250 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. It is interesting to note that: at the first meeting of the club at the homes there were present some thirty-five members whose means of transportation was the faithful old horse and carriage—there was, in fact; but one automobile among the members and that was sent to the station to meet the speaker of the day. Three years from that time there was held another meeting at the Simpson . home, when. the attendance vas about two hundred and sixty persons, who attended in some fifty automobiles and a. scant half dozen carriages. One of the most tremendous advantages of the organization is the bringing together of the men and women of a community for the exchange of ideas. The club, meets on the third Thursday of every month, and each member, in turn is supposed. to act as host or hostess. The club assembles as near noon, as possible. A social hour is enjoyed until one o'clock, when dinner is served. The picnic dinner, which is only one f the principal features of the occasion, is spread on the long tables under the large tent owned by the club. The club has its own dishes and silver, which, with the tables and tent, are taken, care of by a member, who is centrally located. in London. Any special holiday, as Washington's birthday, St. Patrick's day, Flag day, etc., are carefully, observed in the decorations. One can infer from the facts just given that the club is up-to-date in every respect. It numbers among its members not only the active, but also the retired farmer, not only the landowner, but the tenant as well. It was indeed organized for the betterment of mankind. A program is prepared by a well-chosen committee several weeks in advance. Music comes first, either vocal or instrumental, for most farm houses have a piano, organ or phonograph. This is followed by the secretary's report of the previous meeting. At each meeting some member gives a paper on current events, and this has been one of the most interesting program numbers, covering the main issues of the day. Frequently an extension worker has been obtained to address the club at. the state's expense. At other times noted political speakers have filled a place on the program. No cluh meeting is complete unless a lady member reads a paper or gives a talk on home economics, choosing any topic that suits her fancy. The reading of papers is usually followed by an informal discussion of the subject under consideration, after which there is more, music. and general conversation while the atmosphere is full of uplift and one cannot fail to catch the inspiration that will lighten labor for many a. day. It was a revelation recently to the male faction, when the president asked the ladies of the club to take charge of the March meeting.   The club does not include woman's day in the regular program; but during the past year. this was an occasion f . much unusual interest that they merit this concession to Convention. Without doubt it will became an established custom to set aside one meeting of the year when the ladies: of the club will have entire charge, not only of the culinary but the literary part of the program. It is also desired. that one month be dedicated to the celebration of club daughters' day. The farm women and daughters can do much along the line of the betterment of rural. conditions. Some members of the Farmers' Club are far-sighted enough to believe that the woman's point of view is not only worth while but that it is essential in may lines of public welfare. While the main object of the society is the promotion of agricultural knowledge and the intellectual and social advancement of its members, the greatest thing that results from the club meetings is the closer relationship among the farmers. Also to boost home enterprise, and everything that is for the betterment of the farmer and his interests. The last great, work of this club is the August meeting, which is made an open meeting for every one in the county, whether a member of the club or not. It is a general booster for the county, and everyone is cordially invited to attend and assist in the success MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 251 of this undertaking, The first. meeting f this . kind was held on August 17, 1915, at the Houston athletic grounds. .The speakers of the day were Governor. Willis, Senator Harding; Congressman S. D. Foss and several other note worthies. This meeting was such a decided success that its future is assured. The officers for 1915 are: President Charles. C. Hankinson ; vice-president, Berthier Lohr ; secretary, Arnett Harbage; treasurer J. B. Van Wagener ; executive committee, Frank Jones, W. H. Laird, Lewis Hunter, Charles A. Wilson, W. H. Sidner. CANAAN GRANGE NO 851. Canaan Grange. No. 857 was first organized on May 5, 1874. No records, only the charter, can be found on which to base a history of this grange from the time of its organization until it was reorganized on March 2, 1898. The officers after reorganization were as follow : Master Latham; overseer, John Robinson; lecturer, George Ruhlen; steward, I. H. Warner; assistant steward, J. B. Cutler; chaplain, S. H. Ruhlen; treasurer, John Scott ; secretary, S. M. Smith ; gate keeper, William Michael; ceres, Mrs. S,, H. Ruhlen; pomona Mrs. I. H. Warner ; flora, Mrs. S. . M. Smith; lady assistant steward, Mrs. John Robinson. There were sixteen charter members and the number of present members is seventy-three., The present officers are as follow: Master, .George A. Currier ; overseer, Marion Fry ; lecturer, Dale Powell; steward, Harry A. Marsh ; assistant steward, Glenn Powell ; chaplain, Mrs. pinta McDowell; treasurer, John Kilbury; secretary, Mrs. Mae Marsh ; gate keeper, Mrs. Allie Fry; ceres, Mrs. Ida Kilbury; pomana, Mrs., Susie Ruhlen; flora. Mrs. Nettie Kile; lady assistant steward, Mrs. Evolena Boyer. A literary program is held each meeting, but when degree, work is .given the program is omitted. A team for doing degree work was organized in December, 1913. Following is the program for 1915: January 5, "A Trip to Washington," Glenn. Powell; January, 19, installation of officers; February 4," a report of the anti-saloon league convention Henry Bowman; February, 16, degree work; March 2, degree work; March 16, degree work ; April 6, "The Farm Garden,". Charles Converse; "Flora's Relation to the Home," Mrs. Nettie Kile; . April 20, "Seed Corn," E. M. Kilbury ; "Reading," Mrs. Florence Latham; May 4, "What Is a Successful Farmer,". J. A. Snider ; a paper, by Mrs. E. M. Kilbury.;. May, 21, degree work; June 4, degree, work ; June 18, "The Best Hay Crop" Isaac Warner ; "What Makes the Eternal Distinction Between Household Work and Drudgery?" Mrs. Evolena Boyer ; July 2. “The Farmer's. Tool Chest" Henry Bowman;. "Home ,Dietetics," Mrs. ,Mae. Marsh; July .16, "Principles .f. Stock Judging," Glenn ,Powell; "The. Kitchen,". Mrs. Henry Bowman; August, 6, "Farm Waste," Marion Fry; "Home. Entertainment," . Mrs. J. A. Snider ; August 20, degree work ; September 3, degree work; September 17 "The Agricultural College," William. Davis; "The School Lunch-Basket," Mrs. J. L. Converse; October, 1, "Our Friends and Foes," Harry A. Marsh; "Important Problems. Before Housekeepers," Mrs. Allie Fry; October 15, "The Grange Ginger Jar," committee f three; November. 2, "Farm Marketing,". J. L. Converse; "Bread Making," Mrs. Charles Converse; November 16, election of officers; December 7, degree work; December 21,"Farm Account Book," George A. Currier ; "Home Baking," Mrs. Isaac. H. Warner. Canaan Grange No. 857 meets in the I. O. O. F. Hall at Plain City. The time of meeting is the first and third Tuesday afternoons of each month during the spring, autumn and winter, and the first and third Friday nights of each month during the summer. DARBY GRANGE NO. 779. In response to a desire on the part f the social individual to bring about a greater interest and co-operation in improving living conditions in the country, Darby Grange 252 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. No. 779 was organized on the 10th day of April, 1874, at the Hambleton school house on the Georgesville road. This organization was due, largely, to the efforts of George Dulllinger, f West 'Jefferson, Ohio, who at that time was engaged in farming. The pioneer members of this organization are as follow : A. J. Dickerson and wife, George Durflinger and wife, Maurice Bradfield and wife, I. H. Hambleton and wife, Michael Billman and wife, S. H. Summers and wife, Thomas Goodson; Joshua Truitt, J. W. Durflinger, Jacob Beers, E. W. Stoner, Charles Slagle, B. F. Roberts, T. J. Roberts and George Kellar. After meeting for a few years at the Hambleton school, house, the place of meeting Naas changed to the old township hall at West Jefferson. Being unable to retain that, room, Grange meetings were held at the homes of the various members throughout the community. From 1882 to 1897 the Grange was dormant. During the latter year it was reorganized by C. W. Hale, of Huron county. The membership, at this time was made up of eleven old and twelve new members, the new members being as follow: Leona Hambleton, a R. Edwards, C. W. Deem, Mary Deem, H. C. Wilson, Kate Wilson, J. H. Johnson, Mary Johnson, F. B. Biggert, Martha High, S. E. Baker. On January 10, 1899, Ponoma Grange was organized. at West Jefferson by Mr. Shields, of Union county. In August, 1909, this Grange made an agricultural exhibit at the county fair, and received the blue ribbon as a token f its efforts. At the present time Darby Grange has a comfortable meeting place in the township hall. Its membership list numbers seventy-seven. It also has a team, composed mostly f the younger members, who do their work very effectively. Following are the officers and members: Master, H. D. Folmer; overseer, B. F. Roberts; lecturer, AIvira Folmer; steward, D. R. Edwards; assistant steward, J. H. Johnson; chaplain, Prudy Rice; treasurer, A. F. Rice; secretary, Maria S. Miller; gate keeper, J. H. Sceva (deceased) ; Ceres, Carrie J. Holway; Pomona, Annis Miller; Flora, Shirley R. Hart; lodge assistant, Margaret Prose; purchasing agent, P. B. Holway. Members—Arley Berry, Ella Billman, Lena Billman, J. L. Billman, T. E. Biggert, Maria Biggert, Glenn Ball, Ruth Bidwell, Mrs. Alice Bidwell, Magdalena H. Bidwell, Edward Ball, Lida Ball, D. J. Cutler, Electra Cutler, Wanda Clark, George Durflinger, Jennie Durflinger, D. R. Edwards, Mrs. D. R. Edwards, H. D. Folmer, Alvira Folmer, Alice Finley, Dr. A. F. Green, Josephine Green, Helen Gregg, Lenwell Gregg, Paul Holway. Shirley Hart., J. C. Hambleton, James I. Hambleton, Olivia Hambleton, Jennie Harbage, Perceival Harbage, James Holway, Hiram Ingalls, Smithfield Jackson, Jennie Jackson, Earl Johnson, J. H. Johnson, Mary Johnson, L. W. Johnson, Lottie Johnson, Frank Johnson, Wilson Johnson, Ida Johnson, Clara Johnson, Elizabeth Johnson, Walter Johnson, Alma Lloyd, Nellie Lucas, Annie Miller, John D. Miller, Marie S. Miller, Magdalena Mortimer, Parner Norton, Lu Norton, Wallace McCoy, Dessie McCoy, Webster Olney, Margaret Olney, Margaret Prose, A. F. Rice, Prudy Rice, B. F. Roberts, Virginia Roberts, William Roberts, Alice Roberts, Ann Roberts Ethel Roberts, M. R. Roberts, Laura Roberts, Nellie Ramey, Laura Sceva, Bernice Smith, Sara Wood, Nornea Wood. Considering the things for which it stands, and the work it does, Darby Grange is regarded as one of the most worthy and beneficial organizations in the community. CHAPTER XXII. BANKS AND BANKING. MADISON NATIONAL BANK. It is not definitely known when the, first bank was established, in London, although it is fair to presume that some of the early, merchants bought and sold commercial. paper. The first bank which deserves .the name made its appearance in the, summer of 1861 when the Madison, County Bank, (No. 1) was organized by Dr. A. Toland, E. W. Gynne and Richard Cowling.. The, stockholders of the institution were E. W. Gwynne, B. Gwynne, Richard Cowling and A. Poland, who organized, with Richard Cowling as, president; A. Toland, vice-president, and B. Gwynne, cashier. The bank opened for business on July 9, 1861, in the Toland block on Main street. This bank was organized under the banking laws.. of Ohio, with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, and continued to operate without a: change in management .until May 15, 1865, when it was merged into, the Madison National Bank. In January, 1865, the owners of the Madison County Bank had applied for a charter for a national bank. and on the 19th of the same month, they were granted a charter, authorizing a. capital of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. The first officers of the Madison National Bank were as follow: Henry W. Smiths president ; Richard Cowling, vice-president ; B, Gwynne, cashier. The first directors were Richard Cowling, Aquilla Poland, Baldwin Gwynne, Addison Shankin, Henry, W. Smith, Jesse Watson and James Q. Minshall. The present officers of the bank are as follow : J. C. Bridgman, president ; Minnie Cheseldine, vice-president ; George H. Van Wagener, cashier ; W. T. Booth,. assistant cashier.. The directors at as present time are J. C. Bridgman, S. B. Rankin, P. R. Emery, .Frank Jones, J. P. Skinner, Minnie. Cheseldine and George H. Van Wagener. The following have served as president of as bank : Henry W. Smith, May 15, 1865, to November 22, 1867; Richard Cowling, November 22; 1867, to January 28, 1871; Jesse Watson, January 28, 1871; to September 5, 1871; James G. Minshall, January. 15, 1872, to January 22, 1880; Stephen Watson, January 22, 1880, to October 15, 1897; W. M. Jones, January 11, 1898,. to May 1, 1907; Charles. Cheseldine, May 1, 1907, to March 5, 1908; J, C, Bridgman, March 5, 1908, to the present time.. The cashiers f the, bank have been as follow : Baldwin Gwynne, May 15, 1865, to April 11, 1866; Harford Poland, April 11, 1866, to January. 22, 1880; B. F. Clark, January 22, 1880, to April 25, 1892 ; Wyatt Minshall, April 25, 1892, to January 13, 1903; George H. Van Wagener, January 13, 1903, to the present. time. This bank has now been in operation as a ;national bank for half a century, and during that time has paid its stockholders six hundred thousand dollars in dividends, Which, with its present surplus and undivided profits of $83,763.08, give the bank net earnings of $683,753.08 since its organization. It has successfully gone through every panic which has swept over the country since 1865 and has emerged from each crisis with its assets unimpaired and its standing in the community stronger than before. LONDON EXCHANGE BANK COMPANY The London Exchange Bank Company is the outgrowth of a private bank known as the Madison County Bank (No. 2), which was opened in the Phifer building on June 1, 254 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO: 1866, by Robert Boyd and Addison Shanklin. The Madison County Bank continued in business under this name until July 1, 1870, when it was reorganized and started under the name f the London Exchange Bank. The stockholders f the reorganized bank were Robert Boyd, Harford Toland, Wyatt. Minshall, Stephen and David Watson, S. H. Watson, J. C. Bridgman and Otway. Watson. " The Capital stock, of sixteen thousand dollars, was divided among the stockholders, with Boyd, and Minshall as the heaviest holders, each having forty shares of the one hundred and sixteen shares of the bank's capital. In the summer of 1870 the bank moved into the building on the corner of Main and High streets, which it still occupies. The bank purchased this building in July, 1915. The first officer's of the bank were as follow: Robert Boyd, president; Stephen Watson, vice-president; Otway Watson, cashier ; Wyatt Minshall; teller. The first directors were the officers and J. C. Bridgman. On June 20, 1899, the bank was reorganized as a state bank and the name changed at the same time to the London Exchange Bank Company. It opened lot business as a state bank on October 2, 1899. During part f the career of the bank it has been closely associated with the Madison National Bank; in fact, for many years the directors of the latter bank were the directors of the Exchange Bank. The first annual statement of the bank, on July 1, 1871, showed deposits of $84,711.61, with a capital stock of only sixteen thousand dollars. The total resources at the end of the first year of business totalled $109,190.16. When the bank was organized as a state bank, in 1899, the capital stock was sixty thousand dollars, but only half of it was asked to be paid in. On May. 12, 1913, the directors ordered the remaining thirty thousand dollars paid in by the first of the following August. The bank now has thirty-six stockholders. The surplus and profits at the present time average fifty thousand dollars; with deposits averaging three hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. The last report of the bank shows that it had twelve hundred and sixty-seven depositors. The bank has had only two presidents during its whole career of forty-five years, Robert Boyd, who served from its organization until May, 1893, and John Vent, who has served since that year. There have been four cashiers: Otway Watson, Wyatt Minshall, A. C. Watson and R. W. Boyd. Mr. Boyd has been cashier since May 15, 1893. The directors of the bank from the beginning are as follow : Robert Boyd; Wyatt Minshall, Otway Watson, J. C. Bridgman, Stephen Watson, David Watson, William Houston, Florence, W. M. Jones, J. F. Rankin, J. T. Vent, S. W. Durflinger, Cary Jones, Scott Chenoweth, W. A. Jones, M. S. Murray and R. W. Boyd. The latter eight, with the exception f S. W. Durfiinger (deceased), constitute the present directorate. The present officers of the bank include : J. T. Vent, president; J. F. Rankin, vice-president; R. W. Boyd, cashier; O. E. Jones, teller; Cheney E. Burnham and Emmett R Schurr, bookkeepers. THE CENTRAL NATIONAL BANK OF LONDON. The Central National Bank of London is the successor of the Central Bank of London, from whose records the following details have been secured: In response to a call issued by John Farrar, William Farrar, Robert Rea and others, for a meeting to be held in Dr. James T. Houston's buildlng on Main street, London, Ohio, December 14, 1875, for the purpose of organizing a banking association, the following subscribers for stock in said association were present : John Farrar, Robert Rea, Jeremiah Rea, Alexander Wilson, William Farrar, R. B. Cowling, M. M. Thomas, David Tway, John Jones, Dr. J. T. Houston, T. J. Stutson, Oliver Slagle, William Riddle, Thomas Wood, F. M. Chenoweth, James Wilson, W. A. Koontz, W. D. Pringle, C. W. Pringle, Elijah Chenoweth, N. T. Tenny, George Lincoln, Catherine Slagle, S, F. Marsh and Mrs. J. W. Hicks. The above representative citizens f . Madison county immediately elected the following board f directors: John Farrar, Robert Rea, John Jones, Thomas J. Stutson MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 255 and Wilson A. Koontz, which board, on December 18, 1875, elected Robert Rea, president, and William Farrar, cashier, designating January 1, 1876, as the time for opening the bank for business. By an increase f capital stock Dr. W. D. Williams was added to the list f Stockholder's on January 1, 1878, at which time Robert Rea resigned as director and Jeremiah Rea was elected in his stead. These gentlemen all worked in harmony for the success f the institution. Since the bank opened for business the following gentlemen have served as president; Robert Rea, John Farrar, T. J. Stutson and Horace G. Jones. As cashier, there have been but two William Farrar, continuously from January 1, 1876, to the time of his death in 1890, and Xerxes Farrar from 1890 to the resent date. Charles W. Pringle was the first teller and in the year 1878 John D. Maddux succeeded L. W. Burnham as teller, continuing in said office to the 'present time This bank continued with marked success until the year 1913, when the same was reorganized and is now known as the Central National Bank of London, with Horace G. Jones, president, W. E. Farrar, vice-president and Xerxes Farrar, cashier and the following directors: L. H. Williams, M. L. Rea, E: O'Day, John Ellsworth, R. H. McCloud, T. J. Dwyer, Horace G. Jones, W. E. Farrar and Xerxes Farrar. The motto of this bank has always been "Safety First", and it ever has demonstrated its willingness to cooperate with its patrons in the development of their respective business interests. The customers of the Central National Bank value and "bank on" that institution's willingness and ability to assist them in every way consistent with safe, sound banking, whether their accounts be large or small, which makes for a mutually satisfactory and profitable relationship and for the future well-being f both bank and patrons. PEOPLE'S COMMERCIAL AND SAVINGS BANK OF LONDON. The People's Commercial and Savings Bank was incorporated under the laws of Ohio as a state bank on January 27, 1910, and opened for business on the 5th of the following March. The incorporators were O. P. Anderson, H. B. Lenhart, Samuel P. McCollum, M. B. Armstrong and W. H. Carl. The first officers included: E. S. Gordin, president; H. B. Lenhart, vice-president, and S. P McCollum, cashier The only change in the list. of officers was made when H. B. Welsh succeeded Mr. McCollum as cashier on January 10, 1915. Miss Jennie Davidson has been added as bookkeeper. The first directors were E. S. Gordin, H. B. Welsh, O. P. Anderson and H. B. Lenhart. The present directors are E. S. Gordin, H. B. Welsh, John Crawford, O. P. Anderson, H. B. Lenhart, Leon. Lenhart, Howard Lewis. John Vallery; Herbert. Adams, J. C. Plimell, E. W. Bidwell and J. L. Pierce. The bank has a paid up capital of twenty-five thousand dollars and deposits of one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. The surplus and undivided profits amount to five thousand dollars. The bank has maintained a savings department since it was organized, fife years ago, and according to its last report, had eight hundred and seven depositors in the department, with total savings of fiftyone thousand dollars. The total. number of depositors average twelve hundred. The bank has been located at No. 115. South Main street since it Was organized. This is the youngest financial institution in Madison county, but by careful attention to its affairs has built up a business which is steadily increasing from, year to year. CITIZENS LOAN AND SAVINGS COMPANY, OF LONDON. The Citizens Loan and Savings Company, of London, was organized on May 11, 1891, with capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This was doubled, in accordance with the laws of Ohio, on January 14, 1913. According to the last report (December 31, 1914), two thousand nine hundred sixty-seven shares of stock had been 256 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. sold, at a hundred dollars a share. At that time there were two hundred sixty-four stockholders, one hundred, ninety-six depositors and sixty-eight borrowing members. Practically all of the stockholders live in London and the seventy-five thousand dollars loaned on mortgages is placed on property in this city. The officers f the company are: R. W. Boyd, president; H. M. Chaney, vice-president; O. E. Jones, secretary. The offices of the company are in the London Exchange Bank Company. LONDON HOME AND SAVINGS COMPANY. The London Home and Savings Company was granted articles of incorporation on January 31, 1889, and opened for business on February 13, 1889, with the following officers: F. M. Chenoweth, president; .Dr. J. T. Houston, vice-president; William Farrar, treasurer ; J. R. Atchinson, secretary; M. S. Murray, attorney; The incorporators were Xerxes Farrar, R. H. McCloud, j. R. Atchison; J. F. Johnson, Cartz. daffier and Horace G. Junes. The company opened for the. transaction of business in the, drug store of J. R. Atchison and remained there until March, 1909; when it was removed to the Central Bank, now the Central National Bank. The original capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars was increased to five hundred thousand dollar's by a vote f the stockholders on July 21, 1890. The par value of a share is two hundred dollars. According to the report at the end of the last fiscal year (February 28, 1915), there were two thousand five' hundred fitty-six shares sold, three hundred ninety borrowing and non-borrowing members, eighty-six borrowingmembers, and outstanding loans of ninety-five thousand one hundred seventy-one dollars. Practically all of the stock in the Company is held by residents of London. A few loans are made on farm lands, although the company does not make a practice of such loans. There are never over three or four farm loads at a time. At the last annual election, held February 8, 1915, the following directors were chosen: C. E. Arbuckle, John W. Byers, W. H. Chrisman, M. M. Creath, A. T. Cordray, George F. Dodds, Otto Ebner, Xerxes Farrar, J. A. Gardner, J: Maddux, R. K. Shaw, S. L. Turner and J. B. Van Wagner. The board of directors organized by electing the following officers: R. .K. Shaw, president; M. M Creath, vice-president ; Xerxes Farrar, treasurer; J. D. Maddux, secretary. FIRST STATE BANK, PLAIN CITY. The First State Bank, of Plain City, was organized in 1914, with the :following stockholders:, Dwight Harrison; G. W. Rhoades, N. E. Vining; M. Fultz and M. T. Frazer. The first officers' were as follow : W. B. Gilgore, president ; Henry: Bowman. vice-president; L. A. Taylor, cashier; W. P. Hudson and A. B. Fiedler, assistant cashiers. The first directors were W. L. Blaney, C. D. Brown, G B. Chapman, W. B. Gilgore. Charles Wilson, Henry Bowman, Frank Cary, O. K. Howland and D. L. Lombard. The bank erected its own building, at a cost of ten thousand. dollars. It is a handsome brick structure and the banking quarters are equipped with all the fixtures necessary for the transaction of modern banking. The bank has a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, with a surplus of equal amount. The deposits on August 5, 1915, were $259,104.52. The present officers of the bank are: W. B. Gilgore, president; Charles Wilson, vice-president; W. P. Hudson, cashier ; A. B. Fiedler, assistant cashier. THE FARMERS NATIONAL BANK, OF PLAIN CITY. The Farmers National Bank, f Plain City, was organized on August 6, 1900, with William Atkinson, Charles F. Atkinson; Cephas Atkinson, J. L. Ballinger and Charles F. Dutton, as stockholders. The bank was started with a capital stock f twenty-five thousand dollars, which remains the same. The first officers were as follow : William Atkinson, president; Charles F. Dutton, vice-president; Cephas Atkinson, cashier. The MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 257 first directors included the officers and J. L. Ballinger, C. Humphreys, John Florence and Charles F. Atkinson. In 1902 the bank erected a brick building at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars, and now has one of the best equipped banking qnarters of any bank in the state in a town of the size of Plain City. In 1907, C. F. Dutton became president, Cephas Atkinson, vice-president, and. J. R. Woods, cashier. In 1914 Cephas Atkinson was elected president and W. H. Hauer, vice-president. During the fifteen years. the bank has been. doing business it has lost less than one, hundred dollars a year on an average. Since February 1, 1909, it has paid three per cent interest on time deposits and has built up a big business along this line, despite: the, fact that, it is in. competition with eleven banks within twelve miles of Plain City which pay four per cent on time deposits and saving accounts. According to, the last report of the bank, June. 23, 1915,.it had deposits of $263,670.79; surplus and undivided profits f $40,073.99, and loans of $266,656.36. PLAIN CITY HOME AND SAVINGS COMPANY. The Plain City Home and Savings Company was organized in May, 1887, by J. L. Ballinger, Daniel Perry, R. C. Hager and Charles F. Margan. The first officers were: William I. Ballinger, president; R: C. Hager,: vice-president ; J. F. Feather, secretary; Charles F. Margan, treasurer. The present capital is five thousand dollars. According to the last annual report, there were one thousand eight hundred ninety-eight shares in force, three hundred. seventy-one stockholders, two hundred two borrowing members and nine hundred seven shares loaned upon. The present officers are as follow J. W. Bowers, president; R. Q. Hager, vice-president J. R, Woods, secretary; Cephas Atkinson, treasurer. The office of the secretary is in the Farmers National Bank. SECURITY BUILDING, AND LOAN COMPANY, MT. STERLING. The Security Building and Loan Company, of Mt., Sterling, was incorporated in 1889, by. W. W. Schryver, J. G. Lofbourrow, J. A. Miller, W. R. Richards, Sherman Leach,. I. S. Henkle, John Crotly, J. T.. Walters and R. N. Schryver; The first officers. were as follow: J. A. Miller, president,; J. T. Walters, vice-president; R. N. Schryver, secretary; J. G. Lofbourrow, treasurer. The present officers include: J. T. Walters, president; J. N. Waldo,. vice-president ; C. M. Neff, secretary; R.N. Schryver, treasurer. The company has its offices in the Security building in Mt. Sterling. According to the last report (June 30, 1915), the company had $390,200 of its authorized capital stock f $500,000 subscribed and in force. There were at that time 3,902 shares in force, owned by 652 individual stockholders. A total of 2,136 shares were loaned upon, the number of borrowers being 298: The 481 depositors had. $107,709.68. on deposit. Sufficient facts have been given of the company to show that it is a very prosperous institution and well worthy of the confidence f the community it seeks to serve. CITIZENS NATIONAL BANK, OF MT. STERLING. The Citizens National Bank, of Mount, Sterling, was organized in 1908, by the following stockholders: James Manson, John Miller, S. W. Beale, A. S. Alkire, E. C. Breyfogle, F. L: Albright, T. J. England, Willis Jones, N..C. Gantz, J. C. Murray, G. W. Miller, John McCafferty and S. H. Ridgway. The first officers, and directors were as follow: John Miller, president; S. W. Beale, vice-president; H. J. Taylor, cashier. This bank is the outgrowth of the Alkire-Beale private bank, which lost its identity with the organization of the Citizens National. Bank, on April 4, 1908. At the time of the organization of the national bank it started out with total resources of two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. The present officers are as follow: A. S. Thomas, president; S. W. Beale, vice-president.; H. J,. Taylor, cashier.; A. Ross Alkire, assistant cashier. The directors are A. S. Alkire, F. L. Albright, E. C. Breyfogle, T. J. England, Harry G. (17) 258 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. Beale, Willis Jones, N. O. Gantz, J. C. Murray, G. W. Miller, John McCafferty and S. H.: Ridgway. The bank erected a bud building in 1909, at a cost f nine thousand dollars. The capital stock is sixty thousand dollars, with a surplus of twenty thousand dollars. THE FARMERS BANK, OF LILLY CHAPEL. The Farmers Bank, f Lilly Chapel, was organized in May, 1909, with R. E. Hall as president and Henry Lilly, as vice-president. Mr. Lilly died in 1910, and in 1913 Mr. Hall sold his interest in the bank to the Horn brothers. The present officers of the bank include: F. M. Horn, president; E. A. Horn, vice-president, and F. M. Stickley, cashier. The bank has enjoyed a prosperous career and is an institution of which the people of Fairfield township have every reason to be proud. It has a patronage, not only in Fairfield township; but in Jefferson, Deer Creek and Union townships as well. FARMERS BANK, OF WEST JEFFERSON. The Farmers Bank, of West Jefferson, was organized on January 1, 1901, with Owen Harbage, Benjamin Harbage, A. C. Millikin and C. H. Putnam as stockholders. The first officers and directors were as follow: Owen Harbage, president; C. H. Putnum, vice-president; Benjamin Harbage, cashier ; A. C. Millikin, assistant cashier. Shortly after the .organization of the bank, C. H. Putnam sold his interest. Upon the death of Benjamin Harbage, in 1903, H. W Johnson took his position as cashier and at the same time bought a third interest in the bank. A. C. Millikin died on January 21, 1908, and R. C. Millikin took his place as assistant cashier. Clark Wade, teller, died in 1914, after having served the bank in this capacity for three years. The present officers of the bank are as follow: Owen Harbage, president; E. W. Johnson, cashier; R. C. Millikin, assistant cashier. The bank has a capital stock of fifteen thousand dollars, a surplus of two thousand dollars and deposits of one hundred and forty thousand dollars. COMMERCIAL BANK OF WEST JEFFERSON. The Commercial Bank of West Jefferson; was organized in 1882 by Ashton A. Gregg and Dr. Jefferson Coluver, with Ashton A. Gregg as president and John B. Hill as cashier. The present officers of the bank include: P. M. Gregg, president; J. C. Gregg, vice-president; A. A. Gregg, cashier; Howard Johnson, assistant dishier. The bank has a capital of twenty thousand dollars, with deposits of two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, and a surplus of twelve thousand dollars. FARMERS AND TRADERS BANK OF SOUTH SOLON. The Farmers and Traders Bank f South. Solon was organized in 1906. It was founded as a state bank by the following men: E. W. Christy, A. P. Gatch, J. A. Simmerman, D. J. Schurr and C G. Harrod, who also served as the first officers in the following order : E. W. Christy, president; A. P. Gatch, vice-president; D. J. Schurr, cashier. The first directors consisted f the officers of the bank and J. A. Simmerman, C. G. Harrod, E. S. Gordin and A. P. Gatch: This bank through its safe and conservative methods has experienced a steady growth from the beginning to the present time The report of December 5, 1907, showed assets of fifty-six thousand eight hundred and seventy-one and the last statement showed assets of one hundred and ninety thousand dollars. This bank has always paid four per cent on savings and at present 'has two hundred and fifty savings accounts. The present capital of the bank is twelve thousand five hundred dollars, with surplus and profits of thirteen thousand dollars and deposits amounting to one hundred and sixty thousand dollars. The present officers are Charles G. Harrod, president; C. C. Farley, vice-president; U. G. Evans, cashier; George T. Harrod, assistant cashier; Robert L. Ritnour, O. M. Earley, E. S. Gordin, Floyd A. Johnston, Charles G. Harrod and C. C. Earley, directors. CHAPTER XXIII. NEWSPAPERS OF MADISON COUNTY. Newspaper men have frequently tried to sum up, in a pithy paragraph, the function of the newspaper and thousands of articles have been written on its influence on modern life. Perhaps no more apt summary of the place of the newspaper in our civilization of today has ever been written than that of Joseph H. Finn, a newspaper man of Chicago, and delivered by him as part of an address before the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World in the spring of 1915. His apostrophe follows: "I AM THE NEWSPAPER." "Born of the deep, daily need of a nation—I am the Voice f Now—the incarnate spirit of the Times—Monarch of Things that Are. "My cold type burns with the fireblood of human action. I am fed by arteries of wire that girdle the earth. I drink from the cup of every living joy and sorrow. I know not day nor night nor season. I know not death, yet I am born again with every morn—with every moon—with every twilight. I leap into fresh being with every new world's event. "Those who created me cease to be. The brains and heart's blood that nourish me, go the way of human dissolution. Yet I live on—and on "I am majestic in my strength—sublime in my power—terrible in my potentialities—yet as democratic as the ragged boy who sells me for a penny.– "I am the consort of kings—the partner of capital—the brother of toil. The inspiration of the hopeless—the right arm of as needy—the champion f the oppressed—the conscience f the criminal. I am the epitome of the world's Comedy and Tragedy. "My responsibility is infinite. I speak, and the world stops to listen. I say the word, and battle flames the horizon. I counsel peace, and the war lords obey. I am greater than any individual—more powerful than any group. I am the dynamic force of Public Opinion. Rightly directed, I am the creator of confidence; a builder f happiness in living. I am the teacher of patriotism. "I am the hands of the clock of time----the clarion voice of civilization: I am the newspaper." The history of the first newspapers in Madison county is shrouded in more or less obscurity, due to as fact that no files have been preserved. According to the best accounts, there were at least two papers in London prior to 1835, but their names and dates of publication are unknown. Pazzi Lapham, who was appointed postmaster of London on October 10, 1834, and followed by John Rouse on November 15, of the same year, is credited with being the editor of the first paper in London. The second paper, the name of which is unknown, as well as its exact date of first issue, is said to have been started by Joseph Anthony. The best authority places both of these papers before 1835 and it is reasonably certain that both enjoyed but a brief career. LONDON TIMES. The present paper bearing as title of The London Times, the oldest in point of continuous publication, dates from September 1843, although it has been known by. the present name only since October 27, 1870. It bore. four different titles from 1843 to 1870, 260 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO namely : London Sentinel, September, 1843, to March 1, 1851; Madison Reveille, March 8, 1851, to February 2. 1854; Mathison Chronicle, March 4, 1854, to May, 1863; Madison County Union, May, 1863, to October 20, 1870; the name, London Times, has been carried at the head of the paper since the issue of October 27, 1870. The detailed history f the London Times, arranged chronologically, follows: 1843, September 1-London Sentinel, founded by George W. Sprung as editor and proprietor; folio, six-column, eighteen by twenty-four inches; Whig in politics; published weekly on Saturday. 1851, March 1-Name changed to The Madison, Reveille; published by George Sprung and edited by E. E. Hutcheson. 1851, March 8-First issue of Reveille appears. 1854, February 2-Office destroyed by fire issues of February 11, 18 and 25 published. in Columbus. 1854, March 4-Paper re-established in its own plant in London; appears under the name of The Mathison Chronicle at the request of the subscribers; size of the paper changed to seven column. 1857, March-Day of publication changed to Thursday. 1863, May-Chronicle sold to J. D. Stine and John Wallace; new owners change the name to The Madison County Union. 1864, January-J. D. Stine withdrew from the paper, John Wallace continuing as sole owner and editor. 1864. September-J. D. Stine becomes sole proprietor and editor. 1867, April 11-Col. C. W. Griffith, of Bellefontaine, Ohio, formerly of the Bellefontaine Republican, becomes a member of the firm. 1867, May 2-Size of the paper increased to eight columns. 1869, May-Colonel Griffith sold his interest to Col. George E. Ross. 1870, August-Colonel Ross withdrew from the firm. 1870. October 20-J. D. Stine sold out to Colonel Ross; D. L. Harbaugh became associated with Colonel Ross; paper enlarged to nine columns; new press, type and fixtures purchased; name changed to The London Times. 1870, October 27-Paper first issued under the name of The London Times. 1874, February 4-Colonel Ross became the sole proprietor. 1875, November 3-Peyton H. Acton ,became a partner of Colonel Ross. 1876, September 6-Paper leased to P. H. Acton and J. M. Klingelsmith; name changed to The London Weekly Times. 1877, January-J. M. Klingelsmith sold his interest to E. I. Acton; paper now by the Acton Brothers. 1878, E. I. Acton withdrew, P. H. Acton continuing as owner and editor. 1879. January 10-The London Publishing Company bought the. paper. 1879, April 25-D. Mann & Son bought the paper; John D. Maddux became the editor. 1880, September 3-Name of the paper changed back to The London Times; Col. George E. Ross again became sole proprietor; shortly afterward James F. Kelley became associated with Colonel Ross. 1881. August-W. S. Shepherd purchased the interest of James F. Kelley. 1882, October-J. M. Craig purchased the interest of Colonel Ross; date of publication changed to Friday morning. 1886, February 26-S. M. Prugh and H. N. Blair became the owners of the paper; George W. Clark became local editor. 1886, November 5-S. M. Prugh sold to A. J. Henitzelman. 1887, April 15-C. D. Bailey. formerly of the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, bought the paper. MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 261 1887, August 19—William D. Mulford and J. C. Van Harlingen bought the paper from C. D. Bailey. 1887, December 30—A. C. Carson and E. N. Gunsaulus bought the paper from Mulford and Van Harlingen. 1890; September 19—A; C. Carson withdrew from the paper, leaving Gunsaulus in sole charge. 1891. July 9-The paper changed to an eight-page sheet; publication day changed from Friday to Thursday."  1892, November 10—The Times moved from the room over Lanigan's grocery to its present offices in the Fulton building on East High street. 1901, January 17—E. N. Gunsaulus sold the paper to the London Times Publishing Company ; C. E. Arbuckle 'became .the managing editor. 1902, February 6 —C. E. Arbuckle retired and W. D. Bacome became managing editor. 1903, September 24—M. F. Dunn and W. D. Bacome purchased the Times. 1905, January 5- M. F. Dunn became the sole proprietor. 1905, June 19—H. F. Harrington and R. K. Shaw purchased the paper and conducted it under the firm name of Harrington & Shaw ; the sheet was changed to its present size of eight pages and' six columns. 1905, July 8—Harrington & Shaw bought the Madison County Republican. 1908, February 26—H. F. Harrington retired from the paper and R. K. Shaw became the sole owner and is still in charge of the paper. THE MADISON COUNTY DEMOCRAT The Madison County Democrat is a .lineal descendant of the Buckeye Union, which made its first appearance in London on Saturday, February 21, 1857. E. Douglass King established the Buckeye Union and continued it under this name until November 5, 1857, when he changed its name to the National Democrat. On November 12, 1857, the first issue of the paper under the new name appeared; it was a folio, seven columns, eighteen by twenty-four inches in size. On January 7, 1858, John M. Smith bought the paper from King and associated with him as editor D. M. Creighton. Creighton, however, remained with the paper only a short time, retiring on. the 28th of the same month. At this time Mr. Smith engaged two practical printers. John A. Kissinger and M. L. Bryan, to take charge of the paper. The subsequent history of the paper has been written by the late M. L. Bryan and, since the paper has been in the hands of the Bryan family since 1858, it appears appropriate to give the remainder of the history of the paper in the words of M. L. Bryan, the father of the present editor, Chester E. Bryan: "During the month of December, 1857, news reached Columbus that John M. Smith, a prominent merchant and an active and energetic Democrat of London, Madison county, Ohio, wanted some practical printer to come to the town and take charge of a weekly Democratic newspaper he had started with his own means. As an inducement, Smith proposed that to any printer who would run the paper one year he would make a present of the printing material, then consisting of a small Washington hand-press and a few cases of badly-worn type. This proposition reached the ears of two compositors on the Daily Fact, an independent daily paper published by Col. John Geary. "These two printers. were John A. Kissinger and M. L. Bryan and they came at once to London and found, a paper which had been running as the National Democrat since November 12, 1857, with J. M. Smith as owner, D. M. Creighton, editor, and E. Douglass King, foreman. The paper had a circulation of less than three hundred. The first number under the new management was issued on January 28, 1858, with Bryan & Kissinger as editors and proprietors. "The new firm took hold with a will, determined to do the best they could under the circumstances. They worked early and late, doing all of the type-setting and press work 262 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. (with the aid of a ‘devil'), collecting news items and writing editorials at odd spells. They were assisted in the editorial work by. D.. Meade Creighton and, afterward, Robert Hutcheson. At that time Madison county had a Democratic sheriff, William Smith, and this fact was a financial asset to the struggling paper. The office .was in the Addison Shanklin building. "The public-spirited citizen, popular merchant and stanch Democrat, John M. Smith, did not live long to note the growing prosperity f the paper which his liberality had brought into existence: He died in May, 1858, less than four months after the paper had changed hands. During the latter part of October, 1858, Bryan bought the interest of Kissinger and became the sole owner and editor. "The name of the paper was changed on March 20, 1862, from. the National Democrat to the Madison County Democrat, a name which it still bears. During the year 1866, Mr: Shanklin desiring the rooms occupied by the paper for a residence, the office was moved to an upstairs room in a frame building on what was then the London & Springfield, railroad. On the night of September 30,. 1867, the building took fire from some unknown cause and burned to the ground—the entire material of the office going up in flames or falling down in melted metal. Not a single type was spared, not even a scratch of a pen against any of the patrons—nothing saved from the wreck except its despondent publisher. "During the ten years of the existence of the Democrat it had won the favor of the people of the county to the .extent that they would not consent to see it burned at the stake, as it were; so a subscription was started by some of its good friends and in less than a week a sum of money between three hundred and fifty and four hundred dollars was secured, many of its subscribers paying one year or more in advance and others donating slims ranging from five to twenty-five dollars. With the amount collected, the editor went to Cincinnati and bought one thousand dollars worth of material and. after an interval of only one week, the Democrat was on its legs again, brighter and newsier than before. "At this time (1867) there was such a business boom in London that every room was occupied. As a last resort, the paper was compelled to start up in an old, unoccupied, rickety frame building, then standing on the site f the present Universalist church. The building was the property f Dot Dunkin, who offered it Tent free to the struggling publisher. It was a hard job to tide over the severe winter with a leaky roof, airy windows and shaky doors, with the wintry wind whistling through the editor's whiskers—but it was done without any loss f life. The next spring the paper found somewhat more comfortable quarters above a livery stable owned by Michael Millay, afterwards a marshal of London. Here the office remained one year and was then removed to Judge Clark's building in a room fitted up for the purpose. After remaining three years in this new location and finding more room necessary to accommodate the growing business, the office was moved across the street to M. Riley's new brick building, above. his grocery store. The offices of the paper remained here until November, 1886, when the present quarters, at the corner of Second and Oak streets, were secured. While in the Riley building a Campbell cylinder press' was' installed and many Other improvements made in the plant." Thus closed the account f the Democrat as penned by the late M. L. Bryan, who was connected with the paper continuously from January 28, 1858, until he sold it to his two eldest sons, Chester E. and Ormond M., in 1898. M. L. Bryan died on May 26, 1902. There are some facts concerned with his paper which he did not mention and which should be added in order to give a full account of it. Starting in as a six-column, four-page sheet, it was enlarged In the seventies to a nine-column quarto. On March 14, 1888, it was enlarged to a twelve-page paper and in 1894 it was made a sixteen page five column weekly sheet. Soon after the Bryan brothers became the owners of the paper, MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 263 they issued it as a semi-weekly publishing it Tuesdays and Fridays. As business increased it was found necessary to install better machinery and in 1908 a Hoe three-revolution press, with a speed of twenty-six hundred papers per hour and operated by a four-horse-power Otto gas engine,. was added to the plant's equipment. Some time later a Dexter folder was purchased. In 1901 a simplex typesetting machine was installed and this was replaced in April, 1908, by a Mergenthaler linotype machine at a cost of four thousand dollars. In October, 1908, Chester E. Bryan became the sole owner of the paper. In 1912, a duplex perfecting press, with a speed of six thousand five hundred eight-page papers, cut, and folded, per hour, was installed. Bryan remodeled his building in 1912 and made it one of the most complete newspaper plants in the state. The plant utilizes all of the space in a two-story brick building, twenty-two by one hundred and thirty-four feet, with large basement, containing steam heating plant and storage room for a car of news-print paper. By putting in cement and tile floors and steel ceilings, the building is rendered practically fire prof. The plant is equipped with three electric motors—one a ten-horse power, and a twelve horse-power gas engine; natural-gas heating is used in mild weather. The electric-lighting system is so complete that work is carried on at. night even better than by daylight. The job department is equipped with a Swink cylinder and two platen presses;. pressed-steel type cabinets and the latest faces of type; paper cutters, staplers, stitchers and perforators and such other material as are required in a first-class printing plant. The Democrat office force includes nine persons in addition to the editor, namely : Martel. Bryan, assistant editor ; George Clark, reporter ; Edward Neese, general foreman; William S. Stearwalt, job. foreman ; Lester Payton, linotype operator; John O'Connell, pressman; Kate Fleming, mailing clerk; Doris Holloway, janitor ; Mary Ballenger, bookkeeper. In addition, extra help is required at, times to assist in getting out special. editions. Correspondents are maintained in all the towns in the county as well as in territory adjacent to Madison county. The history of the Democrat would not be complete without mentioning an unusual honor which was conferred on the paper in the fall of 1914. It is, patent to anyone who examines the paper that it is one of unusual merits, but that it is recognized as one of the best country newspapers in the United States is not known to everyone. However, this distinction has been conferred on the Democrat by a committee of newspaper men of the United States. On October 26, 1914, Mr. Bryan received a letter from Eric W. Allen, head of the department of journalism in the University of Oregon, which tells f the place which the Democrat holds in the. estimation f the newspaper men of the country. The following quotation from this latter is self-explanatory : A questionnaire recently sent out by the department of journalism of the University of Oregon among the newspaper men of the United States resulted in the selection by the men of fifty-two country newspapers as among the best. Your newspaper is one may the fifty-two." Thus it may be seen that Madison county has a paper, of which it may justly be proud and one which reflects honor on its editor. LONDON VIGILANT. The London Vigilant was established by A. J. Heintzelman in. January, 1885, and published by him for ten years, the last issue appearing December 24, 1895. F. 4: Taylor was editor f the paper until his death, on July 25, 1891, being succeeded by T. A. Cooper, who continued as editor until the paper was discontinued. This paper advocated the principles of the Prohibition party. MADISON COUNTY REPUBLICAN The Madison County Republican was the immediate successor of the London Vigilant and made its first appearance on January 6, 1896. In fact, it should be considered as a 264 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO continuation of the Vigilant, since Heintzelman still used the .name Vigilant as a subhead. He kept. the paper running until July, 1905, when he sold it to Harrington & Shaw, the new proprietors of the London. Times. LONDON ENTERPRISE. The London Enterprise, was founded on January 1, 1872, by John Wallace, one of the best-known newspaper men in central Ohio. Devoted to the Interests of the People and Its Publisher; was the motto of the newspaper. The Enterprise was our pages twenty-five by thirty-eight, seven columns. In his salutatory, Mr. Wallace had this to say: "In accordance with time-honored custom, we rise to explain the Enterprise will not be a political paper, but will make a specialty of local news—improving the bare one advantage we possess over the city press: We have no promises to make, but will let each issue of our paper speak for itself. Our terms will be two dollars per year near in advance as we can get it Persons who feel that they cannot pay for the paper had better not take it from the postoffice." The friend of Mr. Wallace were generous; in their response for subscriptions to the new paper and the Enterprise was soon read in hundreds f homes, not only in Madison but in adjoining countles. A good advertlsing and job-printing business was built up and the success of the venture was assured, due largely to the hard .work f the editor to ''make it so. The Enterprise was continued as an independent paper until April 16, 1879; when Mr. Wallace, at the urgent solicitation f many prominent Republicans of the. county, came out with the announcement that the Enterprise would advocate the principles of the Republican party, which policy has been continued fearlessly ever since, causing it to be recognized is the Republican, organ of Madison county: the death of Mr. Wallace, which occurred on. September 34; 1901, due to apoplexy, the Enterprise has been published under the management f his son, M. H. Wallace, who had been connected with the paper as local reporter since leaving the London high school. The firm name is E. F. and M. H. Wallace, the senior partner being Elizabeth F. Wallace, daughter of the deceased, who assists in the publication of the Enterprise. During the career of the late John Wallace, not one issue of the Enterprise was missed, although for about twenty years the deceased was unfortunately deprived of his eyesight, due to overwork in his newspaper business. Mr. Wallace possessed a wide acquaintanceship throughout Madison county, and with the assistance of a guide, would cover the county several times each year, his write-ups of such trips being a feature in the columns of his paper. In later years this custom was discontinued, owing to the failing state of his health. The Enterprise was first located in the Toland block, on South Maln street, and the location was not changed until March 1, 1912, when the office was removed to the paper's own, two-story brick building, No. 31. West First street, where a largely increased business is conducted both in the newspaper and job department. The Enterprise was published as a weekly journal until 1897, when its publication day was changed from Wednesday to Tuesday and Friday, thus making it the oldest semi-weekly paper in Madison county. THE PLAIN CITY ADVOCATE. The Plain City Advocate was founded on November. 3,1.894, by Noland R. Best and Thomas R.. Coles but its ownership was vested in twenty-four business and prominent men of the town. It was first run under the firm name of Best & Coles, but only for a few months, after which, still owned by a company, it was conducted by the following men in the following order: William A. Brown, Jr., Dwight L. Matchette, W. W. Lowery, Dell Dougherty, Howe Woodruff, Mrs. Lillie Malee and C. F. Monroe. The stock company controlling this paper sold it in December, 1896, to E. Beach, Howard C. Black MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 265 and B. A. Taylor. in June, 1898, E. Beach and Olive B. Ward (now Olive B. Mackan) assumed ownership. A few years later the plant became the property of Olive B. Mackan, who has remained the sole owner to the present tine. The present editor, Olive B. Mackan, learned the type-setting trade in the office of the Plain City Dealer in the summer of 1891, and worked there until the Advocate was launched in November, 1894, when a position was tendered her to set straight matter in the latter office. The first type for the new paper was set by Mrs. Mackan and she has been actively associated with the paper ever since. For a number of years she was foreman of the composing and press rooms. In the spring of 1898 a half interest in the paper was purchased by Mrs. Mackan, and in the summer of 1902 the entire plant was leased by her. Then a short time later she became owner of the entire plant, since which time it has been edited and published by her. In October, 1912, the competing weekly paper, the Plain City Dealer, which had, been published for more than thirty years by Charles. W. Horn, was purchased by Mrs. Mackan and was consolidated with the Advocate, since which time the Advocate has been the only paper in Plain City. In September, 1911, the size of the paper was enlarged to seven columns and eight pages. It is published every Thursday. The equipment f the plant consists of a Cox Duplex perfecting press, linotype, paper knife, cylinder and platen presses for job work, and an abundance of type, cases and other office equipment. The power for the presses is furnished by one seven-and-one-half and one three-and-one-half horsepower electric motors. THE PLAIN CITY DEALER. The Plain City Dealer was founded in September, 1880, by Charles W. Horn. This paper continued for thirty-two years under the ownership and editorship of Mr. Horn and was purchased by the Plain City Advocate in October, 1912. at which time the plant was consolidated with that of the Advocate. WEST JEFFERSON NEWS. The West Jefferson News is the outgrowth of the West Jefferson Clipper and subsequent publications f different names. The Clipper was established by Ezekiel Metals. Just how long Metals issued the paper is not known, neither is it known when the Observer, owned and edited by J. O. Lee, came into existence. The first definite date of a paper in the town is 1889, in which year the Jeffersonian appeared on the newspaper horizon. Wright & Heintzleman were the proprietors of this paper from 1889 to 1894. In the latter year a man by the name of F. C. Fullmer bought the paper and changed its name to the Home News. Fullmer owned the paper a short time and then disposed of it to a man by the name of McCracken, who, in turn, sold it to Wilson & Cartwright. J. R. Cartwright became the sole owner and proprietor in 1911 and has since managed the paper alone. Upon taking over the paper in 1911, Mr. Cartwright changed its name to the News. The paper is a seven-column, eight-page sheet and appears on Thursday of each week. The plant has two presses, three jobbers and a complete equipment of material for doing all kinds of printing on short notice. MT. STERLING TRIBUNE. The Mt. Sterling Tribune was founded in January, 1887, by J. W. Hanawalt. The following is a list f editors from the beginning, with their period f service: J. W. Hanawalt, 1887-8g; J. M. Williams, 1889-91; W. A. Bownocker, 1891-08, seventeen years; J. M. Williams, 1908 to the present. J. W. Hanawalt, the founder of the paper, was editor and proprietor for two and one-half years. The paper was then purchased by J. M. Williams, in August, 1889. 266 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. in 1891, W. A. Bownocker purchased a half interest and the firm of Williams & Bownocker continued until 1908. At the latter date W. E. Carlisle purchased Bownocker's _interest, selling his interest one year later to R. E. Embry. In 1910 Mr. Williams purchased Embry's interest and. became sole owner. The paper is published on Friday of each week. It is a four-page, eight-column paper and has a good circulation. The equipment f the plant consists of a four-horse power gas engine, a cylinder press, two jobbers and a fully equipped job plant. THE MT. STERLING REVIEW AND HUSBANDMAN. In April, 1871, M. W. Schryver commenced the publication of a newspaper in Mt. Sterling, known as the Mt. Sterling Review. This paper he continued for eighteen months, at the end of which time he changed the name to the Husbandman. He continued the publication f the latter paper until May 1874, when it ceased for want of sufficient support to justify the publisher to continue it. Both of these papers were purely local weeklies, but failed to receive the support of the community. CHAPTER XXIV. EDUCATION. Those venerable men of today who are familiar with the olden time in Madison county, of which they were a part, and who grew up with the ever enlarging civilization of this. region, .are. living in a changed atmosphere. So suddenly and so strangely has the genius. change and alteration. waved his charmed wand over the land, that the early settler has changed and kept pace with the .changing years, and the. unwritten history of the early days is recalled, as one remembers a fading dream. The sharp and hard conflicts of life make heroes, and the fierce struggles of war and bloodshed development into self-reliant, stubborn and aggressive men, as fierce and sanguinary as their bitter foes. We are living in the age of invention and machinery. These factors have destroyed the romance of frontier life, and much f the strange, eventful realities of the past are rapidly becoming traditional ; the narratives of the generation that settled the Scioto valley, abounding in rich treasures of incident and character, are being swallowed up and forgotten in the surging, eventful present. The most casual observer cannot but have noticed that notwithstanding the privations and discomforts attending the lives, of the early settlers, they manifested a most earnest zeal in education, and that, as soon as a sufficient number of pupils could be collected and a teacher secured, a house was created for the purposes of a school. The period just preceding the Revolution was characterized by its number of literary men and the interest they gave to polite learning ; and the patriots who were conspicuous in that struggle for human liberty were men, :not only of ability, but of no ordinary culture. We can readily understand that the influence of .their example had its weight in molding public sentiment in .other respects besides, that of zeal for the patriot cause. To this may be added that, for the most part, the early pioneers were men f character, who endured the dangers and trials of a new country, not solely for their own sakes, but for the sake of their children and, with a faith in what the future would bring forth, clearly saw the power and value of education. From the beginning they kept their object steadily in view, and made provision for its successful prosecution. The express declaration of the fundamental law of the state enjoins that. The principal of all funds arising from the sale or other distribution of lands or other property, granted or .entrusted to the state for educational purposes, shall forever be preserved inviolate and undiminished, and the income arising therefrom shall be faithfully applied to the specific object of the original grants or appropriations and the General Assembly shall make such provisions by taxation or otherwise, as from the income arising froth the school trust fund, shall secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state." SCHOOL LANDS. The act f Congress providing, for the admission of Ohio into the Union offered certain educational propositions to the people. These were, first, that section 16 in each township, or in lieu thereof, other contiguous or equivalent lands, should be granted for the use of schools; second, that thirty-eight sections of land, where salt springs had been found, should be granted to the state, never, however, to be sold or leased for a longer period than ten years; and third, that one-twentieth of the proceeds from the sale of public lands in the state should be applied toward the construction 268 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. of roads from the Atlantic to and through Ohio. These propositions were offered on the condition that the public lands sold by the United States after the 30th of June, 1802, should be exempt from state taxation for five years after sale. The ordinance of 1787 had already provided for the appropriation of section 16 to the support of schools in every township sold by the United States; this, therefore, could not in 1802 be properly made the subject of a new bargain between the United States and Ohio, and, by many, it was thought the salt reservations and one-twentieth of the proceeds of the sale of public lands were inadequate equivalent for the proposed surrender of a right to tax for five years. The convention, however, accepted the propositions of Congress, on their being modified and enlarged as to vest in the state, for the use of schools section 16 in each township sold by the United States, and three other tracts of land, equal in quantity respectively to one-thirty-sixth of the Virginia military reservation, of the United States military tract and of the Connecticut west reserve; find to give three per cent. of the proceeds of the public lands sold within the state to the construction of roads in Ohio, under the direction of the Legislature. Congress agreed to the proposed Modifications, and, in March, 1807, offered to the state, in lieu of the one-thirty-sixth part of the Virginia military reservation, eighteen quarter townships and three sections of land lying between the United States military tract and the Connecticut reserve. On the 14th of January, 1808, the state accepted these lands and released all right and title to the school lands in the Virginia military district, thus providing the bases of the common-school fund of Ohio, never probably conjectured or intended to be sufficient for the purposes of 'education, but adequate to encourage broader and more liberal views. In the foregoing it is disclosed how Congress, by a compact with the people, gave them one-thirty-sixth of all of the lands northwest of the Ohio river for school purposes. The Iand for this purpose set apart, however, were often appropriated by squatters, and through unwise, careless and sometimes corrupt legislation, these squatters were vested with proprietorship. Caleb Atwater, in his "History of Ohio," in Speaking on this subject, says: "Members of the' Legislature not infrequently got acts passed and leases granted, either to themselves, their relatives or to their partisans. One senator contrived to get, by such acts, seven entire sections of land into either his own or his children's possession." From 1803 to 1.820 the General Assembly spent a considerable portion of every session in passing acts relating to these lands, without ever advancing the cause of education to any degree. THE SALE OF SCHOOL LANDS. In 1821 the House of Representatives appointed five: of its members, Caleb Atwater. Lloyd Talbot, James Shields, Roswell Mills and Josiah Barber, a committee on schools and school lands. This committee subsequently made a report, rehearsing the wrong management a the school-land trust on behalf of the state, warmly advocated the establishment, of a system of eduation and the adoption of measures which would secure for the people the rights which Congress intended they should possess. In compliance with the recommendation of the committee, the governor of the state, in May, 1822, having been authorized by the Legislature, appointed seven commissioners' of schools and school lands, viz., Caleb Atwater, Rev. John Collins, Rev. James Hoge, N. Guilford, Ephraim Cutler, Josiah Barber and James M. Bell. The reason why seven persons were appointed was because there were seven different sorts of school lands in the state, namely: Section 16 in every township of the Congress lands, the Virginia military lands, Symmes' purchase, the Ohio Company's purchase, the refugee lands, the French grant, and the Connecticut western reserve. This commission of seven persons was reduced by various causes to one of three, Messrs. Atwater, Collins MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 269 and Hoge, who performed the arduous duties incumbent upon them with but little remuneration, and (at the time) but few thanks. The Legislature of 1822-23 broke up without having taken any definite action upon the report presented by the commission, but, ,during the summer and autumn of 1824, the subject of the sale, of the school lands was warmly agitated, and, the friends of this measure triumphed over the opposition so far as to, :elect large majorities to both branches of the General Assembly in favor of its being made a law. The quantity. of land set apart was, ascertained, in, 1825, to be a little more than half a million acres, valued at less than one million dollars. Having now briefly related the facts connected with the school lands, a review will be made of the legislative enactments through which these lands were disposed, of.. On the 17th of February, ,1809,. the lands belonging to the Virginia military district were authorized to be leased and_ the proceeds thereof paid into the state treasury for the future use of the schools. From 1810 up to 1824,, acts were passed at nearly every session of the Legislature, more fully describing the condition of those leases and providing for the disposition of moneys accruing therefrom. In 1827 a law, was, enacted directing a vote to be taken in the district as to whether these lands should, be; sold or not. The vote decided in favor of selling, and. on January. 28, 1828, the Legislature ordered them to be sold, In 1829. an act authorized the distribution among the several counties, or parts, of counties, in said district, of the sum of fifty-four thousand dollars of school moneys,, then in the state treasury, . Madison county receiving as her share two thousand and seventy-five dollars and thirty-four and one-half cents. This distribution, however, was for some cause postponed by an act passed on January 21, 1830, until May 1, 1830. The, manner of apportionment was as follows : The school directors delivered to the county auditors a list of white children in their respective , districts, between the ages of four and sixteen; the county auditors transmitted said lists to the auditor of the state, who divided the school fund among the several counties, or parts thereof, according to the foregoing enumeration. From that time up to the present this principle has been carried out, each county receiving annually its quota of moneys derived from this school fund. The reader must bear in mind, however, that the school age was changed whenever the General Assembly saw fit , to do so, or considered such a change necessary or judicious. PIONEER SCHOOLS. In the early development of Madison county, a great variety of influences were felt in the way of general education. The settlements were and for years continued to be, sparse: The' people, 'as the pioneers 'of 'all new counties are, were poor and lacked the means of remunerating teachers. Their poverty compelled all who were able to labor, and the work of the females was as important and toilsome as that of the men. Added to these discouragements, both teachers and books were scarce. This condition of things continued perhaps for more than a quarter of a century: Taking these facts into consideration, At -is 'surprising that the" pioneers had -any schools whatever. The interest awakened in literature and science immediately after the Revolution followed the pioneers to their western homes; but to make their efforts productive of useful results, time became absolutely necessary. Just as soon as the settlements were prepared for the experiment schools were opened but at every step it was the acquisition, of knowledge under difficulties. Everything connected with the pioneers was simple and primitive as were their dwellings; food clothing. School houses were built in the various neighborhoods as occasion made. necessary, not by subscription in money but by labor. On- a given day the neighbors assembled at some place previously agreed upon, and the work was done: Timber 'was abundant ; they were skilled in the use of the ax, and having cut logs of the required length, out of these the walls were 270 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. raised. The roof was made f clapboards, kept in place by heavy poles reaching the length of the building. The door was of clapboards and creaked on wooden hinges, the latch of wood and raised by a string. The floor was "puncheon," or trees split in the middle, tolerably true, the edge and face being dressed with an ax. The crevices between the logs forming the walls were filled with "chinks," split sticks of wood; and daubed, with mud. The fireplace was equally rude, but f ample dimensions, built on the outside of the house, usually of stone, to the throat of the flue, and the remainder of the chimney of split sticks of wood, daubed with puddled clay within and without. Light was admitted through the door and by means of an opening made by cutting out one of the logs, reaching almost the entire width of the building. This opening was high enough from the floor to prevent the boys from looking out, and in winter was covered with paper, saturated with grease, to keep out the told, as well as to admit the light. In the rural districts school "kept" only in winter. The furniture corresponded with the simplicity of the house. At a proper distance below the windows, auger holes were bored in a slanting direction in one of the logs and in these strong wooden pins were driven, and on these a huge slab or puncheon was placed, which served as a writing-desk for the whole school. For seats they used the puncheon; or, more commonly, the body of a smooth, straight tree, cut ten to twelve feet in length, and raised to a height of twelve to fifteen inches by means of pins securely inserted. It has been said that not infrequently the pins were of uneven length, and the bench predisposed to "wobble." Many of the pioneer "masters" were natives of Ireland, who had fled from the cruel oppression of the English government prior to and succeeding the struggle for Irish independence in 1798, and here in this land of freedom were putting to good use that education: obtained in their native isle. Thus did the oppression of England inure to the benefit of the young republic; and the literary ability of Irishmen, like their military prowess in the Revolutionary war, did much toward founding and building up this great free and enlightened nation. Doctor Johnson's notion that most boys required learning to be thrashed into them was practically' carried out in the pioneer school house. The pupils sat with their faces toward the wall, around the room, while the teacher occupied the middle space to superintend each pupil separately. In some rooms a separate bench was furnished for those too young to rite. Classes, when reciting, sat on a bench made for that- purpose. A PRIMITIVE CURRICULUM. The books were as primitive as the surroundings. The New Testament was a common. reading book ; the "English Reader" was occasionally found, and sometimes the "Columbian Orator." No one book was common in all the families! The reading class recited paragraphs .alternately, and the book in. use was made .common property. passing from hand to hand during recitation. It was not unusual for the teacher to assist a pupil in one of his "sums," discipline a refractory pupil; and hear the reading class; while the reading was going on. Deibold's, Smiley's and Pike's arithmetics were commonly used, with the, examples for practice almost. exclusively in pounds, shillings and pence, and a marked absence of clear rules and. definitions for the solving of the different divisions. Webster's American Speller" was the ordinary spelling-book, which afterward made way for Webster's "Elementary Speller." This latter book maintained its popularity for half a century. The spelling class closed, the labors of the day. All who could spell entered the "big. class," and the rivalry was sharp as to who should rank first as good spellers., The members of the class were numbered in the order in which they stood in line, and retained the number until a "miss" sent someone above them. Spelling-matches were frequent, and contributed largely to the making of good spellers. Grammar was not often taught, partly for the reason that the books were hard to get, and partly because some of the teachers were not proficient in this branch MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 271 of learning. When the science was taught the text-book was the earlier and larger edition of Murray, which, by the close of the first quarter f the century, was largely superseded by "Kirkham," which, though of little real merit, stimulated a taste for grammar. The boys and girls went to the same school, but sat on opposite benches. It occasionally happened that teachers were employed who had learned that an elephant may be led by a hare, or more probably were blessed with gentle natures, and these won the hearts and lifelong affection of their pupils by their pleasant and living ways; but these were exceptions. The standard of excellence was often measured by the teacher's ability and swift readiness to thrash the Pupils on any provocation. Disobedience and ignorance were equally causes for the use of the "hickory." "Like master, like boys." The characteristics of the one tended to develop .a corresponding spirit in the other, and the cruelty of the one, with the absence, too frequently of all just discrimination in the use f the rod, excited animosities which lasted through life. There were few boys of that day who did not cherish the purpose to "whale" the "master" on sight at some future day: The schools were supported by subscription, the charge being from one to three dollars per term of three months, during winter, to begin at eight o'clock in the morning, with an hour or an hour and a half recess at noon, and to close at five o'clock. One-half of Saturdays, or alternate Saturdays, made part of the term. Writing was taught to all the larger pupils, and the only pen used was the goose or turkey quill, made into a pen by the skillful hand of the teacher. Mending the pens was an essential part of the work. Copybooks were made of Sheets of foolscap; paper stitched together, and copies were "set" by the teacher during recess, which were commonly taken from. the maxims in use from time immemorial. Sometimes the teacher was partly paid in produce or other commodities, which were the equivalent to him of money, while his support was ften obtained by "boarding around." Money was scarce, and to make change it was usual to halve, and quarter pieces of silver coin with an ax or chisel. The introduction of schools in one settlement was an incentive to their speedy adoption in ail. The above description applies to all the earliest school houses erected. The building of saw- mills and the opening up of wagon roads brought about a better order of things, and plank, weather-boarding and glass took the place of clapboards, puncheon floors and log benches; For a more detailed history f the pioneer schools in the different localities of Madison county, the reader is referred to the chapters relating to London and the several townships, where the subject is fully written up from the recollections of the oldest living pioneers. GROWTH OF EDUCATION. The gradual development and progress of education in Ohio was encouraged and fostered by state laws that were the germs from which came forth the present common-school system. Believing that a brief synopsis of these enactments will be of value in this article, the following facts have been culled from the Ohio statutes, which will no doubt assist the reader in understanding more thoroughly the history of the schools in the Scioto valley up to the adoption of the new constitution. On the 2nd f January, 1806, three trustees and a treasurer were authorized to be elected in each township, for the purpose of taking charge of the school lands or the money arising therefrom, and applying the same to the benefit of the schools in said township. In 1810 this act was more fully defined, and, in 1814, every person of school. age was entitled to his or her share of said school fund, even when attending a school outside his own township. In 1815 these moneys were distributed according to the time of school attendance, an account of which each teacher was required to supply to the trustees; and the apportionment was made accordingly. No act of any importance was then passed until January 22, 1821, when a vote was ordered to be taken in every township for the pur- 272 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. pose, of deciding, for or against, organizing the same into school districts; also for the election of a school committee of three. persons, and a collector, who was also treasurer in said district. These committees were authorized to erect school houses in their respective districts, on land donated or purchased for that purpose, said schools to be paid for by donations and subscriptions, together with the taxes raised for such purpose. By, the terms of this act, all lands located in said districts, liable to state or county taxation, were also liable to taxation for erecting school houses and for educating the children of those unable to pay for schooling. Parents and guardians were assessed in proportion to the number of children sent to school by them, but those unable to pay had their assessment remitted, and such deficiency was paid out of the fund raised by taxation. Of course, the moneys accruing, from the school lands went into the school fund held by the treasurer of each district. The first, general school law, passed on February 5, 1825, provided that a fund shall hereafter be annually raised among the several counties in the state, in the manner pointed out by this act, for the use of common schools for the instruction of youth of every class and. without distinction, in reading, writing, arithmetic and other necessary branches of a common education. This was in harmony with the constitution, which asserted that schools and the Means of instruction should forever be encouraged by legislative provision. This act provided for a general tax to be levied for the fostering of common schools throughout the state, which was to be collected annually, and used for general educational purposes, Three school directors were to be elected annually in each district, to transact the business of said schools erect buildings, employ teachers, receive and expend all moneys derived from, any source, etc. The court of common pleas in each county was authorized to appoint annually three suitable persons to be called examiners of common, schools, whose duty it was to examine teachers for qualification and grant certificates; also, to visit and examine the schools throughout the county any district neglected to keep a school therein for the space of three years, its proportion of the school fund was divided among the other, districts in said township that employed teachers. The school fund of each county was taken charge of by the auditor, who distributed the same between the several townships. In 1827 this act was amended., The directors were instructed to appoint a treasurer for each school district. Fines imposed by any justice of the peace, for offenses committed in any given district, were to be paid to the treasurer, to be used for the support of education in said district. Taxes were levied to build new houses and repair old ones. Every householder, whose tax was less than one dollar, had to pay that amount or give two days toward the building or repairing of school houses. The number of examiners was increased, but at no time were they to exceed the of townships in the county. COLOR LINE RIGIDLY DRAWN. In February, 1829, a law was enacted providing more fully for general education, but the children of black or mulatto persons were not permitted to attend these schools, nor were such persons compelled to pay, taxes toward the support of the same. The official term of the examiners was designated as two years, and their number to be not less than five in each county nor more than one in each township theref. Whenever the regular school fund ran short, the teachers if not paid by voluntary subscription, were to be paid by those sending children to said schools. Often the regular fund did Snot pay for more than three months' schooling annually, so that even then the schools, though slowly improving, were anything but flourishing. The act of 1830 did not materially improve them,. and, in March, 1831, the following clause appears in a law relative to raising the school fund. It says a general fund shall be raised for the instruction of the white youth of every class and grade," so that, although Ohio was a MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 273 free state, a black man was debarred from the educational advantages accorded to his white brother ; and though. his. body was not kept. in slavery, his mind was kept in ignorance, as far as the state laws had the power to do so. With, all this injustice, however, the property of Negress was exempt from taxation for school purposes, which was at least a small grain of justice to the despised race. The school age was changed so as to include those between four and twenty-one years, and the clause relating to the number of examiners was changed to read, "not. :less than. five in each .county, nor more than two in each township." On the 2nd of March, 1831, an act was passed authorizing the establishment of a fund to be designated "the common-school fund," the income to be used for the support of common schools! All moneys arising from the sale of school lands were to be put into this fund, and the .state, guaranteed a certain interest on all , such moneys paid into the state treasury. The county auditors were authorized to draw said interest and distribute it among the, several districts in their .respective counties, to which said lands originally belonged. Donations and bequests were also put into this fund and used for the same general purpose. These. moneys, however were to be funded annually until January 1835, after which date as interest, was to be divided, among as several counties in proportion. to the number of white, males, over twenty-one years of age residing. therein. Up to this time women were not, eligible as school teachers, for it is found that, an act was passed on December. 23, 1831, allowing directors to employ, female teachers, but the directors had to signify. in writing to the school examiners that it. was the desire of the inhabitants of said district to employ ,"a female teacher for instructing their children in spelling, reading and writing only." The examiners were then empowered to give the lady a "special certificate" to teach these branches. It is unnecessary here co comment on this injustice, it being taken for granted that the most illiberal men, will agree that this discrimination against women was a. grievous wrong and wholly unworthy of this great commonwealth—In 1833 other provisions and, amendments were made to the school laws; the object of which was to increase their influences, but no 'material changes were made in former. laws. STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. The office of state superintendent of schools was created. on March 7„1837, and was made permanent a year from that. date. The, superintendent was elected by. the General Assembly for a term of five years, but on the but on the March, 1840, the office was abolished and the secretary, of state was, required to perform the duties thereof. In 1838 a fund of two hundred thousand dollars was provided for annually distributed among the several counties, according to the: number of white youth unmarried between the ages of four and twenty-one. It was known as the state, common-school fund; was reduced on March 7, 1842,, to one hundred. and fifty thousand dollars, and again raised to three hundred thousand. dollars, on the 24th of March 1851. By, article 6 of the new constitution, it was declared that the principal, of all funds accruing from school lands, donations or bequests, "shall forever be preserved inviolate and undiminished." It was enacted by the law of 1838 that as township clerk should be superintendent of schools within his township, and this law remained in force until the reorganization of the school Jaws under the constitution of 1853. By this same law, the county auditor was endowed with the position of superintendent of schools throughout the county. The number of school examiners was reduced to, three members for each county, who were appointed by the court of common pleas. On the 16th of March, 1839, an act was passed providing for the establishment of night schools in towns wherein male youth over twelve years f age, who could not (18) 274 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. attend school in the daytime, might be instructed. This law also declared that pupils could .not attend .German schools, and at the same time receive asir quota of school money. Subsequently the German language was introduced into the schools as a part of the regular studies. SCHOOLS FOR COLORED YOUTH, On the 24th of February 1848, a law was passed authorizing the establishment of separate schools for colored children. This law was amended :in 1849, and was thought by many to be contrary to as spirit of the constitution, but the supreme court declared it constitutional. Separate school districts were authorized to be organized and managed by directors chosen from the adult male colored taxpayers, whose property was alone chargeable for the support of said schools. Colored children were not really debarred under the constitution at that time from attending as schools of white children, but it amounted to about the same thing, as as objection of any parent. or guardian whose children attended said school might operate to prevent the attendance of colored youth. Thus the law existed until 1853, when the schools of colored children were placed upon the same, basis as those for white. By the law of 1853, boards of education were directed, when the colored youth in any school district numbered more than thirty, to establish a school for them. This law was so amended in 1864 that two or more districts could unite for the same purpose. Much trouble has been caused in. different towns by the colored, people insisting on sending their children to the schools for whites. In some places little or no opposition has been manifested, while in others a bitter struggle resulted. In as country districts, white and colored children usually attend the same school and seem to work harmoniously together. LATER GOVERNMENT OF SCHOOLS, The school laws of 1853 made ample provision for the education of every class and grade of youth within the state. In the preceding pages it has been pointed out that those who participated in the organization of the .Northwest Territory, and subsequently the state, recognized religion, morality and knowledge as necessary to good government and happiness of mankind. The gradual development of education from its earliest inception in the state up to its present permanent foundation, through the law of 1853, also has been pointed out. Under the latter law, the state was divided into school districts as follows: City districts of the first class, city districts of the second class, village districts, special districts and township districts. To administer as affairs of the districts, and to look after and promote the educational interests therein, the law has provided for the establishment of boards of education in each district. These boards could acquire real or personal, property for the use of their districts, and were required to establish schools for free education of the youth of school age, and could establish schools of a higher grade than the primary schools. They were to determine the studies to be pursued and the text-books to be used in the schools under their control to appoint superintendents of schools, teachers and oasr .employees, and fix their salaries. They were authorized to make such rules and regulations as they might deem expedient and necessary for the government of the board, their appointees and pupils. The state commissioner of common schools was elected by the people, and his official term was three years. He was required to superintend and encourage teachers' institutes confer with boards of education, or other school officers, counsel teachers, visit schools and deliver lectures calculated to promote popular education. He was to have supervision over the school funds, and had power by law to require proper returns to be made by the officers who had duties to perform pertaining to school's or school funds. It was his duty to give instructions for the organization and government of schools. and to distribute the, school laws and other documents for the use of school officers. He