Miami County, Indiana - Chapter 8, 1914

Chapter 8

Jefferson Township One of the First to be Settled - Perry - Peru - Pipe Creek - An Indian Village - Richland - Union - Washington - Location, Boundaries and Physical Characteristics of Each - Pioneer Settlers - Early Births, ^Marriages and Deaths - Primitive Industries - First Religious Meetings - Pioneer Schools and Teachers - Towns and Villages - Transportation - Miscellaneous Events - The Pioneer's Place in History.

Jefferson township was established by the county commissioners at their first session, in June, 1834. and was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, who was president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. As originally created it embraced all the northern portion of the county, but it has been materially reduced in size by the formation of other townships. It now has an area of about thirty-three square miles, or 21,120 acres. It is situated a little northwest of the center of the county and is bounded on the north by the townships of Union and Richland ; on the east by Richland and Peru; on the south by Peru, and on the west liy Cass county. A portion of the surface is level and the remainder is undulating, so that most of the township is capable of being cultivated, and the soil is well adapted to agricultural purposes. The Eel river and its tributaries drain and water the township and the Eel river valley is one of the best improved districts in central Indiana. A dense forest originally covered the entire area of the township, Init the husbandman's ax and the sawmill have practically annihilated the native growth of valuable timber.

This township was one of the first in the county to be settled by white men. On December 13, 1830, Solomon Wilkinson entered a tract of land where the town of Mexico now stands, built a cabin and removed his familv to the new home in the wilderness the following spring. Mr. Wilkinson had seven sons - Ratliff, John, Jacob, Jesse, William, Simeon and Balaam - all of whom subsequently entered land near their father's homestead and were among the most active of the pioneers in the development of this seetiou of the county. Ratlitl' Wilkinson was one of the first petit .jurors ever drawn in Miami county, and other members of the family have held public office or positions of trust and responsibility at various periods of the county's history.

David Vinnedge entered eighty acres in the southeast quarter of section 31, immediately noi-th of the present town of Mexico, in 1830, but did not become a resident of the township until some time afterward.

Two brothers, Wood and Abi-aham Beard, entered land and settled in the township in 1S31, and about the same time William Smith located near ilexico. John and Thomas Smith also came to the township in this year, and in the year following the population was increased by the arrival of "William Connei- and Alexander Jameson, with their families. Others who settled in this locality before the organization of iliami county were William Bain. Isaac Hicks, Eli Csok and Samuel Newman. Thomas .Mc(;iiiiiis entered a jiart of section 28 in 1833, hut it is not certain tiiat he took up his residence in the township at that time.

In 1834 Thomas Harmon located about a mile west of Mexico, where he established the first blacksmith shoj) in the township. About the same time the first mill was built by Hurrell Daniels, who located on the north bank of the Eel river, on what was afterward known as the Deuison farm. The second mill in the township was doubtless the one erected by Hamilton Dutf, who came in 1834 and settled on the Eel river, about a mile and a quarter above Mexico. His mill, which was operated by water power, was built soon after he came to the county. Charles ^lurden came fi-om Maryland in this year and entered a farm about two and a half miles northeast of Mexico. He arrived at his new home in September and for about two months bis family lived in a tent, until the primitive log cabin could be erected. Here he reared a family of five sons and six daughters. His sons - Matthew, Imri, Timothy, Henry and Thomas - afterward were recognized as among the most enterprising and jiublic-spirited citizens of tile towHshi]). Some time before the arrival of Mr. Alurden and his family, William Eidson settled on section 35, not far from the Cass county line, where he entered a tract of land and estalilisbed his home in the wilderness. Another pioneer of 1834 was Peter Fisher, whose family afterward became prominent in local affairs. He entered a tract of land in section 30, a little northwest of the center of the township, and after securing the title to his land went back to Ohio for his family. Early in 1835 he became a permanent resident of the township, where his death occurred more than forty years later. Lsaac, Joseph, Aaron, Noah, Jacob and George Fisher, the .sons of Peter, were among the active and influential citizens of Jefferson township for many years. Jacob was the owner of the old homestead in section 30.

Other early settlei's in Jefferson township were the Clymers - Joseph, John and Levi - who located in the central part : William Leach, two miles northeast of ;\Iesico ; Asa and Reed Leonard, who located near the Richland township line; Xathanial Leonard, two miles northwest of Mexico : Daniel AUiaugh, who entered section 28 and ohtained a patent for it in 1834. The above pioneers came during- the years 1834 and 1835. Tiiey were soon followed hv Jacob Brown, an elder of the German Baptist church, John Brower, Abi-ahani Louman, Joseph Holinan, Henry Brower, Jeremiah Manson, Isaac Newman. Thomas and David Walling, William Gallagher. Isaac and Jesse Bond. Hiram Butler, Charles Spencer, Daniel Cox. William Collett, Jacob Hoover, Jesse S. W^illiams, James B. Savers, Samuel Brown, Stephen Marsh, William Burnett. Sanuiel Edwards, ilichael Fonts, Jacob Kress, Aliraham Branaman, John M. Keen, Samuel Anderson afid a number of others.

The reader may wonder why the early settlers of this township came to select homes so far away from the AVabash river, which was the main channel of travel by the early traders. But it must be remembei-ed that the men who con<|uered the wilderness liad to depend upon other things besides the associations to be found at the trading jiosts. They were men who used the ride as well as the ax and plow in the beginning of the development of the country and the forests along the Eel river were well supplied with game of various kinds. The soil in this part of the county is fertile and did not require the drainage that settlers in other parts have foiind to be necessary. Springs were to be found in several localities in what is now Jefferson township, which made it unnecessary to dig wells in order to obtain a supply of pure water for domestic purposes. All these conditions contributed to bring about the early settlement of the township.

The fii-st death in the township was that of Solomon Wilkinson, who entered the first piece of land in the township. He died in 1832 and his body was the first to be interred in the cemetery at Mexico. Among the early marriages were those of Jesse Wilkinson to Sallie Jameson and William Wilkinson to Mary Jameson, which were solemnized at the same time and place in 1835. One of the first births was that of a child of Jesse and Sallie Wilkinson, but the date cannot be learned.

One of the first needs of the early settlers was some method of educating their children. According to (Jraham, the first school in the township was taught by William Snewalt in the winter of 1834-35, in a small log house that had been built for a residence on the Wynkoop farm. The first regular school house was built on Charles Murden's place, probably in 1835. and the first school there was taught l)y Joseph Holman. With the growth of population and the development of the

(.-ouutry the si-liools ol' the township wiTe iurreaseil in iiuiiiln-r miicI improved in character. In 1913 there were eijjht school Iniildings in Jefferson, valued at sjilT.OOO. and duriiii;- the school year of 1912-13 fourteen teachers were employed, receiving in salaries the sum of $6,244, the highest amount paid by any township in the county. Four of the school houses are brick and the other four arc fi'ame structures, but all arc of modern design and well adapted to tiie iiurjiose for wliich they were erected.

As early as 1833 Rev. John A. Brouse, a Methodist missionary, held religious sci'vices at the cabin of William Snntli. A little later a class was formed and the first house of worship in the lownship was built by this little congregation in 1840. The Christian and (iernian Baptist c'ongi-egations were organized in 1838. The Baptist church at Mexico was founded in 1861, and there are congregations of different denominations at Denver, an account of which will be found in the chaptci- on clinrch liistory.

Jeft'erson townshiji is well sujiplicd with Iransportation facilities. A line of the Vandalia railway sy.stem runs across the township from northeast to southwest, following closely the Eel river and pa.«sing throiigh ^lexico and Denver, and the Lake Ei-ie & Western runs noi'th and south along the eastern border, crossing the Vandalia at Denver. IMexico and Denver are both thriving towns. Houtli of Denver is a small station on the Laki' Erie & Western Railroad, from which some shipping is done.

As stated in the beginning of this chapter, Jeffer.son township was established in June, 1834, and endiraced all the northern part of the county. Perry townshi]) was formed in Kebiuary, 1837, and on the 7th of Xovendier of that year the townships of Richland and Union were erected, at which timi' Jefferson was reorganized with its present boundai'ies and area.

This township occupies the northeast corner of the coimty and is the largest civil township in the county. Its extent is seven miles from east to west and six miles from north to south, giving it a total area of fortytwo S(|uare miles, or 26,880 acres. It is bounded on the north by Fulton county; on the east by the county of Wabash; on the south by Richlan<l township, and on the west by the townships of Allen and Union. The general surface is rolling, with some hills along the few streams that traverse the townshi]). Geologists see in the surface indications evidences that at some remote period the region now included in Periy township was covered by small lakes, probai)ly of glacial origin, liy the gradual disiidegration of the surrounding elevations, supi>lementcd l)y artificial drainage, the beds of these shallow lakes have been filled up and made tillable, so that some of the best farms in Miami county are in this township. The soil is a sandy loam, with a clay subsoil, which, when properly drained, yields abundant crops of wheat, corn, oats and other cereals, fruits and vegetables that are adapted to this latitude. When the first white men came they found here a heavy growth of timber that had to be cleared away before farms could be opened. They also found considerable muck and tamarack swamp land, which has been drained and is now as productive as any land in the township.

James Malcolm is credited with being the first actual settler in what is now Perry town.ship. He came to Indiana in 1833 and obtained a log cabin from an Indian village in the southeast corner of this township, where he settled and entered upon his self-appointed task of making a home in the wilderness. There is something pathetic in the fate of this pioneer. Ng (],n,l)t he was buoyed up by the hope that some day he would see the primeval forest, the wild beasts and the uncivilized natives disappear before the industry of his own race, and the country become peopled by a civilized population, of which he would be a component part. He lived long enough to see his dreams realized, but circumstances compelled him to pass his declining years in the county a.sylum and he died a public charge upon the county he had helped in his earlier days to develop.

In 1834 William Akright settled near ilalcolm and was the second white man to establish a home within the present limits of the township. His son, John Akright, was one of the early school teachers of Miami coimty and afterward was for several years a general merchant in the village of Gilead. Before the close of the year 1834 Mathias :\Ioyer located a little north of Akright and not far from the eastern boundary of the county. Benjamin ilusselman and Jacob (iill came either late in this year or early in the year 1835, but they did not enter land until some time afterward.

During the year 1835 there were a inimber of immigrants to Perry towmship. Among them were John and Adam E. Rhodes, the former of whom entered a large tract of land near the center of the township. Adam E. Rhodes settled where the village of Gilead is now located. Others who came during the year 1835 were Ira Mitchell, who settled a short distance east of Gilead; James Waddle, near Niconza; Peter Onstatt, about two and a half miles southeast of Gilead; James Fiers, in the southeast corner of the township ; Rev. Wesley Borders, a Methodist preacher and early justice of the peace, settled near Mr. Fiers; Joseph Wildman and his son Joseph, southwest of Gilead ; Alfred Dowd and Charles Cleland, a short distance west of Gilead; James Cleland,

Dnriiii;- the years 1835 and 183(i lands in Perry township were entered liy Xatlian Seavey, Andrew Oiistatt, .Josepli Cox, John MePrea, Charles S. Lowe, John J\. Wright, Jerome Hoover, SHinnel Wallace. Noah Webl), John Wiseman, Adam Weavei-. W. II. Dubois. James Adams, Philip 'SI. Tahb. James Waddell, Daniel (iilehrist, Samuel A. I\ranon, .Miles Craig, William Kobbins, W. IT. Stnbblelield, Daniel Hawkins, William SI. Duff, Cyrus Taylor. Samuel and Townsend Hoover, Hiram and William Putler. John Howry, Joseph Heekner, John Wel>b, David Mowlsby and a number of others. Some of these men settled upon their lands and otliei's liought for the purpose of speculation.

By the close of the year 1836 the poiuilation was sufficient to .justify the establishment of a new township. Accordingly, on February 27, 1837, the count.v eoiiujiissioners ordered the erection of Perry township, which included all that part of the county l.ving north of the present southern boundary of Perry. The new township was luimed in honor of Connnodore Oliver II. Perry, who won such a sigual victory over the British fleet on Lake Erie in the War of 1812. The first election was held a little later at the house of Peter Onstatt, Alexander Jameson acting as inspector. Weslej' Borders was elected justice of the peace, and (teorge Tombaugh. Hii-am Butler and William Hester were the first trustees.

In November, 1837. the western part of Peri'y tnwnship was taken to form the townshii) of Cnion. Brant & Fuller's History of Jliami County, l)ublished in 1887, says on page 277. that a township called Lake was formed on June 7, 1842, which embraced the noi-thern part of Miami county, but the boundaries as therein ilescribed by section lines are such that it is impossible to trace them correctly upon the map of the county. The records of the ecmnty commissioners wei'e destroyed by the burning of the coui-t house in ^larcli, 1843, so that the official description of Lake township is lost. It is certain, however, that the township was never fully organized as an independent ))olitical subdivision of Miami count.v.

Several births occui'red in the families of the early settlers sotin after they came to the township, and it is uncertain just who was the first white chihl lioi-n in Perry. The first death was that of James Bunton, who died in 1835, .soon after settling on his claim. Among the early marriages was that of Thomas Clemens to a tlaughter of Joseph Wildman, in

Peter Onstatt established the first lilacksmith shop, on his farm in section 22, and the first mill was built by John Bowers. It was a sawmill and stood on a branch of S(|nirrel creek. About 1854 Alfred Dowd built a steam saw-mill a short distance west of Gilead. The most convenient grist mill for the early settlers was that of Benjamin Musselman, which was on Squirrel creek, .just over the line in Wabash county. The first tannery was started by John Daggy, and a few years before the beginning of the Civil war John Anglehart established a small distillery in the northeastern part of the township. Other early industries were the cabinet sliop of Joseph Miller, not far from the Wabash county line, and the pottery of Elias Slagle, near Xiconza, where a deposit of clay suitable for earthenware was found about 1838. Mr. Miller also made the coffiiis for a numlier of the pioneers.

Probably the first religious meeting in the township was held at the house of James Fiers in 1835, when a few Methodists gathered there for worship. Rev. Arentis Dowd and Ansel Beech were among the first to conduct services in Perry. The Baptists organized soon after the Methodists and other denominations formed congregations and built churches in the township at a later date.

The first school house was built in 1837, shortly after the township was organized, on the Benjamin Landis farm, and the second school house was built the succeeding year on the farm then owned by Thomas Goudy. It is not certain wlui taught the first school, but among the early teachers were James Potter, Peter Smith, Alvin Dunbai', iVnianda Dowd, James Adams and C. B. Ash. In lUl:! there were eight hi'ick and three frame school houses in Pei'iy. valued at $17,7(10. Fourteen teachers were employed tluring the school year of 1912-13, three of them in the certified high school at Gilead, and the amount paid in teachers' salaries was $5,947.40

The only railroad in Perry townshij) is the Winona Interurban Railway, an electric line that runs from Peru to Warsaw, passing through the village of Gilead, which is the onl.y town of importance in the township. Some years ago there was a postoftice at Niconza, near the eastern boundary, and Stockdale antl Wheatville were trailing centers. But in the march of progress they failed to keep up with the procession and have perished entirely or remain only a siiadow of what they formerly were.

<i('ciiiTi'(l witliiu its hordi'i's will be I'ouiiil in the next cliaptci'. Its shape is irrc^ilar; its greatest length is eighl miles; at tiic wrstcrn lininulary it is tliree miles from north to south, ami at the eastern houmlary it is nearly five miles from north to south. On the north it is houiulcil liy Jefferson ami Kiehland townships; on the cast by Ei'ie; on the south hy the Wabash river, whieh separates it I'l-oiu the township of Washinjrlon and Pipe Creek, and on the west hy Cass county. The area of th(' township is about twenty-five sipuire miles. Peru is one of the two original townships ors'anized by the board of eounty commissioners at their first session in June, 18:i4, but its area has been redueccl by the foi'iiiation of Erie township and changes made in the boundaries b\- the reorganization of Jefferson in 18.'37.

The surface of the townshij) is somewhat undulating, the drainage being toward the Wabash i-ivei-, which i-uns along the southern border. About ten miles of ditches have been constructed in the township at a cost of some $20,0()(), and by this means the cultivation of the naturally fertile soil has been much improved.

Transportation facilities are of the best. The Wabasli Railroad runs east and west along the river of that name, the Lake Erie & Western and the Chesapeake & Ohio cro.ss the township, the electric lines of the Winona Interurban Railway Company, the Indiana Union Traction Company <ui(l the Fort Wayne & Xorthern Indiana Traction Company traverse practically all parts of the town.ship. All those lines, lioth steam and i'lecti'ic, center at Peru.

The first school in the township was taught in the town of Peru, in a little log cabin that had been erected for a dwelling, but whieh the people fitted up for a school house at their own expense. It was erected by William Smith, in the fall of iy;?4, and was located on Third street. In there were seven brick sclmol buihlings in the township (exclusive of those in the city of Peru), the value of which was estimated at -$20,250. During the school year of 1912-1:5 ten teachers were employed in the public schools of the township and they received in salaries the sum of $4,804.80. In 191M the taxabb' property of the township was asses.sed at $1,414,250.

Immediately south of the Wabash I'ivcr, in the western tier, lies Pipe Creek township, wliirh takes its name from the streairi thai flows across it in a northwesterly direction. It is bounded on tiie north by Peru township: on the east by AVashington; on the south by Deer Creek, and on the west by the county of Cass. Its greatest length from iioi'lh to south is a little less than seven miles, and it is four miles in

The surface is diversified and the soil is a black loam nii.xrd with day in some places and with sand in others. Pipe creek and its triliutaries afford good natural drainage, so that this township has not been compelled to resort to artificial drainage as much as some of the others of Miami county. A heavy growth of fine timber once covered this section of the county. l)ut the most valuable trees have long since been converted into lumber.

Wlieu the first white settlers came to this townshiji they found an Indian village, knowai as S(|uirrel village, situated on the noi-th bank of Pipe creek, a short distance northwest of the present town of Bunker Hill. The village consisted of about a dozen log huts and the chief was known as "Old S(|uirrelly," after whom the village was named. He was a Pottawatomi who. it is .said had formerly lived near Plymouth. Init was driven away from there on account of his cruelty. He then married a Miami scjuaw and became chief of the village, the other inhaliitauts of which were Miamis.

Accounts of the first settlers say that Samuel Durand and John Wilson located in Pipe Creek township in the year 1838. but it is not certain which one of these pioneers came first. Wilson was more of a hunter than a farmer and after a short residence sold his cabin to a man named Finney, after which he disappeared from :\liami county. In 1839 Joel Julian settled on Pipe I'reek, in the western pai-t ; John Betzner in the northeastern part, and Maston Thomas and his father in the northern part. Jacol) Kellar and William Clark came in 1840 and the ue.\t year the population was increased by the arrival of several pioneers with their families. Isaac Vandorn settled near Pipe creek, in the central part ; Jacob Brandt, on section 1-1, where his father, :\Iartin Brandt, had previously entered a tract of land ; Moses Larimer, on a tract ad.jacent to the present town of Bunker Hill ; Joab IMendenhall, near the line of Deer Creek township ; James A. Lewis, who made the first improvements on the Brandt farm ; and James Petty, who settled in the northern part. Among those who came in 1842 were Jeremiah Shafer and Isaac Mar- (fuiss, who settled on Pipe creek, in the eastern part of the township.

In 1843 John and Peter Reed settled in the central part; Jacob Pottartf, who was one of the pioneer blacksmiths, farther east : James IMcGinnis, near Bunker Hill; Robert Jenniss, near Pipe creek; Frederick Keller, in the eastern part; Henry Crabb and Godfrey Helderly, in the central part ; Rev. Samuel Dewese, about a mile west of Bunker Hill ; David Carr, in the northern part ; Noah Townsend, in the w^estern part ; John and Eli Oliver, near Bunker Hill, and a number of others in various parts of the township. JiroIj, Daniel and William Kite were also anioug the early settlers. In the summer of this year (1843) the settlers in this pai't of the county began to agitate the i)U('stion of organizing a new townshii). The eustoiuary petition was eireulated and when' signed by a suffieient niiinber of citizens it was presented to the board of county coniiuissioners. On Septeiiiber G, 184)!, the board granted the prayer of the pt'titioners by onlering the erection of Pipe Creek township, and that the Hrst election should be hchl at the house of William Clark in October. At that election seventeen votes were east. The election board consisted of William Clark, .James I'etty, David Carr, Peter Redd and Jacob Brandt. Thomas Kenwortliy was chosen tlie first justice of the i)eace ; Jacob Keller, road supervisor; and a constable was also elected, but his name cannot be ascertained.

One of the earliest births in Pipe Creek tow nship was that of Naucy J., daughter of iloses and Xaucy Larimer, who was born in 1844. The marriage of James McCrary to Sarah Larimer, in 1843, was probably the lirst in the townshij), and the tirsl death was probably that of an infant child of Noah Townsend.

As early as ]8.'Jti a saw-mill was built liy I'rank Godfroy on Pipe creek, near where the Wallick mill was afterward erected. When John Duckwall came to tlie township he repairei.1 the (loul)le log house in which Chief Squirrelly had formerly lived, and resiiled there a number of years. In 18oU Air. Duckwall built a saw-mill and live years later erected a grist mill. Loth these mills were burned in 1857, but the saw-mill was rebuilt the same year and the grist mill in I87(i. Other early mills were those of Henry Knell, li. T. Jones and Thomas Keuworthy, all of which were located on Pipe creek. The Wallick grist mill was built in 1856 and the lime kiln near the null was opened about ten years later. Another early industry was the distillery of Charles Lewy, in the northern part of the township, which he conilucted with success for about a year, when he sold to some persons who soon afterward iliscontinued the business.

The lirst religious services were held at the house of Isaac \'andorn in 1843, by a .Methodist minister named Matthew Curry. Rey. Mr. Pugsley, a minister of the United Brethren church, also held services there at an early date, but the tirst church society organized was that of the Baptists, which was organized by Rev. Saumel Dewese, at his residence near Bunker Hill. Since then churches have been established by the German Baptists, Christians and some other denominations. There was once a Catholic church at Bunker Ilill, but it was abandoned some years ago.

house in the township \v;is Iniilt in the year IS4H, on tin- rjirin of Joel Julian, and the first school was taught there the following winter. The name of the first teacher has been forgotten, but among the pioneer instructors of this township were Jacob Barnett and Eiza Barnett, both of whom taught in the Julian school house. Not long after the first school house was built another was erected on the farm of Rev. Samuel Dewese, who was the first teacher in that district. Another pioneer school house stood on the farm of Jacob Brandt. In 1913 there were si.\ brick school houses in the township - not including the graded school building in the town of Bunker Hill - the estimated value of which was !f;10,000. The nine teachers employed in these houses during the school year of 1912-18 received in salaries the sum of $3,949.50.

Bunker Hill, aii incorporated town, is the only town in Pipe Creek township. It is i3ituated in the southeastern part, at the crossing of the Lake Erie & Western and the Pan Handle railroads, the former of which runs north and south along the entire eastern border of the township, and the latter crosses the southern portion. These two roads and the electric line of the Indiana Union Traction Company, which also runs through Bunker Hill, aiford ample transportation facilities to the people of Pipe Creek township. A short distance north of Bunker Hill, on the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, was once the little village of Leonda, but the advantages of the two railroads at Bunker Hill were too great to be overcome and Leonda disappeared from the map.

After Perry, this is the largest township in Miami county. It is situated northeast of the center of the county; is bt)unded on the north by Perry to^\^lshil) ; on the east by Wabash county ; on the south by the townships of Erie and Peru, and on the west by Jefferson and Union. On the northern boundary its extent is seven miles from east to west, on the southern it is six miles, and it is six miles from north to south. The total area of the township is about thirty-nine square miles. The Eel river enters near the northeast corner antl flows in a southwesterly direction across the township, crossing the western liorder about two miles north of the southwest corner. Its principal tributaries in Richland are Flowers and Bachelor creeks. This stream, with its tributaries, furnishes a good drainage system for the township. The soil is of unusual fertility and some of the finest farms in the state are located in the Eel river valley.

first actual st'ttlcr in tliat pai't of Miami c-ounty. Somi aftci' him caiiie John and James Long and William Jones, ami so far as i-an lie leanieil they were the only white inhabitants at the elose of the year. Early in 1837 Robert IMiller, John Ellison, Allen Loekridge and James Conner located claims aud began clearing farms in the township. Later in the year there were a number of pioneers selected lands in the Eel river valley. Among them were John Conner, ^Martin Seruggs. Moses and Jesse .Martindale, Richard Miller, Daniel Ward, Alvin Riddle, Edmnml I. Kidd. Thomas Smith and William Bish.

Altliough the population was rather scanty, Kichland townshii) was erected by the county commissioners on November 7, 1837, hut the fii-st township oificers were not elected until in August, 1838. Then an elec;- tion was held at Ihc house of David Williams. Ednunid 1. Kidd and Martin Scruggs were chosen justices of the peace; Moses .Martindale, Thomas Smith and David Williams, township trustees.

During the years 1838 and 1839 there was a tide of immigration to Richland township, which was so named by the commissioners when it was erected in 1837, on account of the fertility of the soil. Ileiiiy Norris settled a short distance of Paw Paw village; Amos lAlurphy, John Jliller, R. C. Harrison and Robert Watson, in the eastern part; Samuel Rank, near the northeast corner; near him located a man named Finley, on Eel river ; Samuel Fisher, east of Chili ; Caleb Petty, in the southei'n part; Enos Baldwin and John Sellers, on section 23, about a i}iile and a half east of Denver ; and David Graham and Benjamin Baltimore, on section 13. Others who came in these years and settled in different parts of the township were: Joseph Clark, ilichael Taylor, Thomas Black, Josiah and William Petty, Peter Woolpert, Reuben Overman, Samuel Hart, Reuben K. Charles, Jacob Peer, Samuel Jameson, Je.sse Murphy, Willis Hill, Charles, James and Amos Woolej', Jonathan P^isher, James Ilolinshade, Benjamin Griffith, David JMarquiss, Samuel Ileilman, Andrew Hann, Jacol) Lander, Alanson Dowd, Andrew Wolfe, Samuel Davis and James Tracy.

When the first settlers came to Ricliland the ucai'est grist null was that of Burrell Daniels, in Jefferson township, and to this mill the pioneers went through the woods with a "turn of corn," or, after their farms were cleared, with a sack of wheat. About 1841 George Goudy built a mill on the Eel river, on what was afterward known as the John Davis farm, and it was not long until he had a good patronage. The building was a frame and the mill was supplied with good machinery for that day. Under various owners it continued in operation until about 1883. John Long built a saw-mill on Flowers creek, near Chili, about 184(). Later he sold out to William McColley, who converted it into a grist-mill and ran it as such for several years. William Miller then built a saw-mill on the Eel river, opposite the village of Chili. Sometiuie in the early forties ^Ir. Martiudale built a eardiug maehiue ou Flowers creek, not far from Chili, and about the same time Robert [Miller established a saw-mill on Paw Paw creek. He was one of the prominent citizens, served a term in the state senate, and hLs son, Rev. S. C. ]Miller, still resides in the township. The carding machine was subsequently converted into a flour mill. - For many years the saw-mills did a good busi- ness, but after the most valuable timlier was manufactured into lumber the mills were removed to other localities (ir allowed to fall into decay.

In 1837 a few ]\Iethodists and their friends met at the house of Robert Jliller for worship. About a year later a society was organized and in 1842 a church was built on the farm of Richard Miller, the first in Richland township. The Chili [Methodist church was organized about 1839 and since then the Baptists and some other denominations have organized congregations in the township, an account of wliich will be found in the chapter on Church History.

18."^8, and Mi-. Watson taught the tirst tt-rni of scliool in it after it was foniplctcd. A year or so later ant)tlR'r school house was built on the farm of Moses Martindale, whose son was the first teaelier in that district. In l!)i;j there wi-re four brick and five frame school houses in Ricldand, valued at $9,235, and the eleven teachers employed received .$8,949.20 in salaries.

Probably tlie tirst white ciiiid born in thi" township was Robert, son of Kolii It and Rebecca Miller, who was born in 1888. One of the earliest marriages was that of Willis Buck to a Jliss Watson, daughter of Robert Watson, in 1889. Later iu the same year Ednuuul Blackman was united in marriage with a daughter of David Williams. Margaret Miller, a daugliter of Richard MiUer. died in 1840, wliicii was the tirst death in the township.

Chili, a station on the Vandalia Railroad a little southwest of the center, is the principal town of Richland township. East of Chili, on the same line of railroad, is the village of Pettysville. It has a postofficc ami some siiii)i)ing is done from that point. Anson, Paw Paw and Wooleytowii, once thriving settlements in Richland, are among the deserted villages of .Miami county. A history of these places may be found in tiie chapter on Towns and Villages.

The \'andalia Railroad enters the township from the west near the center of the boundai'y line and follows the north side of the Eel river into Wabash county. At Chili this road is crossed by the Winona Interurlian, an electric liiu^ that runs from Peru to Wai'saw. These two roads provide fairly good transportation facilities to the township.

The territory corapri.siug this township was originally a part of -Ictt'ei-son, and the first settlers located before the townsiiip was cut off as a separate political division on November 7. 1887. I'nion township is one of the western tier. It is bounded on the nortii by Allen township, on the east by Peny and Richland, on the south by Jefferson, and on the west by Ca.ss county. It is four and a half miles from north to south and five miles from east to west. In the extreme southeast corner about one-foui-th of a s(|uare mile has been cut off from Union and added to Jefferson, so that the area of Union is a fraction less than twenty-two and a half square miles. When the township was first created it contained all of the present township of Allen and a small portion of the western part of Richland. Along Weesau creek and the smaller streams of the township the land is .somewhat broken, but back from the creeks the surface is generally level. In the northwestern part are "the bar- rens," where the only timber is the small jackoak. Several low, sandy marshes, once unfit for cultivation, have been drained aud now yield abundant crops. The southern part was originally well timbered \vith black walnut, hickory, oak, ash and some other varieties of native forest trees.

lu the spring of 1835 Joseph Thoruburg, William Cannon and John Plaster selected lands in what is now Union township and built their cabins on the frontier of civilization. Joseph Cox, who came about the same time, made a few improvements and then went elsewhere. In the fall of that year came Abraham Leedy, John Pall and John Zook, who settled in the same neighborhood with those who came the spring before. The next year a number of persons brought their families into the township. Among them were Martin Hoover, who settled in the northern part ; John E. Wright, near the present village of Deedsville ; Christian Krider, near the western boundary; John F. Sanders and Hugh A. B. People, in the southern part.

Among those who came in 1837 were ]\Iatthew Fenimore, who settled on the site of Perrysburg; Stephen Davidson, W^illiam Williams and Daniel Cox, in the same locality; John A. Taylor, iu the central part; John Sliephers, near the western border; William Bane and Samuel Robbins, in the northern part ; John Scott, near the center of the township, and a few others, who located their claims in different sections.

At the house raisings in pioneer days it was customary to provide a supply of whisky for the men invited to assist in raising the cabin. It is related of William Cool, who came to the township in the spring of 1839, that he decided to raise his house without the aid of liquor. He invited his friends to the "raising," and announced his intention to give them a dinner they would not soon forget. Various articles of food were brought from a distance to prepare that dinner, but Mr. Cool kept his word and those who partook of that meal remembered for many days afterward. No whisky was provided and after that a dinner "like Mr. Cool's" was preferred to intoxicating drinks. His cabin was a story and a half in height, probably the first of that character in that part of the county. It stood near the old road that ran from JMiamisport to the Tippecanoe river and the passing Indians used to stop and admire the house with such expressions as "Humph! white man heap big wigwam!"

Other pioneers who located in Union between the years 1837 and 1840 were: J. A. Howland, Daniel and Joseph Kessler, Jonathan Carlisle, Christopher Cool and his sons - William, Leonard, Powell, John aud Philip, Orson Warner, Daniel Crouch, Chauncey Warner, Perry Tharp, Joseph Holman, Solomon Lee, Isaac Benedict, Lewis Conner, William and Charles Strowd, David Leedy, Robert James, James Personett,

History Ok .Miami County 147

A trading post was established at Perrysburg in Ib'M and about a year later John A. Taylor built the first saw-mill on Weesau creek. Later .Mr. Taylor built a grist mill near the same site, with two run of buhrs, equipped to grind both corn and wheat. This mill proved a great blessing to the settlers, who had been compelled to go long distances to secure a supply of breadstuff's, and the propi'ietor did a good business for a number of years. Under dill'erent owners this mill was run until about 1872.

About 1S:59 Josepli TTolman built a saw-mill, with a set of corn buhrs attached, in another part of the township, and a year or two later John Zook l)uilt a small saw-mill on the east branch of Weesau creek. It was subsequently i)urchased by a man named IMatthias, who ran it a shoi't time and then permitted it to fall into decay. The first steam mill was built by William Conner, a short distance south of Perrysburg. The Josepii ITolman above mentioned, was the man who laid out the town of .Miamisport, but soon afterward removed to Union township, where he built the first frame house, in the southeast corner of the township, and there started a tanyard at an early day. During the i'ew years he conducted it he made much of the leather used by the pioneers in that part of the county.

Pi'obably the first white child born in the township was :\Iary, daughter of Martin and Sarah Hoover, who was born in January, 18:i7. Later in that year occurred the death of Susan Haltimore, which was the first death. Her funeral was held at the residence of ALirtin Hoover and the sermon deliv<'red on that occasion is said to have been the first over preached in Union township. In the spring of 1838 the marriage of Jacob Piirtlett to a daughter of Hugh A. B. People was solemnized by A. II. Leeily, justic-e of the peace, which some authorities claim was the first marriage in the township.

The first election for township officers in Union was held at Matthew Fenimore's store, in Perrysburg, in the fall of 18:57, soon after the township was erected by oi-der of the county commissioners. Abraham H. Leedy acted as inspector of the election and was chosen the first justice of the peace. Powell Cool was elected townshii) clerk. If any other officers were elected at that time their names have been lost. It is something umisual for any candidate for office to serve as a member of an election board, but in that day it appears that nothing was thought of such an occurrence, and everybody was satisfied with the election of "S(iuire" Leedy.

The Weesau Creek Baptist church was organized in 1839; tlie Presbyterian church at Perrysburg ten years hiter, and the Christian and MethocUst churches were organized at a comparatively early date.

Almost immediately after the organization of the township, the settlers began to consider some means of educating their children. In 1838 the first school house was built on the farm of John Plaster and the first school was taught there in that year by Miss JIaliala Scott. She is said to have been a young woman of somewhat limited literary attainments, but of good common sense, and taught a school that was satisfactory to the patrons. Two more school houses were erected in tiie year 1839. In 1913 Union township had one brick and four frame school houses, the estimated value of which was $16,350. During the school year of 1912-13 nine teachers were employed in the public sciiools and received in salaries the sum of $3,854.20.

The Lake Erie & Western Railroad enters the township near the southeast corner and runs in a northerly direction, crossing the northern bountlary about two miles west of the northeast corner. Deedsville is a station on this road. In the western part of the township is the old village of Perrysburg. and old maps of the county show a station on the Lake Erie & Western Railroad called liusaco, about two miles south of Deedsville.

This township lies directly across the Wabash river from the city of Peru and extends southward to the line dividing townships 25 and 26 north. Its greatest length is nearly eight miles and it is four miles in width from east to west, having an area of a little less than thirty square miles. The northern boundary is the center of the Wabash river to the mouth of the Mississinewa, thence up that stream to the range line dividing ranges 4 and 5 east, which forms the eastern boundary. North of it is Peru to\viiship, on the east it is bounded by Butler, on the south by Clay, and on the west by the township of Pipe Creek.

Little Pipe creek flows in a northwesterly direction through the central part of Washington and enters the Wabash river near the northwest corner. Big Pipe creek flows across the southwest corner and these streams, with the Wabash and Mississinewa rivers, afford good drainage to all portions of the township. Most of the surface is high land and along the streams are rugged and romantic bluffs, showing some of the finest landscape scenery in the county. A little of the land is low, but it has been reclaimed by artificial drainage. This land lies in the southern part of the township and it is related that the people wiio settled

But the patienee and industry of these "swamp angels" in draining tlieir lands have been handsomely rewarded. Their farms are among the most produetive in the county, while the soil of the uplands has "run out," to some extent, and has to be replenished by the use of fertilizers. When the first white men came the soil of these uplands was quite fertile. The leaves that fell from the trees of the heavy forest acted as a natui-al fertilizer, but that source of repair has practically vanished. Large (luantities of lumber and thousands of staves have been shipped from Washington township in the years gone by, and the constant cultivation of the land after the timber was cleared off has had its effect, though there are still many fine farms in the towiiship.

The first white man to locate within the present limits of Washington township was Thomas Henton, who came in the summer of 1838 and built a cabin on a hill overlooking the old Strawtown and JMiamisport state road. ]\lr. Henton was unmarried and for a few years after settling in Miami county kept bachelor's hall in his cabin and spent much of his time in hunting. He then married a Miss Dabney, daughter of one of the pioneers, and turned his attention more to the development of his farm. After his death his widow married William Demuth and the place entered by Mr. Henton became known as the Demuth farm.

During the year 1839 a number of settlers located claims in the township. Among them were Patrick O'Brien, who had come from Ireland in his boyhood twentj' years before ; John Bargerhoof , Thomas 0 'JMeara, Daniel Taggett, Bradley Witham, George Beck, John Gindling, Michael Duffy, John Cleiker, Guinton Key and Patrick Colgan. Daniel Taggett located where the town of South Peru now stands and for some time operated a ferry across the Wabash river.

After 1839 the increase in population was gradual, but constant, a few new immigrants arriving every year until the township was fully settled. Jacob Struble and George Clickard came in 1840. ]Mr. Struble was one of the early road supervisors and opened some of the public highways, one of which is still known as the "Struble road." He was at one time the owner of considerable land. About the time of the arrival of Struble and Clickard, or shortly afterward, came JIalachi Kuhn, Alexander Wilson, Emanuel Charpie, William Weakler and a few others. Others who settled in the township in the early '40s were: James Dabney, whose daughter became the wife of Thomas Henton, William Lyeee, John Miller, Isaac Miller, Jacob Keller, ^lichael Case, John Allen, James Sharp, David Myers, Abel Hennen, James Downey, John Hunt, William King, John Davidson. Frederick Harter, John Scott, Amos Ranks,

Tlioinas Goudy. Arthur Bland. Otis Fisli, B. F. York, Jerry Shafer, Philip and William j\Iort, Samuel Jameson, Frederick Coleman, Caleb Corey, Ephraim Bearss, John York, Martin Flagg, David Dunn, John and Conrad Hawes, Robert .McKinney and W. 11. ^Nlisener, the last named settling on the Richardsville reserve, near the junction of the Wabash and Mississinewa rivers.

On June 6, 1S4.S. the board of county commissioners issued the order erecting Washington townshij), which was named for General George Washington, "the father of his country" and the first president of the United States. As originally established, Washington township extended south to the county- line, but in 1846 six miles was cut off of the south end to form the township of Clay. A few weeks after the township was organized the first election was held at the cabin of Thomas Henton, when Isaac ililler was elected .justice of the peace and Patrick O'Brien, constable.

The first marriage was that of Patrick Colgan to Bridget Kennedy, in 1841, and their son, Lawrence, boi'n the following year, is lielieved to liave been the first white child born in the township. Probably the first death was that of John Hunt, which occurred in February, 1842.

As early as 1843 a minister by the name of Johnson visited the tovraship and held services at the house of John Allen, but it cannot be learned what denomination he represented. About a year later two United Brethren preachers - Hoover and Simons - came into the township and laid the foundation for the congregation that was organized in 1846. The Presliyterians and Dunkards sul)se(juently organized societies. (See Chapter XVII.)

In the matter of education, the people of Washington townsliip have not been behind their neighbdrs in other parts of the county. In 1842, nearly a year before the township was organized, the settlers employed a teacher to open a school in a little cabin that had been built for a dwelling on the farm owned by John Allen. The succeeding year a regular school house was built on the farm of Patrick Colgan, in wliich the first school was taught by Lucy O'Brien. Other pioneer teachers were Abel Hurt, Alford Sparks and a man named Ilobaugh. At the present time Washington has the only concrete school house in the county. In addition to this building there are in the township .seven brick and one frame school houses, the estimated value of the whole being $18,500. During the school year of 1912-13 thirteen teachers were employed in the public schools and the amount paid for teachers' salaries by the township was $5,453.50.

line of tlif liiili:in;i I'liidii 'I'l'iLction Company [masses near the buildings. Fai'tliiT east tlie Chesapeake & Ohio Kailroad runs from southeast to northwest across the tow nshiji. but there is no station on that line within the borders of Washini;ton. South Peru, in the extreme northern part, just across the Waliasli ri'oiii the eity of Peru, is the only lowii in the township, henee it is liardly iiece.ssary to state that agriculture and stock raising- are the principal occu])ations of the people, though some manufacturing is carried on in South Peru.

One of the first meclianics in the township was Abraham Bilheimer, a cabinet-maker by trade, who made some of the furniture used by the early settlers, a few pieces of which aie still in existence, John Alien was probalily the first wagon-maker. In early days there were a few sawmills located along the streams, but they have long since ceased to exist.

Eighty years have passed since the county of Miami was organized and the first two civil townshijis were established. In this chapter and the one preceding, the aim has been to present the names of many of the men who aided in redeeming this region from the wilderness and the savage: to chronicle some of the ])rincipal events that have occurred in different parts of the county during that period, and to show the progress of settlement and developnu^nt that has led to the i'ormation of the fourteen political subdivisions called townships. In these chapters the reader will doubtless have noticed and recognized the names of a number of pioneers whose descendants are still residents of Miami county. But the men who organized the county have passed finm I he stage of action, and few are left who assisted in shaping the destiny of the county during the early years of its history. ]\Iany interesting incidents have been forgotten, because they were allowed to pass unrecorded. If this chapter and its predecessor shall contribute in rescuing from fast failing tradition some of the simple annals of the pioneers, their object will have been accomplished. It has iieen said, and it is i)robably true as a rule, that the lives of the early settlers were aimless and void of ambition, their chief purpose having been to provide sustenance for the families dependent upon them. Yet they builded wiser than they knew when they braved the dangers and hardships of the frontier, worked out their self-appointed tasks with patient energy, resolution and self-sacrifice, and i)aved the way for the manifobl bles,sings and comforts of the civilization the present generation enjoys. History is always ready to record the glorious deeds of the general who leads an army to victory, the scientist who gives to the world a great discovery, or the statesman who thrills a le'Mslative bodv with his ornto7-y. 1-iut the pioneer, who, with his ax and his rifle, pushed boldly into the unexplored and uueoiiquered regions of the country and established his luiml)le log eabin as the outpost of civilization, is no less entitled to honorable mention in the records of the nation's progress. True, they achieved no great victories over enemies, they made no great discoveries or inventions, but by their patient toil they made possible the introduction of the railroad, the great manufacturing concern and the cities with which the land is dotted over at the beginning of the twentieth century. It is to be hoped that some day their labors, customs and the importance that attaches to their simple mode of living will be better undci-stood and appreciated. If these chapters shall assist, in the slightest degree, in bringing about that understanding and appreciation, they will not have been written in vain.