Columbiana County, Ohio - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 5 of those read), 1879

Early Settlement And Progress

f It has been supposed that the first settlement in Columbiana County was made by a family named Carpenter, in 1797, who located at West Point, in Madison township. The following story is told of an occurrence which happened soon after the settlement: "On one occasion Capt. Whiteyes, a noted Indian chief, stopped at the dwelling of Mr. Carpenter. Being intoxicated, he got into some difficulty with a son of Mr. C., - a lad of near seventeen years, - whom he threatened to kill. The young man upon this turned and ran, pursued by the Indian with uplifted tomahawk, ready to bury it in his brains. Finding that the latter was fast gaining upon him, the young man turned and shot, wounding him so that he soon after died. As this was in time of peace, Carpenter was apprehended and tried at Steubenville, under the territorial laws, the courts being then held by justices of the peace. He was cleared, it appearing that he acted in self-defense. The death of Whiteyes created great excitement, and fears were entertained that it would provoke hostilities cabin near Calcutta, in the township of St. Clair, where he seems to have led the life of a hunter. Liverpool was settled between the years 1795 and 1800 ; Madison, by the Scotch, in 1802; Washington - formerly Saline - by Scotch families, in 1803; Fairfield and Middleton, by Friends, in 1800-3; Wayne, in 1802; Perry, at Salem, by Friends, in 1803; Centre, at New Lisbon, in 1802.

After the organization of the State and the erection of Columbiana County - both in 1803 - settlements rapidly increased. The growth of the county for the ensuing quarter of a century is illustrated by the additions of new townships to the tax lists, and by items of contemporaneous history, as given by the Hon. II. II. Gregg, of New Lisbon, in an address delivered before the Columbiana Pioneer Association, Sept. 13, 1873.

Said Mr. Gregg, " The first levy of taxes ever made in Columbiana County was made at a term of the court held at the house of Christian Smith (whose hotel was just in rear of the stone house on Washington Street), in New Lisbon, on the 6th of September, 1803, Robt. Simison, Henry Bachman, and Wm. Smith sitting as judges. The levy was made upon five townships, for the amounts following: Springfield, $94.69, Peter Forney, Jr., Lister or Assessor; St. Clair, $98.38, Hugh Clark, Lister; Middleton, $88.62, Benjamin Bradfield, Lister; Salem, $27.02), George Bair, Lister; Centre, $31.94), Isaac Pearce, Lister. Total tax for 1803, $310.66.

" At this day the people may wonder why the taxes were only levied upon the five townships named above. The reason is easily given. At that day Springfield, Middleton, St. Clair, Salem, and Centre were the centres of population, settlement, and civilization, and Salem and Centre were on the western frontier. The first countyseat, at Matthias Lower's barn, was fixed in the centre of this population, and all outside was pretty much wilderness and woods.

" ' On the 3d day of November, 1805, left Steubenville for New Lisbon, on horseback. Came on first day to Gillingham's salt-works, sixteen miles south of New Lisbon. At that time there were but three houses, or rather lo<'- cabins, between the salt-works of Mr. Gillingham and New Lisbon, - one three miles north, occupied by George Clark, who was afterwards elected to the Legislature, one about th rce and three-fourths miles, and the other at West Fork, north side, occupied by Thomas Hoovey, and afterwards by Peter Kofi'el. The country at that time, with the above exceptions, was a dense forest or wilderness, and but a very narrow road through it. And,' Mr. Blocksom further says, 'at that time, on the road to Canfield, there were but three houses, - one about where Samuel Burger now lives, a very from the Indians. Great exertions were made to reconcile them, and several presents were given to the friends of the late chief. The wife of Whitoyes reeeivod from three gentlemen the sum of three hundred dollars, one of the donors being the late Bezaleel Wells, of Steubenville. This was the last Indian blood shed by white men in this part ot Ohio." - Ohio Historical Collections, by Henry lluwe, Cincinnati, 1809.

small log cabin at the creek beyond Franklin Square, and also a house about where Green village now stands, the balance of the road being all woods.'

" Such is Mr. Blocksom's description of the country, south as well as north, two years after this levy of taxes was made, which fully explains the reason why the levy was only in five townships, and only for $340.66. Collectors were then appointed for each township, and were ordered to have the money collected in three months, and the assessor, or lister, was generally the collector. If Springfield, Middleton, St. Clair, Salem, and Centre paid all the taxes, they also did all the voting; for the only persons paid for bringing in election returns were the following: Springfield, Moses Blackburn ; St. Clair, Enos Thomas ; Salem, George Baird ; Centre, Isaac Pearce ; Middleton, Jason Moreland and Benjamin Wright. And these election returns were for June and October elections, and had to be taken both to New Lisbon and Steubenville. The court allowed to the persons named for carrying the returns a total sum of $40.

" The number of inhabitants in each township at that early period may be judged of by the following number of grand and petit jurors ordered at the court held Dec. 2, 1803:

" And, further, it must not be forgotten that the boundary lines of Columbiana County at this early day took in a great portion of Carroll County, including Carrollton, the county-seat, which was cut off in 1832, and nearly all of Stark to the Tuscarawas River, including the territory now occupied by the wealthy and prosperous towns of Massillon and Canton, and of Alliance and Minerva, which was cut off as early as 1808, and also five of the best townships in Mahoning County, which are bounded on the north by the forty-first degree of north latitude, or old Western Reserve Line, and which last-named five townships were cut off in 1845.

" If, however, the territory for taxation in 1803 only covered five townships, the court expenses were likewise reduced and very moderate, and the pay of jurymen was so small that they must have lived very cheap, or paid part of their expenses out of their own pockets. For instance, at the March term of the court, 1804, the following amounts were appropriated out of the county treasury, to pay the grand jurors :

" But our early settlers and pioneers lived economically in those days, had none of the luxuries of our time, and but few of the necessaries ; and they cared so little for show or the glitter of our times, that it is told by reliable authority that one of our very early representatives actually rode to the Legislature, at Chillicothe, on a sack well filled with straw, - from which we may conclude that saddles were scarce, and straw soft, comfortable, and legislators independent, and not afraid of losing votes. And I say, all honor to the old pioneer, who could take to the wilderness, on a sack of straw, and hunt his way to Chillicothe, through the woods, for the benefit of a constituency who had braved the dangers and hardships of the then Western frontier. Even in my day, the representatives of some of the Western Reserve counties came through Columbiana County to Wheeling, in order to get to Columbus by the national road. And our own representatives used to rely on Colonel Harper and his hack (' Perseverance' as it was called) to get to Columbus ; and the colonel would always take along a hatchet to repair a wheel, iu ease one turned inside out. But I am digressing.

" In 1805 the commissioners added Unity, Fairfield, and Yellow Creek to the list of townships for taxation, showing some progress in the amount of revenue to be collected, as well as in the settlement of the county. For instance, the taxes of Springfield on personal property were returned at $74.10 ; Unity, $82.80; Middleton, $67.40; Yellow Creek, $57.50 ; Centre, $174.71 ; Fairfield, $53.90 ; Salem, $81.80; making a total of $668.41* to be collected in 1805 ; and eight per cent, was allowed for collecting the taxes in the remaining townships. And in the year 1805 elections were held in the eight organized townships named above.

"June, 1807, the commissioners added to the tax list the recently or the newly organized townships of Elk Run, Green, Butler, Hanover, Wayne, and Lake, and, of course, with taxation comes the privilege of having elections and voting; Lake being the first organized township in the Territory, which was struck off to Stark County in the following year. The taxes in those six townships were listed as follows : Elk Run, $47.86 ; Green, $66.37 ; Butler, $45.97; Hanover, $66.37; Wayne, $27.99 ; Lake, $46.51. The total taxes on personal property, in fourteen townships, being listed in 1807 at $880.27 ; land taxed on resident proprietors, $464.86 ; making a total tax for the year 1807 of $1345.13.

" Sept. 8, 1807, the first account of an organized township at Canton is the allowance of $3.15 to Christian Bair for bringing in the returns of the election of Justice Leonard to the clerk of our court.

"June 14, 1808, the board of commissioners paid Eli Baldwin and Elijah Woodworth $13 each, for serving as commissioners to fix the new county, having been created that year, and the county-seat fixed at Canton.

" The board of county commissioners at this time consisted of Daniel Iiarbaugh, Joseph Richardson, and George Atterholt ; and James Craig was clerk.

" In 1810 the tax upon personal property was $1187.04}, and was confined to the fifteen townships of the previous year, and the land tax amounted to $2207. 34J ; making a total tax of $3394.391, and no doubt thought to be heavy taxes at that early day ; but they were preparing to build a new court-house, and on the 15th of October adopted a draft for the same, for which they paid one dollar to Matthew Adams, and let the contract for building to William Harbaugh for $1710, and in March, 1812, to Peter Spiker for finishing the court-house for $3650.

" According to the United States census, taken in 1810, Columbiana County contained 10,879 inhabitants, and the county officers consisted of the following-named persons:

" The vote cast in Columbiana County, at the election for governor and other officers on the 9th of October, 1810, was for Return J. Meigs, 373 ; Thos. Worthington, 352 ; making a total vote for governor of 725. In Stark County, Meigs, for governor, had 135 votes, and Worthington had 42 votes, making the total 177 votes in Stark County.

"June 18, 1812, Beaver and Goshen were added to the list of organized townships for taxation and for holding elections. Taxes in Beaver, $35.25; in Goshen, $36.79}.

" The land tax upon resident land-owners, collected by Thomas Watts, in Columbiana County, in 1811, amounted to $1284.08. In 1813, the amount collected by David Scott was $1706; and in 1814, Thomas Watt collected of land tax $3100, showing a progress in wealth and taxation even at that early day.

"The commissioners, at their session on the 13th of June, 1815, added Augusta (now Carroll) to the list of townships, and assessed the tax at $17.97. Columbiana County then consisted of eighteen organized townships, and the total tax on personal property was $1585.03}.

"In 1816, West, Washington, and Franklin townships were added, and the personal property in the county assessed at $1386.59}, and the land tax at $6251.63, - not what is assessed and expended in a single Union School District of the present day; and to show the vast increase of wealth, as well as of taxation, at the present day, I will add that the tax duplicate of Columbiana County, in 1873, amounted to $299,548.64, and I have no doubt the people of our county paid it with greater ease than they did the land and personal tax of 1816 named above.

"The United States census returns for 1830, as published in the Ohio Patriot , puts down the population of Columbiana County at that period at 22,033, being an increase of 11,154 over the census of 1810, and the returns are from twenty-three townships, - the townships of Fox and Saline being added to those previously organized. The number of inhabitants in New Lisbon is put down at 646, the town of Salem at 240, which is pretty well reversed at this day.

"The election returns in 1820 were also from twentythree townships, and the vote on governor was for E. A. Brown, 1222 ; for Wm. H. Harrison, 984 ; making the vote cast in Columbiana County 2206.

"The officers of Columbiana County in 1821 were as follows : President Judge, Ben]. Tappan ; Associate Judges, Geo. Brown, Wm. Smith, Jno. J. Bowman ; Commissioners, Tlios. Creighton, Jno. Crumbacher, Geo. Atterholt ; Sheriff, Geo. Duck; Auditor, David Scott; Treasurer, Jno. Small; Keeorder, Joseph Springer ; Clerk of Court, Horace Potter ; Coroner, Jno. Morrison. 1821 was the first election of auditor, the office having been created that year. Number of votes cast this year, 2438 for senator.

"The Ohio Patriot of December, 1811, contains over two columns of legal advertisements for Cuyahoga County, signed by Elisha Whittlesey, as attorney for the parties. At that time the Ohio Biver counties contained most of the population and representation, Geauga, Ashtabula, and Cuyahoga being the only lake counties represented in the House of Representatives by Samuel Huntington; and Cuyahoga, Geauga, and Portage by one senator, David Abbott. At the same session, Belmont, Hamilton, Washington, Butler, and Warren had each three representatives, and Jefferson County had four; Adams and Clermont each had two, and Ross and Pickaway had five, and the three counties of Columbiana, Stark, and Wayne but three representatives.

" The lake shores then were looked upon as almost a barren waste, never dreaming of the population, trade, and commerce of the present day, or of the great cities that would grow up around those inland seas, or of the vast wealth which would be accumulated in them. When we look at the growth of Cleveland, even within our own recollection, how easy it is to imagine a population of a quarter of a million, and to believe that our children will see the city extended to three or four times its present size and population, and witness our rich coal fields and hills hollowed out and transported in innumerable trains of cars to supply the necessary heat and steam to aid in building up manufactures and amassing wealth in that city. Like the wish of old Ben Franklin, who would not like to appear here in a hundred years, to see what was going on? And if the human family (as sometimes prophesied) have the privilege of crossing the Atlantic, or sailing around in balloons, or using patent wings, who would not be tempted to ask for a ride ?

" Many of our old pioneers have departed for another world during the past year, among them Captain James Wormington, of Wayne township, who had arrived at the good old age of one hundred and two years, seven months, and twelve days. During the greater portion of his life he had followed and encountered the dangers of the sea, and also suffered in prison during the conflict of the nations of Europe, for some trivial violation of the laws of war, the ravages and desolations of war generally extending both to sea and land."

The first paper-mill in Ohio, and the second west of the Alleghanies, was erected in 1805-6, on Little Beaver Creek, and was called the "Ohio Paper-Mill." The proprietors were John Bever and John Coulter.* The first grist-mill in the county was built by Joseph Fawcett, on Carpenter's Run, near East Liverpool ; the first steam saw-mill in what was then Columbiana County, by Wilson Teeter and Edwin Webb, at New Albany, in Green township, in 1822; the first blast-furnace, by Gideon Hughes, at New Lisbon, in 1808; the first tannery probably, at the same place, by John Arter and Daniel Ilarbaugh, in or prior to 1805 ; a cotton-factory of brick, at Salem, by John Strawn and others, in 1814.

There were erected during the year ending April 12, 1878, many new buildings, as shown in the following list, which gives the number and value of the different kinds, respectively: one church, $25,000 ; eighty-one dwellings, $48,285 ; one factory, $250 ; two flouring-mills, $2950 ; two suwT-mills, $850 ; one public hall, $7000 ; four schoolhouses, $3200 ; six shops, $1800 ; two other buildings, $900. Total value, $90,235. During the year fifteen buildings were burned, valued at $7908.

In 1841, there were in the county 83 grist-mills; 167 saw-mills; 7 oil-mills; 2 paper-mills; 2 furnaces; 8 airfoundries ; 37 tanneries ; 6 salt wells, two of which were in operation, turning out 2800 barrels of salt yearly.]; The following items were returned for taxation in 1840 : mercantile capital, $108,849; money at interest, $44,265; 215 pleasure carriages, valued at $10,443 ; 8619 horses, valued at $344,760 ; 13,657 neat cattle, valued at $109, 256. §