History of Delaware County and Ohio, Part 82

Author: O. L. Baskin & Co; Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 818

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township, leaving a number of descendants, who are still there. Nothing now remains of Williams- ville to mark the site of its former aspirations, save a church, built by the Methodists, but now occupied by the United Brethren.

Lewis Center as a village dates from the com- pletion of the railroad through that point in 1850. The first settler in or very near that spot was John Johnson, who built his cabin in 1823, just east of the railroad, in what was then but little more than a body of water diluted with a little earth. The spot is marked by a well he sunk, and is now a good piece of meadow land. The Johnson family is remembered as a rough, hardy family, to whom even the ague had no terrors. A cabin was rolled up in the moisture, and a log bridged the way to the door. The first store kept at this place was by McCoy Sellers, and stood near the railroad track when it, came through. The building is still there, and is occupied as a resi- dence by Mrs. Colflesh. The name was given by William L. Lewis, whose widow still resides there. At the time the railroad was built, the company desired to make a station at that point, if the land could be donated. Mr. Lewis and his family had lived there, but at this time he was in Cali- fornia, his family being in the East. His prop- erty in the West was left in the care of Mr. Elsbre, who communicated the proposition of the railroad company. After consulting her friends, Mrs. Lewis gave her consent, and it was decided to make this the stopping-place in the town. Mr. Lewis returning soon , afterward, found great objection to the location of the depot, and the company finally abandoned the site. Through the influence of friends, he afterward waived the objection, and the present depot was placed there. Lewis Center now contains, in addition to a good cluster of resi- dences, the usual country store, a grocery, a ware- house, a shoe-shop, two blacksmith-shops, a cooper- shop, which turned out 6,000 flour barrels during last year, a good-sized school building, and two churches. A liquor saloon ekes out a scanty sub- sistence here. The post office is kept in the store and has two mails per day. A lodge of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows is established here. They were organized in 1870, and built a hall for their meetings. By some mismanagement on the part of some one, the lodge has become hopelessly involved, and the prospect at this writing is, that they will surrender their charter.

Orange Station had its origin in the difficulty attending the establishment of Lewis Station.

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

When the site was given up there, Mr. George Gooding, the elder, offered the company the use of ten acres so long as they would keep a depot there. This proposition the company accepted, and have maintained an office there until within the year past, when it was vacated. When this station was first established, Jarvis, who had kept store at Williamsville, moved his trade to that place. He left in the second year of the late war-1862 -and was succeeded by a small grocery, which went with the depot. A post office was estab- lished here, but that was closed in the latter part of 1878.

East Orange Post Office does not seem to have had any special founding, but, like Topsy, “just growed." It is located on the east side of Alum Creek, where the roadway narrows between the hill and creek. It contains one or two houses and a blacksmith-shop, beside the Wesleyan Church building.

The Methodist denomination was probably the first church influence that found its way into the wilderness of Orange Township. A Methodist settlement on the east of Alum Creek is among the earliest traditions, and a church of that de- nomination was established in this neighborhood as early as 1828. Later, another was organized at Williamsville, but seems to have died out at an early day. In 1843, the fierce agitation of the slavery question in that body throughout the land, culminated here, as in many other places, in a separation-the antislavery portion organizing the Wesleyan Church. Their first services were held in a cabin on the flats, near the present resi- dence of Samuel Patterson, with Rev. Mr. Street as Pastor. This church started with a member- ship numbering twenty-nine, which has since in- creased to fifty. In 1876, they built a modest building on the hill, at a cost of $800, where they now worship. In 1864, an M. E. Church was organized at Lewis Center, with a membership of twelve, which has since increased to ninety mem- bers. Their building, which cost at war prices $2,600, was dedicated November 4, 1866. In 1871, a parsonage was built, at a cost of $2,000. Since its organization, the church has maintained a Sunday school without a break, which now numbers about fifty members. A Catholic Church was organized here in 1864, and a frame building for worship put up. They are in a languishing condition, and have services each alternate Tues- day afternoon. A United Brethren Church was organized at Williamsville in 1877. This church

occupies the building erected some years ago by the M. E. Church, but, at present, is not a very vigorous organization.

Among the earliest traditions before church or- ganizations were effected, is found the name of Elder Drake, a Baptist preacher, who was one of the earliest settlers of Delaware City. He held services weekly at the house of Nathan Nettleton, an early settler on Alum Creek. Another name is that of a Presbyterian preacher, Rev. Ahab Jinks. He held frequent but not regular services about the neighborhood until the organization of a church in Berlin gave his followers a regular place of worship. The earliest Methodist preacher was the Rev. Leroy Swampsted, a rigid disciplinarian, an energetic worker and a man of good executive ability. He stood high in the estimation of the church at large, and was, later, agent of the Book Concern in Cincinnati. The organization of the first Sunday school is attributed to James Ferson, the older brother of Samuel Ferson, of this town- ship. This school was organized in 1821, and held its sessions in the cabin of Mr. Ferson for three years, when his departure for Michigan tem- porarily broke it up.

It is not surprising where so firm a stand was taken in regard to antislavery principles, that there should be felt an active interest in the wel- fare of escaped slaves. It was a fact well under- stood at an early day, that the Pattersons were prominently active in the service of the "under- ground railway." Much service, in a quiet way, was rendered to fugitive slaves ; but no pursuers ever came to this part of the township. A single exception to this rule, in the west part of the township, is related by Mr. Elsbre. A negro lad came to his cabin about Christmas, 1834, calling himself John Quincy Adams. He stayed with him until the following summer, when one day as they were at work on the pike, two negroes came up and recognized John Quincy. They proved to be run- away slaves from the same neighborhood as John. These facts excited in his mind a lively apprehen- sion, and, fearing that they would be pursued and he involved in the general capture, he left that night, not to be heard of again for some years. His fears were only too well founded. The pursuers were put upon the trail of the boys by a neigh- hor-Mark Coles-who had previously known their master, and, one bright September night, as Mr. Elsbre sat with his little family enjoying a social chat with a neighbor, the door of his cabin was rudely opened, and a burly six-footer strode

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

in, carrying a club sufficient to fell an ox with. He proceeded, without uttering a word, to exam- ine the trundle-bed where the younger children lay, and, with a glance toward the bed where Mrs. Elsbre lay with a two-weeks-old child, he wheeled toward the ladder and attempted to mount to the loft. This was too much for Elsbre's equanimity. He had repeatedly asked the meaning of the demonstration, but got no answer, and, seizing his gun from its place, he ordered the intruder to come down, or he "would put him on the coon- . board in a minute." The rifle was unloaded, but, like the old lady in the story, he saw the fright- ful hole in the end, and came down to parley. Matters had rather changed base in the mean- while, and Mr. Elsbre chose his own place for further talk. Still theatening with his gun, he drove the ruffian out of the cabin and the inclos- ure, to where his assistants awaited him. The negro boys who had been sleeping up-stairs, be- coming aroused, took the first opportunity of escaping through a back window. Assured of their escape, Mr. Elsbre satisfied the hunters that there was nothing there belonging to them, when they left, not to disturb him again. In the year 1854, some thirty freed negroes were sent from North Carolina to the Patterson neighborhood to find homes. Their mistress had freed them in her will, and directed her executor to send them here. On their arrival, the friends of the anti- slavery movement were called together, and homes provided for all. They settled down in that neighborhood and stayed until, in the course of natural changes, the most of them have been lost sight of.

One of the pleasantest facts in the history of Orange Township is the prominent place which the public school occupies from first to last. Hardly had the first settlers rolled up their cabios, and cleared enough space to raise subsistence for their families, before the schoolhouse makes its appear- ance. The first settler barely reached this town- ship in 1807, and eight years later we find the settlers drawing on their scanty means to give their children the beginnings of an education. In 1815, Jane Mather, the daughter of an early settler and the widow of a soldier of 1812, opened a school in the cabin of John Wimsett on the State road. Here she drew together a few of the settler's chil- dren, the beginning of District No. 1. As the at- tendance increased, a small log cabin was put on the east side of the road near where Mr. Dickerson lives. This cabin, if it could be produced now,

would be a subject of more interest than the seven wonders. The cabin inclosed a space of about twelve by fourteen fect. The cracks between the logs were " chinked " and plastered with mud, save where for the purpose of light they were en- larged and covered with greased paper. Split logs provided withi legs stood about the sides of the room, on which the drowsy school-boy of ye olden time conned his book. The school-books were the result of the provident care of the mothers, who thoughtfully packed them when starting from the East, and were not remarkable for uniformity of series. Who was Jane Mather's successor tradi- tion saith not, but the old schoolhouse stood until about 1827, when it was destroyed by fire. It was replaced by a hewed-log house, provided with windows, a long inclined board along the side for a desk, and seats containing less timber. In 1822, Chester Campbell taught a school a little south of where Samuel Ferson now lives, but further than the bare fact, the historian has been unable to dis- cover anything. Three years later a Mr. Curtis taught a singing school there. The date of the first frame schoolhouse is not known, but it cannot be far from 1850. It was located in Mr. Ferson's neighborhood, and for some years was the especial pride of that district and the envy of others less favored. The first brick schoolhouse was erected in 1868, in District No. 4, and cost when com- pleted for use about $1,000. Seven of the eight districts in the township are thus provided. Black- boards and school furniture of the most approved pattern are found in each, marking an advanced position in this matter. The average attendance at each school throughout the township is about twenty pupils. The average price paid teachers per month is $28, the teachers providing their own board. The lowuess of this price is explained by the fact that most of the teachers are ladies employed both summer and winter. There is also one special school district in Lewis Center. Here a school of two departments is maintained in the winter, and of a single department in the summer.

The town-house was built of brick, in the cen- ter of the township, at a cost of $825, in 1871. As is frequently the case, the question of its loca- tion was a vexed one. The people of Lewis Cen- ter naturally desired to bring every possible attrac- tion to that point, and others preferred to have it centrally located. Trustees were nominated with the understanding that the building should be put as a majority of the votes should indicate. For

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

sufficient reasons, doubtless, it was thought best to ignore this stipulation, and a movement was made to build it at the Center. An injunction was in- terposed, and another election had, which resulted in placing it where it now stands.

In noticing the public institutions of the town- ship, it will be in place to mention one it almost had, but failed to get. Bishop Chase, the uncle of a renowned nephew, for some time a resident of Worthington, where he taught school in his own house, was greatly interested in educational mat- ters. In connection with another minister of the Episcopal Church, he conceived the idea of found-

ing a college under the auspices of that denomina- tion. He selected a spot on the farm of Mr. David Bale, in the southeastern part of the township, as the site for his proposed college. He interested the settlers in his project, and one day in the year of 1818, or thereabouts, they got together and cleared about ten acres. Shortly afterward he went to England to solicit subscriptions to put his college on its feet. Here he met with considerable suc- cess, but he never returned to Orange Township. His proposed college was built at Gambier, and called Kenyon for the lady who contributed a large amount to its construction.

CHAPTER XVIII .*

SCIOTO TOWNSHIP-TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES-EARLY SETTLEMENTS-CHURCHES -EDUCA- TIONAL -POLITICS- THE VILLAGES.

"Neither locks had they to their doors, nor bars to their windows;

But their dwellings were open as day, and the hearts of the owners; There the richest were poor, and the poorest lived in abundance."

-Longfellow.

S YCIOTO is a township that reflects credit on the good county of Delaware, and stands well in the sisterhood of townships. It originally lay wholly west of the Scioto River, and was composed en- tirely of Old Virginia military land. It was formed into a separate township December 7, 1814, by the granting of a petition by the County Com- missioners, praying for a new township to be estab- lished in said county by the name and title of Scioto, which was to comprehend all west of the Scioto River, in what was then Radnor, and to run south to the mouth of Mill Creek. In 1821, after the formation of Concord Township, the bounda- ries were more expressly defined, and they were to begin on the west bank of Scioto River, at Dil- saver's Ford; thence west to the Union County . line; thence south with said line to the middle of Mill Creek ; thence eastwardly with the north line of Concord Township, to the Scioto River; thence up said river with the meander thereof to the place of beginning, and was bounded as follows : On the north by Thompson, on the east by the Scioto River, on the south by Concord Township and Union County, and on the west by Union *Contributed by H. L. S. Vaile.

County. About the year 1852, Scioto Township was allowed two school districts east of the Scioto River, the land so annexed was taken from the northern portion of Concord Township, thus in- terposing between Concord and Radnor, and ex- tending to the western line of Delaware Township. Some few years later, another portion of Concord Township, situated directly west of the Mill Creek settlement, occupying the bend of Mill Creek south of it, was attached to Scioto for the conven- ience of those living on that tract, it being in close proximity to the voting place, and the school facilities afforded by the town of Ostrander. The present boundaries are as follows: On the north by Thompson and Radnor Townships, on the east by Radnor, Delaware and Concord Townships, on the south by Concord Township and Union County, and on the west by Union County. Scioto Township takes its name from the river Scioto, which is a corruption of the In- dian Scionto, a name given to it by the Wyandots. The Scioto River flows through a portion of the township. Since the change made in the eastern boundary line, along its entire course through the township, the geological features presented are those of a bed of solid limestone rock, shut in by cliffs of the same material. In many places the river has forsaken its ancient channel, compelled to take a new course by the immense deposits of drift made by the melting glaciers which choked up the channel. Where this is the case, the water

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

seems to have washed the alluvial soil into the old channel and upon the bottom. On every hand are marks of the glaciers. Immense granite bowlders are seen in the fields, and in the bed of the Scioto, brought, no doubt, from the North during the drift period. The tributaries of the Scioto River, which flow into it on its way through the town- ship, are Arthur's Run and Boke's Creek. The latter, named from an Indian chief of the Wyan- dot nation, is of considerable size, and has its source in the northeastern section of Logan County, and, flowing southeast through Union County, strikes Scioto Township in the northern portion, and thence from a northeastern to a southeastern course, flows into the Scioto River about two miles above Millville, receiving on its way the waters of Smith's Run, which flows into it about one mile and a half from its mouth. Mill Creek flows north from Union County into the southern part of the township, and leaves it at the northwestern corner of Concord Township.

The land near the Scioto River is rolling, and in many places deeply cut by the action of sur- face water, the result of heavy rains, and nu- merous rivulets formed from springs. The soil is rich, and with the "Scioto Bottoms" forms some of the finest farming lands in Delaware County. Back from the river, the land be- comes more level, and is well adapted for graz- ing. Clay knobs are met with here and there through the township, from which excellent brick and tile are made. The lowlands of the interior have been well drained. At an early day, there were a few elm swamps, but these have in most instances been drained, and are now improved. The draining of the Burnt Pond situated on A. J. Robinson's farm, and said at one time to be the head-waters of Arthur's Run, is an instance of the improvements that have been made as regards the lowlands and swamps. This pond, which at one time was of considerable extent, has been thor- oughly drained, and is now one of the richest por- tions of the above-named gentleman's farm. It was named from the fact that after it had been drained, it was set on fire, and the vegetable matter which had been accumulating for years . burned with great persistency, and it was a long time before the fire could be extinguished.

The township is traversed by fine gravel roads from each side of which may be seen stretching away, fields rich with corn and waving grain in its season, together with fine orchards of apple and other fruit. The old Springfield, Mount Vernon

& Pittsburgh Railroad, now known as the Short Line Branch of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cin- cinnati & Indianapolis, crosses the southern portion of the township, in direction south and west. Boke's Creek is the historical, stream of Scioto Township. Upon its banks and near its mouth were placed the cabins of the first set- tlers. It is said that when the whites first came to the locality, they found the Indians friend- ly, and gained from them information which in those days was very valuable, namely, the loca- tion of the Salt Licks, the fords in the river, and the haunts of the water-fowl and deer, but no longer is the Indian seen in the forests, or in his birch canoe, skimming the waters of the Scioto. He has gone, and a few squalid savages wander- ing over the Western Plains are all that remain of the great Wyandot Nation. The common neces- saries of life were difficult to procure. A journey of forty and fifty miles to find a market for their skins, and in exchange get a few things that were necessary for their comfort was no uncommon thing. It must be remembered too, that these routes were not over graded pikes and bridges, which to-day make even a journey of necessity one of pleasure and interest. But they journeyed on pack-horses, over Indian trails, thanking a kind Providence when the fords of the river were passable, and for their safe arrival at their desti- nation.

In September, 1805, Richard Hoskins and his family, consisting of four boys and three girls, came over, in a packet-ship, from Wales, and, im- mediately upon their arrival, set out for the frontier. At that time there were no roads lead- ing to the great North western Territory, excepting a few that followed Indian trails and led to the forts on the border. These roads were used for the purpose of transporting to the forts supplies of food and munitions of war, and for miles, were cut through dense forests. Over these roads, with pack-horses, Richard Hoskins determined to brave everything for home and happiness. He struck out, and, after a long and tedious journey, arrived in Franklinton, Ohio, in December, 1805. In the following May (1806), he again " broke camp " and started north, on the Sandusky Military Road ; reached the mouth of Boke's Creek, and settled there. There are none left of the original family, all having died, although there are several distant relatives living in Ostrander and in Marys- ville. At about the same time, and so close, in fact, that priority of date of settlement remains

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

somewhat in doubt, there came and settled on land near Hoskins, Zachariah Stephens, and, from the best information that can now be obtained, it is probable that he settled in June of the same year, 1806. Immediately upon his arrival, Stephens set to work and built a log cabin, finish- ing it a short time before Hoskins had completed his, and so has the honor of having built the first log cabin in this township. In the following year, assisted by Richard Hoskins and James McCune, together with help from the town of Franklinton, he put up the first saw-mill in Scioto Township, at the mouth of the creek. In November, 1807, Richard Hoskins went to Franklinton for supplies, and, on his return, was accompanied by James McCune and his family, who settled on a farm near Hoskins, in the latter part of November, 1807. James McCune and his family came from Ireland, and, hearing glowing accounts of the then Western country, turned his face in that direction, arriving in Franklinton in 1805. Growing dis- couraged at what he considered a poor opening in that vicinity, he was induced by Hoskins to move up the Scioto to Boke's Creek, settle on a fine piece of land and clear up a farm. His wife, who at present survives him, still lives on the old homestead, and, in her energy, is to be found a representative pioneer woman. Stewart Smith, an Irishman, whose father was in the rebellion of 1798, "left his home in Ireland, and, in August, 1808, came to Ohio and settled on Boke's Creek, near the run that bears his name. In the year 1809, three families came to the vicinity, Joseph Shrupe, Jacob North and Zachariah Williams. Shrupe came from Pennsylvania and settled on the bank of the creek opposite the mouth of Smith's Run. North came from the East and settled near the creek. Zachariah Williams and his family also settled on the creek. Williams had barely gotten his cabin up when he died, and was buried on the bank of Boke's Creek This being the first death in the township. Phillip Horshaw came to the settlement in 1809, and immediately upon his arrival put up a grist-mill, the first in the township. This mill was situated at Millville, on the site now occupied by the mill owned by Fred- erick Decker. In 1815, finding that milling did not pay, he began the manufacture of liquor in a small still-house near where Millville now stands. He continued in this business until 1822, when he sold out to Thomas Jones. Jones remained in the business for a number of years, and, at last, re- tired by selling out his interest to Joseph Dunlap,

who continued to manufacture until 1836, when the entire business died out.

Richard and Evans Carr came into the town- ship in the following year-1811. Tyler did not live in the township, but, when he first came, worked in Hoskins' mill. After working in the mill some few years, he bought the land upon which his son now resides, and upon which he lived until his death-October 23, 1855. Evans Carr settled near the town of Ostrander, where he. still resides. John Sherman (not the present Secretary of the United States Treasury), came to the township from the State of Kentucky in 1814. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. Vincent, his son, settled down near the Union and Dela- ware County line, where he died in 1862. His wife came to the township from the Blue Grass State in 1822, and still lives with her son, P. J. Sherman, on the old farm.

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History of Delaware County and Ohio, Part 82

Author: O. L. Baskin & Co; Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 818

Author: O. L. Baskin & Co; Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 818