History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Part 78

Author: H. Z. Williams & Brothers
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 559

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Bakeries, etc .- James Kenworthy, Henry Neff, Henry Coons.

Hotel-Arlington House-J. P. & Will S. Fornshell.

Wagon Makers-J. B. Watt, Stephen Bertsch, Heze- kiah Gift. .

Blacksmiths-John R. McGriff, McShane & Brown, Alfred McGriff.

Agricultural Implements-F. I. Randall.

TAVERNS.

Among the very earliest tavern keepers were James Black, Stephen Payne, and the father of Ira K. Place. At a later time than the above Ezekiel Barnett (brother of David), kept a tavern where Morris' shoe store now is, in the same house that Place had originally opened for the entertainment of the wayfarer and stranger. In 1829 there were two other taverns beside this one. At the south end of town there was one kept by James More, and at the north end a house of which Reuben Bennett was the proprietor. The latter was succeeded by John Bennett. A man by the name of Stackhouse Huffman, a Virginian, and Jacob Webb, afterwards kept the Ezekiel Barnett hostelry, and when they passed from the scene the house was converted to other uses. From 1834 to 1840 there were a number of landlords in the tavern which stood where Mrs. Susan Pottenger now lives. Among them Patrick Goode and John Elliott. From 1833 to 1836 Eli Zimmerman kept tavern in a building on the west side of Main street. About 1844 the house in which Elliott and Goode had kept entertainment was sold to William Oldom, who kept it until 1864, with the exception of a few years, when William Oldom, jr. and Henry Oldom were its landlords. Christian Moots was in the business for a short time. Chauncey R. Carroll kept hotel about the time the railroad was commenced, in the house now owned by J. A. Huffman. After two years occupancy Mr. Carroll sold out to D. D. Brown. He sold to Ezra Potter, and the house was then used simply as a dwelling.

The Preble house was built in 1846 by Payne & Pot- ter. Dan Payne was its landlord from 1853 to 1868, and sold out to Maurice Doty, who carried it on for two years and then sold to S. J. Dauser, who is at present the owner. He conducted the hotel, and, for short periods, had it leased to others, but it did not prove a successful house, and in 1879 was closed and so re- mained.

The Arlington hotel, owned by J. P. and Will S. Forn- shell, is now the only house of public entertainment in the village, and is a very pleasant place for travellers to tarry, being in all respects well conducted. It was opened by the present proprietors in the summer of 1878, since which time their patronage has been steadily increasing, and has necessitated some enlargements and improve- ments. The Fornshells did not intend, originally, to go into the hotel business, but beginning by accommodating a few friends, soon found the business growing upon them, and ended by devoting themselves closely to it.

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PHYSICIANS.

In the earliest years of the settlement Dr. Walter Buell, of Eaton, was most frequently engaged when there was need of a physician, and in fact, it was very seldom that any other was seen in the township, though occa- sionally one would be called from Butler county. Dr. Buell had a very good practice in Somers township for many years, and continued to receive considerable patronage even after Camden had resident physicians.

A Dr. Day was in Somers township very early, and a Dr. Mount later, but neither remained long, or became prominent.

Dr. Ira A. Parker was the first physician in the village of Camden, concerning whom we have definite informa- tion. Just when he came to the settlement is unknown, but it must have been at a very early day. He was in practice for many years, and was quite a successful man in his profession. During the greater part of his career he practiced alone. A Dr. Miller was in partnership with him for a time, and afterward Doctors McWilliams and Lurton Dunham were associated with him.

Dr. McWilliams came to the town in the late "twen- ties" or early "thirties," and left in 1847. He was in command of quite a lucrative practice, most of which, after his removal in the year above mentioned, went to Dr. William R. Winton who settled in Camden at that time, and remained until 1851. He was able and prom- inent.

Dr. Lurton Dunham came to the village in 1832, and was in partnership with Dr. Williams until the removal of the latter in 1847. Afterwards he had as a partner, Dr. A. H. Stephens (for whose biography see Eaton history), and at a later date Dr. J. S. Ferguson. Dr. Dunham was very highly regarded both as man and physician, and he had a very large practice, which he found it difficult to get away from in his old age. He re- tired as far as possible, from active practice in 1867, and died three years later (November 28, 1870) at the age of about sixty-five years, having been born July 30, 1805. Dr. Dunham's popularity in a general way is evidenced by the fact that he was called upon to represent the county in the legislature, and was given several other offices of trust and honor. Dr. Dunham studied with Dr. Williams, and attended lectures at the Ohio Medical College of Cincinnati, from which he graduated. He was married in 1838, to Susan Jones.

Dr. Carroll came to the village in 1846, or the follow- ing year, and died not long after. Dr. Garret V. Hop- kins and Dr. Connor belonged also to this period. They were what was known as "steamers" or Thompsonian doctors.

Dr. Crews and Dr. Mendenhall came later, but neither of them long remained in the community. After them, and during the years 1859 to 1863, Dr. O. G. Potts and brother, both very good physicians, were in the town.

Previous to this time Dr. Robert Hamsher, now in practice, had located in Camden. He was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, September 30, 2822, and came to Ohio in 1847, locating in Sommerville, Butler county. He began reading medicine soon after, with Dr.

R. P. Carnahan, of Darrtown. He got a diploma from the Physio-Medical College of Cincinnati in 1852, and immediately afterward began practice in Camden, and has not since been absent from the town sufficiently to interrupt his practice, except for a short period, when he attended the Jefferson Medical College of Cincinnati, from which he took a diploma in 1870. He was married in . 1847, to Hetty Ann Dubois, of Franklin county, Indiana.

Dr. William Gilmore, now at Fair Haven, Preble county, was in practice in Camden in 1863 and 1864, and Dr. John Whittaker was in practice a short time, a few years later, but gave up, and went into the drug busi- ness at Cincinnati. Dr. Bruce, now of Eaton, was here a short time, as were also Doctors Brown and S. D. Dillman.

Dr. Zebulon Brown was a physician of ability, and would, doubtless, have been a permanent practitioner, and widely known in Preble county had it not been for his untimely death. He was born in Burlington, Hamil- ton county, and lived there until about six years of age, when the family was broken up by the death of his mother, and after considerable knocking around, young Brown went with his brother into Montgomery county, Indiana, and there assisted in clearing up a farm. He remained there working, studying and teaching until the war broke out, when he enlisted. After the close of the war he studied medicine, and graduated in 1868, at the Miami Medical College of Cincinnati. He commenced practice in Indiana, but not liking his location, returned to Ohio in 1869, and located at Sommerville, where he remained until 1870, when he came to Camden. He practiced here until his health entirely failed him in October, 1875, and died on the twenty-first of April, 1876. He was married October 19, 1871, to Olivia E. Pottenger, daughter of Wilson and Ellen Pottenger.

Dr. J. S. Ferguson began practice in Camden in 1865, as a partner of Dr. Dunham, and has been actively en- gaged in his profession ever since; since the death of Dr. Dunham, having no partner. He was born in Ox- ford, November 14, 1834, graduated at Miami university in 1857, and from the Ohio Medical college in 1861. In the same year he began practice at Summerville, where he remained until 1864, when he went into the army as assistant surgeon, attached to the One Hundred and Sixty-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer infantry. He remained in the service until the close of the war, after the regiment (one hundred days' men) was mustered out, going into the hospital service at Madison, Indiana. Upon the close of the war he located at Camden, where he now enjoys a very extensive practice. He married Sarah Bohn.

Dr. O. E. Francis, the third and youngest of the resi- dent physicians of Camden, like Dr. Ferguson, is of the allopathic school. He was born in Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, August 30, 1851. He attended the med- ical department of the University of Michigan in the fall of 1873, and afterwards the Ohio Medical college and the College of Medicine and Surgery, from which he re- ceived diplomas. Then, after practicing three years at

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Enterprise and Camden, he attended the Kentucky School of Medicine at Louisville, from which he gradu- ated June 28, 1878. He was married in 1873 to Lillian Woodsides.

HISTORY OF THE CAMDEN SCHOOLS .*

As to the early history of this school we can say but little. At quite an early date-in the first part of the present century-a school was organized in Camden. The first, of which we have any definite knowledge, was held in a log building erected on the lot, on which Susan Dunham's house now stands.

At about the same time a school was carried on in what is now known as Fowler's hall-the old Presbyte- rian church. A building was then erected on East Cross street, near the depot, in which school was conducted by William McMechen, and others, until the year 1853, when a large and commodious building was erected on West Cross street, at a cost of four thousand dollars. This building consists of four large rooms, and two halls of entrance, is located in the central portion of town, and is one of the finest school buildings in the county.

In 1877 it was reseated, at a cost of five hundred dol- lars, and at different periods, within the past few years, maps, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other books of reference have been added. The following persons have had charge of the schools, as superintendents, since 1853: From 1853 to 1865, Andrew Longnecker, Edward Kin- man, John Eastman, James Watt, A. McAdow, J. R. McCleaf, J. M. Wilson, Jehu King, and others; 1865 and 1866, B. F. Văn Ausdal; 1866 to 1868, C. F. Reece; 1868 and 1869, A. McAdow; 1869 to 1871, A. F. Eshel- man; 1871 and 1872, John Elder; 1872 to 1879, T. A. Pollok; 1879 and 1880, F. M. Davis; 1880 and -- , O. T. Corson.

Of this list of teachers, Professor T. A. Pollok, now superintendent of the Miamisburgh schools, deserves espe- cial credit for raising the schools to a high standard of excellence. During his administration many boys and girls attended school who are now successful teachers in different parts of this and adjoining counties, and who owe their success, in a large measure, to his careful and practical training.

Miss Lina Harris, the present primary teacher, has had charge of that department for the past seven years, and has proven herself to be a necessity in our community.

The schools have now entered upon another year's work, with fair prospects that it will a successful one. The enrollment is now one hundred and eighty, which will probably be increased during the school year to two hundred. The rooms are all crowded, and the probabil- ities are that an additional building will be erected next year, and a regular course of study prescribed.

The aim of the teachers is to do practical work, and thus produce practical scholars, capable of thinking and acting for themselves, and judging from the past history and present indications, one may reasonably predict for the Camden schools a prosperous future.

POST OFFICE AND POSTMASTER.

Newcomb post office was established May 26, 1824, and as the records at the post office department, at Washington show, its name was changed to Camden, September 9, 1835. Ira K. Place was the first post- master, and remained in office a long term of years -- until 1836. The receipts of the office, for the first quar- ter year after it was established, amounted to precisely three dollars and seventy-five cents. After the expiration of Mr. Place's term, Boyce Eidson was appointed post- master, and after him came J. H. Bohn, with Charles C. Walker as deputy. Charles C. Walker afterwards was ap- pointed to the office, and the following gentlemen occu- pied the position from the expiration of his term down to that of the present incumbent, viz: Amos W. Yoast, John H. Campbell, C. M. Roher, Lurton D. Jones, C. M. Roher. The last named gentleman held it, until his death, in 1878, when Mrs. Olivia Brown received the appointment. She is the present incumbent.

INCORPORATION.

Camden (or rather Newcomb, for so it was then called), was incorporated, by special act of the legislature, in 1832. The first corporation officers elected were: Ira K. Place, mayor; Philip Rizer, recorder (or clerk) ; and James Allred, Samuel Cornwell, George Burton, Eli Demoss, and Joseph Mitchell, trustees (or councilmen). At the first meeting of these municipal managers, Wil- liam Rizer was appointed treasurer, and Jonathan H. Potter, marshall. In 1833 the same mayor was in office, and the councilmen were: J. P. Achey, Samuel Mitchell, J. P. Hendricks, Phillip Rizer, and C. C. Bruce. Stephen Ingersoll was chosen clerk, and William McMahon, treasurer.

The successors of mayors from 1832 down to 1880, shows the following names: 1832, Ira K. Place; 1834, Phillip Rizer; 1836, Ira K. Place; 1838, Gassett V. Hop- kins; 1840, John Marsh; 1841, Charles C. Walker; 1843, R. M. Mitchell; 1845, Samuel Mitchell; 1847, Charles Guild; 1848, Ira K. Place; 1850, Dan Payne; 1851, Charles Guild; 1852, James F. Francis; 1853, Amos W. Yoast; 1855, John McCresty; 1856, Amos W. Yoast; 1858, Charles C. Walker; 1859, J. M. Sheafer; 1864, C. M. Roher; 1866, J. M. Sheafer; 1866 (six months), A. M. McAdow; 1867, C. M. Roher; 1869, I. E. Craig; 1872, W. B. Marsh; 1874, Jas. I. Thomas (present in- cumbent).

MASONIC.

Camden Lodge, No. 159, was organized May 18, 1848, with the following constituent members: Jonathan Crowley, Andrew Weist, Andrew Coffman, Charles C. Bruce, Jacob S. Showaster, Perry Hestle, John C. Camp- bell, Ebenezer P. Justin, John Brower, Daniel B. Corry, Harrison Perham, Isaac G. Eson, Samuel D. Clayton, and Adam C. Dean.

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS.

Western Star Lodge, No. 109, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was instituted June 8, 1848, its charter having been issued April 21st. Its original mem- bers were: A. W. Yoast, John C. Thomas, Samuel

*Supplied by Professor O. T. Corson.

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Hippard, Samuel M. Yoast, James A. Mitchell, Francis J. Pierce, James N. Boner, Samuel D. Clayton, and Samuel Collins. The fraternity now has a very com- fortable, and well furnished lodge room, and the lodge numbers about seventy-five members.

Camden Encampment, No. 177, was instituted July 14th, 1874, with the following charter members: David B. Holmes, Jas. W. Pottenger, H. I .. Robbins, Samuel W. Pottenger, Benjamin F. Williams, Joseph Sacks, and David Patton. The organization now has about forty 1 members.

Somers Lodge, Daughter of Rebecca, No. 125, was instituted July 27th, 1880, with the following members: O. P. Brown, S. W. Pottenger, R. T. Acton, F. M. Fowler, D. S. Bostwick, J. B. Watt, J. G. McShane, Frank Randall, J. A. Loop, A. H. Klopp, Wm. A. Snyder, John T. Fowler, Jas. H. Robinson, Wm. R. Patterson, W. A. Danner, John R. McGriff, J. S. Fergu- son, H. S. Robbins, Elizabeth S. Payne, Maggie E. Pot- tenger, Mary A. Earhart, Lida R. Brown, Elizabeth Mc- Griff, D. Lewellen.

TWIN.

This township is bounded on the north by Harrison, ! on the east by Montgomery county, on the south by Lanier, and on the west by Washington township. It received its name at a very early date, and is the name- sake of the most important creek and valley in Preble county. It has a population of one thousand nine hun- dred and sixty-one, and an area of twenty-two thousand one hundred and thirty-five and sixteen one-hundredths acres of land, valued at thirty-three thousand four hun- dred dollars. Owing to its fortunate location on Twin creek, it is among the most productive agricultural regions in Preble county. Its diversity of surface and consequent variety of soil make the raising of crops of all kinds an easy matter. The more elevated portions of the township, known as clay upland country, afford excellent territory for the growing of wheat, oats and barley, while the lower areas in the valleys of the streams bordered with rich, moist soil, afford a choice field for the cultivation of corn and tobacco. The leading indus- try of these low-land areas is the growing of tobacco, which has proved itself to be the most paying crop that can be raised.

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

The contour of the surface is wonderfully adapted to the wants of the resident farmer, as well as to the æsthetic taste of the wandering poet. The philosopher, upon taking a birds-eye view of Twin township, would note two very important elements in the panorama before him. The bright -sunlight in a clear sky would reveal to his poetic taste, wave after wave of beautifully diver- sified land, losing itself in the "classic shades" of Twin valley, and rolling eastward, wave after wave, beyond the confines of the township. The practical glance would reveal the wealth as well as the splendor of the scene. The fertility of the soil would be noted, and character of the productions would stand out in relief; and the whole landscape, broken by streams and dotted with well cultivated farms, fringed with native forest.

The land naturally arranges itself about the valley. of : Twin creek, which flows through the center of the town- ship. This valley is the deepest and broadest in the county, and, undoubtedly, the most important. It is the smoothest of the three principal valleys, and contains no bogs or swamps. The soil is black, and almost exclu- sively devoted to the cultivation of tobacco and corn. One of the most productive tobacco regions in the State is said to be along this valley. Though comparatively broad it is not very wide, and varies in width from three- quarters of a mile in the northern part of the township, to a mile and a half in the southern part. It is narrow- est in section ten. Twin creek was named by the In- dians long before the eye of the white man looked upon its rich valley.

The Indians, thoroughly acquainted with the country, observed that a little beyond the Indiana line there were two parallel streams flowing southward, the one called Westwater, a very sluegish stream, and the other known as Wildwater, because of its rapidity, especially during a rise. They also noticed that the stream flowing south through Miami and Montgomery counties was very simi- lar to the sluggish Westwater, and that its neighboring and parallel stream in Preble county corresponded in position and character with Whitewater. Correlating these four streams, they found that they had two pairs and two distinct characters of streams, and on this ac- count called the Preble county stream by an Indian name which signified that it was the twin of Whitewater. This is the legend of the Pottawatomies, who once dwelt along the banks of Twin creek. The valley has always been considered one of nature's health resorts. The Indians desired no better watering place. Before the white settlements they congregated here in large num- bers, and the last tribe which left Preble county, the Pottawatomies, spent their last night, April 30, 1805, near the beloved stream. As long as Twin valley was within the narrowing bounds of the Indian's freedom,

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he would, from time to time, come back, seeking the renewal of that health which he secured while a growing boy in Twin valley, and had lost in his later years in the miasmatic regions of the west. This valley was the In- dian's Nile, and subsequent settlers have found it one of the healthiest spots in the State. The ague is a stranger in the neighborhood of Twin, except, perhaps, in the northern part of the valley, where the land is somewhat swampy.

Four principal table lands control the drainage of the township, affording abundant supplies to Twin creek. That in the northwestern part, adjacent to Price's creek, in the vicinity of Brennersville, has a clay ridgy soil, with blue clay or "hard pan" almost touching the sur- face. The soil is a brown loam, somewhat rocky, but good when plowed. Of necessity this is a beech region, with a sprinkling of smooth bark hickory, and considera- ble numbers of sugar trees. Most of the gravel of the township is found in this part.

Land similar to this is found in the northern half of the township, east of Twin, between that stream and Rape's run. The soil here and in the northeastern cor- ner of the township is clay upland, and the forests abound in beech and oak timber, with some shell-bark hickory. More oak is found in the northeast corner than in any other part of the township.

The southeast quarter of Twin township used to be very low and flat, and in early times it was frequently flooded with two feet of water. There was fall enough for the water, but the accumulations of fallen timber held it back. Since this timber has been cleared away and the land thoroughly drained, a rich agricultural re- gion has been discovered with deep soil, black and dura- ble, well supplied with beech, sugar, burr oak, considera- ble red oak, and but little white oak.

Opposite this part, in the southwest quarter, is found a slight ridge, which lies between, and for a time separates Twin creek from its important tributary, Banta's fork. Here the growth of sugar trees is the heaviest in the county, and the surface is ridgy.

It is from these upland regions that Twin and its trib- utaries are supplied. Price's creek enters the township from the northwest at section six, and flows southwest through sections six, eight, sixteen, and in twenty-two, on the farm of James Banta, empties into Twin creek. Price's creek was originally called Cook's fork, after Jacob Cook, who first settled on it, on the farm of Jesse Royer, where the big spring is. Afterwards the stream took the name of Henry Price, who settled near it in Harrison township. In the southwestern corner is Banta's fork, named after Albert Banta, who was the first settler on the stream, where Jacob Peters afterwards settled. East of Twin creek, Rape's run from the northeast, and Les- lie's run along the southern half of the eastern township line, are the only important streams.

In general the ridges of the upland country are on the line which distinctly marks the junction of the Clinton or yellow limestone with the blue limestone. The blue limestone beneath is impervious to water, and the Clin- ton stone, just overlapping, is porous, and covered with

lines of fracture. Springs of water must, therefore, nec- essarily appear along the outcrop of the two formations. Investigation shows that springs do appear in this line, especially in the vicinity of Brennersville on Price's creek. On the farm of Jesse Royer, in section seventeen, there is a spring whose copions flow entitles it to the name Mammoth spring, which gives rise to one of the branches of the creek just east. When the proposed railroad was expected to be built through Brennersville the imaginary station received the name of Mammoth Spring. There is but little doubt this is the strongest spring of water in the county. Southeast of this parent spring, on the same farm is found nearly an acre of ground that fairly bub- bles over with minor springs, giving source to another branch of Price's creek, and finding its way thither through the stone quarry of J. O. Deem. There are numerous other springs in this neighborhood. Beginning at the northwestern corner of the township we find the second mammoth spring on the farm of Jonathan Cotterman, and another one on the farm owned by E. Marker, both in section six. In section eight there are five strong springs -one in the northwest quarter, three on the farm of Samuel Enoch, and one on Joel Smith's farm, Besides these there are other smaller springs. This line of springs marks a very productive country. Besides the limestone abounding in this region there is considerable sandstone. The sand, it must be understood, however, is lime sand.

The sothwestern and southern portions of Twin town- ship are traversed by the line of erratic rocks of granite formation, known as the

BOULDER BELT,

a belt brought down by the glaciers of the north, and scattered from the northwest to the southeast through the county. These boulders are very numerous in the corner of Twin township where they abound. A few years ago on the farm of David Potterf, in section thirty- three, near West Alexandria, no less than twelve hundred boulders were counted, whose diameters exceeded two feet. There are many of these large stones under ground. This surface stone quarry, although it interferes with ag- ricultural pursuits, has been very valuable in furnishing the solid foundations of buildings. Although an obstruc- tion, these boulders must not be lightly esteemed. Every farm in this belt has on and beneath its surface thou- sands of perches of valuable building stone. The form- ation of these boulders may be best seen in stone walls which are made from them. The mechanics who can split and trim these boulders are in demand; and there is no more durable or attractive fence than one made of boulders.

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History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Part 78

Author: H. Z. Williams & Brothers Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 559

Author: H. Z. Williams & Brothers
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 559