Clinton Township

Clinton Township

On July 6, 1829, on the petition of Isaac Seright and others, the board of justices organized Clinton township, with the following limits : Beginning on the county line at the center of section 34, township 12, range 9; thence south to the Washington township line; thence east five miles to the center of section 21, township 11, range 10, on the south line of said section; thence north to the county line ; thence west with the county line to the place of beginning (volume II, page 43).

The original limits as prescribed by the board of justices who organized this township, have remained the same with two minor exceptions. On September 7, 1829, the board of justices ordered that sections 19 and 20, township II, range 10, be stricken ofif from Clinton township and attached to Washington (volume II, page 47). On May 3, 1830, the board of justices "ordered that the west half of section 21, township 11, range 10, which lies in Clinton township, be and the same is newly attached to the township of Fugit in the said county of Decatur." With these changes, the township stands today as its first boundaries were given.

The same board which ordered the organization of Clinton township, at the same meeting ordered the first election to be held in the township at the house of George McLaughlin on the last Saturday in July, 1829. This election was held for the purpose of electing two justices of the peace. Benjamin Jones was appointed election inspector. Alexander Hamilton and John Small were appointed as overseers of the poor for that year (1829). James Hudson, Robert Wilson and Joseph Lindsay were appointed as first fence viewers (volume II, page 44). In 1830, Joseph Lindsay and James Wilson were appointed as overseers of the poor.

Settlement

It is impossible to determine who was the first settler in this township, but it is improbable that there was anyone with a fixed habitation there before 1821. There were no land entries from this township during the first year after it was open for settlement, which leads to the supposition that there were people living there who wished to protect their claims to their places of residence.

The first known settler was Jesse Womack, who entered a small tract of land early in 1821. Others who came immediately afterward were John Montgomery, Thomas Craig, Daniel Crume, Joseph Jones and Joseph Weihart. Among those who came later, this year were Matthew Campbell, Robert Wilson, James Carter, John Thomson, Israel Harris, Henry Glass and George Donner.

Among the other early settlers who located here and contributed to the early progress and history of the township are : Reuben Johnston, who came here from Virginia with his family, and died in 1857; David Munns, who was one of the early Kentucky pioneers ; also William Ruddell, from Kentucky; Thomas Power, Robert Crawford, John Lyons, William Sefton, William Bird, Baily Johnston, Josiah Kemble, Elijah E. Smith, Peleg Wheeler, George Butcher, A. E. Rankin, D. Cramer, Benjamin Jones, Philip Martin, Edward Ricketts, Dr. Abram Carter, Gabriel Harrold, William Jones, Robert Wilson, Joseph Lindsay and Andrew J. Dale, who came here from South Carolina, are all numbered among the early settlers of the township and contributed toward its settlement and advancement.

Early Mills

The first grist-mill in this township was built by John and William Hamilton, two brothers from Virginia, who settled here. This mill was erected in the year 1822 and the power to run the machinery was furnished by Clifty creek. A short time after this mill was erected, another mill, which was only used for cracking com for feed, was constructed by Thomas Lanham for William Buchanan, the proprietor. This mill was located on the South fork of Clifty creek, and was well patronized by the settlers in this locality, as meal was used more extensively for breadstuff than it is at the present time. About the same time, the first saw-mill was erected by a Mr. Douglas on the south fork of Clifty creek. This mill was well patronized and the owner was doing a thriving business, but his prosperity was to be short-lived, for he met with an accident in the mill which cost him his life. The first horse-power mill was introduced and placed in operation on the farm of Thomas Powell, near the poor farm. Mr. Powell owned and

The first church in the township was built by the Christians. This was erected near the residence of Nathan P. Swails and was known as the Cliffy church.

The general surface of this land is unbroken and slightly undulating and there is no great extent of broken land in the township, although it has excellent drainage from the different branches of Cliffy creek which flow through the township. The land all drains to the southwest and the soil is uniform and of an equal quality. There is no other township in the county which can boast of so few acres of waste or untillable land as Clinton.

The timber furnished one of the greatest industries in this township in the early days, stave-mills being the chief consumption of this natural resource. The forests consisted chiefly of walnut, poplar, sugar, elm, burr oak, hackberry and beech, but since the timber has become scarce the energies of the settlers have been turned toward agricultural pursuits, and this is yielding equally as great results as did the timber products of old. The blue grass land in the southeastern portion of the township rivals even the famous blue grass districts of Kentucky, and has no equal in any part of the home state.

Another great asset to the farmers of this section is the North Vernon, Greensburg & Rushville railroad, which runs through the township. It enables them to place their products on the markets of the leading cities and furnishes railroad facilities for all the different lines of transportation.

Sandusky, the only town in Clinton township, was laid out along the Michigan di\'ision of the Big Four railroad on October 7, 1882, by Olliver C. Sefton. The building of the railroad through the county has made Sandusky a shipping point of importance, especially so since it is the nearest market for most of Fugit and a part of Adams townships. The business interests of 191 5 include the following: Blacksmith, Harrell & Cowan, W. O. Rozell; carpenter, A. T. Stanford, Stillman Bros., Elmer Ruddell; elevator, Sandusky Farmers Elevator Company, Jesse Anderson, manager: general store, Horace McDowell; hardware and implements, Horace Mc- Dowell ; livery, Charles Ray ; painter and paper hanger, Fleetwood & Seright :

J. T. Stanford operates a stone crusher a short distance from the town and furnishes most of the crushed stone used on the roads in the township. In the spring of 191 5 about forty of the leading farmers of the community surrounding Sandusky formed a company to operate the elevator at the town and are making extensive repairs to the building which they acquired. They intend to put in a grinding outfit and handle food stuffs of all kinds. A gas company, composed of Knox, Hall & Williams, has four wells, which furnish an abundant supply of gas for the town. They give a flat rate of one dollar a month for a stove and furnish one light. Additional lights cost fifteen cents. a month. The county farm, of one hundred and sixty acres, is located a mile southwest of Sandusky. Superintendent D. A. Burroughs now has twenty-seven inmates on the farm.