Amherst, Ohio

Amherst is township six in range eighteen; lies in the northwestern section of Lorain county, a distance of three miles from the lake, and is bounded on tlie north by Black River, on the east by Elyria, on tile soutli by Russia, and on the west by Brownhelm. Its surface is moderately uneven, and it is traversed from east to west by tliree ridges which run the entire length of the lake, the ancient beaches upon which old Erie's waves spent their force in ages of which no man knows the beginning or the end. It is principally in these ridges, the north, middle and south, tljat the Ohio sandstone which has made the name of Amherst world famous, is found cropping out or coming so close to the surface as to make quarrying practicable. In some places along the north ridge, the rock rises in mounds or ledges. These elevations, undoubtedly, were once bare, bleak islands in a vast inland sea - fortresses of rock which have withstood the tiei'ce onslaught of the north winds' advancing hosts of waves, through centuries. In some places the effect of the wave washing can bo clearly seen.

Passage source: History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879.

Amherst was drawn by Martin Sheldon, Calvin Austin, Oliver L. Phelps and Asahel Hathaway. Tract number two consisting of four thousand acres in Black River, was annexed to equalize it. In con- 15 nection with the present townsliips of Black River, Brownlielm and Russia, Amherst was in 1817 organized into a township under the name of Black River. . This was by order of the Commissioners of Huron county, issued in February of the above year. The organization was effected iu the following February. Brownhelm was detached and incorporated as an independent township iu 1818, and seven years later the territory, now included in Russia township, was separated. From that time until 1830 the present townships of Amherst and Black River were included in one under the latter name.

Passage source: History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879.

Ezeliiel (i. Barnes, a pioneer and celebrated woodsnum, relates an incident that occurred as late as 182(3. There was at that time a growing dislike for the Indians among the young hunters, caused, perhaps, by the fact that the former killed too many of the deer, which the whites regarded as exclusively their own. Young Barnes came to the conclusion that somethinomust be done to cause the Indians to clear the country. He thought the matter over and decided to go to them, tell them in a friendly way of their unpopularity among their white brethren, and drop a hint as to the nature of what might occur if they remained longer in the vicinity. He accordingly went to their encampment and advised the Indians to journey toward hunting grounds farther west, adding that there was such a feeling among the whites that they would be in danger of their lives if they longer remained here. The Indians listened stoically to the story, and Barnes went home to await develcpments. A few days afterward, learning that they still remained in their camp, he got together six or eight young men living within a few miles of his home, and, late at night, the party started into the woods, following a narrow pathway to the Indian hut. Barnes was captain of the attacking army. He desired a bloodless victory, consequently he had all, except one man in whom he had plenty of confidence, load their rifles without ball. He put lead as well as powder in his own gun, and thus forearmed against the savage dogs, of which the Indians were known to have several, the party silently approached their enemy's hut. Contrary to their expectation, the dogs were not aware of their ap[)roach and made no sound. The whole squad approached so close to the little bark structure that they could almost touch it with their long rifles. All was as still as death. The Indians slept as soundly as only people of clear conscience are popularly supposed to. Suddenly, however, they were aroused from oblivion, and rudely, too. The silence of the forest was broken by the sharp crack of eight guns, and eight flashes of fire leaped out against the bark wall of the hut. Tiie little party of adventurers then filed back to their starting place as silently as they had come, and dis- ]iersed to their homes in tin- firin belief that the Indians had been so friglitciied that they would leave the counti-y; and they judged correctly, for. on the following day. the camp was deserted. The Indians firmly believed that the attack iiad Ijeen made by men who wished to take their lives, and it was no more than natural they should have thougiit so, for they found, as they declared, holes in the side of the iiut made by rifle balls. They left for Sandusky, but threatened, before they went, to return with all of their tribe they could get together in that vicinity, and scalp every man, woman and ciiild in the settlement. It was feared by many that the savage threat wc)uld be carried out; but tiie party never returned, and but few Indians were afterward seen in Amherst townsiiip. These Indians were of the Seneca tribe, and belong'ed to the Sandusky branch. Some time before the occurrence related, Mr. Barnes and another young man drove out a small luirty of Indians, following them several miles rifle in band.

Passage source: History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Amherst Township - it names this place 74 more 74 times.