Lorain City (part 47 of 77)

Several yeai's before IIk! (loiiiieetieul Lan<i Comi)any was formed, the lirst piii'cliase had been iiiiidc in the Suit Spring region, of the |ircsrii|

Ti'iiniiiuU County, \>y Ccii. Samuel 11. I'arsoiis, a distiiiguislicd Revolutiuuai'y {^ciuTal from CoiiiU'etiL-ut ; in 1785, apjioiiitcil by Coiigivss as one of tlic Indian commissioners to arrange for land eessioiis, and in 17iS7 elio.seu one of the judges for tlie Northwest Territory, beeoming eliief justiee in 178[). Having traveled tiirough the eountry he was faunliar with the land, and timilly bought of tlie commissioners appointed by the Conneetieut Legislature to sell land, a tract situated in the townships now known as Lordstown, Weathersfield, Jaekson and Austintown. The deed to this twenty-five thousand aeres is now on reeord in the Trumbull County courthouse, and all records and maps agree as to its boundaries, lie chose this spot undoul)tedly because the Indians and traders had cleared the land roundabout, because the springs found there contained brackish water from whicli he hoped later to nianufaetui-e salt, and because Pittsburgh was comparatively near at hand and stores could be gotten at Beaver and other points on the river. lie, however, never occupied this purchase, as he was drowned in the Beaver K'i\-er, probably at the falls, wiien returning east. Little or no money had been actually paid down foi- the land, but his lieii's claimed it nevertheless.

When Justice Parsons entered this first piece of land in the Western Reserve, it was under the civil jurisdiction of the County of Washington, which had been organized by proclamation in 1788, and included all of the Reserve east of the Cuyahoga River. In 1796, the year of the arrival of the surveying party for the Connecticut Land Company, under tlie direction of Oen. ]\Ioses Cleveland, the County of AVayne was ei'ccted as a political division of tiie Northwest Tci-ritory and included over half of Ohio - all of the Western Reserve west of the Cuyahoga. Even then, although nominally under civil jurisdiction, the lands west of the Cuyahoga River, embracing, of course, the present County of Lorain, were not the clear propei-ty of the TJjiited States, as the Wyandots, Ottawas, Cliippewas, Delawares and other tribes held primitive titles to them. As stated, the treaty of Fort Indu.stry, in ISOf), cleared these lands of such incumbrances.

Thus the Cuyahoga Rivei- may be said to be the historic stream of Northeasteni Ohio. The first definite mention of it is in a French map of M'}') ami i)reservcd hy the AVestern Reserve TTislorical Societv of

Clevelaiul. It iiaiiu's the country between tlie Ciiyalioga and Sandusky I'ivers as Caualiogue, and tluit east oi; tlie Cuyalioya, as Uwalioga. What we know as liOi'ain County was tlicrei'orf inclu(h;(l in (Jwahoga. Tliis is also tin- name yiven to the river wliieh is uiade to eiuijty into Canahoyue Hay, and the country desigiuited as Canaluigue is intlicated as "the seat of war, the mart of trade and the chief limiting grounds of the Six Nations of the Lakes." What we know as Ijorain County was tiierefore included in the country of Canahogue more than a century and a half ago.

The Wayne County of IT'JG included besides the Western Keserve west of the Cuyaiioga Ixiver, a portion of Indiana, all of .Miehigan, aiul the waters of Lakes Superior, Huron, St. Clair and Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, which were under the jurisdiction of the United States. The seat of justice of Wayne County was Detroit.

"But Connecticut and the Land Company refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the United States prior to 1800. The act of inclusion of their western land within the counties of Wasliington, Wayne aiul Jefferson, they declared to be unwarrantetl, and tlie power of Congress to preserilie rules for the government of the same they denied, and from the opening settlement in 179G until the transfer of jurisdiction to the General Covernment was complete, on the 30tli of May, ISOO, the new settlers were entirely witliout municipal laws. There was no rcg'ulation govi'i'iiing the transmission of, or succession to pro|)erty, on the decease of the owner; no regulations of any kind seciu'ing the proteelion of rights, oi- the i-edrcss of wrongs.

"The want of laws for the goverinneiil of the settlers was seriously i'elt, and as eai'ly as 17i)6 the com|)any jietitioned the Legislature of (!onne<'lieut to erect the IJeservi^ into a county, with jji'ojier and suilabie laws to regulal(! the internal policy of the tei'ritoi'y for a limited period. This petition, however, was not granted, and for upwards of four years

"But on the 10th of July, 1800, after Connectieut had released her jurisdiction to the United States, the Western Keserve was erected into a county by the name of TruuiliuU, in lionor of the goveriniient of Connecticut, by tlie civil authority of Ohio."

This period of civil complication and inicei'tainty, which logically and historically affected wluit is now Lorain County, hut i)i'actieally did not concern it as its territory was devoid of inhabitants, is thus described by Col. Charles Whittlesey in one of hi.s many papei*s contributed to the history of the Western Ileserve : ''The state of Connecticut claimed jurisdiction over the Ileserve, but made no movement toward the erection of counties. AVhen she sold to the Land Company in 1795, l)oth l)ai'ties imagined that the deed of Connecticut convej-ed powers of civil government to the company and that tht; grantees might organize a new state. As the United States objected to tiiis mode of setting up slates, the region was practically without any magistrates, courts or other organized civil authority, until that question was settled in 1800.

"Immediately after the British had retired in 17!>6, Governor St. Clair erected the County of Wayne, witli Detroit as the county seat. It included that part of the Reserve west of the Cuyahoga extending south to Wayne's ti-eaty line, west to the waters of Lake Micliigiui and its tributaries, and nortli to the territorial line. Its boundaries are not very precise, but it clearly embraced about one-third of the present state of Ohio. The question of jurisdiction, when Wayne County was erected in 1796, remained open as it had under the County of Washington. In 1797 the County of Jefferson was established, eml)racing all of the Reserve east of the Cuyahoga.

"When Trumbull County was erected in 1800, it embraced the entire Western Reserve, with magistrates and courts having full legal authority under the territorial goverinnent. Before this, although no deeds could be (!Xecut(!d here, those executed elsewhere were, in sonu' cases, I'ecordod at ]\larietta, the county seat of Washitigton (bounty. Some divines had ventured to solemnize marriages befoi-e 1800 by virtue of their ministerial office. During the first four yeai's of the settlement of the Reserve there was no law, the force of which was acknowledged here; but the law-

All iiistorians are agreed that had the lii'st seltlei's in IIm; Western JJeserve, while this state of legal "lawlessness" prevailed, heen otiii;rwise than the staid, educated representatives of New England communities whieh, for generations, had lived under Anglo-American laws, tlie results might have been most perplexing and retarding to the development of this large portion of Northern Ohio. But although the drawing of lands east of the Cuyahoga River had been i)rogressing during these uncertain years prior to 1800, those west of the river, including the present domain within the limits of Lorain County, did not take place until April 4, 1807, when that territory was under the civil administration of Geauga and Portage counties. All land and civil complications had been cleared away when tlie lirst Connecticut colony to be planted within Lorain County located in what is now Cohuubia Township, late in the vear 1807.

County Surveyed And Organized

The Treaty op Fort Industry (1805) - Western Lands Surveyed - Surplus Lands op Lorain County - Equalizing Land Values - Four Townships Considered Most Valuable - The Land Drawings - Drawing the Townships - Trustees op tiie Reserve - Civil Jurisdiction from 1807 to 1811 - Adjustment op County Boundaries - Fixing the Northern International I^oundary - 1"'ly's Inducements for County-Seat Location - Located at Elyria - - First Courthouse and Jaii. - Civil Organization - First (Commissioners' ]\1kETIN(; I'^IRST OPPICIAL J)()Cl'MKNT JUDICIAL

The surveys of tlie lands of the AVesterii Reserve east of the Cuyalioga River, made under the direetion of Aloses Clevehuid and Seth I'ease in 1796-97, do not interest us except in a general way, hut tliose west of the liistorie stream whicli were hiid out soon after tlie treaty of Fort Industry in 1805 emhraeed tlie territoi-y witliin tlie present limits of Lorain County,

Tlie Cuyalioga River and the portage hetweeii it and the Tuscarawas as lietween the United States and th(; Indians, constituted the western boundary of the United States upon the Reserve until July 4, 1805. On that day a treaty was made at Fort Fiidustry with the chiefs and warriors of the Wyandot, Ottawa, Cliii)pewa, Munsee, Delaware, Shawanese and Pottawattamie nations, by which the Indian title to all the lands of the lieserve lying west of the Cuyahoga was extinguished. By this treaty all the lands lying between the (,'uyahoga and tlie meridian 120 miles west of I'ennsylvaiiia, were ceded liy the hidiaiis for $20,000 in goods and a i)er])etual annuity of $9,500, ])ayable in goods at first cost. And allliough tins annuity remains unpaid, because there is nobody 1o claim it, the title to the land on Ihc Jicscrve west of llie river was forever set at rest.

Till- survcy.s of tlKisc lands west of tlic (hiynhoi^a Kivcr Jiic, llms (h'sciibcd by .ludf^c iJoyiiton : "TIk; iiicridiaiis and parallcils wcix' run in JHOG, hy A. 'l'aj»i)on, and liis assistants. Tlio l)asc' and wostc-rn lines of the lic'si'i've were run by Seth Pease for tiie Government. The ranges of townships were numbered progressively west, from the western boundary of Pennsylvania. Tlie first tier of townships, running north and south, lying along the border of Pennsylvania, is range No. 1, the adjoining tier west, is range No. 2, and so on throughout the twentyfour ranges. The townships lying next north of t!ie 41st parallel of latitude in each i-ange, is township No. 1 of that range. The township next north is No. 2, and so on progressively to the lake. Kidgeville being in the sixteenth tier from the base line of the Reserve, is township No. 6, in range No. 16. AVellington is township No. '.i, in range 18. Elyria, township No. 6, in range 17. It was supposed that there were 4,000,000 acres of land between Pennsylvania and the Fire Lands. If the suppo.sition had proved true, the land would liave cost thirty cents per acre. As it resulted, there were less than 3,000,000 acres. (3,366,000 acres - Editor.) Tiic mi.scalculation arose from the mistaken assumption tliat the soutli shore of Lake Erie bore more nearly west than it does; and also from a mistake made in the lengtli of the east and west line.

"The distance, west from the Pennsylvania line, surveyed in 1796-7, was only fifty-six miles. Tluit survey ended at the Tuscarawas River. To reacii the western limit of tiie Reserve, a distance of sixty-four miles was to ))e made. Abraham Tappen and Anson Sessions entei'ed into an agreement with the Land company, in 1805, to complete the survey of the lands between the Fire Lands and the Cuyahoga. This they did in 1806; and from the width of range 1!), the range embracing the townships of lirowidielm, Henrietta, Camden, P>righton, Rochester and Troy, it is very evident that the distance from the east to the west line of the Reserve is less than 120 miles. This tier of townships is gore shaped, and is mucli less than five miles wide, circumstances leading the com])any to divide all south of Bvownhelm into tracts, and use it for purj^oses of c(|uaiization. The west line of range 19, from north to south, as oi'iginally run, bears to tlie west, and between it and range 20, as indicated on the map, there is a strip of land, also gore sliajied, thai was Icfl in the lii'st instance unsurveyt'd, the surveyoi's not knowing llic exact whci'caliouts of th(; eastei'n line of the 'half million acres' liclonirinir to the SulVei'ers.

"In ]806, Amos SiJalTonl, of Clevelaiul, and Almoii Riif,'<,'](;.s, of IIuroM, were af,'ro('(J on by the two coiiipaiiu'.s to ascertain ami locate the line between the Fire Lands and the lands of the Connecticut Company. They first surveyed ott' the 'half million acres' belonging to the Sufferers, and not agreeing with Seth Pease, who had run out the base and west lines, a dispute arose between the two companies, which was finally adjusted before the draft, by establishing the eastern line of the Fire Lands where it now is. This left a strip of land east of the Fire Lands, called Surplus lands, which was included in range 19, and is embraced in the western tier of townsliips of Loi-ain county.

"The mode of dividing the land among the i)urchasers was a little peculiar, although evidently just. An equalizing committee accompanied the surveyors, to make sucli observations and take such notes of the character of the townships, as would enable them to grade tliem intelligently, and make a just estimate and equalization of their value. Tile amount of tlie i)urchase money was divided into four hundred shares. Certificates were issued to each owner, showing him to be entitled to sucli proportion of the entire land, as the amount he paid bore to the purchase price of the whole. Four townships of the greatest value were first selected from that part of the Western Reserve to which the Indian title had been extinguished, and were divided into lots. Each townshii) was divided into not less than 100 lots. The Jiumber of lots that the four townships were divided into, would at least ecjual tiie 400 shares, or a lot to a share, and eacii person, or company of persons, entitled to one or more shares of the Reserve - each share being one four hundredth part of the Reserve - was allowed to participate in the draft tliat was determined upon for the division of the joint property. The committee appointed to select the four most valuable townships for such division, was directed to proceed to select of the remaining townships, a sufficient number, and of the best quality and greatest value, to be used for equalizing puri)Oses. After this selection was made they were to select the best remaining township, and tliis townshij) was the one, to the value of whicli all others were Iiroughl, by the eciualization process of annexation, and if there were several of equal value with the one so selected, no annexations were to ])e made to them. Tiie e(|ualiziiig townsliips were cut up into parcels of various size and value, and these jmrcels were annexed lo townships inferior in value, to the standard township, .selected in tlie manner indicated, and annexations of huul i'roni the equalizing to\vnslii2)s were made iii quantity and (luality to the ijirerior townshijis, Hul'lieient to make t(i<.'m all equal in value to the township so selected.

"The lands of Lorain county, that were taken for the purpose of equalizing township.s of inferior value, were those of Koehester, Brighton, Camden, Black ]?iver, and that part of Henrietta that did not originally belong to Brownhelm. Tract S, in range 19, being partly in Brighton, and partly in Camden, consisting of 3,700 acres, was annexed to La Grange, to etiualize it. Tract No. 3, in LaFayette township, Medina county, consisting of 4,8101/2 acres, was ainiexed to Penfield. Tract 1, in gore i, in range 11, consisting of 2,225 acres, was annexed to Katon. Tract 2, in gore 4, range 11, consisting of 2,650 acres, was annexed to Coliunbia; 1,700 acres, in tract. 4, in Rochester, were annexed to Huntington; 2,769 acres, in fraction No. 3, in range 11, Summit county, were annexed to Ridgeville; 4,600 acres, in tract 9, in Camden, were annexed to (Jrafton; 4,000 acres. Tract 7, in Brighton were annexed to Wellington ; 4,300 acres, in tract 3, gore G, range 12, were annexed to Russia; 1,500 acres, in tract 14, in Henrietta, were annexed to .Siiellield ; 3,000 aci'es in tract 11, in Camden, were annexed to Pittsfield; tract 3, con.sisting of 4,050 acres, in Rochester, was annexed to Elyria; 4,000 acres, in tract 2, in Black River, were annexed to Amiierst; Bass Islands, No. 1, 2, and Island No. 5, lying north of Erie county, consisting of 2,063 acres, were annexed to Avon; and Kelley's Island, consisting of 2,741 acres, was annexed to Carlisle.

"After the townships were all made equal in value by the process of tacking and annexation, they were drawn by lot. There were ninetythree; lownshii)s, or e<iualized pai'cels drawn ea.st of the Cuyahoga, and forty-six on tlie west. The draft of the lands oast of the Cuyaiioga, took place prior to 1800, and of those west of that river on tlie Itli of April, 1807. Ill the draft ol' liic land east of the river, it required nil owiierslii|» of .+ 12,903.23 of the original purchase iiKuiey, jo entitle the owner to a township; and in the draft of tho.se west of the i-ivei', which included tlie lands of Lorain county, it recpiii-ed an owiiei'shii) of $2G,0S7 in the oi'iginal ])Ui'ehase money, to entitle the owner to a township. Tile saiiie mode and phiii wi'i'e foHowed in each dnifl.

"The towiisliips wcru munbered, and the numbers on separate pieces of paper, placed in a box. Tiie names of tlie proprietors, wlio liad subscribed and were the owners of a sufficient amount of the purchase money to entitle them to a township, were arranged in alphabetical order, and where it was necessary for several persons to combine, because not owning severally a sufficient amount of the purchase money, or luimber of shares, to entitle tliem to a township, tlie name of the person of the company that stood alphabetically first was used to represent them in the draft, and in case the small owners were unable from disagreement among themselves, to unite,' a committee was appointed to select and class the proprietors, and those selected were required to associate tiieiiiselves together for the purpose of the draft. The townsliip corresponding to the first number drawn from the box, belonged, with its annexations for purposes of equalization, to the person whom he represented ; and the second drawn, belonged to the second person, and so on throughout the list. This was the mode adopted to sever the ownership in conniion, and to secure to each individual, or company of individuals, Iheir intei-est in severalty, in wliat, bcl'oi'e then, hat! been tiic eoiiuiion pi-operly of all. AViien a townsliip, by the draft, became tiie proi)erty of several, resort was had to the courts after their organization here, to effect partition of the same.

"Soon after the conveyance to the Land Company, to avoid complications arising from the death of its members and to facilitate the transmission of titles, the company conveyed the entire purchase, in trust, to John ^Morgan, John Cadwell and Jonathan Brace; and as titles were wanted, either liefore or after the division by draft, conveyances were made to the purchasers by these trustees."

IcSO,") the Coiiiity of (i('iiii<^<i was rrciitcd, iiiul in ISO? tluit ])!irt ol' llio Western licscrv<' lyiiif; west ol' the (Jiiyalio^a liivcr and iiortli of townsliip \, was attached to tliat eounty I'oi' civil, jii(li(rial and political purposes; the portion of the present county for which provision was thus made, inelucU'd the territory nortli of the townships of Canulen, i'ittslield, Lagrange and Grafton. That i)ortion of the county reuiained thus attached until 1810, when the new county of Cuyaiioga al)sorl)ed it; tiie southerii part of the county was attached to Portage County until 1811.

IIow the Loi'ain County of tlie future was gradually created after more than a decade of adjustments and rearrangements is a complicated story, and runs as follows: "On January 22, 1811, the houndary line of Huron was extended east, on the line now dividing Camden and Henrietta, Pittsfield and Kussia, Carlisle and Lagrange, to the southwest corner of Eaton; and thence north on the line ilividing Carlisle and Eaton, and Elyria and Ridgeville, to the northwest corner of Ridgeville ; thence west to Black River, and down the same to the Lake. On the day that these lines were so altered and extended, the Legislature extended the south line of Cuyahoga county, from the southwest corner of Stroiigsville west to the southwest corjier of Katon; thence north, between Eaton and Carlisle, to the nortiiwest corner of Eaton; and h'om that point west, between Elyria and Carlisle, to the east branch of Black river and down the same to the Lake. Here was a eonHict in boundaries.

"The Boundary of Huron county included all of Elyria extending east to Ridgeville and the boundary of ("uyahoga included within its limits that part of Elyria lying east of the east branch of the river. The river was the dividing line between the two counties, in the one act and the line between Elyria and Ridgeville was the dividing line in the other. This conflict was removed at tiie next session of the Legislature, by adoj)ting the townsiiip line, instead of the river, as the Ijountlary line between the two counties, at this point. This adjustment of the boundaries gave to Huron county the townships now known as Elyria, Carlisle, Russia, Henrietta, Brownhelm, Amherst and all of l)lack Rivei' and Sheffield lying west of the river; and to Cuyalioga county, Eaton, (.'olumbia, Ridgc-ville, Avon, and all of tlie townships of lilack River and Shefdeld lying east of the i-ivei'. At Ihat date, 1811, the territory now (;oini)risiiig the county of Lorain, belonged to tlu; counties ol' Union, (!uyalioga, and l'orlag(!.

"The county of llui'on, although established in 1S()!I, and extended east- of I '.lack b'iver in 181 1 , was annexed to ( 'uyhoga in 1810, I'or Judicial

"On the ]!Hli day of Keliruary, 1H12, Medina was iornu-d, and comprised all of the tei-ritory between llie eleventh ranf^o of townships and Huron county, and south of townshii)s luunher live. It tlierefore included all of the present county of Lorain, south of Eaton, Carlisle, Russia and Henrietta. On the Uth day of January, 1818, that county was organized, and its local government put into operation. From the date of its formation to the date of its organization it was attached to the county of Portage, for judicial and civil purposes. On the 2Gth of Dcccndjer, 1822, Lorain county was estahlislied. It took from the county of Huron the territory embraced in tlie townships of Hrownhelm, Henrietta, Amherst, Russia, Elyria and Carlisle, and those parts of the townships of Black River and Shetifield that lie on the west of Black River; and from the county of Cuyahoga the townships of Troy (now Avon), Ridgeville, the west half of Olinstead (then called Lenox), Eaton, Cohunbia, and those i)arts of Black River and Sheffield lying east of the river; and from the county of ^Medina, Camden, Brighton, Pittstield, Lagrange, and Wellington. The county, as originally formed, embraced seventeen and one-half townships, which, until the county was organized, were to remain attached to the counties of jMedina, Huron and Cuyahoga, as formerly. It was, however, organized independently, and went into operation on the 21st day of January, 1824. In the organization of the county, it was provided that the first officers should be elected in April, 1824; and at that election, tliat part of Lenox that was brought into Lorain, should vote at Ridgeville, and that i)art of Brigiiton, lying in Medina before then, should vote in the adjoining township of Wellington.

"On January 2i), 1827, the ])oundary lines of the county were changed. The townshi])s of Grafton, Penfield, Spencer and Homer, Huntington, Sullivan, Rochester and Troy - some of them organized and some not - were detached from ]\Iedina, and annexed to Lorain ; and the half of Lenox Ix'lnnging to Lorain, was set off to Cuyahoga, to In; a part of ]\Iiddlebury, until otherwise provided. Ppon the formation of the county of Suimnit, in 1840, the townships of Spencer and Homer were attached to IMediiia; and ui)oii the ioi'iiialion of Ashland county, in Eebruaiy, 184G, Sidlivan and Troy wrw detached fi'om Lorain, and made a iKirl of liiat county. Pi'ior to this, and on the 2!)lii of January, 1827, an ad was i)assed, lixing the ncrlhern l)oundary of tlu- coiuily.

"The mode of formiii;^ and or^'aniziiif,' tlu; coiuitics liad been such as to leave unsettled tlie nortliern limit of the eounties of Ashtabula, Oeauga, (.'uyahoga and Lorain. And in matters uivolvin<,' the exercise of criminal jurisdiction of oflfenses committed along the lake shore, the (luestion was of too nuich practical importance to be left in doul)t. The treaty between the United States and Great Britain iixed the line running through the middle of the lakes as the dividing line between the two countries. Connecticut had reserved the land between the 41st degree of north latitude and 42 degrees and 2 minutes. The eoiirse and shajie of Lake Erie were such that the parallel of 42 degrees and 2 miiuites would cross llie middle line of the lake; and adjoining Ashtabula, that degree of latitude would be .south of, and, adjoining Lorain, north of the boundary liiu; between Canada and the United .States. It was therefore declared, l)y this act, that the northern boundary of these four counties sliould extend to tlu; northern boundary of tiie United States. This carried the northern boundary of Lorain to the middle of Lake Erie, without regard to the northern limit of the "Western Reserve."

On the 22d of February, 1822, several months before Lorain County was created and a year before the county seat was located at Elyria, Ileman Ely had dedicated to the inhabitants of the township the public park lying between Broad and South streets, and placed the title in Edmund AVest as trustee, for their benefit. lie also conveyed to West, in trust for the county, a plat of ground, eight rods by twelve, provided such tract should be used for county buildings. The courthouse now stands upon that site. :\Ir. Ely, at the same time, conveyed to the town the remainer of the back square.

In 1828 a permanent county building was erected in the center of the tract donated by Judge Ely. It was a two-.story red brick l)uilding, with four large pillars in front and surmounted by a cupola. The courtroom was on the second floor and the county offices on the first. The old courthous(; remained in use from the time of its completion in 1828 until it was replaced by Ihe massive stone .struct un; now oeeupi(!d, eivclcd in IMSO-.SJ.

It was in Hie old courthouse that Mv. Ely .served for a number of years as associate judge, and olitained the title by which he was generally known, "Jn<lg.'" Ely. lie <li(.,| it, IH.VJ, and up to the vrvy last.

The creative act of December, 1822, named the commissioners who were to locate the county seat. The committee thus formed were considered to he disinterested persons who would examine the merits of the rival claimants, having in view public convenience and welfare, both as to the present and future. The people of Black River, Sheffield and Elyria townships were all most anxious to secure the honor. In February, 1823, the conunissioners made tlieir appearance in Elyria and by Artemas Bee])e wci'e conveyed to Black River and Sheficld to weigh tlie advantages of the localities in the lake region. Elyria was obviously the most central and readily accessible to the majority of residents of the county, and it is also probable that Mr. Ely's promise to furnish the land and a temporary courthouse and jail, as well as to donate j|^2,000 toward the erection of a permanent courthouse liad a bearing upon the selection made.

On the 14lli of February, 182,"!, tlie commissioners drove the stakes for the location of the first court liouse, on the corner of JNIain and Cheapside streets. It was a little one-story frame building which Mr. Ely there erected and in which the first court commenced its sitting on tlie 24th of tlie following May.

After the erection of the permanent courthouse the building was moved to a lot fronting Broad Street and was used as a sclioolhouse and by the Presbytci'ian Cliuix-li.

The first county jail was erected on wliat is now tlie South I'ulilic S(|uare. It was a two-story frame building, the inside of one end lined with sijuare-hewn logs and reserved as the prison cell. The other end was used by tlie family of tlie jailor.

In the civil organization of the new county, the most pressing matter was the oi'gaiiization of the Court of Common Pleas and the board of coiiiity commissioners, wilii the inslaHation of those ollieials who iiad most to do with the auditing of a<'eoiinls and tiie apprehension of [johsil)le oll'eiiders against tlie i)eace of society. The latter liigh-soundiiig words ap|)ly to the auditoi- and the sherilf.

The April election of 1824, which was the first step in the civil organization, ri'siilted in tlie clioicc of John S. JJcid, Asliahcl Oshorne ami Hfnjaiiiin Hucon, as county coimiiissioncrs, with Shcriiian Minott as anditor and Josiali Harris, as shcrill'.

The first meeting of the commissioners was held at Elyria on the 24th of ^lay, 1824. All the memhers of the board were present, and their first official act was the appointment of Edmund West as county treas- urer, who gave a bond of $:^,()00 for the faitliful discharge of his duties. At the following June session, the first road establislied by the county was thus described in tlie official records: "Beginning in the highway a little easterly of the dwelling house of Walter Crocker in Black River Township, tlience running in the most convenient route near the dwellings of Frederick and Daniel Onstine, thence across Beaver creek near the house of ]\Fr. Rice, thence to intersect the North Ridge road so called, a little eastwardly of the dwelling house of Mr. Ormsby."

Fn the fall of 1824 nnolher ele(;li()n was held, at whicli ;{:i2 ballots were cast and wliicli resulted in the re-eh'clion of I lie oHieials mentioned. In the first year of tlie eoniity's existence jis n civil Ixxiy lOiiward Dnrand commenced his duties as sui'veyor, and .John Pearson as collector of state and county taxes.

KlKMiczcr Wliiton, tlic first recorder of Lorain County, performed }it Iciist one oflieial act while it was still attaolied to old Huron County, eivilly, i)o]itically and judicially. His first act was to record a deed from Benjamin Pritehard to Anna Merrills, conveying a parcel of land containing thirty and three-fourths acres, situated in township No. 6, range 18, in the County of Huron, and being a part of lot No. 3L This instrument was acknowledged May 10, 182;:{, before Isaac :\Iills, justice of the peace; was witnessed by I. Mills and llary :\Iills, and endorsed: "Received April 13, 1824, and recorded .May 11, 1824, on page 1, Book A, Lorain County Record of Deeds." This may therefore be called Lorain County's first official document.

On the 24tli of I\lay, 1824, when the county commissioners held their first meeting, the Court of (,'ommon I'leas also commenced its first sitting in the courthouse provided by Judge Ely. Sheriff' Josiah Harris opened court, the bench comprising Ceorge Tod, the president thereof, and his associates, iMoses Eldred, Henry Brown ami Frederick Hamlin. AVoolsey Welles was appointed prosecuting attorney of the county, and he also acted as clerk of the court during tiie oj)cning day of the session. On tlie second day Ebenezer Whiten, the recorder, was appointed permanent clerk, and served in tliat cajjacity until 1S;{6.

The twenty-one townships into which Lorain County is now divided were organized under their present names as follows; it must be remembered, however, that the years by no means indicate the dates when they acquired their present areas and forms :

Pioneer Settlement

Indians Adopt First ^VIIITE Settler - Disgraced by Getting Lost in THE Woods - Starts for the Bu^ck River - Reaches the Lake - Join Wyandots on the Site op Lorain - The Camp at Elyria - Replenishing the Common Larder - -Pur-IIunting Expeditions - Return to Civilization - Moravian Colony Attempts to Settle - Would Return to Ruined Muskingum Villages - Found Pilgeruh (Pilgrim's Rest) - Abandon Plan of Return to the ]\[uskingum - Ordered to JVIove On - Three Days in Lorain County - Final Return to the Muskingum - David Zeisberger, Would-Be Settler - Settlements from 1807 to 181 2 - A War Scare t)F 1812 - Eastern Shipbuilders Driven West - Lorain's Early Ship-Building Industry - Black River Settlement Becomes Charleston Village - Hearse, First Public Utility - Plowing Out a Ri\er Channel - Early Hotels - Charleston's Lean Years - Scent of THE Coming Iron Horse - First Coix)ny op Permanent Settlers - Columbia Township Organized - Pioneer Settlers op Ridgeville - Ridgeville Township Organized - Eaton Township Settled - Civil Organization - The I^eebes and PratRvs of I^lack River - Other Pioneers - Black River Tow^nship Organized - Founding OF Lorain C^ity - Early Settlers of Amherst Township - Josnii Harris - As a Political Body - Amherst as a Village - Townships Settled During the War - Pierrepont Edwards Draws Avon Township - The Cahoon Family - Avon Township Created - Pioneer Families Crowd into Sheffield - Sheffield, First Township After (JouN^rv Or(;anizei> - I'ittsfield Township Drawn - First Permanent Settlers - Township Oiujanized - Village of Elvuia Founded - The Ely IIohU': - The Famous Beebe Tavern - The First Beebe Home - The T^ridal Trip - The Old-Time Firepi, accIjAst Ukkiie House, I'ridk of the 'I'own - I'Ilyria Township I'Aicri'rioNKD in 1810 - "Raisings" - Township and Village Suij-

(;rakton - Wellington's Original Owners and Si;ttler.s - Arrival OK FiitsT Family - TowNSii II' Organizatkjn- Wellington Village - Townsiiii' ok Huntington - The Labories and Other Families - Wooden Bowl Factory - Organization ok the Townshii'- Penfield Townsiiii- Rightly Named - Coming ok the Penkields - Families of Calvin Spencer and Others - Carlisle Townsiiii - Pioneer Families Settle - Brighton Township - Henrietta Township - Camden Township.

Previous to the beginning of the nineteentli century only two temporary settlements had been made by wliite people within tiie present limits of Lorain County. The first was l)y James Smith, a youth who luid l)een captured by the Indians while working on a military road in Western l\-nnsylvania, and the second, more than thirty years afterward, by a colony of Moravian missionaries. Smith, in his later life, became prominent both in the British and American armies and represented Kentucky in the State Legislature for a number of years. He was carried by his tiu'ee hulian captors, two of wiiom were Delawares, 1o Furl \)u (^)ucsne, in ^lay, 1755; Ins white comrade was scalped, bul, after running the gauntlet, Smith was adopted l)y the tril)e and taken to a Delaware town on tlie ])anks of the .MuskingnuL Tiiis wa.s in the spring of ll^nt, during the French and Indian war.

Smith has left an interesting account of his experiences covering the two years during which he visited what is now Lorain County. His adoption into the tribe is thus descri])ed: "The day after my arrival at the aforesaid town (on the Muskingum) a number of Tiulians gatliered about me and one of them began to pull tiie hair out of my head. He had some ashes on bark into which he frequently dipped his fingers in order to take a firnu'r hold; and so he went on, as if he had l)een plucking a turkey, until he had all the hair clean out of my head except a small .spot three or four inches scpiare on the crown. This they cut oft' with a ])air of scis.sors, excei)t three locks which they dressed up in th<'ii' own iiHidi'. Two of these they wra|)i>ed around with a narrow bea<led gai-t.(;r, UKide by t lieiiiselves I'oi- liie |)ur|)().se, and thi; otlic'r they i)laited at I'nll length and stuck it full of silver i)roaciu'S. After tiiis they bored my nose and ears, and fixed me up witii nose and ear jewels. Tin'ii they ordered ine to strip off my elothes and put on a lireeeli elout, wliieli T did. 'i'liey then painted my f'ai c, hands and hody in various e()h)i's. Tliiy |)iit a hirgc helt of wanii)nni on my ne(;k, and silver hands on my hands and right arm; and so an old eiiiel' led me out in the street and gave the alarm lialloo several time repeated quiek (Coo Wigh!) and on this all that were in town came running and stood around the old chief who held me by the hand in their midst.

"As at that time I knew nothing of their mode of adoption, and had seen them put to death all they had taken, I made no doubt that tiiey were about putting me to death in some cruel manner. The old chief, holding me b/ the hand, made a long speech, very loud, and when he liad done he handed me to three young squaws, who led me by the hand down the bank into the river until the water was up to my middle. The Sfpniws then made signs to me to phingi! myself into tiie rivei-, but 1 did not understand them. I thought the result of the council was that 1 was to be drowned, and that these young ladies were to be the executioners. They all three laid violent hold of me and, for some time, I resisted tliem witii all my might, which occ^asioned loiul lau-^hter by the multitude that were on the bank. At length one of the .scpuiws said, 'No hurt you;' on this I gave myself up to their ladysliips, who were as good as tlieir word; for, though they plunged me under tlie water and rubbed me, I could not say they hurt me. They then led me uj) to tlie council house, where the tribe were ready with new clothes for me. Tliey gave me a new ruffled shirt which I put on ; also a pair of legging,s done olf with ribbons and beads; also a pair of moccasins and a tinsellaced cappo. They again painted my head and face with various colors. When I was seated the Indians came in dressed in their grandest manner. At length one of the chiefs made a speech as follows: '^ly son, you are now flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. By the ceremony wliich was performed this day every drop of white blood is washed out of your veins.' After this ceremony I was introduced 1o my new kin and invited to attend a feast that night, which I did."

Smith wandered around with various hunting parties in Central and Southern Ohio, in the course of which he visited several of the famous salt licks in that pail of the country. During one of these excursions, whil(! following buffalo, he got lost in the woods where lu; spent the niglit. For that offense his gun was taken fi'om him, and he was reduccnl to a bow and arrow for nearly two years, or until the termination of his eaptivily.

"1 iLMiiuiiicd ill this town," coiitiiiiu.'.s Siuitii, "until some liiiio in 0(;tol;L'r, when my adopted brotiier, Toiitiieauyo, wiio liad Jiiarried a Wyandot siiuaw, took me witii iiim to Lake Erie. On tliis route we luul no horses with us, and wlien 1 started from the town all the pack I carried was a i)OUcli containing my books, a little dried venison and my lilauket. 1 had tlien no gun, but TontiJeaugo, who was a first-rate hunter, carried a rifle, and every day killed deer, raccoons or bears. NVe left the meat, except a little for present use, and carried the skins with us until we camped, when we dried them by the fire."

The travelers struck the Canesadooharie (Black Kiver) proliably near its source, and followed it down for some distance, when tliey must have left it, as they reached the lake shore some six miles west of its mouth. As the wind was very high the evening they reached the lake, they were .surprised to "hear the roaring of the water and see the high waves that dasiied against the shore like the ocean." They camped on a run near the shore, and as the wind fell tluit night they ]jursued tlieir journey in the morning toward the mouth of the river on the .sand along the shore. They observed a number of large flsh that had been left in the hollows liy the receding waves, and numbers of gray and bald eagles were along the shore devouring them.

Some time in the afternoon they came to a large camp of ^Vyandots at the mouth of the Canesadooharie, where Tontileaugo's wife was. There they were hospitably received and entertained for some time. Smith says: "They gave us a kind of rougli, brown potatoes, which grew .spontaneously and were called liy the Caughiiewagas ohenata. These potatoes, peeled and dipped in raccoons' fat, tasted like our sweet potatoes." They killed wiiile tiiere some di-xT and many raccoons whicii were I'emarkably large and fat. They kept moving up tiie river until they came to tlie great falls. These were iirobably the east falls of Llack River, now within the corporation of Elyria. At that locality they buried their eanoi! and erected a winter cal)iii; froiri the descriplion, il was at i']vergreeii I'oint.

T\u: Jiarralivi! j)roc(;c(ls: "It was hoiik; liini! in \httiini]ntr wlicii wt* liiiislied our winter ealjiii. Tlioii another dillieiilty arose; we had nothing to eat. While the hunters were all out exerting their utmost ability, the siiuaws and boys (in whieh class 1 was) were scattered in the bottom hunting red haws and hickory nuts. We did not succeed in getting many haws, but had toleraljle success in scratching up hickory nuts from under a light snow. The hunters returned with only two small turkeys, which were but little among eight hunters and thirteen squaws, boys and children. But they were divided eciually. The next day the hunters turned out again, and succeeded in killing one deer and three bears. One of the bears was remarkably large and fat. All hands turned out the next morning to bring in the meat.

"During the winter a war party of four went out to the borders of Pennsylvania to procure horses and scalps, leaving tiie same number in cainp to provide meat for the women and children. They returned toward .spring with two scalps and four hor.ses. After the departure of the warriors we had hard times and, though not out of provisions, we were brougiit to sliort allowance. At length, Tontileaugo imd fair success and ])rouglit into camp sufficient to last ten days. Tontileaugo then took me with him in order to encami) some distance from the wniter camp. We steci'cil soutii u]) the creek ten or twelve miles and went into camp."

That locality is ])elieved to lie in Lagrange Township. The brothers by adoption went to bed hungry the tirst night, but on the following day killed a bear, and the Hay after a bear and three cubs. During the following three weeks, whicli they spent in this locality, they killeil an abundance of game and then returned to the winter cabin. There was great joy in the camp, at theii- anival, as jn'ovisions had run very low.

Tn Ai)ril, Rmith and Tontileaugo dug uj) their canoe, made another one foi- I lie coiivcyancM; of their jx-ltry, and left their winlei- cabin at tlic falls; the Indian ijrocceded toward the lake by water and bis white liiolJKr oil horseback. On i-eaciiing the iiioiitii of the river, tiiey iJiocecded west along tile lake shore to Sini-yeu-deauk (Sandusky), aiiollier Wvaudot town, hale in llie lall Smith joined a iiiintiiig party

Justuky Of J.Okain County 79

In 1759 Smith accompanied his Indian relatives to ^Montreal, where he was iinally exchanged, and returned to his Pennsylvania home in 1760, only to find his old sweetheart married, all supposing him dead. He afterward became a captain in the regular British army, and was chiefly engaged in protecting the border against Indian raids. During the Revolutionary war, he rose to the rank of colonel in the patriot army, and did good service against both the British and their Indian allies. In 1788 Colonel Smith migrated to Bourbon County, Kentucky, where he represented his district in the Assembly as late as the commencement of the nineteenth century.

The second settlement - temporary though it was - within the present borders of Lorain County was made by a delegation of Moravian or (Jhrislian Indians, under the lead of the missionary, David Zeisbcrger, during a few days of April, 1787. For fifteen or sixteen years both the Indians and their faithful white leaders of the cloth had been striving to find a chance to 'dwell anywhere in peace. Their persecutions by enemy tribes, such as tlie Chippewas, Delawares and AVyandots, with the connivance of both British and American soldiers, who seemed to disapprove of industry and thrift on the part of the Red JMan, had culminated in the cold-blooded massacre at Gnadenhutten, on the Tuscarawas River, in 1782. Afterward they were invited to Detroit by the eomnumder and traveled thither by way of Sandusky; finallj' settled on the Huron River about thirty miles from Detroit and founded New (iiradenhutten. Then, in the following year came the peace with Great Britain, and within the following three years they had established a pretty, industrious and contented settlement.

upon which the village stood and in 1786 claimed it again, saying their hunting grounds had ])eeu injured hy its estal)lisliment. The savages even threatened another massacre if they did not move on. Wliilc i^reparing for their departure tiiey received intelligence tiiat the Congress of the United States, after the conclusion of the war, had given express orders that tlie territory on the iMuskinguui formerly inhabited by the Christian Indians (in the present Tuscarawas County) should be reserved for them. But the Uelawares and the Shawanese, especially, were still determined to oppose the United States and declared their intention to oppose the return of the Moravian Indians. Notwithstanding, the missionaries and their people left New Gnadenhutten in April, 17S6, and, with the assistance of the governor of Fort Detroit, were, in a few days, embarked in two trading vessels belonging to the Northwest Fur Company for the mouth of the Cuyhoga River, the idea being that thence they could easily reach the headwaters of the IMuskingum to the south and return to their restored lands from which they had been driven five years before.

When within sight of their destination a violent storm drove the vessels back toward the west. After many delays the two divisions were reunited and reached the mouth of the Cuyahoga on the 7th of June. Want of provisions made them hasten their departure and, proceeding up the river, past the site of Cleveland, they came to an old deserted Ottawa town about ten miles south, where they resolved to spend the summer. Though the season was already far advanced, they cleared the ground for planting and even sowed some Indian corn. They called the place Pilgeruh, or Pilgrim's Rest. But the name proved to be sadly misapplied.

Bands of Chippewas, Ottawas and Delawares often visited the new mission, and those who had not been Christianized often strove to draw the Cliristian Indians back to their traditional beliefs; and they not infrequently succeeded. That troul)le, with persistent reports of threatened renewal of hoslilities lietween the Americans and hostile Indian tribes, deti.'rmined the missionaries to relinquish all idea of returning to tlicii' abandoned villages on llu; i\Iuskiiigiim and to seek some conveiMcut spot betwei'ii the Cuyahdga and I'etciuotting (at the mouth of till' iliii'dii River, ill lOrie Coniily).

It was at tliis point tliat tlio harried wanderers were to eiieainp upon the soil of Loi'aiu (jouiity, at the inoutii of HIaek (Caiiesadooiiarie) River. In April, 1787, they abandoned Pilgeruli and, dividing into land and water parties, skirted the laice westward. In less than a week they arrived at their destination. Tiie soil was fertile, producing wild potatoes in abundance, apple and plum trees grew here and there, and the lake near by produced all kinds of fish. Everything seemed propitious, but their joy was of only three' days' duration, for at the end of that period of short proliation a Delaware captain appeared and gave them positive orders to move on to Sandusk)*.

The details of this period which directly concerns the nai-rative are thus told by the missionary, Jolin Ileckewelder, whose laboi's covered so many years among the Ohio Indians: "Shortly after the commencement of the year 1787, accounts were received from various quarters that the Christian Indians would not l)e permitted to stay wliere they were at present, and that they would have to move nearer to tlie settlements of the savages. The government of the United States had also at this time advised the Christian Indians, througii General liutler, agent of Indian affairs, not to move to the Muskingum for the present, but to remain at Cuyahoga. The speech from Captain Pipe, already taken notice of, called on them to leave the Cuyahoga and settle at Petquotting.

"Such was the state of things at that time; and discouraging as it was, we durst not look upon the speeches sent to us with indifference ; especially what came from Captain Pipe. Whilst the Christian Indians had this subject under consideration the hostile tribes were holding a great council at Sandusky, at which it was finally resolved that a war with the United States should commence and that if the believing Indians would not decline going to the ]\Iuskingum they would force them to do so, and that their teachers should not be taken prisoners as heretofore, liut killed on the spot. A glimpse of hope, however, yet remained and induced Ihem to l)elieve tliat a peace miglit yet take ])lace. Tiie Iroquois (Si.x Nations) it was said had sent a solemn embassy to all the western nations, Imt parliculai'ly to flut Sliawanese, advising tiiem to be at peace. A I'cport also cii'cubiled that the conuuandant at Detroit had persuaded niiK! oi' ten ti'ibcs of Indians to keep llie pcaei;, and that

"The (Jlirisliaii IndiaiiH, al'tcr inatuiu! dcliljcratioii on llie Kjioec^lics whicli had Ix'cn sent thciii, resolved to seek for a spot of ground lictweeu ('uyalioga and Pet(|uotting, where they might live hy themselves in peace and (|uiet without heing interrupted by the savages, and having for that purpose examined the country along the lake, they found a place (piite to their mind.

"At this time the following private message from a friendly Delaware chief was brought out and delivered to the missionary Zeisberger: 'Grandfather! Having heard that you proposed going to live on the ^luskingum, I would advise you not to go thither this spring! I cannot give you my reasons for so advising you (meaning that he durst not disclose). Neither can I .say whether we shall have war or peace; but so much I can .say - that it is not time yet to go there. Do not tliink that I wish to oppose your preaching the word of God (the Gospel) to the Indians. I am glad you do this, l)ut 1 advise you not to go to tlie ]\Iuskingum.' This gootl chief's friendly message was well understood. Respecting the missionaries as his friends, he wai'iied them of the danger they would ])e in, in going there.

"On the lyth of Ai)ril the Cliristian Indians closed their stay at this place by otfering up solemn ])rayer and jjraise in their chapel. They thanked the Lord for all blessings, both internal and external, which he had showered down on them at this place, and then set out in two parties, one by land and the other by water. The latter was, however, delayed a couple of days on account of a dreadful storm arising just at the moment they were about to run out of the Cuyahoga river into the lake, the wind blowing violently from the opposite side ' on this shore. The waves beat witli such force against the natural wall of stone or rocks that the whole earth seemed to tremble, and the travellers thanked God that they at the time were in the river in safety, and where they further had the good fortune 1o catch several hundred good large fish by torch light - a iish called in this country the maskenuntschi, or maskenunge, and nuich resembling the pike.

"On the 24th of April the lajid travelers and, on the day following, these who were gone by water, arrived at the place they had fixed upon as their future residence; which was on a large creek that emptied itself into Die lake from the south, and where a 'tine fertile spot was found much I'esembling an orchard, it being interspersed with crab apple and plum trees; wild potatoes (an article of food much valued by the Indians) were likewise fouiul here in abundance. In short, there was noliiing wanting to encourage tliem to form a regular selliement at this place, tlie wliieli the}' intendod to do should tlioy be permitted to remain liere. This, however, was iiot the case, Tor on tlie 27th they were api)i'ised by a Delaware cai)tain, who was sent for tlu; ])urj)0se, tliat they Were not permitted to stay, but must i)roceed on to Sandusky, where a place ten mih^s distant from tlie nearest habitation of Indians was destined foi- them to live at, and where ])rotection woulil be granted them; that the orders he ))rought were positive and must be oiieyed without furtlier consideration. The captain was furtiier charged with a sei)arate message to Zeisberger to this effect: 'Hear my friend! You, my grandfathei'! I know that you have formally been adopted by our chiefs as a member of the nation. No oiu' shall hurt you, and you need not be afraid, or have any scruples, about coming to live at Sandusky' (delivering a string of wampum).

"The answer given to the foregoing speech was, of course, in the affirmative- yet not without representing to the captain, the malice, deceit and treachery imposed upon tliem for these six or seven years past.

"While prejiaring to leave this favorite spot, IMichael Young who, as before I'clated, had gone to Hethleheni from Upper Canada in 178:^, now returned to resume his missionai'y station and joining the company, they continued their journey as before, some travelling by land wiiile others, with the baggage, went by water. Arriving at the Huron river, which emj)tied itself into Lake Erie about thirty miles to the eastward of Sandusky, they learned, from good aulhoi'ity, that the message sent lliem by llie savage ehief was not llie li'utli, and thai llie ])lace allotted foi- tiiem to live at was but two miles from Ihe village ol' tlie savages, and tiuit the real intention of tiiem was to di'aw tlie Ciiristian Indians ba<'k into heatiienism. The latter, linding this to be tlieii- object, resolved not to go any further for the present, but to remain where they were in opposition to the orders of the chiefs, let tiie eonseciuenee be what it would.

"Aftei- running their canoes a few miles up the rivei' tlu'v, on the mil of May, halted and all hands luniing out, both men and women, they erected foi' llieiiiselves, on the same day, a siiffieieiit niiml>er of small hark huts to lodge in, and on the next Ai^y sent a (le|)u1ation to the chiefs giving their reason for wliat they had done, on which they wei'c permitted to stay where they wei'e I'oi' one year unmolested. The village was aft<'rward built on the east side of a high hliill' and their eoi'ti fields wei'e Oil the opposite side, 'i'o this place, which tiicy named New Salem, the heathen sometimes came to hear the prcaehinii' of the (lospel, some of whom also .joined the congregation, liecoming sti-ady memliefs (»r the church."

Strictly writing, the author .should dismiss tho Moravian colony wlicn its members, under the faithful Zeisberger, left the mouth of the Black Itiver for the mouth of the Huron, but it is excusable to add that after founding New Salem, near the site of the present Milan, Erie County, they were forced into Canada, about eighteen miles from Detroit, in 1791. Tliey rested there a year, were tlien moved to laud on the Thames, in I-']nglish territory, and establislied the flourishing settlement of Fairfield, and, five years afterward, returned to their American lands on the Muskingum, where, under Zeisl)erger and Ileckewelder, they founded Go.shen on the site of tlieir old town, Schoenbrunn. Fairfield, their Canadian village, was destroyed in 1813, during the War of 1812.

David Zeisberger, the missionary, who may be called the first white iium to attempt a permanent settlement on what is the soil of Lorain County, died at Goshen (now a few miles southeast of New Pliihulelpiiia, Tu.scarawas County), on November 17, 1808, in the eighty-eiglith year of his age. One of his Ijrother missionaries writes of him thus: "Of this long life he had .spent above sixty years as a missionary among Hie Indians, suffering numberless hardships and privations and enduring many dangers. He had acquired an extensive knowledge of the Delaware language and several otlier Indian tongues. But most of his translations, vocal)ularies and other books for the in.struction of the Indians being only in manuscript were burned on tlie ]\Iuskingum (during the massacre of 1782), and the unsettled state of the mission for a long period after, his other multifarious avocations and his advancing age,, did not allow him sufficient leisure or strength completely to make up his loss. His zeal for the conversion of the heathen never abated and no consideration could induce him to leave his beloved Indian flock. The younger missionaries revered him as a father, and before they entered upon tiieir labors generally spent some time at Goshen to profit Ijy his coun.sel and instruction. Within a few months of his death he became nearly blind, yet being perfectly resigned to the v.'ill of God, lie did not lost; his \isual cheerfulness, and, lliough his body was worn almost to a sUflctoii, his jiKlgmciil remained unimpaired."

Heekwclder, in his "Nai'rative," says: "In the. (evening of his days, v.licn his faculties began to fail him, his desire to depart and l)e with CliiisI increased. Al. IIk; same time he awaited his dissolulioii with uniform, calm and dignified resignation to the will of liis ]\Iaker, and in the sure and certain hope of exchanging this world for a better. Tlis last words wei'e 'Lord Jesus, T pray thee come and take my spirit to thyself.' And again 'Thou hast never yet forsaken me in au}' trial; thou wilt not forsake me now.' A very respecta1)le comi)any attended his funeral. The solemn serviee was performed in the English, the Delaware and (Jerman languages, to suit tlie diffei'iMit auditors."

As to Ills sirholarly aeciuirements in the field to wliich he had so long dcvofed himself, Ileckewelder adds: "lie made himself complete master of two of the Indian languages, the Onondago and the Delaware, and actpiired some knowledge of several others. Of the Onondago he composed two grauunars, one written in English aiul the other in German. He likewise compiled a dictionary of the Delawai'e language, which in the nuiiuiseri])t contained several hundred pages Nearly tlie whole of these manuscripts was lost at the hui-ning of the settlement on tlie ]\ruskingum. A spelling book in the same language has passed through two editions (written in 1820). A volume of sermons to Children and a hymn hook containing uj)Wards of live hundred hymns, eliielly li'aiislalions from the English and (Jerman hymn liooks in use in the Hi-ethren's cliureh, h.ive also been jjidilished in the Delaware (or Lenape) language. lie left behind him, in mainiscript, a grammar of the Delawai'e, written in Genuan, and a translation into the same language of Lieberkuehn's 'Harmony of the Four Gospels.' The former of these works has since been tran.slated into English for the American Philosophical Society l)y P. ^^. Du Ponceau, of Philadelphia, and the Female Auxiliary ]\Iissionary Society of Bethlehem has undertaken the l)ul)lication of th(i 'Harmony.' " We learn further that Zeisberger was of low, sturdy stature and cheerful countenance - evidently a stalwart, earnest, enthusiastic, steadfast German, who eonunanded such universal respect and affection that we are proud to welcome him as the pioneer settler of Lorain County, and only regret that his stay could not iiav(' been longer and more satisfactory.

In 1807, the year before the death of the beloved and venerable missionary, permanent settlement commenced at and near the mouth of tile Plaek Piver, llie hxtalities which were the scenes of the Moravian a1teni|)ls, and of Smith's visit befori- them. In that year (1807) there came I'rom tin- l^ast A/.ariah Peebe and his wife. Tlicy iialted at the mouth of the Canesadooharie, as the I\loravian colony Inul done twenty yeai's before; they also saw that the country was t'nir lo look iip'>u loir.

Lorain C'onnl^' was l)y no means exempt from war "scares" during those ti-ying limes to the region of tiie lower lakes and the scene of the greatest naval activities. Very early in the war period the word was passed through all the lake shore settlements of the county that a large party of hostile British had landed at Huron, a few miles west. ]\Ien, women and children fled their homes in terror, and as the inhabitants of Ridgeville readied Columbia in their flight they found that settlement nearly al)andoned. Tiiis panic, however, was of short duration,' for Levi Bronson, returning froui Cleveland, brought the well-autiicnticated news tliat the persons landed at Huron were tiie prisoners that Hull surrendered, at Detroit, to the British. On the return of those who had .sought safety in flight from Colum])ia, the elder Bronson, who had refused to join them, informed thein that "the wicked flee wiien no man pursueth."

The inhabitants of Columbia, Ridgeville, ]\Iiddl('bury and Laton, however, at onee joined in the erection of a blockhouse, just south of the center of the Town of Cohuubia. This was the fortress to which to flee foi- safety in the hour of danger. Captain Iloadley had tiie honor of commanding this post. A eoiiipaiiy was organized to garrison it, but we are well informed that the enemy had not the temerity to come within reach of its guns. The Captain and his men were mustered into tlic service, and paid as soldiers of tlie United States army. Able-bodied men constituted the garrison, while the old men, women and children were left nnprotected, at their homes, to cultivate the soil and receive the first assiiult of the unexpected foe. The roar of the cannon, off Put-in-Bay Island, on the 10th of September, 18i;{, was the first and the last heard of Die enemy after these military preparations for defense were made.

h\)V some time jirter hostilities with Creal Uritiiin had ceased there were few signs of a revival of colonization to the lake shore region, but in 1817, after the wai- clouds had fiiii'ly lifted, Heman VAy pliitled his land at tlie mouth of Black River. Then there was another pause for ih'ciilcd (IcvelopiiU'nts, wliii-li came witliiii tlie succeeding three years.

"As yet," says tlie Lorain Times-IIei'ald in its "-Perry Centennial" edilion oT VJl'A, "the .settlement on tlie Canesadooharie had not felt the pulse of industry. It was coming.

"Over on the Connecticut river Augustus Jones and William Murdock luid been shipbuilders before the war. A raid liy tlie British, who ascended the Connecticut under the cover of darkness and ])urned their ship-yard.s, left the two men, among other fellow craftsmen, almost penniless. When the Government, in 1820, offered them land in the AVestern Reserve, they accepted the prolVer and took grants near the mouth of Black river.

"So began Lorain's ship-])uilding industry. From tlie start, made by the establishment of the yards of Jones and Murdoek, this new activity flourished. Ship-carpenters, the community's lirst employed workingmen, came from the East. As the industry grew, other master builders estal)lished yards. Not only along the river, but on the lake shore, east and west of the harbor mouth, wooden sailing vessels were built and launched. The first merchant ship to sail Lake Superior was turned out of a yard here. There was no navigable passage then between Lake Sui)erior and Lake Huron, and the vessel had to be taken from the water on the Northern Peninsula of ^liehigan, portaged overland and launched into White Fish Bay.

"In addition to August Jones and William ]\Iurdock, other early shipbuilders mentioned in available records were F. Church, Captain A. Jones and his sons, William and B. B. ; A. Gillmore, Edward Gillmore, Jr., and F. N. Jones. From F. N. Jones' yard, in 1837, was launched the first steamboat built at Lorain, the Bunker Hill. The completed hull was towed to Cleveland, where the machinery, which liad been brought overland by o.\-teams, was installed.

"Some of the shipbuilders had become ship owners. Fleets of schooners, iiitei'spi'rsed with an o(;('asional 's(|uare-rigger,' sailed in and oul oi' Plack I'iver, carrying the communily's commerce over its only meiiiis of lransi)ortation, the water. In ISlUi vessel owners here joined themselves into the Black Uiver Sleand)oat Association. Lorain's history lis a lake [)oi'l had begun.

"11, vviiH ill \h{.'. KiiiiK! year - lH:t(i - llmt, the; .sctllcinciit, iitilil llicn known iis Jilack liivcr, was in corpora teil as a village;. Cliarlostoii, growing into importanee as a siiipping point, prcsentt'd tlie paradox of having no means of coniniercial transportation exci-pt the water. To proviile a eonnection witii the county seat at Elyria a ])lank road, with a re<?idation toll gate, was l)uilt between the two viUages. The present J?roadway, from its lower end at tlie river front to al)out the Fifthstreet intersection, lies on the line of tlie ohl planked highway.

"Charleston was luisy but not comfortable as a living i)la('e. Despite the fact that old residents of today, recalling the days of the '40s and '50s, declare proudly that Charleston^ had no doctors ])ecause it needed none, they admit that the conuuunity was infested with malaria and typhoid in the hot summer months. Undi'ained marsh land along the river provided a breeding place for disease which the village, lacking public sanitation, was unable to combat. Ship-yard workers left the place in the suminei- for a more healthful climate. 'Those of us wlio I'enuiined in the summers dared not die, liecause there weren't men enough to bury us,' an old resident said to the writer. 'Our oidy cemetery for a time was on Bank street, now Sixth. We had no hearse. When someone died, we had to convey the body to the burying ground in a farm wagon. Then a cemetery was established at Amherst. The two villages went in together and bought a hearse. I guess that hearse was the community's first inunici])ally-owned public utility.'

"Until 1S50 (!harlcston had no church. Services were held in the homes of the villagers, a circuit rider coming in fi'om the outside to attend to the spiritual needs of the settlement. The first i)ul)lic meeting house was an all-denominational institution erected on the corner of Washington avenue and West Erie. Later, the meeting house was moved to the present site of the First Congregational Church, Fourth street and AVashingtou avenue.

"Connnerce had its difdcullics, also. 'IMicrc weiv no i)i'()tcclii)n i)iers to fend oil" from the iiarbor mouth the fury of the sloi'ms. A northeaster would send sand-laden seas aci'oss the lowlands on the cast side of the river and the channel woidd chok(; up with silt. Afler unusually

" 'The storms made it bad for vessels that were in the harbor,' tlie old residenter said. 'Often there would be several schooners at the sawmill up at Globeville (Globeville was the name given to the territory of the present South Lorain). To get the boats out into the lake again, the men would take their teams and plows down upon the sandbar in the river, and plow out a channel which tlie current would enlarge sufficiently to allow the passage of the bottled-up vessels.'

"Without a railroad, Charleston had two big hotels and an immense boarding house. On the site of the present "Wagner building was the Reid House, Iniilt and owned by Conrad Reid. Where the abandoned S. L. ]*ierce shoe factory stands was the Lanipman House, owned and operated ])y the late ]\Ianred Lampman. Across from the Lampman House was the Canard, a boarding house that passed through several hands and finally burned one night, furnishing the village with the first big fire in its history.

"Charleston was sanguine. Its shipbuilding industry was expanding and bringing the village fame among Great Lakes communities. Then came a reaction that was to mean many cheerless, sterile years for the village on the l)anks of the old Caijesadooharie.

"The railroad was coming westward from the Hudson over the trail of the ox-teams. The Cleveland and Toledo railroad stretclied an iron highway across Ohio. But Charleston was left out of the itinerary of the iron horse. The line passed through Elyria, and the interior trade tiiat had been Charleston's fell into the willing lap of the county seat. The farmers Avho had l)eeii wont to haul their produce over the plank road to the wharves at Charleston, found it more convenient to haul it 1o tiic freight depot at Elyria. Cluirleston began to jiitie away. The Hlack K'iver Steamboat Association became a tiling of llie past. The sons of Ihc village went out to broader fields. Her old men - those who had rung llicii- fixes in llic I'oresl wlicti Cbai'lrstoM luul been a sctHeiiicnl - died, mid Ibi'ir Idiiibstoiics in Ihc lilHe i»l<l cciiicti'rv on Sixth street lire lirokeii

"Years passed thus. Then in 1872 came the awakening that was to niai'k the beginning of the last epoch in the development of what is now incorporated Lorain." None in these days is so den.se that he does not scent the coming railroad; in Lorain's case, it was the Baltimore & Ohio.

"With the Indian titles to the lands west of tlie Cuyahoga cleared by treaty, and any prior complications guaranteed by the Connecticut Land Company, the tirst colony of permanent settlers, with their families, conniieiiced to arrive in what is now the northeastern borders of Lorain County, in the fall of 1807. in Septemlier of that year a company of thirty i)ersons left AVaterbury, Connecticut, for that part of the county. Its members were as follows: Calvin Iloadley, wife and five children; Lenuiel Iloadley. wife, three children, father and wife's mother; Lathrop Seymour and wife; John AVilliauis, wife and live children; a Mrs. Parker, with four children; Silas Iloatiley and Chauncey Warner; ami Bela Jironson, wife and child. The colony spent two months in reaching Buffalo, took boat for the mouth of the Cuyahoga, but were cast ashore in a storm near Erie, and many of them were coini)elled to make the remainder of the journey on foot.

'"The greater part of this company," says Boynton, "stopped at Cleveland and remained through the winter. But Bela Bronson, wife and child; Levi Bronson, John Williams and AValter Strong, puslied across the Cuyahoga, cut their way through the wilderness to Columbia, erected a log house and commenced pioneer life. They were eight days in cutting their way from Cleveland to Columbia.

"In tile winter of 1S07-8, the families of John Williams and James (ieer, arrived; and in the; sjjring and summer of 1808, those who remaineil at Cleveland during llie winter, arrived also. At the apporlioiiiueut, by draft, in 1807, l-evi iJronson, Harmon Bronson, A/.or l>ronson, ("alvin Iloadley, and Jared Ix'ichards, had formed an association called the Waterl)ury Land Company. This company, Menjamin Dooliltle, ,Ir., Samuel Doolitllc, and William Law, di'ew that township, as

"Columbia, at the time of its organization, which took place in 1809, was a part of Geauga county. The tirst election was held on the first ^Monday of April, of that year, at the house of Calvin IIoadle3\ There were nineteen voters at the election. Calvin Iloadley, Jared J'ritchard and John AVilliams were elected trustees. Bela Bronson was elected clerk. Having no use for a treasurer, none was elected. Laliiroj) .Seymour was elected constable aiul, to i)rovi(le him emi)loymcnt, in I\Iay following, Nathaniel J^oan was elected justice of the peace. All of (Jeauga county lying west of ('olumbia, was annexed to that township for judicial and other jjurposes. The jurisdiction of that functionary, covered, in territorial extent, nearly an eiiii)ire. Tiie plaintill' on the first action l)rought before him, lived on (ii-and River, and the defendant on the Vermillion. It was the case of Skiiiuer v. liaker. The i)laintiff had judgment, which was paid, not in legal tender, but in labor. The first school taught was in the summer of 1808, by .Mrs. Bela Bronson, in the first log house erected."

After Columbia, the next si'ttlers in the county located in the Township of Ridgeville, nearer Lake Erie. Tlu-y were also Watcrbury peo[)le. alliiough the original drawer of the township was a Hartford lawyer named Ephraim Root. For a few years after its settlement it was called Rootstown, after Lyman Root, the original owner of the township and one of tile colony of purchasers and settlers. In 180f)-lO Oliver Terrell, Ichabod Terrell and David Beeljc, resid*;nts of Waterl)ury, exchanged their lands in that place for about one-fourth the Township of Ilitlgeland. In the spring of 1810 j\Ir. Beebe, with his sons David and Lonuin, Joel Terrell and Lyman Root, left Waterbury and, after a long journey, reached Ridgeville. On tlie 6th of July of that year Tillotson Terrell arrived, with his wifi^ and tlu-ei^ children. His was the first family that si'llled in the to\viishi|i. In the suMuiier of that year David Ueebc, dr., rtliirrird to Waterbury and brought on the family of his father, and the wife and childri'n of Lyman Root. At the same time, Iciiabod Tci-i-cU, his wife Rhoda, and five children, his father aiul Asa Moi'gan, his teamster, exchaMged their Conueclicut homes and comforts foi- tlu' niitrii'il cxperii'iices ol" frontier life. Oliver Terrell, I'lilher of Ichabod, ui)\vards of eiglity years of age, made tlie entire trip on horseback. They reached Ridgevillo in the fall, cutting a wagon road from IJocky River to the i)lace of destination. They were two days and three Jiights en route from Kocky J{iver. The company that came on in tlie spring had huilt a small caliin of logs of such size as so few could carry, the roof l)eing of bark and the iioor of earth. This cabin was built in the first clearing made. Here all had lived together and kept bachelor's hall. Upon tlie arrival of Tillotson Terrell and family, in tiie early jjart of July, he "moved in" and remained until the erection of a log house for himself and family. This was not long after his advent into the town. About the same time David lieebe, Sr., built a log house, a little west and nearly opposite the residence of the late Garry Root. These log cabins were an im])rovenient on the one previously built, in one respect at least: each had a puncheon Hoor and an opening for a window. As window glass was an article not posses.scd, foolscap paper was em- I)loyed in its stead ; ami while it was a poor instrument to exclude the cohl air from the rude dwelling, it was the best means possessed as a sul)stitute for the admission of light. Joel Terrell, one of the tii-.st of the spring company, returned to Connecticut in 1810, and remained until 1811, when, with his family, he directed his steps again westward to his future home.

The families of David Bee])e, 8r., Lyman Root and Tchabod Terrell, that came on in the fall of 1810, consisted of Iwcnty jjcrsons. They were seven weeks on the way. Two yokes of oxen to a wagon, with a horsi' as a leader, constituted the motive power that conveyed them hither, lihoda Terrell, the wife of Tchabod, was a survivor of the AV'yoming massacre; and at her death left ninety-one grandchildren and a large number of grcat-grandciiildren.

Tlie first schoolhouse was erected near the center of the town, on the sjiot where the Tuttle House afterward stood. It was consumed by lire in 1814. The first frame house was built hy ^Inj. Willis Terrell.

The first mill for grinding flour was the offspring of necessity. It was erected near where Tillotson Terrell built his log house. 11 was llie mortar and pestle. A log about three feet in length, cut from a pepix'i'agc tree, set on its end and burned out round in the to|), with a pestle attached to a sjiring ])ole; llies(! were the sum total of its parts and its meelianism. This was a familiar and friendly acquaintaiici! of llie neighhoring inhabitants, and by tlicui was kept in constant use, until lime and meaiis broiiglil in better days. In 1S|'J-1:! .|osej)li Calioon, of

Dover, l)uilt a grist mill on the small creek at the center. Cai)tain Iloadley, of Columl)ia, possessed a hand grist mill; and in the winter of ]81(i-17 a mill was l)uilt at Elyria, thus removing the necessity for the further use of the mortar and pestle.

The Township of Ridgeville was organized in 1813. At the spring election of that year there were fifteen voters; and they were all at the election. Judges of election were provided, and the polls were opened. David Beehe, Ichahod Terrell and Joel Terrell were elected trustees. Joel Terrell was elected ju.stice of the peace; David Beehe, Jr., constahle, and Willis Terrell, township clerk. A postotifice was established in 1815, and Closes Eldred appointed po.stmaster. Up to this date the Cleveland postoffiee was the ueai-est. Town No. 5, in the same range (Eaton), was included in the organization of Ridgeville.

Eaton Township was settled, in the fall of 1810, by mend)ers of the colony who came from "Waterljury, Connecticut, as associates of those who located in what is now Ridgeville Township. Before its incorpoi'ation by name, it was designated on the maps as town 5, range 16, and was tiie property originally of Caleb Atwater, Turhand Kirtland, llolbrook and ten others. Tract 1, gore 4, range 11, was almexed to it, to bring it up to full value. It was originally called llolbrook, and retained that name until 1822, from the circumstance that Daniel IIol brook was a large owner of its soil. It was first settled in the fall of 1810, by Asa Jlorgan, Silas Wilmot, Ira B. ]\Iorgan and Elxiiiezer ^Yilinot. These were all single men. They came from Waterbury, Connecticut, in the spring and summer, with those who took up their abode in Ridgeville. They built a log house, in the fall pf that year, on the land long occupied by Silas Wilmot, and jointly occupied it, until, by change in their circumstances, sucli occupancy was no longer desirable. By agreement, this hou.se ])ecame the property of Silas Wilmot. It was the first erection in the town.

In 1812, Silas Wilmot married Chloe Iluljbard, of Ashtabula County. They commenced married life in a log cal)in on the Ridge. His was the first family that settled in the town. Soon after, Ira B. Morgan intermarried with Louisa Bronson, of Columi)ia, built a log house just east of Wihnot's, and tliere took up his abode. Ilis family was the second tiiat took up its residence in the town. Asa soon married and settled west of Wilmot's.

Not long after, tlio familit's of Levi iMills, Tlniret F. Chapman, Seneca Andress, JNleritt Osboru, A. iM. Dowd, Dennis Palmer, Sylvester Morgan and others wen; addcMl. The first seliool was taught hy Julia Johnson, daughter of Piiiiieas, then a resident of No. 5, range 1(J.

The organization of the Townsliip of Ridgeville included Eaton ; and the two towns were embraced in cue civil organization, until December 3, 1822, at which time it was ordered by the commissioners of Cuyaiioga County, on the petition of the inhabitants, that No. 6 (5), range 16, be set off into a township by the name of Eaton. At the spring election, in 1832, the reipured township officers were elected, the township detached from Ridgeville and organized for independent action.

As an interesting historic event the attempt of the Moravian missionaries to establish a po.st at the mouth of the Black River in 1he ])resent township by that name has been described in detail. It will be remembered that they remained a few days before leaving in tlu; face of tlie threats of the Delaware chief, and their coming had no connection with the .settlement whicli ap[)roachetl permanency; that honor fell to the Beebes, Vermonters, in 1807, which, for Lorain County, may be called the "year of assurance." Nathan Perry, Jr., son of Nathan Perry, of Cleveland, both of Vermont, opened a store at Black River for trade with the Indians. lie employed Azariali Beobe as his advance agent, who, with his wife, went aiiead, ojiened the store and comiiienced housekeeping. jMr. Perry soon after followed and boarded with tliem. The store and residence wei'e located east of the river. The ]>cebes remained there for several years and then dropped out of sight.

No addition was made to the settlement until 1810, but in the spring of that year Daniel Periy, an uncle of Natlum, Jr., settled with his family near the mouth of the Black River. lie, also, was fi'om Vermont. He remained at that locality but a few yeai's, then moved to Siieffield and thence to l^rownhelm, whei'e he spent the i-emaiiideiof a vei-y useful life. Lix'al historians geuei'ally give'lhe I'errys, uncle and nei)hew, the credit ol' calling es])ecial attention to the eomiiiercial advautages of th(^ locality around the mouth ol' the illack, and of ))lan1- ing the seed of the coiiuiiunity which finally developed into the large iiiihisl rial ( 'il y of Loi'iiin.

Diiriiif,' 1810, tli(! year of Daniel I'crry's arriviil, caiiK; 1o l{la(;k ]{iviT 'I'ounsliip -Jacoh Sliupc, .loscj)!! (^iit,'lL'y, iicoiga Kelso, Andri-w Kelso, Kaljdi l.yoii and a Mr. Seeley, some of wiioiii settled in wliat hecanu' Aiidierst, Towiisiiii). in the foiio\vin<,r year the little colony was inereased hy the arrival of John S. Keid, Quartus Giiniore, Aretus Gihuore and ^Villian^ .Martin. Mr. Reid was a man of great energy of eliaracter, and soon became prominent, as the leading citizen of the town. He 'was one of the first three commissioners npon the organization of the county, in 1824, and before then, and while Black River was a part of Huron County, in 1819, he was a commissioner of that county. He was one of the commissioners of Huron County that directed the joint organization of Elyria and Carlisl.-. He died in 18:31, and his son Conrad spent his life in the township. Quartus and Aretus Gilmore were sons of Ednnind, who moved to Black River with his family in 1S12. He was the owner of a large tract of land in Black River and Amherst, and built, in that year, tlie first framed barn ever erected in the county.

On the 14lli of November, 1811, the Township of Dover was organized by the commissioners of Cuyahoga County. It incltided within its defined limits the present townsliii)s of Dover, Avon, Siieffiold, and that ])arl of Black River east of the river; and on tiie 12lh of Mareh, 1812, the lei'rilory now comprising the townships of Klyria, Amhei'st, all of Black Rivei" west of the river, and Hrownhelm were attaciied to Dover for township pui'poses. Tiiey remained so attached until Vermillion was oi'ganized, wlien the towns now known as Andierst, Hrownhelm and ])lack River, west of the river, were annexed to that township. On the 27t!i of October, 1818, the Township of Troy was organized and included the i)reseiit towns of Avon and all of Shcflield and lUark River lying east of the river, it will lie remembered that Huron County was organized ill 1815, and was extended east of Black Iiiver, and for a distance beyond it. 7\t the Febrnai'y sessi(ni, in. 1817, of liie commissioneis of Huron Counly, it was ordered tlial Township No. G (Amherst) and that part of Xo. 7 (Black River) in llie Miuhleeiilh Range wliieii lay ill t he ( !ouMly of I liiroii, with all (he lands therelo a It ached in said II iiroii County, be set oiV from llie Township of X'ei'miilioii and organized into a separate towiishi]) under the name of Black River. Tims Amherst, Black Ri\'ei- and Hrownhelm were first organized as Black River.

It was not, Until 1S17 thai tlic .sclllcnictit, at the rnoiilli of Ww. lUack JtivLT pi'OMii.sed to blossom into a fiill-l>lo\vn village. In that year Judge Ilenian Ely, also the founder of Elyria, established his colony in that portion of the great tract which lie had purchased from the Connecticut Land Company. In his early manhood Judge Ely had spent some time in the Province of Lorraine, France, and the pleasant memories of his residence in that charming and romantic country induced him to suggest the name of the new county which was created by the Legislature in 1822. The French spelling was, liowever, contracted and Anglicized. Afterward the boat-liuilding and fishing settlement at the mouth of Black River took that name. The fine harbor at that locality, added to these industries, made it quite an important lake port, before the early '70s, when the railroads entered the land territory naturally tributary to it ; it was incorporated as a village ; the steel works and other large industries located; population increased rapidly; it was incorporated as a city and established its position as the leading commercial and industrial center of the county and one of the most thriving musiicipalities on Lake Erie. Abundant proof of these general statements is afforded in the details packed into succeeding pages.

Jacob Shupe, already mentioned, is entitled to the post of honor as the pioneer settler of what is now Amherst Township. He came into Black River in 1810 and early in the following year moved over the line into Amhei'st and settled upon Beaver Creek. Within a short time he erected both saw and grist mills, and several years afterward the first whiskey distillery in the township. He spent his money to the limit in various primitive improvements, and it was while making an extension to one of his mills on Beaver Creek, in 1832, that a timber fell on him and caused injuries which resulted in his death. His widow lived to be ninety years of age.

In October, 1815, Chileab Smith settled with his family on Little Beaver Creek, in Amherst, four miles west of Elyria, where he lived until his death. He opened and kept the first tavern in that vicinity. During the same year Stephen Cable, before then a resident of Ridgeville, moved from the latter town and took up his residence near the Corners, formerly called Ilidbert's Corners, si.v miles west of P^lyria. In the yciar 181G Reuben Webb settled on the farm lying at "Webb's Corners." In 1817 there were other additions to the town, among them

County, RTassaelnisetts. He was elected justice of the peace in 1821, and heUl tlie oHiee tiy re-election lor tliirty-si.\ eonsecutive years, lie Avas i)()stmastei- at North Amherst foi- a continuous period of forty years; was the first sheriiV of the county; was appointed associate judge ill 1S2!), and served for tlie jx'riod of seven y.-ars. lie was the oliject of

Khenc/er Whiton became a resident tlu; same or the i)revious year. I'jliphalet lledington settled on the .South Ridge, now Soutli Aiidierst, in h'ebruary, 3818. lie was selected by the Legislature as one of the conuiiittee to locate the road leading fi'oni tlie eastern termination of the one running east from tiie foot of the rajiids of tlu; ]\Iiami of the Lake to Elyria.

JOIijab Saiulersou settled near him in the same year. Prior to 1820 there were numerous additions to the town, among whom were Calel) Ormsl)y, Ezekial Hai'nes, Elias Peal)ody, Thompson Blair, Israel Cash. Roswell Crocker, Harry Kedington, Jesse Smith, Adoniram Webb, Frederick Henry, Michael, David and George Onstine.

In the meantime, while this region near tlie lake shore was being settled, the present Townsliip of Aiidierst was being l)rought into shape. Tliis was not effected until 1830. Old Black River Township was organized in April, 1817, as a part of Huron County. Brownlielm Township was detaclied in 1818, and Russia in 1825, leaving the territory now embraced in tlie townships of Amherst and Black River as one township, under the name of lilack River Townsliii). On January 12, 18.30, the Oliio Legislature passed a sjiecial act of division. This was made necessary in view of the act prohibiting the incorporation of any townshij) with an area of less than twenty-two s(|uare miles; the territory to be divided made it impossible to abide l)y tiiat law and tiui Legislature thei'efore passed a special measnre on the date named. The inhabitants of fractional township No. 7, range 18, in tlie Connecticut Western Reserve, were incorporated as the Townshij) of lilaek River, and township No. 6, in the same range, as Amherst.

For many years it was seen that the Corners, nearly in the center of the township, was tlic logical site for a village. Judge Josiali Harris liad also a large tract of land around the Old Spring, in the same locality, a portion of whieli he laid out into lots in 1830 and started the iMilo Harris honglit the interests in the townsite of his father's heirs and made an addition to the village. In 1873 the Village of North Andierst was chartered. The name of the village has changed several times. First it was known as the Corners, then as Plato, next as Andierstville, was incorporated as North Amherst, and, within recent years, has dropped the North and become plain Amherst.

Since the year 1886 the Village of Amherst has been the center of the large industries developed by the Cleveland Stone Company, but, with the rapid e-xpansion of cement manufacture, several of the quarries have been shut down and the enterprise, as a whole, has declined in importance. A large number of men, however, still find employment in the old line. A substantial plant for the making of special machine parts, a cold-.storage concern, two good banks and a number of large stores, with a handsome town hall, well paved and lighted streets and oilier outward signs, demonstrate the standing of Amherst as tlie second or third village in the county after Obei'lin. Wellington and Amhersl claim about the same population. Andierst has a population of about 2,200, ])erhaps half of that credited to the beautiful college village of Russia Township.

Sheffield, Pittsfield and Avon townships, as they are known today, received their first accession of pioneers during the war period of 1812-15. Avon, however, seems to have been the most fortunate in providing homes for a number of settlers who proved to be permanent in their character.

In 1807 Pierrepont Edwards, the famous Revolutionary soldier, congressman and judge, of Connecticut, drew town No. 7, range 16 (Avon), together willi three of the Bass islands in Lake Erie west oi' North Sandusky, aiuiexcd to the town for i)ui'pose of ef|ualization. In 1812 Noah Davis settled on the lake slioi'c, erected a log house, I'cinained bid a short lime and left, never to leliirn.

III 1K14, Wilbur (Jiiliooii, Tj(;wi.s Austin iiiid Xicliolas Yniiii",' iiiatic tlu! first pcrinancnt scttleiiiont of tlio town, and a eoiitury afterward, on the 10th of September, their deseendants celebrated the event. On that occasion, Horace J. Gaboon, grandson of AVillinr and tlien in liis seventy-eighth year, who had l)een appointed historian, read an interesting paper, from wliich lilieral extracts are taken clsewliere. Asich; from the interest which attaches to tlic i)crsoiiali1y of Wilbur Cahoon as one of the first three settlers of Avon Township, he was the lirst justice of the peace elected for the jurisdiction now divided among the townships of Avon, Sheffield and Dover (the last named now a part of Cuyahoga County). He made his good influence felt in many ways, although his death occurred as early as 1826. The widow died in 1855. Of their eight children, Leonard was the only om; to be born in Avon Tow-nship, and he was its first native white cliild. All the other children were born in Herkimer County, New York. The Cahoon family has long ))een identified with township and county matters, Horace J., before mentioned, serving for nearly ten years as recorder.

On the 27th of October, 1818, the Town of Avon, together with the annexations hereinbefore stated, was set off from Dover, and organized in a separate township by the name of Troy, by the commissioners of Cuyahoga County. It will l)e remembered that, at tliis date, the river from the point where it passes into Slieffield north to the lake was the boundary line between Huron and Cuyahoga counties. A special election was ordered for township officers, to be held Noveml)er 1), 1818. Elah Pai'k, John- Williams and Lodovick ]\Ioon were ehicted trustees; Larkin Williams, township clerk; Abraham ]\roon, ti-easurer. In June, 1819, Jabez Burrell, living in the Sheffield district, and William Cahoon were elected justices of the peace.

l^revious to 1818 the inhabitants called the town Xeuina, notwithstanding it was a part of Dover. In I)eceml)er, 1824, upon petition of forty citizens, the name of the town was changed from Troy to Avon, l)y 1ii(! commissioners of Lorain County. In 1818, the first schoolliouse was built, near the center of the town, anil in the fall of that year Larkin A. Williams opened it to the youth of the few -settlers of the town.

Sporadically - if the (.'Xprcssioii may he applictl 1o huiiiari hcings and tlic'ir coming - the pioneers of Shei'field Township extended tiieir opei'ations over a period of a dozen years hefore it was organized under its present name and with its present hounds. William Ilart, of Sayl)rook, Ashtahula County, drew it originally. Previous to his disposition of the land, ahout 1812, he agreed to give Timothy AVallace his choice of lots, if he would settle and occupy the same. Wallace accepted the otfer, entered and improved a few acres on the Rohbins Burrell farm, and finally abandoned it. In January, 1815, Hart conveyed the township to Capt. John Day and Cai)t. Jabez Burrell, of Berksliire County, ^Massachusetts. Obediah Deland, Joshua Smith, Josepji Fitch, Solomon Fitch, Isaac Burrell and Henry Austin became joint owners with Day and Burrell. In June of tiiat year Jabez Burrell and Isaac, Captain Day and Joshua Smith came west and made selections. In the following November, Smith and son reached tlie selected ground and l)eeame fixed settlers. They were soon joiiu'd liy Samuel B. Fitch and Asher Chapman, who struck hands with them, built a small shanty and occu|)ied it dni'ing the winter of 1815-16.

Freeman Richmond and family took up their aboile on Lot 2. This was the first settlement of the town by a family. In April following, Henry Root, wife and six children, two boys and four girls, arrived from Sheftield, Ma.ssachusetts, and took shelter in Smith's shanty until the log house was thrown up that was to constitute their hundjle habitation for the immediate future.