USA > Ohio > Clark County > The history of Clark County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men, V. 1 > Part 25
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Thursday, December 25, 1817, the bill was signed by the Speakers of both branches of the Legislature, as being duly enrolled; Mr. Lucas from the joint committee of enrollment deposited it with the Secretary of State, and took his receipt therefor.
And so the long figlit was ended. Ohio had gleaned another wisp for the sheaf on her escutcheon, and had added one more dart to its bundle of arrows. As a "Christmas gift" she had granted the right of local representa- tion and self-goverment to the plucky pioneers of "Little Clark," and made them a community by themselves with a "local habitation and a name," the ret- rospect of which confirms even the brightest visions of those who struggled for this conclusion.
The creation of Clark County was the most bitterly contested of any of the early counties of Ohio. The nominal objection urged was that the territory proposed did not fill the constitutional requirements of 400 square miles. The real trouble seems to have been personal dislike and jealousy, between the lead- ing citizens of the principal settlements in Green and the proposed county of Clark. It is unfortunate that the names of the principal actors in the contro- versy cannot be learned from the journals of the Legislature of that day, for, names excepted. the records furnish, to an active mind, a detailed history of the long struggle.
Perhaps more Governors of Ohio participated, in one way or another, in the passage of this bill than in that erecting any other county in the State; they were Thomas Kirker, Othniel Looker, Thomas Worthington, Jeremiah Morrow, Duncan McArthur, Robert Lucas and Joseph Vance. The passage of the bill and its excellent management throughout the unequal contest was more directly attributable to Daniel McKinnon, Senator from Champaign County, and one of the first Associate Judges of Clark County; Joseph Tatman also did good work, as a Representative, and was made one of the first Associate Judges. At the time of its erection, the taxable acreage of the county was 229,624 acres, then valued at $528,644, or an average price of less than $2 per acre.
The whole number of voters was 4,648, and the total population amounted to 8065.
" When the news of the passage of the bill reached Springfield, the citizens assembled at the tavern kept by my father (Cooper Ludlow), on the northwest corner of Main and Factory streets, and celebrated the occasion by the burning of tar barrels in the street, and a free use of apple toddy and the other acconi- paniments belonging to a great jollification of that day."*
Of the authors of the petition, or those who signed it, or any of the details, there is no known evidence, except that of hearsay. At this late day it would be interesting to know who first suggested the name of Clark, who circulated the petition. and some of the incidents concerning its rise and progress at home, as well as in the Legislature.
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
Mad River enters the county a little distance west of the middle of its northern boundary line, and, flowing in a southerly and southwesterly course, leaves it at a point near the southwestern corner. The principal tributaries to Mad River in this county are Logonda or Buck Creek, Chapman's Creek, Don-
* Dr. Ludlow.
240
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
nel's Creek, Honey Creek, and a few smaller streams. Beaver Creek is a large branch of Buck Creek.
The Little Miami River rises in the southeast part of the county, and, flow- ing in a southwestern direction, leaves the county near the village of Clifton, at about the middle of the southern boundary. North Fork and Lisbon Fork are principal branches of the Little Miami; there are many other streams of less magnitude, which flow into one or the other of these principal rivers.
Taking all these water-courses into consideration, the county is abundantly supplied with water for agricultural and industrial purposes, besides the ample drainage afforded.
" The valley of Mad River is the most marked topographical feature of the county. Rising in the island of Huron Shale (black slate), just east of Belle- fontaine, its source has an altitude of 1,438 feet above the tide water, which is as great as that of any other point in the State. The stream then passes over the edge of the Corniferous limestone, over a considerable outcrop of Helderberg limestone, in Champaign County, and finds its way to Clark County over a flat tract of country which is underlain by the Niagara limestone, but at such depth that it is nowhere exposed in the bed of the stream. Swampy borders of consid- erable extent are found along its course in Champaign and the northern part of Clark Counties, which help to bestow upon the stream its comparatively perma- nent character. These borders, locally called . cat-head prairies,' consist largely of vegetable accumulations, and are peculiarly retentive of moisture. Ditches draw the water but for a very short distance on either side, and therefore it is almost impossible to drain these tracts.
" The tributaries of Mad River share in the peculiarities that it possesses, in the districts through which they flow. Those that enter the river near Springfield have wrought out picturesque and beautiful valleys in the Cliff lime- stone, as, for instance, Buck Creek and Mill Creek, which crosses the Dayton Pike two miles below the city. The configuration of the valley at the junction of Mill Creek and Mad River indicates a long-continued history, in which the streams have occupied very different geographical relations from those now to be observed. A solitary remnant of their denuding action is found in a little island of Cliff rock. of three-fourths of an acre in area, that rises thirty feet above the general level in he angle between the two streams.
" Almost all the streams of the county, great and small, have their springs and earlier courses in drift deposits. They flow for awhile, many of them, indeed, through their whole extent. in broad and very shallow valleys, that they have wronght in the surface accumulations of clay and gravel. In such cases, the width of the valleys is greatly disproportioned to their depth. On the east- ern side of the county, the descent of a few feet --- not more than twenty-five feet below the general level-brings us to a broad, flat plain, ore-half a mile in width, perhaps. A stream of insignificant proportions meanders through the valley, but seems lost in the expanse. Indeed, the single-spanned bridge in the midst of a level tract is often our only intimation that we are crossing a valley. The several forks of the Little Miami in Green and Madison Townships furnish good examples of this sort. It may be noted, in passing, that these broad and shallow valleys constitute some of the finest agricultural districts of the county.
"The present topography of the county is to be mainly attributed to erosive agencies, which are still in progress. All that is wanting to complete the hori- zontal plain of rock which originally filled the area of the county has been car- ried away by running water. . The surface of the county has been worn and chis- eled by these agencies to a degree quite beyond a ready recognition, for these channels have been silted up by the drift deposits so as to be greatly reduced in dimensions, or even wholly concealed from view, unless some accidental section
-
241
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
exposes them. The present surface of the county is irregular, through a consid- erable portion of it, the gravels and clays having been Jeft in hills and hollows; but it is certain that the rocky floor has a far more uneven surface.
" The lowest land in the county is found in the valley of Mad River, in the southwestern corner of Mad River Township. It is about 325 feet above low water mark of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. From this lowest level, taken as a floor, the whole county is built up to the extent of 100 feet, with the upper- most beds of the Blue Limestone or Cincinnati Group. The average thickness of the Clinton limestone, the next story of the county, does not exceed twenty- five feet, and the heaviest single section of the Niagara group gives seventy-five feet in addition to these measurements. The deposits of the drift formation are built up in many instances from 75 feet to 100 feet above the rocky floor.
"The highest land of the county, then, is from 600 to 625 feet above low water mark at Cincinnati, or from 1,025 feet to 1,050 feet above tide water. Some isolated points may exceed even this elevation by a few feet. The sum- mits of Pleasant Township have probably as great an elevation as any land in the county.
" The sand and gravel are left over the surface of the country in pictur- esque knolls and ridges, which add greatly to its natural beauty, and which. in the advantages they offer for building sites and road materials, form no mean element in its desirability for human habitation. These knolls and ridges are not the remnants of more extensive beds that covered the whole face of the country originally. as might be thought at the first inspection, but they were deposited where we find them, and in the same form that they now possess. This is clearly proved by the lines of deposition that their sections furnish. The ridges often inclose basin-shaped depressions of small extent, which can be accounted for in no other way than as the results of the original deposition of the surrounding masses. These depressions are particularly noticeable in the northeastern corner of the county, near Catawba."
One prominent branch of business in this county springs from the vast amount of limestone existing here, large quantities of which are yearly con- verted into dressed building-stone, rough stone, lime, etc., which are thus spoken of in the " Geological Survey of Ohio:"
" We come next to what has been denominated the Springfield stone, viz. : the building-stone courses which form so constant an element in the Niagara rocks of Ohio at this horizon. It is separated from the West Union limestone by a distinct boundary. As this portion of the series is so well developed and exhibited in the Springfield quarries, it seems appropriate to designate it as the Springfield limestone, and this name has accordingly been attached to this divi- sion iu all portions of Southwestern Ohio in which it is shown. It is a promi- nent member of the Highland County series, as will be seen in the report of tho geology cf that county, subserving there the same purpose as a building-stone that it does here.
" The Springfield limestone is a magnesian carbonate, containing generally about 50 per cent of carbonate of lime, and 40 per cent of carbonate of magne sia. Some of the remaining substances-a small percentage of silica, and also of alumina-stand in the way of its being burned into an approved lime. There is, however, no uniformity in its composition.
"The prevailing color of this rock in Clark County is a light drab, though sev- eral blue courses occur. To the southiward, the rock is mainly blue. The desir ability of the light-colored stone for fine work is sometimes lessened by faint reddish streaks through its substance.
" The thickness of this division is never more than twenty feet, and seldom exceeds fifteen feet in this portion of the State. At Holcomb's, it is thirteen
242
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
feet. Like the other members of the series, it expands to the southward, reach ing at Hillsboro its maximum in Ohio of forty-five feet.
" Beginning in the Springfield quarries at the bottom of the series. we find several heavy courses, from ten to eighteen inches thick, overlying the West Union cliff. These lowest courses are blue in color, and, despite their massive appearance, are generally treacherous as building-stones. Where exposed to the weather, they lose, in a few years, their dressed surfaces, their seams continually widen, and, in a word, they show themselves to be undergoing a state of certain, though slow, disintegration.
" The blue courses generally, even when found above the lowest beds, show the same tendency, and should at least be carefully tested before being used in structures where they can be attacked by atmospheric agencies. The drab courses are almost all durable building-stones in all ordinary situations. Mak- ing up as they do the bulk of this division, they furnish an invaluable supply of building-stone to Springfield and the adjacent country.
" The character of the Springfield lime deserves some notice. It is the standard of excellence as a finishing lime in the Cincinnati market and for all Southwestern Ohio. It is carried in considerable quantity into Kentucky, and finds its way even to New Orleans. The qualities of the lime that especially recommend it are its mildness, its whiteness and its strength.
" The quantity of lime annually produced in Springfield and its immediate vicinity is very considerable. It is not less than 500,000 bushels, and during some years it has largely exceeded this amount. The parties who deal in Springfield stone are the lime-burners also-the two branches of business being necessarily connected, as will be understood from the relations that the build- ing-rock and limestone bear to each other."
The timber of the original forests consisted of beech, maple (sugar), oak, hickory, poplar, walnut, and some ash. Of course, this was not the exact list for: every township, but in a general way these were the principal varieties. In some localities, the beech prevailed; in others, the oak was the most common. There were no pines, hemlocks or chestnuts.
On the tract where Fern Cliff Cemetery is now located are the remnants of what appears to have been a botanical garden, wherein were planted a great variety of such herbs and roots as the Indians used as remedies, or for seasoning their nondescript messes of meats and vegetables. It is not known to have been especially planted, but the great number of different botanical specimens ou so small an area of ground, together with the well-known medicinal character of some of them, makes this explanation plausible, at least.
The soil of nearly every part of the county is more or less impregnated with lime; even the clays seem to be commingled with a lime "drift." This natural condition of the soil makes wheat-raising a prominent feature. This crop. therefore, is the leading one, as will be seen by the statistical table in another part of this volume. The rich bottom lands of the valleys are among the best corn lands in the country, and a large acreage of this crop is regularly planted. Of course the prospective market value of any crop regulates, to a great degree, the extent of its development, and it may not be surprising that the corn prod- uct sometimes exceeds all others in value bere. Stock-raising is one of the . special interests in which many of the farmers of this county have been long and profitably engaged; in fact, the breeding of fine stock was begun here at a date as early as at any other place in this part of the State. The table of crop sta- tistics will give some idea of the variety and amounts of the farm products of the county:
243
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 1, 1880.
DESCRIPTION.
Acres.
Bushels.
Weight, Etc.
Value.
REMARKS.
Wheat
33887
741813
Rye.
215
3672
Oats
4295
144035
Buck wheat
28
375
Corn.
43821 1458505
Meadow
10605
12382 tons hay.
Clover
9724
6377 seed.
6858 tons hay.
Flax.
1720
11473 seed.
132600 lbs. of fiber.
Potatoes.
1107
81025
Tobacco
42
76058 1bs.
Butter
469461 lbs.
Cheese
680 lbs.
Cultivated land
108406
Pasture land
46279
Wood land.
34861
Waste land.
3234
Total acres.
192780
Wool.
203700 lbs.
Lime ..
107000 barrels.
$42,200 00'
County Building ..
200,000 00 Seven in number.
Turnpikes (free).
114 miles.
257,200 00 Twenty-one in No.
Turnpikes (toll)
116 miles.
278,400 00 Thirteen in number.
National road.
132 miles.
Cost of pauperism.
6,300 00
Each pauper per day.
Public debts
19 199,536 92 Including township,
Taxable land
250483
11,60-1,500 00 Exclus'e of city lands.
City lands .*
1,282,090 00 Exclusive of city lots.
Total
12,886,590 00|Not including city lots.
1820.
1830.
1840.
1850.
1860.
1870.
1880.
Population.
9533
13114
16882
22178
25300
32070
41948
MOUNDS, RELICS, ETC.
There are several mounds and other pre-historic works within the limits of this county. "The greatest is the mound at Enon. Some years ago. a party of young men, impelled by curiosity, dug a hole down through the center of the mound. One of them says: 'We found top soil all the way for thirty feet, when we came to a cave of curious construction; it was the shape of a bake-oven, and high enough for a man to stand upright in the center. It tapered down on the sides. On one side there was a door, that had evidently led from a ground entrance into the cave. In the middle of the cave was a pile of dirt and stone resembling an altar; on this were bones, charcoal and some pieces of decayed wood, and one piece of partly charred wood in a good state of preservation. This wood was preserved, but the bones would not stand moving. After the party had satisfied their curiosity, they cut their names and the date on the altar. filled up the excavation and left." (See Mad River Township.) On the Bechtle property, in the northwest part of the city of Springfield, and near the bridge across Buck Creek, is a mound which has never been opened. It is about twenty feet high and seventy-five or one hundred feet across the base.
* Lands within the city which are taxed by the acre.
...
city and school debts.
244
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
In what is now the railroad yard, just east of Limestone street, in Spring- field, was a mound of considerable size. This was removed when the road was graded, many years since. Near this was a much smaller one, which was not known to be a mound until the process of leveling revealed its character. Both these contained bones and the usual specimens of charcoal, etc.
On the farm of Edward Newlove, in the western part of the township of Harmony, is what appears to have been a fortification, and of which neither tradition nor history gives an account. The outer limits of this earthwork inclose nearly four acres, and are in shape an oblong square. It has the appear- ance of having been planned and constructed in accordance with the rules of civil engineering, having a gateway on the north end, and one nearly opposite, on the south end. Half a mile north of this fort is a huge mound, the base of which covers about one acre. From this mound many bones have been exhumed, of a race of beings differing greatly from the present, and having no similarity to the red man. A mile west of the fort above mentioned, on the farm of Will- iam Allen, is an ancient burying-ground of an extinct race. The bones taken from this place are much larger than those of Americans, and, in many respects, give evidence of having belonged to a pre-historic people.
On the old Ward farm, about two miles north of Springfield, are three ancient works. Two of these were cones of the usual form, and some twenty or thirty feet high when the country was new, though now much reduced by plow- ing over them. One of these was opened in 1853, and was found to contain bones, pottery, etc. These mounds were about one thousand feet apart, and on a due north and south line.
The third was a low gravel hill or knoll, directly east of the mounds, and was full of bones, flints and other ancient handiwork.
Near the residence of Henry Snyder, at Snyder's Station, in Mad River, a large, mound-like burying-ground was found a few years since. This ground was filled with bones, arrow-points, etc. The arrows were of an unusual form, being round at the point. The area was not large, yet the excavations vielded 128 of those points, some of which were in the Ohio collection, exhibited by William Whiteley, Esq., at the Centennial at Philadelphia.
In 1876, at Catawba Station. on the C., C., C. & I. R. R., a gravel-pit was opened and an old burying-ground disclosed. This contained a vast quantity of bones.
The residence of Thomas Sharp, Esq., on East Clifton street, Springfield, stands on a knoll which contains bones and other relics of a character generally found in these burial-places.
.
De de Inhas (DECEASED)
245-246
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
247
- LOG CABIN SONG .*
I love the rough log cabin ; It tells of olden time,
When a hardy and an honest class Of freemen in their prime First left their fathers' peaceful home Where all was joy and rest,
With their axes on their shoulders, And sallied for the West.
Of logs they built a sturdy pile, With slabs they roofed it o'er ; With wooden latch and hinges rude They hung the clumsy door. And for the little window lights, In size two feet by two,
They used such sash as could be got In regions that were new.
The chimney was composed of slats Well interlaid with clay, Forming a sight we seldom see In this a later day ; And here, on stones for "fire-dogs." A rousing fire was made, While round it sat a hardy crew ' With none to make afraid."
THE HOMES AND HEARTHS OF THE PIONEERS.
The cabin or log house was invariably the dwelling of the settler, and was the first thing to see to after the arrival upon the ground. The family fre- quently camped out, or lodged in the wagon, during the building of the cabin.
Often the settler would precede the moving, and, after having selected his land, would get his house under roof, at least, before the family came, while at other times the family would be left at the cabin of the nearest neighbor until the new structure was reared.
The building itself was erected by rolling logs, previously selected, one upon the other, and " half-notching " cach log at the corners in such a way that it would lay fairly upon the one underneath. The roof was composed of bark, or oftener of clapboards, split from some convenient timber that was straight- grained, or " free-rifted," as it was sometimes called. To keep the roof in place, long, heavy poles were laid upon the courses of clapboards.
The openings for the two doors, the chimney, and one or two little windows, were either cut out with the ax after the cabin was raised, or the logs " butted " off as they were laid in place. The floors were made of puncheons, i. e., split logs, with the upper surfaces hewed. The hewing was sometimes omitted for want of time. The doors were composed of two or three clumsy plauks made as the clapboards and puncheons were, and pinned to a couple of stout ribs which formed part of the hinges. The door-latch was of the same order, and was raised from the outside by a string, which was thrust through a hole in the door. At night, this "latch-string " was pulled in, and the door was thereby locked.
To have the latch-string outside was a sign of welcome or free-heartedness, as is well expressed in the subjoined lines:
" His latch-string hangs outside the door As it had always done before. In all the States no door stands wider To ask you in to drink our cider."
*From an old song book.
C
248
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
It was common to have two doors, one directly opposite the other, so that a draught or current of air could be obtained, if necessary, to clear the room of smoke, or for ventilation. This arrangement also permitted a horse to be driven through the house when a huge back-log was to be taken in for use in the fire- place. It will not be necessary to go into all the details of the log cabin, such as the chinking and daubing with clay, and the rude notched logs that were set up on an angle as a substitute for stairs or a ladder.
Nearly everything in the house was made on the spot. Furniture of all kinds was improvised, and if the pioneer had been thoughtful enough to pro- vide a few tools, such as a saw and two or three augers, he soon found his house- hold wants as well supplied as could be expected.
The frontiersman soon learned to rely upon himself for as many of the necessities of life as his ingenuity and labor would produce.
The forest furnished roots and barks and herbs for all sorts of ills. There, too, could be found many natural fruits, nuts and vegetables, which contributed not a little to the comfort of the seeker.
" Domestic medicine" was practiced by every housekeeper, as there were no doctors within ten miles, may be, and no roads at that.
Accidents would sometimes happen, resulting in broken bones or dislocations, or the ax would glance and bury itself in the foot or leg of the woodman. Then help must be procured as best it could; but, to offset the disadvantages of the situation, each settler was ever ready to drop his own business and attend to the wants of those in distress, with a degree of promptness not often met with in the whirl of busy life which exists at present.
In those days there was a multitude of little things which required atten- tion that are in no way troublesome to-day-for instance, the fire must never be suffered to go out; to be sure, the flint and tinder-box were at hand, but that sometimes failed, and instances are plenty where long journeys on foot were necessary to procure fire.
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