USA > Ohio > Seneca County > History of Seneca County, Ohio; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Vo. I > Part 49
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Old Fort Seneca, on the line of the "Nickle Plate" railroad. was platted in June, 1882. by County Surveyor Nighswander for R. R. Titus, and a record of the plat was made October 1. 1882. The location is at the crossing of the old Seneca road, upon the farm of R. R. Titus, about two and a half miles north of Fort. Seneca, and upon the site of the old earthworks of that name. Old Fort never advanced and has now only a few inhabitants.
Two lines of railroad traverse Pleasant township, the Nickle Plate and the Big Four.
The first Indian sub-agent of the Senecas. James Montgomery, settled at Camp Seneca. November 20, 1819, at a time when only five families resided between the camp and Oakley village-later Fort Ball-now the second ward of Tiffin.
When James Montgomery came here as a sub-agent of the Seneca Indians, in 1819. he established the first Christian church. Mr. Montgomery was ordained a preacher of the Methodist church at Lebanon, Ohio, a short time after he received his appointment as sub-agent. and devoted the greater part of his time and ability to the establishment of Methodist missions throughout this and adjoining counties up to his death in 1830.
The first Methodist Protestant church was organized in March, 1829, by Mr. Montgomery. at Fort Seneca. In July. 1837. the first regular house of worship was erected at Tiffin. Rev. Alvin Coe preached Mr. Montgomery's funeral sermon in May. 1830.
The Methodist Episcopal church here was attended by Elijah
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Fields, Elam Day and other circuit preachers named in the history of the Tiffin and Bettsville churches; Fort Seneca forming a part of Bettsville until 1852. In August, 1852. the name of the mission was changed to Fort Seneca and J. Brakefield appointed preacher.
Later other denominations formed societies here, churches were built and Pleasant township is now well represented in the religious field.
Watson is a station on the Big Four railroad, about midway between Tiffin and Green Springs. It can scarcely be called a village, for there are not more than half a dozen houses and an elevator in the place.
Reed township was organized December 5, 1826, and was named for Seth Reed, one of the earliest settlers.
The first election of officers was held at the house of Seth Reed on the New Year's day following.
The surface of the land in this township is generally undulating and its soil is very fertile. There are no streams in the county of sufficient force to run mills. There is a noticeable elevation running north and south, but not high enough to be called a ridge, vet sufficient to make a watershed.
All the first settlers, Seth Reed, George Raymond. Samuel. John and Edward Cassety, Tunis Conkrite. Isaac and Tom Ben- nett, Samuel Scothorn, and, it is thought. John Wise, were the first township officers. Thomas Bennett and Samuel Scothorn, jus- tices and Nathan Chapman, clerk.
Rock creek, which flows into the Sandusky river at Tiffin, has its head waters in sections 16. 29. 30 and 33 in the township. the fork on 33 rising south of the railroad and receiving its main supply from two small lakes in sections 33 and 28. On the south- west quarter of section 18, the stream enters Beeghley lake and flows through that pond to the west line of the township. Some of the bed-streams of the Huron river find a supply in the marsh near Attica Station and on sections 1, 15 and 26, flowing east and northeast from the base of the ridge or highland in the south and center of the township. Ponds are common throughout the western sections, and these ponds are sometimes connected by native streams.
The First Methodist Episcopal church was virtually established in 1829 by the subagent of the Senecas, who preached there that vear. After his death, in 1830, other societies took possession of the field and gathered around them the few scattered inhabitants of the township at that time. The Methodist church at Omar was built in 1859, but long prior to this Ezra Brown preached here. and was succeeded by the later day preachers of the circuit. He died at Cincinnati in 1867.
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The Baptist church of Omar dates back to pioneer days.
Extracts from an historical sketch by T. M. Kelley: "In the spring of 1834 my parents moved to Reed township, with a family of six boys and two girls, and settled on the east half of the north- west quarter of section 1. They bought the land of a Mr. Davis. who had entered it. There were but a few trees chopped. and the body of a log cabin erected without a roof. The family stayed at Captain Hanford's hotel until father and the older boys ent and split clapboards and hewed puncheon for the floor and doors. Then we moved into the cabin.
"The only place mother had to do her cooking was a kind of a fire-place built of cobble stones, between two oak stumps, from about the 20th of April until the 1st of August that year. It took a barrel of flour and a bushel of corn meal every four weeks to feed us all. The bread was baked in a tin reflector between those oak stumps. On the 12th day of April the cattle could get a good Aving in the woods. We worked them all day, and at night we put a bell on one of them and let them go. Sometimes the boys would have to hunt a week to find them again, but generally they were in hearing distance. The first wheat we raised father took to Cold creek with an ox cart to get it ground. It took nearly a week to make the trip.
"My youngest brother was born after we came here. August 16, 1836, making a family of seven boys and two girls. all now living except to oldest girl. Mother and the girls carded and spun the wool and flax, wove the cloth, and cut and made our clothes; the tow-linen for summer wear and linsey woolsey for winter wear. They also made bags, towels, table cloths, sheets and pillow slips of flax. raised, pulled, rotted and dressed by the family. The youngest sister, Mrs. J. P. Moore, spun flax at Fremont at the celebration of the centennial tea party of Boston harbor. Mother died May 31. 1860, at Elmore, Ohio; father died April 12, 1863. at Reedtown.
"Thomas Bennett was the first postmaster appointed here. but would not serve. whereupon William Knapp was appointed. Knapp was a storekeeper. and sold the store to a Mr. Ackley, who was killed by the falling of a bent in raising a barn for Harrison Cole. John Emery had his leg broken by the same fall. My father framed the barn."
Lodi village was surveyed in 1838 on sections 5 and 6, Reed township. James Durbin platted the place for John Terry and Catharine Beard. A postoffice was established here shortly after and Lyman White was the first postmaster. The location was a fortunate one, and the village has assumed some importance. with the usual number of industries represented. Dr. Robert P. Frazer was the first resident physician. The church and school
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buildings are up to date, and business is quite active in this little hamlet.
Omar was surveyed in August, 1854, for A. S. and A. L. Bennett, on the Sandusky division of the Pennsylvania line of railroads. A Methodist and Baptist churches were located here. but the village never prospered as its proprietors had anticipated. The surrounding country is rich in everything that contributes to agricultural wealth, and the location is a healthful one.
Reedtown is a few miles northeast of Omar. The location is on the Sandusky and Columbus road, just south of the old Catholic mission. The town was at one time called Cook's Gate, because a man by the name of Cook kept the toll-gate there, the place being on the Columbus and Sandusky turnpike. At an early date, some called the town Kelleytown, because a man by that name kept a store there. Hanford's was another name the town was once known by, on account of a tavern by that name being located there. The name of the town was finally settled to that of Reedtown, by which it is known today.
Scipio township was organized December 25, 1824. The name Seipio was suggested by William Anway, who came from Scipio, Cayuga county, New York, and settled there in 1821, three years before the organization of the township. At the first election thirteen votes were cast. The following is a list of the first township officers: Seth F. Foster, John Wright and Jonathan Nichols, trustees ; William B. Matthewson, clerk; Adam Hance and Joseph Osborne, overseers of the poor; Ezekiel Sampson and Wil- liam Stephens. fence viewers; William Anway, treasurer; William Anway, Jr., lister; M. McMillan and C. T. Westbrook, constables ; John Anway and E. H. Brown, supervisors. Its territory at first included the present township of Reed.
The township was surveyed in 1820 by Sylvanus Bourne, and the portion of the Indian Reservation therein was surveyed. in 1832, by C. W. Christmas. William Laughrey purchased the first tract of land here in 1820 or 1821, and came to reside in 1824.
Rock creek enters the township in the southeast quarter of section 13, flows west through the southern portion of Republic. thence southwest, and leaves the township in the southwestern quarter of section 31. Morrison creek. in the center of the north half of the township, and a tributary of Honey creek, in the south- west quarter of the township, are the leading streams. Sugar creek waters a small portion of the northern sections and flows northwest in Adams township. Several spring creeks are also found here. At a depth of sixty-five feet pure spring water is found. While these ereeks afford a fair supply of good water for ordinary purposes, the wells of the township supply water of the finest quality for drinking and cooking.
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The surface is gently rolling. the soil fertile. farms well eulti- vated and laid off in large fields, with many Osage hedge-rows already in existence. and others fast rising to usurp the place of the old rail fence; farm houses are all comfortable. and many elegant farm buildings are pretentious.
C. T. Westbrook. John Wright. Adam Hance, Abraham Spen- cer, Isaac Nichols. Mr. Stevens. Mr. Osborn. Timothy P. Roberts. Morrison MeMillon. E. H. Brown. Seth F. Foster. Nathan Foster and William B. Matthewson may be mentioned as early settlers.
The township has excellent roads. and two lines of railway pass through it, one from north to south and one from east to west. The Baltimore & Ohio enters the township from the east at section 25, runs in a northwesterly direction until it leaves Republic, then it takes a due westerly course until it leaves the township at section 19. The Sandusky branch of the Pennsylvania lines run north and south through the eastern part of the township.
When William. Anway came to this township. in 1821, he had eleven children; the oldest was twenty-one years old, and the youngest but two years. He built the first cabin here. with the help of his family and one man-Benjamin Huntley, from Huron county. Mr. Anway and his son cut the first road through the woods to Tiffin, winding along on the highest ground they could find. Anway's cabin stood near the corner of the Marion state road and the South Tiffin road. The spot is now covered by a circle of pines planted there in memory of the first home of the Anway family.
About 1826 or 1827 the schools of the pioneer period first made their appearance in the township. Two decades later there were fourteen school districts and 953 pupils enrolled. The township board of education was organized April 18, 1853. with Jacob Brong, George Stearns, Daniel Brown, David Neikirk, William Baker, Henry Troxall, T. P. Roberts, Elijah Brown, clerks of the several districts.
Among the pioneers and old residents of Scipio township were many of those men of enterprise who shared fully in raising this proud county out of the wilderness.
Seneca township was surveyed in 1820, by United States sur- veyor, J. T. Worthington, and offered for sale in 1821.
About the time the survey of the township now forming Seneca county was completed, the commissioners of Sandusky county set off the whole of Seneca. except Thompson township (as organized in April, 1820), and the Indian Reservations, into one township "to be known as Seneca township." In other words. Seneca township as established May 8. 1820. comprised all the present county, except the Seneca and other reservations, the townships of
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Thompson, Reed and Venice and the eastern two and one-half mile strip of Adams, Scipio and Bloom townships. In June. 1820. Clinton was detached; in June, 1821. Eden was detached: June 7. 1824, Bloom was detached ; Scipio and Hopewell in December. 1824. and the same date Seneca township was reorganized. comprising the present town and Big Spring township. Big Spring was detached in March. 1833.
Seneca township at its first election, elected the following ticket: West Barney. John Lay. David Risdon, trustees: John Keller and David Rice, overseers of the poor; James Montgomery. Erastus Bowe and Joel Chapin, supervisors; P. Wilson, lister ; Asa Pike, appraiser; Thomas Nicholson and Abner Pike. fence- viewers; John Boughton and Joel Lee, constables.
The Sandusky river enters the township in section 36, flows northerly through the eastern sections in a tortuous course and leaves the township in section 1. The head waters of Wolf creek find a home here in sections 16 and 20. and unite in one stream in section 4, which, flowing through this section, leaves the township at the "Worling Farm."
A few small streams flow south from the watershed or height of land and unite with Delaware creek just south of the county line in the old Delaware Reservation. A number of rivulets flow east from the ridge road into the sandusky river, while numerous springs, creeks and wells yield a full supply of good water.
The railroads passing through the township are the Big Four and the Toledo & Ohio Central.
The early settlers in the township were Henry St. John. Wil- liam McCormick. Alexander Bowland, John Galbreath. Peter Weikert, Joseph Canahan. William Kerr. Caleb Brundage. Daniel Hoffman, John Yambert. David Foght, William Harmon. Jacob Staib, Benjamin Harmon, John Blair, George Heck, Jacob Wolfe. John Waggoner. James Aiken. James Brinkerhoff. John Crocker. Gustavus Reiniger, Jacob Kroh, Amos Nichols. John Withelm and others.
Mention should also be made of some other old settlers here. German pioneers that located in Seneca township about the time the writer came to Tiffin : John Dockweiler. Conrad Schmidtt. Ignatz Neumeyer, John Houck. George Weisenberger, Michael Wagner. John Feck. Jacob Kappler, Michael Stippich, Conrad Heirholzer and John Wank.
Seneca is one of the wealthy townships in the county. The soil is rich and under a good state of cultivation. Its citizens are intelligent and enterprising. Their homes exhibit taste and comfort.
There was also an Indian grant in this township to Catharine Walker, a Wyandot woman, and to John Walker, her son, who was
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wounded in the service of the United States. It was a section of 640 acres lying mostly within the present limits of Seneca township. and directly west of the Van Meter section. This grant was secured to these Walkers at the treaty of 1817, at the foot of the rapids of the Miami of the Lake.
The early churches in the township were the Methodist Epis- copal, Presbyterian. United Brethren. the Salem Reform church. German Evangelical. German Reform. German Evangelical Lutheran.
The Staib family were among the pioneers of Seneca township, and Jacob Staib gave the following sketch of his life and incidents of the early settlement of the township: "I entered the land where we lived so long, and in 1834 I commenced chopping and clearing on the old Staib farm, and built a house, into which I moved on the 1st day of April. 1835, and where I had no other company than my dog. I bought a yoke of oxen, a cow and some chickens. In May John Ellwanger came and worked with me until my father and the family on. The family arrived here July 9, 1835. Now we all worked together, but had many troubles to contend with. Provisions became scarce, and we were compelled to grate unripe corn to make bread. I was lucky enough to buy a barrel of flour from a team that came from the south for $7.00. The man sold the balance of the load in Tiffin for twice that sum.
"The German grape plants father brought with him began to bear in two years from the time they were planted. and produced delightful fruit, but in 1843 the mildew affected them, and finally destroyed them. We raised pines from seed we brought with us. which became the first evergreen trees in the county. We also had the first grafted fruit in the county, cherries. plums, apricots. peaches, etc .. We partook of the work and hardships incident to frontier life. The climate was very unfavorable; great storms heavy frosts. the thawing weather, interchanging rapidly, was very destructive to wheat. and we harvested more cheat than wheat.
"In the spring of 1834 we had frosts from the 12th until the 20th of May. The fruit trees froze, vegetables, the wheat and even the leaves on the trees in the woods, so that on the 1st of June the woods looked like winter time. The springs were very wet; the summers exceedingly hot and dry. £ In the summer of 1834 we were pestered greatly with squirrels; the woods were literally filled with them. We could raise nothing within a few rods of the fences. They often destroyed whole fields of wheat and corn. The woods were full of ravenous animals also, that made it almost impossible to raise poultry or hogs for a while.
"We also had our share of malarial fevers. and at times were not able to wait upon each other. Sometimes we could not take care of our crops, but there is nothing like good neighbors. There
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were no rich people here then, and therefore we had no thieves: there was nothing to steal. The greater number of the old pio- neers have passed away, and there are but a few of us left who can look back upon those early days, which were, after all. among our most happy times, in spite of all hard work and privations.
"In December, 1833. we built a school house. Our district embraced nearly all the township. We all met on the same day. chopped down the trees, hauled the logs together, raised the house and put the clap-boards on before we quit work. Even the floor was laid. the benches put up, the house chinked and daubed. few days after school was kept in it.
"In 1838 Market street, in Tiffin, was cut out from the river to Julius Fellnagel's. on Sandusky street. Mr. Fellnagel had a lease from Mr. Hedges for a piece of land near by, all covered with trees. My brother Louis and I tock the job of clearing it. When we cut down a big maple we found at a point three inches from the center a notch that had been out with a sharp instrument, about three inches wide. The notch was four inches deep and oblique. We counted more than three hundred rings between this wound and the bark. Some forest ranger more than three centuries before injured the tree. It stood between Mr. Eid's residence and the river."
MeCutchenville is partly in Seneca township and partly in Wyandot county. The village was platted in 1829. for Colonel Joseph Mccutchen. by Dr. G. W. Sampson, who was a surveyor as well as a physician. In that year Colonel Mccutchen erected the first dwelling house in the place, and Dr. Sampson the second. in 1830.
MeCutchenville was the home of Jacob Newman Free. better known as the "Immortal J. N .. " now deceased.
In 1834 there was a log church a quarter of a mile north of Mccutchenville, in Seneca county. In time it was torn down and a new church building erected in the village. Shortly after and in the same year. the German Reformed society and the Lutherans erected a log church, which they sold in after years, as a church at that point had been discontinued.
Then the Methodist Protestants (1835) undertook to build a church, which they were unable to complete. The Congregation- al society was then formed, and agreed to complete the church for the privilege of its use half the time for twenty-five years, but in 1560 the Congregationalists and Methodist Protestants agreed to sell the building. the former having disbanded in 1850. In 1834- 35 Mr. Arnold and other Catholics erected a neat frame church, which continued in use down to a few years ago, when it was burned by an incendiary. The Albright society erected a small frame house at MeCutehenville, which they used until the brick
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church. two and a half miles east in Seneca county, was completed. when the old building was disposed of.
The Methodist Episcopal church was founded at MeCutchien- ville early in the '30s. The Presbyterians did not form their society until 1850, and did not erect a house of worship until 1860. Mccutchenville is on the Toledo & Ohio Central railroad.
Berwick was platted in an angle between Railroad. Pittsburg and Findlay streets, was surveyed by Thomas Heming. in April 1845, for HI. B. Kaestner. W. Brinkerhoff and John Campbell. DeCamp's addition was surveyed by Thomas Heming, July 27. 1847, for Ralph and Mary DeCamp. Weikert's addition was made in July, 1848, for Peter Weikert. Christhp's addition was platted February 12. 1857, by L. E. Holtz, for George S. Christlip. J. Mathias' addition was surveyed in August. 1881, and C. Foster & Co.'s in March, 1881. The name was conferred on the village by John Campbell, who came from Berwick, Pennsylvania. prior to 1845. Berwick is at the crossing of the "Big Four" and the Toledo & Ohio Central railroads. It is the only village in the township and is eight miles from Tiffin.
Thompson township was established under the authority of the commissioners of Sandusky county. given April 25, 1820. , As set off at that time it included almost the whole of the present coun- ty east of the Sandusky river, together with the district bounded as follows: Beginming at the northeast corner of Seneca Reser- vation ; thence north to the old trail from Croghansville to Strong's; thence east to intersect the fire lands, south with that line to the base line ; thence west along base to a point whence a line due north will strike the northeast corner of the Seneca Reservation.
Although this was one of the first divisions of the county to receive the honors of establishment from the commissioners of Sandusky, it was one of the last to receive a full quota of settlers. While the squatters of 1819-20 were actually on the ground prior to the land sales and for years afterward, yet the working pioneers did not come until 1829. In 1832-33 the influx of German pio- neers gave a new impetus to agricultural life, and from this dates the phenomenal progress which has marked this pastoral township for its own.
The first township election was held on the 6th day of May. 1820, at the house of Joseph Parmenter.
Among the first settlers in the township were William and Nathan Whitney, Joseph Parmenter, H. Purdy, David Underhill. James Whitmore, James Underhill. Eli Whitney. Jasper Underhill. Benjamin Clark, Solomon Dimick, Benjamin Murray and A. II. Twiss, most of whom the writer well knew. They are all dead.
There were several squatters upon the openings in Thompson. who, owing to the searcity of water at that time, left the country.
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The face of the country is beautifully undulating and the soil remarkably rich and fertile.
The soil in Thompson. as elsewhere in the county, is drift, resting upon a sub-stratum of loose, shaley limestone, which is full of fissures, forming numerous sink holes, which are found all over the township. A little stream called Sink creek runs into one of these, where it disappears. Many years ago a saw mill was erected upon this stream, with sufficient water to run it about three months in the year. There is a similar creek with a small saw mill a little west of this. Whenever there is a heavy or continuous rain. these sink-holes overflow, doing a good deal of damage sometimes.
The greatest natural curiosity in Thompson is its celebrated cave. The entrance to the cave is near the south end of the east half of the northwest quarter of section 1. on the land once owned by Mason Kinney, one and one-half miles from Bellevue. and three quarters of a mile from Flat Rock. The discovery of the cave is generally attributed to George and Henry Hasson. It was prob- ably first discovered by Lyman and Asa Strong. It was known as early as the year 1815 by the settlers on the Fire Lands. and visited frequently by the hunters for the purpose of killing rattlesnakes, which were found here in great numbers, and which gave the name of Rattlesnakes' Den to the cave. The mouth of the cave is six feet long and three feet wide. Upon examining the land in the immediate vicinity. it appears that about five acres, for some un- known cause, have sunk several feet. Some have conjectured that the limestone rock once rested upon a bed of soap-stone, which being washed away in course of time, left a cavity that swallowed up the whole mass above. There is no doubt but that sometime in the world's history a great convulsion has racked the sub-stratum here, for as you descend the cavity, you find the rocks on one side in a horizontal position. while on the other side they ineline to angle of forty-five degrees.
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