USA > Ohio > Seneca County > History of Seneca County : Containing a detailed narrative of the principal events that have occured since its first settlement down to the present time > Part 6
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Immediately after its organization, the affairs of the county commenced with a successful tide of operation. Courts of jus- tice were established, officers chosen, townships organized, roads constructed, mills erected, and the dense forests fallen by the sturdy hand of industry.
" Rodolphus Dickinson, t Milton McNeal,
:
CHAPTER IV.
Camp Ball-First settler in Seneca county-Clinton township-Fort Ball -Robert Armstrong-William McCullock-Tiffin-Land offices- Mad River and Lake Erie Rail-road.
ABOUT the middle of July, 1813, a detachment of men, un- der the command of Lieutenant Colonel James V. Ball,* built a stockade near the old army road, upon the bank of the San-
*About half a mile south-west of Ballsville, in Sandusky county, Lieut. Col. James V. Ball had a skirmish with the Indians, a day or two previous to the assault on Fort Ste- phenson. There is, or was a few years since, an oak tree on the site of the action, on the road to Columbus, with 17 hacks in it, to indicate the number of Indians killed on the occasion. The squadron was moving towards the fort, when they were suddenly fired upon by the Indians from the west side of the road, whereupon Col. Ball ordered a charge, when he with his suit and the right flank being in advance, first came into action. The colonel struck the first blow. He dashed in between two savages, and cut down the one on the right ; the other, being slightly in the rear, made a blow with a tomahawk at his back, when by a sudden spring of his horse, it fell short, and was buried deep in the can- tel and pad of his saddle. Before the savage could repeat the blow, he was shot by Cor- poral Ryan. Lieut. Hedges-now General James Hedges of Mansfield, the surveyor of Tiffin and brother of Josiah Hedges, proprietor of the latter place-following in the rear mounted on a small horse, pursued a large Indian, and just as he had come up to him, his stirrup broke, and he fell head-first off his horse, knocking the Indian down. Both sprang to their feet, when Hedges struck the Indian across his head, and as he was falling, buri- ed the sword up to its hilt in his body. We have been informed, that many years after, the lost stirrup was found, and sent to the gallant Hedges, at Mansfield.
At this time, Captain Hopkins was seen on the left, in pursuit of a powerful savage, when the latter turned and made a blow at the captain with a tomahawk, at which his horse sprang to one side. Cornet Hayes then came up, and the Indian struck at him, his horse in like manner evading the blow. Sergeant Anderson now arriving, the Indian was soon dispatched. By this time, the skirmish was over, the Indians, who were about twenty in number, being nearly all cut down ; and orders were given to retreat to the main squadron.
Col. Ball dressed his men, ready for a charge, should the Indians appear in force, and moved down without further molestation to the fort, where they arrived, at 4 o'clock, in the afternoon.
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dusky river, opposite the present town of Tiffin ; and in hon- or to its commandant, it was called " Camp Ball."
This camp was built as a transient place of security, in case of disaster at the north ; and as a magazine for supplies .- The camp consisted of stakes a foot in thickness, fixed in the ground, with bayonets driven through them, horizontally, near their tops. Against these, logs were piled upon the outside ; and over the logs, dirt was thrown from a ditch, which sur- rounded the whole. There was room. in the interior, for five hundred men.
After the battle of Tippecanoe, a detachment was sent by General Harrison, who was then at Seneca, up the river, to strengthen this camp. The soldiers were quartered here sev- eral days, during which time, they were frequently destitute of provisions ; and once, their supply was so completely exhaust- ed, that they were obliged to subsist entirely upon fish-a part standing guard to protect those that were fishing, from the lur- king savages.
Before the battle at Fort Stephenson, this detachment left for the Maumee, but the post was occasionally occupied, until Har- rison left the country. Vestiges of Camp Ball still remain .- Between the ground and the river, is a beautiful spring of wa- ter, which serves to mark the spot where the camp once stood. It is on the west bank of the river, just above the new bridge which crosses the stream, at the foot of Washington street, Tif- fin. Several soldiers were buried near the camp ; and among their number was the father of a Mr. Powers, of Delaware,- The remains of one of these, were exhumed a short time since, by some workmen in the employ of R. W. Shawhan.
On the 18th of November, 1817, ERASTUS BOWE, the first settler in Seneca county, arrived at Camp Ball, where some 'tired men had erected him a log house, which was within the
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
limits of the camp-many of the stakes standing at the time. Here commenced the first settlement in the county.
Mr. Bowe was born in Rutland county, Vermont, and pass- ed through this county as early as 1812, under the command of General Hull. He was in Norton's company, at the build- ing of the fort at Lower Sandusky ; and was one of those da- ring rangers, who scoured the Indian country, and protected the whites from savage cruelty. He was a citizen of Dela- ware, eight years previous to his settling in this county. Af- ter the close of the war, he occasionally hunted in this vicini- ty, and among the early settlers of the county was famous as a deer-hunter.
Soon after his arrival in 1817, he erected a house just below Camp Ball ; and here he opened the first tavern in the county. His charges must have been somewhat in advance of those of the present day; as butter was worth, at that time, two shillings a pound ; pork, six dollars per hundred ; and flour, twelve dollars per barrel. Mr. Bowe has ever since resided in the county, and is now a resident of Hopewell township. Thirty years ago, he came to this county, and for several months was the only settler within its limits.
With what astonishment, mingled with admiration, must he look back upon the years that have passed, and see the mighty change that has been wrought, since he first located upon the banks of the Sandusky ! Instead of standing in the door of his humble log shanty, which was then far in the wilderness-a dense portion of which occupied the present site of the town of Tiffin-he now sees there, from the beautiful village of New Fort Ball, a large and flourishing town, the county-seat of a populous and wealthy county !
There is now the track of a rail-road, where was then an In- dian trail ; and instead of the wild whoop of the Indian hunt-
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er, his ears are now greeted with the shrill whistle of the lo- comotive, and the thundering of rolling wheels !
Clinton township was organized on the first Monday of June, 1820 ; and its boundaries, defined by the commissioners of Sandusky county, as follow : "Commencing where the town- ship line between (townships) No. two (2) and three (3) strikes the river, on the east bank thereof; thence with said line, to the north-east corner of township No. two, (2,) in range fifteen (15) east; thence south with the range line between ranges fifteen (15) and sixteen, (16,) to the south-east corner of the aforesaid township ; thence west to the township line be- tween (townships) No. one (1) and two; (2;) thence north- wardly, with the meanders of the river, to the place of begin- ning." It received its name from De Witt Clinton, governor of New York.
The first township election was held on the 15th of June, 1822. Its population in 1840, was 2,195. Since that time, it has steadily increased in business, population and wealth, num- bering among others of its enterprising farmers-George Sto- ner, Samuel Waggoner, Ezra Baker, Jacob Souder, Elisha Olmsted, Thomas Coe, Jacob Adams, John Souder, Dennis Stoner, Levi Davis, Samuel Rule, John Swander, William Hunter, Joseph Richards, Eli Olmsted, Thomas Ellis, Freder- ick Cramer, Ezra Derr, John Baugher, William Baker, John Keller, Hezekiah Searles, Jacob Holtz, Joseph Burnsides, Grafton Bernard, Dennis Cramer, and Aenas Cramer.
In 1819, Abner Pike settled in Oakley; (now New Fort Ball ;) and, on the Ist of April, of the following year, David Risdon came to this town, and shortly after was appointed post- master, the first in the county. Subsequently, Mr. Pike loca- ted upon the farm at present owned by Ezra Baker.
At the time of the survey of Oakley by Joseph Vance, there were no dwellings upon the site of the town, and only one
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
house in its vicinity, which was the residence of Mr. Bowe.
In 1824, the town of Fort Ball was surveyed upon the same plat, by David Risdon, receiving its name from the camp be- fore mentioned. Had it not been that the land upon which this town was surveyed, belonged to Robert Armstrong, it would, doubtless, have become the county-seat of the county.
At the treaty of the Miami of Lake Erie, the United States granted to Mr. Armstrong this tract, consisting of one section, of 640 acres of land, afterwards known as the "Armstrong Reservation."
Armstrong was taken captive by the Wyandot Indians, at three years of age, in the state of Pennsylvania. He married a half-blood Indian woman, and was in every respect a gentle- man. He spoke excellent English ; so much so, that it would not have been suspected he had ever lived among the Indians. Having been for a number of years, employed as interpreter by the United States, it was in consideration of his valuable services in this capacity, that he received his grant of land .-- He died in 1825, about two miles from Upper Sandusky, upon the Wyandot reservation.
The United States granted, at the same time and place, to the children of William McCullock, a section of 640 acres of land, lying just below the Armstrong reservation, above men- 1 tioned. McCullock was killed by a cannon ball at the siege of Fort Meigs, while sitting in General Harrison's tent ; and was employed at the time, as interpreter for the United States.
Dr. Eli Dresbach, from Circleville, a graduate of the Ohio Medical college, settled in this town, (Fort Ball,) on the 17th day of February, 1823, and removed from the latter place to Tiffin in 1826, where he has since resided.
Rodolphus Dickinson, from New York, a member of Con- gress for this district, settled in Fort Ball, in 1824, and was the first attorney at law in the county.
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
On the 15th day of February, 1826, Abel Rawson, from Massachusetts, who succeeded Mr. Dickinson as prosecuting at- torney, settled in this place and became a permanent resident. He has ever since, pursued the practice of law in this county, and now ranks among the first in his profession, in northern Ohio.
Fort Ball, (now New Fort Ball, ) has since grown steadily, and is at the present time a flourishing and healthy place .- Its location is pleasant-commanding a view of the whole of Tiffin, and also, much of the surrounding country. It contains about sixty dwellings, one church, three large ware-houses, three stores, two tanneries, two carriage-shops, two hotels, two groceries, one cabinet-shop, three shoe-shops, one tin-shop, and three blacksmith's-shops.
Its population is over four hundred, and is rapidly increas- ing.
New Fort Ball was surveyed and platted, by James Durbin, county surveyor, on the 25th of November, 1837. It is situ- ated upon the eastern portion of the Armstrong reservation, and contains six hundred and twenty in-lots. The town is made to include all of the northern addition to Tiffin ; and all of what was before known as " Fort Ball."
TIFFIN, the county-seat of this county, is situated in Clinton township, upon the east bank of, and adjoining the Sandusky river, in latitude 41° 7' north, longitude 6° 8' west, of Wash- ington city. It received its name from Edward Tiffin, presi- dent of the convention that formed the Constitution of Ohio, and first governor of the state, after its admission into the Un- ion.
In 1821, Josiah Hedges, from Mansfield, Richland county, entered at the Delaware land-office, the land upon which Tiffin now stands. It was surveyed by General James Hedges, of Mansfield, brother of the proprietor. The first stick was cut
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
upon the town-plat, in March, 1822, and soon after, Messrs. Wetz, Drennon, and John Mim, of Mansfield, and Henry Welch, of Eden township, had a town-lot given to each of them by the proprietor, with the stipulation that they were to erect cabins, and bring on their families, which was done im- mediately thereafter.
James Spink, of Wooster, came to the place during the same month, bringing with him a small stock of goods ; but the next winter, he left ; his store having been broken open and plun- dered of goods, to a considerable amount.
Simeon B. Howard, from the eastern part of the state, came to the place during the same month ; so that on the 25th of March, 1822, the day the county-seat was located here, there were six cabins in the place. The commissioners to locate the seat of justice, were Messrs. Herford, Miner, and Cyrus Spink.
In 1822, Mr. Hedges, proprietor of Tiffin, erected a saw- mill on Rocky creek, about a quarter of a mile east of the town, and a grist-mill about half a mile north of the place, upon the Sandusky river. He also erected the first frame house upon the town-plat in 1822, the same that is at present occupied as a Masonic hall. It was used as a store until the next year, (1823.) Soon after, it was occupied for the holding of the county courts, which were continued here until 1828.
The prospects of Tiffin, the first few years after its com- mencement, were not very flattering, nor its appearance very prepossessing. The unhealthiness of the town, incident to all new settlements-its situation on the side of the river, (then without a bridge,) opposite to Fort Ball, through which the main traveled road from Columbus to Lower Sandusky then exten- ded-and the vigorous efforts made at the time to remove the seat of justice from Tiffin to Fort Ball-all conspired to dis- hearten the proprietor, who began to be fearful that it would 8
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
never progress to any extent. But his apprehensions proved groundless, as it has since steadily increased, and is now a thri- ving, populous, and beautiful town.
The streets are wide, and generally well paved. It is the great mart of trade for the surrounding country-the farmer finding here a ready market for his produce, at all times of the year. Communication by rail-road, with Sandusky City and Cincinnati, is now secured. It is 86 miles north of Columbus, and 34 from Sandusky City ; and is situated nearly in the cen- ter of the county. Formerly, it was dull and unhealthy; but receiving many improvements, it has become an enterprising and healthy town, full of life and activity. Its population, ac- cording to the census of 1840, amounted to 728. It has since more than doubled.
It contains two Lutheran, two Catholic, one Episcopal, one Methodist Episcopal, one Reformed Methodist, and one German Reformed church. Also, four hotels, one foundry, eight gro- ceries, nine tailor's-shops, three silversmiths, five saddlers, four cabinet-shops, four blacksmith's-shops, five carriage-shops, two gunsmiths, four tin-shops, and one large, brick school-house.
Its merchants, are R. W. Shawhan, Rufus W. Reid, the Messrs. Cronises, Rummell and Snyder, Robert Crum, Bald- win and Pride, Andrew Glenn, Jesse Shriver, Rolla Johnson, W. D. Scott, Geo. Taylor, Einstein and Hobbs, Howard and Nailor, and E. Ayres & Co. A book-store has also been open- ed of late, by Ebert and Seney.
There are eight physicians in the place-Eli Dresbach, Hen- ry Kuhn, J. A. McFarland, Andrew Hepburn, James Fisher, B. Raymond, Jacob Staub, and S. W. Bricker.
There are also twelve lawyers-Warren P. Noble, William C. Hedges, William H. Gibson, Sidney Sea, R. G. Penning- ton, William Lang, J. P. Pillars, Luther A. Hall, Jesse Stem, Richard Williams, Joel W. Wilson, and Abel Rawson.
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
On the 4th day of July, 1825, the commissioners of the county, Thomas Boyd, Benjamin Whitmore, and Doctor Dunn, held an extra session for the purpose of receiving proposals for the building of a jail, in the town of Tiffin.
They contracted with Elijah Farquassan, as the lowest bid- der, for the sum of four hundred and fifty dollars. It was com- pleted and received by the commissioners, the 4th of March, 1826. This was a very unsubstantial place for the confine- ment of criminals, which may explain why so many cleared themselves, at an early day.
On the 4th of May, 1828, a quantity of land, by an act of Congress, was granted to this state, equal to one-half of five sections in width on each side of the Miami canal, between Dayton and the Maumee river, at the mouth of the Auglaize, so far as the Miami canal should be located through the public lands ; but reserving for the United States, each alternate sec- tion of the land unsold, to be selected by the commissioner of the land-office. By the fourth section of the same act, and un- der certain conditions, five hundred thousand acres of land in this state were granted to Ohio, to aid her in the construction of her canals.
In order to dispose of the five hundred thousand acres so gran- ted, an act was passed by the General Assembly, February 12, 1829, entitled " An act to provide for the sale of certain lands granted to Ohio," and for this purpose, two land-offices were established, one of which was located at Tiffin. Here it re- mained, until 1837, when it was removed to Maumee.
In April, 1828, the United States land-office, for the sale of lands in the Delaware land-district, was removed from Delaware and located at Tiffin, where it was continued until the next year, when it was removed to Bucyrus.
On the 5th of January, 1832, the charter of the Mad River and Lake Erie Rail-road company was granted, by the Gener-
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
al Assembly of Ohio. The line of this road was run the same year, by a Mr. Stansbury, assisted by Messrs. Morris of Penn- sylvania, and Van Antwerp of Albany, and extended from Sandusky City to Dayton, a distance of one-hundred and fifty- three miles. The road was commenced, in September, 1835, and finished, as far as Tiffin, in 1841. It is now nearly com- pleted, throughout its whole length.
The benefits derived from this road, by the citizens of Sene- ca county are immense. A market is established at home, for their produce ; the value of land is enhanced ; and those tire- some and dreaded journeys to the lake for merchandise, and a market, are now obviated. It has given a powerful impulse to the onward progress of the county, both in activity and wealth.
A few years ago, the whole country was a wilderness-the home of the Indians, who were trapping along the Sandusky and its tributaries, or hunting in the low-lands through which they flow. But their wigwams have vanished ; their council- fires have become extinguished, and their hunting-grounds the cultivated fields of the white man. The bones of their warri- ors and young men lie scattered in various places, tacitly tell- ing that once the red men were lords of the soil, and the right- ful owners of the land we occupy.
Their war-dance has ceased. Their wild whoop and fierce yell, are heard no longer, in the silent woods. They have gone, and the wilderness has passed away. But a vestige of their strength remains, in the wilds of the far west !
A little later, and here and there a hardy adventurer is bra- ving the difficulties of an unsettled country, while the idea of a rail-road is not yet dreamed of. But now, the powerful loco- motive with its immense train comes sweeping along upon the iron rails, bringing the luxuries of every clime-the labor of every nation-to our very doors !
CHAPTER V.
Seneca Patriot-Printing-press-Independent Chronicle-Tiffin Gazette -Van Burenite-Seneca Advertiser-Whig Standard-Cholera- Court-house-Jail and Sherif's house-Bank.
ON the 4th day of August, 1832, was issued the first number of the " Seneca Patriot," the first paper printed in the county. This sheet, E. Brown, editor, and J. H. Brown, proprietor, was offered to subscribers, at one dollar and twenty-five cents, per year, in advance.
" We propose," says the editor, " to insert occasionally, as near as may be, an equal proportion of matter, to be published under the following general heads-Clay Politics, Jackson Politics, and Anti-masonic Politics. By this means, each reader attached to the several parties, may find something suit- ed to his party taste, and political feelings." In three months from this, however, he broke up his neutrality, and came out a thorough Jackson Patriot. Says he, " we go for Democratic principles and Jackson, against all combinations."
The history of the press, used in this office, is somewhat re- markable. It was brought to Washington, Pennsylvania, by a Mr. Colerick, prior to the year 1800, from some place on the Atlantic coast. It was removed from Washington, to Wells- burg, Virginia, about the year 1820, by J. P. McArdle. From thence, it was removed to Mount Vernon ; thence, to Clinton, and finally, from the latter place to Norwalk, in 1827. Here it became the property of the Messrs. Browns, and by them was 8*
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
taken to Sandusky City in 1830; and at length brought to Tif- fin, in 1832.
- " It must be acknowledged, that this venerable press, in the service of half a century, has earned at least the reputation of a faithful ' herald of a noisy world.' It has no doubt embla- zoned to the world the achievements of many an eminent statesman, and probably chronicled, as they occurred, the stirring events which gave our government its national ex- istence. Commencing its tour of pilgrimage upon the At- lantic coast, it has wound its way to the fancied ' far west.' It is, indeed, a relic of other days. He who would compare, at this day, that sturdy lever with the vast improvements made up- on its like, since its first days, would behold one of the most astonishing and remarkable evidences of human skill ever de- veloped in any branch of scientific or mechanical invention.
" If this be the first press (and it doubtless was) that cross- ed the Alleghanies, it should become the property of the west ; and here be preserved, to attest the improvements made in the ' art preservative of arts.'"#
After the dissolution of the firm which published the " Sene- ca Patriot," Mr. Alonzo Rawson purchased the office, and pub- lished the " Independent Chronicle." He disposed of the es- tablishment to J. F. Reed, who commenced the "Tiffin Ga- zette" which was published some time by him, and subsequent- ly by Joseph Howard, who was succeeded by S. A. Griswold, Esq., the latter gentleman discontinuing it in the fall of 1842.
In 1840, a second printing-press was brought to Tiffin by an association, and in July of that year the first number of a pa- per entitled the " Van Burenite and Seneca County Adverti- ser," was issued by " H. Cronise and others." This paper was published until the fall of 1841, when it was discontinued .-
* Seneca Advertiser.
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY.
In the spring of 1842, the office was purchased by John G. Breslin, who issued the first number of the "Seneca Adverti- ser" on the 6th of May of the same year. The publication of this paper is still continued by the same proprietor.
" We shall advocate," says the editor, in the first number of this paper, " with a becoming zeal, and dignifiedly in manner, the great Democratic Republican principles, as established and taught by THOMAS JEFFERSON. That ours is a government of specified and limited -- not general powers, and ought so to be strictly observed to attain the ends for which it was established -all must admit.
"The few and venerable patriots, who, when our govern- ment dated its existence, were upon the bright summit of glo- ry, and have lived till this late day, are willing to exclaim that our system of government has eminently exceeded the most sanguine expectations of those who achieved the glorious vic- tory upon which it was established, and become an object, not only of admiration, but of envy and emulation by all the world.
"It is, therefore, our duty, rendered imperious by the posi- tion we occupy as a nation, to preserve for its character as pure and untarnished as the bright and illustrious spirit of liberty which dictated its existence among its framers ; and still serve as a beacon-light to the benighted, and a home for the oppress- ed of mankind, the object for which the blood of our forefath- ers and heroes-and labor of our sages have been bestowed to obtain.
" In regard to the present federal administration, we unhesi- tatingly declare, that we will war against it and its measures an unyielding opposition. We would banish from us all preju- dice-cast off' all party predilection, and admonish the Ameri- can people to view the awful and deplorable condition of our country, brought about by the short federal predomination of
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