Crawford County, Ohio - Chapter 18: Polk Township, 1912

Origin of Polk - Home of JVingemund - Military Road - Indian Population - Johnny Cake and His Wife - Indian Burying-Ground - An Abducted Child - Drainage and Soil - Organization of the Township - First Election - Early Settlers - The Cranberry Industry - A Strange Recognition - Early Names of Galion - Rev. James Dunlap's Narrative - Early Mills, Taverns and Distilleries - Churches and Schools - Cemeteries - Justices of the Peace.

Polk township which occupies a strip of territory extending seven miles east and west, and three miles north and south, in the southeast corner of Crawford county, was at one time, like Vernon and Jackson, a part of Sandusky township, Richland county. The latter was surveyed in 1807 by Maxfield Ludlow. It was first erected as one of the western townships of Richland county, and was 12 miles deep and six wide. At this time the territory was inhabited almost entirely by the Delaware and Wyandot Indians, who yet lingered in their ancient haunts, loath to retreat before the invading hosts of the palefaces. Of the whites, however, there were few before the year 181 7. In this township was the home of Wingenund, and here occurred the capture of Col. Crawford. To the Indian mind the land was an ideal abiding-place, and it was one of their favorite hunting and fishing grounds. It was heavily timbered with every variety of stately tree; intersected by clear sparkling streams, having their source in the purest springs, and abounded with game of various kinds. But the wave of civilization kept rolling steadily westward. In 1812 the soldiers cut a road through the town- ship, which passed north of the Olentangy, near the present site of Galion. In the southern part- another road had been cut by the Pennsylvania militia, and when the settlers began arriving half a dozen years later these highways of progress rapidly multiplied; over them came rumbling in ever increasing numbers the ox-drawn wagons of the pioneers, and the Red Man knew that the hour of his departure was at hand. He had fought his fight and lost. With sad heart he turned his back on the land of his fathers, and with his face to the setting sun, set out with reluctant steps to the more distant wilderness of the possession of which his rapacious white brother was not yet ready to deprive him.

Some of these Indians had adopted English family names. Among them were the Walkers, Williamses, Armstrongs, Dowdys, etc. One of them, well known among the earliest settlers, rejoiced in the appelation of Solomon Johnny Cake. He was a fine looking, good natured and friendly hunter of superb physical proportions and had for a wife a woman who was three-fourths white. Her mother was a Castleman, and had been captured in eastern Ohio by the Indians after the Revolution and adopted into an Indian family living on the Sandusky. She married Abraham Williams, a half-breed Indian, and the fruit of this union was a beautiful daughter named Sally, who became the wife of Johnny Cake. Sally and his children frequently accompanied him on his hunting excursions. He usually constructed* a neat bark wigwam to protect his squaw and children from the storms and exposure of the forest, while he ranged the woods in search of game. He sometimes exchanged venison for side pork with the pioneers, and frequently met parties who had a curiosity to see Sallie, and the children. Sally was regarded as a very apt housekeeper, and preferred as far as possible to imitate the whites.

Johnny Cake was a prominent man in his tribe, renowned for council and courage, and in 1823 had accompanied an exploring expedition to the Far West, beyond the Mississippi. He and his wife accompanied the Wyandots when they removed from their reservation in this county in 1843. Three of his grandsons served in the War of the Rebellion, enlisting at Wyandot, Kan. He was very friendly with the white men, whose superiority he seemed to recognize, though grieving for the approaching doom of his race.

On the north banks of the Olentangy, just west of Union street was an Indian burying ground, which was used by the Red men until their departure from this vicinity. After they were gone some young men opened the graves with the hope of finding treasure, but found nothing to repay them for their trouble. The field was subsequently cultivated and the graves plowed level and it is now covered with residences. Sometimes strange Indians from the lake region visited the settlements. Previous to 1820, when there were not more than twentyfive settlers in the township, a party of this kind made their appearance. Several of these went to the home of Benjamin Sharrock and tried to negotiate for the purchase of a young girl, whom they wanted to adopt into their tribe. Of course Mr. Sharrock declined to be a party to any such arrangement. A few days later the Indians went away and about the same time a little girl about four years old, the child of a settler named John Dunmeyer, who lived about a mile southwest of the present site of Gabon, was found to be missing. She had been with her mother in the woods, the latter being engaged in boiling sugar water, and, thinking it time for her to be in the house, the mother had taken her little daughter to the fence, lifted her over it and told her to go into the cabin. When she returned the child was gone. The frantic mother gave the alarm ; a party was formed who searched the woods for three days and nights, and finally dragged the creek, but the child was never found. It. was supposed that she had been abducted by the Indians and taken to Canada, but her fate forever remained a mystery. The fact that such crimes, and worse if worse could be, were not unfrequently committed by the Indians, mitigates' to a large extent the feelings of pity and compunction that one might otherwise entertain foj the fate of the Red Man in being driven "from his ancient hunting grounds and reduced to a few miserable tribal remnants located in far western states under the everwatchful eye of the Government. Though they were in many cases, undoubtedly deprived of their lands by trickery or force, and had just cause for complaint against the whites, it must be remembered that there is scarcely a square yard of land in any civilized country the title to which has not, at some time or other, been derived in the same manner, namely, by the right of the strongest. The Indians held their lands by the same title, having in the first place driven out or exterminated that mysterious race who held the land before them, and who themselves may have obtained their title in a similar manner; and after the Indians had gained possession of the continent they fought among themselves for territory and deprived each other of their possessions without compunction. That they, themselves, should have been finally ousted by the palefaces may after all have been only a sort of retributive justice. "To the victor belong the spoils" has been the motto of every conqueror since the world began and, though it may not be in accord with the precepts of Christianity, it has had much to do with promoting the cause of civilization and making the world what it is today, and demonstrate the undeniable fact of "the survival of the fittest."

Indians traveled this section in early days in large numbers. It was on their route from the cranberry marshes, and loaded down with these berries they passed through to Mansfield, where they disposed of them. Again, bands of them went through with their skins and furs, and bark baskets made by the squaws which found a ready sale at Mansfield, and in the sugar seasons two of the baskets were strapped together, placed across their horses, and each basket containing about fifty pounds of maple sugar was conveyed to the market, where they exchanged it for the supplies they needed. The Wyandots made Mansfield their principal market until about 1835, when their trading was removed to Bucyrus and Marion.

They always traveled through the woods single file, and when settlers or hunters met a band of half a dozen or more, only one of the Indians would do any talking, and it was almost an impossibility to induce any one except the spokesman to say a word in English. Neither would they talk English except when necessary.' One day Tommy Vanhorn, a Marion county hunter, who was returning home from a day in the woods, met one of these Indians who could not understand a word of English, and they were both compelled to talk in pantomime, to express their ideas. Vanhorn had taken one or more drinks during his day's hunting and in the course of his sign language conversation with the Indian, happened to get on the windward side of him, and the Indian's nose being in better working order than his tongue, he caught the fragrance of the hunter's breath. He promptly straightened up, took an interest in matters, and looking Vanhorn squarely in the face, inquired in the best of English - "Where you get whisky?"

Polk township lies upon the very summit of the crest or ridge which separates the valley of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence river from that of the Ohio. Thus it happens that, among the numerous springs which are found v/ithin its borders, there are two, but a few rods apart, the waters from one of which wend their tortuous way down the northern slope to Lake Erie, mingle with the foaming torrent which plunges headlong to lower depths in the stupendous cataract of Niagara, traverse the length of Lake Ontario, pursue their winding course among the beautiful "Thousand Islands" of the St. Lawrence until they finally rest in the bosom of the broad Atlantic. Those of the other meander here and there, as if uncertain which way to take, but gradually, in obedience to Nature's law, assume a more southerly course, unite with the waters of the Ohio, then with those of the majestic "Father of Waters," flow peacefully past the once shotbattered heights of Vicksburg, and many another spot famous in our country's history, past the busy wharves and cotton-laden steamers of the Queen City of the South, and through gloomy lagoons overhung with the moss-covered branches of the cypress, until they emerge into the warm and sunlit waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The land of Polk township, though high, is generally level, having a natural tendency to retain the water, on account of which, before artificial drainage was resorted to, it had the appearance of being wet and swampy. The timber consisted mostly of oak, beech, maple, elm, black walnut and ash. The soil, formed chiefly in primitive times by vast glacial deposits of drift, sand and gravel, mixed with iron and clay, is rich and admirably adapted to cultivation. It is watered chiefly by the Olentangy river, which meanders in a general westerly direction through the whole length of the township. All along its valley are outcroppings of sandstone belonging to the Waverly group, which were quarried in the early days for building purposes and for years have been one of the profitable industries of the township. This river, which waters the bottom lands of the whole township, had, in former days before the forests had been cleared from its banks, a stream of greater volume than at present and was far more picturesque. In early days numerous mills were erected upon its banks. The western part of the township is eminently adapted to grazing purposes, on account of the variety and luxuriance of the grasses.

Sandusky township was organized on July 12, 1 81 8, as a part of Richland county. The territory it then contained was twelve miles long by six wide, including within its limits the present townships of Vernon, and Jackson and a part of Jefferson and Polk. While a part of Richland county, the northern half was taken from it and called Vernon township, thus reducing its territory to six miles square. Changes were being constantly made in laoundary lines of townships and counties and in the creation of new townships, counties and county seats throughout the state, and when Wyandot county was erected on Feb. 3, 1845, four tiers of sections were taken from the west side of Sandusky township, Richland county, and annexed to Crawford county. Then, to the west side of this tier of four sections was added what was known as the "three-mile strip." On the south was added a strip one mile wide from Marion county. From the territory thus formed a strip of land three miles north and south and seven miles east and west was taken from the south side and named Polk township, which, as still constituted, is bounded on the north by Jackson and Jefferson townships, on the east by Richland county, on the south by Morrow county, and on the west by Whetstone township.

There was much dissatisfaction for a time on the part of those farmers residing in that part of Polk that had been taken from Richland county. While citizens of Richland they had been taxed to pay for the erection of its public buildings, and now that, against their will, they had become citizens of another and poorer county the public buildings of which were small, and which had not yet been paid for, they objected to this additional taxation. After considerable agitation of the subject, not unaccompanied by threats of violence, they at last sent Asa Hosford to the State capital as a lobby representative, empowered to look after their interests. He did not accomplish all that was expected, but through their Richland county representative, Isaac Hetrick, the Legislature was induced to pass an enactment whereby the residents of that part of the new township, which had formerly been in Richland county, were released from the payment of taxes upon the county buildings of Crawford. As there was practically no opposition to this enactment, Mr. Hosford asked that the same favor be shown to those residing in the strip which had been taken from Marion county. But the representative of Crawford county, John Carey, objected, stating that the citizens of the southern strip had not asked for any exemption and the matter was dropped.

Polk township was named after President Polk, in whose term of ofSce it was created. The resolution of the county commissioners which gave it existence read as follows :

March 6, 1845 - Board_ met pursuant to adjournment. Present, full board. Resolution - This day it was resolved by the Commissioners of Crawford County that the following fractional townships, taken from the counties of Richland and Marion, according to an act of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, passed February third (3d), 1845, to erect the new county of Wyandot, and alter the boundaries of Crawford, was organized into separate townships, to wit: All that part taken from the county of Richland, and being Township twenty (20) north. Range twenty (20) west, and all that part taken from Township nineteen (19), with Range twenty (20), and all that part taken from the county of Marion, and being in Township fifteen (15) with Range twenty-one (21) be, and the same is hereby, organized into a separate township by the name of Polk, and that the County Auditor be and is hereby authorized to cause notice to be given to the said township of the foregoing organization and alteration, according to the statute of Ohio in such case made and provided.

The first election in the new township was held April 7th, 1845, with Isaac Criley, Joshua Canon and Phares Jackson, judges, and Solomon P. Nave and Samuel R. Canon, clerks. This election was held only to fill vacancies caused by the separation, the Sandusky township officers having been previously elected, and some of them being in the Polk township part, Abraham Underwood, the Justice of the Peace, being one of them. Those duly elected and qualified on this occasion were as- follows : Trustees - Asa Hosford, Samuel P. Lee, Bartholomew Reed, Jr. ; Clerk - Peter Cress ; Treasurer - John S. Davis; Assessor - Samuel R. Cannon; Constables - John A. Loneus, Joseph Kimmel; Supervisors - Eri Hosford, Joseph Diddy, Edward Cooper, David Thrush, William White, A. C. Jackson, Frederic Taylor, Jacob Stinebaugh, John Ashcroft, William L. Dille, Bart Reed, Sr., Andrew Reed, A. S. Caton, Phillip Ichorn, Phillip Zimmermaker, Isaac Nayer.

The first meeting of the new trustees was held on April 26, 1845, and among the business transacted was "the sale of James Sutton, a town pauper. He was taken by Jacob Steinbaugh for one year for $100, clothing and doctor bills excepted." Other business transacted was the levying of a tax of two mills on the dollar for poor purposes and three quarters of a mile for township purposes.

Prior to the formation of the new township, elections had been held at the house of John Fate, a mile southwest of the present town of Crestline. This election booth was now in the new township of Jackson, and on Sept 6, 1845, the trustees met and appointed the place for holding elections at the school house in the village of Galion. Only two of the trustees

Among the first settlers in Polk township were Benjamin Lever idge and his two sons James and Nathaniel ; Disberry Johnson, Samuel Johnson, Edward Cooper and John Sturges in 1817; Benjamin Sharrock, Nathaniel and Nehemiah Story, John Williamson, John Kittridge, David Gill, and George Wood in 181 8; Asa and Horace Hosford and John Hibner in 1819; Samuel Brown and his two sons, John and Michael, William Hosford, John and Alpheus Atwood, John Bashford, Samuel Dany, David Reid, James Dickerson, John Dunmeier, Daniel Miller and Jacob Pletcher in 1820.

Benjamin Leveridge, and his two sons, James and Nathaniel, were the first settlers, and all three built their cabins on land that is now a part of the city of Galion. The cabin of Benjamin Leveridge was southwest of the present public square, between Atwood and Cherry streets, and near him his son James built his cabin, while Nathaniel erected his on the high ground which is now the public square. The first two had splendid water from the springs in that neighborhood, but Nathaniel was compelled to dig a well, and in 1880, when the Public Square 'was being improved, remains of this old well were discovered.

The next year, 1818, the pioneers were assisting in raising a cabin for John Williamson, and John Leveridge was killed by a falling log. Work was immediately suspended, and the cabin remained for some time without a roof, just as it was when Mr. Leveridge was killed.

Later the same year, Nehemiah Story and his son Nathaniel and John Kitteridge came from Maine. They stopped for a short time in the Williamson settlement, east of Galion. They took possession of the unfinished cabin where Leveridge was killed, and having completed it, here they spent the winter, and the next spring moved into a cabin that had been built by John Sturges, on the hill north of the Galion road west of the Olentangy, where they remained for four years. Nathaniel Story was a hunter and trapper, and Kitteridge lodged with him ; he was known throughout that section as "Father" Kitteridge, and also devoted much of his time to hunting. Nehemiah Story was a Baptist, and the first minister's

Disberry Johnson came in 181 7, locating on the northwest quarter of section 26, two miles west of Galion. He was born in Virginia in 1764, married there and came to Ohio with six children. His first wife died, and his second wife was a widow named Cooper with six children. And by this union there were six children. So when Johnson decided to come to Crawford county, he brought with him his wife and seventeen children, one daughter being married and remaining in Ross county. Probably all of the five Johnson children who came with him were of age, and probably some of his step-children, the Coopers. Mr. Johnson was early appointed one of the justices of the peace, a position he held for many years. Johnson lived to be 104, and died in 1868 at the home of J. Throckmorton, a grandchild. He was buried in the Galion graveyard.

The Browns settled on section 27 west of the Johnson family. Jacob Pletcher lived for a short time near Galion and then entered his land along the Olentangy in section 34, the land now owned by David Tracht. Just north of him was David Reed, a part of his land being that now owned by Isaac C. Guinther; he also entered land across the line in Whetstone township.

John Hibner settled on the land just east of Galion now owned by Christian Burgner. It was in the midst of a forest filled with wild animals, and before the bears had left that section. One day while Mr. Hibner was absent, his wife while at her household duties in the little log cabin heard a noise near the chimney, and looking in that direction was horrified to see that the chimney stones had been displaced, and the great black paw of a bear had been thrust through the opening to seize the baby which she had placed near the fire place. She hurriedly grabbed the baby, and removed it to a place of safety, but before she could get the axe or some other weapon, the bear withdrew his paw and returned to the woods.

At another time James Neil arose before daylight, and started on foot with a sack of corn to have it ground at the Beam mills south of Mansfield, hoping to return before dark. It was before he even had a door to his cabin, skins being hung over the one entrance. He was delayed and night had set in when he reached his cabin, where he was astonished to find everything quiet. On entering the house he found his wife sitting on a stool facing the doorway, with a determined look on her face and the axe in her hand. Just as evening came on a gaunt and hungry wolf had entered the cabin, and Mrs. Nail grabbed the axe, and the snarling animal beat a hasty retreat, and she was now on the look-out for a second call.

The township gained a useful citizen in 1819, by the arrival of Asa Hosford, who with his brother, Horace, trudged in on foot, on Saturday, Sept. 19th, and was given shelter over Sunday at the home of Benjamin Leveridge. He was a man of great tact and ability and from the time of his arrival was the recognized leader of all the important matters of the township. His native place was Richfield, Mass., but in his youth he accompanied his father's family to New York. When twentyone years old he left New York with his brother Horace and set out for the Great West. They arrived at Cleveland on the steamer, Walk-in-the-Water, the first steam vessel ever on Lake Erie. They set out on foot for the interior, arriving at Galion, Saturday evening, Sept. 19, 1819. They returned to Huron county where they passed the winter, and in the spring again came to Crawford, where later they were met by their father and the other members of the family. After arriving at the corners the father, William Hosford, erected a double log cabin, where he often entertained travelers who could not find accommodations elsewhere. In the meanwhile Asa Hosford worked at anything he could find to do, while his brother Horace opened a blacksmith's shop near the father's dwelling. It took the former several years to save $100 with which to buy a piece of land. Finally the elder Hosford sold his property to his son-in-law, from whom it was purchased by Asa, who, in 1824, opened a tavern there. Not as yet being married, his sister acted as landlady. About a year later, however, he married Miss Alta Kent of Bucyrus. For eight years he carried on a prosperous business at the tavern, at the end of which time he sold out to John Ruhl.

might get lost in the immediate vicinity of his own clearing, the story is handed down that Samuel Dany went into the woods to shoot a deer and, having lost his sense of direction, wandered round and round until he was perfectly confused and knew not which way he was going. At last he came to a clearing and saw a cabin, in the door of which a woman was standing. Going up to the fence, he called to her and asked her if she could tell him where Samuel Dany lived. She laughed and told him he might come in and see, when he discov^ed that it was his own home and that he had been speaking to his own wife.

John Hibner erected the first mill in the township; it was east of the present town of Galion, where the Erie road crosses the Olentangy, on what is now the Christian Burgner farm.

Benjamin Sharrock was born in 1779. His father James Sharrock came to America as a British soldier, but joined the American cause and fought under Washington and LaFayette. Benjamin was in the War of 1812, in the New York militia. After that war he married Constantine Williams in Guernsey county, and in 1818 with his family came to Polk township, where he had a small cabin for his family on the banks of the Olentangy just west of Galion. Here they lived, while he walked daily to his land two miles south where he erected a cabin on the bank of the river; later he had a saw and grist mill. He was a man of great physical strength, strongly religious, and preached to the pioneers in the early days. He was known to all the settlers as "Uncle Ben."

James Nail was born in Somerset county. Pa. During the War of 1812 he was residing with his father's family in Richland county, Ohio. In 1819 he left home and came to what is now Jefferson township purchasing 160 acres of "Congress" land, two miles north of Galion. In 1821 he married a daughter of Samuel Brown, walking to Delaware to secure the license, and settled on his land, having previously resided with his brother-in-law, Lewis Leiberger. The latter in 1822 removed from the neighborhood. Having ascertained that the Indians were in the habit of taKmg large quantities of cranberries into Richland county, where they disposed of them for meal and other produce, Mr. Nail, with his father- in-law, Samuel Brown, his brother-in-law Michael Brown and Daniel Miller, set out in 1820, to discover where they procured them, with the view of profiting by the knowledge. They went west for several miles along the Pennsylvania army road, and then turned north, keeping on until they struck the Sandusky river, east of Bucyrus. Here they found Daniel McMichael, who gave them information in regard to the Indian trail that led to the cranberry marsh. As night came on they saw the camp-fires of the Indians, who, however, did not molest them. They camped out all night and in the morning loaded their horses with as many cranberries as they could carry and reached home that same evening. In many places the weeds were as high as their horses' heads. Aside from the Indians, the only man they saw during the trip was Mr. McMichael, on the Sandusky river, just east of Bucyrus. Mr. Nail and his brother-in-law also went on a search for bee trees, of which they found a number and collected nearly two barrels of honey, which at that time was selling in Jefferson county, to which they shipped it, for $1 a gallon. In 1822 Mr. Nail sold his land to Daniel Miller and bought 80 acres on a branch of the Whetstone, or Olentangy, southwest of Gabon. About this time Mr. Nail decided to build a mill and let the contract to Alexander McGrew, of Tuscarawas county. A dam was made and the frame and runninggear put together in six weeks' time. In the fall he sold the mill and farm to John Hauck, who was looking for a site for a carding machine and fulling mill. Owing to the smallness of the population, however, Mr. Hauck's project proved a failure. In making the agreement with Mr. Hauck, Mr. Nail had reserved the right to live in the cabin and also to use the mill for one year, which he accordingly did, furnishing lumber to the settlers. In 1822 he moved to another location, about half a mile below his saw -mill, and in 1824 erected a gristmill. In 1825 Mr. Nail added a distillery to his grist mill, and followed the combined occupations of grinding and distilling until 1835, in which year he sold both the mill and distillery to a man named Parks, from Beaver county. Pa.

Crawford being at that time a part of Marion, for legal purposes. The will was made by Samuel Ferrel, and was admitted to probate May 29, 1826. Ferrel left all his property to his mother, Martha Ferrel, and no executor being named she was appointed as administratrix. Benjamin Jeffrey and Jonathan Smith were the witnesses, and James Nail and William Moore were the sureties for the administratrix.

Daniel Miller bought 160 acres of timberland from James Nail in the spring of 1822, the land being a little over two miles north of Gallon. He married Lydia, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Ruhl) Hershner. They had seven daughters, the fifth of whom, Lydia Tabitha, married Col. Robert .Cowden. At the time of Miller's arrival in the county the settlers were few and far between. Their nearest flouring mill was on the Clear Fork of the Mohican, twelve or fourteen miles southeast of Gallon. A blazed trail through an unbroken forest marked the road, and there were no bridges over any of the streams. A settler would start with a sack or two of his own corn, and some for his neighbors, and would go and wait at the mills until it was ground, which sometimes took several days. Col. Cowden writes that one time his father-inlaw, Daniel Miller, had made the trip, taking provisions for himself and food for the horse. It was the fall of the year, and the nights were chilly. He arrived at the mill late, and slept in his wagon. Arising early the next morning, 4 o'clock, he took a brisk walk to warm up, and met Mr. Hisky, the miller, going to the mill to start it up for the day. Mr. Hisky inquired his name, and he told him it was Daniel Miller. "Daniel Miller!" was the reply. "Where do you come from?" "York county, Pennsylvania," replied Miller. Mr. Hisky looked at him in astonishment, and said: "Daniel Miller? From York county, Pennsylvania? That is strange! My wife's name was Miller, she is from York county, Pennsylvania and I have often heard her speak of her little brother, Daniel." Mr. Miller was now interested, and the two men went back to the house, and sure enough the woman was his sister, and Miller had slept out in the cold in the dooryard of his sister's house, and never knew it. The explanation is simple. Eve Mil- ler was the oldest of fourteen children and Daniel was the youngest. He was but a small boy when she married and left her Pennsylvania home. She married a man named George Bidleman, who became too lazy and shiftless to work and degenerated into a robber, following the line of travel to the west, and assaulting the unsuspecting traveler, taking from him the money he was bringing west for the purchase of land. All efforts to reform the husband were unavailing. Discouraged and feeling the disgrace, she wrote home but seldom, and finally ceased to write altogether. During one of his attempted robberies he was killed, and the sister was left a widow in the wilderness. Later she met and married Mr. Hisky and with her name changed all trace of her was lost, until the accidental discovery reunited the brother and sister. Daniel Miller's farm was in the track of the Windfall. When he saw the storm coming, the children took refuge in the big chimney; there were but two daughters at the time, Laura and Elizabeth, and while the roof of the log cabin was blown away, no one was hurt. All around them the trees, large and small, were blown down, and piled criss-cross in every direction. Much of the stock was killed outright, and the settlers were busy for days chopping away the trees to get at their cattle and other stock, which had been penned up by the fallen trees, and were still alive.

Other early settlers in Polk township were John Cracraft and Jacob Miller in 1821 ; John Eysman, John Hauck, John Jeffrey, William Murray, Alexander McGrew, James Nail, Rev. John Rhinehart, and Rev. James Dunlap in 1822; Owen Tuttle and Phares Jackson in 1823; James Auten and Nathan Merriman in 1824; William Neal, James Reaves, George Row and John Shawber in 1825; John Ashcroft, Jonathan Ayres, Andrew Poe, Thomas Harding, and John Sedous in 1826; Francis Clymer and Rev. John Smith in 1828; Samuel Gerbrecht, and Christopher Beltz, wife and seven children, in 1829; Jonathan Fellows, and John, Michael, Jacob, Levi, Henry, and Peter Ruhl, in 1830; Benjamin Grove, Joseph Rech, Jacob Cronenwett, Rev. John Stough, Jacob Seif, and AVilliam Hise in 1831 ; Solomon Nave in 1832; John Morriso, John Kraft, Daniel, Benjamin, John, Joseph, and Randolph

In 1822 Rev. James Dunlap came to Polk township from what is now, Ohio county, West Va. In an article in the Forum published in December, 1874, he thus describes the condition of this section at that time :

"About 1822 my uncle, William Murray, Major Benjamin Jeffrey and myself, rigged up an old one-horse wagon with a pole fortwo horses. We gathered up our traps, consisting of a rifle gun, some amunition, a crosscut saw, two axes, several old quilts, and some kitchen furniture, covering the whole with a linen cover. We then bid our friends farewell and started for the "Far West," as it was then called. We crossed the Ohio at Short Creek, a few miles above Wheeling, came through Mt. Pleasant to Cadiz, down the Stillwater to New Philadelphia, through Wooster to Mansfield, a town then of some note, having three stores, two taverns and a blacksmith shop; continued west to 'Goshen,' 'Moccasin,' or 'Spangtown,' as it was then called, but now Gallon. We found five families between Mansfield and Gallon - ^Judge Patterson, Alfred Atwood's mother, a widow; old John Edginton, John Marshall and John Hibner.

"All was woods until we came to what is now the public square, Galion, where we found two log cabins occupied by a man named Leveredge. Just at the foot of the hill where Mrs. J. W. Gill now lives was another cabin occupied by a man named Frederick Dickerson. A little further west, where J. R. Clymer's brick house now is, there was a double log cabin hotel, which was kept by old Uncle William Hosford, father of Asa Hosford. Horace Hosford lived and had a blacksmith's shop at Reisinger's Corners. Old Grandfather Kitteridge lived on the other corner and followed trapping wild game for fur. Thence we went southwest to Benjamin Sharrock's house, arriving safely and having made a trip of 150 miles in twelve days through mud, water, ice and snow, sometimes up to our wagon-bed.

"Next day we went to our land and found a camp of twelve or fourteen Indians upon it, who had had a big drunk the day before. One of them had been stabbed through the left side with a large butcher or scalping-knife. But he recovered and afterward bragged that he was a 'berry stout Injin - stick big knife through - no kill-whoop!' They were a Wyandot tribe, very friendly with the whites; ever ready to help us at our log-rollings and cabin raisings, which were very common in those days. We got old Mother Sharrock to bake us some bread and started for the woods. Pitching our tent by the side of an old log, we built it into a halffaced shanty, chincked it with moss and piled in with some straw for bedding. One of our party went upon a ridge and killed a very fine deer, so we had plenty meat. We cooked our venison and lived sumptuously and deliciously. At night we would crawl into our nice bed-chamber to rest. Then would come the howling of wolves to lull us to sleep. Sometimes they would venture so near that we could hear them gnawing the bones of our venison behind the fire. Sometimes we would shoot at them in the dark to scare them away. They would then scatter with a howling that made music indeed. We continued there three weeks cutting logs, and raised a cabin. We prepared it fit for use and then returned home for the family."

The principal food of the pioneers consisted of bear's meat, venison, turkey, corn-meal, potatoes and hominy. The hominy was prepared in what was known as a hominy block, which was hollowed out something like a druggist's mortar, the hominy being cracked with a sort of pole or long pestle, armed with an iron wedge. Their clothing was generally buckskin and linsey-woolsey, a kind of linen also being made from nettles. The children went bareheaded and barefooted during the greater part of the year. Adventures with wolves and other wild animals were common.

In 1825 the first distillery in the township was erected by Nathan Merriman, who had arrived in the year previous. It was located at the springs, not far from the home of the Levendges. Besides the Hibner grist-mill, north of Galion was a saw-mill, while Hosford's and Park's grist-mills and Sharrocks' grist and saw-mill were all located on the banks of the stream south of Galion and within a few miles of each other. Modern "improvements" have made a great change m this stream, and it has long since lost the picturesque aspect it once possessed. Many of the springs which once fed it have become dry and except in the spring, or immediately after heavy rains, it consists of a mere succession of pools imperfectly drained by a small rivulet, the waters turbid with the rinsings and refuse of gas-works, dye-houses and other debris from the drainage of a city.

All these mills along the Whetstone were run by water-power and to secure sufificient fall to run the water wheels, mill races were dug, in the case of Horsford's and Nail's mills, those water courses being nearly, if not, a quarter of a mile in length. At the Sharrock mill the fall of water in the stream was heavier and here the mill race was much shorter. All these mills passed out of existence except the Hosford mill, which has continued to this day. It was built in 1832 by Asa Hosford, and the old mill race was long since abandoned and the mill run by steam. It is a three-story frame structure, and is today the oldest mill in the county; on the beams in the second story, can still be seen carved in rude letters the words "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," one of the rallying cries of the campaign of 1840. The crude millstones of the early days have been long since replaced by the more modern machinery, and one of these early stones finds a last resting place as a curiosity of the pioneer days at the home of R. V. Sears in Bucyrus. Still another of these ancient mill stones was brought to Bucyrus by Oscar Sharrock, and is now in his yard, his grandfather, nearly a century ago, having used similar mill-stones at his mill.

The first road built through the township was the Portland road surveyed by James Kilbourne. It was from Columbus to Sandusky and was called the Portland road from the fact that up until about 1824, what is now the city of Sandusky was known as Portland. The next road was the one from Galion to Bucyrus. Over this latter road about 1830 a line of stages were running to Bucyrus three times a week, going east from Galion to Mansfield and Wooster and on to Pittsburg. This road is now Main street in Galion, but prior to 1830 it branched to the north, east of the present square, and followed the Whetstone until it again joined the old road east of Galion and then continued to Mansfield. The most important point between Galion and Mansfield on this old State road was Riblet's

Corner. Here Christian Riblet had settled two miles east of the Crawford county line and his son Daniel kept the Riblet House at the Corners, the best known tavern between Bucyrus and Mansfield. Daniel Riblet afterward was justice of the peace of the township (Sandusky) for i8 years, and from 1839 to 1 84 1 represented Richland county in the Legislature. A post office was established at Riblet's Corners and after Gallon became more prominent as a settlement the Riblets came to the new town and became among the most active citizens.

A line of stages never passed over the Columbus and Portland road. At the time it was surveyed the route from Columbus to Sandusky was east of this road through Mansfield and Norwalk, and later the road was surveyed from Columbus to Sandusky through Delaware, Marion and Bucyrus, and these roads became the routes for stages and for mails, but the Portland road was one of the most prominent in the State, being used by the farmers in carrying their produce to the markets on the lake, coming sometimes from Delaware and other points further south. A majority of these farmers carried their provisions with them, and also feed for the horses, and slept in their wagons, as owing to the low price of produce, wheat being seldom more than fifty cents per bushel, they had to be very economical. Two farmers made the trip from this county to Sandusky, disposed of their wheat and other grain and returned after being gone six days and their entire expense was six cents, and this they state was spent for two drinks of whiskey, which in those days was regarded as a necessity and required cash, the same as it does even to this day. Some, however, put up for the night at one of the many taverns which lined the road. The expense for the night's lodging being only a sixpence. The number of these houses of entertainment was much increased in the early thirties by the wild mania which set in for land speculation, bringing people here who desired to enter land. The panic of 1837 exploded the bubble of speculation and was the ruin of many, besides leaving much of the farming business paralyzed for the want of money. In order to relieve the financial stringency relief measures were taken by the

State legislature. At that time the national Government had a surplus of money which they turned over to the State and this money in turn was loaned out to farmers and others at 7% interest. The county paying the State S% for the use of this money. The loans were handled by the county commissioners and Jacob Mollenkopf, at that time one of the commissioners in Crawford county, went to Columbus and brought Crawford's share of the funds to Bucyrus on horseback. The money was carried in his saddle bags and amounted to $7,000. These saddle bags which carried this fund are still in the possession of his descendants. The fund was carried on the books in the auditor's office by both the names of the 2% fund and the 7% fund, so called because 7% was the amount at which' it was loaned and 2% was the amount of profit to the county. This fund was originally started in 1837, and shows conclusively that the idea of the Government lending money to the people in time of need is not a new one. The fund itself, the records show, was collected with but little loss to the county and there was a profit arising from the 2% interest, for when the present new jail at the County Seat was built it was a part of the profits arising from this and other funds that was transferred to the construction of the jail so that it was built without the necessity of a tax levy.

There is but one church in Polk township outside of the city of Gallon, and that is an old Baptist church which is still standing, a frame structure about a mile east of Gallon on the land now owned by L. E. Reed. The first preacher was Rev. Nehemiah Story.

Polk township advanced with educational facilities as fast as the settlement of the county made schools necessary. The earliest settlers were in and around what is now Gallon and here the first building was erected as early as 1822. It was built of round logs and was located on West Main street near the present residence of Mrs. Martha Crim, now No. 422 West Main. David Gill was the first school teacher. For the second school the site selected was the old graveyard and this building was destroyed by- fire in 1844. When the next school house was erected the settlers had advanced a stage and the building was of hewn logs, where Lewis W. Riblet's residence now is, ii6 North Market. Although the settlers had hewn the logs instead of having them in the rough, as in the two earlier schoolhouses, slab seats were still used and the balance of the furniture was equally crude. Jim Mann taught in this school.

In the country districts many of the early settlers in the northeastern part of the township attended the school which was established at the Russel schoolhouse. The school in district No. I now on the farm of A. L. Stevens was originally in Marion county, and only became a part of Crawford county in 1845 when the new county was organized. Hence the schoolhouses in districts Nos. i, 2, and 3 were all on the border line of the county.

One of the earliest populous settlements was in the northwest part of Polk township in what is known as the Beltz neighborhood. Here was Disberry Johnston and the Browns and later Christopher Beltz with his family of seven children, and the first schoolhouse was started on what is now the land of H. E. Mader, just south of the Gabon road. There was a little stream there at that time and on the west bank of this stream the log schoolhouse was built on slightly rising ground and beside the creek was a little spring where water was procured. J. C. Beltz, still living, remembers attending this schoolhouse, and it was in the midst of a dense forest and when a boy he walked a half a mile through the woods to attend the school, seeing an occasional deer and being frequently scared by the wild hogs which roamed through the woods. Other settlers arriving, a frame schoolhouse was built on the Beltz farm, a mile west of the first location, and later the school was removed further to the east where it is today, just south of the Gabon road on the farm of Lida M. Beck. The other schoolhouses are those in district No. 5 north of the Gallon road a mile west of Gallon on the farm of Frank W. Tracht. District No. 6, is a mile north of Gabon on the farm of J. M. Tracht while district No. 7 is on the farm of

Outside of the city of Gallon the early pioneers had a burying ground on the farm of Jacob Pletcher, three miles west of Gallon. Here, the first known burial was the son of Samuel Pletcher who died March 15, 1830. Several other Pletchers were buried here and also David Reed who was one of the early pioneers of the township and died October 12, 1844. Near here is another burial ground, known as the Snyder graveyard. The first burial being that of George Snyder who died May 26, 1848.

Polk township was a part of Richland county prior to 1845, and among the justices of the peace in the earlier days were Daniel Riblet, John Williams and Thomas Jackson. As in most townships, the people generally had some justice whose office they made as near perpetual as possible. Abraham Underwood being the justice when the township was formed in 1845, ^^^ being elected his last time in 1885, but in the meantime the people started Charles B. Shumaker in as justice in 1878, and he was elected for eight terms of three years each. The following have held the office in Polk township: