Medina County, Ohio - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 28 of those read), 1881

Chapter with an unread heading (no. 28 of those read)

T often occurs within the experience of the historical writer, that, when any section of country was first settled, some portions were cleared and inhabited a quarter of a century before other portions removed but a few miles distant. Owing tosome natural feature which unfitted the land for occupancy in early years, no improvements were made ; and some of the finest farms in the county have been cleared and subjected to cultivation within comparatively late years. Following the natural instincts of human life, the pioneer complacently selected what, in his judgment, was the finest land within the reach of his limited purse, for whatever object he had in view, whether agriculture, horticulture, stock-rearing, milling or mechanics. Its proximity to mills, stores, schoolhouses, churches, good water, quarries, etc., was an important item to be considered. If any or all of these were yet lacking, the settler chose a home where the configuration of the land and the natural surroundings gave promise that the country became well settled. Sometimes, as was quite often the case, the settler arrived in the wilderness with more children than dollars, trusting that with the aid of those two valuable assistants - help and self-denial - he might at last secure a home where he could pass the remainder of his days in security and peace. "It hope," and what a rest it is from the dreary prospects that hang like the shadow of some impending calamity over the future. How precious to our happiness are the castles that we build! How sweet it is to let the imagination wander off into pleasing representations of future stages of life; and how universal and cherished is this phase of human character. It opens boundless fields of enjoyment as vivid as reality, and crowns desolate and desponding lives with the bright flowers of approaching happiness. When all the blessings from Pandora's box are fled, hope alone remains, a solace in the darkest hour of human life, to irradiate the future with the smiles of Divine promise and love, and to save man from despair at the approach of death. The pioneer, removed from the influences of human society, no doubt thought as did Alexander Selkirk :

* Q Solitude! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face? Better dwell in the midst of alarms, Than reign in this horrible place.

cross that weighs heavily upon the heart as the years advance. In the seclusion of nonintercourse with fellow-men, the tendency of human nature is to revert from the standard of . society in its present artificial character, and to renew the cast-off instincts and habits of barbarous man. Evolutionists insist that society is an organic growth or relation, and that it is neither the natural nor primitive condition of man. They assert, that, if the usages of society be partially relaxed or wholly avoided, the infallible result is a fatal retrogression to primitive conditions. This would place man back almost to the higher plane of brute capabilities. However, the pioneer had nothing of this nature to fear, as his isolation from social contact with his fellows was but temporary, from the obvious fact that thousands of settlers would locate near him in the course of a comparatively short time. This philosophical question was not the one which most perplexed the settler. His problem was something like this : * How in the world am I to feed and clothe this 'raft' of children?" That same question has staggered many a man not recognized in histories as a pioneer; and it may be added that many a husband and father never succeeded in reaching a correct solution. He could not look in a book as the school-boy does, and write the answer in its proper position on the slate. That esteemed privilege was denied him. The case must be met with honest and incessant toil, and no legerdemain could deceive the great Teacher looking down from above. Others in the scbool of life could solve the problem at a glance, and the prosperous condition of their children, the presence of a broad scholarship, and a lofty refinement in thought and act, attest the accuracy and practical value of their solution of the problem of social life. Pioneers belong to that division of humanity known as benefactors. Through countless denials and self-imposed hardships, through almost a lifetime of unceasing privaor tions and perplexities, they founded the bright and happy homes of to-day, where education, religion, refinement, and all the luxuries of wealth, abound.

York Township remained as long unsettled as any other in the county. This was not because of a dearth or absence of natural attractions. The soil was as rich for agricultural purposes as that of any other; and the opening for settlers was promising, and gave assurance of future opulence to those who were sav- | ing and industrious. Settlers, like migratory birds, seek a common resort. They move. in flocks (to continue the figure), and, at the end of a long journey, alight in the same neighborhood. It seems that no flock saw proper to | alight in York until many years after several of the other townships had been visited. Adventurous birds, however, left the neighboring coveys, and attempted to build their nests and rear their young abroad. It thus came to pass that, prior to the appearance of the first permanent white settler in 1830, the township was the home of several wandering hunters and trappers, who served as an advance-guard to the advancing army of settlers. It is quite certain, that, soon after the war of 1812, one or more professional hunters resided in a small to fall into decay after one or two seasons of occupancy. the time when the first permanent settler located in the township ; and, before entering upon the south by La Fayette, and west by Litchfield. Like the remainder of the county, its surface is irregular, and is characterized by peculiarly | Shaped prominences, which, at a distance, ap- pear to be the works of Mound-Builders, but which, upon closer inspection, prove to have been deposited by glacial action in times which antedate, by long periods of years, all recorded history. These prominences or hills, are usually composed of a coarse bowlder clay, and large quantities of gravel of crystalline rock, granite, quartz, evidently of a foreign nature. The lower and more level portions, though comprising a large percentage of clay, are still thoroughly intermingled with a rich semi-sandy and semi-alluvial soil, giving great strength and permanence to its productiveness. The composite nature of the soil, and the proportion in which the composing elements are blended, assure a fertility that is unknown in sections of the State or county where a pure soil abounds. Such lands are fitted for a greater variety of crops, as each vegetable production can select. from the soil that which is adapted to its permanent and most rapid growth and strength, while a pure soil, lacking as it does the elements necessary to the life of some plants, can support the growth of but few. The soil also has great strength, as is shown by the fact that the same crop can be raised year after year on the same piece of land, without decrease in quality or quantity produced. The land is good for grazing purposes, and for meadows of luxuriant grass. Considerable sand is displayed near Abbeyville, not only in small inland and isolated banks, but in strata along the abrupt banks of Rocky River. Excellent hard water is obtained in abundance, at depths varying from ten to forty feet. A few perpetual springs are found, and, if their location is near a public highway, troughs are prepared where horses may quench their thirst.

The township is well drained by numerous streams which flow in a northerly direction, and the waters of each finally reach Rocky River. The principal stream is Mallet Creek, named thus for the first white settler who lived on its banks. It enters the township on the southern line, about a mile west of the center, and flows a little west of north until near the center, when it takes a course a little east of north, and finally leaves the township at very nearly the geographical center of the northern boundary. Itis fed throughout its course by numerous affluents, which join it from either side. This whole system of drainage has suffieient fall to insure the contiguous bottom land from ever becoming marshy, and unfitted for the use of the husbandman. The stream and its branches have worn their way, in some places, many feet below the surrounding valley level, owing, no doubt, to the character of the soil. The northeastern corner is crossed by Rocky River, a stream which has worn its way deep into the underlying rock. Near the bridge at Abbeyville, perpendicular embankments of sandstone may be seen, rising abruptly from the water's edge, in some cases to the height of seventy feet. From the worn character of the perpendicular surface thus exposed, it seems reasonable to infer that the bed of the stream was once at the top of the enbankment, and that through a long period of years it gradually descended to its present position. Mallet Creek and its branches drain almost or quite one-half of the township. The northeastern third is drained by three or more small "runs," which flow directly into Rocky River, near Abbeyville. There are no swamps of any note, although in early years the northern part was quite wet, and was covered with an almost impenetrable thicket, wherein wild animals sought refuge from pursuing hounds or hunters. In common with other portions of the county and State, York, in early years, was destitute of convenient roads, and it was only after the lapse of time that the incidental sticking in the mud, which attended each journey, could be avoided. The first road properly surveyed in the township was the Norwalk road, extending diagonally to York Cen- ter from Medina, thence directly westward. It was surveyed in 1830, and was laid out only to be avoided, as the passage of a few wagons so cut up the clay soil that drivers preferred to select their route through the woods near by. This procedure was only altered when the road had been sufficiently graded to turn off the water, instead of allowing it to remain in the ruts made by the wagons.

We come now to the time when the first settlers appeared in York. It being premised, that, inasmuch as portions of the county, contiguous to the township, had been first settled a score or more years earlier than 1830, and that the townships of Liverpool, Medina, La Fayette, were at that date quite thickly populated - it may appear strange that no settler had yet concluded to locate in York. One reason for this state of affairs was that the township was owned by speculators in the East, who charged so much for their land that it was practically thrown out of market. The land was owned in six tracts - five of them each a mile wide, and extending from the eastern boundary to within a mile of the western line, and the sixth, comprising a strip one mile wide, extending north and south across the western side. The tracts number from the south to the north, the one on the west being the sixth. No.1 was owned by a man named Chapman. It must not be understood that the price of the land was far above that in neighboring townships. The price asked varied from 25 cents to $1 above the current rates, and, in the estimation of aman with but little money, this was an important consideration, and effectually prevented the sale of the land. [n the year 1826, the following persons paid taxes on 14,137 acres of the land: Fanny Chapman, Elijah Hubbard, James Mather, Samuel Mather's heirs, Thomas Mather, Thomas Sill and William N. Sill. The land was valued at $29,936, and the tax paid was $295.62.

of Monroe County, N. Y., came to the township, purchased a small tract of land on the branch road where Eli Hubbard now lives, erected a small dwelling, and immediately moved his family from Medina, where they had stopped until Mr. Wilson could build a house. This man was the first permanent settler. He was immediately followed by Levi Branch, Lawson Branch, Harvey Bruce, E. Munger, John Dunshee, Reuben Stickney, and Solomon Hubbard. These men came with their families to Medina in the month of October, 1830, - and, while the families remained in the village, the men went to York, found their land which had been previously bought or traded for, erected their rough log houses, and returned to Medina for their families. Levi Branch was looked upon with envy by his fellow-settlers, as he had taken the trouble to bring from York State a small stove. This was properly adjusted in his cabin, and was looked upon by all visiting neighbors as a curiosity, and was spoken of so often throughout the neighborhood, that * Branch's stove" became almost a by-word. The cabin in which this " curiosity " was placed, and in which the family moved, was only half-finished, as but half of the roof was on, and the doors were yet to-be manufactured. Blankets were hung up to serve the purpose of doors, temporarily, and tr. Branch continued busily engaged in riving clapboard shingles to be placed on the halffinished roof. A rough floor had been hastily fitted in, designed to do duty until leisure moments would give Mr. Branch opportunity to construct a better one. The fact that settlers in the surrounding neighborhoods had attained a comparative degree of comfort, did not mitigate in the least the hardships and sufferings of the York settlers. They were compelled to pass through the same bitter school of experience. The size of the tracts of land purchased depended upon the means at the command of the settlers. Levi Branch bought that of any of the other early settlers. All | were located south or southeast of the center ; and, within a few years, this portion of the township put on the outer garb of pioneer civilization. Cabins of various designs rested near the center of small clearings ; the ring and echo of ax and rifle awoke reverberations on the distant hills and in the heavy forest; the * ding-dong" of cow-bells told where the herds were feeding; the barking dog betrayed the fact that a coon had been treed; and all the attendant features appeared which give to clearings in the forest the name "settlement."

For the next five years after the appearance | of the settlers already mentioned, as many as thirty others located in the township and began clearing their land and eultivating the soil. The first thing to be secured was a garden, where potatoes and kindred vegetables could be raised. After this came the fields of wheat, dotted with hundreds of stumps, to avoid which, the reaper must use care. While the crop was growing, the settler was busily engaged in deadening the trees, and leveling them with the ground. At this point of the clearing process, a great deal of useless labor could be avoided by judicious management, guided by the light of experience. In some cases, all the timber on a certain piece of land was to be destroyed by fire. On such occasions, the chopper would select some central point, around which, for 300 or 400 feet, all the trees would be felled toward the center selected. They would lodge on the central tree, and remain ' standing until the latter was cut down, when all came thundering to the earth together. Here they would remain until dry and dead, when they were almost totally consumed by fire. At other times, a line, perhaps eighty rods or more in length, was laid out across a tract of land, and all the trees within 300 or 400 feet were felled toward this line, thus forming an enormous windrow. At the proper dis- tance away, anotherline was established, and the process was repeated. In this manner, whole sections were often chopped in windrows, and, as soon as the trees were thoroughly dead and dry, fires were lighted over the entire area of fallen timber, and the men devoted their time and attention in preventing the fire from dying out, and in seeing that all the fallen material was destroyed. In the night-time, the fires thus lighted over half a farm, compared favorably with the prairie fires so well known in the West. In early years, a great deal of farm labor was done through the medium of "bees." Whole neighborhoods would assemble and .accomplish in a short time what would perplex one man for months. A large share of the clearing done in York was accomplished in this manner, and all was the result of an interchange of labor. The men of a neighborhood would assemble and clear up the farms in rotation, and it is true, that a vast saving of time and labor resulted from these "bees," and it is often the case, from the peculiar nature of the work to be performed, that twenty men can accomplish in one day what one man cannot accomplish in twenty days. If the butt-cuts of trees were to be saved, the windrow process of clearing was often adopted, as in that case, the tops were crushed together, while the butts were free from troublesome branches. When one or more cuts were to be preserved on each tree, it was customary, also, to adopt the central process of clearing, and the center selected was usually the summit of some prominence, as in that case the logs could bé rolled more easily out of the reach of the fire.

It is impossible to name all the settlers who came to York prior to 1835. Previous to their coming, they were notified, upon inquiry, that the excellent and well-traveled Norwalk Turnpike extended through the center of the township, and afforded an unparalleled outlet to market and mill. They were also informed that the township was crossed by the beautiful Mal- let Creek, in whose clear waters thousands of speckled trout abounded. Thus, the most sanguine anticipations of the settlers were aroused, and all were anxious to view the bright land which destiny had selected for their home. Alas for the delusions of fancy! It was discovered that the informant had meant speckled frogs, instead of speckled trout, and the welltraveled turnpike proved to be a snare and a myth. It is related that R. M. Lampson, Sr., went with his wagon to Medina for a few bricks, and, on his return, though he had but 125, his wagon sank to the hub in the soil of the " celebrated Norwalk Turnpike." This enraged Mr. Lampson, whereupon he uttered some startling truths, in a peculiarly emphatic manner, respecting the famous turnpike and the meandering Mallet Creek. He and many others were for a long time singularly tender on the subjects of speckled trout and turnpikes. Like a celebrated lady, they refused to be comforted, because they were not - as their hopes had depicted. Time, at length, healed the wounds. The township was organized and named in 1832. The name " York" was bestowed upon it, owing to the fact that nearly all the settlers came from York State, and, at their suggestion, the authorities created the township under that title, and ordered an election held at the resiidence of Levi Branch, on the 2d of April, 1832, for the purpose of electing the necessary . Officers and of completing the organization. On that day, twenty settlers (all then living in the township, with the exception of about five) assembled, and polled their first votes as citizens of York Township. It will thus be seen, that, from June, 1830, to the following April, about twenty-five settlers located in the town- Ship. This first election was held in Mr. Branch's barn, and, after a due amount of " wire-pulling " and " electioneering," the following officers were elected : Alexander Forbes, Justice of the Peace and (probably) Clerk; Philo Fenn, Treasurer; Levi Branch, Thomas

Brintnall and Sylvanus Thunn, Trustees. It was no uncommon occurrence, in pioneer times, to hold town meetings in barns and dwellings. This was rendered necessary from a lack of schoolhouses and town halls. It required but about six years from the time of the first settlement before the township was almost as densely populated as it is at present. It was during this period that the township sprang, like Minerva from the head of Jove, into vigorous and mature life. Industries of various kinds began to arise as abruptly, if not as grandly, as Aladdin's palace, and soon the wild farms of the forest were transformed into those of civilization. Hundreds of acres of fine timber were given to the flames, and the peaceful hum of busy human life was heard, where erst age resounded. The paths of the forest were opened to the light and heat of the sun; the ponds and marshes slowly disappeared ; waving seas of wheat and corn appeared; roads

| were established and graded ; stumps were uprooted and removed; fields became encircled with strong rail fences ; domestic animals fre- | quented the paths and feeding-grounds of wild ones ; schoolhouses appeared, with their discipline and instruction; happy homes were created by the industry and genius of man ; religious institutions, with their attendant blessings, arose; the pleasing and complex relations of social.life took the place of savage councils and pow-wows ; natural features, with artificial adornments, improved the wild figures of the forest; and the vast energy of a progressive and enlightened people transformed the wilderness into quiet hamlets and peaceful country homes.

When the township was first settled, deer, wolves and other wild animals had not wholly disappeared. These and others were yet seen at their favorite haunts, and were pursued and shot by those whose inclinations had a sporting tendency, and whose want: could be supplied from the spoils of the chase. Alexander Forbes was perhaps the most skillful and successful hunter ever a resident of the township. He built his cabin on the diagonal road running from Medina to York Center, in the fall of 1830. He was a tall, powerfully built man, and, it is said, would kill an average of one hundred deer each season. Extravagant stories are told concerning his ability to bring in large quantities of game, and his superior marksmanship. He often went into the forest in the morning, and returned at night with forty or fifty squirrels, each having been killed by a bullet through its brain. It is related that on one occasion of about three weeks, he killed eight deer, on an average, per day. On another occasion, he started a herd of seven deer early in the morning, and continued following the same herd all day, occasionally shooting one, and at night al] had fallen before his unerring rifle. These stories are not impossible, and they bear the evidences of truth. It is no wonder that such rapid destruction of game soon left the forest deserted. Wolves were a continual annoyance for many years, and it seemed almost a necessary result, that, when a valuable flock of sheep had been reared with no little attendant trouble, these blood-thirsty creatures must steal into the fold, and slaughter the whole flock. It is not probable that the owner, in viewing the field of death the next morning, passed many complimentary remarks on the act, or went about his daily task in an enviable frame of mind. It thus came to pass that the County Commissioners offered a bounty of several dollars for wolf-scalps, and so great was the push after the reward that the wolves found it best to depart for other localities. Since the disappearance of deer and wolves, coons and squirrels have been the principal " game."

Levi Braneh owned the only team in the township during the winter of 1830-31, and passed the greater portion of his time in traveling to Wooster, Akron and other distant places to procure supplies. He was a kind, benevolent Christian, and oddly built his cabin on that portion of his farm farthest removed from Medina. When asked why he did this, he replied, that it was done in order that, as he had the only team, he could have the pleasure of conveying all his neighbors living on the diagonal

In the spring of 1835, Alonzo Forbes and Anson Bellamy built a saw-mill on Mallet Creek, on the farm now owned by John B. Knapp. The mill was a sort of a shanty, constructed of lumber sawed before the building was erected. The saw was operated by water-power, and the mill was at first located on the bank of the stream ; but it was found impossible to allow the building to remain there, as freshets were sure to damage the machinery, and, very likely, sweep away portions of the mill. It remained there, however, for several years of irregular operation, and prepared for the neighborhood a limited quantity of rough lumber. It changed owners several times, and was finally purchased by a Mr. Worden, who altered the arrangements materially. He built a dam back a quarter of a mile above the mill, and then, by means of a long, narrow race, obtained excellent waterpower, without the danger of having his mill swept away by every freshet. The mill was and turned out, in its time, quite a large quantity of lumber. It finally became unprofitable, was permitted to run down, and was not afterward re-continued. Mr. Zimri Cook says that the first saw-mill in the township was built in November, 1832, and located on Mallet Creek, on the farm now owned by Mrs. Yorks. It was built and operated some three or four years by Squire Drayton, who, at the expiration of that time, removed the machinery and permitted the mill-building to fall into ruin, from a lack of then, by means of a short race, a fair waterpower was obtained. This mill, like most of the other early ones, was in danger of being swept away at every heavy rain, as it was insecurely built, and was erected below the limit of high-water mark. It was soon removed, but the machinery was put in running operation in another part of the State.

It was the custom, even after saw-mills were in active and profitable operation in the township, for the settlers to erect log houses instead of frame ones, from lumber obtained at the mills. This was done, as less time and expense were required, and the buildings thus erected, though homelier, were warmer, more substantial, and would last longer.

It seems proper, in this connection, to give a description of the method of erecting log houses, "not," says an old settler, "for the enlightenment of the present generation, but from a desire to hand down to posterity the primitive structures of pioneer times, as this mode of building will soon become obsolete and unknown."* Proceeding with the description, he says: "If a cabin was to be built from the forest, a leader was chosen, who was always a man of experience, and dubbed 'captain.' The officer thus commissioned would classify the assembled settlers, and assign to each his respective duties, about as follows :

*1. He would select four of the most expert axmen as corner-men, whose duty it was to first elear off the site, square it, and place a bowlder at each corner, to build upon, after being duly leveled, then saddle and notch down the logs in good workmanlike order.

*2. He would assign a sufficient number of | suitable men, to select, as near the site as possible, the best large-grown, straight-grained white-oak tree, for clap-boards, whose further duty was to fell it and cross-cut it into suitable lengths, split the cuts into square bolts, and required to prepare puncheons for floors, doors, window-casings, and chimney-corner jambs, out of such timber as was best adapted for the purpose, such as oak, chestnut or ash, which, when properly. selected, could be made of sufficient length and width to make good building lumber. The puncheons for the floor were placed upon sills, and supported in the middle by joists, after which the upper surface was carefully dressed by a skillful adz-man, who could make it almost as smooth as though it had been sawed and planed.

"3. He would select and detail such a number as seemed necessary, to cull out, as near the site as possible, straight, suitably sized, standing trees, and fell them, and chop them into requisite lengths, for the proposed structure, with teamsters to haul them in as they were prepared. To this force were added other teamsters, provided with rough wooden sleds, to haul in the clapboards, puncheons and other lumber of a similar nature. All the above having been carried into effect, the leader would take his station and direct men from his force, to prepare smooth skids, the necessary number of strong forks, with grape-vine or hickory withes around the prongs, to render them seeure, and with two or three cross-sticks inserted through holes bored in the lower ends, to prevent the hands from slipping, and also to provide a sufficient number of handspikes of tough hickory, dog-wood or iron-wood, some four feet long, with ends shaved flat and smooth, to be experience, skill and ability to secure the com- | pletion of the work in the shortest space of | time. Stationed upon a prominent position, | where all the stages of the work passed in review before his eye, he could direct his forces as | Systematically as a General does his troops on | the field of battle. As the logs were hauled to the site and unloaded, the necessary number of men would be directed, either to roll the logs to the skids, or to pick them up on hand-spikes, and carry them there. Four corner-men were selected, who, from their experience and skill, could perform the best work, and one of these was assigned to each corner to notch and fit the logs as the walls of the house arose. The logs were shoved on the skids to their destined position, and here the expert corner-men would chamfer or bevel off the ends at a suitable angle, the work being done oneach side of the log, so that the two beveled sides would meet in a point, upon which a notch in thetransverse log destined to be placed above it, could rest. This operation was called saddling the logs, and re- | quired considerable skill to secure a close fit. The two end logs were placed in their positions first, and then the sills were selected and notched deeper than the other logs, in order that the floor, whieh was to rest upon them, might not be too far above the ground. It will thus be observed that the lower end of each log was deeply notched, and that the upper side of the same end, was chamfered into a ridge, upon which the transverse log next above it could rest. The corner-men, at the same log, would work together, as each would notch or chamfer at the same time as the other.

* After the four foundation logs had been properly notehed and saddled, and placed in a | firm position in the shape of a square, the next thing was to cut in the sills the slots to receive the sleepers, though this was often postponed until after the building was erected. These sleepers were selected with the view of their being intended to support the floor, and, after being hewed off to the proper shape and size at the end, were placed in their positions in the slots or gains.

"This. being done, the rapid erection of the walls continued, the corner-men using their loosely-held axes to insure the perpendicularity of the corners. When the walls became quite high, the skids, with one end resting on the ground and the other on the top of the walls, were used as a rude tramway, upon which the logs could be moved to their positions. The logs would be slid up the skids as far as possible with the hand-spikes, after which strong men, with the above-described forks, would take the logs, and, with the end well down toward the ground, would raise the latter to their position on the wall. It sometimes happened that the forks were not sufficiently strong to support the logs, in which case they split, thus allowing the logs to slide down the skids upon the men. Occasional deaths were caused by not taking the proper precaution to have the prongs strong enough. Thus the building progressed until the required height was reached - all being done with precise uniformity and celerity. At last the eave-bearers would be raised upon the two ends of the building. These projected some twenty inches beyond the wall, and would be notched down and saddled back far enough to receive the timbers hereafter described.

would be shoved up to the front corner-men and rolled to the back eave, and notched down upon the saddles, being allowed to project some fifteen inches beyond the outer surface of the wall The first rib would be sent up in the same manner, and rolled back to a proper distance inside of the butting-pole; and notched down so as to give the pitch of the roof from the center of the pole to the top surface of said rib. In this manner, the corresponding timbers for the front of the cabin were placed. The first two gable-logs would be placed in notches cut into the ribs, and chamfered at the ends to suit the pitch of the roof The remaining ribs and gable-logs being placed, the roof was then ready for the clapboards, which are laid down upon the ribs with the lower ends resting against the butting-poles, with small spaces between, which are top-covered so as to break joints. Knees of proper length are prepared at each end, and are placed endwise against the butting-poles to hold the weight-poles in place, the latter being laid upon the roof-coursers as nearly over the ribs as possible. In like manner, another course of clapboards is laid down with the lower ends resting against the weightpole of the next lower course. In this manner the roof is completed."

This is the manner in which log houses were erected. It was usually the custom, however, for the owner to haul all the necessary logs and timbers before the workmen arrived, and even to cut and place in position upon the bowlders the four logs for the foundation. He also often rived out the clapboards with a frow, and prepared timbers for the floor and roof.

It was not long before schoolhouses and churches were erected in different parts of the township. Enterprises of various kinds were undertaken, and soon the citizens of York could boast of as fine schoolhouses, mills, etc., as any other portion of the county. The citizens were persevering in industry and stanch in integrity and moral worth, and the rising generation felt the impact of these influences, and grew into intelligent and moral people. During the days when Abolitionists arose all over the North to denounee, with ceaseless tongue, the wrongs of slavery, and especially what they deemed the infamous measures of the Fugitive Slave Law, the citizens of York were not wholly silent or inactive. They became satisfied that the measures of the law were totally wrong in the sight of man and God, and set themselves industriously to work to render the law practically inoperative by a constant evasion. As stated by Ephraim Lindley, of Brunswick, they were dissatisfied with being made slave-catchers without their consent, and resolved to abrogate the measures of the law so far as lay in their power. Wesley Hulet, then residing near Abbeyville, was one of the most active men in the township to assist runaway slaves to Canada. An underground railroad, with many branches, ex- tended north and south across Ohio, and, while the main line lay near some well-traveled highway, and was traveled by those runaways who did not fear pursuit nor court concealment, the branches: were much more secret, and were traversed by trembling men, women and children, upon whose heads a high reward was set, and whose safety from a punishment worse than death lay in their secret passage to the dominion of the British queen. One of these branches extended through York, and was, perhaps, traveled far more extensively than many of the main lines. It is stated on the authority of Mr. Lindley, who was one of the most active slave concealers and assistants in the county, and whose cabin was the next station north of that of Mr. Hulet, that the latter helped more than a score of runaways on their way North. Ansel Bowen, of York, was connected with the road, as were also Jonathan Hulet, of Brunswick; W. P. Stevens, also of Brunswick; William Castle, of Abbeyville, and Samuel Hale. It is stated by Mr. Lindley, that, on one occasion, Wesley Hulet, driving a wagon containing nine runaway slaves, stopped at the cabin of the former, and, after Mr. Lindley had fed the black people and furnished them with various articles of clothing, Mr. Hulet conveyed them on to the next station north, which was, perhaps, the cabin of W. P. Stevens. A huge negro, clothed in tatters and covered with scratches and wounds, presented himself one night at Lindley's cabin, and begged food, and the privilege of remaining there until morning. The request was willingly granted; but the negro, who had doubtless been pursued, and, in consequence, was distrustful of everybody, seemed to entertain misgivings as to the good faith of Mr. Lindley, and, when conducted to having the door locked, and of having possession of the key during the night. Whether he slept well or not, is not known; but, when he opened the door and came out to breakfast the next morning, he told the family that he had had a dream, wherein it appeared that he was caught, at which point he awoke and was overjoyed to find that he was yet free and likely to reach Canada. It was afterward ascertained that he was closely pursued by his owner, but at last succeeded in eluding his pursuers and effecting his safe arrival across the lake. The point on the lake shore where the runaways were instructed to go, was at the mouth of Grand River. Here they were told to remain concealed until a certain hour on one or more days of the week, when a small steamer, coming from the Canada side, would approach the landing, whereupon the runaways were to hurry on board without ceremony or delay, and the vessel would convey them across the lake. It is said that men throughout the State furnished the money which paid the owner of the steamer for his trouble. This quiet place of boarding was selected because all the principal landings, such as at Cleveland, were thronged with disguised, watchful and irate owners, looking for their "cattle," and preparing to conduct them back to a condition worse than Egyptian bondage. It may be said that York Township did her share of violating the Fugitive Slave Law, and of assisting the weary runaways to gain their freedom.

In the year 1831, Levi Janes purchased 600 acres of land in the northeast part of the township, and, during the following autumn, erected his cabin, which was the first in the village of Abbeyville. In the winter of 1831-32, he employed Wesley Hulet, an experienced millwright, to built two mills on Rocky River, near the present site of the village, one for sawing lumber and the other for grinding grain. The country was quite new, and it was obvious that the combined enterprises were likely to meet with many discouragements and disasters ; but the energy and foresight of Mr. Janes, often tested in the practical field of experience, soon placed the mills on a firm financial foundation, and ere many years they afforded a satisfactory revenue to the owner. From some sources, and perhaps the most reliable ones, the report comes that the grist-mill was not erected until the summer of 1833. If the precise date of its erection is known, the writer has been unable to ascertain it, and its recovery from the gloom surrounding the past must be left to the succeeding township historian. At any rate, it was running in 1833, with a fair patronage for those days, but which, at present, would consign the mill to desertion and decay. The mills were about ten rods apart, and both were operated by means of a dam and race, through the medium of which a strong water-power was obtained. The dam was constructed a few rods above the upper mill, the composing elements being stone, timber, brush, etc., making a strong and substantial structure. The race was short and easily constructed, partly because of the presence of substantial material within a few rods, and partly because of the advantage taken of naturally favorable conditions. The saw was one of the up-and-down pattern, and was set in operation in a small frame building. Here for a number of years no small quantity of native lumber was turned out. As was almost universally the case in the rapidly improving State of Ohio, sawing was done either by the hundred, or a share of the logs was retained by the sawyer. The mill changed owners several times, and underwent a variety of alternating ups and downs for many years. Wesley Hulet was, for a number of years, the partner of Mr. Janes, with a half-interest in at least one of the mills. Janes had come from Montreal, Canada, and was well situated financially. The grist-mill, under his supervision, received a fair local patronage, and was a great accommodation to the surrounding neighborhood. His cabin was the first dwelling in the village, and his improvements, mills, store, etc., soon attracted others to the same neighborhood. It was through his influence and upon his land that the village was finally laid out, and upon it was bestowed the given name of his wife - Abbey - with the French termination ville, meaning a small collection of houses. Mr. Hulet built the second cabin in the village a few weeks after the erection of that of Mr. Janes. He was the first millwright in the township. His connection with the underground railroad was previously mentioned. The third house was built by a blacksmith named Webster, soon after the erection of the other buildings. This man was not only the first blacksmith in the village, but the first in the township. It is stated, that, at the time of the coming of Mr. Webster to the village, he was almost hopelessly addicted to the use of liquor; but that, through the influence of Mr. Janes, he was restored to his normal condition. In the fall of 1832, Mr. Janes placed in one room of his house a few hundred dollars' worth of goods, and thus opened the first store in the township. He afterward increased the stock, and for a number of years did a thriving business selling dry goods, groceries, hardware, etc. It was through the influence of Mr. Janes that a post office was secured at the village, in about the year 1835. Mr. Batchelder, a carpenter, became the fourth resident of the village. Several industries sprang up in early years, among them being an ashery conducted by Messrs. Castle & Holcomb. The enterprise was established in 1834, and a considerable quantity of potash was manufactured, and conveyed to Cleveland and other large places. Abbeyville had an earlier start than the Center, though the latter has attained greater fame among the catalogue of villages.

Many important facts connected with the early history of York Center seem both unreliable and unattainable. There is a certainty, however, in a few things: The village had a start soon after Abbeyville; it gradually got the better of its elder rival; its future was firmly established when a station was located there. It is also true that it grew and pros- pered through the years. Various enterprises have sprung up from time to time as the business energy of the place has increased. Perhaps the most extensive pursuit ever in the village, is the one conducted at present by J. R. Holcomb & Co. A brief description of the character and scope of the work in which these gentlemen are engaged will be found in the biographical department of this volume. Mr. Holcomb is the proprietor of an educational journal, which is highly regarded as a teacher's assistant, as is shown by its flattering circulation, not only in Ohio, but in neighboring, and even in distant, States. York Center compares very favorably with other township centers in the county.

' No other portion of the county has better schools than York. Good average wages are paid teachers, and the impulse given to educational topies and interests by the presence of a live school journal, is shown in the substantial schoolhouses filled with bright scholars. It is always more or less difficult to ascertain the circumstances connected with the first school taught in a township, or rather, it is difficult to satisfy everybody that the correct facts have been discovered and given. However, the effort will now be made. The first school taught in the township was held during the winter of 1831, in one room of the residence of Levi Branch, the teacher being Theodore Branch, son of Levi. One room of the house, or a portion of one room, was furnished with a few rude seats and desks, and in this rustic place the educational history of York may be said to have | begun. The teacher was a young man, and the school was his first, or among his first, efforts ; but the ordeal was safely passed, with mutual benefit to teacher and scholars. The former received his pay by subscription, but the rates seem to have been forgotten. The first schoolhouse was a log structure, erected during the fall of 1832, on the farm now owned by Frank Burt. It was built by every man's turning out on a given day and assisting until the work was finished. Theodore Branch was employed to teach the first term held in this house, and was paid by the month ; but how much he received, or how the money was raised, are unmentioned or forgotten items. It is stated, upon the authority of Mr. Levi Gardner, that the first frame schoolhouse in the township was built at Abbeyville. Mr. Janes was the prime mover in its erection, although all in that neighborhood assisted. Miss Martha Branch was the first teacher in this house. In 1837 or thereabouts, Abbeyville "had reached the highest point in allits greatness." The village gave great promise at that day, as much so, perhaps, as any other village in the county, five years after its origin. It was in the last-mentioned year that an effort was made, mainly through the influence of Solomon F. Holcomb, to institute at Abbeyville either a branch of Oberlin College or an educational enterprise of a similar character. Prof. Amos Dresser, of Oberlin, came to Abbeyville for the purpose of taking the initiatory steps looking to the founding of a coHege. Quite a large class was obtained, and for a number of months the future of the little village was cloudless and serene. The principal object, or one of them, upon which the institution was founded, was a scheme to promote manual labor. The education to be furnished was industrial in its nature, a scheme, which, since that day, has developed the Industrial Universities and Agricultural Colleges scattered throughout the United States. But alas for Abbeyville! the attempt proved abortive, and the good-looking professor took his departure. It is probable that in 1840 every school district was supplied with a schoolhouse of some kind, and the name of the minister by whom the class was organized are not certainly known. A class was organized under the discipline of the Methodist Protestants in an old log schoolhouse which stood somewhere near the residence of Reuben Gardner. It is believed that the officiating minister was Rev. Samuel Clawson, and that the society was organized about the year 1841. During a part of the time that elapsed from 1841 to 1844, the society held prayer-meetings in a private house which is now the property of Mary Ford, and is located northwest from the center of the town. The society needing a house of worship, Richard Lampson, one of the charter members, donated a plot of ground; and the deed specified that, when the ground ceased to be used for the purposes of the Methodist Protestant Church, it shoüld revert to the Lampson heirs. This plot of ground was located on the southwest corner of the center square. The deed was given in the year 1844, and a frame house was erected and dedieated to the worship of God about the same date. The following is a list of some who were what we may denominate "the first members" of this church (we have not sufficient knowledge to be able to distinguish the original or charter members from those who were not such); Richard and Sarah Lampson, Rufus and Anna Oliver, Samuel and Electa Smith, John A. and Margaret Hood, John and Albert Thomas, Amasa Taylor and wife, John Dunshee and wife, and Catharine Salmon. In the year 1877. the house of worship was regarded uncomfortable, and, as the class had increased in membership and wealth, an effort was made to erect a new house of worship. As the result of this successful effort, the present brick edifice was erected, at a cost of $5,000. The principal donor was Mary Ford, and, in her honor, there is placed above the entrance the name by which the church is known - Mary's Chapel. The amount which this lady gave was $3,000, without which the house could not have been built at that time. The following persons entered into a partnership in 1865 for the purpose of buying a house and lot for a parsonage: Samuel Hale, Ansel Holcomb, Alvin Ford, C. C. Burt, L. R. Chamberlain and J. B. Knapp. These men paid $1,000 for a house and lot located in the village. Alvin Ford finally became sole owner of this parsonage, and, after his death, the property was donated to the church. The class pays its Pastor $500 perannum. The present membership is about seventy. The old house of worship is now used as a dwelling-house in the village. The following is a list of itinerant ministers and the date of their serving: John Barnet, 1855 ; without a pastor, 1856; G. W. McCuen, 1857 - 58; G. W. Bowman, 1859-60; James Williams, 1861-62 ; John McFarland, D. D., 1863- 64 ; G. W. Hissey, 1865-66 ; James Williams, 1867-68; J. M. Langley, 1868-69-70 ; T. H. Seott, 1871-72 ; Joseph Hastings, 1873 ; J. D. Downey, 1874; Walter Moore, 1875-76-77 ; Mrs. E. S. Oliver, 1878; J. M. Woodward, 1879 ; William H. Guy, present Pastor."

On Saturday, the 27th of April, 1833, the Congregationalists met at the residence of R. M. Lampson, in York Center, for the purpose of organizing a church society. Twenty-six persons presented their names for membership, asfollows: Ezra Brown, Esther Landers, Benjamin Landers, Lucy J. Landers, A. Stone, Levi Stone, Lucinda Bruce, Sarepta Hubbard, Polly Branch, Theodore Branch, Eunice Rowe, L. M. Janes, A. Landers, senior and junior, Esther M. Landers, Elizabeth Stone, William B. Stone, Amelia Stone, Keziah Gardner, Levi Branch, Cordelia Branch, Abial G. Rowe, Mary B. Landers and Abbey P. Janes. The ministers in charge of the occasion were Revs.

Barnes, of Medina, and Noyes, of Seville. On the 12th of February, 1839, arrangements were made to build a church. The funds were raised by subscription, one-half to be paid on or before the 1st of November, 1839, and the balance by six months later. The Trustees were authorized to begin the church as soon as $300 was raised.

many years. In April, 1834, at the first annual meeting of the society, the following church officers were elected: Levi Branch, E. D. Brown and Thomas Brintnall, Trustees ; Hiram Lampson, Treasurer. By special act of the Ohio Legislature, the society was incorporated as follows :

" Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That Thomas E. Millard, Levi Branch, Aseph Landers, together with such as are, or may hereafter be, associated with them, be, and the same are hereby, created a body corporate and politic by the name of the First Congregational Society of York Township, Medina County, Ohio." The first church has been replaced by another and a better one. These are the only church societies in York Township, and it seems better thus to have fewer, and consequently larger, societies, than to have the church-going people parceled off, as it were, into classes that are too small to be self-sustaining, or, what is even worse, to struggle on against financial disasters through a sickly and uncomfortable life. As it is, the two churches are strong, well attended, not only by members, but by outsiders, who are called out by the zeal displayed and the interest surrounding the occasion. And then, again, people prefer joining a society that does not appear to be ready to die, if the term may be indulged in; but which seems to possess all the vigor of early years.

dii first settlement on certain smal) portions of land in this township, was made by an Eastern land speculator, Judge Holmes, of Litchfield, Conn., in the years that immediately followed the war of 1812. Mr. Holmes was the sole owner of Litchfield Township at that time. Shortly after he had come into possession of this Western property, the owner had a survey faken of it, and divided it into lots. He caused an "opening" to be made in the southwest part of the township, on lots that were adjoining the * Smith road," a military highway that had been cut through here by the forces of Gen. Smith in the spring of 1812, and extends from Akron to Maumee City. Among the tew different improvements that were started here by the Connecticut land-owner, was a little small log cabin, and an acre or so of cleared ground, set out with fruit-trees. No permanent settlement was made here, however, at that time. The anxieties throughout the country, caused by the war then in progress between the United States and England, and some Indian tribes in the West, kept people from accepting the inducements that were made by Judge Holmes to settlers to locate on his lands in Litchfield Township. The few acres of cleared lands remained tenantless for the time being, and no further progress in the openingup and cultivation of lands in this locality was made. A few years after the survey and the first improvements of the Litchfield lands, which were, during this time, quite generally knownas Holmestown, they again came into possession of the State of Connecticut. Under the into the market. It is not definitely Known that any purchases of these lands were made for a number of years. Exchanges of tracts in the township may have been made between Eastern land speculators, at various times, but no settlement occurred in the territory until in the winter of 1830 ; and, from that date, the real progress of Litchfield Township makes its beginning.

Under the Land Company's survey, the territory now comprised in Litchfield Township was set apart as No. 3, Range 16. The geographical boundaries are marked on the north and west by Lorain County, on the south by Chatham, and on the east by York. The physical features of the township are not notable for any striking characteristics. The ground is generally level, and but a slight ridge runs northeast and southwest through the township, crossing the center road two miles east of the village of Litchfield. On this ridge are flowing wells, which afford large supplies of water throughout the year. The soil is a tough clay, and very much like that of Lorain County, which lies immediately west. There is a thickness of eight feet of clay above the Cuyahoga shale at the " Center."

A gas well of some note, originally bored for oil, is situated one mile and a half north, and one mile west of the Center. Oil was brought up by pumping, but not in any great amount. During the drilling, gas escaped with a clear, whistling sound, and when set on fire it blazed up from twenty to thirty feet, the outlet being eight inches wide.

there, winding its way northward to the center of the town, it takes its course west and flows into Lorain County, where it enters Black River. During the summer season, this rivulet is generally dry.

Among the legendary tales of the aborigines of North America, which have been told by hunters, trappers and the earliest frontiersmen in Northern Ohio, some of them relate to a part of the Wyandot tribe of Indians, who frequently located in Litchfield territory and thereabout, and had made this a part of their favorite hunting-grounds. Some of their wigwams were seen along Center Creek as late as 1822. For several years previous to that date, the Harrisville settlement on the south, and Liverpool on the north, had extended in numbers and size. With the coming of the white man, the wild game, which alone is the only wealth the Indian possesses, and which alone afferds him a means of earthly sustenance, forsook the localities, and gradually diminished. | The intrusion of the white settler and the ab- | of freedom to desert their lodges in this neigh- | borhood and seek for a means of livelihood | elsewhere. No traces of Indians were found by | advance in the settlement of the township was made. Cook, with his wife and one child, arrived from Connecticut, and squatted on a tract of land in

His first labors were the construction of a place of habitation. It was at first nothing more than a brush hut; the space between four small trees cleared out, with the trunks of small saplings placed horizontally in a fork from tree to tree, and a covering made of sticks and brush. The fireplace was by the side of the hut, in the open air; a tool chest, perchance, and a few short log pieces, a few quilts and blankets, comprised the household furniture. This was the luxurious dwelling which the pioneer called his home. Mr. Cook did not remain alone very long in the new country. In the May following, there arrived quite a company of settlers from the little Nutmeg State along the "Sound." They were all Connecticut farmers, who had purchased and traded for tracts of land in Litchfield Township before they had left their homes in the East. These settlers were Jonathan Richards, with his wife and three children, Charles, Abigail and Julia; Thomas Wilcox and wife ; George Wilcox and wife, with two children, wife; Asahel Howd, with three children, Henry, Elizabeth and Caroline ; and Judah Howd and George Olcott. A few weeks after the arrival of these people, Henry Howd, with his wife and three sons - Albert, John and James - from Sheffield, Mass., came into the settlement and located permanently. The Howd families settled together on a tract of several hundred acres of land, on the west side of the northand-south center road, which had been established some years prior to the coming of these people, while Jonathan Richards located, with

These settlements were about one mile north of the center of the township. George Olcott settled near the center, and George and Thomas Wilcox, with their families, about one mile

. In one respect, the first settlers of Litchfield were somewhat more fortunate than had been the pioneers of other sections of Medina County. There were already three roads established in the township, when the first settlers took possession of their lands, and commenced its cultivation. The "Smith Road," which has heretofore been referred to, was established in 1812, and runs through the southern part of the The "north-andsouth" road, running from Elyria to Wooster, had been cut out several years previous to the first settlements, and intersected at the township center with the "east and west," or Medina and Norwalk, which had been established several years before. This, as the appended abstract, taken from the Medina County road record, will show. It reads as follows: FEBRUARY 8, 1820.

Frederick Hamlen had this day presented a petition, signed by himself and others, praying that a committee be granted to explore the ground beginning at the west line of the county of Medina, where a road laid from the county seat in Huron County intersects said line, thence southerly till it shall intersect the east-and-west center line of Township No. 3, Range 16, thence easterly, as near as the ground will admit, to the west line of Medina Township, or, if the committee think proper, from the center of Township No. 3, Range 15, in a southerly direction to the seat of justice of Medina County. The Commissioners, being satisfied that legal notice has been given, proceeded to appoint Isaac Barnes, Frederick Hamlen and James Moore a committee, and James Moore a surveyor. The third Monday in March, 1820, is fixed for commencing the duty of appointment.

The committee appointed for the purpose of building the described road, made a report to the Board of Commissioners-of Medina County, on March 27, 1827, immediately after the establishment and completion of the road.

These roads were of great value to the settlers in Litchfield. It left them at once in easily accessible intercourse with the settlements at Medina, Harrisville and Grafton, on the north, and removed many difficulties that would otherwise have been their lot.

The pioneers were not idle during the first summer of their stay in the new township. Several very good-sized clearings were made, and even a small crop of potatoes and corn was harvested by several of the farmers. In the fall of this same year, 1830, three more families came into the settlement, and located. These were D. Nickerson, Jacob Road and Z. Stafford.

and the Litchfield people suffered but little inconvenience from the weather this season. With the coming of May, when the trees were again decked in green, came an addition of settlers for the new colony, from the far East. The first two families to arrive were those of Asa Strait and Lewis Finley. They were soon followed by J. L. Hinman, D. Pickett, O. Nickerson and W. Cole, with their families. J. L. Hinman, one of the new-comers, moved his family in with one of the older settlers, for the time being, and constructed a substantial frame dwelling on the tract that he had bought, and which he commenced to clear. On the 13th of June, 1831, an event occurred which cast a shadow of sadness over the whole colony, for the time being. This was the death of little Jane, the daughter of Asa Strait. This was the first death that took place in the township, and the funeral services were the first open religious services ever held in the colony. On the Sunday following the death, her father, who had been an Elder in a Baptist society in Connecticut, delivered a religious discourse to the people in one of the little log cabins. About twenty-five people, young and old, had congregated to Religious meetings were continued in this way, being held at the different private houses, until a few years later, when church societies were organized, and these met for a number of years in the union meetinghouse, that had been erected at the Center, for public worship.

The political organization of the township was effected on the 30th of June, 1831, and the township was admitted into the County of Medina, under the name of Litchfield - under which name the territory was already known, having been given it by Mr. Beers when he first gained control of it as agent of the original proprietor. At the first township election, held in July, there were nine votes cast. E. Howd, J. Vandventer and George Olcott, wore chosen as the first Board of Trustees ; Thomas

Wilcox, Clerk; Asahel Howd, Treasurer, and Jonathan Richards as Justice of the Peace. A commendable spirit of emulation now became manifest among the citizens of the township, to place it on an equal footing, in every respect, with some of its older sister townships in the county. In the fall of the same year, the voters of Litchfield convened and cast a voice in the State election, which took place on the 13th of October. The township records, which had been kept intact, were consumed by a fire in 1879, and no exact or definite data can now be given of these early political events, and much valuable and interesting information of the politics of the township is lost.

During the spring months of 1832, a host of emigrants came into the settlement of Litchfield. In one day in May of that year, no less than forty-one persons moved in, and all had come to stay, with the purpose of making this locality their future home. Such large additions to the number of inhabitants gave a zest to the life of the colony. That public interest was alive is well illustrated by the manner in which the great national birthday of the American Union was celebrated in the colony on its anniversary day in the year of 1832. Special invitations and word had been passed around among the settlers, far and near, and, when the sun rose on the morning of the glorious Fourth, the farmers came trooping in from every direction, with their wives and daughters and sweethearts. Nearly all came in ox-sleds - the only kind of conveyance in use among them at that time - and a few walked "cross lots" through the woods. They all congregated in the center of the township, where now is located the public park in the village of Litchfield. The oxen - about thirty or forty teams in all - were chained to the trees. There was then but a small space of open ground in this neighborhood. The woods echoed with merry sounds of song and laughter, and the greetings among these people as they came in one after another, were profuse and heartfelt. It was surely an old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration. After the compliments of the day had been exchanged, the men in a body set to work, under the directions of one or two older men, and "cleared" away the timber from a space of ground on the northeast corner of the Center, where now is located the dwelling of A. S. Jenne. Then a number of logs were roughly hewn, notches cut in at the ends, and in a very short time four wooden walls arose. Before the hour of noon had arrived, the building had been completed, logs had been dragged in for seats, and the "union meeting-house " had been completed, all within six hours. Baskets of provisions had been brought by the farmers' wives, and, when the work had been done, they all congregated together in the woods and had a Fourth of July picnic dinner. The formal exercises of celebrating the day and dedicating the new house took place in the afternoon. A few national airs were sung by the whole assembly. Uncle Jonathan Richards read the Declaration of Independence, while Elder Asa Strait delivered the oration, closing up with a proper reference to the work that had been done by them that day, and giving the new building over to the people of Litchfield for all public and laudable uses. The exercises of the day closed with the formation of a temperance and moral reform society, which continued in existence for a number of years.

One of the features of the day was the gun squad, consisting of Daniel Olcott and Moses Olds, which played a very prominent part in the celebration, intentional and accidental. The gun used by these two patriotic cannoneers, simply consisted of a chunk of a log, with a hole in one of its ends, in which the powder was plugged, and then touched off by a fuse hole. They fired the gun for several times with rather startling effect, when, while young Olcott was pouring in the wooden gun-hole another charge of powder, ii suddenly exploded,

| caused by sparks that had been retained in the wood. The wooden bowl in which the powder was kept, was torn to pieces, part of it striking Moses Olds on the forehead, and felling him to the ground. He bled profusely, but soon recovered. The clothes of Daniel Olcott were set on fire by the flash of powder, in the confusion that took place among the people present to assist him and put out the flames, and every stitch of clothing was torn from his body. He was singed considerably, but not very dangerously. He was wrapped in a bed-quilt and conveyed home. The festivities continued without further firing.

For several years following, an annual celebration of the national day recurred regularly in the colony, and was considered as a most eventful day to the inhabitants of Litchfield Township, and their neighbors in adjacent townships north and south.

A social event of great importance occurred in the Litchfield settlement in the summer of 1834. This was the dual marriage of Charles Bichards and Lyman Cole, to the sisters Chloe and Julia Peek. The ceremony took place at the house of the brides' parents, one mile northeast of the center, the Rev. Asa Strait officiating as clergyman. The two young couple at once set out for themselves, after they had secured each a helpmate. Young Cole secured a tract of land adjacent to his father's possessions, and continued the occupation of a farmer; while Charles Richards. who had quite a mechanical turn of mind, devoted his attention to industrial pursuits. A little dwelling was erected for him in proximity to his father's home, one mile north of the center, and this served him as a home for himself and young wife, and as a workshop. While living with his parents at their home in Massachusetts, he had, as a boy, worked in a silversmith factory, and had acquired the trade, so that he was quite an adept in this branch of workmanship. He had brought with him a few tools necessary to work at the handicraft, and, for the first few years in the new settlement, he had spent a large portion of his time in experimenting and perfecting himselfin the art. After marrying, he adopted it as a profession, and opened up, as already stated, a little silversmith shop in Litchfield. He built a small smeltingfurnace, secured crucibles and other apparatus at Cleveland to conduct his work. The young silversmith soon established a brisk trade, and at various times employed workmen in his shop. The demand for his goods among his brothersettlers was easily supplied, and he, therefore, sought a market elsewhere. He met with success wherever he endeavored to sell. For a number of years, he supplied the retail stores at Elyria with domestic silverware.

The charm of life is in the incidents and variations that often crowd upon us. It was these scraps of history that made old Uncle Jonathan Richards so generally known. He, at different times, conducted a singing-class in the log schoolhouse at the Center. In his course of instruction in the art of harmony, he availed himself of a short slip of wood placed between the compressed palms of his two hands, and then, putting the base of the thumbs against his mouth, he blew into the open space between the joints of the thumbs, and thus produced a sound, In this wise he found his scale-notes, very much for the same purpose as the singing master of in the colony, named Erastus Dickerson, had acquired this art of blowing a scale upon his hands in imitation of the worthy singing master, and he even excelled the latter in blowing out full, strong sounds. So, upon a banter from his comrades, the lad, who was about seventeen or eighteen years old, arose one day in the crowded meeting-house, while the venerable teacher was holding forth in eloquent terms on the divinity and grandeur of music, and:sounded the " sol, sil, sal," of the teacher, as well as his strong lungs would permit. The effect was startling. The whole assemblage broke out in a shout of laughter. This irritated and infuriated the singing master beyond all measure. He had the boy arrested for riot and disturbance of the peace on a State's warrant, as soon as time would allow it. A trial was had before a Justice of the Peace, within a practicable time, and it became the all-engrossing topic among the people for the hour. The deepest interest in the case was evinced on every side. Though many of punishment for the offense, still the manifest sympathy of the community seemed to be entirely on his side. Lawyers were called in from Medina to work the case in all its bearings. The proceedings took place in the little tavern at the center. The end of it was, that the boy was fined $10 by his Honor the Justice of the Peace. As a fitting close to the little legal farce, the witnesses - there having been about fifteen subpoenaed- - signed their fees over to the prisoner before the bar. He collected it, paid his fine, and then had $8.75 left.

A source of pleasure and income alike to many of the Litchfield farmers, was the hunting of wild game which abounded in the territory in plentiful numbers in the early days of the settlement. It was an occupation that was industriously followed by many of the young farmer lads, and the older ones, too, during the winter months. It is related by Mr. A. Canfield, that at one time they had as many as thirty-two deer carcasses hung up on the trees around their house. Many of the farmers killed from 100 to 200 deer during the season, more than half the year. That which.was not used for home consumption, was transported by wagon to Cleveland, and a good share of it from there transported to Eastern markets. One of the afflictions that brought about considerable loss to the families of Litchfield, was the "bloody" or dry murrain, which at different periods for several years affected the cattle bers. The owners of cattle were worried and perplexed with the epidemic, and tried, by all means within their power, to stop its progress and continuance. The cattle, in these days, had no other feeding-ground than the woods, and were given but little other nourishment than the wild grass that they could find. From this, probably, more than anything else, the disease took its origin among the Litchfield cattle. Many and persistent efforts were made to stop the disease and its spread, but for several years it proved of no avail to check the inroads made by it upon the lives of the cattle. Not until meadows and pastures had been established, and the ruminants could feed on succulent and fresh grass, did the epidemic disappear.

` A locality about one and one-half miles west of the village of Litchfield, along the banks of Center' Creek, became notorious at an early day in the history of the township as a place called " Bogus Hollow," which name clings to it at the present time. In the latter half of the thirties, one Rufus Moses, who had become a settler in that region, established a small tannery, and pursued the occupation pertaining thereto. He carried on a remunerative business in this line, as he was quite an ingenious fellow, and an adept at the trade. After a few years, he added a small foundry, supplying the farming community with agricultural and domestic ironware. He enlarged his industries further by adding a carding-mill, and also a saw and grist mill. The necessary power for his mills was gained by the accumulated waters in the stream passing through a short race-course that had been constructed. There was a busy hum in this region while these factories stayed in motion ; and the enterprise of tanning hides, molding ironware, and making woolen goods, continued for a number of years. The place was of high repute among the people far and near, for the manifest enterprise that was displayed and the business airs that it assumed, and it was not until the certain discovery was made that spu- rious coin was manufactured here, that odium was cast uponit. The dies for the molding of counterfeit money were found hidden in the vicinity, by special detectives, who had been sent from Columbus. No positive evidence was ever established to fasten the guilt of making spurious coin upon any one in particular, and there is no proof to show now how much of the money made here ever got into circulation. It is told that a few of the residents of this locality departed about this time in rather a surreptitious manner.

The place was then given the appellation of "Bogus Hollow." It soon fell into decay, and in later years the building was destroyed by fire and but little in the line of industries has been done there since.

Several saw and grist mills were established in the township as early as 1834. It was in that year that David Hinman built a mill for the sawing of lumber north of the Center. This was destroyed by fire in 1838. Several other saw and grist mills were erected about this time in the township, but they have gone out of use, and no definite information could be gained of the names of the persons who undertook these various enterprises. In connection with the industrial affairs of the colony, are its cheese-making interests, which to-day form one of the main factors in the agricultural pursuits of the Litchfield farmers. From several reasons, it forms a chapter of great interest in the history of the township. The first cheese-factory was established in the , spring of 1866, by A. C. Benedict and Martin Brooker. The latter soon sold out to his partner, who then extended his interests in this line still further by building and conducting factories in the adjoining townships of York, Penfield and Grafton. He carried on his business on a very extensive scale, and became one of the most prominent cheese manufacturers in the Reserve. With the panic of 1873, he was forced to make an assignment of his posses- sions. The effect upon the people of the township is well described by a report written by Mr. H. A. Leach at this time, from which we partially condense. It is dated November 19, 1873: "A great excitement has just broken out in financial circles in Litchfield over the failure. The news broke upon the public today, and is a great surprise to many. There is no man in town whose failure would have affected so many, and done so much injury to the township. The panic cloud has spread darkly over the township of Litchfield. Though greatly limited in proportion to the affair on Wall street, its effect will be as severely felt by the citizens here. The loss to the people of Litchfield is between $12,000 and $15,000 - a very heavy loss to be borne by a farming township, and at a time when it was the only dependence of many. The manner in which the people of Litchfield have resolved to meet the panic looks encouraging. Creditors are wiling to give more time to their debtors. Some are trying to sell stock, and some will be obliged to sell their farms, but all have resolved to work it out." In the lapse of years that have followed these financial disasters, the depression that was caused by them has disappeared, and there is again a buoyant stir and a well-grounded confidence evident among the farmers of Litchfield Township.

The little hamlet at the center of the township is'an unincorporated village ot 269 inhabitants, according to the census of 1880, and takes its name of Litchfield after the township. In 1832, there was only one house at the Center, which was built and owned by George Olcott. The following year, five more buildings were put up in the immediate vicinity. About the fall of 1835, Asahel Howd established a small country store; while, about the same time, William Converse located as a practicing physician. Mr. Rufus Moses opened up a shoe-shop at the Center in connection with his tannery, which was located about a mile west. In the succeeding years, William Horton, Smith Hinman, F. R. Hamblin, Mark Kilburn and Douglas Bradley opened places of local commerce. Within recent years, frequent changes have been made in the ownership of these different stores. In the spring of 1879, the northwest corner of the village was swept away by fire, causing a considerable loss. It has now been partially rebuilt. Among the different structures - churches, dwellings, stores, taverns, etc. - that compose the village townhall, a solid brick building, stands out most prominent. It is of a plain style of architecture, two stories high, and one of the handsomest public buildings in Medina County. It was finished in the fall of 1871, and, after the proper dedicatory services, was given over to public use. A memorial tablet to the volunteer soldiers of Litchfield Township adorns the end wall in the rear of the rostrum in the upper hall. It is a large marble slab, 4x6 feet, and bears the following inscription

Beneath this are given the names of the enlisted soldiers of the township, seventy-five in number, of whom eight re-enlisted after the expiration of their first term of service, eight were wounded, six died, and four were killed on the field of action. Under this, at the bottom of the tablet, is written: " Litchfield Township paid $14,162.45 for war purposes during the rebellion." Building Committee: John Sears, George R. Brooker, James Booth, E. H. Richards, C. A. Stranahan.

A special feature of attractiveness and beauty is the public park, located in the center of the village. The following enactment, providing for the construction of a park, was passed by the General Assembly of Jhiu, through the

Section 1

SECTION 1. the State of Ohio, That the Trustees of the township of Litchfield, Medina Co., Ohio, are hereby authorized to vacate and discontinue the public roads now passing through the square at the center of the town, and to lay out and fence off a park in the center of said square, and to lay-out public roads around the outside of said park.

After. the passage of this act, the necessary special tax levy was made by the Trustees for the laying-out of the park. It was properly leveled and sodded, and an inclosure placed around it. Young maple-trees were set out and the walks graveled. The cost for this work aggregated a little over $300. The park is of ortagon shape, and forms, to-day, one of the prettiest adornments to the village. A post office was established at Litehfield in the year 1845. Mr. George Olcott was the first Postmaster. In the first years of its existence as a postal station, it received a bi-weekly mail by way of Medina and Norwalk. Walker Cole was the first mail-carrier, taking it afoot between the two mentioned points. At present, the town is a station on the Burbank and Belden mail line.

A survey of railroad, on what is known as the Clinton Air Line Extension, was made through the town in 1854, passing directly through the center of the village Several miles of grading was done in the township, but the project was shortly afterward abandoned, and the railroad embankment can yet be seen in its incomplete state.

among the Litchfield people, that the veins, of the Grafton oil fields on the north, extended into the townships. Various attempts at drilling have been made in different localities of the township, to find a productive yield of the oil. In 1855,the Oil Boring Company, consisting of Elisha Rice, John Mattison, G. F. Peckham and J. B. Strait, was organized, and they bored

The second attempt was made by J.V. Straight and E. Rice, in the spring of 1860, north of the town. After going a depth of 225 feet, they abandoned the undertaking, as no oil in sufficient and paying quantities was found. In 1876, Dr. E. R. McKenzy, W. D. Orr, Norman Nicholls, Philaster Starr, A. J. McQueen and Alexander Brooker, known as the Litchfield Oil Company, made a similar attempt at Crow's Corner, located about a mile northwest of the center, to strike an oil vein inthe ground. This also proved futile, and no further efforts have been made.

An event of a great deal of interest, and which aroused a spirit of strife and emulation among the people of the township, and which deserves to be admitted to the pages of the township history, is the great rat-hunt which took place in the fall of 1875. Two sides were chosen, each consisting of twenty men.. Mr. Valentine Shank was appointed Captain on one side, and G. R. Brooker Captain of the other. The hunt continued for three days, when the sides brought in their returns. Shank's squad returned 5,000 rat tails, and Brooker's 9,000. The defeated side paid their defeat by an oyster supper at the village tavern.

An organization of considerable social distinction is the Litchfield Lodge, No. 381, of Free and Accepted Masons. Its charter was granted by the Grand Lodge of Ohio at Cincinnati, on the 14th of October, 1867. Its first officers were J. A. Rettig, W. M. ; G. W. Noble, S. W. ; J. F. Hutchins, J. W.; Ephraim Wolcott, Treasurer ; D. B. Alcott, Secretary ; E. H. Richards, S. D. ; and Lyman Wolcott, J. D. The lodge meets once each month on the Monday preceding the full moon. The services are held in the town hall. The present officers of the lodge are E. H. Richards, W. M.; A. C. Hurd, S. W.; C. A. Newton, J. W.; W. S. Ber-

The first Congressional Church of Litchfield was organized in the year 1833, with twentytwo members. The Rev. William Shaler, of Shalersville, Geauga County, was the first minister of the society. The meetings were at first at the Center on a 4th of July. During the years from 1835 to 1837, Rev. Asa Smith was the presiding Pastor of the church. He was followed by the Rev. Erastus Coles. A separate church edifice was constructed by the society in 1850, on a lot donated by Benoni Alcott. This burned down a few years later, and another was constructed in 1853. The society now numbers nearly a hundred members, and is the most influential church organization in Litchfield Township.

The Methodists organized a church society in the southwest part of the township in the spring of 1833, with thirteen members. The Rev. Mr. Billings was the first officiating clergyman. The members met at the "South" Schoolhouse, at the Center, for worship. Mr. Daniel White was the first Class-leader, and acted in that capacity for a number of years. In 1843, a building' was erected by the society on a lot donated by Russell Brooker. It was afterward refitted and enlarged. Several other Methodist classes had been organized in different parts of the township, and it was after a meetinghouse had been constructed near the Center, that they coalesced, and now form one church organization. Itis now a church society of prominence ard influence, and has a membership of over a hundred.

In the early church history of the township, the Baptists claim a very prominent share. The first organization of a society of this creed was made in 1833, through the efforts of Elder Asa Strait. There were thirteen original members. The society grew in influence and numbers in a from the center. It was removed to that point in 1844, and was considerably enlarged. It burned down two years after its removal, and in 1847, another edifice was built, which now stands in the center of the village, and is used as a house of worship.

The school affairs of the township form a very notable feature in its history. Instruction in the rudimentary branches of learning had been given at private houses, by different persons, from the very first years of the colonization of the township. Miss Almira Nickerson taught the young children in the northern part, while Miss Julia Peek taught in the southwest ter of the town, and the school sessions were held in the Union Meeting House. Delia Beckwith was the teacher of the district school from the time it was organized, and she continued in that capacity for several years. A subdivision of the township was made in 1843. It was divided into five districts. In later years, a re-apportionment has been made, and there are now seven districts in the township. The youth, of proper school age, enumerated in 1879, number 205. A special and select school is now taught during the winter months of the year in the lower apartment of the large and commodious town hall.