History of Sandusky County Ohio with Illustrations 1882, Part 119

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The business of E. Farmer & Co. was established in 1873, by E. Farmer. In 1875 F. W. Dorhn became a partner, and

in 1879 the firm name changed to Farmer, Dorhn & Co. Since 1880 the style of the firm has been E. Farmer & Co. The senior partner, Mr. E. Farmer, is also extensively engaged in other enterprises. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1842. In 1862, he enlisted in the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and after the conclusion of the Rebellion settled in business in Mansfield, Ohio, where, in 1867, he married Jennie Smith. Mr. Farmer removed with his family to Gibsonburg in 1873. He is enterprising in pushing the various industries in which he is interested and at the same time is a public-spirited citizen.

The first drug store in the village was opened by Carlin & Markle, in 1874. In a short time it passed under the charge of Cribliz & Shull, and the following year was purchased by the present owner, S. B. Stilson, who is a practical business man and trained druggist. Before coming to Gibsonburg Mr. Stilson was engaged in the drug trade for a number of years at Oberlin, Ohio. He was born at Edinburg, Portage county, Ohio, in 1848. His present business consists of trade in drugs, books, medical instruments, etc.

It would be useless and tedious to trace all the changes in the hardware and tin-ware business. The first store of this character was opened by A. S. Herr. The line of succession was from Herr to Bordon & Powers, then to A. J. Bordon, and from him, in 1878, to M. W. Hobart & Co., H. T. Bowlus being the partner. Mr. Bowlus sold, in 1880, to Mr. Smith. The business of this house is general tinwork, and trade in hardware, tinware, stoves, building material, and agricultural implements. Mr. Hobart, the senior member of the firm, is a native of Portage county. He was engaged in trade in Pemberville, Wood county, from 1872 till 1878.

The Gibsonburg hotel was built by W.

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H. Gibson, and placed in charge of John Patterson. The property was purchased by Peter Kimmerling in 1875, who has since been the obliging lord of the tavern. The bane of most small towns, and in this connection we do not hesitate to include the three first named in the introduction to this topic, is miserable dens misnamed houses of entertainment. Gibsonburg, in this particular, fortunately has nothing to complain of. The landlord is as obliging and hospitable as he is loquacious, and the landlady as neat and careful as the most fastidious could wish.

Nature here has left a legacy of inesti- mable value in the peculiar geological for- mation spoken of in the introduction to this chapter. The town stands nearly on the summit of the break or uplift, making it comparatively easy to open quarries. The manufacture of lime is the prevailing industry of the place. This industry, directly and indirectly, employs about one hundred and fifty men.

The first lime-kiln was built by W. H. Gibson & Co. in 1873. A second kiln was connected in 1877. Both are now owned by E. Farmer & Co. Their capacity is eleven hundred barrels per week. Connected with these kilns, and owned by the same firm, is the stave and heading factory. This establishment manufactures general coopers' supplies, but was primarily built for the manufacture of lime barrels. The firm employs eighty hands and fifteen teams.

The lime-kilns operated by L. Friar & Co., a two-thirds interest in which is owned by Zorn, Hornung & Co., have a capacity of seven hundred barrels per week. Closely connected with this firm is the Hoop Factory company, which supplies the lime barrels and also carries on the manufacture of hoops on an extensive scale. Twelve thousand hoops a day are turned out in busy seasons, and forty men

are given steady employment in all depart- ments.

Zorn, Hornung & Co. inaugurated the grain trade. In 1875 they built an elevator and are the only dealers at present.

Two stores have not been mentioned, A. Fraunfelter, merchant tailor, and M. H. Porter, groceries and provisions. There are a number of saloons.

The first member of the medical profession who settled in Gibsonburg was R. S. Hitell, who opened an office in 1873. He was a graduate of Jefferson Medical college, and won a good reputation and profitable practice during his residence here. He removed, in 1881, to Kansas City, Missouri, where he is now practicing.

D. G. Hart, a native of Ashland county, began practicing in Gibsonburg in 1877. He is a graduate of Cincinnati Medical college. His practice is the best testimonial of the confidence reposed in him by the public.

E. B. Erwin opened an office in this place in 1881. He is a graduate of Cleve-land Medical college.

We have now outlined the growth of the village from a business point of view. The exact population in 1880 was five hundred and eighty-six. The growth since that time has been fully one hundred.

But a town needs more than business establishments. It must have government, educational facilities, and societies for the promotion of morality and social benevolence. Toward the building up of institutions of this kind, Gibsonburg has already made a good beginning.

The public school enrolls one hundred and fifty pupils, and employs three teachers. The growth of the village made the erection of a new school-house necessary in 1876. The building contains three rooms. A regular course of study was arranged in 1877 by T. D. Stevenson, who

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was at that time principal. The village was set apart from the township as a special school district in 1880. The first board were J. W. Marvin, president; John Beach, Charles Sardis, J. B. Taylor, E. Garn, J. Kininger.

T. D. Stevenson has been identified closely both with the business and educational interests of Gibsonburg. He is the son of David Stevenson, of Green Creek township. He learned the saddle and harness making trade at Green Spring, and worked there till 1861, when he enlisted in the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. At the close of the war he returned to Green Spring, and worked at the trade till 1866. The next two years were spent at Milan Normal school and Oberlin college. Mr. Stevenson then came to Madi- son township, and engaged in school teaching till June, 1881. He has been justice of the peace for ten years, and was from 1874 till 1877 senior partner in the firm of Stevenson, Smith & Co. Mr. Stevenson married, in 1870, Rosetta A. Fowler, of Wood county, and has a family of three children-Thomas B., Amos C., and Ray D. Mr. Stevenson was admitted to the Bar in 1877.

The village was incorporated under the laws of Ohio in the spring of 1880. On the first Monday of April of that year, the following officers were chosen: J. Kinninger, mayor; Eli Reeves, J. W. Marvin, Elijah Garn, Charles Sanders, T. D. Stevenson, and M. W. Hobart, council; S. B. Stilson, clerk; Adam Hornung, treasurer; George Kaunkle, marshal.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Honor are both represented in this village.

Gibsonburg Lodge No. 687, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was instituted August 12, 1879, with the following as charter members: T. D. Stevenson, A. P. Johnson, John Veipch, Henry H. Tice,

C. D. Patterson, George L. Donnels, John Sandwich, Henry Zorn, C. W. Heseman, Charles Urech, A. H. Tice, John D. Donnels, W. A. Penfield, John W. Brown, F. W. Dohn. The past noble grands in their order are: T. D. Stevenson, John Veipch, John L. Donnels, John W. Brown, and G. L. Donnels. The present membership of the lodge is fifty-six.

Thomson Lodge No. 1413, Knights of Honor, was instituted October 9, 1879. Dr. J. G. Thomson, of Rollersville, stood sponsor at the christening. The charter members were: R. S. Hittell, Jesse E. Caples, S. B. Stilson, J. Kinninger, Charles A. Eslinger, Charles Urech, Henry Diel, S. Immel, D. G. Hart, Joseph M. Bowser, Robert A. Mitchell, Peter P. Wolcutt, Martin Vosburg, M. W. Hobart. The following is a list of past dictators: R. S. Hittell, D. G. Hart, J. Kinninger, S. B. Stilson, M. W. Hobart, J. B. Taylor, and J. W. Lewis.

There are in Gibsonburg three churches- Evangelical, Lutheran, and Methodist. The first-named was organized long before the town had an existence. There is one other- the United Brethren, one mile south of the village, which for convenience will be sketched in this connection.

The Evangelical is probably the oldest religious society in the township. It was formed, in 1836, of the following five individuals: Peter Kimmerling and his wife Elizabeth, Jacob Kimmerling and his wife Nancy, and Dena Wickard. The society was known as Basswood class. The first meeting- house was built about 1845. The present house was dedicated in 1874. The preachers have been: Revs. Lintner, Lumbert, Haley, Longbrecht, Kopp, Sintzer, Eckley, Stroman, Storkley, Zintner, Strohm, Smous, George, Thomas, Rife, Schupp, Crouse, Strohman, Wingard, and Snyder. The present membership is about seventy.

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Salem church, United Brethren, was organized near the time of the organization of the Evangelical church. The first members were the families of Jacob Garn, John Reed, and Lucas Fleck. John Long and Peter Fleck were the first preachers. The old log meeting-house was built in 1845. The present house, one mile directly south of Gibsonburg, was built in 1864. There are about seventy members.

A Methodist Episcopal class was formed at Gibsonburg in 1873, Rev. Christian Wolf being the first preacher. In 1877 the old school-house was purchased and fitted up for a meeting-house. There are at present about fifty members.

A Lutheran congregation was formed in 1875, Rev. George Gratz pastor. A meeting- house was built in 1876. The membership includes about fifty families.

ORGANIZATION.

Three townships bear the names of il- lustrious Presidents of the United States. Jackson, the first of the three established, adopted the name of the great organizer, if not real founder, of the Democratic party, who at that time was at, the head of the Government. A new township, bordering Jackson on the north, was formed a year later, and, at the request of its leading men, was honored with the name of the noble patriot whose name has been a household word since the foundation of the Government. The

first settlers of Washington probably felt like declaring their patriotism in some way or other, even though it was necessary to lay aside partisan feeling and accept the name of the great antagonizer of Jeffersonian principles, for the majority were genuine Jacksonian Democrats. It is barely possible, however, that the minority who drafted the petition took advantage of the majority's ignorance of political history, and secured for the new township the name of the distinguished Federalist leader.

June 3, 1834, Madison was brought into being, and, in answer to the request of leading residents, was complimented with the name of that other distinguished champion of early Democracy, and Chief Executive during the War of I812-James Madison. The township originally included all of township five, range thirteen, but, in 1840, when Woodville was organized, a strip one mile and a half wide was struck off the north side and attached to Woodville, leaving Madison six miles long and four and one-half wide.

The first election was held on the 4th day of July, 1833, at Jacob Garn's black-smith shop, near the centre of the town-ship, where succeeding elections were held for a number of years. The officers chosen were: David Smith and John Reed, justices of the peace; James A. Holcomb, Jacob Garn, and William Whitford, trustees; Jesse Johnson, George Ickes, and John Reed, supervisors; Daniel McIntosh, treasurer; William Smith, constable; Frederick Clark and Henry P. Allen, overseers of the poor; Gideon Harmon and Elias Miller, fence viewers.

INITIAL ITEMS.

The first frame barn in the township was built by James A. Holcomb.

An impetus was given to the settlement of Scott and Madison townships in 1836 by the erection of a steam saw-mill on Sugar Creek, which was placed in charge of Crawford King. Why so much importance should be attached to the building of a saw-mill it is hard for an observer of the present day to understand. But a revolution has taken place in this part of the county since 1836. Boards, if not a necessity, are inestimably convenient. Other things being equal, settlers will seek locations where the use of puncheons for floors and doors is unnecessary. The condition of the roads made it impossible to haul lumber any distance, so that, in

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the absence of a local mill, there was no alternative to the use of puncheons. This mill was owned by a joint stock company, known as the Farmers' Union Milling company. Jeremiah N. King was the leading spirit in the enterprise, and was chosen president of the company. The stock was owned by local parties. In a financial point of view the establishment proved a failure, but the main object for which it was built was accomplished.

The second saw-mill in the township was built by Jacob Garn.

The first cemetery in the township was located in section twenty-three, and has become a township burying-ground named Madison township cemetery. Mrs. Lucas Flake was the first person buried there.

Quinchan cemetery has also become a public burying ground. Its incipiency was the burial of a child of Jacob Staner. The institutions of a new country usually begin in a very simple way. In the case of a cemetery for instance, some one dies. No tract in the immediate neighborhood has been dedicated for the burial of the dead. A grave is dug at the nearest dry and elevated spot. The place is marked with a wooden picket, and fenced up by a square of rails. Soon there is another death, and the body is buried by the side of the first. In course of time it becomes necessary to enlarge the enclosure. The place becomes recognized as a public lot for burial, and eventually is deeded by the owner of the land to the township, a church, or association. The wooden slabs have, in most instances, been displaced by lettered freestone, but in some instances the perishable wood has rotted away, and the resting-place of the eternal sleeper is forever unknown.

The first school in Madison township was on the Staner farm, and was taught by Eliza Davidson. Daniel Smith was one of the early teachers in this house.

The last wolf seen in the county was killed by N. P. Hathaway in 1858. This is an "initial item" in the sense that it marked the beginning of safety for sheep and other weak domestic animals.

The first important ditch through the township begins in Wood county, drains the northwest corner of Scott township and the western part of Madison, emptying into Sugar Creek in Madison.

Rollersville is divided by the township line, and is briefly sketched in a previous chapter.

HIGH WIND.

In the year 1839 Madison was visited by the most terrific storm ever known in the western part of the county. It was one of the three great tornadoes which have touched our territory, and, as it was second in regard to time, so also was it second in power and destructiveness. The first passed over Green Creek and Townsend, and the last over the south part of Green Creek. The Madison tornado fortunately passed over a sparsely populated region of country and did little real damage. The timber in its path was splintered and twisted to the ground. But this circumstance, at that time when forest was a nuisance rather than a resource of wealth, had little effect upon values. It made clearing so much easier, and, to that extent, was a benefit. No one was hurt, no houses were blown down; useless trees were the only victims of the wrath of Aolus. Madison, on account of this circumstance, was given the pseudonym "Windfall."

HARVEST HOME.

An institution of the west part of this county and the east part of Wood county is the annual harvest festival and thanksgiving. This beautiful social custom of yearly meeting and feasting originated in 1857, in the form of union Sunday-school and pioneer meetings. Historical remi-

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niscences and speeches relating to Sunday- school work were delivered and all. united in bountiful picnic dinner. Gradually, a however, as the range of visitors extended beyond. the limits of the neighborhood, the character of the meetings changed until now it has become a general holiday.

These annual gatherings are held August 30th, and are under the management of a president and committee of arrangements. Morris Reese, esq., of Pemberville, has been president since the institution

of the holiday. The meetings are held in Mr. Reese's grove. Expenses are met by charging license to sell confectionary, etc. No intoxicating drinks are allowed on the premises. The farmers of this section can well afford to devote one day in the year to social pleasures and thanksgiving. Nowhere in Ohio is agriculture better rewarded, besides, such gatherings conduce to the unity and consequently the happiness of the community.

SCOTT.

T O the writer of ardent imagination and zealous in multiplying words for the purpose of interesting those who skim over the chronicles of past times merely for relaxation and amusement, Scott township would be an interesting field. That this was the scene of some criminal episode of more than ordinary consequence was clearly indicated to the present writer by the peculiar manner of a quartette of old settlers during his first interview. About some persons and places they talked in circumlocutions and carried on private consultations in a low whisper. From their disconnected talk nothing could be gleaned, except that there was something to find out. We do not belong to that class of imaginative narrators who seek only to interest. It is the purpose of this history to trace the development of the county from a wilderness, which blotted the map of our fair State, to portray the changes in men and manners, effected by the progress of knowledge, the vicissitudes of events, and the influence of situation. But the rare prospect of finding a condiment to give zest to the ordinarily flat detail of local history made us inquisitive.

Before proceeding further it will be nec- essary, in order that a certain conventional arrangement may be preserved, to give some idea of the "lay of the ground," and a detailed account of the settlement. It will offend no one if the reader skips the pages covering this last topic. Description and biography in local history are respectively like sleep and work in human

life; both are imposed by contingencies founded in the nature of things.

This rambling preface, it is hoped, is sufficient to tire the reader into a desire to take a view of Scott.

Madison township on the north, Jack-son on the east, Seneca county on the south, and Wood county on the west bound a township six miles square, containing more acres of marsh and prairie land than is embraced by any other township in Sandusky county. The limestone ridges of Madison barely touch Scott along the northern boundary. The streams which we have been talking about ever since coming into the Black Swamp, all, except Portage River and Muskallonge, have their sources in the prairies of this township.

Furthest to the south and partly in Seneca county, is the Tauwa prairie, embracing an area of about three sections and elliptical in form, the longest axis being in a northeast and southwest direction. Running almost parallel with Tauwa and separated from it by a strip of woodland, is the largest treeless tract in the township. It is named from the creek which is fed by its numerous springs- Mud Creek prairie. Directly north, and almost circular in form, is a pond like depression of more than a section named Miller prairie as a compliment to an early settler on its border. The source of Sugar Creek was an elliptical marsh two miles in its longest axis and one-mile in its shortest. We say the source was a marsh, for at the time we write farmers are threshing im-

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mense crops of wheat taken from the fertile surface of this once useless swamp, uninhabited except by snakes, frogs, and turtles, which grew to frightful size. We were told (credulous people, who believe everything they see in print, may skip this paragraph) we were told - and snake stories have been believed since the time of Eve's misfortune-that in this swail, about the year 1841, was captured the monster snake of the county. A hunter wading in grass almost to his head, just high enough above the wavy surface to fire deadly shot at ducks chased from their secluded retreats, heard a surging noise at some distance in his path. his eyes met those of a mortal enemy. The snake's forked tongue vibrated angrily in a frightful mouth raised above the grass. The barrel of the hunter's faithful gun soon contained a heavy charge of buck shot. Having taken careful aim he fired, dispatching two balls to the centre of the monster's head, and a third knocking out one eye. The writhing squirm and roll of death followed. The snake measured eighteen feet eleven and one half inches long and three feet nine inches and a quarter at the "belt." Careful examination showed him to be thirty-three years old. The neighborhood was of course somewhat aroused, and a congregation of men around the dead body determined upon a dissection. It was a happy thought, for within that serpent's skin was contained a part of a human skeleton and a small packet containing needles, buttons, and other notions. It will be seen by reference to the chapter on Woodville that a peddler was once mysteriously missing from the hotel at that village. That murderer of fair fame, sus- picion, was destroying the honest name of two or three worthy pioneers, but this story cleared the atmosphere of scandal by making known the last chapter of the

life of the Woodville peddler. The snake also contained half a bushel of bogus coins and a machine for making them. It further contained the pocketbook of a man from the East who had come to the town-ship to buy land, and whose boots the next morning were found hanging on a tree.

We concluded right here in the progress of the telling of this remarkable story to give it to our readers just as it came to us. We spoke above of the indirect way the old settlers of Scott have of telling the history of their township, and this is undoubtedly an allegory invented by a churlish wag, for the purpose of giving us a glimpse at the deeds of darkness and devilment of times past. We hope to be forgiven for this diversion, but it seems proper before closing this volume, which commits to immortal type the best recollections of the best-posted living pioneers, for the recorder to give a specimen of his varied experience in making the collection. This is our only snake story. Its meaning will be more clear before reaching the conclusion of the chapter.

One of the large Wood county prairies touches the western limits of Scott and is drained by a ditch running toward the northeast, which is mentioned in the pre- ceding chapter on Madison.

All these prairies seem to have been small lakes, or rather large ponds. Exuberant vegetation decaying year after year, gradually filled them up until they became marshes, which was their condition when settlers first penetrated the heavy timber lands adjoining. They remained in this comparatively useless condition until the commissioners of the county took one of the most important steps in the history of public improvements.

It would not be desirable to follow through the construction of all the large

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drains which have transformed useless marshes into fields of inexhaustible fertility. That subject has already been touched in a previous chapter on public improvements.

It was out of a contingency arising in Scott township that the law regulating the manner of constructing ditches was changed in 1879. The former law gave the county commissioners power to order the construction of ditches, so many rods being assigned to each property holder in proportion to the amount of benefit, in the estimation of the board, he would derive therefrom. This system in Scott proved impracticable, for each farmer, having assigned a certain portion to construct, and the time within certain limits being optional, chose his own convenient season. It often happened that the upper part of a long drain was excavated first, thus opening the marsh and throwing the over-flow upon the lands below. Another difficulty lay in the fact that it is impossible to secure satisfactory work when unharmonious, unskilled, and often unwilling hands have to be depended upon for its accomplishment. However, unpracticable as it was, at least a half dozen useful drains were made according to its provisions. But the drainage was not sufficient to completely accomplish the desired object, the entire recovery of the prairie marshes. The flow of water from the Seneca county marshes no doubt increased the necessity for more and larger outlets. A new law was passed by the Legislature in 1879, which overcomes the difficulty mentioned above, though deemed somewhat tyrannical by the farmers of Scott. Under this law the commissioners ordered the construction of a ditch. The contract for the whole work is given to the lowest bidder, and the cost assessed on the property benefited in due proportion. Under this law several of the largest ditches have

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History of Sandusky County Ohio with Illustrations 1882, Part 119

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