Mayors.	Marshals
1830—Samuel Mott, 1831—William P. Burgess: 1832—William P. Burgess, 1833—S. W. Hildreth. 1834—John W. Warden. 1835—S. W. Hildreth. 1836—Henry B. Curtis. 1837—Henry B. Curtis. 1838—Johnson Elliott. 1839—Elliott and Smith. 1840—Benjamin F, Smith. 1841—Truman Ward, 1842—Truman Ward. 1843—Truman Ward. 1844—Isaac Davis. 1845—Isaac Davis. 1846—Jacob B. Brown. 1847—Jacob B. Brown, 1848—C. P. Buckingham.	John Phifer. John Phifer. John Phifer. John Phifer. Clark L. Bennett. Clark L. Bennett. Clark L. Bennett. Clark L. Bennett.
276 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO
1849—John S. Davis. 1850—John S. Davis. 1851—John S. Davis, 1852—Joseph W. Vance. 1853—E. S, S. Rouse. 1854—Jacob B. Brown. 1855—R. Lockwood. 1856—Thompson Cooper. 1857—Thompson Cooper. 1858—Thompson Cooper, 1859—Thompson Cooper. 1860 - Thompson Cooper. 1861—Thoinpson Cooper, 1862—Thompson Cooper and son William, 1863—William C, Cooper. 1864—Edmund V. Brent, 1865—Edmund V. Brent. 1866—Edmund V. Brent. 1867—John S. Davis. 1868—John S. Davis. 1869—John S, Davis, 1870—John S. Davis. 1871—John S. Davis. 1872—John S. Davis. 1873—John S. Davis. 1874—Thomas P. Frederick. 1875—Thomas P, Frederick. 1876—Thomas P. Frederick. 1877—Thomas P. Frederick. 1878—William Burr Brown, 1879—William Burr Brown. 1880—William Burr Brown. 1881—William Burr Brown. 1882—John D. Thompson. 1883—John D, Thompson. 1884—William C. Culbertson, 1885—William C, Culbertson. 1886—William C. Culbertson. 1887—William Burr Brown,	Abraham Emmett, Joseph H. Martin. Russell Crandall. Squire McDonald. Jacob Cable. Jacob Cable. H. K. Robinson. H. K. Robinson. Thomas S. Jacobs. Charles B. Church, Ephraim Hogle et al. Timothy Bartlett. Johnson and Axtell. George W. Steele, Calvin Magers, Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Allen Ingram. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. John A. Mitchell. John A, Mitchell, Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Calvin Magers. Henry Copper Henry Copper Henry Copper Henry Copper. Robert Blythe.
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 277
1888—William Burr Brown. 1889—William Burr Brown. 1890--Charles E. McManis. 1891—Charles E. McManis, 1892—Charles E. McManis. 1893—Charles E. McManis. 1894—Charles F. Colville. 1895—Charles F. Colville, 1896—Leroy G. Hunt. 1897—Leroy G, Hunt. 1898—Leroy G. Hunt. 1899—Leroy G. Hunt. 1900 - George S. Harter. 1901—George S. Harter. 1902—Orren Peppleton. 1903—Samuel R. Gotshall. 1904—Samuel R. Gotshall. 1905—Samuel R. Gotshall. 1906—William H. Clarke. 1907—William H. Smith. 1908—William H. Smith. 1909—Charles A. Mitchell. 1910—Charles A. Mitchell. 1911—Charles A. Mitchell.	Robert Blythe. Robert Blythe. Robert Blythe. Leroy Cochran. Leroy Cochran. Josiah G. Bell. Josiah G. Bell. Josiah G. Bell. Josiah G. Bell. Josiah G. Bell. Josiah G. Bell. William J. Dennis. William J. Dennis. William J. Dennis. William J. Dennis. Lawrence Dermody. Lawrence Dermody. Lawrence Dermody. Lawrence Dermody. Lawrence Dermody

The officers at the head of the city government in 1911 were : Charles A. Mitchell, mayor; Stephen T. Dorgan, auditor ; Howard C. Gates, treasurer: James L. Leonard, solicitor: Rollin R. McIntire, clerk Charles M. Fairchild, director of public service : A. F. Stauffer, director of public safety ; chief of police, Rollin S. Clements. The city council is made up as follows : President, Edward Dever: members, Charles K. Salisbury, Fred G. Taylor, Fred H. Farrison, William Appleton, Sr., Jacob Dubinsky, John D. Weaver and Robert L. Cole. WATER WORKS, PAVING, ETC. The first attempt at supplying the city of Mt. Vernon with a water supply was in 1881, in the spring of which year, on April 18th, occurred a disastrous fire which destroyed the warerooms and a large amount of property of one of the leading industries, others narrowly escaping. Immediately the 278 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. better class of business men circulated and had signed a petition which was forwarded to the state Legislature asking for a special charter by which the city might obtain water works. At the time Hon. Lecky Harper was in the Senate, while Hon. William M. Koons was in the House. The bill presented became a law April 19, 1881. The provisions of the act were that not more than fifty thousand dollars should be issued in bonds for such purpose, the same not to run longer than twenty years, and not more than four mills per annum was to be raised by tax levy. The bond issue was made on August 29, 1881, for fifty thousand dollars, The matter of securing a suitable supply of pure water was no small problem, and this caused much discussion and the work was delayed some by reason of this question and difference of opinion on the part of the city council, which after several tests in different sections settled on the present, well known and beautiful site for the water works plant, coupling with it the idea of what is now known as Riverside Park. The matter of water supply being decided, it was then easy to locate the stand-pipe, which is located on the highest part of the city in Mound cemetery, one hundred and eighty feet above the level of the floor in the power house. The actual building commenced March 20, 1882, and on June 30th the same year, one hundred and two days later, the work was finished and water let into about five miles of mains. Collin W. Koons, engineer of the fire department, acted as construction superintendent. This system was put in commission largely for fire protection, but soon the people clamored for more water for domestic uses and the city then secured another special act by which twenty-eight thousand dollarsy more in bonds were issued at six per cent., the Knox County Savings Bank taking the bonds. The first officers of the water works were C. W. Koons, superintendent ; Nathaniel McGiffin, secretary ; Jacob Gaines, engineer. The power house and pumping plant is located on West High street, near the banks of Kokosing river, and there a system of wells go down to living water, filtered through the white gravel found at that point. The original two wells were eight feet in diameter and with the conduit gave a daily capacity of one million five hundred thousand gallons. The system has been materially changed for the better, both in capacity and up-to-date equipment. There are now the following wells of never-failing pure water : One dug well, fourteen feet deep by twelve feet in diameter; thirty-five two-inch artesian wells, eight four-inch and two six-inches in diameter. Direct pressure and gravity is the force now employed, amounting to about ninety-five pounds per square inch. The total pumping capacity is four and a fourth millions gallons daily. The standpipe capacity is 210,000 KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 279 gallons. Average daily consumption is a million and a fourth gallons. Number of consumers, sixteen hundred, The works supply for the public good seven horse troughs, four fountains and twelve sewer flush tanks. The fire department is in connection, the fire chief now being the superintendent of the water works, and he is assisted by four paid firemen, The city building, a two-story structure on Gay street, has engine and hose rooms, teams and two thousand nine hundred feet of workable hose. The fire department is sadly lacking in strength and organization. The total cost of the water works has been about one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars. The present superintendent is U. G. Pickard. STREET PAVING. The last report made to the state shows the city has sixty miles of paved streets, thirty of brick and thirty of gravel. But few cities have as good streets and care for the same as well, especially in the business district. Better outskirt roads and streets are needed, in order to comfortably get to and from the public institutions and factories. At the public square there stands a large ornamental fountain, many beautiful flowers and the county soldiers' monument, erected in 1877. POPULATION OF THE CITY. In 1820 Mt. Vernon had only a few buildings made of brick and the population was but a few score of souls ; in 1826 it had eighty dwellings, a printing office, a brick court house and jail, a merchant mill, a saw mill, a cotton factory and within six miles nine grist mills and saw mills and three carding machines. In 1830 the federal census placed the population at 500; in 1870 it had grown to he a city of 4,876 ; in 1880 it had reached 5,249 ; in 1890 it was 6,027 in 1900 it was 6,633 and in 1910 it was placed at 9,087, about equally divided between the four wards of the incorporated city. In 1880 it was found by actual count and the taking of vital statistics that Mt. Vernon had within her borders fifty men and women who had an average age of eighty-three and two-thirds years. The oldest of this number (all over eighty) was Mrs. Sarah Calkins, aged ninety-five years, while the youngest of this fifty was eighty years and some days of age—really quite a record for longevity, and this record has been kept good to the present date. it is believed, for there are many over the four score mark here today and some past ninety. 280 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. STREET RAILWAY. Mt. Vernon never had a horse car line, but in July, 1892, it passed an ordinance granting a franchise to Howard Harper and John Short to build and maintain an electric railway system in the city. The line was constructed and has been in use ever since, but it has changed owners several times, it now being largely owned by capital outside of the county. It has several miles of track, extending as far as Riverside Park on the west and as far as Hiawatha Park on the east of the city ; also to East Vernon. Its fare is regulated by franchise to be not in excess of five cents, with usual transfers. The speed limit was also named in ordinance to be not faster than ten miles per hour on its extensions. The last franchise was granted for twenty-five years in March, 1907. The limit was fixed as to time of making trips, which stipulates that they must run cars as frequent as twenty minutes, each way, This company runs its cars to both depots and to both of the parks, one of which—Hiawatha—it controls itself. ELECTRIC LIGHTING PLANT. Mt. Vernon was first supplied with electric lighting facilities under the ordinance passed July 23, 1888, eight years after the invention of such a system of lighting. The Schuyler Electric Company, of Middletown, Connecticut, was granted a franchise to put in commission such a lighting plant. It was placed in working order October 1, 1888. The company was, in 1889, changed to that of the Mt. Vernon Electric Light and Power Company and later was consolidated with the street railway company and it is so operated at this date. MOUND VIEW CEMETERY. The first burying ground in the city was where now stands the third ward school buildings. It contained about three acres of land and was used until Mound View cemetery was established by the city about 1834, to the north of the city proper. This has come to be one of the finest-kept grounds in this section of Ohio. A very accurate system of records are kept of lot owners and burials on the same. Many of the bodies first buried at the pioneer grave yard were removed to the new grounds, while many others were allowed to remain where buried by the hands of pioneers. In excavating for street and building purposes many years ago, several of the caskets were dug or plowed out of their place. At Mound View cemetery, which was KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 281 named on account of the large, well-preserved Indian or Mound-Builders work at that point, are numerous fine monuments and the grounds are kept in excellent condition. Mr. Frederick, the present sexton, has been in charge many years, and takes delight in keeping all in harmony with the sense of sacredness which should always attach to these last resting places of the dead. Many soldiers of the various wars are here sleeping their last sleep, in grounds where hundreds, if not thousands, of years before were buried people of a race of which we now know but little. LITERARY SOCIETIES, It may be of interest here to mention some of the numerous literary societies that have existed in Mt. Vernon, especially in the long-ago days, before theatres and clubs were monopolizing the thoughts of people generally, as they are in these, the first days of the twentieth century. Long before men and women had an opportunity to take car and automobile rides, or talk news and gossip over the telephone lines, they really required some social functions, and wisely the early day people here, the better element, took to putting on plays and forming literary societies which allowed them to while away many an otherwise dull, wintry night. The first of such literary societies was the Polemic Society in 1815. This lasted for two seasons and was turned into the Thespian Society, which was sustained many years. Money making was not thought of in these societies and lawyers, doctors, merchants and others took part. The exhibitions were usually at the court house or at the Golden Swan inn. The Mt. Vernon Literary Society was formed in 1816, having among its brilliant members Joseph Brown, Hosmer Curtis, R. D. Moore, Gilman Bryant, Timothy Burr, Daniel S. Borton, Samuel Mott and Henry B. Curtis. It had a goodly number of standard works, which were finally distributed among its members when the society was abandoned. Another literary society of the same name was formed in 1821-22 by a number of young bachelors, and survived a number of years, until some were married and had family duties and cares to attend to, while others removed. The Mt. Vernon Lyceum was formed in 1830 and was well sustained for some years. In the winter of 1833-4 it was incorporated under the state laws. This continued the longest of any of these literary societies and did not disband entirely until 1842. Literary essays, orations and discussions were the chief entertainments. It was this society that collected a good library of several hundred volumes. 282 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. In 1830 a Dramatic Association was formed and continued until 1840. In 1834 a Mechanic's Society was formed, which continued until 1840, and this was supported by many of the better class of mechanics of Mt. Vernon. In 1839, the Franklin Society was organized for mental improvement; this lasted about four years. In December, 1849, several gentlemen of Mt. Vernon set about the formation of an historical society for Knox county, and in 1850 a constitution was drawn up and signed by "thirty-two gentlemen." It appears that nothing ever materialized in this connection, save the constitution and a long list of resolutions and endless numbers of names. In 1856 Rev. Dr. Muenscher formed a new Mt. Vernon Library Society. This continued in existence until sometime in 1864, and then went down, as did many like societies, during the Civil-war period. Another amateur dramatic association was formed in 1856 by Dr. T. Eugene Clark and others, it being styled the Atheneum. This prospered for two seasons. In 1874 the young ladies and gentlemen of the city gave several praiseworthy entertainments in dramatic style, one play being the "Quiet Family ;" another being "Down by the Sea," and another "Raising the Wind." In 1876, the same society presented the "Honeymoon," which took well and as it was for raising funds for the erection of the soldiers' monument in the public square, a copy of the play, the cast, etc., were placed in the box beneath the monument. PUBLIC LIBRARY. The present public library at Mt. Vernon is not an old institution, but followed several attempts at a much earlier period. As early as 1816 the Mt. Vernon Literary Society commenced the collection of volumes for a library, but when that society disbanded the books were divided among the various stockholders of the society. In 1830 the Mt, Vernon Lyceum was organized, as has been mentioned before in this chapter. It was incorporated in 1834 and existed many years, during which time it also established a very good library, consisting of several hundred volumes. In 1856 Rev. Dr. Muenscher formed a new Mt. Vernon Library Society and this existed and was quite successful until 1864. Other attempts were made at subscription libraries down to April 23, 1884, when it appears there was appointed a library committee by the city council, which incorporation had acquired the old library by donation. This KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 283 committee was made up of Messrs. Fairchild, Ewalt, McIntire, Holbrook, Larimore and Curtis, with Mr, Fairchild as its president and H. L, Curtis as its secretary. The old United Presbyterian church, at the corner of Sugar and North Main streets, had been purchased and remodeled into the present-day public library building. The minutes show that in December, 1887, Mrs. J. E, Dickson, of Elyria, Ohio, was employed to catalogue the books on hand and in June, 1888, Miss Jennie E, Colville was engaged as librarian at forty dollars per month. The cost of the building and fixtures up to February, 1888, had been five thousand five hundred dollars and one thousand five hundred dollars had been spent for books, while many more came as gifts. In 1884, Hon. L. Harper donated his complete Banner file, of the newspapers of this name, from the time it started to 1884 and the same are held as a priceless gift to this day. There was an informal opening of the library February 18, 1888, at which several speeches were made. The city council appropriates a certain amount each year for carrying on this library. The present librarian, who has served since June, 1908, is Miss Ethel M. Knapp. HOME FOR THE AGED. Among the good things accomplished by the Woman's Christian Association of Mt. Vernon was the establishing of a home for the aged, at the corner of Sugar and North Gay streets, in 1906, in the large brick residence originally owned by Charles Scribner. By gifts and subscriptions the work of caring for the aged ladies of the community has been carried forward. It has an endowment fund which now amounts to about seven thousand dollars, which will be increased until the home will he independent. The persons who may now enjoy this fine old folks home are required to pay into the institution the sum of five hundred dollars if residents of Knox county, and one thousand dollars if from abroad. Under seventy years of age ladies are admitted for the sum of six hundred dollars. These amounts carry with them the pledge of the home to care for them throughout life. Of the ten ladies now making this their home, one is eighty-eight, while the youngest is fifty-five years of age. A few years since an addition was made to the original building. The present competent matron is Mrs. A. L. Amadon, who commenced in April, 1910. THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. This is a new institution for Mt. Vernon. Several clubs and other attempts at caring for the young men had been experimented with in the city, 284 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. but not until the present Young Men's Christian Association took the field in hand and erected a fine, massive brick building on North Main street, in 1908, which was dedicated March 1, 1909, were the attempts worth mention in history. Four hundred and fifty men and boys became members and entered heartily into the work. The building is an ornament to the city and will long stand as a befitting monument to its builders. The upper floors of the building have a number of dormitory rooms that are well filled by young men who are glad to rent in so fine a building, surrounded by such good influences. The reading room and gymnasium are winners in this day and age. At present there are four hundred and fifty young men and boys connected with the work of the association, which is an increase of one hundred in the last year. The present board of trustees is composed as follows : Wilmot Sperry, A, R, Sipe, Silas Parr, H. S. Campbell, James Israel and E. O. Arnold. INSURANCE BUSINESS. Mt. Vernon has been prominent in the matter of supporting fire insur- ance, as well as some life insurance companies. The Knox County Mutual Insurance Company was incorporated by special act of the Legislature, March 14, 1838. The first board of officers included C. P. Buckingham, president Samuel A. Updegraff, secretary ; E. G. Woodward, treasurer. In 1843 William Turner became secretary and for nearly half a century vas the prominent figure in this successfully operated company. In 1880 it reported a well secured capital of about one million dollars in premium notes and a cash surplus of fifty thousand dollars, thirty thousand of which was invested in United States four per cent bonds. Up to that date this company had paid losses amounting to over four hundred thousand dollars. To keep their policies well scattered and keep clear of extra hazardous risks was always the policy of this company. This company is the second mutual company in Ohio and has stood the storms of all these sixty-four years, being one of the solid insurance companies in the Buckeye state today. It has one hundred and twenty-eight agencies in Ohio; ten thousand policy holders, carrying more than thirteen million dollars worth of face policies, and has paid one million, three hundred thousand dollars in losses since its organization. This company has been giving thirty per cent cheaper insurance than the old line cash policy system. Their present office building was erected in 1893 and is located at No. 110 High street, Mt. Vernon. The present president is W. A. Bounds, while the secretary and treasurer is H. H. Green. The nine directors are : KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 285 W. A. Bounds, William Bird, William K, Koons, William Banning, Sourin W. Alsdorf, Henry S. Jennings, Robert M, Greer, Banner M, Allen, H. H. Greer. The Eagle Mutual Fire Insurance Company was incorporated May 31, 1879, with a capital of fifty thousand dollars in premium notes. This company was organized largely through the efforts of J, J. Fultz, who became its secretary. In 1881 the record shows the officers to have been : David C. Montgomery, president ; Gen. G. W. Morgan, vice-president ; J. J, Fultz, secretary ; John D. Thompson, treasurer; Hon. William C. Cooper, legal adviser, with John B. Castner, general agent. As long as Mr. Fultz was its manager it went forward well, but when it was taken over into other hands it soon went to the wall and a receiver wound up its affairs according to law. This occurred about 1881-82. The Ohio Mutual Aid Association, an incorporated institution doing a mutual life insurance business, with offices at Mt. Vernon, began business after its incorporation in September, 1879, and at the end of the first year had a membership of nearly two thousand, Its officers were : Hon, John D. Thompson, president ; Gen. G, W. Morgan, vice-president ; J. J. Fultz, secretary and actuary; David C. Montgomery, treasurer, and S. C. Thompson, medical director, This company, along with the fire insurance company known as the Eagle Mutual, went down in 1881-2 and was under the same management as that company, both having been established mainly by J, J. Fultz, and had it not been voted from his hands would be running today, as was acknowledged by General Morgan many years afterwards. BUSINESS MEN OF SIXTY YEARS AGO. It will doubtless be of interest to the present-day reader to know who had charge of the business interests of Mt. Vernon city in 1850, over three score years ago, hence the following has been expunged from a directory of that date : The merchants those days were not usually classed off, but nearly all carried general stocks, there being few if any exclusive stores. The merchants were : R. C. Kirk & Company, D. Potwin & Company, William Beam, R. M. Brown & Son, Hugh Cooper & Company, A. N. Stoughton, Hill & Mills, A. E. Davidson, Jonathan Weaver, George B, Potwin, H. H. Curtis, D. S. Norton, Sr., Warden & Burr, James Blake, Horatio Miller. C. G. Bryant, L. B. Ward, Richard Ridgeley, Robert Irvine, James George, N. Updegraff, J. E. Woodbridge, E. C. Vore, James Hutchinson, Daniel 286 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. Axtell, J. W, Miller & Company, G. A. Jones & Company, J. A. Graff and Washington Hendricks, The druggists were C. P. Buckingham & Company, M. Abernethy, H. M. Ramsey & Company, J. N. Lewis & Company, Chair-makers, Daniel McFarland, Daniel McDowell, J. H. McFarland, Noah Hill, Joseph Jacobs, Raphael Pyne. Silversmiths, J. B. Brown, C. H. Strieby, Joshua Hyde. Foundry and machine works, Coopers & Clark, M. C. Furlong, Buckingham & Upton. Iron and hardware dealers, John McCormick, Adam Weaver, Henry Rook & Company. Cabinetmakers. Joseph H. Martin, James Relf, Daniel McDowell, Jacob Martin, Henderson & Weirick, Abraham Bolyer. Butchers, James C. Irvine, Joseph Bechtol, Allen Beach, Sr., Allen J. Beach, Archie McFarland, Aaron Sharp. Tanners, Hugh Oglevee, Sr., Harrison Stoatler, N. Williams, Sr., N. Williams, Jr., James McFarland, Lyman Hendricks. Hatters, S. F. Voorhies, Meigs Campbell, William L. King, William B. Henderson. Stage drivers, Russell Crandall, John W. Martin, George Keller, Otho Welshymer, William Wright and Jacob Styers. Threshing machine manufacturers, M. C. Furlong and A. Baker. Soap-boilers, Judge Larre (colored), Samuel Jackson (colored). Clothiers, A. Wolff, G. W. Williams & Company. Hotels, Lybrand house, Kenyon house, by George Winne ; Mansion house, by David Kilgore; Ohio house, by Abraham Hughes ; Franklin house, by C. F. Drake; Railroad house, by Douglas Harle ; Indian Queen, by James Emery. The Mt. Vernon Woolen Company, Henry B. Curtis, president, Norman N. Hill, secretary. Newspapers, Ohio Times, William H. Cochran ; Banner, William Dunbar and George W. Armstrong: The Whig, John W. White and E. A. Higgins. Boot and shoe dealers. C. L. Manville, Miller & White, Weaver & Miller, G. B. Arnold, Justus B. Bell, S. S. Rouse, Jr. Miscellaneous, B. B. Lippitt, book seller ; E. T. Cohen, portrait painter: John W. White, telegraph operator ; W. Robertson, chemist and fancy dyer Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Sloan, female institute: J. A. Andrews, sash and blind manufacturer ; Casper Fordney, gunsmith. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES, From the earliest day Mt. Vernon has been a manufacturing place, though never boasting of being a great center of manufacturing. It has KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 287 with the passing years had numerous small plants, all doing a practical, paying business in the days in which they were operated. But of recent years the city may 'well boast of two immense industries, the bridge works, and the C. & G. Cooper Company, builders of all kinds of steam and gas engines. To introduce the reader to the great Cooper plant, located near the tracks of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, the following lines written by Charles Cooper in September, 1874, are quoted. The C, & G. Cooper Company was founded by Charles and Elias Cooper in the fall of 1833, when they erected the original foundry at Mt. Vernon, Ohio. The two brothers had been reared upon a farm purchased by their father in 1810, situated three miles south of Mt. Vernon. Seeking a wider field of activity than afforded by the parental farm, the brothers went to Zanesville, Ohio, in 1832, opened a coal mine there, and carried on a small coal business. The story of their return to Mt. Vernon and their first experiences in the foundry business is quaintly told in the words of Charles Cooper, written by him in September, 1874, as follows : "The coal trade was followed with small success until the fall of 1833, and that summer I think I spent some of the 'bluest' days of my life. One day while sitting on the hill overlooking the town (Zanesville), with the 'blues' as seldom I have had, I saw the smoke curling up from the old Davis Foundry. They used, as all foundries did then, an oven or air furnace for smelting, with raw coal for fuel,—hence the smoke. I was soon upon my feet and made directly for that concern, and I have never had 'foundry' out of my mind since. We commenced immediately to make arrangements for building one. I sold one of my three horses for fifty dollars, and took one Brown's note payable in coal for that amount delivered at Zanesville. I sold that note to Cose & Company, paper mill men, and took their note for same payable in paper at wholesale. This note I took to Granville, Licking county, and traded to P. A. Taylor & Company, blast furnace men, for the bottom and staves for our first cupola to melt iron in. We moved from Zanesville here some time in November, hauling all we had on two wagons. The moulding house was up, and the winter was spent in getting the horse-power and cupola and other matters ready. The horse-power was a primitive affair. There was a large wooden upright shaft, on the upper end of which was a bevel gear wheel, teeth and all of wood, no iron but the bolts. Think the pinion, too, was all of wood. You can now find the wheel in the bottom of the wall that is near the large brick chimney. It was used for a curb to build the wall on. We made the first melt late in April, or early in May. We broke and carried up the iron, washed the ladles and charged the furnace all by hand. It took all the afternoon to make from five hundred to seven hundred pounds of castings. 288 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO, We worked with the horse-power until the fall of 1836, when we installed a small engine, We could now melt one thousand five hundred to two thousand pounds in one afternoon. We worked along this way for some little time. The year 1838 was a hard year after the panic of 1837, and all this time we were struggling to buy iron to keep the works going. We could borrow but little money, and that at three per cent interest per month, but by hard work we got to going somewhat well again in 1839." In the early fifties the construction of many railways in Ohio tempted this company to build locomotives, which they made in an up-to-date manner, but by reason of the panic of 1857 several of the roads failed, causing hard times in the Cooper shops, but, like the panic before, they weathered the storm and came out unscathed. They built the first locomotive made west of the Alleghany mountains. By death and withdrawal there were many changes in the members of the company, all of the old stock of Coopers having long since passed from the activities of this life, but "while the workmen fall the work goes on." Charles Cooper, co-founder, died in 1901, aged ninety-two years. This company made the first successful traction engines in 1875 and manufactured and sold one hundred of these engines, They increased their capacity until they made five hundred per year, In 1886 they turned their attention especially to making the Corliss engine and have shipped many to distant lands, including Africa, Japan, England and Germany, During their seventy-eight years of existence they have installed and utilized many of the great power-producing inmprovements of this age and are still at the head with late improvements. The officers of the company are F. L. Fairchild, president ; C, G. Cooper, secretary ; D. B. Kirk, treasurer; E. H. Fairfield, assistant treasurer, and B, B. Williams, assistant secretary. The five executive officers, who also constitute the board of directors, are the principal stockholders, and are all actively engaged in the management of the business. J. H. Debes, son of J. C. Debes, is present head of the mechanical engineering department. Five hundred men are usually employed in these engine works. The firm was incorporated under the Ohio laws in 1895 with a capital of three hundred thousand dollars. The Cooper Manufacturing Company, foot of Main street, as shown in accounts given of it in 1880, was the successor of the old Kokosing Iron Works, originally established in 184.9. It underwent many changes in management and ownership and in 1875 became known as the Cooper Manufacturing Company, with John Cooper, president, and Nevil Whiteside, secretary. They made a specialty of all kinds of engines, mill machinery and foundry work. Engines were there produced of the light and heavy varieties, running from four to KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 289 four hundred horse power, They also made "Cooper's combined grain steamers and heaters," patent spring grist mills of portable type. As early as 1872 this firm shipped one of their portable steam engines and saw mills to Japan, via San Francisco, and a few years before the company then operating this plant shipped a threshing machine to Australia. In 1872 they built two iron light-houses for the government. These weighed over three hundred tons each and were sent to the southern coast. In 1881 they sent another iron light-house to Paris Island, off the coast of South Carolina. For the United States patent office they also made a large metal case for safe keeping of valuable models, etc. After several changes of management this industry failed and went out of business, the foundry section being taken over by Mr. Cooper, and finally the plant was shut down and the works removed. In the line of furniture manufacturing on a large scale, Banning & Willis began operations here in 1872. Their building was at first a brick structure. fifty-two by one hundred and thirty-two feet and more than three stories high. Forty men were employed in this factory. McCormick & McDowell also operated a large furniture factory in 1880 on West Vine street, where a large force of skilled workmen were employed the year round. The linseed oil factory was a thing of interest and value to the city thirty Years ago. It was established at West Gambier and Norton streets by Henry Johnson, who was succeeded by Johnson & Israel in 1870. It was thirty by one hundred and twenty-five feet in size. They had immense warehouses both here and at Howard station, fifteen miles to the west. The products made were raw linseed oil, oil cake and oil meal, used by farmers and stock growers the country over. A business of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year was transacted. The Mt. Vernon Bridge Company, that has come to be a leading industry of the city and known from one end of the continent to the other, was incorporated about 1880 for the building of wrought iron bridges. It started with a forty thousand dollar capital and has grown to be a great bridge building concern, making all types of iron and steel structures for wagon and railroad bridges. Really the first company that operated on these grounds went into the hands of a receiver about 1897 and wound up its business. That was, in fact, a West Virginia company, and named the Mt. Vernon Bridge Works. James Westwater purchased the old plant. and in September, 1897, a new concern was granted a charter by the state of Ohio, known as the Mt. Vernon Bridge Company, having a capital of sixty thousand dollars. In October, Two, the present company was incorporated with a capital of one hundred thousand (19) 290 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. dollars, which in December, 1905, was increased to three hundred thousand dollars. Still another hundred thousand dollars of preferred stock was authorized and a portion of it has been disposed of. These extensive bridge works do all kinds of structural iron and steel work, and install the same in all parts of the country. Two hundred workmen are employed in the shops and forty in the offices. The original frame structure burned on February 14, 1910, and immediately the present large group of brick buildings were erected, and cover seven acres of ground, near the Baltimore & Ohio depot, on the site of the old works. The present officers are : James Israel, president ; I. M. Wolverton, vice-president and chief engineer; George Israel, secretary and treasurer. The Reeves Engine Company, established in 1906, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, by all local men, makes a superior grade of both gas and gasoline engines. They also make a large amount of castings, employing from fifty to seventy-five men. Their works are on the old site of the business started about 1902, by Mr. Chalingsworth as a foundry for making engine castings, but after a few years it failed in its undertakings and the property passed into the hands of the three Reeves ,brothers, from Columbus, who after a year or so sold to the present corporation. Another industry of recent origin is the handle factory in the south part of the city, where large quantities of tool handles are produced from wood. The leather manufactory of Penich & Ransom was located on West Gambier street and came into their possession in 1878, up to which time it had been operated by George E. Raymond. This tannery was within a building eighty by one hundred feet, furnished with modern machinery, and their annual product was about six thousand pieces of leather. Twelve hands were employed at this tannery. Times changed and this industry went out of business. The flouring mill industry has always been a very important adjunct to the enterprises of Mt. Vernon. The Norton City Mills were established in 1817, almost a century ago, and are widely known in this section of Ohio. The mill was established by pioneer Daniel S. Norton, who ran it until his death, in October, 1859, when it passed to his son's hands and George K. Norton then operated the mills until his death. It used to be styled the "Old Red Mill." To this was added a carding and fulling mill, a saw mill, and a custom flour mill. In 1845, the large four-story frame mill structure was erected as a merchant mill. In 1875 the property was leased to Messrs. James Rogers and Samuel J. Brent, who kept the plant busy until the fall of 1879, when Brent retired, having been elected clerk of the county. In January, 1881, the property passed to the hands of A. A. Taylor, under whose hands the product was known far and near for its superiority. With some modern changes, this mill is still running. KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 291 The Eagle City Mills, West Vine street, were put in running order in July, 1876, by E. J. Chase, a practical mill man, It had four run of stones and a corn sheller operated by steam power. This mill had all it could possibly do to keep up with the demand for its flour and meal, These mills are still doing a large business. Among other enterprises that should hot fail of going into history, was the carriage works of William Sanderson, Sr., established about 1855. Hezekiah Groff then owned this factory, from which hundreds and thousands of excellent buggies and wagons were made. David Sanderson also had a large buggy factory for those days, located near the depot of the Cleveland, Mt. Vernon & Columbus railroad. Another industry was the pump factory of H. K. Cotton, who made the Corliss force pump, that had a large sale in the eighties. INDUSTRIES IN 1911 The manufacturing concerns of the city in 1910-11 were noted as follows in the new directory : Two bottling works ; one box factory ; one broom factory ; one candy factory ; four cigar factories ; one cold storage and ice making plant; one crate making factory ; one engine manufacturing plant (the Cooper) ; one gas engine factory, exclusive ; two flouring mills ; one furnace factory ; four glass plants ; the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company, the Hartford City Flint Glass Company, the Essex. Glass Company, and the Camp .Glass Company ; thirteen gas and oil companies and several lesser factories added since. Between sixteen hundred and two thousand men find employment in these manufacturing concerns. The glass industry came with the successful operations in natural gas at Mt. Vernon, in the early nineties. It has grown to be one of much value to the city. The Pittsburg plate glass works produce machine-made window glass, and operate in the large brick building erected in the nineties for a steel plant, by a stock company which was headed and promoted by General Coxey, who at one time marched an army of laboring men to Washington from the Pacific states and known as "Coxey's Army." These works were a flat failure and local stockholders lost much by the wild schemes of Coxey. The Camp Glass Company, in the northwestern part of the city, makes window glass exclusively, also. One glass factory makes nothing but the tops for fruit jars, and the Essex works makes a specialty of milk bottles, all machine made. Their works, near the Reeves Engine Company, are just being enlarged to a wonderful capacity. CHAPTER XXI. TOWNSHIP HISTORIES, The original four townships or civil sub-divisions of Knox county were Wayne, Clinton, Morgan and Union. Wayne embraced all of the present townships of Franklin and Chester (now in Morrow county), Middlebury, Berlin, Wayne and the north half of Morris. Clinton included Bloomfield (now in Morrow county), Liberty, the north half of Pleasant, Monroe, Pike, and the south half of Morris, Union township embraced Brown, Jefferson, Union, Howard, Butler, Jackson, three-fourths of Harrison and the east half of Clay. Morgan township embraces the west half of Clay, southwest quarter of Harrison, south half of Pleasant, and all of Morgan, Miller, Milford and Hilliar. These civil townships remained intact until 1812. In the meantime, however, the county commissioners on June 9, 1809, created Madison township, in Richland county, which embraced the entire county, Richland being up to 1813 under the supervision of Knox county. As time went on and settlements were effected, various changes were made in the division and sub-division of these original four townships, until the present condition prevailed as to the boundaries of the townships, which now number twenty-two. The subjoined will show the reader the date of organization and number of acres of land in each of the present townships in Knox county :

	Organized.	Acres.
Brown Berlin Butler Clay Clinton College Howard Harrison Hilliar Jefferson Jackson	March 6, 1826 March 9, 1825 March 6, 1825 March 9, 1825 March 12, 1812 December 21, 1838 March 9, 1825 March 9, 1825 August 28, 1818 March 9, 1825 September 4, 1815	14,217 11,674 11,881 15,000 10,281 4,000 14,586 15,179 16,000 20,499 14.937
Liberty Middlebury Milford Miller Morris Morgan Monroe Pleasant Pike Union Wayne	March 9, 1825 Dec. 3, 1823 March 3, 1823 June 4, 1816 March 3, 1812 October 9, 1809 March 9, 1825 March 9, 1825 June 7, 1819 March 9, 1825 June 7, 1807	16,137 13,000 13,472 13.057 13.604 16,582 13,455 12,391 18,576 18,628 16,258

KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 293 BROWN TOWNSHIP. Brown belongs to the northern tier of townships, is east of Pike, west of Jefferson, north of Howard township and south of Richland and Ashland counties. It was named for a distinguished officer in the war of 1812, Major-General Brown. It was at first included in Union township, but on March 9, 1825, it was attached to Jefferson township, when there were few inhabitants within its territory. More families having moved in for permanent settlement, on March 6, 1826, it was organized as Brown township. The first election was held at the house of Jonas Ewing. The general surface of this township is broken and in places quite hilly, but the soil is fertile and the township is well cultivated today, The original timber here was oak, sugar maple, beech, chestnut, elm and sycamore, The main stream is the Big Jelloway creek, flowing through the township from northwest to southeast, entering from Richland county, passing out into Howard township, Knox county. The southwest corner of this township is drained and watered by the Little Jelloway creek, Sapp's run and its small tributaries are also part of the water courses of the township. The first settlement was effected within what is now Brown township in 1809, by Charles McKee, who emigrated from Ireland, and probably Alexander McKee was the second settler, he arriving in 1810. For many years after the first settlement was made here the country was, perhaps, one of the best hunting grounds in all Ohio. Among the hills and along the beautiful streams deer, bear, wolves and other wild animals found a quiet retreat, with plenty of food to live upon. Deer were plentiful as late as 1840, In the south part of Brown township was the famous pigeon roost, where on each returning spring immense numbers of pigeons would roost. This covered about six hundred acres and was visited by hundreds of persons who came in from a radius of more than fifty miles. Pioneer Alexander McKee, while shooting and bagging pigeons here, roused the ill-temper of a bear, of the female sex, who had four lively cubs. He tried to climb a near by sapling, and in doing so was caught by the she-bear, and as a result, before other hunters could come, was so badly torn and wounded that he went a cripple the remainder of his life. Alexander McKee located in the east part of this township, near Big Jelloway creek. The Indians were then very numerous there and frequently visited the McKee house. This old pioneer was a jolly Irishman and kept a good supply of the best of whisky, which was free to his family and guests. One day sixty-five Indians came and spent the day with him, drank and had a fine time, but did not harm anything. 294 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. Another early settler was Jacob Phifer, a native of Germany, who had served ten years in the German army before leaving the fatherland. He served here, too, in the war of 1812, belonging to the American army. He located here in 1818, in the northern part of the township. Besides being a very enterprising farmer, he conducted a hotel where Jelloway later stood as a village. This hotel was on the old stage route from Cleveland to Columbus. Mr. Phifer died in 1846, aged eighty-nine years, Zephaniah Wade came to the township in 1816. He was from Virginia. He had commanded a company of riflemen during the Revolutionary war and was an ardent patriot. James Blair, who became one of Brown township's most prominent men, came to Knox county early in the nineteenth century, settled in Union township, but in 1820 removed to Brown township. He served as justice of the peace many years and was a man of more than ordinary knowledge and looked up to by the community in which he lived. He was no mean poet and the early newspapers of this section of Ohio frequently published poems written by his quill pen. The early settlers here were mostly from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, with some from Ireland and Germany. Some had served in the war for independence and had seen much hardship as pioneers. When the last war with England came on, they took active part in that, too. It was such men, who had seen much of self-sacrifice and hard work, who laid well the foundation stones of Brown township, assuring its future prosperity. The first actual comers to this township included these : James Serverns, John Corghnau, Richard Dakin, Samuel Parkhurst, A. Whitney, Joseph Hall, Jacob Bauge, Daniel Worley, William Prior, Solomon Workman, Adam Sapp, Jacob Robinson, Jacob Shimer, Josiah Frost and Joseph Robinson, all men of strong convictions, sturdy and enterprising citizens, from first to last. The first grist mill in the township was built by Immor Barrett, who came in from Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1832, and a year later added a good saw mill. These mills were on the Little Jelloway in the south part of the township. The second grist and saw mill was put in operation by James Blair in 1836 and the third flouring mill was by John A. Pheister, in 1840. A school house was erected in 1840. The only village within Brown township is Jelloway, in the northeast portion. It was first named Brownsville and has a population of a few hundred. It was platted in 1840 by Freeman Phifer. James Pearce built the first building and conducted a store in the same. Silas Brown was the first blacksmith in the village. Jacob Phifer conducted a hotel. The KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 295 hotel just named, which was erected some years prior to the laying out of the village, was on the old stage road. The first postoffice was kept at this hotel, with the landlord probably the first postmaster ever commissioned in the place. It was known as "Phifer's Cross Roads," While this hamlet has no railroad, it has always managed to be a thoroughly wide-awake place. In 1872 the Farmers' Home Fire Insurance Company was organized with a capital of two hundred thousand dollars. The first president was J. S. Tilton; J. W. Smith, vice-president; James Barron, treasurer ; S. Hildebrand, secretary. This was of much benefit to the farming community and the result is still going on, Five years later, 1877, the Jelloway Mutual Life Insurance Company was established at Jelloway, with Tobias Castor as president; A. J. Hyatt, S. M, Vincent, R. M. Critchfield, M. B, Thoma, T, O. Boyd and J. L. Hildebrand were among the charter members. The history of the schools and churches of Brown township will be found in chapters especially on these topics. The population of the township, according to the 1910 United States census, was 886. This shows a falling off in the number of people, for in 1900 the same authority gave it 1,042, and in 1890 the township was placed at 1,062. CHAPTER XXII, BUTLER TOWNSHIP. Butler township is a civil sub-division which was organized March 9, 1825, and was named for Benjamin Butler, an early settler at Mt. Vernon, who helped found the county seat. While the soil is fertile in this part of Knox county, the surface is very broken and hilly. The scenery was at an early day unsurpassed for beauty in all central Ohio, and is still charming to behold. The northern part of the territory is crossed by Vernon river or Owl creek. Brush run and smaller streams are also found coursing through 1.112 township. The Wakatomika crosses the southwest corner of the township. At the time white men came here to occupy the lands, the entire township was heavily timbered with such kinds of timber as usually grow in Ohio. As late as 1880 there were many hundreds of acres of heavy timber, but year by year the axman has prosecuted his work of destruction. The hills along Owl creek and Brush run were made destitute of trees at a very early date, owing to the Indians and ruthless hunters having set fire to the forests. This was that they might get a clear view of the surrounding country for hunting purposes. This section is now covered more or less by red oak timber, of the second-growth variety. When white men claimed this territory, it was a fine hunting ground and the pioneers subsisted for a number of years on the game found there. Deer, wild turkey and wolves were very numerous. The first two years but little could be raised, hence this wild game really lessened what would otherwise have been almost a famine. Coal has been discovered in this part of Knox county, but not in paying quantities. Sandstone, for building purposes, is found in great abundance. In the seventies an oil well was sunk on the farm of G, W. Butler; after flowing a short time it ceased and the project was abandoned. Another well was sunk on the farm of George W, Riley, near the Coshocton county line, It, too, after flowing well for a time, gave out, but through these prospective undertakings oil was discovered on the Owl creek bottom lands, PIONEER SETTLEMENTS. The first settlers found Indian wigwams here and there and evidences that these people had inhabited the country for many years. Arrow KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 297 heads, stone hammers, etc., were found everywhere, They had a small village on the lowlands on the south side of Owl creek ; William Darling later owned this land. On the G. W. Riley farm many skeletons were plowed up and washed out from hillsides, all of which seemed to have been in a sitting position, after the manner of Indian burials. The early settlers also discovered a fortification, made by some people strange to the Caucasians. It was a stone wall in the form of a perfect semi-circle, one end reaching to Owl creek. Near this very ancient stone wall or fortification is a cascade and cave. It is supposed that the cave was dug by the occupants of the stone fortification as a place of retreat while engaged with an enemy at war. The settlers found that Indians liked dogs very well and would often part with a fine horse for a comm0n dog, These Indians were friendly and frequently wrestled with the white men of this township, One Nicholas Riley often tested their skill at wrestling matches. One singular Indian character of this section was the old chief Tom Jelloway, who claimed to be a bird charmer. So, one day, the father of William D, Beatty induced him to make a showing of this rare gift. He ascended a tall cherry tree growing near by and then commenced to utter a peculiar cry, and in a few minutes hundreds of birds of every description were all about him in the tree top ; also on the Indian's head and back. Butler township, perhaps more than any one part of Knox county, preserved its original pioneer customs and style of living. The log house and fire place were in evidence as late as in the eighties ; certainly many of these abodes were seen here and there over Butler township in 1883. Many miles distant from telegraph and railway communications, and on the largest hills of this part of Ohio, many settlers were slow in growing out of the old pioneer usages, but finally did, and today the farm houses are in keeping with those of other sections of the county. Among the first to locate within this township should be named George Lepley, who was residing in Harrison township in 1882, aged ninety-four years. He came into Butler township, with his father, in 1805, when the settlers were few and scattering and wild animals held the country in their savage grip, only held in check by the Indians. Mr. Lepley, the elder, settled along Brush run, near the center of the township, when all was one vast wilderness between this place and Mt. Vernon's present site. His neighbors were the Staats, Carpenters, Rileys and Shrimplins, none of whom had made much improvement in the township, but lived from hand to mouth. Zanesville was their milling point and grists were usually carried on horseback. It is stated, upon the best of evidence, that Mr. Lepley in his sojourn here killed more deer than were ever killed in the county by a single man. More 298 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. than one thousand deer dropped dead at the discharge of his rifle, from first to last, This trait was in nearly all of the Lepleys, down even to later and present generations, all being good shots. It is claimed by many that the first white man to really locate permanently within Butler township was John Shrimplin, on Owl creek, He was" born in Maryland in 1778 and came to this township in 1805, purchasing three thousand acres of land, lying on both sides of Owl creek, Before coming to Knox county, he had made several trips by flat boat to New Orleans, carrying a cargo of whisky, pork and flour, which he readily sold for cash. In this way he was able to get the large tracts of land as he did. He built the first grist mill in Butler township, and some affirm it to be the first in all Knox county—it was very early anyhow in the history of milling in the county. After amassing a goodly fortune, for some unknown reason he committed suicide with his rifle. He passed from earth in 1818 and his son, Samuel, inherited his old homestead. The second man to locate within the township and on Owl creek was Nicholas Riley, a Marylander, born in 1778, moved to Coschocton in 1803 and to this township in 1806, resided there until December 15, 1866, when death claimed him, Before settling here he had visited the county, when no one was here but Andrew Craig, the first settler, and was so impressed with the beauty of the country that later he came here to purchase seven hundred acres of land, which he did buy from John Shrimplin, With the exception of about four acres, which the Indians had cleared up, after their crude fashion, the entire tract was covered largely with sugar, walnut, buckeye and other valuable timber, which, however, was not then valued highly. Pioneer Riley made several trips to his old home in Virginia, going through the country on horseback. In 1808 he, with John Hibbitts, went to Detroit, to see Colonel Hamtramck, a large landowner of Knox county, for the purpose of buying land of him, which finally they did. This was looked upon at this time as a great event, for two men to take their rifles and pocket compass and start on horseback for Detroit. On the entire way they saw no human forms or faces, aside those of Indians, until. a short ways out of Detroit, when a few French families were seen, They lived on what they picked up in the forests, made their trip and returned in good health and spirits. Jacob Horn came in from Pennsylvania in 1815, settling near the Coshocton county line. He reared twelve children and became a wealthy man, Isaac Darling, of Virginia, settled near Owl creek in 1806, went back to the Old Dominion state, but returned to Butler township in 1820. In 1843 he died in Union county. This family were always foremost in the country in which they lived. KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 299 Benjamin Butler, a pioneer of pioneers, both in township and county, was indeed a character who left its impress on the community, He was born in Monongalia county, Virginia, in 1779, He moved to Coshocton in 1801, remained till 1805, and went to Clinton township, Knox county. He, with two others, founded Mt. Vernon, and he conducted a hotel there many years. In 1809 he became identified with Butler township, where he lived nearly half a century, engaged in both farming and milling. He died at his daughter's in 1872, but his son, George W. Butler, remained in Butler township and looked well to the landed estate left by the father, of whom much is related in the sketch on county-seat location and Mt. Vernon city. Another settler was Daniel Campbell, who came to Ohio in 1816, locating in Butler township. At one time he owned several hundred acres of excellent farm lands within the county. He was a native of Ireland, but had settled in Virginia, He was drafted into the war of 1812, but hired a substitute for one hundred dollars in gold. After he paid his first purchase of land he had four dollars and a blind horse left. But such men could not be kept down, hence he slowly mounted the scale and was considered among the wealthiest of his day in Knox county, Joseph Staats, a Virginian, accompanied by his father, located in Butler township in 1806. He was the first man to put glass windows into a log house in the township, and later built a good brick house. He loved sports and out-of-door games and ran a distillery, but on account of hearing an early-day temperance lecturer, 'he was so impressed that he went out of that branch of business and became a radical advocate of temperance. He was one of three Whigs in Butler township, but could not be induced to vote another ticket. His father, who died in 1826, was buried by a large wild cherry tree, which appeared to grow from the center of his grave lot. John R, Gamble came to this township in 1836 and was widely known in central Ohio on account of his connection with the public works, He had much to do with the early canals and roads. He bought a large tract of land on Owl creek and became an extensive farmer. He was also a merchant and grain warehouse man after the canal was completed. The Carpenters were also noted pioneers of Butler township. They engaged in the Indian wars that were going on during the Revolutionary struggle. William Carpenter came to Butler township in 1808. He located in the northern part of the township. In 1881 William D. Beatty, born in Butler township in 1807, was the oldest man then living in the township. Many of the settlers here, as elsewhere, made whisky, on account of the low price for grain and because they were far from markets; corn, rye and wheat were all pressed into service for distilling purposes.