USA > Ohio > Noble County > The county of Noble; a history of Noble County, Ohio, from the earliest days, with special chapter on military affairs, and special attention given to resources. > Part 3
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THE COUNTY OF NOBLE.
secured by chunks of wood fitted closely between them at each end. The clapboards were usually about four feet in length, made from straight-grained oak, split in the requisite thickness. For the splitting an instrument known as a frow was used, which was merely a straight blade, fixed upright at right angles with its handle, and driven by a mallet.
"After the cabin was completed and roofed, the walls were 'chinked and daubed' with clay or mud, and all holes through which cold or rain might enter stopped. The walls had to be rechinked frequently, as the rain loosened and washed out the filling. One or two small win- dows were made by cutting out a square hole in the walls. Across the window sticks were fastened, and to them greased paper was attached to admit the light and keep out the cold. A doorway was made by cutting out a sufficient space in the logs if a saw was to be had-otherwise it was made by laying short logs on each side until a sufficient height had been reached, when the logs were laid extending the whole length of the front of the cabin. The door was made of splits or clapboards, fastened to wooden cleats by wooden pins. The hinges were also made of wood and fastened to the door in a similar manner. A wooden latch was then arranged on the inside of the door to be lifted from the outside by a leather string drawn through the door. When the string was drawn inside the door was securely fastened. From this manner of fastening the door arose the old say- ing. 'The latchstring is always out,' svnonymous with hospitality.
"The chimney of the pioneer dwelling stood outside, at one end of the cabin. It was built either of stone or of sticks and mud. The fireplace was generally a huge affair. A space for it was left in the logs, or else one was cut for it after the walls were erected. The back and sides of the fireplace were made of large, flat stones ; the width was sufficient to admit a log six or eight feet long. In the fire- place hung a crane, with iron hooks (or wooden ones when iron could not be obtained), upon which the pots and kettles of the household were suspended.
"The floor of the cabin-if it had one, which was not always the case-was made of puncheons, or boards split from logs and hewed to the required thickness. *
* * Over the doorway, in forked cleats, hung the pioneer's trusty rifle and powderhorn."
The furniture of the cabin was generally homemade. A puncheon table, sometimes having legs made of saplings, but more frequently built stationary against the wall, served both as kitchen and dining table. Puncheon benches took the place of sofas and three legged stools were more common than upholstered chairs. Bedsteads were constructed by fastening a forked stick to the floor to hold one end of a pole, the other being supported in a crack between the logs. Across this pole others were laid crosswise to support the "straw tick" that
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THE COUNTY OF NOBLE.
took the place of a mattress. Sometimes a feather bed was placed on top of the straw tick, forming a comfortable if not luxurious couch. Cooking stoves and ranges were unknown. A long handled skillet, or spider, was used for frying meat and also for baking bread. A clap- board smoothed off served as a "Johnny-cake" board, the cake being baked by plastering the dough on one side of the board and propping it up before the fire. In the preparation of a meal the housewife usually wore a deep sunbonnet to shield her face from the fierce rays of the great fireplace.
Think of a life like that, ye of the present generation, who live in steam-heated mansions with plate glass windows. The old fashioned spinning wheel that ornaments your parlor was to the pioneer damsel a necessary utensil in the preparation of the family's clothing, or per- haps her own trousseau. Flax was raised for summer wear and for table cloths and sheets. This must be pulled, bleached, broke, hackled, scutched, and spun before it was ready for the loom, and much of this work fell to the lot of the women. Wool was carded and spun by hand, dyed with a decoction made from the bark of trees, and both woolen and linen goods were woven on the old hand loom. Shoes were a luxury and even the ones they had were of the coarsest kind. Yet this existence was not without its advantages. If the pioneer lacked the conveniences of modern progress he was also without its drawbacks. With venison, wild turkey, and bear meat to be had almost for the asking he did not fear the clutches of the "Beef Trust." No board of trade could corner the wheat market so long as he had the old water mill in the neighborhood to grind his turn of corn. If all com- mercial transactions were in the nature of barter, he had but little use for money and was therefore not terrified by the thought that the failure of the bank might bring disaster. The problems of sanitation and water supply, that vex the city authorities of the twentieth cen- tury, gave him no concern. He had plenty of outdoor exercise, ate wholesome food at regular intervals, and as a result the indigestion and dyspepsia that follow late suppers, where wines and salads con- stitute the principal features of the menu, were to him practically unknown. On his hunting excursions he would throw himself flat on the ground and quench his thirst from some convenient pool or stream of water without the haunting fear of microbes or bacteria. The life was one of hard work, but it was not without its diversions. The men had their log rollings, raisings, shooting matches, etc. The log rolling was a contest in physical strength from which as much real pleasure was derived by the participants as the later generations get from a prize fight, while the contests in skill with the rifle were occasions that were looked forward to with keen anticipation. Among the women the con- tests were with the spinning wheel and with the needle at the frequent "quiltings" that were held throughout the frontier settlements. To
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THE COUNTY OF NOBLE.
spin "six cuts" a day was an achievement of which any maiden could boast, and when this feat was accomplished in addition to doing the regular housework it challenged admiration. The young woman who could do this was looked upon as a desirable match for any thrifty young man that might be contemplating matrimony. Another pop- ular amusement was the "house warming." When a new cabin was completed this ceremony was necessary to dedicate it to the use of its intended occupants. If there was a fiddler within reach, and there was usually one in every neighborhood, he was summoned, the young people gathered from far and near, and to the music of the solitary violin they danced the Virginia reel and the country cotillion with as much enthusiasm, and perhaps far more real enjoyment than the urban belle of today threads the mazy waltz to the strains of a five hundred dollar orchestra. Then there were the husking bees, where both sexes participated, and where the mirth ran high when some bashful swain found the "red ear."* Hence, the life of the pioneer was not altogether cheerless. The frontier school, where the three R's constituted the course of study, turned out strong rugged men intellectually, and when the itinerant minister held divine services in some cabin the hymns were sung with as much zeal and the prayers offered with as much sincerity as in a temple with stained glass win- dows and towering spire.
Many of the streams of Noble county derive their names from some early settler or from some incident that transpired along their course. "Dye's Fork," took its name from Ezekiel Dye, the first settler of Brookfield township. "Reasoner's Run," in Jackson township, was named for the hunter and trapper from Guernsey county, who had a camp on the stream before any permanent settlers came to the locality. "Sailor's Run," which flows into Duck Creek a short distance below Carlisle, was named for Jacob Sailor, an early settler on the stream. "Whisky Run," in Beaver township, takes it name from the fact that in early days Jacob Clinedinst, Michael Upmeyer, George Peters, and James Eagon all operated distilleries along the course of the creek. "Opossum Run," in Seneca township was so named because the men engaged in cutting out the State road through the township killed an opossum on the banks of the stream. "Perry's Den," a curious natural formation near Ava, received its name from the fact that in former times a noted outlaw and horse thief named Perry used it for a retreat. Thus the early pioneers left their names to some of the natural features of the county as irrevocably as they left the impress of their character upon its institutions.
* At a corn husking, or husking bee, as they were generally called, the finder of a red ear of corn was entitled to kiss the young lady next to him. If the finder was a young lady the privilege of bestowing the kiss fehl to the young man at her right hand.
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Chapter III.
INDIAN RELATIONS-GENERALLY FRIENDLY NATIVES-LAST ACT OF HOSTILITY-EARLY ROADS-THE FEDERAL TRAIL-PETITION FOR A ROAD IN SENECA TOWNSHIP-ROAD TO THOMPSON'S MILL -THE CENTER ROAD-FIRST ROAD TO CALDWELL-STATE ROADS-POST OFFICES-OLIVE-WHARTON-BATES' MILL- SUMMERFIELD-SHARON-HOSKINSVILLE-EARLY MAIL CAR- RIERS-POST OFFICES IN 1903-EARLY TOWNS AND VILLAGES- OLIVE-SARAHSVILLE-SUMMERFIELD-SHARON -HIRAMSBURG -CARLISLE-MOUNT EPHRAIM-"MOSS TAVERN"-BATESVILLE -HARRIETSVILLE - HOSKINSVILLE - ROCHESTER - MIDDLE- BURG-WHIGVILLE-MATROM OR SOCUM-THE OLD VILLAGE OF LEXINGTON-EARLY INCIDENTS-A NOVEL MARRIAGE CERE- MONY-AN ARTICLE OF AGREEMENT-WHISKY A NECESSITY- CIDER ON ELECTION DAY-A HARVESTING INCIDENT-THE SLAVERY QUESTION.
T HE EARLY settlers of Noble county enjoyed one advantage not usually accorded to the inhabitants of the frontier. That was freedom from annoyance and the marauding acts of hostile Indians. For some time after the settlement of Marietta bands of discontented savages wandered over the lands of the Ohio Company threatening the settlers and occasionally killing some unfortunate individual, whom they found in a position where he could not offer resistance. The last of the hostile demonstrations at Marietta took place in May, 1794. At that time a man named Robert Worth was killed within a few rods of the fort. In the fol- lowing February Jonas Davis was killed near Belpre, and in the spring of 1795 five young men, William Ford, Jacob Proctor, John Waterman, William Hart, and Sherman Waterman, were attacked not far from the old Waterford garrison. The young men had drawn donation lots on the south branch of Wolf creek, about three miles from the fort, and were at work clearing their lands when the assault was made. They had previously erected a small blockhouse and as soon as the Indians began their attack they made for its sheltering walls, though Sherman Waterman was seriously wounded. Once inside the blockhouse they succeeded in driving off the savages. This
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THE COUNTY OF NOBLE.
was the last act of hostility on the lands of the Ohio Company and it occurred several years before the first settlement was established in the present boundaries of Noble county. For many years some of the Indians paid an annual visit to their hunting grounds, but on such occasions they refrained from any hostile demonstrations, sharing the game they killed with their white neighbors and eating at their tables.
One of the greatest needs of the Noble county pioneers was that of highways. For several years the old Federal Trail, opened in 1791, was the only thoroughfare through this section of the State. It left the Ohio river at the mouth of Grave creek and crossed the western part of Noble county. Near the present village of Renrock the trail forked, one branch running through Morgan county and crossing the Muskingum river at Gaysport, and the other leading toward Chilli- cothe. An old Indian trail along the west fork of Duck creek was used for some time as a sort of a neighborhood road, finally broaden- ing into a public highway. But time has wrought many changes. The road was straightened here and there to conform more nearly to the lines of the surveys, and all trace of the old trail has been obliterated.
On September 3, 1810, a petition, signed by quite a number of the settlers along the proposed line of the road, was presented to the com- missioners of Guernsey county, asking for the opening of a road, "to commence on the headwaters of the Seneca, and thence down the same, by Cornelius Bryan's, Jacob Yoho's, etc., to the town of Cam- bridge." The commissioners granted the prayer of the petitioners and appointed Elijah Stevens, John Carpenter, and Frederick Miller viewers, and Elijah Beall surveyor. The road was completed the following spring. The opening of this road stimulated the demand for another and on April 22, 1811, the commissioners were made the recipients of another petition, this one asking for a road from Cam- bridge "to strike Buffalo Fork of Will's Creek at or near the mouth of Muddy Fork, thence on the same direction to strike the south boun- dary of Guernsey county, at or near the center of the sixth township of the ninth range." James Cloyd, Daniel Bean, and William Tal- bot were appointed viewers, and the report returned to the commis- sioners was signed by them, and by George Archer and John Waller, as chain bearers, and by Lewis Waller as axeman. It set forth that the viewers had met "on the first Monday in May, at the house of Thomas Stewart, innkeeper, and proceeded without delay to view the same."
The next effort on the part of the settlers to secure a local road was in the spring of 1815 when a petition was presented to the com- missioners of Guernsey county for a road on Seneca fork, beginning at William Thompson's mill, but the records do not show whether the
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THE COUNTY OF NOBLE.
request was granted. About that time, however, a road was cut out from the salt works in Olive township to Marietta. In 1816 a road was opened between Carlisle and Woodsfield. It had been "bushed out" some time before, as had also trails to the neighborhood of East Union, and to Bates' mill. The two latter trails were afterward developed into roads.
What is known as the "Center road," running from McConnels- ville to Woodsfield, was opened through Sharon township in 1817. On October 26, 1818, Robert Caldwell, and a number of others, appeared before the board of county commissioners of Guernsey county and asked for the opening of a road "to commence at or near the twelve-mile tree on the road from Cambridge to the Washington County line ; thence nearly a south course to Benjamin Thorla's, on Duck Creek ; thence to Robert Caldwell's to intersect the New Phila- delphia road, to the Washington County line near Captain Blake's. The commissioners appointed Martin Crow, John Keller, and James Thompson viewers, and George Metcalf surveyor, and upon the recommendation of these gentlemen the road was ordered to be opened .*
In the meantime several roads, known as State roads, because con- structed under the supervision and at the expense of the State, were opened through the Ohio Company's Purchase. The State road from Barnesville to McConnelsville ran through® Batesville, Sarahsville, Belle Valley, Hoskinsville, and the Dye Settlement. That from Bel- mont county to Marietta ran via Calais, Summerfield, and Carlisle. At Summerfield it was crossed by a road running from Zanesville to Sunfish on the Ohio river. As the development of the country pro- ceeded other roads were constructed, but the ones named constituted the principal thoroughfares of the early inhabitants of Noble county.
Along with the building of roads came the establishment of post roads and offices. For some time the infant settlements were com- pelled to go to Marietta for mail. Later post offices were established at Woodsfield and Cambridge, which brought the facilities of the post office department a little nearer, but the journey had to be made over roads that were sometimes almost impassable, and were never very good, so that a trip to the post office was no easy matter. The oldest post office within the county was probably the one established at McKee's store in Olive township, in 1820, with Robert McKee as postmaster. It was supplied with a weekly mail from Marietta, under the Star Route system of delivery. Upon the establishment of the Macksburg office the mail was brought from that point and the route was extended to Washington in Guernsey county. About the
* This was probably the first road to come any where near the present city of Caldwell.
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THE COUNTY OF NOBLE.
year 1827 a mail route was opened from McConnelsville to Cam- bridge, a man named Johnson being the contractor, and Jason Tilden the first mail carrier. Shortly after it was started, a post office named Wharton was established at Andrew Wharton's store, in Brookfield township, which was the second office of which there is any record within what is now Noble county. During the next two years several new offices were opened, viz .: at Bates' mill, with Timothy Bates as postmaster ; Summerfield, with James W. Shankland as postmaster; Sharon, with Rev. Robert Rutherford as postmaster ; and at Hoskins- ville, where Col. Erastus Hoskins had charge of the office. The office at Bates' mill was called Batesville, and was supplied with a weekly mail on the route from Barnesville to McConnelsville. It is said that Timothy Bates' report to the department at the end of the first quarter was "No letters, no papers ; hope for better luck next time." On the same route was the Hoskinsville post office. At the Sharon office two newspapers were taken, so that the weekly mail at that point was always certain to contain something, though it fre- quently happened for weeks at a time the mail contained no letters. The two papers were the London Pall Mall Gazette, taken by Peter Ackley, and the Pittsburgh Christian Advocate, taken by John Lyons. Letter postage in those days was twenty-five cents, if the letter came any distance, and this no doubt had a tendency to discourage cor- respondence, especially a's ready money in the pioneer settlements was somewhat scarce. Generally the recipient of a letter was looked upon as an important personage, and whoever received one nearly always shared the information it contained with his neighbors at his earliest opportunity. Sometimes the mail carrier was equipped with a tin horn, which he blew as soon as he arrived with hearing distance of the office to announce his arrival. Then all the neighbors within reach assembled at the post office, the small boys looking upon the carrier with much the same curiosity they assemble at the railroad station in the present generation "to see the train go by."
Some of these old offices have long since been discontinued, but for every one that has gone out of existence a score of new ones has been established. In 1903 Noble county had forty post offices, viz. : Ava, Batesville, Belle Valley, Berne, Brookton, Caldwell, Claytonia, Cliffyville, Crooked Tree,* Dexter City, Dudley, Elk, Flag, Fred- ericksdale, Fulda, Gem, Glenwood, Haga, Harrietsville, Hiramsburg, Honesty, Hoskinsville, Keith, Kennonsburg, Kilmer, Leeds, Mc- Cleary, Middlecreek, Mount Ephraim, Mount Zion, Nobleville, Olive Green, Renrock, Rich Valley, Ridge, Sarahsville, Sharon, South
* In May, 1854, James H. Steadman laid out a village in Jackson township, which he named Jacksonville, but upon the establishment of a postoffice there it was given the name of " Crooked Tree" owing to a tree of a peculiar shape that grew in the vicinity.
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THE COUNTY OF NOBLE.
Olive, Summerfield and Whigville. Of these forty offices Ava, Batesville, Belle Valley, Berne, Caldwell, Dexter City, Fulda, Har- rietsville, Mount Ephraim, Renrock, Sarahsville, Sharon, South Olive, Summerfield, and Whigville are authorized to issue and redeem money orders, and the daily business of any one of these offices is more than that of all the offices in 1830 for a month. This shows the develop- ment of the county along commercial and industrial lines.
With the opening of roads and the establishment of post offices there came naturally the formation of villages, some of which have continued to flourish, while the vicissitudes of civilized progress have doomed others to decay. The oldest village in the county was that of Olive, which grew up around Robert McKee's store, about three- fourths of a mile from where Caldwell now stands. After the loca- tion of a post office at McKee's in 1820 the business of that portion of the county began to concentrate there, though no plat of the village was filed until several years afterward. When the county of Noble was formed the first courts were held at Olive and it was a place of some importance. But when the county seat was located at Caldwell, some years later, the new town so completely overshadowed the old one that Olive gradually declined until but little of it remains except in the memory of the older inhabitants. In its palmy days it was an important center for the buying of leaf tobacco, which was hauled to the Ohio river for shipment.
On June 19, 1829, according to the records of Morgan county, Ben- jamin Thorla, acting for John Devolld and Ezekiel Bates, surveyed the town of Sarahsville, and on September 28, of the same year, the plat was duly recorded. The town was named Sarahsville in honor of John Devolld's wife. About four years before the plat was filed Mr. Devold had built a two story house on the site of the town. This was probably the first brick house in Noble county. At the time the town was laid out a few cabins stood near Mr. Devolld's residence. In one of these Devolld kept a small stock of goods, and he can there- fore justly claim the honor of being the first merchant in Sarahsville. Additions to the original plat were afterward made by James M. Rownd, George Bell, and Samuel Aikens. Sarahsville was the first county seat of Noble county, and is still a town of considerable importance.
Two years after Sarahsville was founded the town of Sharon was surveyed and platted under the direction of Robert Rutherford and Edward Parrish who owned the land upon which the village was located. A Presbyterian church had been erected there in 1823 and the establishment of a post office contributed still further toward making a center of population. The original plat consisted of four- teen lots, not much of a city, but there was a time when Sharon was
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THE COUNTY OF NOBLE.
one of the most prosperous towns of the county. Among the early business enterprises conducted here was the pork packing business of John and Isaac Parrish and Reuben Israel. Sharon was also a great market for leaf tobacco. One of the first buildings erected in the place was a log school house, which stood upon the site afterward occupied by the Masonic hall. Thus Sharon early placed itself on record as the friend of education and in later years it maintained the reputation. Soon after Noble county was created Rev. Randall Ross founded a school here, known as Sharon College, which for many years was recognized as one of the best educational institutions in South- eastern Ohio.
Summerfield is one of the oldest towns in the county and is one of those that was fortunate enough to be located where it came in contact with railroad communication in later years, thus retaining its pros- perity. The first lots were laid off in 1817 by Moses Horton, but the official plat of the town was filed in the recorder's office in Monroe county in 1827. The town was named in honor of Rev. John Sum- merfield, a prominent Methodist preacher in early days. James W. Shankland was the first merchant in the place and David West kept the first tavern. Several additions have been made to the original plat.
In 1836 Hiram Calvert employed John F. Talley to lay out a village in Noble township. A plat was accordingly made, showing twenty lots, and filed with the recorder of Morgan county, of which Noble township was then a part. The town was named Hiramsburg, after its proprietor. Samuel Stevens had established a store there before the town was laid out. Asa Burlingame was the first post- master and also proprietor of the first hotel. One of the early busi- ness men of the place was Reason Calvert, who manufactured potash from wood ashes. He also manufactured linseed and castor oils.
Carlisle, (Berne post office), was laid out in the year 1838 by Richard Warfield, on the lands of John McBride and Enoch Archer. Before the village was founded James Tuttle had a small stock of goods there, and Solomon Wolf had conducted a blacksmith shop there for several years. In early days Carlisle was a great leaf tobacco market. The tobacco was packed and shipped to Baltimore. Contemporary with the founding of Carlisle the village of Mount Ephraim, on the old Barnesville and McConnelsville State road, was platted for Ephraim Vorhies, after whom it was named. For several years prior to that time Vorhies had conducted a tavern there. It was a large double log building, known far and wide as the "Moss Tavern" because moss had been used to chink the spaces between the logs instead of mortar. In 1839 Crawford Glover opened a store but in a short time sold out to Asbury Gardiner. One of the first tan-
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