USA > Ohio > Fayette County > History of Fayette County : together with historic notes on the Northwest, and the State of Ohio, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and all other authentic sources > Part 41
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
Waddle & McGarraugh started a general country store in 1817, the former running the store, and the latter practicing medicine, which was continued until 1822.
When Pierce Evans failed, his goods were taken by John Boyed, and the business was carried on for years by James Shivers, who also kept drugs, and when he retired he was succeeded in the drug business by Daniel MeLain.
In 1830 there was a firm by the name of John McManis & Co.
Samuel Yeoman, William McIlwain, Webster Melvin & Co., and Henry Robinson & Co., were in business about 1838-'40.
TANNERIES.
In connection with his store, Peter Hefley also sunk a tan-yard
466
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
on his yard in the rear of his store room, and exchanged goods for hides, and in this manner carried on business for several years. This was the first tan-yard at Washington, and started perhaps shortly after he opened his store.
The next tannery of Washington was started by McQuita and Stran, in about 1820, on the north corner of Court and North streets. The business was continued five or six years.
In about 1838, Jesse L. Millikan started a tannery on Main Street, near the C. & M. V. depot, on the site of the present dwell- ing of James Ely, and carried on the business five or six years.
BLACKSMITH.
Henry Flecher, in about 1812, opened a blacksmith shop on the south corner of Court and Fayette streets, where Hudson's jewelry store now stands, which, if not the first, was among the very earliest blacksmith shops in Washington. He carried ou the busi- ness at this point fifteen or twenty years.
GENERAL FEATURES.
The following synopsis of life at Washington, its progress in business, educational affairs, and personnel of its citizens, is taken from the Cincinnati Gazette :
It has always been a question why it was that this village receiv- ed the name of Washington. We can understand that C. H. stood for Court House, but why the Washington ? Was it in honor of the capital city, or was it in honor of the father of his country, because the then inhabitants were so truthful that, like George, after cutting down his father's cherry tree, they could not tell a lie ? Fayette County, of which it is the county-seat, was named for Marquis de Lafayette, who so nobly fought for American liberty by the side of the aforesaid George. It is a county abounding in big farms, great wealth, and the fine culture of its inhabitants. It is sometimes jocularly called Little Bristle, and thereby hangs a tale-a tale of pigs. The following is the story: Its ter- ritory was once a part of Ross County, and it was sliced off to form . Fayette. Now, in those early days in Ohio, it was a common thing for the settlers to permit their hogs to run at large to feed upon the nuts and acorns that were so plentiful in the forests. In
467
UNION TOWNSHIP.
time many of them became wild, and the ownership in such ceased. These multiplied, and it became so that when a settler wanted some pork, he would take down his gun and whistle up his dog, and start for the brush to give chase to the wild hogs. Having found one, his dog would chase it down, the settler would shoot it, and pack it home to replenish his larder. These hogs were long legged, with thin bodies like a sunfish, and had bristles along their backs that stood up when the hogs were aroused like quills on the back of a porcupine. This hunting of the wild hog continued so long in the hills of Ross County that it became known as Big Bristle, and when Fayette County was detached it at once took the name of Little Bristle.
This has become quite a railroad center, by reason of the fore- sight and enterprise of its business men. They were imbued with a desire to build up their town, and hence let no opportunity slip by of getting a railroad into the town. The first road was the Muskingum Valley, then known as the C., W. & I. This was built in 1853. Since, there are the Dayton & Southeastern and the Springfield & Jackson. A narrow gauge road, known as the Cin- cinnati, Washington & Columbus, has been projected and built. It connects with the Cincinnati Northern at Waynesville. The Springfield & Jackson and the Dayton & Southeastern both tap the coal fields in Southeastern Ohio, and as a result coal is placed in the cellars of consumers at five cents per bushel less than to con- sumers on the line of the M. V. between Washington and Morrow.
Quite a good line of business is transacted. The grocery trade is represented by Stimson Brothers, Brownell Brothers, George Dahl, John Millikan & Co., C. L. Getz, and others. In dry goods, Melvin, Silcott & Co., Craig Brothers, Mr. O'Brien, O. Wrensch, Antrim & Eycke, E. Saul, and Glickman & Co. In books and stationery, Richard Millikan, D. C. Foster & Co., and Henry Hilde- brant. Mr. Millikan has been in the business for many years. For fifteen years he was clerk of the court of this county. He is a son of Jesse Millikan, one of the early settlers, who was the first clerk of the county. Henry Hildebrant is an importation from Wil; mington, formerly of the house of J. & H. Hildebrant. He is also engaged in the sale of sewing machines. In the drug line there are O. A. Allen, H. W. Boyer, W. A. Harlow, H. C. Coffman, and Brown Brothers; the latter an old firm, well established, and own- ing another drug store in Wilmington. In grain dealers there are
468
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
J. D. Stuckey & Co., Draper & McElwaine, Burnett, Gillespie & Co., and Talbot & Co. In livery there are the stables of George I. Bai- ley, Foster & Fuller, and O. S. Collins. There are but two hotels, the Cherry House, and the Arlington. The latter is under the management of Messrs. Fuller & Owens, late of Delaware, Ohio.
In the way of newspapers, the business is perhaps overdone. There is the Republican, edited by Mr. Gardner ; the Herald, by Honorable William Millikan, now representing this county in the legislature ; and the Register, edited and published by H. V. & J. D. Kerr. Mr. Millikan is one of the oldest newspaper men in the state. Mr. H. V. Kerr is state librarian. His term will expire March 17. J. D. Kerr is a son of H. V. Kerr. The two former papers are Republican in politics, the latter Democratic.
The court house is a very plain structure, built of brick. It is dark, damb, dingy, and dilapidated, and not at all in keeping with the town. A new one is to be built in the course of a few years. Judge Ace Gregg is on the bench holding court, and a grand jury in session attended by the prosecuting attorney, F. G. Carpenter. Of lawyers, there are more than two score, prominent among whom are : M. Pavey, Mills Gardner, H. L. Hadley, H. B. Maynard, M. J. Williams, C. A. Palmer. J. B. Priddy is judge of the probate court.
The pride of Washington is its public schools. These are under the care of Professor John P. Patterson, superintendent, one of the ablest and most efficient educators in Ohio, assisted by the following corps of teachers : Mr. E. H. Mark and Mrs. J. C. VonBuhlow, principals of the high school : Misses Ella Sinks, Alma Kephart, Tinnie Cleaveland, Lottie Cleaveland, and Emma McKee, teachers in the grammar school ; and Misses Ella Pitzer, Anna Bell, Mollie Foster, and Callie Wherrett, teachers in the primary department. These are all teaching in one building : a large three story brick, with a double stairway in the center leading to upper floors. In that part of the town called Sunny Side, and which lies across the creek, there is another school building-a neat, tidy brick-of two rooms, wainscoted, airy, and comfortable, with vestibule for hang- ing wraps, hats and caps. In these rooms are children of the pri- mary department, under the tutelage of H. B. Maynard, jr., and Miss Lida Pine. In another part of town is the colored school building of two rooms, where they are two teachers employed, Mr. L. C. D. Anderson and Miss Florence G. Treat. Too much can
469
UNION TOWNSHIP.
not be said in praise of the schools here. The discipline is excel- lent, the scholars intelligent, studious, and obedient, and the teachers kind, energetic, and painstaking. Six of the teachers are graduates of the high school, and one, Miss Treat, of Columbus high school. In connection with the school, and in use by the teachers and pupils are a geological cabinet, philosophical and chemical appara- tus, conchological cabinet, maps, globes, library, etc., which afford fine facilities for research and investigation.
The collectors office of the sixth district of Ohio is located here, James Pursell being the collector. He was appointed in 1869, and up to January 1, 1881, had collected revenue to the amount of $7,- 338,989.27. The collections in 1880 aggregated $633,578.60. In addition to this there are 17,432 packages of liquors in the bonded warehouses in this district, on which the tax, if collected now, would amount to $512.982. Under the law of March 1, 1879, spirits can remain in bond three years before being taxed. Five hundred and eighty-one barrels of apple brandy were manufactured in this district last fall, the principal manufactory being at New Richmond. Within the last year there has been exported from this district 4,820 gallons of whisky, of which . 1,938 gallons went to the Bermuda Islands, and 2,882 to New Brunswick.
A portion of this liquor goes to supply the saloons here, of which there are twenty-five. This is the cloud that casts the only shadow on the town. Turn on what street you may, near the central part of town, and you see them with their painted glass in the windows, and the screens near the doorway. It is sad to contemplate the vast amount of vice and crime that flows from them. There is an ordinance of the village that requires them to close up at 9 o'clock in the evening, but we are told that it is not enforced. Boys attend- ing the public school have been known to patronize these places, but as a consequence, they soon lose interest in the school and finally drop out and never return. It is a sad and dreary feature of this town.
·
OLD TIMES.
The following is from the Fayette County Herald of September 8, 1881 :
An old friend from the country, who has lived in the county from the time of its organization, was sitting in our office the other
470
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
"day, and looking across the street at the old Parvin building, which was made of hewed logs and weather-boarded np, noticed that the boards were torn off and the old logs exposed, said that his mind was carried back sixty years or more, when the old log house was occupied by the late John Popejoy as a tavern; and, said he, "when . we youngsters used to come here to muster, we used to buy whisky of John and pay him in Piatt shinplasters, and he would stick the currency into a crack between the logs, and the mischievous young soldiers would take the same currency from its depository and buy more. whisky with it from John."
This is the last old log relic of pioneer times we know of in town, and it is now taking its departure from the ground it has so long and so honorably occupied. It is an innocent old relic, but if it could give a history of the varied scenes that have occurred in it as the pioneer hotel of Washington, it might be of interest to the generations of these modern days. Probably there may be found some of Piatt's shinplasters yet remaining between its ancient tim- bers. We understand that when the weather-boarding is entirely removed from it, it is to be photographed.
THE PIONEER HOUSE.
The old house on the public square, Main Street front, known as the "Parvin property," now being dismantled and stripped of the weather-boarding, reveals to nearly three generations a two-story hewed log house that was erected in 1811, from logs that were cut from the ground upon which it stands. It is the last relic of the pioneer days of the early settlement of Washington, which will soon be numbered with the things of the past. Those who would look upon a picture in real life of seventy years ago, will have to do so soon, as Mr. P. S. Collins, who has bought it, will remove it shortly. It was the first hotel in the place.
COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.
February 25, 1831, an election was held at the court house, and the following officers were elected : Mayor, Benjamin Hinton; re- corder, Calvin B. Woodruff; trustees, Thomas McGarraugh, Wil- liam Halt, Jesse Millikan, Eber Patrick, and James Shivers.
471
UNION TOWNSHIP.
April 4, 1831, Daniel McLain was appointed treasurer, and Ar- thur McArthur was appointed marshal.
April 13, 1831, it was ordained that all grocers who wished to sell spirituous liquors in less quantities than one quart, must first obtain the privilege from the mayor by paying license of $3.75.
April 13, 1832. Resolved that stated meetings of council shall be held on the first Mondays of June, September, December, and March, of each year.
April 28, 1832, it was resolved not to license any person to re- tail spirituous liquors from and after the first day of July next (1832).
June 4, 1832, two mills to the dollar were levied on the taxable property of the city for corporation purposes.
At same meeting an ordinance to prohibit shooting within the city limits was passed, and the penalty for violation of the same was fixed at one dollar.
March 15, 1833, the mayor and recorder were instructed to ad- vertise for bids for the erection of a house on the west corner of the public square.
March 19,.1833, Henry Phelps, Norman F. Jones, Wade Loof- borrow, and Jesse Millikan were allowed $9.37} for their interest in the fire engine "Leo," which they purchased of W. H. H. Pin- ney.
April 13, 1833, it was decided to build a fire-engine house four- teen feet long, eight feet wide, and eight feet high, and the contract was awarded to - Thomas, at thirty-nine dollars.
June 3, 1833, two mills were levied to the dollar on the taxable property, for corporation purposes.
October 28, 1833, engine house received by council.
January 6, 1834, a committee was appointed to examine fire en- gine, and order the same to be put in complete repair, and have ten ladders made for the use of the corporation.
June 7, 1837, a levy of two mills made for corporation purposes.
June, 1838, levy of two mills made.
June 24, 1838, levy of two mills made.
August 10, 1839, John L. Vandeman was appointed marshal, to fill vacancy occasioned by the death of David McLain.
September 30, 1839, John Saunders was appointed mayor; to fill vacancy occasioned by the removal of Dr. James M. Beard from the corporation limits.
472
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
' March 23, 1840, Joseph Bell was elected mayor, Orlando Loof- borrow recorder, and Alfred S. Dickey, John Saunders, William A. Tulleys, Nicholas Hays, and L. D. Willard, trustees.
March 3, 1840, Elam Hinton elected treasurer, and William P. Rowe marshal.
April 8, 1840, it was decided to make extensive improvements on the streets and alleys.
April 14, 1840, Joseph Bell tendered his resignation as mayor, which was accepted, and Thomas Hall appointed to fill the vacancy.
April 17, 1840, Wade Loofborrow was appointed mayor, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Colonel Bell. [From this it would seem that Mr. Hall declined the appointment received the 14th .- WRITER.]
June 15, 1840, Fletcher Backenstow was appointed councilman in place of L. D. Willard, who had removed from the city limits.
February 5, 1840, E. W. Turner appointed marshal to fill vacan- cy caused by the removal beyond the corporation limits.
March 22, 1841, the following officers were elected: Mayor, John McLain, jr .; recorder, William Halt; councilmen, Peter Windle, . Samuel MeLain, Richard Smith, Joseph Blackmore, and Jeptha Davis.
March 22, 1841, Orlando Loof borrow was appointed to serve as marshal, and Jared Plumb to serve as treasurer, till others could be appointed.
June 5, 1841, William McElwain was appointed treasurer in stead of Jared Plumb, who refused to serve longer.
August 11, 1841, twenty-one dollars appropriated to purchase a plow and two scrapers for use of corporation.
August 19, 1842, it was ordained that all male citizens between the ages of twenty-one and sixty years of age, living within the corporation limits of the city, should perform two days' labor on the streets of the village each year.
June 3, 1843, a levy of one mill was made for corporation pur- poses.
March 21, 1845, ordinance adopted making it lawful for three months for citizens to kill any dog running at large on the streets after 12 o'clock the following day. [That council ought to have had a monument erected to its memory .- WRITER.]
November 22, 1846, in order to protect property from fire, an or- dinance was passed making it unlawful to deposit ashes within ten
473
UNION TOWNSHIP.
feet of any building; also, it was ordered that the marshal inspect all fire-places, and see that they were put in proper repair if in an unsafe condition.
October 23, 1847, it was ordered that a walk be constructed across Market Street; one from Hinds Street, at the Presbyterian Church ; and from Fayette Street, adjacent to the property of N. Hay, to the property of Peter Windle; said road walks to be four feet wide, six inches deep in the middle of the street, and three inches at the side.
August 7, 1848, adopted rules and regulations for the government of Washington Fire Company, which was reorganized under act of General Assembly, passed March 13, 1843.
August 15, 1848, ordinance passed prohibiting hogs from roam- ing at large within the corporation limits.
August 25, 1851, license issued to J. M. June & Co., to exhibit their "American and European Amphitheater" on August 8th, on payment of ten dollars.
November 15, 1851, mayor and recorder were instructed to grant the right of way on the north side of East Street to the Cincinnati, Zanesville and Wilmington Railroad.
June, 1852, levy of three mills on taxable property of corpora- tion was made.
June 29, 1852, ordinance passed to prohibit the sale of intoxi- cants within the corporation limits.
December 2, 1852, $1,255 were ordered paid to Newman & Pritch- ard, of Cincinnati, for fire engine, hose reel and hose carriage.
January 7, 1853, paid William Burnett $25 for bringing engine, hose, etc., from Cincinnati.
April 2, 1853, appropriated $150 for the building of a cistern, to hold not less than one hundred and fifty barrels, at the crossing of Main and Court streets.
June, 1853, two and one-half mills were levied on the dollar for . corporation purposes.
August 23, 1853, passed ordinance regulating the buying and selling of hay and grain, and establishing the office of weigh mas- ter.
1
March 3, 1855, an ordinance passed prohibiting the sale of intox- icating liquors in the village of Washington. (This ordinance was afterward declared to be in conflict with the state laws on this sub- ject, and was decided ineffectual.)
34
474
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
On pages 240 and 241 of the minutes appear an ordinance creat- ing permanently the office of street commissioner, but the date of its passage is not given.
June 17, 1858, an ordinance was passed creating a special police, enlarging the force to four, and defining their duties.
July 16, 1858, an ordinance was passed making the flying of kites within the city limits an offense, and fixing the penalty for the vio- lation of the above ordinance at not less than fifty cents, nor more than five dollars.
December 10, 1858, an ordinance was passed allowing the mayor in certain cases that came before him for adjustment to appoint a jury to sit upon the same.
At the same meeting an ordinance was passed requiring persons offering goods at auction in the city of Washington, to pay into the treasury a license of not less than five, nor more than twenty dollars, at the discretion of the mayor, for said privilege.
December 17, 1858, an ordinance was passed allowing the mayor to COMMIT offenders (the ordinance don't say where) who refuse to pay the fines assessed against them.
December 6, 1859, an ordinance was passed making it an offense to create any loud or boisterous noise within the corporation limits of the village of Washington, and imposing fines upon persons con- victed of such misdemeanors of not less than two dollars, nor more than twenty dollars, with costs of prosecution.
September 11, 1863, an ordinance was passed prohibiting swine from running at large within the city limits.
July 4, 1864, ordinance passed making it an offense to leave, or cause to be left, any team, wagon, buggy, or other vehicle, or any horse, mule, or other animal, on any street in the village within thirty feet of any house or dwelling, or any fence in front of same, without the consent of the owner of said premises, or hitch or fast- en any horse or other animal to any ornamental or shade tree, planted or growing along or upon any such street, any person shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than five dollars, nor less than fifty cents, for each offense.
February 20, 1866, an ordinance was passed, submitting the ques- tion of the annexation of certain territory to the village of Wash- ington to the qualified voters of Washington, bounded and de- scribed as follows: "Beginning at a stone in the line of John Van- deman and Curran Millikan, where an elm bears S. 30° E. 16 links
475
UNION TOWNSHIP.
and 72 poles west of the west corner of said incorporated village; thence N. 462°, E. 425 poles (crossing the Jamestown road at 34 poles and the Jeffersonville road at 208 poles) to a jack oak in the line of M. A. Melvin and Lenox Campbell; thence S. 433º E. 340 (crossing the Columbus road at 150 poles and the Circleville Turn- pike at 303 poles) to a stone on the line of Daniel MeLean; thence S. 462° W. 425 poles (crossing the railroad at 88 poles and the low- er Greenfield road at 244 poles) to a stone in Daniel McLean's pas- ture, where a burr oak bears N. 66° E. 36 links, and a jack oak bears S. 51° E. 48 links; thence N. 432° W. 340 poles (crossing the Greenfield road at 60 poles, and the Leesburg road at 162 poles, and the turnpike at 186 poles) to the beginning thereof."
The above was submitted to the qualified voters of Washington at the regular annual election in April, 1866, for their approval or rejection.
February 11, 1867, ordinance passed making it unlawful to sell, or offer for sale, or give away, any obscene literature, picture, or statuary, bathe between sunrise in the morning and dark in the evening, harbor any strumpet or whore, or misuse any animal, with- in the corporate limits of Washington, and imposing fines not ex- ceeding fifty dollars for said offenses.
June 1, 1868, an ordinance was passed making it unlawful for persons to hold familiar conversation with any common prostitute on the streets, at fairs, or any public place or gathering, within the limits of Washington, or to keep any house of infamy within the corporate limits of said village, and imposing fines of not more than thirty dollars, or imprisonment not more than ten days, or both, at the discretion of the mayor.
July, 1868, ordinance passed punishing vagrancy and prostitution within the city limits.
February 2, 1869, ordinance passed to prohibit ale and porter shops, and other houses of resort for tippling and intemperance, within the corporation limits. (This has since been repealed.)
April 16, 1870, ordinance passed requiring certain municipal offi- cers to execute the following bonds before entering upon the duties of their respective offices: Mayor, one thousand dollars; marshal, two thousand dollars ; and the clerk, one thousand dollars.
May 24, 1870, ordinance passed authorizing the destruction of gaming implements found within city limits ; also, ordinance passed closing business places on Sunday.
476
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
August 15, 1870, ordinance passed requiring persons running hack coaches, or omnibuses, first to obtain a license from the mayor for such privilege.
October 10, 1870, ordinance requiring owners of shade trees to keep the same trimmed to the height of not less than eight feet from the ground, and imposing fines of not less than one dollar, nor more than five, for the neglect of the above requirements.
October 10, 1870, ordinance passed to prohibit the running at large of vicious dogs on the streets of Washington, and fixing the penalty of the owners of such animals, in case of the violation of the above ordinance, at not less than two dollars, nor more than dollars, and costs of prosecution.
January 2, 1875, ordinance passed establishing a board of health in Washington Court House, and to define the duties of said board.
February 20, 187-, ordinance passed authorizing the removal of members of council, or any elective officers of Washington, for any malfeasance in their official duties. Section 2 of the above ordi- nance provides that charges shall be preferred in writing, and may be made by council, or any three citizens of the village.
March 8, 1875, ordinance passed to punish vagrancy, disturbance of the peace, and to apprehend and confine suspicious characters.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.