Portage County, Ohio - Chapter 8, 1885

Chapter 8

SIONER8 or Schools and School Lands tn 1822 - T^^K School Lands Sold AND A School Fund Establlshed - Fk inker Schools, Sciioolhottses^ Tkachers and Books in Poktaoe ( V)t nty - How Teachku-s were Employed AND Paid - An Amusing Agreement - Growth of Education - OoTERmnsNT AND Proorbm of Schools Prior to 1851 - Sobools vor Colored YoT'TH Established - Re-oroanizatioh OF SCHOOLS miDBB TBM LAWS OF 1863 - Present Goveiinment ok Schools.

THE most oasoal obeerrer cannot bnt have noticed, notwithstanding the priration and discomforts attending \hv Hvoe of the early settlers, the zeal thAjr manifeeted in education, and that, as booii as a sufficient number of pupils eoold be ooUeoted and a teadier seeoied, a house was sreeted for the purpose. The pniod jnst preceding the Kevolation was characterized by its number of literary men, and the interest they gave to polite loaming; and the patriots who were conspicuous in that struggle for human liberty were men not onlj of ability, bnt of no ordinary cultare. We oan readily undemtand that the inflnence of their example had its weight*in molding public sentiment in other respects besides that of zeal for the patriot cause. To this maybe adde<l that, for the most part, the early pioneers were men of character, who endured the dangers and trials of a new country, not solely for their own sakes, bnt for their ehildren, and with a faith in what the future would bring forth, clearlj saw the power and value of education. Then we find, from the beginning, this object kept steadily in view, and provision made for its successful prosecntion; and the express declaration of the fundamental law of the State enjoins that *' ttie prinoipal of all funds arising from the sale or other distrl- but ion of landB or other property, granted or intrusted to the State for educational purposes, bUhU forever be preeenred inviolate and undiminished, and the inoome ariBing tberefrom disll be ftdthfully applied to the epeeifio objeete of the original grants or appropriations, and the General AumnMyehall make such provisions bv taxation or otherwise as, from the income arising from the school trust fnud, shall secure a thorough and efficient system of common eefaoole throughout the State."

The act of Congress proriding for the admission of (Mtio into the Union oflFered certain educational propositions to the people. Theso wore, first, that Section 10 in each township, or, in lieu thereof, other contiguous or equivalent lands, should be granted for the use of adiools; second, that thirty-eight fleotions_of^land, where salt sprinji^s had |?mn fnnnd, should be grantnd to the State, never to be sold, or leiispd for a longer t^rm than ten years; and third, that ono-twoatieth of the proceeds from the sale of the public lands iu the State should be applied toward the construction of roads from the Atlantic to and through Ohio. Those propositions were offered on the condition that the public lands sold by the United Slates after the 30th of June, 1802, shonld be exoin])t from State taxation for five years after sale. The ordinance of 1787 had already provided for the appropriation of Section 10 to the support of aehoolt in every township sold by the United States. This, tiiecwoftt) could not, in 1802, bo properly made the subject of a new bargain between the United States and Ohio; and by many it was thought that the salt reservations and one- twentieth of the proceeds of the sale of public lands were inadequate eqniTalent for the proposed sorrander of a tigblk to tax fbr five years. The convention, howevoTt aooepted the propositions of Congress, on their being so modified and enlarged as to vest in the State, for the use of schools, Section 10 in each township sold by the United States, and three other tracta of land, equal in quantity respeetively to one thirlj*sizth of the Viiypnia Hil« itary Reservation, of the United States Military l^act and of the Connecticut Western Reserve, and to give 8 per cent of the proceeds of the public lands sold within the State to the construction of roads in Ohio, under the direction of the L^slatore. Congress agreed to the proposed modifieattons, and thus was established the basis of the common school fnnd of Ohio. f We have seen in the foregoing how Congress, by a compact with the peo- I pie, gave them one thirty-aixthpart of all of the lands northwest of the .Qhio Biver for sohool purposes. Tom landa for this purpose set apart were, how- ' ever, often appropriated by sqaaftien, and throQgfa unwise, careless and sometimes corrupt legislation, these squatters were vested with proprietorship. Caleb Atwater, in his history of Ohio, in speaking on this subject says: " Members of the Legislature not nnfrequently got acts passed and leases granted, either to theiUBelves, their relatives or to their partisans. One Senator contrived to get, by such acts, seven entirp sections of land into either his own or bis children's possession." From 1803 to 1820 the General Assembly spent a considerable portion of every session in passing acts relating to these lands, withont advancing the eanse of edoeation to any degree.

In 1821 the House of Representatives nppointe<l five of its members, via., Caleb Atwater, Loyd TaHx)t, James Shields, Koswell Mills and Josiah Barber, a Committee on Schools and School Lands. This committee subsequently made a report^ rehearsing the wrong management the sohool land trust <m behalf of the State, warmly advocated the establishment of a system of education and the adoption of measures which would socure for the people the rights which Congress intended they should possess. In compliance with the feoommendalion of the the Gkivemor of the Stafts^ in Ifay, 1828» having been anthorizpd by the Legislature, appointed seven Gommisei oners of Schools and School Lauds, viz. : Caleb Atwater, Bev. John Collins, Bev. James Hoge, N. Gnilfurd, Ephraim Catler, Joeiah Barber and James M. Bell. The reason why seveu persons were appointed was because there were seven different eortfl of school lands in thn State, viz. : Section 16 in every township of the Congress lands, the United States Military lands, the Virginia Military lands, Symmes' Purchase, the Ohio Company's Purchase, the Befugee lands and the Oonneotieat WeeAern Reserve. This oommissiun of seven persons wm rednoed by varinna canaos to one of thrpp, Messrs. Atwater, Collins and Hop^e, who porforniod the arduous duties iDcuTnbont upon them with but little remuneration and (at tije time) but few tiiuukh.

The Legislatnie of 1822-2S Inroke up wiflumt having taken any definite action upon the report presented by the commission, but during the stimmer and autumn of 1824 the subject of the sale of the school lands was warmly agitated, and the friends of the measure triumphed over the opposition so far aa to eleot large majorities to both branohes of the Oeneral AsMmbly in favor of its being made a law. The quantity of land set apart was ascertained in 1825 to be a little more than half a million acres, and was valued at less than $1,000,000. The school lands were finally sold and the proceeds taken charge of by the State, the intOTsst aoeroing from the moneja derived from- the sale of the different classes of lands to be annually distributed among the oonnties in the respective land distriets, according to the school enumeration of each county. It might be well to state here that tjie school age at this time yas from four to riateen^ whioh was, howarer, changed i^enever the General Aasembly considered aoch a change neoeesaiy or jndioioos. From the time the school lands T^pro sold np to the present, each county in the State has received annually its <^uota of the interest obtained from this school fund. NearlT oiia>half of the comities of Ohio pay more money into the common school fund of the State than they receive back again, the surplus thus raised going to poor or sparsely settled counties. This has booD tho caso in Portage Countv for many years. In 1875 she paid $16,412.86 and received $12,537.60, or $8,875.26 lees than she paid in. In 1880 she paid $15,785.11, and received $11,002.50, or S4, 122.01 letts than paid into the State fund. These two years will Hervp to illustrate whnt this county has boon doing for the cause of ednra tion, for besides educating her own youth nho has and is paying aonaally for the instruction of the school youth in other counties of the Stata

In the early development of Portage Oonnty a great variety ot inflnences were felt in the way of general education. The settlements were and for years continued to be sparse. The people, as the pioneers of all new counties are, were poor, and lacked the means of remunerating teachers. Their poverty compelled all who were able to lab<»r, and the wm of the females was as important and toilsome as that of the men. Added to these, both teachers and books were scarce. This condition of things continued perhaps for more than a quarter of a century. Taking these facts into consideration, it is surprising tibat they had any schools whatever.

The interest awakened in literature and science immediately after the Bevolutif)n followed the pioneers to their Western homes; but to make their effurts productive of useful results time became absolutely necessary.^ Just as soon as the seitlementB were prepared for the experiment, schools were opened; but at every step it was the aoqnisiti<m of knowledge under diffloolties. -Everything connected with thera was aH simple and primitive as were their dwellings, food and clothing. Houses were bailt m the various neighborhoods aa occasion made neoessaryy not by subscription in money, bat by labor. Ou a given dl^ the neighbors assembled at some place previouslj agreed upon, and the work waa done. Timber waa abundant; Ifaej were aUlled in the use of the ax, and having cat logs of the required length, the walls were soon raised. The roof was made of clapboards, kept in place by heavy poles reaching the length of the building. The door was of clapboards and oreakad on wooden hinges; the Iskih of wood and raiaed by a string. The floor was " pnooheon, or treea ^lit in tiie middle, tolerably true, the edge and face heinp dressed with the ax. The crevioe« between the logs forming the wails were hlled with " chinks, " or split sticks of wood, and daubed with mad. The fire.plaee waa equally rude, but of ample dimenuoas, built on the oatside of the honae^ usually of stone to the throat of the fine, and the remainder of the chimney of split sticks of wood, daubed with puddled clay within and without. Light was admitted through the door and by means of an opening made by cutting oat one of ibe logs, reaching almost flie entire width of the onilding. This opening was high enough from the floor to prevent the boys from looking out, and in winter was covered with paper .saturated with grease, to keep out the cold, as well as to admit light. ^ In the rural distriets school ** kept ** only in winter. The fomiinre corre- ' sponded with the simplicity of the hoase. At a proper distance below the windows auger holes were bored in a filanting direction in one of the logs, and in these strong wooden pins were driven, and on the pins a huge slab or puncheon was placed, which served as a writing desk for the whole school. For seats, they used the puncheon, or more commonly the body of a smooth, straight tree, cut ten to twelve feet in length, nnd raiRe<l to a heifxht of twelve to fifteen inches by means of pins securely inserted. It has been said that not infrequently the pins were of unequal length, and the bench predisposed to I wabble." Many of the pioneer teachers were natives of Ireland, who had ' fled from the oppression of the Enp:lish Government, prior to and succeeding j the struggle for Irish indepondeneo, in 1798. and here in this land of freedom i were patting tu good use that education obtained in their native isle. Dr. Jcdinaon's notion that most boys reqoired learning tobetiuraehed into them was practically carried out in the pioneer schoolhouse. The pupils sat with their faces toward the wall, around the room, while the teacher occupied the middle space to superintend each pupil separately. In some rooms a separate bench was ftmished for those loo young to writsu Glasses, when reciting, sat on a bench provided for this purpose.

The books were as primitive as the surroundingR. The New Testament was a common reading book; the " English Reader " was occasionally found, and BometimeB the Columbian Orator.** No one book was common in all the families. The reading class recited paragraphs alternately, and the book in use was made common property, passing from hand to hand during recitation. It was not unusual for the teacher to assist a pupil in one of his sums,'^ discipline a refractory scholar, and hear the reading class atone*and Ihe same time. Dabold, Smiley and Pike's arithmetics were commonly uaed, with the examples for practice almost exclusively in pounds, shillinr^ and pence, and a marked absence of clear roles and definitions for the solving of the different diTisiooa. Webster's ''American Speller** was the ordinary spellingbook, which afterward made way for ^^'L'b8ter'8 "Elementary Speller." Thia latter book maintained its popularity for half a century. The spelling class closed the labors of the day. All who could spell entered the " big class," and the rivalry was sharp as to who should rank first as good spellerB. The class was numbered in the order in which th^ stood in line, and retained the number until a miaa sent some one above them. Spelling-msiehes were frequent^

It occasionally happened that loacberR -were employed who had loaraod that an elephant may be led by a hair, or more probably were blessed with gentle naiures, and won the hearts and life-long affection of their pupils by their pleaaaat and loving ways; but these were exceptions. The standard of ezeel* lonco was often mpasured by tho ability and swift readiness to thrash the scholars on any provc^oation. Disobodience and ignoranct^ were pqnal cansos for the use of the "biroh." '^Liko master, like boy." The chaructoristics of the one tended to develop a coireeponding spirit in the other, and the emelty of the one, with the absence, too froqnontly, of all just cliBcrimination in the nso of thf rod, excited aniiuoHitiob which lasted throuf^h life. There were few boys of that day who did nut cherish the purpotie to ' ' whale the master " on sight at some fotiure tima

The schools were supported by subscription, the charge being from $1 to $3 per term of three months dnring the winter, to begin at S o'clock in the morning, with an hour to an hour and a half recess at noon, and close at 5 o'dodL One-half of Batordaya, or alternate Satordaya, made part of the term. Writing was taught to all the larger pnpils, and the only pen used was the goose or turkey quill, made into a pen by the skillful hand of the teacher. Mending the pens was an essential part of the work. Copy-books were made offlbeelBof foolaeap paper atitehed together, and copies were bj flie teacher during recess, which were commonly taken from the maxims in aae from time immemorial. Sometimes the teacher was partly paid in produce or other oommoditiee, which were the equivalent to him for money, while bis support waa often obtained by boarding annmd." As an illostraUon of the mode of employing teachers during the pioneer daya of Portage County, the writer inserts the following amusing agreement made December 3, 1823, between the Directors of a school in Edinburg Township, and Austin Loomis:

Agreed with Austin Loomis, of Atwuter. to teach school in Edinburg three months, for t^vi'lve bushels of wheat per month; one liRif to be paid Ht tlie end of three mooths - ffraih, and the remainder in fomf other trade, turh at cattle, $heep and tchitky.

It would bother a modem school teacher to cipher out how twelve bushels of wheat eoald be paid in 'Hsattle, sheep and whisky,'* but probably the arithmetic now is not as it used to b(\ and tne pioneer teacher may have had little difTiculty in solving the problem to his own satibfaction. The early settlers were forced to resort to many expedients in the transaction of business, beoanse of the stringency of the money market. That neoeesary i ngrt^dient was very scarce, and to m&ke change it was the common usage to halve and quMter pieces of silver coin. The introduction of schuolb in one settlement was an incentive to their speedy adoption in others, and the foregoing description appliea to tJl of the earliest sehoolhooses erected in this oonnty. ^e building of saw mills, and the opening up of wagon-roads, brought about a better order of things, and plank, weathpr-bonrdinfr and glass took thn j^laces of clapboards, puncheon floors and desks, log beochee and greased paper windows. The first sdiools opened in the difiiwent townships of Portage CSonnty are spoken of in the township sketches, to which the reader ia referred for farther infonnation on the subject

The gradoal deyelopment and progrees of edaoation in Ohio fima enooar- Agsd and foatefed by State laws that were the germs from which came forth the present commoD school system, and believing that n brief RvnopBis of those enactments would be valuable for future reference, the writer has compiled the following facts from the Ohio statutes, trusting they will enable the reader to naderatand more thoroughly the hiatoiy of the schools on the Western Reserve up to the adoption of the Constitution of 1851. On the 2d of Jannary, 1806, three Trustees and a Treasurer were authorized to be elected in each township, for the purpose of taking charge of the school lands, or the moneys arising therefrom, and applying the same to the benefit of the schools in said township. In ISIO this act was more fully defined, and in 1814 every scholar was entitled to his or bor share of said school funds, even when attonriino; a school outside of their own township. In 1610 those moneys were distributed according to the time of eohool attendanoe, an aoooimt of which eaoh teaeher was required to furnish to the Trustees, and the apportionment made accordingly. No act of any importance was then passed until January 22, 1821, when a vote was ordered to be taken in every township for the purpose of deciding for ur against organizing the aame into sflhool diotrieta; also for the elsottoii of a School Committee of three persons, and a Collector, who was also Treasurer in each district. The inhabitants were authorized to erect schoolhousee in their respective districts on land donated or purchased for that purpose, said schools to be paid for bj donatioiks and aobaeriptiens, together with the tasea raised for that object. This aot anthorijsed that all lands located in said distriots liable to State or county taxation were also liable to taxation for erecting schoolhousee, and for educating the children of those unable to pay for schooling. Parents and gnardiaas were assessed in proportion to uie nmnber of children sent to school hj them, bat those unable to pay had their assessment remitted, and such deficiency was paid out of the fund raised by taxation. Of course, the moneys aooraing from the school lands went into the school fund held bj the Treasorer of eaoh dislriet

The first general school law was passed Febroaij 5» 1825, and it provided "that a fund shall hereafter be annually raised among the several counties in the State, in the manner pointed oat by this act, for the use of <K>mmon schools, for the instnwtiott of youth trf emry dass and grade withoot diaftinetion, in reading, writing, arithmetic and other necessary branches of a common education." This was in harmony with the constitution, which asserted that schools and the means of instruction should forever be enooaraged by legislatiTe proTision. This act proTided for a general tax to be leviea fbr the foster* ing of common sdiodls throughout the Stats^ which was to be collected annually and used for general educational purposes. Three School Directors were to be elected annually in each district, to transact the business of said schools, erect buildings, employ teachers, receive and expend all moneys derived from anj source, etc. The Coort of Common Pleas in each county was authorized to appoint annually "three suitable persons to be called Examiners of Common Schools," whose duties it was to examine teachers for qualitication and grant certificates, also to visit and examine the schools throughout the county. If any district neglected to keep a school therein, at any one time for the space of three years, its proportion of the school fund was divided among the other districts in said township that employed teachers The school fund of each oonnty was taken charge of by tiiu Auditor, who distributed the same between the sev^al townships. In 1827, this act was amended. The Directors ware instructed to appoint a Treasurer for each school district. Fines imposed by any Justice of the Peace^ for offenses committed in any given district, were to be paid to the Treasurer, to be used for the stipport of education in said district. Taxes were levied to bnild new houses and repair old oneu. Every honaebolder, whose tax was loss than $1, had to pay that amount, or give two day^ labor toward tbe building ot repairing of sdbooUioaBee. Ibe nnmbeir of Examiners was increased, but at no time were they to eocoeed the number of townships in the county!

In Febmary, 1829, a law was enacted pn>viding more fully for general -dneation, bnt fee children of blade or mulatto peiaons were not permitted to attend these schools, nor were such pecBCMiB oompellfld to pay taxes toward their support. Tht» ofiicial term of Examiners was designated as two years, and their number to be not less than five iu each county, nor more than one in each towndlip thereof. Whenerer the regular sehool fond ran shor^ the teaohera, if not paid by voluntary subscription, were to be paid by thoae lending aoholars to said Bchools. Often the regular fund did not pay for more than three months' schooling anunallj^i^ so that even then the schools, though slowly impvoying, were anything bat jlonrishing. The act of 1880 did not .materially improve them, and in March, 1831, the flowing clause appears in a law relative to raising the school fund. It says a general fund shall he raised "for the instruction of the white youth of every class and grade," so that, although Ohio was a free State, a black man was debarred from the educational advantages accorded to his white brother, and thongh his body was not kepi in slavery his mind was kept in iterance as far as the State laws had the power to do so. With all this injustice the property of negroes was exempt from taxation for school purposes, which was at least a small grain of justice to the despised raoou The school age was changed so aa to |nel|ide those, between four and t-wenty-one years, and the niirabor of Examiners read "not leas than five in each county, nor more than two in each townphip."

On the 2d of March, 1831, an act was passed authorizing the establishmwit of a fond to be designated ** The Oommon Sehool Fond,** the inoome to be nsed for the support of cooimon Bchools. All moneys arising from the sale of school lands were to be put into this fund, and the State guaranteed a certain interest on all such moneys paid into -the State Treasozy. The County Auditon were avthorixed to anew said interest and distribote it among tba several districts in their respective counties, to which said lands originally belonged. Donations and bequests were also put into this fund and used for the same general purpose. These moneys, however, were to be funded annually, nntif Jannary 1, 1885, after whieh date the intenat was diTided among the aeveral eoimtiee in proportion to the number of white malea over twentyone years of age residing therein.

Up to this time women were not eligible as school teachers, for we find that an act was pasaed December 28, 1881, allowing Direetoca to employ female teachers, bnt the Directors had to signify in writing to the School Examiners that it was the desire of the inhabitants of said district to employ a female teacher for instructing their children in spelling, reading and writing only." The Ezaminera were then empoweoed to give the lady '*a apeoial oaortificate " to teach those branches. It is unnecessary for the writer to comment on this injustice; he takes it for granted that the most illiberal of men will agree with him that this discrimination against women was a griev- \ ons wrong and unworthy of this great Commonwealth. In 1888 other provis- i ions and amendments were made to the school laws, whose object was to 1 increase their influences, but no material changef^ were made in former ones.

The office of State Superintendent of Schools was created March 7, 1837, and made permanent a year from that date. He was elected by the General

Assembly for a term of five years, but on the 23d of March, 1840, the office WM abolished, and the Secretary of State reqaired to pearform the datiw thereof . In 1838 n fnnd of $20O,(XX) wns provided for, to be annually distributed ainonr^ the several countieB, according to the number of white joutb, unmarried, between the ages of four and twenty-one. It was known as the « State Comnion School Fund,*' was rednoed, Maureh 7, 1842, to 1160,000 and again raised to $300,000 on the 24th of ifarch, 1851. By Article YI of the Constitution of 1851 it in declared that the principal of all funds accruing - firom school lands, donations or bequests, ' ' shall forever be preserved inviolate and undiminiahed." It waa enacted bj tbe law of 1888 uat the Townahlp Clerk ahould be Superintendent of Schools within his tovimship, and this law remained in force until the re-organization of the Bchool laws, in 1853. By this same law the County Auditor was endowed with the position of Superintendent of SoboolB throughimt the oonnfy. The number of School Ezamioeii was reduced to three membera fcfr eaioh oonnty, who were appointed hj ib» Court of Common Pleas.

On the 16th of March, 183U, an act was passed providing for the establishmeBt ol night sdioole in towns, wherein male youth over twelve years of age, who eonld not attend school in the daytime, might be instructed. This law also enacted that scholars could attend German schools and yet receive their quota of school money. Subsequently the German language was introduced into the adiools as a part of the regnlar stadiea.

^ the 2ith. of February, 1B48, a law was passed authorizing the establishment of separate schools for colored children. This law was amended m 1849, and was thought by many to be contrary to the spirit of the constitution, but the Supreme Court declared it constitutional Separate school districta were authorized to be organised and managed by Directors chosen by the adult maltf colored tax payers, whose property was alone cliargcable for the sup port of said schools. Colored children were not really debarred under the constitution at that time from attending the schools provided for white children, but it amounted to about tbe same thing as the objection of any parent or goardian whose children attended said school prevented the attendance of colored youth. Thus the law existed until 1853, when the scbooh for colored children were placed upon the same basis as those for white. By the law of 1853, Boarda of Education wwe directed, whenever the oolored yonth in any sdiool district numbered more than thirty, to establish a school for them. This law was HO amended in IStU that two or more districts could unite for the same purpose. Much trouble has been caused in diflerent towns by the colored jpeople insisting on sending their diildren to the scBooIs for whites. In some places little or no opposition has been manifested, while in others a bitter struggle resulted. In the country districts and smaller towns white and colored children usually attend the same schools, and, as far as the writer has investigated the plan, it seems to work harmonionsly.

The school law of 1853 made am})Ie provision for tbe education of every class and grade of youth within the State. We have seen in the preceding pages that those who participated in the organization of the Northwest Territory, and subsequently the State, recognized religion, morality and knowledge aa neoeisary to good government and the hapfnnesa of mankind. We have also seen the gradual development of education from its earliest inception in the State up to ita present permanent foundation through the law of 1853. Under the preeent law the State is divided into school districts as follows: City districts of the first class, city districts of the second class, village disiricto, special districta and township districta. To administer the afEaira of the districts, and to look after and promote the educational interestR thorein, the law has provided for the establishment of Boards of Education in each district. These boards may acquire real or personal property for the use of fheir dlatriets, and are required to wtablish schools for free edneaiion of tha youth of school age, and may establish schools of a higher grade than the primary schools. They are to determino the studies to bo pursued and the text- books to be used in the schools under their control; to appoint superiniendanta of aehoola, taaeharB. and other employes, and fis fheir ealaries. - Tliej are authorized to make such rules and regulations as they may deem expedient and necessary for the government of the board, their appointees and pupils.

The State Commissioner of common schools is elected by the people, and hia official term ia three yean. He is required to anperintend and encoarage teaehers' institutes, confer with Boards of Education or other school offioera, counsel teachers, visit schools and deliver lectures calculated to promote popular education. He is to have a supenrision over the school funds, and has power bj law to require proper returns to be made by the ofBeera who have duties to perform pertaining to schools or school funds. It is his duty to give instruction for the organization and government of schools, and to distribute the school laws and other documents for the use of school officers. He is required by law to appoint a Board of State Bxaminere, oonaisting of three paraons, who hold their office for two years. This board ie authorized to isaua life cortificates to such teachers as may be found, upon examination, to have attained "eminent professional experience and ability." These certificates are valid in any school district in the State, and eupegaede the necessity of all other examinations by the county or local Boards <n Ezaminera. Each appli. eant for a State certificate is required to pay a fpe of f 3.

There is in each county in the State a Board of Examiners appointed by the Frobate Judge, their official term being three years. The law provides that '* it ahall be the duty of the Examiners to fix upon the time of holding the meetings for the examination of teachers, in such places in their respective counties as will, in their opinion, bent accommodate the greatest number of candidates for examination, notice of all such meetings being published in some newspapw of general cironlaUon in their reapeetive eountiea, and at audi meotinf^s any two of said board shall be comjiotont to examine applicants and grant certiticates: and as a condition of ( xrmiination, each applicant for a certihcate shall pay the Board of Examiners a fee of 50 cents." The fees fliUB reoeired are set apart as a fund for the support of teaehero' institutes.

In city districts of the first and second class and village districts having a population of not less than 2,500, the Examiners are appointed by the Boards of Education. The fees charged are the same as those of the County Boards, and are appropriated for the same purpose.

There are, in the different townships, subdistricts, in which the people eleet^ annually, a local Director, whose term of ofii( e continups for three years. From thia it will be seen that each subdistrict has a board consisting of three Direetora. These Direetora choose one of thdr number as Clerk, who preeidea at the meetings of looal Directors, and keeps a record thereof. He also keeps a record of the proceedinp^' of th(» annual school meetings of the subdistrict. The Board of Education of each township district consists of the Township CSIerk and the local Dneotoni who haTe been appointed Clerks of the aab> districts.

The law provides that "in every district in the State, there shall be takon, between the first Monday in September and the iirst Monday in October, in each year, an enameratioii of all unmarried youth, noting raee and sex, between

KX and twenty-one years of age, reeident within the district, and not temporarily there, designating also tbf* number between sixteen and twenty-one years of age, the number residing in the Western Reserve, the Virginia Military Distriet, the United States Military District, and in any original swreyed township or fraotional township to whieh belongs Section 16, or other land in lieu thereof, or any other lands for the use of schools or any interest in the proceeds of such land -. Provided, that in addition to the dassihed return of all the youth residing in Qie district) that the aggregate nnmber of yonfh in the district resident of any adjoining county, shall bo Boparutely given, if any such there be, and the name of the county in which they resida" The Clerk of each Board of Education is required to transmit to the County Auditor an abstract of the returns of enumeration made to him, on or before the second Monday of October.

Tlie Comity Aiiditor is requii'ed to transmit to the State CommisBiouer, on or bnforo the oth day of November, a duly certified abatract of the enumeration ro turns made to him by Clerks of school districta. The law provides that *'the Auditor of State' shall, annaally, apportion the common school funds among the different counties upon the enumeration and retnms made to him by the State Commissioner of Coinmon Schools, and certify the amount so apportioned to the County Auditor of each county, stating from what sources die same is derived, which said snm the sevsial Oonnty Treasaren dwll rstain in their respective treasuries from the State funds; and the County Auditors shall, annually, and immediately after thoir annual settlement with the County Treasurers, apportion the school funds for their respective counties according to the ennmeration and retorns in their respective offiosft**

The law provides that the school year shall begin on the 1st day of Sep« teml)er of each year, and close on the Slst of August of the succeeding year. A school week shall consist of hve days, and a school month of four school weeks. The law also provides, in relation to common schools, that they shidl be "free to all yoalh between six and twenty- one years of age who are childreni wards or apprentices of actual rosidonts of the school district, and no pupil shall be suspended therefrom except for such time as may be necessary to convene ihe Board of Ednoation of m district, or local IXreelor of the snbdistrict, nor be expelled nnless by a vote of two-thirds of said Board of local Directors, after tho parent or guardian of the offending pupil shall have been notified of the proposed expulsion, and permitted to be heard against the same; and no sdkolar shall be suspended or expelled from the privilege of schools beyond the ennrent tsnn; Provided, that each Board of Ednoation shall have power to admit other persons, not under six yoars of age, upon such terms, or upon the payment of such tuition as they prescribe; and Boards of Education of city, village or special districts shall also have power to admit, without charge or tuition, persons within the school age who are members of the family of any freeholder whose residence is not within such district, if any part of such freeholder's homestead is within such district; and provided further, Uiat the several Boards of Education shall make such assignments of the youth of their respective districts to the schools established by them, as vrill, in their opinion, best promote the interests of education in thoir districts; and provided further, that nothing contained in this Bection shall supersede or modify the provisions of Section 31 of an act entitled "an act for the re-organiiation, sapervision and maintenanoe of common schools, passed March 14, 1863, as amended March IS, I^(U."

Provision is made by law for the eatablishTucni and maintenance of teachers' institutes, which are established for the professional improvement of teachers. At each seesion competent iniitnicturs and lecturerH are employed to asflisi tho State OommiBsioBer* who is reqnired by law to taperintend and encourage such institutes. They are either county, city or joint institutes of two or more counties, and the exam i nation fees paid by teachers to Boards of Examiners are devoted to the payment of the expenses incurred by these iiwIruotioiiB.

Histmry teaches us that no art or science, wealth or power will compensate for the lack of moral and intellectual stability in the minds of a nation. Henc^ it is admitted that the strength and perpetuity of this Bepublio must consist ill the moralify and istelligenee of its people. Every joath in Ohio under twentj'One years of age may have the benetit of a public school education, and ( the system of graded and high schools has been adopted, may obtain a general knowledge from the alphabet to the classics. The enumerated brancbea of fltady in the pnHie sehoola d thie State are about thirty-four, inolnding mathematics and astronomy, fVenoh, Gennan and the claaMce. Thus Ohio, which was in the heart of the wilderness one hundred years Rgo, nnd has been a State only eighty-two years, now presents to the world not merely an onriTiled detelopmMKt of material proeperify, but a good system of popular ednoa* tion.

Public OrFicBiia - Mjsmbebs of CONOHBsa - State Skmatobs - Tekbitohial AND State BEPraSKNTATirBS - Gouhtt CoMiOBSfOineBS - Tbsasukers- Clhrk*' - Recorders - Auditors - sheriffs - coroners - SrRVEToRs - Probate Judges - Seat of Justice and Pfblic Buildings - Prison Bounds - County Inkikmaky - roLixif al Statimus of Portage County - First Election Held, with the IJames of the Candidates and Yotebs -

Oubbrnatorxal And Prbsidkntiai. Votb

AFTER much labor and research among the musty, age-dimmed records stowed away in the Court House vaults, we have carefully compiled the roster id Portage Oonnty offieiala embnused in thia ehapler, togethor witii their leepectire terms of serrice, from the organization of the county up to the pres- . ent. In regard to the members of Congress, State Senators and Representatives, the reader will bear in mind that they respectively represent the district of whieh the territory now embraoed in Portage Oonnty formed a part ainoe the organization of the second grade of Territorial government in 1790. The latter lists were obtained from the annual reports of the Seoretaiy of State^ and may therefore be regarded as reliable.*

Membera of Cbn^rwM. - 1¥illiam H. Harrison, ol Hamilton Connty* 1790, resigned in 1800, to accept the Qovemorahip of the Territory of Indiana; William McMillan, of Hamilton County, vice Harrison, resigned. 1800 to 1801; Paul Fearing, of Washington County, 1801 to 1803; Jeremiah Morrow, of Warren County, 1808 to 1818; John 8. Edwards, of Tmmbnll Oonnty, 1818, resiffned in April, 1813; Beain Beall, of Wayne County, vice Edwards, resigned, April, 1813, Beall also resip^ning in August, 1813; David Clendenen, of Tmmball County, vice Beall resigned, August, 1813 to 1817; l^eter Hitohooefc, of Qeanga Oonnty, 1817 to 1810; John Sloan, of Wayne Oonnty, 1819 to 1828; Eliaha Whittlesey, of Tromboll County (now Mahoning), 1828 to

State SencUora. - Samuel Huntington, district Trumbull County, 1803; Benjamin Tsppan, same district, 1803 to 1804; Quorge Tod, Bame distriet, 1804 to 1800; Calvin Cone, district Trnmbnll and Geauga, 1806 to 1808; David Abbott, district Portag*' and Geauga, 1808 to 1810; Davifl Abbott, district Portage, Geauga and Cuyahoga, 1810 to 1812; Peter Hitchcock, district Portage, Qraaga, Cayahofca and Auitabnla, 1812 to 1816; Aaron Wbeelarand Almon Rnggles, (district Portnge. Geanga, Cnynlio^a, Ashtabula and Huron, 1810 to 1818; Aaron "NVhtH'lcr and John Campbell, same district, including Medina County, 1818 to ISIU; John Campbell and Almon liuggles, same district, 1819 to 1820; Jonathan Forter, district Portage and Ucidina, 1820 to 1822; Jonathan Sloanc, mmo district, 1822 to 1824, Aaron Norton, same district, 1824 to 1825; Elkaiiah Richardson, i:ice Aaron Norton, doceaHed. same district, 1825 to 1820; Jonathan Sloane, same district, 1820 to 1828; Darius Iijman, dialriet Portage, 1828 to 1882; Channcy Eggletton, aame district, 1832 to 1884; Darius Lyman, same district, 1834 to 1835: FredericL Wadsworth, same district, 1835 to 1836; Daniel Upson, same district, 1836 to 1838; Grc^ry Powers, same disti'ict, 1838 to 1839; Simon Perkins, Jr., same district, im to 1840; Elisha N. Sill, same district, 1840 to 1841; Ellsha N. Sill, district Portage and Summit, 1841 to 1842; John E. Jackson, same district, 1842 to 1844; William Wetmore, same district. 1844 to 1846; Asahel H. Lewis, same district, 1846 to 1848; Lucian Swift, same district, 1848 to 1850; Darins Lyman, same district, 1850 to 1851.

Under the Constitution of 1851 the State was divided into fixed Senab^rial districtB. Portage and Summit were designated as the Twenty -sixth District, and have so remained to the present tima The Senators since then have been an (bllows: Ransom A. Oillett, 1852 to 1854; William H. Upson, 1854 to 1850; Oliver p. Brown, 1856 to 1858; Goor^ro P. Ashmun, 1858 to 1860; James A. Garfield, 1800 to 1862; Lucius V. Biorco. 1802 to 1804; Luther Day, 18G4, resigned in the summer of 1864, and 'was succeeded the following October by Alphonso Hart, who served nntil 1866; N. T. Tibbals, 1806 to 1868; Philo B. Conant, 1868, resigned in August, 1808, and was succeeded by William Stedman, who served until 1870; Henrv McKinney, 1870 to 1872; Alphonso Hart, 1872 to 1874; N. W. Goodhue, 1874 to 1870; Marvin Kent. 1870 to 1878; David D. Beebe, 1878 to 1882; S. P. l^oloott, 1882. second term rapires in 1880. Senator Wolcott, under the apportionmotit of 1881, was choson to represent the Twenty fourth and Twonty-sixtb Districts, the former embracing the counties of Abhtabula, Lake and Geauga, and the latter Summit and Portage.

Territorial and State Represeniatives. - James Pritchard, district Jefferson Conuty. 1791) to 1801; Edward Paine, district Trumbull, 1801 to 1803; Ephraim Quimby and Aaron Wheeler, same district, 1803; David Abbott and Ephraim Quimby, same district, 1803 to 1804; Amoe Spofford and Homer Heine, same di.strict, l'S04 to 1805; Homer Heine and James Kingsbury, same district, 1805 to 1800; John P. Bissell and James Kingsbury, district Tmm- district, 1807 to 1808; Abol Sabin, district Portage, 1808 to 1809; Benjamin Wbedon, same district, 1809 to 1810; Ellas Harmon, same district, 1810 to 1812; Rial McArtbur, same district, 1812 to 1815; Moees Adams, same distri«l^ 1815 to 1816; Darius Lymim, Bamedistriet, 1816 to 1818; Darioa Lymaa, distriot Portage and Medina, 1818 to 1820; Jonathan SInane and JamM Moore, same district, 1820 to IS'j'J; George B. DoPeyBter and Josepb Harris, same district, 1822 to 1823; George B. DoPejster and James Moore, same aistriet, 1828 to 1824; William Ooolmaa, diatriet Portage, 1824 to 1828; Van B. Humphrey, aama dtatriot* 1828 to 1830; Thomas Earl, nnme district, 1830 to 1832; Gregory Powers, same district, 1832 to 1833; Roan Clark, itame district, 1833 to 1834; AmosiSeward. same district. 1834 to 1835; Joseph Ljama, same diatriet, 1885 to 1886; William Qaimb7 and Thomas O. Shrere, aame district, 1836 to 1837; Solomon Day and William Wetmore, same district, 1S37 to 1838; Elisha Garrett and George Kirknm, same district, 1838 to 1839; Kufos P. Spalding and Ephraim B. Habbard, samo district, 1839 to 1840; Jason Streator and Hiram Giddings, same district, 1840 to 1841; John Streator, same district, 1841 to 1842; Thomas Earl and Samuel H. Pardee, same district, 1842 to 1813; Plimman C. Bennett, same district, 1843 to 1844; Robert F. Paine, same district, 1844 to 1845; David Mcintosh and Thomas 0. Shieve, district Portage and Summit, 1845 to 1840; Luther Bnssell, district Portage^ 1846 to 1847; William Ckxrfman and Amos Seward, district Portage and Summit. 1847 to 184S; Georj^e Sheldon, diatnot Porta^pi* 1848 to ISW; Lorin Bigelow, fiume district, 1850 to 1851.

ber. 1874; Jobn C. Beatty, SeptemlKT, 1S74. to September, 1878; Nathan H. Smith, Septemhor, 1878, to September, 1882; Wilbur A. Jenkins, S^tember, 1882, seoond term expiroB id Septiomber, 1886.

Auditors, - This office was created by an act of the Legislature paraed Febroaiy 8, 1820, the duties then belonging to the potiition having previously heen performed hj a elerk appointed by ttie CommiasionerB. Under the old regime but six men filled the office, viz.: Abel Sabin and Soth Day, in 1808; SAtb Day, 1809; Oliver C. Dickinson, 1810-11: Stephen Mason, 1812-17; Alexander K. Hubbard. 1818; Orvill Crane, 1819 to Febma^, 1820. Since that time ttie Anditon have bean as followe: Bial MoArtbtnr, Febmarj, 1820, to February, 1823; Samuel D. Harris, March, 1823, to February, 1831; Samuel Foljambe, March, 1831, to February, 1841; George B. De Peyster. March, 1841, to January, 1844; Charles L. Rhodes, February, 1844, to February, 1847; Caleb Atwater, March, 1847, to February, 1849; Jobn O. McBride, March, 1849, to February, 1853; Lorenzo Frost, March, 1853, to February, 1835; Thomas W. Browning, March, 1855, to February, 1857; H. L. Carter, March, 1857, to February, 1859; Alfred Baldwin, March, 1859, to February, 1861; Frank L. Sawyer, March, 1861, to Febmaxr, 1863; Henry H. Stevena, March, 1863. to February, 1869; William Orionell, Febrnaxy, 1869, to Novem. bnr, ISSO; Le Qrand A. Olin, Novembert 1880, eeoond term eipirea in Noramber, 1886.

Surveyorfi. - AuioDg the first Surveyors of Portage County werp Amzi Atwater, Rial McArthur, Abel Sabiu and A. Iv. Burroughs, who discharged the datiea of the offiee for fbe fini ae^en jeara of the eoiinty*a hiatory, ainoe which time the following citizens hnvo fille<l the position: John Harmon, 1815 to 1827; Orrin Harmon, 1828 to 1832: Samuel D. Harris, 1833, to 1835; John £. Jackson, 1836, to 1838; Samuel D. Harris, 1839, to 1840; Daniel Woodruff, 1840, to 1848; Samuel D. Karrii, 1844, to 1857; Buggies Boatwiok 1858 to 1863; Isaiah Linton, 1864 to 1866; C. J. Gillis. 1867 to 1869: Jedediah Colok 1870 to 1884; C. B. Wadsworth, 1885, term expires in December, 1887.

Seat of Justice and Pttfih'r Jinililt'ngs, - The net erecting Portage County designated the house of Benjamin Tappan as the place for holding the courts of said oounty until a pmrmanent seat of jpatiee ahould be established. This house, the second one occupied by Judga Tappan, was a trnn'.v building, which then stood about a mile east of Ravenna on what is now the Marcus Heath farm, and was erected by John McManua for Tappan about lb04. A tradition exists that on the first meeting of theOonrt of Common Pleas August 28, 1806, this bouse was found in ruins, having been buraeil down the previous night. The journal of that date does not mention where the Court first met, but says that after organizing and accepting the report of the Commissioners, Robert Simiaon, Samuel Hunter and Rezin Beall, ap]>fnnted by the Legislature to select a seat of justice for Portage County, it adj ^uruod to moot the same afternoon at the house of llobi i t Eatou. Tho journal of tbo Commissioners of Portage County shows that their first session wa^ held at the house of Robert Eaton on the 8th of June, 1808. The Eaton house, which is yet standing in a fair atata of preservation, is located abont two miles and a half aouthea^ of Ravenna, and is now (January, 1885,) the residence of R. J. Thompson, Esq. It is a two stor}' frame structure of large dimensions, and was utilized for both Court House and Jail until the completion of the first public buildings at Ravenna in 1810.

Bavenua was laid out by Beujumiu Tanpuu early in 180S, and ILe plat aoknimledged by him April 22 of that year beforo Homy O'Neill, a Justice of the Peace of Franklin Township, Trumbull Co. (now in Portage), Ohio, which township thon embraced a large scope of territory in Portage County, subeeqoently divided into several towDshipe. The State Gommissiouers previously mentiofied soon afterward aeleoted Bavenua aa the aeat of juatioe for Portage County, and reported the result of their labors to the Court of Common Pleaa of said county at its first session the following August The original town plat contained 192 lots, four of which were donated by Judge Tappan for publie vmem, tizl: Nob. 22 and 78 for aehool sites, and Noo. 52 andlOS forofanrohee. He also gave a piece of ground at the sonthwest corner of the town plat for a grave-yard, for which purpose it was used several years. On the 25th of April, 1S09, the Commissioners of Portage County purchased of Judge Benjamin Tappan, as the agent of his father, Benjamin Tappan, of Northampton, Mass., Lota Nos, 55, 50 and 57. whereon the Court House and Jail now stand, for the sum of $3W. the acknowledgment of the d^ml for said lots being made by Judge Tappan on the same date, before Joseph Harris, a Justice of the Peaee of Portage CSoonty. The neit things noeoeoaiy were a Ootut Hoaae and Jail, and under the date of Deoember 5, S09, the following item appean on the Commiaaioner'B journal:

Mr. William Tappan entered into an agreement in belialf of himself and John Tap- f pan, to erect at the seat of justice in Ravenna at their own expense a Court IToase forty { feet lonjr, thirt)' feet wide nnd twenty feet high, the lower story to be finished for the ' accommodation of the Court, etc. ; and to build a loj; Jail two stories high, twenty-flve fe«'t . long and twenty feet wide, the lower story to contain three rooms, anuf a chimney to contain two Hre-placejk one on each ttory; and the said William and John, on theoompletion of the said Court Sense and Jail, are to receive thoae lots giTen hj Benjamin Tappan for / the use of the conaty.

From the wording of this agreement wo would naturally infer that Benjamin Tappan had donated some lots to the county, but there is not the stroke of a pen on record to show that Portage County ever received a foot of land from Judge Tappan or from any othor member of the Tappan family, only whnt she paid for. ^Vo have already shown that the lots upon which the Court House and Jail now starid were purchased of Judge Tnppan for the sum of $300, a copy of the deed for which may be found in the Kecorder'a olBoe, and thie ia the only transaetion <m reoord relating in the remoteet degree to the subject, as the lots given for the sites of churches and schools, as well as the bl(>ck of land for burial purposes, were for the use of the citizens of liavenna and not for Fortage County. Judge Tappan, however, may have agreed to donate certain lole for public nsea, though never legally transf erring them to the county, and the Commissioners conclnding to locate the public buildings on their present site, turned over their right to said lots to William and John Tappan, to whom the deed was subsequently made, yet there is not an iota of eridenoe on record to give any foundation fijr this theonr, only tha agreement for erecting the Court House and Jail made between the Tappana and the County Commissioners December 5. ISdO.

The buildings were completed in the summer of 1810. The Court House vraa a frame iriamotnre^ and stood a little northwest of the preeent oommodioiis building. The Courier in its issue of October 21, 1826, thus comments on this structure: "Portage County can boast, on the score of ]itiblic build- ' ings, nothing but a shell, which is alternately occupied by bipeds and quadrupeda, and which, from its dilapidated state, is equally easy of aceees to both - and in whi<di, we may, at different timee, hear the preachers of the Oo^mI, the axpoanders of the law, and the birch of theaohoolmaster, and conaeqiiently

\ the sqaalls of the children, the squealing of the pigs and the bleating of » aheep. 'Tie, in fact, ooeapied as a Court uonae and meeCiDg-hoaae, and we all know it has become proverbial as the county sheop-pen."

In 1829 it was sold to Gea Sarnnol D. Harris, who rpraoved it to the site of Merte & Biddle's factory. After standing unoccupied for several years it was pnrothafled bj Jamea Clark A Oo., who oonverCedit into a carriage shop, whieh was subsequently owned and operated by N. D. Clark & Co. The factory paaeed thence into the poeseesion of Merta & Riddle, and was burned down August 11, 1871. The first story of the Jail was built of hewn l^s, eighteen inimea aquare, and waa floored and roofed in the aame manner, "nie Sheriff'a reaidenoe mm in one aide of the building, while the second story over the Jail proper waa also occupied by that officer. This hnilding stood on the southwest comer of the present Jail site, but was removed soon after the completion of the eeoond Jail, in Norember, 1810. It doea not aeon to have given TOty good aatiHfaction, judging from the following protaala made to the Commia' woneiB by two aoooeaaiTe SberiiGk

PoKTAt.E CouKTT, February 9, 1811. I, the subscriber, do hereby protest against the Jail of Portage Oounty. it being entirely insufficient to secure a prisoner. Jons Oahfbsll, i^uriff.

atantial one-story brick building, 30x60, was erected upon the site of the new portion of the present Court Honse. It contained two rooms, which were occupied as the offices of the liecorder, the Clerk, and the Commissionera* Clen. Thia building coptinned in nae nntil the aeoond Court Home waa in process of erectioD, when it waa torn down, and the material need in the walla of the new stmcttire.

In April, 1818, steps were taken by the Commissioners toward the erection of a new Jail, and three lota in Bavenna, vis.* No. 175, 170 and 177, were parchased of William Tappan for the sum of $90^ the purchase being agreed to December 31, 1818, and the contract consummated on the Hth of January following. On the last day of December, 1818, a contract was made with Oviatt ft Kent for the eseetion of a f^ame Jail, toooat $1,520. Aa theee old buildings are of some hiatorie interest to the present generation, we here give a partial copy of the agreement. Oviatt & Kent havinfr ^ven bond in the sum of $3,u50 for the faithful performance of the conti'act, the agreement goes on to _ say:

The conditions nf the nVtove obli^'ation aresuch that, whereae, tlie above bound Oviatt &, Kent hath undertaken to build a good and aufficient Jail for ilie county of Portage, thirty two feet in width by thirty-four feet in length, two stories high, and furnish themselves with all the materials, and finish it off complete for tlie sum of $1,620, the buildin.? to be divided in the following manner, viz.: The lower story, fourteen feet off one end (r) be built of good sound wliite oak timber, hewn fourteen iuclies sjquiire. without wane, and divided into two rooms, with a space-way between of four feet iu the clear, and floored ander and over with timber of the same description as the walls, with one flfteen-l|g|it window in tbe back end of the hoU, in two sashes and very strongly grated with iron; one door out of the tpaoe-war into each of the prison rooms, and one into the other part of the house, all made double with two-inch white oak plank and covered on the inside with sheet-iron at lea.st one eighth of au incli thick, and doubled over the edge of the door and very 8tron>rly nuil* d witli stout nails, und hung with large iron hinges suitable fordoonof such weight and size, and one large and sufflclent lock on each of the three doors. - -

Those two prison rooms were supplied with ventilation and light through an iron-grated hole, foturteen inobea in height by three feet in lengUi, cnt through the log walls into the dividing hall- way. When the reader in informed that under each of tboae oeila, and connecting therewith, were the oloaeta or ainka vaed by the prisoners, the excrement being allowed to filter through a stoned drain, he can readily discern the groat improvements that have been made in the laiiitaxy condition of our prisons during the past tfaree-qnarteni of a omtury. This portion of the bnilding was to have a solid hard-head stone foundation, the remainder to be of commou stoue well laid. The other twenty feet of the lower story was divided into four rooms: a SherifiTs office, a bedroom, a Idtoiben and a battery, a large fire place at tiie end of the building serving the two-fold purpose of cooking and heating. A strongly- walled cellar, fourteen feet square, was constructed under the kitchen, and the second story was reached by a stairway from the same room. The upper story was divided into seven apartments. Two debtors' nxmia were oonstmoted imme> diately orer the lower prison cells, and of the same dimensions as the lower ones, bat each was providwl with an iron-grated window from which the inmates might view their fellow citizens upon the ontside who had not the miatortiine to be bordened with tiie crime of poverty. Thoee rooms alsopoe* esseed a small fire-place, while the ooenpants of the lower cells had to get along without fire. On the opposite end from the debtors' prison were four rooms, two of which were used as sleeping apartments, and the others for various purposes. Hie building was covered on the ontside with two*indi white oak plank laid on perpendicularly, and framed into the sill and upper plat^, and pinne<l on the joists, and then weather boarded with common siding. This Jail was completed according to contract by the middle of November, 1819, and stands acnrn the alley tan ibB Congregational Ohiir^ on the northeast comer of Meridian and Oak Streets. Upon tiie erection of the present Jail the log portion was removed, and the building converted into a dwelling, which is now (December, 1684,) occupied as the residence of S. L. Jennings, Esq.

On the 5th of September, 1826, the Commiscioaera took into consideration the expediency of building a new Court House, and gave public notice that sealed proposals would be received at the Auditor's office until the first Monday in December for fnmishing materials for the new structure. In the latter month the Commissioners advertised for proposals for 150,000 bricks to be delivered near the Court House in Ravenna by the first Monday of March, 1828. The contract for the erection of the building was finally let to Zenas Kent in the sprint of 1828, and on the 11th of Febmary, 1830, it was completed and accepted by the Commissioners, having cost in full about $7,000. It was a long, two story brick building of the Grecian Temple order, six wooden columns on the front upholding a projecting roof, which was surmounted by a cupola. The county offices were located in the lower story, while the courtroom is the same one now occupied. In the erection of ttie new Oonrt House abont twenty feet were cut off the front part of the old one to make room for the more modern structure.

The present two-story stone Jail on the public square had its inception Jme 18, 1886, when the Commissioners oonolnded to take the necessary measnres toward the erection of a new Jail, and bids were ordered to be advertised for iu the county papers. The plan of the Jail, adopted September (\. T^8^, was drawn by Mr. Medbui'y, Warden of the Ohio Penitentiary, while the email reeidenoe ad^ning it on the west was an after c(msideration, added to the plans by John N. Skinner, the Recorder, and Samuel Foljambe, the Auditor. On the 20th of October, 1836, the bid of Ebenezer Rawson was accepted, but it was not until the 8th of December following that the contract was let to Baweon, for the sum of |9,100l Toward tlie completion of the building a dis> agreesnent arose between ttw contractor and the Commissioners as to the proper remaneration for certain work needed on the Jail, which the specifications did not expressly stipulate. The matter was left to a board of arbitration, which on the 16th of July, 1839, decided that Rawson ahoald put in certain extras and receive $284.68 over and above the original contract price of the Jail. Rawson was evidently disaaiisfied with tlw decision, for ho neglected to falfiU its terms, and the building was fifially completed, in May, lS'4n, by WilHam Stinaff, whom the Commissioners employed to carry out the decision of the arbitratiofi. The building has folly answered the purpoasa for which it wan erected, but ite location for many reasoDB is objectionable^ and it ia only a question of a few years when it will be replaced by a more modern one, located on a more eligible site. On the 13th of October, 1856, the Commia* sioners purchased of John O. DeWoIf Lot 58, upon which the engine house now stands, for $1,800; and July 13, 1857, the legal right to the public alley, which originally ran oast and west in the rear of the Coart Hooae^ was obtained^ and the alley became the property of the county.

The elegant and commodious Coart House now adorning the public square in Ravenna, was built by authority of a special act of the Legislatare passed March 11, 1^81, '*to authorize the Commibsioners of Portage County to build a fire j)roof addition and to remodel and repair the present Court House in said county and to issue bonds therefor." The design of the building was pre« pared by Samuel W. Lane, Esq., of Cleveland, Ohio, and the contract for the erection of the new Btmctme and remodeling the old one was awarded to Mr. P. B. Curjionter, of Conneatitville. Penn., in June, 1881, for the sum of $32,- 226, but subsequent changes iu the specifications ran the cost up to $39,022.90. The new bnilding was completed and occupied in September, 1882) and the old portion subsequently remodeled and finished. The following figures are an authentic estimate of the original coet of the Court House: Contractor, $39,622.90; architect's labor, $1,540; steam-heating apparatus, 14,600; vaults, 1619.85; furniture, $8,815; dock, $1,260; gratea and mantels, $^5; gaa fixtures, $340.22; carpets for court room, $203.13-, stone pavement in front of Court House, $444; total cost, 152,959.00. It is n handsome brick structure, two atories and a half in height, with a lofty mansard roof (making the building more than three stories high), and with ite artistic atone trimmings, both modern in design and finish, will favorably compare with the best county buildings of the State. A fine clock occupies the tower, and a largo figure of jufitice surmounts the dome. At the main entrance is a substantial stone portico, upheld by six handsome stone pillars, adding much to the beauty of the front view of the building. On the jfizat floor are the officea of the Recorder, Treasurer, Auditor, CommisHioners, Sheriff, Prosecutinp^ Attorney and Surveyor; and on the second floor those of the Probate Judge and Clerk, also the court room and jury rooms. The whole interior is handsomely fininli^ -! iu Mack walnut and butternut, and the stairways partly in cherry, while tiie large, well-lighted offices, furnished in black walnut, and possessing fire-proof vaulta, where the valuable records are absolutely safe from destruction, haraKmiBS thoroughly with the progressive spirit of tibe age. The halls and stairways are wide, and the ceilings higd and airy, while a general air of utility and comfort pervades throughout the building.

Friaon Bounds. - TJpon the eHtablishment of the American Government, many of the laws previously existing under English rule were partly or wholly retained on the statute books of the young Republic. Imprisonment for debt was one of those relics of barbarism which existed for seventy-five years after the Declaration of Independence. This law was an outrage upon honest poverty, and the cause of untold misery to hundreds of struggling pioneer families.

Hibiort Of Portage Oounty

The prisoner ooofined for debt, upon givicg good seoority to bis creditors, WM . allowed his freedcm inside of a osmin ddlned limit snnoimdiiig the Jail \ known as the "prison bounds," bat by crossing the established line he forfeited 1 even this small grain of liberty. In 1799 a law was enacted by tLe Terri- I turial Assembly establishing 200 yards as the dimensions of the prison bounds. Thia was ineceased in 1800 to 440 jards, bat rednoed in 1805 to 400. In 1821 the village or town limits became the boundary line, and in 1833 the "bounds** were made co-extensivo with tho county. Thus they remained until the adoption of the Constitution of 1851» when the law having almost become a ^^dead , letter, was expunged from tiie tiatntss <^ Ohio. At the April tsnn of tiie . Court of Common Pleas of Portage County, in 1809, the CocDrt assigned the I following prison bounds: "BegiDniug at a stake and stones eleven chains j north, forty-five degrees east from said prison, thence south twenty chains; thence west fifteen chains; thence north twenty diains; thence east fifteoai ohains to the first bounds." The action of the Court was in conformity wittk the then existing State law; but with the progress of civilization nil Buch laws become obnoxious to the spirit of humanity which trne civilization engenders, and therefore give way to a more just and enlightened policy. *

Gnmiv Jn>ln«uirff.' - ThroQghoat the pioneer days of Portage Coontf eadi township Bupported its own poor, but finally this fluty devolved upon the county, and tho indigent wqto "farmed out'' to those who would koop them thoclioapeat. Thm method did nut prove very satisfactory, as the unfortunate poor were in many eases treated baidly. It was finally decided the C<»nmi8sion« ers to establish a county farm where the poor could be collectively supported, and at the annual election held in April, 1839, the citizens of Portage voted in favor of the proposed institution. The Commissioners advertised at once tor a enltivated farm of firom 125 to 200 aores on whioh to erect a '*Coani7 Poor House," and on the 29th of April accepted the proposal of David Mcintosh, to sell them his farm in Shalersville Township, consisting of 102 acr^ of land, in Lots Nos. 62 and 79, with buildings, stock and farming impleuMnta thereon, for tiie stun of $5,000. On the 8d of May following me purahasa was completed and poasossion given, and on the same date the Comoiia* eioners appointed Darius Lyman, David Mcintosh and Frederick Williams, a Board of Directors to take charge of and manage the aifairs of said poor farm.

For ten years no additions were made to the farm, which was found ample for the necessities of the institution; but the number accepting its benefitskept increasing with the growth in population, and in April, 1849, the Commiasioneia pnrohaaed of Erastos Chapman an additicmal tract of 129.47 acres, located in Lots Nos. 63 and 64, for the snm of $2,524.00. In Juno, 1S50, they exchanged 50.41 acres of land in Lot No. 62, being the north part of the^ original farm, with Noble Haven for the same amount in Lot No. 61, adjoining the farm on the south. The buildings finally became inadequate, and a new one was regarded as a necessity, therefore, in April, 1S58, the Commissioners, advertised for bids to erect a new brick Infirmnry building. The plane of H. N. Bostwick, Esq., were adopted, and in May tlie contract was let to Samuel H. Bloomer, Abraham Bloomer, Elisha Brigham and J. S. Brigham, for the sum of 94,968, the bailding to be completed by the 25th of Norember. 1858. This ptmcture, together with the frame buildings standing there when tho farm was purchased, served tho purposes of the institution for ulx^ut fourteen years, but on the Sth of February, 1872, tho contracts for uu udditiouul wing to flie main Infiimaiy bailding were let as follows: The masonry, brick work^ etc., to Meaara. ^gham A Jenninga, for the aom of f 5»400y and the carpeu- tering, painting, glazing, otc, to Johnson & Babcock for $4,588. The addition was completed in the fall of 1872, but extras ran the ooet a good deal aboTe &e original contract prioa Brigham A Jmnings were paid in November, 1872, $1,091.59 for flagging ars l re[)air8; while Peter Martin» of Cleffeland, received S4,000 for putting in the heating and ventilating apparatus, makingthe total expense of the improvements carried oat in 1872 over $15,* 000. The main Infirmary building is an L shaped liriolE atrnchuTH, two and a halt stories high, but a portion of the original baildiag purchased with the farm is yet standing and in use. The farms now contain about 300 acres of first-class land, while the institution is self -supporting, and pays a goo<l interest on the capital invested, besides having furnished uurongh the passing years - comfortable home for hundreds of unfortunate poor.

Political StatiMics. - The political histor}' of Portage County, even if written correctly and devoid of prejudice, would be of very little utility to the average reader, and when we take into consideration the ntter impossibility of SAOompliahing soeh a task, we think it beat, for the sake of historical truth, to illustrate the county's political complexion by simply giving the vote it cast for each CTubernatorial candidate since ISOS, together with that polled in a few of the Presidential contests. It may, however, be of some interest to the present and fntore generations to know who the candidates for the several county offices were at tho first election, held June 8, 1808, also the names of the voters ut that election. The polling place was at the house of Benjamin Tappan, which stood whore Marcna Heath's residence now stands, east of Bsfenna. Eighty.eerak votes were oast, distributed as follows: For CkMnsaissioners, Abel Sabin, of Randolph, 86; Joel Qaylord, of Hudson, 84; Lewis Day, of Deerfield, 49; Elias Harmon, of Mantua, 42. For Sheriff, Alva Day, of Deerfield, 47; John Campbell, of Charlestown, 38 (these two gentlemen were again the eandidatee for Sheriff in Ootober, 1806, with the following result: Alva Day, 151; John Campbell, 140). For Coroner, Lewis Day, of Deerfield, 38; Samuel Andrews, of Rootetown, 31; David Root, of Rootstown, 14 All of the successful candidates were supporters of President Jefferson's adminietration.

Hbbiobt Of Pobtaoe Oouhtt

1842 - Vote for Governor: Wilson Shannon (Democrat), 2,181; Thomas Corwin (Whig), 2,801; Leicester King (Abolition or Fioa Soil), 188. Total, 4,615.

1844 - Yota for Goramort Mordeeai Bartley (Whig), 2,467; David Tod (Democrat), 2,360; Leicester King (Abolition or Free Soil), 234. Total, 5,061.

1850 - Vote for Governor: Reuben Wood (Democrat), 2,104; William Johnston (Whig), 1,249; Edward Smith (Abolition or Free Soil), 000. Total, 8,85a

1855 - Vote for Governor: William Medill (Democrat), 1,801; Salmon P. Chase (Bepublican;, 2,660; Allen Trimble (American or Know-nothing), 10. Total, 4,581.

Huiobt Op Fobtagb Oourtt

1872 - Vote for Freeident: TJlyaeee 8. Gnnt (ReDublioan), 3,478; Horace Greeley (Independent Republican and Democrat), 2,438; James Black (Greenback), '27; Charles O Connor (Independent Democrat), 50. Total, 5,993.

1877 - Vote for Governor: William H. West (Republican), 3,031; Richard M. Bishop (Democrat), 2,624; Stephen Johnson (Greenback), 287; Henry A. Thompson (Prohibition), 69. Total, 6,011.

1879 - Vote for Governor: Charles Foster (Republican), 3,652; Thomaa Ewin^ (Democrat), 3,104; A. Sanders Piatt (Greenback), 114; Gideon T. Stewart (Prohibition), 56. Total, 6,926.

1880 - Vote for President : James A. Garfield (Beimblieaa)i 8,990; Winfield Scott Hancock (Democrat), 3,147; James B. Weaver (Qreenbtok), 86; Neal Dow, (Prohibition), 30.. Total. 7.259.