USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene 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 23
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The fathers and conservators of Greene County's public interests were honest and certainly very, economical men. It was their aim to turn every thing to the best account ; they could not see any es-
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COURT HOUSES.
pecial value in a large public square-a large unoccupied ground in which trees might grow, in whose shade idlers might squander valu- able time. They thought, and said, that if a portion of the public ground-the public square-could be sold, and buildings erected thereon, it would bring a fund into the county treasury and enhance the value of the part unsold. While one is led to inquire of what especial benefit to the county the enhanced value land would be, when such land was never to be sold, still he is inclined to approve the motive that prompts action in that direction unless he finds some selfishness at the base. But the commissioners thinking that Greene County in its public square, donated to it by John Paul, had more ground than it needed, resolved, that part of it should be sold .. Therefore, on the 4th day of January, 1817, they met for the purpose of surveying, and marking the different lots in the public square, and to make preparations for their sale agrecably to an order of court. Samuel Gamble and John Haines, commissioners, were pre- sent. Thomas Hunter, the third commissioner, was absent. William A. Beatty was at that time director of the town of Xenia. He was authorized and required to sell a portion of the public square. It is not important to describe minutely the portions to be sold, and that were actually sold. They were five lots in all. One in the south- east corner, 57 feet on Main Street and 165 on Greene, or rather in- cluding Greene Street for this street was not yet open. The other four lots were on Detroit, Market, (then called Third Street,) and the northern end of what is now Greene Street, beginning at a point on Detroit Street, 165 feet south of the northwest corner of the public square, the outer lines of the lots extended thence northerly to Market or Third Street, thence easterly to the east line of what is now Greene Street, thence southerly on that line 165 feet. On Detroit Street the two lots were 66 feet deep; on Market the lot was 104} feet deep, and the northeast corner lot was 67 feet on Market Street. These lots were offered at public sale and sold to the highest bidder; and on the 14th day of February in the same year, Beatty, who had the matter in charge, put into the hands of the commissioners, promissory notes to the value of $3.253.00 the amount for which the lots sold. These notes were put into the hands of the treasurer for collection, but the notes were never col- lected. They remained in the keeping of the treasurer until a decision of the Supreme Court at its May term, in 1821. When, according to a decree of said court, their notes were returned to the parties who
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had made, or supposed they had made, the purchase of the lots. But if none of this large tract of land embraced in the public square could be sold, some of it must be loaned ; the county must receive some profit from it. Accordingly on the 8th day of June, 1827 the commissioners loaned to A. M. Miller and James Collier a lot in Detroit Street, the northwest corner of which was 225 feet north of Main Street. It extended thence southerly 48 feet on Detroit Street. It extended back from Detroit Street 30 feet. Miller and Collier erected on it what was called "a law and physic office." They were to keep this in good repair, and on the 8th of June, 1842, the county was to become the owner of the building. On the 1st of September of the same year, a second lot south of this, and adjoin- ing it, extending 40 feet on Detroit Street, and 30 feet back, was loaned to James B. Gardner for the purpose of erecting thereon, a printing office, or "as he may think proper, offices of law and physic," on the same conditions as the first. The first building erect- ed by this party was to revert to the county, September 1, 1842. In one of these buildings Samuel Puterbaugh carried on mercantile busi- ness, with James Allison as his clerk. Here, also, John Moore con- ducted the tailoring business for several years. North of these lots, and in a line with them, was the first fire engine house in Xenia; and the entire north end of the public square-a strip 58 feet wide -was cut off and appropriated as a market space, on which a market house was erected by the town of Xenia. From this market house Market Street received its name. It was originally called " Third Street."
The next and last economical move on the part of the county commissioners, began on the 21st day of March, 1835. "The com- missioners having taken into consideration the situation of the lots known as the public square in Xenia, and having ascertained that there is a large surplus after providing sufficient space for all build- ings necessary for county purposes, upon mature deliberation, have determined that the said surplus ground shall, as soon as practicable, be leased to individuals for a term of time not exceeding ninety-nine years, under such restrictions as shall, in their opinion, be deemed necessary to secure and advance the best interests of the county. With this view, they have ordered a survey of the ground, and a plat to be made, which is as follows:" The plat which appears on the commissioners' record of this date, March 21, 1835, may be de- scribed as follows: On the north end of the public square, on Mar-
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ket Street, between Detroit and Greene streets, a strip 58 feet wide was cut off for market space. This has been referred to before. South of this was described a lot 170 feet long, on Detroit Street, and 40 feet wide, including the engine house and the two leased lots above mentioned. In the southwest corner of the public square, a lot 80 feet square-that is, 80 feet on Detroit, and 80 feet on Main-was appropriated to the court house. East of this was the lot occupied by the public offices, 63 feet on Main Street, and 40 feet deep. East of this, occupying the southeast corner of the square, was a lot 22} feet on Main, and 68 feet on Greene Street. North of this, a lot 100 feet on Greene, and 40 feet deep. North of this was the jail lot, 70 feet square, with an alley 12 feet wide on the west of it, and also north of it, reaching to the market space. It was evidently the intention of the commissioners to lease three lots. First, the lot at the corner of Main and Greene streets, 68 by 22} feet; second, the lot north of this, on Greene Street, 100 by 40 feet; third, the lot on Detroit Street, 170 by 40 feet. The commis- sioners proposed to lease these lots for a period of ninety-nine years, obligating the lessees to erect on them certain described buildings, and for the first twenty years pay such annual rent as they, on the day of sale, should agree upon; and at the end of each twenty years disinterested parties were to be appointed to re-value the an- nual rent. But one lot was offered for rental, namely, the lot at the corner of Main and Greene streets, 68 feet long and 22} feet wide. It was offered at public auction on the 25th day of May, 1835. "And there being no bidder, therefore the court adjourned.
"RYAN GOWDY, Commissioner."
Here the matter dropped, and to-day the public square remains intact, as it was intended to be by its donor, John Paul.
GREENE STREET.
Greene Street was laid out and declared a street, and named Greene, on the 20th day of March, 1835. James Gowdy and a Mrs. Williams owned the lots adjoining it on the east, between Main and Market, and in consideration that the county would keep the street open perpetually, he, on the 21st day of March, 1835, donated to the county the sum of $300. It was expressly understood "that, if said strip of ground, at any time hereafter, be closed, or converted to any other use than that of a publie street or alley, then the above
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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
sum of $300 is to be returned to me or my heirs, without interest or damage to the county. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 21st day of March, 1835.
"JAMES GOWDY."
" Witness :
" W. RICHARDS."
The following statements of fact, gleaned from the commissioners' record, which contains an account of their transactions from the year 1824 to 1835, inclusive, though not a connected history, are in- teresting, as showing, to some extent, the spirit of the times :
BROKEN BANK NOTES IN THE COUNTY TREASURY.
Clarke County, as has been stated, was organized, in 1818, out of the territory of Champaign and Greene. Before its organization, the inhabitants of Clarke County territory had paid taxes into Greene County treasury, and on the 1st day of March, 1818, Greene County was debtor to Clarke a certain sum, the amount of which was not definitely determined and agreed upon until the 28th day of April, 1820, when, on the order of the Court of Common Pleas, the commissioners of Greene paid to the commissioners of Clarke $561, "including $56 in Wooster Bank notes." Wooster Bank had gone down, as banks in those days were in the habit of doing, and a quantity of the worthless money was in the county treasury, and $56 were assigned to Clarke County, as its share of the loss.
UNCURRENT MONEY.
On the 6th day of August, 1821, the commissioners contracted with Thomas Gillespie to make certain repairs on the court house, for which they agreed to pay him $24, "nineteen dollars of which is in paper, on the Bank of Cincinnati." How much this $19 in paper was worth, we are not informed. It was, however, uncurrent.
RENTING A STOVE.
It was the second day of bleak December, 1822. There was no prisoner for debt in the debtor's room, but there was a stove there to warm any of God's poor, if they should be thrown in; and the commissioners, with an eye to economy, and to the turning of every-
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EXEMPT FROM TAXATION.
thing to the public good, rented this stove to John McPherson, for seventy-five cents a month, "to be returned at any time, on the order of the jailor, after a sufficient time being allowed for it to get cool."
EXEMPT FROM TAXATION.
Wednesday, April 19, 1820, the commissioners declared that for the year 1820 town and country buildings should not be taxed for any county purpose.
PAVEMENT AROUND THE PUBLIC SQUARE.
December 8, 1824. Commissioners paid the Common Council of the town of Xenia $40, for setting curb stone and making a gravel pavement around the square. This was the first pavement. On the 14th of June, 1833, the commissioners contracted for laying a brick pavement along Main Street, in front of the court house, for $20.
FIRST AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
June 5, 1833. Commissioners gave notice, published three weeks in the "Xenia Free Press," that a meeting would be held at the court house, on the last Friday in June, for the purpose of organ- izing the Greene County Agricultural Society. The society was organized, and on the next year, July 30, 1834, the commissioners paid to the society $30.
FENCING THE PUBLIC SQUARE.
On the 18th of April, 1816, James Galloway, jr., took the con- tract of fencing the public grounds on three sides, viz .: On Chilli- cothe Street (Main), Detroit, and Third Street (Market), for $170. Seven years later, July 12, 1823, this fence was sold to George Townsley for $8, and Alexander Gowdy was employed to build a new fence, at a cost of $157. It was a close fence, made of oak boards, in a horizontal position, and mulberry posts. The entrance ways to the grounds were, at first, gates, but some years before the fence was removed, June 8, 1833, the gates gave place to stiles.
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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Persons entered the old court house from Main Street over a stile in front.
FIRST MAPS OF SURVEYS.
The first maps of surveys in the county were made in 1825. On the 9th day of June, 1825, Moses Collier was paid $36.85 for making a map of the United States lands in Greene County, and for making surveys to enable James Galloway, jr., to make a map of military land. This map of the military survey was burned with the effects of Washington Galloway, on the night before the presidential election in 1856.
TAXING LAWYERS AND PHYSICIANS.
On the 11th day of June, 1830, " the commissioners and auditor proceeded to estimate the annual income of the practicing lawyers and physicians, and to charge a tax upon each; which tax as charged is attached to their respective names on the lists returned by the assessor to the auditor."
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IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT.
It has been already stated more than once, that the law of the olden time imprisoned for debt. Some debtors had the liberty of the jail yard; some the liberty to go anywhere in the county, but not beyond its bounds; others were confined to the debtor's room. When it appeared that a debtor was insolvent, and could not, by any possibility, pay his debts, his case was brought before the com- missioners, who discharged the debtor, and paid out of the county fund the expense of his board. On many a page of the record of these times we find an account of such examination and release. On the 5th of March, 1828, a release of a different kind occurred. The following is the minute in the commissioners' record, viz .:
"It appearing to the board that Henry Hobbs, who was commit- ted to the jail of this county on an execution in favor of S. P. Frazier, for the sum of $3.25, and 572 cents, has made his escape from said jail; and being satisfied that it was not through the neg- ligence of James A. Scott, sheriff, they do, therefore, order that said
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POLITICS IN GREENE COUNTY.
James A. Scott be paid, out of the county treasury, five dollars and two and a half cents."
Accounts in those times were not kept in the decimal denomina- tions. No one bought or sold anything for dime or half dime. Costs were not assessed in decimal currency. The five-penny-bit, or shorter, fip-penny-bit, or still shorter, the fip, in value six and a fourth cents, and the eleven-penny bit, by some called the levy, a bit valued at twelve and a half cents, were well known; also, the half-cent coin was then in circulation, and this kind of currency accounts for the above-named sums, 572 cents, 2} cents.
POLITICS IN GREENE COUNTY.
Political party lines were not rigidly drawn in this county until the election of John Quincy Adams to the presidency, in 1824. In 1804 Ohio cast its first vote for president. It was cast for Jefferson, aiding to elect him to the presidency for his second term. Greene County supported the administrations of Madison and Monroe, but in 1824 she had voted for Henry Clay. In the House of Representatives, Adams received the support of Clay, and was elected. On receipt of the news of Adams' election there was great rejoicing on the part of the Adams men, the Whigs. All the private houses of the Whigs in Xenia were illuminated; also the court house. The Democrats had no especial complaint to make against private illuminations, but holding a brief caucus they resolved that the public buildings should not be used for such par- tisan purposes. Accordingly they entered the court house in the absence of the Whigs and extinguished the lights. When the Whigs returned the Democrats held the castle in darkness. A general and severe fight followed, in which many of the most re- spectable citizens engaged. Among them were Dr. Joshua Martin, Maj. James Galloway, Silas Roberts, Benjamin Eyler, Henry Barnes, and others. It is not to be presumed that these, and others with them, in either party, were members of any temperance or- ganization. In those days respectable men and good citizens drank "good" liquor, and in vindicating patriotic resolves they would sometimes "stand on their muscle," or fall in the affray In these " degenerate days " good men generally don't drink much " bad whisky," and fights for the most part are confined to the lowest strata of humanity.
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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Greene County, in every general election from 1824 to 1856, voted the Whig ticket. In 1856 she voted for Fremont. In that year she gave her first Republican majority, and from that time to the present, 1880, she has given at each election a Republican ma- jority ranging from 1500 to 2500. Although there was a Whig majority in the county during the years named, it occurred several times, owing to some party quarrels, that Democrats were elected to county offices ; and twice in the history of these years a Demo- crat was elected to the General Assembly. During some of these years party feeling was intense. This was especially true in 1840, when "log cabins," ornamented with coon skins, were drawn. on wheels, and " Tippecanoe and Tyler too " was the Whig rallying song from Maine to Louisiana.
On the presidential day of this year a general fight occurred, in which a young shoemaker, a man of small stature and a Whig, played (fought) a prominent part. Facing singly a crowd of an- tagonists, knocking down men, retreating, knocking down again and retreating, until, with an iron rod in his hand, at the southwest corner of Main and Detroit streets he advised his principal antag- onist that if he made one step further advance he would not be able to retreat. The advance was not made. The party retired to the hotel, a building which is now a part of the St. George Hotel, where he commenced an attack on a printer, who, though a Whig, was a compositor in the Democratic office. Here he was tho- roughly chastised and carried off the field. After the battle was over the victorious printer washed the crimson stains from his hands, and then went into the middle of Detroit Street and began turning summersaults for the amusements of the crowd.
Soon after the inauguration of Harrison and Tyler, in 1841, William Sinseman laid off' a village in Bath Township and called it Tylerville, in honor of the Whig vice-president. On the death of Gen. Harrison, Tyler, having been inaugurated president, began early to go over to the Democrat party. A large portion of the citizens of Tylersville were Whigs. They felt outraged at the course that Mr. Tyler had pursued, and determined to withdraw the honor that they had shown, by having the name of their village changed. Under the leadership of the late Dr. Bell, who resided in that vicinity, a petition was drawn up and unanimously signed by the citizens, and forwarded to the General Assembly, praying to have the name of the village changed to Byron. This petition,
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after reciting the wishes of the petitioners, concludes with the fol- lowing significant language: "It may seem strange to your honor- able body that the inhabitants of an humble village in Ohio should ask to have its name changed from that of an American president to the name of an English poet; yet we feel so utterly disgusted with the apostacy of John Tyler from the doctrines marked out by "Old Tip." in his inaugeral message, that we detest his name, and turn him over to the execrations of the party which elected him, and the contempt of mankind." The petition was promptly acted upon by the legislature.
INDIAN WARS.
In the country northwest of the Ohio, many tribes of Indians roamed at large through the primitive forests, imbued, by the in- cursions of the white man, with feelings of bitter hostility towards any further progress of his hated enemy, among whom were the Delawares on Beaver Creek, Cuyahoga and Muskingum, whose towns contained about 600 individuals ; about 300 Shawanoes who dwelt on the Scioto, Muskingum and adjoining country , the Twig- twees, Piankeshaws and Miamis, dwelling along the Miami river and its tributaries, all of whom looked with a jealous eye upon the advancing tide of immigration, which was so soon to convert his hunting grounds into waving fields of grain, and replace his wig- wam by the more imposing structures of civilization. We need not wonder therefore, that upon every provocation, how slight so-ever, his ever ready tomahawk sought its victim, his knife leaping from its sheath to circle round the head of his enemy.
The rival claims of England and France for the possession of the country, gradually led to a long and bloody war, involving the colo- nies and Indian tribes, who espoused the cause of the nation offering the strongest inducement.
As early as 1749, the whole Miami valley became the arena of sanguinary contention between the two nations and their Indian allies, on both sides. The French rested their claims upon the ex- plorations of Marquette and La Salle, actual occupation, and the construction of the treaties of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chap- elle ; while on the other hand, the English claimed prior occupation, a construction of the same treaties favorable to them, and direct ces- sion by the Aboriginal owners. Their discovery conveyed no equit- able ownership, however, and was disregarded by both powers. The Indian title being totally ignored, led them to inquire: "Where are the Indian lands, since the French claim all on the north side of the Ohio, and the English all on the south side of it?"
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INDIAN WARS.
The English colonies were agriculturalists, and of a permanent nature ; while the French were mostly traders, soldiers, and mis- sionaries. Thus it followed, that the French became, through miscegenation, more thoroughly incorporated with the Indian tribes, and wielded a greater influence over them than the English ; giving rise to the old proverb, that the "French knew how to give gifts to the Indians." Through her traders and missionaries, therefore, France was familiar with all the Indian tribes before the English ex- plored beyond the mountains. The French, perfectly cognizant of the vast wealth of the new country, and the lucrative traffic to be carried on with the Indians, were induced at an early period to es- tablish a line of quasi military trading posts among the Indians on the Ohio and its tributaries, and to preserve the possession so ob- tained, they began the erection of forts extending from Canada to Louisiana. To counteract this bold step of the French to possess themselves of the country and its rich resultant emoluments. En- gland gave to an association of gentlemen in Great Britain and Vir- ginia, (under the title of the "Ohio Land Company") the privilege of locating and holding in their own right and title, 600,000 acres of land within the country then under contention between England and France. In pursuance of this arrangement, according to Western Annals, in the fall of 1720, the Ohio Company sent out Christopher Gist with instructions to examine the passes, trace the courses of the rivers, mark the falls, seek for the most valuable lands, observe the strength, and conciliate the Indian tribes. Accordingly he visited Logstown. Received with jealousy, he proceeded to the Muskingum, found a village of Ottawas friendly to the French, and a village of Wyandots divided in sentiment. Next he passed to the Shawanoes towns on the Scioto, was assured of their friendship, then crossed the Miami Valley, reporting that "nothing was wanting but cultiva- tion to make it a most delightful country." The land was secretly
surveyed, locations made in the most valuable sections, the Indians were conciliated, and trading posts were established. The true motives of the company were soon revealed through cupidity and jealousy, and the French actually seized and imprisoned the English traders, and established a line of military posts from Presque Isle to the Ohio river. Following this, at the suggestion of Washington, the Ohio Company erected a stockade at the confluence of the Mo- nongahela and Alleghany; before the work was complete however, they were dispersed by the French, who took possession of the place,
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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
and erected Fort du Quesne. These hostile movements were follow- ed by what is known as Braddock's war, which for a time checked the settlement from both countries.
The defeat of Braddock opened the flood-gates for the inroads of the savages along the borders of the northwest, who murdered and scalped the colonists in the valleys by the scores during the years 1755, 1756, and 1757.
In 1758, expeditions were sent out to capture Fort Du Quesne. On approaching it, the French set fire to it and retired. The En- glish took possession, rebuilt it, and named it Fort Pitt, now Pitts- burgh. This rendered feasible the scheme of Pitt for the reduction of Canada. Predeaux was to attack Niagara, Amherst, Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and Wolf, Quebec, which latter surrendered Sep- tember 18, 1759, and gave Canada to the English. During this, the tide of emigration was slowly pushing further into the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and traders once again entered the wig- wams of the Indians, who anxiously watched the movements of the two nations.
With the surrender of Fort Du Quesne and Niagara, open hos- tilities between England and France ceased in the west. On the 8th of September, 1760, Canada was surrendered to the English. On the failure of peace negotiations, France and Spain united to check the advance of English power, which proving futile, a treaty of peace was signed November 3, 1762, and ratified at Paris, Feb- ruary, 1763, at which, to retain Havana, Spain ceded Florida to England, and to reinstate Spain, France secretly ceded all of Louis- iana west of the Mississippi to Spain.
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