Miami County, Indiana - Chapter 7: Township History, 1914

Chapter 7: Township History

Formation of the First Two C'i\ii, Townsiiii'.s - Now Fourteen in THE County - Allen - Butler - Clav - Deer Creek - Erie - Harri^ SON - Jackson - Pioneer Settlers ix Each - First Births, Marriages AND Deaths - Mills and Other Hvrlv Industries - Schools - Early Religious Services - Towns and Villages - Railroads - Miscellaneous Events.

As stated in the chapter on Si'ttlriiiinl iind Organization, tlic first civil townships in ]\Iiaiiii foiinty wtTc crccteil l)y tlic board of county commissioners at the first session in June, 1834. The county was then divided into the two townships called Jefferson and I'eru, hut authorities dif^'ei- as to their boundaries and extent. Stei)hens, in his History of Miami County (p. 57), says: "The land iji the south part of the county had not yet been sold by the Indians. That noi'tii of the Wabash was oi-iicred to be divided into two townsliips. to l)c known as Peru and Jefferson.

A History of Miami County published by Brant & Fuller, in 1SS7, says on page 276: "During- the first term of coiiunissioners' court, which was held at ilianiisport, June, 1884, the county wys divided into two townships by commencing at the east line of the county and running on the line dividing Sections 22 and 15 to the west line of the county, the townsiup north of said line to be known and designated as Jefferson towniship, the one south to be known and designated by the name of Peru township."

There is something lacking in both these descri|)tions. Stephens fails to give th(> dividing line between the townships and the latter account fails to take into consideration the fact that there are five places in the county where lines could he run dividing Sections 22 and 15 - one in each tier of Congressional townships. If only that portion of the county lying north of the Wabash was included in the two townships first created, and the dividing line was between Sections 22 and 15, it was probably the line dividing those sections in Township 28, which line passes through Denver and now forms the northern boundary of Jefferson township. The line dividing Sections 22 and 15 in Township 27 is half a mile south of the present southern boundary of Jefferson township. It is equally distant from the northern and southern boundaries of tlie county. If the commissioners anticipated the acquisition of the Indian lands south of the Wabash, and included the entire county in the two townships of Peru and Jefferson, this line was probably the one designated. The destruction of the early records makes it impossible to consult the official act of the board in the erection of these first two townships.

As the population of the county increased new townships were created from time to time, until now there are fourteen in the county, viz. : Allen, Butler, Cla.v, Deer Creek, Erie, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Peru, PijDe Creek, Ricliland, Union and AVashington.

This township occupies the northwest corner of tlie count.v. It is bounded on the north by Fulton county : on the east by Perry township ; on the south by Union township, and on the west by the county of Fulton. Its area is about 14,600 acres, or nearly twenty-three square miles. The surface is generally level, though in the southern and southeastern portions there are some irregular undulations. When the first white men came to this part of the county they found a dense forest of beech, ash, walnut, ])oplar, maple, several species of oak, elm and maple trees. Much of the land was then so swampy that it was unfit for cultivation, but a thorough system of artificial drainage was completed in time, and now some of the best crops in the northern part of the county are raised in Allen township- Among the early settlers the marshes were allowed to gi-ow up in cranberries and whortleberries, but since the land has been reclaimed by drainage these crojis liave given way to others yielding greater profit. Agriculture and stock raising are the principal occupations. Wheat, oats, corn, hay and potatoes are the leading agricultural products.

John Ilorton is credited witli being the first actual wliite settler in Allen township. Late in the year 1834 he selected a claim in the northwestern part of the township, where he built a cabin and liegan the work of clearing a patch of ground for a crop the next year. With him came T. J. Holeomb and T. N. Wheatley. who located their claims .just over the line, in Fulton county. In :\Iarch, 1835. :\Ir. Horton brought his family to the new home in the wilderness and for a whole year was the only resident in the township. In 1836 George Neece settled about half a mile north of the present town of Macy and his brother William came a little later and settled about a mile farther north. The former rciiuiiiR-d only a short time, whfii In; sold his clniiii and removed to one of the western states. The same year Joiiatlian AVillianis located about two and a half miles nortli of the present town of Macy. His l)rotlier, Isaac AVilliams, purchased the Neece place and became a resident of the township.

The records of the land office show that the fii-st entry of land witliin tlie limits of Allen township was made by Chai'lcs W. Catheart in 1S:}5, wiicii lie obtained a patent for the north half of the southwest quarter of Section 4, in the northeast corner of the township, and soon afterward Alexander B. Morrison entered a tract near by.

During- the year 1836 there was a large immigration to the townshi]) and a number of land entries were recorded, .\niong those who came in this year were David and Samuel Hoover. Asa and Nathaniel Leonard, William Smith, Samuel A. Mann. Alexander Wilson, James and Newberry Wheeldon. John (i. Gibson. Elias IJeard, David and Samuel Harp, George Harkins, NVilliam Cannon, Jeremiah E. Cary, Eli Pugh, Joseph Cary and Jesse Yost. The entries made by these men and a few others covered practically every portion of the township.

In 1837 a number of inhabitants were added to the population. Jolm Wilkinson and his four sous - George, Andersou, James and Baldwin - came from Jefferson townshii), where they had settled in 1835, when the family first came from Ohio. The father and sous entered land in tlir immediate vicinity of Macy, George Wilkinson taking up the tract upon which the town was afterward laid out. John Reiker entered a tract in the eastern part of the township ; David Kinder located on Section 6, near the Fulton county line ; Alexander Jameson, Gartin Calaway, W. T. Sipiires and T. J. Ilolcoml) entered Section 7 directly south of Kinder; A. M. Campbell and Peter Ilarshman settled on Section !); Daniel Jlendenhall, Thomas Clemens and Sullivan Waite on Section 17, about a mile east of ]\Iacy. Others who came in this year were Andrew Highland, Ebenezer Fenimore, Stephen Brewer, Elias Bills, Charles Lowe, Townsend Evans and Daniel Lee. William H. .Mowbray entered land, but did not renuiin long in the towuslii[i.

By 1842 all the government land in the townshii), witli the exception of a few small tracts, was taken up, by far tbi- birgcr part of it by actual settlers, who were rapidly converting the wilderness into a land of hus- Ijandry. Among those who settled in the township between the years 1837 and 1842 were George Hakius, John MeCree, Nathaniel and George Bryant, Sanuiel Carr, Frederick Foor, William Boggs, Henry Studebaker, Riciuird and Joseph Endsley, the Baileys and the Carveys.

tomaship from the uortheru part of Union, to be named in honor of United States Senator William Allen, of Ohio. A few weeks after this order was issued, an election for township officers was held at the house of Anderson Wilkin.son, who acted as inspector of the election. At that time Frederick Huft'nmn was elected justice of the peace and James "Wilkinson was elected township trustee. At the next regular election \Villiam Fenimore was chosen trustee, but before the expiration of his term he resigned to enter the Union army at the beginning of the Civil war and Anderson Wilkinson was appointed to serve for the remainder of the term

The first white child liorn in the township was probably Delilah Hatch, daughter of William and ]\Iargaret Hatch, who was born in December, 1838. John Wilkinson died on December 24, 1838, and his death was the first in the township. The first marriage is believed to have been that of Elijah Ogle and Catharine Wilkinson, which was solemnized in 1838, short time before the death of the bride's father.

The first school in Allen township was taught by Miss Sarah Bryant in 1839, in a cabin that had been built for a residence on the farm of Matthias Carvey. The next year Miss Betty Bailey taught a terra in the same place, and in that year the first schoolhouse was erected upon the farm that had been entered by George Neece in 1836. Here the first school was taught by George Wilkinson in the fall and winter of 1840. The next year two schoolhouses were erected - one in the eastern part of the township and the other at the old village of Five Corners, near the southwest corner. In 1913 there were five schoolhouses in the township, two of which were brick and the other three were frame. The estimated value of these buildings was $7,200. During the school year of 1912-13 there were 292 pupils enrolled in the public schools and ten teachers were employed, two of whom were in the high school at ]\Iaey. The amount paid for teachers' salaries during the year was $4,390.

One of the earliest industries was the "ashery" started by William Squires in 1840. For a number of years this concern supplied much of the soda used by the pioneers of Allen township. In 1842 Stewart Bailey began the manufacture of brick on the Sullivan Waite farm, but the first brick house in the township was not built until 1856, when George Harkins erected a brick dwelling. In that year Runkle & Woodring began the operation of a steam saw mill, with a run of small corn buhrs attached. This was a great accommodation to the settlers and proved a good investment for the proprietors. After a successful career of about three years the boiler of this mill exploded and killed three men - a Mr. Hart and his son William and a man named Whipple.

pioiirtT si-ttlfiiifiits ill wiijil is now Allen tiiwn.sliip and liekl .scrvioes at tlir (Iwcllino-s of some of the settlors. The following year another Baptist preacher by the name of Kendall visited this part of the county. .Vhoiit the same time Rev. William Williams. .Methodist minister, began lioldiui: meetings at the home of Anderson Wilkinson, where the first regular religinus society of that faith was organized in 1840. The Plea.sant Ilill Methodist church, about three and a half miles northeast of ;\laey. was organized at an early date. A Methodist ehureh was established at Five Corners in ISfiO and the Christian ehureh at Maey was founded in IStiS. (S(>e Chapter XVTT for a full account of the ciinrches of the county.)

^Iiidi of the land in Allen to\viisiii|> is of such a character that artilicial drainage is necessary to bring it to a high state of cultivation. Prior lo 1895 some twenty-two miles of ditch had been opened in the township at a cost of nearly !|<:W.OOO. Since then several of the early ditches have been deeiieiied and a number of new ones constructed. Among these are (he .Mill creek, or Taylor ditch, which begins near ;\racy and runs from there into Perry township and then to Mill creek in Fulton county. It is about twelve miles in length and its total cost, when completed, will br about $12,000. The Weaver & Davis ditch begins near Wagoner and runs into Fulton county; the Weesau ditch starts in Perry township, runs through part of Allen and then into Fnion ; the Whitmore ditch begins near Birmingham and runs to IMud lake, and the Huffman ditch runs west from JFacy. By the opening of these drains the land has been greatly improved in character and the cro|is of thr Allen townshij) farmers have been correspondingly increased in value. Tire township has only about seven miles of improved iiiirhway, but petitions are pending for the construction of nearly twenty miles of gra\-el I'liad in January, 1914.

JIac_\-. located a little southwest of the center of the township, is the priiicipid town. .Xear the southern border is the little village of Birmingham, and in the northwest corner is the village of Wagoner. These three places are stations on the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, which traverses the township in a northwesterly direction and affords fairly good transportation facilities to the peojile of the township. The old village of Five Corners, near the western border, was once a prosperous trailing center, but it has disajjpeared from the map.

Butler township is one of the eastern tier. It is bounded on the north by the W^abash river, which sejiarates it I'rom the townships of Erie and Peru; on the east bv Wabash I'ountv ; on the south bv Ilarri son township, and on the west by the towniship of AVashiugton. The Mississinewa river enters the township near the middle of the eastern border and flows in a northwesterly direction to the Wabash river, and the southern part of the township is drained and watered by the Big Pipe creek and its tributaries. The area of the township is a little over thirty square miles.

Before the white man came to iliami county, the territoi-y now comprising Butler township was the favorite hunting grounds of the iMiami Indians. When the treaty was made witli representatives of the United States government, by which the Indians relinquished their title to the lands, several individual reservations were established within the pres- ent limits of the township. Francis Godfrey's reservation. No. 3, occupied the triangle in the forks of the Mississinewa and the Wabash; east of this was the reservation granted to the wife of Benjamin ; along the eastern border, directly south of the :\Iississinewa, was the reservation of Ozahshin(iuah and her sister, daughters of Frances Slocum ; south of Godfrey's reservation was that of Osandiah : along the western border of the township and just south of the ilississinewa was the reservation of Wappapincha, and immediately east of it was Tahkonong's reservation. All these lands are now in the possession of white men and have been brought to a high state of cultivation.

Iitstorv Of .Miami Couxtv 115

^lississiiii'Wii and the rugged bluffs along tluit stivam are among the l)eauty spots of Indiana. In the southern part of the townshi]) tho; surfaee is generally level, with undulations here and there. The soil in this section is a blaek loam that yields abundant crops. Along the river bottoms the soil is fertile and some of the most productive cornfields in the county are to be found in the Wali.-isii and Mississinewa valleys in liutler township.

Martin AVilhelm is credited witii l)eing tlic lirst wliite man to loeat(' within the limits of the townshij). In 18^!) he linnight his family from Pennsylvania and entered a tract of land a iitlh' soutlieast of the village of Peoria. After living here for aboi;t a ycai', he sold his farm to Isaac Litzenberger and moved to another about two miles southwest of Peoria. Soon after the advent of Mr. Wilhelm came Benjamin Barnes, James and Thonuis Clayton and Hugh Banks. Barnes settled a short distance west of where Peoria now stands, but afterward sold his land there to Frederick Wilds and established a now farm north of the Mis- .sissinewa. Some years later, Barnes, his brother and two other men were drowned in the Wabash river while engaged in rafting logs. Thomas Clayton was a son-in-law of Benjamin Barnes and settled on a tract of land adjoining that entered by his father-in-law. He remained a resident of the township until his death, sonu' years after the Civil war. James Clayton located a claim on the noi'th bank of the Mississinewa, opposite the site of the village of Peoria, but did not live long enough to enjoy the full rewards of his labors in his new home, as he died about six years after coming to the township. Hugh Banks remained in Miami county but a short time, when he removed to Wabash county.

When the sale of canal lands was held at Peru on October 5, 184U, there was a flood of immigrants to the Wabash valley. Many of the newcomers were unable to purchase lands to tlieii' liking in the canal strip, but they entered government land and became residents, of the county. Among those who settled in Butler township in this year were John and Isaac Ijit/.enberger, James Beard, IMoses Falk, Sanuu'l Robertson and the llahns - Benjamin, John and David. As stated above, Isaac Litzenberger bought the farm of Martin Wilhelm, and John locateil upon the land where the village of Pcoi'ia was afterward laid out. Moses Falk established a trading house at that point and for a few years carried on a thriving business with the Indians.

In the suiinner of 1841 Jose[)h Votaw settled in the northeastern part of the township, on land that he had previously purchased. His first dwelling there has been described as "a hastily improvised structure, resembling in its make up, an Indian wigwam c(]vered with a tent cloth, the construction of which re(|nired the united labors of himself and wife for about two or three hours." ilr. Votaw was an industrious man and soon had a cabin ready for his family. He opened a blacksmith shop^ - the first in Buller township - soon after his arrival and carried on a successful business in that vocation for many years.

As early as 1836 Jonah Sullivan made a tour through the Miami country and selected a tract of land in section 3, near the Wabash county line and about a mile and half north of Peoria, as his Indiana home. In 1840 he purchased the tract and went back to his native state of Ohio, where he married the girl of his choice and the next year brought his young wife to the unbroken forest in the valley of the ilississinewa. His brother came with him as an assistant and when they arrived at their destination a number of Indians gathered to witness the unloading of the household goods from the wagon. The sight of these natives caused the young man considerable anxiety for the safety of the party, and as soon as a tent was pitched he hurried away in search of a civilized connnunity, leaving Jonah and his wife to tight their battle alone. Mr. Sullivan's first work was to dig a well, after which he ei'ected a hewed log house, a story and a half high, that for many years was pointed out as the best residenee in that portion of the county.

Othei's who located in the township in 1841 were Isaac Deeter, William Parks and Rev. Joseph Davis. The last named was a Baptist minister, who had visited Miami count.v at intervals for several years before he became a permanent resident. During the next decade a number of new settlers came into the township. Among them were Edmiuid Wright, Michael Bradley, Jacob Hefiiey, Adam Fansler, John Davidson, Jonathan Johnson, William Cipher, Samuel Ramsey, Zachariah Wallick, Henry Watts, David and William Miller, Jeptha and James Long, Thomas Keyes, Joseph Werhle, John and Solomon Fegley. Thomas Timmons, Beu.jamin W^ellick, John King and the Fenimores. By 1850 every part of the towaiship was settled by a thrift}' and industrious class of pioneers.

Shortly after the treaty of 1826, the government built a mill on the prairie east of Chief Godfroy's to grind corn for the .Miamis according to the treaty provisions. About 1843 Isaac and John Litzenberger built a sawmill near the site of Peoria. A little later a run of corn buhrs was added, which had a daily capacity of about fifty bushels. Some two years later Matthew Fenimore built a sawmill near the present town of Santa Fe. In 1847 he built a grist mill near by and carried on a successful business until the mill was destroyed by fire about 1877. It was rebuilt, but its operations were confined to custom work. The Litzenberger mill at Peoria was sold after a few years to Dr. John C. Helm, who developed it iuto a large dour niill. Tliis mill was also destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt by Joseph Stewart, who bought the site. At various ])eriods in the histor\- of the towushi]) sawmills have been established at diU'ereut places and the demands of eonnneree have practically consumed the valuable timber that once covered the greater part of the surface.

It is thought that Frank Litzenberger, a son of Isaac and Sarah Litzeuberger, was the first white child born in Butler township. He was 1)01-11 in 1841, and the same year the first marriage in the township was solemnii^ed, when Nancy White became the wife of James Wilhelm. Joel Davis, Joseph Votaw and Job Morris erected the first frame dwellings in the township and the first orchard was jilauted by Jonah Sullivan, who obtained his trees from the nursery of Matthias iloyer, in Richland township. The first religious services were held at the home of James Beard by Rev. I\Ir. Beloit, a ^lefhodist minister, in 1841.

Butler township was established as a separate political division on September 1, 1841, when the county commissioners fixed the followingboundaries : "Commencing at a point where the north line of Township 26 north, Range 5 east, intersects the line between Miami and Wabash counties; thence west on the line dividing Townships 26 and 27 north to the northwest corner of Township 2G, Range 5; thence south with the said township line to the southwest corner of said Township 26. Range 5; thence east with the south line of said township to the boundai-y line between Miami and Wabash counties; thence north with said boundary line to the place of beginning, being all of Township 26, Range 5, whieii lies in ]\Iianii county."

That i)ortion of the township lying north of the northern line of Township 26 was at that time all included in the Indian reservations. After these reservations passed into the possession of white men they were added to Butler township and the northern boundary was extended to the Wabash river.

The first school in Butler was taught in 1842, in a log house on the farm of one of the Longs, but the name of the first teacher has been lost. In 184;J a log schoolhouse was built near the Clayton cemetery, ill 1lie luirtheastern part of the townshiji, and Jacob Elliott taught the first .school here in the fall of that year. The following year Margaret ^lackey, a native of Ohio and a woman of fine altainments, taught a teiin ill this house. In 1111:5 there were ten brick sehoolhouses in the township, 2'.i7 pujiils were enrolled in the several districts and ten teachers were employed. The amount paid in teachers" salaries during the school year of 1912-13 was $3,843.75. This township is introducing the "consolidated school system." and at the close of the year 191:? a new l)uildiog was Iseiug erected at a eost of sjilo.OOO to aeooiuniudate the consolidated districts. With the completion of this huildiny: the school property of the township will he worth about $25,000.

The only railroad in the township is the Chesapeake & Ohio, which enters the township from the south, near the village of Santa Fe, and runs across the southwest corner. Santa Fe and Peoria are the only villagres in the township.

Clay is one of the fmir townships that form the southern tier. It was organized on ilarch 3, 1846, and was named for Henry Clay, the eminent orator and statesman, of Kentucky. Its form is that of a rectangle, being four miles wide from east to west and six miles in length from north to south, and having an area of twenty-four square miles, or 15,360 acres. On the north it is liounded by Washington township ; on the east by Harrison; on the south In- Howard county, and on the west by the township of Deer Creek. Big Pipe creek flows across the northeast corner and through the center is Deer creek, which flows in a westerly direction across the township. The latter, with its tributaries, affords drainage and water for live stock for a large part of the townshij) and also serves as an outlet for numerous ditches and tile drains that have added materially to the cultivation of file soil. The surface is generally level, except along the streams, and tlie soil is a black loam that is unsurpassed for fertility when properly drained. Originally, the township was covered with a heavy growth of valuable timber, ineluding black walnut, poplar, maple, ash, oak, beech and some other varieties of trees, but the clearing of farms and the manufacture of lumber have made such inroads upon the native forest that but little timber of value remains.

1844 Henry Daggy located on Nigger creek, near the east line of the township, and he is credited with being the first white man to establish a permanent residence within its borders. A little later Otis Fish settled in the northern part of the township and lived there until about 1851, when he removed to one of the western states. In the spring of

1845 John Smith removed from one of the settlements on the Eel river and entered a tract of land near McGrawsville. Abel House, Andrew Woolpert, Eli Butler, Benjamin Fish (a brother of Otis), William Biggs, Caleb Adams and Nathaniel Bunn all located in the township in the year 1845. Eli Butler achieved a wide reputation as a hunter and was considered one of the best marksmen with the rifle that ever lived in J\liami countv. William Biggs held the ofifice of justice of the peace for

Some time in the year 18-it) Thomas Murdeii settled near the villasic of .MeGrawsville and in after years won a repntation as one of the successful teachers of the tnwiiship. Others who located in Clay in that year and the yeai' following- were tlie Ihimi-iekhouses (father and son), John Hoover, Cliristian Livingood, flohn Holler, Joiin Wilkinson, Cyrus I\Iar(|uiss, Joseph Kessler, Thomas Kellison, Morris Littlejohn. John and James Tracy, Harrison Dixon, John Clymer, Riley ^lartin, Hetijamin Wehh, James Finney and Isaac .Mooney.

Aftci- the land >ale in 1S47 nearly all the land in Clay township was taken uj) autl cleareil rapiiUy. Amoiip those who came shortly after that sale were Isaac Ilarter. Samuel Livingooti, William Wilkinson, Jacoh Beaver, ^Moses Wai-d. Samuel Edwards, JIatthew liowen, David Armstrong. Ijevi Clymer, William Ilieks, ^lorgan Williams. Andrew Kerskiidon, John Condo, Jaeoli and Ilezekiah Crutt. Daniel Petty, Cornelius Platz. John James, Asel Griffey. Ahncr Pisel and James Shahan. Near the west line of the township Richard Wehster eiitered a tract of land in 1848. where a little later he opened a tiriek yard and made the first lirick in the townsliip.

Among the early settlers was a man named William .AlcClure, who is said to have been a man of tine social qualities hut not very enterprising. He li\c(l chietly by hunting and selling whisky surreptitiously to his neighbors and the few Indians that remained in that locality.

The tirst election in Clay township was held at the residence of John Wilkinson in .\pril. 1846, only a few weeks after the erection of the township by the county conniiissioners. John Lucas served as inspector at that election, when John Ilicks. Sinu'on Farlow and John Clymer were eleclc.l trustees; William Biggs, .justice of the peace; and Samuel Wiley, constable.

Not long after the organization of the township sawmills were established by .lames Highland and a man named Hill. Highland's mill was located near the present village of Waupeeong. About 1877 a large steam sawmill was brought into tlie township liy the firm of Macy, Darliy i!c Smith. This mill had a capacity of some 15,000 feet of lund)er daily ami did a successful business for several years. While the timber was plentiful a number of sawmills were operated in different parts of the township, but after the valuable trees were all manufactured into hunber the liusiness was no longer profitable and nearly all the mills were either disnumtled or removed to other localities. Probably the first grist mill was that connected with the sawmill of Yoder & Miller, near Waupeeong. which, was started about 1S4II. It could grind only corn and Satuixlay was day." Tlii.s mill was dusti'oycd by fire about 1858 and in 1860 a stock company was organized at Waupecong for till' purpose of erecting a fiour mill at that point. The mill was built a year or two later and was operated with varying success for a few years, when the machinery was sold and taken away and the I)nilding was subsequently demolished. The manufacture of drain tile was "an important industry until the farms were thoroughly drained, after which the business fell off to only a fraction of its former proportions. One of the first tile factories in Clay was that of William Rheiii. in the northern part of the township. It was estalilished in 1878 and a little later James L. Kling started a tile factory in the southern portion, where he did a successful business in that line for several years. In the early eighties A. J. Phelps began the manufacture of cheese in connection with his dairy farm.

Martha, daughter of Andrew and Naomi Woolpert, who was born in 1845. was the first white child born within the present limits of Clay township. The first marriage was that of Lewis Reese and Catherine Love, in the early fall of 1846. Later in the same year was solemnized the marriage of William Love and Jemima Smith. Henry Daggy, who was the first actual settler, died in the year 1845 and his death was probably the first in the township. The first religious services were held at the home of Heiiry Daggy, a little while before his death, and were conducted by Eev. J. R. Davis, a Jlethodist minister. An account of the various religious denominations in the townshi|i will be found in the chapter devoted to church history.

Pi'om the best sources of information available, it is learned that the first school w'as taught in 1843 by Elias Hol)augh. in a log school house on what was then known as the Hostetler farm. In 1850 a second school house was built on the Lewis Hoover farm, where the first teacher was Thomas Murden. In 1913 there were four brick and si.\ frame school houses in Clay township, valued at .^^lOjeOO. Dui-iug the school year of 1912-13 there were 276 pujjils enrolled and ten teachers were employed in the public schools, the amount paid in teachers' salaries having been $3,792.

The only railroad in the township is a line of the Pennsylvania system - usually called the Pan Handle - which crosses the northern part in a northwesterly direction. McGrawsville, on the line between Clay and Harrison townships, and Loree, about three miles west of ^McGrawsville, are stations on this road. The principal village in Clay is Waupecong, which is situated in the southern part, just a mile north of the Howard county line.

Tliis lowiisliip Occupies the southwest coriipr of the county and has an ai-ea of twenty-four square miles, being four miles in extent from east to west and six miles from north to south. It is bounded on the noi-th by Pipe Creek township; on the east by Clay; on the south by Howard county, and on the west by the county of Cass. It was establislied, witii its present boundaries and iliinensions, by order of tln! county coniiiiissionprs on September 1, 18-17, and was named after the stream tlint Hows a westerly course through the center of the township. Deer creek and South Deer creek, with tlieii- tributaries, afford a fairly good water supjily and drainage system for tlic township, though tlie natural drainage has been supplemented by the construction of more than twenty miles of ditches and tile drains.

Tile soil in this iiait of the county is a black loam, of great depth and exceedingly fertile, and in no part of the county are larger crops of corn, wheat, oats and hay raised than in Deer Creek township. When the first white men came to this region they found a heavy growth of black wahiiit, hickory, oak, poplar, ash, iiia|)lc and other varieties of valuable tiiidiei'. ilucli of this was wantonly destroyed by the pioneers in opeiung their farms to cultivation, and it is no exaggeration to state that, ill iiuin.\- instances, if this timber could lie replaced at the present time it would be worth more than the land upon which it grew.

Deer Creek township la.v in the heart of the "Hig Reserve" of the Miami Indians and was not surveyed and opened to settlement as early as some other portions of the county. The land was not put upon the market until 1S47, though a few adventurous white men had made settlements within the jiresent limits of the township prior to that time. The earliest settlers of whom there is any aythentie record were David Hoffman. Kichartl .Miller and Thomas Pearson, who came about the year 1S44. Hoffman settled, near the northeast corner of the townshi]); Jliller about a mile west of the [iresent village of Miami, and Pearson about a iiiile. west of ililler. Dui'iiig the year 1845 several persons joiiie<l the three original jiioneers. Among llicni were James McCrary, James Davis, David Armstrong, Jesse Julian, Jo.seph McConnell, D. C. Jenkins, James Adanison, Richard Webster, Austin Ilerrell and William .McConnell. I)a\id Armstrong ami Richard Webster afterward removed to ('lay lowiisliii). and James Mc('i-.-iry remained but a short time.

In 1841) Oliver Sandifur, Isaac Herrell, Sylvester Tumlin, J. D. Larimer, Frazee and George Swinford, John Hicks. William Mahon, Allen Husby, William Swinford and a few others established homes in different |iarts of the township.

Immediately after the lands were opened to settlement there was a tide of immigration to the southern part of Miami eounty and during the years of 1847 and 1848 about one hundred patents were granted by the government to tracts in Deer Creek townshiji. Among those who entered lantls in those two years were: John H. and B. F. Brown, Joseph A. Burr, Isaac Burroughs, John Beesly, Emery and William Daggett. John and Leonard Dixon, James Avelin, Oliver and James Jenness, Adolphus Runnells, James Adams, Lewis N. Snodderly, William ^larrow, Christopher Carter, Samuel and Thomas ilartindale, John Hinehman, James S. Davenport. Nathan Piles, Zebedee Wright, Joseph Graves, John and Sanuu4 Truax, George Pontius, Thomas A. Long, Thomas Woodrick, Jesse Gettiuger, George Spray, Simeon Farlow, Arthur Compton, James Lewis, Archibald Chittick, Daniel Russell, James Fettis. John Keever, and most of those who had selected lands before they were opened for entry.

The first mill in the townshiji was a small "corn cracker," which was built by Adolphus Runnells on Deer creek in the western part. Here the first election for township officers was lield a few weeks after the townshiji was erected by the county commissioners. D. C. Jenkins was chosen .iustice of the peace; Austin Ilerrell, Lewis Snodderly and Thomas Pearson, trustees; W. II. Miller, clerk; Daniel Ellis, treasurer.

Runnells' mill was of the most primitive type. It was a log structure, with a single run of " nigger-head "" buhrs, and the meal it made was coarse, but for all its imperfections it was of great utility to the early settlers. It was built aliout 1846 and continued to be the principal mill in the township for aliout five year.s. The water of Deer creek supplied the motive power. About 185(1 John Hicks built a mill on Deer creek a short distance southeast of where the village of Miami now stands, and from the numerous stories told of this mill it nmst have l)eeu a curiosity. One of these stories is to the effect that a customer brought half a bushel of corn to the mill in the morning and toward nightfall insisted that Mr. Hicks take out some more toll, as he wanted to get home before it got dark. Another is that one day, while the mill was crushing the grains of corn at the rate of thirty or forty a minute, the buhrs suddenly -stoppetl running. Investigation showed that an old sow had found a resting-place in the mill race, effectually shutting off the supply of water. Probably the first saw-null in the township was the one erected by Oliver and Nelson Sandifur about 1850. It was what was known as a "sash saw," slow in its operations, but for several years it supplied the settlers with lumber. The first steam saw-mill was established at Miami, by Alexaniler Blake, in 1852. Austin Herrell and Lewis :\Iiller were likewise prominently identified with this line of business, and "Eb." Hum-

.John II. Huiiklc, a foriiicr county suiicriiitciulciit of the .Miami county schools, is authoi'ity for the statement that the lii-st school iu Deer Creek township was taujiiit in 1845, by a man named Henry Garrett, and that the tirst .school house was built the ne.xt year on the farm of Austin Ilerrell. where John Trua.x taught the (irst school, in l!Jl;j the townshi|) had eight l)rick school houses, valued at $S.()(iii, eni'olled 194 pupils in the i)ublic schools, emjilos'ed ten teachers, who received in salaries the sum of $4,277.

The Lake Erie & Western Kailroad runs mii'th and south through the cii.stern part of the township. Parallel to it is a lint^ of the Iiuliana Union Traction system of electric railways, which has its northern terminus at Pei-u. These two roads furnish excellent transportation facilities to the greater part of the township. Both roads pass through the villages of Bennett's Switch and .Miami, which are the only postotKices in the township.

As early as 1846 a few Jlethodists gathered at the home of Lewis Snodderly anil lield the tirst religious services in the township. A little later a society of that faith was organized. Since then the Baptists, Chi'istians and some other denominations have organized and built houses of worship.

In the southern part of what is now Deer Creek townsliip was the Indi;in village of the chief Shap-pan-do-ce-ah. In 1846 this village consisted of a few log huts and a number of bark wigwauis. The next year the inhabitants removed to Kansas with the other members of the tribe of iliamis. .\nu)ng them was a white woman about fifty years of age, who, like Frances Siocum, had been captured in childhood and brought up as an" Inilian. She accompanied her Miami husband to Kansas in 1S47.

I'h'ic township is the smallest in Miami eounty.' It is situated on I Ineastern border, directly north of the Wabash river, and has an area of about nineteen S(iuare nules. On the north it is lioundi'd by Richland township; on the east by Wabash county; on the south by the Wabash river, which separates it from Butler township, and on the west by the township of Peru. The surface is diversified, being somewhat rolling iu the eastern and southern portions and level in the northern part. Along the Wabash I'iver the soil is of more than ordinary fertility and is under a high stale of cultivation. In the northern part, while the soil is less fertile than the i-iver hottoiiis. good crops are raised, and throughout the township agriculture is carried on with excellent results. Like the greater part of the county, the surface of Erie township was originally covered with timher. the principal varieties nf which were hlack walnut, pojilar, ash, maple, elm and sycamore.

In the fall of 1827 Sanuid McClure establislu-d a trading ]ios1 in the southwestern i>art of tlie townslii]). where he carried on a successful traffic with the Indians for scvci'nl years, when he removed to Grant county. No etforts were made by him to establish permanent improvements or cultivate the soil, and the honor of being the first actual settler belongs to Henry King, who settled near the western boundary in 1835. Shortly after he had located his claim Joseph Fox settled near the old Wabash & Erie canal, and before the close of that year Joseph and John Hale, James Burton, Uaniel Potter. L. B. liartlett anil Pierre La \'onture all selected land and settlrd within the present limits nf the towii- .ship.

During the years 1836 and 1837 a few settlers located in this part of the county. Among them were James F'oruash and his son William. Slath Cole and Horatio French, It is related of William Fornash that he was fond of Indian society, spent a goodly portion of his time with his red friends and, probably in a spirit of fun, was fre(iuently seen upon the streets of Peru decked out in Indian costume.

The settlement of Erie was rather slow until after the laud sale at Peru in the fall of 1840, though the township was erected by the county commi.ssioners on August 27, 1839, when "that portion of the territory of I'eru township lying east of the recently established Range line and entirely east to the Wabash county line," was taken to form the new township. The name conferred upon the new political organization at that time was "Black Hawk Township," and it went by that \iame until in September, 1847, when the name was changed to Erie, after the Wabash & Erie canal. Among the settlers who came into this neighborhood a .short time before the organization of the township wei-e two brothers - Sylvester and Elam Henton. The former was known as "Black Hawk" Henton, and there is a tradition that this was the origin of the original name.

Among those who settled in the township in 1839 and shortly after the land sale of 1840 were : John and James Bailey, Alfred and Morris Baker, Anson Jewett, Jeremiah Taylor, Lewis King and John Misener. A year or so later came John and James Bailey, Silas Chalmers, Salathiel Cole, Abner and William Beeson, Jeremiah Kaler, Solomon Wybal, John and William Nicholson, Samuel Philabaum and a few others. By the time the name of the township was i-liaiiged, tlie territory was fairly

At tile time the first settlements were made a lai'ire part of the township alonj; the Wabash river was iiieliided in the individual Indian reservations. In the southwest corner w;is tiie reservation of Francis Godfrey, No. 15, and east of this were two reservalions of Riehardville, extending up the river to within one mile of the Wahasli eminly line. These lands have long since passed inUi the hands of the while men and are now some of the best improved farms in ;\Iiami county.

The tirst hlaeksmith shop in the township was established by Thomas Kennedy in the .southern part, on the line of the old canal, where he carried on his vocation for a number of years. The first saw-mill was built near the northern boundary by a man named Williams. Some years later the mill was purchased by a .Mr. Cowger and the boiler was taken to Peru. The first marriage was probably that of John Passon to Priscilla Foruash in 1838. The first white child born within the limits of the township is believed to have been John, a son of John and Ilannah Hale, who was born in 1837, and the first death was perhaps that of Joseph Hale, in 1838.

The first election was held a few weeks after the township was erected, at the house of Anson Jewett, when Jeremiah Taylor was elected justice of the peace and Henry King, Daniel Henderson and Samuel Philabaum, township trustees.

Early in the '40s Rev. John Davis, a Baptist minister, visited Erie township and held services at the house of Salathiel Cole, which was the first religious meeting in the township. Members of this faith held services for several years at what was known as the California school house. The iMethodists, Christians and United lii'etluen also held services at an early date. An account of these early organizations will be found in the chapter on Church Ilistoiy.

Erie township is the only one in the county without a village or a postoffice. -Mail is supplied to the inhabitants through the rural free delivery system from Peru. The Wabash Railroad and the electric line of the Foi't Wayne & Northern Indiana Traction Company cross the southern portion of the township, and on the latter there are local stations for the aceonuiiodation of Erie township people.

Owing to the sparse population during the years innuediately following the first settlement, no public school was taught in Erie township until the year 1844. Then two school houses were erected - one on the farm of Sanniel Philabaum and the other on the farm belonging to a man named Peer. Robert Taylor, Phoebe Cox and John Corwiu were among: tlie first teachers. In 1913 there were four good brick school houses in tlie township and four teacliers were employed in the schools. The estimated value of the scliool l)uildings was .$3,600, there were 84 pupils enrolled during the school year of 1012-13. and the amount paid in sahiries to the teachers was !i;l,645.

This township is one of tlie southern tier and is uniform in size with Clay, Deer Creek and Jackson, being four miles in width from east to west and six m-iles in length from north to south. It is bounded on the north by Butler township; on the east by Jackson; on the south by Howard county; and on the west by Clay township. The general surface is level and the soil is exceedingly fertile, though artificial drainage is necessary in some parts of the township before the best results can be obtained in agriculture. Consequently nearly twenty miles of ditch and tile drain have been con.structed in the township. Across the northern part Hows Big Pipe creek in a westerly direction, and Deer creek crosses southwest corner. These two streams, with their smaller tributaries, furnisli a good supjily of water for live stock and serve as an outlet for the drains and ditches. A heavy forest of black walnut, oak. hickory, maple and other species of native trees once covered the land now included in Harrison township. Before the sound of the woodman's ax was heard, this forest abounded in game and was a favorite hunting ground of the Miami Indians. But the ax, the torch and the saw-mill have done their deadly work. Large quantities of lumber have been shipped out of the township and many valuable trees were felled and burned in early days to make way for the cultivated fields. Instances are recorded where the walnut timber on a single acre in Harrison has brought as much as .$400.

In 1844 William Smith and Imri Murden came into the townshij) and "s(iuatted" upon the unsurveyed lands that were still in the hands of the Indians, although they had been ceded to the United States. Mr. Murden had formerly settled near Mexico, on the Eel river, and after a residence of several years in Harrison township removed again to the northern part of the county. Upon coming to the township in 1844 he located his claim in the southwest corner, Mr. Smith liaving previously selected land farther north. Late in summer or early in the fall of 1844 Joshua Dixon settled near the Clay township line, where he opened the first blacksmith shop in Harrison township. His customers were few at first, but as the country settled up his business increased and for about twenty years he continued to ply his trade at that point. Joshua Tharp also came in 1844 and settled in the northern part. He was one of the most successful of the pioneer hunters and many a deer iVIl iit the ci-ack of liis ritlc .lacdli Stitt caiiic almut tlic saiiii' tiiiU' as Tharp ami selected a elaim (ni I'ipe creek, near tlie iKirtheast corner of the to\vnshi|), and made some substantial iiiipioveiiients. William liiirnett, Kieliai'd Crane, Samuel Spui'geon, .lames and Simeon Dryer. Eli Stitt, Jesse Lee and John Wilson settled in the to\vnshi|) late in 1844 or dnrins the year 1845 and most of them securi'd title to their lands soon after they were ojx'ned for entry.

In 1846 the population was increased by the ai-rival of Tjevi Willis. Z. C. Smith, Tillman Hall. Stephen Reeves, Solomon Ilauck, Jacob Miller, (Jeorge C. Smith, William Love, Emsley Overman, George Coojier and William Wineburn.

On September 8, 1846, Harrison township was set ai)art as an independent political division and was named for (leneral William Henry Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, who was elected president of the T'nited States in 1840 and died a short time after his inatiguration. The first election was held at the house of William Smith a little later, when Solomon Hanck was elected justice of the ])eai-e; David Roe and John IMoorman, trustees, and- Abel Hauck, constable.

Sarah A., daughter of Imri and Rebecca ^Mnrden. boi'n in 1846, is believed to have been the first white chihl born in the township. In the spring of 1847 William Love married a daughter of William Smith and later in the same year Henry Daggy married Kli/,;dieth Hurnett. These were the first marriages in Harrison. The first death was probabl.v that of a colored woman, wife of a negro known as "IJlack Bill," in 1847. Mrs. William Wineburn died in the same year and as there were no roads j'et opened through the woods, her coftin was cari'ied from Santa Fe, four miles distant. The first religious services were held at the house of Charles Co.\ in 1848 by a ^lethodist minister named Richardson. In the same year John Leach, another pioneer pi-eacher, conducted services at the cabins of John Wilson and James Graham.

About 1846 or 1847 Matthew Fenimore built ;i saw-null on Section f), in the northern jjart of the townshiji, on Pipe cn'ek. Subsequently Mr. Fenimore erected a grist mill near by, which continued in operation for many years. The second saw-mill was built at the old village of Snow Hill, on Section ;3, by Jacob Miller. Shortly afterward he sold out to Niccum brothers and built another mill at North Grove. A man named Thomas started a tannery in the eastern part of the township at an early date and carried on a successful business for some years. He then .sold out and his successors could not make it pay. so the tanyard fell into disuse.

teiuleiit of schools in tlic 'ItOs. says: ""The first school in Harrison township was a sul)SC'ription school, taught by a man by the name of Jesse Lee, in 1847, in a small cabin that stood on his own farm. This cabin had for several years been used for a dwelling, but it was at this time fitted up for school purposes, so that it was the same characteristic log school house as was provided for the schools of Miami county in the good old primitive days."'

Stephens' History of ^liami County (page 344) says: "The first school was taught in an old cabin which AVilliam Smith hastily put up on his arrival. Iniri Murden was the first teacher of the township."

Whichever account is correct, it is certain that the people who settled Harrison township believed in education and the precedent they established has lieen followed by those who came after them. In 1913 there were four lirick school buildings in the township, valued at $20,000. Formerly there were seven school districts, but by consolidation three of them have been discontinued. During the school year of 1912-13 six teachers were employed, receiving in salaries the sum of $2,491.

Two lines of railroad run through Harrison township. The Pan Handle enters from the east, about two miles north of the southeast corner, and runs aci'oss the township in a nortlnvesterly direction through the villages of North Grove and ilcGrawsville. North of this road, and following the same general direction, is the Chesapeake & Ohio. These two roads furnish ample shipping facilities to all parts of the township. North Grove and McGrawsville are the only postoffices. Snow Hill, in the northeast corner, and Gary, not far from the southeast corner, were once thriving villages, but with the building of the railroads their trade was diverted to other points and they have ceased to exist. (See the chapter on Towns and Villages.)

The main body of Miami county is a rectangle, twelve miles wide from east to west and thirty miles long from north to south. At the southeast corner of this rectangle, but outside of it, lies Jackson township. It is four miles in width from east to west and six miles long from north to south, containing an area of twenty-four square miles, or 15,360 acres. On the north it is bounded by Wabash county: on the east by Grant county ; on the south by the county of Howard, and on the west by Harrison township. ^Miami county. Along the streams the surface is somewhat rolling, but back from the water courses it is generally level. The soil is a dark loam, fertile and well adapted to cultivation. In some parts the soil has to he drained in order to secure the best results, hence there are nearly thirty miles of ditch and tile drain in the town ship. In-l'mv the eoiiiiiii; of the white man the entire surl'aee was eovered witli a forest growth of valuable timber, in whieli game abouiuled and this section was a favorite hunting ground of the red man. Very little of the native timber remains, it having been cleared off to make way for the fanner or manufactured into lumber.

Like all that part of Miami county lying south of the Wabash river, tiiis township was once a part of the Miami Indian "Big Reserve," hence it was not settled until after the region nortli of the Wabash was fairl\- well pojjulated. It is known that hunters and trappers visited this part of the county before the land was disposed of by the Indians, but no attempt was made to form a permanent settlement until about 1842. Then Silas Braffet and Thomas Creviston built their cabins near the (J rant county line, the latter locating in what is now Jackson township, while the other cabin stood just across the line in Grant county. Later in the same year came John Powell, Thomas Addington and Thomas .Mason. Powell settled in tile eastern part of the township; Addington l>uilt his rahiu where the town of Converse now stands; and Mason located in the northeast corner, near the Wabash count.v line.

In Jaiuiary, 1848, Oliver H. P. J\Iaey, an early settler of Grant county, removed across the line and located a tract of land which now lies within the limits of the town of Converse. John Gates settled about tliree miles north of Macy, and before the close of that year a few other liard.N pioneers had located claims in Jackson township. During the next three years iiuite a number of settlers came into this part of Miami county. Among them were James ilcKinley, John Long, James Foulson, William Bowman, Samuel Long, James Que, James Calhoun, David Daniels, Samuel Butler, Sanniel and David l)ra])er, Heni-y Addington, William and Kli Overman, George Badger, Jonathan Pearson, Nathan Arnold, Solomon Wright, and perhaps a dozen others. Rev. Abraham See, a Methodist clergyman, settled about a mile northeast of Converse and was probabl.v the first minister of the Gospel to establish a home in this township.

Most of the pioneers located their claims in the southern portion, neai- the present towns of Amboy and Converse, or along the Big Pipe creek, which flows in a northwesterly direction farther north. Samuel Butler, who settled near the northwest corner, afterward became a believer in the doctrines of the Mormon church and went to Utah.

In the summer of 1846 a petition was circulated by Oliver H. P. Macy among the settlers, a.sking the county eommis,sioners to organize a new township, which should be known by the name of "Liberty. " Nearly every resident within the territory to be included in the new township signed the petition, two men objecting because they wanted "to keep law aud order out of the couiitry as long as passible." ilr. Maey then walked to Peru and presented the petition to the county commissioners and on September 2, 1846, the board issued an order for the erection of the township, with its present boundaries and dimensions, but the name was changed from Liberty to Jackson, in honor of Andrew Jackson, who commanded the United States forces at the battle of New Orleans and was afterward elected president of the United States.

The first election was held soon after the township was established, at the house of James Poulson, Rev. Abraham See acting as inspector. David Daniels was elected justice of the peace and Abraham See, constable. The records of that election have disappeared, but it is thought that James McKinley and Gabriel Hayes were two of the first board of towaiship trustees.

Susannah, daughter of James C. aud Delilah Poulson, was I)orn in May, 1844, and is believed to have been the first white child born in Jackson township. The first death was that of an infant child of Thomas and Mary Addington, which occurred soon after the family settled in Miami county, and this little child was the first t<> be buried in the cemetery at Converse. Among the early marriages were Charles Marine to Maria Ballinger; Oscar Addington to .Alary A. North; and David Draper to Elizabeth Ballinger. In the case of the last named couple, the bride lived in Grant county and ilr. Draper made the mistake of securing his license from the clerk of Miami county. When he arrived at the house of his intended father-in-law, where the wedding guests were already assembled, the minister who had been engaged to perform the ceremony informed him that a marriage could not be legally solemnized in Grant county under a license obtained at Peru. Consternation reigned. It was several miles to Marion and it appeared that the wedding would have to be postponed. In this emergency some one proposed that, as it was but a short distance to the county line, the entire company should walk over into iliami county, where the license could be used. The suggestion was accepted and the procession, headed by the minister, started for the boundaiy. When satisfied they were safely within the precincts of Sliami county the party halted, the young couple joined hands, and there in the primeval forest Elizabeth Ballinger became Mrs. David Draper.

As early as 1845 a few Methodists gathered at the cabin of John Powell, where Rev. Abraham See conducted the first religious services ever held in Jackson township. A little later services were held by the United Brethren at the home of James C. Poulson, where Rev. George C. Smith addressed the little congregation. Both these denominations afterward organized churches in the township, and still later the

Immediately after tlie township was organized in 1846, the people began to think of establishing some sort of a school system. To this end O. II. P. Macy, Samuel Draper and Thomas ]\Iason were elected school directors. By their direction the tirst school house was built in 1848 on the farm of Benjamin Davis. David Stanfield, Thomas Ree.se and Mason Sharp were some of the pioneer teachers. In 1913 the six brick school houses in the township were estimated to bo worth .HilOjOOO ; the school building in the town of Amboy was valued at .^27,500, and the one at Converse was valued at $25,000, making a total of $62,500 as the value of all the school property in the township. Four teachers were employed in the township schools and received in salaries $1,635. The seven teachers at Amboy, three of whom were employed in the commissioned high school, received $4,100 during the school year of 1912-13, and the ten teachers at Converse, of whom four were in the commissioned high school, received $5,021.60.

The P;in Handle and Chesapeake & Ohio railroads both enter the township near the southeast corner and run in a northwesterly direction across its entire width. Amboy and Converse, both incorporated towns, are the only postoffiees in the township. Rural routes from them supply the population with daily mail.