Portage County, Ohio - Chapter 5, 1885

Chapter 5

PlOlffBER Days and Trials - irAiuTATioNS of the First Settlers - Furniture, Food akd M£Dicik£ - Habits, Labob and Dbess - Early Manners Ain> GumoMs - Bebb and WsimiNos - The Homint Block and Pionsbb

Mills - Prices of Store Goods and Pkoduce - Items From an Old Cash Book - Mode of Living - CnuRcuRs and Schools - Pkkiod of the War OK 1812 - Prh i:s Ai I KK rnE War - First Crops 1\aiski> in tiik County -

Tics - FiitsT Stock Prouoht into the County - Stock Statistics Sxnor 1840 - Statistics of Wheat, Corn, Oats and Hay - Total VALUATION OF I'lioi KKTV Hv Dix ades - Portage County Aorioultural SOCIBIZBS - FO^ TAOE County Hobticulturai. iSociETY.

THE fixst setHsra who Imtlt their eabins In the unbroken foreet of Portage County came not to enjoy a life of lotus^eatiDg and ease. They covkid, doabtlees, admire the pristine beauty of the scenes that unveiled before them, the Ternal green of the forest^ and the Jovelinesa of all the \?ork8 of nature; they oonld fook forward with htppj sntidpation to tiie \rwm they were to lead In the midst of all this beauty, and to the rich reward that would be theirs from the cultivation of the mellow, fertile soil; bnt they had first tx> work. The dangers they were exposed to were serious ones. The Indians could not fally be trusted, and the many stories of their depredations in the earlier Bastem settlements made the pioneexa of Ohio apprehensive of tnmbla. Th» larger wild beasts were a cause of much dread, and the Binaller ones a source of ^reat annoyance. Added to this was tlie liability to sickness which always exists in a new country. In the midst of all the loveliness of the surround- . tngs, there was a sense of loneliness that oonld not be dispelled, and tfala was a far greater trial to the men and women who lirst dwelt in the "Western conntry than is cronerally imagined. The deep-seated, constantly recnrrinn; fooliD^ of isolation made many stout hearts turn back to the older settlements and the of eomfort, the eompanionehip and sociability they bad abandoned in ; Uieir early homes to take up a new life in the wilderness.

The pioneers making the tedious journey from the Kaat and South by the rude trails, arrived at their places of destination with but very little with iriiidi to begin the battle <rf life. They had brave hearts and strong arms, however, and they were posooaeed of invincible determination. Frequently they came on without their families to make a beginning, and this having been accouoplished, would return to their old homee for their wives and children. The mat thing dme, after a tempcurary shelter from the rain had been provided, was to prepare a little spot of ground for aome crop, usually corn. . This was done by girdling the treep, clearing away the nndprhmsh, if there' chanced to be any, and sweeping the surface with tire. Five, ten, or even fif- I teen aeraa of land might thus be prepared and plantod the first season. In the autumn the crop would be carefully gathered and garnered with the least po8siV)le waste, for it was the food supply of the pioneer and his family, and life itself depended, in part, upon its safe preservation. While the hrst crop was growing the pioneer had busied himmf with the bnilding of hia cabin, which moat answer aa a ahelter from the atonua of the coming winter, a pro-

If a pionear web completely isolated from his fellow-men, his position was certainly a hard one; for withoat assistant he ooold oonstmot only a poor httbitation. In such cases the cabiii was generally made of light logs or poles, and was laid up roughly, only to answer the temporary purpose of Shelter, until other settlers had come into the vicinity, by whoso help a more solid structure could be built. Usually a number of men came into the country together, and located within each distance of each other aa enabled iheni to pemnrm many friendly and neighborly oflSces. Assistance was always readily given each j in neer by all the scattero<l residents of the forest witliin a radius of several miles. The commonly followed plan of erecting a log- cabin was through a union of labor. The aite of the cabin home waa generally aeleoted with refers ence to a good water supply, often by a never-ftuling spring of pure water, or if such could not be found, it was not uncommon to first dig a well. When the cabin was to be built the few neighbors gathered at the site, and hrst cat down, within aa eloee proximity aa poiaaible, a nomber of treea aa nearly of a aim aa eonld be found, but ranging from a foot to twenty inohee in diameter. Logs were chopped from these and rollcMl to a common center. This work, and that of preparing the foundation, would consume the greater part of the day, in moot eaaee, and the entire labor would moat ooaunonly oeonpy two or three days - sometimes four. The logs were raised to their places with handspikes and "skid poles," and men standing at the corners with axes notched them aa fast as they were laid in position. Soon the cabin would be built several logs high, aiMl the work would beoome more difficult. The gables were formed by beveling the logs, and making them shorter and shorter, as each additional one was laid in place. These logs in the gables were held in place by poles, which extended across the cabin from end to end, and which Berve4 UBO aa raftera upon which to lay tiie rived clapboard ** roof. Tlie ao-called ''dapboazda'* wave five or six feet in length, and were split from oak or ash logs, and made aa smooth and flat as possible. They were laid side by side, and other pieces of split stuff laid over the cracks so as to effectually keep out the rain. Upon tueee logs were laid to hold them in plaoe, and the logs were held by blooka of wood placed between them.

The chimney was an important part of the structure, and taxed the builders, with their poor tools, to thoir utmost. In t nro cases it was made of stone, but most commonly of logs and sticks laid up iu a manner similar to those which formed the cabin. It waa, in nearly all cases, built outaide of the cabin, and at its base a huge opening was cut through the wall to answer as a fireplace. Tbe sticks in the chimney were kept in place and protected from lire by mortar, formed by kneading and working clay and straw. Flat stones were proenred for back and Jamba of the fire-plaoe.

An opening was chopped or sawed in the logs on one side of the cabin for a doorway. Pieces of hewed timber, three or four inches thick, were fastened on each side by wooden pi us to the end of the logs, and the door (if there was any) waa faatened to one of these by wooden hinges. The door itself waa a dnmsy piece of wood work. It was made of boards rived from an oak log, and held together by heavy cross-pieces. There was a wooden latch upon the inside, raised by a siring which passed through a gimietrhole, and hung upon tbe outaide. From this mode of oonatmction arose the old and wellknown hospitable saying: " You will find the latch-string always out" It was pulled in only at night, and the door was thus faatened. Very many of the cabins of the pioneers had no doors of the kind here described, and the

The window was a small opening, often devoid of anything resembling a sash, and very seldom having glass. Greased paper was sumetimee used in Ilea of iha latter, bat mora oomnonly 8<»ne old gaimant oooatltated a eortaln, which was the only proteetion from snn, rain or anow.

Tbo floor of the cabin was made of puncheons - pieces of timber split from treeb about eighteen inches in diameter, and hewed smooth with the broad-ax. They were baU the length of ttte floor. Many of the cabins flrat eredwd in this part of the oonntry had nothing but the earthen floor. Sometimes the cabins had celhirs, which were simply small excavations in the ground for the storage of a few articles of food, or perhaps cooking utensils. Aooess to the oellar waa readily gained by lifting a loose puncheon. Thave waa eometimea a loft used lor various purposes, among others as the " goeat chamber " of the house. It was reached by a ladder, the sides of which were split pieoes of a -apling, put together, like everything else in the house, without nails.

The furniture of the lo^- cabin was as simple and primitive as the structure itself. A forked stick set in the flocnr and supporting two poles, the other ends of which were allowed to rest upon tho logs at the end and side of the cabin, formed a bedstead. A common form of table was a aplit slab supported by four rustic legs set in augur holes. Three-legged stools were made in a similar simple manner. Pegs driven in angnr holes into the logs of the wall snpported ehpIvoB, and others displnyod the limited wardroho of tho family not inune. A few other pegs, or ])orbap6 a pair of deer horns, formed a rack whoro hung the riiio and powder-horn, which no cabin wat* without. These, and perhaps a few other simple articles bronght from the "old home** formed the nmitare and furnishings of the pioneer cabin.

The utensils for cooking and the dishes for tabl»i use were few. The best were of pewter, which the careful housewife of the olden time kept shining as brightly as the moat pretentiona plate of oar later-day fine hoaaea. It was byno means uncommon that wooden vessels, either coopered or tamed, were used upon the table. Knives and forks wore few. crockery very scarc«, and tin-ware nut abundant. Food was simply cooked and served, but it was of the best and most wholesome kind. The banter kepi the laider saj^lied with venison, bear meat, squirrels, fish, wild turkeys, and the many varieties of smaller game. Plain com bread baked in a Imtfle, in the ashes, or upon a board in front of I - the great open lire-place answered the purpose of ail kinds of pastry. The com was among the earlier pioneers poonded or grated, there being no mills for grinding it for some time, and then cnlj small ones at a considerable distance nway. The wild fruits in f)ioir season were made use of, and afforded a pleasant variety. Sometimes especial effort was made to prepare a delicacy, as, for instance, when a woman experimented in mince pica by ponnding wheat for the floor to make the crust, and used crab- apples for fruit. In the lofts of the cabins was usually to be found a collection of aiticles that made up the pioneer's materia medica - the herb medicines and spices, catnip, sage, tansy, fennel, boneset, pennyroyal and wormwood, each gathered in its season; and there were also storea of ante, and strings of dried pampkin, with bags of berries and fruit.

The babits of the pioneers were of a simplicity and purity in conformance to their surroundings and belongings. The men were engaged in the herculean labor, day after day, of enlarging the little patch of stmsbine abont their homes, cutting away the forest, burning off the brush and debris, preparing the soil, planting, tending, harvesting, caring for the few animals which they engaged in tho bonvy labor of the field and forest, or following the deer, or Beeking other ^ame, their helpmeet-^ wt>rt' busied with thtnr household duties, proyiding for the day and for the winter coming on, cooking, making clothes, spinning and weaving. They wwe fitted by nature and experience to be the consorts of tho brave men who first came into the Western wilderness. They were heroic in their endurance of hardship and privation and lonelineBS. Their industry was well directed and unceasing. Woman's work then, like man's, was performed under disadvantagee^ which have been removed in later yeara. She had not only the common household duties to perform, but many othcfa. She not only made the clothing, but the fabric for it. That old, old oornpation of spinning and of weaving, with which woman's name has been afiHociated in all hii^ory, SdA of which the modem world knows nothing, except through the atoriee of thoee who are grandmothers now - that old ooonpation of afMik^ ning and of weaving, which seems surrounded with a glamour of romance as we look back to it through tradition and poetry, and which always conjures up thoughts of the gracee and virtaea of the damea and dsnseb of a generation that is gone - that old, old oooapation of spinning and of weaving, was tha chief induBtry of the pioneer women. Every cabin sounded with the softlywhirring wheel and the rythmic thud of the loom. The woman of pioneer timee was like tiie woman described by Solomon: " She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her handa; aha iayatfa her hands to the apindla^ and her hands hold the distaff."

Almost every article of clothing, all of the cloth in use in the old log cabins, was the product of the patient woman-weaver's toil. She span the flax and wove the cloth for shirts, pantaloons, frocks, sheets and blankets. The linen and the wool, the " Hnsoy-woolfiey " woven by the housewife formed all of tho material for the clothing of both men and women, except tiuch nrticles as were made of skins. The men commonly wore the hunting-shirt, a kind of loose frock reaching half way down llie flgnre^ open before^ and so wide aa to lap over a foot or more upon tho chrst. ThiB generally had a c^pe, which was often fringwl with a raveled piece of cloth of a different color from that which composed the garment. The bosom of the hunting-shirt answered as a pondh, in which conld be carried the various artidea that the hnnter m woodsman would need. It was always worn belted and made out of coarse linen, or linsey, or of dreseed deer skin, according to the fancy of the wearer. Breeches were made of heavy cloth or of deer skin, and were often worn with leggings of the same material, or of some kind of leather, while the feet were most usually encased in moccasins, which were easily and quickly made^ ^though thoy needed frequent mending. The deer skin breeches or drawers , were very comfortable when dry, but when they became wot were very cold to * tiie limbe, and the next time they were pnt on were almost aa stiff as if made of wood. Hats or eapa were made of the various native furs. The women were clothed in linsey petticoats, coarse shoes and stockings, and wore buckskin gloves or mittens when any protection was required for the hands. All of the wearing apparel, like that of the men, was made with a view to being serviceable and oomfortable^ and all was of home manufacture. Other artidea and finer ones were sometimes worn, but thev had been bronrrbf from former home6, and were usually relics handed down from parents to children. Jew> elry was not common, but occasionally some ornament was displayed. In the cabins of the more cultivated pioneers were nsaally a few books, and the long winter evenings wpr(» spent in |X)ring over these well-thumbed vnlnmes liy the light of the great log-fire, in knitting, mending, curing furs, or some similar oooapation.

Hospitality was simple, unaffected, hearty, unbounded. Wbinky was in oontmoii tub, and was nurniahed on all oooHsions of aooiality. Nearly eveiy selUsr bad his barrel stored away. It was the universal driDk at merry makings. honse-warraings, weddings, and was always set before the traveler who chanced to spend the night or take a meal in the log-cabin. It was the good old-fashioned whiakji dear as amber, sweat as musk, smooth as oil," Uiat the few octogenarians and DonaganariaDs of to-day recall to memory with an unctuous ^usto and a sugf^estive smack of the Hps. The whisky came from the Monongahela district, and was boated up the streams or hauled iu wagons across the conotrr. A few jean later stills began to make their a})peurance, and an article of peach brandy and rye whisky manufactured; the latter was not held in sooh high esteem aa the peaoh brandy^ though used in i^eatar qoantitiee.

Aa the settlement. ineraasad, the sense of loneliness and isolation was dispelled, the asperities of life were softened and its amenities multiplied; social gatherings became more nnmorons and more enjoyable. The lo^' rollings, harvestings and husking bees for the men, and the apple-bntter making and the quilting parties for the women, furnished frequent oooasions for social intereomrse. The early settlers took much pleasure and pride in rifle shooting, and as they wero accnetompd to the nso of the gun as a moans, often, of obtaining a BubsiBtence, and relied upon it aa a weapon of defense, they exhibited considerable skill.

A wedding waa the efent of most importance in the sparsely settled new country. The young people had every indncompnt to marrv. and generally did so as soon oh able to provido for thenisolvos. AVhen a marriage was to be celebrated, all the neighborhood turned out. It was customary to have the oaremony performed bdore dinner, and in order to be in time, the groom and his attendants usually started from his father's house in the morning for that of the bride. All went on horseback, riding in single file along the narrow perfonned, and after that, dinner seryed. *h is would be a snbetantial backwoods feast of beef, pork, tovih, and bear or deer meat, with such vegetables as could be procnred. The greatest hilarity prevailed during the meal. After it was over the dancing began, and was usually kept up till the next morning, though the newly mam husband and wile were as a general thing pat to bed in the most approved fashion, and with considerable fotmality, in tiie middle of the evonin^'s hilarity. The tall young men, when they went on the floor to dance, had to take their places with care between the logs that supported the loft floor, or they were in dangw of bumping their heads. The flgnres of the dances ware three and four hand reels, ot square sets and jigs. The com- > mencement was always a square four, which was followod by "jigging it off," or what is sometimes called a " cut out jig." The settlement " of a young couple was thought to be thoroughly and genefooaly made when the neighbors assembled and raised a cabin for them.

During all the oarly years of the settlement, varied with occasional pleasures and excitements, the great work of increasing the tillable ground went slowly on. The implements and tools were few and of the most primitive kinds, bat the soil that had long held in reserve the aooomalated richness of centuries, produced splendid harvr»stp, and the hnsbriudman was well rewarded for his labor. The soil was warmer then than now, anti the soason earlier. The wheat was occai>iunally pastured in the spring to keep it from growing up SO fast aa to become lodged. The harvest came early, and the yield was often from twenty to thirty bnshels per acre. Corn grew fsst, and roasting ears were to be had by the let of August in most seasons.

Sind in the mill, it was rednoad to meal by a gnter. Nest to llie grater oamo B bominy block, an article in common use among the pioneers. It consisted simply of a block of wood - a section of a tree perhaps - with a hole burned or dug into it a foot deep in which com was palverized with a pestle. Sometimes this bloek was inside the oabin, where it serred as a seat W the bashftil young backwoodsman while "i^Moldng" his girl; sometimes a convenient stump in front of the cabin door was prepared for nnd mndp one of the boat of hominy blocks. These blocks did not last long, for mills came quite early and superseded them, yet those mills were so fax apart that in stormyweather, or for want of transportation, the pioneer was compelled to resort to his horainy-block or go withont bread. In wintor the mills were frozen up nearly all the time, and when a thaw oitme and the ice broke, if the mill was not swept away entirely by the floods, it was so thronged witik pioneera, each ^ with bis sack of corn, that some of them wore often compelled to oamp out near the mill and wait several days for their turn. When the grist was ground, I if they were so fortunate as to ponsees an ox, or a horse or mule for the par- > pose of transportation, they were happy. It was not unusual to go from ten ' to thirty miles to mill, through the pathless, nnbraken forest, and to be be- nighted on tho journey and chased by wolves.

As the majority of the pioneers settled «dn the vicinity of a stream, mills soon made their appearance in every settlement. Those nxills, however, were rwf primitive affairs - mere **eorn-Graeksrs** - but they were a big improvement on the hominy-block. Thoy merely ^ound tht! corn; the pio neer must do his own bolting. Tho meal was sifted through a wire piovo by hand, and the iineet used for bread. A road cut through the forest to the mill and a wagon for hanling the grist were great adTantages. ^le latter, espe. cially, was often a seven days' wonder to the children of a settlement, and the hn}>py owner of one often did for years the milling of a whole neighborhood. About once a month this good neighbor, who was in exceptionally good ciroomstaniiee because able to own a wagon, would go around ilirougfa £e settlementk gather up the grists and take them to mill, often spending several daji in the operation, and never think of charging for his timo and trouble.

Only the commonest goods were brought into the country, and they sold at Tery high prices, as the freightage of mercha?kdise from the East was bi^ Most of the people were in moderate circumstances, and were content to live in a very cheap way. A TOaj<irity had to depend mainly on the produce of their little clearings, which consisted to a lar^ extent of potatoes and corn. Hush, com bread and potatoes were the prineipal food. There was no meat except game^ and often this had to be eaten without salt. Pork, floor, sugar and other groceries sold at high prices, and were looked upon as luxuries. In 1798-99 wheat brought $1.50 per bushel; dour $4 per 100 pounds; corn fl per bushel; oats, 75 cents, and potatoes 65 cents. Prices were still higher in 1818-14, corn being $2 per bushel; flour fl4 per barrel; oats, fl, and salt from $12 to ?'20 per barrel.

The writer has seen an old cash book kept at one of the frontier stores on the Reserve prior to 1800, wherein the accounts with the whites are carried oat in pounds, shillings and pence, while those with the Indians, who largely patroniicod the store, were kept in il!tllr\rs ati<l ront^ To judge from the daily Consumption of whisky, it was pre eminently the tiinW of life,'' there being scarcely an account against a white or Indian, male or female, of which it does not form a large proportion. For domestic use, it cost 8 shillings per quart) while a gill cost 4 cents. Tobaoco was sold by the yard at 4 oents per yardi common sugar at 33 cents, and loaf at 50 cents per pound. Chocolate was in more gen«ntl oae tli&n tea or coffee, and eold at 8 abiUinga and 6 penee per pound, and coffee at 30 cents. Homespun linen could be purobased at 50 cents per yard, while the belle aspiring to tUe extravagance of calico, could f ratify her ambition at 83 cents per yard, with the addition of a cotton handeiehief at firom 70 oenta to $1, aooording to eolor and design. Shoea and boots brought from $1 to 13 per pair, bat moeeaeina were in common nse wiUi both white men and Indians at 3 shillings and 9 pence, though from 9 pence to two shillings hisher when ornamented with the colored quills of the poronpine. The price <S a rifle was $25, a borae $125, and a yolce of oxen $80. Indiana naoallj paid tbelr bills with peltry and many of the whites did likewise. A bear slcin was worth from $2 to $5; otter, from ?3 to ? t : beaver, from $2 to $3; deer from 75 to 90 cents; marten 1 shilling and 10 pence; muakrat, 1 diilUng^ wbile fidier, wild cat, panther, wolf, fox, raccoon, mink and other akina were also readily purchased.

Long journeys upon foot were often made by the pioneers to obtain the necessities of life or some article, then a luxury, for the sick. Hardships were dbaerfolly borne, privations stoutly endured; the beet was made of what they had by the pioneers and their families, and tbej toiled patiently on, indostrionfi and frugal, simple in their tastes and pleasures, hnppy id an independence, however hardly gained, and looking forward hopefully to a future of plenty which should reward them for the toils of their earliest years, and a rest from the stinggle amidst the benefits gained by it Without an iron will and indomitable rpsdlntinn they conld never have accompIiBhod what they did. Their heroism desorves the highest tribute of praise that can be awarded. A. writer in one of the local papers says:

** Eighty years ago net a pound of coal or a cnbio foot of iUominating gas h&d been burned in the country. All the cooking and warming in town ne well an in the country were done by the aid of a tire kindled on the brick hearth or in the brick ovens. Pine knobs or tallow candles furnished the light tor the long winter nights, and acnded floors snppJied the place of rags and carpets. The water osed for hooaehc^ purposes was drawn from deep wells by the creaking sweep. No form of pump was used in this country, so far as we can learn, until aftw the commencement of the present century. There were no friction matches in thoee early days, by the aid of which a fire conld be easily kindled, and if the fire went out upon the hearth over night, and the tinder was damp, so that the spark would not catch, the alternative remained of wading through the snow a mile or so to borrow a brand from a neighbor. Only one room in aiqr hoose was warm, nuleaa some member of the family was ill, in all the rest the temperature was at zero during many nights in winter. The men and women undressed and went tu their beds in a temperature colder than oar barns and woodsheds, and they never complained."

Ghnrobes and achoolhoos^ were sparsely ecattered, and of the most primitiTe dharacier. One pastor served a number of congregations, and ealariea were so low that the preachers had to take part in working their farms to procure support for their families. The people went to religious service on foot or horseback, and the children often walked two or three miles through the woods to school. There were no fires in thecharehee for a number of years. When they were finally introduced they were at first built in holes cut in the X floors, and the smoke found its way out through openings in the roofs. The seats were of nnsmoothed slabs, the ends and centers of which were laid upon blocks, and tiie palpits were little better. Worship was held once or twice a montti, consisting naoally of two aerrioea, one in the forenoon and one imme- diately after noon, the people remaining during the interval and spending the time in eooiftl iaterooatiM. It is maoh to be feared that if ruligiooe irairBhip were attended with tho same discomforts now as it was eighty to ninety yean ago, the excuses for keeping away from the house of God would be many times multiplied. Taken altogether, while they had to endure many priTations and hardships, it ia doubtful whether the pioneers of any part of Amerioa wera more fortunate in their aeleotion than thoee of Portage Conntj. Every one of the Rettlers agrees in saying that thoy hnd no trouble in acconmiodating themselves to the situation, and were, as a rule, both men and women, healthy, contented and happy.

During the war of 1812-15, many of the husbands and fathers volunteered their serrices to the United States, and others were drafted. Women and children were then left alone in many an isolated log-oabiu in northeastern Ohio, and there were several inttfnrals of unrest and anxiety. It was feared by many that the Indians might take advantage of the absence from these homes of thpir nfitiirnl defenders, and pillage and destroy them. The dread of robbery and murder tilled maay a mother's heart, but happily the worst fears of the kind proved to be groundless, and this part of the country was spared any soeneH of actual violoioe.

After the war there wnn n greater feeling' of socnrity than ever before; a new motive was given to immigration. The country rapidly filled up with settlers, and the era of peace and prosperity was fairly begun. Progress was slowly, surely made; the log houses became more numeroua in the olearinge; the forest pbrank away before the woochnan's ax; frnnie lionRos boi^nn to appear. The pioneers, assured of safety, laid better phins for the future, resorted to new industries, enlarged their possessions, uud improved the means of cultivation. Stoek was Iwou^t in from the Sonth and East Every settler bad his horsep, oxen, cattle, sheep and hofrs. More commodious structures took the places of tlio old ones; the large dcMible log-cabin of hewed logs and the still haudsomer frame dwelling took the place of the smaller hut; log and frame bams were built for the protection of stoek and the housing of theerope. Then Hociety began to form itself; the schoolhouse and the church appeared, and the advancement was noticeable in a score of ways. Still there remained a vast work to perform, for as yot only a beginning had been made in the Western woods. The brunt of the struggle, however, was past, and tiio way made in the wilderness for the army that was to come.

For the next ten years Knccee<ling the war of 1812 wheat was from 25 to 37| cents per bushel, and other products in proportion. Merchandise was still very high. A day's labor would barely purchase a yard of cotton, while thirty-two bushels of corn ai < known to have been exchanged, Ijy one of the pioneers of Portage County, for four yards of fulled cloth. About 1813 Jnhn T. Baldwin and David Waller, two well remembered pioneers of Palmyra Township, brought the 6rst load of salt from Oleveland to Portage County. It took Jive days to make the trip, and the salt was worth when delivered $20 per barrel. In 1810 corn was §2 ])er bushel, and f1<nir SM per barrel, while hired hands received but 25 cents a day. In 1821 wheat sold in Ravenna for 25 cents per bushel, and money was so aearoe that the average pioneer was very often unable to raise the funds to pay the postage on an occasional letter, which then co.st 2~ cenf^. Wheat and flour were hauled to Cleveland with ox teams, and exchanged for goods, and, as the roads were usually in a terrible condition, it often took a whole week to make the round trip. Along about tiiia period Judge Amzi Atwater, who resided in the northern part of the county, with the laudable intention of encouraging the smuggling settlers^ had purchased or would purchase land of him Taking advantage of this liberal offer, they would buy up wheat at from 25 to 40 cents and turn it over to Judge Atwater at 50 c«nt8 per bushel. This was soon regarded by the Judge as "sharp praelioe^*' and he withdrew hit offer. The usual hotel charges throughout the county for a good pioneer dinner was 12^ cents, a similar amount being charged for four quarts of oats and hay for the guest's horse. Yery little change occurred in prices of produce or goods until 1825, when the oommeiMement of work on the Ohio Canal gave an impetus to every Iwancli of trade. ,

The first settlers were neceBBnrily exposed to many dangers and privations, yet as a rule they had no fears of starvation, for the forest was alive with game, the streams abounded in fish and the virgin soil yielded bonntifallj. Upon selecting a location, the pioneer nsaally began at once to open a olesring in the primitive forest and prepare a pioro of ground for tillage. Thus the foundation of the present agricultural prosperity was laid by the lirst settlers of ibe oonnty. In the fall of 1798 Abram S. Honey plantsd a small patch of wheat in Mantua Township, which was harvested the following Bommer by his brother-in-law, Rufus Edwards, who owned the land. This was the first crop raised by white men in what is now Portage County. In June, 1709, Elias Harmon planted some potatoes and peas in the Honey clearing. The same fall Lewis Ely put in a orop of wheat in Deerfield Townships as also did Lewis and Horatio Day, amounting in all to 8omo eight or ten acres. The next spring Lewis Ely, Alva Day, John Campbell and Joel Thrall each planted a small patch of corn in Deerfield. David Daniels cleared up a piece of ground on Lot 21, Palmyra Township, in the summer of 1799, and that fall sowed it in wheat, which he harvested the following summer. After threshing the 1 little crop with hin flail, ho cleaned up about a bushol of the grain and carried j it on his back to a mill located at Poland, Ohio, about thirty miles dibtaut, . had it groond and returned with the floor to bis oabin, where tot the first time ' since settling in the wilderness, he enjoyed the luxury of wheat bread. In the s]>ring of 1800 Daniels put in a patch of corn; Ethelbert Baker and William Bacon alsoplanted little fields of corn in Palmyra the same spring. In 1799 Bbeneaer Sheldon sent out Bben Blair tnym Oonneotieot to make a i settlement on his land in Aurora Tow usbip. Blair came via Pittsburgh, where , he bought a peck of grass seed. This lu- carried on Iiih back from Pittsburgh ; to Sheldon's land, where he was soon after joined by his employer and Elias ' Harmon. An opening was soon made in <he woods and sown with wheat faroogiht out by Sheldon, the grass seed being sown in the same field. Benjamin Tappan put in a few acres of corn and vegetables in 1800, on hia land in the aoatheast corner of liavenna Township, and the same fall planted the groond in wheat. William Ohard and Conrad Booeinger, both of whom settled in Tappan's neighborhood, also planted small fields of the latter cereal in the fall of 1S*H). Asa Hall made the first clearing in Atwater Township early in IbUU, andput in some com, which was succeeded the next fall by wheat In 1801 or 1802 David Baldwin raised a com and wheat crop in Atwatw Townahip.

The first com in Rootatown Township was planted in the spring of 1801, near its northeast corner, by Ephraim and David Boot. In Nelson Township a orop was put in the same year by Delami and Asahel Mills. In 1802 Boytu Pease sowed a few acres of wheat in Suffield Township. In April, 1803, Benjsmin Baldwin settled in the latter towtiHhi p. He brought from Coniu^cticut a small bag of apple seeds, which he planted upon his arrival, and from the seed- | lings tbuB obtained has oome the mnch-prized "Baldwin Apple.** The first crop of wheat planted in Randolph Township was in the fall of 1802, bv Bela Habbard, on the northwest corner of Lot 57, the iirst land cleared in the iowudup. He Iiad to go to Dtyid Baldwin's in Atwater Township eight mileB away to borrow a plow, which he carried on his shoulders to his little clear, ing, and returned it in the same manner. He went to Christman's Mill, on Little Beaver Creek, in Pennsylvania, for seed, the round trip taking about a week, but so rioh was the eoil that he railed 100 bnafaels of etean wheat from four acres of ground. He and Joseph Harris raised in partnership, in 1805, l,r)(X) bushels of com. In 1803 Elijah Mason cleared twenty-two acres of land on Lot 23, Uiram Township, which heplanted in wheat the same je&r. John Oampbel! raised the first oom in OWlestown Township in 1805, having remove J tberp from Deaifield, where he first settled. In 1806 John ana George Haymaker 8ow*^d a small patch of corn on the bank of the Cuyahoga, in Franklin Township, and the next year built a grisUmill on that stream. Joel Baker put in a erop of oom and wheat on Lot 46, Shalersrille Township, in 1806. Eber Abbott planted the first com and wheat in Edinburg Township in 1811. In the spring of that year Elijah and Oliver Alford and Ebenezer O. and Nathan Messenger cleared small pieces of ground in Windham Township, which they planted in com. Wareham Loomis also put in a small patoh, and the same fall several acres of wheat were sown by the same parties and other settlers who arrived during tho fiummer. Benjamin Hi<^ley, one of those who came to Windham that year, planted four acres of wheat on Lot 'dQ, and from three bushels sown he threshed out the following summer about 100 boahels, wbitHn fnllf demonstrates the original Isrtilitf of the soil of this eonnty.

The agricultural imjilerneut^ in use by the early settlers were very Hiniple and rude. The plow was made entirely of wood, except the share, clevis and draft-roda, which were of iron, and had to be for a nomber of years transported from Pittsburgh, as there were no iron works in the oonnty where the plow> shares could be forged. The wooden plow was a very awkward implement, very difficult to hold and hard for the team to draw. It was, however, very IffsunWj need until the fall of 1824, when the esat'ircm |Aow, patented by Jetfaro Wood, was first brought into the county, thoQgh it did not gain popular favor very rapidly. The farmer looked at it and was sure it would break the first time it stmok a stone or a root, and then how should he replace it? The wooden mofdd>board would not taraal^ and when it wwe out he oonld take hia ax and hew another out of a piece of a tree. In no one agrimiltaral implement has there been more marked improvement than in the plow - now made of l)eautifully polished oast-steel except the beam and handlesi while in Canada and some portions of the United 8nitss these, too, are mannfaotnred of iron. The cast steel plow of the present manufactore, in its several sizes, styles and adaptations to the various soils and forms of land, including the sulky or riding plow of the Western prairiee, is among agricoltaral implements the most perfeot in nssb side cut close and on the other left about a foot long to serve the purpose of teeth. In some instances a number of holes were bored through the beams and dry wooden pins driven into them. It was not until about 1825 that iron or steel harrow teeth were introdaoed into Portage Oonnty.

The axes, hoes, shovels and picks wore rade and clumBy, and of inferior utility. The sickle and scythe were at tirat used to harvest the grain and hay, but the former gave way early to the cradle, with which better results could be attained with lesB labor. The scythe and cradle hr\vf> been replaced by the mower and reaper to a great extent, though both are Biill used conaiderablj^ in Hub eoonty.

The oidinaiy wooden flail was used to thresh n^rain until about 1830, when the horse-power thresher was largely substituted. The method of cleaning the ohaff from the grain by the early settlera, was by a blanket handled by two persons. The grain and tiie ohaff were placed on the blanket, which was then tossed np and down, the wind separating a certain amount of the chaff from the grain during the operation. Fanning mills were introduced about 1820, bat the tint of these were very rude and little better than the primitive blanket. Improvemente have been made from time to time until an almost ptffeet sapvitor is now oonnected with svery thresbing madiins^ and the work of ten men for a whole seaeon is done more completely by two or three men, as many liorRe^?, and a patent separator, in one day. In fact, it is diflBcult to fix limitatioBB upon improvements in agricultural machinery within the last fifty years. It is, bowever, sate to saj fbat tbej bave enabled tbe fanner to acfomplish more than triple the amount of work with the same force in the same time, and do his work better than before. It has been stated on competent authority that the saving effected by new and improved implements within tbe last twenty yean bae been not less flian <nie-balf on allldndii<rf farm labor.

The greatest triumphs of mechanical skill in its application to agrionltnre are witneHsed in the plow, planter, reaper and separator, as well as in many other implementfi adapted to the tillage, harreeting and anbseqaent handling ot tbe immense erops of the eoantiy. Tbe rode and oombroos inplementa <S tbe pioneers hava been superseded by improved and apparently pecnet naahinp ery of all classes, so that the calling of the farmer io no longer q^nooyUKNia with laborious toil, bnt is in many ways pleasant recreation.

Tbe fanuflrs of Portage County are not bebind Ibeir neighbors in tbe employment of improred metboda and in the use of the best machinexy. It is true that in many CR?5efl they were slow to change, but much allowance ahould be made for sorronnding ciroomstances. The pioneers had to contend against innmnerable ohetaeleB - with tbe wildnees of natnre, the jealoos hostility of the Indiana, tiie immense grovrth of timber, the depredations of wild beasts and the annoyance of the swarming insect life, and the great difficulty and eipense of procuring seeds and farming implements. These various difficulties were quite snfficient to explain the slow progress made in tbe flrst years of settlement Improvements were not encouraged, while the pioneers generally rejected "book farming" as unimportant and useless, and knew little of the chemistry of agriculture. The farmer who ventured to make experiments, to stake out new paths of practice, or to adopt new modes of culture, subjected himself to the ridieole of tbe whole neigbborbood. For many years tbe same methods of farming were observed; the son planted as many aoree of corn or wheat as his father did, and in the same phases of the moon. All their praoticee were merely traditional; but within the last thirty years most remarkable ebangee bave oeeorred in all tbe conditions of agricaltue in ttds eoontry.

It is not, however, in grain-growing that Portage County has made its most material progress. The natural adaptation of the soil to gr&sB, and the abundant supply of pore water, early attracted the attention of many progress* in farmem to the raising of dairy stock, and ttie mannfaotnre of batter and cheese, which industries have increased until they are among the leading agricultural pursuits, exceeding moat other branches of farming in their importance and mapiitude. Milch cows were brought into the county by many of flie Tery earlieat lettlsni, and batter and oheeae began to be mumf aetoxed for market in a Bmall way during tho first qnnrtcr of tho present cGntury. The businees grew rapidly, and by lb5U nearly 2,()U0,0OU pounds ot cheeee were annually produced in Portage Coouty* and batter and cheese became the i^^reat

* staple prodncto of the northern half of the eonsty. Their regnlar BManiutaie has since extended into several of {the southern townships, though the latter are raore largely devoted to grain -growing. From 1860 to 1864, inclusive, Portage County ranked among the counties of the State respectively third and fourth in its prodootion of oheeee and hotter, annnally averaging for l^oae five years 2,088,471 pounds of cheese, and 872,454 pounds of bntter. In 1866 it stood eecond in both products, having 8,115,728 pounds of cheese, and 833,988 pounds of batter. In 1870 it was third and fifth respectively, with 3,822,829 ponnds of eheeee^ and 916.876 pounds of bntter. In 1871 it had 8,806,884 pounds of cheese, and 007,693 pounds of batter, being fourth and seventh respect ivoly in those products. In 1872 it produced 3,019,983 pounds ol oheeee, and 906,995 uounds of batter, ranking fifth in both. In 1873 there ifere torned oat C^,964 poanda of batter, which mm more Aan ai^ other oounty in the State, and 3,712,233 pounds of cheese, or the fifth in that artiola In 1874 this county's butter product heads the list with 1,002,043 pounds; and it was the fourth cheeee producing oounty, with 3,483,965 pounds. It ranked respectively third and sixth, in batter and eheese, in 1875, turning oat 955,- 817 pounds of the former, and 8,404,286 pounds of the latter proda^ In 1877 Porfago inamifactured 1,043,542 poundsof hiitter and 8,707,783 pounds of cheese, ranking hfth in each. In 1878 its butter product stood fourth, and its cheese product second in the list of counties, reporting 981,425 pounds of. the former, and 4,170,339 pounds of the latter. Its butter product dropped in 1879 to the ninth place, being 911,910 pounds, while its cheese production also declined to lo^is than one-half of the amount turned out the previous year, or 2,001,111 pounds, making Portage iifth in the list of cheese counties for that year. Little ohange oecorred tor ttie suoeeeding two years, the oounty stand* ing, in 1881, seventh in it.s butter product, with 962,970 pounds, and third in its cheese product, having 2,798,722 y»oiinds. In ISSH this county again took the first place in its butter product, standing at the head of all the other counties, with 1,200,077 pounds, while its 2,645,115 pounds of diesse gave it fifth place in the list of cheese producing counties. Tho statistics for 1884 have not yet (March 1885) been collected, but cheeee dealers have informed the writer that, on account of the long dry season, there will be a considerable falling off in last year's pvoduet The connty now contains about thirty cheese factones, located principally in the three northern ranges of townships, though there are several in the southern section of the county.

HorseB, cattle, sheep and hogs were brought into the county by the first settlers, tbou^ they were usually of an ordinary breed, and very little was done toward the improvement of farm stock for fifty years after the first setf tlement was made. Mrs. Josiah Ward is credited with owning the first sheep in Randolph Township, which wece brouj^t.in from the East in 1805. Her husband having no money, was nnable to pordiase them, "when sne *%ok out her stocking" and paid cash dcnvu for eight or ten of the drove standing in front of their little cabin. She liad saved up this money ere leaving her Oonuecticut homo, to be used for that very purpose. Timothy Culver, also of Batidolph Township, bought sixtoen sheep abont the same time, the seller to receive as many mofo at a certain stated date; but the animals were kept near the creek, and, in consequence of eatinf^ a poisonous plant, all but one died the first winter. In 1800 John U. Whittlesey and Jeremiah Jones locate in Atwater Township, and soon afterward went to Georgetown, Fenn., and pur* obased twelve sheep, which thej brought to their homes in this connty. Od getting the oheep here they diacovered that they had no place to keep them naim from the wolTea during the eoming night, bat Mr. Whittlesey aoon got over the difficulty by giving the animals a portion of his own Utehen. About 1807 John Campbell went to PennBylvania and brought in some stock from that State, which he distributed among the few settleri who were then finaneially able to purchasA. In 1818 Erutne Garter bought six sheep of John Ottmpbell. They were watched through the daytime by his son Howard Garter, who is yet living, and Bbnt np at night In a log-stable. One night the | sheep were left out, and the wolves killed every one of them. The family picked up the wool scattered around the remains, carded and spun it, and had, it woven toto oloth, from whioh young Howard was made his first pair of wooImi' pante since coming to Ohio several years before^ baekikin being thsai the onlj material generally in use for such garments.

The Bwine of the early settlers, compared with those they now possess, pre- - vefj wide oontnet, for whatever the breed may have been oalled, nmnin^ wild, as was customary, the special breed was Boon lost in the mixed swine of the country. Thoy wore long and slim, long-snouted and long-legged, with an arohed back, and bristles erect from the back of the head to the tail, slabtided, aetive and healthy; the * 'sapling-splitter" or *'racor baok,** as he mm called, was ever in the search of food, and quick to tdn alarm. He was capa ble of making a heavy hog, but required two or more yenra to mature, and until a short time before butchering or marketing was suffered to run at large, mainly as a forager, and in the fidl fattening on the ''maa^ of we ft»WMifc Yet this was the hog for a new country, whose neanst and bett markets- were Pittsburgh and Pliiladelphia, to which jX)intH they were driven on foot Almost every farmer raised a few hogs for market, which were gathered np by drovers and dealera during the ful and winter eeaaona. & no ' stock of the farm have greater changes been effected than in the hog. From til" lont;^ leggod, long-snouted, slab-sided, roach-backed, tall, long, active, wiid, lierce and muscular, it has been bred to be almost as square as a storebox and qniet aa a iheep, taking oo 260 ponnda of flesh in ten montiba. They are now ranked into distinctive breeds, the Bedcahire and Chester White being more extensively bred in Portage County than any other kind.

The following statistics, compiled from the Secretary of State's reports, will fornish a good idea of the growth of the stock interests in Portage Gounty for the past forty. five years: varied a few thousand back and forth, there were more than three timee as many hogs reported in 1883 and 18S4 eb in any other year sinoe 1852. Thia would indicate that hogs are rapidly taking the place of sheep on the fanns of Portage County, the raising of the latter having been almost abandoned because of the rapid decline in the prioe of wool, oaoaMl by the reduction of the tariff on that staple.

The leading staple crops of Portage Ck)unty are wheat, corn, oata and hay. From 1850 to 1864 inclusive, the annual average wheat and corn product was, respectively, 149,084 and 358,094 bushels. The annual average product of oats from 1S58 to 1864 inclusive, was 240.283 bushels, while the annual hav product for the same period was 44,711 tuns. In 1866 there were raised in this county 81,022 boahels of wheat, 456^687 boahels of com, 309,881 bushels of oats, and 49,913 tons of hay and clover. In 1870, 108,324 bushels of whnat, 540,802 bushels of corn. 3S0.2r)7 bushels of oats aud 44,012 tons of hay and clover. In 1875, 176,806 bushels of wheat, 736,112 bushels of com, 602,288 boahels of oats and 88,9U ions of hay and elover. In 1880, 460,894 bushels of wheat, 450,822 bushels of com, 429,785 bushels of oats and 40,138 tons of hav and clover. In 1883 (the last report published), there were raised 318,261 bushels of wheat, 159,751 bushels of corn (shelled), 540,464 bushels of oats and 58,894 tons of hay and elover. The total annual avenge wheai-p«>. duet of this ooonty from 1878 to 1882 indosive was 852,251 bwliels, and of eom for the same period, 568,503 bushels.

Portage County AgricuUwxU Societiet, - There has been no agency that has aooompliahed so mnoh good for the fanning interests of this oonnty as the Heveral agrieoltaral ao<fietie8 of the past and present. Their influence began sixty years ago, when, on the 9th of May, 1825, the " Porta^-e County Agricultural Society " was organized at the Court House in Kavenna, by the election of the following officers: Joshua Woodward, President; Elias Harmon, First Vice'Preeident; Owen Brown, Second Vice-President; Frederick Wadsworth, Corresponding Secretary; Samuel D. Harris, Recording Secretary; William Coolman, Jr., Treasurer; Jonathan Sloane, Auditor. The society held its first " agricultural fair and cattle show " at Ravenna, October 18, 1825. Among tiie premiums we find one of $8, awarded to Seth Harmon for the best crop of com, he having raised one hundred bushels and one peck from one acre of land. Fairs were held annually by the society at Ravenna until 1830, whtiu, although ofiicers were elected, no fair was held, and the society went oat of exiatenOe.

On the 12th of March, 1830, the Ohio Assembly passed " an act to authorize and encourage the efltablishment of agricultural societies in the several counties in this State, and to regulate the same;" and June 20, 1839, in ponmance of noUoe given by the Coonty Auditor, a meeting was held at the Court House in Ravenna, for the purpose of organizing an agricultural society in Portage County. William Wetmore was Chairman, and George Y. Wallace, Secretary. It was resolved by the meeting to call the new institution the ** Portage Ooanty Agriooltoral Sooiety,** and the following offloers were diosen: William Wetmore, President; Lorin Bigelow, Vica-Prosident; George Y. Wallace, Recording Sncretary; Joseph Lyman, Corresponding Secretary ; John B. Clark, William Milliken and Oliver C. Dickinson, Executive Committee. Their first fair was held at the Ooort Hmiae Ootober 20 and 21, 1841, and was

Hi8I0R7 Of Pobtaob Oounty

On the 27th of February, 1846, the Legislature passed " an act for the encouragement of agriculture;" and April 1 and 2, 184(5, the State Board of Agrioolkure met at Columbus, Ohio, and adopted roles and legnlationB for tiie flOTemmflnt of county societies legally organised in harmoiij witii thia law. A meeting was held at the Court House in Ravenna, for the purpose of organizing a society under thoeo rules, and to obtain the financial assistance from the State, which the act promised. Greenbury Keen was called to the chair, and Richard J. Thompson oboeen Seoretary. Enoch JdunoD, FViend Gook, Ralph Day, William Stedman and Richard J. Thompson were appointed a committee to prepare n constitution for the society, whicii was subsequently presented and adopted. The following officers were then elected: Richard J. Thompson, PresidsDt; J. Q. Voiejt Yioe-Prseidsikl; Arehibald SerrosB, Seore> tary; Edob P. Brainerd, Treasurer; William Stedman, Albert Austin, Charles Button, William Millikon and Daniel W. Jennings, Executive Committee. The thanks of the meeting were extended to Hon. William Wetmore, of the Senale, and to Hons. David McXntosh and Thomas O. Sfarsve, of the ifooas, for their exertions to procure the passage of the law for the promotion of agriculture. Gen, Mcintosh was afterward President of the society for several years, and in Aufust, 1853, he and wife were presented by the sooietjr with a massiTS aihw samr, as an appropriate idnm of its appreoiation of the eflforts both had always put forth to boild ap the interests of the institution.

The first fair of the new society was held at Ravenna, September 30 and October 1, 1846, and though not so largely attended as expected, was neverthslsn a tskj oieditable sxhibition. For ssTeral jeais the society held its annual fairs in Bavenna, with no permanent grounds, but in 1850 it rented 8>xint twenty acres of land east of Ravenna, and immediately south of the present grounds, which were fitted up and used for twenty years. Prior to 1870 Ilia financial affaiis of the society had reached a low ebb, and the fair of 1869 was regarded as a failure In every sense. Many predicted that the society would go under, and on the strength of this feeling an agricultural society was organized at (iarrettsville, with the expectation of taking its piaca Bnt in the meantime Horace Y. Beebe, and a few other enterprising citizens, put their shoaldera to the wheel,** raised a subscription, paid off the debts and got the institution once more " upon its legs," where it has since remained. The lease of tho old grounds ex])ircd in 1879, and the society obtained a twenty years' lease of its present grounds, owned and previously fitted up by the fUvenna Park Assoeiation, a ootone of horsemen who held'annnal raoes and thus sought to encourage the growth of line liorsos On these grounds, which contain twenty-two acres an<l a good half mile track, the agricultural society has erected a fine exhibition hail, oihces, and cattle and sheep sheds, bosidss haTing the right, under its lease, to the use of the stables, grand stand, and other buildings of the Park Association, with exclusive control of the grounds during the fair. It is generally admitted that the present prosperous condition of tho society is largely due to the efforts of Horace Y. Beebe^ who has spued neither time nor labor to make the annaal fairs a saecess, and whose energy and business capacity, together with the earnest support of the Board and friends of the society, have enabled hiui to Hccoraplish what few men would have cared to undertake. Besides the annual fair at Gar- -*W*^ille^ aereral othsr tawnshipa in the ooonigr hold township fairs, and while -ny effort in that direetion ia laudable, it is, nevertheless, a positive fact that

The Fortage (Jaunty Horticultural Society was organized in February, 1870, irith fourteen charter membera, most of whom were men who pat their hands to the plow without any intention of loddng back. The society has experienced unexpected prosperity, and contains at this writing 250 members, who pay an annual fee of $1. It has never failed to hold its regular monthly meeting, and the attendance has always been encouraging and generally large. The social feature of the meetings, which are held at the reaidences of the members, is good remuneration for the ex]ipnse nrul trouble incun-od, while thp int^^rest Btiinnlated in horticnlt^ire has been ra{>iilly increasing, us is plainly evident tbrougbout the county in improved yurda, orciiarda and gardens. The present offieen of the soeiety are Horaee T. Beebe,- President; B. 8. Elkins, Vice-President; Andrew Willson, Secretary; C. L. Bartlett, Treasurer; C. C. Gardner, A. J. Jennings and John Meharg, Executive Committee. The same President and Secretary have held those positions since the organization Of the society. The oAoers and members of the Agrionltnral Sooiety recognize the aid of the Horticultural Society in reviving the connij fairs, and making them truly succ^^ssful. In many ways the society is exertinp a wholesome influeuc& The members feel that what has been done is but a prophecy of what may he aooompliahed, and are generally ansions to make the soeiety as hel[M to the purpose o£ its ovgaaiaation as is possible.