The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county, Part 61

Author: W.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1214

USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county > Part 61

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562

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

An effort was made, in 1806, by a Mr. Crane, of Lebanon, Ohio, to estat lish a newspaper in Dayton. But a few numbers were issued, when the editor having an attack of the chills and fever, abandoned the enterprise and re turned to Lebanon.

The Dayton Academy was incorporated in 1807, and in the succeedin, year, a two-story brick schoolhouse was erected by subscription, on the wes side of St. Clair street, near Third. The bell was donated by Mr. Cooper This academy property was sold in 1833; lots were bought on the southwes corner of Fourth and Wilkinson streets, and on these lots the trustees built two-story brick schoolhouse, fronting on Wilkinson street. There was a base ment to the building, gable shingle roof and cupola, in which hung a little ol shrill-toned bell. The length of the building was on Wilkinson street, and i stood at the inner line of the sidewalk. The first floor was about eight feet u and was reached by wooden steps on the walk. The stockholders in 1857 donat ed the property to the City Board of Education. The old building was tor down and the present structure erected.

During the winter of 1807-8, a debating club was organized in the vil lage, and spelling matches were regularly held in the academy building, and were the excitement of the winter; sides were chosen and there were man sharp contests in spelling each other down.

The first brick private residence was built by Henry Brown, in the yea 1808; a two-story brick, on the northwest corner of Main street and the alle between Second and Third streets. The building, in 1863, was occupied a the Journal office; was afterward torn down to give place to the present struct ure.

The village was a busy, bustling little place in the year 1808; improve ment and prosperity had come to the good villagers, roads had been opened t the different settlements around, and a good trade established,

The taverns were doing a good business. Grimes' tavern, on the east sid of Main street, at the south corner of the first alley south of Water street, wa a log building, one and a half stories high, and sixty feet long, kept by Joh Grimes. It had a belfry on top; the log barn and feed yard were back in th alley. Several years later, two or three frame additions were built to the tav ern, and the large dining room became the popular place for balls and dancer

Reid's Inn, on the west side of Main street, at the north corner of the a. ley, between First and Second streets, was a two-story frame house, with a bel fry; the sign swung in a square frame on a post that stood at the edge of th sidewalk. In after years a portrait of Commodore Lawrence was painted on th sign, and a scroll with his last words, " Don't give up the ship;" below hun. the small sign, Reid's Inn,

To save the $10 tavern license, in 1808, the tavern was changed to a bous of private entertainment. In 1836, it was burned down.

McCollum's Tavern, on the southwest corner of Main and Second streets was the best house in the village; the little bell in the belfry called merchants mechanics and transients to breakfast before day. After the war of 1812, th sign was ornamented with a picture of the capture of the British frigate Guer riere, by the American frigate Constitution.

The Dayton Repertory, a newspaper eight by twelve inches, printed on sheet of foolscap paper, was published weekly at $2 a year, by William MeClur and George Smith. Their first issue was on September 18. 1808, and the las paper was issued December 4, 1809. The press was a second-hand one, tha had been brought from the East, with a lot of old-style type. The news from Europe was three months old. In the winter, in order to remove the office ti the south side of Second street, between Main and Jefferson, publication of th

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563

CITY OF DAYTON.

aer was suspended for several weeks. Advertisements were inserted at $1 a -gare for three weeks, and 25 cents extra for each subsequent issue.

Mathew Patton was the village cabinet maker; James Hanna had a weav- .n establishment at the lower end of Main street; John Dodson was house car- eter and joiner; H. G. Phillips kept a stock of general merchandise; John 'apton, Jr., kept store at Main and First; merchantable produce was taken the market price for work and goods.

Brown and Sutherland had a large stock of goods. Steele and Peirce had uzissortment of dry goods, groceries, hardware, queens and glassware, medi- i./s, stationery, iron, nails and castings. The roads were not graveled, and he was little effort made to keep the sidewalks in good condition. The mer- hits all had hitching posts and feed boxes in the road in front of their tdes. It was the custom for all of the merchants to keep a bottle of whisky in a bottle of wine sitting on their counter for customers to help themselves. Ils custom continued as late as 1840.

Fences around the door yards were stake and riders, a few were post and a and there was but little improvement made until after the war.

There were three good physicians in Dayton in 1808, each of them having . urge practice through the country, sometimes riding twenty miles to attend tient, making regular visits through a circuit, stopping at the cabins to lo; the patients all around.

The Rev. Dr. Welsh kept supplies of medicines, was a practicing physician, n Presbyterian preacher.

Dr. John Elliott had been a surgeon in Wayne's army, and for several .e's a practicing physician of the village. He died here, and was buried on h26th day of February, 1809, with military honors, by the Dayton troop of Lint Dragoons and the infantry company; the clergy of the neighborhood n a large concourse of people of the village and county .assembled and nached with martial music to the grave, where a eulogy was delivered.

Dr. William Murphy who had been practicing for two or three years, died 0,808.

Their medicines were made of roots and herbs principally, and were of thetrongest kinds ; rheumatism and fevers were the diseases they had most to cet in this new country. They carried medecines and instruments in saddle a), slung across the pommel of the saddle.

As stimulants, they used in their practice, squaw root, snakeroot, Indian 'ip, hops, sassafras, ginseng, poke berries, the juice of the poison vine and Ih bark and berries of the prickly ash.

As tonics, dogwood bark and flowers, willow bark, yellow root, yellow o ar bark, and seed pods, bark of the tulip poplar, and oak bark.

As astringent, bark of the red maple, beech, oak and wild cherry, persim- 0( bark and unripe fruit.

Emetics, bark of the buckeye, wild ginger root, tobacco leaves, snakeroot n bark of the white locust.

Cathartics, senna leaves, flag root, may apple root, and bark of butternut ES.

Most every house kept a supply of roots and herbs, and most of the mothers 1 a their own way of doctoring.

Public vendue of all kinds of personal property, administrators' sales, cat- lend horse sales, generally occurred on court days. Main and Third streets in thevicinity of the court house presented a lively appearance ; people were buing and selling furniture, auctioneers were shouting for bidders, horse trad- eravere busy. Not much money changed hands, for all kinds of sales were mie to take chattels and produce in pay.

564

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

Advertisements of administrators for the sale of real estate offered to ta produce at the market rates, as pay.

A meeting of the citizens of the town was held October 1, 1808, to cons: er an offer from the Postmaster General to establish a weekly mail route fr Wheeling to Dayton, New Lexington and Eaton. "If the people along t line would pay the expense, he would allow them all the emoluments arisi from the several new offices." This post rider route was shortly afterward tablished, and is the one referred to as the "route East via Chillicothe."

The mail north was carried by the post rider to Urbana, once a week.

The pioneers were not entirely exempt from trouble in their marriage lations, for in the papers of those days are several legal notices that divor had been applied for. We give one here as a sample of the rest :

Know ye that I do forewarn all persons from harboring, or trusting my wife Elizab Spuryer on my account, as she has left my bed and boarding, without any lawful reas as I am determined to put the law in force against anybody that I find my property wi

ELISHA SPURYER.

Betsy-his wife-petitioned for separation, charging her husband w. whipping her, and not keeping the marriage vow.

In the spring of 1809, Isaac Burnet was elected President of the "Sel Town Council," and John Folkerth Recorder pro tem.

An ordinance in that year was passed by Council requiring all adult ma to work two days in each year upon the streets.

A flat-bottomed boat from the mouth of Honey Creek, loaded with wall and cherry lumber, arrived here on the 11th of April, and started the next ( for New Orleans.

April 18, D. C. Cooper began running a carding machine at his mills, Water street, near Mill street.

David Steele was operating a cooper shop on First street near St. Clair April 19, Dr. P. Wood opened the first drug store in Reid's Inn, for . sale of "medicines by the small."

John and Archibald Burns established a sickle-factory in the village same month, and a wrought nail factory began operations on Main street, posite Grimes' tavern. John Strain & Co. were the proprietors.

Thomas MeNutt was the village tailor.

A.dye-house was opened in May, by James Beck; deep blue was the fa, ionable color; cotton was colored at 75 cents a pound; linen and woolen go at 623 cents.

In consequence of low water and a change in the channel of the ri near Hamilton, navigation of the Miami in flat-boats was considered ris On the 23d of May, 1809, John Compton started with a boat-load of gra pork and whisky, and got through safely to the Ohio. Other boats made trip, but the water was so very low that they were from two to three we getting down to the mouth of the river.

In Dayton there were two ferry-crossings in the Miami, one at the foot First street, at the old ford on the road to Rench's mill, now Salem. T ferry was running until January, 1819, when the old red toll-bridge, at Brid street, was finished; the other at the foot of Fourth street, on the road lead down to Gunckel's mill, now Germantown.

The lower ford was just below where the railroad bridge now is; the road it was down Third street to the present Perry street; thence along a narrow r to the ford; this road was afterward widened and called Perry street.

THE TOWN PLATS.

The original plat of Dayton, as laid out by the proprietors in 1795, not take effect, by reason of their failure to secure title through Symmes:

565

CITY OF DAYTON.

In subsequent arrangement, by which D. C. Cooper was to become the pro- or tor of the land at the mouth of Mad River, he made an entirely different This and other reasons caused further confusion and delay, so that the ager had not been adjusted in 1805. In 1804, he made a larger plat and Tuitted it for record on the 9th of September; for some reason, however, Therecord was not made until November 20, of the year following. In the intime, the great flood had occurred and the proposition was made to locate whole plat on the higher ground east of the village. Tais was not ac- plished, and it was not until 1808, and afterward, that the original set- el all got their lots by patent from the Government, or by deed from D. C. Poper.

The plat of 1805 contemplated a public square, with the center of the (sing at Main and Third streets as the center of that square; the court esse to be located at the center. In 1809, a revised plat was made by Mr. per, to conform to deeds and patents, and to the original plat, as laid out I Vilkinson, Ludlow, Dayton and St. Clair, in 1795. This revised plat of 5), therefore, became the plat of the town, and to it all subsequent addi- les have been made. In numbering the lots, numbers were skipped, to be .st in replatting some of the outlots.

Prior to the record of this plat of 1809, property was seldom transferred Ly eed; the County Commissioners established a rule that that party would leecognized as the owner of a lot whose name appeared in the list opposite hy lot number; thus, to pass the title of a piece of property from one per- -ito another, all that was necessary was a verbal request of the owner to a the purchaser's name placed in the list instead of his own. Of these asactions, be they few or many, no record has been preserved, but instead fluch record, a perfect list of lot-owners at the time the plat of 1809 a recorded, forms the basis of title to all of the original 321 inlots of ):'ton.

In reference to the records of changes in title to Dayton and Montgom- "County property, a misunderstanding has long existed as to the importance [amilton County records, to show a perfect abstract of title to Montgom- ryCounty lands. Owing to the failure of the Symmes Purchase, there are w'ecords at Cincinnati that can be of the slightest value in tracing title to letgomery County lands. The original records of all transfers by patent, ora the Government to individuals, and subsequent sales of Montgomery onty property, appear in the records of Montgomery County.

By virtue of the right of pre-emption, granted by law to certain persons b had contracted with John Cleves Symmes, or his associates, the following cibed lands were, pursuant to an act of Congress, conveyed by " patent," ged by James Madison, President, to D. C. Cooper.

July 18, 1812, 419,63 Tog acres of land, being the residue of all south of I River, in fractional Section 4, Town 1, Range 7, after deducting Inlots 6, 8, 14, 46, 51, 52, and 78, and Outlots 5, 6, and 26, in the town of Day-

nj which lots contain together, 34. 50 100 acres.

October 5, 1813, 29276 6 acres of land, being fractional Section 3, Town ange 7, south of Mad River, excepting Outlot 52 of ten acres, in the town layton.

October 5, 1813, 88-91 acres of land, designated by the Surveyor Gen- raas Survey No. 2 (except houselot No. 20, of half an acre in the town of Daton), fractional Section 10, Town 1, Range 7, south of Mad River.

October 5, 1813, 65,60 acres of land, being Survey No. 1, as designated byhe Surveyor General, in fractional Section 10, Town 1, Range 7, south of Ma River.

566

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

October 25, 1813, 69,30 100 acres of land, fractional Section 9, Town Range 7, south of Mad River.

FOURTH OF JULY.

A regular old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration was organized 1809. The militia and citizens of the town and vicinity assembled on t river bank, at the head of Main street, and marched in procession to the col house, where, after appropriate singing, and the delivery of an oration, t procession was re-formed and marched to the house of H. Disbrow for dinn tickets, 50 cents. Salutes were fired by the artillery and foot soldiers -t two Dayton companies - Capt. James Steele's troop of Light Dragoons, a Capt. Paul D. Butler's Infantry Company.

The day finished up with wrestling, shooting at a mark, foot-races, hor races, jumping; anything for fun, then a big dance in the evening.

ST. JOHN'S LODGE.

Masonic history in Dayton began with the organization of St. John's Lod in the year 1809, at their lodge room in the academy building on St. Cli street. The Lodge was afterward removed to the first dwelling house north Second street on the west side of Jefferson. There is not now a living meml of that old lodge.

BOATING UP THE MIAMI.

In the winter of 1809-10, two keel-boats were built by Henry Disbr and Paul D. Butler, in the road in front of the court house. When finish they were moved on rollers to the river and launched, then were poled up ! Maimi and Loramie to the portage, where one of them was taken out of, t water and hauled twelve miles across the portage to the Auglaize River, th establishing a freight line by water between Dayton and Toledo, via the Mian Auglaize and Maumee Rivers. The boats made tolerably regular trips, a had a good trade.

A TRIP EAST.

Traveling was done on horseback, and in this way, in 1809, a Dayton m chant going east to buy goods was accompanied by his wife and infant chi They led a pack-horse to carry their luggage; the child was carried in a swung around the farther's neck and rested on a pillow, on the pommel of saddle. They were a month in going to Philadelphia.

Men generally wore leggings of green baize or other cloth, wrapped arov the legs from shoe tops to thigh, held to place with tape strings. Horses & riders were splashed all over with mud and water. In wet, stormy weather was often necessary to tie the horse in the woods, while the rider would s. all night in the forks of a tree, or in a fallen tree top.

TEAMING.

Merchandise for the Dayton stores was freighted across the mountains fr. Philadelphia and Baltimore to Pittsburgh, in the long trains of "Conestog wagons, the horses wearing the red yokes and jingling chimes so necessary the narrow winding mountain roads.

At Pittsburgh, the goods were transferred to the "broad horns" (flat-boa to be floated to Cincinnati, and from there hauled overland to Dayton by tra of "line teams," or reshipped in keel-boats to be poled up the Miami. ] bulk of supplies were brought up by river, yet for quick transit pack-hor were depended upon; two men could manage a dozen horses, carrying each 1 hundred pounds ; generally the horses were loose, following each other in sin file, from training and long service. Some horses it was necessary to tie, (

567

CITY OF DAYTON.

of ie men having the lead horse and the other the hind one to watch the loads an keep the horses going. The lead horse wore a bell. One man could eally manage six or eight horses. A driver would be equipped for any emer- ety with gun, ammunition, an ax and blanket ; sometimes he would be re- med to bridge a small stream. He had to kill game enough to supply him- sel and make his own camp at night. Only in the evening would the loads "eemoved from the horses; then a bell would be hung on each horses neck to icin finding them for an early start in the morning. The horses were turned be to graze.

THE TOWN IN 1810.

The population of Dayton in 1810 was 383. D. C. Cooper was elected Pr ident of the Council, and James Steel, Recorder.

Council passed an ordinance requiring certain sidewalks to be improved. Th ordinance shows that the town at that time laid along Water street from Min to Mill street ; south side of First, from Ludlow to St. Clair street ; and n Iain street, from the river to Third street. The improvement required by chordinance was, that the walks on these streets were "to be laid with stone r fick, or to be completely graveled, and a ditch dug along the outer edge of b walks."

The celebration of the Fourth of July in 1810, began by the assembling of tn people of the town on the river bank at the head of Main street. A pro- e'ion was formed and marched to the court house.

The order of exercises was as follows :

1. Singing of an ode.

2. Prayer.

3. Reading the Declaration of Independence.

4. Oration.

5. Dinner under a bower erected for the occasion.

The toasts were :

1. The Day-May the event for which it is celebrated never be forgotten.

2. The heroes of '76-May their sons protect what they achieved.

3. The Constitution of the United States-May its duration be as lasting ashe solar system.

4. The memory of Washington.

5. James Madison, President of the United States.

6. The State of Ohio, the youngest of the Federal family -- May she be foremost to suppress insurrection, and chastise foreign insolence.

7. The American people -- May they always appreciate the blessings of a re government, and guard with zealous care their constitutional rights.

8. Virtue-The only base of National as well as individual happiness.

9. The arts and sciences, like the rays of light-May they dispel the mists Ignorance and prejudice from our native land.

10. Agriculture-May our plowshares never rust, and may the hungry of Eons be fed with our superabundance.

11. Manufactures-May our exports exceed our imports.

12. The Navy of the United States-May they always acquit themselves as ere the walls of Tripoli.

13. The Militia of the United States.

14. May love of country absorb partyism, and may we keep the maxim in iv, that united we stand, but divided we fall.

15. The Army of the United States.

16. The memory of Gen. Wayne, the patriot and soldier.

17. The American Fair-May they bestow their smiles only on those who derve the blessings of liberty.

568

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

While the assembly were drinking the toasts, and listening to the respons the artillery fired a National salute. Beer, ale and porter were first broug from Cincinnati about this time to be sold at the taverns, and we may presu that they were served at this Fourth of July dinner. The other popular drin were whisky, brandy, wine, wild crab cider and cherry bounce.

Saturday, September 18, Col. Jerome Holt assembled the Fifth Regime at Dayton " for training purposes." Business was generally suspended, a the country people flocked in to witness the display and parade.

A stock of leather and saddlery was brought here, and a shop opened in i fall, and on November 1 a tannery began operation on Lot 229, at the sol end of Main street.

During the winter of 1810-11, a bridle path was contracted for and ( through from Dayton to Vincennes, a distance of 200 miles, and the State rc east and west through town was built. It will be remembered as the old c duroy road, fearful to travel over in the rainy or winter season ; in fact, t. was the trouble with all of the roads in the early days. The mud holes a low places were laid with poles, that would float, and the horses' feet wor sink through them, often causing delay for hours to work out. The roads we not greatly impoved until after 1837.

1811, MOB, CELEBRATIONS.

On the night of May 3, the Shakers, then living in town, were mobbe and were warned several times through the newspaper to leave the commun or suffer the consequences; but they stood their ground, and replied throu the paper.

The 13th and 14th there were nine flat-boats left the Water street landil laden with flour and grain, salt pork and bacon, whisky and pelts, for N. Orleans: one of the boats was wrecked twelve miles down the river, the oth got through safely.

At 10 o'clock A. M., June 20, the festival of St. John was celebrated by ; John's Lodge, No. 13, with Harmony Lodge, No. 8, of Springfield and Urbar as visitors.

The celebration of the Fourth of July, 1811, embraced the usual pr gramme, beginning with the citizen's meeting on the river bank at the head Main street, the procession marching to the court house, where the crowd entertained with songs and speeches; two big dinners this year, one at Grime Tavern, the other at Strain's boarding house, embellished with toasts and tillery, and winding up with a general hurrah. The Rifle Company and D. goons paraded as usual, and finished off with a dance in the evening.

THE WAR OF 1812.

The influence of Tecumseh, and his brother, the Prophet, had been i. several years exerted to unite the Indian tribes of the Northwest against t whites; and when, in 1811, it became apparent that war was inevitab Tecumseh and his followers were ready to unite with the British against t United States.

In April, 1812, Dayton was designated as the point of rendezvous for t militia that had been called into Government service. For two years the toy was filled with the business and excitement of a military camp. The troc were at first quartered in the town, and after the army moved to the Norf Dayton was an important point on the line of communication. Men with ca ital came to engage in business, new stores were opened, and every branch trade increased.

The Dayton Rifles were among the first to respond to the Governor's c for troops, and were soon ordered to the front. Except immediately after Hul

569'

CITY OF DAYTON.

su ender, the town was in no special danger from the British or their savage Ins. New Lexington, Greenville, Piqua and Urbana formed too strong a colon of outposts to be easily passed.

Our people promptly responded to the Governor's call for troops to check "hexpected advance of the enemy after the disgraceful surrender at Detroit; wijin a few hours after the newsreached Dayton, Capt. Steele's company were naching to the front. Men, women and children united in aiding the troops ) et off.

Dayton people and Dayton soldiers nobly discharged their every duty, and win the war was over, united in the general rejoicing.

On Saturday, May 15, 1813, the mechanics of Dayton met at McCollum's Tarn, and organized the Dayton Mechanical Society-the first workingmen's ir nization in Dayton.

Real estate speculation ran very high that spring; a great deal of money ua been made in Dayton during the war; workingmen and mechanics were ut'ng homes; land was platted and sold in lots up Mad River as far as the ntenton Road ford. The town improved and progressed rapidly, until in 1820, hi the depression in business put a stop to all improvement.

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The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county, Part 61

Author: W.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1214

Author: W.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1214