Huron County, Ohio - The whole text, 1909 (part 5 of 29)

Money was scarce among the early settlers and hard to get. About the only money crop was black salts or potash. This was made from ashes obtained by the burning of log heaps and had a market value. Now our money comes through other and various sources. Then the matter of postage was burdensome to the settlers, sometimes being as high as twenty-five cents per letter. Now two cents will carry a letter anywhere within the domains of "Uncle Sam." Besides we have free rural mail delivery. which was not even in the dreams of the early set- Then telegraphs and telephones were unknown, now they are so common and useful that they have long since ceased to be a novelty.

The observance of Christmas time was brought to this county by the early pioneers. The children were not forgotten on these occasions. I fancy I see a row of little stockings hanging in the little log cabin in the woods. They hang near the fire-place to be convenient for Santa Claus who was supposed to come down the chimney. Stockings are hung now and filled with gifts more elaborate and costly, yet the children then were no less happy than now.

Sometimes sadness comes to our homes even on these Occasions; now more frequently than then because there are more chances for accidents. A little boy in Cleveland on the day before last Christmas went shopping for Christmas toys. On his return home in getting off the car in some way he fell under the wheels which crushed his lower limbs and otherwise severely injured him. they picked him up he said, "I'm killed, I'm killed," but raising one hand, in which he tightly held a little cart, he said, "This is for brother Willie ; give it to him and tell him I bought it for him."

It must be remembered that Huron county was heavily timbered and a portion of which must be cleared away before even the cabin of the settler could be erected ; then, acre after acre must be cleared for the growing of crops. From our point of view this would seem like a Herculean task and but few if any of our young people today would have the courage to undertake it. But the heroes and heroines of nearly a hundred years ago labored on overcoming obstacle after obstacle and as a result of their well directed efforts we have today fertile farms, pleasant and happy homes dotted all over Huron county. We owe a debt of gratitude to these people the fruits of whose efforts we so richly enjoy.

Memorial Day Musings

The graves of soldiers are, in a certain sense, like those of the saints, on an equality. The place where an officer is buried, like that of a private, is simply the grave of a soldier. Death obliterates all rank, class and distinction. The grave of an humble christian is an equality with that of a prelate, for - "The graves of all His saints He blest." While in death all are equal, each while living has his individual part and place.

Upon a bloody page of history is recorded American bravery and devotion to principle excelled nowhere else in the annals of the world. It is the story of the Alamo. For several days the Mexican army under Santa Ana had bombarded the fortress, and on February 23, 1836, the Alamo was stormed - four thousand infuriated Mexicans against one hundred and eighty-three Americans (Texan patriots). Charge after charge had been repelled and for every patriot killed, a dozen Mexicans bit the dust. When the Mexicans entered the last enclosure, but six of the defenders of the Alamo were alive - Crockett and five of his comrades. Santa Ana's chief of staff then implored Crockett to surrender and thus spare the lives of his comrades and himself. But Crockett would not surrender. And when the Mexicans made the final charge, the last man of the little band of patriots was shot down. The Alamo was taken, but its capture cost Santa Ana one thousand and five hundred of his army of four thousand men.

Every man of the little American band of the defenders of the Alamo died at his post. Thermopylæ had its messenger of defeat - the Alamo had none.

"Remember the Alamo," was the rallying cry of the Texan patriots when General Houston defeated Santa Ana at Jacinto, which victory assured the independence of Texas and its annexation to the American Union.

Gen. Sam Houston, in after years, in a speech at San Antonio, said that, "Whatever state gave us birth, we have one native land and one flag." This patriotic sentiment struck a responsive chord in the vast audience before him, and as the American flag was displayed from the Alamo, thousands of smaller cannon was answered by the thunder of voices and the clapping of hands. answer to this demonstration, Governor Houston said: "Far off, far off, yet louder than any noise on earth, I hear from the dead years and the dead heroes of the Alamo the hurrahing of spirit-vcices and the clapping of unseen hands."

There was a law in ancient Greece that "He that receives his death while fighting in the front battle shall have an annual oration spoken in his honor." But Americans need no decree to honor their soldier dead. Prompted by the fulness of grateful hearts they decorate their graves each returning May time. No matter if those graves are beneath the sleeping shadows of the pines or beneath the sun-kissed verdure of unsheltered sod, whether in the beautiful cemeteries of the North, or whether they are simply unmarked graves in the chastened South, or in the islands of the sea, whether the storms rage over them or whether the birds fill the air with the melody of their songs, the hallowed graves of American soldiers are everywhere revered and honored.

War Events And Incidents

The first battle of the civil war was fought at Phillippi, West Virginia, June 3, 1861. In that engagement the Union troops, under command of Colonel Kelley, defeated the rebels, killing fifteen of their men. While this battle was comparatively small in the number of men engaged, it was of great importance in shaping the events which followed and occupies a conspicuous place in the history of the war of the rebellion. The victory there won was as inspiring to the North as it was discouraging to the South.

Phillippi is an historical name. This is not the Phillippi where Brutus fell, but the Phillippi where the Union troops conquered. There was a Scotch tradition that -

The fate of the battle was often anticipated in the imagination of the combatants by observing which party first shed blood. It is said that the Highlanders under Montrose were so deeply imbued with this notion, that on the morning of the battle of Tippermoor, they murdered a defenseless herdsman, whom they found in the fields, merely to secure an advantage which they thought was of so much consequence to their party. They also believed that the fate of a war hung upon the result of its first battle. This Scottish tradition was verified in the American war of the rebellion, as it had frequently been in the clannish contests between the Highlanders and Lowlanders of Scotland centuries ago.

The day following the morning after the battle of Phillippi a captain of the Fifteenth Ohio Infantry had charge of the troops picketing one of the roads, with instructions to arrest any person who attempted to enter or leave the town. While the people of that vicinity knew that Colonel Potterfield and his rebel force were stationed at Phillippi, and that the Union troops were in possession of Grafton, and that the armies being so near to each other a battle might be expected atany time, when the cannonading began at early dawn upon the 3rd day of

June, it awakened the country people of Barbour county as they had never been aroused before. After the noise and smoke of battle had ceased and passed away, men attempted to go to town to learn the result. In so doing, twenty-three men were placed under arrest by the Richland county officer before mentioned. The officer took his prisoners into the town and reported at headquarters. He was ordered to take them out and have them shot. War business was new to all then, and there had been no time to learn the rules, regulations and laws governing the same. This order seemed an unnecessarily murderous one, and the young captain was reluctant to carry it into execution. Then his knowledge of the law came to his relief, that although he had been ordered to have the men shot, no time had been set for the execution. Therefore, he concluded to defer carrying out the order, hoping to have it revoked. It happened during the day that a higher officer took command at Phillippi, to whom the Richland county captain presented the case and the order was revoked and the prisoners were permitted to return to their homes.

It was fortunate for those prisoners that the Richland county captain was a gentleman of humane feeling. Some officers might have hastily executed the order without an effort to have it reconsidered and recalled.

A story is told that early in the eighteenth century, in a Scotch camp, an orderly who had charge of burying the dead after a battle, reported to the young laird of Lochnow, who was in command, saluted and said: "Sir, there is a heap of fellows lying out yonder who say they are only wounded and won't let us bury them like the rest. What shall we do?"

"Bury them at once," replied the commander, "for if you take their word for it they won't be dead for a hundred years to come." The orderly saluted and started off to carry out the order, and the commander had to dispatch a counter order in haste to prevent his joke from becoming a tragedy.

Another incident has been given. Prisoners were once brought before Sir William Howard, who was an enthusiastic mathematician. Sir William was deep in his studies when the prisoners were marched into the castle court yard, and a lieutenant ran in to get orders for their disposal. Enraged at being interrupted in his studies, Sir William exclaimed, *Hang the prisoners!" and went on with his work. After he had finished his problem he went down to learn about the prisoners and with what they had been charged, and was horrified to learn that his exclamation, "Hang the prisoners," had been taken for an order that the prisoners had all been executed.

A Huron county romance in real life, although ungarnished in the narration, may be more interesting to many readers than would be an embellished tale of foreign fiction.

Thomas Ream and Kathryn Rolfe were children and schoolmates in the antebellum years and their parents were neighbors and owned farms in one of the most beautiful townships of Huron county.

The children were friends from their infancy. Their confidence in and attachment for each other showed the beauty of that faith and love which sometimes sets two hearts voyaging on the wondrous sea of the future.

Thomas was born in 1840 and Kathryn a few years later. A school incident occurred in the winter of 1850 that was as amusing to the scholars as it was embarrassing to Thomas and Kathryn. He had written her a note which was against the rules of the school, and being intercepted by the teacher, was read aloud, as follows:

"Dear Kate: I take my in hand to inform you that I slipped a big red apple in your dinner basket and when you eat it please think of me.

The scholars laughed when this was read, which the teacher thought was the proper thing for them to do, but Kate cried and Tom looked defiant. However, the incident only drew them closer in the bonds of affections and increased their attachment for each other.

Those were the good old school days oi a generation agone, when children went to school to work - to study and to recite - with corn-pone and spare-ribs for a noonday lunch, with an occasional recreation of an hour on the dunce block, for discarding "thumb-papers" and soiling books, or for other acts of omission or commission.

Thomas was a bright, capable boy, and his parents intended him for one of the learned professions. But how differently things turn out often from what was intended - how people are moulded and changed by circumstances and events !

The memorable spring of 1861 ushered in the great war of the rebellion, just as Thomas was preparing to enter an eastern college. The patriotic blood of a revolutionary ancestry flowed warmly through Thomas' veins, and he promptly responded to his country's call for troops to defend its flag. That war is long since a thing of the past, and since then the north and the south have marched together against a common foe, and step by step have kept time to the mingled notes of the "Star Spangled Banner" and "Dixie," blending into the noblest battle hymn that ever thrilled and inspired soldiers to deeds immortal.

Thomas was one of the first to enlist and in a few days he must leave for the front. But first he must bid Kathryn good-bye, and felt as though he could not leave until he first had an open avowal of the love he knew to be his. He called at the house, but was informed that Kathryn had gone down the gravelled walk towards the stream. He followed and found her sittíng upon the bank, looking pensively over the sparkling waters of the Huron river, as they rippled over the pebbled bottom and coursed gracefully with a musical murmur between the green banks.

There was a sadness in the greeting of these young people, for each felt that that was their last meeting - at least for years. They talked at first upon indifferent topics, each dreading to mention the subject of the war, and as he sat and watched her sweet face in a fading sunlight, he almost regretted that he had placed himself in a position that forced him to leave her. The sunset faded out and the moon threw the shadows of the trees at their feet, and a spell of peace seemed to hover over the earth, making them almost forgetful of the coming war and of the uncertainties of the future.

Love interviews, proposals and betrothals are difficult to narrate and describe, especially by one who has never passed through nor witnessed such scenes ; therefore, suffice to state sententiously that ere this couple parted, they were engaged, looking forward to their marriage at the close of the war. And thus they separated, she to go to her quiet home, he to take his place in the grand army of the Union, as it went forth to put down the rebellion. Six years later Thomas and Kathryn met again, but under unlooked-for circumstances and conditions.

In one of the great battles of the war, Thomas was wounded, captured and confined for two years in a southern prison and for many months all his friends in the north knew of him was that he was among the "missing."

During the interim, other trouble was added to Kathryn's sorrow. Her father's health failed, and a change of climate - a trip to California - was recommended. Kathryn was to go with him and this, she felt, would place her farther from her soldier-lover, whom she confidently believed still lived, and as she prepared for the journey, she hoped each evening that word would come from him on the morrow. But none came, and it was months after she was the Pacific coast ere news reached Farmer Ream that his son was in Libby prison. But Thomas lived through that terrible imprisonment, was finally exchanged, took his place again in the ranks and served from the beginning to the end of the war.

If Thomas ever wrote to Kathryn after he was taken prisoner, she never received his letters and time and events drifted them from each other and kept them apart.

Kathryn's father's health came back to him and he concluded to make California his permanent home, and while the daughter rejoiced over her father's restoration, she still grieved for her lover and was in doubt and suspense as to his fate. She, however, found comfort in her household cares and consolation in the observance of her Christian duties. She regularly attended religious service and one summer evening she was especially devout, and as she looked at the cross, the chancel lights seemed like resplendent stars casting a halo of glory upon the altar. She knelt and worshipped, forgetful of earthly cares and of earthly sorrow. But, presently she was startled, imagining she heard her lover's voice in the litany responses. In vain she looked over the small congregation, but he was not there. She then realized it was only a fancy or delusion caused by the mind being over-strained with anxiety and suspense - an auricular phantasm resultant from tense of brain and nerve.

After four years of war peace came again to the land, and the boys in blue came "marching home." Thomas was with the number and was the hero of that neighborhood, and was loved by the young maidens for the dangers he had passed.

Among the voung ladies who smiled bewitchingly upon the returned soldier was Ellen Moore, whose father, during Thomas' absence, had moved into the neighborhood and bought a farm whose broad acres covered the valley and skirted the hills. Ellen, even as a girl, was as plain as her name, but one of the most estimable of.her sex. Ellen was the very opposite of Kathryn, for the latter was talented, brilliant and beautiful and capable of adorning any station in life.

The beautiful girl on the Pacific coast was neglected, if not forgotten, and Thomas Ream paid court to the matter-of-fact Ellen Moore, and within the vear they were married.

In the meantime, Kathryn Rolfe, hearing of Ream's return, waited long and impatiently for him to visit her. She had given him her love, had promised to be his bride and how prayerfully, how hopefully, how despondently at times, she had waited during five long years for his return and for the fulfillment of his promise. But as he came not she must come to him, she must see him once more, must hear from his own lips if he still loved her. She crossed the continent and arrived in her old home village on a Saturday night. The next day she accompanied the family to church. A few moments later a bride and groom entered the church, it being their "appearance" day. The groom was Thomas Ream and the bride was Ellen Moore, that was.

This pen will not attempt to describe the feelings of disappointment, of chagrin and of sorrow that may have swayed poor Kathryn's mind, or how the blow may have bruised her heart. Upon leaving the church their eyes met for a moment, then they passed on. What each read in the other's eyes is among the things that are sealed.

Kathryn returned home, where, a few years later, she married a prominent lawyer, and they live and rank with the best of the people in the city at the Golden Gate.

As the purpose of this article is to state facts, not to explain actions, no cause can be given for Ream's actions in discarding the girl whom he loved in his youth.

In his courtship with her he looked hopefully forward to a professional career, in which he expected to succeed, for, as Bulwer wrote, in the lexicon of youth, which fate reserves for a bright there is no such word as fail. But when he concluded to be a farmer, as his father was before him, then he wanted a wife whose mind would be content with counting the profits on butter and eggs, rather than attending club meetings, dances and theaters.

Pioneer Men And Women Of Ohio Clarksfield, Friday, September 22, 1899

I have read of the "Firelands;" I have from passing trains looked with admiration upon your fertile fields and well-kept farms, and from the late Rev. D. Bronson, whose early life was passed in this part of the state, and who was my rector, for eighteen years, I learned much that was interesting of the early history of your county. I know your first settlers came from Connecticut, and I have never yet known a people who were ashamed of a New England ancestry.

I come from old Richland county - from the crest of the great "divide," the water-shed between the lake and the gulf. I come from a county made somewhat famous as having been for a number of years the home of John Chapman - better known as "Johnny Appleseed" - who came west abreast with civilization and planted nurseries along our streams and throughout our valleys that the pioneers and their children might enjoy the fruits of the earth. Johnny lived an exemplary Christian life and was a benefactor of his race. He loved to ramble in the forests, to listen to the singing of the birds, to look at the stars, and in his Swedenborg faith, commune with ministering spirits and angels. Chapman's death was in harmony with his blameless life. When the death-angel touched him with his cold finger, Johnny's eyes shone with light supernal, a smile wreathed his lips as they moved in prayer and a halo seemed to crown him with the glory of a saint as he passed from the life here to the life eternal. Since then, more than fifty years have come and gone down the echoless aisles of time, but the story of "Johnny Appleseed" is told from generation to generation, and his good deeds live anew every springtime in the beauty and fragrance of the appleblossoms he loved so well.

grandfather Baughman was the first white settler in the Blackfork Valley, near the historic old Indian village of Greentown, now in Ashland county. And my mother's father - Capt. James Cunningham - built the third cabin in Mansfield, boarded the surveying party that platted the town site, and later served his country as a captain in the war of 1812, as his father - John Cunningham Irishman) - had served as a soldier in all the long and bloody struggle of the war of the Revolution. ' Europe was peopled by larger bodies of men moving from one country to another. But America was settled by a slower process. Those men emigrated collectively - here they came severally, and were called "pioneers," because they foreran the column of civilization.

The pioneers of Ohio were men of "brain and brawn," of courage and perseverance. Of their work, adventures and achievements enough has not been written, for theirs was not the age of literature. It has been said that the annalist of that period left his note-book to his son, who lost it while moving farther west. We know, however, that they endured privations, that they encountered dangers, that they worked hard and accomplished much.

The early history of Ohio tells of a period in the settlement of America when civilization crossed the crest of the Alleghenies in its march across the continent, as "Westward the Star of Empire took its Way."

Ohio, being on the frontier, was, in part, the battleground of the war of 1812, and the result of the conflicts, engagements and battles may be summarized in the dispatch of the immortal Perry: "We met the enemy, and they are curs."

During that war a great number of volunteers passed through our part of Ohio, and observed the gentle swell of its uplands, the fertility ot its valleys, the magnificence of its forests, its copious springs and abounding streams, and when the war was over, many who had traversed the country as soldiers returned after their discharge, entered land, built cabins and made Ohio their home.

We feel grateful as a people and proud as a nation when we reflect upon the wonderful achievements of the century! In all the history of the world we find no parallel to American progress. Beautiful cities have supplanted the wigwam villages of a hundred years ago, and where unbroken forests then spread their leafy branches, and tangled weeds held undisputed sway in the valleys, the land is now teeming with its wealth of fruitful orchards and fields of golden grain.

The pioneer women did not clerk in stores, but she sold butter and eggs, knit socks and made garments and ministered to the wants and comfort of her family. She did not write shorthand, nor keep books, but she wrote on the unstained tablet of the human heart that line upon line and precept upon precept by which life is made a holy thing, and which, if a soul heeds, it may bask in the Father's house in which there many mansions. She did not build memorials in brick and stone, but she built that best earthly house - a home, in which children grew up in her love and care.

The pioneer woman did not ride a wheel, but she had a spinning-wheel, and the thread she spun was fine and smooth, and the hum of the spinning was music sweet to the household.

The pioneer woman did not build hospitals, but her cabin was a wayside inn, and she herself was both physician and nurse. And not in her own home only, but wherever fever burned or disease wasted, there her hand ministered, for every true pioneer woman was a sister of mercy and a friend of the poor.

The pioneer woman did not paint on china, but there are pictures in our memory in which our dear old pioneer mother is the central figure ; pictures that all the storms of life cannot blot, nor scorching sunlight fade. Pictures of home, pictures of the scenes of our childhood, pictures dear to every man who loved his mother.

After the reading of the paper by Doctor Shelden, Judge Wildman arose and spoke as follows: "I am told that in the absence of the Hon. Rush R. Sloane, as president of the Firelands Historical Society, the duty devolves upon me, as first vice-president, of presiding at your gathering today. It is a great delight to me to come back to Clarksfield where I was born and where I spent some of the happiest years of my boyhood, as many of you know, especially of the older people here, and to see so many familiar faces and so many familiar places. In a letter which I received some days ago from Doctor Weeks, he suggested that it is now one hundred years since the organization of what is known as the Northwest

Territory, comprising what is now the state of Ohio and some of the other states of the Union; he also suggested that this would be a fit occasion for the presentation of a talk or paper upon the event which is now one hundred years gone, - the beginning of organized government in the territory embraced in that great extent of what was then mainly a wilderness, known as the Northwest Territory. Doctor Weeks has prepared a paper on this subject and it will be read at this time."

Pioneer Times

The location of the cabin decided upon, the space cleared away, and suitable timber having been selected, felled, partially hewn, and cut into proper lengths, it remained to "raise" the cabin. Word having been given out, the settlers for miles around gathered to their new neighbor's clearing, glad to lend a helping hand. A man of experience in such matters was selected as captain or leader; other expert men, axe in hand, were posted at the corners to cut saddles or notches in the logs that they might lie more firmly and closer together, the ends of the logs often overlapping and projecting for a foot or more. The logs having been previously drawn to a convenient nearness by oxen, to the major part of the company was assigned the duty of conveying the logs to the intended structure; sometimes the combined strength of the party sufficed to lift them up and carry them, but oftener skids and handspikes were called into use; in either case the work was done with a will scarce needing the energetic tones and sharp commands constantly used by the leader. Accidents were not uncommon ; severe strains often resulted from one man trying to out-do another, while sometimes a log slipped or fell, striking a man down in its descent, and breaking his leg or arm. The log-carriers were sometimes divided into squads, or parties, each having a particular end to keep up, and the resulting rivalry made the task a short one, the building being rarely over a single story in height. The cabin fairly raised, and the roof poles put in position, the remaining work of finishing the cabin could be performed more leisurely without the help of so many hands.

The roof was made by laying small logs or saplings, the tamarack being often used, which were placed lengthwise. These formed a support for the shingles or "shakes," as they were often called. These were much longer than the shingles of later years, and, when laid, about three feet was exposed to the weather. They were generally rived or split out of straight-grained, full-grown white-oak trees. Nails being then almost unknown, and those few forged by hand, their use was out of the question, and the shingles were secured by laying poles or logs to keep them in position. The chimney was often composed of "cats and clay," the cats in question not being the familiar household tabby, but small sticks split to a regular size. The base was formed of stone, often undressed bowlders, and on this superstructure the chimney was built, generally outside, and at the end of the cabin, the cats forming a framework which was heavily daubed and plastered with clay. As for openings, the door usually was rived planks, unless the neighborhood was the happy possessor of a "thunder-gust" sawmill. The hinges and latches were made of wood. Glass was a luxury rarely met with. Some- times greased paper served as a substitute, and the windows were small, the usually open door being another medium for the admission of light. Often, for months, the ground served for a floor, but, after a time, boards or "puncheons" were split out for that purpose; they were hewed a little, consequently they were never very smooth, often quite shaky. Holes were bored in the logs and pegs driven in, on which to hang the various articles of wearing apparel and household use - a place to hang the rifle not being forgotten. These pegs served as a support for shelves and even for beds. But regular bedsteads, cheap and common enough looking these days, were soon introduced, many settlers bringing them with them from Connecticut, and, for the children, "trundle-beds" were in common use. The cabin generally consisted of but a single room. In the warmer months much of the work of cooking, washing, etc. was performed outside, under the friendly shade of some convenient tree. At other times the one room served the purpose of kitchen, dining-room, parlor, closet and bed-room combined. The larger boys generally slept in the garret, access being had by a flight of rude stairs or a ladder; and in the winter season the snow often found its way between the loosely placed shingles, so that in going to bed they tracks" with alacrity. Rude benches, long enough to seat two or three persons, made of planks split and shaved, served as chairs. In the plank, holes were bored and sticks inserted, to serve as legs or supports. Household utensils were as scanty as the furniture, a single pot or skillet often having to do duty many times over in preparing a meal. Tinware was scarce and dear, stoves of course unknown, and as for saving fuel, that was of but little moment, the huge fireplaces admitting a stick as long and as heavy as a man would care to carry.

The fire on the hearth is one of the pleasant memories of early days; on a winter's evening, with familiar faces grouped around, the scene is most inviting. Is the sacrifice of old comforts to modern plans always without loss? The bright light of the blazing logs often rendered candles or lamps unnecessary, and the fire being easily kept up and rarely suffered to die out for months together, the modern invention of matches, now indispensable, was more easily got along without. Clocks were the luxury of the few, but were a few years later introduced and sold at high prices by peddlers, the housewife noting the hours by the sunlight streaming through the open door or window and casting a shadow of the wall upon the floor.

The food of the settler was "johnny-cake" and mush, or bread of coarselyground flour or meal. Milk was freely used, butter often dispensed with and rarely of the best quality, and cheese unknown. Pork and venison were always at hand; wild turkey, squirrel and other game easy to obtain. Sugar from the maple was frequently to be had, and tea and coffee were often replaced by decoctions of sassafras, spice-bush and parched corn. for food, the variety and manner of cooking were quite tolerable to those settlers fortunate in having a good start and a little money, otherwise they often suffered for necessaries, and being put on short rations was not an uncommon experience.

In respect to clothing, the contrast with the present time was more noticeable. Deerskin was largely used for men's clothing. It would wear a long time, but its adaptability was sadly lessened by the ease with which it would absorb water. A man getting a pair of deerskin trousers thoroughly wet would soon find them lengthened dangling at his heels so as to seriously interfere with locomotion, and, after hanging them up to dry at night, would, on the following morning, find them almost as stiff as if made of cast iron.

The loom and spinning wheel were found in every household, and the women, besides making and knitting yarn, made cloth of flax and wool, often combining the different materials into a coarse fabric known as linsey-woolsey. The barks of trees furnished coloring matter, and the making of the garments was completed without calling into requisition any greater skill than the household afforded. But these "home manufacturers" could not "compete" with the "pauper labor" of New England; and first came the calicoes and brown muslins, dear at first, doubly so from cost of transportation, handling, and especially from the scarcity, but very soon so cheap no one could afford to invest money to make them. Not long afterwards satinets and jeans were introduced for men's wear, and very soon the loom had no further place in the household, and the spinning wheel was soon afterward laid aside. More recently the sewing machine, books of patterns, and ready-made boots, hats and clothing have come into general use, - the latter commodity no longer content with becoming the apparel of men, but of women also.

The settler provided with shelter, the work of clearing, grubbing and burning away the forest and inclosing his fields must be commenced. This is to be his main vocation, especially in the winter season, for long years to come. He must rise early and work late, nor is the labor itself easy or inviting. timber and wood have no marketable value, they are simply an incumbrance to be got rid of; occasionally, however, a fine tree is saved for rails or other use. The manner of clearing, too, is different from that of later years. A shorter, less laborious method must be adopted - the labor of felling the trees is often avoided by "girdling" or "deadening" them. The ascent of the sap being arrested by cutting notches entirely around the trunk, the tree dies, and the trunk becomes dry and is burned in much less time than if it was felled in the first instance and allowed to lie on the damp ground; and besides, after a time many of the trunks are blown over, and the labor of chopping them down avoided. Some trees, the beech and maple for instance, begin to topple and fall after the third year.

Grain and,other crops were often raised in the girdling. After a time the number of fallen trunks interferes with cultivation, and selecting a dry time, they are set fire to. This burning is systematically done; a hundred fires are set, and the woods and skies are soon darkened by the smoke. To watch and tend the fires, to cut down an occasional "stub" which is left standing, is the work of the settler, which is prolonged far into the night, when the bright flames light up the surrounding forests, and make a scene of beauty upon which he loves to linger and look. In order to facilitate the burning of the larger logs, fires are set at different points so as to burn them in two. In some places this is called "niggering." When the work is sufficiently advanced, the settler invites his neighbors, who turn out with the same alacrity and willingness they would to a raising. With long hand-spikes, the burning logs are rolled together into great heaps. Working in the smoke, treading on hot ashes and embers, facing blazing fires, and at the same time exerting all the strength they possess, the task is no light or easy one; but the work is done with a will, and a hearty "now all together" that shows them in earnest. The task accomplished, the scene is often changed into merry-making ; a hearty supper is prepared, and liquid refreshments are not wanting.

Ruggles township was so called after Judge Almon Ruggles, the surveyor of the Firelands. 1815, eight years before the first settlement in the township, Judge Ruggles owned five hundred and eighty-two acres in the second section. Barlow Sturges also owned one hundred and twenty acres. This is all the account given of the land holders at that time. Ruggles belonged to Huron county until the erection of Ashland county in 1846, to which county it has since been attached.

The central portions of the township are level, the eastern and southern slightly undulating, the western and northern considerably broken and uneven. It was originally a dense forest, of which the beech constituted the greater part, though the maple, elm, basswood, hickory, whitewood and ash were by no means wanting, while the higher lands,abounded with the finest oaks, and along the streams grew the black walnut, the butternut and the

In the central portions of the township the soil is clayey, while in other parts it is for the most part a gravelly loam, and well adapted to either grazing or the raising of grain. There are two stone quarries, one in the north part on Mr. Charles Curtiss' farm; the other in the west part, on Wakeman Beach's farm. The township is free from marshes or waste lands, while it is excellently well drained by the Vermillion river and its tributaries. The main stream crosses the south line nearly two miles east of the southwest corner, and flows northwestwardly, leaving the township just south of the northwest corner. Its principal tributary, Buck creek, comes from Troy, crosses the east line three-fourths of a mile south of the center road, and runs northwestwardly to the north part of the township, when it receives the waters of another creek, which drains the southeast corner, and then runs westerly to join the Vermillion. In the southern part, Whetstone creek runs west to the Vermillion. Another creek, west of the river, runs northeast till it joins the main stream.

In 1823, Mr. Daniel Beach and Bradford Sturtevant came to Ruggles with a view of purchasing lands, and in June of the year above named, bought of Messrs. Jesup and Wakeman, of Connecticut, six hundred and forty acres in the southwest corner of section three, Mr. Beach taking the western and smaller part. This pioneer settler of Ruggles accomplished much towards the- rapid settling up of his township, and his memory is gratefully cherished by the people of Ruggles.

Benjamin D. Green was the first blacksmith who settled in Ruggles. He gave up blacksmithing for the carpenters' trade. He was a prominent man in the community, held. several important offices, and was a major in the militia.

The first marriage did not take place until the year 1832, when, the 18th day of June, Mr. James Poag, widower, was united in marriage to Miss Laura C. Smith. The ceremony was by Daniel Beach, Esq.

The first saw mill was built by Daniel Beach in 1824, on the Vermillion river, one hundred rods north of Ruggles' Corners. This mill was of great benefit to the early settlers. Beach built a grist mill also, near the site of the saw mill, in 1831 732, to which steam was subsequently attached. The first store in Ruggles was opened by Josiah Botsford at Ruggles' Corners, one and onehalf miles west of the center, in about the year 1831. The first post-office was established one-half mile south of the Corners.

Prior to 1826, Ruggles was attached to New London for civil purposes, but at the date named it was detached and organized, the first election occurring January 2d of that year. There were just a dozen residents who participated in this first election, as follows: Perry Durfee, Harvey Sackett, Norman Carter, Truman Bates, Reuben Fox, B. Sturtevant, Jacob Roorback, Abraham Ferris, Justice Barnes, Daniel Beach, Ezra D. Smith, and Aldrich Carver. Mr. E. D. Smith was chosen clerk; H. Sackett treasurer; J. Roorback, D. Beach, and A. Carver, trustees; B. Sturtevant and H. Sackett, overseers of the poor; J. Barnes and A. Ferris, fence viewers; Reuben Fox and Perry Durfee, appraisers of erty; Carter, constable, and T. Bates, supervisor, - thirteen offices filled with twelve individuals. Mr. Sackett had the honor of filling two positions. Another election was held April 3d, when Mr. Ferris was made treasurer, Mr. Bates constable, and Messrs. Fox and Sturtevant supervisors, and Harvey Sackett justice of the peace. The other offices remained filled as above.

In 1824 a school house was built eighty rods east of the residence of Daniel Beach, and Betsey Sackett taught school there during the summer of that year. The second school was upon the north line of the township, and was taught by Jacob -Roorback.

The only village that ever existed in the township was at Ruggles corners, upon the Wooster and Norwalk road. There were several mercantile and mechanical concerns at this point, as well as a tavern and quite a cluster of dwelling houses. The place was sustained by the tanning interests of the Norwalk road, and when the C., C., C. & I. R. R. was established, as it destroyed the wagoning business, the little village soon dwindled away, and eventually entirely disappeared.

The first religious services were held at Harvey Sackett's house soon after the settlement of the township by Lodovicus Robbins. Not long after a Methodist class was formed, of which there remains no record, and in regard to which no authentic information can be obtained.

New London

The first settler of what is now the village of New London was John Corey, who erected the first log cabin. This was in 1816. The Sampson's, the Merrifields, the Hendryx's, Kinsley's, Dr. Christopher Bates, W. S. Dewitt, and others. From 1817 to 1822 New London was called Merrifield Settlement; from 1822 to 1837, Kinsley's Corners; from 1840 to 1853, King's Corners. In 1850 the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis railroad commenced to run through the town, and the place grew rapidly. In the fall of 1853, the village, embracing about eight hundred acres of land, was incorporated. The first council proceedings are recorded for December 3, 1853; R. C. Powers, mayor; John Thorn, recorder ; J. Bradley, J. F. Badger, A. Starbird, V. King, and A. D. Kilburn, trustees, or councilmen; A. A. Powers marshal; J. O. Merrifield, treasurer. In 1851 the village suffered from its first serious fire ; and again in 1872, November 17th, property to the value of forty to fifty thousand dollars was destroyed. The village was incorporated in 1853. At this date, 1909, New London contains about one thousand five hundred inhabitants, mostly descendants of New England and New York families. New London is located on the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and St. Louis and Northern Ohio railways, forty-seven miles southwest of Cleveland. The town is progressive, having about two miles of brick paved streets, owns its electric lighting plant and has a number of good factories. Its postoffice receipts exceed twelve thousand dollars annually. Fine rural free delivery routes radiate from this postoffice. The village is surrounded by a good grazing and farming country where high grade cattle and sheep are bred. A business peculiar to New London farmers is the breeding of ferrets which are shipped to all parts of the United States, commanding good prices and enriching those engaged in that business.

The village of Monroeville was laid out on September 20, 1817. was then named Monroe, and continued to be called by that name until the establishment of a postoffice, when the name was changed to Monroeville. In 1836 an addition of one hundred and forty-one lots was added. The village was incorporated in 1868, and the first election was held.

The following sketch Monroeville was prepared for the Spectator and Mr. L. O. Simmons has kindly given permission for it to be used in this work:

What is now the beautiful and enterprising village of Monroeville, was an unimproved waste, inhabited only by the wild beasts of the forests and wandering bands of red men. Lordly trees stood upon the sites of residences of today, and there was nothing here, se, to create or sustain a town. The Huron river rippled onward then as now, but no village was reflected in its clear transparent waters. But a change was fast approaching. Change, which is as inevitable as time itself, goes hand in hand with civilization, and is the constant companion of the pioneer.

In the year 1816, a man by the name of Sowers, with his family, emigrated from the state of Maryland to this locality. About the same time Seth Brown and Schuyler Van Ransalear came here from the state of New York. The land comprising the present site of the village of Monroeville, was purchased by the above-named gentlemen, with a view to its improvement for agricultural purposes - to make for themselves and families homes. Soon after they were joined by others, among whom was one Richard Burt, who proceeded at once to erect a saw and grist mill, and which were in operation as early as 1816. These mills were located, and comprise the original of the mill of The Heyman Milling Co. of the present day. This was the nucleus of greater things; the starting point, the origin of our now populous village. Messrs. Sowers, Brown, and Van Ransalear caused the survey of the village plat, which was soon occupied, and prominent among whom, and as the first to locate here, were the following: Seth Brown, Schuyler Van Ransalear, Richard Burt, Dr. Cole, a Mr. Fuller, Daniel, John and James Sowers, and John S. Davis. Mr. Van Ransalaer opened a small store, and to him belongs the honor of inaugurating mercantile pursuits, and from which insignificant establishment have sprung the many business houses of today. Verily its progeny has been prolific. Buckley Hutchins, another of the early settlers of the place, kept the first tavern, not one of the modern concerns like those of the present day, where the blase guest sits down to a dozen courses, but a humble structure in which the fare was of a primitive character, where corn pones and venison formed the staple diet. Mr. Van Ransalear was the first postmaster. The Baptists organized the first church society, and were closely followed by the Presbyterians and Methodists. Monroeville, like all other towns in a new country, was subject to many annoyances and inconveniences ; the mail, for instance, put in an appearance quite infrequently, and before the days of stages and railroads, was carried on horseback or on foot from settlement to settlement, and the arrival of the postman in those times was hailed as a gala-day by the inhabitants. As the years roll by there is a gradual increase in the population, and some new features of improvement adds to the importance of the place. For many years there was little to attract or encourage immigration. Situated in the midst of a forest, and surrounded by savages and wild beasts, the settlement of the country was attended with no litle peril and risk of life. There were no markets, and the resources for the growth and improvement of the locality were limited in character, and the growth of the new village was ex- tremely slow, and for years traffic with the Indians constituted a very important item in the business transactions of our merchants. Many amusing scenes and anecdotes might be related of pioneer life, but as it is our purpose to chronicle briefly that of an historical nature, we will leave the romantic to those whose ability, augmented by the experience of early years, is greater than our own. As the surrounding country became more and more developed, there was a corresponding increase in the population of the town, also an expansion of business matters. The building of the railroads in after years marked a new era in the affairs of Monroeville. It not only infused new life in business matters, but was the means of a more rapid development of the surrounding country. It opened up new and hitherto unapproachable markets, and placed us upon the plane of equality with other and older towns, and was in every respect a consummation that had been long and devoutly wished. Better than all, however, was the fact that Monroeville and surrounding country contained within themselves sustaining force, the soil was of the richest possible character; it was peopled with a hardy and industrious race of men and women, who had their competence to acquire, and whose daily labor was a labor of love. Every tree that was felled was a step toward prosperity, every acre in cultivation was a guerdon of success. And so these noble men and women toiled on, creating for the generation of today an inheritance time shall not dim. This, then, in rude outline, has been the history of Monroeville. We have not aimed, nor have we time or space to give fragments of minutie. We must ignore anecdote and incident, those particulars which go to make up the warp and woof of history; nor are the columns of a newspaper the suitable place for their preservation. Our sphere of action as journalists is vastly different from that of the historian.

Monroeville Of Today

But what is Monroeville of today? we are asked. We answer: a beautiful and enterprising village of about two thousand inhabitants, a place whose appearance has nothing of the speculative or ephemeral - a substantial, well-built town. Located at the junction of the L. S. & M. S., Lake Erie division of the B. & O. K. K. and M. & E., the best of facilities for shipping are secured. The Huron river, upon whose border the town so gracefully reposes, is susceptible of improvement, and even now furnishes a motive power for driving machinery of industrial enterprise. The streets are regularly laid out, many of which, with their abundance of shade trees, present a beautiful and attractive appearance. The business streets are lined with substantial two and three story brick blocks, whose appearance will compare favorably with those of any town of like size in the state. A stroll throughout the town discloses little to remind one of the past. Many of the residences are really elegant, and nearly all are attractive. The streets, stores, churches and dwellings are all neat and present an appearance that is quite metropolitan. The humble church of half a century ago must hàve planted good seed, for as its fruit we see today seven church edifices, mostly of a superior character; we can only name them, however: Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal, Evangelical, Reformed and Catholic. The modest district school has grown with the passing years. Its score of scholars, with their cabin for a schoolroom, has increased to many hundreds, and we find today an elegant substantial brick structure, provided with all modern conveniences, and affording advantages for an education that in those early days would have been confined to the wealthy alone. In brief, we present a town attractive in itself, and from its surroundings a place equal to any town in the state for business advantages.

Old Residents

But we have little to remind us of the past. The buildings of that early day are gradually yielding to the growing tooth of Time. Of the first or original settlers none are left, and only a few of those who came a little later remain.

Some of those early pioneers have moved away, while others are quietly sleeping in the grave. Change is written upon everything. Soon nothing but the of those early settlers will be left to remind us that they ever existed.

But they will have with themselves the consciousness that they have not lived in vain. Their efforts and actions, coupled with the efforts of those of an earlier generation, have made Monroeville what it is, nor have they any reason to feel ashamed of the achievements of a life time of labor as it stands today a bright jewel in the diadem of the state.

Chicago Junction

The town of Chicago Junction was formed in the spring of 1875, and its location 15 at the junction of the Chicago Division of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad with the Mansfield-Columbus Division of the same road. It was thought by many that a city would soon grow up in the woods, and there was much to induce such an opinion, for the railroad company erected extensive repair shops and a roundhouse and employed a large force of men. The company also projected other works, which if they had been accomplished would have necessitated the employment of many more men. But their anticipations were not realized and the town did not grow. The people of the place, as soon as the town began to grow built a school house and a church, to keep in touch with the educational and religious interest of the age.

Chicago is not an old town, so to speak. On the first day of January, 1874, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company opened up for traffic a portion of its Chicago extension, then known as the Baltimore, Pittsburg and Chicago Railway, extending westward as far as Deshler. Chicago Junction was established as the eastern terminus of this new division. The station business was transacted in a one-story frame building about fifteen by twenty-five feet, which comprised freight, ticket, telegraph offices, passenger depot, baggage and freight rooms. Railway employes boarded in Centerton and with farmers in the neighborhood.

On the 4th day of July following, the first load of stone for the first building in Chicago Junction was hauled for the hotel and grocery of S. L. Bowlby, and this little building - afterward consumed by fire - the pioneer establishment of the town was opened to the public September 7, 1874.

In December, 1874, the railroad was completed to the Windy City, and about the same month temporary shops were erected consisting of an engine house and two small buildings to be used as blacksmith and machine shops, all frame buildings, and giving employment to sixty men. Owing to the severe winter of 1874-5 there was very little work done upon the many new business houses and dwellings that were in course of erection. Early in the year 1875 the railroad company laid the foundation for the large brick depot and hotel, shown elsewhere in this edition of the Times, and same was opened to the public in September following.

During the summer of 1875 work was commenced on the foundation of the permanent shops of the railroad company and in April, 1876, the machinery and tools were moved into the new buildings.

The opening of the Chicago extension, building of the shops, depot, etc., created a great boom in property. Town lots were laid out in all directions and within a year many properties had increased in value three-fold and sold at fabulous prices.

Business had sprung in various places and everything pointed to a prosperous future. All went well until December 8, 1877, when nearly one-half of the town was consumed by fire. The fire originated in what was known as Mason's news and book store on Front street and in less than two hours fifteen business houses and a large number of dwellings, were reduced to ashes, and the business interests received a severe blow. In the spring of the following year the livery stable of A. J. Crawford was burned by incendiary and in the fall following the saloon of Messrs. Hoffman and Trimble and the shoe store of William Simmermacher were destroyed by fire, and following soon after was the burning of the Ohms hotel and saloon. Thus in the period of one year one-half the business portion of the thriving village was destroyed by fire, leaving many of the victims bankrupt. New buildings of a more substantial nature were erected and all went well until the winter of 1881-2 at which time an epidemic of smallpox was introduced by Lloyd Dillon, a passenger brakeman, who had contracted the disease in Chicago, Illinois, and which resulted in seventeen cases, six of which proved fatal Many of the inhabitants left town during this epidemic and farmers gave the place a wide berth for months afterwards. Thus it will be seen that the town's pioneer days were not void of trouble and disaster.

The town was incorporated in the fall of 1882, by electing Samuel Snyder, mayor; N. B. Parker, clerk; W. B. Keefer, treasurer; and A. R. Nichols, Otis Sykes, F. J. Gunther, George H. Miller, Elias Mason and William Carpenter, councilmen. All of these men except two, Mr. Nicholas and Mr. Mason are alive today, a fact worthy of note. Ex-mayor Snyder is now living at Sunbury, Pennsylvania. At the time of incorporation the town had a population of about eight hundred.

During the years intervening between 1882 and 1888 nothing of importance transpired to change the monotony of life in a country town. People were waiting for the completion of the Akron extension of the Baltimore & Ohio, which occurred in rcco. Following the opening of this division the town took on new life and its growth up to this time has been phenomenal. No town in this section has enjoyed a more rapid and substantial growth.

During the last eight years the town has been provided with all the modern comforts enjoyed by people of the larger cities. The telephone was introduced in 1898, waterworks installed in March 1899, electric lights December 1900, paved streets 1600, natural gas for fuel and lights in 1903, additional street paving in 1904 and electric railroad in 1905. During the last ten years all the principal streets have been placed to a permanent grade and today these streets are lined with beautiful shade trees, uniform stone walks, and on every lot you will find well kept homes.

That Chicago is one of the most enterprising towns in the state of Ohio goes without saying. Her people are patriotic to a degree not excelled by any other municipality in this section, and the strides which the town has made are such as to be a source of gratification to every man in the city who has the interest of his home town at heart.

It is not very many years ago that Chicago was a mere straggling hamlet, making no pretensions to anything above the ordinary small village. Its population did not consist of more than a few hundreds of people and the conditions were crude at best with not a very inviting future to those desiring to make this place their permanent abode.

Conditions, however, have materially changed these things, so that today the stranger sees a town built in a solid and substantial manner - good buildings and fine streets with every modern convenience that will inure to the happiness of those who call it home, The residences are such as to do honor to any community and the entire town ís such today as to reflect credit on those who have been instrumental in building it up from its former insignificant position.

What the city needs more than anything else is factories. Efforts along the line of securing labor employing institutions should be made in a.concerted and effective manner. And we believe that should our people agitate this matter sufficiently there would be no question as to the success attending the efforts of those most concerned.

Our location is such as to make this town a good manufacturing point - our railway facilities are such as to warrant the belief that manufacturers would find every convenience at their doors - and the country surrounding the town is such as to find no superior within the confines of the great state of Ohio. Is it not therefore reasonable to believe that with energy and activity great things may be hoped for and done along the line of securing manufacturing concerns which means so much to the present and the future welfare of any community which truly hopes to become more than ordinary.

In the matter of churches Chicago has every leading denomination represented, Methodist, Catholic, United Brethren, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Free Methodist. The pulpits are filled by men well qualified to discharge their duties and these ministers have doubtless done much good to bring the moral tone of the community up toa high standard.

The public schools of the town are a credit to the corporation and reflect nothing but praise on our people and those who administer the affairs of our educational institutions. The teachers are all men and women with a high purpose - well prepared to discharge the functions of their offices, and the results are seen in the efficiency and capacity of the scholars who are yearly matriculated.

Schools, and particularly good schools, should have every encouragement to the end that the community as a whole may be better for the results obtained.

The population of Chicago is at least four thousand. Its growth has been steady for the past ten years and it is safe to say that we have now at least the above number of people within the corporate limits of the town.

The city government has always been good. City officials have spent their time without recompense in furthering the cause of Chicago's growth, so that it is fair to assume that the conditions which have prevailed in the past will continue in the future. |

No town of a like population has better streets than has this city. A large part of the city 15 already paved and more is under contemplation. This has given the town a good reputation among those who visit the place, and it certainly adds to the prestige of the place to be fully abreast of the times in every way.

The banking institutions of this city are ample for the accommodation oí the public. The banks of this town have always been conservatively managed and haye enjoyed a high degree of prosperity. The deposits at the several institutions are such as to show that this section has enjoyed a long season of prosperity which shows no sign of abatement.

The railroad interests of Chicago are most important to the healthy expansion of the town. Indeed the town was created by the B. & O. system and the present prosperity of the place is largely owing to the vast interests of this company, located at this point.

The B. & O. has made this town the junction point for its lines from Chicago, Illinois, Pittsburg, Baltimore and Columbus and as a consequence the shops, round house, division terminal and the like are located in this city.

The S. N. & M. traction company completed their tracks into this city, the line running from Sandusky on the north to Mansfield on the south. This line opens up a lot of good country which will be tributary to Chicago and doubtless will do not a little to stimulate trade. It also gives the town another outlet for its passenger traffic, express and freight and will result in the long run in good to the community as a whole. Promoters are now working on plans for an electric line to Bucyrus and if their ideas become a reality it means much to Chicago's future.

Traction lines are a modern necessity, their construction is being rapidly pushed throughout the country and it behooves any community to get as many of them as possible.

Another important branch of industry in this section is celery growing. There is in this vicinity vast sections of muck land and much of this in late years has been drained and planted in celery.

Chicago has a bright future and our business men and capitalists should be on the alert and see that every good move is given encouragement.

The public utilities of Chicago are, in line with her other possessions and rank well up with the best wherever found. We have a fine system of water works, a well equipped fire department, sewers, electric lights, natural gas for light and heat, telephone and telegraph service, ample hotel accommodations and every accessory that will conduce to the happiness and the well being of society.

In the matter of papers the community is well served by the Times which numbers among its constituency fifteen hundred families in this city and adjoining country. The Times aims to serve the people in every worthy way - to be abreast of the times constantly and give its readers the benefit of its best efforts for the upbuilding of the town.

The agricultural resources of the country adjacent to Chicago is such as to make of the community a most prosperous region. No better land can be found in the state of Ohio than we have here, and our farmers are such as to develop the sections to its fullest. The farming community is well-to-do, a fact which is evidenced by the large deposits - all indicating that they have had and are having most prosperous seasons. Taking the town as a whole and the environments of the place and a better location cannot be found for either residence factory sites. We confidently believe that the future holds in store for us better things than the past has given us, and to this end let every citizen of this place strive, in order that our ambitions may be realized.

From the beginning of the formation of the town, the residents thereof sent their children to the Sykes district and elsewhere to school until there became so many of them, there were not sufficient accommodations for them; then Motson's hall was rented and also the old buildings now occupied by Mr. Heilman as a 1esidence. In 1880 the township board of New Haven erected two school houses for the better accommodation of the pupils. One on the east side of the B. & O. in which the east side school is now taught, and another on the site of the present brick building. These answered till 1883, when the voters of the two districts and that part of Richmond township within the corporate limits of the village, decided by a majority vote to organize themselves into a separate village school district. A school board was elected at the spring election of 1883, and they began as a separate and distinct district April 16th of the same year. Several attempts were made to annex more territory to the district, but they all failed until the spring of 1801, when a commission was appointed by the probate judge, which held a meeting. and on July 7, 1891, the territory petitioned to be added to the district was annexed with several additional tracts. Immediately after the district had been organized in 1883, the school board proceeded to erect another frame building near to the one before mentioned on the site of the present brick building. It was completed, and schoo! opened in the iall with three teachers. Two years after it was found necessarry to have another teacher, and a room was provided in the old Hackett building on Main street. The town grew rapidly, and in 1886 the necessity of a large central brick building was agitated. March 8, 1887, on motion of C. B. Tudor, the board decided unanimously to submit to the voters of the district a proposition to issue bonds to the amount of thirteen thousand dollars for the purpose of erecting a two-story brick, eight room building. The proposition was carried at the April election of the same year.

At their next meeting and subsequent meetings the board tried to select a site, but were a tie on every ballot. They submitted the location to the voters of the district, and at a special election, May 31, 1887, they selected the present site. Bonds were issued to the before mentioned amount and sold June roth, the same year to Spitzer & Company of Toledo, for the sum of thirteen thousand one hundred and eighty-one dollars.

Work was pushed forward and the building enclosed before holidays. It was completed the following summer, and schools opened in it September 1888. On April 1888, the board sold three thousand dollars additional bonds by special act of the legislature for the purpose of seating the house in part, paying architect, purchasing heating apparatus, paying for site, and other necessary expenses.

Without manufactures no country can be truly great and prosperous. Without agriculture no country may hope to build up for itself any considerable manufacturing interests. Without both of these we cannot expect the arts, the sciences and literature to progress. It is therefore essential that both of these factors enter in a country's wealth - they are interdependent on each other; each gives and receives sustenance from the other, and imparts its beneficent influence in a hundred ways that educate, enlighten and tend to the general happiness and prosperity of the people. Manufacturers create an urban population - they set the life blood of business flowing through all the arteries of trade and commerce. They dissipate provincialism, produce a desire for the arts, create a taste for higher education, give a literature to its people and act as the great conserver of the strength and independence of a nation.

Agriculture alone is like a ship without a rudder. It is always subject to the caprices and whims of those who purchase farm products, and has no absolute autonomy of its own. Where the nation has both manufacturers and agriculture, and exports the products of both industries, besides supplying its own demands, it becomes a nation which stands alone; that recognizes no master save its own people and whose prosperity and progress attain the heighth of human achievement in everything possible through human endeavor.

The same things are true of a city or town in a lesser degree as they are of nations - hence how important it is that a city or town strive to create a manufacturing center in its midst whose mills and shops draw tribute from every clime and from every people.

It effects a conquest which all the wars of the ages have failed to accomplish, it is the one mightly lever that has made easy accomplishment our present magnificent civilization.

How necessary it is then for the people of a town or a city to work in harmony and unison for their mutual good. There should be but one spirit animating the people when any question resolves itself into one affecting the prosperity of the community in which they live. They should lay aside all petty jealousies of disposition in the endeavor to secure new factories, which means greater wealth, greater happiness and greater progress towatd the goal of earthly attainment.

Chicago as a city is an ideal place for a large manufacturing center. There is absolutely no reason why it should not become such, providing its people show a disposition equal to that displayed by some of its neighbors. Secure factories and you secure more wealth, more everything that is reckoned in the sum and substance of human happiness.

The Deer Lick Mineral Springs, located right on the edge of this town, are one of the greatest future assets which this town possesses. These springs are located in one of the most beautiful sections of woodland to be imagined, the springs proper being in a basin surrounded with sloping hillsides and fine timberland.

Chicago Junction has had marked improvements within the past few years. It has two school buildings, six churches, two dry goods stores, seven groceries, three drug stores, four physicians, two banks, four or five good hotels, three hardware stores, two furniture stores, three millinery stores and a number of manufacturing plants.

The Baltimore & Ohio railroad company has erected a large, attractive and commodious Y. M. C. A. building, of which the citizens are justly proud. The same company has also recently erected a large round-house and additional shops, being one of the largest round-houses and most complete shops of the kind in the state, at a very large expense, and are still contemplating further improvement at an early date.

A large tract of land of over three thousand acres, about two miles south of Chicago Junction, which was formerly known as the "marshes," has been reclaimed by drainage and is now under cultivation, mostly in celery, but other garden products are also grown in large quantities. The citizens look forward hopefully to the celery product as an important adjunct to the business interests of the place.

To Mr. L. E. Simmons, the editor of the Times, and to Dr. A. R. Lydy our thanks are due for the information and courtesies received during a visit made to their town in the interest of this work.

There is no field in this section of the state which possesses greater possibilities, and for which the future holds in store such rich promise as the marsh lands southwest of this town. It has only been a few years since that this land was brought preminently before the public by Mr. H. C. Johnson, who acquired a considerable tract and began to experiment in its development. The process was naturally tedious, because the old timers throughout the region regarded the property as practically worthless and unfit for cultivation. Mr. Johnson in visiting the various sections of the country where celery, onions, etc., were grown saw that the land in the region, known as the marsh, possessed features which made it superior to any land under cultivation for the production of celery and kindred vegetation. He began to acquire a large section of the property and in a small way opened up several small sections, planting celery and onions. The results obtained were such as to justify every hope entertained of the property in the first place, as the product was such as to make enormous returns from the labor given to cultivation of the land. By dint of strenuous exertions Mr. Johnson succeeded in interesting a number of Hollanders from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to come here and the success of these people was such as to soon attract others to the field. The result is shown today in a good sized village near the borders of the marsh containing one of the thriftiest and most prosperous people to be found within the state of Ohio. Where before their advent nothing but a rank growth of vegetation existed, there is now magnificent tracts of celery land under cultivation. While but a very small portion of the land is yet under cultivation, yet the work done thus far gives promise that at no very distant date every acre of this territory will be taken up and utilized to its greatest extent.

Large purchases by Pittsburg capitalists have been made in this tract involving a heavy expenditure of cash. This fact along with the work already ac- complished as just noted with the great success of there working the land combine to place these lands in the very front. Of the original holdings of Mr. Johnson amounting to twelve hundred acres, two hundred and fifty to three hundred acres are under cultivation and of this last there are one hundred acres in celery, onions, etc.

The number of acres planted by each gardener averages about six, and it will surprise the average reader to know that on each acre planted the average returns have been greater than three hundred dollars. This year, the writer inter- viewed a number of the gardeners as to the income from their tracts. One geutleman stated that his returns had been very close to five hundred dollars per acre from a part of his field. Another gentleman with eight acres stated that his gross receipts would be very close to three thousand dollars. W. B. Keefer has seven and a half acres. This he has put out for him, pays all the expenses incident to the crop, and his gross receipts for the past three years have averaged two thousand, five hundred dollars for the time stated per year. His profits during this time have averaged very close to eight hundred dollars per year for the seven and a half acres, and this without any labor or exertion on his part. Where in all the world is it possible to make such profits, and where such enormous returns are possible, the means leading to them are sure to be early exhausted. It is only necessary to say in this connection that these celery lands about Kalamazoo are selling today for three hundred dollars per acre, while the land in this vicinity can be bought at prices which are ridiculous in comparison. Another point to be looked at is the fact that these lands are one day nearer the big eastern markets than the Kalamazoo territory, and have all about them a large chain of fine cities, making one of the best markets in the world in which to dispose of the product. The soil here is richer, is of a more spongy nature, never overflows, and in many other ways has the advantage of the Michigan fields, all of which means much to the man who buys this property and its value in ten years time.

Nearly all those who have bought land of Mr. Johnson came here with very little means. "Today their homes are such as to be a credit to any community, and they have within them such evidence of thrift as would reflect creditably on any old community. One of the leading bankers of this town told the writer that one of the residents of the marsh was in debt this spring. He had just made some extensive improvements and had but lately come here. He was compelled to make a small loan and owed for material at several places. This season's crop of celery puts him entirely out of debt and he has up to date a balance of nine hundred dollars and one-half of his celery still to harvest. Where, under heaven's dome, is it possible to do better, and be in the midst of one of the most populous sections of the greatest states in the union.

For the sake of getting a more intelligent conception of this large section we append herewith some figures which will show the possibilities of the section.

On the area already under cultivation, consisting of one hundred acres, more or less, the returns are now over three thousand dollars per annum. One man and his family can care for about six acres of land and the average income will amount to not less than three hundred dollars per acre, all depending on the care given the soil and the industry and intelligence of the man who works it.

This tract of land with an annual product of three hundred dollars per acre means a large revenue for this community than could be expected from manufacturing enterprises. A family to every six acres means an added population of one thousand farmers with their families or a total population of between six and seven thousand. And this estimate is conservative, not inflated and can be verified by actual results at a score of different farms in the marsh.

Two crops of celery are harvested every year, as high as seven hundred bushels of onions and three hundred bushels of potatoes have been raised to the acre. Such productiveness is beyond the average man and usually he: will not believe it until the facts are made indubitable. This can be easily demonstrated by a visit to the fields under cultivation, and every facility will be given to make verification easy.

The depth of the soil on these lands run from eight to twelve feet; it is splendidly drained and an abundance of splendid water is easily obtained. They are not situated in remote parts but are adjacent to lines of railway which skirt the property on the northeast and south. Chicago, Ohio, is within two miles of the property, so that every facility is at hand to make life pleasant and the profits the highest possible.

When Mr. Johnson bought this property he was regarded as foolish, but developments have shown the wisdom of his purchase and the immeasurable good which it will ultimately do this town.

Another feature about this property is the fact that it is not necessary to go to the wilds of Oklahoma or some other equally remote section in order to get a farm at a small price - a farm not of hundreds of acres but one which will produce more wealth to the acre than any land in the United States devoted to staple crops. You are within the limits of civilization; you have the greatest market in the world at your doors and for a few hundred dollars it is possible for you to buy sufficient land to make you an income which you could not hope to get from hundreds of acres of ordinary farm lands. These are considerations worthy of your careful thought. A few years and the chance of a life time will be gone, for it will riot be many years until this property will be a veritable garden spot entirely off the market, or held at such figures as to make its purchase prohibitive by the man of small means.

Norwalk, the county seat of Huron county, takes its name from Huron, Connecticut. The inhabitants of that town having suffered great loss by the British, burning and destroying property in that town, in the Revolutionary war, were in part compensated for their loss by lands in Ohio, called the Firelands, and organized as Huron county 1818, containing half a million of acres. Their loss was estimated at eighty-six thousand, two hundred and ninety-six dollars.

Norwalk is a beautiful city, fifty-six miles west of Cleveland, about ninetyfive miles north of Columbus, and fifty-seven miles east of Toledo. One of the chief attractions of Norwalk is its principal avenue, Main street, which is two miles in length and is beautifully shaded by rows of maple trees. The center is the business portion, with court house, school buildings and churches. Much taste is evinced in the private residences and churches, and in adorning the ground around them with shrubbery and flowers. As a whole the city is one of the most beautiful and attractive in Ohio.

The town is often called "Maple City," on account of the beautiful maple trees that line the streets. The town is an important station on the Michigan Southern and the Wheeling & Lake Erie railroads. It also has a number of electric railroads as given elsewhere.

Platt Benedict was the founder of the town. He was from Danbury, Connecticut. His death occurred October 25, 1866, at the age of ninety-one years, seven months and seven days.

He was four years old when the British red-coats came to his native town to do mischief, having burned Norwalk, Connecticut on their way. Perhaps it was this incident that indirectly paved the way to his founding an Ohio Norwalk. When he came out here in 1817, he was seven weeks on the journey coming out, with his family and household goods, the latter stowed away in a wagon drawn by oxen.

About a mile west of the village were some ancient fortifications. The town is surrounded by rich farming lands, has a fine commercial trade, and considerable manufacturing interests.

The site of Norwalk was first visited with a view to founding a town, by Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, Platt Benedict, and one or two others, in October, 1815. The place was then in the wilderness, and there were but a few settlers in the county. The examination being satisfactory, the town plat was laid out in the spring following, by Almon Ruggles, and lots offered for sale at from sixty to one hundred dollars each. In the fall of 1817, Platt Benedict built a log house with the intention of removing his family there, but in his absence, it was destroyed by fire. He reconstructed his dwelling shortly afterwards, and thus the founding of the village was commenced. In the May following Norwalk was made the county seat, and the public buildings subsequently erected. The year after a census was taken and the population had reached one hundred and nine. In the first few years of the settlement church organizations were formed, the Methodist being the first, a class being fermed in 1820. In 1821, the Episcopal church was instituted. From that time to the present the town has grown with the progressive increase of the county.

Early History Of Bellevue And Its Progress

Bellevue is located on the north and south line between the counties of Huron and Sandusky, being on the west line of the Connecticut Western Reserve, one hundred and twenty miles west of the east line of the state of Ohio, and one hundred and two miles east of its western boundary, and is twelve miles south of Sandusky Bay. It is on the line of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad, forty-five miles east of Toledo and sixty-seven miles west of Cleveland.

Immediately eastward lie the prairies, and, adjacent, on the west are what was in early times called the Openings," and the vicinity on all sides is first class farming land of hardly surpassed fertility and beauty.

The limestone formation - Silurian period - crops out a little east of town, and its comb on edge, of varying width from two to four miles, extends in a line nearly north and south from near Sandusky Bay, some fifteen miles southward. The limestone is amply covered by the "drift" adapting the region to farming uses, but the rock is very much fractured and tilted, forming innumerable crevices and caves, and so thick is the formation that these caves and crevices form usually an abundant under drainage to the said limestone region and there are no streams of any considerable length on the surface. At different places these caverns cay be entered by passages leading down to the great reservoir of waters below. This is what is consequently called the "sink-hole" region, and is beyond question the source of the splendid springs of unfailing and abundant water power to the mills of Gold Creek and Venice and the village of Bellevue whenever the times comes, may, by means of the proper machinery, easily procure from this great natural reservoir an abundant supply of clear. cold water.

The titles to land in the Huron county portion of the village have an interesting history, going back to the charter of Charles the IL, king of Great Britain. in A. D. 1662, known as the Connecticut charter, and involving also interesting events in the Revolutionary war, and subsequent accounts of congress and of the state of Connecticut; but we have not space to pursue the subject.

Huron county was created by the act of February 7, 1807, and included all the "Firelands," viz, five hundred thousand acres off the west end of the Western Reserve, and was to be organized when the legislature should think proper, but till then, was to remain as it then was, attached to Portage and Geauga counties for judicial purposes. The War of 1812, and other causes deferred the organization of Huron county, until the 31st of January, 1815.

The territory now embraced in Lyme and Groton townships was first organized as the township of Wheatsborough, being named after Mr. Wheat, who owned a large tract in what is now Groton. In A. D. 1820, Lyme township was organized, embracing its present territory and also a strip one mile wide next north thereof now a part of Groton. In 1840, its limits were fixed as thev now are. Sandusky county was part of an old Indian territory, and was organized April r, 1820.

Earliest Settlers

John Baker and his son, Hiram, Mark Hopkins, Elnathan George, Return Burlinson, Charles E. Drake, James and John Kinney, Henry Williard, Thomas G. Amsden, Frederick Chapman, Dr. Amos Amsden, N. Chapman and Dr. L. G. Harkness are among the first settlers in the vicinity and of the above named pioneers only three are still living, namely, Hiram Baker, Thomas G. Amsden and Dr. L. G. Harkness.

First Settlers Who Built Log Cabins In What Is Now Bellevue

The first settler within the present limits of Bellevue was Mark Hopkins, of Genesee county, New York, who with his family located in the fall of 1815, where Peter Bates now lives and built the first log cabin.

The next was Elnathan George, who came with his family in the spring of 1816, from Genesee county, New York. He purchased one acre of land of Gurdon Williams, for which he gave him a cow, and built the second log house and fixed his home on the lot where the Tremont block still stands. The next year he put up an addition to his dwelling, making it a "double-loghouse," and opened a tavern. The settlements in this region were yet very sparse, but the main line of travel between the east and west was the Strong's Ridge road to this point.

Return Burlinson next came and fixed his home, on what is now known as the Herl property, on the Sandusky county side in A. D. 1817, and started a blacksmith shop. He at first bought two acres and afterwards bought eleven one-hundredths of an acre more at the southeast corner of the same and built the third log house thereon, and which stood partly in what is now Main street, a litle westward from the southwest corner of the present Exchange hotel and nearly opposite the head of Kilbourne street. A year or two after Mr. John Kinney completed a log house, near D. Moore's present blacksmith shop, making the fourth habitation of this kind. He also followed blacksmithing.

Charles E. Drake, in 1822 purchased of the United States "fractional-eighty," being the east one-half of southeast quarter of section twenty-five in York township, embracing most of the present village on the Sandusky side, and about the same time Captain Zadoc Strong "entered" for Dr. James Strong the eighty acres next west.

In the division of the Firelands among the "sufferers" that part next to Bellevue fell to the Latimers, or they became the assignees of the same, and it was known as the "Latimer tract." Gurdon Williams purchased of the Latimers 1816, and Elnathan George bought of Williams. Elnathan George sold his house to Charles F. Drake, Drake to James Kinney, brother to John, Kinney to Hiram Baker, who remodeled it into a frame building in 1831. Baker then transferred it to Mrs. Parmelee, Mrs. Parmelee to Lowell Chandler, who erected the Tremont house in 1836. It passed through several hands and was then again purchased by Lowell Chandler. Shortly after, Mr. J. Egle purchased it and is still its proprietor. The building was occupied as a hotel but a few years, when Mr. Chandler remodeled it into stores, which are now occupied by W. R. West and J. L. Reis.

The First Frame Building

The first frame building on the Sandusky county side, was erected by Chapman & Amsden, on the ground where the Bellevue bank now stands, and was used by them as a store, T. G. Amsden using the upper portion of this building as a dwelling house. The next frame building on the same side was a dwelling house built by N. Chapman, about 1829, in the rear of Goodson & Hubbard's drug store. When the present block was erected this building was moved to the corner of Castalia and North streets. The third frame house Mr. Return Burlinson erected on the lot now owned by Mrs. Herl, where it still stands. Hiram Baker built the first frame building on the Huron county side, in the year 1831, on the land which the Tremont block is situated. This building was burned shortly after. He immediately built another frame house on the same spot, which was occupied by himself and Mr. D. H. Fitch. That building now comprises the east part of the long building east of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1834, Mr. Fitch built another frame building.

The First Road Through Bellevue

In the fall of 1815, when Mr. Baker came here, there were scarcely any public roads, although Indian trails were very thick. He and his son, Hiram, cut a road through the woods from Russel's Corners to Strong's Ridge, where they lived, to the stone quarries, about one mile west of town, and in the spring of 1817 Hiram Baker was one of the party who commenced the road through to Burd's, near Clyde, at which place, and also at Cook's Corners, they put up guide boards, directing travelers to and from Lower Sandusky through Strong's settlement, as it had usually gone from Cook's Corners to Pipe creek and up the North Ridge. At this time there was not a settler between here and Fremont, or Lower Sandusky, as it was then called.

First Stores

Thomas G. Amsden, who came into this country in December, 1819, in company with Nathaniel and Frederick Chapman, has the honor of starting the first store, which was opened in November, 1823, in a good sized log building. When he first came into the country, he was engaged in traffic with the Indians and French.