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PART II HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. CHAPTER I * INTRODUCTORY-TOPOGRAPHY-GEOLOGICAL SURVEY-EARLY BEGINNINGS AND GROWTH OF THE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM - PHYSICAL AND MATERIAL RESOURCES OF THE COUNTY. LOGAN County lies just north of the western half of the State, and is bounded on the north by Auglaize and Hardin Counties, on the east by Union, on the south by Champaign, and on the west by Shelby and Auglaize. Its form is that of a rectangle, lying east and west, its southern line being broken by the absence of a tier of lots in the southern margin of Miami and Union townships. The area according to the latest available appraisement report, that of 1870, is 281,296 acres, of which 101,127 acres are arable or plow laud, 59,346 acres, pasture or meadow land, and 120,823 acres are uncultivated or wood land. The forthcoming report of the present year will show some changes in these figures indicating the extent to which the reclaiming of uncultivated lands has been carried, especially in the townships of Stokes * For the Topographical and Geological features of this chapter, the writer is principally indebted to the brief paper of Franklin C. Hill, found in the report of the State Geological Survey. In the division of the Legislative appropriation for the purposes of this survey, among the several counties of the State is accordance with their geological importance, but a small part was devoted to Logan County, and the report is, therefore, less exhaustive than might have been desired. The scope of the present work, however, does not contemplate original researches in this department, and the paper is embodied in this chapter essentially as it appears in the volume issued by the state. and Bokes Creek. The average assessed valuation of farming lands by the last report, exclusive of buildings, was $29.66 per acre. The boundary lines of the county are all nearly level, and hold an elevation of between 1,000 and 1,200 feet above tide-water, falling where the Miami River goes out on the west to about 975 feet, but the centre has been upheaved until the summit, on John W. Hogue's farm, one and one-half miles east of Bellefontaine, has reached the height of 1,540 feet, which equals 1,108 feet above low water at Cincinnati, and 975 feet above Lake Erie, and is the highest point yet measured in Ohio. This point lies upon the great arch that traverses the State from Cincinnati to the lake shore between Sandusky and Toledo, and was probably the highest peak in what was originally a low chain of mountains. The general form of the county is that of a flat cone, about 500 feet in height, from which the water-fall drains off in all directions; the county is situated, however, just south of the great water-shed, and the streams ultimately find their way into the Scioto or Miami rivers. This cone has been cleft from north to south to the depth of some 300 feet by the valley of Mad River, leaving a summit 166 - HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. on the east at Wickersham's Corners (called "Jerusalem," on the county map) only twenty-five feet lower than the one on Hogue's farm; the valley thus formed is drained principally by the Mad R fiver, which rises in Jefferson Township and flows southwesterly through the county. The character of this stream is accurately described by its name, and in its headlong course furnishes an inexhaustible water-power for the numerous flouring mills that are located on its banks. The upper part of the valley is drained by Rush Creek, which finds its way into the Scioto in a northeastwardly direction, receiving in its course through Mill Creek and the Darby, the drainage of the eastern edge of the county. The waters falling on Hogue's summit, and $owing through the streets of Bellefontaine, as "Possum Run," fall into Blue Jacket, thence into Buckongehelas, and so into the Great Miami, whence they are taken at Port Jefferson, into the summit-level of the Miami canal, and there are divided, part flowing southward into the Ohio and the Mexican Gulf, and part going northward to Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence. The Great Miami, rising in the southern part of Hardin County, flows southwardly through the western half of Logan, until within two and a-half miles of the southern boundary, and suddenly turning to the west by north, flows out into Shelby County. The county is everywhere traversed by a number of bright sparkling runs, that find their origin in the innumerable springs that issue from the gravelly deposit which forms the foundation of the soil. Scattered over the surface are numerous small lakes or ponds that owe their origin to the same source: Of these, Rush Creek Lake, Silver, Black, Dake's, and Twin Lakes are the most important. Several of these are valuable for their ice crop, and some furnish considerable fish. One, the Indian Lake, in Stokes and Richland townships, is now included in the Lewiston Reservoir, which was designed to collect and hold in reserve the rainfall of that region for the benefit of the State canals. Although the entire surface of the country is covered deep in drift or its derivaties, yet the upheaval of the centre exposes three formations of rock, and there is good reason to suppose that a fourth would be visible but for the immense deposit of gravel in the Miami Valley. These formations are Huron shale, or black slate, shown in the hills about the head of Mad River, the corniferous limestone, best seen in the Bellefontaine, Mackachack and Middleburg quarries, and the water-lime rock, exposed in one place on the Mackachack, and in numerous ones in the neighborhood of Belle Centre and Northwood, while it is the Niagara that is supposed to lie under the the drift in the Miami Valley. The Huron shale, lying the highest, and being, from its soft, laminated structure, most subject to the wear of the elements, has been cut down by frost and water until only two irregular islands are left. The smaller of these islands, lying directly east of Bellefontaine, in Rush Creek, Lake and Jefferson townships, is the the last outlier of its formation east of the anticlinal axis of the State, or, rather, is directly on the crown of the arch. Its northern end is hidden under the drift, but must lie somewhere near the village of Harper, and the southern is found about three miles southwest of Zanesfield, where a deep cut was begun through it some years since on the line of the Delaware Railroad, giving a length of about nine miles, with an average width of some two and a half or three miles. The second or larger island lies east of Zanesfield and West Liberty, and underlies Pickereltown and Wickersham Corners in Rush Creek, and the townships of Jefferson, Perry, Monroe and Zane, with a span extending into the northern edge _of HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. - 167 Champaign County. It is about twelve miles long by three wide, and within its limits are to be found the finest and most characteristic exposures. The thickness of the slate under Hague's summit, by actual measurement by the level, is 110 feet, and 136 feet, by careful barometrical estimate, under Wickersham's Corners. Immediately below these Huron shale islands lies one large island of corniferous limestone, which can be traced through Rush Creek, Jefferson, Perry, Zane, Monroe, Liberty, Lake, Harrison and McArthur townships. Its thickness is probably between 60 and 100 feet, but nowhere in the county have both top and bottom been exposed at the same place, and the records kept of boring are so imperfect as to be worthless. The largest quarries are those of Messrs. Scarf's at Bellefontaine, of Gen. A. S. Piatt on the Mackachack, in Monroe Township, and Mr. J. B. Sharpe at Middleburg. Messrs. Scarf's quarry has been worked for a depth of over twenty feet, chiefly for lime, 1,000 bushels of which are produced by twenty-five cords of wood. The product is of good quality and color, but difficult to ship, on account of the rapidity with which it air-slacks, only three or four days being required to reduce it. Some courses show hydraulic qualities, but no systematic experiments have been made with it, nor can any estimate be made of the amount of business done. Gen. Piatt's quarry has been worked to about the same depth, and the lime produced by the same expenditure of fuel, and of perhaps rather better quality. The building stone has all been consumed in the neighborhood. It is capable of being worked to fine effect, as the General's own mansion abundantly testifies. Mr. Sharpe's quarry at Middleburg has been worked to about the same depth as the others, but with more system, and exposes the rock better. The section may be described as follows, in a descending series: Feet. Covering of drift................................................ 2 First course, much broken................................. 6 Second course, solid.......................................... 4 Ocherous seam......................:........................... Third course, firm, thin layers........................... 3 Fourth course, solid........................................... 4 Fifth course, solid.............................................. 6 Total...................................................................25 Numerous small quarries have been opened all around the edges of the island, both for stone and for lime, but they are only worked occasionally, and for local purposes. The geological scale of the State calls for a bed of Oriskany sandstone under the corniferous, and of Hamilton above it, but there are no traces of either to be found in Logan County. Remains of the former are found scattered about the country in the form of huge boulders, from which, at an early date, grindstones were formed; and in the clay are found small fragments with corners sharply defined, as though but recently broken. A popular explanation is, that from the combined action of the upheaval and the glacier, this formation was crushed into fragments and pushed bodily from its position, leaving only these fragments to mark its early existence. Dr. Newberry, in Vol. I, p. 141, speaks of Oriskany sandstone at West Liberty, but this is most probably a mistake. In Gen. Piatt's quarry, on the Mackachack, a bed of fine sandstone exists, that has been quarried and reduced to sand for plastering, with excellent success, but it is only a local deposit in the upper layers of the corniferous, fifty-five feet above the top of the Helderberg, in the same field. These small sandstone deposits are quite common in that neighborhood, and, in fact, the whole appearance of the rocks is so sandy that Mr. George G. Shumard reported the following section in the prospectus of the "Logan and Champaign Petroleum Company," in 1865 168 - HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. 1 Drift, gravel and boulders of sienite, gneiss, red feldspar, hornblende and mica schist quartz, grindstone, etc.............................................20 feet 2 Black and dark brown bituminous slate..................40 " 3 Hard, fine grained, light-gray, silicious sand stone (as far as exposed).......................................... 8 " 4 Black and dark brown bituminous slate...................60 " 5 Hard, Light-blue, fine-grained silicious sand- stone......................................................................... . 4 " 6 Black and dark brown bituminous slate, con- taining large septarian segregations and nodules of iron pyrites............................................150 " 7 Hard, light-gray calcareo-silicious sandstone, thickness as far as exposed....................................... 20 " 277 Mr. J. H. Inskeep, who worked the drill for the said company, reports the section obtained on B. Ewing's land, in the southern part of Monroe Township, as follows Slate...................................................... 6 feet. Flint...................................................... 5 " Sandstone...........................................639 " Red Slate.............................. ...............12 " Blue Limestone................................... 48 " 705 At that point , patience, hope and funds failed, and the project was abandoned. It is much to be regretted that a more careful or more skillful record was not kept of this boring. The "flint five feet" evidently was the upper course of the Corniferous, but it is difficult to understand what could be included in " 639 feet of sandstone." Mr. Shumard's second, third and fourth divisions evidently refer to the Huron-shale, and his fifth to the upper courses of the Corniferous, but his sixth and seventh would seem to be purely imaginary or very much confused. There are traditions of a former sandstone quarry on the hill-top east of Zanesfield, from which the neighborhood was supplied with grindstones, and some still hope that it will be rediscovered. There is now a large mass of Waverly sandstone lying on the side of a slate valley on the Mackachack, half buried in gravel and the debris, of slate, and it has been proposed to open a quarry in it. It would doubtless yield fine blocks of beautiful stone, but as soon as fairly opened it would probably fail from exhaustion. From all that has been discovered, therefore, the Oriskany sandstone should be dropped from the Logan County scale. Below the Corniferous lies the great sheet of Helderberg, or water-lime, the lowest formation yet seen in the county. It has been worked on Gen. A. S. Piatt's land, on the Mackachack, and at Northwood, Huntsville, Richland and Belle Centre. At the latter point, in Anderson's quarry, probably the Lest and largest in the county. Much of the stone in this quarry is in thin and smooth courses, and makes excellent flagging. The yield of stone is stated at about 1,000 perches annually, worth $1.25 per perch in Belle Centre, Some of it is shipped on the Sandusky Railroad, but local demand consumes the greater part of it, and all of the lime burned. At the depth of fifteen feet a course is reached that is of so little value that it is avoided. A s there is only two feet of " stripping," it is easier to extend the work sideways than downwards. The conformation of the surface of Logan County indicates that under Miami, Pleasant, and Bloomfield townships perhaps the Helderberg stone has been scoured off, and that, were the masses of drift penetrated, the first fixed rock found would be the Niagara. But the highest point where the Niagara has been worked is Tremont, in Clarke County, and the location of that formation in the Logan County geological map is a matter of pure conjecture. It follows then, that, though attaining a high barometrical elevation, Logan County is geologically very low, and any attempts to find coal or petroleum are likely to be disappointed. The geological formations that are Found here are older than the coal deposits, and while the latter might be found above such formations it cannot be found below them. HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. - 169 The resources stored in the geological formations of Logan County are numerous and important. The rocks yield building stone in sufficient quantities and quality for all local demands, although peculiar circumstances and a freak of fashion at present bring stone from distant counties for the more important structures. Lime is supplied for building and farming purposes in such quantities and at such prices as to defy competition from abroad. It is thought that the islands of Huron shale are capable of supplying hydraulic lime, though it is at present entirely undeveloped. Beds of clay exist in every township, suitable for brick, tile, and coarser pottery, 'and are now worked to some extent. In 1876, eleven the works were reported whose combined product for the pear reached to about 100,000 rods of drain the of various sizes, and with a demand that was equal to the supply. Underlying the marsh, at the head of Rush Creek Lake, is an immense deposit of white shell marl, that would be of great value to the poorer lands of the hills, and doubtless similar beds exist in other parts of the county. The vast beds of gravel scattered over most of the townships furnish an inexhaustible supply for the construction of the admirable pikes which are found everywhere throughout the county. The chief source of wealth in Logan County, however, is its rich and varied soil, which, in common with the whole valley of the Miami, has acquired a widespread reputation for its luxuriant production. The soil is almost wholly derived from the drift-gravel and clays. Although much of it is at first wet and henry, it proves, under proper drainage and tillage, rich and generous in its yield. In the valleys of the Miami and Mad Rivers, oaks and hickories prevail, but on the higher lands sugar-maples take their place, mixed with, and, on the flat clay lands, overpowered and driven out by, the beech. Tulip, or, as it is often called, poplar or white wood, elm, ash, sycamore, basswood, dogwood, sassafras, and other trees are found in large numbers, but oaks and hickories, sugar and beech largely prevail and give character to the forests. At no time of the year is this so apparent as in the early spring, when, in passing from an oak region to a maple one, as in going from West Liberty to Zanesfield, points of view may be chosen so that the landscape on one side will appear bleak and bare as midwinter, while on the other, the hills are clothed with the verdure of June, and the dividing lines will be as sharp and well defined as if the woods had been laid out and planted by the art of the landscape gardener. The settlers found here a heavily timbered country, with here and there little patches of prairie that bore a heavy growth of rank grass. These open spots were probably the site of sunken lakes, some of them showing unmistakable signs of the watery foundation beneath them. The whole country, notwithstanding its high elevation, was wet and swampy. To erect here a home and render the land subject to an annual tribute for the maintenance of the family, taxed the powers of the pioneers to their utmost. It was an even-handed struggle for subsistence, and anything accomplished might safely be set down as an improvement. This was practically true for the first fifteen years in the history of a settlement. An average of from three to five years were consumed before the frontier farm could be relied upon to furnish a support, and in the meanwhile the fare furnished by the abundance of game and wild fruits was eked out by economical pur1chases of corn from the older settlements. After erecting a cabin with the aid of hospitable neighbors, from five to ten acres were felled and " chopped over." After this come the universal bee for rolling, and then the burning. The latter required close attention, and it was no unusual thing for the 170 - HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. pioneer to continue his labors far into the night -the husband chopping by ,the light of the blaze and the wife tending the fires. The great advantage seemed to be in getting ready for the rolling bee as early as possible, for when the season once set in there was a constant demand for the services of the pioneer in the fields of his neighbors for upwards of three months. It was no unusual thing for a neighborhood to he engaged every working day for six weeks in " rolling bees " without any intermission. Many were thus called upon when they could least afford the time, but from the necessities of the situation there was no refusal possible, and large as this demand appears, it will not be considered exorbitant when it is remembered that the neighborhoods covered an area of from ten to fifteen miles square. At this day the reckless destruction of timber in that early period seemed wasteful in the extreme, and the tendency, under the circumstances which surrounded the pioneer, was to underrate the value of timber, and to carry the work of clearing to the very verge of denuding the land of this important aid to agriculture. This tendency has not been so marked in Logan County as in some of the northern and northeastern counties of the State. In some parts of this county, owing to the low, swampy character of the land, the original forests have not yet been disturbed and each year considerable timber is cut off for the purpose of clearing the land. Wood is still the principal article in use for fuel in the country districts. In the older portions of the county the scarcity of timber is beginning to attract attention and less of it is sacrificed to supply the villages with fuel. Here coal is beginning to be pretty generally used, partly on account of its convenience and partly on account of the cost. The prevailing system of agriculture in Logan County may properly be called that of mixed husbandry. Specialties find little favor among the farmers. The practice is to cultivate the various kinds of grain and grasses, and to raise, keep and fatten stock, the latter business engaging, however, hardly more than a tenth of the farmers. Writing as early as 1840, of the agriculture of Logan County and the rest of the Miami Valley, Dr. Drake says " The agriculture of this, as of other new coun tries, is not of the best. Too much reliance is placed on the extent and fertility of their fields, by the farmers, who in general, consider these a substitute for good tillage. They frequently plant double the quantity they can properly cultivate, and thus impoverish their lands, and suffer them to become infested with briars and noxious weeds. The kind of cereals generally cultivated are Indian corn, wheat, rye, oats, and barley. The first is found on every plantation, but flourishes best in a calcareous soil, where, with good culture, it will yield from sixty to one hundred bushels per acre. Wheat is raised almost as generally as Indian corn, and is perhaps better adapted to the soil of most parts of the Miami country. Twenty-two bushels may be stated as the average produce per acre, though it sometimes amounts to' forty. Its medium weight is sixty pounds per bushel. The bearded wheat with reddish chaff seems latterly to be preferred, as least liable to injury from the weevil and Hessian fly. Before the settlement of this country, the woods abounded in grass and herbage, proper for the subsistence of cattle, but these have long since disappeared, except in the remote situations. n the prairies, however, when the whole energy of the soil is employed in producing grasses and herbaceous plants instead of trees, the pasture is still luxuriant, and the business of grazing extremely profitable. It is chiefly in Champaign and Greene Counties that this remark is true. In the former $100,000, it is estimated, are annually received for fat cattle. The prairies are likewise found to support hogs, which PAGE 171 - PICTURE OF LOGAN COUNTY COURT HOUSE PAGE 172 - BLANK HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. - 173 grow and fatten on the numerous fleshy roots with which those tracts abound. Sheep, both domestic and foreign, are already diffused ex tensively through the Miami country. They are in general healthy, and rather prone to excessive fatness. Their flesh is said to be superior in flavor to that of the sheep of the Atlantic States: The criticisms of Dr. Drake upon the agriculture of 180, are not entirely out of place to-day. Provided with a rich and varied soil, the average farmer has not felt the need of studying the principles of such branches of learning as relates to agriculture, and frequently hesitated to receive or reject the teachings of science. A few persons, however, were found at a comparatively early day, who brought to the business of farming that amount of patient investigation which the greatest interest of this country demands. Farmers are becoming more and more solicitous to learn from others, and the husbandry of the country has made a marked advance during the last silty years, and is still rapidly improving in every respect. Owing to the richness of the soil the subject of fertilizers has not received the attention which it has obtained in the less favored portions of the State. Phosphates are never used and land plaster, only in comparatively few instances. In many cases scarcely ordinary care has been exercised in preserving the ordinary accumulations of the barnyard, much less to add to this by artificial means. This neglect has not been so seriously felt on account of the remarkable qualities of most of the farming land in this county. Indeed, the application of manure requires fine discrimination. It is not an infrequent thing to see a crop of grass or wheat partially spoiled by the lack of judgment in the application of manure. On the other hand, fields are to be found that have been constantly cropped for from ten to forty years. This practice has, in most cases, borne its legitimate result, and has awakened a decided interest in the subject of the science of farming. Rotation of crops is now generally practiced, corn being the first crop planted on sod ground, followed by another crop of corn and that by wheat. With the latter crop the manure is generally used, as it is thought it shows the largest result and leaves a better soil for the grass which follows. Deep plowing with the Michigan double plow was practiced to a considerable extent some years since with good effect. Crops grown upon land so treated furnished an increased yield upon those grown upon shallow plowed land. Their heavy draft soon made these plows unpopular, though a few are still found in use in the county. The practice of deep plowing, however, is still maintained, and is now generally accomplished by a heavy steel plow drawn by three horses. The great objection to the double plow, that it buried the surface soil too deep, was not felt here to be a serious evil. A year or two was necessary to reap the full benefit of the sub-soiling, but when this was carried on every year the soil becomes thoroughly acted upon by the elements and thoroughly mixed throughout, and in a few years of This treatment the farmer has a fine, friable soil ten to fifteen inches deep. Artificial drainage has been a necessity from the first. In 1876 eleven county ditches, with an aggregate length of nearly twenty-five miles, the longest of which reaches a distance of five and two-fifths miles. These were constructed at a cost of $11,170. Since then several other important ditches have been constructed. In addition to these there are thirty township ditches, with an aggregate length of eight and five-eighths miles, which have been' constructed at a cost of $3,104. The first drain-tile were introduced about 1860, and have rapidly grown in the public estimation with each succeeding year. 174 - HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. There are some fifteen drain-tile establishments in the country, the oldest of which was started not far from 1870. These manufactories have found a ready sale for all they could make, disposing in the last ten years of not far from 200,000 rods of their product. Farms are everywhere being greatly improved by under draining and ditching. Low lands that were nearly an entire waste, and rolling lands of the character called "spouty," are being reclaimed, so that the untillable land, if all collected into a body, would scarcely corer a section. The very summits are wheat fields, and though now in some parts of the county the first clearings are being made the whole available land is destined soon to be brought under the plow. The land thus reclaimed produces the finest crops; can be cultivated much sooner after a rain, and from eight to ten days earlier in the spring. The subject of grass land has not attained the importance it does in a country chiefly devoted to grazing. Wheat and corn are the principal products and sources of revenue, and grass is cultivated for the use of such stock as the system of mixed husbandry adopted here requires. Timothy and red top grasses are mainly relied upon for the supply of hay, meadows being turned over about once in four years. Meadows are never turned over to pasturage, the grass lands being seeded for the especial purpose for which they are designed. Mowing lands are but little under-drained, and then only where the natural lay of the land demands it to carry off the settling moisture. Top dressing for meadows has received but little attention, the manure being generally applied to the second crop of corn or wheat just before seeding. Orchard and blue grass have been introduced in a limited way of late years, experiments with mixtures. of these grasses have proved, it is thought, its value as pasture. None of the former is sown for hay , although it is highly recommended by some. Millet and Hungarian grass have been used to some extent for the past fifteen or twenty years, and are in demand more or less every year. The latter is the one principally used, and furnishes a valuable substitute for a failing crop of meadow grass, or when the acreage has been tempo-rarily cut down too low for the necessities of the farm. The average yield of the county is from one and a quarter to one and a third tons per acre. In the matter of clover lands the farmers seem fully alive to the importance of their proper use. The market demand for seed, however, which makes it a cash article with a ready sale, proves a great temptation to raise it for the market. It is frequently , sown in combination with timothy for the purpose of producing a duality of hay highly esteemed for milch cows and sheep. It is used to some extent for pasturage, but the predominant purpose, perhaps, is for seed. The acreage turned under has been small though there are evidences of an improvement in this direction. The history of wheat-growing in Logan County really begins with the building of the railroads. Before this the principal product was Indian corn, and what little wheat was used was obtained from the older counties. The railroads, however, brought a market for this cereal right to the door of the producer a fact that gave an impetus to its cultivation. In its early culture the usual discouragements were met. The rust proved a great plague, and the Hessian fly worked considerable destruction at times. There is less complaint of these during late years, and in most parts of the county wheat is considered a fairly reliable crop. Its greatest enemies now are the occasionally cold, snow less winters. The large admixture of clay in the soil of the county makes the wheat peculiarly susceptible to the damaging action of heavy frosts. For the HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. - 175 past three years, however, the yield of this grain has been unusually large, and the largest acreage ever known in the county was reaped this year. This fact is due largely to the good prices which wheat has commanded of late, and to the fact that a dry May, last year, prevented the grass from "catching " on pieces that were newly "seed ed down." The variety sown in later years has been the Scott, the supremacy of which is now disputed by the Fultz. Experiments have been made with the Genesee, White Mediterranean, Golden Drop, and Amber, which. have made some friends, but the Scott still maintains its hold upon the. best farmers. \o particular system has been adopted in the cultivation of this grain. The practice of plowing "barefallows" during the summer, and then replowing or harrowing deeply before sowing in wheat, is still continued to some extent. Corn stubble ground is most frequently used for growing this crop. When the manure is used with wheat it is thoroughly harrowed in and the seed then drilled in, the character of the soil obviating the necessity of plowing. The practice of sowing upon the same ground for several successive years is becoming much less common, though still followed in some localities where the soil seems well nigh exhaustless. This grain is one of the principal sources of revenue, and has given Logan County the reputation of a great grain country. The grain is usually threshed in the barn-yard, where it is hauled for convenience in handling the straw. The horsepower thresher is still used, but the steam power is rapidly supplanting it among the farmers. Rye and barley are but little cultivated, In former years rye was in considerable demand for local distilling, but this demand has long since passed away. It is now grown occasionally as a winter pasture for sheep After pasturing it closely, it is turned under; save occasionally when it is allowed to grow for the straw which finds a slight demand for the purpose of binding corn fodder. Barley is raised to some extent in the southern part of the county where the nearness to the brewery markets of Springfield and Dayton render it- a profitable crop. Buckwheat has but a nominal place in the list of grains grown in Logan County, the product barely supplying the meagre home demand. The home demand for oats is large, and but little more than enough to supply this is raised. The crop is inclined to run to one or the other extreme, and the complaint is usually that the growth is too rank or too short. It is usually sown on the thinnest soil, and a wet, drizzling April and May gives it such a rank growth that it lodges on the ground and frequently proves an entire failure. In case of dry weather, during these months, the crop is put back and often proves so short, both in straw and yield, that it is hardly worth the expense of harvesting. Rust occasionally complicates matters, and, amidst all these difficulties, the crop is looked upon as generally uncertain. The corn crop, however, while not. grown to the exclusion of the others, is the one upon which the farmers of Logan County most confidently rely, and the land devoted to its culture is only limited by the necessity of the situation. It is far more stable in its yield, less liable to disease, and may be slighted in its cultivation with greater impunity than any other crop. The soft varieties of seed are generally preferred, and are usually planted in sod ground. A second crop is frequently grown on the same ground, to be followed by wheat and then sod. It is usually well put in, the ground being prepared with considerable care and worked until the crop "tassels out.'' The old rule of "going through " the field a certain number of times before "laying by" the crop has long since been abandoned 176 - HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. by the better farmers. The last plowing, after the corn has reached the height of five or six feet, is considered the most effective in its cultivation, but the exigencies of the season often prevent the farmer's bestowing this crowning attention. The lands, being in the hands of small farmers or renters, are generally worked by the proprietor alone, and the clover and wheat cutting, coming close together, frequently obliges the small farmer to slight his corn. When, however, the farmer is able to hire help, or has boys who can be trusted to do the work, the plow is kept going through the corn an expense that is amply paid by the increased yield. The crop is usually cut and " shocked up " in the field, where it is husked in the fall. After the husking the fodder is " re-shocked " and left until needed for feeding. The custom of husking from the standing stalk, which was early much in vogue, has been abandoned some time since, as wasteful of time and material. The other crops that occupy, or have occupied, a prominent place among the agricultural products of the county, are potatoes, flax and sorghum. The quality of the soil is well adapted to the raising of potatoes, and farmers who have given considerable attention to the proper cultivation of this highly prized and indispensable esculent, have always been well rewarded for their labor and pains-taking. It is a staple vegetable, universally used, always commands a fair price, and its general cultivation for exportation would undoubtedly prove highly remunerative. The fact, however, seems to have been overlooked or ignored, and no more are produced than are used in the county. The leading variety is the Early Rose, with the Peerless and Peachblow cultivated in considerably quantities. The Snowflake is highly prized and cultivated to some extent, while other varieties are cultivated as experiments. The average yield of this crop is good, and it is not often seriously affected by insects or disease. Flax, although grown in this county to some extent every year, is subject to violent fluctuations in the acreage devoted to its cultivation. It is now raised exclusively for the seed, which has become an important article of commerce, considerable amounts being purchased by the grain dealers of the county. It is an exacting crop and the finer is only incidentally valuable, owing to the unsalable condition in which it has to be sold; an amount of discouragement which is only overbalanced by the fact that. the seed frequently commands a high price, and is always a cash article. Years ago, when an oil mill and a $ax mill were regular establishments of the county, this crop proved quite a source of revenue, but since the decay of those institutions this crop has been of less importance. The history of the cultivation of sorghum cane in Logan County is similar to that of most other parts of the State. The first introduction of this cane was received by the farmers with great enthusiasm, and high hopes were entertained that in this would be found a. substitute for the sugar-cane that would prove a valuable addition to the resources of their farms for home supply, if not a source of income. The first seed was brought in about. 1860, and small bags of seed, containing about half a pint, sold readily for $1 each. Small plats were planted with this seed, and almost every farmer did a little in the war of experimenting with the new crop. The new venture rapidly gained ground, and the means of converting it into molasses was provided on every hand. The first product, in most cases, owing to the lack of information on the subject and the carelessness with which its manufacture was conducted, was sorry stuff. To the skeptical part of the farming community, this result was received as the inevitable outcome of HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. - 177 the experiment, and discouraged the experimenters in proportion to the satisfaction it gave the self-assurance of the doubters. Another cause which contributed to the same end, was the exercise of a ruinous economy on the part of the mass of farmers. Instead of purchasing new seed for each planting, and sharing no pains to crake a fair test of this new crop, the majority of those who planted it borrowed seed of their neighbors, or used that saved from their own crop, and allowed the work of the farm to seriously interfere with the cultivation of the sorghum. The result was that the cane. deteriorated in quantity and quality, and the whole thing was voted a failure. This was true of many of the early experimenters, but quite a considerable mother of the farmers are yet cultivating this cane with creditable results. The manufacture of the molasses is still carried on by several establishments in a limited way, and by careful and intelliqent handling of the cane, produce a first-class article, which has attained a considerable local reputation. Tobacco has been cultivated to a very limited extent, simply For the private use of the producer, and it may well be hoped that its culture may not be further extended. It is an exacting crop upon the laud, and, sooner or inter, the exhaustive process will ultimately work the deterioration of any neighborhood or Farming district where its culture is a promi-ent part of the farming operations. The forests of Logan County are abundantly supplied with the sugar maple, and the people have nut been slow to utilize these trees in the way of making sugar. It was the practice, at an early date, to make the product into ," crumb sugar," as in this drape it ans veered the needs of the household to better advantage, and this practice continued, until of late years it has become more profitable in the shape of large cakes. Large quantities are dripped abroad every spring, several firms making a specialty of this business during the season. The product of the county is largely made in the eastern part, where single farms sometimes produce 5,000 pounds. Here it is made as important a branch of farm industry as the wheat culture, and is nearly as valuable a source of revenue. Sugar brings the manufacturer an average price of ten cents per pound, many of them turning their product to a more profitable account by furnishing customers abroad themselves. Fruit culture, so far as it involves especial attention and care, may safely be said to be in its infancy in Logan County. The first settlers deprived for a time of its use, and realizing the great demand in every family for this important article of food, early set about planting orchards. Coming to this far off country, they supplied themselves with seeds of the different kinds of fruits, grains and vegetables they were accustomed to at home, and prominent among these were the apple, peach, pear and cherry. The garden patch, first cleared, received these, to be transplanted in a year or two into the first few acres cleared. The soil and climate were congenial; the trees grew at once, thriftily, and in a few years yielded fruit. There are still some remains of those orchards of natural fruit, but most of them have disappeared. Pears, peaches and cherries seemed in their native element, flourished without signs of disease, and produced bountifully the most luscious fruit. About 1830, pears and peaches began to be affected with disease, and have since acquired a character for uncertainty fur which they are noted there to-day. Grafting and the planting of grafted fruit trees began here about 1840. At that time there was a nursery between Salem and New Lisbon, in Columbiana County, that had a wide reputation for the excellence of its stock, and which supplied most of this part of the State. The favorite varieties were the Yellow Bellflower, 178 - HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. Golden Pippin, Pound Pippin, Seek-no-further, Pinnock, Maiden Blush and Trenton Early. Most of the farmers had a few trees of each of the best varieties, but after seeing them once well set, exercised but little further care in promoting their growth. The orchard culture of apples has only of late years begun to command the serious attention of farmers. The old orchards have been prolific producers, and in favorable seasons considerable amounts have been marketed. Before the railroads were built, large quantities of the fruit was dried and hauled to Springfield or Sandusky, almost every well regulated farm being pro vided with a dry-house. This abundance, together with the fact that the home market is so readily supplied from other points, has made the farmers careless on the subject, and the fact is becoming apparent that if something is not done soon to renew these old orchards, there will be an interval when there will be a great scarcity of apples. Air. Isaac Akey, near Bellefontaine, and Benjamin Knight, east of Zanesfield, are making something of a specialty of fruit growing and have the largest orchards in the county. Among the varieties now found are the King of Tompkins County, Baldwin, Talpahakin, Northern Spy, and Roll's Jeanette. The latter is not a large apple, but. it is noted for its wintering qualities. The first on the list is a favorite apple here, some of the fruit measuring fourteen and a half inches in circumference, and at the same time retaining its fine flavor and smooth grain. This is a fine market apple and always commands a good price. The demand of a market apple is for size and not so much for the grain or flavor. The apple is the hardiest and most reliable of all fruits for this region, and there are probably more acres in apple orchards than in all other fruits combined. Peaches, by reason of the unfavorableness of the climate, are, of late years, exceedingly uncertain, and are but little planted. Late frosts in the spring usually cut off the crop, either in the blossom or when the young fruit has just formed, and, in addition to this danger, there occurs, every few 'years, a winter of such severity that even the trees themselves are seriously injured or destroyed. The case of cherries of the finer kinds is very similar to that of peaches, as the trees are somewhat tender, and the blossoms are liable to be destroyed by late frosts. The hardier kinds, such as the Early Richmond, the Morellos, and May Duke, are planted most, but with indifferent success, save in the case of the. latter. Mr. Akey set out at one time about 120 black Morellos, which bore one fair crop but failed ever afterward, and were cut down without realizing a second crop. Pears are planted in a small way, principally in gardens; but no extensive pear orchard exists in the county. The great enemy to this fruit is the "fire-blight," for which no effective remedy has been found. The first symptom of this disease is the dying of the ends of the twigs. From this point the blight follows up the twig to the body of the tree, when it splits the bark and loosens it clear around the trunk. Mr. George Foot has tried a remedy which seems to be beneficial. It occurred to him that to drive in rusty nails might be of advantage, and, having a tree that seemed destined to be destroyed anyway, he gathered a lot of old nails and drove them into the trunk and some of the larger branches. This seemed to arrest the disease, and, so confident was he in the effect of the iron, that he procured a quantity of iron turnings, which he placed in close contact with the main roots after clearing away the dirt. The effect, thus far, has been good, not a sign of the blight showing itself on any of the trees thus treated. So prevalent and ruinous is this disease that out of 260 trees planted by Air. Akey, about 1862, but fifty are now alive. The Bartlett, Flemish HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. - 179 Beauty, Genesee, and White Doyane are the favorite varieties. Plums are scarcely grown at all, owing to the prevalence of the curculio insect, although the trees grow well and remain healthy. Mr. Foot has made some experiments with this fruit, and has been successful in growing some fine plums. A fine tree of a species of the egg plum gave promise of bearing fine fruit, but the insect took them all off each year. By making bags for the fruit, and fastening on to keep the insects off, a few were matured that measured nine inches around them. Such fruit was worth saying, and he resolved to try an experiment. He secured a quantity of gas-tar and putting it in a skillet set it afire and moved it about under the trees after they had bloomed, giving them a thorough smoking every morning. Having a brood or two of chickens, he placed them under the trees, which he shook thoroughly after every smoking. That year he succeeded in raising some fine plums. This year he has repeated the treatment, save the smoking process. After each shaking, the chickens seem to find a great many insects, which they eagerly devour, and the tree hangs so loaded with fine fruit that every limb has to be sup ported to prevent its breaking down. The saving remedy is thought to be in the shaking and the chickens. The abundant fertility of the soil has had the effect to divert the majority of the farmers from devoting a great deal of attention to stock growing. Probably not more than one-third make this department of agriculture the leading pursuit, though among these may properly be included a majority of the wealthier farmers. Among this portion of the farming community a persevering, patient, investigating spirit has been manifested that has accomplished large results for the stock of the county. To class of farm stock has been slighted in this respect, though perhaps horses and sheep have profited most. It is quite natural that the early history of the horse in Logan County should be somewhat obscure. In the early settlement the nature of farm work called for the steady strength, the freedom ,from accident, and the easy keeping of the ox, and horses found no general demand until the pioneers could afford the luxury of travel. It was not long before this demand made a marked change in the character of the teams, which has continued, until now one would scarcely meet with an ox team upon the road in a month's travel through the country. The early native stock of horses was known as the "Virginia Spot," some of the animals being a "vivid calico" color. The first effort to improve on the common stock of horses was by the importation of the Black Hawk strain in 1832. The horse, the name of which has been forgotten, was imported from Tennessee, and was considered a capital general purpose horse. Closely following this horse came a "Cleveland Bay," introduced by John Enoch. This strain of horse had then, as now, a high reputation as fine coach horses and roadsters, and added such features to the native stock as admirably paved the way for their further improvement. Another strain of the same class of horses was the "Sir Archie" stock, brought in by John Houser. The stallion brought here was a gay, high-headed horse, " rangy," about sixteen hands high, and of a dark brown color. He was greatly sought by breeders, and his stock obtained a ready sale as roadsters or coach horses. About 1848, Benjamin Butler introduced a strain of horses from Scotland, known as the Scotchman's. The horse brought to Logan County was imported by a Clarke County firm. The stock of this horse occupied a very prominent place among the horses of the eastern part of the county, and was considered a capital animal for farming purposes. The best judges of horses in the county believe this strain to be the origin of 180 - HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. the Clydesdale. It had the same general characteristics, but not in quite so perfect a form. The Morgan strain came about this time into the county and brought a style of horse that was greatly needed. The general bent of horse-breeders seems to have been toward the heavy " general purpose " horse. The Morgan brought speed, action, and remarkable; endurance, and became at once a general favorite. This class of horses are yet referred to as the ideal horse, and the wish is often expressed that the old strain with its former characteristics were hack here again. The Normans were introduced about 1858, by Andrew Herd. The horse was sired by"Nonesuch," "Louis Napoleon," or "Old Bob," as he was variously known. This horse is really what is strictly classified as the Perch= Iron, but is known in the books and among dealers as a Percheron-Norman. "Old Bob" was the first horse of the kind ever brought west of the Alleghany Mountains. He was bought by Charles Fullington and brought to Union County in 1851, and some time after became the property of Louis Lee, of Delaware. These horses originate in the provinces of La Perche and Normandy, in France, and are noted for their docility, excellent health, and a hardy, elastic temperament. They are possessed of great bone, muscle, tendon and hoof, which gives them immense strength and value as draft horses. Their ' color is a fine silver-gray, which is regarded as the best adapted to withstand the burning rays of the sun in the field or on the highway. The chief value of this class of horses in this county, however, is their availability for market purposes. They mature early and sell readily for from $250 to $300 when three years old. But few of these horses are kept for use in the county, as most of the farmer$ are unwilling to put so much money in a horse, and the active demand for them rendering them a cash article proves too great a temptation to part with them. The Clydesdale strain was introduced a few years earlier. "Lord Clyde," a fine black animal of this strain, was exhibited in Urbana about 1852, and attracted considerable attention from horsemen. The horse belonged to the Union County Importing Company, and made a season in Champaign County that year. Many in the south hart of Logan bred to him, getting some flue colts, and this stock is yet to be found in that hart of the county. Among the latest horses is " Harry Clay," imported from Kentucky by Wellwood in 1873. He is a fine, black horse, with good speed, action, and endurance. There are colts of his getting in the county seven years old, and this stock is rapidly growing in the public esteem as roadsters. The branch of stuck-raising is rapidly taking on larger proportions, some of the best farmers giving it special attention. The result is that in blood, size, fine style, symmetry of form, and the enduring qualities of the horse, Logan County is excelled but by few counties in the State. It is estimated by competent judges that the average horse is fifteen and a half hands high and weighs about 1,200 pounds. This is a good average, and it is but natural that the county, should be the resort of buyers for other markets. Large numbers are sold every year, and yet the numbers do not seem to decrease. The mule seems to have made friends in Logan County comparatively early. Soon after 1S35 the donkey was introduced and was bred some for foreign markets. In 1842, Zachias Brown introduced the first Spanish jack, an importation from Kentucky, and overcame the objection to these animals by selecting mares and enraging to buy the foal at the age of four or five months. Considerable interest was excited in this new departure, and among others, J. M. Dickinson became HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. - 181 prominently identified in the enterprise. In 1856, he had a jack sixteen hands high and weighing 1,200 pounds, and in the following year had 180 mules on his farm. There was at that time a brisk trade in these animals with the East and West Indies, and considerable money was engaged in the traffic. The introduction of the large breed of horses but an end to this industry. The horses were just as easily raised, less trouble on the farm, inure docile and reliable, and add to these qualities utilities that of being just as marketable, and. the explanation of the cause of their superceding the mule is complete. A large number of these animals are still found in the county in use as teams, and are found for the ordinary purposes of the farm as valuable as horses, and bring nearly as good a price. The introduction of cattle into the county was as early as the coming of the first settlers. Cows were a necessary part of the pioneer's outfit, without which his chances for obtaining a reasonably comfortable existence were very poor indeed, and few families were without them. But once here, it required all the care and diligence of the settler to protect them against the ravages of wild beasts and disease. The wolves took off the yearlings, and frequently made successful attacks upon the cow; the murrain, a little later, took off scores of these animals, and long journeys were frequently undertaken to replace the animals thus lost. Then the marshes and the rain: vegetation took their quota, so that, in spite of the employment of till the available children of the settlement as herders, and the dosing of cattle with alum, soot and soft soap, hundreds fell victims to the snares of a new country. Under such circumstances the effort was narrowed down to a struggle to maintain rather than to improve the breed. The "Ohio Importing Company" made their first importation of Short-horn Durhams in 1834, and exhibited the animals at the State Fair of that year. The result of that enterprise was to turn the attention of the whole farming community to that class of cattle. It was not until 1838 that the first Short-horn Durham stock was brought into this county. In that year Joshua Folsom and Samuel McCulloch introduced this class of cattle, which rapidly grew in public favor. Farmers thus had an opportunity of comparing improved breeds with the native cattle, and were not slow to fall in with the popular tide that was then making toward the Short-horns. The " Devons " were introduced about the same time, but they failed to enlist any strong attachment, and the breed soon became extinct here. During the last four or five years the " Alderneys" have been introduced as milk stock, and are being tried pretty extensively for a new experiment. Among those who have this kind of stock are Bissell, Allen, Roberts and Staymate. The latter has eight cows, all registered stock, but the experiment is so new here that no judgment has been formed in regard to them by the public. The interest in the registered and fine grade stock of the Short-horn breed of cattle has suffered no decrease by this competition. This class of cattle is very widely diffused through the county, and quite a number of fine herds are found here. Among these the more important are those of Green Brothers, consisting of thirty head, and Dickinson Brothers. The latter herd is now reduced to fourteen head, with the Duke of Pleasant Run, No.. 18, as their breeding animal. Others who arc interested in this stock, and have small herds, are James Smith, James Easton, William McKinnon and John Kizer. Sheep were introduced among the first settlers, but the boldness and numbers of the wolves made sheep-raising a burden upon their resources that taxed them to the uttermost. The bounty offered by the State and county authorities for wolf scalps stimulated 182 - HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. the hunters in the destruction of these troublesome animals, and sheep began to multiply during the second decade of the settlement here. Almost every family during this period kept a few sheep, in order to be supplied \with wool for clothing. he wool was carded " by hand," spun in the " cabin," and not unfrequently dyed and wove, as well as shaped Among the names of those who introduced the Spanish Merino sheep should be mentioned Cook, Dean, Beal, Fisher and Dickenson. In 1850 the Merino sheep interest had a decided set-back. Parties hailing from Vermont brought a flock of sheep through the county, and sold the sheep in small parcels at high prices. In a short time exposure to the weather proved that the sheep were only common sheep, that had been ingeniously colored, and had been easily passed off upon the unskilled and suspecting farmers. The high prices of 1860, however, revived this industry, and the Merinos sprang into a popularity that they have maintained since. About three-fourths of the sheep in the county to-day are registered or good grade Merinos, which yield a fleece averaging from six to nine pounds in weight. Among the Merino flocks in Logan County that of Fisher into garments, and worn there, too. The earliest attempt at improving these native flocks was about 1835. In this year considerable interest was manifested in this enterprise, and the first flock by A. Williams attracted wide attention among the farmers of Logan County. The following list, compiled in 1862, gives the status of the flocks at that time:
Brothers is the most important. Other flocks are owned by Moot, Ray, J. C. Smith, John Outland, and his brothers, Ezra and "Nan," M. C. Smith and J. M. Dickerman. The latter controls about 1,000 head of these sheep; from forty to sixty of which only are registered. Cotswolds and Southdowns have been introduced but they have been allowed to deteriorate until there are few full-blooded sheep of this kind in the county. The Woods breed of hogs is extinct in this county, and where it used to take two years to make a two hundred pound hog, a three and four hundred pound hog can be made lit nine to twelve months. The principal breeds are the Chester White, Berkshire, Magie and Harkreeder. The Chester Whiite was introduced in 1840. The Berkshire was introduced later and proved a rough, coarse-boned hog, and was soon HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. - 183 abandoned. A cross between these two breeds produced a good animal for market purposes. Soon after the Berkshires the Berks, or Baldfaces as they were popular ly known, were introduced. They were a black hog with a white face, and were for a time were highly prized. The Magie, Poland China and Harkreeder are a later introduction, and crosses representing several of these breeds may be called the present stock. Large numbers are annually sold; and the trade forms one of the more important sources of revenue. A noticeable and favorable feature of the agriculture of the county is the modest size of the average farm. There are a number of large landholders in the county, but the property is divided into small divisions and occupied by tenants, so that the average farm is not over eighty acres. These farms are generally well tilled, the buildings well improved, and a general well-to-do air of neatness and comfort prevails everywhere through out the farming community. Improved machinery is being generally introduced, and some of the latest inventions have found a demand that the dealers have been unable to supply. The number of important villages and the excellent railroad facilities furnish an excellent market for all the farmer has to sell. Maple sugar, wheat, wools and pork are the chief productions of the county, and large quantities are bought by the merchants and dealers in Bellefontaine and West Liberty. These dealers have established their trade for these exports in Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, and the East, and are ready to take all that is brought in. In the matter of public roads the county is in advance of most of its sister counties. There are over 200 miles of graveled pike that make muddy roads a thing unknown in this county. This applies to all the main thoroughfares in the county, but in the matter of cross-roads the district supervisors have caught the spirit of enterprise and are hauling the gravel, which is found everywhere in abundance, upon these roads, and are making them second only to the pikes. The latter are let by contract an d cost from $1,500 to $3,000 per mile. The bridging of the county is not an important expense. The principal streams are the Mad and Miami Rivers. These are generally spanned by the old covered wooden bridges, save where they have been renewed within the past five years. Iron bridges are now being introduced, and the more important crossings will probably, before many years, be spanned by iron structures. The Logan County Fair Association is a marked feature of the agricultural interests of this county and has done much to incite a healthy emulation among the farmers. It was organized in 1851 by the adoption of a constitution signed by some fifty citizens of the county, and electing the following officers: Luther Smith, of Jefferson Township, President; John Hogue, of Washington Township, Vice President; N. R. Usher, of Lake Township, Secretary; B. S. Brown, Treasurer, and J. M. Glover, of Liberty Township, Jacob Smith, of Monroe, William Boggs, of Miami, William Z. Schwyhart, of Bokes Creek and Elijah Beal, of Harrison, managers. The first fair was held by the Association on what are now the out-lots of McCullock's addition to Bellefontaine, southeast of the village. There was no enclosure nor entrance fees, and most of the entries of horses were made by taking them from the teams that had brought the people to the fair. It was wet weather and the poorly-drained fields were trodden into one mass of mud. On this account the domestic manufactures were exhibited in the court house. Among the premiums paid we find the following received the highest awards: 184 - HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY. T. W Baird-General purpose stallion............ $4.00 E. Bailey-Stallion for saddle.......................... 4.00 Theophilus Fulk- Mare and colt...................... 4.00 Peter Srnock- 3 year colt................................. 1.00 R.. S. Roherts -2 year colt............................... 2.00 John Horn-Sucking cold ................................. 2.00 James A. Milner- Draft horse........................... 2.00 L. Smith and Z. Brown-Jack............................ 4.00 James A. Jones-fair mules................................ 2.00 Smith and Brown-Sucking mule.......................2.00 William Riser-3 year hull................................. 4.00 R. S. Roberts- Yearling hull.............................. 2.00 Wm. Boggs- Bull calf.................................. ..... 3.00 John Poisell- Milch cow- 1380 lb...................... 2.00 John Denny - 2 year heifer................................. 2.00 Wrn. Boggs - Yearling heifer............................. 2.00 Wm. Kiser- Sucking heifer calf......................... 2.00 Wm. Boggs-Working cattle, 3 year.................... 2.00 Milligan and Wallace-Fine wool buck............... 2.00 " " -Buck for all purpose........ 2.00 " " -Three fine wool ewes..... 2.00 Wm. Kiser-Boar, coarse made............................ 2.00 Beside these entries were an excellent lot of fine wooled, buck and ewes exhibited by Luther Smith, and an Irish Crazier hog by Wm. Collins, In the exhibition at the court house were carpets of wool, cotton and rags, flannel, fancy work and quilts, and "one ex-quisitely wrought enameled shell casket inwrought with a tempting bunch of grapes." Among the few fruit exhibits was a basket of Catawba grapes and two samples of apples. Of the premiums on field crops, James Elliot got the first premium on an acre of corn, which yielded one hundred bushels. In regard to. Jacob Horn who claimed a yield 105 bushels and fifteen quarts of corn from an acre, the record adds: "which two persons certify to, but there being a lack of affidavits debar the managers the pleasure of awarding to him the premium." James Brown received the premium on the oat crow, the yield on nine acres averaging sixty bushels and sixteen pounds per acre. Zachias Brown cut the premium acre of grass, getting 6,476 pounds of timothy. In potatoes M. Anderson took the premium for a quarter of an acre which yielded seventy-three and one half bushels. In regard to this season the record says: 'The society agreeably to arrangements, held its first annual fair, October 29 and 30, and although the weather was exceedingly bad, it was conceded by all very creditable to the county." In the following year seven acres of land lying on the Zanesfield road, east of Bellefontaine was purchased. This was enclosed and the fairs held here until 1859. The early history, of the society was not that of a vigorous institution. Most of the managers were farmers, who were not well adapted, perhaps, to the duties which the new enterprise devolved upon them, and the affairs languished for some years. In 1856 a change was made in the business management and a more vigorous administration came into power. The whole business was systemitized, speakers were secured to deliver addresses, and a generous expenditure devoted to advertising. The result was at once apparent. The receipts ran up from about $300 annual income to some $1,100, and the ground soon proved too small to accommodate the people who gathered each year. In 1859, twenty-five acres were secured south of town on the West Liberty pike, where the fairs are now held. Here five halls have been erected, the largest of which is forty by eighty feet, and a fine trotting track laid out a third of a. mile long. There are about 2,400 entries drawing about $2,500 in premiums. The attendance is remarkable for a county fair, 15,000 people frequently attending in a single day. It is strictly a county fair save two races which are free for all. In the trotting race of this character a purse of $500 is offered which has been successful in attracting some good horses and a considerable increase in the attendance. (RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) |