John Richard Residence

THE greater share of Bath Township is extremely rough and preciiDitous. Its central and northern portions, though far from being level, are not as rough and irregular as the balance of the township. The eastern third, and all the land along the valley of Yellow Creek are cut, divided and subdivided into innumerable bluffs and hills of all shapes, sizes and altitudes. Deep gorges wind around the bases of the bluffs, and in some cases are fully 300 feet below the summits of the conical knobs, which appear almost mountainous, when viewed from below. On account of the extreme roughness of Bath, the land was not considered desirable ; so that, in early j-ears, settlers passed on, and it was only after the lapse of time, that large additions were made to the original pioneers. The principal and only stream of note is Yellow Creek. In many respects, it probably has no equal in the county. It is reported that, either from actual measurement or careful estimation, this stream, in flowing across the township (five miles), has a fall of 400 feet. While the stream does not afford any noticeable natural falls, almost its entire course is characterized by a succession of rapids, rendering the creation of first-class water-power an undertaking at once easy and permanent. Since the earliest settlement, these facts have been well known, and tliis will account for the large number of saw and grist mills that have been located along the stream. During the warmer months of dry seasons, the water becomes almost or quite insufficient for milling purposes ; but, in ordinary years, and especially during the rainy months, the creek is a rushing torrent, which sweeps noisily down the valley over its bed of I'ocks. One of the finest natural views in the county is in this valley, in the eastern part of the township. At a place where the creek takes a sudden turn toward the north, a basin of two or three acres is formed on the western side of the creek bottom. Looking southward from the northern part of this basin, the beholder sees an attractive picture. The iDluffs, which extend upward at an angle of forty-five degrees, form a graceful curve, and are covered with a fine forest of pine trees. These trees are found nowhere else along the creek, and form a beautiful contrast with the neighboring oaks and maples, which greets the eye of the spectator with pleasure. The}- are the white pine {Fiiius strobiis), and extend along the creek, mostly on the south side, for a distance of about eighty rods. The larger ones have been cut down and sawed into lumber, several of which measured almost four feet in diameter, though at present they are largely' of a smaller growth. Numerous springs of pure water are found in various parts of the township. A small stream, in the northeast part, drains that portion of the township, and flows directl}' into the Cuyahoga. Another interesting creek rises near the northwest corner, and takes a southeasterly course, flowing into Yellow Creek at Ghent. On the northwest corner of Lot 37 is quite a large pond, drained by the last-named creek, which, so far as the writer knows, is nameless.

Passage source: History of Summit County, with an Outline Sketch of Ohio, published 1881.

Bath Township was not owned by the Grovernment until after the treaty of Fort Industry in 1805. If any persons other than the Indians, and, perhaps, French, lived upon the soil, they were squatters, and only held a " squatter sovereignty " in the land. The township is No. 3 in Range 12, and was originally called Wheatfleld, and is so named in the field-book of Rial McArthur and R. Warden, who surveyed the township into lots in 1808. The name is said to have been given by these men from the fact that the soil looked as though it would raise excellent wheat. How long the name was used is not definitely known, but it went out of use in two or three years, and then the township became popularly known as Hammondsburg, named thus for one of the earliest and most prominent settlei's. Letters from Connecticut with this address were received. They also came directed to Township 3. Range 12, Western Reserve, Ohio. In fact, this was the ordinary way of addressing letters that, were sent to this section of country.

Passage source: History of Summit County, with an Outline Sketch of Ohio, published 1881.

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 Bath Township - 47,064 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.