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 48
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When James Demint, from his lonely cabin on the hillside north of Buck Creek, looked out of his rude doorway, he saw before him a gentle slope, falling gradually toward the south, with a natural drainage in all directions; in the center of a rich, undeveloped country, directly within the path of travel between the settlements of the East and the West, and with a healthy, vigorous stream running busily along the foot of the declivity. He saw also, here and there. clumps of trees, royal in foliage, shadowing generous springs, which gushed unbidden from a thousand nooks and corners in the hillsides, enticing the rich herbage into rank extravagance, and suggesting one of nature's hostelries, where peace and plenty were spread with no niggard's hand. Demint saw that here was a favorable location for a settlement, which would in the future become a city of wealth; that nature had laid the ground-work of the plan which the energy and enterprise of man would develop; and it needed but the suggestion of a lady, Mrs. Gen. Simon Kenton, who was attracted by the superabundance of local springs, to dub the future town Springfield. Thus the cabin of the hardy pioneer, who, with prophetic vision, seemed to have cast the horoscope of the then embryotic city, became the nucleus of the frontier settlement. which soon grew into the thrifty hamlet, then the ambitious town, the restless, enter- prising, manufacturing city, where the throbbing engines of industry beat cease- lessly, and the hum of busy wheels grows stronger year by year.
42.5
426
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
The spot so selected and christened in chivalric style was in the midst of a fertile country, surrounded by deep forests, with a soil of unsurpassed richness, and a water-power which was of inestimable value in early times. It was lo- cated on the banks of Buck Creek, or Lagonda, near the confluence of the latter with Mad River. The old Surveyor, William Brown, at one time fixed the exact latitude and longitude of Springfield. Its latitude, according to Brown, is 39 degrees 54 minutes 22 seconds north; longitude, 5 hours 35 minutes and 34 seconds west of Greenwich in time, or 3 degrees 53 minutes and 30 seconds in parts of the circle. Tradition says that the Indians were wont to tarry here temporarily on their hunting expeditions, but had not made it a habitation, and hence there was no name for it in the Indian tongue.
" LA OHONDA."
The stream popularly known as Buck Creek was by the Indians called La- gonda. Those who were best acquainted with the Indian dialect did not hesi- tate to say that it is a derivative from "Ough Ohonda" (Buck's Horn, Little Deer's Horn, or Little Horn), from the Wyandots, and afterward abbreviated by the French traders to "La Ohonda," which early dropped by usage to Lagonda. This term was no doubt applied to the stream by the Indians because of its forked and crooked course, which the reader who will trace its sinuosities upon the map will see has not a very distant resemblance to a pair of buck's horns.
THE FIRST SETTLEMENT.
As the history of the city is but an aggregation of the acts of the individ- uals who from time to time were its inhabitants, the first settler occupies a prominent position in the foreground. Adventurous frontiersmen had, during the closing years of the last century, been exploring the virgin forests which bordered the banks of the two Miamis. It was evident that all that fertile country was soon to be redeemed from the savage hordes who were steadily retreating from advancing civilization.
Although not directly connected with1 the first settlement of Springfield, yet, as indicative of the growth of the vicinity, it is worthy of note that, in the summer of 1795, David Lowry, a native of Pennsylvania, with Jonathan Don- nels, members of a surveying party, whose object was to obtain an accurate sur- vey of the public lands in this portion of the Miami purchase, in the prosecu- tion of their work came to what is now Clark County, and encamped one Satur- day evening near what is now the village of Enon, and nearly opposite the mouth of Donnels Creek, where Lowry afterward built his residence. The fer- tile Mad River bottoms were so rich with promise of future harvests that Lowry determined to return and locate permanently in that vicinity. In the fall of the same year, having purchased a tract of land from Patten Shorts, then a large land owner in this section, he removed to the place where he afterward made his home. Following Lowry the next year came two men named Kreb and Brown, who, encamping near Lowry on Mad River, broke up the ground and engaged in tilling the soil. The first attempt at establishing a village in this neighborhood was made in August, 1799, when John Humphreys and Gen. Simon Kenton, with six families from the adjoining State of Kentucky, settled near the bridge on Mad River, west of Springfield, and erected a fort and four- teen cabins as a blockhouse station for protection against the Indians.
JAMES DEMINT. THE FOUNDER OF SPRINGFIELD.
James Demint, with his family, came from Kentucky the same year. The bluff overlooking the beautiful Lagonda appeared to him a more favorable lo-
yours Truly @JUhn, Norman
SPRINGFIELD.
427-428
429
CITY OF SPRINGFIELD.
cation than the Mad River bottoms, where the Humphreys settlement had boen formed. He built the first log house within the present limits of the city. It was a large, double log cabin, and stood for many years on the brow of the hill on the north bank of the Lagonda, on the west side, and near the State road, now Limestone street, leading to Urbana. The present Northern School building, formerly the Seminary, is near the site of this cabin. Mr. Demint entered and held by certificate from the Government a large tract of land south and west of his new home. This he afterward laid out into town lots, which are em- braced in the first plat of Springfield, and is here given:
ORIGINAL PLAT OF THE TOWN OF SPRINGFIELD. NORTH.
BUCK
LAGONDA) CREEK.
34
33
1 2
1
60
65
36
35
4
3
68
67
38
40
39
37
69
71
3
7
NORTH
STREET.
42
41
10
9
74
73
44
43
12
11
76
75
14
13
46
48
47
45
78
80
77
79
16
15
1
MAIN
( NOW
COLUMBIA) STREET.
15
17
50
52
51
49
82
84
81
83
21)
19
SPRING
8.5
5€
55
24
23
$3
S7
SOUTH
( NOW
MAIN)
STREET.
26
25
90
92
89
91
Sec.
Line.
Line.
28
27
62
30
29
9.1
93
63
32
31
90
95
PUBLIC SQUARE.
FISHER
54
53
22
21
86
58
60
59
57
STREET.
STREET.
STREET
6
5
70
72
STREET.
WEST.
MARKET
LIMESTONE
SOUTH LINE OF FIRST PLAT.
L
430
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
The surveyor who laid out this plat was a young man named John Dangh- erty, who was then temporarily stopping at Demint's cabin. He commenced the work March 14, 1801. The intention had been formed by Demint to Jav out a town on the slope facing the bluff, on which the proprietor had located his cabin. The plat as shown here indicates his purpose to have the center of his town midway of the slope, which he has designated on the plat as the pub- lic square. The principal streets ran parallel with the Lagonda Creek. Columbia street was at that time the principal thoroughfare, or Main street. and what is now Main street was then known as South street. Subsequent develop- ments, however, pushed the center of trade south, and the adoption of South street as the line of the road from Springfield to Dayton established that street as the Main or business street of the place.
When Daugherty began this survey, there was some trouble about finding a starting-point, as the Government survey had not yet been completed. He finally determined to go down to the range line running between Ranges 8 and 9, and measure due north a distance of four miles, which would fix the position of the Goverment section line when it should be run by the Government sur vey. This brought him to about where the line of High street now is, and from there the new plat was laid off, and is dated March 14. 1801.
Some time after this, probably in the fall of the same year, Israel Ludlow. as Government Surveyor, established the present section line between Sections 344 and 35. This line passes through the open alley which runs between the First National Bank and the new commercial building on Limestone street. and is two hundred feet, more or less, farther north than the south line of the town plat as Jocated by James Demint. In short, two surveyors, each measuring four miles in the same direction, made a difference of about two hundred feet in the result of their work. It is needless to add that the last line was the true one, because it was one of the great system of lines by which this county was divided, though the experience of every surveyor from then until now is that the first measurement was very nearly correct, while the Ludlow surveys generally overrun, both in distance and quantity. There has been, therefore, a dispute as to the exact locality of these lines, but the statement here given may be re- garded as authentic.
The public square as designated in the plat, and now occupied by the court house, county buildings and Soldiers' Monument, was intended as an open space, the center of the future city, but the wishes of the founder in this respect have not been observed. and the lots have always been occupied to the street. The recorded plat is dated and signed by James Demint September 5. 1503. and was recorded in Greene County September 13, 1804, it being then included in the limits of that county.
BEAUTY OF LOCATION.
A more favorable location for a prosperous city could not have been se- lected. The extensive area of table-land that lay thirty feet or more above the level of Buek Creek, with an undulating surface, or rising into abrupt bluffs, opened from this chosen site not only a variety of scenery, but a broad range for an extended growth. We take the following description of the landscape from a faithful narrator --- Dr. John Ludlow:
" The scenery had all the irregularity and variety of a New England lan.1- scapo, without its hardness and abruptness. For several miles east and south of the new village of Springfield. the country was an undulating plain, which in the summer was covered with tall grass, mixed with a great variety of flowers. among which a species of wild pea, very fragrant but now extinct, was abund- ant. The country north for miles was an unbroken forest of large trees in
431
CITY OF SPRINGFIELD.
great variety. The beautiful and never-failing stream called Buck Creek, or Lagonda, fringed its northern border with clear, running water. Mad River, with its rapid current, was within a couple of miles of its northwestern bound- ary. The 'Rocks,' or perpendicular bluffs, filled with deep strata of solid limestone on either side of Buck Creek as it advanced toward its junction with Mad River, were covered with cedars, hanging vines, ferns, mosses and flowers; the wild grape-vine hung from the stately trees and dipped its tendrils into the placid stream below; the sycamore bent its projecting boughs over its banks, while the sugar maple and mulberry, towering above, with the dogwood, redlud, spicewood, butternut, buckeye and other trees, with their variegated leaves, formed a beautiful and attractive picture. Near the mouth of Mill Run, a little rivulet which flowed near the south and west lines of the village, the scenery was unusually attractive and romantic. The little stream went tumbling over the rocks in order to reach the brief valley below and empty its waters into Buck Creek. On each side of this cascade, there were high, projecting rocks, covered with honeysuckles and wild vines and beautiful ferns, which hung down in festoons as a curtain to the chasm below, which was taller than a man's head. On the east side of this chasm, there was a large spring of water flowing from a round hole in the rock, with a strong current. remarkably cold, and de- positing a yellow sediment. On the west side, there was another spring of delicious water, which, in after years, slaked the thirst of little fishing and pic- nic parties, who found delight on the banks of Buck Creek in the wild and pi -- turesque valley."
FIRST COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE.
The first commercial enterprise was inaugurated by Demint, who some time after his location erected a small still at the foot of the hill below his cabin, and near the present spring-house on the Northern School grounds, and began making "fire-water" for the Indians and settlers. Demint was a rough, reckless man, a type of the class who are always found upon the frontier. In his wife he had a suitable companion, a hard working affectionate woman, who was a help-meet for her husband in the hardships of a pioneer life. Among the denizens of the rocks along Buck Creek, were multitudes of rattlesnakes which were driven from their dens by Demint, his good wife assisting in smok- ing them out and killing them as they attempted to escape. It is said in one spring they killed ninety of these reptiles in this manner. Jesse Demint. son of James, shot and killed near the rocks an immense panther, which measured nine feet in length, and was supposed to be the last of its race in this vicinity.
CHARACTER OF DEMINT.
James Demint. although recognized for bis many good qualities, had a pas- sionate fondness for whisky and gambling. He frequently would mount his fine bay horse for a visit to the neighboring towns where he usually indulged in a prolonged spree. On these visits he would supply himself with a new deck of cards, and eagerly engage with any one for small wagers. At one time. he was playing with a man who owned a very fine deck of cards. He took such a faney to it that he determined to purchase it, but the owner refused to sell, and it was only when Mr. Damint offered him a deed in fee for any lot on the plat of Springfieldl which he might select, for the cards, that he was induced to part with the treasure. The exchange was made and the consideration for one of the finest and most valuable .blocks in the city. was at one time a gambler's deck of cards. The founder of Springfield died about the year 1817. at the tavern of the Widow Fitch in Urbana. His widow, who was his second wife,
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432
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
afterward married a man named John Rust. He followed teaming between Springfield and Cincinnati, and lived for several years about four miles from Springfield, on the old Dayton road. The venerable William Patrick, of Urbana, in a letter read at the Clark-Shawnee Centennial, says (Patrick) was an employe about the house of the Widow Fitch at that time, and remember on a summer evening that Mr. Demint rode up and ordered his horse put up, and took a room and would receive such persons as would minister to his chosen pastime, and other amusements. I have said already that he was addicted to drink; I do not mean, however, that he would stagger or wallow in the gutter --- he was of the kind that could drink deeply and not show intoxication. His great mania being for the enjoyment of his cherished game for small stakes. he followed his accustomed amusements at any points in -the village that would screen him from the lynx-eyed officers of the law. He would frequently, dur- ing his stay, take a nap on a long bench that stood against a partition in the bar room, where, one evening, a little before sun down, the old landlady came to me and told me to wake up Mr. Demint and prepare for supper; and obeying the request. I went to him on the bench and shook him, and called him by name: but he stirred not. and to my horror I found him dead. He had gone to sleep to wake no more. And after the bustle and excitement of preparing the body for the cooling board was over, it being nearly 9 or 10 o'clock, John Fitch, the son of the old landlady, approached and asked me who would go to Boston (Springfield) and inform his wife. I immediately answered "I will go," so he immediately ordered the hostler to saddle and bridle the dead man's valuable gelding, and when all was ready he said to me "give me your foot," and immediately vaulted me into the saddle, slapping the horse on the buttock, and addressing me wag- gishly, said: "Bill be careful that old Demint does not get on behind you." And although I was never subject to superstition, yet for the life of me I could not avoid looking askance occasionally during my lonely and melancholy ride that night, reaching my destination about daybreak, and breaking the sad news as well as I could to his wife. After taking some refreshment she immediately had a horse saddled and returned with me to Urbana, receiving the coffined remains of her husband and returning to Springfield for sepulture immediately."
GRIFFITH FOOS' ARRIVAL.
In 1801, Griffith Foos brought several families to Ohio from Kentucky. The Scioto Valley at first attracted them. but, finding it malarious, they deter- mined to seek a more congenial locality. In March, 1801. they came to Spring- field on horseback from Franklinton, near Columbus, following Indian trails as their guides.
They had heard from hunters that the Mad River Valley was a healthy and beautiful region. and, when near what is now the county seat, they entered upon an Indian trail which they followed until they reached Mad River. They passed up the valley without observing the Humphrey's settlement, going in the direction of Urbana. until they reached "Pretty Prairie," then changing their course southwestward they followed Buck Creek until they came to James Demint's cabin. The party enjoyed his hospitality for several days, and. after an inspection of the country, expressed themselves well pleased. and as Mr. Demint offered them valuable land at very low prices and stated his intention to lay out a town as soon as competent surveyors could be procured, Mr. Foos and party concluded to return to Franklinton, where they had left their families and household goods and bring them to Springfield. Four days and a half were required to move from Franklinton, a distance of forty miles. They made the first wagon track into Springfield from that direction. They were com-
433
CITY OF SPRINGFIELD.
pelled to cut down trees to make a roadway and ford streams. They trans- ported their goods over the Big Darby upon horses, and then drew their wagons over with ropes while some of the party waded and swam by the sides to prevent them from upsetting.
THE FIRST TAVERN.
We now enter more directly into the history of the development of Spring- field. as a distinct feature of the county. Prior to June, 1801, the town plat as laid out by Demint was without an occupant. The log cabin on the bluff north of the creek was the only tenement visible, but as Mr. Foos had expressed a desire to locate here for the purpose of going into business soon after his return from the Scioto Valley, he began the erection of a house to be used as a tavern. It was a double log house, and was located on the south side of what is now Main street, a little west of Spring street. In June, 1801, he opened it to the public, and continued it until the 10th of May, 1814. These were the days of magnificent distances, and the patrons of Mr. Foos lived within a radius of forty miles. On the day announced for the raising of Mr. Foos' cabin, the set- tlers came from all directions to participate in the festivities of the occasion. Plenty to eat and to drink,
A "log cabin raising" was an event of the season. especially the latter, was furnished by the proprietor to all who chose to attend, with or without an invitation, the climax being attained by a dance in the even- ing which continued until the dawn began to glimmer through the trees. Mr. Foos died in 1858, having lived in Springfield over half a century. He saw it develop from a single house to a rapidly growing and flourishing inland town, and peopled by a class of men who were remarkable for their industry, enterprise and culture.
PICNIC TO YELLOW SPRINGS.
Mr. Demint did not receive much encouragement immediately after the laying-out of his village plat. His lots were not considered valuable invest- ments, and but few improvements were made thereon for several years. The attractions in the vicinity were appreciated by the residents, but the fame thereof had not as yet spread abroad. The natural scenery at Yellow Springs had been highly extolled by passing hunters. Griffith Foos and Archibald Lowry determined to visit that locality. In the "leafy month of June" with their wives and on horseback they went "picnicking" to the now popular resort. They were prepared to camp out. and, directing their course toward Dayton until they reached Knob Prairie near Enon and turning southeast following an Indian trail which ran in the direction of Mud Run, they came to the Springs, where they remained two days. unmolested by beast or savage, enjoying the beautiful scenery which was then worthy of tedious journey. Its wild luxuriance, unmarred by the encroachments of civilization, made it a subject for the con- ning hand of the limner, and to this day, such has been the marvelous beauty of some of its scenery, that it has been transferred to canvas by skillful artists. The excursionists discovered near the river, while rambling through the beauti- ful evergreens and shrubbery, the deep ravines and rumbling cascades what appeared to be two artificial wells cut in the solid rock about three feet in diameter, and several feet in depth. They were until recently visible a short distance from the Springs.
IMPROVEMENTS, MILLS, ETC.
Following the erection of the double log cabin of Mr. Foos, a number of other buildings rose on different parts of the town plat. All were roughly built and did not add to the attractions of the place. The first "mansion" of any pre-
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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
tensions after that of Mr. Foos was built in 1803 by Archibald Lowry, a brother of David Lowry. He owned a tract of land which was afterward laid out in town lots by his son. James Lowry. James was at one time a prominent busi- noss man of the city, but his latter days were spent with dissolute companions, and he was murdered some years ago in a wretched hole called "Rat Row." on Market street. in a midnight brawl. The new house built by Archiball Lowry was a large two-story howed-log house on the alley first west of Limestone street, about half way to High street. It was the second public house in the place.
Necessity at the time suggested that the rapid waters of the stream which flowed along the southern limits of the village might be utilized by furnishing power for grinding the corn and wheat raised in the fertile valleys. There were no mills nearer than Lebanon, Ohio, to which the settlers were obliged to convey their grain and purchase their fionr. To make a market nearer home, Demint built a small grist-mill near the mouth of the stream on the spot after- ward occupied by Fisher's old mill. The stream became known as Mill Run, which name it holds to this day. This mill was the first in the vicinity. It had the capacity to grind about twenty-five bushels of corn every twenty-four hours.
DAYTON AND SPRINGFIELD ROAD.
In 1803, Congress passed a law donating 3 per cent of all money received from sale of lands, for use on roads. In order to obtain the benefits of this law, a movement was inaugurated among those interested to establish communication between Dayton. Springfield and Columbus. A wagon road was surveyed in 1803. between Dayton and Springfield, which was afterward , extended east toward Columbus. This road did not follow the principal or Main street of the then village, on account of the low swampy land which was on the east end of that street, but was located on South street. It soon became a thoroughfare. and had much to do in establishing the business center south of the original Main street. In after years. business houses were built along the principal lines of ingress and egress. Two years after the road had been Jocated between Springfield and Dayton. one Capt. Moore and his brother Thomas, took the contract to open the road from Franklintoa to Springfield. The advent of the construction corps employed on this road was hailed with as much enthusiasm by the citizens of Springfield as in after years they welcomed the railroad and the locomotive. When within a few miles, the contractors made a frolic of the job and invited all the people to come and help them, so that they might go into Springfield in one day. Never was invitation responded to with greater alacrity. The road was finished in a day, an event which was celebrated in the evening by an immense supper and a ball at Foos' Tavern.
THE CITY IN 1804.
The boast of the embryonic city in 1504 was about one dozen houses, all built of logs. Some of the most pretentious, such as Col. Daugherty's. Lowry's tavern and Charles Stowe's business building, had large stone chimneys, which were esteemed quite aristocratie. The houses of which the village was then composed were situated as follows: Near the southeast corner of Main and Market streets. a man named Fields kopt a small repair shop; west and almost opposite, was a cooper-shop owned by John Reed: on the northeast corner of the same streets stood a log house, while a short distance west on the south side of what is now Main street, near Primrose alley, was a larger log structure ocenpied by Charles Stowe, of Cincinnati, as a general store. He was the first merchant in this place, and had a profitable trade with the Indians and hunt-
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