USA > Ohio > Richland County > History of Richland County, Ohio, from 1808 to 1908, Vol. I > Part 40
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59
Judge William Gass, who settled in Troy township in 1812, was the father of the late Colonel Isaac Gass, and Samuel Davis, who settled on the northeast quarter of section 11 in 1825, was the father of the Hon. Henry P. Davis, of Mansfield.
Grist and saw mills were erected on the Clearfork in 1812-14, and con- tributed largely to the business of the new settlement, and stores of general merchandise were opened at Lexington by William Darnell and J. F. Adams. Each succeeding year brought new settlers, and in time all the land in Troy had been entered, and town and township grew apace with the other sections of this part of north central Ohio.
In the religious field the Rev. Henry George was the first minister in Troy, and he did an itinerant work, preaching in different places. He was a stone mason and worked at his trade during the week. Pioneer preachers were worthy and useful members of those carly settlements. They seldom received any salary from their congregations, but, nevertheless, they carried the "Banner of the Cross" along the borders of the wilderness, notwithstand- ing the dangers that beset them. Some of them may have been faulty in their English and may occasionally have said "had went." as was said in . a fashionable Ohio pulpit during the year last past.
In 1816 the Rev. George Van Eman, a Presbyterian minister. began preaching at Lexington, and the first church building was erected by that denomination in about 1831.
Several denominations soon had organized societies in Troy, among the number being the Old School, the New School and the United Presbyterians.
388
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
the Baptist, the United Brethren, the Universalists and the Methodists. The township, outside of Lexington, had its churches also. A United Presbyterian Church was built a mile and a half northwest of Lexington and was called "Troy church." A mile north of Troy the Methodists had a church called "Fairview." Each is now numbered among the "has beens."
The Congregational Church at Lexington was organized as a New School Presbyterian society in 1844 by the Rev. James B. Walker, who later served as pastor of the Congregational Church at Mansfield. The Rev. Mr. Walker was a writer of note of both prose and poetry. His "Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation" and other works treating of nature and revealed religion were republished abroad in several languages. "The Angel Whisper" and other poems gave him a high place as a poet. While Mr. Walker was successful as a minister and parishioners may feel pride in having a pastor who has literary ability, whatever fame a minister may win in that line is usually attained at the expense of his ministerial vocation. But few men are endowed with the two-fold ability of succeeding in the ministry or in the law and also in literature. The Rev. Mr. Walker was an exception to this rule.
The Rev. James Johnson, who was pastor of the United Presbyterian Church in Mansfield from 1821 to 1852, also preached for several years for the Troy congregation. The Rev. Mr. Johnson was a remarkable man, being of fine presence and address, an indefatigable worker and an eloquent speaker. He died in 1858.
Noah Cook, who came to Troy township in 1814 and died in 1834, did much in those intervening twenty years to promote religious interests. Upon one occasion when he held service in a country school house, no one came to attend the meeting, but he did not permit that to disconcert him. A passer-by heard him singing and stopped to listen. Mr. Cook then read and prayed and preached as though the benches were auditors with ears to hear and souls to save. The report of this meeting was noised about with the result of good congregations at subsequent services. Noah Cook was a soldier in the War of the Revolution. He was also a soldier in Colonel Crawford's ill-fated expedition, and encamped at the big spring, where Mansfield now stands, in 1782.
In the grand galaxy of ministers for which Troy has been noted, the Rev. Orville L. Cook, of the present day, must not be omitted. The Rev. Mr. Cook is the son of Carter L. Cook and a descendant of Pioneer Noah Cook. He is a young man of fine ability, who by his distinctive individuality, earnest work and eloquent words has won a success in the ministry that few men ever reach. For several years he was the pastor of the Christian Church at Lexington.
In pioneer times religious services were frequently held in the log cabin homes of the settlers. At one of these cabin meetings an amusing incident occurred, for amusing things do sometimes take place even at devout religious services, and as the incident referred to was followed by good results, its narrative is permissible. Although it is vouched for by an old resident as having occurred in these parts, it flavors somewhat of a Wilson Lee story, the
389
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
principal change being in the venue. The children of the family in whose home the meeting was held had a pet lamb that had been taught to "butt." The children would make motions at it with their heads and the lamb would dart forward at them and then they would jump aside to avoid being hit. Upon this occasion a man came to the meeting in a somnific state of intoxica- tion. He quietly took a seat near the door and was soon asleep. The pet lamb was in the house and, seeing the man nod, mistook the motion as a challenge for a butting contest, and butted the sleeper over on the floor, to the consternation as well as the amusement of the audience. That was the last time the man was intoxicated, and some time after the incident he united with the church and became one of its most useful members.
The residents of Troy township have always had faith in their country and contributed to its advancements and its achievements. With pardonable pride they say, "We are Trojans," Thebes and Babylon passed into oblivion because they had no poet to sing their praise and no writer to record their history. But the history of Troy township and the valor and gallantry of her sons, and the grace, beauty and accomplishments of her daughters have been graphically portrayed and faithfully sketched by Correspondent Moore, whose versatile pen kept the readers of the Mansfield News fully informed of people and events in that vicinity for a long time. He is now dead.
In the list of interesting localities in Troy township, King's Corners has an important place. In the years that are past 'Squire Jacob King was an influential and prominent resident of that locality, and the "Corners" "' were named in his honor. He was the father of J. J. King, of Mansfield. 'Squire King built a saw mill on the branch of the Clearfork that runs a short distance south of the corners. This mill was a valuable industry in its time and was operated for a number of years.
James Summers, who was county recorder in 1844-47, built a large brick residence upon his farm at the Corners. This house was one of the largest and best of its kind in the county at the time it was built. Since Recorder Summers' time the house has been owned by the Maxwells for two genera- tions. It is now the residence of D. C. Maxwell.
John W. Needham, father of Jerry Needham, settled near the locality known as the "jog," over sixty years ago.
Troy township was a favorite hunting ground for the Indians and later for the pioneers. But the bears and the deer have gone and only the smaller game remain. Among the latter the raccoons still hold a place, but their number is limited.
The raccoon is a carniverous mammal, somewhat larger than the fox, and originally inhabited most parts of the American continent and abounded particularly in this part of Ohio. The animal lodges in hollow trees, feeds . occasionally on vegetables, and its flesh is palatable and its fur is deemed valuable next to that of the beaver. A sketch of coon hunting in the past, before Cy Gatton introduced modern methods, may be of interest to the reader.
In the old-time way of coon hunting a trained dog was indispensable. In the selection of a dog for the sport it was not thought best to choose a
390
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
hound, as its persistence in "giving tongue" warns the raccoon of his danger, and gives that crafty little animal ample time to seek safety in the hollow of some high tree, the size and value of which would prevent the hunter from cutting it down. A good coon dog will not follow the trail of a rabbit when hunting the coon; but many a dog about whose ancestry there clusters much uncertainty. develops into a remarkable "coon dog." Some of these dogs are very keen scented and will follow the trail of a raccoon over the ground where the scent of rabbits and other animals is encountered every few yards. A well-trained dog of the old days would take large circles and skirt along the edge of the woods that bordered on the cornfields, never giving tongue until their approach to the coon was so close that it would try to escape by climbing the nearest tree, and then the frantic barking of the dog would proclaim to the hunter that the "game was up"-up a tree. If the tree was small, so much the better; the animal was either shaken off the tree, and the dog given an opportunity of testing his metal, or else the coon was shot, and the dog allowed to be in at the finish. It often happened that the tree was large, and then the scientific part of coon hunting was brought into play. This was called "shining the coon," which was done by placing a lantern upon the head of one of the hunters, who would walk around the tree until the reflection of the light located the game. The coon is a tricky animal, especially if he be an old timer; he would take to rail fences across streams, run along the bottom of shallow streams and jump long distances. The time for coon hunting was in October, when they would visit cornfields for food at night. A\ coon pelt was worth from one dollar to one dollar and fifty cents in the market. Sometimes a dog would blunder upon one of those little animals that have large, bushy, black tails and a white stripe down the back, when the odor that filled the night air and enveloped the dog, convinced the canine that he was in the vicinity of a different kind of game.
Al Moore, for many years the Lexington correspondent of the Mansfield Daily News, in one of his communications to that paper referred as follows to the famous snake of that neighborhood and to the snake deed:
"The existence of the monster reptile, which inspired people here with so much terror in the dim and distant past, had almost faded from the memory of those yet living here who were cognizant of the fabulous tales told about the reptile. But A. J. Baughman's reference to the famous snake deed of Allen B. Beverstock, deceased, in his interesting article in the News, brought vividly to their memory the fear and excitement that long prevailed about the reptile. It lurked in the dismal swamp near the town and it would emerge from the swamp and pursue its sinuous course through the meadows and public highway. Its size and appearance were variously described accord- ing to the intensity of the fear and elasticity of the imagination of those who claimed to have seen it and heard its loud hissing and bellowing. Its length was variously estimated at from ten to fifteen feet, and some described it as having huge, blazing eyes, a forked tongue and several tails. Its body was mottled with black, green and yellow, and on its back was a row of sharp spines. It has been seen entwined along fences and about trees and it moved over the ground fleet as a man. It is said to have gorged itself with sheep
391
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
and hogs and squads of men with guns would grope cautiously about to kill the reptile. The most sensible people gave credence to the wild tales of nar- row escapes made from the reptile and they avoided its haunts lest it strangle them in its slimy coils and swallow them and their fate would ever remain a mystery to their sorrowing friends."
ALTA.
Alta lies southwest of Mansfield four miles from the city, by rail. It is a siding and coaling station on the B. & O. and is the highest point on that road between the Alleghany mountains and Chicago, having an elevation of over 700 feet above Lake Erie.
Alta is on the "divide." Here the Toby branch of the Rocky Fork has its source, and on the south rise the waters of the Lexington branch of the Clearfork of the Mohican.
While Alta station has but little importance aside from its railroad con- nections, a stretch of Altanian country extends to the southwest, beautiful and fertile, and abounding in family associations and replete in local histories.
This Altaic country has a rolling surface of pleasing aspect and the sky seems to reach down at the horizon and kiss the rim of ridges that nearly encircle the plateau-like valley.
SHELBY SETTLEMENT.
Bethlehem, or the Shelby Settlement, is situate about two miles south- west of Vernon Junction. The locality is often called the "German Settle- ment," as the majority of the residents are Germans, or of German descent. At this settlement the Rev. J. M. Henni organized a parish of the Roman Catholic communion in 1823. The church is called the "Sacred Heart of Jesus." Father Henni later became archbishop of Milwaukee. Not only in Richland county, but all over the American continent, the Catholic Church has been fully abreast of other religious bodies in missionary, educational and charitable work.
The first members of the Settlement parish were Matthias Ulmcheider, Joseph Kurtzman, Joseph Wensinger, Heinrich Dollinger, John Ritschlin, Theobald Singer, Carl Sutter, Mr. Heitsman, Mr. Richerd, Sebastian Scheibley, Gottleib Schuble, John Brodmann, Joseph Miller, Morris Keller, Mr. Ebner, Mr. Hinsky, Frederick Christian, Nicholas Bieglin and John Bomgardner.
Forty acres of land where the church stands was entered and deeded to the trustees and their successors. A part of this tract was subsequently sold. The land still owned by the parish is in use for the parochial buildings and cemetery.
At his first visit (1823) Father Henni found sixteen Catholic families in the "Settlement." The excellent land and the prospect of having a church built, induced others to locate there, and when Father Henni made his second visit, a year or two later, the number of families had increased to thirty. For several years services were held in the log cabins of the settlers by visiting priests. In 1836 a log church was built, which served its purpose until 1852.
392
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
when it was supplanted by a brick building, forty by eighty feet, which was then one of the best of its kind in the county.
The Rev. F. A. Schreiber, now of St. Peter's, Mansfield, was the pastor at the "Settlement" from 1890 to 1898, and during his pastorate there the long-cherished project of building a new church in keeping with .the growth of the parish was begun under Father Schreiber's direction. The corner stone was laid by Bishop Horstmann on May 29, 1892, and the same prelate dedicated the splendid church on September 15, 1895. The occasion was a day of supreme joy for Father Schreiber, whose able management of the building affairs was seconded by the generosity of his devoted parishioners. The new church has a length of one hundred and forty-eight feet and a width of forty-eight feet, is of Berea cut stone, of Gothic architecture, and is doubtless the finest country church in the Cleveland diocese. Among the generous donors, Simon Metzer, Sr., and the late Elizabeth Brotmann should hara special mention. The Rev. Father Kuebler is now pastor of the Settle- ment parish.
GATTON'S ROCKS.
"Upon the comely wooded mount I stand, Where erst of old the simple huntsman stood ; I see about me far and wide expand The scenes of hill and valley, field and wood."
Cowper wished for a lodge in a wilderness, and a number of Mansfield families, sharing with the poet this desire for seclusion, have cottages at Gatton's Rocks, about half-way between Bellville and Butler, where they spend a considerable part of their time during the summer months. The location is an admirable one and combines the practical with the romantic.
Several of the cottages are of rustic exterior, but within all are modernly furnished and equipped. They stand in a row on the top of the knoll, with a street or promenade between them and the brow of the cliff, which is almost perpendicular in its declivity to river ninety-six feet below. Back of the buildings is a road or driveway, extending down with gentle slope to Gatton's ford, above which a suspension bridge one hundred and eighty-five feet in length spans the river.
The elevation upon which the cottages stand is a detached oblong bluff on the north side of which is the precipitate declivity to the river already mentioned; on the south side the slope is more gradual, terminating in a valley coursed by a smaller stream. The bluff is covered with primitive forest trees-oak, hemlock and other varieties-affording ample shade and romantic seclusion.
The Clearfork at the suspension bridge is one hundred and twelve feet wide and about four feet deep, ample volume for boating and fishing. Bass and carp abound in the stream. Across the river from the Rocks is a beautiful valley or plain containing perhaps two thousand acres and extending from Bellville to Butler, and is one of the most fertile in Ohio. And the people of that valley are descendants of old-time families and bear honored names. Before the settlement of Richland county by white people, this Clearfork
GATTON'S ROCKS
GATTON'S ROCKS AND COTTAGES
395
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
valley was a favorite hunting ground of the Indians, who had annual outings there, as our people have now. The valley was so noted for its game that long after the evacuation of Greentown, squads of Delaware Indians would re-visit this locality for their annual hunt. The last of their annual feasts was attended by John Gatton, Sr., and Joe Haynes, his kinsman and hired inan. Tom Lyons, "old leather lip," who had taken a bloody part in Wyom- ing massacre, was there, drunk and loquacious. He boasted that he had ninety-nine scalps on his belt, and that he wanted one more to make an even hundred. He stated that it was he who had killed Isaac Mericles, who had been murdered a short time before at Willow Bend, and whose murderer up to that time had not been known. This admission enraged young Haynes, who publicly vowed to avenge his uncle's death. This rash avowal made a tumult in the camp and tomahawks flashed in the camp-light. Gatton pre- vailed on Haynes to withdraw to avoid bloodshed and they left the camp. A few days later Tom Lyons and Joe Haynes disappeared. But the purpose of this reference to the affair is not to give or repeat stories and theories of their fate, but to simply show that the locality has a history dating back into the past.
Again the summer holds the hills and valleys in garbs of green. Her cloud-fleets sail through the azure sky as gracefully as they did fifty years ago when the writer-then a Bellville boy-angled in the stream at Gatton's Rocks and hunted wintergreen on the bluff where the Mansfield cottages now stand. Fifty years! What events have taken place in that half-century! What a terrible struggle our country passed through to preserve our national unity ! The thousands and tens of thousands of graves that have grown green this spring-time tell of the Civil War, of the soldiers who fought and died for "one country and one flag." Monuments and headstones in Beulah cemetery at Bellville and elsewhere show where soldiers rest whose earthly warfare is over.
But nature, as if she took no part in earthly wars or in human sorrow ; as if it were her's to lift humanity to the consciousness of immortality in herself renewed, wears today all youthful verdure of her May days of fifty years ago. The fleecy clouds sail through the air as of old and encircling hills cover their brows with veils of tender green; the hemlocks distill their frankincense and the deciduous trees flutter their leaves as new and unsullied as they did in the years that are gone.
"When life is like the shadows, swift and faint, That dim the valley and are seen no more; Eternal hills are here, the rocks and stream Themselves survive the race that pass as in a dream."
Barring sentimental retrospection, those fifty years have brought forth inventions and improvements that are today the servants of men. The Balti- more & Ohio railroad courses through the valley and it is an interesting moving-picture to see long trains of cars wind around graceful curves as they speed over the rails, but the road is a utility as well, for four passenger trains stop daily at the Gatton's Rocks station for the convenience of the public. The telephone companies have strung wires to the cottages. In addition to the
396
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
railroad, telephone, free mail delivery and other utilities and facilities, gro- cery and meat wagons make daily trips from Bellville to the rocks, and milk, butter and fruits are produced and grown in the neighborhood.
There are more than a dozen springs of good water on the Gatton farm, but the cottages have a well ninety feet deep, cut through solid rock, from which they get cool water, pure and soft. Surely, Gatton's Rocks, both in location and environment, is all that could be desired as a summer resort.
The view from the camp is entrancing. In the distance hill tops notch the horizon and lift their green crowns through the clear, soft atmosphere of these summer days into the azure sky.
"I leave the place, it closes on my view.
Back to the busy world I go; fair camp, adieu."
SHENANDOAH.
Shenandoah is in the southeast part of Blooming Grove township, and was laid out in June, 1844, by William and George Altorfer, of Virginia, and was named after the far-famed valley of their native state. The land upon which Shenandoah was platted is the southeast quarter of section 24, and had previously been owned by Robert Cummings, and was sold by him to the Altorfers. The first house erected upon the town site was a hewed, log build- ing, and was used as a hotel for a number of years, and of which Standard Cline was at one time the landlord. Jacob Bushey erected the second house and John Valentine the third. Bushey and Cline were shoemakers. John Niman opened a blacksmith shop, and William Hisey a pottery. John Sanker a wagon shop and conducted the business for years. Edward Hall had a store of general merchandise and was the first postmaster. The most important industry in the village was McClain's rake and handle factory, which was successfully operated for a number of years. Andrew J. Beelman engaged in carriage building, but in latter years, after factory-made vehicles were shipped over the country and crowded hand-made work out of the market, Mr. Beelman devoted his time more to repairing the machine-made vehicles than to building new ones.
When Shenandoah was at its best, the village contained from twenty to thirty families. The number is now, perhaps, less, but the town has not the appearance of being in a state of decadence. A number of the buildings are new, and all are kept painted and in repair. Two church buildings sit upon the south side of the village in neighborly-like propinquity, and here, too, the civic taste for which Shenandoah is noted has touched with its magic wand both buildings and grounds.
The founders of Shenandoah had no expectations of their town ever being a great city. They simply platted a village site and were content to let it take its chances in the prorenata of the future. And although the town never became great in population in a numerical way, the majority of the olden-time residents-as well as those of today-may be referred to with more local pride, for their influence and usefulness can not be pent up within municipal lines.
397
HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY
Benjamin Morris, a Pennsylvanian, settled in Butler township, a half mile east of Shenandoah, in 1846. Mr. Morris was a prosperous, influential man in his day, and was a county commissioner in the '50s.
The Rev. B. F. Morris, a son of the late Benjamin Morris, is a minister of the Christian church and is chaplain of the Sherman brigade organization. He served in Mclaughlin squadron of cavalry and was wounded in the service.
David and Michael Miller owned farms and resided upon opposite sides of the road just west of Shenandoah. They have gone from the earthly life.
Shenandoah is on the historical Beall's trail-the road cut through the north part of Richland county by General Beall's army in the fall of 1812. The first halt of Beall's army within the present limits of Richland county was on the Whetstone, where Olivesburg now stands, and the camp was called "Camp Whetstone." For the purpose of getting better spring water and of being nearer the Huron trail, the army broke camp on the Whetstone and went about five miles west and founded "Camp Council." The location of this camp is a mile west of Shenandoah and Rome. Here is the famed Ferguson spring, the water of which is healthful and the output sufficient for a much larger army than the one commanded by General Beall. Here, too, is Camp Council run, whose volume of water was then sufficient for, and afterwards used as power to operate mills. A half mile south is the Black- fork of the Mohican, thus affording the troops all the water facilities needed even by an army of occupation.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.