History of Delaware County and Ohio, Part 94

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

USA > Ohio > Delaware County > History of Delaware County and Ohio > Part 94

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Moneys on hand September 1, 1878. $ 705 92

State tax. 410 00

Irreducible fund. 26 84

Local tax for school and schoolhouse purposes, 1,033 36

Total. .$2,177 12

Total of expenditure. $1,858 02

Number of districts or subdistricts. 8

Number of schoolhouses. 8 Total value of school property. $2,200 00 Number of male teachers employed within the year. 6

Number of female teachers employed within the year.

Average wages of male teachers. $

30 00

Average wages of female teachers. $

21 00

Number of teachers that taught through the entire year (ladies).

Average number of weeks the schools were in session ..

Number of male pupils enrolled within the year.

Number of female punils enrolled within the

year.

Average monthly enrollment (boys). 91 Average monthly enrollment (girls) 77

Number of male pupils enrolled between the ages of 16 and 2] 21 Number of female pupils enrolled between the ages of 16 and 21. 9

The schools of the township are in good condi- tion, and, as the country is becoming more thickly settled, they are rapidly filling up, and erelong another demand will be made for a new school- house, to meet the wants of the increasing attend- ance.

Thompson Township is at the present time strongly Democratic, and it appears that but twice in the history of the township has it been carried by an opposite party. In 1854, the Know-Noth- ing party organized secretly and succeeded in carrying the township. The origin and secret workings of this party are well known to most of the old politicians, and it is sufficient to say that at that time, by a combination of issues, this party succeeded in carrying the election. In 1855, the Democrats made a square fight against them, but again they succeeded in gaining all the offices ex- cepting that of Assessor. In 1857, on account of the decline of the dominant party, the Democrats carried the township, and this was the death-blow of the Know-Nothing organization here, which, after that date, presented no opposition. The fol- lowing statistics show the relative strength of the two parties at the last election : Governor- Charles Foster, Republican, 79 ; Thomas Ewing, Democrat, 146; Gideon F. Stewart, Prohibition- ist, 2. Lieutenant Governor-A. Hickenlooper, Republicanj 79; M. V. Rice, Democrat, 145 ; J. W. Sharp, Prohibitionist, 3. State Senator- Thomas Joy, Republican, 81; F. M. Marriott, Democrat, 142. State Representative-John Jones, Republican, 92; D. H. Elliott, Democrat, 128.

What is now known as Pickrell's Mills Post Office, at one time went by the name of Eagle- town, Cone's Mills, etc. It consists of a few houses clustering around the mill and store now owned by Pickrell. It is situated on the old mil- itary road about a mile above Delsaver's Ford. This point is one of the oldest settled in the town- ship, and at one time bid fair to become quite a village, but the few industries located at the place dying out for want of proper encouragement, to- gether with the burning of Cone's woolen factory, sealed the fate of the little place. At present, the saw and grist mill are the only industries .. A

R gel Potter

BROWN TP.

551

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

small store on the east side of the road, at which the post office is situated, enjoys a precarious ex- istence. H. P. Pickrell is the present Postmaster. Patterson Post Office was the dignified title held by an old frame house situated on the military

road a short distance north of the mouth of Ful- ton Creek. At this point McCausland distributed the mail for the township and hence the name. Since the establishment of the post office at Pickrell's Mills, the other has been discontinued.

CHAPTER XXV .*

BROWN TOWNSHIP-HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE-EARLY SETTLEMENT-WAR AND POLITICS -COUNTY INFIRMARY-CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS-VILLAGES.

"Long winters have flown over the scenes of the past, And many have turned gray in the winter's cold blast, While others only dream of the time that is gone ; They are bent by the years that are fast rolling on." -Mc Donald.

T THE history attaching to this subdivision of Delaware County really begins about 1804 or 1805, with the discovery of salt in the vicinity, although the first permanent settlement within the present boundaries of the township extends back no farther than 1817. The lapse of sixty-three years (1817 to 1880), imperceptible in the esti- mate of an eternity, is a long hiatus in human life. It removes two generations into darkness and dust, and places another in their seats who have nearly run their course.

We ask the reader to accompany us in imagina- tion back over the years that are gone, and behold the country clothed in primeval forests, and peo- pled with the " noble red man." He knew the labyrinthian avenues of these dark and gloomy forests, as we know the roadways of the present day. Wild game abounded in endless profusion for the sustenance of this portion of the human race. Looking still further, we see the pioneers hewing out a home for their loved ones. Slowly the wilderness changes into productive farms, and the hunting-grounds of the wild sons of the forest are transferred to the distant West. Where erst stood his wigwam, now rise, as if by enchantment, the palatial homes of his pale-face successor, and those concomitants of civilization-the church and the schoolhouse. Where the ground was cleared off for the war-dance, are now smiling fields and orchards of the finest fruits. Coming down to a later period, we find ignorance and superstition displaced by education, truth, refinement and religion ; the long rides on horseback or in

wagons, over rough and almost impassable roads, are superseded by the iron track and the railway car. A thousand and one conveniences that the pioneer never dreamed of appear to us actual necessities.

Brown Township is a division of the county that is replete with historical interest. Originally, it occupied the central portion of the county, and, later, the north central portion, lying in Range 18, and, by the United States survey, is Township 5. It is bounded on the north by Oxford, on the east by Kingston, on the south by Berlin, on the west by Delaware and Troy, and is in area a full town- ship. Just when Brown was erected into a separ- ate and distinct township is among the lost arts, or rather, the record book of the County Commis- sioners' Court, containing this valuable informa- tion, has been spirited away or destroyed, probably the latter, leaving a gap in the proceedings of the honorable court from 1822 to 1831. When Delaware County was formed, it was divided into three townships, viz., Berkshire, Radnor and Lib- erty. In this division, one-half of the territory now included in Brown was in Radnor, and one- half in Berkshire. At the first meeting of the County Commissioners' Court (June 16, 1808), Delaware Township was created. This took from Radnor that portion of Brown contained in it, and gave it to Delaware, while the balance of Brown remamed in Berkshire, as before. The formation of Peru Township (now in Morrow County), April 22, 1817, took one-quarter of the present territory of Brown. It has thus changed hands frequently since the formation of the county, and somewhere between 1822 and 1831, probably about 1826, Brown Township was created.

The township has but one large stream of water -Alum Creek. It passes through the eastern part, entering near the northeast corner and flowing

* Contributed by Dr. S. W. Fowler.

552

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

south passes out near the southeast corner into Berlin Township. There are several small streams that flow into Alum Creek, some of which have their source in the township. Some of these little streams are noted for having been the ancient sites of Indian encampments, at a time when the Scioto Valley formed a part of the hunting-grounds of the Delawares and Mingoes. Leatherwood Run takes its name from a shrub found growing upon its bank. This peculiar shrub was much sought after by the early settlers, who used both its bark and wood for a variety of purposes. Leatherwood Run has its source in the south part of Oxford, and flows south through Brown, emptying into Alum Creek near Eden Village. Along this run in early times were three Indian encampments, more particularly mentioned elsewhere. Big Run rises in the central portion of the township, and flows southward into Berlin, where it mingles its waters with those of Alum Creek. Sugar Creek, a small stream, rises in the western part and flows into the Olentangy at Delaware. Here it has been utilized by Mr. Vergon, who has con- structed an artificial lake which is supplied with water by this little stream. Three small streams in the southeastern part are called respectively, Longwell's Run, Dutton's Run and Matthews' Run.

The land east of Alum Creek is particularly adapted to grazing. In close proximity to the creek, it is broken and of a rather thin soil, while at a greater distance it is gently undulating, and not only good grazing land, but well adapted for. farming, the soil having less clay and more rich black loam than the rolling land near the creek. Along the west bank of the Alum, the land is also undula- ting, and was the first to be brought under the influence of the settler in the present township of Brown. The grand old elms with their long shel- tering arms were rapidly reduced to ashes; the giant oaks that had withstood the storms and tem- pests of centuries, soon found their way into fences surrounding the newly opened fields of the pio- neer. The land further west was low and wet, defying horseback or wagon travel through its swamps, and even barring road ways for years. Ow- ing to the tile and open drainage systems, however, this section, this wet, swampy land, once consid- ered worthless under the sway of the prudent husbandman, has become the most productive in the township. The roads and highways that were located on the highlands and took circuitous routes to the county seat, have long since passed away,

and now direct roads, graded and graveled, are passable all the year round.

Among the attractions which brought the early settlers to the territory included in Brown Town- ship, was the "Salt Lick," as it was called. When the United States Government sent its agents to survey the country, a salt lick was discovered in the northeast quarter of what is now Brown, from which the Indians procured this much-needed article. A reservation was made by the United States of 4,000 acres, and deeded to the State for educa- tional purposes. This was called the " salt reser- vation." Some years later, perhaps about 1804 or 1805, Dr. John Loofbourrow, moved into what is now Berkshire Township. He was from Vir- ginia, and located on what afterward became the Eckelberry farm, but after a short time sold out and moved to the Durham farm, as it is called, lying just east of Alum Creek, on the Delaware and Sunbury Turnpike. Here he lived and prac- ticed his profession for many years. He had with him his old faithful man, "Friday," Oko Richey (colored). This' old darkey, it is said, was ever mindful of and faithful to his master's interest. When Dr. Loofbourrow learned from some friendly Indians where they obtained their salt, with his servant and a few of these Indians, he made a visit to the locality, which he found only about five miles to the north, and just up the creek from his own settlement. He and Oko procured large iron ket- tles, built a furnace and commenced the manufact- ure of salt. Although a very slow process, they produced the article in sufficient quantities to par- tially supply the inhabitants, and thus very soon became noted salt merchants. After some twelve years, this salt business was investigated by other parties, who thought they saw in it an enterprise of untold wealth. In 1817, these parties went to Columbus, and succeeded in securing from the State a contract, leasing to them 1,000 acres of land adjacent to, and 300 around, the salt lick and on the salt reservation, for a term of twelve years. The provisions of this contract with the State were, that the contractors should bore to the depth of at least 200 feet, unless salt water in paying quantities was sooner reached. They were to leave the well tubed with good copper tubing at the expiration of their lease. Loofbourrow now withdrew from the business, and soon after re- moved to Wisconsin.

The contractors at once commenced boring for salt, and went to a depth of 480 feet, and even then failed to find salt water in paying quantities.

553

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

To their great disappointment, they found their visions of wealth rapidly dissolving into thin air. They notified the State authorities, who in turn reported to Congress, and that august body ordered the salt reservation to be surveyed and sold. Accordingly, a Mr. Carpenter, of Lancas- ter, Ohio, was authorized to survey it, which he did into 100-acre lots. In November, 1826, these lots were sold to the highest bidder; the early settlers and contractors being allowed the re- fusal of the lands which they had been for some time improving, a business they had found more profitable than boring for salt.

As we study the history of our country, and ponder over its early settlements, we naturally ask, " whence came the pioneers ;" for necessarily they must bring with them their industry, mor- ality, Christian influence, and the well-established customs of their, native places. Their ideas, to a large extent, form and mold the future importance of their neighborhood and vicinity. Decades, even centuries, scarcely suffice to obliterate the influences left upon a country by its pioneers. Thus it was with Brown Township. Its early settlers were mostly from New York and Vir- ginia, the oldest, most refined and aristocratic sec- tions of the American Union; sections where law and order, education and religion, hold a high place in the minds and hearts of the people. The first permanent white settler in Brown Township was Daniel G. Thurston, in the spring of 1817. But as far back as 1809, a settlement was made in the extreme southwest corner, by a man named Erastus Bowe, from Vermont. He built a cabin and called the place Bowetown, though it was never, we believe, laid out as a town, or populated, except by Bowe and his family, consisting, at the time, of his wife and two children. He remained here but a short time, when he went to Delaware. He resided in Delaware until 1817, and then re- moved to Tiffio, where he died in December, 1863. But few now remember anything of him, and Mr. Thurston is generally recognized as the first permanent settler. He moved into the township from the eastern part of Berlin, which, at that time, was the central part of Berkshire Township. He had settled in that region upon his arrival in the county in 1810, but, in the spring of this year (1817), moved into Brown. He was origin- ally from Clinton County, N. Y. With his family, a few goods packed into a large wagon, which was drawn by four good horses, he left his home in the East, carrying with him the good

wishes of the many friends left behind. Along the lonely route were seen occasionally

"Cities and towns, dim and mysterious,

Like something pictured in the dreams of sleep ; A hundred streams, with all their wealth of isles,

Some bright and clear, and some with gauze-like mists

Half-veiled like beauty's cheek ;"

these were some of the scenes that relieved the long and tedious journey of its monotony. Trav- eling over mountains and through the dense wil- derness, subjected to numberless exposures, he reached, finally, his place of destination on Alum Creek. He located on the summit of the first little hill west of the creek, on what is now known as the Delaware & Sunbury Turnpike Road. This road, or but a trace then, wound along under the hill, following the river toward the Eaton set- tlement, as it was termed. Here his long journey ended ; a cabin was at once built, into which he moved with his family and his brother Isaac, who had accompanied him to the West. The latter went to work in a distillery that had been raised at no great distance, while Daniel himself worked in a saw and grist mill near his rude home. In 1817, seven years after he had settled in the county, he sold out to Ebenezer Loofbourrow, who had just arrived in the neighborhood from Virginia.

After Mr. Thurston sold out to Loofbourrow, he moved into the present township of Brown, where he had to begin his pioneer life over again, as it were. With the blue canopy of heaven for shelter, Mother Earth for a bed and the forest as walls of protection, he proceeded to carve out a new home. He soon had logs cut and on the ground for a cabin ; a few days more and the cabin was reared, the clapboards placed on for a covering and a floor of puncheons added to the building. His family now occupied this "palace of logs," and his companion, with that instinct and refinement natural to woman, soon rendered it attractive and homelike. When his cabin was completed and his family located, Mr. Thurston entered into a copartnership with James Eaton, who lived a short distance south of him, and a man named Steven Gorham. These gentlemen formed the company, and were the contractors in the famous salt speculation, of which we have al- ready spoken, and the lessees of the " salt reser- vation." His new home was on this reservation, or'on the " salt section," as it was usually desig- nated. Shortly after his location, Mr. Gorham

554

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

moved in, but, after the failure of the salt busi- ness, left in disgust, and was lost sight of. Isaac Eaton erected a cabin a little north of Mr. Thur- ston's, in a short time after the latter's settlement. These, with Isaac Thurston, were, for several years, the only settlers in the present limits of Brown Township.

With becoming reverence, we may add in this connection, that Daniel Thurston worked in the " fear of the Lord," and " eschewed evil." " The Lord blessed him," and he " waxed rich and mul- tiplied." He died in 1843, at the age of seventy- two years. His wife outlived him twenty-one years, and died in 1864 at the age of eighty-two years. She saw the country twice convulsed in war, but died without being permitted to witness the peace which finally crowned the great rebel- lion. She and her husband had born to them thirteen children, all of whom reached the years of maturity. They followed in the footsteps of the father-multiplying abundantly. As a matter of some interest to our readers, we devote a little space to the genealogy of this prolific family. The children of Daniel Thurston were Harriet, Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Samuel, Sarah, Phoebe, Norton, Vinal, Eunice, Fannie and Barbara. Harriet first married Dr. Monroe, and, after his death, married Dr. John Loof bourrow. She had two children when she moved to Wisconsin, and died. Mary married Israel Wood, a Quaker (who lived in Peru Township, then in this, but now in Mor- row County). She died fifteen years after her marriage, leaving twelve children. Joseph mar- ried in 1826, a daughter of B. F. Loofbourrow, who at the time was living on the Thurston farm. There were born to him ten children, all of whom, with one exception, we believe, are now living. Elizabeth married Ralph Longwell, a soldier of 1812, and who died in 1874. In 1879, his widow drew a pension due to the soldiers of 1812, by an enactment of Congress. She was the mother of thirteen children. Sarah first married Lyman Thrall, and, after his death, Andrew Thrall, a brother, who is now living in Southern Ohio. Phoebe married William K. Thrall, and has but one child, Mrs. T. S. Scott, of Eden. Norton married a Miss Jones, and died in 1817. He was the father of six children. Vinal married a Miss Plant ; eight children was the result. Eunice married Norton Harden; she died, leaving eight children. Fannie married H. Walker, and had born to her six children. Samuel married, and had born to him eight children. Barbara married

William Livingston and was the mother of ten children. These were the families and the children of Daniel Thurston, numbering in all one hundred, twenty and two; and the number of all the gen- erations of this old patriarch down to the present time are "two hundred, eighty and seven souls." To his son, Joseph Thurston, now an active old gentleman of seventy-eight years, we are indebted for most of these facts, as well as much of the history of the township. He is possessed of a strong mind and is in excellent health. The com- panion of all these years is equally as vigorous as her husband, and together they recount the rem- iniscences of the early times, with the liveliest in- terest. The spring after his marriage, he erected a cabin on the one hundred acres of land he purchased at the sale of the " salt section," a pur- chase that joined his father's place. He paid 80 cents per acre for it in the following payments : One-twentieth of the entire amount down, and of the remainder, one-fourth in sixty days ; one-fourth in two years; one-fourth in three years, and the last remaining fourth in four years; all without interest and without taxes. The first year he cleared ten acres of ground. This he planted in corn, the result of which was a beautiful crop. He fed the corn to hogs, which he sold at $7.25 per hundred pounds, and some cattle, " pastured in the woods," were sold at from $6.00 to $8.00 per head. The money thus obtained was applied in payment for his land, and for the necessaries of life. Some years later, Mr. Thurston bought 200 acres of land for which he paid $3.00 acre. He moved on to this last purchase where he lived until 1868, when he sold out and moved to Wisconsin. He there embarked in the drug business and continued it for eleven years, then disposed of his interest and returned to Delaware County.

The early settlers of this section were not with- out their Indian experiences. Although the In- dians were supposed to be friendly, yet they were looked on with some suspicion by their white neighbors. The Thurstons, being one of the first families to locate in this region, and that sometime prior to the removal of the Indians to reservations further west, enjoyed a more extensive acquaint- ance with them than settlers who came at a later date. They (the Indians) used to bring their game and furs to trade for corn, and as a general thing behaved well. The elder Thurston, who had a little mill, would grind their corn for them, and was on the most intimate terms with them,

555

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

and known far and wide among the neighboring tribes. When Joseph was a small boy, but nine years old, he was one day sent out for the horses, which, when not in use, were allowed to run at large in the forest. He wandered through the woods for hours, but after a long and fruitless search, he gave up finding them, and started to return home. After traveling for some time, he became lost in the forest, but finally struck an old Indian trail, which he followed some dis- tance, when, much to his surprise and conster- nation, he came upon an Indian encampment, where he was warmly welcomed (?) by an army of dogs, and forced to take refuge in the near- est tree. The commotion produced by these ferocious beasts brought an old Indian from his wigwam, to investigate the cause of so much dis- turbance. To the astonishment of the lad, he discovered in him an old friend of his father, while the Indian, quite as much astonished as the boy, found the game " treed " by his dogs to be none other than the son of his old friend Thurs- ton. The dogs were called off, and the boy in- vited to come down from his exalted peroh. After he had related his adventure, a young Indian was ordered to catch a couple of well-trained ponies. Upon one of them he was placed, while the Indian boy mounted the other, and, acting as guide, led him through the forest, and after several hours' ride, he was restored to his already over-anxious parents.

It was shortly after the Thurstons settled in Brown Township that Isaac Eaton came, and lo- cated just a little north of them. He was a son of Joseph Eaton, who was among the early set- tlers of Berkshire. He worked at the salt wells with Thurston and Gorham, and, after the failure of the project, he turned his attention to farm- ing and improving the land where he had squatted. Here he lived and kept " bachelor's hall " for ten years, when he accepted the sensible advice, that "it is not well for man to be alone," and took unto himself a "helpmeet." He was married to a Miss Root, of Peru Township. At thesale of the " salt reservation," he bought the land he had improved, upon which he lived until 1838, when he sold to William Williams. This place lies adjacent to the old church and school grounds, and is still oe- cupied by Mr. Williams. One of the traces left by the Mound-Builders, and the only one notice- able in this immediate section, is on this farm. This relic of a prehistoric race is but a few rods from Squire Williams' house. It is cone-shaped, the

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History of Delaware County and Ohio, Part 94

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