USA > Ohio > Henry County > History of Henry and Fulton counties, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 32
USA > Ohio > Fulton County > History of Henry and Fulton counties, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 32
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The dates set opposite the names of officers represent the year of their elec- tion, where no date is given it will be understood to mean that the officials held during the years of which no record exists.
SHERIFF.
George Brown, Charles Smith, Myron H. Hayes, Oscar .A. Cobb, Jacob Huffmire, 1864-6; Joel H. Brigham, 1868-70-76; Sullivan Johnson, 1872-74; Harvey L. Aldrich, 1878-80; Frank T. Blair, 1882-84; Daniel Dowling, 1886.
TREASURER.
Nathaniel Leggett, Isaac Springer, Julius Marsh, L. L. Carpenter, 1864; A. B. Canfield, 1866-68; David Ayers, 1870-72; Il. L. Moseley, 1874-76; Jared M. Longnecker, 1878; Thomas A Kelley, 1879; James M. Howard, 1881-83; John B. Schnetzler, 1885.
AUDITOR.
Mortimer D. Hibbard, A. C. Hough, Jason Hibbard, 1864; Ozias Merrill, 1866-68; L. G. Ely, 1870-71-73-75; Isaac Springer, 1877-80 A. W. McCon- nell, 1883 ; Thomas Kelley, by appointment ; A. W. McConnell, 1888.
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY.
J. H. Read, A. Carmichael, N. Merrill, M. R. Brailey, J. W. Rosborough, 1864, 1868, 1870; Octavius Waters, 1866; W. W. Touvelle, 1872 ; M. Handy, 1874; H. H. Ham, 1876-78; W. H. Gavitt, 1880-82; Mazzini Slusser, 1885.
RECORDER.
C. Allman, Joseph Jewell, S. B. Darby, R. H. Howard, J. K. Newcomer, W. H. Stevens, jr., 1866-69 ; Richard Taylor, 1872-75 ; Albert S. Bloomer, 1878-81-84.
PROBATE JUDGE.
Samuel Gillis, 1851-4; Lucius H. Upham, one month, unseated ; Socrates H. Cately, 1854-58; Oliver B. Verity, 1858-1870; Caleb M. Keith, 1870-79; Levi W. Brown, 1879-88.
The years given for the last above officials represent their terms of incum- bency of office, having been correctly ascertained.
CLERKS.OF COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
Samuel Durgin, Naman Merrill, Harry B. Bayes, 1861-64; Samuel Dur- gin, 1864-67 ; Truman H. Brown, 1867-70; Daniel W. Poe, 1870-73 ; Al- bert Deyo, 1873-79; Albert B. Smith, 1879-88.
COUNTY SURVEYOR.
John Spillane, 1865; Osceola E. M. Howard, 1868; Anthony B. Robinson, 1871-74-77-80; Lucius B. Fraker, 1883-86.
CORONERS.
W. M. Schnetzler, 1864; Josiah H. Bennett, 1865; John Fenton, 1866; Charles M. Canfield, 1868-69; John Odell, 1871-73; S. T. Worden, 1875-77 ; Charles E. Bennett, 1879-81 ; George W. Hartman, 1883.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
Christopher Watkins, William Sutton, Jonathan Barnes, Warren McCutch- en, Stephen Houghton, E. Masters, George Taft, Joel Brigham, James Cornell, William Dye, Henry Jordon, Elias Richardson, 1864; Joseph Ely, 1865 ; A. B. Gunn, 1866; Milton O. McCaskey, 1867; Joseph Ely, 1868; A. B. Gunn, 1869; A. B. Thompson, 1870; H. A. Canfield, 1871; Joseph Shadle, 1872, A. B. Thompson, 1873; D. B. Allen, 1874; Joseph Shadle, 1875; A. B. Thompson, 1876; E. L. Barber, 1877; Richard H. Scott, 1878; Charles Blake, 1879; E. L. Barber, 1880; Richard H. Scott, 1881 ; Charles Blake, 1882, Charles H. Van Ostrand, 1883 ; James C. Vaughan, 1884; Henry H. Williams, 1885 ; Sylvester W. Baum, 1886.
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FULTON COUNTY.
The present county officials are as follows : Auditor, Thomas A. Kelley ; clerk of the courts, Albert B. Smith ; probate judge, Levi W. Brown; treasu- rer, J. B. Schnetzler ; recorder, A. S. Bloomer ; prosecuting attorney, Mazzini Slusser ; sheriff, Daniel Dowling; county surveyor, Lucius B. Fraker; county commissioners, J. C. Vaughan, T. J. Cornell, S. W. Baum ; infirmary directors, S. G. Aumend, L. H. Guilford, W. P. Cowan.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Geographical Location of Fulton County-Boundaries Position of Townships From --- Topography-Ditching and Draining.
FULTON county occupies a position, geographically, in the northwestern portion of the State, in the country incident to the historic Maumee val- ley ; and although no part of the river Maumee lies within the county, the early history of this locality is inseparably connected with that valley ; it is auxiliary to, but not co-extensive with it.
Fulton was created by the surrender of portions of the counties of Lucas, Henry and Williams, the greater part, by far, being taken from the county first named. It is bounded on the north by the State of Michigan, east by Lucas county, south by Henry county and west by Williams county
The county is, perhaps, as regular in conformation as any within the State. Its townships number twelve, being in a range of four, east and west, and three north and south. Gorham township occupies the extreme northwest corner ; east of that lies Chesterfield, then Royalton, and on the extreme cast and in the northeast corner of the county, lies Amboy. On the second or middle tier on the west is located Franklin and next east of that is Dover; then Pike, and on the extreme east Fulton township. Of the lower or southern tier of town- ships, first on the west is German, the largest in area of the county's sub-divi- sions ; east of German is Clinton, within the bounds of which is located the county seat, Wauseon. East of Clinton lies York, and on the extreme east and in the southeast corner of the county is the township of Swan Creek.
The old " State line," or as it has otherwise been known, the Fulton line, passes an almost due east and west course, intersecting the townships of Frank- lin, Dover, Pike and Fulton. This line was the former boundary between the States of Ohio and Michigan, and concerning which boundary there was a se- rious complication between the authorities of the two States. A full and ac- curate account of this controversy will be found in the chapter devoted to the " Land Titles," of this work.
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
Fulton county can hardly be said to be a well watered district, and there are but few streams of any considerable size within its limits. The largest, un- doubtedly, is the Tiffin River, or, as it is commonly called, "Bean Creek." This stream has its headwaters in the northern and northwestern townships, Gorham and Chesterfield, and in the townships north and within the State of Michigan. Its general course is southwest, through the east part of Gorham, into Franklin, which it intersects, and thence across the northwest corner of German and passes into Williams county on the west. There are many tribu- taries to Bean Creek in Gorham township, thus making it one of the best nat- urally drained townships of the county ; in fact, there has been a less number of artificial drain ditches constructed in this township than any other county except Franklin. The extreme northeast part of Gorham is drained by a small stream called Mill Creek.
South of Bean Creek, and maintaining a general course of nearly the same direction, is Brush Creek. This has its source or head near Spring Hill, in the western part of Dover township ; thence it flows southwesterly, crosses the northwest corner of Clinton, enters German, and flows its general course south- west across the last named township and leaves it at the southwest corner of the county.
The township of York has a number of streams that have their courses gen- erally in a southerly direction, yet artificial drainage has been resorted to in or- der to free its lands of their marshy or swampy character, and adapt them for agricultural pursuits. Its streams gradually find their course south into Henry county and discharge into the Maumee.
Bud Creek has its source in the central part of Pike township, whence it runs southerly and with an inclination to the east, touches the northeast part of York, crosses Swan Creek and passes on into Henry county on the south.
Swan Creek is a small stream having its headwaters in the southwest part of Fulton township; thence it flows south and east across the north part of Swan Creek township, into Lucas county on the east. The South branch drains largely the northern and eastern part of the township. It maintains a general course bearing east and passes beyond the borders of this into Lucas county. Blue Creek is a small stream flowing from the central part of Swan Creek town- ship south, and then east into Lucas county. Ten Mile Creek rises part in cach Amboy and Royalton townships and runs east and northeast past Meta- mora and into Lucas county.
These are the larger and more important streams of this county, which in ordinary localities would be entirely sufficient to thoroughly drain the whole territory embraced by the county. But unlike the counties in the eastern and southern parts of the State, Fulton has no hills of any magnitude to give head- way or force to its streams. The hills are no more than a slight rise of ground in any portion of the county ; while in many localities there seems to be a gen-
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FULTON COUNTY.
eral depression of the surface, insomuch that they cannot rid themselves of their surface water without resort to artificial drainage.
The general slope of the surface is to the southeast and quite moderate. The lowest land in the county is in the township of Swan Creek, where the surface lies ninety-five feet above Lake Erie, while in northwestern Gorham the altitude reached is about two hundred and fifty feet above the lake. In the central part of the county, embracing the northern part of Clinton, nearly all of Dover, about three-fifths of Chesterfield, the southwest part of Royalton, the west half of Pike, and the northwest corner of York, is an elevated sandy plateau with an average elevation of about two hundred feet above lake water. Prior to about the year 1858, there was a vast amount of land lying within the county that was wholly unfit for agricultural purposes, on account of its swampy character, and inasmuch as there were no streams within the county available for water power, there was but little prospect for advancement or progress by way of manufacture, and the inhabitants must, per force, seek some channel or adopt some means whereby the county might be built up and made productive. This peculiarity of situation, if it may be properly called such, was not entirely single to this locality, but there were several counties similarly possessed. Here the climate, the soil and the natural situation of the land showed favorable for good results in agricultural pursuits as soon as the surface of the land could be properly drained of its surplus and sluggish water.
The Legislature made provision for draining by the ditching process, and by this must the county stand or fall. It can hardly be within the province of this chapter to enter into a detailed narrative of the laws passed by the Legis- lature from time to time, bearing upon the subject of ditch draining, but suffi- cient it is to state that such was the fact; and under this act and its several amendments and supplements has the vast amount of draining been done within this county during the last twenty-five and more years While by far the greater part of the draining done in the county has been of that kind known as ditching, still there has been laid by the commissioners, or those act- ing in the work for them, a large amount of tile, or pipe made from the native clay. The latter is used where it may be laid to advantage. Tile draining is usually done by the individual in cases where he desires to carry the water from some depressed portion of land to some already established ditch or other stream.
It was in the year 1859 that ditching commenced in this county under the direction of the county commissioners, and since that time there are but very few square miles of the surface of the county but has in some manner been opened for this purpose. Of course there are localities where this is not nec- essary, on the more elevated lands of sandy character. The work is carried on to such an extent that each year, for several years past, there has been at least one hundred miles of ditching performed in this county.
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
The following record, by townships, will show first, the date of digging the first ditch therein; second, the number opened, or dug; third, the number deepened or widened, or both, and fourth, the number cleaned out :
Amboy, 1862 ; forty-eight new, sixteen deepened and widened, and three cleaned out. A total operated upon of sixty-seven.
Royalton, 1859; thirty-eight new, sixteen deepened and widened, and one cleaned out. Total, fifty-five.
Chesterfield, 1864; thirty-four new, seventeen deepened and widened, and six cleaned out. Total, fifty-seven.
Franklin, 1859; fourteen new, four deepened and widened, and one cleaned out. Total, nineteen.
Gorham, 1865 ; twenty-eight new, five deepened and widened, and one cleaned out. Total, thirty-four.
Dover, 1864; forty-six new, twenty-eight deepened and widened, and six cleaned out. Total, eighty.
Pike, 1859; fifty-one new, thirteen deepened and widened, and six cleaned out. Total, seventy.
Fulton, 1862; forty-four new, twelve deepened and widened, and four cleaned out. Total, sixty.
Swan Creek, 1859; seventy new, nineteen deepened and widened, and twenty cleaned out. Total, one hundred nine.
York, 1859; sixty-one new, sixteen deepened and widened, and ten cleaned out. Total, eighty- seven.
Clinton, 1859; seventy-one new, twenty-eight deepened and widened, and twenty cleaned out. Total, one hundred nineteen.
German, 1859; thirty-one new, seven deepened and widened, and one cleaned out. Total, thirty-nine.
CHAPTER XXXII.
GEOLOGY OF FULTON COUNTY.
TT is a well established fact, the result of scientific research, that the whole country about this region has at some time, ages ago, been covered with water of unknown depth, and that these waters were constantly changing as if in motion, or by under currents, tides and waves. In the course of ages these waters receded, having found some outlet into the vast bodies of water that now so largely cover the earth's surface. Again, the labors of those who, dur- ing the last two hundred years, have devoted themselves to the study of the
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FULTON COUNTY.
structure of the globe, have resulted in the creation of the science of geology, and the claim which this department of human knowledge has to science, de- pends upon the symmetry which has been found to prevail in the arrangement of the materials forming the earth's crust. By the slow process of adding act to fact and by comparing the observations of the devotees of the science in dif- ferent lands, it has been found that the rocky strata of the earth hold defi- nite relation to each other in position, and hence in age; that many of them are distinguished by constant or general features, and contain characteristic or peculiar remains of plants or animals by which they may be recognized where- ever found. This sequence of deposit forms what has been aptly termed the Geological Column and the changes which are recorded in the strata of differ- ent formations, both in regard to the physical condition of the carth's surface, and the organic forms that inhabited it, constitute that which is known as ge- ological history. Of this record the different ages, periods and epochs follow each other everywhere in regular order, and form a grand and uniform system of change and progress, compared with which the successive eras of human history drop into insignificance.
Tile observations of geologists have shown that the materials which com- pose the earth's crust form three distinct classes of rocks, the igucous, sedimen- tary and metamorphic. Of these, the first class inchides those that are the direct result of fusion. These are divided into two subordinate groups, volcanic and plutonic, of which the first includes such as are produced by volcanic eruption, lata in its various forms, pumice, obsidian, trachyte, etc The second class of igneJus rocks - the plutonie - comprises those massive, rocky forms which are without distinct bedding, have apparently been completely fused, and yet were never probably brought to the earth's surficc by volcanic action. Hay ing consolidated under incalculably great pressure, they are, in structure, dense and compact, hever exhibiting the porous and incalierent condition which is so characteristic of purely volcanic rocks. The blutonic backs are gradite in some of its varieties, syoute, porphery, and port, but not all, if Mardis, dies ites and dolerites (greenstones). None of these igneous rock- are found in plage in this region of county, although they exist in vast quandles in the niining districts of the west and on the shores of Lake Superior, From the latter ne gion numcrous fragments were brought and scattered generally through this region during the olacial period, and they constitute a prominent feature in the drift deposits that cover so large a part of Ohio.
Abundant evidence exists that the carthy has been consolidated from a gas- eous through a liquid state, and that the consolidation resulted from the cool- ing of an intensely heated mass, but that near the center this cooling process has never been entirely completed and makes its existence manifest even to this period, through not infrequent volcanic eruptions. Again is it evidenced in penetrating the earth to a great depth, which, as it is increased, the higher becomes the temperature. 38
298
HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
It is a matter of supposition that the igneous rocks were formed first and that they constituted the primeval continents. As soon, however, as they were exposed to the action of the elements, they began to be worked down and washed away, and the materials derived from them were deposited as sed- iment in the first existing water basins. That process has been going on through all subsequent ages, so that by far the larger part of the rocks which we now encounter in the study of the earth belongs to the class of sedimentary deposits. These are commonly known as sandstone, shale, limestone, etc., the consolidation of the comminuted material having been effected by both chem- ical and physical agencies. The differences discovered in these sedimentary rocks are, for the most part, dependent upon very simple causes, such as are now seen in operation upon every coast. The rains that fall upon the land give rise to rivers, and these on their way to the sea excavate the valleys through which they flow, transporting the materials taken into suspension to the points where the motion of the currents is arrested and their power of suspen- sion ceases, that is, in the water basins where they debouche. In the gradual arrest of the motion of river currents, the coarsest and heaviest materials first sink to the bottom, in obedience of the laws of gravitation, then, in succession, the fine and still finer until all are deposited. Shore waves are still more po- tent agents in the distribution of sediments. Whether they break on cliff or beach they are constantly employed in grinding up, and by their under-tow carrying away the barriers against which they beat. Nothing can resist their force and ceaseless industry. In time the most iron-bound coast and the broadest continent must yield to their slow but sure advance, and the com- minuted materials are spread far and wide in the rear of their line of progress.
Rain, rivers and shore waves are the great destructive agents in geology - the greatest levelers known-but in the same measure that they demolish, the sea builds again. She sifts, sorts and spreads anew and in regular order, the materials she receives from them, thus laying the foundation for new conti- nents. These, when raised above the sea-level by internal forces are again cut away, again to be rebuilt.
Upon the retreat of the sea the surface of the land would be again covered with vegetation, acted upon by atmospheric influences, washed into hills and valleys, and locally covered with sand or clay, the products of this local wash- ing. Any excavations now made upon this continent would reveal distinct and legible records of this last inundation, viz .: Beneath the superficials, a lime- stone; below this, a shale; below that a sandstone, or conglomerate; and all these resting upon the rocky foundations of the continent; the result of a pre- vious submergence, and representing a previous geological age. To be sure these rules are not without some occasional irreconcilable deviations, some- times called faults, or exceptions, owing to a variety of causes, but are of not sufficiently frequent occurrence to demand any lengthy explanation, or any
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FULTON COUNTY.
notice other than mere mention. Having followed the geological evolutions of our continent thus far, its importance to the average reader being an apol- ogy for its length, we may now turn and observe the geological formation and construction of this locality, as the same is laid down in the geological reports and surveys prepared by Prof. C. K. Gilbert, from which the strength of this chapter is taken, and to which is added the result of a recent drilling for oil in the vicinity of Wauseon, showing the different strata penetrated and its thick- ness.
The bedded rocks of Fulton county are covered with a heavy sheet of drift, to a depth of from fifty to at least two hundred feet. These are mainly on or near the line of the Air-Line Railroad, and the rock struck in each case was the Huron shale - either the characteristic black shale or associated masses of pyrites. At Delta it was drilled through in boring for oil, and found to have a thickness of fifty-five feet. Under it was found twenty feet of soft gray shale, representing the Hamilton group, while the upper part of the Coniferous group appeared to be quite argillaceous. Comparing the altitudes of these beds in the neighboring counties, Henry and Lucas, where they outcrop, the general dip is found to be to the north and west, and it is probable that its continuance carries them under the Waverly group within the limits of the county. So far as can be judged the greater part of the county is underlaid by Huron shale, and this is covered in the northwest portion by the beds of the Waverly group.
In boring for water near the south line of Gorham township, cannel coal was struck, and was said to have been penetrated to a depth of three and one- half feet. Overlying it was the blue clay of the drift, but as the underlying material was not determined, it remains uncertain whether the coal was in its original position, or was merely a drift boulder transported from the Michigan coal field. All present information or knowledge tends toward the latter theory, although the nearest outcrops of the coal measures are about forty miles distant.
The unmodified Erie clay (sand, gravel and boulders), appears in the north- western part of Gorham township, and presents the same features as are found in the county on the west, except that the deep marshes are wanting, or nearly so. The beach line which limits it crosses the west line of Franklin township, a half mile north of the "Fulton line," and runs northeast to Fayette, and thence to the Michigan line, which it intersects three miles west of the cast line of Gorham township.
The lacustrine clays (post-glacial epoch), have resulted from the redispo- sition of the Erie clay, and differ from it in that they lack the coarser materials, are more homogeneous, and are deposited with a flat, and often nearly level surface. They cover the county generally. In Franklin, German, the south part of York and Clinton, and the eastern part of Amboy, their extreme flat-
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
ness is remarkable, rendering it quite impossible with the eye to discover the direction of their slope.
The beach ridges have but a small area, but crossing many farms otherwise destitute of sand, they form a desirable variety. Besides the upper ridge, the position of which in Gorham has been described, another, constituting the third beach, is well defined. Beginning on the Michigan line three miles west of Metamora it curves abruptly, first east and then south. Proceeding nearly south to the village of Ai, it then curves so as to take a course a little west of southwest, touches the northwest corner of Swan Creek township, passes through the village of Delta, and leaves the county near the middle of Clinton township. In its general character it is sandy, but at several points where its dimensions are small, it is formed of fine gravel. These gravel and sand ridges are desirable for roads, and are used at numerous places. In the north- east part of German township are several parallel ridges of fine sand, that are possibly beaches. They run from the edge of the central sandy plateau south- west over the clay plain, in which they are finally lost.
In the regions of the deep sand a large part of the surface consists of a succession of knolls, or dunes, and short ridges, the latter being, occasionally, traceable for some miles. Interspersed with these, and enclosed by them, are numerous marshes, or wet prairies, large and small, which are slowly building up their surfaces with accumulating muck. When first occupied by the whites the only trees on these tracts were oaks, and these so sparsely set that their tops, as a rule, did not meet, and a wagon might be driven in nearly any di- rection. From this fact the county became known as the " oak openings." With the discontinuance of the annual fires set by the Indians, a dense growth of oak sprung up in many places, but the lightest of the sand acquired only a scrubby undergrowth. The more dry parts of the prairies became grown thickly with aspens, which also dates from the cessation of the fires.
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