Licking Township

Licking Township

In the northwest corner of Crawford County, extending eight miles north and south and seven miles from east to west, is situated Licking Township, its surface being for the most part rolling prairie, with a soil well adapted to tillage. It contains fifty-six square miles of territory, the greater part of which is along the water eourse. Its timber includes the same varieties noted in the townships already described, together with some ash, locust, persimmon and sassafras, and the under-brush is mainly wild plum, grape, sumac, hazel, paw-paw, spice-bush and dogwood. Muddy Creek runs southwesterly through the northern portion of the township and is fed by Maple's Branch and Willow Creek, into which flow two small streams. As far back as 1820, there were some squatters on public land in the southern part of the township, but they did not long remain. Among these was John Miller, who came from Philadelphia, located near the southern border of the township and led a hunter's life until he left for California in 1824. Returning several years later, he entered up a tract of land, on which he raised hogs until his death in the early '60s. About 1823 William Johnson drove from Indiana with an ox-cart and lived in the township a few years, devoting his time to hunting. In 1826 John Howard brought his family in a wagon from Kentucky, and after living a while near Palestine, moved to Licking Township, where he took a prominent part in local affairs until his death in 1849. Emsley Curtis and James Cox came from North Carolina and Indiana, respectively, in 1836, and making their homes near the center of the township, followed hunting and trapping. Cox disappeared, with a cloud on his reputation, in 18483. Among other arrivals in 1836 were William Maples, who settled in the northern portion of the township; William Cooley, of North Carolina, who located where Portersville now stands, and William Goodwin, formerly of Indiana, who made his home near Hart's Grove, which was named after John Hart, who arrived from Kentucky somewhat later. He was a Virginian by birth and a successful farmer, both in Kentucky and Illinois, and his son, who finally settled on Willow Creek, was a prominent resident of the township for many years.

In 1837 the population of the Licking settlement was increased by the addition of "Rick" Arnold, Sargent Hill, James Hollowell, William Dicks and John Tate. Hill, a North Carolinian and a leading citizen, entered land in Section 25, Tate, in Section 34, and Dicks, in Section 11, where he took a conspicuous part in local affairs, dying in 1857. James Hollowell, a Virginian, and one of the most energetic and respected of the pioneer settlers, made a home for his family in Section 11, and the fine farm which he developed from a wild condition was inherited by his son Silas, equally worthy and a long time resident of the township. "Rick" Arnold, a man of superior intelligence, who first located in the central portion and afterwards moved to the southeastern part of the township, was twice elected Sheriff of Crawford County, his first term beginning in 1838. An old bachelor named Landern joined the Licking community about the same time, and raised large numbers of hogs in the woods of the northern portion of the township, making and hoarding considerable profits. In 1840 he sold the last of his swine and started for New Orleans on a flatboat, after which no tidings of him were ever heard.

Among the early settlers of the western part of Licking Township were John White, Jackson James, James Metheney. Tobias Livingston, Mortimer Parsons and Elijah Clark. John White.

who first lived near Palestine, fought in the Indian battle there, his body being pierced by an arrow. Although left in the field as dead, he recovered and made his home near Bellaire until 1849, when his death took place. Other residents of the township previous to 1840 were Henry Kerby and Thomas Boring, in Section 3; Daniel Coate, Ezekiel Rubottom and James Dixon, in Section 2; B. Clark, William B. Newlin and Jacob Mullin, in Section 25; James Boyd and R. G. Morris, in Section 1; John Bonham and James Netherby, in Section 24; Jeremiah Willison, in Section 6, and Uriah Hadley, in Section 20. Izel Beeson also had his home in the southwestern part. One of the first marriages in the township was that of John Kerby to a daughter of John Howard. Between 1840 and 1850 a number of families from Licking County, Ohio, joined the community, and thus originated the township name.

Corn was the main crop raised by the pioneer farmers, and this to a limited extent by reason of the scarcity of implements and the wet ground. The first crops of wheat were not more than two acres in extent. After a while patches of buckwheat were common, for which there was a good demand in the markets of Terre Haute, York and Palestine. Neighbors helped each other in harvesting, using the old-fashioned sickle and reaping hook. Wild honey abounded in the woods and was eagerly gathered to exchange in the markets for household provisions, and deerskins, venison and beeswax were staples in trade. Flour and meal were hauled from points in the eastern part of the county, as the first mill within its limits was not built until 1848. This was done by Henry Varner, the location being on Willow Creek. It was one-story high, 18 by 20 feet in dimensions, and had one set of burr-stones, operated by water-power. A few years afterward an ox-mill was built on the Tregul farm, which was run night and day to keep up with the needs of the farmers. Five years later Holmes & Doty built a two-story frame steam flouring-mill just west of Annapolis village, which was destroyed by fire in 1858. In the latter year a saw-mill, driven by water-power, was built in the central part of the township by J. Wardy, and the Annapolis steam flouring-mill was erected by J. Reese in 1867, at a cost of $9,000. | road. The Palestine and Bellaire road, running east and west through the central part of the township, was made in 1845. The road from Bellaire to Hutsonville was laid out by County Surveyor Fitch in 1846, and the Robinson and Martinsville road was established about the same time. This highway, which has been much changed from its original course, was made to run irregularly from north to south, and to cross the Hutsonville and Bellaire road at the vilage of Annapolis.