Montgomery County, Ohio - Chapter 2 (2 of 2 so headed), 1882

Chapter 2

[e Village - Incorporated - Changes - Flood of 1805 - Indian Graves - First Newspaper - The Academy - First Brick Residence - Business in 1808 - The Doctors - Public V endue - Mail Routes - Divorce - Town Election - Manufactures - Ferries - The Town Plats - United States Patents to Cooper - Fourth of July, 1809 - St. John's Lodge - Boating up the Miami - A Trip East - Teaming - The Town in 1810-1811 - Mob - Celebrations - War of 1812 - Mechanical Society - Real Estate.

r VIE cluster of cabins at Dayton, was but the center of a cluster of settlements ; the little hamlet in the backwoods could not present many points ' it as the best location for the county seat.

One-half of the cabins were empty. Except on Water street, the whole p t was covered with bushes, weeds and vines, scrub oaks, wild cherry trees a 1 plum thickets. North of the river the dense forest reached to the river i j lik ; on the east the forest extended from the present location of the Hydrau- 1 : around to near the corner of Fifth and Wayne streets, and on down to the bis south of town.

For many years there was no dwelling or clearing east of Mill street, except os?, a log cabin in the woods on the north side of where Third street now lies, ween Beckel and Front streets.

The Village

The honor conferred upon the village in its selection as the county seat of newly formed county of Montgomery, was the opportunity to shake off its i mitive crossroad ways and assume the proper dignity, by making improve- -nts to accommodate the court, its high officials and attending lawyers.

Benjamin VanCleve's commission as Postmaster was issued in Washingtv, December 13, 1803, but was not received here until the next month, Jan- 1804, so that it is probable that the post office was opened in the spring of

The post office was opened at Mi'. Van Cleve's cabin, at the southeast ner of First and St. Clair streets, and Mr. Van Cleve was continued as Postrater until his death in 1821.

For some years the only mail received in Dayton was one that was carried tjpost-rider, leaving Cincinnati once a week ; the route was up the Little vami, through Lebanon and Xenia, up to Urbana, and then down through 1 jua, Dayton and Hamilton to Cincinnati again. Thus a letter from Cincin- J;fi to Dayton went the round via Lebanon, Xenia, Urbana and Piqua before chiag here ; and a letter from Dayton to Piqua or Xenia, or one from banklin to Dayton, had to first go to Cincinnati and come around the circuit, r[iiiring a week to reach its destination.

The next mail route established was a weekly mail from Zanesville and t - east via Franklinton, Urbana and Piqua to Dayton. The next line was to al from the east via Chillicothe, and it was the principal channel of commutation east for many years, and until a more direct route was established t 'ough Columbus.

Inprovement began at once ; Main street was cleared of undergrowth am stumps nearly the entire length, the lower end being at the present junctioi with Warren street ; the gully crossing Main at Main Cross street, was fillet with logs and covered with earth ; First street was partially graded from Lad low street, oast to St. Clair.

Henry Brown and John Sutherland shortly after Wayne's treaty at Green ville became partners in business as "Indian traders," at Fort Hamilton where they kept a large stock of goods ; doing business under the firm uam of Brown & Sutherland. In the winter of 1798-99, Brown, with a portion o the goods, opened a branch store at Loramie, where he remained in charge until ii 1804, when he built a frame storeroom in Dayton, on the east side of Main stree near Water street. It was the only store here at the time ; and there wire bu two other shingle roofed houses in the village - Mr. Cooper's residence, south west corner First and Ludlow streets, and Newcom's tavern. The firmtradei largely with the Indians, sending agents with goods to the Greenville, For Wayne and Wapakonetta towns. The firm was dissolved in June, 1812; Mi' Brown continuing the business at his residence on Main street near the cour house until his death in 1823.

Dayton Incorporated

The act provided "that such part of the township of Dayton, in the coir.it; of Montgomery, as is included within the following limits, that is to say : Be ginning on the bank of the Miami where the sectional line between the secom and third sections, fifth township and seventh range intersects the same; thenc east with said line to the middle of section thirty- three, second township seventh range ; thence north two miles ; thence west to the Miami ; then© down the same to the place of beginning, shall be. and the same is hereb; erected into a town, corporate, which shall henceforth be known and distil guished by the name of the town of Dayton. " Seven Trustees, a Collector, Supervisor and a Town Marshal, were to be elected by the freeholders who ha< lived in the town six months. The Trustees so elected were to choose from thei: own number, a President and Recorder, they were also to elect a Treasurer. wh< was not required to be one of the Trustees.

The terms of three of the Trusteed were to expire in one year and thei place filled by election ; and elections were to be held annually after that.

Expenditures were to be authorized and voted at meetings of the free holders and house-holders of the town. This section of the law was repeal® in 1813-14.

The President of the " Select Council " was Mayor of the town. Meet ings of Council, for ten years, were held at the houses of the different mem bers; a fine of 25 cents was imposed upion members for being thirty mm utes late.

The expenses of the town for the first year were $72, and the Couucil de termined to raise the money by taxation. A meeting of the voters was call® to settle the question; the vote stood thirteen for, and seventeen against; tk proposition was defeated. Streets were being cleai'ed and opened up, and a but little fencing had been done on the farms around the town, and still les

City Of Dayton

, x) he town, all stock was running at large and became such a nuisance that in Member, 1806, an ordinance was passed forbidding " the running of hogs r other animals at large on the streets of the town." The operation of the : nance was afterward suspended until the spring of 1807.

The first brick building erected in Dayton was "McCollum's tavern;" the v- story brick built by Hugh McCollum, on the southwest corner of Second , r Main streets, in 1805. The County Commissioners contracted with him C|the use of as much of his house, when completed, as would be needed for i idling the courts. Under this arrangement, the place for holding the courts y changed from Newcom's tavern to McCollum's, for the fall term of 1805. T s building was used as a tavern until about 1870, when the floor was low- Tl and other changes made to adapt the rooms to business. In 1880, b building was torn down to give place to the new Firemen's Insurance Tck.

In March, 1805, the first great flood that had occurred since the settlement .? he town, rushed like a mighty torrent down the Miami bottoms from the j(th. The water rose rapidly, and swept over nearly the entire town plat, t -ing for several days at flood height. Water covered the floors of houses oafhe west side of Main street, from First to Second. The people were ujitly alarmed; so much so that Mr. Cooper proposed to vacate the town plat, ar lay out a new town upon the same plan on the high ground to the eastv d. pledging to every property holder a lot of the same size and in the same uejitive situation as he then owned.

In 1806, D. C. Cooper and John Compton entered into partnership, built a jie-story brick and began business on the northeast corner of First and Main diets.

The same year, James Steele and Joseph Peirce built a two-story brick, ai . began business on the southeast corner of the same street. The opening these stores brought business away from the river to the new trade center; deuces were built down the west side of Main street as far as the alley nijith of the court house, and for a square or two on First street, east and west

Mr. Cooper had put up the " old saw mill," on First street, near Sears, an soon afterward he erected a grist-mill at the head of Mill street.

July, 1809, he added a carding-machine to the latter establishment. These mis on Mill street were burned in July, 1820, and were rebuilt by Mr. Cooper executors.

When word was sent out that "meeting" was to be held, men and women wild come in ten miles or more, on horseback, to participate, and in sumrjf) the young people walked five or six miles to " meeting," carrying their -' es - and stockings, if they had any - in their hands, going and coming, sipping a short distance from the " meeting ' ' to put them on and primp up.

Skeletons of buried Indians have, at different times, been found in many Pits of the town; around the corner of Water and Mill streets, at First a 1 Beckel streets, over Mad River, near the forks of the old Troy road, in ti Fair Ground hill, in a knoll in Woodland Cemetery, at the north end of 1 dge street bridge, and at the west end of Third street bridge.

In cutting through a mound, at the east end of First street, in February, Hi, to open the street to the Springfield pike, a skeleton was found, around t neck of which was a string of 170 copper beads, and in the grave were a o a number of very fine arrow and spear heads.

An effort was made, in 1806, by a Mr. Crane, of Lebanon, Ohio, to estafc lish a newspaper in Dayton. But a few numbers were issued, when the editoi having an attack of the chills and fever, abandoned the enterprise and re turned to Lebanon.

The Dayton Academy was incorporated in 1807, and in the succeeclin, year, a two-story brick schoolhouse was erected by subscription, on the wes side of St. Clair street, near Third. The bell was donated by Mr. Cooper This academy property was sold in 1883; lots were bought on the southwfig corner of Fourth and Wilkinson streets, and on these lots the trustees built two-story brick schoolhouse, fronting on Wilkinson street. There was a bast ment to the building, gable shingle roof and cupola, in which hung a little ol shrill-toned bell. The length of the building was on Wilkinson street, and i stood at the inner line of the sidewalk. The first floor was about eight feet u and was reached by wooden steps on the walk. The stockholders in 1857 dcnai edthe property to the City Board of Education. The old building was tor down and the present structure erected.

During the winter of 1807-8, a debating club was organized in the vil lage, and spelling matches were regularly held in the academy building, an< were the excitement of the winter; sides were chosen and there were man sharp contests in spelling each other down.

The first brick private residence was built by Henry Brown, in the yea 1808; a two-story brick, on the northwest corner of Main street and the alle between Second and Third streets. The building, in 1863, was occupied a the Journal office; was afterward torn down to give place to the present struct ure.

The village was a busy, bustling little place in the year 1808; improve ment and prosperity had come to the good villagers, roads had been opened t the different settlements around, and a good trade established.

The taverns were doing a good business. Grimes' tavern, on the east aid of Main street, at the south corner of the first alley south of Water street, wa a log building, one and a half stories high, and sixty feet long, kept by Joh Grimes. It had a belfry on top; the log barn and feed yard were back in th alley. Several year's later, two or three frame additions were built to the ta\ em, and the large dining room became the popular place for balls and dancei

Keid's Inn, on the west side of Alain street, at the north corner of the a, ley, between First and Second streets, was a two-story frame house, with a bei fry; the sign swung in a square frame on a post that stood at the edge of th sidewalk. In after years a portrait of Cotnmodore Lawrence was painted on th sign, and a scroll with his last words, " Don't give up the ship;" below him. the small sign, Beid's Inn.

McCollum's Tavern, on the southwest corner of Main and Second streets was the best house in the village; the little bell in the belfry called merchants mechanics and transients to breakfast before day. After the war of 1812, th sign was ornamented with a picture of the capture of the British frigate Duel riere, by the American frigate Constitution.

The Dayton Repertory, a newspaper eight by twelve inches, printed on sheet of foolscap paper, was published weekly at $2 a year, by William McOlui and George Smith. Their first issue was on September 18, 1808, and the las paper was issued December 4, 1809. The press was a second-hand one, tha had been brought from the East, with a lot of old-style type. The news froi Europe was three months old. In the winter, in order to remove the office t the south side of Second street, between Main and Jefferson, publication ofth

;er was suspended for several weeks. Advertisements were inserted at $1 a qare for three weeks, and 25 cents extra for each subsequent issue.

Mathew Patton was the village cabinet maker; James Hanna had a weav- ;n establishment at the lower end of Main street; John Dodson was house care ter and joiner; H. G. Phillips kept a stock of general merchandise; John upton, Jr., kept store at Main and First; merchantable produce was taken fcitie market price for work and goods.

Brown and Sutherland had a large stock of goods. Steele and Peirce had assortment of dry goods, groceries, hardware, queens and glassware, medii|s, stationery, .iron, nails and castings. The roads were not graveled, and :hj;e was little effort made to keep the sidewalks in good condition. The merbjits all had hitching posts and feed boxes in the road in front of their ties. It was the custom for all of the merchants to keep a bottle of whisky e a bottle of wine sitting on their counter for customers to help themselves. :'b custom continued as late as 1840.

There were three good physicians in Dayton in 1808, each of them having i :ge practice through the country, sometimes riding twenty miles to attend i.tient, making regular visits through a circuit, stopping at the cabins to oj the patients all around.

Dr. John Elliott had been a surgeon in Wayne's army, and for several 3/s a practicing physician of the village. He died here, and was buried on id6th day of February, 1809, with military honors, by the Dayton troop of iiat Dragoons and the infantry company; the clergy of the neighborhood n a large concourse of people of the village and county .assembled and i/hed with martial music to the grave, where a eulogy was delivered.

Their medicines were made of roots and herbs principally, and were of strongest kinds ; rheumatism and fevers were the diseases they had most to in this new country. They carried medecines and instruments in saddle a i, slung across the pommel of the saddle.

As stimulants, they used in their practice, squaw root, snakeroot, Indian ip, hops, sassafras, ginseng, poke berries, the juice of the poison vine and bark and berries of the prickly ash.

Public vendue of all kinds of personal property, administrators' sales, catie .nd horse sales, generally occurred on court days. Main and Third streets in wicinity of the court house presented a lively appearance ; people were u ng and selling furniture, auctioneers were shouting for bidders, horse tradtfvere busy. Not much money changed hands, for all kinds of sales were ;ai e to take chattels and produce in pay.

A meeting of the citizens of the town was held October 1, 1808, to cons er an offer from the Postmaster General to establish a weekly mail route fr< Wheeling to Dayton, New Lexington and Eaton. ' ' If the people aloim t line would pay the expense, he would allow them all the emoluments arisi from the several new offices. " This post rider route was shortly afterward i tablished, and is the one referred to as the " route East via Chi'llicothe."

The pioneers were not entirely exempt from trouble in their marriage lations, for in the papers of those days are several legal notices that divoi had been applied for. We give one here as a sample of the rest :

Know ye that I do forewarn all persons from harboring, or trusting my wife Eliza!) Spuryer on my account, as she has left my bed and boarding, without any lawful teas as I am determined to put the law in force against anybody that I find my property wi

A flat-bottomed boat from the mouth of Honey Creek, loaded with wall and cherry lumber, arrived here on the 11th of April, and started the next c for New Orleans.

John and Archibald Burns established a sickle-factory in the village same month, and a wrought-nail factory began operations on Main street, < posite Grimes' tavern. John Strain & Co. were the proprietors.

A. dye-house was opened in May, by James Beck; deep blue was the fa ionable color; cotton was colored at 75 cents a pound; linen and woolen gu at 624 cents.

In consequence of low water and a change in the channel of the ri near Hamilton, navigation of the Miami in flat-boats was considered ris On the 23d of May, 1809, John Compton started with a boat-load of grit pork and whisky, aud got through safely to the Ohio. Other boats made trip, but the water was so very low that they were from two to three we getting down to the mouth of the river.

In Dayton there were two ferry- crossings in the Miami, one at the foot First street, at the old ford on the road to Rench's mill, now Salem. 1 ferry was running until January, 1819, when the old red toll-bridge, at Bri< street, was finished; the other at the foot of Fourth street, on the road lead down to Gunckel's mill, now Germantown.

The lower ford was just below where the railroad bridge now is ; the road it was down Third street to the present Perry street; thence along a narrow r to the ford; this road was afterward widened and called Perry street.

The Town Plats

The original plat of Dayton, as laid out by the proprietors in 1795, not take effect, by reason of their failure to secure title through Symmes:

11 subsequent arrangement, by which D. C. Cooper was to become the proctor of the land at the mouth of Mad River, he made an entirely different i This and other reasons caused further confusion and delay, so that the i;:er had not been adjusted in 1805. In 1801, he made a larger plat and i aitted it for record on the 9th of September; for some reason, however, Kecord was not made until November 20, of the year following. In the untime, the great flood had occurred and the proposition was made to locate j: whole plat on the higher ground east of the village. Tnis was not acj plished, and it was not until 1808, and afterward, that the original setall got their lots by patent from the Government, or by deed from D. C. k per.

The plat of 1805 contemplated a public square, with the center of the n'ting at Main and Third streets as the center of that square; the court o ;e to be located at the center. In 1809, a revised plat was made by Mr. c ler, to conform to deeds and patents, and to the original plat, as laid out vVilkinson, Ludlow, Dayton and St. Clair, in 1795. This revised plat of Si), therefore, became the plat of the town, and to it all subsequent addict have been made. In numbering the lots, numbers were skipped, to be si in replatting some of the outlots.

Prior to the record of this plat of 1809, property was seldom transferred v eed; the County Commissioners established a rule that that party would as the owner of a lot whose name appeared in the list opposite > ly lot number; thus, to pass the title of a piece of property from one pernto another, all that was necessary was a verbal request of the owner to : the purchaser's name placed in the list instead of his own. Of these auctions, be they few or many, no record has been preserved, but instead uch record, a perfect list of lot-owners at the time the plat of 1809 a recorded, forms the basis of title to all of the original 321 inlots of >; ton.

In reference to the records of changes in title to Dayton and Montgom- ; County property, a misunderstanding has long existed as to the importance lamilton County records, to show a perfect abstract of title to Montgomi r County lands. Owing to the failure of the Symmes Purchase, there are Records at Cincinnati that can be of the slightest value in tracing title to Utgomery County lands. The original records of all transfers by patent, '< i the Government to individuals, and subsequent sales of Montgomery * lty property, appear in the records of Montgomery County.

By virtue of the right of pre-emption, granted by law to certain persons L,had contracted with John Cleves Symmes, or his associates, the following bribed lands were, pursuant to an act of Congress, conveyed by " patent," by -lames Madison, President, to D. C. Cooper.

July 18, 1812, 419r6o3o acres of land, being the residue of all south of h River, in fractional Section 4, Town 1, Range 7. after deducting Inlots 6, 8, 14, 46, 51, 52, and 78, and Outlots 5, 6, and 26, in the town of Dayi which lots contain together, 34^°^ acres.

October 5, 1813, 292j-|q- acres of land, being fractional Section 3, Town ange 7, south of Mad River, excepting Outlot 52 of ten acres, in the town ayton.

October 5, 1813, 88 acres of land, designated by the Surveyor Gen- ; as Survey No. 2 (except houselot No. 20, of half an acre in the town of 1 loon), fractional Section 10, Town 1, Range 7, south of Mad River.

October 5, 1813, 65T6-^ acres of land, being Survey No. 1, as designated v ie Surveyor General, in fractional Section 10, Town 1, Range 7, south of h River.

Fourth Of July

A regular old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration was organized 1809. The militia and citizens of the town and vicinity assembled on t river bank, at the head of Main street, and marched in procession to the coi house, where, after appropriate singing, and the delivery of an oration, t procession was re-formed and marched to the house of H. Disbrow for dinu tickets, 50 cents. Salutes were fired by the artillery and foot soldiers - i two Dayton companies - Capt. James Steele's troop of Light Dragoons, a j Capt. Paul D. Butler's Infantry Company.

Masonic history in Dayton began with the organization of St. John's Lod in the year 1809, at their lodge room in the academy building on St. Cl street. The Lodge was afterward removed to the first dwelling house north Second street on the west side of Jefferson. There is not now a living meml: of that old lodge.

Boating Up The Miami

In the winter of 1809-10, two keel-boats were built by Henry Disbr and Paul D. Butler, in the road in front of the court house. When finishlj they were moved on rollers to the river and launched, then were poled up : Maimi and Loramie to the portage, where one of them was taken out of. t water and hauled twelve miles across the portage to the Auglaize River, tl establishing a freight line by water between Dayton and Toledo, via the Miai Auglaize and Maumee Rivers. The boats made tolerably regular trips, a had a good trade.

A Trip East

Traveling was done on horseback, and in this way, in 1809, a Dayton m chant going east to buy goods was accompanied by his wife and infant ch;j They led a pack-horse to carry their luggage; the child was carried in a swung around the farther's neck and rested on a pillow, on the pommel of saddle. They were a month in going to Philadelphia.

Men generally wore leggings of green baize or other cloth, wrapped aroul the legs from shoe tops to thigh, held to place with tape strings. Horses ; riders were splashed all over with mud and water. In wet, stormy weather was often necessary to tie the horse in the woods, while the rider would s all night in the forks of a tree, or in a fallen tree top.

Teaming

Merchandise for the Dayton stores was freighted across the mountains fijj Philadelphia and Baltimore to Pittsburgh, in the long trains of " Conestos wagons, the horses wearing the red yokes and jingling chimes so necessary the narrow winding mountain roads.

At Pittsburgh, the goods were transferred to the "broad horns" (flat-boa to be floated to Cincinnati, and from there hauled overland to Dayton by tra of " line teams," or reshipped in keel-boats to be poled up the Miami. 1 bulk of supplies were brought up by river, yet for quick transit pack-hor were depended upon; two men could manage a dozen horses, carrying each: hundred pounds ; generally the horses were loose, following each other in sir file, from training and long service. Some horses it was necessary to tie, < f ie nxen having the lead horse and the other the hind one to watch the loads a keep the horses going-. The lead horse wore a bell. One man could ally manage six or eight horses. A driver would be equipped for any ernere jy with gun, ammunition, an ax and blanket ; sometimes he would be relied to bridge a small stream. He had to kill game enough to supply himand mate his own camp at night. Only in the evening would the loads eismoved from the horses; then a bell would be hung on each horses neck to idn finding them for an early start in the morning. The horses were turned K3 to graze.

The Town In 1810

I ordinance shows that the town at that time laid along Water street from [ a to Mill street ; south side of First, from Ludlow to St. Clair street ; and a lain street, from the river to Third street. The improvement required by [ordinance was, that the walks on these streets were "to be laid with stone r fick, or to be completely graveled, and a ditch dug along the outer edge of I walks."

The celebration of the Fourth of July in 1810, began by the assembling of at people of the town on the river bank at the head of Main street. A pro- ion was formed and marched to the court house.

7. The American people - May they always appreciate the blessings of a !'i government, and guard with zealous care their constitutional rights.

While the assembly were drinking the toasts, and listening to the respons the artillery tired a National salute. Beer, ale and porter were first brow from Cincinnati about this time to be sold at the taverns, and we may presu that they were served at this Fourth of July dinner. The other popular Tm were whisky, brandy, wine, wild crab cider and cherry bounce.

Saturday, September 18, Col. Jerome Holt assembled the Fifth Regim< at Dayton " for training purposes." Business was generally suspended, a the country people flocked in to witness the display and parade.

A stock of leather and saddlery was brought here, and a shop opened in 1 fall, and on November 1 a tannery began operation on Lot 229, at the soi end of Main street.

During the winter of 1810-11, a bridle path was contracted for andt through from Dayton to Vincennes, a distance of 200 miles, and the State rc east and west through town was built. It will be remembered as the old c duroy road, fearful to travel over in the rainy or winter season ; in fact, ti was the trouble with all of the roads in the early days. The mud holes a low places were laid with poles, that would float, and the horses' feet woi sink through them, ofteD causing delay for hours to work out. The roads wi not greatly impoved until after 1837.

On the night of May 3, the Shakers, then living in town, were mobb< and were warned several times through the newspaper to leave the commun; or suffer the consequences; but they stood their ground, and replied throu the paper.

The 13tli and 14th there were nine flat-boats left the Water street landii laden with flour and grain, salt pork and bacon, whisky and pelts, for N Orleans; one of the boats was wrecked twelve miles down the river, the oth< got through safely.

At 10 o'clock A. M., June 20, the festival of St. John was celebrated by I John's Lodge, No. 13, with Harmony Lodge, No. 8, of Springfield and Urbai as visitor's.

The celebration of the Fourth of July, 1811, embraced the usual pi gramme, beginning with the citizen' s meeting on the river bank at the head Main street, the procession marching to the court house, where the crowd v entertained with songs and speeches; two big dinners this year, one at Crrim( Tavern, the other at Strain's boarding house, embellished with toasts and tillery, and winding up with a general hurrah. The Rifle Company and I) goons paraded as usual, and finished off with a dance in the evening.

The War Of 1812

The influence of Tecumseh, and his brother, the Prophet, had been i several years exerted to unite the Indian tribes of the Northwest against t whites; and when, in 1811, it became apparent that war was inevitab Tecumseh and his followers were ready to unite with the British against t United States.

In April, 1812, Dayton was designated as the point of rendezvous for t militia that had been called into Government service. For two years the to ' was filled with the business and excitement of a military camp. The hoc were at first quartered in the town, and after the army moved to the Nor! Dayton was an important point on the line of communication. Men withes ital came to engage in business, new stores were opened, and every brancu trade increased.

The Dayton Rifles were among the first to respond to the Governor's c for troops, and were soon ordered to the front. Except immediately after Hu!

i ender, the town was in no special danger from the British or their savage ajjL New Lexington, Greenville, Pi qua and Urbana formed too strong a olon of outposts to be easily passed.

Our people promptly responded to the Governor's call for troops to check ] expected advance of the enemy after the disgraceful surrender at Detroit; bin a few hours after the news reached Dayton, Capt. Steele's company were niching to the front. Men, women and children united in aiding the troops i et off.

On Saturday, May 15, 1813, the mechanics of Dayton met at McCollum's nm, and organized the Dayton Mechanical Society - the first workingmen's i nization in Dayton.

been made in Dayton during the war; workingmen and mechanics were mg homes; land was platted and sold in lots up Mad River as far as the ;; nton Road ford. The town improved and pi'ogressed rapidly, until in 1820, hi the depression in business put a stop to all improvement.