CHAPTER VII
TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS OF THE COUNTY
Settlement and Organization--Early County Roads--Early Settlers--Pioneer Incidents-- Claridon, the First Town Laid Out in the County--Political Notes--Population and Tax Valuation Statistics.
Marion County, at the time of its organization as a county, in addition to its present territory north of the Greenville Treaty line, contained also the townships of Cardington, Canaan, Morven and Washington, all included in Morrow County, and two tiers of sections along its north border, now in Crawford and Wyandot counties.
At first all of the territory north of the Indian line, lying north of Delaware , was attached to Bennington, Oxford, Marlborough, Radnor, Scioto and Union townships in that county, by the commissioners of Delaware County, on June 8, 1819. March 6, 1820, an order was made by the commissioners Delaware County, that all that tract of country included within the new counties of Marion and Crawford north of Delaware County should constitute a new township by the name and style of Big Rock and an order was issued for an election of the necessary township officers, John Staley was elected the first justice of the peace of Big Rock township. As population increased, the Commissioners of Delaware County organized other townships, there-by reducing the limits of Big Rock.
EARLY COUNTY ROADS.
In the early commissioners' journals of Delaware County will also be found many petitions for, and sometimes remonstrances against, the laying out of the principal county roads in Marion County. As early as August 9, 1808, a survey was made and a county road located on the west side of the Whetstone River from the Indian boundary line south through Norton to the south line of Delaware County. From Norton north to the Greenville Treaty line the road was not surveyed till 1820. The commissioners of Delaware County, on March 5, 1822, approved the report of Joseph Lance and Forrest Meeker, commissioners, laying out the county road from Capt. William S. Drake's on the Indian boundary line north,
passing near "Jacob's Well," near Hoddy's, through the main street of Marion to the north boundary of Marion County. This is the public thoroughfare now leading from Marion to Delaware, known as the Marion and Delaware pike. The entry of March 5, 1822, is also the first official notice of the town of Marion, and antedates by a month the platting of the town.
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The county road, later known as the Sandusky turnpike, now known as the "Mud" pike was established on June 7, 1821 as far as the "Indian camps on the road leading from Mount Vernon to Upper Sandusky." Many of these roads were made to follow Indian trails. Of course, as the settlements became older, and all the land was taken up, most of the county roads were placed on the section lines, but the two principal north and south thoroughfares of the county, the Marion and Delaware pike and the "Mud" pike follow, in the main, the same courses as when originally established by the commissioners of Delaware County.
Still another highway of much importance in the early days was the road surveyed by Samuel Holmes, from Tymochtee through Marion to Claridon, which was established March 5, 1823.
The local settlements of each part of the county can be best treated in a work of this nature by townships.
BIG ISLAND TOWNSHIP
Received its name from a big grove in the midst of prairie land. It was organized while Marion County was still attached to Delaware County. The commissioners' journal of Delaware County, dated March 5, 1823, establishing the township, reads as follows: "Ordered that part of Salt Rock township which lies in surveyed township five in the 13th and 14th ranges be and the same is hereby erected into a separate township by the name of Big Island." According to this description the township at first included in its limits the present township of Montgomery. On March 6, 1827, the south tier of sections in the township was set off to Green Camp township and on March 17, 1827 all of Center (now Marion) township, west of the Little Scioto, was added to Big Island township. On June 6, 1827, the present eastern boundary of the township was fixed by the commissioners and on March 5, 1838, when the boundaries of Green Camp township were finally fixed and determined as they now stand, the south tier of sections taken from Big Island in 1827 was restored. The township comprises township 5, range 14, which consists of 33 full sections and three fractional sections of Congress Lands.
The first settlers in this township were Joshua Cope and Jacob Cory, who "squatted" before the land came into the market. Cope came in the latter part of the winter of 1819, built a cabin one mile and a quarter north of Big Island, on the old Radnor road, and in April moved in, without there being chimney, floor, door or window to his habitation. Cory moved into his cabin two weeks later. Mr. Cope was elected the first justice of the peace of the township at an election held June 5, 1824, receiving 24 votes to his opponent's 13, His daughter Lydia was the first white female child born in the township.
In 1821 the Widow Neville and her two bachelor sons, William and John, located on Neville Run. The sons spent most of their time in hunting and moved farther westward in 1835 when this county became filled up with settlers.
Soon after the lands north of the Greenville Treaty line came into the market, a number of families located in the township. Among the number were Jacob Dickerson, William Britton, Alexander Britton, Samuel Jones, Dr. Alson Norton, who became the first coroner of the county, and Hezekiah Gorton, the county's first auditor.
Before the year 1824 Leonard Metz, Newton Messenger, Col. Everett Messenger, Portius Wheeler, David Thompson, Elder David Dudley and Caleb Johnson, settled near the town of Big Island, forming quite a settlement in the place, where it was thought probable that the county seat would be located. The town of Big Island was laid out by Dr. Alson Norton. For many years after the county seat was located at Marion, repeated efforts were made to secure its removal to Big Island, and the hope of success was not wholly given up until the erection of the Court House in 1832.
In 1831 Big Island had three stores and two taverns. Mr. Morgan kept hotel in a brick building in the place, which was afterwards
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conducted by D. Thurlow, John R. Knapp, Sr., Peter Frederick and Hiram Halsted. David Ross, Levi Hammond, John Grice and James Lefever were early blacksmiths; Israel Jones and Dexter Pangborn, wagon-makers; Royal Miller and Alfred Walker, shoemakers; Jonathan and George O. Ross, coopers; Milton Pixley, Samuel and Paul Jones, carpenters; Joshua S. Patch and James Green, tailors; and Drs. Alson and John C. Norton and Russell C. Bowdish physicians.
Some of the county's prominent citizens who were residents of Big Island township were Col. Everett Messenger and Judge Isaac E James, both of whom served as members of the State Legislature; John R. Knapp, for many years editor of the Mirror, and county clerk and H. T. Van Fleet, who was a prominent member of the Marion county bar.
In the early days Big Island was a favorite place of rendezvous on military muster day.
The event was usually held on Saturday afternoon when drinking and fighting were the order of the day. It is said that on one such occasion on Christmas Day, 13 fights were in full swing at one time. It was called a "free for all" and no one ever attempted to interfere with the combatants.
The valuation of property in Big Island township in 1906 was $870,460, with a tax rate of 16.1 mills.
The Free Will Baptist Church of Big Island was the first church organized in the county. It was organized by Rev. David Dudley at his house, July 6, 1822. Mr. Dudley served as its pastor for 18 years. In 1833 the congregation was incorporated by the Legislature
The population of Big Island township by decades follows : 1830, 470; 1840, 554;
1850, 600; 1860, 911; 1870, 940; 1880, 1,226; 1890, 1,471; 1900, 1,342.
BOWLING GREEN TOWNSHIP.
The territory now constituting Bowling Green township was at first included in Grand township at the time of the latter township's organization on June 7, 1824. When Montgomery township was later organized in 1831, it was made to include Bowling Green township. Seven years later Bowling Green township was formed and made to include all of the Virginia Military Lands included in Montgomery township, and lying south of the Scioto River. The following is the entry organizing the township:
"March 5, 1838. Commissioners met, pursuant to the statute in such case made and provided. Present, Charles Merriman, John Shunk and George Beckley. And whereupon, on petition of Thomas Parr and others, it is ordered that a new township to be called and named Bowling Green township, be and the same is hereby erected and set off as follows, to-wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of the county of Marion; thence north to the north bank of the Scioto River; thence down said river, with its meanderings, until it intersects the range line dividing ranges 13 and 14 in said county: thence south on the line of Green Camp township, to the line dividing Marion and Union counties; thence westwardly on said line dividing said counties of Marion and Union, to the place of beginning." With the exception of the addition of Survey No. 9,983, on June 22, 1840, the boundaries of this township have not been changed.
Moses Dudley was the first white settler in the township. He and Maj. William La Rue were the first white men to raise a crop of corn in the township. Jesse Bell was the first permanent white settler, arriving and settling on the east bank of Rush Creek in February, 1831.
In 1824 a tornado swept through the township. It took its rise in Logan County, entered Marion County about three miles below the present site of La Rue and, following the direction of Rush Creek, spent its fury in the woods of Big Island township. The timber was broken down along its course, which varied from one to three quarters of a mile in width. This strip of fallen timber land was called the "Windfall." Afterwards this strip of country grew up in brush and weeds. It was customary for the Indians to burn the woods over each year for convenience in hun-
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ting. Such a fire, in 1828, consumed all the weeds, brush, and fallen timber in the "Windfall," leaving the ground clear for cultivation. In the spring of 1829, Moses Dudley, Hiram Shutes, and Gardner Hatch, attracted by the strip cleared by the tornado, planted a portion of it in corn and raised a bumper crop that year without cultivation.
This fact becoming noised about, a rush of settlers followed. These early pioneers were Benjamin Sager, William Graham, David Harraman, John Burnett, John D. Guthery, Joseph Guthery, I. F. Guthery, Edward Williams, Aaron Bell, Thomas Welling, John Welling, Elisha Daniels, Thomas Andrews, Jotham Johnson, William Price, David and John Hockenberry and Thomas Parr.
Thomas Parr was one of the leading pioneers of the township and was instrumental in giving the township its name, after the name of the township in Licking County, from which he had emigrated. He laid out a town in the center of the township, called "Holmesville," which at one time had a tavern, a dry goods store, two or three groceries, a post office, blacksmith shop and a wagon shop. Mr. Parr also erected a horse-mill which, in that early day, was a great convenience for the pioneers. At the first township election in 1838, held at Parr's residence, he was elected township treasurer, Silas H. Cleveland, clerk, and Joseph Guthery, justice of the peace.
The first school in the township was taught by P. Lampheare, in a rude log cabin in the south part of the township. It was built of logs and lighted by windows formed by taking a log out of two sides of the building, the spaces thus made being covered with greased paper. The fire-place, in one end of the building, was made of mud and sticks. The pupils sat on benches made of slabs.
The valuation of property in Bowling Green township in 1906 was $640,310 with a tax rate of 17 mills. The following is the population of Bowling Green township by decades 1840, 324; 1850, 448; 1860, 637; 1870, 903 ; 1880, 1,219 ; 1890, 1,093 ; 1900, 978.
CLARIDON TOWNSHIP
Was originally a part of Canaan township. On June 4, 1823, the commissioners of Delaware County ordered that all that part of Canaan township comprised in township 5 and range 16, be erected into a separate township by the name of Claridon. It is now one of the two full surveyed townships in the county, being six miles square. It seems that in 1848 and 1849 Scott township made repeated efforts to obtain the northern tier of sections, but without avail. In fact on March 5, 1849, an order was made by the commissioners attaching this tier of sections to Scott township, but an appeal was taken by Garry Clark, one of the householders residing upon said territory, to the Court of Common Pleas, the proceedings were reversed and the territory restored to Claridon township. Another effort was made and on March 4, 1851, a similar order was made by the commissioners, This order was likewise annulled by proceedings in appeal to the Common Pleas Court and no further efforts were made to disturb the boundaries of the two townships. Had this effort succeeded, the town of Caledonia would be in Scott township.
In December, 1868, the Board of County Commissioners divided the township into two election precincts, known as "Claridon North" and "Claridon South."
The first settlers in Claridon township were nearly all from England. About the first to come was Joseph Hornby in 1820. In the spring of the same year Nathan Clark, of Connecticut, entered part of the land on which Caledonia now stands. Jacob Aye also arrived the same year. William S. Aye, a son of Jacob Aye, was born January 19, 1821 being the first white child born within the limits of the township. Mr. Aye is still hale and rugged and lives near three of his children in the city of Marion. Vincent Douce with his family of 10 children came. in 1822, and John Hinds and family, in July, 1822. William Thew and family, with other families, came direct from England in 1823, and settled in the southern part of the township. Mr.
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Thew died in July, 1883, surviving all who came with him and living to the ripe old age of 92 years. The other English emigrants who located in the township between 1820 and 1823 were Matthew Fields and family, William Dickson, Mr. Warwick, Robert Boulton, George Bayles, John Hooten, George, William, John and Michael Welbourn. Mr. Sergeant, William Parker, Henry Hatfield, Comfort Olds and family, Hugh Osborne, Joshua B. Bearss, Amos Earl and James Lambert. These with others formed quite a numerous colony for that early day. They were a thrifty and enterprising people, whose descendants today are among the most respected and representative citizens of the county.
As early as August 25, 1821, a town was laid out near the Whetstone on the land of Joshua B. Bearss, being platted and surveyed by Col. James Kilbourn and by him given the beautiful and historic name of Claridon. At the time it was thought that it would be a suitable location for the county seat, owing to the fact that it was, at the time, very nearly in the center of the county. With this in view it was laid out in "magnificent style," covering some 102 acres of land. In the center of the town a large square was donated for a site for county buildings and a park, otherwise to be used for buildings for literary purposes. The avenues were 99 feet wide and the streets 66 feet. It was the first town laid out in the county and thrived until Marion was selected as the county seat.
Those who came to the settlement later were Thomas Boyce, in 1828; William Mitchell and John Underwood, the following year; Peter Gable and Henry Holverstott in 1830; Joseph Smith, James Lawrence and Charles Owen in 1832; and Jefferson Smith, Obadiah Miller and Matthew Fields in 1834. Those who became prominent in the affairs of the county, who came at a later date, were Jacob Howser and family from Harrison County, Ohio, and Dr. J. W. Devore from Knox County.
In the northern part of the township the first settlers were Daniel Wyatt and Thomas Van Horn. Capt. George Beckley, with his father and his father's family, came in 1821 to this part of the township. William Garberson emigrated from Westmoreland,. Pennsylvania. to Claridon township in 1823. George Ulsh arrived in Marion from Pennsylvania in the winter of 1828 and the following spring moved to Claridon township, settling on what is known as the "Turnpike Lands," on the Columbus and Sandusky turnpike. Philip Slick came in 1831, locating on the pike at the crossing of the roads, where he kept a public house known as "Slick's Tavern." The location to this day is known as "Slick's Station."
CALEDONIA.
On April 11, 1834, Caledonia was surveyed and platted by Samuel Holmes for the proprietors, John Parcel and William T. Farrington. For several years previous the proprietors had run two small stores at the place. Dr. Disbrough was the first practicing physician and Dr. Lee was his successor. No municipal government existed, however, until 1873, when a petition was presented to the Board of County Commissioners, alleging that the town contained more than 500 inhabitants and asking to be incorporated as a village. On November 12th of that year the prayer of the petition was granted and Caledonia became a village. Numerous additions have been made since the original town was laid out. The village in 1900 had a population of 682. It has a Methodist, a Universalist and a Presbyterian congregation. The Erie and "Big Four" railroads pass through the village and, owing to its location, being about equidistant from Mount Gilead, Galion, Marion and Bucyrus, it is one of the best shipping points in the county.
The present village officers are T. J. Gruber, mayor; O. N. Lindsey, clerk; Henry Nufer, treasurer and P. B. Atwood, marshal.
The valuation of the property in the corporation in 1906 was $224,870, with a tax rate of 26.6 mills. In the same year the valuation in the township was $1,012,500, with a tax rate of 19.4 mills.
The population of Claridon township by
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decades is as follows: 1830, 322; 1840, 1,084; 1850, 1,343; 1860, 1,464; 1870, 1,483; 1880, 1,771; 1890, 1,717; 1900, 1,752.
The population of Caledonia in 1870 was 419; in 1880, 627; in 1890, 757; and in 1900, 682.
GRAND TOWNSHIP.
The organization of Grand township was one of the first acts of the commissioners after the organization of the county. The following is the entry in the commissioners' journal: "June 7, 1824. Commissioners of Marion County met for the first time after the organization of said county. Present: Matthew Merit, Amos Wilson and Enoch B. Merriman; auditor, Hezekiah Gorton. Ordered, that surveyed townships 3, 4 and 5, in range 13, and so much of the Virginia Military Tract as lies south of said townships in Marion County, be and the same is hereby set off as a new township, by the name of Grand township.'' Thus Grand township at first included what are now Mifflin and Marseilles townships, in Wyandot County, and Grand, Montgomery and Bowling Green townships, in Marion County. It was at the time of its organization the largest township in the county, from which fact it probably obtained its name. Now it is the smallest township in the county--six miles long and three miles wide. On December 5, 1831, Montgomery township was set off to the south. When Wyandot County was erected in 1845 by act of the Legislature, three tiers of sections were taken off of surveyed township 4, range 13, so that only half of the survey remained in Marion County. On March 23, 1845, the township was reorganized by the commissioners.
One of the first settlers in the township was Enoch Clark, who settled in the township in 1820. The following year James Stiverson and family settled on the Tymochtee. Then came Joseph Seaburn before the year 1828; Henry Deal and Elisha Davis in 1828; Champness Terry and family from Virginia in 1830; Walter Davis and family in 1832; Jonathan Neal and family, 1834; Noah Gillespie, James and Walter Lindsay and David Bower and family, 1835. Others who came at an early day were Edward Thomas, Joseph Rubens, Charles Merriman, Hugh Long, Gilbert Olney, George Barnes, John Lindsay, Thomas Lapham and George Gray.
At the first election, held June 26, 1824, 12 votes were cast for William Cochran for justice of the peace, who became the first justice of the township.
Grand township has no village, though Scott Town is located at the southeast corner of the township. The valuation of the property in the township in 1906 was $330,860, with a tax rate of 16.4 mills.
The population of Grand township by decades follows : 1830, 317; 1840, 605; 1850, 353; 1860, 44.5; 1870, 403; 1880, 485; 1890, 514; 1900, 499
GRAND PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP.
The exact date of the organization of Grand Prairie township is unknown. The first reference to the township is made on the journal of the commissioners of Delaware County of June 4, 1823, in a certain road proceeding so that at the time of the organization of the county, Grand Prairie township was in existence. Originally it embraced all of surveyed township 4, range 15, but when Wyandot County was formed in 1845, two tiers of sections were taken from the north side of the township and given to Wyandot County. The township is four miles wide and six miles long and lies almost wholly within the Sandusky Plains, from which fact it doubtless derived its name.
The first settler in the present limits of the township was a man named Ridenour, who came from Ross County, Ohio, built a cabin and in the spring of 1819 sold out to James Swinnerton who, with his family, came to the township from Delaware County. A few years later Joseph Drake, Jr., came into the township, and in 1824 John Van Meter, a captain in the War of 1812, came. The same year Benjamin Salmon, from the State of Delaware, arrived, and in 1826 Asa Pike located on the farm where Otis Brooks now
PAGE 109 - PICTURES PUBLIC SQUARE CALEDONIA, OLD LOG HOUSE (RICHLAND TOWNHSIP), PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING (CALEDONIA), PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING (WALDO), LIKENS CHAPEL (CLARIDON TOWNSHIP) AND METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH (LARUE).
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resides. Henry May came from Franklin County, Ohio the following year. Mr. May at once opened an inn, which became very popular, and continued so up to about 1854. In 1828 Jacob Burtsfield and his family located on the Rocky Fork. At the time Abner Bent was living just north of the Scioto bridge. Other early arrivals were: Samuel Bretz, Landy Shoots and David Bibler, in 1831; and Lewis Jury, Eleazer Barker, John Page, Chancy Clark and William Powell, Reuben Drake, Samuel Hoxter, Daniel Swigart, John Claggett and Michael Campbell, all of whom arrived previous to 1832.
No part of the county was visited so frequently in those early days by Wyandot Indians as Grand Prairie township. They frequently passed through in squads, with their ponies ladened with wares to be sold in the older settlements to the south. They did considerably petty thieving. If the settler had anything that particularly struck their fancy, they insisted upon possessing it. They displayed their wares at every opportunity and usually asked exorbitant prices for their articles. If a white person visited their camp at meal time, they insisted that he partake of the meal with them, which was usually declined on account of the uncleanly method of preparing food.
The valuation of the township in 1906 was $602,840, with a tax rate of 16.4 mills.
The population of Grand Prairie township decades is as follows: 1830, 432; 1840, 716; 1850, 474; 1860, 488; 1870, 370; 1880, 485; 1890, 460; 1900, 502.
GREEN CAMP TOWNSHIP.
There is no record of the date when Green Camp township was organized, though it was probably while this county was attached to Delaware County. On December 7, 1825, a strip one mile wide on the west side of Pleasant township was set off to Green Camp township and on March 6, 1827, the south tier of sections in Big Island township was also set to Green Camp township. On March 5, 1838, the township was given its present limits by an order of the Board of Commissioners of Marion County.
There is some difference of opinion as to the origin of the name of this township. Some think the name is derived from the camping ground during the War of 1812 near the Scioto, which was a particularly green and grassy place. It is probable, however, that the name comes from the fact that a certain Captain Green encamped here with a company of soldiers during the War of 1812, thus giving to the place the name of Green's Camp.
Green Camp township contains both Congress and Virginia Military lands. G. H. Griswald, of Worthington, made the first entry of land in the township, near Rocky Point. Mr. Griswald was a teamster in the War of 1812, and on his trip through the county became captivated with the beauty of the spot. When the lands north of the Greenville Treaty line were placed on the market in 1820, he secured the first tract of land entered in the Delaware district, being entry No. 1 for the fractional section at Rocky Point.
Alexander Porter, in 1819, before the lands were sold, settled in the township and Daniel Markley and Mr. Wicks came about the same time. In 1820 James Owen arrived, and Andrew Sullivan, David A. Town, James Murphy, Levi Perry, Ebenezer Perry, John Logue, Alexander Jenkins, John Straw, Andrew Sullivan, David, William and Ezra Travis and George Wright, came within one or two years thereafter.
George Wright was an eccentric character who lived, for a number of years, with the Wyandot Indians While with them he married an Indian woman, by whom he had two children. He left her later, giving as his reason that it was not right to live with a woman of such "opposite" color. He came to Green Camp township and entered 70 acres of land, on which he resided until his death. He manufactured many articles, such as hair combs, finger rings, and jewelry of various kinds, of which he had a great stock at the time of his death. The Wyandot Indians from Upper Sandusky frequently visited him
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for the purpose of having him repair their rifles. At his death he bequeathed his whole farm to the township for school purposes.
At the first election for justice of the peace, which was held in the township after the organization of the county, on May 11, 1824, Joseph Boyd received 11 votes, and Samuel Fish, 17.
A singular settlement was made in the township about 1832 by a colony of Germans on a tract of land four miles west of the Scioto River. They opened a wide street about a mile in length, and built a cornmill with 24-inch buhrs, which were turned by hand. In 1838 several in the colony died with milk sickness and the remainder, after selling their lands, removed to Hancock County, Ohio, and Missouri.
The population of the township by decades was: In 1830, 260; in 1840, 361; in 1850, 383; in 1860, 748; in 1870, 999; in 1880, 1,362; in 1890, 1,147;; and in 1900, 1,131.
GREEN CAMP.
The village of Berwick was laid out by David Beach in June, 1838. The first resident within the village was John G. Bradshaw, who moved in May, 1843, into a log cabin built by John Thatcher five years before. About 1851. Thomas B. Berry opened the first store in the village. William Hinds was the first blacksmith, but after a few months moved away. Dr. Michael S. Adams was the first physician, locating in the village in 1858. He removed to Van Wert, Ohio, in 1864.
In 1875 the place was incorporated and given the name of Green Camp. In 1880 the village had a population of 312; in 1890, 290; and in 1900, 369. The village officers at the
present are; Arthur Fish, mayor; Alfred Carmine, clerk; George Collins, marshal; Price Coon, treasurer.
The tax valuation of Green Camp township in 1906 was $603,81O, with a tax rate of 17.7 mills. The valuation in the village for the same year was $79,870, with a tax rate of 34 mills.
MARION TOWNSHIP.
When Marion County was organized, the township now known as Marion was officially designated as Center township. By reference to the commissioners' record the following entry is found: "Wednesday, December 5, 1827, Ordered, that the name of Center township be and is hereby altered to the name of Marion township, and shall hereafter be known and designated as such." Aside from Claridon township, it is the only township in the county that contains 36 full sections. It is full surveyed township 5, south, range east. The city of Marion is located in the center of the township, and in fact considerable of the territory now outside of the city limits has all of the marks of a part of the city. To the north and the west, especially, the city has far outgrown its limits, and it is only a question of a few years until the greater portion of the township will be within the city limits.
For a history of the early settlement of this township see chapter on "Marion The County Seat."
The tax valuation of Marion township in 1906 was $1,299,660, with a tax rate of 15.1 mills.
The population of Marion township by decades follows : 1830, 1,130; 1840, 1,638; 1850, 2,291; 1860, 3,014; 1870, 3,486; 1880, 5,151; 1890, 9,158; 1900, 13,222.
MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP.
The territory included in this township was originally a part of Grand township. When set off on December 5, 1831, by the Board of County Commissioners. it was made to include Bowling Green township, and continued so until March 5, 1838. In 1875 the township was divided into two election precincts known as the "East Precinct" and the "West Precinct."
Daniel Markley was the first white settler in what is now Montgomery township. He built his cabin on the Scioto, at the crossing of the Mechanicsburg and Upper Sandusky
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trail in 1820, and for several years was the only inhabitant in the region. He kept a wilderness tavern for the accommodation of travelers on the trail, which for 20 or 30 years was the only traveled trail up and down the river. His cabin, which he vacated about 1824, was destroyed later by the "Windfall" fire.
In 1821 Samuel Franklin squatted near the present site of Scott Town. He lived here for two years, when he was "entered out" by William Cochran, after whom the village of Cochranton was named. Colonel Cochran, as he was called, came from Virginia about 1812 and settled in Ross County, this State. In 1823 he came, with his large family, to this county. The mail at an early day was carried on horseback from Marion to Bellefontaine, following the half-beaten path of the Indians which passed by his place. At his house on this route a post office was established, taking the name of Cochranton. About 1837 the Colonel removed to LaGrange, Indiana, where he died. He was an expert hunter, a great joker, an active churchman and an obliging neighbor.
Heman Scott came later and bought 120 acres of Colonel Cochran's farm. He started a store in 1844, and the place then became known as Scott Town, though the post office still retains the name of Cochranton.
The next settlement in the township was made by William La Rue. In 1825 he settled on, and on April 11, 1827, entered 73 1/4 acres, which afterwards became the site of La Rue village.
Those who settled later were W. Crandall and McMurray Johnson, in 1824; Isaac Berdine, in 1827; William J. Virden in 1831; and William Bryan, William Vesey, James Ramey, John Tucker, Jeremiah Jones, Moses Van Fleet, Allen Johnson, William and Benjamin Little, J. T. Walker, William McNeal, Joseph Sturges, V. Dutton, Russell Carey, W. W. Carey, Wingate Carey, J. Elland and J. Lint, in 1832.
In 1833 and 1834 the State road from Lima to Marion was built and shortly after the territory along its route rapidly filled up Those who settled along this road were Albert Dudley, Ashel and Alonzo Scoville, Robert Clark, Hiram Corn, Zachariah Louderback, Charles Coulter, Richard Carter, Joseph Prettyman, Alanson Virden, H. Hinkle, John Clark, Joseph Anderson, P. Harder, J. and C. Wallace and Isaac Owens.
At the first township election, held in June, 1832, Jerry Jones, Almon Bryan and McMurray Johnson were elected trustees, William La Rue, clerk, and John Tucker, supervisor. The last named was an important official in those early days. He summoned his hands in the fall to work on the road on the township line between Grand and Montgomery townships, it being at the time the only road laid out in the township. On their return they cut a road through the forest to the river, a distance of four miles. In the fall election of 1832, 17 votes were cast in the township, which included practically all of the present territory of Montgomery and Bowling Green townships. Fifteen of the number voted for Jackson and only two for Clay. At this election Colonel Cochran was elected the first justice of the peace.
The valuation of the property in Montgomery township in 1906 was $692,550, with a tax rate of 21 mills.
The population of Montgomery township in 1840 was 552 ; in 1850, 643; in 1860, 1,212;
in 1870, 1,451; in 1880, 1,765; in 1890,2,243; and in 1900, 2,322.
LA RUE.
On June 3, 1851, William La Rue, who owned 307 acres of land on the east bank of the Scioto River, laid out La Rue. At the time the Bellefontaine & Indiana Railroad was being promoted and located. He gave the company the right of way through his land and in addition headed a subscription with $1,000. By the terms of the grant through his land, he bound the company to stop all trains at La Rue, by making the place a watering place for all trains.
William La Rue was born of French Huguenot parents, December 22, 1799, in
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Washington County, Ohio. He came to Marion County in 1823, and two years later built a log cabin in the woods on the land which lies just north of the railroad and east of Front street. After occupying this cabin for about a year, he built a hewed-log house on what is now Market street. In 1845 he built a story and-a-half dwelling house near the site of the old log house.. He died at La Rue, August 18, 1880.
The first hotel in La Rue was the Union House, a two-story frame building built in 1852, by Horace Roberts. The first store in the village was opened.by Henry C. Seigler in the summer of 1851. Hiram Mills was the first undertaker, George W. Miller, the first tailor, and Leonard Orth, the first blacksmith.
The property in the corporation in 1906 had a tax valuation of $262,500, and the tax rate for the same year was 36.2 mills.
The village officers at present are: A. Amerine, mayor; John Fields, clerk; John Peters, treasurer, and David Lamb, marshal.
The population of the village of La Rue was 614 in 1880; 913 in 1890; and 997 in 1900.
As a result of a fire, which started February 21, 1907, at about 1 o'clock, the modern La Rue school building was totally destroyed. The exact cause of the fire is unknown. Every effort was made by the village fire department and the citizens but they succeeded only in saving the furnishings and fixtures of the building. The building was one of the finest in the smaller towns of the State and was erected at a cost of $35,000 in 1890. Since that time a number of improvements had been made, which augmented the value. The loss was about $39,000 with insurance amounting to about $19,000.
AGOSTA.
The village of Agosta has been known from time to time as Carey Station, Belfast and New Bloomington. Its oldest name is derived from W. W. and Wingate Carey, who, with Armstrong Smallwood and C. A. Darlington, laid out the village in 1856. W. W. Carey erected the first frame store and warehouse in the village. Subsequently a post office was established at the place by the name of New Bloomington. In 1879 the station was changed to the name of Belfast, while the post office continued as New Bloomington until April 1, 1883, when the names of both station and post office were changed to Agosta The population of the village was 271 in 1880 and 399 in 1900.
The tax valuation of the property of the village in 1906 was $43,000, with a tax rate of 30.6 mills.
The municipal officers are: L. A. Hathaway, mayor; Elmer Wilson, clerk; Charles Williams, treasurer, and William Carey, marshal.
PLEASANT TOWNSHIP
Was one of the first townships organized by the commissioners. On the second day of their first session, June 8, 1824, it was "Ordered that surveyed township No. 6, in range 15, except two tiers of sections on the west, be and the same is hereby set off as a new township, by the name of "Pleasant township." This description included all that part of the present township of Waldo that lies north of the Greenville Treaty line. Two tiers of sections on the west side of the township as now constituted were included in Green Camp township. Since its organization a number of changes have been made in the boundaries of the township. The first change was made June 6, 1825, when the commissioners set off to Pleasant township the two tiers of sections at first included in Green Camp township. At the time, undoubtedly, considerable contention and strife existed between the two townships over the possession of these two tiers of sections, for on December 6th, of the same year a sort of compromise evidently was affected, and one tier, a mile in width, on the west side of Pleasant township was set off to Green Camp township. This adjustment, however, was short lived. On March 7, 1826, all of the west tier of sections, except sections 6, 7 and 18, were set back to Pleasant township. One
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year later, on March 6, 1827, a strip one-half mile wide on the west side of township 6, range 15, was set off to Green Camp township and the east half of sections 6, 7 and 18 was attached to Pleasant township. This arrangement seemed satisfactory for 11 years. On March 5, 1838, a number of changes were made in the boundaries of different townships in the county. At the time all of Green Camp township lying east of the Scioto River was attached to Pleasant township. Ten years later, on June 5, 1845, the boundary between Green Camp and Pleasant townships was fixed as it now exists. Prospect township was organized at the same time, and a portion of Pleasant township added to it. On the same date that part of Waldo township north of the Greenville Treaty line was detached from Pleasant and added to Waldo township. Thus through many mutations the township has assurned its present form.
Perhaps the first pioneer to settle in Pleasant township was Rev. Jacob Idleman. With his wife and three children he came from Highland County, Ohio, arriving in February, 1820, and settled on Harrison's military road, one mile north of the Greenville Treaty line, at a place known as "Slab Camp," a camp occupied by General Harrison and his army when passing through to the frontier in the War of 1812. Here he erected a temporary cabin in which the family passed the summer. In August he attended the land sales and entered 160 acres farther north, known ever since as the Idleman farm. In the summer of the same year William Wyatt and family joined the Idlemans and shortly after the Van Horn family, David Tipton and family, John Staley and family and Henry Peters moved into the settlement. In the autumn of 1820 another settlement was formed in the western part of the township by Humphrey Mounts and family, who came from Radnor township, Delaware County, and John Matthews and wife, also of Delaware County. The following year Joseph Boyd and family also. moved into the settlement from Delaware County. In a few years John Nickleson and family, William David and wife, Friend Biggerstaff and Hugh Cummins joined the community. Each year saw some addition to the settlements, most of the immigration being from Delaware County. In 1830 Frederick Court settled in the northwest part of the township. He was joined in 1834 by William Sylvester and Frank Gooding.
In later years a considerable immigration of Germans set in and now descendants of this sturdy stock make up a large majority of the population.
Some of the most fertile lands in the county and undoubtedly the most pleasing landscapes in this portion of Ohio may be seen along the Marion and Delaware pike, which leads through this township.
Owen Station is located in the western part of the township on the Hocking Valley Railway. At this place John D. Owen and son burn and ship considerable stone and lime and operate extensive quarries. The place has never been platted and maintains no municipal government.
The tax valuation of the property in Pleasant township in 1906 was $926,410, with a tax rate of 14.1 mills, the lowest tax rate in the county. The population of the township by decades follows : 1830, 426; 1840, 1,414; 1850, 1,198 ; 1860, 1,115; 1870, 1,078 ; 1880, 1,188; 1890, 1,077; 1900, 1,109.
PROSPECT TOWNSHIP.
This township was one of the last in the county to be organized. When the Legislature of Ohio in 1848 gave to Marion County a portion of Delaware County, the commissioners set to work and carved Prospect township out of Green Camp township, Pleasant township and the west end of the strip of land detached from Delaware County. It is one of the smallest, but one of the most densely populated townships in the county, excepting, of course, Marion township. Thirty years before its organization, there were quite extensive settlements within the present limits of the township. These early settlements have been fully described in the previous chapter of "Settlement and Organization of Marion
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County," to which the reader is referred. Others who joined these early settlements from 1820 to 1830 were Aaron Allen, William Foughty, George Clay, Thomas Phillips, John T. Williams, Elijah, Adams, Benjamin C. Adams, Philip Lawrence and John Wayne.
The lands of this small township include United States Military Lands, Congress Lands and Virginia Military Lands. The Congress Lands embrace that portion of the township which lies north of the Greenville Treaty line and east of the Scioto River. The United States Military Lands were so called from the circumstance of their having been appropriated, by act of Congress of the 1st of June, 1796, to satisfy certain claims of the officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary War. All that part of the township east of the Scioto River and south of the Greenville Treaty line was United States Military Lands, and was owned at first by the descendants of some of America's most distinguished Revolutionary patriots. The Virginia Military Lands were west of the river.
One of the early pioneers of Prospect township, Robert Cratty, lived to a great age. He was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1784, removed to Delaware County, Ohio, in 1817, and three years later settled one mile east of Prospect. He helped to build the first house in Prospect, and the first schoolhouse in the township. It was built of hewed logs, with a rough clapboard roof and windows of greased paper. David Davis was the first teacher. For many years previous to his death, the people for miles around met each year in Mr. Cratty's grove and there paid him their token of respect. Mr. Cratty died August 20, 1887, aged 103 years.
The first marriage in the township was that of Mr. Simpson and Miss Duff. The first white children born in the township were Elizabeth and Jane Tibbett, the twin daughters of Richard and Sarah Tibbett.
PROSPECT.
The village of Prospect is situated on the left bank of the Scioto River about 10 miles
southwest of Marion. It was surveyed and laid out by Christian Gast, December 17, 1835, while that portion of the township still belonged to Delaware County, and was at first named "Middletown." On January 31, 1876, the Court of Common Pleas of Marion County, on petition of the citizens of the village, granted the request to have its name changed from Middletown to Prospect. The reason for the change in name was that there were several other towns in Ohio of the same name, which caused great inconvenience and trouble in regard to mail matters.
A small stream running through the south part of Prospect and emptying into the Scioto River is called "Battle Run." It received its name from an incident of pioneer days. In 1820 the frontier settlements of what are now Prospect and adjoining townships became alarmed at the hostile attitude of the Wyandot Indians. Bands of settlers were organized and on horseback patroled the different settlements to prevent an attack by the Indians. One such troop, called the "Light Horse Guards," were stationed at Big Island, and made frequent excursions among the settlements to guard the lives and property of the settlers. On one of these excursions, while watering their horses and resting at Battle Run, one of their number, by the name of Morgan, got into a fight with a drunken Indian, who was determined to have Morgan's necktie. In the brawl Morgan seized the Indian's gun and dealt him a blow over the head, which knocked him down. Immediately a number of Indians, who had been concealed behind logs and trees, sprang out. The whites fled precipitately. The Indians fired several shots after the retreating horsemen, but fortunately no one was struck. The following day the settlers repaired to the battle-field. They found the Indian, whom Morgan had struck, sitting with a blanket over his head over a pot of water, into which, every few minutes, a hot rock was dropped. This method of steaming was a favorite method of the Wyandots in almost all cases of sickness. After some parleying the following terms of peace were agreed to. The Indian who in-
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PAGE 112 PICTURES: PROSPECT HALL (PROSPECT), KING'S MILLS ON THE WHETSTONE (RICHLAND TOWNSHIP), PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING (PROSPECT) AND LUTHERAN CHURCH (PROSPECT).
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sulted Morgan was to give him a saddle of venison--the two hind quarters--and Morgan, for striking was to deliver to the Indian a cart-load of pumpkins. After the usual formality of smoking the pipe of peace, during which each combatant took a draw, the settlements along the Scioto were again at peace with their Indian neighbors.
The present officers of the village are: C. R. Selanders, mayor; Charles Fleming, clerk; S. H. Swaney, treasurer, and H. E. Lauer, marshal.
The tax valuation of property in the township in 1906 was $610,460, with a tax rate of 19.4 mills; and in the village of Prospect, $270,400, with a tax rate of 38.8 mills. The population of Prospect township in 1850 was 848; in 1860, 1,195; in 1870, 1,280; in 1880, 1,728; in 1890, 1,765; and in 1900, 1,833. That of Prospect village in 1880 was 600; in 1890, 830; and in 1900, 983.
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP
Was organized by the Board of County Commissioners on June 8, . 1824. It includes all there is of township 6, range 16, but the township is not a full surveyed township. It contains 27 full sections and six fractional sections. Its southern boundary is the famous Greenville Treaty line, which does not run straight east and west but bears off to the northeast, thus cutting off entirely three sections of the south tier of sections and converting six others into fractional sections. It is said that the intention was that this treaty line should run straight east and west. In running the line advantage was taken of the ignorant Indian, and it was made to bear to the north, thereby greatly increasing the lands thrown open to settlement.
The name of the township is derived from its rich and fertile lands. The Olentangy River passes through the township from northeast to southwest, making with its numerous small tributaries a perfect network of small streams and rivulets.
The first settler within the limits of the township was Amos A. Gleason who settled in the township in 1820. In the same year Peter Dunklebarger and family came and built their cabin on the farm where Charles Retterer now lives. In the spring of this same year John and Catharine Emery, with their infant: son Martin, came and located on the place now occupied by Mrs. John Hinamon. When they arrived they thought they were the first settlers along the Olentangy north of the treaty line. On the Sunday morning following their arrival, imagine their surprise when they received a visit from Mr. Dunklebarger, who a few weeks before had moved in from Delaware County. He had, during the week, heard the ring of Mr. Emery's ax. The same year Samuel Scribner and Adam Conklin settled just above Emery's place. Joseph Oborn also built a cabin near King's Mills but did not bring his family until the following year when his brother Daniel also came. In 1821 Henry Worline, a soldier of the War of 1812, came with his family and located just across the river from where Michael Jacoby now lives. At this place on the Olentangy he built the first sawmill in the township. Other early settlers who came within the next few years were Israel Clark, an old Revolutionary soldier, who lived just above the Oborns; William W. Smith, a blacksmith, Amelia Rogers, and her son Alexander, John and Daniel Gibson, Thomas Rogers, Mr. Booth, Joseph Stump, William Harruff, James Whipps, Michael Alspaugh, John Jacoby and his large family, Christian Staley, John Waddel, Mr. Saylor, Andrew Kepner and Job and Jeremiah Blocksom.
Following these early pioneers, a strong tide of German immigration set in, which continued for many years. The first of these to settle in the township were a Mr. Book and a Mr. Lust. The results of this German immigration is plainly to be seen in the township. Small farms are the rule, unincumbered by mortgages, with substantial farm houses and large barns.
Richland township has always been noted for being strongly Democratic. The first election was held October 12, 1824, when Thomas
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Rogers was elected justice of the peace. At the same time 23 votes were cast for Jeremiah Morrow, Democrat, for Governor, and six votes for Allen Trimble, Whig. From that day to this the township was returned Democratic majorities in even greater proportions. A special effort was made when the Republican party was first organized to increase the vote in Richland township. An interesting account of a political meeting, held that year, is given in the Marion Eagle of November 7, 1856. It reads as follows:
LIGHT IN RICHLAND.
We learn that on Friday evening last, a capital meeting was held at Oborn's schoolhouse in Richland township, which was addressed by J. F. Hume. What gives this meeting more interest is the fact that it was the first Republican meeting ever held in Richland all other attempts there having been failures. The crowd was large. and the best order preserved. At the close of the meeting, three rousing cheers were given for Fremont, when some one called for three cheers for Buchanan. One feeble cheer was given and then the thing would have stopped but for the Fremonters, who helped their Buchanier friends out by filling up the numbers with two groans for old Buck. The Republicans of Richland deserve all praise for their energy, having increased their vote from 27 last year to 46 this year. We consequently look for old Richland before long to be redeemed from Locofoco rule, and firmly established in the true Republican faith.
The vote at this election was 169 for Buchanan and 46 for Fremont. The vote at the last presidential election was 206 votes for Parker and 60 votes for Roosevelt.
One of the most amusing incidents that ever happened at a political meeting in this county took place a few years since in Richland. It was during the heated campaign preceding Marcus A. Hanna's election to the Senate. George D. Copeland, the able and affable attorney of Marion, and Mr. B., a German speaker of Columbus, were the orators of the evening. Mr. Copeland was the first speaker. He very ably expounded Republican doctrine and was given a respectful hearing by those present, who were almost all of the Democratic faith, and then Mr. B., of Columbus, was introduced. He spoke in German. The burden of his remarks was Mr Hanna. He lauded him and praised him for fully 10 minutes, when Joseph Kuehner, one of the. township's substantial citizens and leaders, who was seated on the front seat, arose and turning around said, "Well, boys, I guess we have heard enough about Mark Hanna and better go home." With that he walked out and the whole crowd followed, bringing the meeting to an abrupt close.
The first death in the township was that of Mr. Klinger, who became discouraged at his prospects and drowned himself in the Olentangy, in the spring of 1821. The first white child born in the township was Christian Staley, Jr. The first marriage was that of Owen Moore and Zubia Wilcox. He was to make Squire Crawford 200 rails for performing the ceremony. Shortly after he went to the Squire and complained that the fee was too large. He afterwards deserted his young wife and a Delaware paper commented on the affair in this poetic way:
Owen Moore has run away
Owin' more than he can pay.
The tax valuation of the property in Richland township in 1906 was $663,3IO, with a tax rate of 19.6 mills. The population by decades is as follows: 1830, 444; 1840, 1,138; 1850, 1,229; 1860, 1,406; 1870, 1,146; 1880, 1,210; 1890, 1,124; 1900, 1,021.
SALT ROCK TOWNSHIP
Was undoubtedly organized by the commissioners of Delaware County previous to the organization of Marion County. At first it was a full township but, like the other townships on the northern border of the county, lost two tiers of sections in 1845, which at that time became a part of Pitt township, Wyandot County.
It is said that the township received its name from a story told by Ebenezer Roseberry at the time of its organization. He related that soon after he came to the place he
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shot and wounded a large buck, not so seriously, however, but that he could get over the tall grass pretty rapidly on three legs. In the pursuit Roseberry stumbled and fell over what he supposed to be a rock, but as it looked so white, he examined and found it to be pure salt. In the mirth which followed, Platt Brush said, "That will do; 'Salt Rock' shall be the name of the township."
Ebenezer Roseberry, from New Orleans, was the first settler in this township, locating on the Radnor road, which passed from Upper Sandusky to Delaware through Big Island. Messrs. Volgamat, Alcott and Bellis came, in 1819; Hugh V. Smith, in 1820; Enoch Clark and ,Mahlon Marsh. in 1821: and Richard Hopkins, John McElvy, Isaac Woods, George King, Daniel Swigart, William Wollsey, John Wilson and Platt Brush arrived within the next few years.
Rosanna Bowser was the first child born in the township. This was in 1820. A few days later at an election, it is said her father's vote was challenged on account of his minority. He did not know his exact age but "thought he was entitled to vote, for he had a wife and baby."
Ebenezer Roseberry kept a tavern about eight miles south of Upper Sandusky on tile Radnor pike. He was an eccentric sort of person and at his direction and expense those who attended his wake consumed a barrel of whiskey. This carousel was known for years as the "Drunkard's Wake."
In the pioneer days of the county, Salt Rock township was probably visited oftener by the Delaware and Wyandot Indians than any other part of the county. The following interesting combat between two Indian chiefs is described by an eye witness, as having taken place near Carpenter's Cross Roads: "They met, dismounted and immediately rushed into deadly strife, one with a tomahawk, and the other with a long butcher knife. They fought like mad men and dealt stroke. after stroke, and cut after cut, till both fell to the ground exhausted. One soon recovered, took the tomahawk of the other and threw it into the bushes, then staggering to his pony remounted and went out of sight, dripping with blood. The eye witness of this terrible hand-to-hand combat went to the nearest house and reported it, and with a small boy seven years old returned to the scene of encounter. The wounded Indian had recovered, so that with a little help he was soon on his pony, wending his way back to his tribe. The wild grass was stained with blood marking the track of the struggle."
The tax valuation of the property in the township in 1906 was $517,470, with a tax rate of 15.1 mills. The population of the township by decades follows: 1830, 530 ; 1840, 607; 1850, 347; 1860, 431; 1870, 351; 1880, 551; 1890, 639; 1900, 619.
MORRAL
Was laid out September 1, 1875, by Thomas E. Berry, trustee. It was located by the Columbus & Toledo Railroad Company and is one of the most thriving villages of the county. On petition of the residents, Morral became an incorporated village at a special election held for that purpose on March 30, 1904. At the first election for the selection of officers L. C. Louthan was elected mayor; F. S. White, clerk; F. L. Berry, marshal, and John Washburn, treasurer. The present officers are John P. Brady, mayor; J. H. Barden, clerk; C. M. McClain, marshal, and John Washburn, treasurer.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Morral dates frown 1892, in which year Rev. William M. Haines held a series of meetings here, on March 6th organizing a society of 42 members representing various Christian denominations. Meetings were held in the Morral schoolhouse until 1895, when a committee was appointed to raise funds and build a house of worship. Samuel Morral donated land for a site and the present church was built at a cost of $2,000, being dedicated to its holy purpose on February 9, 1896, by Dr. Albert Mann, of Delaware, Ohio, who preached the dedicatory sermon, assisted by Rev, C. W. Hoffman, pastor. The church has a present membership of 101. Rev. 0. E. Smith is pastor. G. L. Watts,
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John Owings, J. B. Martin, Samuel E. Morral, William W. Morral, Dr. C. W. Jacoby and W. H. DeRoche constitute the board of trustees. In connection with this church, a Sunday-school, with over 100 scholars, and an Epworth League society are maintained.
The principal industrial establishment of the village is the canning factory conducted by The Morral Canning Company. As early as 1894 John Morral established this canning business by canning tomatoes in his tile factory. Two years later his brother, Samuel E. Morral, invested in the business and in the year 1899 they built the first canning house. They were engaged in canning tomatoes until 1902, since which time corn has been canned exclusively. In 1903 John Washburn and E. Brown purchased a two-thirds interest in the business, John Morral having sold out to go into business by himself--he is now proprietor of the John Morral Canning Company, of La Rue, Ohio. Messrs. Morral, Washburn and Brown operated this factory until 1905, when a stock company with $12,000 capital was incorporated, with the following officers: E. Brown, president; Rosa Lupton, vice-president; John Washburn, treasurer; and Frank Brown, secretary. The board of directors is made up of E. Brown, Rosa Lupton, John Washburn, William W. Morral and Samuel E. Morral, the last named being general manager. An up-to-date factory was built and equipped with the latest improved machinery at a cost of $10,500. The cannery has a present capacity of 40,000 cans per each 10 hours, and can take care of the product of 600 acres of sugar corn in a season. During the busy period, 65 hands are employed.
The tax valuation of the property in the corporation in 1906 was $121,410, with a tax rate of 26.2 mills.
SCOTT TOWNSHIP
This township was detached from Canaan township and erected by the commissioners of Delaware County on March 5, 1822, on petition of the settlers within its limits. It contained all of township 4 in the 16th and 17th ranges. This included all of the present territory of Tully and Scott townships and two tiers of sections to the north of these townships, but now in Dallas and Whetstone township in Crawford County. The township was named after Abraham Scott, one of its. most energetic citizens at that time.
After the limits of Scott township were reduced by the change in the north boundary of the county, an unsuccessful effort was made by the citizens of the township to have the north tier of sections detached from Claridon township and added to Scott township. The early settlers of this township emigrated from Knox County. In 1821 Nathan Parson, Henry Parcel, John Beckley, Martin McGowan, Constant Bowen and Josiah Packard, with their families, located in the southeastern part of the township, near the Olentangy. A little later Alanson, Phineas and Horatio, Packard, and Jason Gleason and Solomon S. Wilkinson joined the settlement. The same. year Samuel Spurgeon, William Shaffer and John Humphrey settled on Muddy Run. John. Johnson and Jacob Stateler with his three sons, Andrew, James and John, also located nearby and occupied most of their time in hunting and trapping. About the same time Isaac Foreacre settled about three-quarters of a mile west of where Letimberville now is. Farther west, and on the bank of the Little Scioto, where the Marion and Bucyrus pike crosses. that stream, lived Capt. Benjamin Tickel, an officer in the Revolutionary War. Next above him lived Abraham Scott, from whom the township was named. Daniel Walters and David Bryant and his brothers, Jacob and Simeon, were a part of this settlement of 1821..
These first settlements thrived and in a few years were augmented by the arrival of James Larrabee with his three sons and one daughter. Adam Hipsher and family came in from Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1824, John Lindsay and family in 1825, and about the same time Noah Lee, Sr., and Jacob C. Lee arrived. Other pioneers who moved in before 1830 were James Likens and his three sons, Joseph, James, Jr., and John, Thomas H. Miller and family, Seth Knowles and family, Samuel Hill and family, and John Rosencrans.
The Columbus and Sandusky turnpike was constructed in 1828. Many of the settlers paid
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for their lands by work on this important thoroughfare. In June, 1833, Marturen Letimbra, a Frenchman from Buenos Ayres, laid out Letimberville. At the time it was thought that it would become a thriving place. The first house in Letimberville was built by Ross Arbuckle, who for a number of years kept a tavern in the place. Thomas Monnett kept the first store in the place.
In 1906 the tax valuation of property in Scott township was $549,470, with a tax rate of 16.1 mills. The population of the township by decades is as follows: 1830, 337; 1840, 854; 1850, 717; 1860, 586; 1870, 495; 1880, 553; 1890, 575; 1900, 549.
TULLY TOWNSHIP.
On March 4, 1828, it was ordered by the Board of Commissioners of Marion County, that surveyed township 4 in range 17, and one tier of sections on the east side of township 4 in range 16, be set off and organized as a new township by the name of Tully. This description included six sections more than the regularly surveyed township. At the following June session the commissioners restored to Scott township this extra tier of sections. When Wyandot County was erected, Tully township lost two tiers of sections, which became a part of Whetstone township, Crawford County.
This township was named at the suggestion of Alanson Packard, in honor of a township by the name of Tully in New York State, from which he had emigrated to this county.
Tully township was the last township in the county to be settled. At the time of its organization in 1828, Jacob Stateler, the Widow Ferrell, John Williamson, Jotham Clark, Nathan Arnold, Mr. Welsh and Asa Gordon had located in the northeastern part of the township. Others who had already settled in the township were Alanson Packard, James B. Packard, Phineas Packard, Henry Parcel and sons, John and Daniel, two Gleason families, Noah Lee, John Lindsay, William Van Buskirk, George Beckley, Benjamin Warren, Adam Hipsher, Sr., George Walton, James Larrabee, Daniel Smith, Simon Van Horn, Jr., Amariah Thorp, Jason Gleason, John Jamison, Nathan Arnold and James H. Larrabee. John McNeal and Philip Hubert came in 1828; Robert Clements, David Noble and William Noble arrived in 1832; John Auld and John McKinstry, with their families, in 1833; Henry Latham, in 1834; Archibald Brownlee, in 1836; and James Brownlee and wife, in 1837.
The town of Martel is located about the center of the township on the "Big Four" and Erie railroads and near the Ohio Central Railroad. It was at first a mere station but in August; 1881, was surveyed and platted. The place was at first called "Three Locusts," but in recent years has taken the name of Martel.
The tax valuation of property in the township in 1906 was $718,090, with a tax rate of 14.6 mills. The population of the township in 1830 was 281; in 1840, 870; in 1850, 736; in 1860, 757; in 1870, 770; in 1880, 878; in 1890, 898; and in 1900, 877.
WALDO TOWNSHIP.
When Morrow County was formed in 1848, that part of the county now lying south of the Greenville Treaty line was detached from Delaware County, as some compensation for the loss of territory along the northern border of the county. The portion of Waldo township thus acquired by Marion County is the oldest settled portion of the county, and for 40years had been a part of Marlborough township in Delaware County. At first Waldo township included only that portion of the township south of the Greenville Treaty line. In June, 1848, on petition of the citizens of the township, that portion to the north of the treaty line was detached from Pleasant township by the commissioners and added to Waldo township.
An account of the early settlements of this township will be found in the previous chapter of this work on the "Settlement and Organization of Marion County." Others not before mentioned who settled in the Brundige neighborhood were Hira Wilcox in 1807, and
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Joseph Curran in 1809. The western part of the township was swampy and previous to 1825 there was not a settler west of the Marion and Delaware pike. Previous to this date Jacob Coldren, John Moses, Peter and Frederick Dunkelberger and William and John Justice had settled in the eastern part of the township. The first settlers west of the Marion and Delaware pike were Aaron S. Kenyon, John A. Norton and Henry Schaffer, and these were soon joined by Samuel Hull, Silas Davis, Mr. Van Rensselaer, Dr. Ames, James Smith, Ezra M. Conklin, Daniel Sturges and Philip Parks.
Henry Schaffer built the first mill, which in later years was known as Drake's Mills. Schaffer had come from Germany, being sold in Baltimore for his passage, which he paid for in work. After a few years, he sold out to Nathaniel Wyatt, Sr., who sent Samuel Wyatt to Cincinnati with an ox team to obtain a pair of French buhrs. For years this mill was patronized by the people for miles around, but with the advent of the roller process it soon fell into decay.
WALDO.
Robert Hayes, of Baltimore, Maryland, father of President Rutherford B. Hayes, at one time owned the present site of Waldo. He failed to pay the taxes and Elzia Porter bought 100 acres on which the village now stands. In 1831 Milo D. Pettibone, a resident and practicing attorney of Delaware, Ohio, laid out the village and named it after his son Waldo. Mr. Pettibone at the time owned about 900 acres in this vicinity. He erected a double, hewed-log tavern, where the late John Lunger lived a few years since. Wesson, Haas and Brundige were the first merchants, Daniel Sturges, the first blacksmith, and Dr. Lewis, the first physician in Waldo.
The village was incorporated by a special act of the Legislature, in February, 1845, and in May following Judson A. Bebe, was elected mayor; John J. Jacobs, recorder; and John Porterfield, Andrew Straub, Jasper Partridge, John Byers and Chancy Lewis trustees. The
present officers of the village are W. E. Selanders, mayor; J. P. Augenstein, clerk; J. D.
Bower, treasurer, and J. L. Shroats, marshal
The tax valuation of the property in the corporation in 1906 was $72,350, with a tax rate of 33.2 mills. In 1850 the village had a population of 773; in 1860, 220; in 1870, 247; in 1880, 248; in 1890, 151; and in 1900, 273. The tax valuation of Waldo township in 1906 was $401,890, with a tax rate of 17.6 mills. The population of the township by decades, including the village of Waldo, is as follows: low 1850, 1,008; 1860, 1,081; 1870, 1,029 ; 1880, 997; 1890, 864; 1900, 922.