Preble County, Ohio - Chapter 10, 1881

Chapter 10

In the chapter immediately preceding this one an account is given of the erection of Preble county and the origin of its name. In this chapter we present an outline of the civil history of the county, including its organization, location of the county seat, description of public buildings, division of townships, and other topics of interest.

Early Proceedings Of Commissioners

Be it remembered that onthe twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight, that at the house of Samuel Hawkins, in the village of Eaton, George Shidler, esquire, exhibited a certificate bearing date - - 1808, from William Brown, esquire, clerk pro tempore of the court of common pleas of said county, declaring that the said George Shidler had been duly elected a commissioner to serve said county until the next annual election.

Similar certificates having been presented by William R. Irwin and Samuel Hawkins, the three commissioners took their seats and proceeded to business. The board appointed Alexander Chambers Lanier, their clerk, and he took an oath to support the constitution of the United States, and of this State so long as he should continue a citizen thereof.

The board appointed William Bruce, esquire, to act as treasurer of said county for the ensuing year. After establishing tavern rates of license, making provision for the payment of one dollar each for wolf or panther scalps, and attending to some minor matters of business the board adjourned szze die.

On the seventh of June, 1808, another meeting was held at which, among other transactions, it was ordered that "the courts shall be held up stairs in the house of Samuel Hawkins, in the town of Eaton, said Hawkins having agreed to give the use of said room and a table, without charge therefor." It was also further that Samuel Hawkins be allowed to retain the use of public square in the town of Eaton, marked on the plan of said town by the letter A, until it shall be demanded by the commissioners of Preble county to commence a public building thereon. .

County Seat Fixed

At a special meeting of the commissioners, held at the house of Samuel Hawkins, June 23, 1808, the clerk read a return from Aaron Harlin, Ichabod B. Halsey, and Ichabod Comin, commissioners appointed by the legislature to fix the permanent seat of justice of Preble county. Their return declared that the permanent seat of justice shall be ***fixt at the town of Eaton, provided that the money, lands, lots, stone and labour, subscribed by the inhabitants of said town, shall be duly secured for the use of said county towards erecting publick buildings."

| the donations given by the subscribers toward establishing Eaton as the seat of justice of Preble county. It appears from the records that Samuel Hawkins "gave to the county commissioners for the use of building publick buildings in the town of Eaton," the following lots known as numbers twenty-two, twenty-three, two hundred and twenty-two and two hundred and twenty-three, together with one four acre outlot. William Bruce gave his bond for the following lots, namely: lots numbers forty, fortyfour, forty-five, seventy-three, seventy-four, one hundred and three, one hundred and forty-five, one hundred and forty-seven, one hundred and forty-eight, one hundred and fifty-three, one hundred and fifty-four, one hundred and seventy-seven, and stone for all publick buildings to be quarried any place between the upper and lower falis lots adjoining the main street. George Worthington gave his bond promising to donate lot number three. The following persons gave their notes for the amounts they had subscribed towards obtaining the seat of justice at Eaton: Andrew Houss, twenty dollars in mason work; Matthew Harbison, ten doliars in mason work; Jaha Harbison, five dollars in mason work; Benjamin Griffith, five dollars in turners' work; William Smith, ten dollars payable in lots; Alexander Lanier, twenty-five dollars payable in materials for "gaol" or joiners' work thereon, and also twenty-five dollars payable in work on the court house; William Steele, fifteen dollars payable in work on the *gaol"; Henry Whitsell, fifteen dollars worth of iron work for "gaol"; John Hawkins, five dollars payable in quarrying stone; John Mills gave his bond to make title to the commissioners for six acres of land adjoining the northeast corner of the town plat; Jacob and John

The First Court Of Common Pleas

The first court of common pleas in the county of Preble was held August 23, 1808, at the house of Samuel Hawkins, in Eaton. that *the Honorable Francis Dunlavy was president judge of our said court, James L Nesbit, John Maroney and John C. Irwin, esquires, associate judges." There were also present Alexander C. Lanier, clerk gro fem., and Samuel Mitchell, coroner and acting sheriff.

The first grand jury consisted of John Halderman, foreman, William Wilner, George Marfield, Simeon Van- Winkle, Smith Charles, William Goodwin, James White, John Pottenger, Isaac Patton, John Ward, Hezekiah Hardesty, Hezekiah Phillips, Henry Kisling, William Sellers, Samuel Holliday. The grand jury, after being sworn, retired, conducted by John Spacht, constable. The jury returned but two indictments; one against "Mary Wallein, of Somers township, for retailing goods, wares and merchandise not the growth or manufacture of the United States," and the other against Philip Gemckle, of the' county of Montgomery, for the same offense. Mary Wallein was fined six and one-fourth cents and the costs of the case, which she paid, and went her way. Gemckle proving that he had paid into the county treasury the sum of four dollars and twentyfive cents, being the sum which he ought to pay for the time which he sold goods within the county, was discharged.

The first civil suit brought was that of "James Denniston zs. Jacob Fudge, on a contested election for the office of sheriff." The plaintiff being "cold," came not, and the cause was laid over "until tomorrow." On the next day, the plaintiff was "solemnly called," and not making his appearance, it was decided by the court that "the contest be dismissed at the plaintiff's cost, and that the sheriff-elect stand as sheriff, -of course."

Several licenses were granted, at this and the succeeding term, to retail goods and wares not the growth or manufacture of the United States; and licenses were issued to James Sutton, David E. Hendricks, Samuel Hawkins and others, to sell' spirituous liquors. All together, only about a dozen cases, civil and criminal, were brought before the court "The prosecutor was allowed ten dollars for his services.

The Old Court House

The fist mention which the records contain of a court house is found in the county commissioners' proceedings of March 4, 1812. It was then ordered that the following persons be appointed to receive subscriptions for the purpose of building a court house in the town of Eaton, to-wit: Abraham Miller, in Israel township; Paul Larsh, in Dixon township; James Ireland, in Jefferson township; Alexander C. Lanier, in Washington township; Thomas Massie, in Somers townsbip; Richard D. Hale, in Gratis township; Peter Harter, in Lanier township; Frederick Miller, in Twin township - who shall be allowed four per cent. on all moneys or property which may be subscribed on the books kept by them and actually paid. It was further ordered :

*« That the court house to be built on the above subscription shall be allowed for the use of a military house for Christians of any denomination only when in public use as a court house. And unless there is four hundred dollars subscribed the subscriptions shall be nothing."

Specifications were made, and bids advertised for, for building a court house of wood, but after considerable agitation of the subject it was decided to erect a brick building, and of a size considerably larger than had originally been intended. The dimensions specified in December, 1814, were thirty by thirty feet; the building the December term, 1815. In August, 1815, the commissioners entered an order that the court house should be built upon lot marked "A," in the town plat; that the tront should be twenty feet from the main street, and the west end twenty-five feet from the street running-north and south. Still later it was decided that the building should be thirty-eight by thirty feet, and before the contract was finally let it was ordered that the structure should be forty feet square. It was not until March, 1816, that Andrew House entered into contract with William Bruce, Matthew Harbison, Robert Harbison and John Harbison as his sureties, to build the first Preble county court house according to the specifications furnished. On December 4, 1816, the commissioners having-viewed the court house built by Andrew House, reported that they conceived it to have been built according to contract, and therefore received it on behalf of the county, and granted an order to the contractor for the sum of five hundred and thirty-two dollars and ninety-five cents. The building was not completed and fully furnished until 1819 or 1820.

` It was only a few years after the court house was finished that it was found inadequate to the needs of the county, and from time to time additions were built or other provision made for securing extra room for the county offices.

The Present Court House

July 15, 1848, the board of county commissioners - James Wilson, John Patterson, and Ebenezer Pinkerton - met for the purpose of receiving proposals for the building of a new court house, for which they had previously made specifications. The bids opened were as

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The commissioners, after some deliberation, awarded the contract for building to N. G. & S. H. Lockwood, and they entered into bond in the sum of twenty thousand dollars. It must not be understood that the ccurt house was built for the sum stated as the bid of the Messrs. Lockwood - fourteen thousand four hundred and seventy-five dollars - various alterations, enlargements, and additions were ordered from time to time by the commissioners and their successors, and the building was finished at a total cost of about twenty-two thousand dollars, or about one-half more than the amount of the original bid and contract. The court house was accepted by the commissioners July 17, 1851, and settlement made in full with the builders. Although the contract originally called for the completion of the building by September, 1850, the increased work made it impossible to have the court house in readiness by that time. During the interval between the removal of the old building and finishing of the new, the Methodist Episcopal church was rented for the use of the court for the sum of eighty dollars per year, jury rooms being also furnished by the church society.

Ata meeting of the commissioners on the twenty-fifth of June, 1808, it was ordered that the gaol for the county of Preble be built on the square given to the town of Eaton by William Bruce, "for publick purposes," and known as lot "A," and on the southeast corner of said square, adjoining to the lot of Samuel Hawkins on the east, and the alley on the west. On the third of August specifications were decided ppan by the which, in brief, were as follows: 'The house shall be built eighteen feet long, sixteen feet wide, and two stories high - the lower story shall be eight feet between floors, and the upper seven and one-half feet. The foundation shall be three feet, and of sufficient depth to bear the weight of the house; the walls of the first story shall be two feet in thickness, and those of the second story eighteen inches in thickness, the whole to be of good stone laid in lime and sand or lime and soil. The first floor shall be of timber hewed twelve inches thick and squared at the sides and joined close together, to extend fifteen inches into the walls and to be made of good oak; the floor of the second story shall be of timber ten inches thick; the lower story shall be lined with hewed or sawed timber nine inches thick; there shall be one door in the lower story and one in the upper - the lower door shall be of two-inch thick plank and lined with the same." It was further specified that the windows should be barred with one inch square iron, and that suitable fastenings should be placed upon the doors, etc. The contract for erecting the jail here described was let to John Banfill in the sum of seven hundred and thirtynine dollars. For the faithful performance of his work he entered into bond in the sum of one thousand four hundred and seventy-nine dollars, with Joseph C. Hawkins and Henry Whitesell as sureties. The jail was finished by the close of the year 1808.

July 29, 1820, the commissioners, in consequence of the jail having been destroyed by fire, ordered that a new jail be built. It was provided that the new building should be constructed of stone; should be thirty feet in length from east to west, twenty feet in width from north to south, and two stories in height. Samuel Ward became the undertaker, and agreed to build a jail according to specifications for the sum of eight hundred and forty dollars, and entered into bond for the faithful discharge of his duty with James Small and William M. Davison as his sureties.

July 30, 1822, the commissioners, after inspecting the jail, decided that Mr. Ward had zof discharged his duty according to contract. It being left to referees to decide the merits of the question, the verdict of the commissioners was sustained, and they (the referees, Joseph Pagan and Joseph Wysong) reported that "Samuel Ward was entitled to receive the sum of two hundred dollars, which will comprise the whole amount to which he may be entitled for building the jail." This was, after cancelling the accounts, exhibited, for extra work. It was ordered by the commissioners that the jail be received, and that the foregoing payment be considered settlement in full.

In the summer of 1839, steps were taken towards the erection of a new jail, to be erected on the public square south of the public offices. The building which was of store, two stories in height, and forty-six by twenty-six feet in dimensions, was built by Merkle S. Morton for the sum of six thousand four hundred and forty dollars. This building has been in constant use for jail purposes since its erection, and will doubtless remain for many years, as it answers all needs.

had in contemplation the project of improving the jail, by the substitution of new iron cells, etc., and also of building a sheriff's or jailor's residence, decided upón making the proposed improvement, on condition that the expense should not exceed ten thousand dollars. 'The county entered into contract with Merkle S. Morton and Earl B. Nourse, of Eaton, in the sum of eight thousand nine hundred and eighty dollars. "Their work was completed in the following year.

Infirmary

The earliest mention of the matter of building a county poor-house or infirmary, appears in the commissioners' records for the March meeting, 1835. The entry states that *the commissioners, after various solicitations and applications from various parts of the county, urging the building of a poor-house, do agree to take some preparatory steps thereto, and therefore do order that the auditor publish and give notice to all concerned, that the commissioners have agreed that the public good requires the erection of a poor-house, and that the condition of that class of our unfortunate fellow-citizens would be improved if they had an asylum to which they might retreat wherein their misfortunes would be regularly attended to." "The board further required the auditor to advertise for. proposals for the purchase of a small farm for poor-house purposes.

December 8, 1835, the commissioners bought of George Lease the present infirmary farm (southwest quarter of section number twenty-seven, Washington township), for which they paid the sum of two thousand dollars. This piece of land was rented the first year to Nathaniel Wingate and Benjamin Lockwood, for the sum of one hundred and seventy-two dollars, and it was one of the provisions of the lease that the commissioners were to be allowed to begin building on said farm at any time they saw fit. At a special meeting of the board, held February 3, 1837, proposals for the erection of a poor-house previously advertised for, were handed in as follows:

Samuel Roberson presenting the lowest bid, the board agreed to enter into contract with him if he could enter into the proper security, but as he failed to do so, the job was set up at public auction on the same day. Joseph Wilson and David V. Stephens making the best bid, the job of building the infirmary was struck off to them at the sum of four thousand three hundred and thirty-nine dollars, and the said Wilson and Stephens entered into bond for the faithful performance of their work, in the sum of eight thousand six hundred and seventy-eight dollars. The specifications called for a brick building one story in height, with suitable arrangements and furnishings, and it was made a condition of the contract that the building should be finished by September, 1838. On the first of September, according to agreement, the building was completed and officially accepted by the commissioners. This building, with a second story added, is the one now in use as an infirmary.

As has been heretofore stated in this volume, the territory now constituting Preble county was, prior to its independent organization; included in Montgomery and Butler counties. Only a narrow strip belonged to Butler county and all of the remainder to-Montgomery. It was organized into-a township by the name of Hardin, and this great township gradually reduced in size by the establishment of others, existed for some time after the organization of Preble county. The whole of the first range was called Israel township, for a time after the county was organized, and the whole of the second range was at the same time called Somers township, while all of the the third range north of the present north line of Lanier township was called Twin, and that south of the line Hardin. The first changes in the lines were those which were made when the numerous townships of Washington and Jefferson were established, each of them sixteen miles long by six in width, and therefore containing ninety-six square miles of territory.

Ordered, that Somers township, in this county, be divided as follows ; beginning at the northwest corner of the ninth township in the second range, running thence east with the county line to the line dividing the second and third ranges, thence south sixteen miles to the fourth tier of sections in the seventh township of said range, thence west to the line dividing the first and second ranges, thence sixteen miles to the place of beginning, and the township contained within the foregoing bounds shall be called Washington, and the place of holding elections for said township of Washington shall be at the house of Samuel Hawkins, esq., in the town of Eaton.

Upon the same date as the above, and in similar manner the original township of Israel, including the present territory of Israel, Dixon, Jackson and Jefferson, was divided by a line running east and west, eight miles noith of the southern county line. The township thus set off in the first range, sixteen miles long from north to south, was called Jefferson. It was ordered that elections should be held in this township at the house of John Marks.

It was ordered that the southern partsof the first and second ranges in Preble county, not included in the townships of Jefferson and Washington, should be called respectively Israel and Somers townships.

At the meeting of the commissioners on March 4, 1811, it was ordered that all of that portion of the third range comprised in the fifth township, as originally surveyed, be set off and organized as a new township. This township was named after Alexander C. Lanier.

On the same day, it was ordered that all that part of the third range being within the bounds of the fourth original surveyed township, be declared a new township, by the name of Gratis, and that an election be held therein at the house of Silas Gregg. The origin of the name of this township is thus accounted for. 'The resi- dents of the fourth original township, in the third range, it seems regarded Lanier township, as it stood in 1810, as too large for the convenience of the people. They had to go too far to the polls, and to transact their other business. Their petition was overruled, but resolving to make another attempt, they went personally before the county commissioners and argued in favor of the measure. Samuel Stubbs, the spokesman of the party, concluded his appeal by saying: "Now, friends, we think we are right in making this request, and we think we ought to have a township gratis." The clerk of the board, as the speaker finished, exclaimed: "Let him have it, and call it Gratis." The commissioners assenting, the township was established under that name.

At the annual meeting on the third of March, 1812, Jefferson township was divided by a line running east and west through, the center of said township. The south end of the territory, thus divided, it was ordered should be known as Dixon township. 'The name was given in honor of Eli Dixon, one of the commissioners. It was further ordered that all that part of Israel township lying north of the southern line of the seventh township (original survey) be thrown into Dixon township.

It was ordered, June 5, 1815, that Somers township be curtailed within the bounds of the sixth surveyed township of the second range, and the balance of said township shall be added to Washington.

'The same year as the above, it was ordered that Twin township be divided through the center with the line dividing the sixth and seventh townships, the south township to be called Twin and.the north Harrison.

December 18, 1816, it was ordered that the eighth township in the first range be incorporated into one entire township for county and other purposes, and that the same be known.as Jackson township. The first election was held at the house of Adam Starr.

September 29, 1817, it was ordered that the ninth township in range second should be established as an entire election township, and known as Monroe. The first election was ordered to be held the second Tuesday in October following, at the house of Richard Shourd.

Washington township, at first sixteen miles in length, and afterwards increased to eighteen, was finally cut down to twelve by the organization, in 1817, of Monroe. Some time later than this (the records do not show just when), the inhabitants of the southern end of Washington township, thinking they had too far to go to the voting place (Eaton) petitioned the commissioners to create a new township. Their desires were not immediately gratified, but finally a pertinacious old German, named Gasper Potterf, succeeded in obtaining the necessary order from the commissioners. Twenty-four sections were dissevered from the south of Washington, - and created into a separate township, with the name of Gasper, after the gratified German. ` It is obvious that the townships of Jefferson, Jackson, Monroe, Washington, and Harrison were named after the Presidents. Lanier, Dixon and Gasper were named after. citizens of the county, as has already been explained; and the incident which gave Gratis its name has been related. It only remains to be said that Twin was so named from the creek which flows through it, and that Israel and Somers received their names in honor of two commodores of the United States-navy.