History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 41

Author: R. Sutton & Co.
Publication date: 1883
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 427

USA > Ohio > Shelby County > History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 41

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They came the self-constituted agents of their own destiny, the fore- runners of civilization, the pioneers of progress, who, being able, were also willing to cope with the wildness of nature, and the savagery of nature's children, until gardens could be established in the wilderness, and temples of justice and education could be reared and dedicated in the midst of savagery, and the rapt wildness with which it stood hand in hand, each administering to the other's cruel needs.

Coming here those pioneers did not take to themselves licenses pecu- liar to new conditions, but subjugated those conditions, and subordi- nated their own lives and their very surroundings to the better ideas and principles which prevailed in the communities upon which they had turned their backs, and the associations of which they had renounced forever. Taking their fortune in their hands, and their destiny in their hearts, they burned the bridges behind them, and came to a new country to plant the seeds of civilization, and in the fulness of time to gather the flower of education, and reap the fruit of organized society.

They came, some in youth, some in manhood's prime, and some in manhood's decline. But they came with strong hearts and willing hands, whether standing to the sunrise, the meridian, or the sunset of man's

estate in years. To them it was merely adventure, but he who to-day contemplates it in its fulness will call it courage and endurance of the very highest order.

Building better than they knew, after all their best intentions and highest hopes. they built a society, with its concomitant institutions, upon the basis of the society they left, with the additional and significant prerogatives of youth and elasticity.

They came, not to amass fortunes in a day, for that dream had neither been indulged nor realized as yet in the new world. But they came, some in obedience to a restless impulse, and others under guidance of a spirit of foresight, which looked into the wilderness and saw it bloom, and blossom, and bear the fruits of civilization in the distant but approaching to-morrow, just in the same sense in which the sculptor . looks upon the roughest block of marble, and sees an angel's form with- in, or the painter views the unbecoming, uncouth canvas, and sees a world of life, and thought, and beauty. Encouraged by hope, impelled by will, and armed by endurance, they came the masters of themselves, and the born masters of the strange environment which they faced and defied. They came from different seats of comfort and delight to a com- mon seat of ignorance and barbarism; from the presence of the temple of learning to the wigwam of the savage; from the organized institutions of right to the unorganized forces of might ; and yet they were firm, and never for a moment faltered. The worshippers of principle in the old settlements, they continued that worship in the new, until right triumphed over might, and justice sat enthroned the goddess of the new world they had made, and of every home that little world contained. If the older communities enjoyed the privileges of the sanctuary of religion, they were early enjoyed even here; if old communities adored education, schools were established here; if old communities worshipped justice, here her temple was reared and dedicated, within the walls of which the scales were poised to the nicety of a feather's weight. 1

Perhaps it was a rude culture which obtained for a time; perhaps it was a rude community, perhaps the temples of education, justice, and religion were rude, but above and below, within and without that rude- ness, the spirit at its very best was manifested; that same better spirit which pervaded the parent communities, the spirit of progress, the spirit of growth and development which has since presided over the destiny of this your native or adopted country, until by its thrilling, trilling im- pulses, by the resistless forward force it has given the years now gone, by the promise which it holds out to-day, by the rank it has given your county, it has proved the true spirit of growth, and raised from an in- hospitable wilderness an organized society armed with the best forces of civilization which constitutes your proud inheritance, and at the shrine of which you may well stand abashed in wonder, and uncover your head in reverence.

It is this picture of contrast, growth, and energy which calls for de- lineation, and demands our careful study. It is the word painting of an area of territory with its various products and different eras, to which the succeeding pages are to be devoted. Thus far the county has largely yielded place to a general presentation of events, which sometimes re- mote in years, yet had a moulding influence upon the destiny of this community. Recognizing an unbroken line of events, tracing down from the period of the Revolution, and giving force and character to the settlement and development of this locality, the preceding portion of this work has been devoted to the presentation of that line of creative and modifying events. History has been defined " philosophy teaching

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

by example," and this work, in both its general and local departments, will be found replete with examples of energy, force, and foresight of the very highest order.

The rudest and most uncouth element has, perhaps, as great weight, and serves as an example equally good as the brightest and best life, if viewed in a philosophie manner. Ask a Chesterfield where he learned etiquette or good manners, and' he replies, "from the unmannerly." Properly viewed, a man may learn virtue from vice, just as the world has learned liberty from tyranny, and justice from oppression. It is the study of men wherein the good is to be adored and the bad despised. If, then, in the examples heretofore and hereafter portrayed,-examples of beauty and deformity,-the children of to-day or to-morrow shall glean useful lessons of patriotism, justice, moderation, liberty, and mo- rality, this work shall have fulfilled its mission, for, at the most, it dare only hope to entertain but not instruct the actors of yesterday, who are now facing the sunset of life. Pause, then, in the justifiable home pride you entertain to-day, and cast a backward glance to the date of the organization of your county to the year 1819, and tell us what bow of promise could have arched the horizon of the founders of this county ! As something of a habitation of civilized man, as something of a settle- ment of bold pioneers, it was already of some fifteen years' duration, but what did or could those years of struggling, almost helpless infancy accomplish !

The visible results were measured by scattered clearings, wearing yet the primitive cabin solitaire, and jewelled only by brush or log heaps sometimes glowing with genuine fire. These marked the pathway of the restless sons of labor, who brought energy and perseverance to bear upon their wearying, wearing task. But the pioneer looked beneath the surface, and saw a bashful wealth, half hiding, half coquetting with its admirers. That soil in all its coyness revealed to the penetrating gaze of the pioneer a world of worth, and all his hopes and plans were founded upon the basis, which looks only to ultimate results. Combining a wealth of labor with a fertility of soil, he saw a promise bright enough to cheer him at his stubborn self-chosen obligations. His unbounded confidence in the future, and his willingness to work, was his only capital, but these formed to him the solution of life's social and financial problems to his satisfaction and delight. They were the open sesame by which the gates of the to-morrow opened at his approach. With a foresight, which ap- proached the dignity of prophecy, he put his hand to the plow, never looking back, but ever forward toward the to-morrow of his years which was to bring him a harvest of comfort commensurate with the efforts he had put forth and the privations he had undergone. And rarely was he disappointed. For the greater part the pioneers lived long enough to see the wisdom of their course, and gather some of the fruits of their, own planting; while the lesser number lived long enough to see the complete transformation of the section which they had known as a wilderness waste; long enough to see the disappearance of the red man; long enough to witness those mighty changes which have revo- lutionized all modern society within a period of half a century.

Who will contemplate the present of this county, and dare say the pioneer did less than the fullest, largest share of the real labor incident to the improvements you to-day enjoy ? It will not do standing in full view of the rising sun of an intellectual and industrial day to cast re- proach upon the simple memory of the physical era. Just as to-day is the outgrowth of yesterday, so our cultured period is the outgrowth of that physical past. There were hard blows to be struck, and these blows could only come through physical force. That force cleared the way, lopping off its own excrescences as it beckoned the advance of a more cultured agency. Admit once for all that rudeness everywhere abounded; that school-houses, churches, court-honses, dwellings, imple- ments of labor, dress, and manners were uncouth and unseemly. After you have done this, you must also admit other truths just as potent, such as the fact that the spirit of the men who formed the community showed itself at its best in their adherence to principle, their encourage- ment of education, their administration of justice, and their unbounded hospitality. Of these traits-the gilded, proud estate of manhood-no community ever furnished a brighter example. Talk of rudeness when the heart is full of charity; talk of ignorance when the mind is worship-

ping justice; talk of prejudice when each succeeding breath is only a new inspiration of liberty !

Why should they be more than externally uncouth, when they came from the tender influences of the better institutions of the old communi- ties? Why should they be less than superficially rude, when they were dealing with wild and savage rudeness? You who are proud of your structure of society will not cast a reproach upon the memory of that brave and hardy band of men and women, who dug deep enough to lay a permanent foundation for that structure of society of which you proudly boast. You will not sneer at the noble workers who laid the basis of those .educational and industrial institutions, which are the pride and glory of the present, and the hope and promise of the future. As a physical force guided by a moral influence those pioneers, like the whirlwind, swept before them every obstacle, until even the unbounded forest, the cruel savage, and the wild, ferocious beast had been almost ruthlessly swept aside as no longer obstructions in the widening, extend- ing sweep of civilization. True, the past is dead; its actors have largely passed from the stage, and, for the most part, the curtain need not be lifted. Still, it is well here and there in the bustling scenes of the pre- sent to glance back at the drama of the past, and learn what improve- ment we have made. The ship of the past has wrecked either in mid- ocean or against its distant shore, and yet in the midst of our own tempestuous voyage we may profit by pausing here and there before the wind and tide to take a new reckoning, and determine, if we can, how far and in what direction we have sailed, and whither our present course is drifting. If the log-books of wrecked or anchored vessels are at hand, it may be well to consult them, and profit, if we can, by their recorded observations. Let us then pause a little time to lift the curtain upon the drama of the past, and take up for examination the log-book of those voyagers who have shipped for the last time, and from whose nerveless grasp the rudder has forever fallen.

COUNTY. PHYSICAL FEATURES.

The county comprises an area of about four hundred square miles, or more than 256,000 acres. The soil is varied in character, but extremely fertile throughout the county. The county is bounded north by Auglaize, east by Logan and Champaign, south by Miami, and west by Darke and Auglaize counties. For the most part the surface may be called level, although the southern part and the lands adjacent to the Miami River and Loramie Creek partake of a rolling character, sometimes deserving to be called hilly. The altitude is such that Lockington, within the county, marks the summit of the Miami and Erie Canal, the waters from the Miami feeder being here diverted to both the north and the south. The natural water-shed, however, is deflected southward for the whole county, for all natural streams find a final outlet through the Great Miami, which enters the county from the east and flowing to the southwest, crosses the line to immediately receive the waters of Loramie Creek, which carries the drainage of the whole west side of the county. Owing to these larger streams and their smaller tributaries the drainage of the county is effected without great difficulty, although necessarily extensive. That artificial drainage is still carrying forward, but is so far complete as to reduce that which is yet to do to the level of mere auxiliary work. This is viewing the county as a whole, for when viewed by localities there will be found sections still calling for not the spade and tile alone, but for the axe as well. This applies perhaps more par- ticularly to the northeast corner of the county, comprising a large frac- tion of Jackson Township. Still a few years more will develop a system of drainage for the whole area, not only comprehensive, but also perfect. Of the streams, the Great Miami River and Loramie Creek are the most important. In addition to these as contributing to the drainage must be mentioned Muchanippi, Turtle, Tawawa, Rush, Nine Mile, Brush, and Turkey Foot Creeks, as well as Panther Run and Count's Run.

The Miami and Erie Canal crosses the county from south to north, and affords shipping facilities to several inland towns. The soil through- out the county, although diversified in character, may be classed as fer- tile, as will be hereafter shown by agricultural statistics.

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

GEOLOGY. BY JOHN HUSSEY.

[Geological Survey of Ohio, vol. iii., 1878 ]

This county is situated in the second tier of counties from the bound- ary line between Indiana and Ohio, and about half-way of the State from north to south. It is bounded on the north by Auglaize County, on the east by Logan and Champaign, on the south by Miami, and on the west by Darke and Auglaize. The county seat is Sidney. The water-shed between the Maumee and Miami River systems is partly in the northern part of this county. The road known as the Kettler turnpike, in a gen- eral way, may be regarded as marking the line of the water shed, at least for some miles of its course, nearest the Loramie Reservoir. The water- shed bears to the northeast, after leaving this county, into Hardin and Wyandot counties.

ELEVATION OF THE COUNTY.

At Cincinnati, low water in the Ohio River is four hundred and thirty- two feet above tide-water, and the water in the Sidney feeder is five hundred and twelve feet above low water in the Ohio, or nine hundred and forty-four feet above tide-water. The greatest elevation yet measured in the county is one hundred and thirty-four feet, on the Tawawa turnpike, east of the Miami River. The line between this county and Champaign, on this turnpike, is one hundred and twenty-one feet above the water in . the feeder. The greatest elevation on the line of the Stewart turnpike is one hundred and twenty-one feet, and on the line between Shelby and Logan counties one hundred and eleven feet above the water in the canal. On the Infirmary turnpike the greatest elevation is eighty-seven feet, and at the end of this road, on the line between this county and Miami, it is forty feet below the level of the canal. On the St. Marys turnpike, about two miles from Sidney, the highest point is reached at one hundred and twelve feet above the water in the canal. The bottom of the reservoir is about eight feet above the water in the canal. The main canal extends entirely across the county, running in a northwest- erly direction from a point on the southern boundary line about midway of the county, from east to west. The Sidney feeder is twelve miles in length, and extends from Port Jefferson to Lockington, and is the channel through which the water from the great reservoir at Lewistown reaches the summit level of the canal. The Sidney feeder and the main canal above Lockington are on the same level, and the, water from the Lewistown reservoir flows indifferently north or south. The summit- level of the Miami and Erie Canal is, therefore, the same as that of the Sidney feeder-nine hundred and forty-four feet above the level of the sea. The highest land in the county (so far as any measurements have extended) is one thousand and seventy-eight feet above tide-water, and six hundred and forty-six feet above low water in the Ohio River at Cincinnati. To aid in the comparison of the elevations in this county with other portions of the State, I will here give a few measurements taken from Prof. Orton's Report of the Geology of Highland County, in the volume for 1870, p. 258. At the head-waters of the Scioto and Miami rivers, in Logan County, an elevation is given, on the authority of Col. C. Whittlesey, of one thousand three hundred and forty-four feet, which is two hundred and sixty-six feet greater than any in Shelby County. A measurement still greater is given of a summit in Richland County, one thousand three hundred and eighty-nine feet above the level of the sea. The highest land in the State, so far as known, is a point.about three miles northeast of Bellefontaine. Its elevation above the sea, as determined by Prof. F. C. Hill, for the Geological Survey, is fifteen hun- dred and forty-four feet. The summit-level of the canal in this county is four hundred feet lower than the water-shed between the Miami and Scioto rivers in Logan County. This statement will show the resources of the canal for water supply in this direction. The surface drainage and spring-water of a surface of about nine hundred square miles, must be available at the head-waters of the Miami as a supply for the canal above the summit-level-one-half of which, with other resources, would float a tonnage greater than was ever floated in the canal.

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTY.

From the preceding statements it will be seen that the surface of the county is little diversified in regard to elevation. There are no hills or deep valleys giving variety to the climate or the productions, or pro- ducing picturesqueness of scenery. While the surface is everywhere rolling and well drained, the difference in level from the lowest to the highest point within the limits of the county is but little over two hun- dred feet. The water from the summit-level is locked down southward from Lockington altogether by six locks, an aggregate of sixty-seven feet, in detail as follows, commencing at the lowest lock: No. 48, from the Ohio River, the lift is ten feet ; passing over the Loramie by an aqueduct, Lock 49 has a lift of eleven feet; the 50th and 51st have each a lift of eleven feet; the 52d and 53d each twelve feet-in all sixty-seven feet. If the water in the bed of the river at the county line is twelve feet below the level of the canal, that would make the lowest point in the county seventy-nine feet below the highest level of the canal; add one hundred and thirty-four feet for the greatest elevation of any point in the county above the canal, and we have the difference in level between the lowest and highest points in the county, which is two hundred and thirteen feet. This calculation includes the valley of the Miami. If we leave this out of the calculation, the variation in level of the upland, the larger part of the county by far, would not be more than about one hundred and twenty-five feet.

The surface of the county, excluding the valley of the Miami, would average about seventy-five feet above the water in the canal. Before the watercourses had worn their channels in the drift, the surface, nearly level, sloped gently toward the south from the dividing ridge; north of that line still less toward the north.

The drainage is very simple. The water which falls on the surface of the county is drained off by the Miami River and its tributaries, with the exception of a strip north of the Kettler turnpike, of a width of about two miles, and but little greater in the other dimension. This is drained into the Maumee. The Miami flows from the county on the south at a point about midway from east to west. Near this point it receives its most important tributary, the Loramie, coming from the northwest, along whose course in the county the Miami Canal is conducted. This tributary, besides performing an important part in the drainage of the county, is immensely valuable in relation to the canal, the Loramie Reservoir being formed in this stream. Coming into the county about centrally on the north, a small stream, it moves sluggishly over the flat district which forms the dividing ridge, and gradually moving its course to the west, reaches a point in its journey far to the western part of the county, where its course is turned to the south in connection with important accessions to its volume of water; cutting a decided channel and receiving important accessions from both sides, it gradually returns eastward to midway of the county, where it debouches into the Miami. It is in the upper part of its course, just where it leaves its sluggish meanderings on the high land of the water-shed, that the important reservoir which receives its name from the creck is situated. There is a descent of seventy-five or eighty feet from the bottom of the reservoir to the mouth of the Loramie. The eastern part of the county is drained by other tributaries of the Miami. The Tawawa, formed by the junction of the Leatherwood and Mosquito creeks, is an excellent mill stream, and drains the principal part of the county east of the Miami River. From the appearance of this stream in the dry months of July and August, I conclude it is largely fed by springs, as the volume of water was kept up to a good stage when many other streams had failed. There are some copious springs in the county, but they do not form such a feature as they do in some other counties situated at a lower level. As might be expected, the high land west of the Miami has fewer and less copious springs than are found in less elevated localities in the county. In conclusion of this subject, the drainage of the county by natural channels is ample.

The Soil .- The character of the soil out of the river and creek bot- . toms depends upon the nature of the underlying drift. The drift will be spoken of more particularly further on. The soil in the river bottoms is composed largely of partially decomposed vegetable matter. There is nothing peculiar about this class of soils in this county, except that

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

on some of the tributaries of the Miami, as Plum Creek, there is an unusual body of it compared with the size of the creek. The explanation of this seems to be that in the upper course of this stream especially, the fall in the bed of the creek is often very slight, and the drainage was very imperfect Before the country was cleared the water was still more impeded by rubbish and undergrowth, and it stood on the ground for at least a portion of the year. Large accumulations of vegetable mould took place, which the size of the streams, as seen to-day, do not seem adequate to produce. This mould is not alluvium, but the result of vegetable growth on the spot. It has not been washed thither by the water, but the vegetation which made it, grew up in the swamps which existed along this sluggish watercourse. The upland soil in the county is naturally divided into two classes, one called black soil, composed of the clay of the drift, mixed with a greater or less proportion of vegetable mould; the other is a light-colored, "thin" soil, with little vegetable matter. The dark-colored soil is related in origin to that of the creek bottoms or flats, just referred to. Wherever the water formed swampy districts, there accumulated vegetable matter. Some of these places were yet swampy at the first settlement of the county, and were shunned as unhealthy localities ; but others, often extensive, were no longer swampy, but from channels being worn through them or out of them, were dry, and invited, not in vain, the carly settler. The face of the country may have changed so that the land is readily drained at present, and this still be the true explanation of these black lands in this and adjoining counties. Moisture made rank and abundant vegetation, while it also impeded its entire decay. The partially decayed vegetable pro- ducts accumulated, and mingling with the clay below, formed that rich, dark-brown loam. But there is unfortunately a larger area of thin and light-colored soil in the county than of the soil just described. This thin soil is not peculiar to this county, but is found in other counties situated in like manner. Its color shows it to be quite destitute of the products of vegetation. It differs equally from the yellow clay soils of the uplands of Butler, Warren, and Hamilton counties, and seems less capable of being made productive. The clay of this class of soils is impermeable to water, and is so situated that water has drained off readily, and has not stood upon it in natural swamps. The soil is com- posed of a fine-grained material and is compact, and sheds water like a roof. How the circumstances in which the fine-grained material was deposited differed from those in which other drift deposits were made, I will not undertake to state. This soil seems to have been exhausted rather than enriched by ages of primeval vegetation. What chemical analysis would show it to lack of fertilizing material, I cannot say, but the deficiency of limestone pebbles in it would indicate that it might be lacking in lime, and it has not had the advantage of being overspread with decaying boulders, which add to a soil potash and other fertilizing ingredients. It seems to have been the least fine sediment deposited from receding water-lifeless water.

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History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 41

Author: R. Sutton & Co. Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Number of Pages: 427

Author: R. Sutton & Co.
Publication date: 1883
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 427