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AUGLAIZE COUNTY HISTORY - 159 CHAPTER IV. COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT. Consideration of the subject of the organization and government of Auglaize county must be predicated on the fact that this county got a late start in its admission to the ranks of other similar civic units in the commonwealth of Ohio. For nearly thirty years prior to its erection as a separate civic entity the orderly processes of local government had been carried on here through the respective county governments in the counties of Mercer and Allen, both of which had been erected in 1820, two years after the treaty of St. Marys, which had opened the lands here about to settlement, excepting the Indian reservations which have been referred to in the previous chapter. Townships had been formed, villages had been established and were thriving, and local governmental functions were being carried on as in all orderly communities. But as those parts of the two above mentioned counties now included in this county began to be more and more populously settled there came about a pretty general demand for a more compact government throughout this section, Both Allen and Mercer counties were unwieldly in the extent of territory they covered and from neighboring counties there arose demands for a new apportionment or delimitation of boundaries which would look to the greater convenience of the settlers. The roads were bad and the long and difficult haul to Lima and to Celina, the respective seats of justice for the counties of Allen and Mercer, even as they now are, was coming to be considered an unnecessary hardship on the part of many of the settlers living in what is now Auglaize county. Political differences also were arising which seemed impossible of adjustment along any other line 159 160 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY than that of separation, and rival community interests also were clamoring for recognition and attention. Wapakoneta had come to be a thriving village of 400 or 500 people and business and political interests had developed there which began to resent being held in subsidiary positions. A similar situation had developed at St. Marys, which less than ten years before had lost its court house to Celina, while at both New Bremen and Minster many also were beginning to think a new county would be desirable. Besides this, both St. Marys and Wapakoneta were entertaining serious county- seat ambitions. St. Marys,, the former county seat of Mercer county (1824), rankled under the expressed belief that it had been robbed of its temple of justice when Celina became the county set in 1840 and continued to resent the necessity of reporting to the latter city for local government, at the same time cherishing hopes of being made the county seat again should a new county be erected. A good business was being built up there around the operation of the canal, which had been opened in 1845, and it very properly again desired to become the local civic center. There also were several pretty keen business men at Wapakoneta, as well as astute politicians, and both towns were literally "on their toes" in their determination to claim county seat honors when the growing talk of the creation of a new county should crystallize into action. " THE FATHER OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY." It remained for Dr. George W. Holbrook, a New Yorker who in the summer of 1834, two years after the departure of the Indians, had located at Wapakoneta, where he had become successfully engaged in the practice of medicine and also was running a drug store, to bring the project of the erection of a new county to fruition. In 1846 he had worked out a map of the new county pretty much along the lines that he regarded as most practical for the convenience of the settlers in interest and had begun to "talk it up" among other leaders in the community. Some regarded the project as un- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 161 feasible and visionary, others gave it their warm support. So thoroughly convinced was Doctor Holbrook that his plan was good that he succeeded in getting a bill for the erection of a new county introduced in the Legislature in 1846. Despite his spirited personal lobbying in the bill's behalf, however, he could not then get it enacted into a law. The bill passed the House, but went on the rocks in the Senate. In the session of 1847 the doctor renewed his efforts, but still his bill failed of enactment. Nothing daunted, he got it introduced in the following session and the bill was passed. It received the sanction of both Houses of the Assembly on February 13, 1848, and the next day was signed by the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate, the law to become effective on the 1st of March following, and thus Auglaize county came to be erected. It will be proper here to say a word or two concerning Doctor Holbrook, "the father of Auglaize county." George W. Holbrook was born at Palmyra, New York, September 12, 1808, and at the age of eighteen began the study of medicine under the preceptorship of a physician in his home town. He completed his medical studies in the University of New York, from which he was graduated, and in 1832, he then being twenty-four years of age, came to Ohio and located at Lockbourne, about six miles south of Columbus. Two years later, attracted by the rapid settlement of the country in this section of the state, and having heard good reports of the development of the old Indian town of Wapakoneta, the doctor closed out his practice at Lockbourne and moved to Wapakoneta, where he straightway took a position in the forefront of all local activities. He possessed certain agreeable eccentricities of manner which served quickly to introduce him throughout the settlements hereabout and it was not long until "the Yankee doctor" was one of the best known men in this whole countryside. Upon the erection of the county to which he had given his most earnest thought he was appointed associate judge of the court of common pleas for this district and thus added to his title of doctor that of judge. (10) 162 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY When the county seat struggle between St. Marys and Wapakoneta was at its height Doctor Holbrook was in his element and was a host in himself in defense of the claims of the latter town, perhaps the strongest individual influence operating in the eventful selection of Wapakoneta as the county seat. Two years after settling here he had been elected clerk of Duchouquet township (then in Allen county) and in 1842 had been elected township treasurer. When railroad projects began to be pushed up into this part of the state he was one of the most active and indefatigable supporters of plans to get railroads here, and in many other ways did much to advance the interests of the growing community. The doctor retired from the practice of his profession in 1854 and thereafter devoted his attention to his other interests. From 1881 to 1885 he served this district as a representative in the lower House of the Legislature. He died on June 1, 1890. THE ENABLING ACT ERECTING AUGLAIZE COUNTY. Auglaize county was erected under the terms of a law entitled "An act to erect the county of Auglaize "Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That such parts of the counties of Allen and Mercer as are included within the boundaries hereinafter described be and the same are hereby erected into a separate and distinct county, which shall be known by the name of Auglaize, to-wit: Beginning at the northeast corner of Shelby county; thence west on the north line of Shelby county to the southwest corner of section 30 in township 6, south of range 5 east ; thence south on the township line to the southeast corner of section 36 in township 7, south of range 4 east; thence west on the township line to the southeast corner of section 31 in said township ; thence south on the section line to the Darke county line ; thence westerly on said line to the southwest corner of section 7 in township 8, south of range 4 east : thence north on the township line to the northwest corner of section 19 in township 4, south of range 4 east ; thence east on the section line to the northeast corner of section 34 in HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 163 township 4, south of range 5 east ; thence south on the township line to the northeast corner of section 36 in said township; thence east on the section line to the northeast corner of section 36 in township 4, south of range 6 east ; thence south to the southeast corner of said section ; thence east on the township line to the northeast corner of section 1 in township 5, south of range 8 east ; thence south on the Hardin county line to the north line of Logan county; thence west on the Logan county line to the northwest corner of said Logan county; thence south on the Logan county line to the point of beginning. "Sec. 2. That townships No. 2, south of ranges 7 and 8 east; the south half of townships No. 2, south of ranges 4 and 6 east; and sections 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36 in township No. 1, south of range 8 east, in Putnam county; the east half of township 3, south of range 4 east, in VanWert county; and the northeast quarter of township 4, -south of range 4 east. in Mercer county, be and the same are hereby attached to and made a part of the county of Alen. "Sec. 3. That fractional townships No. 15, ranges 1 and 2 east; and fractional townships 12 and 13 of ranges 3 and 4 east, in Darke county, be and the same are hereby attached to and made a part of the county of Mercer. "Sec. 4. That the east half of township No. 1, south of range 4 east, in VanWert county, be and the same is hereby attached to and made a part of the county of Putnam; and that the northwest quarter of township 4, south of range 4 east, in Mercer county, be and the same is hereby attached to and made a part of the county of VanWert. "Sec. 5. That all suits and prosecutions, civil or criminal, which shall be pending in those portions of Allen and Mercer counties, so set off and erected into the county of Auglaize, previous to the first day of March, 1848, and all like suits and prosecutions pending within those parts of Darke, VanWert, Mercer and Putman counties, hereby attached to the counties of Mercer, VanWert, Putnam and Allen, previous to the same time, shall be prosecuted to final 164 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY judgment and execution in the counties from which they are taken, in the same manner as if the said county of Auglaize had not been erected; and the sheriffs, coroners and constables of the said counties respectively shall serve all such processes as may be necessary to carry into effect such suits, prosecutions and judgments; and the collectors of taxes for the said counties, respectively, shall collect all taxes which shall be levied and unpaid, within the aforesaid portions of their respective counties, before and until the first Monday of March, 1848. "Sec. 6. That all justices of the peace, constables and other township officers within the counties of Allen and Mercer, which by this act are erected into the county of Auglaize, and also within those parts of the counties of Darke, Putnam Mercer and VanWert, which by this act are attached to the counties of Mercer, VanWert, Putnam and Allen, shall continue to exercise and discharge the duties of their respective offices until their time of service shall expire and their successors are elected and qualified, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed. "Sec. 7. That all writs and other legal processes in the territory hereby erected into the new county of Auglaize shall be styled as of Auglaize county after the first day of March, 1848, and all writs and other legal processes within the territory hereby attached to the counties of Mercer, Allen, Putnam and VanWert shall be styled as of the counties of Mercer, Allen, Putnam and VanWert, respectively. "Sec. 8. That the said county of Auglaize shall be attached to and form part of the Sixteenth judicial circuit. "Sec. 9. That the legal voters residing within the limits of the county of Auglaize shall, on the first Monday in April, 1848, assemble in their respective townships, at the usual places of holding elections, and proceed to elect the different county officers, in the manner prescribed to regulate elections, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election and until their successors are chosen and qualified; and at such election the electors of those parts of townships in the county HISTORY or AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 165 of Auglaize which have not the legal number of square miles for a township shall vote in the township immediately south of such parts, respectively. "Sec. 10. That the county commissioners of each of the counties affected by the passage of this act shall have power, immediately upon the passage thereof, to attach such townships or parts of townships as shall, by reason of the passage of this act, fall below the legal number of square miles, to any adjacent township in their respective counties or to organize said parts of townships into separate townships and add any adjacent territory to the same that they may deem expedient. "Sec. 11. That the seat of justice for said county of Auglaize shall be and hereby is permanently established at Wapaukonnetta (sic) : Provided, the citizens thereof, or any number of them shall, within sixty days after the election of county officers for said county, to be held on the first Monday of April next, enter into bond to the commissioners of said county, with good and sufficient" security to be approved by said commissioners, for the payment of five thousand dollars to said commissioners, in such payments as they shall require, to be applied to the erection of public buildings for said county, or the purchase of proper sites therefore, or for both purposes; and if the said five thousand dollars be not paid in accordance with the conditions of said bond, then this section shall be null and void : Provided, also, that the right of appeal on behalf of the obligors in the bond from the decision of the board of county commissioners upon the sufficiency of such bond shall exist to the court of common pleas as in other cases when appeals are allowed to said court from the action of the board of commissioners. "Sec. 12. That the commissioners of the counties of Allen and Putnam shall meet on or before the first Monday of April next, or within sixty days thereafter, and ascertain and determine the amount of the public debt of Putnam county, exclusive of that for the surplus revenue loaned to said county, and the proportion which the value of the taxable lands set 166 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY off by this act to the county of Allen from the county of Putnam bears to the value of the taxable lands by this act remaining in Putnam county; and hereafter, each year, until the public debt aforesaid shall be paid and discharged, there shall be paid out to the treasury of Allen county, upon the order of the auditor thereof, to the treasury of Putnam county, a sum which shall bear the same proportion to the amount raised in that year by Putnam county for the payment of the debt aforesaid as the value of the taxable lands so set off as aforesaid bears to that of those so as aforesaid remaining in Putnam county; and the same shall be applied to the extinguishment of said debt and to no other purpose ; and it shall be the duty of the commissioners of Allen county to levy a sufficient tax to raise said sum. "Sec. 13. Should the provisions of the eleventh section of this act be not complied with, it shall be the duty of the county commissioners of Auglaize county to notify the electors of said county, by publication in some newspaper published in said county (and if there be no newspaper published in said county, then in some newspaper of general circulation in said county), to establish the county seat in the manner prescribed in the following sections. "Sec. 14. The seat of justice within and for said county of Auglaize shall be fixed and permanently established at the town of Wapaukonnetta, or at the town of St. Marys, as the qualified electors of said county prefer ; and said electorsis are authorized to express that preference by indorsing on their tickets at the next annual October election after said noncompliance the words `seat of justice at Wapaukonnetta,' or 'seat or justice at St. Marys,' as their choice may be : it shall be the duty of the trustees or judges of the election in the several townships of said county to make return of votes in regard to the seat of justice within three days thereafter to the clerk of the court of common pleas of said county at the town of Wapaukonnetta in said county, and on the fourth day after said election it shall be the duty of said clerk, in the presence of the associate justices or a majority of them, or, in the ab- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 167 sence of the associate justices, then in the presence of two justices of the peace in said county, to canvass said votes in the same manner that by law is required to canvass votes for state and county officers ; and the town receiving a majority of the votes given shall, thereafter, be the permanent seat of justice for said county of Auglaize. "Sec. 15. It shall be the duty of said clerk to return to the court of common pleas of said county, next to be held after the said election, an abstract of said votes duly certified, that the same may be entered upon the journal of said court. JOSEPH S. HAWKINS, Speaker of the House of Representatives. CHARLES B. GODDARD, February 14, 1848. Speaker of the Senate. By an act of the General Assembly, February 3, 1887, the county lines above 'set out were altered to make the line on the southeast border of the county, in Goshen township, conform to the line of the survey of the Military lands which juts into that township, this act providing "that the boundary line between Auglaize and Logan counties be changed so as to run parallel with section lines instead of angling across as it now does; that said line be located as follows, to-wit: commencing at the northeast corner of Shelby county, being the quarter corner to sections 25 and 36, town 6 south, range 7, east, and running thence east to the southeast corner of section 25, town 6 south, range 7, east ; thence north along the range line three and one-half miles to the west corner of section 7, town 6 south, range 8, east; thence east along the quarter section line through sections 7, 8, 9, 10 and fractional 11, town 6 south, range 8, east, to the west line of Valentine Peers, Virginia military survey No. 12276, original quantity 2,666- 2/3 acres; thence parallel to the south line of said survey No. 12276 to the Hardin county line ; thence south along said Hardin county line to the southwest corner of said Hardin county," etc., the act further authorizing and directing an election to 168 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY be held on the question of the boundary change by the electors of said counties at the following November election. At this election the vote in this county was almost unanimous in favor of the alteration of the boundary line, but 116 electors voting No to 3,710 voting Yes, and the maps were changed in accordance with the terms of the new law. Since then the boundaries of the county have remained fixed. HOW THE COUNTY GOT DOWN TO BUSINESS. In accordance with the provisions of the enabling act erecting Auglaize county, as set out above, primary meetings were held in March, 1848, for the nomination of county officers to serve until the next annual election in the following October and on the first Monday of April the electors within the boundaries of the new county elected the following officers: Associate Judges, Patrick G. Goode, David ,Simpson and George W. Holbrook; county commissioners, Shadrach Montgomery, Hugh T. Rinehart and John M. Drees; auditor, Marmaduke W. Smith; treasurer, John Rickley ; clerk, Thomas Nichols ; sheriff, John Elliott; recorder, Simeon Drescher; prosecuting attorney, Samuel R. Mott; coroner, A. S. Bennett, and surveyor, Dominicus Flaitz. On April 8 the commissioners held their initial meeting, details of which are set out below; the other temporary officers began to assume the functions of their respective incumbencies, a number of the leading men of Wapakoneta filed their bond in the sum of $5,000 to take care of the provisions of Section 11 of the enabling act establishing the county seat at Wapakoneta and the temporary government of the county was set up pending the election to be held in the following October, and it was not long until the campaign preceding that election was warmly under way, all the above officers excepting Prosecutor Mott, who announced himself as a candidate for the Legislature, becoming active candidates for reelection, George W. Andrews becoming the candidate to succeed Mott. All these were Democrats. The Whig candi- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 169 dates in this regular election were as follows : Representative, Charles W. Levering; auditor, Robert C. Layton; treasurer, John C. Bothe ; sheriff, Madison Copeland; commissioners, S. A. Majors, Fred Schrader and John Morris; recorder, John H. Nichols; prosecuting attorney, Joseph Plunkett, and coroner, J. M. G. Shaw. Surveyor Flaitz had no opposition. It is narrated in the older chronicles that "the political canvass by the Democratic and Whig parties was exciting and bitter in the extreme." It is apparent that not only did the contest center on the personalities of the respective party men, but the county seat question was injected into the election with a degree of intensity that created neighborhood feeling and animosities that are re-echoed to this day, both St. Marys and Wapakoneta having determined partisans in the location struggle. In the two townships, St. Marys and Duchouquet, most in interest numerous meetings were held and the merits of the respective sites were vigorously discussed. As Professor Williamson's spirited review of this ancient campaign has it: "Nothwithstanding the fact that the citizens of Wapakoneta had presented a bond for $5,000, as provided in Section 11 of the act establishing the county, and had paid the first #1,000, the citizens of St. Marys and the western townships were of opinion that the citizens of Wapakoneta would not be able to make the several payments on the bond, in which event the question of the location of the county seat would be left to a vote of the citizens of the county. Should that be the case, there was a strong probability that a majority would favor the location of it at St. Marys, as the more densely populated townships of the west were favorable to her interests, while Wapakoneta was largely dependent on the more sparsely populated townships of the east. "In the warmly contested campaign, charges of corruption, trickery and selfishness were imputed to candidates that had no foundation in fact. Hugh T. Rinehart, of Union township, had more than his share of contumely to bear. It finally became so exasperating to him in September that he delivered an address at Wapakoneta in which he defined his 170 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY position on the question at issue. He was especially severe on the citizens of Wapakoneta, as he believed that most of the calumnies circulated against him had emanated from that locality. In his impassioned speech he is reported to have said, 'You may rake and scrape hell from one end to the other and you cannot find a meaner place nor a meaner set of men than are to be found at Wapakoneta.' The statement came near starting a riot, which was barely averted by the leading citizens of the place. Dr. George W. Holbrook, who was mainly instrumental in securing the erection of the county, also received his share of censure from the citizens of St. Marys for his favoring the establishment of the county seat at Wapakoneta. The excitement at St. Marys ran so high in September that he was threatened with personal violence if he should visit that village. But by the fall of 1849, however, the hostility of St. Marys had so far abated that the Doctor visited the village with a consignment of fifty fat hogs and was tendered a very cordial reception. A remark made by a former political opponent, that 'if they had two or three such men as the Doctor their town would amount to something,' it is needless to state was both pleasing and amusing to the Doctor." MYSTERY OF THE MISSING BALLOTS The election was held on October 10 and the returns were not received by the canvassing board until late in the afternoon of the following day. The board therefore decided to deposit the returns of the election in Doctor Holbrook's office and complete the canvass the next morning It is related that they took charge of the key of the office, feeling quite confident that the returns would not be disturbed during the night, but when they assembled in the morning it was discovered that the returns from German township (including what now is Jackson township) had been taken from the file by some one and could not be found. It was not until some time in the following year that a duplicate of the missing re- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 171 turns from that township was placed on file. An inspection of this duplicate, however, reveals that the vote from that township would not have altered the general result of the election, which was won by the Democrats by a uniformly considerable majority. More than 1,300 ballots were cast at this initial regular election. The ticket seems to have been "led" by Auditor Smith (Democrat), who received 977 votes as against 326 received by his Whig opponent, the other candidates running in about the same proportion. In passing, it will be but proper to record, in this connection, that this ancient alignment of the parties in this county continued unbroken until in the election of 1920, when for the first time in the history of their party the Republicans of Auglaize county elected their entire county ticket. Upon the passing of the Whigs in the late '50s and the organization of the Republican party, there were some few local defections from the old line of Democrats, but not enough ever to change the general result and the Democrats maintained their customary majorities year after year until in 1920 when the notable defection came, apparently due to local party disaffection consequent to the World war, and for the first time the Republicans of this county scored a victory, electing their entire ticket with the single exception of Judge Layton, who had no opposition. Perhaps the editorial expressions of the two party papers at the county seat concerning this election will serve as the best commentaries on this complete shift of the old time political alignment in this county. Said the Republican: "While elated over the victory, the Republicans begin to feel the responsibility thrust upon them and are already preparing to make good in the offices. * * * The Republican ladies deserve special mention for their part in the victory. They had a superb organization in all parts of the county and they worked with intelligence and tact, both in the campaign and at the polls election day. The major part of the credit for the victory is due them. * * The clean sweep in the county came as a surprise to most voters, although it was 172 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY thought by Republican leaders to be within the range of possibilities. No one, however, expected such pluralities as the candidates received. They were most decisive and appeared to reflect the sentiment among voters that they had lost their patience and were desirous of a house cleaning. Quite a number of prominent Democrats in Auglaize county refuse to take the verdict as a rebuke to the Wilson-Cox combination, but profess to see in it a victory for 'pro-Germans and disloyalists.' They do not realize that such a charge reflects upon the former members of their own party. *** The result was much deeper than the mere prejudice growing out of the war. It was a revolt against the Wilson administration." The Democrat (daily News) found consolation in the statement that "it was of predestination that the Republicans should win—they knew that long ago," and expressed its philosophic resignation in the declaration that "there is no reason for holding the ballots in Auglaize county for thirty days—there'll be no request for a recount. * * * The reported rumor that Judge Layton is considering resigning in order to 'make it unanimous' need not cause any of the remaining Republican lawyers any uneasiness about being drafted' for that job." In this election the Republicans won by pluralities ranging from 1,047 to 1,746, this latter figure having been the plurality of Doctor Stuckey, candidate for coroner, who led the ticket. In the previous (1918) election the Democratic pluralities ranged up to around 900 or 1,000. Concerning the traditional political alignment in this county, that thoughtful observer, Professor Williamson, in his review of conditions written in 1905, says that "the services of the county officers during the fifty-four years of our history have been eminently satisfactory to the public. The political leaders of the party in power have been men of integrity and character. A party under the direction of such men as William Sawyer, Edward Phelps, Hugh T. Rinehart, Marmaduke Smith, Joseph B. Craig, Charles Boesel, Samuel Mott, Jerome McFarland and George VanOss was, of HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 173 necessity, worthy of confidence. The Republican party, though in the minority, has been led by men of perhaps equal ability and integrity. Judge Michael Dumbroff, Joseph Plunkett, Philip Jackson, John Walkup, Henry Moser, Andrew Zanglein, George W. Holbrook, Shadrach Montgomery and John C. Bothe were all men of high standing and influence in the community." EARLY PROCEEDINGS IN THE COMMISSIONERS COURT Commissioners' Journal No. 1 opens with the minute of the special session, April 8, 1848, and the following initial notation: "Special session of the commissioners of Auglaize county in the state of Ohio, held at the town of Wapakoneta on the 8th day of April, 1848, present Shadrach Montgomery and Hugh T. Rinehart, who presented certificates of election as such commissioners and also copies of oaths by them taken in conformity to law, in the words and figures following, to- wit," etc., these certificates being attested by G. W. Holbrook, associate judge of Auglaize county. Then followed a notation that "the auditor-elect not being present or qualified, G. W. Andrews, Esq., is appointed auditor protempore." It then was ordered "that an order be issued directed to the auditors of Allen and Mercer counties severally for the books, plats and all papers belonging to and to which the county of Auglaize is entitled, and that some person or persons be employed to go with said orders to the said auditors and procure the books, papers, plats etc., aforesaid and retain them until the auditor of Auglaize county shall have been qualified and then deliver the same to him. Adjourned until Monday, 10 o'clock, a. m." This initial record was signed by the two commissioners above named as present, the board having proceeded on its first day's order of business without the third member, and then the minutes of the following Monday's session noted that "John M. Drees, commissioner-elect, presented his certificate of election as such commissioner, and also an oath by him taken 174 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY and subscribed in conformity to law," which is ordered to be filed, and then comes the notation that "the auditor not being yet present and detained by sickness, E. M. Phelps is appointed auditor protempore and the said Phelps forthwith took an oath of office." The bond of John J. Rickley, treasurer-elect, in the sum of $30,000, was then approved, with sureties in the persons of S. R. Mott, R. B. Gordon, P. V. Herzing, Samuel Scott, Sabert Scott, Jacob Morfelius and Joseph Kelsey, and the commissioners then "proceeded to organize the townships and parts of townships within the limits of the county of Auglaize as follows, viz : "1st. The south tier of sections taken from Shawnee township (Allen county is added to the township of Duchouquet and made a part thereof. "2d. The north tier of sections of Moulton township is added to the south half of Amanda township (taken from Allen county) and is hereby organized into a township to be called Logan. The remaining part of Moulton township to retain its original name. "3d. The north tier of sections of Wayne township, formerly of Mercer county, is added to the south half of Salem township and is hereby organized into a township to be called Salem. "4th. The balance of Wayne township to retain its organization and to be called Noble township." It then was ordered that elections in the new townships of Logan and Salem be held on the third Monday of May, next, and the auditor was instructed to "cause public notice to be given of the same by public advertisement in three of the most public places in each of said townships at least ten days before the , said day of election." Notation then was made of the contract entered into by the board with John H. Nichols for the use of Lot 57 and the west half of Lot 56 of the Original Plat of Wapakoneta for public offices at $60 per annum. The board "also contracted with James Elliott for the use of the M. E. church for the purpose of holding courts for such length of time as they may need it, for such HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 175 sum as will seat it and erect a pulpit or stand, not to exceed the sum of $50." WAPAKONETANS FILE BOND. On the following day (the 11th) Marmaduke W. Smith, auditor-elect, qualified for office and the board received the bond of "the citizens of Wapakoneta, or a number of them," in the sum of $5,000, "conditioned for the payment of $5,000 in five equal annual payments" to secure to Wapakoneta the county seat, in accordance with the terms of the enabling act of the Legislature creating the county, and the notation is made that the bond, "after having a proper deliberation, is not approved; 1st, because the payments are not such as the board required; 2d, because the conditions generally are not approved." Overnight, however, these objections evidently were removed, for the journal notes in the proceedings of the following day (the 12th) that "the citizens of the town of Wapakoneta present a bond in the sum of $6,000, payable to the commissioners of Auglaize county, executed by G. W. Holbrook, R. J. Skinner, John Elliott, William Craft, Sr., James Elliott, John C. Bothe, Jeremiah Ayers, Michael Dumbroff, George Emerick and Anthony Roth, jointly and severally, with a condition for the payment of $5,000, payable $1,000 by 1st September, 1848 ; $1,500 by 1st September, 1849 ; $1,000 by 1st September, 1850: $1,500 by 1st September, 1851, the last two payments to be paid in good material for the erection of county buildings at cash prices. And the said bond being offered for approval, the same is approved and ordered to be filed." It then is noted that "the board contract conditionally with R. J. Skinner for Lots 51, 52, 53, Skinner's Second South Addition to Wapakoneta, with the express understanding that if the conditions of the $5,000 bond this day executed by the citizens of Wapakoneta are not complied with the contract is at an end, but if the said bond is complied with, then the obligors of that bond shall receive a credit of $200 upon the last payment of said bond. These lots are for the erec- 176 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY tion of public buildings, and it is determined that the county buildings shall be located upon said lots. And now comes M. Dumbroff and gives notice of appeal." And thus the county of Auglaize got down to business and began to pave the way for the establishment of a permanent seat of government. During the following June and December sessions of the board the commissioners were chiefly concerned with road matters, viewers being appointed for various highways on petition of citizens of several communities praying for the establishment of highways. In June a levy of taxes for the current year was made, the levy being based on an estimate of the need of $4,550 for county purposes; $1,500 for school purposes and $650 for bridge purposes, and the clerks of the several townships certified the taxes in their respective townships for township purposes, as follows: Noble township, $70; St. Marys, 1 mill for township and 2 mills for poor purposes on the taxable property of that township ; German township, half mill ; Logan township, $20 on the property of the township ; Moulton township, 1 mill; Duchouquet township, 1 mill for township purposes and a specific tax of 1 1/2 cents on every acre of taxable land in the township ; Pusheta township, $40; Clay township, 1 mill ; Wayne township, three-fourths mill, and the board "ordered a tax of $1 to be levied on each practicing attorney and physician returned by the township assessor within the county of Auglaize for 1848." On September 1, 1848, the first payment of $1,000 of the $5,000 pledged by the people of Wapakoneta for court house purposes was paid, and in December the board surrendered the contract with John H. Nichols for the rental of his rooms for office purposes and contracted with G. W. Holbrook for the use of the building on the southeast corner of Holbrook's block in Wapakoneta for the' term of six months for the use of county offices and for the joint use of the drug store of Holbrook & Nichols for the clerk's office, for the rental of $25 for the term of six months ; and thus was made the second move in the direction of a court house. Evidently there was a lack of harmony, or at least of unanimity, in the actions PHOTOS: AUGLAIZE COUNTY’S FIRST COURT HOUSE AND VIEW OF WAPAKONETA IN 1887 HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 177 of the board, for the closing notation in the 'journal of the December term declares that "Shadrach Montgomery discents to the proceedings had by the board under the statute passed March 5th, A. D. 1831, believing the same to be illegal and incorrect." The signature of the dissenter attached to this declaration evdently was written under much stress of mind, for the writer omitted the " d" from his signature. In this connection it is to be observed that Mr. Montgomery spelled his Christian name " Shadrick," though generally where it appears in the writing of the clerk of the board it is given the regular Biblical form of "Shadrach." FIRST STEPS TOWARD COURT HOUSE. During the March and June (1849) sessions of the board further attention was given to the matter of road viewing and bridge and drainage problems. In June the board renewed the Holbrook contract for rental of rooms for county purposes, for so long as would be needed, at the rate of $40 a year. The levy of taxes for that year included, for county purposes, $4,925; school, $1,407 ; bridge, $704. Work on public buildings had not yet begun. Even the use of a house for jail purposes was on a rental basis, it being noted in the journal of the December session (1849) that Henry Fisher was allowed $3 "for jail rent after July term of court, 1849," and immediately thereafter it was noted that the board had concluded to adopt the plan of the court house at Troy, in Miami county, and of the jail in Sidney, Shelby county, "with certain alterations," as models for similar public buildings in Auglaize county. In furtherance of this design the auditor was authorized to advertise for bids for the erection of such buildings, the jail to be completed by March 1, 1851, and the court house by March 1, 1852, and the board contracted with G. W. Andrews for lot No. 283 in Wapakoneta for public building purposes for the sum of $300 and took a deed for the same. At a special session held on January 18, 1850, the board adopted the bid of G. W. Andrews & Co., of Wapakoneta, for (11) 178 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY the erection of a court house and jail, but on the following day this firm withdrew its bid and the contract was awarded to Sabert Scott and James Elliott (the next lowest bidders) for the erection of a court house, under a bond of $15,000, and to G. W. Holbrook, under a bond of $8,000, for the erection of a jail, and bonds were issued for the payment of the same. And it was thus that Auglaize county got its first court house and jail. It is related that in the final settlement it was found that the cost to the county of its first court house was $11,499, and of is first jail, $2,350, settlement having been made with the contractors at the meeting of the board on January 13, 1851. STORY OF THE OLD COURT HOUSE AND THE NEW. The old court house, a graphic picture of which is preserved in this volume, stood in the quarter of the square at the southwest corner of Blackhoof and Mechanic streets, a location now (1922) occupied by three very handsome and modern residences, and the jail adjoined it on the south, the present location of the sheriff's residence and jail on Blackhoof street. In the week following the acceptance of the building in January, 1851, the county officials moved into the court house and in May of that same year the court, which had been holding its sessions in the Methodist church, occupied the new court room for the first time. This May session was a short one, apparently much too short to satisfy George W. Andrews, Wapakoneta's first newspaper editor, who in the issue of his paper, the Republican (present Democrat), of May 7, 1851, animadverts on the court as follows: "The court of common pleas for this county commenced its spring session here on Monday of last week and continued throughout the week, holding night sessions nearly every night, and at the close of the week left a good share of business continued to the next term. No court is held throughout this circuit this week nor for five weeks to come, yet our president judge refused to finish the business of the docket! One of the associates, more conscious of his duty, HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 179 proposed to go on, but the usually gruff determination of the presiding judge fixed the adjournment, and the suitors in court who had not their business finished were forced into continuance and costs ! The man who dares to take a course of this kind when we shall have adopted the new Constitution will be summarily dealt with. Taking the circuit through, it is about as easy a one as any in the state for the presiding judge; still the present incumbent has failed to satisfy the people of any one county. Two more terms will close his term of office." Mr. Andrews, the editor, also was one of the county's early lawyers and thus an officer of the court he was criticising in this fashion. But those were the days of exclamation points and plain speaking in newspapers. This old court house served the county until along in the early '90's, a period of forty years, when it became apparent to all concerned that the county's business long had outgrown the quarters designed for it and a movement was set on foot looking to the erection of a new court house. In 1892 the grand jury returned to the court a recommendation that a more commodious building be erected for the housing of the public offices of the county and one designed more safely to preserve the public records and the court recommended the report to the county commissioners. This board, acting in conjunction with the prosecuting attorney, presently prepared a bill which in the next session of the Legislature was introduced in the Senate by M. D. Shaw, then state senator from this district, "to authorize and require the commissioners of Auglaize county to build a court house." This bill was passed and became a law on February 2, 1893. By its provisions the commissioners were required to "construct a court house at such point at the county seat of said county as, in their judgment, may be deemed most appropriate for the public good" and were authorized "to borrow (for the purpose) such sum or sums of money as they may deem necessary, not to exceed the sum of $125,000, at a rate of interest not to exceed 5 per cent per annum, and issue bonds of said county to secure the payment of the principal and interest 180 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY thereon." This bill further provided that "plans and specifications for the same (court house) shall be determined upon and the contract, or contracts, therefore let within six months after the passage of this act, which contract or contracts shall require the said building to be completed as soon as possible." As a matter of passing interest, it will be observed that, contrary to the customary practice in the issuing of court house bonds, there was no provision in the law submitting the measure to the vote of the people of the county. In pursuance of the provisions of this law the board of county commissioners, then consisting of Jacob Logan, William Barth and William Kelly, determined to abandon the old court house site and erect the new county building on the half block across the street south from the Wapakoneta city building, which had been erected in 1885, and to this end acquired possession for the county of the tract 316 1/2 feet north and south and 150 feet east and west, bounded by Mechanic, Willipie, Pearl and Perry streets, and the same was cleared and prepared for the erection of the new court house. This building site cost the county $12,862.50. Though the enabling act provided for the erection of a court house at a cost "not to exceed the sum of $125,000" it was found before the work had progressed very far that numerous "extras" would be required and when the building was completed early in December, 1894, the cost of the entire improvement, in- eluding real estate, fixtures, power house, etc., was found to be more than double the amount fixed by the statute. The initial contract price for the building, let by contract to E. M. Campfield, the low bidder, was $102,536.80. What with numerous supplementary contracts and incidentals not included in the original bid, this mounted before completion to $184,526.46. Then, in addition to the cost of the building site, noted above, there were the architect fees amounting to $10,620; furniture and fixtures, $23,826.50 ; yard improvements $9,658.22, and power house and fixtures (the court house carrying its own electric light plant), $17,217.03, HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 181 the whole totaling $259,481.21 and giving to Auglaize county one of the handsomest county buildings in this section of Ohio. When the old court house was abandoned and afterward torn down, the jail, which meanwhile had undergone improvements and extensions consistent with changing conditions, was retained and still occupies the site it originally was given alongside the first temple of justice. In 1920 it and the sheriff's residence were completely overhauled and modernized and a county garage was added to the structure, this latter improvement extending through to Pearl street. THE COUNTY INFIRMARY Another county building is the county infirmary situated in sections 19 and 20 of Duchouquet township, about a mile and a half north of Wapakoneta. The tract of 200 acres of land surrounding the infirmary and which is mainly operated by the inmates of that institution, was purchased by the board of county commissioners in the fall of 1857, nine years after Auglaize county had become a separate civic entity, the board paying $3,800 for the tract. On this tract at the time of purchase was a two-story double log house which had been erected by John Fisher and for the first year of the institution's establishment this building was used as a "poor house," the superintendent, William A. Smith, occupying with his family one half of the house and the other side being given over to such of the indigent. population of the county as might thus find provision for their needs. In the following year (1858) a five-room frame house was built adjoining the old building for the use of the superintendent, at a cost of $600. This plant served as an infirmary until 1867, when a substantial brick bulding was erected on the place at a cost of something more than $10,000, and in 1891 an addition, or wing, was erected as a means of reducing the then overcrowded condition of the infirmary, this latter improvement having been made at a cost of about $8,500. In the early morning of September 25, 1907, the infirmary was completely destroyed by fire, together with most of its 182 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY contents and many of the sheds and outbuildings. Though there were thirty-eight inmates of the infirmary at the time of the fire, all asleep in the dormitories, Superintendent John Shaw succeeded in arousing all and conducting them to safety, these unfortunates thereafter being cared for in the infirmaries of neighboring counties until a new infirmary could be erected. The loss incident to this fire was estimated at about $30,000, which was covered by insurance aggregating nearly $20,000. Steps immediately were taken by the then board of county commissioners, composed of William J. Howell, C. S. Brewer and Richard Barrington, to reconstruct the infirmary, but it was their opinion that the same ought to be established in a somewhat more convenient spot and they suggested a site about a mile and a half west of the county seat on the road to St. Marys. This proposal met with so much opposition that a special election of the electors of the county was called to decide the matter, the vote to be on a change of location to the proposed new site, and December 27, 1907, was named as the day for the election. There were 7,410 ballots cast and the majority in favor of retaining the old location was 778. The board then proceeded to get the work of reconstruction under way and in the following March the contract for the new infirmary was let to a Columbus (Ohio) firm, successful bidders out of a field of thirty-eight contractors bidding for the job, this bid being $67,249. As in the case of the court house, it was found before the work had progressed very far that this initial contract price was not going to cover the expense of the plant, and it so proved, for when the building finally was turned over to the county it was found that what with supplementary contracts, architects' and engineers' fees, advertising and printing, a sewage disposal plant and other expenses, the total cost of the improvement aggregated $100,- 344.08. The county infirmary building, a picture of which is presented in this work, is of fire-proof construction and gets its water and light from the Wapakoneta plant. The infirmary formerly was under the direction of a board of infirmary direc- HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY - 183 tors, elected by the electors of the county, but this board was abolished by act of the Legislature a few years ago and the governing power by that act was placed in the hands of the board of county commissioners. It is this latter board which now appoints a superintendent of the plant when a vacancy occurs, instead of the board of infirmary directors as formerly. The present superintendent is Fred Accuntius, incumbent since March 1, 1922. AUGLAIZE COUNTY A BIG CONCERN AND " GOING STRONG." From an abstract of the duplicate for Auglaize county for the year 1921 it is disclosed that the county is better than a $54,000,000 concern and "going strong." The total acreage of land listed for taxation outside the cities and incorporated villages is 247,791 acres and the value of real estate outside the cities and incorporated villages is $23,011,430. The value of real estate in the cities and incorporated villages is $10,692,490. The value of personal property outside the cities and incorporated villages is $10,851,470 and the value of personal property in cities and incorporated villages is $9,982,670, a grand total of $54,538,060, on which was levied a total of taxes and assessments for all purposes, including delinquencies and forfeitures, amounting to $1,150,321.38. In contrast to the above, the tax duplicate for the year 1848, the year in which Auglaize county was erected, discloses the following sums sought to be raised by taxation: Salem township, a total of 9,431 acres, of an assessed valuation of $40,130, the total tax levy being 10 mills, or $401.30 ; Noble township, 8,698 acres, of an assessed valuation of $43,029, the tax levy being 11 3/5 mills, or $499.13 ; St. Marys township, 11,833 acres, of an assessed valuation of $120,641, the tax levy being 11 1/4 mills, or 81,357.21. In the town of St. Marys, in this township, the appraised value of realty for taxation aggregated $102,376, at a rate of 11 1/4 mills, or $1,151.73. In German township (then including what now is Jackson township) there was a total of 19,356 acres assessed for taxation, of an assessed valuation of $138,627, at a rate 184 - HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY of 10 1/2 mills, or $1,455.58. Realty values for taxation in the town of Bremen, in this township, aggregated $19,829, at a rate of 10 1/2 mills, or $208.20, while in the town of Minster, in what then was in German township (now Jackson), realty values for taxation aggregated $28,127, at a rate of 101/2 mills, or $295.33. In Logan township 7,493 acres were assessed for taxation at an assessed valuation of $26,382, at accurate of 10 3/4, or $283.60 ; Moulton township, 10,959 acres, of an assessed valuation of 846,530, at a rate of 11 mills, or $511.83 ; Washington township, 14,244 acres, of an assessed valuation of $60,263, the tax levy being 10 mills, or $602.63 ; Duchouquet township, 26,963 acres, of an assessed valuation of $122,338, taxed at 11 mills, or $1,345.71. In the town of Wapakoneta, in this township, the assessed valuation of lots was $31,144, on which was levied a tav of 11 mills, or $342.58. In Pusheta township 18,990 acres were assessed for taxation at a valuation of $94,753, the tax levy being 10 2/5 mills, or $985.43 ; Union township, 22,626 acres, of an assessed valuation of $96,188, the levy being 10 mills, or $961.88 ; Clay township, 17,291 acres, assessed at $58,072, the levy being 11 mills, or $638.12 ; Wayne township, 15,280 acres of an assessed valuation of $46,439, the total tax levy being 10 3/4 mills, or $499.21, and in Goshen township 8,405 acres were assessed for taxation, the valuation aggregating $19,342, the tax levy being 10 mills, or $193.42. A detailed tabulated statement from the auditor's office of receipts and expenditures in the county's behalf for the year ending September 1, 1921 (current statement), is as follows: