Richland County, Ohio - The whole text, 1908 (part 12 of 16)

One night in the fall of 1877 there was a cry of fire - that the Brenneman building was on fire. The fire was in the room occupied by Mr. Williams. By prompt action and hard work the flames were extinguished with but slight damage to the building, but Williams' goods were more or less damaged by both fire and water.

The Richland Mutual Fire Insurance company, of Mansfield, had insurance on the stock, and N. S. Reed went to Shiloh to investigate the matter and adjust the claim. He arrived at Shiloh late in the afternoon and was met by Mr. Williams, who escorted him to the store and explained his theory of the origin of the fire, which was this: That it was the work of an incendiary, and, taking Mr. Reed down the stairway into the basement, pointed to a small, open window, through which, as he alleged, the incendiary had gained entrance. Then they separated until after supper. As usual, Mr. Reed was affable and courteous, and Williams, no doubt, thought he had smooth sailing. At the second interview, however, Mr. Reed remarked: 'Say, Mr. Williams, in planning this fire there is one thing you forgot - you should have swept that cobweb-net from the window." Whereupon Williams nearly fell from his chair, broke down and confessed and begged for mercy. Williams was arrested, but at the preliminary hearing entered a plea of "Not guilty." At the December term of court, 1877, indictments were found against Mr. Williams and his son Frank on the charge of arson. The latter confessed and turned state's evidence against his father. At his trial John B. Williams was found guilty. and was sentenced to five years in the penitentiary, but was pardoned before the expiration of the term. The son got off with a jail sentence of four months. A few months after Williams' conviction his wife - Mary Ann Williams - obtained a divorce.

The Hon. J. M. Hunter. now a resident of Shiloh, tell< of hix first trip to that locality, which shows the changes of time. His father wa a farmer, then residing in Blooming Grove township. \fter the completion of the Mansfield Sandusky railroad, Plymouth, thus having railroad shipping facilities to the lake, became a great grain market. The warehouse at Plymouth was built across the cut. which was of sufficient depth to permit the cars to pass beneath the building, thus requiring no elevator. The box cars used in shipping were covered with canvas or tarpaulin. and held about a hundred and forty bushels, and wheat in August, 1846. brought forty-five cents a bushel.

It was perhaps the latter part of the summer of 1850. when Mr. Hunter = father was hauling wheat to Plymouth. that J. M. accompanied him upon one of his trips. This the boy considered a great privilege, and it wax upon that trip that he first saw the site of Shiloh, and remembers it the more vividly. perhaps, because the street or road was being graded down to make a grade crossing. and that was the first grading the boy had ever seen. At the junction with the New State road west of Shiloh, they got in with a caravan of wheat teams coming from the south. while others were following them from the east. Thus wedged in, it took them hours to get to Plymouth and wait for their turn to unload. Mr. Hunter was then about six vears of age. His life has spanned the half-century period in which the world has advanced more than in any other age. During those years we have made history. It would require volumes to give even a syllabus of each of the discoveries, inventions and improvements of the last fifty vears. We use the utilities of today. and recall the past only as a matter of sentiment. or for the lesson it teaches. Mr. Hunter has served the people in a number of public offices, the most prominent of which was representing Richland county two terms in the legislature.

H. S. Moser retired from his farm some years ago, and resides in Shiloh. As in the past. he always has a cordial greeting for an old friend.

Richard Kimmel, for many years a Mansfield grocer, owns a farm just north of Shiloh, and is now a tiller of the soil, but is as jovial as ever.

Fred Wolfsereberger, editor of the Review, makes somewhat frequent visits to Mansfield of late. on account, he claims, of political matters, but, inasmuch as he is young, good looking and single, the reasons for his visits should not be insisted upon too strenuously.

Newville was founded by John Frederick Herring, and was platted in December. 1823. It is situated upon section 3, Worthington township. Abraham Nye was one of the first settlers there, and was instrumental in inducing Mr. Herring to lay out the town.

In 1811-12, John Frederick Herring built the second grist mill in Richland county. This mill was situate on the Clearfork, four miles west of Bellville, in what is now Perry township. Peter Weirick was employed to do the carpenter work, and while he was erecting the building, Mr. Herring drove to Baltimore with a six-horse team to procure buhrs, wheels and gearings for the mill. The round trip from this part of Ohio to Baltimore and return was then made by team and occupied about two months' time. Now the same distance can be traveled in fewer hours than the days required then. After operating this mill for several vears. Mr. Herring sold the same to Francis Baughman in ISt5. In 1855, Mr. Baughman disposed of this property to John Hanawalt, who operated the same for about fifty vears. and the mill is known in history as "Hanawalt's." This mill stood where the Lexington and Fredericktown road crosxexs the Clearfork. The building is now used as a barn. John Hanawalt was the father of J. L. Hanawalt. of South Main street, Mansfield.

After selling the mill west of Bellville, Mr. Herring entered another mill site, also on the Clearfork. fifteen miles down the stream, where he erected his second grist mill. and a few years later laid out the town of Newville.

The first settlers in Newville and vicinity were John Frederick Herring, Abraham Nye. Michael Hogan, Daniel Carpenter, George Armentrout and Luther Richard. Abraham Nve was the first tavern keeper. Daniel Stoner the first blacksmith and Michael Hogan the first merchant. Newville was named after Newville. Pennsylvania, the native place of the founder of the town.

At the time Newville was laid out, the volume of water in the Clearfork of the Mohican was larger than it is now, and the pioneers were wont to found towns along streams of water, for mill power and other purposes. Great things and a bright future were predicted for the town, but the hopes entertained for its future greatness were never realized. In the scramble for new counties back in the 'forties.' Newville had hopes of becoming a county seat town, but

And the county-seat hopes in which Newville people indulged, ganged aft a-gley. But, to add further to disappointments as to future prosperity, the two railroads that were built through the southern part of the county, left Newville about midway between them, the B. & O. at Butler, four miles to the southwest, and the Pennsylvania at Perrysville, four miles to the east. This being a railroad age, towns off the paths of the iron horse seldom thrive, and Newville has been no exception to the general rule.

Newville nestles in a lovely little valley, at the confluence of Slater's Run with the Clearfork of the Mohican. It is nearly surrounded by rock-ribbed

The early settlers of the Newville country came, mostly, along the old Wyandot trail, following up the Mohican and its Clearfork to Newville. Some of the latter arrivals came along the Portage road - a military road cut through by a portion of General Harrison's army in 1812. This road runs diagonally across Worthington township from the northeast to the southwest. This was probably the first road in the township, and although it has been changed in certain places to conform to local conditions, it is still a public highway.

The decade between 1825 and 1835 was a preaching period at Newville, such as no other town in the county ever passed through. Men preached according to their own views of the scriptures without regard to what any denomination taught or believed, all agreeing, however, upon Anabaptist lines. They were out-comers from various sects, and in time organized new ones. The most prominent among these preachers were the Rigdons - Sidney and Thomas - both gifted men and orators of great power. Sidney Rigdon, it has been claimed, was one of the most charming and convincing speakers of that olden time when there were orators in the land. For several vears he was a minister of the Disciples, as was also his brother Thomas. Later Sidney became a Mormon elder, and took a number of converts from the southern part of this county with him to Nauvoo. In time, an estrangement sprung up between Brigham Young and Mr. Rigdon, resulting in the withdrawal of the latter, who returned to the east, where he died in 1876, aged eighty-three years. Notwithstanding the early promulgation of different views, the M. E. Church is the only one that has been able to maintain an existence as a religious body in Newville.

Daniel Carpenter was one of the principal promoters of the business and industrial interests of Newville. He had'a store of general merchandise and founded and operated a tannery and an ashery. Baltimore was the market place for this part of the country at that time and the journey to and from - a round-trip distance of a thousand miles - had to be made with wagon teams, and part of the journey was over mountain roads. Grain was too bulky. heavy and low priced to haul so far to market. Ginseng, maple sugar and beeswax were the principal marketable articles and they were not all year-round products. To further the business interests of the town, Daniel - Carpenter founded an "ashery," and manufactured another exportable commodity - pearl ash. His teams traversed the country for miles around. buying ashes of the farmers, thus adding to their meager income.

Of the distinguished men who once claimed Newville as their home, the name of the late Hon. Samuel J. Kirkwood should head the list. He was one of the first school teachers of the village. Mr. Kirkwood read law. became prosecuting attorney of Richland county, and after the close of his term, removed to Iowa, became governor of that state; was later a senator in the Congress of the United States, and closed his official career as a member of the Garfield cabinet.

The late Major George F. Carpenter - lawyer and banker - was a son of Daniel Carpenter, the promoter of the early business interests of Newville. Major Carpenter was one of the charter members of the Richland County Historical Society and its first vice-president.

Governor J. P. Altgeld, was for several years a Newville boy. As a man in after years he became a noted jurist, an eloquent orator and a great leader among men.

These are all departed from earthly scenes. Others, young men still living, who were once Newville boys, have gone out into the world and in their several lines of endeavor are winning success.

Among the early industries was pennyroyal distilleries, dotted here and there over the pennyroyal regions of Ohio. Pennyroyal grew in profusion in the southern part of the country in the earliest days. It is a deciduous, herbaceous plant, aromatic, with a pungent taste. As this was a rare and peculiar industry, a brief description of the process of distillation may be of interest to the reader. The pennyroyal after being gathered was allowed to wilt until it would pack well. and was then tramped down carefully in a steam chest until it was full. The oil is in small globules on the under side of the leaf. When set free by steam, it passed into a condenser, into which a small stream of cold water was conducted. After being condensed it was poured into an oil vat, nearly filled with water. The oi] being lighter than. the water, ran into the vessel and passed out into a receiver. Pennyroyal oil is used for its medicinal properties, and was thought by the pioneers to be valuable as a earminative remedy. The last pennyroyal distillery in this part of the county was Fisher's. at Palmyra, five miles south of Bellville. At the Fisher distillery essence of peppermint was also distilled.

Distilleries are often called "'still houses." And upon this play of words Comrade Ricksicker, of Galion, tells a good anecdote in his inimitable way, at Grand Army reunions. As the story goes, a revenue officer was trying to ferret out illicit distilleries in Kentucky during the latter part of the Civil War. He had not been successful, and being anxious to show results, approached a typsy soldier, an Irishman, and inquired after "private stills," as the illicit distilleries are called. But Paddy didn't seem to have any information to give out. 'Then the detective offered him a ten-dollar bill, whereupon Paddy admitted having certain knowledge about several private stills and offered to conduct the officer to one, but the money must be paid in advance. This having been done, Paddy escorted the detective through forests and over hills, and finally coming upon a camp of soldiers, they halted. The officer demanded an explanation. An Irishman never gives away a friend, even though he should be a ''moonshiner." Paddy called the officer's attention to a soldier who was sitting by a tree. and said: "That man is of a good family,

Worthington, in which Newville is situated, was the banner township in the camp-meeting line in the days of the popularity of such gatherings. Of the several camp-meeting sites the one called ''Easterly's," two miles west of Newville, was the most popular and the best known. The meetings were under the auspices of the United Brethren denomination. Perhaps, also, by the Evangelicals, commonly called the 'Albrights."'

In these camp-meeting gatherings, social cordiality was blended with religious zeal. Fervor along religious lines was more intense and deimonstrative a half century ago than it is today. A man was expected to shout to show his zeal and attest his spirituality. It is different now. The campmeeting preachers believed, as a rule, that "where the spirit of God is, there 1x liberty." And aside from the general supervision of the prayer meetings, they did not attempt to control the boisterous element around them. Thus the meetings seldom got far advanced before men and women were praying. groaning and singing together. Some were groaning on account of their =ins, some praving for their companions, others singing and shouting because they felt happy, and a few would swoon from physical exhaustion.

A horse-back procession of religious enthusiasts. returning from a camp meeting, was heard approaching by a poorly-clad woman working in a field near to the roadside. It was a sound of music - of men's and women's voices mingling harmoniously together in sacred song. Abashed, she hid herself behind a tree, but peeped around as the procexxion passed by. To the unseen observer the countenance of the leader'= wife seemed lighted up like the face of a glorified saint. Her bonnet hung by its ribbons down her back. and _ her auburn hair floated like waves of golden sheen over her shoulders. forming a beautiful, living, moving picture. The faces of all the members of the party glowed with happiness as they sang:

This scene, with its music and song, so affected the poor woman whose lot was to toil in the fields, that she sank upon her knees in prayer. and dated her conversion from 'that very hour."

Lucas is situated on the Pennsylvania railroad, seven miles southeast of Mansfield, and was laid out in 1836 by John Tucker, who acted as agent for his brother, David Tucker, the owner of the land upon which the village was platted.

Prior to the founding of Lucas a town had been started about a mile farther down the Rockyfork and upon the opposite side of the stream, and was called Octororo, In the rivalry that ensued Lucas won. and Octororo

Lueas is situated on the Rockyfork, with excellent mill sites and three grist mills were operated there for many years. The old-time names of these mills were LaRue's, Zerby's and Oldfield's. LaRue's and Zerby's are gone, but Oldfield's has kept step to the music of a progressive age and is still in business.

The Zerby mill was built in 1820 by Peter Zerby, the father of the Peter Zerby new a resident of Mansfield. The LaRue mill was built in 1830 by a Mr. LaRue, and Oldfield's was built about the same year by Reinhart Oldfield. The Oldfield mill was owned a number of years by Silas Rummel. This mill was owned in the "'fifties'' by Colonel George Weaver - a man prominent in his day and generation. having been the sheriff of the county and a soldier in two wars. There were also a number of saw mills on the Rockyfork in the vicinity of Lucas.

The first cabin within the present limits of Monroe township was near the site where the residence of Silas Rummel now stands. The first house in the village of Lucas stood near the place now occupied by the new bank building. The Mvers house wax the second building erected and has been a hotel for two-thirds of a century.

Lucas for its size hax dwellings and business buildings that will compare favorably with any other place in Ohio. Water from a spring on the south side is piped to the center of the village and supplies the people with pure water.

Churches and graded schools are second to none elsewhere, and the blessings and utilities of the age are at every man's door. But it was not always thus. The locality passed through the strenuous pioneer period, whose history is written on of Indian massacres, and of other dangers and hardships of the pioneers. Hill's. as the Lucas locality was called by the first settlers, was on the Indian trail between Greentown and Tymochte. and along this valley in 1782 marched Colonel Crawford and his little army of 480 men, and the tale of their defeat and of the awful tortures and death of Colonel Crawford is a sad one in our history.

General Brooks came up the Rockyfork in 1812 with government supplies for the army at Fort Meigs. and halted a day where Lucas now stands. He had about one hundred teams, six horses to each wagon. Among the "supplies"? was money to be used in paying the troops in the northwest. Fort Meigs was on the right bank of the Maumee river, opposite the rapids. It was an important frontier post during the war of 1812.

What an unusual spectacle was presented in that supply train coming up the valley. One hundred wagons, drawn by six hundred horses, making a procession miles in length, and winding through the forests in whose fastnesses wild beasts had their lairs and in whose treetops birds sang. Now railroad trains course up and down the same valley in the interest of interstate trade and foreign commerce. The sun shines upon cultivated farms where the primeval forest once stood. The pioneers of the time when General Brooks' army train passed through Mansfield and halted at the Lampert spring are long since gone, and the generation that succeeded them are passing away. The late Rosella Rice once wrote that it is hard to be reconciled to this natural order of things, to see the pioneers passing away, to see them standing leaning on their staffs, dim-eyed and with white locks tossed in the winds, dazed at the change that has stamped its seal upon the wilderness whose winding paths they once knew so well. They beheld it slowly laying off its primeval wildness and beauty, and its grandeur of woods and waters, until now it blooms like unto the garden of the gods. How beautiful the labors of their hands! How much we owe to them! But the olden time is passing away and bearing on its bosom the dear old men and women whose "like we ne'er shall see again' - the glory of one age if not dimmed in the golden glory of the age succeeding it.

Bossuet, a French author, wrote that "although God and nature have made all men equal in forniing them of the same earth. human vanity can not bear that equality." Substitute "ambition" for '"'vanity," and the statement is verified in everyday life by young men who trv to rise to other pursuits than those in which they were reared. In Europe. with but few exceptions, the child is born to the station of the parent. but in America, with equally few exceptions, the reverse is the rule. The most illustrious men often rise from huinble beginnings. The man of millions. whoxe home is a palace. lived, perhaps, in a log cabin when he was a boy.

So in Monroe township. At least a half dozen of the leading lawvers of the Mansfield bar were Monroe township boyx - farmers' sons - and several of them had to earn their educations. Today they are men among men, and have filled high places of honor and trust.

The Hon. W. 8S. Kerr, ex-state senator, ex-congres-iman, a lawyer of large practice, with one of the most handsome residences o1 Mansfield's fashionable avenue, was born and reared in Monroe township.

There is Judge N. M. Wolfe, who served two terms upon the commou pleas bench, and as a trial Jawver is second to none in Ohio. And there is the Hon. C. E. McBride, who served his county faithfully and capably in the Ohio legislature, and whose success ax a lawyer secured for him the position of attorney for the Baltimore Ohio Railroad Company for 'all the lines west of the Ohio river.'' Such corporations seek the best talent at the bar.

And there are the Douglass brothers. A. A. Douglass served two terms as prosecuting attorney and is prominent in politics and as a lawyer. S. M. Douglass was a judge of the circuit court, and has the distinction of having been the first chief justice of said court.

J. M. Reed, J. P. Henry and Harry T. Manner each deserves a more extended notice than there is space to give them in this article, and all these were once Monroe township country boys, who tilled the soil until their attainments led them into more congenial pursuits. In the medical profession there are Dr. W. S. Mecklem and Dr. G. W. Baughman, also from Monroe township, who served as coroner of his county. Allen S. Beach has worked his way from the bottom of the ladder, round by reund, to affluence and position. and has the respect and confidence of all the people. These men are Monroe products, and men who succeed should be pointed to with pride, not in envy. If there are those who begrudge a man his hard-worked-for and well-earned success in finance, in law, in medicine, in literature or in any other pursuits, such people should be commiserated, for it is a pity they were not molded upon broader lines.

Suniner said "that the true grandeur of nations is in those qualities which constitute the greatness of the individual. The causes which shape the fortunes of men and the destinies of states are often the same. They may be remote and obscure until shown by results. The elements of success in life

John Barnes was the leading merchant at Lucas when the Pennsylvania railroad was being built. He seemed to have ample means, was quite popular and had the confidence of the people. He was a large contractor on the railroad, with a number of sub-contractors under him. One morning he failed to appear at his place of business. and upon inquiry it was ascertained that he was not in the town. He had dropped out of existence. so far as Lucas was concerned, during the night and never seen there afterward. Searching parties traversed hills and valleys in the quest, and streams were searched on the theory that he had been murdered - but without finding either his body or any trace of the man. A report was circulated that a pistol shot had been heard at the Mohawk hill upon the night of Barnes' disappearance, which confirmed in many the theory that he had been murdered, and that the men working on the railroad had committed the deed. But that railroad bed was made by Irixhmen, and the Irish are not murderers. When it became known that Barnes had collected large sums of money just previous to his disappearance, and that he was indebted to a large amount, the people generally settled down to the conclusion that Barnes had "skipped out," and this was confirmed years afterward by reports that he had been seen in California. There are people, no doubt, who still cling to the "foul play" theory. The fact is that John Barnes disappeared from Lucas upon a dark night more than fiftv vears ago and has not yet returned.

The student of history is interested not only in events, but also in a study of the causes which lead to the prosperity or adversity of a locality. Cause precedes effect. Two towns may be platted and start to build up with seemingly equal prospects of attaining size and importance. But conditions may change, beneficial to the one and detrimental to the other. New towns sometimes supplant older ones. But there are always causes for such changes, although they may not be so apparent that "he who runs may read" and understand the reasons for the same. Situations, conditions, commercial industries must be studied and analyzed to determine the cause of either decadence or prosperity. The fundamental principle that the greater force overcomes the lesser is as true in history as it is in science. This force may be of attraction or propulism. The results is called "fate" or "destiny," which

Bangorville, situate on the west line of Jefferson township, a mile north of Knox county line, was through the prosperity period in the "forties," and now has but little to point to with pride except its past history. The location is upon high land and commands a fine view of the country surrounding it. The little village stands on the Lexington and Fredericktown road, about midway between the two towns. This road intersects the New State road about a mile south of Palmyra. Another-road runs east from Bangorville, crossing both the new and old State roads, four miles south of Bellville. A road also runs due north along the township line, and another, from a half-mile south of the town, leads through the Lost Run region to Waterford, on the Owl creek. These roads diverging from the village seemed to place it in advantageous relations with the surrounding country, which fact was one of the reasons why Bangorville was selected as a location for '"Moore's foundry," a manufacturing plant of large capacity and of larger possibilities.

Four miles south of Bellville, on the new State road, there was a settlement of Maine Yankees, and the locality was called Yankeetown. And among these Penobscoters was one William Moore, the founder of Moore's "foundry" at Bangorville. The name "foundry" did not fully cover the scope of the plant, but as foundries were not numerous in this part of the state at that time, the name was not given in a special but in a general sense, and nearly all shops where casting was done were thus designated.

These Moore works were quite large for that period. The main building was two stories high, with molding room and blacksmith shop as annexes. The business was quite extensive and the machinery, implements and articles made and manufactured were threshing machines, wind mills, cider presses, with automatic presses, cheese presses, plows, cultivators, stoves and stove utensils. mill gearings and all kinds of custom work. Much of the output was of Mr. Moore's own inventions.

The threshing machine was of the "knocker" style, somewhat like that of the Aultman-Taylor machine of today, and competed successfully with the "endless apron" variety. The plow was called '""The Grasshopper" and was quite popular.

The shop started with a force of about twenty-five, which was increased until the pay roll for five years averaged about fifty men. The town grew and increased and the people prospered and were happy.

William Moore was a born mechanic, and was competent to capably fill the place of the most skilled workman in any department of the shop. He was an inventor and draughtsman as well as a skilled mechanic. In addition to these he was a business man of marked ability, with a foresight of the needs of the country and of the possibilities of the future, at least so far as farmers' supplies were concerned. He knew that thereafter grain would be threshed by machines, instead of being pounded out with flails; that the wooden moldboard plow would be supplanted by one of cast-iron, and that the lug-poles and trample hooks of the pioneer days had served their time, and that cooking was thereafter to be done on stoves. He saw that the country was in a state of transition from the old to a new order of things, and took the tide at its flow. His mind could grasp what was needed, and his inventive genius could supply the article. His inventions were not only numerous, but covered a wider scope than those of any other man perhaps in the world, and were made at a period when inventions were but 'few and far between."

Salesmen canvassed the country for the sale of Moore's machinery, farm implements and the other products of his foundries, and wagons conveyed the same to the farmers' homes.

But when the plant was on the highway to a still greater success, one night flames were seen to shoot from the foundry up through the dark pall that hung ominously over the village, and the people were aroused by the cry of "Fire! Fire! Moore's foundry is on fire!' But the flames had spread throughout the building to such an extent that it could not be saved, nor its contents taken out. And thus went out in smoke and in flames one of the earliest and most promising manufacturing plants of Richland county. The factory was never rebuilt for want of means. And with the destruction of the foundry, "Othello's occupation," so far as Bangorville was concerned, was gone, and the town went into decadence, and now barely holds a place upon the map of the county. 'What would have been if things had been otherwise," is often asked, but an answer can only come from the speculative realms of fancy.

A new condition of affairs came on soon after the Moore plant was destroyed that would of itself have operated against building at Bangorville. A railroad was built - was extended from Mansfield to Newark, and, like the priest and the Levite, it went by on the other side - left Bangorville five miles away on the uplands to the west.

Mr. Moore removed to Mt. Vernon, where he later connected with the Cooper works. and contributed much to the success of that firm. He is now dead, but his inventions place him in the list of a benefactor of the period in which he lived.

Plymouth

Plymouth was first settled in 1815, but the town was not platted until Mav 17, 1825. The village was first called Paris, but at its incorporation in 1838 the name was changed to Plymouth.

Plymouth has the distinction of being in two counties - the main street running east and west, being the line between Richland and Huron counties. The postoffice is on the Richland county side of the line; the town is therefore always referred to as being in Richland county.

Plymouth became a village without the premeditation, plan or scheme of any land owner. After the close of the War of 1812 people came from the east to locate in Ohio. and quite a number came along the Beall trail and settled in the northern part of Richland county, and among them was one Abraham Trux. who erected a cabin on the headwaters of the Huron river, and became the first settler upon what later became the town site of Plymouth. Other cabins were soon thereafter erected near Trux's for the convenience of neighborly associations. and thus without design a town was founded.

A reference to the close of the War of 1812 suggests the difference in both the methods and the time required in transmitting and receiving news in 1815 with our facilities of today. The treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain was signed at Ghent, December 24, 1814, but the news of the same was not received here until a month later. and in the meantime the battle of New Orleans was fought, where General Jackson won his victory over the British. How different now, with telegraph wires and cables spanning continents and encircling the globe.

At the time Plymouth was platted there were sixteen houses, all of them log buildings, on the town site and occupied severally by Abraham Trux, Patrick Lynch, Benjamin Wooley, James Young, Enos Rose, Abner Harkness, A. D. W. Bodley, Haslo, John and Henry Barney, Christian Culp, B. F. Taylor, William C. Enos and Lemuel Powers. The travel through the village caused taverns to be opened in accordance with the law of demand and supply. Like other taverns of that period. three of the principal articles on the bill of fare were 'hog, hominy and whisky." If thee suited the guests. the present generation can be excused from registering a complaint now about what their forefathers ate four-fifths of a century ago.

Patrick Lynch was the first blacksmith in Plymouth: William C. Enothe first lawyer; Dr. Lemuel Powers the first doctor; Mr. Howe the first school teacher; Mr. Curtis the fir-t tailor; W. V. B. Moore and John Skinner the first shoemakers; Hugh Long the first tanner; Robert Moorfoot the first bricklayer and plasterer; \. D. W. Bodley the first wheelright: Anthony McLaughlin the first cooper: James Drennan the first cabinet maker: James Dickson, William Crall and Mr. Gilcrease the first carpenters; G. C. Graham, Mathero McKelvey and Wilson brothers the first merchants. The first mayor of the village was Daniel Colckglazier: the second. Ensign Benschoter: the third, Robert Wilson.

Mr. McKelvey, who had a number of daughters. erected a two-room frame building in 1831, started an educational institution called a seminary. with competent teachers, which was successfully conducted for several vears.

The first bank was started by a Mr. Barker in 1839, in connection with his mercantile trade. After Mr. Barker's death in 1859 the business was continued by Robert McDonough and 8. M. Robinson until -1870, when Mr. McDonough opened a regular bank of discount and deposit, which was continued until his death in 1873. After that the First National Bank was organized, with Josiah Brinkerhoff as president.

Bankcr Barker was the father of Frank Barker, who was killed in Mansfield by his brother-in-law, Robert Mercer Bowland, about sundown on the evening of June 18, 1846. The tragedy took place near the northwest corner of Main street and Park avenue west. A broken-shaft monument in the Plymouth cemetery marks Frank Barker's grave.

Plymouth always had able representatives in the legal profession. In the past there were Downing H. Young, D. M. Stambaugh, W. W. Drennan, Sherman Culp, S. M. Young and others.

Religious services were held at Plymouth at an early day, and church organizations effected. The Rey. Wolfe, a Presbyterian; the Rev. Arbuthnot. Covenanter, and the Rev. McIntire, Methodist, were early missionaries there. The Rev. Benjamin Wooley settled there and was a local minister of the

Methodist church. Nearly all the early ministers in the county preached in Plymouth at times. Among the number were Bigelow, Boardman, Conger and Harry O. Sheldon. The religious interests awakened in the little village of Paris in the long ago has ever since been maintained, and the churches of Plymouth today are an honor to the town.

The change of name from Paris to Plymouth was a felicitous one. '"What's in a name!" exclaimed the Bard of Avon. There is much in a name. Paris is suggestive of revolutions and of the guillotine; Plymouth, of the Mayflower and of the Pilgrims. Names in both poetry and prose appeal to the imagination. The title of a poem or story may induce its reading and conduce to its popularity. Poetry and song contributed to the rapid settlement of Ohio on account of its name. <A stanza drops in here as a matter of history. It ix from one of the songs that were sung "down east" at parties where kix-ing came in the games played by young people, many of whom later became settlers in Ohio:

"The homes of Ohio, free. fortuned and fair, Full many hearts treasure a sister's love there; E'en more than thy hillsides or streamlets they please, Ohio, my country, I love thee for these.

"God shield thee, Ohio, dear land of my birth, And thy children that wander afar o'er the earth; My country thou art, where'er my lot's cast,

This song was very popular in the past and its singing should be revived. The song is from Alexander Auld's "Key of the West.' He was the author of what was called the "patent-note" system, a change from the "four-note'' scale of the "Missouri Harmony." How dear to the memory of the older class of peopie are the text books of half century ago! They were Webster's "Elementary Spelling Book,' '"McGuffev's Readers," '"Ray's Arithmetics" and Harvey's and Pinneo's grammars. These books were studied under pedagogical instruction by the pupils of that period, but to recount those old school days would be interesting only to those who served under the old system of the "rod and ferule" rule, and to those who have been touched by the historical passion.

From the "Old Red" school house of the pioneer period, Plymouth advanced upon educational lines even more than it did in material growth. In 1834 the town was divided into two school districts, but in 1849 they were reunited and organized under what was known as the Akron law. Previous to 1835 special school laws were often passed for particular localities. This was permissible under the old constitution. The Akron law, enacted in 1847, made the town one school district, created a school board, authorized a suitable number of primary schools and one grammar school and conferred power to levy taxes sufficient to meet the expense of the system. This law was also enacted for other towns, Plymouth among the number. The state school law of 1853 was little more than an amplification of the Akron law. In 1875 a school building was erected in Plymouth at a cost of $25,000. This has since been improved and the town today takes no second place in the educational march of the age.

A newspaper called the Journal was started in Plymouth in 1851. Two years later the name was changed to the Advertiser, under which title it has been published for fifty years.

Among the early settlers in Plymouth were the Brinkerhoffs, of Knickerbocker, and the Beviers, of Huguenot descent. The Brinkerhoffs and the Beviers are related by marriage.

The Hon. Daniel Brewer, one of the distinguished citizens of Plymouth in the past, represented Richland county in the legislature in 1847-49. He was a fluent speaker and was an effective campaigner for "Buck, Breck and the Union" in 1856. The shibboleth of the other party in that campaign was "Fremont, Free Speech and Free Kansas." Mr. Brewer is now deceased.

Since the founding of Plymouth many changes have taken place - changes wrought by American genius. Genius is power. The power that grasps in the universe, that soars out into space. and overcomes all obstacles. Genius cannot be suppressed.

as to hush the voice of genius. Genius loves toil, impediment and poverty, for from these it gains its strength, throws off the shadows and lifts its proud head to fame. a. :

Lexington has always been noted for the culture and social standing of its people. The village is beautifully situated upon an elevation of gentle slope and the Clearfork of the Mohican laves its eastern boundary.

The town was named for historic Lexington, where the first battle for political freedom on the American continent was fought, April 19. 1775 - a battle that put an end to the long dispute between the colonies and Great Britain, and inaugurated the war of the revolution.

who built the first house - a log cabin - in the place, in the spring of 1812, soon after the town was platted. The second house was built by Jacob Cook. The first cabins had port-holes for purposes of defense against the Indians.

Grist and saw mills were erected on the Clearfork at Lexington within the year and contributed to the development of prosperity of the new town. A tannery was built and stores of general merchandise opened and Lexington soon had several hundred inhabitants.

About this time a very important event took place - the log school house was built. It was built of unhewed logs and covered with boards or shakes; the seats were of the ancient make - a slab with pegs for legs constituted the seats - counters ranged along the walls were the desks whereon to write and cipher.

Tempus fugit and years went by and in 1850 the "iron horse' came puffing along the valley. A railroad may make or unmake a town, but it did neither in this case - it simply let the village remain as it found it, which status it still maintains.

It is difficult to write of Lexington - a town with such a conservative history; of a well-balanced people, free from eccentricities and vagaries, such as make towns notorious. No people ever treaded the paths of peace with more willing feet. and the law of love has been the rule of their action and the light by which they interpreted events. Envy knocks in vain at the door of their hearts. The people are not jealous of their neighboring towns, but peace and good-will have a perfect habitation in the village's unruffled breast.

When Lexington was founded this was the western border. Since then civilization has marched westward with rapid strides, across the Mississippi, over the Rocky mountains and out to the isles of the Pacific, and will soon meet a similar column advancing from the East and ere long will engirdle the earth. Then the "border" will be obliterated and previous conditions changed.

Civilization is peregrinatic and capricious, and coming centuries may verify the prediction of Macaulay that New Zealanders shall sit upon the ruins of Westminster Abbey and gaze upon the crumbling ashes of forgotten London.

It is claimed there was an advanced civilization in China before Babylon was founded. and before Jerusalem existed, even in prophecy. Yet we now speak of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire as "heathen Chinee" and call them "'barbarians."" What the future of American civilization may be, time alone can disclose.

Amariah Watson was instrumental in many ways in furthering the interests of the Lexington settlement, in founding its industries and in developing the country, and his name is interwoven with the early history of that part of Richland county. The Rev. Orville E. Watson - a descendant of pioneer Watson - is a priest of the Episcopal Church, and holds the position of canon in Trinity Cathedral at Cleveland.

The Lexington Seminary was a continuation of Monroe Seminary, situated in Monroe township, and was opened in 1851 by Rev. R. Gailey. The recitations were for a time conducted in a church, yet the school drew to itself a large share of patronage. Mansfield and Wooster sent many pupils to the school. In 1860 the school was removed to Lexington. A substantial brick building was erected by a stock company and devoted to school purposes. Some trouble arose in 1866 between the seminary and the public. The trustees offered the house for sale at fifty per cent of its normal value. Rev. Gailey purchased the house and furnished it, making some improvements. He sold the house the following year to the United Brethren Church. They paid off all claims against the property and furnished it comfortably. They occupied the upper room for a house of worship and gave the lower room to Miss Gailey for a school room. The school was a private enterprise, in no sense denominational. The enrollment in the fall of 1865 was eighty ; in 1866, one hundred and nine; in 1867, one hundred and twenty-six. The school declined in members for several years, so that only ninety-four were enrolled in 1878. Rev. Gailey after spending twenty-four years in the interests of the school, died in 1875, and was succeeded by his daughter, Miss Jane Gailey, who continued the school until the close of the spring term of 1880, when she was married to Rev. Mr. Dysart. This event closed the Lexington Seminary.

Lexington had several school teachers in the olden time who afterward became noted men in both state and nation. One of these was the late Hon. Columbus Delano, and Judge Kennon was another.

It is the custom of writers of history to dilate upon how railroads have affected certain towns, favorably or unfavorably, as it is often necessary to show cause for the prosperity or decadence of the same. But Lexington has been but little, if any, affected, pro or con, by the railroad that skirts its northern border. The town was not platted with the expectation that it would ever make a great citv. It was founded to be a country town for the convenience of country people, and as such it is a successful village, whose inhabitants have always been reputable among their fellow men. Even during the Civil War times at mass gatherings, where social probity was at times somewhat lax, the statement that a certain group of ladies were from Lexington was to them both passport and shield. Such women give tone and character to any community.

Amariah Watson and Elisha Robins settled at Lexington in 1812. Then came William Gass, Calvin-Culver and Francis Mitchell. 'Uncle' Noah Cook came in 1814. Mr. Cook was a Presbyterian and conducted the first prayer meeting in the township. An account of this service has been given before, but as a good story, especially one of far-reaching benificent results, will bear a brief repetition here. The meeting had been announced for the school house of that neighborhood, and at the appointed hour "Uncle" Cook was the only person preser*. He hesitated only for a few moments, then opened a service of worship and sang and prayed and read a lesson from the scriptures and then preached a sermon. It is not on record whether he stated, "T take my text," etc., as some preachers do now, thinking, it seems, that the matter is not entirely clear that the extract of the scriptures read is intended for that purpose, but such doubts did not trouble Mr. Cook, for he had no congregation. But he had an unseen hearer for a part of the service. A passer-by, hearing the singing, did some eaves-dropping - pardonable in this case - and left at the close of the service, without making his presence known. But he told of the appointment and induced a number of his friends to attend, which resulted in a fair sized audience for the next meeting, and from that humble beginning the religious interest of the settlement advanced, even until this day.

The Lexington of today is a cosy village with a surrounding country of beautiful landscape views and of productive farms. The town has stores and shops to meet the wants of trade, and there are school buildings wherein the children can be instructed, and churches at whose altars the people may worship.

Village Of Butler

Butler is a thriving village in Worthington township, nineteen miles south of Mansfield, on the B. & O. railroad. The town was originally called "Independence," but was changed to "Butler" some years ago, to agree with the name of the postoffice named after General William O. Butler, of Kentucky, who was a hero of the Mexican war, and the candidate for vicepresident on the ticket with General Lewis Cass in 1848. The postoffice was established before the town was laid out and was kept at the residence of "Squire T. B. Andrews, the first postmaster.

Independence was laid out on the northwest quarter of section 20, January 12, 1848, by Daniel Spohn. The place was familiarly called Spohntown for a number of years by the people of that vicinity.

The extension of the Mansfield & Sandusky City railroad to Newark caused Independence to be laid out on its line, and as the business men of Bellville were jealous of having a rival town spring up within the limits of their trade, T. B. Andrews suggested that the new town be called '"Independence," in defiance of the attitude of Bellville. The town was therefore christened according to 'Squire Andrews' suggestion, and was called Independence over forty years ere it was changed to Butler.

The first business place in the town was started by William Lamley, who kept groceries and "wet goods," the latter being very much in demand during the construction of the railroad. The grocery was situate near where William Shively now lives. Lamley afterward put up a larger structure farther up the railroad, where he conducted a grocery and hotel for a number of years. The first public house was erected by Joseph Geary; the building has since been enlarged and is now kept by Mr. Wise.

In 1850 General G. A. Jones and others, of Mt. Vernon, erected a warehouse, bought grain and conducted a general merchandise for several years, making Independence a grain market. The name of the firm was Robinson, Jones & Co.

Pearce & Severns succeeded Robinson & Jones and conducted the business for a number of years. The warehouse was destroyed by fire some years

Daniel Garber was the first shoemaker in the town; John Diltz the first carpenter; John Daugherty the first wagon maker, and Daniel Loose the first cabinet maker. Garber and Loose married daughters of Richard Oldfield, who was an early settler and prominent resident of Jefferson township.

David Taylor and John Ramsey were county commissioners, and the latter was a justice of the peace. They were not residents of the village, but lived upon farms near by and were identified with the place. The Craig and Phipps families were also prorninent people in that community.

D. J. Rummel built the Rummel grist mill on the Clearfork below the town in about 1850 and it is still in operation, and is one of the most successful country mills in the county. The same can be said of the Kanaga mills (now Plank's), a mile above the town.

Among the recent acquisitions is a bank, in its own substantial brick building, on a corner of two of the principal streets. And the people also "point with pride' to the new depot recently erected.

Worthington township was named for Thomas Worthington. who was governor of Ohio in 1814-16. The surface is broken and hilly. especially along the Clearfork, where in many places the scenery is picturesque and beautiful. Two tributaries enter the.Clearfork near Butler - Andrews' run from the southwest and Gold run from the southeast.

Butler is situate at the great bend of the B. & O. road, where a number of railroad accidents have occurred, the most notable of which was the terrible collision in September, 1872. during the first state fair at Mansfield.

Although James McCluer was the first settler where Bellville now stands and the locality was called the McCluer settlement. the town of Bellville was founded by Robert Bell, for whom it was named.

The town site was well chosen, situate in the fertile Clearfork valley, lying between the hills of the "divide" upon the north and the less abrupt elevations to the south. Gushing from the hillsides are springs of living waters and down the valley a clear stream courses in graceful curves in its onward flow to the sea.

Bellville is one of the most beautiful of the smaller towns of Ohio. It is a village of lovely homes and while there are perhaps no very wealthy resi- dents, there are no paupers. The homes are mostly owned by those who occupy them, a condition that speaks well for the thrift of the people. The principal street is paved with brick, and a well shaded square makes a beautiful center-piece for the town.

The original plat of Bellville contained forty-eight lots and embraced the land between Main and Huron streets, and bounded on the north by Ogle and on the south by Durbin streets. The first lot sold was to Enoch Ogle - lot No. 1 - at the corner of Huron and Ogle streets. Ogle built a house and opened a tavern - the first in the township. Ogle was a prominent man there in his day, appreciated a good story and had a host of friends. The blockhouse and the McCluer cabin antedated Ogle's tavern, but the latter was the first building erected in the town proper after it was platted.

A postoffice was established January 22, 1824, with Isaac Hoy as postmaster. Prior to 1824 the residents of Bellville received their mail at Mansfield, and the postage on a letter was twenty-five cents.

About the time the postoffice was established John Moody opened a store of general merchandise, and by 1835 the town contained three stores.

John Moody was a preacher of the Christian denomination faith. He owned a grist mill at Bellville, with a large farm adjoining. He took no pay for his preaching, and when the country was threatened with a famine in the "thirties," Moody's garners were well filled with grain. When crops failed and people went to Moody's mill to buy breadstuff, the question was asked each, "Have you money to pay for it?" If the answer was in the affirmative. they were told to go elsewhere to buy. Those who had no funds went away with well-filled sacks and were told to return again when they needed more. The product of thousands of bushels of grain was thus given away, but giving to the poor and hungry did not impoverish Moody for the blight of drought did not touch his fields, but each succeeding harvest the crops yielded grain more abundantly, and Moody was blessed in the giving, as the people were in receiving his assistance. John Moody needs no monument in marble, for the memory of his good deeds lives in the hearts of the people of Bellville from generation to generation.

Benjamin F. Hines was a prominent citizen of Bellville for many vears. His wife's maiden name was \rmstrong, and her family was also old settlers. Mr. Hines was a successful business man and accumulated considerable property. Their only surviving child is Clark B. Hines, who is a prominent young attorney with law offices both in Bellville and in Mansfield.

Benjamin Jackson settled in Bellville in an early day and engaged in the mercantile business. Later, he became an associate judge of the common pleas court.

Dr. A. I. Beach was a leading physician at Bellville for many years. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, October 16, 1804, and located in

Bellville in 1826. He married a daughter of Judge Jackson. Dr. Beach was a brother of Moses Y. Beach, the founder of the New York Sun newspaper.

Other prominent physicians at Bellville were Dr. S. W. Ells, Dr. James C. Lee, Dr. J. M. Smith, Dr. B. Ridenour, Dr. N. D. Whitcomb and Dr. Thomas Austin. Dr. Lee was a California "forty-niner," and upon his return found gold at Bellville in 1853. Dr. Smith was the father of Mrs. B. F. Lantz, of Vennum avenue, Mansfield.

The Methodists were the pioneers in the religious field, and the Disciples came a few years later. The first house for worship was built by the Methodists in 1835. Jonathan Oldfield and Robert Bell were prominent Methodists. About the same time John Moody built a house of worship for those who believed in the views proclaimed by Alexander Campbell. Captain Joseph Johnson was a faithful member and officer of this church for many years.

In 1847 the Universalists organized a society at Bellville and built a church. Among their leading members were Samuel Cutting and Richard Oldfield. In 1838 the Presbyterians organized and later built a church. Among their prominent members were Enoch French, John Lafferty, Philip Traxler and Mathew Geary. About the same year a Lutheran congregation was organized two miles west of Bellville called Salem. Some years ago the village members of the Salem congregation organized at Bellville and built a brick church building of modern architecture. The late Rev. Mr. Ritz, the father of C. S. Ritz, of West Fourth street, Mansfield, organized the Salem society. The Baptist and Cumberland Presbyterians have had organized congregations there, but they are now gone. The church buildings are very creditable to the place, that of the Universalists' being of stone.

The Rev. William Dowling was the pastor of the Disciple - now better known as Christian - Church in the "forties." He was beloved by the community.

In the 30s a Frenchman named Light came to Bellville and engaged in the mercantile trade on the northwest corner of Main and Ogle streets. where he conducted business for a number of years. He bought the "old vellow house" on the west side of the square, remodeled it as it stands today. After having been there several years, he dropped the name '"'Light" and resumed his French name of '"LeBlond," the meaning of the words being somewhat similar. One of his sons - F. C. LeBlond - settled in Celina, Mercer county. and represented that district in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth congresses - 1863-67. James L. High, a son of the village blacksmith, became a leading Jawyer in Chicago, and his legal writings gave him high rank in his profession. John P. Altgeld, deceased, worked his way from the fields northeast of the village to prominence as a lawyer in the city of Chicago, and later to the high position of governor of the great state of Illinois.

The first newspaper in Bellville was established in 1849, by A. Lauback and was called the Rainbow and Repository. Its publication was discontinued within the year. After a long interval, the Dollar Weekly came in 1872 and was continued for a number of years. It was published by James C. Potts, our present county surveyor. In 1875 the Richland Star was started by the Garber brothers. After some vears another paper, called the

Independent, was started. In time the Star and Independent got out of the way for the Bellville Messenger, a six-column quarto, with James A. Price as editor and proprietor. The Messenger was established December 8, 1892.

In the Civil War Bellville and Jefferson township furnished more than their full quota of men and sent officers and privates to every battle field in the Union. They each performed a part in that great drama in the history of the republic. They assisted in settling for all time the supremacy and perpetuity of the Union. And after the war was over, realizing that mercy is the brightest flower in the victor's wreath, they bade the vanquished return to their homes, lay aside their swords and muskets for the tools and implements of workshop and farm, and mingle with the songs of the birds their joyous lays of contentment, industry and peace. Thus spreading over the bloody past the mantle of charity and brotherly love, and soon the soldiers were merged with and into the ranks of citizens of peace. The soldiers of the Civil War are on their last march, and the majority of them have answered the long roll-call. In the Bellville cemetery lie the remains of Captain Miller Moody, Captain D. W. Wilson and a hundred other soldiers who served their country in the great war of the rebellion.

Captain Miller Moody, a son of the Rev. John Moody, the philanthropist, was the captain of Company I, Sixteenth O. V. I., a company of "first-call troops" raised at Bellville at the outbreak of the Civil War. At the close of that term of service he raised a company at Bellville for the Fifty-ninth New York infantry and became its captain. He was in the battle of Gettysburg, where he received wounds from which he died after submitting to five amputations. His remains were brought home and interred in the Bellville cemetery. Captain Moody was a graduate of Kenyon College, and had been a member of the Ohio legislature in 1849-50. Captain Moody wore faultless broadcloth and was of dignified bearing and courteous manners, but the poor and humble ever looked upon him as a friend. He gave his life to his country, and who could do more?

Captain A. W. Loback was the first lieutenant of Captain Moody's company of "first-call" troops. In 1862 Comrade Loback raised a company at Bellville for the three years' service, and went into the One Hundred and Second O. V. I., and served until the close of the war. Captain Loback took good care of his troops, and a braver soldier never "donned the blue."

Captain D. W. Wilson was one of the first to volunteer when troops were called for at the beginning of the Civil War, and at the close of his term of service reenlisted for three years, and was in the service four years and three months - from the beginning of the war to its close - and returned as the captain of his company, with the good will and confidence of his men. ~

Lieutenant James Riddle was an officer in the Sixteenth O. V. I. in the three months' service of 1861, and later entered the One Hundred and Second and lost his life in the service. Lieutenant S. B. Donel was a member of Captain Miller Moody's company in the Sixteenth O. V. I., and was the first man wounded in the regiment. In 1862 he entered Captain A. W. Loback's company of the One Hundred and Second as a lieutenant, and served until

The first lawyer in Bellville was Professor Wilcox, who had been a teacher in the high school, or the academy, as it was then called. John Quincy Goss was a Bellville lawyer in the '50s. He possessed literary attainments; was a contributor to the press and lecturer of some note. He removed to Nebraska in 1859. George C. Howard read law with Judge Bartley, but, being engaged in business pursuits, only practiced in lower courts. Other lawyers have been located at Bellville for a time, but did not make it their permanent home. John Morrow was a Bellville merchant for nearly a half-century. He has been dead for a number of years.

Agitation of the temperance question was waged at Bellville for years and there were various and varied exhibitions of the zeal and earnestness of the prohibitionists. Liquors were spilled or bought as occasions seemed to require to close the saloons.

Bellville has a beautiful village green - a lawn-like square in the center of the town, studded with graceful trees - through which giants were seen to stalk at night in the autumn of 1861. People returning from evening "prayer meeting" walked with quickened steps as they passed the square, casting furtive glances to the right as they hastened homeward. The "giants" in this case were some soldier-bovs returned from the first three months' service, and had a little fun with the timorous by one sitting upon another's shoulders, with an army blanket draped around them as a shawl, shawls being worn instead of overcoats in those days. This composite figure made a giant about nine feet high, and in the semi-darkness of the night, as a citizen now deceased expressed it, ''made an awful sight."

Bellville, not to be behind any of her sister towns, even in the matter of ghosts, has its haunted house, or had forty years ago. Then there is the ghost that is said to appear occasionally at the bend in the State road, just north of town, at Deadman's run, the appearance of which chills men's blood and makes horses careen. This is a bar-room tale that is spun sometimes for the entertainment of travelers who may have to drive to Mansfield after the shadows of a starless night have enveloped Gold Valley.

The Wild Irishman episode was not of the spook variety, but was viewed as a banshee call, foreboding direful events. At night a voice could be heard from the Durbin hill, warning people to "repent, for the day of judgment is at hand." Some one facetiously called this hill-preacher the "Wild Irishman." After the exhortation had come in stentorian tones from the hill-top nightly for a week or more, a searching brigade was organized. The party wended its way slowly up the steep, smooth slope of Durbin's hill, but when the summit was reached from which the voice had seemingly come, no one was to be seen, but from the Moody hill, north of the town, came the same words of warning, "Repent, ye, for the day of judgment is at hand!" The party which had so expectantly marched up the hill then marched down again, the men troubled in spirit lest the warning and prophecy might be too soon fulfilled.

bin's and the other Moody's hill, resolving to capture the "Irishman," and put an end to hill-talk. As the squads advanced, prophetical sentences and words of warning were wafted antiphonally from one hill-top to the other in sepulchral tones, but, as before, when the places were reached, no one could be found, but a change of venue had sent the "Irishman" to Snake hill, and the words came solemnly upon the midnight air, 'As one risen from the dead, I beseech you to repent!" That was the last hunt and the last cry of the banshee. While the majority of the people considered the preaching the work of some practical jokers, a few viewed the occurrences in a more superstitious light, and the religious sects held protracted meetings and a great revival followed.

In the social glow of a campfire in West Virginia, in the spring of 1861, a comrade stated to the writer that he was one of the "Wild Irishmen," and what fun they had out of the affair. These "prophets" were named Joshua and Samuel.

Honey creek valley is a fertile and prosperous farming locality and lies south of Bellville, in Jefferson township. Honey creek makes a confluence with the Clearfork of the Mohican, a short distance above the site of the old Greenwood mills, in the shadow of the Spruce hills. Honey creek and its branches have a joint length of over ten miles and drain a considerable area of country - a land that flows with "milk and honey." The several branches of Honey creek are fed by the springs which flow from the unpretentious hills that skirt the wide, undulating valleys. The Honey creek farms are not only fertile and productive, but their well-kept appearances show the prosperity and thriftiness of the owners.

The volume of water in Honey creek is not as large as formerly, which is true of all the streams in the county. But in former times the stream furnished water power for both grist and saw mills. A Mr. Cornell built a grist mill in 1821, on section 15, a half-mile below where the creek crosses the Old State road. It served its time and purpose, but has long been numbered witb the "things that were but are not.'' A pottery was operated for several years in the locality of the mill. The late Johnson Howard, father of the Hon. James E. Howard, of Bellville, and of Dr. Howard, of Mansfield, built a sawmill on this creek, between the two state roads, which he operated for a number of years. Samuel Heron had a mill on the east side of the New State road, and the Marshall mill, a mile up the central branch, sawed logs for many years, and was later purchased by Samuel Heron.

A mile south of Bellville the State road forks. The left-hand or old road goes via Ankenytown and Harter's tavern to Mt. Vernon, and the right-hand or new road goes through Palmyra and Fredericktown to Mt. Vernon. The State road does not leave Bellville for the south upon its original location, which was-from Huron street, near to Switzer's stables, but now goes over . Durbin's hill from South Main street.

In the fork of the State road at the northern border of Honey creek valley, the old "Red House" tavern - one of the most popular and best known hotels between Mt. Vernon and the lake, in the stage days, was situated. Its location was favorable to command the trade of both branches of the road. A line of stages ran north and south over the State road through Bellville from 1826 to

The "Red House" was built in 1831, by John Young for Jacob Hollabaugh, who conducted it as a public house for several vears, then sold to a man named Kling. William Geteney, Peter Friedline and others occupied the position of landlord there later. The place was a great resort for dancing parties, not only from Bellville but from Mt. Vernon and Mansfield also.

About 1846 James Morrow built a new hotel - ''Morrow's Inn'' - across the road from the "Red House," and ran the same successfully until the railroad relegated the stage coach to the by-gones. There was a race-track on the old State road between the '"Red House" and schoolhouse, where the speed of horses was tried for many years.

Passing Honey creek schoolhouse, south of Bellville, one day last summer at the noon hour, groups of children were seen playing upon the lawn, recalling the days of fifty years ago, when the man who paused to observe them was a boy and a pupil there. Lucy Oldfield, the teacher then, is now resting in the paradise of the redeemed, waiting for the final summons to the home not made with hands. While the boy to whom she spoke helpful words still plods on, finding the road rough and steep at times.

Shelby is the second town in size in Richland county. and was first settled in 1818. Shelby is so well known that its location and boundaries need not be given. Trolley line cars ply forth and back, like a weaver's shuttle, between Mansfield and Shelby every hour, and there is also a trolley line from Shelby to Norwalk and Lake Erie. The intervening land between Mansfield and Shelby may be so built up within the coming years that it will be difficult to know where one city ends and where the other begins. The first settlers in Shelby were Stephen Marvin, Henry Whitney and Eli Wilson, who came from the vicinity of Norwalk, Conn. Mr. Wilson erected a cabin on what is now South Gamble street, where W. R. Brooks now resides. This is the highest point in Shelby and has a gentle slope towards the Blackfork that. immediately south, sweeps around to the east before turning to the north in its course through Shelby. Mr. Marvin built his cabin on the same day, on what is now North Gamble street. Between these Mr. Whitney put up a cabin, near what is now the northwest corner of Gamble and Mill streets.

The Gamble brothers - Hugh and John - came in 1823, and the father - James Gamble - came two vears later. John Gamble erected a grist mill on the southeast corner of Main and Gamble streets, and the settlement was called "Gamble Mills," which name it retained after it had grown into a village. A postoffice called ""Gamble's Mills" was opened in 1828, with John Gamble as postmaster. It is related that after serving as postmaster for many years, receiving but a small remuneration for his services, an attempt was made to have Mr. Gamble removed, the salary having been increased with the growth of the village, making the office, or the salary at least, a thing to be desired. To counteract the movement a mass meeting was called, which was successful both as to numbers and results. The Hon. Henry Leyman was the principal speaker. Mr. Leyman was quite an orator, as was his son, N. N. Leyman, in later years. Mr. Leyman described the state and condition of the country at the time the postoffice was established, that the mail was then carried through the wilderness by post-boys on horseback, and that the postmaster served more to accommodate his neighbors than for the small salary he received. He gave a vivid portrayal of pioneer life and stated that John Gamble as postmaster had kindly aided the early settlers in getting letters from their old homes and friends in the East; that he frequently went out into the wilderness to meet the post-boy and would lead his horse along intricate bridle-paths into the little village. And after years of such unrequited service the town had so grown and the country had been so improved that the government allowed the postmaster a larger salary, and that spoilsmen were now attempting to crowd the faithful old servant out of office, when he should be permitted to remain and receive a recompense, at least in part, for past services. The opinion of the meeting was so unanimous and its decision so emphatically expressed that it reached the ear of power at Washington, and Mr. Gamble was retained. In narrating this incident, a man. who as a boy six years old attended the meeting, says he was so much impressed with Mr. Leyman's eloquence and looked upon his figures of speech as actual occurrences, and in his innoceney supposed that John Gamble really had to lead the post-boys' horses along bridle-paths. How the realities of life encountered in later years dispel the fancies and destroy the pictures created and drawn by the imagination in the May-morn of a man's youth!

The Hon. Henry Leymiuan represented Richland county in the Ohio legislature in 1834-35. He was in the mercantile business in Shelby for a number of years, then removed back to Mansfield, where he died in 1879. His son - N. N. Leyman - once a Shelby boy, was a prominent Mansfield lawyer in the '70s and early '80s. He died in New York years ago. He was faultless both in dress and in speech. No grammatical inaccuracies ever escaped his lips.

The town. outgrowing the name of Gamble's Mills, was rechristened "Shelby," in honor of Governor Shelby, of Kentucky, a hero of the Revolution, as well as of the war of 1812. General Shelby was successful in both the military and the civil service of his country, and Shelby town has prospered even bevond the expectations of the promoters of her present industries.

Mrs. G. M. Skiles contributed an article to the Ladies' Edition of the Shelby News. of April 10. 1896, on the "History of Shelby," and to her acknowledgment is hereby made for many of the facts contained in this chapter. Mrs. Skiles wrote: 'The writer will not attempt to give in detail the history and progress of this village from the pioneer days to the present time. Suffice it to say, however, that Shelby has grown so large that today it is in fact a city. It has all the surroundings, advantages, privileges, fascinations and 'airs' of a city. Let us look at Shelby reflection in a mirror as she is today. A true picture is presented to our view and we see eight churches, all flourishing and their pulpits filled with able ministers, and on beautiful Sabbaths the pews well filled - rainy ones not so many attend. We have four school buildings. We are certainly proud of our high school building. It is located on the right bank of the magnificent winding Blackfork, that flows with its never-ceasing waters through the center of our village, dividing the town as it were into east and west. It is a very fine building with a large and beautiful lawn dotted with shade trees. We are very proud of our schools."

Concerning the schools, another writer says that within three years after the first settlement was made, the pioneers of the town, unwilling that their children should be deprived of the benefits of an education, built a log schoolhouse, made from hewed slabs, and in place of windows they used oiled paper. It was here that eighty years ago "Aunt" Debbie Moyer taught the first school within the limits of Shelby. Her salary was nine shillings per month, with the understanding that she was to board herself. This building was burned within a year, and in 1822 another log building was built, but the log buildings in time were supplanted by more modern structures, and in 1874 the present central building was erected. Not only have the schools outgrown their primitive buildings, but they have steadily moved forward from the day when the teacher was required to teach only orthography, reading, writing and arithmetic as far as the "single rule of three," till today there are eight grades and a four years' high school course.

The pioneers encountered much and accomplished much. They worked hard and left to their descendants, as a rule, unsullied names. And while there was a hospitality then that present conditions would not make desirable, no one should contrast the present unfavorably with the past. A certain so-called equality may have been recognized then that would not now be congenial. There is a social and mental scale, which, like Banquo's ghost, will not down and can not be ignored. Let the carpist try to qualify himself to fill a higher niche, rather than to drag others down to his own level. Aim higher. 'Hitch your wagon to a star."

Friendships may exist between individuals and families; or, taking a more comprehensive scope, may bind a whole neighborhood together in common interests, as was the case with the pioneers.

The early settlers, as a class, were poor, comparatively. But poverty is not only the mother of invention, but the promoter of industry and enterprise. Poverty does some of the greatest and most beautiful things that are done in the world. It cultivates the fields and operates the shops and factories, and carries the commerce of nations upon the high seas. It sees the day break and catches the sun's first smile. It inspires the orator and the essayist and gives pathos to the poet's song. But while poverty places people upon a certain level, perfect equality is impossible. There never has existed a nation without gradations in society ; and it is evident that without grades the business of life could not be carried on. There could be neither leader nor followers, commander nor soldiers, director nor operator. The idea that there should be no gradations in positions in life is about as absurd as to expect that all hills should be of the same heights. Providence created an infinite variety in external nature and a variety as diversified seems to exist naturally among men. .

A "pioneer" has been defined as a person who resided in Richland county prior to 1820. Within this octogenary definition, but few pioneers remain.

The majority of the people who were living eighty-three years ago have passed into the land of the leal in their journey to that kingdom where Enoch and Elijah are pioneers.

In the continuation of the history of Shelby the schools deserve especial mention. When it is recalled that it has been but a short time, reckoned by history, since the public school system was inaugurated in Ohio, the rapid advances that have been made in both town and country schools, in the modes of teaching and in the uniformity of text books, is the more marked. Nowhere is this advancement more noticeable than is illustrated by the schools of both Mansfield and Shelby. The first schoolhouse built in Shelby was in 1821, in that part of the village then called "Texas." It was a log building, as were all the buildings of that day. The seats were rough benches made of hewn slabs, and slabs placed along the walls were used as desks. In such a rude cabin Debbie Moyer taught the first school in Shelby, eighty-two years ago. -\nd as a retrospective look is taken at the schools of that period the' fact is recalled that it was in such schools that the most prominent men of the country received their preliminary education, which in time enabled them to successfully take part in the great events of history. Fifty-four years after the school was taught in that log cabin by Debbie Moyer, a union school was opened September 1, 1875. in a large. handsome and convenient brick building that had been erected at a cost of over $26,000, and statistics for that vear showed that the running expenses of the several schools aggregated nearly $6.000. The first superintendent of the union schools was W. H. Pritchard, now deceased. Mr. Pritchard was born and reared in the vicinity of Bunker Hill. in Worthington township, this county. He was named for the Rev. William Hughes. a Presbyterian minister. who was much beloved by the people in southern Richland and Ashland counties, among whom he labored for many years. After some vears spent in teaching, Mr. Pritchard read law and became a member of the Mansfield bar - the law partner of his brotherin-law, Judge N. M. Wolfe. Later Mr. Pritchard removed to the far Northwest. where he became a judge of the court. serving upon the bench there at the same time Judge Wolfe did here.

But great as the Shelby school building was considered in 1875, it has since been enlarged to more than double its original size, and its campus is one of the most beautiful in the state.

The first survey for Shelby was made by John Stewart, June 26, 1834, and the plat contained twenty-three lots. The village was incorporated in 1854. William Hills was the first mayor. He was succeeded by Harrison Mickey, who was afterward a state senator.

Gamble's grist mill was situated at the southeast corner of Main and Gamble streets, the present site of Peter's drug store. It has been claimed that Gamble's was not the first grist mill in that locality - that there was a water power mill on the Blackfork. just south of Main street. But Hiram R. Smith, of Mansfield, now in the ninety-first vear of his age, states that such was not the case, and he transacted business at Gamble's frequently. The Gamble mill was operated by horse power, and it would not seem likely that if a water power plant was in operation on the Blackfork, that a horse power concern would be built upon the next corner. The surveyor's notes of a county road refer to McCluer's mill site further up the Blackfork, but it was a "site," not a "mill." The first water power grist mill on the Blackfork was built by John A. Duncan in 1839, where Whitney avenue crosses the stream. :

John Gamble, the founder of Gamble's Mills, was the promoter of the business interests of Shelby in many ways, and was the first postmaster of the place. His brother, Hugh Gamble, was distinguished in legislative and judicial affairs. He was a justice of the peace for a number of years and was an associate judge of the court of common pleas, and served two terms in the legislature.

The first newspaper in Shelby was called the Pioneer and was founded in 1858 by C. R. Brown. The next venture in that line was made by the late C. M. Kenton, who had served an apprenticeship in the Banner office at Mt. Vernon. Kenton afterwards succeeded well in the newspaper field, as editor and publisher of the Journal, at Marysville, Union county. Shelby, like other towns, has its newspaper grave-yard, which it is not the purpose of this sketch to disturb. Much as he is attached to his craft, the failure of his paper seldom breaks a printer's heart. He simply puts his rule in his pocket, goes to another town and makes another venture.

In the religious field a number of denominations have congregations and houses for worship in Shelby. The Methodists were the first to organize, and among their ministers were Harry O. Sheldon and Russell Bigelow. The Presbyterians first organized at Tavlor's Corners, in Jackson township, in 1822, but later changed their place for meetings to Shelby. Their new church building is of variegated sandstone uniquely constructed. The Christian church was organized in 1858, and the congregation has recently built a new house of worship. The pioneer preacher of this congregation was the late Elder Benjamin Lockhart. who was then a resident of Bellville. The United Brethren people organized in 1859. Thev erected a new church building a few vears ago. In fact, all the Shelby churches are new, or as good as new. The Lutherans organized in 1858. with forty-two members, and the Rey. A. R. Brown as pastor.

The beginning of the history of the Catholic church in Shelby dates back to Indian times. In 1745 Father Armand de la Ruhardie. pastor of the Tionontates or Wyandots at Sandusky, frequently visited the Blackfork, and traveling along its shores preached to the Indians. He was succeeded by Joseph Peter de Bonnecamp. The Reformed church was organized in 1852, with the Rev. J. B. Thompson as pastor. The names of many of Shelby's old-time residents are upon the membership list of this congregation. St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal church was organized as a mission in 1892. While the St. Mark building is the smallest church edifice in the town, it is both handsome and convenient.

The late John Meredith - many years a resident of Shelby - was probate judge of Richland county in 1858-64. Judge Meredith purchased the Mansfield Spectator newspaper in 1836, and changed the name to the Ohio Shield, and later to that of the Shield and Banner. He retired from the business in 1841.

The late Hon. S. S. Bloom, lawyer, statesman and author, was identified with the Shelby press for many years. While the names of a few of the more prominent men who were identified with the history of Shelby can be cited, many who contributed to its growth, prosperity and good name can not be given in this limited chapter. As has been said of war: Every battle has its unnamed heroes. The common soldier enters the stormed fortress and, falling in the breach which his valor has made, sleeps in a nameless grave. The subaltern whose surname is scarcely heard beyond the roll-call on parade, bears the colors of his company where the fight is hottest. And the corporal, who heads his file in the final charge, is forgotten in the earthquake shout of victory which he has helped to win. The victory may be due as much or more to the patriot courage of him who is content to do his duty in the rank and file than to the dashing colonel who heads the regiment, or even to the general who plans the campaign, and yet unobserved, unknown and unrewarded the former passes into oblivion, while the leader's name is on every tongue and goes down in history. So it also is in local history; only a few of the many who deserve mention can be named. Shelby, like the other towns of Richland county, had her noble men who contributed each his share in making the county what it is today.

A notable personage whose business life covered fifty years of Shelby's history was the late Colonel John Dempsey. He was actively engaged in the wholesale and retail trade for a quarter of a century, then sold his business and turned his attention to his farms in that vicinity. He was the proprietor of the Mohican stock farms, and during the latter years of his life occupied the fine suburban residence situated in the center of beautiful grounds.

J. G. Hill was a resident of Shelby from the close of the Civil War until a few vears since. when he sold his newspaper plant and retired to a farm, and. for a time at least. has put "thirty" on the hook. Mansfield and Shelby are sister cities. bound together by rails of steel, with amiable relations and reciprocal interests.

The old barn which stands back of the Sutter-Higgins block has a history. Under its roof one of the greatest men in American history was first nominated for congress. It was then the city hall. It has since been used as a livery stable. Few people who notice the dilapidated structure know that it marks the starting point of Sherman's career.

The Hon. John Sherman was nominated the first time for congress in the summer of 1854, in what was then called Wilson's hall, in Shelby, Ohio. The building was of frame, two stories high, with its side to the street; various kinds of shops occupied the lower story, and the entire upper part was thrown into a hall, with a platform at one end. In this hall he was nominated as against Thomas Ford and Jacob Brinkerhoff, of Richland county, Ohio, and Hon. James M. Root, of Sandusky City, who had already occupied a seat in congress. His competitor was Hon. Mr. Lindsey, from Erie county, then a member of congress who was a wealthy and very respectable farmer, but whose early education had been neglected. This he manifested by his writing to one of his constituents that he had a new kind of "cede korne' that he wished to send to him to try. The letter was published and created merriment as campaign humor, but the democrats came back on the whigs by saying that Lindsey would show them how to plant corn, if he couldn't spell it. This was the year of the know nothing party's first success. It was a secret oath-bound party. Nobody seemed to know anything about how the election was going. The vest pocket votes prevailed; Lindsey was defeated by over two thousand three hundred majority by John Sherman. The latter even carried Richland county for the first time by three hundred majority. He really did not expect it, though he hoped so. "Old Sam Kirkwood," of Mansfield, who was then a democrat, told Sherman he guessed the democrats had beaten him badly, but in a few days the vote showed up differently. Every county in the old Thirteenth district had gone for Sherman and he had gained about three thousand from the previous election.

The Hon. S. S. Bloom, of this city, although a democrat was a personal friend of Mr. Sherman. He relates an incident which transpired when he was a member of legislature. Mr. Bloon saw Mr. Sherman standing at the bar of the house almost unnoticed. He rose to a question of privilege and when recognized by the speaker said: "I see standing at the bar of the house one of the most distinguished citizens of the United States, of Ohio and of my own county, the Hon. John Sherman, secretary of the treasury. I move the house take a recess of fifteen minutes to pay its respects to the honorable gentleman." Mr. Bloom was thanked very courteously for the marked attention shown the senator.

Another interesting story is told of the senator regarding his introduction to Joseph Neal who was then a resident of Shelby. Mr. Bloom and Mr. Neal were engaged in conversation relating to business when Senator Sherman came walking along West Main street in front of the building now oceupied by Anderson's clothing store. Mr. Bloom spoke to the senator. and Neal. who had never seen Sherman, was anxious to meet him. Mr. Bloom volunteered to introduce him and together they walked across Main street and stopped Mr. Sherman. The senator was told that Mr. Neal had always admired him and, having heard so much about him, was anxious to meet him and shake his hand. The senator was pleased and, as he extended his hand. he said, "Well, Mr. Neal, Iam glad to meet vou. Judging from all vou have heard of me, | suppose vou thought I had about seven heads and ten horns. but vou see J am very much the same as other men."

Robert Kellogg, of Norwalk, as near as can be learned. was chairman of the convention which nominated Mr. Sherman in this city. After being nominated Sherman of course was called upon for a speech. His first declaration was "T am an American citizen.' Prominent politicians who took part in the ' convention were: Messrs. Downing H. Young, George W. Moore. J. Smiley. Eli Wilson, John Kerr, Robert Kerr. S. M. Rockwell, Steven Marvin. Samuel Wiggins, Charles Gamble, Hiram and Edgar Wilson and Amos Levman.

Shelby Of Today

Louis Kossuth, in his tour of Ohio in 1851, passed through Shelby on the Cleveland & Columbus railroad. The train made a short stop at the junction and Kossuth gave a talk to the people who had assembled there to see him. The country was not then cleared and improved as it is now, and instead of the cultivated fields and fine homes that now line the road on either side, there were then stretches of woods, and log-cabins were seen on many farms. There was a strip of timber between the Junction and the village, almost hiding the town from the railroad station. William T. Coggeshall, of Columbus, accompanied the party as prompter, but Kossuth understood the name of the place as "Shallbe" instead of Shelby. Looking around and seeing no town, he exclaimed, "'Shallbe!'' Here are railroads and forests and lands, but in the future a town will spring up, and in time it 'shall be' a city." Prophetic words.

What changes fifty years have brought! But back of all these lies the pioneer history of the county, in which all should feel a grateful pride, and as we recount the story of the past let us determine to do the work and perform the duties that devolve upon us as our fathers and mothers did in their day and generation.