History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Part 26

Author: Chester E. Bryan
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1207

USA > Ohio > Madison County > History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions > Part 26

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).

EARLY HISTORY OF . SOUTH -SOLON.

The following history . of . South Solon, written by . Thomas Scott Cooper, was clipped from a recent issue of the London Enterprise :

"In about 1833 .. there lived within a mile or so of the crossing of the federal and Washington roads John K. Hutson, Jacob Smith, Samuel Harrod, David Harold, Griffith Thomas, Andrew Douglas, John Kelso, Noble Ladd and a Mr. Burley .. The site of the original village plot was a thicket of hazel brush, oak saplings, haw and plum; in fact, most of the territory now occupied by the village of South Solon: was then a bowl- ing wilderness.

"It was certainly a momentous occasion when those old settlers decided that it would be a good thing to start a town at the crossroads. We may imagine some of the arguments put forward in favor of the project-some were in the need of a gen- eral store, a hotel, a blacksmith, a shoemaker and a doctor, and there were other advan- tages they. expected to enjoy. After many conferences over the matter it was finally settled and a surveyor was employed to make the survey. We may be allowed to imagine a beautiful day in the spring, or early summer, rather, of the year 1833. All nature seemed. to be in repose, yet was never more alive. While the sun's rays glinted through the tree tops dispersing the dewdrops that hung pendant from the tips of the leaves, the air was redolent with the perfume of the many wild flowers that grew. in

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profusion alongside the road or in the wood bordering the same-the daisy, the butter- cup and the ivy, and then the wild plum and the haw, clothed in white, were seen inter- mingled with the hazel and briar thickets. Down in the low lands the dogwood bloomed. The hum of the wild bee, as it flitted from flower to flower, the cooing of the turtle dove, the chatter of the linnet and blue jay, the chirping of the young squirrel as it frisked about from limb to limb in the joy of living, and the lowing of distant kine were some of the sounds that broke the drowsy stillness.

ALL NATURE SEEMED TO. SMILE.

"The wild rose was beginning to open her petals to the sun, filling the air with the sweet aroma; the blue violet nodded 'neath the thorn trees' shade, and far off was heard the bay of the faithful watch dog, and the woodman's ax and blue wreaths of smoke ascending designated where some settler was busy clearing his land.

"All the elements of nature seemed to smile upon the undertaking at hand, as marking an epoch in the history of the world. And while we are meditating upon the glories of nature and the goodness of God in placing our lives in so goodly a land, two men came down the road from the west and halted at the crossing of the federal and Washington roads. They looked to be men of about thirty-five years of age. We recognize them as John K. Hutson and Andrew Douglas. They were soon after joined by Samuel Harrod and Thomas Ellis. While they were engaged in animated conversa- tion, gesticulating and pointing first one way and then another, three or four men, coming from the north, carrying a chain and compass, joined them. The one with the compass, I believe, was Patrick McLene, of London, and county surveyor.

"Without following them any further through the labors of that day we will refer the reader to the original plat, as surveyed and laid off that day-commencing at a point north of the federal road at lot No. 1, east to Washington road-eight lots with an eight-foot alley between each block of four lots. East of Washington road were laid out six lots with eight-foot alley between each block of three lots. On the south side of federal road, corresponding with above, were laid out fourteen lots, each lot being made fifty by one hundred and seventy-five feet. The main street was to be sixty feet wide. The plat does not show any provision for a rear alley nor space for side- walks, so I presume the sidewalks encroach on the road.

"The original town plat of Solon consisted of twenty-eight lots. The land upon which these lots were laid out belonged to John K. Hutson on the south side of the federal road, and on the north side to Samuel Harrod. My father lived near where the Pancake chapel now stands, but by 1850 I had become pretty well acquainted with the lay of the town: On lot No. 1, as described in the plot, stood a one-story log house; lots 2 and 3 were vacant; on No. 4 stood a one-story log house; on lot 5 was a two-story hewed log house; on No. 6 a one-story frame; lots Nos. 7 and 8 were owned by John Nolan and William Snyder , on lot 7 was a frame storeroom. On No. 8 two log cabins; on 9, where the Brant store is, was a two-story frame, part of it being used as a storeroom, but don't remember now who occupied it; the last house on that side was a small frame on lot 11.

"On the south side of the federal road, on lot 15, opposite lot 1, stood a one-story log owned and occupied by Hugh Orr; the next house standing on lot 19 was a double house, part log and part frame, built by one of the old pioneers by the name of Ray; on lot 20 a one-story frame; on lot 21 a one-story frame and a blacksmith shop; on lot 22 stood the old hotel, in which many a high jinks was played; they were supposed to issue out the best of liquors, and I presume it was of a better grade than is dealt in today, if there is any better to it; on lot 23 was a one-story log; 24, a real nice hewed log house; 25 and 26 were vacant lots; on 27 a one-story hewed log; on 28 two log cabins occupied by William Linville, an old saflor. North of lots 7 and 8 was quite a

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large frame building, at first used as a distillery and later as a grist-mill, owned and operated by Jacob Smith. I indistinctly remember the old log school house, which stood near where the Methodist Episcopal church now stands.

RAILROAD GIVES TOWN IMPETUS.

"When I first came into the immediate vicinity of Solon, in 1854, I do not believe it contained a population exceeding fifty persons, old and young, and its growth was very slow until after the railroad was put through in 1878. Since that time its progress has been quite noticeable in more ways than one. Many of the serious drawbacks to its physical and moral progress have been eliminated, and today we have as orderly and quiet a little town as there is in central Ohio. We have four church organizations, a township high school second to none in the state, a fine new school building with all the modern conveniences up to date, and a very efficient corps of teachers.

"From what I know by observations of the early days of South Solon, from about 1850, I believe I am safe in saying that the period from 1850 to about 1865 should be reckoned as the time of its lowest moral standard. After the close of the Civil War the citizens began gradually to get the upper hand in the fight for law and order, until today it is not healthy for the class that used to infest the place to be around. With the sentiment of our citizens in favor of law and order, and our efficient officers to enforce the same, we feel safe in guaranteeing the future prosperity and respectability of our village.

"After the town was laid out, the question arose as to what it should be named. The people could not agree on a name, and it was decided to consult Judge Harrold, he being a man of wide experience and eminent learning, and John K. Hutson was dele- gated to consult him. Mr. Harrold suggested the name of Solon, in honor of the great Grecian lawgiver of that name. The suggestion was accepted, and for the reason that there was already a Solon in the northern part of the state it was called South Solon.

"The first storekeeper was John Nolan; first blacksmith, Andrew Douglas; Arst physician, John Zimmerman, a quadroon. Pottawatomie Indian. He was a Christian preacher, moved from here to Summerford and organized the first Christian church. I remember seeing him only a few times.

"This town has grown since I first knew it from a population of about fifty to near five hundred today. Property values are increasing, and the demand for new building lots is becoming urgent. I could go on and write of many scenes and inci- dents that I know of and witnessed during my acquaintance with the community, some pathetic and others reprehensible, but deem it inexpedient, as perhaps it would not interest the general public. If in these feeble efforts I have been so happy as to enter- tain The Enterprise readers ever so little, I am content."

MEYERS AND RUPERT.

There are only two villages in Union township, outside of the town of London. These are Meyers and Rupert. The former is on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis railroad, about four miles west of London. There is nothing at present of the town except a railroad switch. Rupert is east of London,' between the former town and Lilly Chapel. There are a few houses and the business interests of the town are taken care of by E. E. Summers, who has a general store and blacksmith shop.

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CHAPTER XIX. TOWN OF LONDON.

The following is an article taken from the Woman's Edition of the London Times of April 30, 1914, and it is regarded as quite certain that no better article than . this could be written as a preface to the history of that town:

LONDON : ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. By Sallie Dooris.

The history of London is yet to be written. Old times are becoming mere traditions. With the passing years things as they' "used to be" are vanishing in the mists of for- getfulness.

London needs a historian who will wrest from the shadows of the past the life, manners and customs of the early settlers, giving to them concrete form, showing the true worth and work of the old pioneers, who lived in the beginning of Madison county and London history.

To live, to work, to be happy, to suffer, to die and be forgotten, is bitterness indeed. To the Christian there is bliss unspeakable in the hope of immortality. There is a les- ser, more earthly joy not alien to the heavenly, in the longing for remembrance in one's home county after this fitful life is over. For this, records are kept, biographies writ- ten, histories compiled. Who will be London's historian?

THE ACCOMMODATING MR. M'LENE.

The story is told that Patrick McLene, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, was commissioned to lay out the village of London. This he did . in 1810. Inheriting traits from across the sea, where it rains if you look up at the sky; or, in other words, rain falls twenty- nine out of the thirty days, he was determined that the inhabitants of the hamlet, named after the great English metropolis, should have, weather permitting, sunshine in every room of every house some part of the day, which accounts for our streets not running according to the point of the compass, due north and south, east and west. Mr. McLene accomplished his purpose so well that strangers, first coming to the town, are at a loss to determine in what direction to look for the rising and setting of the sun. But all the same, the sun performs its glorious mission of dispelling microbes and malaria, and to him, a hundred years later, we take off our hats.

In 1810 Ohio was included in the "Far West,' 'a vague region, sparsely inhabited and full of possibilities for the seeker of adventure and the man of slim purse. Land was cheap and plenty of the best could be bought for thirty-seven and one-half cents an acre; inferior as low as twelve and a half cents. . People came from the east and south in covered wagons that looked like schooners with a coarse dirty white sunbonnet drawn over them. These wagons carried the entire worldly possessions and household goods, besides the parents and children. A pair of horses, sometimes an ox team, drew them. By 1812 London boasted six or eight families. Life was on the most primitive lines. Madison county is a high table land between the Miami and Scioto rivers. London, according to the railroad survey, is three hundred and eighty-nine feet higher than Columbus. When the early settlers came most of the land was under water. Ponds were numerous, wild fowl abounded, ague and malaria as a matter of course. The

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spirit of enterprise was strong. The forests were cleaned, ponds and swamps drained, the land reclaimed. ..

TRUNDLE-BED .AND GREASE-LAMP TIME.

Log cabins of one room were the first houses. The family cooked, ate, slept in that one room and thanked God for a roof to cover them. A four-post bed with a corded bottom supported a tick filled with straw; on top perhaps was'a feather bed. At night a child was tucked in at the foot; and if father and mother were long of limb, the poor youngster got many a prod. The trundle-bed, kept beneath the larger one, was drawn out in the twilight and the larger children were sent to bed with the chickens.

Nature was prodigal of her lights in these early times and babies were plentiful. Each cabin was a "plant" in miniature. Nearly every house boasted a weaver's loom, spinning wheels being part of the furniture. Sheep were kept to afford wool for the winter clothing. Flax was a usual crop and every stage of its preparation gone through with on the farm to fit it for being woven into linen for the household's wear. In the long winter evenings the light from the wide-mouthed fireplace illuminated the room. For more particular tasks, a grease lamp was hung on the wall, containing any kind of rendered fat that was most convenient, sometimes lard or drippings, the wick a bit of old linen or a strip of flannel. Work was work in those days. Verily they rose up early and sat up late and ate the bread of carefulness. Every occupation that is now performed by machinery was done by hand in those days Shoes were worn in the winter by parents, if well-to-do; also in summer. The older children were generally shod, at least in cold weather, but it was a common sight to see little boys barefoot all the year.

For pleasures, there were corn huskings just the kind that laborers get two dol- lars a day for now, and considered hard work; apple cuttings, quiltings, barn raisings, pastimes of a laborious sort. The first church in London was a Methodist meeting- house. It was of logs and stood on the southwest corner of Walnut and Fifth streets. occupied at present by a double frame dwelling house. Diagonally across the road was the Methodist graveyard, long since abandoned, at present converted into ates of mod- ern residences.

OLDEST HOUSE' IN LONDON.

What is considered to be the oldest house in London was formerly built by the Presbyterian body as a place of worship. It stands on the southwest corner of Oak and Fifth streets, a tribute to the good workmanship and stanch oak timbers of long ago. The Presbyterian burying ground was far out of the town, but the last resting place of these early forefathers and mothers, like that of the Methodist brethren, was disturbed by modern advancement and the secred ground has been taken for secular use.

As time progressed, the grease-lamp on the kitchen wall was not sufficient to light the house. From one room the demands of the family required more space, additions were made. sleeping apartments were built on, and then the candle dip was evolved. They were made of strands of candle wick, dipped and re-dipped in a kettle of boiling water and tallow. It was a slow and laborious process, this dipping and cooling and re-dipping until the requisite size was attained. Dozens and dozens would be made at a time, sufficient for half a year at least.

When ready for use they resembled a long icicle and were placed in candlesticks, the thick end in the socket. By this light, the family sewing and quilting was done and other avocations during the long winter evenings. Where did the tallow come from that made the dips? Once or twice a year a beef was slaughtered to provide meat for the family or community. The suet was "tried out" and great cakes of tallow were produced for the candle dipping and other domestic uses. Then some genius invented candle molds. the candle dip disappeared, giving way to "molded candles." A

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mold, with compartments to make anywhere from three to twelve candles at a time, was a grand improvement and lightened labor. Many an attic in our London homes can count among the banished relics, candle molds that ought to adorn a museum. Snuffers were a necessity and the early instruction of children included how to snuff candles properly, for if not careful it was an easy matter to snuff the candle out, and then where would one be!

Mrs. Lucy Beach remembers when a child, attending evening service at the Metho- dist church in Lafayette and seeing Brother Joseph Bradley, of sainted memory, going up one side of the meeting house and down the other, while the hymn was being sung, snuffing the candles and joining in with fervor "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed," the congregation taking it as a matter of course.

"UNCLE SAMMY" DAVIDSON.

Mr. Samuel Davidson, better known as "Uncle Sammy," was born in 1812. He could tell of the time when men's clothes were fastened with books and eyes, not like the diminutive things worn now-a-days by women, but great strong ones an inch or so long. Uncle Sammy kept a diary from his early manhood days to shortly within a few months of his death in 1901. It is to be regretted that the passing of events as noted by him is not accessible, as much of interest could be culled from its pages for the benefit of the present generation and those to come.

"Going visiting" was an important item. Formal invitations setting the day and hour, as we do now, were unknown. "Come and see me" expressed volumes. It meant the latch string was out and the "big and little pot" would be put on. When the plough- ing and spring planting were done, or the harvest over and a lull came in the work, then the springless wagon would be brought forth, the axles greased, a litter of straw or sweet smelling hay would be plentifully sprinkled in the bottom, the old gray mare harnessed in and the entire family would sally forth to swoop down on some relative or acquaint- ance, four or five miles away. On their arrival there would be a hearty welcome, the men herding off to themselves, the children to the barn or yard, and the women sitting down to a good gossip. Before noon there was a squawking and squealing of chickena that would be later served up with the crow scarcely out of their throats. And oh! such a dinner. Everything on the table at once. It was a drop-leaf table, too-none of your extension sort. A snowy homespun linen cloth of the mistress' spinning and weaving. Napkins were unknown. There would be chicken and mashed potatoes and tomatoes and soda biscuit and jelly and pickle and three or four kinds of pie, with a bottom crust as thick as a board and shortened with lard. Then there were butters of all sorts, at least six or seven kinds. Last of all the preserves; usually quince, the color and consistency of leather and eaten with rich cream. There was no dyspepsia those days but dinners such as described were surely the forerunner of later woes.

When the dishes were washed and placed on the dresser shelves, the women had the house to themselves and the real entertainment, from a feminine point of view, began. Then it was the old chests would be opened and patch-work quilts, many-hued and gorgeous, displayed. Proud was she who could show the "Flying Star," done in blue and white. The "Sunflower" quilt, the "Tulip" quilt in red and yellow calico. The "Nine Patch," "The Irish Chain" and many, many others. The quilting was beautifully fine and represented millions of stitches put in by hand. When the visitors' eyes were sufficiently dazzled by the display, the hostess' dresses were next on view. If the hus- band was a "good provider" and allowed his helpmeet the "hen and butter money," there would be at least a dozen gowns, wrong side out, hanging on nails driven into the whitewashed wall. Calico dresses, stuff dresses, at least one "all wool delaine," a "cashmere" dress and among the "400" an "oll-boiled" black silk, sacred to weddings and usually the burying robe, when life's tasks were ended.

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PUBLIC LIBRARY, LONDON

LADIES' PARADE, CENTENNIAL HOME-COMING CELEBRATION, LONDON, 1911

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THE COAL OIL LAMP.

Following the molded candles, the acme of illumination was reached when civiliza- tion introduced that wonder of wonders, the "coal oil lamp!" Evil smelling though it was, it seemed to have descended with some of the radiance of heaven. It was kept on a center table along with the Holy Bible and album in a sacred apartment called "the room," kept shut for six days and on the seventh opened up for sister and her "beau." Passing time forbids dwelling on that halcyon period.

As the town grew its boundaries as platted by Mr. McLene, widened and nearby pasture and farm lands were swallowed up in its environs. Mr. William Crawford Min- ter, father of Mrs. George Van Wagner came to London in 1829 when a boy of thirteen years. He remembers when Elm street was a swampy tract, through which a corduroy road led to the wilds of the country. The splendid elm tree which gives the present street its name, was nearly as large then as it is now. That was eighty-five years ago. It is interesting to note that the late Mr. William Chandler had the honor of naming this street.

Mr. Jonathan Arnett, who passed away in 1904, remembered the time when the country girls and boys came to town. They walked barefooted until they reached this tree, when they sat down under its shade and put on their shoes and stockings and made their grand entry. This fine old tree has been a landmark for generations, measured around the trunk, about three feet from the ground, its girth is fifteen feet. It has been hacked and sawed and chopped and badly treated. Its branches have been lopped off to make room for telegraph and telephone lines. .. Its life has been threatened again and again. . But amid all the trials and destructions and desecrations it has passed through at the hand of man, the birds build in its branches and sing their matins and vesper praise. The winds whisper sweet messages of comfort through its leaves. Nature is kind to her child, for neither storm nor tempest or thunderbolt of lightning has ever marred its beauty. Only man is the sinner. Out Elm street way is another grand old elm measuring over fifteen feet in circumference. . Unlike the first-named tree, it has had a happy existence, growing in the rear of the premises occupied by J. P. Skinner, few know of its whereabouts .. Early in the past century this part of London was a pond, and when wash day came the women from all around brought their baskets and kettles of strong soft soap and dld their washings there, drying their laundry on the grass and the nearby bushes. Ah, me! life was young then.

Speaking of elm trees, the finest of all is growing in the grounds of Mrs. Emmelyn Richmond, at her beautiful home, rightly named, "Elmwood." This splendid specimen towers aloft skyward, shapely and symmetrical. Three feet from the ground its circum- ference is thirty-one feet. Under its protecting shade children have played for genera- tions, among the number being General Darius Warner, of St. John's, New Brunswick, who, when a lad, was a frequent visitor of his grandfather Warner, who lived close by. A POPULAR PICNIC GROUND.

To settle the question how elm trees are propagated, the writer sent a letter of inquiry to the Ohio agricultural experiment station at Wooster, Ohio, receiving the fol- lowing reply :

"Wooster, Ohio, April 9, 1914.

"Elm trees do not grow from cuttings. The only way the age of a tree may be determined is by cutting it and counting the rings.

"Some of our elm trees are as old as 200 years, but the average elm does not live that long, especially in our cities. The original forest elms also grow to 300 years of age, but the average life is 200 or 250 years.

"Very truly yours, EDMUND SECBEST, Forester."

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It were vandalism indeed to mutilate or cut down such splendid trees. They link us to the past. If tree surgery can prolong their length of days, let it be applied, no matter what the trouble or cost.

Just opposite Mrs. Richmond's residence, in the early days, was a tract of woodland, where children loved to pick the first spring flowers. It was a popular picnic ground; Fourth of July celebrations were held there, and much good oratory and patriotism were poured forth on such occasions. It, too, has been absorbed and comfortable homes and pretty villas occupy the spot.

There are those living who remember the time when some of our prettiest streets were only a foot-path in the trampled grass. Then plank walks appeared to give way to brick pavements. Those, too, have disappeared, and concrete is the vogue; we cannot but wonder what next?

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History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Part 26

Author: Chester E. Bryan Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1207

Author: Chester E. Bryan
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1207