Hanover Township (part 14 of 29)

The Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad Company was chartered on the 2d of March, 1846, having Solicited a charter as the Cincinnati and Hamilton Railroad Company, its present corporate name being conferred by Charles Anderson, then a member of the Legislature from Dayton, and afterwards lieutenant-governor of the- State. He did this without conference with those interested. The original incorporators were as follows:

W. Davies, of Montgomery County, and John D. Mullison, John G. Law, George L. Denise, O. H. Sehenck, Joseph II. 'Brown, Aaron R. Earhart, and Denise Denise, of Warren County.

In 1849 the capital stock was increased to 82,500,000, and October 12, 1804, to 83,000,000. In 1860 it was increased to 83,500,000. The original charter was prepared by John Woods and Lewis D. Campbell, who from the beginning were the chief men. The first meeting of incorporators was held at the Pearl Street House, in Cincinnati, in 1847, when Lewis I). Campbell was elected j president. Not long after, actual work began.

On the 9th of December, in that year, the principal part of the survey of the final location of the above road ] had been made, and the estimates of the engineer re- i ceived. The route chosen was thought to be shorter and | on more favorable ground than was at first expected, and, j therefore, involving much less expenditure. A large part of the road was level, the greater part of the grades ; requiring only from one to five feet elevation to the mile. The highest elevation v as thirty feet to the mile, and this extended over a space of but four and a quarter or five miles. The road ready for the superstructure it was estimated could be built for 848,673, and the entire road of single track, with turn-outs, etc., for 880,000. For 890,000 persons were then ready to contract. The distance is twenty-one and a half miles. The expense | which the construction of the toad involved was about half that at which the eastern roads were built.

"Sealed proposals will be received at the office of the undersigned in Hamilton, on Saturday, April "9th, between the hours of ten o'clock A. M. and four o'clock P. 51., and | at the office of King & Anderson, Esquires, Third Street, in Cincinnati, on Monday, May 1st, between the same hours, ! for the grading and masonry of so much of the Cincinnati, Hai lilton, and Dayton Railroad as lies between the point at : winch the two turnpike roads unite immediately: below j Hamilton, and the point at which the line of the road crosses the road to Lockland.

"The work will be staked off in sections of proper length, ! and specifications prepared for examination on the 20th of i April. The engineer will be on the line to give such ex- j planations as bidders may desire, and the undersigned will be in attendance on die days above mentioned for the purpose of giving such information as may he required in relation to tlu: terms and conditions of the contracts.

Mr. Campbell was elected that year to Congress, and was succeeded as president by S. S LTIonnnedieu before October, 1848. DeGratt, a noted railroad contractor, the road in the first place was to he constructed from H a mi! ton to Cincinnati. It was not long before the work came almost to a standstill because subscriptions could not be obtained to the capital stock, and it was thought in Cincinnati that if forty men could be obtained to subscribe each ten thousand dollars the additional money could be borrowed. These names were procured, and Mr. L'Hommedieu went to New York and obtained the additional capital. Campbell had had much difficulty in making them believe in Cincinnati that there would be enough business to take a loaded train each way every day.

The "First Annual Report of the President and Directors of the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad Company " gave a good account of the condition and prospects of this work. The location of the entire section between Cincinnati and Hamilton had been finally and definitely made, and the right of way secured on all hut a few unimportant links near this city. A donation had been made by Jacob Hofiher of five acres of land in Cumminsville fora passenger station, workshops, etc. Nearly five acres had been obtained by the compauv, in fee, between Fifth and Sixth Streets, in Cincinnati, east of the Whitewater Canal, for a passenger and miscellaneous freight station.

At Hamilton sixteen acres had been granted fur depots by Messrs. Rebb, Woods, Campbell, and Erwin. In addition several small tracts of land deemed necessary for the uses of the road had been ottered between Hamilton and Cincinnati. The first section was a fraction over twenty-five miles in length. Of this section twelve miles had a grade from level to ten feet per mile, and thirteen miles from ten to twenty feet per mile; eighteen miles of it ran straight lines, and one-fourth of a mile described a curve, with less than 3,800 feet radius.

The embankments were nineteen feet wide, single track, and the excavations twenty feet at the sub-grade line. The earth work was to he covered with good gravel two feet deep and twelve feet wide. The masonry was all to be of a strong and permanent character; the bridges, of Howe's improved plan; the superstructure, of locust cross sleepers; the T rail, of the most approved pattern, weighing sixty-five pounds to the lineal vard. From Hamilton to Dayton several routes had, on the 23d of May, 1850, undergone preliminary surveys, oue of which would be chosen at an early day, and the right of way secured. Between Hamilton and Dayton no curve was required with a radius of less than 5,73!) feet to the mile. The length of this section of the work was thirty-four miles, more than three-fourths of which would be straight linos. With reference to other tracks, which would inevitably run into this main and substantial trunk, the report said:

"The board are happy to add that, as the certaiuty of the early completion .of our road through this great avenue to the city became apparent during the past sea-

Railroad 8

Foa, other lines of railroads naturally falling into it have been projected, and several of them put under contract. The Mad River and Lake Erie Company are pressing forward their road to meet us at Dayton, which will unquestionably be completed before our road can be. The Columbus and Xenia Company obtained from the la<t Legislature a charter for extending their road to Davton. This work will soon be constructed. The Greenville road is entirely graded. From Hamilton to Eaton, up the valley of Seven-Mile, has been let to responsible and efficient contractors, and is believed will be graded during the present season. A careful survey of a continuation of the road from Eaton to Richmond has just been completed, demonstrating that a most favorable line can be located between these towns, requiring a maximum grade of only twenty-five feet to the mile. Surveys have also been made from Hamilton up the valley of Four-Mile, and thence through Connersville to Rushville. Both these latter branches, passing up beautiful valleys to the table-lands, with an almost imperceptible grade, aim at Indianapolis, where they cross the Madison and Bellefontaine roads at right angles, and meet numerous other connections, among which are the roads to Terre Haute, ou the Wabash, and to Chicago, via Lafayette, parts of both which lines are in progress of construction."

The following is a statement of the earnings of the first year by its secretary. The earnings for the month of October, 1852, were over thirty thousand dollars. The abstract is as follows:

Railroad Company For Twelve Months Is. Iso

When it is considered, says the Cincinnati Gazette of that date, that the road had made no pretensions during the year (owing to the want of first-class steamers from Sandusky and the fiat-bar rail ou part of the Mad River road between Sauduskv and Springfield) to compete for through travel, the success of the first year's business must be gratifying to those who take an interest in such improvements. The Hamilton and Eaton road, connecting with tlie Cincinnati, Hamilton ami Dayton at

Hamilton, hail only been in partial operation twentyseven miles for a few mouths. By the close of that year it would be open to Richmond. Early in March , 18 Go, the Greenville and Bellefoutainc roads would unite at Union, giving uninterrupted railroad connection between Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Lafayette. About the same time the Toledo and Xorwalk road would he open to Bellevue, connecting the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton, through the Mad River road, with Toledo and Chicago. From these sources a large accession of freight and travel might be expected. Before the opening of Spring navigation the Mad River and Lake Erie road would be completely relaid with T rail, fully ballasted, and would then, in connection with the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton road, make one of the most pleasant routes eastward. The companies forming the line would have ready two of the fastest and safest steamers which ever made their appearance on the lakes.

An important decision was made by the board of -directors of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton company, at a regular meeting, which would give much satisfaction to the business community generally, and tend to lessen the cost of transportation between Cincinnati and all portions of Xorth-eastern Indiana. The board, with a view to accommodate all the Indiana railroads, built and to be built, entered into an agreement with the several roads forming the line from Cincinnati to Chicago to lay down a second track as far as Hamilton, on the narrow' or Indiana gauge, bv the time the line was finished to Logansport ; and the several roads agreed to form an exclusive connection with the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton road for twenty years.

The first ticket, was sold on the 19th of September, 1851, at Hamilton, by Henry S. Earhart. The office was at that time in a brick house, at the corner of Caldwell aud Fourth Streets. Mr. Earhart remained ticket ageut for more than twenty-five years, and was succeeded by his son.

The number of tickets sold by Dir. Earhart for" the north and south line alone, during Xovember and December, 1852, was 4,880, or precisely eighty per dav - an increase of 1,078 over Xovember and December,' 1851. The number sold diming January and half of February was 4,180, or ninety per day. The number sold at Ciuciunati for Hamilton during the Winter was about one-third greater than that of tickets sold for Dayton.

Recently there has been a practical consolidation between the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton, and Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis Railroad, aud more recently still an attempt at organic union. Of the exact status of this we arc uot advised.

There are upwards of twenty miles of rail ou this road j proper, within the county, and eleven stations. Jones's I is the first one ou entering from the south ; aud thou

The. Eaton road followed next. It was laid out by John W. Erwin in the Winter of 1849. Henry S. Earhart was an assistant. It follows the line of Seven-Mile Creek, and goes through Seven-Mile, Collinsville, and Somerville.

John Woods took an active part in the building of the Eaton and Hamilton Railroad Company, of which he became president, on retiring from the office of an- j ditor of state. Previous to the second election, after 1 Mr. Woods became president, many of the stockholders I had wished a branch road to be constructed from Eaton to Piqua, which was opposed by Mr. Woods. This lost him his election.

The Cincinnati, Richmond and Chicago Railroad Company is the successor to the Eaton and Hamilton Railroad Company, which was chartered February 8, 1847, with authority to construct a railroad from Eaton, Preble County, by such route as the directors might select, to i Hamilton, Butler County.

November 1, 1861, the Eaton and Hamilton Coin- I pany leased that part of the .Richmond and Miami Rail- ! way extending from the point of connection on the State ! line to the junction or switch about two miles east of ; Richmond. Becoming financially embarrassed, suit was j brought against it in the Butler County Common Pleas ! Court, by Joseph B. Varnum, for foreclosure of mort- ! gage. Pending the proceedings, the company was reorganized, and on the 3d of May, 1866, the new arrangement was perfected by filing certificates with the secreretury of state, the new company assuming the name of the Cincinnati, Richmond, and Chicago Railroad Company. On February 19, 1869, the company leased its ! road in perpetuity to the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Day- I ton Railroad Company.

The Junction Railroad Company was incorporated by the Legislature of Indiana February 15, 1848, for the construction of a road from Rushville, through Connersville and Oxford, to Hamilton, with the permission of , the State of Ohio. March 8, 1849, the Ohio Legisla- j turc passed an act granting the right of way. Other j companies were merged and leased, until the road is now j known as the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Indianapolis Railroad.

John Woods became president of this road after re- ] tiring from the Eaton road, to the prosecution of which he bent all his energies to bear, and much of its carlv - success was owing to him. He held his office until the j period of lit.-, dearh, half a dozen vears.

In 1853 the president of this road made his first | annual report to the stockholders. \\ e draw upon tt > for the following information concerning the progress of the work. j warrant a commencement of the undertaking was obtained, and, an arrangement having been made with the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad Company which secured the completion of the whole road from Rushville to Hamilton, the division from College Corner to Conuersville was put under contract in January for the grading, masonry, and bridging. The work was taken in sections and subdivisions by efficient, responsible contractors, at prices much below the rates at which other Western roads had been obliged to pay.

Tn June a contract was made with Messrs. Bates and Neal, experienced and energetic railroad builders, for r ho grading and masonry of the division extending from Connersville to Rushville. This was comparatively the most expensive division of the road. On the 2d of August the remaining divisions, from Hamilton to College Corner and from Rushville to Indianapolis, were put under contract for the construction of the grade and masonry. The division from Hamilton to College Corner was awarded to William Higdon, and from Rushville to Indianapolis to Messrs. Craycraft, Williams, and Ryan.

The superstructure of the bridges on the second division was awarded to Messrs. Tymon and Rindge, who executed a contract for building the bridges on the plan known as Thayer's Patent Truss Bridge. Bids were also received for building the bridges upon the other divisions. Contracts were made to furnish the cross-ties upon the whole road from College Corner to Indianapolis, and bids received for delivering the cross-ties upon the division from Hamilton to College Corner.

The first division from Hamilton to College Corner was awarded to William Higdon on the 2d of August.. The work was not begun until September, and then was vigorously prosecuted. The foundations of the piers and abutments for the bridge over the Miami at Hamilton were excavated, and the timber and masonry put down during the period of extreme low water, and the masonry raised as high as it was saf to be during the Winter. The whole amount of work done on this division was more than thirty thousand dollars. A large force was st'll at work on this part of the road.

The second division, from Connersville to the State line, was put under contract in January. Nearly threefourths of the work ou this part of the road had been done, amounting to one hundred and uinety-five thousand dollars.

The work on the third division, which extended from Connersville to Rushville, had been commenced. The clearing and grading of t ho fourth division, extending from Rushville to Indianapolis, was begun by Messrs. Craycraft, Williams, and Ryan at several points.

The whole amount of the work performed up to that time was two hundred and forty thousand dollars. The estimates were regularly paid to the contractors, and a considerable sum advanced to them on account of the

Archaeology

On Saturday, the 4th of June, 1859, the road was j opened to Oxford, and two trains of eighteen or twenty | cars started at half-past ten o'clock from Hamilton, with : about one thousand passengers, to visit the terminus of the read. Upon arriving at the Oxford depot, they were met by a delegation of citizens of that town, headed by Marshal Matson and the Oxford baud, when a procession was 'formed, which marched dowu to the college campus, where a collation was served. The immense gathering was addressed by Dr. Hall, president of the Miami University, in an appropriate and pleasant manner. The doctor was followed by Wiiliam II. Miller, the energetic president of the Junction Railroad Company, with whose remarks all appeared to be well pleased.

The Junction road was completed as far as College Corner, twenty miles from Hamilton, and the first passenger train passed through at the end of November, 1859. A pleasant company of excursionists had been hastily collected for the "opening." They made the trip without any marked incident, but with much jollity and merriment. As far as completed, the work was of the best and most substantial kind.

The Junction Railroad crosses the river at Hamilton over a handsome bridge. It is, including its culverts and embankments, two thousand and sixty-five feet long, | although the main bridge, where it crosses the Miami, is but seven hundred feet long, and is supported by four arches of one hundred and seventy feet each. It is covered with Mosely's corrugated- iron, and is fifty feet above low-water mark. The viaduct at the west eud is six hundred and sixty-five feet long, crosses three streets at the tops of the houses, and has seventeen arches built of Dayton stone. The grade from the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton depot for four miles west, to the summit level, is sixty-five feet to the mile. The engineering of this magnificent superstructure was done by John S. Karhart.

The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway Company runs through the eastern portion of the county, going nearly north and south. Its original name here was the Cincinnati and Springfield Railway Company, and it was incorporated by filing a certificate of organization in the office of the secretary of Ht.ite on the 9th of September, 1870. The road Was to extend through the counties of Clarke, Montgomery, Creene, Warren, Butler, and Hamilton. It was projected to form, in connection with other roads already ! constructed, a trunk-line between the Eastern cities and \ Cim-innati, starting at Cincinnati. The road was con- ; stnicted from Ludlow drove to Dayton, a distance of 1 * miles, and the remainder of the. original route had been already built.

A strange race of people, known to the archaeologist as " the Mound-builders," who once inhabited the central portion of the United States, has left the evidences of its habitation throughout every part of Butler County. With the exception of Ross County, no other place within the State of Ohio contains so many remains of antiquity.

In order to further the study of this lost race, the scientists have divided the earth-works into two general classes, namely, inclosures and mounds; and these again embrace a variety of works diverse in form and designed for different purposes. The first is characterized by circumvallations, embankments, or walls, and include fortifications or places of defense, sacred inclosures, ami numerous miscellaneous works, mostly symmetrical in structure. They vary in size, ranging from one to four hundred acres. The walls are composed of surface material, clay, or stone,- and vary in height from one to thirty feet.

Under the second head we have the true moundbuildings, which constitute a wonderful system, embracing what has been specifically designated temple, sacrificial, sepulchral, symbolical, and mounds of observation, varying in height from three to ninety feet. The temple mounds are regular in form, of large dimensions, are chieflv truncated, having graded avenues or spiral pathways leading to their summits. Those called sacrificial invariably occur either within, or else in the immediate vicinity of, inclosures, and are regularly constructed in uniform layers of earth, sand, and gravel, disposed alternately in strata conformable to the shape of the mound, thus covering an altar composed of burnt clay or stone, upon which arc the remains of tiie sacrifices. The sepulj chral mound is a simple cone heaped over the remains i of some chief personage. The symbolical mounds are gij gantie bass-reliefs formed on tl e surface of the ground,

I and representing both animate and inanimate objects, j The mounds of observation are so called on account of i their location on high hills, which give a commanding view either of the river valleys, or else the surrounding country.

Taking the system of earth-works for which this people is noted, uo spot could be better adapted for their various wants than that embraced within the limits of Butler County. If, as it has been supposed, these people were tillers of the soil, thou we have here the broad valley of the Miami, notably that portion which stretches out and embraces the rich arable lands adjoining the creeks known as Seven-Mile and Nine-Mile, which would furuish them -a soil scarcely surpassed iu its fertility.

duble enemy, the bold headlands, here and there jutting j out into the valleys, present great natural advantages for j defense ; and upon the many hills signal stations could be j erected in order to warn the quiet cultivators of the soil when a predatory band was at hand.

The evidence is accumulative that this county must have long been one of the permanent seats of the Moundbuilders. This is especially shown in the great number of earth-works and the abundance of implements which have been found. It may be safely stated that nearly every foot of ground has yielded up some relic belonging to a past race of people. That all these belong to the .mound-building epoch, no one would affirm ; but, taken in connection with works known to belong to that age, or time, it may be claimed that a large proportion of the relics should be assigned to that distinctive race. The same kind and variety bf implements found in various parts of the State and in the immediate vicinity of earth structures also occur here. Archaeological cabinets have been, and are still being, rapidly formed, almost wholly composed of relics picked up within the county. Nearly all the large collections have been sold, many of them passing out of the State.

The mounds number not less than two hundred and fifty, varying in height from two feet to forty-three. Only two kinds or varieties of mounds are definitely known to be in this county ; namely, mounds of observation and sepulture. Some have been obliterated by the plow, others remain undisturbed, and a few have the forest-trees still growing upon them. The mounds of observation range upon the west bank'of the Miami, and the most conspicuous hills are crowned with these works. The hills on the eastern side are not dotted with them, for the reason that the sides are more sloping ; besides, they do not command as fine a view of the valley as those on the western side.

The largest of all the mounds within the county is that in Madison Township, located on the laud of Joseph Henry, section 19. It is forty-three feet high, and contains nearly twenty-five thousand feet of clay. From its position and height it must have beeu the principal watchtower for the people of the surrounding country, and the one which received the signals from the great Mound near Miamisburg. Ross Township presents an interesting group situated on section 21. Here we have a group of four mounds, the largest about twenty-six feet high. Removed from them a distance of a few rods are two more. The largest might have been used as a signal station; but the smaller mounds would apparently discredit this supposition.

The works of i u closure arc sixteen in number, located on section 3(>, Oxford; section 3, Milford; sections 14, 30, Wayne; section 4, St. Clair; section 22, Reilv ; sections 34, 13, 12, Ross; sections 8, 15, 10, 10, Fairfield ; sections 14, 8, 9, Union Townships. These works have been more or less disturbed by the white man.

while two have been entirely obliterated. Fortunately these two received a careful survey while yet covered with forest-trees, so that their dimensions are still known. An interesting inclosure,, belonging to the class called sacred, occurred partly in section 9, Union, and section 15, Fairfield Townships. It was carefully surveyed May 7, 1842. by John W. Erwin and James McBride. This group of works was composed of four circles and an oval. The main work was situated just east of and touching the township line. It was an exact circle, two hundred and thirty-one feet in diameter. When first discovered the embankment was fully three feet above the natural surface o'f the ground. As the accompanying ditch within tire embankment was two feet deep, consequently the perpendicular height of the wall was five feet from the bottom of the excavation. East of this iuclcsure, and removed a distance of one hundred and ninety-eight feet, was another, eighty-six feet in diameter. In a direction S. 15° W. from the last-named work, a distance of one hundred and ninety-eight feet was another work of the same dimensions; namely, eighty-six feet in diameter, and exactly the same distance from the main work as the former. North-west of the center or main work, a distance of sixty-six feet, was another circle, thirty-three feet in diameter. The township line passed directly through it, ^lividing it into halves. Adjoining and touching this was another inclosure of an oval form, one hundred and fifty feet by one hundred and eighty in diameter. All of the smaller works were also accompanied with the interior ditch, eighteen inches in depth, with the surrounding embankment two feet above the natural surface of the ground. The material composing the embankment was a bright yellow clay, different front that appearing or. the surface of the surrounding ground. It is more than probable that communications cnce existed throughout from one work to the other, possibly composed of timber. As only the main work was accompanied by a gateway, it might also be inferred that the works were never complete* according to the original design.

One of the most interesting and the most noted of all the earth-works of Butler County is that known as "Fortified Hill," located on section 12, Ross Township, on the farms of Clarke .Lane and David Descompas, three miles south of the town of Hamilton. The work occurs on the summit of the most elevated hill in that vicinity. The hill is a short distance from the river, surrounded on all sides, save a narrow space at the north , by deep ravines, and rising to a height of two hundred and fifty feet above the stream. It juts out into the valley, thus constituting a spur, which, with its steep sides, makes it an inviting place for a stronghold, to a primitive people. From the line of fortification the hill is sloping, but becomes gradually steeper as the bottom of the ravines is reached. The embankment, composed of a stiff clay mingled with stone, and having a height of five feet by thirty-five feet base, skirting along the brow of the hill, and generally conforming to its outline, incloses an area of a little over sixteen acres, the interior of which gradually rises to the height of twenty-six feet above the base of the wall. The wall has no accompanying ditch, the material composing it having probably l>een taken up from the surface, or else from the " dugholes" which occur at various points within the walls. The line of wall has four gateways - as may be seen from the accompanying engraving - each twenty feet wide, one at the northern division, and the others at the south, but respectively facing the four points of the compass. These gateways are all faced or protected on the interior by dug-holes or excavations, some of which are sixty feet over, and now filled up with mud to a depth of ten or eleven feet.

Three of the gateways are completely covered with inner lines of embankment, the most intricate one being the one at the north, -and marked N in the engraving. This part of the fort has long been under cultivation, while the southern portion is still covered with forest-trees. Notwithstanding the fact that the plow has been doing its work, all the lines at the north are distinctly visible. The wall beyond the north gateway, yet covering it, is now leveled, although not a weed or blade of grass will grow upon it, thus apparently shaming man for this unnecessary act of vandalism.

Within the main lines, ami covering the gateway, are four other walls, thus not only protecting the gateway, but also rendering this point in the fortification almost impregnable against the assault of an euemy. The gateways E and S belong to that method of fortification known as Tlascan. The former opens upon a parapet, and the other was .partly protected by a stone mound. Within the gateway, at ^ , was formerly a stone mound eight feet iu height, which was removed by the farmers in that vicinity for budding purposes. Thirty rods north of gateway N is a mound seven feet high, composed of mingled earth and ''tune. In 183G this mound was ten feet in height. Since then it has been several times partially excavated, aud a quantity of stone taken out, all of which showed the action of hre. The mound was probably used as a signal station; and indications prove it had been frequently used. A mound also occurs at the south, in close proximity to the wall. It lias never been disturbed, is finely rounded, and hidden by the underbrush.

The outlines, as well as the position, declare the distinctive character of this work. That it was constructed as a place of defense needs no elaborate argument ; for every detail of its structure fully shows it. The method of fortifying shows wonderful military skill; for every avenue Is thoroughly protected, aud the principal approach is guarded by four walls, with the addition of two supplementary walls. Should the exterior crescent wall be successfully assaulted, and even the gateway carried by an enemy, still the fortress is yet protected by a system of defense which would more or less confuse an enemy, thus giving advantage to the defenders. Add to this the fact that the walls are so arranged that but very few could pass between the lines abreast, which in a hand-to-hand encounter would be of disadvantage to the assaulting party. If these walls were additionally strengthened bv means of palisades, then the formidable character of the work would readily appear. To be appreciated, the fort si ould be seen. From the summit of the hill near the southern part of the inclosure the chieftain could take his stand and behold every movement of the enemy without. Thus he could guard and direct his forces according to the movement of the foe. He could also cast his eye, aud, by means of certain signals, communicate with the people belonging to six other iuclosures, all iu full view.

Traces of the Indian are numerous, but there is no positive knowledge of his villages, although two encampments in Ross Township are known. Indian graves arc frequently met with in excavating for gravel.

An Archaeological Society was formed in Hamilton iu 1879, but is not now iu active existence. Its cabinet is in the rooms of the Lane Library.

Topography

Within its extreme limits Butler County embraces a territory twenty-five miles east and west, by nineteen miles north and south, its average limits being not far from twenty-four and one-half miles by eighteen. The secretary of state's report for 1878 gives the acreage of the average of the other eighty -seven counties of the 'State. This land lies in the valley formed by the divergence of the Great and Little Miami Rivers. It presents many interesting topographical features. There was at some time in the unrecorded past a terrific struggle of natural forces in this valley. During the period of glacial action, the ice mountains wound their slow course, and cut a path oii their way to the sea.

The evidences of this are abundant, and are to be seen in the outcroppings on the banks of the numerous streams which find their outlet in the Great Miami River.

The average breadth of this valley is twelve miles. The eastern divide skirts the borders of Warren and Hamilton Counties; the -western divide runs nearly parallel with the eastern, beginning with the high lands of Montgomery County, and attaining its greatest elevation towards the north. The boundaries of this valley are sharply defined, and can be easily traced by the unassisted eye. Tin's fact will recur to any one, who, from the crest along which the Dayton Short Line Railroad passes, has cast a glance westwardly, or who, from the height between Millville and Darrtown, has looked eastward to the ridge which separates the Ohio and Little Miami Rivers from the Great Miami Valley. A view from either of these vantage points is one of surpassing loveli- In Spring the verdure is refreshing in its tints, the slopes have enough of forest to relieve the monotony of a dead landscape, while the fields of starting grain, to use a rounded period of Edward Everett, "appear as if ; nature had spread a carpet fit to be pressed by the foot- ! steps of her descending God." If one seeks natural j beauties he lias not far to go, and yet it is probably true | that most people have given scarcely a thought to the j riches of beauty so lavishly spread around them. If one will take his stand on a Summer evening on the hills southeast of Hamilton, looking over the valley toward Port Union, and survey its fields of ripening grain, he will see a picture such asjno artist could transfer to canvas. On the road between Hamilton and Middletown, on the east side of the Miami River, there. are several points of observation from which the prospect is equally beautiful. Among these may be mentioned the views near the residences of Philip Hughes and Peter Sliafor, loo king westward, or from Kennedy's farm, about two j miles from Hamilton, on the west side of the river. The traveler by the Junction Railroad to Oxford, if observant, will, just before arriving at MeGonigle's Station, catch a swift glimpse of the peaceful vale in which Millville rests like a gem in a setting of rare excellence.

From the heights around Oxford the forest and the cleared upland rise and swell or fall away in graceful | undulations that fill the eye and the heart with a sense of graceful beauty and perpetual delight. If the old saying be true, that "an uudevout astronomer is mad," then it -will be equally true to assert that he who has lived among such beauties and has been unobservant, is unworthy the gifts so freely spread before him. If the reader will consult the map of Butler County printed in this volume, he will see that the Miami River begins its course in the extreme northeastern border, and thence cuts diagonally through, leaving the county at its southwestern border. As the crow flies this distance is thirty miles, but in the meanderings.of the river it is probably forty-five to fifty miles. A glance at the general lay of the land within this valley shows it to be in harmony with the general pitch of the surface .south of the great divide which separates the waters that flow into the lakes, and thence to the north Atlantic Ocean, from those waters which seek the warmer clime of the south, and the Gulf Stream, to again meet after a long separation. The observer will also note that the courses of all streams flowinsj into the Great Miami is from north-west to southeast on the westward side of the river. This direction is likewise in conformity with the slope of the country, but on the east side of the river we find an anomalous hydrographic condition. While on the westward side Cotton Run, Seven-Mile, Four-Mile, Indian Creek,, and ether tributaries of the Miami flow in a natural course, the largest tributary on the eastward side within Butler County, in defiance of all natural law, appears to run up hill. Gregory's Creek lias its sources in the lands of Union Township, and thence flows northwestwardly and empties into the Miami near. Lesourdsville. So also Pleasant Run, which has its s -tiree beyond the borders of Hamilton County, makes what is apparently an up hill detour, and finds its way into the Miami at a point, nearly abreast at Sy mines Corner. One who never followed the course of these two streams, save on the map, would be at a loss to account for this strange contravention of physical laws, but a following of the streams themselves affords an explanation of the seeming contradiction. Gregory's Creek and Pleasant Run both pass through gorges and ruts scooped out for them by glaciers that must have separated from the main ice mountain as it moved down the valley. These smaller glaciers being less powerful than the parent glacier were compelled to yield obedience to the character of the land over which they passed, while the larger glacier, by its great weight, was able to carve its way in the general direction which is shown on the westward side of the On the eastward side the adventurers cast adrift

The reasonableness of this theory could be abundantly demonstrated did space permit, but it is merely alluded to here for the purpose of drawing the attention to a physical curiosity which has few parallels.

Within the memory of people living, there have been trreat changes in both the climatology and the physical features of the county. In the course of the river there have been changes within the recollection of people who belong to the present generation. The Miami and Erie Canal was begun in 1825, and so late as 1845 Hamilton shippers to Cincinnati by canal relate that it was no uncommon thing for the horses to flounder from the towpath breast deep into a lake which covered most of the ground which lies east of the old Chase farm, now owned bv Amor Smith, near Jones's Station. Drainage, both natural and artificial, has reclaimed all this waste land and made it as valuable a tract as there is in the county. With regard to the river, the number of its tributaries, and the immense rain-fall at its sources, make it a stream remarkable for the suddenness of its floods, its volume of water, and the uncertainty of its changes in course. The cut off above Hamilton is within the memory of people now living, and the flood of 1806, which swept away the old Hamilton bridge, and of which a description is elsewhere given, is still in vivid recollection. That flood carried several thousand acres of valuable land from its owners, and in some instances worked almost financial ruin. This was notably the case at the bend of the river, where the farm of M. R. Alston is situated.

It is doubtful, however, from the testimony of old residents, whether the floods of the present generation equal in volume or in destructiveness those which were common at the beginning of the present century.

H amilton between the years 1810 and 1825 did a large trade with New Orleans and with the Indian Territory. That trade was carried on by flat-boats, some of which were built on the banks of Four-Mile Creek, near Oxford, and were there loaded with provisions suitable lor the Southern markets, and the flood never failed to come and bear them along their way.

I here is not such certainty in the returns of these iri.-hets now, and it would he impossible to establish a trade ou the chance of such conditions as made those ventures at that time perfectly sound from a business P'tut of view. It would appear as if rain-falls and snow-falls were greater in those earlier days than now.

V liether this change is due to the denudation of the valby cutting otf the timber, it would, perhaps, not be i profitable to take time in inquiry. It is probable, howthat as the land became clearer and brokeu up in dement that the rain and snow falls are now absorbed, "here formerly they ran to the river, and that thus, in- I stead of the annual average of rain being less than it once was, we are misled by its effect, being less apparent in great floods. It is the opinion of at least two engineers, who have had great experience in the measurement of water volumes, that the flood of I860 was probably not exceeded in quantity of water by auy that preceded it within the written history of the valley.

With regard to the soil Butler County compares favorably with the average of the State. It shows but a small proportion of what is called poor or waste land. In this class but 9,410 acres arc returned to the secretary of state, leaving 282,580 acres as either wood or pasture land, or as susceptible of tillage. This is the report as given bv the Ohio Agricultural Board in 1879. There is wide diversity in the fruitfulness of different portions of the county. It embraces as rich land as there is in the State, and some exceedingly poor. It has been found by experiment, however, that the lands which are considered poor possess hidden elements of strength, and some as good farms as there are in the county were originally purchased at cheap figures, in view of their poverty of production. Intelligent tillage has shown that this seeming poverty was easy of remedy, that there was inherent virtue in the soil, which needed only making to activity by simple artificial means. The average composition of the upland soil is a sandy loam. In the highest uplands this changes to a clay. In the bottom where the Miami River has made its deposits the character of the soil changes to a deep black - what are termed the bottom lands of the Miami Valley.

It may he questioned, however, whether the term bottom land is rightly applied, since the fertility of the uplands for certain crops fully equals that of the low land. Bottom lands are peculiarly adapted to corn, the upland to wheat and barley. No county in the Stole is traversed by more small streams. The bridges under county supervision number more than one thousand, and the loss on bridges by flood three years ago was more than 840,000. This is mentioned in connection with what has already been said about the Miami River and its tributaries, to impress upon the reader the significance of a natural system of irrigation and drainage. The uplands abound in springs, and in seasons of drought give out the hoard of water they store during seasons of plenitude. In seasons of extreme rain-full the inclination of the land toward the river readily conveys away the hurtful surplus. It has beeu found necessarv in but few portions of the county to resort to artificial draiuiug - nature has so well provided for the wants of the husbandman. There is no doubt that if artificial means were used the productiveness of the county could be largely increased, for wherever drainage experiments have been tried the results have been exceedingly satisfactory. A good illustration of this natural drainage can be seen along the bank of the canal, just north of Hamiltou, or on the rocky road betweeu Madison City to Miltonville. Where the rock crops up from the cuttings it wiil be found that there is a sufficient depth of soil from deposits of verdure to insure richness and stability, -while the underlying rock prevents too great evaporation in drought, and at the same time acts as an underground roof to turn excessive water into the Miami Kiver. We have tried in this way to briefly explain the most striking feature that pertains to the general outlet of the county.

- A wrong impression is abroad with respect to the fertility of the Miami Valley. We have endeavored to show that the uplands are good for wheat and for barley, where the low lands are good for corn. The exceeding richness of production is, therefore, not due to natural fertility of soil so much as it is due to a plan which in nature appears to have been provided for the continual renewal of the land. In the bottoms this renewal of land comes from the annual overflows of the river. In the uplands it comes from the absorption b) the soil of nitrogenous elements from the atmosphere. From these two sources, widely apart as they are, spring the sources of Butler County's wealth.

It would be hard between the Lakes and the Gulf, or between Portland, Maine, and the Rocky Mountains, to' find the same number of acres better adapted to general purposes of cultivation. It would appear as if all the elements, both in soil aud in climate, had combined in the Miami Valley to jmake the labor of the farmer successful. On every side come fructifying rills, the snows of Winter cover the sleeping grain, the warm breath of Spring breathes nowhere more gently, aud above are no more benignant Summer skies.

Geology

As we have noted in our article on the topography of the county, the main stream runs south-west, while all its tributaries have south-east valleys. Even the Great Miami at some former period diverged from its present route and bent to the east. The larger and more plainly marked of these channels is that which divides just below Hamilton, and follows the line of the preseut Mill Creek through Fairfield and Union Townships. This valley is iu the neighborhood of a mile wide, and the gravel and bowlders show plainly where its waters once flowed. The other channel of the Miami began iu Lemon Township, anti followed Dick's Creek through this and Warren County until it finally debouched iu the Little Miami. The caual follows the valley first mentioned, while the Lebanon Caual ouce followed the other. It is probable that these depressions, as well as those of the various creeks, owe much to glacial action.

In the earliest map of this region the Miami is indicated as Rocky River. Its bed iu many places shows the rock foundation, and so do those of Seven-Mile Creek and its affluents. But Twin Creek and Indian Creek have the evidences of greater antiquity, as their beds are entirely alluvial, so far as is visible to the eye, and the rock is buried beneath. In each valley there is a little extent of level ground, varying from a few yards to upwards of three miles wide in the Miami at Hickory Bottom, in the south part of Madison Township and north part of St. Clair. These bottoms are known as prairies, and were partly without wood at the beginning of the settlements, and where free were covered each year with an excellent growth of grass. These low-lying alluvial districts cover an" area of not less than eighty square, miles, or between one-fifth and one-sixth of the total surface.

This county is one of blue limestone. Most of this is not of a high character for the quarry ; but there are i several beds that make excellent, building-stone. Orton's geological survey, which we shall follow in this description, says one of the best sections in the county can be found at or near Hamilton. In the quarries just west of the river, the section eau be begun at a horizon about two hundred and seventy-five feet above low water at Cincinnati, and it can be followed in frequent outcrops to the summit of Heilsman's Hill, on the Millville pike, where many of the characteristic fossiis of the Lebanon division are found.

The bedded rocks of Butler County belong, with the exception of the very limited area of one or two square miles, to the Lower Silurian or Cincinnati group of Ohio. The exception named is found in the northeastern corner of Oxford Township, where a spur of the cliff limestone crosses the county line, aud covers a section or two of the county. Both the Clinton and Niagara formations are shown here, but the area is so small, and is known to so few residents of the county, comparatively, that it may be dismissed from further consideration.

The Butler County sca.le begins at about two hundred feet above the base of the system, and extends to the summit of the series. In Cincinnati this system is about eight hundred feet in thickness, making the Lebanon beds about three hundred, the Cincinnati division proper four hundred and twenty-five, and the Point Pleasant bods fifty feet. Thus in this county it gives about six hundred feet of bedded rocks. There are few points of interest in the formation at large that are not found iu Butler County, and on the other hand there are few peculiarities of stratification or fossil contents that deserve special mention as differing from other portions of the Cincinnati group.

The streams iu the vicinity of Oxford, Four-Mile, and j its tributaries, furnish very prolific although not very | extended exposures. The horizon is quite definitely I fixed by the presence of Orth is retrorsa, Salter; Or this

Carlnji, Hall. This shell is found on the banks of Four- Mile very near to the water's edge, directly cast of the village of Oxford. The vertical range of this fossil is very limited, while its horizontal range is wide, so that it serves an excellent purpose as a landmark on the system. Its latitude is a horizon about four hundred and seventy-five feet above low water at Cincinnati, or about three hundred and forty-five above low water in Hamilton.

The Oxford sections are of interest from the fact that j they yielded thirty-five years ago many of the type fossils of the formation. The early geological work of David Christy, Esq., was done in this field, and through him collections of the fossils found here were distributed j among eastern and foreign geologists. 'The name of Oxford is, accordingly, very widely known as one of the typical localities of the blue limestone or Cincinnati group of Southern Ohio. The original cabinet of Mr. Christy is now in possession of the Miami University. It contains a number of interesting fossils.

Wayne and Madison Townships, and especially the latter, furnish unsurpassed exposures of the Lebanon !>eds on the banks of the smaller streams that drain their highlands. Kemp's Run, near Middletown Station, furnishes excellent ground for the collector, as do several branches that flow from Loy's Hill to Twin Creek, on the north line of the county.

The lowest ground in the county is to be found on its southern boundary in the Miami Valley. Its approximate elevation above the level of low water in Cincinnati is fifty feet. The alluvial division represents the valleys both ancient and modern - the eroded regions from which the rocks have been carried away to a depth at least below existing drainage courses. These areas could be appropriately described as the portions of the county that have an elevation of not more than two hundred and fifty feet above the Ohio River. The uplands embrace the lands above this level. A large proportion of them, however, lie at an elevation between four and six hundred feet above the Ohio. This division of the surface of the county is much less definite on the east side of the river thau it is on the west, for the reason that the drift deposits are heavier in the first named district. In other words, the lines of the valleys are here harder to be traced. There are areas of unmistakable uplands, but they are connected with the valleys by slopes of considerable extent, which completely objure the true outlines of the rocky floor.

I he uplands proper are remnant* of the blue limestoue plateau which once occupied all of southwestern ()hiu, but so much of which has already been removed by aqueous and glacial denudation. They are almost universally covered with shallow deposits of drift, but over very large areas the character of the underlying r,,* k shows through, giving its peculiar features to the topography, to the agricultural capacity, and to the water supply of the districts occupied. These upland drift deposits are in considerable part derived from the waste of blue limestone land to the northward, so that a closer bond of connection exists between the soil and the underlying rock than is usually found in drift-covered regions.

The lowest of the drift deposits, or that which rests directly upon the bedded rocks, is the bowlder clay. This formation is shown with great distinctness and in very numerous exposures in Butler County. Almost every j stream in some portion of its course discloses it. A particular feature of the bowlder clay iu Butler County is that of ancient vegetable growths, branches, trunks, and roots of trees in large quantities. Examples can be seen in following almost any stream to its source, but one or two points may be named which are specially noteworthy in this respect. Collins's Run, near Oxford, a small tributary of Four-Mile Creek, shows iu its banks very numerous exposures of these pre-glacial and interglacial forest growths. The vegetation is imbedded in the clay very often, and part of it shows that it has been subjected to rough mechanical agencies. The frequent presence of leaves and roots iu or upon the deposit serves to show, however, that the source of the vegetation was not very far removed. The north bank of Elk Creek, opposite the mill at Miltonville, also gives a fine exposure of the clay. At this point a peculiar modification of the bowlder clay is found that deserves particular mention. It is a clay distinctly green in color, and as shown by a single analysis or a specimen obtained at this point, is very rich in potash and soda. The analysis made by Professor Wormley is here subjoined :

It will be seen that the elements above named, potash and soda, are abundant enough here to make the clay a fertilizer of considerable value. Viviauite, or phosphate of iron, is of frequent, perhaps constant occurrence in it. Vegetable matter is also always present. This green clay has been more frequently met with in Warren and Butler Counties thau elsewhere.

The vegetable matter that is intermingled with the bowlder clay is to be distinguished from that which is borne upon its surface. The presence of a buried soil of inter-glacial age has bceD noticed frequently iu other couuties. An interesting example is recorded by David Christy in his Letters cn Geology, published iu 184S. In the last letter- of the series, page 5, he says: feature of our geology last Summer by Robert Beckett, | Esq., eight miles cast of Oxford. He called upon me j to examine the stump of a tree standing erect in this j deposit at a point where a small stream is eucroaching j upon a bluff. The roots penetrated the hard pan in all ! directions. Twenty feet of diluvium overlies it. We | dug out the stump and a part of the roots. Some years since Mr. Beckett, in digging a well twenty or thirty rods distant from this point, at a depth of ten feet in the diluvium', struck upon another small tree, standing erect, with the trunk and some of the branches almost entire. This tree continued down to a depth of thirty feet, where he found its roots, in the natural position of growth, penetrating the hard pan."

Mr. J. P. MaeLean has found, in the neighborhood of McGonigle's and from there northward to Darrtown, trees buried at a depth, of from thirty to fifty fec-t, and is of opinion that a forest is there covered by later deposits.

The yellow gravelly clay that makes the main element of the drift in all of this region is very abundant in this county. Jt is not formed from the weathering of the upper portions of the bowlder clay in place. The action of the atmosphere upon an exposed bed of blue clay changes its color and also its texture, it is true, but much more than this is required to account for the surface clays of Southern Ohio. They have been worn away from their old places of deposit by water, and have been redeposited. The bowlder clay is always unstratiried; the yellow clays are generally distinctly stratified. The uplands of the county, especially of its northern and central portions, are almost universally covered with deposits of this kind. There are no elevations in the. county that escape the deposits of the modified drift.

The sand and gravel that make a third element in the drift of this region do not deserve a place by themselves. They form a phase only of the second order of deposits, and must be referred not only to the same gen- j eral line of agencies, but also approximately to t.ie same time. As has just been stated, the highest elevations in the county give clear proof of having been involved in the submergence, by which alone these facts can be explained. Bowlders are found at all elevations, anil some of the largest size are found at the greatest altitude. One lying on the highest land of the west side of Ross Township measured one hundred and thirty feet above grouud.

It is to be noticed that the bedded rock has been cut out to a greater depth than existing agencies can account for throughout most of the area of the Miami Valley. The rocky Hour is very seldom laid hare by the river, and is as seldom struck in any excavations or borings that are made in the valley.

The valley is filled with immense accumulations of gravel and bowlders. These gravel beds undoubtedly overlie deposits of bowlder clay in many parts of the valley. . Indeed, these deposits are occasionally, though rarely, struck in wells and similar excavations, and sometimes they even approach very near the surface. The gravel is of various sorts and sizes, and indicates various degrees of strength in the currents that have transported it. Large quantities of sand are scattered through it. Iu composition it is principally limestone, thus agreeing with the pebbles and bowlders that fill the drift clays of the country; but unlike the true drift pebbles, it has lost I the marks of the previous stage in its history, the shaping which it received under the glacial sheet. Its pebbles no longer show the polish and striation due to this stage; but, on the other hand, bear unmistakable marks of having been fashioned iu running water.

The gravel beds are in all eases covered with eonsid- : e ruble deposits of loam and sand, which form the pres- | ent sources of the valley. These deposits are arranged ! in three natural and well marked divisions, the first | bottoms, the second bottoms, and the gravel terraces, i sometimes called the third bottoms. Of this series, con- | trary to. the general order in geology, the lowest member, j the first bottoms, is the newest, and the highest member,

1 the gravel terraces, is the oldest. In other words, the ( first and second bottoms do not extend beueath the gravel [ terraces, and consequently do not result from the deuu- | dation of portions of the valley. The gravel terraces , are at least one hundred feet above low water of the : river now. They are generally left in small and isolated fragments on the margins of the valleys, but sometimes ! they are found to hold considerable areas. In the vicinity of the village of Trenton they can be seen and studied to considerable advantage, as also in the vicinity of Poast-town, on the Banker and Lucas farms.

To follow their history we must go back to the Champlain epoch of geology - to the periud of submergence that followed the glacial period. The level of this portion of the country was at that time four hundred feet lower than at present. Stratified deposits, on a large scale, of sand, gravel, aud clay are found four hundred feet above the present drainage of the country. At the j period of greatest submergence there could have been I iittle or no current throughout the valley, but during | the slow advancing movement of depression the valley ; was filled with immense accumulations of rearranged j drift. We may suppose, then, that the gravel terraces j are a part of the old floor of the valley, aud that they once extended with a degree of uniformity throughout the wide basins in which we find the remnants of them j to-day. As the continent emerged once more and slowly regained its present elevation, the river channels would 1 he cut deeper and deeper into these deposits, the former 1 surfaces of which would he left one hundred feet or more j above the present river beds.

ing up. Gravel, sand, and loam, variously intermingled, constitute the whole series. The sorting and arranging of" materials could only have been accomplished in long extended portions of time. There are no indications of tumultuous deposition in any portion of the series. The soils formed from the weathering and decomposition of j the surfaces of these beds are kind and productive.

The second bottoms, like the terraces, must be referred to causes and conditions not now existing in the valley. They lie above the reach of the highest floods, being thirty feet or more above low water in the main valley. They occupy broad areas, and constitute, by way of excellence, the farming lands of the main valley. They consist of loams from two to six feet in thickness, overlying gravel. They seem to owe their origin to an arrest of the upward movement of the continent, which continued for a considerable period.

The first bottoms are the most recent of the series. They are, indeed, very closely connected with the present state of things. They occupy the deeper part of the valley, and are covered by all of the higher floods. To these floods they owe their origin in part, being made up of the sediments deposited from high water. An arenaceous deposit filled with land shells- is a common and characteristic member of the formation. The shells must have mainly grown upon the regions where we now find them, and were buried by the deposits of annual floods. The clearing of the valleys and their drainage basin lias introduced many elements of change, and the formation of these bottom lands may almost be said to have been interrupted. This sandy bed, to which reference has been made, is akin in composition and character to the loess of European geologists. An excellent example of the formation may be seen on the river banks within the limits of the village of Middletown. It is burned here into a cream-colored brick that answers well for a paving brick, and which is extensively used for this service.

As can readily be judged from such a composition, soils of great fertility can not be formed from this deposit, but there can be no doubt that it would serve au excellent purpose as a top dressing for uplands. It is, m reality, a shell mari, and would reward intelligent use very liberally. The thickness of this bed lia.^ not been mtmd to exceed four feet in any exposures noted.

there is often associated with the above named formation a sort of clay from two to four feet in thickness that agrees in physical characters very closely with the

Butler County, says Professor Orton, stands scarcely second in productive power to any equal area in the State. . No qualification certainly wotild be required if the valley of the Great Miami and that portion of the county lying east of the river were alone to be taken into account. This region might put in an unquestioned, claim to be styled the garden of Ohio. It is made up of the broad and fertile intervales of the streams that now traverse the valleys or of the still more desirable aieas that were the valleys of au earlier epoch, but which are now -deserted by streams, and which are evenly filled with the beds of the later drift, together with uplands rising by gentle slopes to an- altitude of four to five hundred feet above the river, and whose surfaces are hardly less productive than the areas first named.

The soil of all this district consists, in great measure, of decomposed limestone gravel, and exhibits every excellence of limestone land. A single area may be noted here as furnishing a unique line of facts in the native vegetation of the county. A chestnut grove is to be found in the southeast corner of Union Township, in section fourteen. It is well known that the chestnut confines itself generally to the slate and sandstone soils of the county. Indeed, the boundary between the slates and the limestones in southwestern Ohio could be defined with satisfactory precision by noting the liu*- where tlvc chestnuts begin as one passes eastward. Isolated trees are known in the gravels and sands of limestone districts, it is true, but they are very rare. Dr. John A. Warder has called attention to one growing near Milford, in the Little Miami Valley, and another is known in Greene County, but in the area to which attention is now invited a forest growth in which the chestnut is a large element is found. The trees have attained a diameter of four feet in some instances, and in others stumps, long dead, are seen with large trees growing from them. The trees fruit well here and reproduce themselves abundantly. Chestnuts (the fruit) were sold to the amount of forty dollars from a single farm a few years ago.

The soil does not betray any peculiarities upon a superficial view, but the wells in the vicinity all show a great deposit of vellow sand beneath the surface. Many fruitless attempts to secure wells in this neighborhood -°,f» are on record, the sand proving to be a quicksand, and caving in so rapidly as to prevent the sinking of the shaft to water. It has been thought that the sand would prove to be a molding sand, but no trials of it have been made. The bed of sand is anomalous, and it is interesting to note that the native forest growth which covers it is also exceptional. There are no peculiarities in the remaining drift soils of the county that require mention.

The poorest of them, like those covering the uplands of the northern' and western townships, if handled with skill and subjected to a ratioual system of agriculture, would take high rank when compared with even the strongest lands of the Atlantic border. Measured ag-ainst the fruitful valleys and slopes just mentioned, and tilled under a system which even these noble tracts can not much longer endure, they seem somewhat stubborn and sterile.

There are no native soils on the uplands of the county, but the beds of drift grow thinner as we pass to the southward, and occasionally they disappear for limited areas from the slopes of the hills. The soil that is there formed from the waste of the shales and limestones of the Cincinnati series is of unusual excellence. The famous blue grass land of Kentucky, it will be remembered, is derived from this same system.

The fact that the boundary of the drift is being rapidly neared as we approach the southern Hue of the county explains certain points iu the topography of the four southwestern townships. They are much rougher . and more broken than the remaining areas. This arises i from the failure of the drift to cover the irregularities j here as it has done elsewhere. There is certainly no reason to suppose that the contour of the rocky floor is more irregular iu one district than in another. What Butler County owes to the drift can be seen by comparing Liberty and Union Townships of the southeastern corner with Reily and Morgan Townships of the sour.h-west.

The views furnished by the uplands, espet .ally as we approach the Great Miami Valley from either side, are many of them very wide and attractive. Several can be j named that are not to be surpassed in quiet pastoral I beauty by auy thing within the limits of the Suite.

From Snively's Hill, near Jacksonburg, a wide and I beautiful expanse of country is shown of the main valley on the east and south, and of the valley of Seven- Mile Creek on the 'vest.

Such elements as these are not to be overlooked in making out the catalogue of the attractions that a county possesses for human occupation.

The water supply of Butler County can not he said to be good. The geological formation from which the county is built is universally and necessarily poor in this respect. The rain-fall can not penetrate the fine grained clays of the Cincinnati series, and is consequently turned outwards in surface drainage. Wherever the rock is heavily covered with drift beds the supply is improved, both in quality and quantity; but in the thinly covered uplands reliance can nut be safely placed on wells. There is no excuse, however, for a defective supply for either man or beast in a district which has so generous a rainfall as Southern Ohio enjoys. It is only necessary to save the roof water in properly constructed aud properly guarded cisterns.

The highest land in the county is not more than six hundred and fifty or six hundred and seventy feet above the Ohio River at Cincinnati. Tiie highest land measured is iu the western portion of Madison Township, the ground now owned by Hampton II. Long. Another very high spot is two miles west of Jackson burg, Wayne Township, on the farm of Colonel Phares. Its elevation by barometer is six hundred and forty-two feet above the base above named. Locke gives the elevation of a jioint of cliff limestone that barely enters the county on the north line of Milford Township as six hundred and one feet. Two miles due west of Oxford, ou the Fairfield Turnpike, an elevation, determined by the level, occurs of six hundred and ten feet above the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The elevations of a few of the prominent points in the county are appended:

Source changes here: from A History and Biographical Cyclopædia of Butler County, Ohio : with Illustrations and Sketches of Its Representative Men and Pioneers, published 1882; 224,975 words in this source stream.

Hanover Township

At the meeting of the Board of Commissioners December 2, 1811, William Robison, John Wingate, and James Blackburn being present, on petition of the inhabitants of Reily and St. Clair Townships, it was '' ordered, that so much of the said townships as lies within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the southeast corner of the surveyed township No. 4 in the second range east of the meridian line drawn from the mouth of the Great Miami River; thence north to the northeast corner of the same township; thence west to the northwest corner thereof; thence south to the southwest corner thereof; thence east to the place of beginning, - shall compose a township which shall be known and designated by the name of Hanover Township." Election to be held at the house of Aaron Sacket on the 21st day of December, 1811, for the election of officers.

At the meeting of the commissioners, June 2, 1823, 'petitions being presented for the division of Liberty Township, stlored that the prayer of said petition be granted, and that the new township be called by the name of Union Township, and that an election be held," ete. No boundaries given.

This seems to be the only record of the matter preserved in the books of the county commissioners. Union was the last township erected, except Hamilton. That

AFTER the previous sessions of the Court of Common Pleas, the sittings of the court were transferred to one of the old buildings of the garrison, which had been erected for a mess-room for the officers of the army. It was a frame building, roughly weatherboarded, without either filling in or plastering. It was set upon wooden blocks, which elevated it about three feet above the surface of the ground, affording, underneath, an admirable shelter for the hogs and sheep of the village.

The judges' seat was a rough platform made of unplaned boards, erected at the north end of the building. A long table, similar to a carpenter's work-bench, was placed in front of the judges' seat - around which thé lawyers were accommodated with benches made of slabs, for seats. The remaining space was occupied by suitors, witnesses, and spectators. In this building the sessions of the court were held from the year 1803 until the year 1810.

The Court of Common Pleas, as previously stated, at their July term, 1803, assigned the building which had previously been used by the troops of the United States stationed at Fort Hamilton as a magazine, to be the county jail. The roof came to a point in the center. Standing isolated from any other building, it was, of course, very insecure. Escapes were almost as frequent as commitments. In the year 1808 two persons were confined in this prison - one of them, named Henry Wason, a wild, drinking Irishman, somewhat notorious at that time, who had been committed for disorderly conduct or a breach of the peace. Having by some means procured a stone, he commenced beating against the door, and finally, putting his arm out of the aperture, he beat off the padlock, opened the door, and came out, leaving the other prisoner, who was chained to the floor, still in confinement. He went directly to the clerk's office, which was only a few rods distant, and told the clerk to inform the sheriff, and get him to take care of that d - d horsethief who was in jail; for he was determined to stay no longer in such company; and he, accordingly, went to his home. No further notice was taken of him. This building was the only jail of Butler County from the year 1803 until the year 1809.

The clerk's office was kept in a small log building which stood south of where the fort was situated, and outside the line of pickets. It had originally been erected for a storehouse or sutler's shop by some trader attached to the garrison at the time the fort was occupied by the army. It stood on lot No. 66, a few rods south of where the United Presbyterian Church now stands. It was built of logs about twenty feet long by eighteen feet wide, and, two stories high, with a porch to each story, fronting on the alley. The lower room was the office; the upper apartment was occupied as a lodging-room. The building was afterward remodeled, reduced to one story, and tenanted by a German family.

In this building the offices of the Court of Common Pleas and Supreme Court, the commissioner's office, the recorder's office, and the post-office were kept by John Reily from the time of the organization of the county until some time in the year 1809. Here, in court times, when the court was not in session, and in the evenings, assembled the judges, the lawyers, and the picked men of the county. It was, in fact, head-quarters, where all the best society met to spend their leisure hours and enjoy themselves with entertaining conversation.

In the year 1809 Mr. Reily removed his office to the south room of his private residence, which he had erected, and just then completed, on lot No. 99, on the east of the public square, where he kept his office until the year 1824, when, the present brick offices on the public square having been built by the county and completed ready for the accommodation of the offices, Mr. Reily removed his office to that building.

The first building erected on the public square was a jail. Soon after the seat of justice was established at Hamilton, a subscription paper was drawn up and put in circulation for the purpose of raising funds to aid the county in erecting public buildings. It was numerously subscribed by citizens of the county and others having an interest in the prosperity of the town. Subscriptions were received in '' money, whisky, or grain, stone, lime, brick, timber, merchandise, mechanical work, labor, and hauling." The amount subscribed was about $1,500. In October, 1804, the commissioners of the county appointed Benjamin F. Randolph and Celadon Symmes to make collections on the subscriptions obtained. However, it was long before they were all collected. remained unpaid as late as the year 1815.

On the thirtieth day of September, 1805, Ezekiel Ball, Matthew Richardson, and Solomon Line, commissioners of the county of Butler, made a contract with John Torrence and John Wingate to furnish the materials and build a jail for the county on the south side of the public square. The building was to be of stone, thirtythree feet by twenty-two, two stories high, and to be erected and inclosed by the first day of September, 1806, for the sum of $1,600. The contractors erected and inclosed the building, according to their agreement, by the Fall of 1806.

The finishing and completing the interior of the building, securing and adapting it in a manner suitable for a jail, was not included in their bargain, but was an additional expense, and required some time to effect, so that it was not ready for the reception of prisoners until December, 1808. The inside walls of the prison were lined with logs about a foot square; laid close together, on which was a lining of two-inch oak-plank, well secured with iron spikes. The floor and ceiling were of hewed logs, placed in the same manner as the sides, so that the whole was very secure against escapes. The lower story was divided into three apartments, having a

On the second day of February, 1807, the commissioners of Butler County made a contract with William Squier to put up a building adjoining the jail, already erected, for the accommodation of the jailer and his family ; the building to be of stone, thirty-three feet by thirty, and two stories high, corresponding with width and height of the jail then erected; the whole making a building fifty feet long by thirty-three feet wide. Mr. Squier was to furnish all the materials, and have the building entirely completed, according to the plan laid down, by the 1st of December, 1807, for which he was to be paid the sum of $1,690. Mr. Squier, however, not prosecuting the work with vigor, did not complete the job by the time stipulated in his contract. It was the beginning of the year 1810 before the building was entirely completed, ks for the reception of the jailer and his family.

The building was divided by a hall running across the building between the prison and the other portion of it, which was divided into two apartments in the lower story for the occupancy of the jailer and his family. The upper story, over the jailer's apartments, was fitted to accommodate the sittings of the courts, in which room the courts were held from the year 1810 until the year 1817.

At the time this building was erected the numerous fine stone-quarries now known to exist in the neighborhood of Hamilton had not been discovered. The only stone then attainable was procured from the bed of the Miami River, and was generally of small size and of an inferior quality. The mechanical art of building had not then acquired the perfection to which it has since attained, and the whole work appears to have been executed without a sufficient regard to that strength and durability necessary to render a building designed for a prison entirely secure. While it was occupied as a prison some escapes were made by means of breaches through the walls where the fire-places were, which subjected the county to considerable expense. The whole building, in its architectural appearance and in its internal economy and arrangement, presented neither a model of elegance or convenience.

The present jail was built by Alexander P. Miller, to whom the contract was awarded on the 4th of March, 1846. It cost $8,581, and was finished and accepted on the 9th of August, 1848. The old jail was sold at public auction on the 15th of July to Robert E. Duffield for one hundred and ninety-four dollars, by whom it was pulled down and removed. The jail, as it now exists, is a stone structure two stories high, about fifty feet by ninety, presenting a handsome appearance. The front of the building is occupied for a residence by the sheriff, and the rear is appropriated to the detention of prisoners. This room is about forty-five feet square, with a solid stone floor, and lined with boiler iron for twelve feet high.

It has ten cells, situated in the center of the room, five on each side. There is no provision for women in the building other than is afforded by a small and insecure room on the second story.

On the twentieth day of November, 1813, the commissioners of the county contracted with John E. Scott to furnish all the materials and erect and finish a courthouse, according to a plan that had been drawn and agreed upon, to be completed by the expiration of the year 1816, for the sum of $9,000. He entered upon the execution of the work immediately, and had it completed by the time stipulated in the contract. The building was of brick, erected on a stone foundation. It was fifty-four feet long by forty-four feet wide, and two stories high. The lower story, twenty feet high, was fitted up for the court-room, having the judges' seat on the south. The main entrance was by a door on the north; there was also a door on the east and another on the west side of the building, and a private door on the south, near the southwest corner, to communicate with the jail. The second story was eighteen feet in height, divided into a hall and four rooms, for the accommodation of the grand and petit juries, and for such other purposes as might be required. On the top of the building, in the center of the roof, which was hipped on all four sides, was a cupola, surmounted with an iron spire, on which were two balls of gilded copper. The height from the ground to ' the uppermost ball was one. hundred and ten feet.

The contract price for building the court-house, as before mentioned, was $9,000. However, on the application of the contractor, who alleged that he had lost money on the job, the Legislature, at their session of _ 1817-18, passed a law authorizing the commissioners of Butler County to make a further allowance to the contractor not exceeding one thousand dollars, if, in their judgment, on an examination of the accounts of his expenditures, it should appear that he had sustained a loss on the contract. The commissioners, on an examination of the account of his expenditures in erecting the building, made the allowance authorized by law, and accordingly, on the twelfth day of October, 1818, they paid him the further sum of one thousand dollars, making the whole cost of the court-house $10,000. The sittings of the courts were transferred from the old stone building, and the first court was held in the new court-house at the April term, 1817.

In the cupola was suspended a fine-toned bell, which was used not only for the assembling of the court, but on other public occasions, and tolled at the funerals of respectable citizens. It was also, for a number of years, rung regularly every day at nine o'clock in the morning, at twelve o'clock at noon, and at nine o'clock in the evening, by a person employed for that purpose, who was regularly paid for that service from a fund raised by voluntary subscription of the citizens of the town.

considered inconvenient and not well suited for the accommodation of the court and those in attendance on that tribunal, the commissioners of the county, in the year 1836, resolved to make an alteration and improvement of the building, and for that purpose employed William H. Bartlett, a carpenter then residing in Hamilton, to superintend and carry into effect the plan of the alteration, which was immediately commenced by him, and completed, in the manner in which the building remains at present, by the termination of the year 1837. The courthouse, as at present modeled and arranged, is fiftyfour feet in length from north to south by forty-four feet in width from east to west, with a portico of ten feet projection in front on the north, with four columns of brick, plastered with hydraulic cement. The columns are of the Grecian-Ionic order, thirty-two feet in height, supporting a cornice and pediment of the same order. On the north end of the building is a handsome cupola, surmounted by a figure of Justice, holding a sword and balance. The whole height from the ground to the top of the figure on the cupola is one hundred and eleven feet. The court-room is in the second story, which was finished in very neat and elegant style. The judges' seat is on the south side of the court-room, with a gallery on the north. The lower story is divided into four apartments. The most northern one, at the general entrance, is occupied as an anteroom, in which is the stairway leading to the vestibule of the court-room. In the northwest corner is a room occupied as a sheriff's office. The remaining southern part is fitted up for the accommodation of the coroner and for grand jury rooms. The whole expense of the new modeling and alteration of the building made under the superintendence of Mr. Bartlett amounted to the sum of $15,919. Some remodeling and alteration was done about ten years ago.

In the cupola is suspended a fine-toned bell, the same which formerly hung in the cupola of the old courthouse. Between 1830 and 1840 a fine clock was purchased and placed in the cupola, having a face on each side of the square, pointing out the lapse of time, and striking the hours on a bell as they pass. The clock cost one thousand dollars, which was paid for by the voluntary contributions of the citizens of the place.

In February, 1820, the commissioners of the county contracted with Pierson Sayre for furnishing the materials and building two public offices on the public ground for the accommodation of the county offices, to be erected, one on the east and one on the west of the court-house, some distance therefrom, and in line with the front of that building ; to be of brick, one story high; each forty feet long by twenty feet wide, with a stone foundation; each building to be divided into two apartments, and made fire-proof. The contract price for building them was $2,486. They were completed, ready for the reception of the offices, by the year 1822. The manner in which the offices were made fire-proof was by laying a floor of boards on the upper joists which supported the ceiling. On this was laid a course of brick, which was covered with a layer of sand or clay, six or eight inches built to the office on the west of the court-house, and the whole building raised to two stories in height. The work was done by Thomas M. Thomas, and cost $1,500, In the year 1837 a similar addition was made to the building on the east of the court-house by Jacob H. Elerick, at a cost of $1,820. Thus each building, as it stands at present, is sixty-three feet long by twenty feet wide, and two stories high, divided into suitable apartments on each floor. The whole cost of these offices, thus far, amounted to the sum of $5,806. Some additional sums were, necessarily, afterwards expended in fitting up the rooms for the better accommodation of the offices. In the year 1877 an addition was erected to the west building for the use of the treasurer and county commissioners. The foundations are of the best quarry stone, and the building is two stories high, of brick. It is about twenty feet square. , In 1858 the commissioners caused complete fire-proof apartments to be constructed in the interior of the buildings, one for each - the auditor, treasurer, recorder, and ' Probate Court.

The rooms on the first floor of the east building are assigned to the clerk of the court for his office. The rooms on the second floor, over the clerk's office, are occupied by the Probate Court. The east room, on the lower floor of the west building, is the county treasurer's office. The west room is the recorder's office; and the auditor's and commissioners' offices are on the upper floor of the building.

In the Summer of the year 1817 the public square was inclosed with an open board fence made of mulberry posts and poplar plank. The materials were furnished and the fence put up by Daniel Keyte for $1.25 per panel of ten feet.

In 1838 the commissioners of the county had the public square inclosed with a fence of iron railing, except a small portion on the east and west adjoining the streets, which is left outside the inclosure. The foundation is a wall built of limestone, sunk two feet below the surface of the ground. Above the surface there is a wall built of large, well-dressed and cut limestone, brought from the quarries near Dayton, having a coping of the same material, on which is placed the fence, a neat and strong iron railing, with gates at the proper positions, appropriately ornamented. The whole length of the inclosure is one thousand and seventy-one feet. Daniel Skinner, of Hamilton, executed and put up the iron work; Mr. Doyle, of Dayton, put up the stone foundation. The work was begun in the Summer of 1838, but was not completed until June, 1839. The cost was $7,293.84. The square has been graded and planted with ornamental trees, presenting a beautiful prospect, not surpassed by any in the State of Ohio.

Tue pioneers of the West three-quarters of a century ago, and more, were of a hardier and more self-reliant class than those who followed. They lived largely by the hunt; consequently, they were expert in the use of firearms. They began life anew in a dense wilderness filled with gigantic trees, and, therefore, were skilled in handling an ax. Roads and bridges there were none, so that a close observation of the bark of trees, the stars, the breaking of twigs and bushes, and the position of trees and natural objects, was necessary to enable them to find their way from one house to another. They were compelled to be pupils of Izaak Walton in his gentle craft; for fish add much to the pleasures of the table. They must be vigilant and brave; for danger from Indians and wild beasts had not yet gone. And they must be good farmers; for all their efforts were only preparatory to the clearing up of the soil. They made shoes, tanned their own leather, constructed their own household implements, and were obliged to teach their children, unaided by pedagogue or preacher. They were a strong, hardy race.

Those who came West were rarely destitute of a little money, and if there were exceptions to this rule it was among young men with strong arms and invincible determination. Removal to their new location was most generally from concerted action in neighborhoods. Occasionally entire villages felt the impulse, and moved bodily. Some Churches were organized in the East, elected their deacons and other officers, took up their line of march for the West, and the congregation drove their teams by day, halted at night, invariably offering prayers at bed-time and at meals, and resumed their march the next day, stopping on Sunday for a long season of religious worship. Such was the case with some of those who first went to the Western Reserve, and, to a modified extent, this will hold good for the congregation of believers whose descendants now worship at Paddy's Run. Land was not infrequently bought in the East; but most generally the actual settler saw the ground before purchasing.

The projectors of the land companies did not spare flowery adjectives when describing the good qualities of the tracts they had to sell. One of the first companies was the Scioto. It was represented in Europe by Joel Barlow, the poet, who spoke of its merits as a poet should sing when describing an Arcadia. In his circular,

Pioneer Life And Customs

'" A climate wholesome and delightful, frost even in Winter almost entirely unknown, and a river called, by way of eminence, the Beautiful, and abounding in excellent fish of vast size; noble forests, consisting of trees that spontaneously produce sugar (the sugar-maple), and a plant that yields ready-made candles (Myrica cerifera) ; venison in plenty, the pursuit of which is uninterrupted by wolves, foxes, lions, or tigers. A couple of swine would multiply themselves a hundred-fold in two or three years without taking any care of them. No taxes to pay; no military services to be performed."