Guernsey County, Ohio - Chapter 37, 1911

Chapter 37

Valley township is on the southern line of the county and contains about twenty-one sections of land. It is of an L shape and is the territory where rise the first waters of Wills creek. The territory is traversed from northeast to southwest by the Cumberland branch of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. This township was organized by the board of county commissioners, March 25, 181 5. Not being among the original townships, it comprises territory formerly embraced within other subdivisions of Guernsey county. It is within a rich mineral country and today the chief wealth comes from the coal mining and kindred industries. There are numerous small towns and hamlets, all of which are mentioned in detail in this chapter. Some of the first settlements in the county were effected by the pioneers who came in from various eastern states at a very early day and endured the hardships coincident with early settlement life. Their sons and daughters are now old men and women and their grandchildren by no means in the days of their youth, and these are now reaping the reward for the toils and sacrifices made by earlier generations.

Among the first to come to the limits of this township may be named Peter D. Robins, son of John and Mary Robins, who were natives of the isle of Guernsey, France. The father came to this country in 1807, lived in Wheeling for a time, then moved to Coshocton, Ohio, where he engaged in salt making. He settled in Valley township in 1810.

William Spaid was born in Hampshire county. Virginia, and emigrated to this county in 1819, with his parents, George and Margaret (Cail) Spaid.

John Heaume, son of Peter Heaume, was of French descent; his father was born in the beautiful isle of Guernsey in 1788 and came to Ohio in 1832, first settling in Muskingum and then Stark county, Ohio. In 1850 he removed to Guernsey county and died there in Valley township in 1865.

Stephen Secrest, son of Nathan Secrest, a native of Virginia, was among the number who helped to develop Valley township. His parents had ten children. The father was born in 1807 and died in 1850.

Andrew C. Lawrence, George Salliday, Noah Turner, Christena Dyson. Ezekiel A. Robbins, John Robbins, Henry Trenner and many more whose names are not now familiar to the present day people of the county.

Pleasant City

Pleasant City (originally known as Point Pleasant) was platted in 1829 by Benjamin Wilson. It has come to be a fine business point and its early history and founding by a pioneer band is best given in an authentic article published in way of a Christmas souvenir in 1904, by Abe T. Secrest, who spent some time in acquiring the facts. It reads as follows :

"The early history of Pleasant City, like the early history of America, is involved in obscurity. Save for a few fragmentary sketches, its history has never been written. Nor does this purport to be a history even though dignified by that title; it is only a reminiscent brief helped out by a few traditions and legends handed down orally from father to son from that pioneer day when 'the rank thistle nodded in the wind and the wild fox dug his hole unscared.'

"But this very obscurity that shrouds the histories of ancient peoples and gives them heroes and demi-gods has given us full liberty to draw on our imaginations and, if we must forego the demi-gods, we can at least have our heroes and endow them with virtues and fortitude all but fabulous.

"It would be a mere guess to say what family actually settled here first. But from land patents and other legal documents we can reconstruct the local neighborhood as it existed about 1820, for few families were then here that are not represented in the community now.

"As nearly as can be ascertained the Jackson family, living just south of town (though now in Noble county), and the James Albin family, who lived just north of town, were the pioneers of this place. These soon had for neighbors the following families : Robins, Fishel, Clark, Frye, Cale, Trenner, John Secrest, Henry Secrest, William Spaid, Michael Spaid and Joseph Dyson, the latter owning the land on which this prosperous town is now located. Nearly all the above families were related by the ties of consanguinity even before they emigrated from Virginia, e. g., Henry Secrest's wife was a Spaid and the wives of Fishel, Trenner and William Spaid were Secrest women.

"Those were strenuous times and though everyone bore a part in subduing the wilderness, life with them was not all colorless. They had their recreations, their pleasures and though the amusements of to-day were entirely unknown to them, who will say that this system of relaxation was not as good and their pleasures as genuine as any devised or enjoyed by thendescendants? House and barn raisings were neighborhood events to which invitations were general and good cheer particular. On these occasions, after the serious work was done, the old folks passed along the latest word from 'back yonder in Virginia' and the young people either engaged in feats of strength and skill, like wrestling, shooting at a mark, etc.. or entered into the more serious business of courting. Usually these country-side gatherings afforded the triple purpose of work, pleasure and love making. Needless to add that the phantom of race suicide that now proves so disquieting to our beloved President, was unheard of then, for nearly every family was composed of from ten to fifteen members.

"One of the first cares of the pioneers was to provide schools for the education of their children. The first cabin devoted to that purpose in this immediate locality was located near the Hopewell cemetery about one mile north of town. Later a cabin school house was built at the forks of the road where Mrs. Lucinda Spaid now lives and here two or three generations of our forbears had knowledge imparted by use of the master's ferule - the most approved method of imparting knowledge at that ancient time.

"As nearly as we can determine at present, the first lots were surveyed along Main street (which was only a county road straightened and widened) about 1830. The lots were made four rods wide by ten rods deep and the numbering was begun where Fred W. Shafer now lives, his lot being number one. For many years lots were very cheap, there being little demand for them, and no public works to draw citizens to the little berg.

"Squire Dyson who was the first storekeeper, postmaster, justice of the peace, etc., named the village Point Pleasant, presumably, because of the abrupt way his hill (now Jackson's hill) obtruded its shoulder into the valley and he doubtless thought it a pleasant community to live in. and despite a few drawbacks, quite a number of people will agree with him even now.

"As was before stated. Squire Joseph Dyson was the first merchant in town, his store being on the lot in the rear of the house lately occupied by his daughter-in-law, Christena Dyson. The building faced the mill and his goods were brought overland from Baltimore, Maryland. Squire Dyson died about 1840, but the business was continued by his oldest son Thomas, who soon after erected the store room now occupied by Flanagan's and the Balti-

"One of the early industries of the village was a tan yard, located on the square now occupied by Mrs. J. O. Ryan and the Secrest opera house block. The nearby oak forests furnished bark in abundance for tanning, and raw hides were skillfully and quickly converted into leather of the most approved sort.

"Possibly the first industry of Pleasant City and certainly the one most appreciated by the pioneers was an old-fashioned mill run by water power. Here their grain was ground on the old mill stones and the convenience of having a mill so near home was fully appreciated by the farmers. At an early date an arrangement was made whereby the mill enjoyed dual power - steam and water - so that in summer when the creek run low steam power was substituted for water and the wheels run on their ceaseless grind. About this time a woolen mill was erected alongside the flour mill and this new enterprise proved almost invaluable to the town. People came for miles and miles, bringing their wool to be spun into yarn or woven into cloth or blankets. As a matter of course this cloth and these blankets were like all other home-made articles - twice as good as any made elsewhere.

"About fifty years ago Harrison Secrest came to make his home in Point Pleasant and up to date the village cannot boast of a more energetic or enterprising citizen. He was ever a builder. He burned a brick kiln and built the only brick building the village could boast till the bank building was erected this season. He built the first frame school house the village could boast on the site now occupied by the Masonic hall. An over-conservative building committee decided on a one-room house, but Secrest could not see it that way and erected a two-story building, defraying the extra cost himself. Though over-crowded much of the time, these two rooms proved adequate for school until the present structure was erected in the autumn of 1891. Some of the most notable teachers of this regime were the following : M. L. Spaid, John Wesley Spaid, Alfred Weedon and J. B. Garber. Of the teachers at the old log school house the names heard oftenest are Preacher Gilbreath, John Robins, Joseph Dyson, William Secrest, Wash, Bird and William Hawkins. Wash Glass was more or less successful in teaching three distinct generations to sing buckwheat-notes and all.

"The spiritual wants of this pioneer people were looked after by the old time circuit rider. The greatest of all these both in the magnitude of his work and the far-reaching influence of his life, was the late Rev. William Keil, a minister of the Lutheran persuasion who came into this section from Vir- ginia about 1830, possibly a little earlier. His parish was all of southeastern Ohio and now constitutes six or eight counties. A great number of congregations were organized by him. In this village the oldest society in point of organization was the Methodist Episcopal and Mrs. Samuel Jackson is, if we mistake not, the only charter member living. From the first the Lutherans here were numerous, but all held their membership either at Mt. Zion or Hartford, but later a society of that faith was formed here and for many years the two societies worshipped in the one building which was later known as the Methodist Episcopal church. Finally the inevitable happened and after a big "church row" the Lutherans erected their own church and dedicated it to St. Paul the Apostle.

"No preacher of either denomination, however, exerted influence to compare with Father Kiel, who died only a few years ago at the great age of ninety-three years.

"In this connection it might not be amiss to say a few words on the war of the Rebellion. The Robins family were from the isle of Guernsey, having come to America in 1807. The Jackson and Thompson families were from Pennsylvania, but without exception, I think every other family in the township came from Virginia. Up to the time the war broke out almost every year witnessed some of the pioneers going to visit their relatives "back yonder in the Shenandoah valley." That the settlement desired the preservation of the Union goes without saying, but that they were reluctant to fight their Virginia cousins is also plain. Thus there were few volunteers from Valley township, and N. H. Larrick, one of the few, fought against a cousin at the battle of Winchester.

"After the close of the war life soon resumed its humdrum existence. The first indication of real progress was the building of the Marietta division of the Pennsylvania railroad. This afforded shipping facilities for the farmers to send out their crops and the merchants to have their merchandise shipped to their very doors.

"But all things change. The pioneers almost without exception have gone to their reward. Mrs. Katie Secrest Dickerson, of Derwent, well along in her ninetieth year. Grandma Savely. almost eighty-six, and the venerable Michael Secrest, now eighty-three years old. are all that truly can be considered members of that pioneer band. M. S. Dyson and his sister. Lucy Dyson Flanagan, are the oldest resident natives of Pleasant City. The oldest house by the way has been overhauled and is now occupied by George Stewart. This was the old Squire Dyson homestead. The second house erected is the Markley property, now occupied by B. F. Richey, the silversmith. The Jack- (23) son homestead was torn down a few years ago to make way for Doctor Kackley's new house. The old building on the corner lately occupied by Christena Dyson is the fourth in point of years.

"In 1892 work was begun on the Cisco mine, this being the first effort toward the cultivation of our great coal fields. This date can rightly be considered the close of the middle ages of Pleasant City. Change in the economic conditions wrought great change in the social and business outlook. The town shook off the lethargic condition in which it had lain for a full half century. The town was truly taken by the strangers and the original settlers now form but a scanty handful.

"The coal fields here are bound to last many years. The glass factory will doubtless prove an ultimate success. And with the natural advantage afforded by cheap fuel and adequate shipping facilities the old Point Pleasant of the pioneers day is bound to advance beyond the fondest dreams of my energetic and optimistic grandfather, Harrison Secrest.

Tn the years to come, no doubt the following business directory of this town will be of more interest than at present, but the record must needs be made now that future men and women may have the pleasure and profit of reading it. In the autumn of 19 10 the following conducted the business of Pleasant City:

The churches having existence here now and having edifices are the following: Methodist Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran and Greek Catholic. The last named is one of three of this denomination in Ohio.

The present flouring mill plant is a roller process mill erected in 1886 and has a daily capacity of forty barrels of dour. The Pleasant City Cornet Band is the pride of the place and has fifteen members.

Municipal History

Pleasant City was incorporated in 1896. Its present officers are: Mr. Shivery, mayor: O. R. Taylor, clerk; J. S. Secrest, marshal; H. PL Bound, W. F. Bierley. R. O. Hipslev, Ed. Archer and George House, councilmen.

A volunteer fire department is well organized and aided by an engine of the gasoline type. The village is lighted by natural gas. The municipal officers have their office in a rented room.

Of the postoffice, it may be said that there are now three rural routes extending out from the place, and these are of much convenience and public service. The postmasters who have served here include the following persons: J. B. Allison, T. A. Dyson, Mrs. S. M. Lee Dyson, A. C. Flanagan, James Laughlin, A. C. Flanagan, Adam Davis, Mrs. Allie Sims. J. P. Stranathan, W. D. Archer.

The office was originally known as Dyson, but changed in 1887 by J. P. Stranathan, when he was made postmaster, serving until July, 1909. Then it should be remembered that what was called Point Pleasant vicinity and Dyson postoffice is now known as Pleasant City, and is so incorporated.

Fairview is an addition to Pleasant City, yet not within the incorporation. It is a sightly tract of land on the opposite side of the railway track from the town proper and is largely residence property, with a few business houses.

About 1902 there was a glass works plant installed in Pleasant City, in which a Cincinnati firm manufactured telephone and telegraph insulators in vast quantities, but finally the business was closed down and recently some Pittsburg steel makers have leased the buildings, which are the property of citizens of the town, and are there conducting a series of experiments in a new process of producing steel, which bids fair to open up another great industry here as well as elsewhere.

Hartford was platted September 26, 1836, by David Johnston and John Secrest. on the southeast quarter of section 4, township 8, range 9, in Buffalo township, as then described. "When the postoffice was established the name was fixed by the government authorities as Buffalo. The postoffice is now kept in the general store of A. E. Wycoff, the present postmaster. The first mails through this office were received over the old stage line, which was then the only means of carrying the mails. The present receipts of this postoffice amount to six hundred and seventy-three dollars per year. Two mails go and come daily from this point. The following have served as postmasters since about 1880: J. T. Corbett, T. M. Mills, Thomas Moss and A. E. Wycoff.

The old Hartford mills, at this place, were erected about one hundred years ago and were great in their day. These flouring mills were propelled by water power, but have not been operated for about thirty years when the new patent process and the milling trusts took the business away from the old fashioned "mill-stone" mills of the country. The upper portion of this old mill is now fitted up and used as a public hall and opera house.

The largest fire in Buffalo, in recent years, occurred in September, 1909, when three barns, three horses and a large amount of hay were consumed, making a loss of about three thousand five hundred dollars.

The commercial and social interests of Buffalo (Hartford) are as follows today: Physician, Dr. J. E. Robbins; flouring mill, McLauglin Brothers; the Hartford coal mine, operated by the Cambridge Colliery Company ; agricultural implements. John Steele ; general stores, Hazzard & Williams, C. J. Spaid, E. J. Blair, T. M. Wills, A. E. Wycoff; livery, "Buck" Scott; stock dealers, Alpine & McLaughlin; meat market, Ed. Mc- Laughlin ; hotels, the American and Park. Drugs are dispensed by the physician of the town. There are two churches, Lutheran and Methodist. (See chapter on churches.) Buffalo is illuminated by natural gas piped from West Virginia, by the Ohio Light and Fuel Company.