the Studabaker settlement. A directory pub- lished in 1819 mentions "Studabaker's block house," as a promnent point on the Dayton and Greenville pike, nine miles from the latter village. Major George Adams settled in the neighborhood of the present site of Cromer's (Baer's) mill just after the war of 1812. Here he erected a little corn cracker of a mill, which turned out a small amount of coarse meal under favorable conditions. A little grocery and whisky store was soon established and "Adam's Mill" became a popular resort. When the township was organized in 1819, it took the name of the doughty major. As the population increased, the set- tlers here, and in the neighboring townships took their grain to the mills at Greenville Falls and Covington to be ground.
In 1816 Armstrong Campbell and Mr. Stewart settled in the Studabaker opening; the former in the southwest quarter of section 30, and the latter in the northeast quarter of section 36. A settlement was made at and near the present site of New Harrison, in 1816 and 1817, by William Cunningham, Samuel Robinson, Barton Fairchild, Thomas McCune, Josiah Carr, John Myers, Zadoc Reagan, Zachariah March and Eben- ezer Byram. Isaac Hollingsworth and Thomas Warren were also early settlers. In 1830, John Reck, William Reck, Henry Weaver and Armstrong Campbell erected the first school house in the township on section 30, on the present site of the cemetery near Gettysburg. Samuel Horner was the first teacher. Previous to this time Jacob Herscher taught a sub- scription school. There are now twelve school houses in the township, besides those in Gettysburg and Bradford.
The Lutherans erected the first church about 1834, on the pike south of Greenville creek in section 36, a short distance east of the present site of school No. 8. This building was afterwards moved to Gettysburg and used until the congrega- tion disbanded. There is now a strong German Baptist church in the southwest corner of section 12, known as Oak- land church : a Dunkard church about half a mile north of this in section 14: besides a Methodist church at Horatio, a Presbyterian and M. E. church at Gettysburg and a Presby- terian church at Bradford. Several families of Yorkers or
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Old Order River Brethren live in the township, between Ho- ratio and Bradford, who hold religious services in their homes.
We have referred to the early settlement about New Har- rison. A village was platted here in 1837, by Samuel Robin- son. By 1845, there were a dozen families in the place, a M. E. church, two taverns, a physician, and probably a store and a smithy. At that time the forest approached on all sides and to the northwest there was an unbroken stretch of seven miles in which there was not a single house. Deer and wild turkeys were often seen in the village. This place of promise was soon eclipsed by the growth of
Gettysburg
A village, which was established about a mile and a half east- ward by a colony of emigrants from Adams county, Pennsyl- vania, who came mostly between the years 1827 and 1831. The new town was not platted, however, until 1842, when it was named for Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the above named county. John Hershey was the proprietor and built the first structure in the new village, which was used for a tavern. James Auld was the first store keeper, postmaster and justice of the peace. A blacksmith shop, a saddler shop and a cabinet shop were established at an early date. The Presbyterians built a church at the west end of Corwin street as early as 1847 or 1848 on land donated by Alexander Horner, who, with William Carr, John Meyer and Dr. Darwin were active factors in its erection. The organization has continued to this day and the congregation now numbers about 150 members, in- cluding many of the oldest families in the community. Rev. Thomas Elcock was the first pastor.
The Methodists have a church on the southeast corner of Corwin and Clay streets which was moved to its present lo- cation from the east line of section 31, on the Troy pike in the spring of 1875. It has been remodeled and improved and still serves this prosperous congregation. Rev. J. O. Moffitt of Versailles is the present pastor.
The citizens of Gettysburg have been noted for a zeal for education. The first school house was a brick structure, and was erected on Corwin street about 1850. A second brick school house was erected in 1866 at a cost of some $5,000. This structure served until about 1893, when it was replaced by a modern three roomed brick building at a cost of some
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$10,000. A fourth room and an auditorium with a seating capacity of some five hundred was added later at a probable cost of some $5,000. This building is located on a fine lot on the north side of East Main street. A high school was estab- lished here by Prof. B. O. Martin, in 1896, which has gradu- ated many pupils to date. Prof. Keith Cannon is the principal of the school. Prof. J. H. Royer, one of Darke county's best educators, was at one time superintendent of this school, which has included among its students men now prominent in various callings, including Prof. Edward Rynearson, dis- trict superintendent, Pittsburg, Pa .: Aaron Moul, expert ac- countant ; Harvey Kendall, Glen Stoltz, Prof. Minor McCool. principal of Greenville high school; Prof. J. L. Selby, former principal of Greenville high school. Besides these important public institutions, Gettysburg now contains a bank, hotel, postoffice, grain elevator, lumber yard, station, two tobacco warehouses, three good general stores, a furniture store, a grocery, a drug store, etc. The main streets have recently been greatly improved by grading, curbing and laying ce- ment walks and the village is lighted by electricity. As in most towns of this size, the fraternal spirit is strong as shown by the number of lodges. F. and A. M. Lodge No. 477 was chartered October 21, 1874, with ten members. It now has about sixty-five members. There is also an I. O. O. F., a K. of P. and a Jr. O. W. A. M., the latter of which was chartered March 4, 1903, with eleven members.
Wayne Fair is the mayor and John Kneisley, village clerk. Samuel Hershey is township clerk. The real estate in Gettys- burg was appraised in 1913 at $260,730. The population in 1910 was 320.
Bradford.
This flourishing village was platted in 1865, along the east line of the southeast quarter of section 21, township 9 north, range 4 east. The original plat was along the east line, but entirely within Darke county. Being at the meeting point of two recently established railways, it grew from the beginning and in 1870, had 243 inhabitants. Additions were soon made on both sides of the line and in 1890, it had a total population o: 1,338, of whom 477 were in Darke county. This growth was largely due to the development of the Pennsylvania rail- way system, and the fact that this was an important division point. Many railway employees and mail clerks made their
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home here for convenience and the railway company estab- lished a large round house and switch yard on the Miami county side. The village was incorporated August 24, 1871.
A large, three story, brick school house was erected on the west side as early as 1876, at a cost of some $28,000. This building had two towers and an auditorium with a seating capacity of about 600, showing the growth and enterprise of the village at that time. This building was torn down and replaced in 1908 by a modern eight-room brick structure with an auditorium at a total cost with furnishings of probably $30,000. The town has continued to grow, and on account of its strategic location has a promising future. It now has a city hall, school, hotel, two banks, and a Presbyterian church on the Darke county side ; a fine large Railway Young Men's Christian Association building, an M. E. church, a Brethren mission, a hotel, station, elevator, lumber yard, stockyard and round house on the Miami county side. It has the following lodges: Bradford Lodge No. 560, 1. O. O. F., instituted in 1872; Bradford Lodge No. 593, F. and A. M., chartered Octo- ber 19, 1905, with 26 members-present membership about 80: Christian Chapter No. 241, Eastern Stars, instituted July 14, 1905; Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, No. 826. The population in 1910 was 1,844, of whom 669 were in Darke county.
Horatio.
Horatio is a small village in the northeastern quarter of section 15, township 10, range 3 east, on the northern division of the Pennsylvania railway. It has not made much growth since its establishment-probably on account of its proximity to Stelvideo. It now has a postoffice, store and an M. E. church.
The property and improvements in Adams township are indicated by the tax assesment in 1913, which was $3,146,550 on real estate, and $2,032,420 on personal property. The total population of the township was placed in 1910 at 2,835.
Franklin Township.
This township was formed in June, 1839, by taking all of township 8 north, range 4 east, that is, within the limits of Darke county, and adding one tier of sections from the eastern side of township 9 north, range 3 east, from Van Buren town- ship, giving the new township 24 sections in all.
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The surface is a level plain broken here and there by gravel cairns, and the soil is deep and rich, having been formed largely from the alluvial deposits of the immense swamps that originally covered large portions of the land. Painter (or Panther) Creek enters the southwestern corner of the town- ship, trends northeastward and crosses the eastern county line in the southeastern corner of section 9, draining probably over half of the entire area. The northern part is drained by a branch of Greenville creek, and the southeastern portions by minor tributarics of the Stillwater.
Irwin C. Mote, esquire, deceased, wrote thus of pioneer days in this township: "In the early forties we lived on the highway between Franklin township, and the Stillwater mills. We lived there where Laura is now, and all the travel between that township and the Stillwater mills had to go by our place of residence. Many times there would pass our house a team of one horse and a cow hitched up to the fore part of a wagon. Some times there would pass two or three on horseback or cowback, going to the mill, and at other times a lone man or boy would pass riding a cow with a sack of corn thrown across its back, destined for the Stillwater mills." *
"At the time that I write about, Franklin township was a wilderness, and it was nearly one-half covered with water the year round, and was full of nearly all kinds of game, such as squirrels, turkeys and deer. There were also different kinds of vicious animals in the wilds of that township, namely wolves, bear, catamounts, etc. * * That part of Darke county is the garden spot of the world, but it took work and labor to make it."
Among the early settlers were Samuel Hall, who located in section 18. and John Haworth, who located in section 33 about 1824 or 1825. Eli Inman settled in section 8 in 1826, and Daniel Oakes settled in section 19 about 1828. Later settlers were Martin Brandt, Henry Finfrock, Theophilus T. Penny, Wlliam Hess and Christian Newcomer.
The following excerpt from the writings of Mr. Henry Layer, whose biography appears in Volume II of this work, contains many interesting items of early history and throws some strong side lights on early social life. This article was written about 1908:
"John Hess, who formerly lived near the village of Painter Creek, but who is now deceased and buried in the Newcomer cemetery, helped to build the first school house in this town-
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ship. It was a log structure put up near the west bank of the stream of Painter Creek on land at present owned by Jonas Rhoades and in process of time this was lathed and plastered and was made a comfortable house for those times and it was in this log structure that the writer of this sketch received his first instructions in the rudiments of education. To the best of my recollection, David Olwine was the first teacher who taught in this building, and I think he taught about three winters in the same place, the schools at that time being supported mainly by subscription, that is money donated by the patrons of the school district. Those teachers who succeeded David Olwine in this newly organized dis- trict were George H. Martz, Benjamin Hathaway, B. M. Richardson, Joseph Mote, Moses Bonebrake, Joseph Drew, Amos North and R. T. Hale, who came from Indiana and was a very efficient teacher. In due time there was another log school house built on land now owned by Edward Eck in section 32, and also another on land now owned by Van Rench in section 20, and in process of time there was another log structure erected as a school house in what is now Red River. The first house built in this township for religious meetings was erected on land now owned by Samuel Beane in section 30. This was used for religious meetings as well as for singing schools. John Hess, deceased, and Lewis Hess, who now lives in Yorkshire, Patterson township, being the teachers who taught the rudiments of music in the book known as the Missouri Harmony, and a great many of the musical pieces used in the book then in use are still set forth in our present system of song books. The second house built in this township to be used for a meeting house was built by the Newlights or Christian church on land now owned by the John Spidel heirs in section 29. This house later on was known by the name of "Buckneck," from an incident which occurred in the immediate vicinity of the house, wherein a man by the name of Ogan killed a male deer and gave the neck of it to his near neighbor out of generosity. However, these log structures for schools as well as religious uses have all been superseded by twelve good and substantial buildings for school purposes and four large frame structures for devo- tional services as well as for Sunday school.
"The first justice of the peace in this township of whom I have any recollection was John Haworth and I think he was succeeded by Daniel Young, who was succeeded by Ezekiel
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Mote and then William Hess was elected, who held the office to the time of his death in 1868, others who held the office at different intervals whom we might name, but time and space will not allow it.
"The first Sunday school organized in this township was in the log meeting house built by the Newlights, of which I have made mention. When I was about twelve years old I attended Sunday school for the first time at that place, it be- ing about two miles from where my parents lived, and I went by myself. The superintendent being John Wilson, who knew me, gave me a book the title of which was "The Story of Jane C. Judson," and he told me to take it along home with me and read it through carefully and bring it back the next Sunday then he would give me another, which I did, and in this way I continued on and in process of time the superintendent would occasionally give nie one of the prim- ary classes to teach, which greatly encouraged me in the work. At present there are duly organized Sunday schools in each of the four meeting houses in this township.
"My parents settled in this township when I was about three years old, having moved from Schuylkill county, Penn- sylvania, with another family, an uncle of mine, who located in Clay county, Indiana. Both families moved in wagons a distance of about six hundred miles, coming through Harris- burg and crossing the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains, passing through Columbus, which at that time was a small place comparatively speaking.
"The population of Franklin township in 1840, was 291, and in 1880 it was 1,871. Thus we see that the township was very sparsely populated and people neighbored with each other who lived from two to three miles apart, it being no uncommon thing for people to go three miles to a log rolling or house raising, or barn raising and even not excepting corn huskings, those gatherings being common in the early set- tlements of this township as well as others.
"The first settlers in this township in selecting a site for their buildings always chose the highest place on their land without taking into consideration their outlet to any public road, of which there were very few. The first public road of which I have any recollection was what is now known as the Milton pike. People who first settled here made their own outlets, cutting roads diagonally through the woods in such a manner as to best meet their own conveniences with-
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out paying any particular attention to section or half section or quarter section lines."
The sketch of the "Church of the Brethren" in chapter ten contains some interesting history of that church in this town- ship. Besides these churches there is a Union Christian and Mennonite church at "The Beech," in the northwest corner of section 7, and a Christian church on the eastern side of the Milton pike in the southeast quarter of section 29.
The educational spirit of the citizens of Franklin township is shown by the impressive fact that it contains the only township high school thus far established in Darke county. This high school was organized in 1905, and the first class, containing twelve members, was graduated in 1908. Minor McCool. now principal of the Greenville High school, was the superintendent, and J. D. Crowell the principal of the school at that time. A substantial modern school building contain- ing five rooms and a basement, 44 by 60 feet in size, was erected n 1907 at a cost of $7,500. This building is heated by steam and lighted by a gasoline light plant. A stable and shed capable of sheltering twenty horses and twenty-two buggies was erected in 1913. A report issued in the fall of 1913, shows 49 graduates, 30 teachers instructed, 42 pupils in the high school, 14 pupils from other townships attending the school. A splendid physical laboratory and a library of some 300 volumes are notable features of this school. The school is in a flourishing condition and has a splendid outlook. The following persons have served as teachers since the establish- ment of the school: Supt. Minor McCool, B. S .: Prin. J. D. Crowell, B. S .: Margaret Bridge, A. B .; Supt. Chas. A. Wilt, B. S. : Prin. Mabel McCurdy, A. B. : Prin. Alice Flory. A. B .: Prin. Ruth Dull, A. B. The members of the board in 1913 were: H. H. Bireley, J. L. Swinger, David Landis, Benj. Landis, David Fourman and Josiah Eikenberry.
The only village in Franklin township is Painter Creek lo- cated on the Milton pike in sections 19 and 30. It was platted in 1870, and now contains a town hall, public school and tile factory. There are good roads on nearly every sec- tion line, besides the Greenville and West Milton pike, which crosses the western line near the center of section 13, and leaves the county near the southeastern corner of the town- ship. Besides the staple grains of this region, a large amount of tobacco is raised and the land is accounted among the best in the county.
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The population in 1910 was 1,469, while in 1890 it was 1,731 indicating that this township, like most purely rural sections of our country, suffered a decrease during this period on ac- count of the rush for the towns and cities. This condition, no doubt, is temporary as the fertility of the land and vast improvements will eventually attract a dense population. The tax duplicate for 1913 showed real estate to the value of $1,798,730, and chattels amounting to $467,520.
Monroe Township.
This township occupies the southeast corner of the county, and was erected in June, 1836, by detaching from the east side of Twin township all of township 7 north, range 4 east, that is in Darke county, together with the eastern tier of sections of township 8 north, range 3 east, making it six miles north and south and four miles east and west.
Ludlow creek, which rises in the northwestern portion and trends southeastward, drains about three-fourths of its area. The surface is quite level, and in early days the network of small branches forming the headwaters of Ludlow creek spread out into swamps and quagmires, covering a large part of the township. The drainage of these low wet areas re- vealed a rich, deep vegetable loam, which has made Monroc one of the most fertile tracts in the entire county.
Asa Jones and Henry Addington settled in the northern part in section 8, about 1819, being the first to penetrate and open up this howling swamp ash wilderness. John Mote and family followed in about a year. Thomas Jones settled in the northern part and George Gable in the southern part in 1823. On account of the gloomy and forbidding condition of the country, however, settlement was retarded, but others soon cast their lot with the pioneers. Among these were William and John Richardson, in the northern part, Samuel Cams and Peter Shank in the southern part, and Joseph Brown, Peter, Abraham and John Snorph in the southwestern part.
The first school district was laid out in 1836. It was three miles long, east and west, and one mile wide. A school house was started in this district, but much dissatisfaction arose on account of the shape and size of the district which resulted in the forming of new districts two miles square. The partly finished school building was transferred to section 28, and completed in 1837.
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Asa Jones, the first settler, also became the first teacher. On account of the sparse settlements and the swampy condi- tion much difficulty and danger was encountered by the chil- dren, who followed the iong blazed paths to school. Difficul- ties encountered, however, developed strong and stalwart characters, and the little log school with its puncheon floor and seats, its big fire place, rude furnishings and primitive text books, sent out many, many a citizen of ability and integrity.
The first election in the township is said to have been held in the fall of 1836, at which time John Oakes cast the first ballot and Ezekiel Mote the second.
Several families of German Baptists settled in the town- ship at an early day, and Philip Younce was one of their early preachers. For a fuller account of the establishment and growth of this denomination in the township and county the reader is referred to the article on this church in chapter ten. Today the members of this church own much of the land in the township and have made of it a thrifty and substantial community. There is a German Baptist church in the north- east corner of section 6 and one in the southwest quarter of section 1, besides a Lutheran church in section 19 and a M. E. church in Pitsburg.
The township is well drained, and has pikes on most of the section lines, besides the old state road which crosses the western line near the northwest corner of section 12, and runs in a straight line southeasterly crossing the east line near the center of the eastern boundary of section 33, and continuing on through Salem and Phillipsburg to Dayton.
Pitsburg.
The only village in the township is Pitsburg, which is built on both sides of the line dividing sections 7 and 12. Its early history, prior to the building of the Peoria and Eastern (formerly I. B. & W.) railway, was one of struggle against adverse conditions, and as late as 1880, the historian wrote of it: "There is no village or city within the boundaries of this township, but a place that bears the name of Pittsburg, of which perhaps in a day away back in the past, some had an idle dream of future greatness. But, alas, the ravages of time, the destroyer of all things, have lain in the dust the ambitions of its founders, and Pittsburg lives only in name in story."
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DARKE COUNTY
Could the writer of these lines have postponed his verdict until today he would have had quite a different tale to tell for the Pitsburg of today is probably the best built and most prosperous village of its size in Darke county. The last few years have wrought a great transformation in its appearance for it now contains a public school, an M. E. church, a bank, hotel, fire department, elevators, lumber yards, besides ware- houses, good stores and public conveniences and in the neigh- borhood of a hundred buildings in all. It is an especially good shipping point for the grain and immense crops of tobacco raised in the surrounding country, and does a large mercan- tile business with the prosperous farmers of this section.
For several years this village was known as Arnettsville but the name was changed in 1909.
The census of 1910 gave the village a population of 240, and the township 1,539, it being one of the few townships which showed an actual increase over the census of 1900.
The real property of Pittsburg was assessed at $167,090 and the chattels at $166,020, while the entire township showed valuations of $1,880,700, and $746,290, respectively in 1913.
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