Block
Mill Creek Township
The complete chapter on this township from The County of Williams : a History of Williams County, Ohio, from the Earliest Days, with Special Chapters on Various Subjects, Including Each of the Different Townships ; Also a Biographical Department, published 1905. 351 words, covering 4 settlements. Source changes inside the text are labelled at the exact paragraph where the next book begins.
Contents
1 sectionThe section headings the book prints inside this chapter. Each one jumps to where it begins.
The modern record here
4 settlementsWhat the federal record holds for each settlement inside this township: wildfires and storm reports since the 1950s, mineral workings, and museum specimens collected nearby. These are counted within a few miles of each settlement, so neighbours share them and the columns are deliberately not added up. Every row links to the settlement's own page, where each figure is broken out.
| Settlement | Fires | Storm reports | Mines and quarries | Specimens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alvordton | 6 | 2 | - | 68 |
| Franklin Junction | 6 | - | - | 47 |
| Hamer | - | - | - | 116 |
| Primrose | 6 | - | - | 48 |
Settlements in this township
4 placesEvery populated place the Geographic Names Information System records inside this township's Census boundary. 1 of the 4 is named in the chapter; the rest were founded later or were never more than a post office.
The chapter
351 wordsReproduced complete and unedited from The County of Williams : a History of Williams County, Ohio, from the Earliest Days, with Special Chapters on Various Subjects, Including Each of the Different Townships ; Also a Biographical Department, published 1905. The text is machine-read from scans, so expect recognition errors: misspelled names, dropped words, and stray characters. Nothing has been corrected, because correcting a proper name invents one. The headings below are the books' own; source changes are labelled in place.
Mill Creek Township
lation is mainly of that solid, permanent character, which adds financial strength and stability. According to the census of 1900, the population is four hundred and eighty two. The town now has well built residences and business blocks and good educational advantages and church facilities.
Isaac Shaefifer was the first druggist in Alvordton, going into business there in 1880. Shipman & Page established the first hardware store, the same year.
Millcreek is well supplied with district schools, now in striking contrast with the log houses and antiquated methods of instruction of former days. Among the early teachers in the township were Joseph Reasoner, Miss Sarah McClean, S. B. Doty and David Black - all "sturdy knights of the birch/' with the possible exception of the lady. Reference has been made to the first schoolhouse, just north of Alvordton, where, in addition to education, "celestial fire" was sometimes infused into the souls of those who yearned for it. But those were not its only mission. While serving in the multitudinous capacities of town hall, voting place, a general receptacle for itinerant shows and all classes of public meetings, it was also the birthplace of educational interest in Millcreek township. The old log schoolhouse has been superseded by a fine structure in Alvordton, with a systematic arrangement for the instruction of pupils in all grades of advancement, each of the various departments being in charge of a teacher specially adapted to the class of instruction required, and the whole under the supervision of an educator of known ability and success. The schools of Alvordton are second to none of like grade in the county and reflect in a marked degree the intelligence and public spirited enterprise of those who sustain them.
The soil of Millcreek township is generally fertile and well adapted to the raising of all kinds of grain, grasses and fruits. The valleys of Mill and Brush creeks are rich and productive, and as a whole the soil of the township is of excellent quality. It was originally covered with a fine growth of timber in which the hardwood varieties predominated.
Provenance
Text from The County of Williams : a History of Williams County, Ohio, from the Earliest Days, with Special Chapters on Various Subjects, Including Each of the Different Townships ; Also a Biographical Department, published 1905, in the public domain in the United States and digitised by the Internet Archive. The settlements listed against this township are matched by point-in-polygon test of each Geographic Names Information System coordinate against the Census Bureau's county subdivision boundary, not by name.