History of Logan County and Ohio, Part 57

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Battle, J. H; O.L. Baskin & Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin
Number of Pages: 798

USA > Ohio > Logan County > History of Logan County and Ohio > Part 57

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).

east corner of the township, embracing the principal part of Samuel Davis' Survey, No. 3,216, and the western part of Thewett's Survey, No. 4,661. The Marmon Valley, though of limited extent. is scarcely surpassed by any in the county, or in the State, for beauty and fertility; and, when seen from any of the crowning eminences on either side, presents a picture of almost indescribable loveliness. The MeKre's Creek Valley, in the southwestern part of the township, is not so clearly defined as those already spoken of. The valley proper is narrow, and yet the land on either side rises so gradually that the val- ley seems to merge into the upland with scarcely any abrupt hills to mark its boundary.

The hills comprise one long, crooked and irregular ridge, or chain of hills, on the west, and three distinct groups on the east of the Mad River Valley. Commencing with the former, we find, near where the Bellefontaine road crosses the western boundary of the township, a very elevated point, from which the surface descends in every direction-to the east and south into the MeKre's Creek Valley, to the west to Blue Jacket Creek, and to the north to a slight depression in the summit of the ridge. Following this ridge it takes along near the western boundary of the township to within about a mile of its north- ern limit, where it is penetrated from the cast by a branch of Rush Creek, without, however. being disconnected with the high ridge that extends in the direction of Harper. From this point it turns to the eastward and termi- Dates in that direction nearly opposite the neck of lowland that connects the Mad River and Rush Crock Valleys. The eastern deeliv- ity of this ridge is penetrated by numerous gorges and ratings, one of which pushes it- self almost entirely through to the head of Me- Kos's Creek, and nearly disconnects it from the ridge that walls in the lower part of the

Martin's Valley extends from the Mad River Valley, eastward, almost to the south- } Mad River Valley on the west. From this

HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.

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point of depression it, however, reaches near- ly its former elevation, and continues in a southern direction to the southern limit of the township, split and broken into spurs and headlands by narrow valleys and ravines which penetrate its eastern face, af- fording outlets for numerous branches and streamlets, and presenting some beautiful and picturesque landscapes, as seen from the hills beyond the valley.

Of the groups or ridges cast of the valley, the first commences in the north near the Rushsylvania pike, aud runs south, throwing out numerous spurs to the eastward, which gradually decline to the level of the Mill Creek Valley. It is abruptly terminated on the south by Sugar Creek Valley. Its west- ern face is rough and precipitous; its eastern slope much more gentle, but yet rough and irregular from the intervention of valleys and ravines. The second ridge, or group, runs east from Mad River directly opposite Zanes- field, and terminates near East Liberty. Its eastern slope is also gentle and rolling, while on the north, south and west it is extremely rough and broken, in many places being only adapted to the cultivation of fruits and ber- ries, and to pasture. The third and last ridge runs from Mad River eastward south of Mar- mon's Valley. Like the second, it is very abrupt and broken on the north, but, unlike it on the south, it continues high and rolling land, interspersed occasionally with ravines and valleys for a considerable distance till it reaches the waters of Mackachack.

In describing the topography of the town- ship, some peculiar features present them- selves: First, the Mad River Valley, proper, seems to terminate where the old Sandusky road crossed the river, near Dickinson's Mills. The hills on each side converge to the chan- nel of the river, while the plain above, or even the channel of the river, has an eleva- tion 20 to 25 feet above the valley below.

From this point the very narrow channel gradually expands until in the eastern neighborhood, one and one-half to two miles above, it affords a body of farm land, which continues without any intervening hills to the bottom lands which spread out south and west from Rush Creek Lake, thus being connected with and being a part of the Rush Creek Valley in every respect, except that the southern part of it is so much depressed that the water, in seeking a level, flows south and finds its way into the Mad River channel. The same feature is notice- able at the head of the Marmon Valley, though to a less extent and with this differ- ence, that instead of the upper part being cut off and isolated, it seems to extend beyond its proper limits, embracing a considerable extent of territory, whose waters flow into Otter Creek-as though the eastern portion of the valley had tilted out of its proper level, and left its waters to collect their forces and break through the barrier of hills in the direction of East Liberty, and so find an outlet through the Mill Creek Valley.

Another locality of some interest is the highest point of land in the State of Ohio. It is on the farm of John G. Hoge, Esq., in the western part of the township, and a little south of the Jerusalem pike. It is not a rug- ged eminence towering away up above the neighboring hills, but, on the contrary, is a gentle elevation surrounded in all directions by high, rolling lands. It is easy of access and susceptible of cultivation, as is all the ad- jacent land. Its elevation is so slight above surrounding hills that its pre-eminence is only determined by actual measurement.

Many other points of interest in the town- ship are worthy of notice; among them Jeru- salem Falls, on the farm of Abraham Elliott, south of the Jerusalem and West Mansfield turnpike, and Slate Hollow, on the farm of Omar Brown, south of the Middleburg road,

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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.

both of which have become noted places of resort for pienies and pleasure parties. While a drive over almost any of the hill roads which traverse the township presents a frequent succession of charming and pictur- esque landscapes, remarkable at once for their variety and beauty-one of the most striking of which is suddenly revealed to the vision in driving from Jerusalem in the direction of West Mansfield-when near New Salem Church, on reaching the brow of an eminence, the whole eastern side of the county seems to be unveiled before the bewildered ore.

From the best information to be derived from records accessible. Jefferson Township originally comprised, besides its present ter- ritory, that which constitutes Rush Creek, Monroc, Liberty, Union, Lake, Harrison, Me- Arthur and Richland. Lake was struck off when the county was organized in 1818, em- bracing, probably, all of Harrison, Me Arthur and Richland. What constitutes Liberty, and probably Union, must have belonged to Jefferson in February, 1821. The year fol- lowing, Monroe was struck off, and as early as in 1529-probably a year or two carlier-Rush Greek was organized, leaving the present boundaries, which are, on the north. Rush ('reek; east, Perry; south, Monroe; and west, Lake and Liberty, which laps on Jefferson about one mile, extending that much further than Monroe.

The township lies entirely within the Vir- ginia Military Land District, comprising the principal part of some thirty two surveys, with a greater or lesser portion of some ten or twelve others which lie principally in adjoin- ing townships. It would puzzle the student of geometrical figures to describe or evento ac want for the existence of some of the anom- : Jons outlines assumed by many of these sur- veys, on y that the parties locating seemed to have consuming passions for irregularity; nor is this irregularity less noticeable in the num-

ber than in the outline. Without noting 8-12, a very small fraction of which lies within the northeast corner of the township, the first, or lowest number is 2,674, generally known as the Smith and Lyle lands, and the highest number is 13,593, which. strangely enough, joins it on the west for a considerable distance. After Thomas Tolt's, No. 2,644; D. Bradford, No. 3,136; James Calderwood's, Nos. 3,131. 3.138, 3,139; Samuel Davis, 3.216, and Alex- ander Dandridge, 3,220, had been surveyed and located, it would seem that the Green- ville treaty line was established, for the next surveys, in point of number embracing about two-fifths of the northern part of the township. were surveyed and located with reference to that line, though with a slight inclination to the right, which was doubtless the result of accident. Then commenced the process of gathering up the fragments found in the cen- tral and southern part of the township, the result of which can only be comprehended by consulting the map. We only note, in conclusion, that survey No. 3,13; was first settled; No. 3.220 is the largest, is rectangu- lar, and is bounded by meridians. as is No. 1,- 441; No. 5,812 is the smallest, and No. 3,683 has within it, the highest point in the State of Ohio.

The township is divided into ten school dis- tricts, numbered from I to 5, and from ~ to 11-No. 6 being, for some cause, left blank. together with the Zanesfeld Union School District and a fractional district partly in Jefferson and partly in Monroe, the school- house being in the former.

The productions of the township are prin- cipally derived from the soil. The staples of export are chiefly wheat, corn, cattle, hogs and sheep, wool, green and dried apples, ma- ple sugar and molasses, clover-seed, butter, vergs and poultry, black-walnut logs, and Jum- ber have, for the last ten or twelve years, been exported extensively, and the general lumber

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IHISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.

trade has not been inconsiderable. Flour and leather constitute the only manufactured arti- cles worthy of mention as exports. Of the former article, the two excellent mills on the Mad River, near Zanesfield, have produced largequantities of brands that have been gen- erally sought after in this and the adjoining counties. There has, however, been a slight falling off in the trade during the last year. In the manufacture of the latter article, the one tannery in Zanesfield has been doing a quiet, unpretending business, that has far ex- cecded the local demand; hence, a yearly ex- port of a considerable amount of harness and upper-leather that has found a market in the towns and villages of this and the adjoining counties.

Amongst the articles produced more exclu- sively for home consumption may be enu- merated hay, oats, beef, pork, mutton, almost all varieties of small fruit adapted to the eli- mate, potatoes and garden vegetables gener- ally; sweet potatoes have been raised for ex- portation to a considerable extent in former years, but of late the demand in the immediate vicinity has about equalled the supply. There has been a considerable quantity of honey pro- duced in the township, but the amount sold out- side its limits has not probably been very great.

As the productions of the township partake largely of the agricultural element, so the pursuits of the citizens are generally directed in that line, a large proportion of the labor- ing class being engaged in cultivating he soil. Of the remaining classes, we have of ministers, who receive salaries as such, 3; phy- sicians, 3; students of medicine, 3; merchants, druggist, 1; capitalists, 4; blacksmiths, 4; pump-dealers, 2; carpenters, 4; wagon-makers, 2; tanner, 1; millers, 2; masons and plaster- ers, 4; saddlers, 2; tinners, 1; general wood- workers, 2; merchant's clerks, 2; shoemak- ers, 2; horse-dealers, 2; hotel-keeper, 1; saloon- keeper, 1.

Zanesfield is the only regularly laid out village in the township, aud is located in the Mad River Valley, about midway of the town- ship east and west, and about one-third of the distance from the south to the north end, on the original road from Urbana to Upper Sandusky, now known as the West Liberty, Zanesfield, and Rushsylvania Free Pike, where it is crossed by the road leading from Bellefontaine to Columbus. Jerusalem, three miles north of Zanesfield, on the Rushsylva- nia Pike, has formerly been a point of consid- crable trade, having a cabinet-shop and sales- room, a wagon-maker shop, blacksmith shop, a country store and grocery. At present it has only a postoffice and family grocery. A fine, commodious Grange hall gives it consid- erable importance in the north end of the township.

Of the origin of the name, and the history of the formation and organization of the town- ship, the records of the township and county are alike silent. The former was doubtless given in honor of the third President of the United States, then in the zenith of his popularity, and the latter grew out of the re- quirements and necessities of the times.

The earliest official record in reference to Jefferson Township is found on page 123 of a book purporting to be a volume of township records, and is as follows:

"5th. At a meeting of the Trustees of Jef- ferson Township, Champaign County, Ohio, Isaac Zane, 2d, and Nathan Norton, present, January Ist (or possibly June 1st), 1816. Ordered, that Martin Marmon, Treasurer of said township, will receive of Jesse Stansberry all the notes and orders belonging to said township.

"6th. At a meeting of the Trustees of Jef- ferson Township, on the 24th of July, 1816, Isaac Zane, 2nd, Nathan Norton and Jock Smith, judges of an election, in order to elect a Justice of the Peace in place of James

IHISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.

MePherson, Legs resigned, James M. Reed was duly elected as a Justice of the Peace for Jefferson Township: then adjourned."

And on the following page we find this iten, which may be of interest to teamsters. it is in the proceedings of a meeting of the Tinstees held the 24th day of August, 1816.

" Ordered, That each two-horse team, with fore wheels of a wagon, sled or plough, shall not be allowed more than 8;3 cents per day, and oxen at the same rate, four-horse or ox- team in proportion.

" THOMAS THOMPSON, " Clk. pro tem. "signed-

.N. NORTON."

By another entry on the same page, we learn that John Gunn was Township Clerk.

But why these entries in the middle of the book? We are only left to suppose that the first and second pages, which are entirely gone, have been transcribed at a subsequent date. It is to be regretted that, as the record carries us back so near the commencement, We cannot have an authentic account of the organization of the township and the election or appointment of its first officers. The records show, however, meagre as they are, that on Monday, the 4th of April, 151;, at an election, of which Joel Smith, Isaac Zane and Nathan Norton were Judges and Ralph Lowe and George Kroushop, Jr., were Clerks, Martin Marmon was elected Treasurer; Solomon Me- Collach, James M. Workman, Is ac Z me, True; Gorge Krouskop, Ch k: Some Myers, Lesteref Taxable Property : John Til- 1 . Jr., William Rams, George Henry, Sr. Somsors; John Collins, Henry Shaw, Con- 8001 : Kim g . Metalloch. Thomas D'aki - 1 .Os; John Tillis, Sr., Will an Then, Corners of the Poor. The latter

, Vid Henry Pickrell was so-

. Thomas Thompson was r. the re having been

Among the entries made on the record oc- curs the following. dated April It, 1811: Ordered that John Collins, Constable, warn Eleanor Ward and her child to leave the town, or give security that she will not be- come a township charge, likewise to warn David Reed to leave the township or give se- curity that he would not become a township charge. It is not certain what Eleanor did, but David did not go, for on the 2d day of March, 1818, the Trustees ordered that Martin Marmon have an order to pay Dr. John D. Elbert $1 for visiting David Reed, and fur- ther, that Martin Marmon be allowed $12 for his attendance on said David Reed in his last sickness.

In August, 181;, Lanson Curtis was elected Justice of the Peace, in place of Ralph Lowe, whose term of office had expired. From this it would seem probable that James Mc Pherson and Ralph Lowe were the first Justices of the l'race, but of their election we have no official record.

At the April election, in 1818. Thomas Sutherland and John Brown were succeeded by Solomon MeColloch and Isaac Zane as Trustees, and at a meeting of the Trustees, held August 22d, it was ordered that JJarvis Danghherty be appointed Overseer of the Poor, in place of John Tillis; that Noah Z. MeColloch be appointed Township Clerk, in place of George Kroushop, and that James Henry be appointed Constable, in place of James Hill, occasioned by a division of the township. This division here spoken of was doubtless the cutting off of Lake Township from Jefferson and its organization, which prob- ably took place about the time of the organiza- tion of the county in ISIS. In confirmation of this the records show that, at a joint meeting of the Trustees of Jefferson and Lake held the Lith of October following. Alexander Long and George Krouskop signed the record as Clerks. There is no record of Long's

111 .1.

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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.

appointment as Clerk, but his name is append- ed to records as Clerk as early as December 18, 1818. As Krouskop and Tillis both resided in what was constituted Lake township, it seems clear that Jefferson was the original township and that Lake was cut off from it. It is not so clear, however, what the original boundary was, and what part was cut off. What would seem most reasonable to suppose, is that the original boundary included Lake and Har- rison, with Union and Liberty on the south, and MeArthur and Richland on the north, and that this whole territory was cut off and con- stituted Lake Township. But in February, 1821, William Hopkins and David Norton were elected Justices of the Peace, in place of Israel Howell and Henry Robertson, the elec- tion being held in Zanesfield. As it is certain Israel llowell lived for some time previous to this either on the Henry Secrist or on the Isaac Dille place, both of which are in Liber- ty Township, it would seem evident that that part of the county was still within the jurisdic- tion of Jefferson Township. From 1822, when Monroe Township was set off, and Hopkins and Norton, who were both within its limit, John Bishop and Ralph Lowe hold the office of Justice until 1825, then Alexander Long until 1832, when he was succeeded by Dr. James Crew and William Henry until 1836. Dr. Crew held the office until 1841, when he was succeeded by L. P. Burton. Isaac G. Williams succeeded William Henry in April, 1836, and hell the office until 1848, when he was succeeded by Samuel J. Crew. L. P. Burton left before his term expired and Charles Amy succeeded him, to be succeeded in turn by Dr. J. W. Johnson, probably in 1846. Johnson served until his death, in October, 1850. He was succeeded in April following by Daniel Cowgill. S. J. Crew served until April, 1854. Edward L. Carter and Amos Thompson were elected in April, 1854, and Asa Marmon and Thomas Elliott in April,

1852. Asa Marmon removed from the State and Joseph Robb was elected in October, 1857. Joseph Robb was succeeded in April, 1860, by Dr. Crew, and Thomas Elliott in April, 1863, by William Vance. B. S. Scott succeeded Dr. Crew in October, 1863, and Dr. Crew succeeded William Vance, who re- signed in August, 1861. B. S. Scott's term expired in October, 1866; followed by Charles Rockwell in April, 1867. Dr. James Crew continued in office until his death in August, 1868; succeeded by his son, N. S. Crew, who served until his removal from the State in 1843. T. F. Pope was elected in April, 1870, and continued in office until his death in De- cember, 1829. B. S. Scott was elected to N. S. Crew's vacancy in April, 1844, and served until April, 1880. Z. Laport and J. Slonecker were elected April 5, 1880.

Among the names prominent as Trustees are-James M. Workman, Solomon MeCul- loch, John Brown, Thomas Sutherland, John Smith, John Reed, Thomas Dickinson, Josh- ua Marmon, William Henry, Lot Garwood, Robert McCord, William McGee, Benjamin Smith, Johnson Patrick, of the olden time. The prominent Clerks were-George Krous- kop, Jr., Alexander Long, Col. Martin Mar- mon (2), David L. Hunt, Charles Amy and John Mechem, while Martin Marmon, Sr., had uninterrupted control of the treasury department from the organization of the township until 1841, and probably till near the close of his life. There is nothing on record to indicate the political complexion of the township in its early history. From re- marks of okl residents, however, it is nearly certain that in days of the younger Adams his supporters were largely in the majority. In 1840 the Whigs had a substantial majority; it is uncertain how large. After the formation of the Republican party, the Democrats were very frequently in the ascendency for a num- ber of years. Of late years the Republicans

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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.

have usually had majorities ranging from ten to forty. The vote usually polled is from 340 to 380. There are over 400 voters in the township.

Of the carly settlers in the township, Isaac Zane is considered to have been the first white man who resided within its limits. The time of his coming here must have been about the year 1800. The first reliable information we have of him in connection with the history of the township dates from 1805 to 1811. In the latter year he resided in a hewed log house, standing on the premises now owned by Mrs. Lydia Daughherty. in Zaneshield. It is difficult to locate precisely, but it is a little north of where the barn stands, perhaps a little farther cast, and it fronted very nearly in the same direction that the barn does. Ìts stone fireplace and chimney were built on the outside at the east end, and it had a porch on the south side, which was afterwards enclosed so as to make a shed-room. The location of this building was formerly a matter of some importance, as it was the starting point in de- scribing the boundary of the James C'alderwood Survey, No. 3,137. Isaac Zane is said to have been a man of kind and amiable disposition, but having spent his youth in the forest and in the camp, he had little taste or qualifica- tion for the pursuits of civilization. this time was mostly devoted to hunting. He had three sous- William, Ebenezer and Isaac, the latter two of whom were intimately connected with the history of the township. He also had tour daughters-Nancy, who married William Metalloch (father of Judge Noah Met offoch); who married James M. Reed; Sallie, who married Robert Armstrong, and Kitty, who mar ted Maj. Alexander Long.

It has been generally supposed that Isane % arrived a patent from the government, the land on which Zane shield now stands. il divided i between his children. Such. Moser, 8. not the case. The history of the

transaction is somewhat obscure, but is nearly this in substance: The government gave him a grant of two sections of land, probably prior to the time that Congress lands in Cham- paign and Logan Counties were surveyed. le. in the meantime, made choice of the present situation of Zanestichl, already the site of an Indian village and settlement, and settled on it. This was, probably, before the boundary of the Virginia Military Land Dis- friet was established, as he expected in due time to obtain a patent for the land he occu- pied. About this time, Lucas Sullivant ob- tained from government, a patent for 1,800 acres of land to be located within the Virginia Military Land District, to be surveyed in the name of dames Calderwood, and came to the Mad River Valley, ostensibly on a hunting excursion. Here he spent a number of weeks. boarding with Zane and accepting of his hos- pitality. Being, himself, a practical surveyor and having assistants associated with him, after satisfying himself in regard to the most desirable location, and making a calculation as to the required bearings and distances from the southwest corner of Zane's house, he se- eretly run the lines so as to establish the four corners of a lot, or tract of land 400 rods* square. On this tract be laid his pa- tent for 1,000 acres in the name of James Calderwood's Survey. No. 3,13%. Surveying 800 acres situated immediately south of this, he entered it in the name of James Calder- world's Survey, No. 3.138. The government subsequently gave Zane a patent for two see- tions of land in Champaign County, one a lit- the south of the present location of Kingston, and the other a short distance north of Fr. bana, but he preferred remaining at Zanesfich. He subsequently purchased from Sullivant the entire parcel of land contained in the two surveys, 3,137 and 3,138, but did not pay

1 \ the es nuned dimensions of the survey ; ly actual Tra i bent, it overrun 10 10 20 rods.

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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.

for it or obtain a deed for it during his life time. The survey, No. 3,137, appears to have been originally divided into six tracts extend- ing across the survey east and west. The first commencing at the north was thirty- three rods in width, and the remaining five were each about seventy-six and two-thirds rods wide. The first and second lay north of what is called Lowe's lane. The third, between that and the Bellefontaine road. The fourth extended to the line be- tween S. L. Wonders and Mrs. Courter. The fifth, to the north line of land sold by Robert M. Marmon's heirs to Benjamin Shaots and the sixth to the south line of the survey. The second tract was conveyed by Sullivant to Isaac Zane, 2d, the third to Ebenezer Zane, the fourth to Alexander Long, the fifthi to William Zane, and the sixth to Robert Arm- strong. These conveyances seem to have been made by Sullivant during Zane's life- time. Zane also purchased from Sullivant the tract known as Survey No. 3,138, selling 400 acres (the south half) to Jarvis Daugh- herty, for $1,200. Ile paid the money received from Daughherty on the land, taking a title bond, he and his son-in-law, William Mc- Colloch, jointly binding themselves to obtain a deed and convey the premises to Daughherty. McColloch was killed in the war of ISI2, and Zane failed to finish paying for the land dur- ing his lifetime, and after his death, which occurred in the latter part of 1819, it was feared that Daughherty would lose not only the money he had paid on the land, but the improvements he had made. To add to his misfortunes, his mind became so much im- paired that he was scarcely capable of doing business. But through the intervention of friends, the sale of the lands in Champaign County was effected, the balance due Sulli- vant was paid, and he made Daughherty a deed and conveyed the remainder of the land to Mrs. McColloch, and Mr. James M. Reed,

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History of Logan County and Ohio, Part 57

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Battle, J. H; O.L. Baskin & Co Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin Number of Pages: 798

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Battle, J. H; O.L. Baskin & Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin
Number of Pages: 798