USA > Ohio > History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. II > Part 60
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The Abbotts were among the first men of their day, considered in the light of sportsmen. John Abbott was the ancestor of the Abbotts in this county, and from him descended many of the same name.
John Thisler began clearing off land below Bethlehem at an early day. The old farm now runs up close to the village; but he is dead.
Moses Rodgers was among the first and most successful of the early settlers.
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
Lucas and William Plaskett, the latter a flat- boatman, were here seventy odd years ago.
All these men, with their wives and families, took an active part in preparing the way for future generations ; and to their credit it can be truly said, they did their work well. Let us see that posterity shall improve on the past.
CHAPTER XIX. CARR TOWNSHIP.
ORGANIZATION.
This township lies in the western half of the county. It was organized in 1854, being struck off almost entirely from the eastern side of Wood. It has an area of nearly twenty-seven square miles, or over seventeen thousand acres. It is bounded on the north by Wood, Monroe, and Union townships; on the east by Union and Silver Creek townships; on the south by Floyd county; and on the east by Wood township. The boundaries are very irregular on the north and east sides. They are set forth in language something like the following:
Beginning on the line which divides Clark from Floyd county, and on the line which divides sections nineteen and twenty, and from thence running north until it strikes the southwest corner of section thirty-two; thence east and thence north to where tracts numbers two hundred and fifty, two hundred and thirty-four, and two hundred and thirty-five corner; thence south, with variations, till it strikes the Muddy fork of Silver creek; thence with that stream, with its mean- derings, to the south side of tract number one hundred and sixty-six; thence west, with variations, to the county line of Floyd, near St. Joseph's hill; and thence with the dividing line between Clark and Floyd counties to the place of begin- ning.
This township is composed mostly of sections, though there are four or five of the Grant tracts lying along the eastern side of the township.
TOPOGRAPHY.
The knobs strike Carr close to the southeast corner and trend with Muddy fork, passing into Wood township. Then they return again after making the circle above New Providence to en- ter the township on the north, a mile or so south of the base line, north of Muddy fork, and bend off toward the township of Monroe. In the southwest corner of the township are more
than four thousand acres occupied entirely by the knobs, and perhaps in the northeastern corner as many as three thousand acres, almost worthless, for the same reason.
But what the knobs lose in productiveness they have gained in the beauty of their scenery.
These knobs are the striking natural features of the county, as well as the township. The Muddy Fork valley is possibly the line of the drift extending from the upper counties, and the summit from which the icebergs began their rapid descent into the great Ohio and Mississippi valleys. The country around the Falls is very rich in opportunities for geological research.
Nearly half a century ago John Works, the fa- mous miller of Charlestown township, exam- ined the iron ore in this section, and pronounced it of excellent quality. The ore crops out in al- most every ravine in this region, and is every- where of the same general character, containing the same quantity of iron. The Geological Re- port says :
Another deposit of iron ore, of considerable extent, is seen on the land of Allen Barnett, near Broom hill, on the New Albany & Chicago railroad. Some of this ore has rather a peculiar structure, and is made up entirely of an aggregation of coarse particles of hydrated brown oxide. It is what is usually denominated " kidney ore," and is scattered pro- fusely over the surface. The whole country at the base of the knobs; where the New Providence shale outcrops, is a rich iron ore. It accumulates in the ravines and valleys by the washing down of the formation which contained it, and is generally easy of access.
The Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis, the Louis- ville, New Albany & Chicago, and the "V" of the Ohio & Mississippi railroad are about ten miles apart in the county. They all pass through the district containing these ore seams, and afford a ready means of shipment to the blast furnaces now in operation in this State.
It is probable that the New Providence shale, on account of its mineral constituents, and being highly fossiliferous, will make a good fertilizer.
Mr. Allen Barnett, of whom the Assistant State Geologist speaks, bought land in the New Providence valley to a considerable extent sev- eral years ago, and intended to open a furnace; but on account of old age and declining health the scheme was never carried into execution.
The geologist says of the county that it "has unlimited quantities of superior iron ore, cement rock, beautiful marble, the best of building rock, superior lime-producing rock, and excellent glass sand;" and nowhere is this more true than along the knob system of the Muddy Fork valley.
That part of the township included in the
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
Muddy Fork valley is not generally productive. Formerly, however, all the cereals were raised in abundance. The soil is cold, and its fertility is very much impaired on account of long service. Many farms in the neighborhood of Broom Hill and Bennettsville have been in constant use for more than fifty years. It is here that many of the early settlers began agricultural pursuits; and here, too, their children have remained, follow- ing, in most cases, the vocation of their parents.
STREAMS AND SPRINGS.
- The Muddy Fork of Silver creek passes through the township very nearly in an easterly course, dividing the township into halves. On either side a valley follows, from one half to three-quarters of a mile in width. Muddy fork, in Carr township, has many characteristics pe- culiar to the Nile in Egypt. Its tributaries are small and generally unimportant. The most noticeable are Stone lick and Turkey run, both flowing from the north. In the southwest corner of the township Big Indian creek flows off into the county of Floyd. Along the base of the knobs there are many evidences, to a traveler on the railroad, indicating that a pretty large stream flows thereat. This deception is a subject of frequent remark by persons unacquainted with the surface of the country.
Many springs of decided medicinal qualities flow from the fissures previously mentioned as being overlaid with seams of iron. "One of the most noted of these springs is situated on tract number two hundred and thirty-four of the Grant, in the extreme northwestern corner of the town- ship. The water has been analyzed by the State Geologist, and found to contain the following : Alumina and oxide of iron, 2.00r grains ; sul- phate of lime 71.806 grains; sulphate of magnesia, 429.66 grains ; chloride of sodium, 286.09 grains ; sulphate of sodium and potash, 204.4 grains ; total 993.957. This mineral has a similar composition to that from which the celebrated Crab Orchard salts of Kentucky are made. It is in good demand and has been shipped to the cities about the falls and to other parts of the State."
The results produced from the use of this water have been remarkable. This is especially true where a simple alterative or cathartic is re- quired. To the cure of scrofula and some of the
skin diseases it is peculiarly adapted. The future of these springs depends largely on the enter- prise of the owners .. Their shipments are con- stantly increasing as the reputation of the waters spreads, and within a quarter of a century these springs may become notable health resorts.
Another spring, of equal medicinal qualities, is on the farm of John Stewart, north of Henryville. Augustus Reid, of Monroe township; and Parady Payne, a short distance from Blue Lick post-office, have springs, the waters of which also contain the same medicinal properties. This medicinal water, as predicted by Professor E. T. Cox, has been found at New Providence by deepening the well at Mr. T. S. Carter's stave factory, and, no doubt, will be found over the entire shale of the region.
TIMBER AND UNDERGROWTH.
The first growth of timber was composed of oak, white and red; button-woods, more com- monly known as sycamore; chestnut, which grew mainly on the knobs; white and blue ash; poplar, though never in large quantities; a good many birch, some few sugar and maple trees, and a sprinkling of others, peculiar to this climate and soil. During the first half of this century a very large business was carried on in cutting timber for steamboat building at the Falls. The rail- road also contracted for large supplies in ties and bridge timber. Cooper shops also are, and have been, continually using the best of the oaks for barrels, cooper shops being scattered over the township in every direction. Much of the finest timber is already cut. The forest has un- dergone very great changes during the last three decades. Rails for fences are being considered of more value than formerly, and every caution is taken to prevent their untimely destruction.
The undergrowth, during the early times, was not particularly noticeable. The nature of the soil seemed to preclude any rank growth of bushes, briars, weeds, or anything tending to obstruct the view in the forest. There was, however, always a sufficient growth of vegetation, which when it decayed affected the health of the people materially. The forest of sixty or seventy years ago in the Muddy Fork valley was open ; the top of the ground was covered with a thick coating of leaves, and in many places the fallen timber.made traveling, even on foot, almost im- possible. There were also in the spring large bodies of water spread out over the level upland.
IMPROVEMENTS.
The first road led from Jeffersonville to Vin-
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
cennes, and from Charlestown to Salem. The former crossed the township in the southwestern corner, and passed over but a few miles of its territory ; the latter entered the township on the eastern side, and passed westwardly by New Prov- idence. The Jeffersonville and Vincennes road was the great thoroughfare between these two points. It was traveled a great deal before rail- roads came to be generally recognized as a means of transit. Judges, lawyers, ministers, team- sters, and the tide of emigration which was then moving on toward the Wabash and Illinois rivers, were constantly passing over it. There was never any well-graded track. At first the road led up ravines, across clearings, and through patches of timber, and then, perhaps, 'for a mile or more followed down a stream into a bottom, thus con- tinuing to its terminus.
The Charlestown road had more a local char- acter, though it was used much by the citizens of the county-seats. Before the courts were taken to Jeffersonville, this was the road to reach the offices of the county at Charlestown.
In building the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago railroad through the township the peo- ple generally granted the right of way. In some few instances objectors delayed its success. It brought the people of Carr township into closer communication with the outside world, from which all their lives they had been stran- gers.
There are in the township six and eighty-three hundredths miles of railroad. The railroad en- ters the township at the southeastern corner, fol- lows up the Muddy Fork valley, and passes through the center of it, as does the Muddy fork, though in a more direct route. In the township there are four stations, named in order from the east: Bennettsville, which is the most prominent ; Wilson's, about two miles above; Petersburgh, or Muddy Fork post-office ; Broom Hill, which lies very nearly on the line between Wood and Carr. Trains are run with consider- able regularity, but on account of the road-bed fast time is seldom made. One of the remarka- ble features of this railroad is that it has no branches of any size between Louisville and Chi- cago. Neither of the above stations is a great shipping point. Bennettsville is of little impor- tance; Broom Hill is the more prominent. Here are cooper shops and a stave factory.
MILLS.
It will be remembered that Carr is a compara- tively new township. What belongs to the town- ships of Wood and Charlestown is particularly applicable to Carr-especially so in reference to mills and still-houses. Among the first mills was one owned and run by J. Merrill. It stood in the northeast corner of the township, and was familiarly known as Merrill's horse-mill. Merrill came from New York State. He was a man well known on account of his wit, which came finally to be a proverb, as, "You are Jay Merrill witty." The old mill remained in its position until about 1850, when it was torn down, and the same sills or beams were converted into other houses, pig- pens, stables, and so on.
The Shoemakers engaged in milling in Carr township quite early, as also did John Jackson. The latter owned an overshot mill on Muddy fork, one-half mile below Bridgeport, more than forty years ago. Jackson's mill is now non-exist- ent.
Lewman Griswold had an overshot mill on Muddy fork two and a half miles below Bridge- port, as early as 1830. The old building is yet standing and in running order. Owen Shoe- maker has it in charge. Griswold's mill has many associations which naturally make it inter- esting to youth. The old-fashioned overshot wheel, as it turns slowly but surely with a creak, a sort of jerk, excites many strange notions of pioneer life. Young men with their future wives, picnics made up of boys and girls of the country, often assemble here to view about the only re- maining memento of pioneer days in this end of the county.
The old Shoemaker steam flouring- and grist- mill, standing on the Louisville, New Albany, & Chicago railroad, at Watson's Station, and also on Muddy fork, was erected about twelve years ago by Harmon Shoemaker. It was thought the country could support one first-class mill on this side of the county, but the experiment was un- satisfactory. After three or four years of varying success the mill was abandoned, the machinery taken out and placed in a more favorable loca- tion. Shoemaker's mill was the only steam flour- ing-mill ever in the township. Just below the old building, a handsome iron bridge spans Muddy fork. The road leads to the Blue Lick country, and the village of Memphis, in Union township.
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
Many of the first settlers engaged in distilling. Corn, however, was never a great staple. It is only along the bottoms that a good crop is generally raised. These being narrow, they. have always been divided in raising wheat, rye, some oats, a little barley, a good many potatoes, and garden vegetables, the latter being marketed to the cities at the Falls.
"There was a time when our people thought they could not live without whiskey. That time, however, is past. Farmers now regard the cus- tom of treating harvest hands as out of date." "Whiskey," says another early settler, "was one of our staple productions. It was a source of in- come, and we depended to a very great extent for our living upon its sale. But our whiskey was pure then, compared with what it is now; we had nothing but the purest, and one in drink- ing it was generally benefited!" Many of the first settlers regarded the bottle as a necessary part of the household. All the ills of the chil- dren were dosed by the whiskey bottle. All prominent farmers, and men who possessed a few thousand dollars, had a barrel of good brandy, or its equivalent, in their cellar. A long glass tube, from three to eight inches in length, with a string tied around the upper end below the shoulder, was always on hand. The special friend was taken into the cellar or an out-house, the proof- bottle, as it was called, was dropped into the bar- rel from the bung-hole, and drawn forth filled with the most delicious of drinks. People then regarded drinking in a far different light from what they do now. It was customary for the preachers themselves to indulge in drinking. Many of them even carried on distilling. Many of them, too, were considered true, unaffected Christians.
Perhaps the most prominent of all the dis- tillers in the township was Charles Goatman. His still-house was south of Bridgeport three- fourths of a mile. It was here during the late war, when the increase of taxes necessitated a suspension of business. Distilleries in Clark county, as well as in Carr township, are now a nullity.
TAVERNS.
John Slider was perhaps the original tavern- keeper in the township. His place ot business - was on the Jeffersonville and Vincennes road, in sight of Bennettsville. He was here in 1825.
The original tavern was built of logs. As busi- ness increased, Mr. Slider made a frame addition to the log house, converting the only room above into six sleeping compartments. The style of public houses in those days was to have but one room in the upper story. Here all travelers were put, and among the promiscuous sleepers there was always some notorious rake, who delighted to disturb the tired and worn-out emigrant. The old " Slider Hotel," as it was called, was the last of a prominent list of stopping places on the road between the two above-named towns. Slider was herc fifteen or twenty years. During that time all the marketers, teamsters, hog-drivers, many of the public men, and the public gener- ally, stopped with "Old John Slider."
On the New Albany and Salem road, near Bridgeport, James Warman kept tavern. War- man's tavern was a great place for travelers. In the language of another, "it resembled very much the country fairs of later date." Nothing was more common than to see, a few hours be- fore sunset, a four-horse, white-covered wagon, with arched bows, drive up before the tavern and make inquiries for the "old man." The old man was Mr. James Warman. The wagon- yard, with its complement of turkeys, geese, ducks, a drove of speckled chickens, old broken dishes, and very often a supply ot mud, a little beyond what many look for now in similar places, made the place rather amusing, even to the hog-drover. Warman was a favorite with his guests. His table had the food which most of his guests liked, and his feather beds were de- lightful places for a weary teamster to sleep.
SCHOOLS.
In the township there are six school districts and over four hundred school children. The educational affairs are manged admirably. Peo- ple are advanced as far educationally in Carr as in any township in the county.
VILLAGES.
Bennettsville is the only place in the township which claims to be a village, and it has but forty or fifty citizens. It was laid off in September, 1838, by H. O. Hedgecoxe, county surveyor, for Baily Mann. The first name given to the new- born village was New Town. After several years the name was changed, Bennettsville being thought preferable to the name of New Town.
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
Benedict Nugent, who was the first store-keeper in the village, probably had much to do indirect- ly with the changing of the name. The evidence is that Mr. Mann removed to some other locality, and that Mr. Nugent being the most prominent man in the place, the citizens, for some reasons peculiar to a pioneer people, almost unawares gave it the name of Bennettsville, a prolongation of Mr. Nugent's given name.
The original plat does not give the width of the streets and avenues. In finding the direc- tion which Washington street takes with refer- ence to section lines, subtract the variation 5° 50' from field note north 30° 45' west.
Bennettsville is located on the railroad. It has few features which attract attention. There is no station, except a platform, which furnishes a place for boarding or alighting from the cars. The knobs, only a mile or a mile and half west of the village, add a sort of picturesqueness to its surroundings. Muddy fork goes crawling off lazily toward the Ohio. The railroad cuts the village in twain .- A few straggling houses along the railroad are about all there is of Bennetts- ville. Most of the citizens are Germans or of Irish extraction, engaged mainly in coopering and working on the railway section. There is a post-office, one store only, no blacksmith's shop or saloon.
Benedict Nugent, the first storekeeper, dealt out dry goods, groceries, whiskey, powder, and ball in a little frame house which stood on the east side of the railroad, but outside of the village limits. Baily Mann was also an early store- keeper. His place of business was on the west side of the railroad, in a little frame house, but the inside of his building was of logs-a log house weather-boarded. In 1848 a Mr. York was here engaged in store-keeping close to Mann's. Elias Struble followed soon after, keeping in Mann's old store-room. C. P. Wha- len was here in 1851, also in the old Mann building. The present store is kept by Mr. Charles Burr.
Schools in Bennettsville were established soon after the village was platted. The first school- house stood on the road leading hence to Little York, in Washington county. It is yet standing, but is used for a residence. The present school- house was erected in 1875. It stands near the rail- road, in the southeast corner of the village. It -
is a pretty white frame, and has one room. Among the first teachers here were Messrs. Boiles and Lipscom; also Misses Hall and Nesbit.
The Baptist church of Bennettsville was erect- ed in 1848. It stood on the west side of the railroad, in the village. The house was a frame, capable of seating three or four hundred people. Andrew Nugent and wife ; Bryant Deton's family, including himself; John Jackson and family; and L. B. Huff and family, were among the first members. The old church is yet standing, but in a dilapidated condition. It is seldom used, except for an occasional sermon or a temperance lecture-the latter hardly needed by the people in this vicinity.
At one time Bennettsville had a thriving pop- ulation of one hundred to one hundred and fifty inhabitants. They were engaged in various pur- suits, such as coopering, dealing in railroad sup- plies, selling goods to the hands employed by the rallroad, and in barter generally. The village has now all the evidences of death-death which comes from a lack of energy and disposition to upbuild and maintain the interests of society. The village needs a thorough renovation and a complete change to make it prosperous and happy.
Broom Hill lies in the western part of the township, in the southeast corner of section five and the northwest corner of section eight, on the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago railroad. It was begun in 1851 by Thomas Littell, who lived in this immediate neighborhood. Here he began the making of brooms, and from this circumstance the village derived its name. But Littell was not the first settler in this locality by any means, though he built the first house in the village and opened the first store. Littell's house stood on the north side of the railroad. Previ- ous to Littell, about the year 1809, one Michael Burns, of Connecticut, settled here and built a cabin on the site of Broom Hill, on the south side of the railroad. Austin Rowe was a store- keeper after Littell, in the same building which is now occupied for store purposes.
Broom Hill has had many small manufact- ories. William Leighton, in the former part of its history, put up a shingle machine. He also erected a grist-mill and afterwards attached to it a stave factory. At one time a thriving portable
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
saw-mill was run by the Bussey brothers. It lasted for a few years only. After the Bussey brothers William McKinley and Michael Burns erected a saw-mill. The business done at this mill was considerable.
Blacksmith shops, shoemaker shops, and the various trades have been carried on in the vil- lage, though never on a very extended scale. Broom Hill is noted as once being the seat of extensive railroad supplies. During the first few years of the railroad the village furnished more wood than any other station on the road. The introduction of coal as fuel on locomotives dam- aged this trade considerably, though it is still a successful branch of business. Broom Hill has forty-five inhabitants.
Bridgeport, much like Broom Hill, came into existence about the time the railroad was built. The section hands created a demand for many of the coarser wares, and hence, as a result, Samuel Plummer, of this section, began to sell various things, such as shovels, picks, spades, drills, and crowbars, to the men employed by the railroad. Mr. Plummer died before the road was completed, and the store fell into the hands of his brother Charles. Soon after it was fin- ished James Warman erected a warehouse on the north side of the track. Here were stored various grains, the house serving as a kind of "depot for supplies" for the people round about. Wesley Warman was a storekeeper here about this time, or soon after the old warehouse was erected. After many changes in the old ware- house, it was remodeled so as to be used for store purposes alone. A few years after Mr. Charles Warman's death, in 1870, his son Albert put up the present store-house.
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