USA > Ohio > Knox County > Past and present of Knox County, Ohio, Vol. I > Part 36
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James Miller dressed deer skins and manufactured an endless variety of buckskin goods.
John Sawyer was the pioneer blacksmith in this township. His shop stood where Mr. Banning later built his residence.
There was a chair factory at one time in Clinton carried on by John Barney.
One business man and concern after another left for Mt. Vernon, when that became the permanent seat of justice for Knox county. April 17, 1818, by order of the court, in answer to a petition signed by Smith et al. of Clinton, the village plat was declared vacated.
The postoffice at Clinton was established in 1810 and was the first in Knox county. Its early postmasters were Messrs. Smith, Fishback, Marshall and Andrew Clark.
Daniel Norton bought Smith's interest in the real estate he held in Clinton, but was dispossessed of it by a suit at law by Hosmer Curtis. J. S. Banning purchased forty-five acres of the land on which stood the village and Uriah Walker the remainder.
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The aggressive factors in the establishment of Clinton and the factors who carried forward its business a century ago, have, of course, all long since been gathered to their fathers, and all one can learn of them, or the place they hoped would become great, can only be learned from newspaper files, local history and the traditions of men.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
PIKE TOWNSHIP.
Pike township is situated in the northern part of Knox county and con- tains thirty-six square miles, a portion of which lies north of the Greenfield treaty line, adjacent to Richland county. It was established June 8, 1819, by act of the county commissioners and by them named in honor of General Pike. The first election was held at the house of Michael Harter, June 26, 1819, for the election of township officers. On March 9, 1829, the boundaries were changed and the records reads: "Pike township shall be composed of the eighth and ninth townships in the twelfth range, and the twentieth township in the seventeenth range."
The surface in this portion of the county is somewhat rough, owing to the bluffs and valleys along and leading to Schenck's creek, which courses through the township from north to south. The soil is not the best in the county, by any means, but yields an annual harvest of much that is profitable to its owners. In 1880 it was said that one quarter of the domain was still in heavy timber, chestnut, white oak and hickory predominating.
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWNSHIP.
Just who to ascribe the distinction of making the first settlement here cannot now be determined. In 1816 an Irishman named Henry Lander was found living on the southwest quarter of section 13. He was a giant in stature, standing full six feet and six inches high, weighed two hundred and fifty pounds and used to wager whisky for the crowd that seven men could not take his hat off. He would then back up against a tree or wall and swing his long, strong arms as if in defiance to the crowd.
John Arnold, from Maryland, came to this township in 1816, locating on the southwest quarter of section 8, where he reared his family and improved his land.
Charles McBride came from the same state, locating on section 4 .. the date being also 1816.
Aaron Bixby came from Huron county, Ohio, in 1816, taking land on section 16. He taught the first term of school in the first school house in Pike
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township. It was a rude log house a half mile south of the present place known as North Liberty. The date was 1823.
Philip Armentrout located on the northwest quarter of section 8 and died there many years afterwards.
Nicholas Headington came in from Baltimore county, Maryland, and settled in Pike township in 1822. His son brought the first tobacco seed to Knox county and marketed the first crop of tobacco in the county.
Aaron Wilson came in very early and removed from the township in 1837. William Wright came to the place where Amity is located about 1819, when but a boy.
The first brick building built in Pike township was by Francis Popham.
The first grist mill was built by John Arnold in 1831, on Schenck's creek, on section 8. The next was built by a Mr. Hillis on section 23 in 1834.
The first saw mill in this township was built by an Englishman named Thomas Smith, in 1832, on section 18. It was bought in 1836 by Silas Daniels.
In 1849 an excellent saw mill was put in operation by John Walkey, near the center of section 23, on Schenck's creek.
The first threshing machine and cook stove brought to Pike township was in 1834.
John Arnold and Daniel Grubb at an early time operated a distillery in the township, but it is recorded that in 1881 there was a population of one thousand three hundred and not a drinking saloon in the entire township.
VILLAGES OF AMITY AND NORTH LIBERTY.
The village of Amity was located in the southeast corner of Pike town- ship and in 1880 had a population of one hundred and fifty. It was platted in 1832 by David Jackson, who owned the land on which it stands. It was orig- inally called Emmettsville, but in 1837 was changed to Amity. This old village was on the stage road from Wooster to Columbus and at one time was a place of considerable business. Lewis Strong was the first merchant there. David Jackson kept a hotel there. A postoffice was established soon after the platting of the village, but strangely, that was not named Amity, but Democ- racy, which existed till 1911. William Gordon was first postmaster and was followed by Messrs. Henry Yarrick, James Gilchrist, D. P. Wright, Jerrod Parrish and C. C. Barber, among the earlier ones. It is still a quiet hamlet within a fine farming community.
North Liberty, in the northern part of the township, was laid out by Francis Blakely, William Johnson, Daniel Grubb and J. Nelson Dean, in 1838.
(24)
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Grubb erected the first frame building. In this the hotel was kept. Mr. Grubb, assisted by others, provided the "village well" where all might partake freely of the pure water from its old oaken bucket.
A postoffice was first established at Jonathan Smith's, in the southwest corner of the township, in 1848, with Smith as postmaster, but in 1850 it was removed to North Liberty, and Henry Taney appointed postmaster. In 1880 this hamlet consisted of the postoffice, Albery Mishey being postmaster and conducted a grocery ; J. K. P. Mishey ran a dry goods store ; there were a few shops of small repair in the village and a Methodist and Lutheran church.
At present there are a church and a few buildings in existence.
Democracy postoffice was established many years ago, but has been dis- continued since January 1, 1911, and the patrons are served from Mt. Vernon by the rural route system. The postmasters who served at the Democracy office were as follows: Scott Gilchrist ; Dr. Edwards, under President Buch- anan : O. P. Wright, under President Lincoln ; Smith Barber, under the same administration ; C. C. Barber and J. A. Wright, under Presidents Grant and Hayes : S. G. Dowds, under President Harrison; S. D. Parrish, under Cleve- land ; H. E. Fletcher, under Roosevelt ; William M. Edgar, under Cleveland, also serving under Roosevelt ; F. W. Loney, under William H. Taft's admin- istration.
At first the mail was only weekly, then semi-weekly, thrice and finally daily. On account of the rural route system the office was discontinued. It was last kept in the general store of Loney & Hixon.
CHAPTER XL.
PLEASANT TOWNSHIP.
Pleasant township is situated directly southeast from Mt. Vernon, and, according to official record, "shall be composed of the sixth township in the twelfth range." A prominent citizen of this township, John Kerr, gave it the name it bears. The township was first organized March 9, 1825, and again it had a change in its territory, December 7, 1838, when the county commission- ers ordered that "the first quarter of Pleasant township be struck off into a separate township named College." This was in honor of Kenyon College, which is located at Gambier, College township.
The northern portion is traversed by Kokosing (or Vernon) river. Hence the topography is somewhat rough and hilly, but the southern part of the town- ship, with Big run for its chief stream, is quite smooth and even in its surface. Here farming is carried on in all of its possible perfection, by the employment of modern methods.
Of the population at different decades, it may be stated that in 1880 it had 1,033 ; in 1890 it had 865 ; in 1900 it had 818, and in 1910 its population was 784.
Just who first settled in what is now Pleasant township is unknown, but certain it is that James Colville came there among the very first. He was a Washington county, Pennsylvania, man, who emigrated to Knox county, Ohio, in about 1803-04. In 1804 he bought a hundred acres of land east of Mt. Ver- non, in Pleasant township, cleared some timber off, planted an orchard, and raised a crop in 1805. That year he built a small log cabin, and by 1806 was living in it with his newly married wife.
Jonathan Hunt, born in Somerset county, New-Jersey, in October, 1780, moved to Knox county, Ohio, in 1806. In company with his father, Jonathan Hunt, Sr., he located in what is the southwest corner of Pleasant township. He was a locksmith by trade and here he mended many of the guns for the In- dians previous to the war of 1812-14. He was present at Mt. Vernon March 28, 1808, when the locating commissioners were there to fix the county seat. He was one of the illustrious number who went to work with shovel and ax to show the commissioners that Vernonites were not lazy and believed in things being improved. His name also appears on the list of the first grand jury. He was the elected trustee from Sycamore township, so little known
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about by citizens of today. In the war of 1812-14, he was a soldier under Major Kratzer, where a part of his time he was employed at repairing guns, for which he received one dollar per day extra. In 1815 he was granted a license to open a tavern. Hunt's Station perpetuates his name.
Silas Brown came in about 1806, locating near the line between Pleasant and Clinton townships, north of Hunt's Station. In 1808 he was elected sher- iff of Knox county, having first been commissioned by the acting governor. It was during his term that William Hedrick was punished on the square at Mt. Vernon, by having forty lashes applied to his bare back, the last public whip- ping in this county. It fell to Sheriff Brown to apply the lashes, and he was called down by a bystander for striking the man over the kidneys, instead of over his shoulders.
James Parks and William Patrick both were early settlers and both elected justices of the peace in this township.
Daniel Applegate settled near the election hall of today.
William Harrod, another early pioneer here, used to boast that he had killed two hundred deer "while sitting on old Baldy's back." Perhaps it was only a deer story, but 'tis said he killed many.
Other early settlers in this township were the Grahams, Veatches, Beatys, Crawfords and Rohrers.
In 1815 John Kerr, who had settled at Nashport, Muskingum county, sought to improve his location, so came to Mt. Vernon and bought a tract of land on the Kokosing river, two miles below town, and employed one Solomon Geller to construct a dam and erect a saw mill, for which he was paid a thou- sand dollars. In 1817 Mr. Kerr moved to his new purchase and erected a grist mill, fulling mill and put in a carding machine. In 1819 he built the first brick house in the township. In 1825 he built a distillery, which was of stone, thirty feet square, and for a time carried on a flourishing business, but times and markets and public tastes, as well as public opinions, materially changed and in 1837 we find him removing to Missouri. The distillery was shut down, but the mills continued to operate under different men's hands until August. 1880, when they were burned.
A brewery was erected on the Gambier road in 1835. by Jacob Kurtz. Later others owned it and in the hands of John Bechtel it was running when the "crusaders" depreciated, his business and the brewery was abandoned. Fred- erick Rohrer, on the Martinsburg road in 1825, kept a tavern and operated a brewing plant.
Hurford's steam grist mill on Big run, in the northeast corner of the township, was originally a small water mill, built by a Mr. Hurford, but later Simon Dudgeon purchased it and added steam power, as the stream had so
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decreased in flow of water that it was useless for power purposes. Warmon's steam mills is another plant of this township and with many changes was still running at last accounts.
The Mt. Vernon nurseries are located in Pleasant township. They were started in 1848 by Barton Starr, who at his death was succeeded by his son, Newton P. Starr, who continued many years. It came to be the largest nursery in this part of Ohio.
CHAPTER XLI.
UNION TOWNSHIP.
This sub-division of Knox county was organized in 1808 and embraced Brown, Jefferson, Union, Butler, Jackson, Howard, three-fourths of Harrison, and the east half of Clay townships. In 1825 it was reduced to five miles square, having Jefferson on its north, Howard on its west, Butler to the south and Coshocton county on the east. Then another change was effected in 1876 by cutting off one mile from the south side of Jefferson township and adding it to Union.
This township is made up of a fine body of land, of almost every variety of soil. The surface is somewhat broken and hilly, along Owl creek and Mohi- can river, where the numerous bluffs are, were at an early day covered with good timber common to this part of Ohio. The two largest streams in Knox county run through Union township. Owl creek passes through the southwest corner, while the Mohican river cuts off part of the northeastern portion. The Little Jelloway, and its numerous tributaries, flows through the southern por- tion.
The Cleveland, Columbus & Mt. Vernon railroad runs diagonally across the north part, the direction being northeast and southwest.
SETTLEMENT.
The first white men to come in to make for themselves homes in Union township came in 1806-07. George Sapp, Sr., entered the first piece of land in 1806, settling in the northwestern part of the territory.
Jacob Baughman came from Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in 1809, locating in the central part.
Paul Welker emigrated from Pennsylvania about 1808 and made a settle- ment in the western portion.
The Critchfields, Robinsons, Rightmires, Durbins, Spurgeons, McMillens, Hibbitts, Logues, Ryans, John Wood, Greers, George Davidson, Jacob Black, William Shaw and John Arnold all settled in this township before 1814. At the election held in 1810 twenty votes were cast and six years later the number had increased to forty-five.
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After the war of 1812 had ended settlers flocked in very numerously, mostly from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
The Sapps, who came so early, were always prominent in the develop- ment of Union, as well as in the whole county in its governmental affairs and in a business way. The four brothers, George, Daniel, William and Joseph, emigrated from Maryland in 1806. The ancestors of this family were of the Lord Baltimore household and colony of Maryland.
Here in Union the first settlers lived in constant dread of the Indians, and during the absence of George Sapp in the army his wife would take the children each night to a block-house, near the present site of Buckeye City, to remain all night.
The Welkers were more than an ordinary family. They came from Penn- sylvania in 1808, and located on section 15. This family was of German descent. Martin Welker had a wonderful idea in boyhood that developed into a great character. He attended court, where he was called as a witness in a counterfeit bill case. It was his first appearance in a court of justice and he had never before seen a lawyer, or a live judge, but so impressed was he that he whispered to a boy friend that he was some day going to be a lawyer and hold court like Judge Dean, whom he classed, in his youthful fancy, a greater man than Andrew Jackson, of whom he had read and heard so much. He also saw Columbus Delano and other "big lawyers." He made good his word. for in just twenty years he was elected judge ( 1851) to fill Judge Dean's place on
the bench, he being a candidate against Dean for the district judgeship. He had studied law with Hon. W. R. Sapp, in Holmes county. In 1857 he was elected as lieutenant-governor on the ticket with Salmon P. Chase. In 1864 he was elected to Congress, serving there until 1870. President Grant ap- pointed him United States judge for the northern Ohio district.
Another early settler was Dr. Charles Waddle. For many years he was engaged in the mercantile business, and practiced medicine at Danville. He was a man of great energy and ability, and one of the most eloquent Methodist preachers of that day. He died in 1879, aged eighty-seven years.
Other pioneers in Union township were Rev. Jacob Hammond, 1824; Jo- seph Workman, 1814; David Welker, 1809; Jesse Winterringer, Sr., 1816.
Later settlers of prominence were Jacob Ross, proprietor of Rossville ; George Gann, who secured the right of way for the Cleveland, Pittsburg & Mt. Vernon railroad, had a station named for him, "Gann Station." He died in 1877.
The first grist mill in Union township was erected by Robert Griffin either in 1812 or 1813. It was on Owl creek, in the southeastern part of the township. Another mill was built by John Greer in 1815, on Jelloway creek.
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The first road for a highway was cut through this township in 1809 from Coshocton to Mt. Vernon.
The population of Union township, including the various villages, in 1890, was 1,874 ; in 1900 it was 1,756; in 1910, 1,967.
The schools and churches in this township are treated in the general chap- ters, hence omitted in this connection.
VILLAGES OF THE TOWNSHIP.
At one time or another there have been six villages within the township, Danville, Millwood, Gann (now Brinkhaven), Buckeye City, Rossville and Cavillo.
Among the older villages in eastern Knox county is Danville, now having a population of three hundred and seventy-three. Some time about 1815 or 1816, this place was laid out by Jonathan Sapp, son of George Sapp, Sr., and Robert Waddle. John McDaniel built the first house, and McConnell and Grant were the earliest dealers in merchandise. Dr. William M. Brooks was the pioneer physician. William Critchfield kept the first hotel.
The postoffice at Danville was established at a very early date in the history of the county and the following have served as postmasters, with possi- bly others, since 1880, and before that it is known that E. R. Sapp was the first to hold the office; George Davidson, Joseph Shaw, A. L. Dunlap, J. R. Payne, Louisa Payne (wife of the last named), Oliver Shaw, Nelson Burris, Valentine Close, William Miller, George Shaw, 1880, C. V. Burris, George Shaw.
There are two mails each way daily; two rural routes, one twenty-two miles long and the other twenty-four miles. The office was robbed by breaking into the safe, causing a loss of two hundred and twelve dollars to the govern- ment. This occurred about 1903 and the same night the office at Howard was robbed. No clue was ever obtained to the robbers.
It is not certain when the town of Danville was incorporated, but since 1880 the following have served as mayors: A. J. Workman, from 1881 to 1888; J. Van Horn, 1888 to 1892 ; F. M. Sholes, 1892; A. J. Workman, 1892 to 1908; J. C. Gaines, from 1908 to present date.
The incorporation owns its own town hall, with an engine room at- tached. The only fire protection is a hand engine and hose cart, with water supply from street cisterns.
The municipal officers are now : J. C. Gaines, mayor ; C. T. Motz, clerk, who has served seven years ; councilmen, I. E. Mackey, J. R. Greer, M. T.
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Gaines, R. G. Baker, Oscar Shaw, J. R. Spurgeon. The marshal is William Bugher ; treasurer, A. I. Wolfe.
The churches of Danville are the Methodist Episcopal, Catholic and Dis- ciples denominations, the history of which will be found in the church chapter of this volume.
The high school brick building is an eight-room structure, heated by steam. This was finished in 1909, at a cost of about twenty-eight thousand dollars. The district bonded itself for twenty thousand dollars. The attend- ance is this year ninety. This is believed to be the first school house erected in the interests of two separate village incorporations, Danville and Buckeye hav- ing to get a special act of the Legislature to accomplish this.
The business interests in Danville in 1911 was as follows: Banking, The Danville Bank ; hotel, Danville House, by G. W. Snow ; general dealers, R. G. Baker & Bros., S. L. Blubaugh, J. R. Greer; grocers, J. R. Greer ; livery, Gaines & Ross ; implement dealers, C. P. Rice & Son, R. T. Baum ; clothing, F. A. Esely ; hardware, Hall & Rice, Judson Loney ; harness shop, Oliver Shaw; restaurant, Ray Arnold; furniture, I. E. Mackey ; blacksmiths, R. Macomber, John Grant ; jeweler, C. T. Motz, since 1897; newspapers, Tri-County Leader and the Herald ( see press chapter ) ; opera hall, the Danville opera house, over Greer's store ; lumber, S. B. Rice ; garage, C. T. Motz; millinery, Mrs. I. E. Mackey, Mrs. J. R. Banbury ; cement blocks, A. B. Davis, Charles Sparks; dentist, David Shaffer ; barbers, G. W. Snow, William Wagner ; physicians, T. L. Jefferson ; drugs, George Shaw and C. V. Burris & Company ; attorney, A. J. Workman.
For many years before the building of the railroad the town was at a standstill, but with its completion it took on new life and activity. In 1881 the dealers in dry goods were L. Frost & Son, Workman & Workman; a grocery was kept by Julius Sapp; a drug store by Burns & Shaw; a clothing store by John Smithhiser ; a hardware store by Sapp Bros. ; a hotel by Emrick & Sapp; a furniture store by T. M. Metcalf. George Post was then postmaster at Danville.
Millwood, in the southeastern part of Union township, is on Owl creek. It was named for an old mill that once stood in the dense forest there. At one period in the history of this township it was the largest place found within its borders. In 1880 it only had one hundred population. The building of the rail- road and springing up of Rossville and Howard materially injured the hamlet with such early promise. It was laid out in 1825, by John Hawn. James Britton erected the first log house there and Ross Arbuckle the first frame resi- dence. John Hawn built a grist mill here in 1825; Elisha Gibbs had an in-
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terest in this mill. John Welker was the first merchant and postmaster. Israel Dillon was an early merchant. In 1829 the first tanyard was put in operation by Jacob Garret. The first inn was kept by Samuel Welker and it was a favor- ite resort for the students of Kenyon College in its best days. Students would frequently take trips to "The Caves" on Owl creek and after passing many hours in the wilds of that section, repair to this hotel and there be royally treated by the landlord to all that suited their taste.
At present the business of this village consists of two general stores, a meat shop, the postoffice, a flouring mill, and in way of churches it has the Dis- ciples and Presbyterian denominations. Recently the postoffice was abandoned and it now gets mail from the Howard office via the rural route system.
Rossville was laid out about the time of the completion of the railroad. This place is situated a mile and a half south of Danville and in 1881 claimed a population of two hundred and twenty-five. It had at that date the ordinary number of small stores and shops found in places no larger. It is now defunct.
Buckeye City was laid out in the fall of 1880 by J. C. Tilton, who had an insurance business there at that date. It being mid-way between Rossville and Danville, it had a hard struggle to weather the opposition of both, but finally succeeded in getting its share of business and stands well today as a trading center for the community in which it is situated. The two places, Danville and Buckeye City, should be united as one corporation, but the leading spirit of both towns has so far hindered this union. Rossville has disappeared from the latest maps of the county, and the two towns just named should form one strong trading center, under one name, which is talked of. The peculiar thing about these villages is that both have a postoffice service and the depot at Buckeye, proper, is called Danville.
Buckeye City was incorporated about 1875 and the mayors have been as follows: John C. Winterringer, T. R. Neldon ( Prohibitionist), John C. Win- terringer, Thomas R. Sholes, John C. Winterringer.
The 1911 municipal officers are: Mayor, Thomas Sholes ; clerk, John L. Wierich ; councilmen, E. B. Rice, S. R. Maring, J. C. Winterringer, S. D. Morningstar, George W. Sapp, John Welsh ; treasurer, H. S. Workman.
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