Darke County, Ohio - The whole text, 1880 (part 14 of 31)

The first Postmaster in the town was Mr. Turpen. now a dry -goods merchant at Versailles The first mail carrier was Samuel Baker. V\ illiam \\ lute was the first Justice of the Peace, and held the office before the establishment ot the present boundaries. Samuel Rinehart built the pioneer sinithery. on the southeast corner of Main and Weller streets, which is still standing. It is difficult to ascertain with certainty who preached the first sermon in the township, but it is known that the second was by one Ogclen. The first church stands yet. and is occupied as a dwelling-house, on the land now owned by George Teegarden. The Evangelical Lutherans have a neat brick structure, 32x45 feet, located in Baughman a Addition in the southeast part of the town, on East Mam street. Ihe tirst preacher' was Rev. E. A. Boehme. who also preached the dedication sermon. When the society was organized, there were only a score or more members ; since that time there have been steady accessions.

The attention paid to education is evidenced to the stranger by the size, location and character of the school buildings. The new school building in Dallas is located on two acres of ground in Hulse's Addition, in the northwest part of town. There is a fine three-story brick structure, 34x56 feet, erected in 1873, at a cost of $10,000. The builders were Robinson & Frybarger, of Greenville. The contract was for $8,400. Extras amounted to $1,600. The upper story is used as a school hall for lectures, entertainments, etc., is well seated and supplied with accessions to these ends. The second story is the high-school department, and the first or lower, the primary and intermediate. The first Superintendent was J. M. Syckes, who, with his wife as assistant and a good staff of teachers, secured to the community an efficient school. He was succeeded by the present Superintendent, John S. Royer, a man of marked ability and great popularity as a teacher. He is one of the County Examiners, and by his influence, experience and presence has done much to give the school the excellent reputation it now enjoys. 0. J. Holloway was the last teacher in the grammar department, Miss Lizzie McAlpine, intermediate, and Flora Riffle, primary. Miss McAlpine has taught in the same room continuously since the school began and is in good repute. A fair supply of customary school apparatus has been provided. The officers of the present School Roard are Dr. W. E. Hoover, S. Riffle and J. R. Knouff. There are two organizations or lodges of secret societies in Dallas, the Ansonia Lodge, A., F. & A. M., chartered on October 21, 1874, by the Grand Lodge of Ohio, and the Odd Fellows, Ansonia Lodge, No. 605, instituted June 18, 1875. The former received their charter from Asa H. Ratten, G. M., and Ferdinand Wilmer, Chairman of the Committee on Charters and Dispensations. The first officers were John S. Royer, W. M.; S. A. Hostetter, S. W., and W. E. Hooven, J. W. The lodge thus started gained rapidly and has a present membership of seventy-one persons, elected from the very best men of the vicinity. The charter members were J. S. Royer, S. A. Hostetter, W. E. Hooven, David Riffile, J. E. Leas, Jacob J. Pohlman, L. C. Anderson, M. W. Rurtch, James McFarland, John R. Wertz, Phillip H. Cromer, Robert Davidson, E. M. Crick, Alexander Loppen, Joseph Smith and Orlando Porter. The present officers are Joshua Herring, Master ; S. A, Hostetter, Senior Warden ; James Abbott, Junior Warden ; J. S. Royer, Secretary ; James White, Treasurer ; Charles Harmon, Senior Deacon ; O. F. Johnson, Junior Deacon, and William Davison, Tiler. The place of meeting alternate Friday evenings, is at Hostetter's Hall.

The charter members of the Odd Fellows were J. J. Peters, Wesley Millett L. C. Garver, John Vanscoyk, C. D. Garver, N. Hartle. O. J. Hager, T. J. Earhart' John Stuby, G. W. Fifer, Peter Denise, S. A. Nead, L. J. Minnich, F. P. Hartle, N. S. Warvel and Levi P. McKibben. The first officers of the society were Wesley Millett, N. G. ; J. J. Peters, V. G. ; L. C. Garver, P. S. ; G. W. Fifer, Secretary, and John Stuby, Treasurer. The present officers are George Rertz, N. G. ; L. C. Anderson, V. G. ; J. E. Leas, Treasurer and Secretary ; J. Vanscoyk, the Permanent Secretary, and L. C. Garver, Treasurer. The lodge assembles Saturday evenings at the I. O. O. F. Hall, in Rertz & Raughman's building. The town has a band of thirteen instruments ; it was organized in 1876 under the leadership of John Casad, the next and present leader was and is A. J. Young. It is a pleasant accessory to the town, and the delight of old as well as young to hear their music. The place is well supplied with reputable physicians. Dr. W. E. Hooven came to Dallas in 1870 ; Dr. L. C. Anderson is associated with Dr. Hooven, his former instructor, in practice of medicine. Dr. John H. Knouff studied under John A. Smith, of Piqua, Ohio, graduated at Cincinnati in 1858, and saw two years' service as Assistant Surgeon in the Fifty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; has been in practice in Dallas ever since, and Dr. S. A. Hostetter has been a practitioner in Dallas since 1871.

The place has the usual accessories of shops for blacksmiths, saddlers, butchers, shoemaking and groceries. There are two hotels - the Miller House, on the corner of Main and Weller streets, kept by Henry E. Miller, and the Ansonia Hotel, by Messrs. L. and C. J. Wolf. This latter house was built in 1854-55 by John Hathaway, who was its first landlord. A number of persons have had charge prior to present owners.

Messrs. Tracy & Quincy were the pioneers in Dallas in tin' drug trade, which they started here in 1868. They were succeeded by Dr. Hager, in the spring of L870 and the fall of 1871. 8. A. Hostetter & Co., present owners, came into possession. The present store was built in the spring of 1875. Bertz & Baughman began dealing in agricultural implements in the spring of 1873 ; they made several additions to their buildings, increased their trade, and handle a stock of $6,000.

Messrs. R. P. and A. E. Vernier run a saw and planing mill, located south of the railroad, and just east of the Ansonia Stave Works. This enterprise was started in the fall of 1872. as a mill to -- rough out"' material for the Rover Wheel Company, of Cincinnati. It then employed from fifty to fifty-five hands. This was for the first eight months, during which the disbursements of the company at this point were over $54,000. for lumber and labor. It was run by this firm about four years, when J. H. Rover, who had been managing agent for the several mills of the company, purchased it and additional to a continuation of the manufacture of hubs, spokes, etc., also got out stave material. In the spring of 1880, the present firm purchased the buildings and what machinery remains. The main building is 90x36 feet, with several large sheds attached. The original cost of the building was $10,(1110.

Joseph H. Roush is a dealer in grain, and has been in business here since 1873. During 1878-79. he bought and shipped 100,000 bushels of corn and 30,000 bushels of wheat. Later purchases show comparatively greater amounts of wheat raised and sold here. Martin Kuntz was engaged in operating a grist and saw mill, located in the southeastern part of the town, south of the railroad. The sawmill was built in 1850, the grist-mill five years later. The present owner made the purchase in February, 1865, and has run the mills steadily to the present. There are two runs of buhrs. thirty-horse power engine. The capacity of the gristmill is from twenty-two to twenty-four barrels in twenty-four hours.

The Ansonia Stave Company, whose works are located in Baughman's Addition, in the southwest part of the town, do an extensive business in staves, headings, etc. The mill, sheds, etc.. occupy two acres. The mill itself is about forty feet square, with an L one story. The present capacity and actual business of the factory is 247.000 hubs, assorted sizes, 500.000 barrel staves and much headings. Besides this, forty barrels for flour are made daily in the cooper department. About a dozen men are employed. The aggregate business annually, is from $25,000 to $28,000. The company began their works in 1873. on a small scale. Messrs. Robison & Rigdon wei*e proprietors until 1876, when they sold to Roush, Leare & Co., and they, in the spring of 1877, disposed of the same to J. H., C. A. and W. A. Roush ; the last named, in the spring of 1880. sold his interest to his partners, who continue the business.

A post office was established in Dallas in 1872. and 8. H. Light, the present incumbent, who was appointed March 16. 1880, is the successor of E. Leare, the first official. A large amount of mail matter goes through this office. It is estimated, that the population of this local post-office district is not less that 3,500. There is no office north of here, this side of Mercer County, and some families of that county get their mail at Dallas. The present Mayor is David Millie ; the Clerk is Charles Schneiderman . Marshall, Preston Riffle : Council, Jacob Deardorff, George McEldorney, 8. 8. Riffle. L. C. Garver. Marion Tullis and G. C. Hulse.

Long before Dallas (now Ansonia) became a preaching place, the Methodists held regular services at different, places in the towns and country around. Au occasional service was held in an schoolhouse a little north of the village, and later than this in the village schoolhouse. H. 0. Sheldon, J. T. Bower. H. Boyers, M. Perkey, A. Armstrong, H. Burns, and others, were some of those who preached here before the society was organized in Dallas. Among these, we mention the honored name of J. P. Durbin, D. D., who, I am told, was accustomed at one place to lay the corn for his horse to eat on an oak stump, that he might be ready to move on as soon as he was done service. His own dinner he got as best he could , on the way. As early as 1845 to 1850, Methodist preaching was done in the house was organized, with Benjamin L. Rowand as Pastor. In 1864, D. Gr. Strong, since gone West, was placed in charge, but was called during the year to fill a vacancy at Quincy, Logan County, and Henry Burns, a local preacher of fine ability, and now residing in Versailles, filled the unexpired term of Mr. Strong, and also supplied the charge the next year. In 1866, Jason and William Young filled the charge, and Henry Burns again in 1867. In 1868, Valentine Staley ; in 1860, James Jackson ; in 1870, P. M. Young ; in 1871. M. M. Markwith. The charge -embracing Dallas was known part of the time as Wabash, and part of the time as Versailles. In 1872, it took the name of Dallas ; R, D. Oldfielcl, Pastor. The following are the Pastors, terms of service and salary, as far as reported in the conference minutes, since 1872 : E. D. Whitlock, 1873, one year, salary $650 ; T. L. Wiltse, 1874, two years, salary $710 ; R. D. Oldfield, 1876, one year, salary $725 ; J. R. Colgan, 1877, three years, salary $750. The above do not include airy rents, as there is a good parsonage. In 1875, the name of the charge was changed to Ansonia - the name of the railroad and the post office. In 1873, a church was dedicated at a cost of $3,200. It is a model brick structure, 36x55 feet, with a fine bell. The existence of this house is due. as in most other cases, to the untiring energy of a few. Among these, we name W. E. Hooven, M. D., H. W. Fry, N. D. Poling, S. Kershner. J. H. Roush, Gr. M. Click and D. Poling. On a corner near the church is a neat parsonage, worth about $1,000. The working, as well as paying agency, in securing this desirable property, was Jacob Holdeman. The membership of this church is about eighty. The Sunday school has an average of about one hundred and twenty.

York Township was constituted by the Board of County Commissioners in June, 1837. Its territorj' was taken from Richland Township, and contained all of the county north of a line commencing at the southeast corner of Section 15, Township 11 north, Range 3 east, and running west to the southwest corner of Section 13, Township 13, Range 2. In June, 1841, all of York Township lying north of a line commencing at the southeast corner of Section 22, Township 12 north, Range 3 east, and running west to the southwest corner of Section 24, Township 14, Range 2, was formed into a new township, called Wabash.

By the last census, the population was 797, of whom thirt3'-six were foreign born ; the inhabitants now number fully 1.000. The southern portion of York is level, and is somewhat clayey, presenting to the eye the appearance of prairie, except that probably one-fifth of the surface is covered with thrifty timber, mostly second growth of the original unbroken forest. The timber is hardwood - oak, hickory, maple, beech and some walnut, though the latter has been pretty generally cut down. Near the center of the township there is more of the burroak, and the soil is a sandy loam, very productive, especially along Indian Creek, which rises in the northern part of Brown Township and flows southeast, diagonally across York. In the vicinity of Brock, which is located upon the St. Mary's Pike, and about one and a half miles north of Indian Creek, the surface of the country, undulating, is almost hilly, and the soil is lighter or clayey, with a linger proportion of beech in the wooded portions. About one-fifth of the land is uncleared. There are 4.(567 acres cultivated, 812 in pasture, 3.593 in woodland, and 289 denominated waste lands. The total of land owned in 1878 was 9,361 acres.

Swamp Creek rises midway on the boundary of York, and flows southeastward. The belt of country along this stream is also very productive, the soil being a warm loam. The principal dependence of the farmers of York has been corn and oats, and the fattening of hogs. The average crop of oats is about forty bushels to the acre, and as high as seventy have been raised. The following statistics exhibit the productive capacity of the York Township farm lands : Wheat erop for 1879 - from 1,343 acres, 29,258 bushels; rye, 12 acres, 167 bushels; buckwheat - 5 acres, 39 bushels ; oats - 748 acres, 25,495 bushels ; barle}- - 20 acres, 335 bushels ; corn - 1,665 acres, 65,150 bushels; flax - 58 acres, 615 bushels ; potatoes - 48 acres, 2,955 bushels ; apples - 191 acres, 940 bushels. From 343 acres of meadow, 453 tons of hay were cut ; 63 acres of clover were plowed under for manure ; tobacco - 27 acres, 29,550 pounds raised ; butter, 20,010 pounds manufactured. Besides these, there were produced considerable sorghum and honey, and some wool was shorn.

The soil along Indian and Swamp Creeks is not adapted to peach growing. As yet. with two or three exceptions, no special attention has been given to raising and improving stock. N. S. and Irving York are the principal men who have given special attention to the raising of good stock.

There are six turnpikes in the township, and only one road that is not piked - the one extending a short distance west from Brock. Generally speaking, the farmhouses are of the better class, decidedly, and, with the barns, outbuildings, windmills, labor-saving machinery, good fences and cultivated acreage, give unmistakable evidence of prosperity1 as the reward of industry. Nearly all the older settlers are out of debt and comfortably situated. Some of them are wealthy, among the foremost of whom may be named David Eury, Samuel Wilson, N. S. York, W. Bayman, David Duncan, Samuel Sherry, Lewis Sherry, David Lyons, William Miller and Mahlon Martin.

In pioneer days, most of the farms were small, being generally entered in forty or eighty acre parcels, but the forehanded have purchased from their less fortunate and more restless neighbors, and several large farms are the result. Such is the farm of David Eury, numbering 320 acres ; David L}rons. 200 ; Samuel Wilson, 250 ; Washington Bayman, nearly 200 ; N. S. York, Lemuel Reigel and M. Martin, each from 150 to 160 acres. The south part of the township was settled first, and the first clearings were found mostly along the banks of Indian Creek. There is a disagreement between reports published and the testimony of those who are now in the best position to know the facts concerning the first improvement in and settlement of the township. The following is a phonographic report taken by H. Freeman of a recital made by Nicholas S. York. Esq., concerning his father Newberry York. " My father was born in Georgia near Augusta, and came from there to Ohio in 1810, to Preble County. He remained there about one year, and then went to Illinois. Two years later, he moved back to Preble County ; thence he moved to Darke County in 1817, and went into Wayne Township near Versailles, where he entered eighty acres. He traded this entry for land now the site of Versailles. He did not lay off airy lots, but there were a few laid off on the part next to his east line. He sold this property in 1833 to James C. Woods, who afterward laid it out in lots. Then my father came to Richland Township, and entered eighty acres of Section 15, Town 11, Range 3, upon which he passed his life, dying in 1870, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. He was Justice of the Peace in 1834. and had filled that office years before in Wayne Township. He was afterward an Associate Judge. Mother's maiden name was Nancy Slade ; they were married in Georgia. There were nine children

- Joseph, William, Jerry, Nicholas, Jeptha, Newberry and Lewis, Diadama and Rebecca. Joseph moved in with his father. They are all gone but Nicholas and the two daughters." Samuel Reigel moved from Adams County, Penn., in 1837 or 1838, and has been a resident of York Township till the present. On his arrival, he selected and entered the quarter-section upon which he has lived so many years. He is now seventy-eight years of age. David Lyons married in 1836, and two years later removed to York Township. James Winget had entered eighty acres of Section 9, Range 3, which he afterward deeded to his son Joseph W. Winget, who sold to Lyons. David Lyons' son and a present resident sa}^s, " When I came here, the St. Mary's road had just been opened up, and the trees that were chopped down were parti}- removed out of the way, but the road was full of stumps, and there were no bridges. At that time, there were not more than two or three wagons in the township; one of them belonged to Judge York, and another to Mr. Spindler. The Judge's wagon was a great convenience. We used to double teams and go around through the hills ten miles to get to Versailles, when it was only four and a half miles across in a direct line, and there was no telling how long we would have to wait our turn. Generally, we had to go to the falls of Greenville and Covington for milling, and usually on horseback. There was a mill on the creek, half a mile below Versailles, called the ' Thundergust Mill,' because there was not water enough to run it except on rainy days or after a smart shower. There was a mill in the early da}' at Webster, whose remains may be seen, although another has taken its place." David Williams came from Preble County in 1840, and settled on Harris Creek. A son entered foily acres there, which were bought by Mr. Gibson who in 1843 moved to Indian Creek, on Section 9, Range 3, where in time he died ; his son David Gibson resides upon the land to which he has added until he now owns 108 acres.

The oldest settler now living is " Mother Sonday," who is now in her ninetysecond year. As her faculties are failing, and she can speak but little English, little information could be gained from her. She has a son named August Sonday, who is nearly seventy years of age. He has never married, and has always lived with his mother. How unusual this - seventy years of a mother's care and of filial solicitude, while several generations have hastened away from their old homes to embank giddily, recklessly and yet often, with fortune for themselves. How few those who deny themselves homes to attend parents ! Samuel Sherry came from Montgomery County to York Township, in October, 1842, and lived with the Sondays until we could get a house put up. George Sheny, his father, had died in 1836. Samuel Sheny married a daughter of the Lanock family, who entered seventy-one acres southeast of Brock, about half a mile ; 120 acres northwest, and then bought two eighties ; one right above Brock, the other to the east of it. November 7, 1837, a patent was issued to Samuel Lanick, for the southeast quarter of Section 4, Township 11, Range 3 east, in the district of lands, subject to sale at Cincinnati, Ohio - a tract said to contain 142T|-g acres. Mrs. Sarah Sonday gives the following : " We came to this county in 1834, from Montgomeiy County, to which place we had come from Pennsylvania, and moved on to what is now known as the " Grisorn Place." Among the first settlers of this township was Newberry York, at whose house we stayed until we could get a house built, William A. Sonday moved in a year later - in 1835. William Miller, Mahlon Martin, Samuel Winbigler and Samuel Hughes were among the early settlers. Zachariah Miller and family, from Pennsylvania, settled first in Franklin County, Ohio, and in the fall of 1834, settled near Versailles. In 1840, he died ; a year later, his wife died. A son, William, came to York Township, March 1, 1858, and from that time has lived upon the farm composed of an eighty from each of Sections 8 and 9, Range 3, Township 11. Jacob Martin came from Pennsylvania to Warren County, Ohio, in 1797. He moved to Miami County in 1831. A son, Mahlon, was then ten years of age. In 1851, he moved to Darke, having bought forty acres adjoining his present farm, on Swamp Creek, for $110. and just prior to moving, he bought a second forty of improved land for $480. Three years later, he sold the eighty for $1,300, and bought of Solomon Christian the quarter-section, now his farm. Mr. Martin runs a large tile factory, whose product has been in good demand with great advantage to the lands. Tn 1844. Samuel Winbigler settled in York, on the Irving York place : later he purchased the Ezra Marks farm, where he died in 1S7I). He officiated as Postmaster and Justice of the Peace, and had a family of nine children. Such details as we have given in the foregoing are applicable to many residents of York and other townships. Their lives abound, not in tales of savage combat, perilous journeys, or treacherous schemes. Their years pass away in seedtime and harvest ; death comes, and the child grown to manhood tills the old fields his father cleared, and growing affluent, he tears down the old house in which were passed the happy days of childhood, and upbuilds the more modern, better furnished, but no more comfortable mansion. The first roads were crooked, running zigzag from house to house. Prior to these were the bridle paths for horseback riding or pedestrians. The '- blazed" routes and Indian traces, superseded by ''cut out" roads, were discontinued, and then came the surveyed muddy roads, and later, the permanent pike. No railroads touch the township. There are no grist-mills within its bounds. About 1868, there was a saw-mill on what is now the farm of William Miller. A few years, and it was moved to Brock, and from there to Patterson, and it is in operation at Versailles.

There is a blended nationality of the population. There are Eastern people, Southerners and Pennsylvania Germans. Politically, the township was for a long time about equally balanced between the two great parties, but now. the Democratic majority on a full vote is about forty.

Religious services were held for some time in the schoolhouses. but the Trustees, thinking the protracted meetings of injury to the progress of the pupils, at last refused their use except upon the Sabbath. The first preaching in this township was by ministers of the German Lutheran denomination at private houses. Isaac Hirsh preached in 1842. and Rev. Carlter. a German Reformed minister, Revs. Weisner and Klopp, preached in 1844 and 1845. Revs. Locker and Colliflower preached in an old log church, of which there is further mention. The next regular services were held by Rev. George Shafer during two years ; he was succeeded by Jacob Weaver, Revs. Hoffman, Hochman. Valentine Koch and Isaac Hirsh; this was in the fall of 1878, when he removed to Illinois. Since that time, there has been no regular preaching. The church is open to all denominations for funerals. Deaths and removals have reduced the membership. In the days of the old church, there were about fifty members, but the average since the new church was built is not to exceed forty. The original Trustees were Samuel Winbigler and Samuel Sherry. The former having died and the other having been chosen, Mr. Sherry is now the sole Trustee. The Sabbath school has been regularly maintained at times, but at this time none is held. The first church in York Township was built in 1848. It was a log house that would seat about one hundred persons. The neighbors clubbed together and built it. The inside work on this pioneer edifice was done by David Grisom. In the spring of 1848, Ezra Marker deeded an acre of ground to the Trustees of the society for church and cemetery. Tt is of pleasing Location, on elevated ground. The first adult buried in the graveyard was David Gibson, Sr., who died August 12, 1851 ; two or three children had been interred previously. The old church was torn down at length, and, on April 30, 1856, the new frame church, a neat place of worship, was completed, and as stated, is used on funeral occasions and occasionally for services.

The pioneer Methodist minister within the limits of the township was Rev. Barr, who is remembered by settlers of 1846. Henry Burns, now of Versailles, was local preacher for many years. Alexander Armstrong, another old settler, was also a local exhorter : he is now a resident of Iowa. Services were held once a fortnight, in a log schoolhouse situated about three-fourths of a mile from the present site of Brock. The frame Methodist Church at Brock was built in 1857, and dedicated by Rev. Henry Sheldon. Among the leading members of the denomination years ago. may be named John and Hannah Miller, Joseph and Catharine Boyd. Samuel and Rebecca Armstrong. James and Sally Medford, Samuel and Rhoda Hughes, Stephen and Susan Miller. Mary Oliver. William and Mary Boyd, and Zackariah and Elmira Miller. The Methodist cemetery is located half a mile west of Brock, near the southwest corner of Section 33, being a part of what is known as the place of Jesse Boyd.

The first school taught in York Township' was by J. P. Hafer, in an old cabin, prior to the erection of a schoolhouse. He died in March, 1839, and was buried in the woods, there being no graveyard. The snow was over two feet in depth the day of the funeral. A Mr. McMahon was also a teacher in the early day. In the summer of 1837, a log schoolhouse was built on the land of Judge York. There are now six school districts. Some ten years ago, the township was re-districted and new frame schoolhouses were built of uniform style, equal cost and capacit}', for from forty to forty-five children.

N. York was the first Justice after the organization of the township. Mr. Collins erected the first house. It stood on the school-lease, and was raised, probably, in 1830. Merchandising was begun by Josiah Johnson at the cross-roads at Brock. The building is now in use as a post office. Jefferson Shook was the pioneer smith, whose forge was located in the southeast corner of the township, where now David Oliver lives. Ezra Marker, George Bertram and others, laid oft' the hamlet of Brock, and sold the first lots. Then Jacob Winbigler and Egbert Winterworth bought a tract of Peter Lechman. and made some sales, and S. Winbigler also sold lots from the north end of his farm.

Brock has a population of about one hundred. The following presents an outline of its business and importance. There is the smithery oftReser & Crick, the wagon-shop of W. H. Reser, built by James Deam in the spring of 1877 ; a shoe-shop, located in the first building erected in the place, in 1848 ; a brickyard, run by A. G. Clark ; a grocery and a general store. The place has somewhat of enterprise, as is evidenced by the possession of an organized brass band.

The first post office was established in Brock in 1848, Jacob Miller. Postmaster. Samuel Winbigler was his successor, and kept the office at his residence. The first mail-carrier between Versailles and Celina was Freemau Whittaker. The present carrier is George Stevens, whose route is from North Star to Greenville, eighteen miles. The following have been Postmasters : Isaac Boyd. Jackson Holloway, J. B. Werts, Lewis Kendig, Isaac Bolton, R. Probasco, and B. F. Crick, incumbent since 1877. Brock has a fairly commodious and pleasant schoolhouse ; average attendance, forty. The Methodist Church being dilapidated, meetings are sometimes held in the schoolhouse by that and other denominations. It is also used for election purposes, band practice, exhibitions, etc. The following are the present township officers : Clerk, John Brown ; Trustees. Samuel McGriff, Jeptha Armstrong and William Rue ; Assessor, James Miller ; Treasurer, M. Crushet ; Constable, N. Lyons.

This township was taken principally from Wayne, with sixteen sections from Greenville Township and four from Adams, and on its organization, September 8, 1820, was bounded as follows : Commencing at the north line of the county, on the line between Ranges 1 and 2, running thence south to the south line of Section 7, Township 12 north. Range 2 east ; thence east to the southwest corner of Section 11, Township 10 north, Range 3 east ; thence north to the count}' line ; thence along the north line of the county to the place of beginning. In March, 1829. all of Township 12, Range 2, belonging to Richland, was put into Greenville Township. In December, 1833. all the land bounded as follows was taken from Richland and erected into a new township, called Brown : Beginning at the northwest corner of Township 13, Range 2 ; thence south to the township line ; thence east to the east line of Section 35 ; thence north to the township line, and west to the phuc of beginning. Shortly afterward, that part of Townships 14 and 15 north, Range 2, lying directly north of the boundaries just given, was added to Brown Township, and in June, 1837, the township of York was formed from Richland, which was then reduced to its present proportions.

The topography of Richland present some salient points. The Stillwater, which rises in the northern part of Brown and the southern extreme of the township of Mississinawa, and tends to the southeast, across the lands of the former, takes a very circuitous course through Richland. It enters at almost the northwest corner of the township, and runs thence somewhat east of south of Beamsville, in the eastern part of Section 32, making many short bends in its course between those points. From Beamsville, it runs a mile southeast, then to the northeast a half-mile, then east again a mile, turns then abruptly to the north, then inclines to the northward, forms a bend, and flows southeast, into the lower end of Wayne Township.

The outlines of Richland are irregular. Along the tortuous course of the Stillwater, the surface is broken and in places hilly, with the usual fertile bottom lands. In other parts of the township, though there is an admixture of clay, it is blended with loam and under good treatment produces good crops. In general, the name - Richland - is no misnomer, and the overworked farms are exceptionally few.

The first settler in the township was Jacob Hartell, followed, nine months later, by David Riffle, with his two sons, Jacob and Solomon, and George Ward, who came in March, 1818. James Stephenson and George Plessinger came in 1819 - the latter from Pennsylvania. A short time later, came George Beam, Adam Coppess, Henry Stoll, Philip Plessinger, Peter Brewer and John Horney. John Miller came in 1822, and John Coppess, Sr., in 1824. We have thus some dozen pioneers left alone for a time, to occupy the lands of the future township. They received no accessions and lived along alone. The ague prevailed, and they withstood its chill and fever. The dreaded milk sickness ravaged the clearings, and they passed through the ordeal, to be thereafter known as the pioneers of the township. A number of 3'ears passed before any accessions were made to the population and those named were old settlers when the general migration, sweeping westward, deposited new settlers in the umbrageous forests of the country. Among these later comers were Daniel Warvel, from Warren County, Ohio, in 1834 ; E. Deming, from Connecticut, in 1836 ; D. L. Miller, in 1837 ; W. J. Warvel. in 1838 ; D. Hartzell came the same 3'ear, from Pennsylvania ; Philip Hartzell came in 1843; George H. Winbigler in 1845; Alfred Coppess in 1848; H. Kent, from Maryland, in 1849, and John E. Braden and S. D. Rush, a year or so afterward.

Germans and those of Germanic descent form the largest element in the population, nearly all of whom speak English. The next largest element is American. There are a few Irish families, but no French, although numerous persons of that nationality have settled in the; adjoining township of Wayne.

The first schoolhouse was built on the farm of John Coppess. right across the little stream opposite the Coppess graveyard. It was of logs, built on the pioneer plan, except the modern improvement of a small window with four panes of glass, located near the position occupied by the teacher; the other apertures were closed by greased paper. The fireplace was capacious enough for the most exacting.

This schoolhouse was erected probably about the year 1825. perhaps a year or so earlier. The first teacher in this structure was .John Wilkins. and his successor was Thomas Crawson. There are now seven districts in Richland. All the houses are iniilt of brick, and have been in use for the past ten years. They are commodious, well arranged and permanent, fully accommodating the ueeds of the community. The school building at Dawn cost nearly $1,800. It is two stories, and will seat 124 pupils. There is a like structure at Beamsville.

In the line of improvements for the aid of settlers in building, there was a horse-mill on Hartell's farm. In connection therewith, was a still-house, the two being operated by Jacob Hartell in 1837 and 1838. There was another mill on the Hathaway farm, one mile southwest of Beamsville. This was a water mill. used only in grinding corn, and had sandstone " grayheads " for buhrs.- This mill was the property of Thomas Hathaway. The next mill was built as a saw-mill and remodeled into a grist-mill, at what was called Johnson's Station. The town. Dawn, was then designated Eden. The last-named mill was run by steam, and in it was used the first stationary steam engine used in the township. In addition to these, there was the u Bloomer Mill," located at Bloomer Town, now called Stelvideo. This structure was raised about the same time as the Eden mill during the years 1853 and 1854.

The mill at Eden burned down while it was a saw-mill ; it was rebuilt as a lumber-mill, and, afterward, enlarged into a grist-mill. Upon the foundation and with the frame of the old mill the present new mill was constructed.

In the connection of enterprises which have exercised a helping and comfortgiving influence, it has ever been customary to preserve the names, when possible. of those who inaugurated or began them. For this reason, we may mention William (loodheart. as the pioneer mail carrier ; J. H. C. Dill, of Beamsville. as the earliest storekeeper, and Adam Coppess. as the first blacksmith, who erected his forge the year of his advent here. 1824.

The first sermon delivered in Richland Township was by John Childers. a minister of the Baptist denomination, in the house of James Stevenson, where Alfred Coppess now lives. The first church building was erected as a schoolhouse, and was purchased by the Methodist Episcopal society. It was located in the Coppess neighborhood on the farm of William Oliver. The next building used for worship was erected for that purpose by the members of a society of the United Brethren in the year 1842. It was built of logs at Beamsville on land donated by Fred. Beam. This house has been repaired and modernized, and is still standing.

Among the heaviest or largest farm owners in the township are B. F. Coppess who has 300 acres, Alfred Coppess. John E. Braden. John Coppess and David Hartell. Original entries were mostly in quarter and eighth sections. The general depth at which well water is found is thirt}- feet, but it varies from twelve to forty-five feet.

The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad crosses the north end of the township, and has a station known as Nevada, and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad enters Richland about a mile west of the southeast corner and runs diagonally to a point three-fourths of a mile north of the southwest corner. Stelvideo, situated in the southern part of Section 9, is a station on this latter road.

From the earliest days along the years up to the present, the political opinion has been Democratic, and the party vote predominates by 100.

The following leading statistics from the report of 1879 show the capacity for production of the Richland farms. The entire number of acres owned is 12.- 426. of which 7.478 are tilled, 946 in pasture. 3.771 in woods and 231 in waste lands. The extent of wool-growing may be inferred by the clip of 1.244 pounds. Upon 1,927 acres. 36,891 bushels of wheat were raised ; 834 acres in oats produced 31.341 bushels and 2,718 acres of corn yielded heavily of the staple product. Rye, barley, flax and potatoes are pixxluced. Fifty-two acres in tobacco produced 69,390 pounds, and the dairy product was 33,502 pounds. Of sweets there were 2,745 gallons of sorghum sirup, 929 gallons of maple sirup, and from 113 hives. 1.227 pounds of honey. The orchards have not been neglected, and from 235 acres planted in trees, there was a yield of 5,776 bushels of apples, 45 of pears, and 35 of peaches.

The village of Dawn contains a population of about one hundred and fifty. The original plat was made by L. W. Johnson, and it was known by that name.

The site was established at the center of Section 20. in 1854, when the proprietor erected a saw-mill. The first addition to the village was made by Shelley, Birch and others. Afterward Uriah Winbigler, (). F. Davidson and James McFarland also laid off additions. The original proprietor was the first Postmaster, and James McFarland here erected the first forge.

There is a church at Dawn, built by the Methodists in 1872, on land donated by C. W. Demem. The business of the place supports three stores kept by J. W. Duckall, J. B. Wertz and James Woods. The first named is also a grain and produce dealer, the last named is Postmaster. J. F. Shoud is the proprietor of a large saw-mill with which he does an extensive business. Rush & Chirger operate a steam grist-mill. It has two stories, has four runs, and is propelled by a fortyhorse power engine. This mill stands on Section 20, and does both custom and job work. Its capacity is sixty barrels a day. 0. Davison erected a tile factory in the spring of 1877, on his lands just south of Dawn. Twenty kilns of 275 rods, assorted size, are burned annually, requiring 130 cords of wood. It is the only tile factory in the township. The drying shed is 120 feet long and a second shed of 60 feet in length is being built. The village of Beamsville is situated on the Stillwater at the center of the west side of Section 32, Range 3. and at the crossing of the Greenville and Dallas pikes. There is about 150 population. It was laid out by John Beam in 1837. The first house put up in the place was raised by the proprietor of the village and it is still standing. Additions to the original plat have been made by Messrs. Hartell, Earheart and Plessinger. The Stillwater Hotel, kept by Samuel Paulas, was built in 1834-35. It was primarily a single story, but several years having elapsed, a second story was added. The first landlord was named Stillwell. John C. Dill was storekeeper in the early day, and among physicians were Drs. Ford, Smith, Hoover, Hostetter, Peck and Tillman.

The first preacher at Beamsville was Rev. M. Wintermute. Baptist, who was succeeded by Rev. Seymour Craig. Rev. George Adams, Christian, came in 1848-49. The United Brethren Church was built some six years earlier than this later date. A township house was built here in 1874. The place contains two wagon-shops - one owned by J. Stagger, the other by William Price. There is also a cornet band of ten horns and two drums which enliven the evening hours with inspiriting music. This band was organized in March, 1879, and is led by William Loudom and Frank Plessinger.

The iron bridge over the Stillwater, just south of town, was constructed during the summer of 1878, and cost $1,900, exclusive of masonry. Another iron bridge over the same stream, west of Beamsville, on the Dallas pike, cost $2,100, besides mason work, and was erected in 1875.

Stelvideo, located near the center of the south line of Section !i. Range .'!. Township 11 (the same being part of the boundary between Richland and Adams). is a small village, numbering 100 inhabitants. It was laid out in 1851. by Solomon Farmer, the present owner of 125 acres of land adjoining on the east* This person is now the oldest living resident of this vicinity, and one of the oldest in Richland. A few lots have been laid off since the original platting by George Hartell, Jr., but they are not in demand. Stelvideo is a station on the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad, surrounded by a fine farming country, well cultivated and profitably productive. The population is composed mainly of the owners of adjacent or adjoining farms. Its origin is thus denoted : About the time when the "Forty-niners" were en route, overland, to the gold fields of the far Pacific. .John Patterson determined to realize his expectations nearer home. He had inherited a large farm, located east of Stelvideo.. There being promise of quite a village here. .Mr. Patterson bought a number of Lots, erected a steam sawmill, a two-Story tavern, and induced the erection of several other buildings. These improvements were made in 1852 and 1853. Through correspondence with Alfred Brisbane, S. Andrews. Dr. Nichols and other noted Socialists. Stelvideo soon became a center for modern radicalism of all kinds, save and except "free love.'' Meantime, the dress-reform movement was being agitated by Amelia Bloomer and other ladies. The costume was generally adopted by the feminine population of this village. So many isms and ologies, so much amplitude in freedom and brevity in costume was obnoxious to the people resident in the neighborhood, who proceeded to make Patterson and his confreres desirous of going elsewhere. The Pluribus Unum Hotel was vacated, several houses partially completed were left unfinished, the saw-mill and other property was disposed of at a sacrifice, and Mr. Patterson and his followers moved to Berlin Heights, in Huron County, where quite a colony of modern Liberalists of various phases assembled. They published a weekly newspaper, and, for a time, attracted popular attention.

The first house put up in the immediate vicinity of Stelvideo was by Jacob Hartell. The first schoolhouse near by was a small log structure which stood about fifteen yards east of the present brick house, on the Solomon Farmer place. The first Postmaster was Aaron Frampton. It is stated by Peter Brewer, who is the second oldest resident, that in the early days, the residents here were accustomed to go about sixteen miles to mill, to where the present Coppock Mill stands. Sometimes the trip was extended to near Milton, and on occasion to Union, not far from Dayton. The present smithy here was built as a carpentershop in 1866, by Peter Farmer ; it was later used as a dwelling, and was finally, April 15, 1876, utilized by the present ''village blacksmith," D. W. Inman, of whom it may be said :

There are no churches at this place. Dr. Ligafoo is the local physician. He was preceded by B. F. Zeller and Dr. Morrison, who was among the first doctors in this part of the township.

Messrs. Coppess, Brewer & Bro. are grain-dealers at the railroad warehouse. Their annual purchases range from fifteen thousand to twenty-five thousand bushels of wheat and a smaller quantity of corn. The Brewer Bros, also have a store, located just northeast from the railroad crossing. One of the brothers, Jessner, is the Postmaster here, the other, John, is station agent. The speedy lapse of time will soon have made the record of these now active a worthy remembrance, and events are only as yet in a formative state, hence the descriptions of the present will be the history of the near future.

This township is one of the oldest in the county, having been constituted at one of the first sessions of the County Commissioners, in July, 1817. Its name was suggested by the prominent position occupied by Gen. Anthony Wayne, in the latter part of* the last century, in matters pertaining to the permanent security of such settlers as might desire to make their homes in this locality. When Wayne was laid off, it contained all of the county north of a line commencing at the northwest corner of Township 12 north, Range 1 east, and running thence east to the northwest corner of Township 9 north, Range 1 east, thence south to the middle of said township, and east to the county line. In 1819, that part of Wayne lying in Township 9 north, Range 4 east, was attached to Adams Township. A year later, and all of Wayne that lay in Range 1 was united to Washington Township. In 1820, Richland was formed, which was taken principally from Wayne, but partly from Greenville and Adams. In 1811, Patterson was taken from the north end of Wayne, and contained all of that township that lay in Townships 12 and 13. Range 3. and 11 and 12. Range 4.

The land is well watered and well drained. Its sections are traversed in a south of west course by the railroad, and supplemented to its fine farms are its villages, Versailles, Webster and North Jacksonville. In comparison with the townships heretofore named. Wayne is much the older, and. as is frequently the ease, many of the settlers of Wayne migrating to the new townships became their pioneers. It is agreed that the first settler within the present limits of Wayne was David Ward. who. moving in from Covington. Miami County, in 1815, settled on land (more recently the property of Lewis Sherry), in Section 18. Ward had not long been established in his forest home when two neighbors moved in. Jacob Carlock entered land and made a clearing, where, in 1885. the village of Webster was laid out. and Zachariah Hole settled in the vicinity. Two years later, the population was increased by the arrival of Aaron Greer. Richard Brandon and Lewis Baker, and in 1818, Henry Swisher moved in, and was soon after made a Justice of the Peace, and so became the pioneer arbitrator of petty disputes. In addition to those named among the pioneers, may be given those of Peter Radabaugh, William McGriff John Wyland. Thomas Bay man. N. York and Joseph McDonald. Allan Beecl, who later became a merchant and engaged in business at Versailles, came to Wayne in 1821. The first white child born in the township was Dr. Stephen A. Greer, now living near Woodland, Patterson Township. The first man who died was named Atchison. The pioneer log schoolhouse was erected about 1821. It is a cause of regret that so meager a record should be acquired of a township so prominent in the threefold interests of civilization, agriculture, education and religion.

During the war of 1812, and subsequently, an eccentric character by the name of Conner, and his son, occupied a cabin not far from the present site of Versailles. With an old ox, the boy tilled a little patch of corn, while Conner hunted deer and other game. When their supply of corn-meal was exhausted, the boy saddled up the old ox, threw a sack of corn over him. mounted the whole and started thirteen miles to Greenville Falls to mill. When night overtook him, he tied the ox, built a fire, cooked his supper, and lay down alone in the woods to sleep. Many anecdotes are told of Conner, one of which we insert:

A man by the name of Wyland moved to the Laramie settlement, and a number of men went from here to help him build his cabin ; among those were Conner and Killbuck. an Indian chief, who concluded to remain in the neighborhood awhile, and have a good time. To aid in their happiness, the}- bought a halfgallon jug of whisk}-, started to the woods and made a camp. It snowed at night about six inches, and in the morning, Wyland saw a smoke in the woods, and wondering what it was. approached it, and found Conner and Killbuck asleep, with the jug of whisky on one side, and their moccasins hanging on a stick on the other, and their guns leaning against a tree. Creeping softly up, he took a good drink out of the jug and emptied the balance out, and put the moccasins in the fire, and retreated to the house. Wyland, watching them from the house, soon saw old Killbuck slowly raise up and brash the snow away and reach for the jug. turn it up to his lips, and dash it to pieces on the ground ; then Conner and Killbuck both got up, went to their guns, reprimed them, turned their heads toward the cabin, and sat clown by the fire. Presently old Killbuck started off through the woods barefooted to the settlement. Conner, on the contrary, started toward a thicket where he knew Wyland had a valuable sow and pigs. Wyland saw him, and his anxious ear soon heard the crack of his rifle followed by the squealing of a hog, yet was afraid to venture out, knowing Conner would shoot him as quickly as the hog. Shortly Conner returned to the fire, stirred it up, and after warming himself, started off through the woods after old Killbuck. Wyland went to the bushes and found his sow dead and partly skinned, and small pieces of hide lying around, the remains of a pair of moccasins Conner had made. About two weeks afterward. Wyland went to a Baptist meeting. In front of the " church " were two large logs. Wyland occupied one, and he was dismayed to see Conner approach and deliberately take a seat opposite to him, cross his legs, and bring his foot in unpleasant proximity to his face. Looking down, what should he see but the black skin of his poor old sow ornamenting Conner's foot, which he persisted in putting in his face at every opportunity. As soon as the country began to settle up, Conner went further into the wilderness, and was never heard of again.

Jacob Oarlock was the first settler at Webster, and came here in 1817. Stopped on Bald Hill and camped with old Killbuck two weeks. The first graves in the township were on this hill, in which a woman and two children were buried, in about 1817 or 1818.

The fii'st colored man, George Davenport, came to this township in 1817. Previously to coming here, he was an itinerant pewter-spoon rnolder, and in his travels was accompanied by a dog, which the Indians stole, and he followed them to this part of the country, recaptured his dog, and was so highlv pleased with the surroundings that he built him a cabin and remained here.

The little settlement now began to receive accessions. In the following year (1818), Henry Swisher and Aaron Grrier came to this township, the former of whom was of a jovial and humorous disposition, and delighted to relate anecdotes of early pioneer life, many of which still siu*vive and are repeated by those who had the pleasure of hearing them from his ow.n lips. Soon following these, were Isaac Finkbone, whose prowess in the many pugilistic encounters in which he was engaged is well remembered by those who knew him ; and Aaron Grier, who came in about 1818. Within two years-, it had received Allen Reed, who located in Section 19, and a family of Holes, who filled a space in the forest. Leonard Hess came to this township in 1836, and is still living here, as are also Mr. Simon, who came from France in 1839, and first located in the northeast part of the township, where he remained five }'ears, then removed to the southwest part, remaining one year ; he came to Versailles, where he began business without capital and without knowing a word of English. , When Mr. Simon first settled here, his nearest neighbor on the east was five miles, through the woods ; one-half mile on the west, and two miles on the north and south, and L. R. Hugh, the oldest man in the township. Mr. H. retains all his faculties and jocosely boasts that he can outrun any man of his age (eighty-four) in the county. John J. Begien lives about three miles southwest of Versailles, aged eighty-six, and was a member of Napoleon's old army in France, an honor of which but few living men, in this or any other country, can boast.

Such were the men who penetrated these parts of nature, who courted the solitude of the illimitable forest, and we may add, in the words of Virgil : " They neither pined with grief, lamenting the poor, nor envied the inch ; what fruits the boughs spontaneously yielded, they gathered ; nor saw the iron-hearted laws, the madly litigious bar, or the public courts."

The Hardshell Baptists had a little church, the corner-stone of which is still to be seen in the yard of Dr. Gordon, of Versailles, in this township, and, it seems, their rules required every applicant for membership to give in a brief experience as a test of his fitness for admission.

A person, living up the creek, by the name of S toner, it appears, notwithstanding his hard name, was a little soft. Nevertheless, he wanted to join the church. He rose in the congregation and thus began : " I got up this mornin', greased my shoes, combed my head and started to meetin'. - As I was a comin' along, I saw a tree ; I says to myself, Kin one man pull that ar tree up ? No ! Kin two men ? No ! Kin ten men ? No ! Kin twenty men ? No ! Kin God Almighty pull that tree up ? Yes ! I feel like suthin' is going to happen.'* He sat down. The preacher rose and said : " Brethren, extend the right hand of fellowship to Brother Stoner, for this is the true bleatin' of the lamb."

Frenchtown is a hamlet situated near the northwest corner of Wayne Township, at the center of Section 11, Range 3. and, as its name denotes, has a population largely composed of French. The oldest living settler is J. P. Berge. who migrated hither from Stark County in 1833. and entered an eighth-section of the public lands. The people are quiet and industrious, frugal and enterprising, and give themselves little concern in regard to events which are remote from them.

There is built here a fine church, belonging to the Catholics, and valued at $3,000. It stands upon land formerly owned by Jacob Subler. Part of the cemetery is upon land once the property of William Subler, and another part was owned by Catharine Subler. The present church edifice was built in 1866, at which time the Trustees were Joseph Beg, Henry Grilliot, George Grilliotand John B. Alexander. Father Kreush was then Pastor. A log church had stood on the same site for many years. The pioneer priest in this settlement was Father Navarron. A second church two and and a half miles east of Frenchtown was built about 1848 and 1849. The following is illustrative of the times when these churches were being built : About seven miles east of Frenchtown, there was a settlement, then known as " Bussia," and a wager of two gallons of whisky was laid between the church members of that locality and those of Frenchtown, to be claimed by the party that would get the first log of a certain size and length, hewed and in place. Frenchtown got the whisky. The first burial in the cemetery was Mrs. Peter Goffena, in 1S42. The present Catholic priest is Bev. J. X. Borion. The membership of the church is over three hundred. A Catholic teacher is emplo}"ed in the district school, whose average attendance is twenty-five. The first, parsonage was built in 1850. The present parsonage is a neat brick cottage with pleasant grounds, and was built some few years ago. The first English teacher was B. Ward, about 1850. The principal store in the place, now kept by Michael Subler, was built in 1858, and has been used as a store from that time till now. Nicholas Krushet put in the first stock.

Versailles is the post town of Wayne Township. It was laid out by Silas Atchison in the 3Tear 1819, and at that time was known as Jacksonville. A school house was erected in 1821. There is now a good high school in the village. In 1820, the Baptists organized a society under the lead of Bev. Thomas Childers. Bev. Samuel Kyle, then resident near Piqua, Miami County, organized a Christian Church, and in 1823 a meeting-house was built by the Baptists, on land later owned by John Boyer, in Section 25. This church was the second one erected in the county. The Christians built about 1826, in Section 24, on land owned by William E. Larimore. There are a number of churches in the township, mainly at Versailles. The census of 1870 gave the population of Wayne as 1,983.

This township was erected in March, 1819, and contained all the land east of a line running south from the northwest corner of Section 4, Township 10 north, of Bange 3 east, to the southeast corner of Section 28, Township 9. of Bange 3. It was detached from the east end of Greenville Township and the south end of Wayne. In 1820, Sections 3, 4 and 10, of Township 10, Bange 3, were taken into Biehland Township. In June, 1838, all of Township 8, Bange 3, and Township 8. Bange 4, that was in Adams, was taken into a new township, which was entitled Van Buren.

The second permanent settlement in Darke County was made in Adams Township. In 1808, Abraham Studabaker, with his wife, settled on the bank of Greenville Creek, opposite the present site of Gettysburg, on Section 25, on land now owned by A. Stoltz. From what the writer can gather. Mr. Studabaker was the first white man that became a permanent settler of Adams Township, as we have no account of any before him. and none other till the close of the Indian war of 1812. Very soon after the cessation of hostilities, Maj. George Adams, who had served in the armies of Harmar and WTayne, came to the township, and, studying the needs of the pioneers and his own interest as well, erected a flouringmill on Section 33. where now stands the mill of Stoltz & Coppess. This was the pioneer mill of the count}*, and became known far and wide ; and there are many of the pioneers now living who have a pleasing recollection of the gallant Major and his old-time mill. Their estimation was shown by the perpetuation of his memory in the name of the township in which he made his home.

It is said of Mr. Studabaker that he entered a quarter-section, and put up a cabin built of such poles as he could handle himself, for his nearest white neighbors were on the Stillwater, fourteen miles east, and at Fort Black, now New Madison, seventeen miles to the westward.

He had all his provision to carry on horseback from the Stillwater settlement, as there were no roads at that time. Indians were peaceable, but none the less an occasion of apprehension and distrust.

One morning, two Indians called at the cabin, and finding Mr. Studabaker had gone out to a piece of ground he was preparing for corn, demanded from his wife some bacon which she was preparing for breakfast. She refused to give it up, as it was part of the supplies brought from the Stillwater late the previous evening. One of the Indians seized the meat at one end, while she held fast to the other and cried loudly for help. The other Indian drew his knife and cut off the meat near her hand, and the two made off before her husband had time to come to her assistance.

The great thoroughfare of the Indians between Piqua and the Whitewater towns ran almost before his door, and, although they were not particularly hostile during the first years of his stay, they were troublesome. He brought with him a horse and a cow and, some time after, his stock of animals was increased by the birth of a calf. During the first }*ear, he partially cleared two acres, which he planted in corn. He had just got his little crop harvested, when his horse died of -- milk sickness;' In a short time, the calf was killed by the wolves. Hoping to catch some of these prowling beasts, he constructed a trap, and baited it with the remains of the calf. The cow, unluckily, was so overcome by curiosity as to put her head into the trap, which was sprung, and broke her neck.

For flour and meal, he was obliged to go to Milton, in Miami County. A journey to and from this mill occupied two days, even when the traveling was at its best. An incident will serve to illustrate the unpleasantness of the surroundings. In the winter, which was an unusually severe one, Mr. Studabaker started for the mill on Stillwater, at Milton. He had killed and dressed a hog the day before. He left his little family in the woods, with no neighbors neai-er than Boyd's, in Greenville Township, on one hand, and, on the other, none between him and the Stillwater. In the night, a pack of wolves came around the house, and their howling was not calculated to lull the lonely wife and children to sleep. Suddenly, there came a smothered yell of pain and affright from a single wolf, and, immediately after, a chorus of }Telling, snarling and yelping, as if pandemonium had broken loose. This lasted but a moment, when all became still. The silence lasted till morning. In the morning, Mrs. Studabaker opened the door, and there, within four feet of the threshold, la}* a monster wolf, dead, and his protruding tongue was frozen fast to the ax which had been used to cut up the dead hog. It was supposed that this wolf, attracted to the ax by the bits of flesh and blood which adhered to it, had attempted to lick it, and the ax, being full of frost, caused his tongue to adhere, drawing from him a cry of pain, upon which the others set upon him and killed him. At all events, he was dead, and wolves never came near the house again.

The American panther (Felis concoler), or - painter," as it was called b}' the early settlers, a ferocious and dangerous animal, abounded in this region. Mr. Studabaker killed many of them during his residence here, and, on more than one occasion, came near losing his life in conflict with them. On one occasion, while working near the edge of his clearing, he saw an immense panther on the limb of a tree twenty-five or thirty feet from him. crouched ready for a spring. His rifle was standing by a stump within ten feet from him. but he dared not move or take his eyes from his stealthy enemy. The enraged brute sprang into the air toward him with a thrilling cry. At the same instant, he sprang for his rifle, and, as the panther struck the ground exactly at the spot he had just quitted, he fired. The ball si nick the animal in the front shoulder, passing completely through, and so disabled it that it could not renew the attack, hut it made the most terrific struggle, uttering frightful screeches and yells, until Mr. Studabaker reloaded his rifle, when he took a more careful aim and ended the struggle. This was one of the largest of the species, measuring eight feet from " tip to tip."

Deer apparently shunned that immediate vicinity, although Mr. Studabaker frequently shot them in his clearing. But they were much more numerous in other localities, and the Indians gave as a reason the mysterious " belly-sick." which the whites called " milk sickness."

The Indians never molested Mr. Studabaker with any hostile intent. In 1811, when they became threatening, he built a substantial block-house and moved into it. With the exception of Andrew Rush and the Wilson girls, no murders were committed in the neighborhood during this period. They frequently called on Mr. Studabaker for refreshment, and were never refused. Whatever was set before them they took away with them, even to the dishes. They would eat all they could, and, according to the statement of many old settlers, no system of surface measurement would give any idea of a hungry Indian's capacity, and what they could not by any possibility eat they would stow about their persons and carry away. They were almost daily visitors during these years, but the uniform kindness and hospitalit}' with which they were treated, it is thought, saved the Studabakers from their fury.

Tecumseh Laulewasikaee, his father, Little Turtle. Black Hoof and other noted chiefs were frequent visitors. Tecumseh is described as a young man of grave, dignified, commanding presence, and appeared not only intelligent and courteous, but benevolent and humane. Sometime, while Mr. Studabaker was residing here, Tecumseh and his brother moved from their home near Greenville to escape the demoralizing effects of the whisk}' retailed to their people by Azor Scribner, who had a trading post at Minatown. The Indians of the neighborhood, it seems, would visit Scribner's once a week or oftener, for the purpose of obtaining whisky and ammunition, and on these occasions they often became noisy and boisterous, for it seems whisky had much the same effect on Indians it did on the whites.

On one of these occasions, a party of six Indians, who had been to Greenville and were returning, stopped to rest and regale themselves in Studabaker's clearing. It was a clear, moonlight night, and, as may be supposed, all their movements were noted. They first carefully hid their rifles and other arms, and then solemnly. one after another, drank from a large gourd, fashioned like a bottle, until they had emptied it. They then commenced whooping and yelling in a manner not calculated to be entertaining to the trembling auditors in the block-house not many yards distant. At last they engaged in a dance, which they continued until one after another fell to the ground in a drunken stupor. There they lay until morning, when they arose and commenced a search for their rifles. Two failed to find theirs, and it was evident by their gestures that neither they or the other members of the party were quite sure they had their rifles with them. A few years ago. the rusted remains of two rifles were found under a decayed log near the spot. The stocks were almost entirely gone, the barrels, locks, bands, etc.. though badly rusted, were in tolerable state of preservation. The (lints were in their place, and bullets were found in each of the barrels. It is likely these were the rifles so curiously lost on the occasion of that moonlight frolic sixty years before.

Soon after the breaking-out of hostilities, or even as early as the fall of 1811, nearly all the warriors left their haunts in this region. The noted and Influential chiefs had joined 1 he British at Detroit, or a1 their -post on the Maumee. ( quently, the few pioneers in Darke Count}' were unmolested during the war.

Here, then, the Stuclabaker family lived eight years, almost entirely cut off from communication with the world. There were, perhaps, six or eight families in and about Greenville, and the nearest of these was six miles distant.

David Studabaker, now living in Greenville Township, was born in the blockhouse, in 1814, and was the first white child born in the township.

Maj. Adams had seen hard service and perilous times. In one of the expeditions against the towns on the Maumee, while under Gen. Harmar, he received several bullets in his body and was left for dead on the field, but when the retreat began, his comrades, to save his body from mutilation, carried him with them. At their first halt, they dug a grave and were about to place him therein, when they detected faint signs of life. They gladly deferred the burial and worked zealously through the night, trying to restore their respected comrade to consciousness and life. Morning came, and, although still insensible, he breathed. He was carried the distance of another day's march, and again a grave was dug, as he was expected to die before morning. This was repeated, day after day, till the troops reached Fort Washington, but after lying thus unconscious for weeks, he finally fully recovered and took active part in Wa}'ne's campaigns of 1793-94-95. It was while out scouting in the vicinity of Greenville that he became acquainted with the fine mill-site that he afterward occupied. Adams' mill turned out very coarse meal and very little of that. Wheat was also ground, but customers were obliged to bolt their flour by hand, and it would have satisfied any Grahamite to have used the product of the mill. Still, the mill was a popular resort, all the more so after a little grocery had been established, where whisky and tobacco were retailed. Here was a place at which shooting matches, quoit throwing and an occasional fist fight were common.

In 1816, Armstrong Campbell settled on Section 30, on land cleared by Studabaker, who, the same year, moved to Greenville. William Stewart also came in 1816, and located in the Studabaker opening, on Section 36, where Washington Cromer now lives. After this, the township settled rapidly. Adams was a genial, fun-loving man, widely known and deservedly popular ; a crowd of congenial spirits gathered about him, and the little settlement took the name of " Adams' Mills,'' and when the township was finally organized, it was named in his honor. During the years 1816 and 1817, William Cunningham, Samuel Robinson, Barton Fairchild, Thomas McCune, Josiah Carr, John Meyer, Zadoc Reagan, Zachariah March and Ebenezer Byram, settled at and near New Harrison.

Early in the year 1812, Wilkinson, who was in command of the troops in this department, sent six soldiers to Studabaker's post, where they were stationed for some time, and it seems that they were under the immediate command of Mr. Studabaker. At this time, the block-house served as an inn, post of refuge, and official quarters, as well as the home of the family. On one occasion, five Indians were captured in their war paint, which Studabaker turned over to the officer in command, at Greenville. They subsequently escaped, and took their revenge by killing and scalping two soldiers near Fort Jefferson, named Stoner and Elliott. The war closing, Studabaker took a contract from the Government to feed the Indians until the consummation of the treaty. Upon the organization of Darke as a county in 1817, Mr. Studabaker was elected Commissioner four successive terms. Isaac Hollingsworth and Thomas Warren, were of the early settlers. John Reck settled in 1827. on land that is still owned by his son. It is located on both sides of the creek, on Section 36. Mr. Reck states that the wolves were very troublesome to the settlers. When a boy, he was followed many a time b}* a number of those animals, from near the little cemetery just west of Gettysburg, to near the door of his father's house. There is no account of injury done to persons, although stock not infrequently suffered. John and William Reck, Henry Weaver and Armstrong Campbell, built the first schoolhouse in the township. The house was erected in 1830. and stood upon the present site of the cemetery- near Gettysburg. The carpenter work was done by Michael Reck, then seventeen }'ears old.

Samuel Horner was the first teacher. A subscription school, taught by Jacob Hersher, is said to have been the first in Adams Township. The first church was erected by the Lutherans, on land now owned by Francis Keefauner, in or about 1834. It is still standing. Besides this, there is Catholic Church at Bradford ; a Presbyterian, a Methodist and a Lutheran, at Gettysburg ; and a Dunkard. elsewhere in the township. New Harrison was laid out in 1837. by Samuel Robinson, who was the first Justice of the Peace in the township.

Between the years 1827 and 1831. quite a number of families emigrated from Adams County, Penn.. and settled in the east central part of the township, where they laid out and built up the village of Gettysburg, which took its name from Gettysburg, Penn. The nominal founder of the village was John Hershy. The place was incorporated in 1866. Bradford was laid out in 1865. and duly incorporated in 1871. In 1830, Adams Township contained 529 persons, and. in 1870, 2.201. The topography of Adams Township may be gathered from the following description : It contains thirty-eight sections ; the four southern tiers are six and a half miles in extent from east to west, and the two northern tiers four and a half, making the area thirty-five square miles. The southeastern corner of Richland Township takes the sections that shorten the northern tiers. Stillwater, Bolton's Run. Greenville and Harris Creeks traverse the township. The first named enters near the center of the north line of Section 5. runs south and southeast in its general course about a mile, thence eastward a mile to the boundary of the township, between Sections 4 and 0. Bolton's Run enters at the northwestern corner of the township, runs southeast nearly two miles into Section 1 2. thence south of east one mile, thence in its general course east two and a half miles to the township line. Greenville Creek enters the township less than half a mile from the southeast corner, runs in a northwest course to New Harrison, thence southwest, thence north of east to Gettysburg, and through Stolbyz's addition, thence southeast near the line between the first and second tier of sections to the center of the northern part of Section 30, thence south, then nearly east, to the eastern boundary of said section, a little more than a half-mile from the southeast corner of the township. Two railroads cross Adams Township ; the}- have an equal angle of divergence from Bradford, the C. C. & I. C. and the Pan Handle (old C, P. & I.), the first-named in a direction south of west past Gettysburg, below New Harrison, and thence to the southwest corner of the township ; the second, in a direct line to Horatio, and leaving the township midway between that place and Stelvidio. in Richland Township.

The surface of Adams is rolling, being most uneven in the southwest portion. The southern portion has the darker, stronger soil. The timber, is beech, ash. maple and hickory, principally the first named. The soil is well calculated for the raising of wheat and corn, as is evidenced by the shipment at Gettysburg, the last season, by E. George, of over 200,000 bushels of grain, in addition to which were heavy purchases at the same place by Messrs. Reck & Trump. Fruit is raised in moderation and occasional abundant yields have been gathered.

We learn, with reference to the early growl h of New Harrison, that, in 1 845. there were but a dozen families resident of the place, viz.. Jacob Woods, John Baltenburg, William Robinson, Jeremiah Shody, keeper of a tavern stand. Samuel Robinson. Calvin Horner. Jeremiah Shade (also keeper of an inn). Michael Stahl. Abraham Miller and William Hays. Of their houses, there are ten remaining. Such was the slow growth of the place in the interval from 1837 to 1845. At this later date. William Hays settled in Adams, in the village of New Harrison. In a family of eleven children, seven are living and active in life's duties. The old gentleman still occupies in content the hewed-log house that was standing when he came to the village. The old neighbors are now pretty nearly all gone, the only ones remaining being Abraham Miller and his wife. At the date of Hays' arrival, the wild nature of the country is shown by the statement that deer and turkeys came out into the clearing and even between the houses in daytime. On all sides was the forest, and there was an unbroken stretch of seven miles northward in which there was not a single house as late as 1847. The people of New Harrison and Gettysburg went to Covington and to the " Falls " to mill - eight and nine miles distant. Adams' mill was too small and the quality too poor to obtain favor, save for grinding grists of corn. The first schoolhouse in this neighborhood was located on the farm of William Adams, about a mile west of New Harrison. It was of logs, on the pioneer plan, and is now in use as a dwelling. Samuel Robinson was one of the first teachers in it.

The Methodist Church at New Harrison was built about 1844. by Jacob Woods. It was a frame, was 40x50 feet in size, and stood on land donated by the builder. It was torn down several }rears ago.

A store was first kept in New Harrison by the village proprietor, Samuel Robinson, and then by Jacob Woods. Rev. Sharp, a Christian minister, was the pioneer blacksmith of the place, and was engaged at the forge between the years 1841 and 1844.

Tavern-keeping was first done by Gideon Level, who, in 1845, sold to Jeremiah Shade. Various changes have occurred till the property, now owned by J. F. Winner, is in use as a saloon and drinking resort. J. Miller, blacksmith, Aaron Welbaum, wagon-maker and grocery-keeper, are recently engaged in their business. No physician has been located here since the war. Dr. H. W. Corwin practiced and lived here from 1842 to 1844, and prior to the earlier date, a botanic physician had practiced here, known as Barker - a dealer in " roots and herbs." After Dr. Corwin, came Drs. Williams, Jenks, McElroy, Harbison and Greer. The village answers well its purpose as a convenient locality for accommodation of surrounding population.

We have spoken incidentally of Gettysburg and the origin of its name. Here are located the Premium Flour Mills, with four runs of stone, a capacity of 100 barrels per day and a manufacture of 40,000 bushels of wheat into flour annually, beside supplying a market for 150.000 bushels of grain.

John Hershey built the first house in the village, a tavern, which stood on the present site of Dr. Campbell's residence. Among the pioneer efforts in Gettysburg was the store of James Auld, started in a log house, where Mr. Keefauner now lives. Mr. Auld, in 1840. built a brick store building on the southwest corner of Main and Bridge streets, and moved into it his stock. Later, he occupied a small house directly across Main street, where are now Hershe}' & Dorwin.

Blacksmithing was done by Henry Conn, in 1842. in a frame building ; some six years later, he erected a brick shop on the old site, on the south side of Main and east of Bridge street. Ten years later, he died, and the shop was enlarged, remodeled and changed into a dwelling, now owned by Mrs. Colin.

The first schoolhouse in the village was of brick, and was located on Corwin street. It was built some thirty 3*ears ago, and is now in use as a dwelling. The present schoolhouse was erected in 1866, at a cost of nearly $5,000. Samuel Paulding had the contract for the woodwork. Rev. Jackson was the first teacher therein. His successors have been Dr. Newcomb, William Stone. Simeon Robinson, Mr. Graves, Cyrenius Tyrrell, William McKee, Mr. Schell, J. E. Polley, Edward Lockett, Samuel Brumbaugh, J. E. Laurence and Rev. C. W. Choate. In fourteen years, almost as many different teachers - a lesson on the mutability of teaching. as unstable as the everchanging circuit of the old itinerant preachers. The above record should teach a judicious selection and a permanent employment to realize the full advantages possible to be derived from free schools.

The first Postmaster of Gettysburg was James Auld. The office had been kept at New Harrison, but, in accordance with a petition presented, it was removed to this place and Mr. Auld was appointed. He and Dr. Corwin drove over and brought the effects of the office to the village. One Barrett had the contract to carry the mail from Greenville to Troy. This was before the turnpikes were built. When there was good weather and the roads were tolerable, Barrett drove a twohorse vehicle, at other times he went on horseback. Mr. Auld was also the first Justice of the Peace in Gettysburg. One of the first cases that came before him was of interest to the community. It grew out of a trade in horses, in which one party thought himself badly cheated. Attorneys were engaged from Shelbyville and Piqua, and the inexperienced Justice was confused and bewildered by the amount of rhetoric and argument. He recovered, and by the aid of native good sense was enabled to render an equitable decision. Soon after, a burglar, who had raided a store in Hillsdale, was arrested a short distance east of Gettysburg, brought to the village and tried before the Squire. He was tried, bound over, sent to the penitentiary, served his time, and within a month after his release, had burglarized the residence of the father of Dr. Corwin, in Bellefontaine.

A bridge across Greenville Creek, at this village, was begun in the fall of 1876, by the Cincinnati Bridge Compaivy, and was finished in 1877. Its cost was about $5,000.

The village has a population of about two hundred. A town hall is located on the east side of Bridge street, near Corwin street. It was built about ten years ago.

There are two churches in Gettysburg, the Methodist Episcopal and the Presbyterian. The church edifice of the first-named was built in the spring of 1875. It formerly stood two miles southeast of town on the farm of Ch. Hershey, whence it was removed and remodeled at the time above stated. It was moved by Silas Reck, and located upon land purchased for $200 from Mrs. Jane Harmer. The first minister was Rev. Valentine Staley, followed by Benjamin Powell, R. D. Oldfield, and by the present incumbent, George Matthews. The first Sabbath-school here was superintended by J. Hershey, who, save two terms, has been continuously in service to this time. W. Reck was the first Secretary. The membership is sevent}T-five. The building owned bjT the Presbyterians was built in 1847 or 1 848, and is located at the west end of Corwin street. It is of brick, in size 40x55 feet. Those prominent in building were William Carr, John Meyer, Alexander Horner and Dr. Darwin. The lot was donated by Mr. Horner. The number of members at the present time is about sixty. The first Pastor was Rev. Thomas Elcock, now of Van Wert. Among other Pastors have been Revs. Alexander Gulick, John W. Drake, W. E. Hill, W. H. Moore, Rev. Wyckoff, and the present Pastor, L. E. Jones. The Superintendent of the Sabbath-school is Rev. C. W. Choate. Bradford is an enterprising and thriving village of about eighteen hundred population, about eight hundred of whom reside upon the west side of the creek, in Darke County. The first house built in West Bradford was erected by John S. Moore in 1868. The first grocery was kept b}' Routzong & Moore, and stood in 1869 on the corner of School street and Miami avenue. The pioneer blacksmith was Joseph Lefler. The village has the usual number of shops, stores and like local industries, which go to make up its business interest. A medium-sized Catholic Church stands in the southwestern part of the village. It was built in 1875. The first Pastor was Father Shelhamer. There are two hardware stores and a saw and planing mill. This last is owned by William Stover & Co., who took possession in September, 1878. The building is two stories, 50x75 feet. The capacity of the mill is about six thousand per day of twelve hours. Engine, fifty horse-power. Besides the saw-mill there is machinery adapted to woodworking in general. The mill was established by Reck & Marland in 1870, but has known much improvement and enlargement since. It is located west of Miami avenue and south of the railroad. Within the last year, 300,000 feet of walnut lumber have been shipped and sold from this mill, most of which went to supply New York and other Eastern markets. Prior to the erection of a new schoolhouse, the children attended District No. 2, one mile west of town, at which school J. W. Cable was the first teacher. The first schoolhouse on the west side was constructed in 1876. The contractors were Dennis Dwyer and George Manix. The cost of the structure was about $28,000. It is four stories high, including the basement. Its ground dimensions are 75x56 feet, with two towers additional, 22-feet-square base and 70 feet altitude. The building is finished in fine style, and is an ornament to the town. A hall in the fourth story is well furnished, and will seat 600 persons. There is a good school bell, and heating is done by steam. The school enumeration is 410. The present School Board are Solomon Routzong, D. J. Smith, William Weaver, N. Iddings, Valentine Staley and R, T. Hughes. D. S. Myers has been Superintendent from the first, a fact creditable to all parties. The other teachers have taught the same period. They are M. J. Hunter, Mrs. D. S. Meyers, Miss Minnie Garber, Miss Clara Gulick and Miss Jennie Baumgardner.

The corporation is a unit ; that is, there are not two sets of civil officers, and there is but the one post office, which has been shifted from one side to the other according to caprice and political supremacy. Moore was Postmaster in 1869 ; then W. H. Sowers held the office, which was then removed to the east side, where it has since remained. The first Mayor of Bradford was Peter H. Smith ; Clerk, Ed. Davidson ; Marshal, George Doll. The present officers of Bradford are : J. A. I W. Smith, Mayor ; M. J. Williamson, Clerk ; H. W. Smith, Marshal ; and the members of the Council are D. J. Smith, John Gettz, and Messrs. Beck, Kinney Wl J. M. Fink. For a place of recent growth, West Bradford has shown much womise, and the township of Adams, in its early and later settlement, has evidenced nuch of enterprise and vigor.

If there ever was a time in the history of this nation when stagnation was wke-spread, and indeed almost universal, it was between 1840 and 1848. Darke Comty could not be said to be an exception to the general rule in this regard. No public works whatever, worthy of mention, were begun or carried forward witlin the period named, save and except the building of the second county jail. It is true, a railroad charter was secured, as elsewhere mentioned in its proper plact in this work, but nothing was done in the way of construction until late in the fill of 1848, and the summer of 1849. There was but little progress, comparatively Still the county was moving on its way. Farmers were improving their farms but the recompense for their labor was not sufficient to stimulate ambition. There were no railroads, no turnpikes, and no conveniences to facilitate business that alall compare with what were soon after instituted and enjoyed. The nearest market were Dayton and Piqua, and the best prices that could be obtained for produce frequently amounted to but little more than the labor and expense of hauling the same from the more remote sections of the county. An anecdote illustrate of this is worth recording in this connection. A Dunkard, whose name we shall iot give, but who will be remembered by some of the older readers of these line, took three wagon-loads of wheat to Piqua - it having been noised abroad that that }lace could and would and did pay better prices just then for grain than Dayton oiany other market hereabouts. Arriving there, he found the price had suddenly gme down, like the mercury before a chilling blast, and in his unqualified disgust, heforgot that he was or ever had been a Dunkard, and gave the town a sound beraing, more profane than sanctimonious. He was compelled to sell one load in ordr to pay his teamsters and the other current expenses, but declared that he won! never sell another bushel of anything in that town, and would wait for the railrqd, if it didn't come for five years. Emphasis was added to the assertion by the ict that the other two loads were drawn back to Darke, and by the further fact 1\at he never again took an ounce of anything to sell to the market that had so rovoked him to the use of words specifically disapproved by the

Private enterprises, in sympathy with those of a public character, progressed slowly during this period of national prostration, financially speaking. Within the limits of the corporation, as of the county, no improvements were made of sufficient moment to be made a part of history. There were no changes in the limits of Greenville, except some subdivisions of additions previously laid off. ami the change of outlots to inlots. The merchants and manufacturers of the place kept on the even tenor of their way, without attempting especially great things in their lines.

But -a day of better things" had almost dawned, and. as the following paragraphs abundantly show, the county and its principal town soon moved onward in an unbroken career of progressive achievement.

Greenville, in 1848, contained 2,000 inhabitants. There were three drygoods stores, four groceries, and no saloons. Liquors were sold at some of the groceries, and at the bars of three hotels - the Broadway Hotel, by Charles Hutchins, the Buckeye, by J. L. Winner, and by J. R. King, of the King House. There were three churches - the Methodist, Presbyterian and the New Lights. That part of town that now lies south of Fourth street was almost all covered with a thick undergrowth of timber, and where the court house and jail nov stand, water stood the greater part of the year, and supplied a favorite resort fo: sportsmen in pursuit of the wild duck and the pigeon. The leading doctors weis I. N. Gard, Ayres, Lynch and Koogler, and turnpikes were unknown.

In 1850, Brown & Glines were engaged in tailoring, Schmidt & Knox is druggists, A. La Mott & Co. in the dry-goods and grocery business. Weston & Ulley were in the hardware trade, and William Allen was agent of the Kn>x Insurance Company. Sarah and Ruth Edwards kept a millinery store opposite the M. E. Church, and E. M. Hoffman was in the book trade on Main street, "he business houses were actively and prosperously employed.

In I860, the town had made striking and gratifying progress. Three important railroad lines had been constructed, four turnpike roads had been built, and, diverging from the county seat, connected with as many thriving and prosperous villages. The population had increased ; two good newspapers, the Dmnoerrf and the Journal, were being published,, each with about eight hundred patron, and then, in the midst of this satisfactory growth, war broke in and engossed attention.