USA > Ohio > History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. II > Part 61
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More than thirty years ago a log school-house stood in Bridgeport, in the southern side of the village. Messrs. Marcus Story, James O. P. White, and Mckinley, were among the first teachers. After the new school laws were en- forced the old school-house gave place to a new frame, and the district was changed so as to bring the new site outside of the village limits.
There are two churches in the village-the United Brethren and the Church of God. The former of these was organized in 1873, two years before the present house was elected. The first members were William Jackson and family, Jacob Hemelheber and wife, and William Ward.
Rev. Thomas Lewellen, the famous circuit preacher of Monroe township, was the first min- ister in charge, as really he was the organizer of the class. There are about fifty members on the register; the church belongs to the New Albany circuit; it stands one-fourth of a mile south of the village. It is a frame building. A thriving Sunday-school of thirty or forty mem- bers is held regularly, and is non-sectarian.
The Methodist Episcopal, or, as it is often called by those who are not members of any church, the Church of God, was organized in 1869. Dr. Fields was very active in the move- ment. The first members were: John Mc- Corey, Willey Warman, Polly Warman, William S. Peyton, and Rev. George W. Green. Some sixty or seventy members are on the class reg- ister, and the church is in a prosperous condition. No Sunday-school is held, on account of the school in the United Brethren church, which is for all sects.
OLD CITIZENS.
The oldest of all the pioneers in Carr was General John Carr, after whom the township was named. He belongs to that class of men who indelibly stamped their characters upon the rising generation. The Southern Indianian, a county paper published at Charlestown in 1845, by William S. Ferrier, said of General Carr:
It becomes our painful duty in this week's paper to an- nounce the death of General John Carr, who died on the 20th * instant [January 20, 1845], after a long and very painful ill- ness. His death created a space which cannot soon be filled. General Carr was a man of no ordinary character. He had long occupied an elevated standing among his fellow-men. He was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of April, 1793, and had at the time of his death nearly completed his fifty-second year. He emigrated from that State with his father to the then territory of Indiana, in the spring o 1806, having been a citizen of this county ever since-a' period of thirty-nine years. During the summer of 1811 he was en- gaged in several scouting parties on the frontier, and in watching and guarding against the approach of the Indians. who were then known to entertain hostile feelings toward the settlers. At this time he was but eighteen years of age. In the fall of the same year he joined the Tippecanoe expedi- tion, with Captain Bigger's company of riflemen, and was engaged in that memorable and bloody conflict, which oc- cured on the 7th of November of that year. On the declara- tion of war in 1812 he was appointed a lieutenant of a com- pany of United States rangers, authorized by an act of Congress and organized for the defense of the western front- iers. During the years of 1812 and 1813 he was actively en- gaged in several important and fatiguing campaigns, which were attended with extreme hardship and peril. The Mis- sisinewa and Illinois or Peoria campaigns were particularly distinguished for their many privations, difficultles and hair-
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breadth escapes ; in all of which he participated. During much of his time the command of his company devolved upon bim, in consequence of the absence of the captain. Though then but a youth he was equal to any emergency.
After the war he filled successively several military offices. Among these were Brigadier and Major-general of the Militia of Indiana. The latter office he held at the time of his death. General Carr was repeatedly honored with the confidence of his fellow-citizens in the election to several civil offices of trust and honor. He filled at various times the offices of recorder, agent for the town of Indianapolis, clerk of Clark County Circuit Court, to which he was re-elected, and Presidential Elector on the Jackson ticket in 1824. All these duties he dis- charged with honor to his country and himself. In 1831 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Congress of the United States, and continued to serve in this body for six consecutive years. In 1837 he re- tired, but but was re-elected for the fourth time in 1839, and served two years more, making in all eight years' service in that body. His Congressional career was noted for industry, efficiency, and usefulness. He originated the sale of lands in forty-acre lots, thus bringing within the reach of all the home that so many needed. He assisted in passing the pension act, by which so many of the old Revolutionary soldiers received pensions, and afterwards aided many of them in establishing their claims to this hard-earned bounty of their Government- In private, as well as in public life, he was distinguished for his nice sense of honor and the uprightness of his conduct. Of him it may be said in truth that he was one of God's noblest works, an honest man. In his intercourse with his fellow- men, he was modest and unassuming. He was at the same time frauk and open, yet courteous. He had but few if any personal enemies. Among his neighbors he was beloved and esteemed by all. In the family circle he was a kind and tender husband and parent. Although General Carr was not a member of any church, we are happy to learn that during his last illness he sought Christ, and found pardon. He ex- pressed a perfect resignation to die, and met death as became a Christian. His wife had preceded her consort to the grave ; and in a few short weeks the domestic hearth has been bereft of its parental head, and those who were happy a few days ago under parental control and protection, are now orphans. He left behind him five children, numerous rela- tives, and a host of friends. He was followed on yesterday by a large concourse of people to his place of interment in this town. He has been snatched from his friends, almost in the meridian of life, thus verifying the great and solemn truth, "in the midst of life we are in death."
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We continue the brief biographies. Richard Slider was born in Maryland, and came to Carr township by way of Kentucky, about 1800. He settled one mile southeast of Bennettsville with his wife and two sons. Here he put up a hewed log house, which was very uncommon for settlers in those days, and began to prepare for living. In the house, which was about 18 x 20, Slider made port-holes so as to be used in case of In- dian attacks. The boys and girls who were born occasionally as the years rolled away, often peered out of these holes early in the morning, to see if there were no lurking savages to molest
their little home in the wilderness. Here, too, they often mingled in games with the Indian lad as he visited them in his strolls over the bottoms. The old Slider mansion-for a mansion it can now be truly called-is yet standing on its original site. It is probably the oldest dwelling remaining in the county.
John Slider, the second son, was born in 1797 in Kentucky. He was one of the first distillers in Carr township. He resided on the old home- stead until his death in 1877, loved and respect- ed by everybody.
James Warman, Sr., came from Kentucky to Carr township in 1809 and settled in the Muddy Fork valley, on the New Albany and Salem road, one mile and a half above Bridgeport. For a few years after arriving he worked at Harrod's grist-mill, on Silver creek and in Silver Creek township. Warman was a prominent man in surveying and engineering in the township. He took an active part in locating roads, and in sev- eral cases contracted for their building. In the various neighborhood questions-churches, schools, public gatherings, and the like-he bore an honorable and respected part. He died in Arkansas more than twenty years ago.
GAME.
Fifty years ago the deer, bear, wolf, fox, thou- sands of pheasants, squirrels, wild turkeys, and game generally, made it their pleasure to live in the knobs of Carr township. The pioneer at early break of day was often seen climbing the steep side-hills in quest of game. Paths led in winding courses along the knobs or followed the summit of some ridge until the desired hunting- ground was reached; there they stopped. Along these paths the old buck frequently strolled; and
often did he meet his fate without a moment's warning from the unerring rifle of the back- woodsman. The black bear browsed lazily in the thicket during the fall; or when hunger pressed him too closely, he visited some farmer's pig-pen in search of food. Here he frequently met opposition, and a free hand-to-hand fight en- sued, in which the bear sometimes escaped or the old-fashioned axe and handspike came off vic- torious.
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
CHAPTER XX. CHARLESTOWN.
A prominent Western writer on the incidents and reminiscences of pioneer life in Indiana, has well said that to write the history of Clark county properly, access should be had to the state papers of England and those of the United States and of Virginia. Its history embraces a period of uncommon and thrilling interest. The Revol- utionary struggle was in active progress. Eng- land was using the French and Indians as allies in ravaging the settlements along the borders of the Great Lakes and the Northwest territory. Early pioneers were suffering under a predatory warfare, the most atrocious in the annals of our Republic. There was an almost unknown tract of land lying where are now the three great States of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. New Eng- land was tried to the utmost in order to save the honor of her beloved territory. Virginia was in a bad financial condition. Constant drainage had depleted her treasury and thrown the State into a critical condition. After due de- liberation, much expenditure of time and money, and the loss of many brave soldiers, there came a change. The English posts of Vincennes and Kaskaskia, on that body of land lying between the Wabash and Ohio rivers, were wrenched from the enemies of American liberty. To tell the story with exactness, much diligent research would be necessary. It would involve more time than can be commanded by the county historian. This in. formation must be found in histories of more gen- eral or rational scope. This work is to deal with local facts.
It was on the 10th of December, 1777, that Colonel (afterwards General) George Rogers Clark laid before Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia, a plan to take the British posts of Vincennes and Kaskaskia. After mature con- sideration, and after being advised, strongly and favorably, by his most intimate friends, Governor Henry acquiesced in Clark's proposition. But Pennsylvania and Virginia were strongly opposed to the theory that all States are members of one confederation, and that none have a right to secede without the consent of the General Gov- ernment. This feeling necessitated much se- crecy on the part of Clark in recruiting his regi- ment, though this was really what he desired.
His wish was to surprise the garrisons by secret movements. The story which he told was that the expedition was going to make explorations up the Mississippi river. Finally he received five hundred pounds of powder and $4,000 in depreciated currency, with which to hire recruits and buy ammunition at Pittsburg. He also re- ceived a coloncl's commission. In the moun- tains of Pennsylvania, Kentucky, East Tennes- see, and Virginia he gathered his little army, and departed for the Falls of the Ohio. Here he went into camp on Corn island; and here, in- forming his men of the primary object of the ex- pedition, many of them deserted. "On the 24th of June, 1778, during a total eclipse of the sun --- a sad foreboding, as the party thought, of their future success, but which ultimately proved the 'sun of Austerlitz'-this patriotic band of four companies under Captains Helm, Montgomery, Bowman, and Harrod, crossed the Ohio on their apparently forlorn expedition." His intention was to march directly to Vincennes; but the de- sertion of his troops and the want of all the ma- terials necessary for an attack upon a fortified town, induced him to abandon this object and to prosecute that originally intended by his superior ' officer, the Governor of Virginia. On the 4th of July, 1778, Kaskaskia surrendered. February 25, 1779, Vincennes gave up to the Spartan band of Clark; the British ensign was hauled down, and the American flag waved above its ramparts. Henceforward the British posts in the Northwest Territory ceased to exist.
A few months after the cessation of hostilities, General Clark and his soldiers were dismissed from the service. Owing to the imperfect con- dition of the finances of Virginia, there was no way of rewarding the officers and privates in dol- lars and cents. But there was another way open. Virginia owned a tract of land north of the Ohio river, which was yet the hunting ground of the Indian. A resolution was presented to the Legislature of that State to provide the men in the late war with homes, by giving them a tract north of the Ohio, anywhere in her terri- tory which they might select. The offer was accepted. The grant was to contain one hundred and fifty thousand acres, including one thousand acres for a town. The patent is dated 1786, and is signed by Edmund Randolph, Gov- ernor of Virginia, and is to Colonel George
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Rogers Clark, and the "officers and soldiers who assisted in the reduction of the British posts in Illinois." The Board of Commissioners, who were to determine the position of said land, was composed of "William Flemming, John Ed- wards, John Campbell, Walker Daniel, gentle- men; and George Rogers Clark, John Mont- gomery, Abraham Chaplin, John Bailey, Robert Todd, and William Clark, officers in the Illinois regiment." The claimants had to hand in their claims on or before the Ist of April, 1784, and if accepted, $r was to be paid for every one hundred acres, in order simply to defray the expenses of surveying, making the deeds, and any other necessary papers for titles. The commissioners had power to select their own surveyors. They were to proceed at once to locate and lay off the land, whose length could not exceed double its breadth. There must also be a town located in the first place. . This in the course of time be- came Clarksville. The act relating to the town reads as follows :
That a plat of said land (one thousand acres) be returned by the surveyor to the Court of Jefferson [which was then in Louisville], to be by the clerk thereof recorded and thereupon the same shall be and is hereby invest- ed in William Flemming, John Edwards, John Camp- bell, Walker Daniel, George Rogers Clark, John Mont- gomery, Abram Chaplin, John Bailey, Robert Todd, and William Clark. The lots are to be laid off into one-half acre each, with convenient streets, and the same shall be and is hereby called Clarksville. "
Lots were to be sold out by advertisement two months in advance at adjoining court-houses. On each lot there was to be built a good dwelling house, at least 18 x 20 feet, with a brick or stone chimney, to be completed three years after the deed was received. If these terms were not complied with the commissioners had the right to sell again the lot and use the money in pub- lic improvements. After some time, however, it was found necessary to enlarge this provision in order to give the young colony a chance to grow, and induce early settlers to make it their residence.
We have mentioned Clarksville here, to show the first conditions of the Illinois Grant. The particulars belong to another chapter.
The State of Virginia appointed William Clark, a cousin of the general, as surveyor. He selected his assistants as follows: Edmund Rogers, David Steel, Peter Catlett, and Burwell Jackson. This cession or grant was made by
Virginia; but she relinquished soon after her right to the United States, on condition that the previous donation would be respected. From this time Virginia has not retained ownership of land north of the Ohio river.
The surveying party began their surveys a little above the Eighteen-mile island in the Ohio, running a line at right angles to the river. Per- haps it is well here to explain the few intricacies of surveying. In all first surveys a base line is established running east and west, or that is the intention. From this line principal meridians are run, north and south, beginning anywhere on the base line the surveyor may choose: The base line in the Illinois Grant is at the head of Eigh- teen-mile island, and for some reason does not run in, a true westerly course. William Clark and his party divided themselves into companies. Some of his men were poor engineers, and many mistakes occurred. Peter Catlett was especially notorious for inaccuracies. He surveyed that portion of the county now occupied by Oregon, a row of five hundred-acre tracts off the west side of Washington, and the greater part of Owen. From his mistakes resulted many law- suits, when in later days land became more val- uable. Says William Clark: "I discovered sev- eral errors by Catlett in going into his district to subdivide some of the five-hundred-acre tracts." They were principally made in laying down water courses.
David Steel surveyed that part of the county now occupied by Charlestown, Utica, and Union townships; and his surveys are almost without errors. Burwell Jackson surveyed the township of Silver Creek, a part of Monroe, and besides assisted in laying off Clarksville. Edmund Rogers and William Clark surveyed the remain- ing part of the county.
The boundaries of the county in 1801 were as follow :
Beginning at the Ohio river at the mouth of Blue river; thence np that river to the crossing of the Vincennes road; thence in a direct line to the nearest point on the White river; thence up that river to its source and to Fort Recovery; thence on the line of the Northwest Territory to the Ohio river, at the mouth of the Kentucky river ; and thence to place of beginning.
Formerly boundaries existed which are now changed. The county has been cut up, and new counties formed entirely or additions made to older ones.
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
Clark county was named after General George Rogers Clark. There are in the county two hundred and forty-nine five-hundred-acre tracts. All of Wood and Bethlehem townships are laid off into sections of six hundred and forty acres each. The remaining ten townships are partly in sections and tracts. There is a row of sec. tions in the west part of the county that gradually widen until they join the Grant line. The largest of these has four hundred and thirty-seven acres for a quarter. The base line crosses the Grant in latitude 38° 30' north, leaving the Ohio river at the upper end of Eighteen-mile island, and strikes the Illinois Grant about half-way from the beginning. Of course no base or principal merid- ian lines were used in making the original sur- vey. The five-hundred-acre tracts were laid off by running lines at right angles to the Ohio.
The county has to day nearly four hundred square miles. There are twelve townships. The original deeds to the grantees call for five hun- dred acres, more or less. This was necessary, for some vary from three hundred and seventy to seven hundred acres. The division of tracts was made by lottery, and we are told that those who received land in the rich bottoms of Utica envied those whose lots fell in the knobs of Wood. This was because game was scarce in the lands adjacent to the Ohio. Now the bot- toms are worth $100 per acre, while that on the knobs seldom brings a dollar.
Simon Kenton, the famous Kentucky pioneer and Indian fighter, received a tract north of Charlestown, but among all the records his signa- ture is not found. Among the various officers and privates the apportionment was made as follow: To the major general, 15,000 acres ; briga- dier-generals, 10,000; colonels, 6,6662/3; lieu- tenant-colonels, 6,000; majors, 5,6662/3; cap- tains, 4,000; lieutenants, 2,6663/3 ; non-commis- sioned officers, 400; privates, 200.
After the allotments were made, Louisville was the seat of justice until Virginia ordered the records taken to Clarksville. In 1779 and 1800 Congress passed laws for the government of the Northwest Territory, including Clark's Grant. In May, 1800, Indiana Territory was created, and soon after Knox county was divided, and Clark county organized.
We have given the foregoing facts in order that a better understanding might be had con-
cerning the origin of so historical a county. It may serve the purpose of explaining, partly, what few of the younger men know, and probably clear away some of the mists in the minds of older people.
During the first few years there were but three townships in the county, viz: Clarksville, Spring Hill, and Springville. The boundaries of these, severally, have been defined in our chapter on the organization of Clark county. This division was soon altered, and more townships established. In 1816 Springville town- ship was changed for the convenience of voters. In 1817 the county commissioners made further changes, and among the new townships one was Charlestown. Within the same year a township called Collins, in the northwestern part of the county, existed. A few years afterwards new di- visions were made and the township lost its orig- inal name, receiving that of Monroe. Zebulon Collins was an early settler in this section, and after him the original township was named. Lemmon township had an existence in 1824, and was named after John M. Lemmon, one of the county commissioners. There was also a New Albany township in what is now Floyd county.
Without further general outlines we begin the history of Charlestown proper, though it must be remembered that all land now lying in Clark county and divided into sections was bought from the Government, and as time went by was annexed to the Grant for convenience.
Charlestown township was organized in the spring of 1817, and was cut off from what was originally Springville. The records do not show that the latter township ceased to exist after the new divisions were made, though it is likely such was the case. The boundary lines ran as follows: Beginning on the Ohio river, near Twelve-mile island, and running west in a zigzag course until it struck Silver creek ; thence up that stream with its meanderings as far as Monroe; thence east into Washington township one tier of five-hundred-acre tracts; thence south to the Ohio; and thence down the river to the place of begin- ning. From the time Clark county was organ- ized, until 1817, Charlestown township included the central and most promising portion of the Grant. There were no other places at that early day so well adapted to all the affairs of county business. It was centrally located; people from
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adjoining townships were about equally distant from this point. But as time and age added more population to its lists, and as distance was something of an item when it came to traveling ten and fifteen miles to vote, changes were made to accommodate the citizens.
There are, in round numbers, thirty-seven thousand acres in the township, or fifty-nine and seventeen-hundredths square miles. The im- provements are valued at $1,268,264. The voters average about seven hundred, the Demo- crats having at present a small majority in a par- tisan contest. One precinct is at Charlestown, the other at Otisco.
TOPOGRAPHY.
The general surface of Charlestown is undu- lating. Along the Ohio a fine belt of bottom land, from two to three miles wide, produces all the cereals in abundance. A fine growth of tim- ber formerly covered the lowlands, made up mostly of walnut, blue ash, poplar, white oak, and a sprinkling of the other forest trees. A dense crop of pea-vines was found here very early; but as continued pasturing was kept up they soon became extinct.
The western side of the township, as it ap- proaches the knobs, is rather hilly. The farms are often unproductive, and yield under the most careful treatment. Passing through the center from north to south, the land varies in fertility and general appearance. South of Charlestown it is level, and in some places slightly broken. From the old county-seat to the extreme north end, the soil and surface gradually lose their value in proportion as the distance increases. Beyond the railroad westward the first indica- tions of hills appear. Little creeks and small tributaries of Silver creek cut up the land into irregular farms, making it somewhat disagreeable to cultivate. Much of the country east is an elevated plateau. The farms are large, and the general appearance indicates thrift.
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