450 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO the cause of the opposition. Although nominally a whig paper the Investigator now assumed the role of an independent publication and advocated the election of a 'people's ticket,' which was made up of both parties, the issue being the location of the county seat. "The fight was not always conducted with 'dignity and decorum.' Epithets were hurled at each other, blows were sometimes exchanged and altogether a great deal of bad blood was exhibited. The opponents to Sarahsville finally settled upon a location described as 'the northeast quarter of section three in Olive Township' and from that time their campaign was directed with more system and effect. Political differences were made up along. these lines and no matter whether the voter was a whig or a democrat he was expected to identify himself with either the party of 'the north' or 'the south'." VOTERS PERMITTED TO DECIDE The battle waxed fiercely throughout the county and reached a climax in 1854, when the question was laid upon the knees of the General Assembly. That body did not clinch Sarahsville's hold on the prize, nor did it transfer the latter to Olive Township, as the aggressive Olive Township lobby which had assembled in Columbus would have liked it to do. What might have been expected in the face of contentions so violent came to pass—relegation of the controversy to the people of Noble, the Legislature ordering a vote to be taken by them at the October election. This gave the Sarahsvillians and the Oliveites five full months for 'printed propaganda and personal appeal and these were used to the limit. SARAHSVILLE LOST BY 150 Out of 3,630 votes cast Olive Township ballots emerged 150 to the good. The margin was not "as deep as a well nor as wide as a church door" but it was enough. Beaver, Buffalo, Center, Marion, Noble, Seneca and Wayne townships cast a majority of votes against removal ; Jackson and Olive townships voted unanimously for it. Noble Township gave Sarahsville but three majority. A majority of Summerfield's voters favored Olive. The voters' decision was bitterly assailed by the Sarahsville SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 453 faction and the victors fought back with corresponding rancor. Charges of bribery, fraud, false voting and coercion flew back and forth, while John W. Noble and others attacked the decision in the Court of Common Pleas. Losing in that tribunal he appealed to the District Court and from that court to the State Supreme Court, which reaffirmed the original decision of the Common Pleas Court and settled the question in Olive Township's favor. CALDWELL THE NEW COUNTY SEAT The county commissioners seem to have been unmoved by the post-election battle. On December 6, 1854, they selected a tract for the county seat which is thus described : "Beginning. at the place where the Lancaster and Louisville Road crosses the west line of the northeast quarter of section 3, in township No. 6, of range 9 of the lands sold at Zanesville, Ohio; thence north on said west line twenty-eight rods ; thence east twenty-nine rods; thence south twenty-eight rods; thence west twenty-nine rods to the place of beginning." The county commissioners in directing a survey of the county seat tract ordered that there should be reserved "as a public square about two and one-half acres upon which to erect a courthouse, provided that a strip about three rods wide can be obtained on reasonable terms from the landholders adjoining, in order to the laying out of streets all around and a tier of lots on two sides of said square." At the same time the board declared "that the name of the new county seat ordered to be surveyed be Caldwell." COUNTY SOLD SOME LOTS Deputy County Surveyor George Bell carried out the board's order December 20 and 21, 1854. In addition to the tract measuring 28 x 29 rods which has been described, a plat containing forty-eight lots, including about eleven and one-half acres, was laid off at that time, but no lots were offered for sale during the period when the continuation of litigation gave uncertainty to the final location of the county seat. But this being settled the com-missioners proceeded, June 10, 1857, to provide for a new courthouse and soon the new town of Caldwell was in the making. Thomas Drake drew up plans for the proposed temple of justice and on July 21 the contract was awarded to Young & Gibbs 454 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO at their bid of $13,000, who completed the work January 4, 1859. While under construction a frame building on the west side of the square became the temporary courthouse. There was an auction sale of a number of the county's lots in Caldwell July 4, 1859, at prices ranging from $48 to $200 each. A few weeks later several buildings were under way and in one of them Caldwell's first newspaper was printed. BUILDING A COURTHOUSE Young. & Gibbs found it necessary to construct a building other than the courthouse when their work began in Caldwell—a frame shanty, which they put up on one corner of the square to accommodate the workmen who were too numerous to secure temporary homes within the very few residences of the immediate neighborhood. But if boarding places were not at hand a deposit of clay was. Brought to the surface in the process of excavating for the courthouse foundation it was made into courthouse brick on the premises and thus an early Noble County industry was launched. There was quickened construction of private buildings to such extent that it became practicable to find in Caldwell quarters for county offices, whereupon the commissioners ordered, January 21, 1858, that within twenty days all books, papers, furniture, etc., be removed from Sarahsville to the places which had been provided for them in Caldwell. Some Sarahsville partizans, game to the last, sought by an appeal to the court to prevent the removal but the work was completed. Caldwell now had the county seat while Sarahsville could claim only the county jail, with its pair of prisoner inmates. A JAIL AND TWO HOTELS And these could not long be boasted of for in October, 1858, James Dudley was given a contract to erect in Caldwell, on the square's west side, a jail and a jailor's residence, which he did at a cost to the county of $3,800, completing the building December 1, 1859. Meanwhile, the county seat had welcomed two hotels by autumn of the previous year. The Eldorado, a two-story frame, was located near the southwest corner of the square. Its proprietor, A. R. Rice, had erected the building for the purpose. SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 455 The George Rice building was the home of the other hotel, which had been opened by J. W. Boggs, who, in 1860, became proprietor of the old Eagle Hotel. A NEW CHURCH FOR CALDWELL Caldwell's first church had also arrived as a result of Samuel Caldwell's offer, made May 27, 1859, to donate a lot to the Methodist Episcopal congregation at Olive if they would agree to remove their place of worship to Caldwell. They accepted the terms, erected a church building at Caldwell and dedicated it that year. The new church was Caldwell's only one until 1861, when about a dozen Baptists organized the Caldwell Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. G. W. Churchill. PIONEERING DAYS The fertile bottoms of Wills Creek proved to be attractive to some of the earliest pioneers of the territory now known as Noble County. Among the earliest settlers are mentioned Joseph Reeves, who entered Wayne Township territory in about 1799, remained a while, made his way eastward again and returned later to become a permanent Wayne Township settler. John Vorheis is reported to have been Wayne's first real settler in 1802. It is said that Jacob Yoho was a Wayne pioneer three years later. Seneca Township territory became the home of Timothy Bates in the same year while John and James Reed located in what is now Beaver Township in 1804. The Enochs, Morris, Crow and Grandon families settled on the east fork of Duck Creek in what is now Stock Township in early times—perhaps in 1806. Of another pioneer Martin's history gives this interesting. account : "In 1804 Ezekiel Dye, a veteran of the Revolution, left Pennsylvania and started westward in search of a new location. He followed the old Federal Trail, which had been made by a part of General St. Clair's army on its way to Fort Washington. This trail left the Ohio River at the mouth of Grave Creek, pursued a westerly course and crossed Dye's Fork of Meigs Creek, near the present site of Rennock. "After proceeding. as far west as Chillicothe Dye returned to Meigs Creek and made selection of a tract of land. The next 456 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO year was spent in Pennsylvania, making preparations to emigrate and in 1806 he sent his six sons, Thomas, Ezekiel, Jr., Vincent, William, John and Amos, to occupy the land and make the neces-sary improvements for a permanent home. In 1807 he joined his sons and thus was made the first settlement in what is now Brookfield Township. Following the Dyes there came a large number of immigrants from New England, chiefly from Massachusetts and it was not long until 'Dye Settlement' was one of the best known northwest of the Ohio River. These early settlers were men of sturdy character, little given to roaming and some of the farms they entered are still (1904 ) in the hands of their descendants." In 1806 Jacob Gregg, from Pennsylvania, entered 160 acres of land in what is now Buffalo Township and was followed later by Abraham, George and John Rich and John and Abraham Miley. In 1812 a group of Virginians joined the little settlement—Levi Lyons, Abraham Booker, John Drake, George R. Johnson, John, Samuel and Isaac Kackley. ENLARGED STREAM OF PIONEERS In 1806, to a point not far from the site of Belle Valley, came a pioneer named Bain and soon he was joined by Richard Fletcher. During five years these two settlers on the West Fork of Duck Creek were alone in that part of the county ; but in 1811 came the McKees and in 1812 John Noble and his brother. Between that year and 1812 West Fork received quite a group of settlers—Charles McCune, John Reed, Benjamin Thorla, John Clowser, Lambert Newton, John and Thomas Davis, Lemuel Fowler, Joseph Lippitt, Solomon Brown and others. Lippitt bought a section of land just north of where Belle Valley is located and was rated as the community's wealthiest man. In 1809, to where Caldwell now stands, came Robert Caldwell, from Washington County, Ohio, and his entry of land was one of the first made in what is now Olive Township. Within three years Simeon Blake, William Free, Joseph Tilton and his three sons, Charles Davis and four sons, Silas Thorla, James Webber, George Padgett, Sherebiah Clark, and Samuel Allen located in Olive Township. The last named erected at Socum the West Fork's and probably the county's first mill, after coming from Marietta. SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 457 A VERY EARLY ORCHARD Elk Township's first settlers are said to have been Samuel Pryor, Jesse Davis, Moses T. Spencer and Matthew Grey and Center Township's earliest pioneers (1809) were Ephraim Bates and James Dye. The Bates orchard has been called one of the first planted in Noble County territory. Bates built Center Township's first mill in 1814. The Devollds, McGarrys, some of the Archers and Ambrose Merry and James Lowe were other settlers of the neighborhood. Edward Ward and his son John brought their families from Pennsylvania to Wayne Township in 1807 and by 1812 what is now the northeastern part of Noble County had quite a population. Some of the early settlers there were Cornelius Bryan and his sons, James and John; Joseph Burson, Robert Carpenter, John Ferris, James Law, John Hague, Thomas Richey, Isaac Mendenhall, William Lowrey and William Thompson. Jackson Township's earliest settler was perhaps Aaron Hughs, who came in 1811 and was joined later by his brother, Jonathan. Not far from their homes but in what is now Jefferson Township was David Ales. Settlements in the southern part of Noble County territory lagged until after the War of 1812 and as late as 1825 this district was the county's most sparsely settled. To this section in 1817 came several English families—the Taylors, Cadwells, Kieths and Peter Gore. SUMMERFIELD FOUNDED An important settlement was that near the site of Summerfield. It was built up during the years 1812 to 1820 inclusive. First came David West, in 1812, from Delaware, and he was followed by the following Delawarians: Nathaniel Capell, Ananias Banum, William and Archelaus Lingo, James Shankland, Asa Barton, William Burcher, and Thomas Cochran. In 1817 the site of Summerfield attracted a number of Protestant immigrants fresh from Ireland who chose to settle where the Zanesville-Sunfish and Barnesville-Marietta roads crossed. Moses Horton bought land near this junction and laid out some lots. Some of the nearby pioneers looked down upon these "foreigners" but this Irish settlement was one of thrift and industry and gradually "made good." Carrying out the settlement's senti- 458 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO ments in behalf of education Hugh O'Neill, a member, opened a subscription school and made a success of it. Among these Irish-men were a few Scotchmen—Robert and William Calland and Matthew Woods. Descendants of the Summerfield settlers have been highly respected residents of the county. James Archibald was probably Sharon Township's first permanent settler. He entered land there in 1815. Among other early pioneers were William Boone, Alfred Smoot, James Kyle, Thomas Wiley, Peter Ackley, Thomas Boyd, William Wiley, John Brownrigg, Lewis Shirley, Robert Lowe, William Bell and Samuel Long. A group of German families also settled in Sharon—Anthonys, Swanks, Pickenpaughs, Harmons and Klingensmiths Noble County's first lawyer, Isaac Parrish, settled in Sharon in 1819. He rose to the honor of representing his district in Congress. CHAPTER CXXXVIII COUNTY'S ROAD BUILDING LAGGED AND THIS DELAYED SETTLEMENT OLD INDIAN TRAIL BROADENED INTO ROADWAY—WOODSFIELD- McCONNELSVILLE ROAD OPENED 1817—ROBERT McKEE, FIRST POSTMASTER —OLIVE A BUSY TOBACCO CENTER—PIONEER NAMED PLACE AFTER HIS WIFE SARAH—SHARON HAD A COLLEGE—FACTS ABOUT SUMMER-FIELD, HIRAMSBURG, CARLISLE AND OTHER VILLAGES. "One of the greatest needs of the Noble County pioneers was that of highways. For several years the old Federal Trail, opened in 1791, was the only thoroughfare through this section of the state. It left the Ohio River at the mouth of Grave Creek and crossed the western part of Noble County. Near the present Village of Renrock the trail forked, one branch running through Morgan County and crossing the Muskingum River at Gaysport, and the other leading toward Chillicothe. An old Indian trail along the west fork of Duck Creek was used for some time as a sort of neighborhood road, and finally broadened into a highway. But time has wrought many changes. The road was straightened here and there to conform more nearly to the lines of the surveys and all trace of the old trail has been obliterated." A road "to commence on the headwaters of the Seneca and thence down the same by Cornelius Bryan's, Jacob Yoho's, etc., to the Town of Cambridge" was completed in the spring of 1811. Three or four years later a road was cut out from the salt works in Olive Township to Marietta. In 1816 a road was opened between Carlisle and Woodsfield. It had been "bushed out" some time before, as had also trails to the neighborhood of East Union and to Bates' Mill. The two latter trails were afterwards developed into roads. - 459 - 30—VOL. 2 460 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO WOODSFIELD-M'CONNELSVILLE ROAD In 1817, the Center Road, connecting Woodsfield and McConnelsville, was opened through Sharon Township. An important road was prayed for October 26, 1819, by Robert Caldwell and others "to commence at or near the twelve-mile tree on the road from Cambridge to the Washington County line ; thence nearly a south course to Benjamin Thorla's, on Duck Creek ; thence to Robert Caldwell's, to intersect the New Philadelphia Road, to the Washington County line near Captain Blake's." The commissioners of Guernsey County, to whom this petition was addressed, ordered the road to be opened. Meanwhile the state constructed a road between Barnesville and McConnelsville which passed through Batesville, Sarahsville, Belle Valley, Hoskinsville and the Dye settlement and another between Belmont County and Marietta which passed through Calais, Summerfield and Carlisle and which at Summerfield intersected the road extending from Zanesville to Sunfish on the Ohio River. As commerce follows the flag so do post routes and post offices follow the pioneer road builder. In Noble County territory's earliest days the settler went to Marietta for his mail. When post offices were established at Woodsfield and Cambridge he traveled a somewhat shorter distance and in either case the roads were almost impassable. COUNTY'S FIRST POSTMASTER Robert McKee was probably Noble's first postmaster, his office having been established at McKee's store, Olive Township, in 1820. He received from Marietta a once-a-week mail and when Macksburg was given a post office the mail reached McKee from that point and the route was extended to Washington, Guernsey County. Seven years later a McConnelsville-Cambridge route was established and this brought into existence the second Noble County post office of which there is a record. It was located in Wharton's store, Brookfield Township. Martin writes entertainingly of post offices established a little later and the character of pioneer mail : "During the next two years several new offices were opened, viz. : at Bates' Mill, with Timothy Bates as postmaster; Summerfield, with James W. Shankland as postmaster; Sharon, with SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 461 Rev. Robert Rutherford as postmaster; and at Hoskinsville, where Col. Erastus Hoskins had charge of the office. The office at Bates' Mill was called Batesville and was supplied with a weekly mail on the route from Barnesville to McConnelsville. At the Sharon office two newspapers were taken so that the weekly mail at that point was always certain to contain something, though it sometimes happened for weeks at a time that the mail contained no letters." NOBLE COUNTY VILLAGES As post routes and post offices followed road builders so did villages follow all these. Robert McKee's store, located about three-fourths of a mile from the site of Caldwell, became the nucleus of the county's oldest village, Olive. The establishment of the post office there in 1820 made a little center of it and the holding of the county courts there for a while increased its importance. Olive went into a decline, however, when Caldwell became the county seat. In early days it was a busy tobacco center, from which the leaf was hauled to Ohio River shipping points. SARAHSVILLE, FIRST COUNTY SEAT Sarahsville next emerged from the wilderness. The site was surveyed June 19, 1829, by Benjamin Thorla, acting for John Devolld and Ezekiel Bates, and the town plat was recorded September 28. Devolld had built a two-story brick house on the site about four years previously, probably the first brick residence in Noble County; and when the town was named he remembered that his wife's name was Sarah. In one of the few cabins which stood near the Devolld home John Devolld kept a store and thus became Sarahsville's first merchant. James M. Round, George Bell and Samuel Aikens made additions to the town's plat. Sarahsville's early importance was enhanced by having the county-seat prize for awhile. SHARON AND SHARON COLLEGE Sharon is the rose which bloomed next on the bush of Noble County villages. By Robert Rutherford, and for Edward Parrish, owner of the site, it was platted, with fourteen lots laid out. John and Isaac Parrish and Reuben Israel conducted a consider- 462 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO able pork-packing business there in early days and Sharon became an important leaf tobacco market. A care for education was early manifested, when one of Sharon's first buildings, a log schoolhouse, was erected where the Masonic Hall was later built. A step was taken in the same direction, soon after the creation of Noble County, when Rev. Randall Ross founded Sharon College, an institution which came to be highly regarded. The religious convictions of the neighborhood had passed into action as early as 1823 with the erection of a Presbyterian Church on the site of Sharon. SUMMERFIELD AT THE CROSSROADS Summerfield, one of Noble's oldest villages, was first laid off in 1817 by Moses Horton, and was named in honor of Rev. John Summerfield, a Methodist minister. Several additions to the original plat were made. HIRAMSBURG LAID OUT IN 1836 Hiramsburg was named for the owner of its site, Hiram Calvert, who in 1836 employed John F. Talley to lay out the village. Samuel Stevens had a store on the site before Talley surveyed it. The place's first postmaster and first hotelkeeper was Asa Burlingame and Reason Calvert manufactured potash and linseed and castor oils. CARLISLE A TOBACCO MARKET Carlisle (Berne P. O.) was in early times a busy leaf-tobacco market where the product was packed and shipped to Baltimore. It was laid out in 1838 on lands belonging to John McBride and Enoch Archer. MT. EPHRAIM AND ITS TANNERY Mt. Ephraim lifted itself out of the forest on the old Barnesville-McConnelsville State Road about 1838 and was named in honor of Ephraim Vorhies, for whom it was platted and who during previous years had kept a tavern there in a large double log house known far and wide as the "Moss Tavern," because moss instead of mortar had been used to chink the spaces between the logs. For years an Englishman named Henry Steel con- SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 463 ducted at Mt. Ephraim one of the first tanneries established in Noble County territory. WILLIAMSBURG-BATESVILLE Batesville was originally named Williamsburg to honor the Christian name of William Tinley, its founder. When a post office was established at Timothy Bates' mill, near Williamsburg, the office took the name of Batesville and this soon became the name of the town itself. CHAPTER CXXXIX SPENT MORE THAN QUARTER MILLION ON "CALICO" RAILROAD THEN CAME PROPOSAL TO BUILD A ROAD BETWEEN MARIETTA AND CAMBRIDGE-TRAIN SERVICE OPENED CALDWELL TO MARIETTA, 1871- WORKING FOR A NARROW GAUGE LINE-MOTOR VEHICLES ARE PUTTING IT OUT OF BUSINESS. In 1849, two years before there was a Noble County, a movement to secure a railroad into the territory which later became a part of the county was inaugurated by the Sharon Railroad Company, which Isaac Parrish, J. M. Stone, Oliver Keyser, Elijah Stevens and Samuel Aikens incorporated with a capital stock of $30,000, and whose object it was to connect the Village of Sharon with the most available point on the Muskingum River in Wash-ington County. Grading for the road began in the summer of 1850 but the company soon found its capital wholly inadequate. In 1853 the Guernsey County Court granted permission to increase the capi-tal to $50,000 and to extend the line to Cumberland, Guernsey County. The company was reorganized and this was followed by ten years of empty efforts to build the road with a southern ter-minus on the Ohio near Cincinnati and a northern terminus near Steubenville. After sinking more than $250,000 of investors' money this "Calico" railroad project was abandoned. But the desire for a railroad in this section would not die. In 1866 it took the form of proposing to build a line from Marietta to Point Pleasant. Meetings were held along the suggested route but the "Calico" fiasco was too fresh in mind for responsive support. One of these gatherings took place at Caldwell November 8, 1866, when William McKee, Dennis S. Gibbs and George Fetters were chosen to visit Cumberland and Marietta in search of concert of action. Later, preliminary surveys followed along - 465 - 466 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO both forks of Duck Creek in the effort to run an acceptable line from Marietta to Cambridge and beyond, via Caldwell. But the enterprise lagged until February 19, 1868, when a very considerable number of Noble, Guernsey and Washington County citizens met in Cambridge and where it was decided to break away from the old company and begin all over with a new one. Gen. A. J. Warner, of Marietta ; E. W. Mathews, of Cambridge, and Attorney James S. Forman, of Caldwell, were charged with the work of reorganization. As a result of their activities the Marietta & Pittsburgh Railroad Company was incorporated in the following September. A month later W. H. Frazier, William C. Okey and William W. Glidden, of Caldwell, and R. R. Dawes and William P. Cutler, of Marietta, were authorized to receive stock subscriptions and donations. We anticipate Noble County results with the statement that in order to secure passage of the road through Caldwell $60,000 was required. Citizens of the county put up a total of $115,000. A year was spent in selling stock and securing pledges, at the end of which time there was a fund of $175,000 which had been raised in Noble and Washington counties. A REAL RAILROAD AT LAST A contract followed whereby Warner, McArthur & Co. agreed to build a line between Caldwell and Marietta for $5,000 a mile in cash, $4,000 in capital stock and $8,000 in 7 per cent first mortgage bonds. This enterprise went through and without disheartening delays, for in November, 1871, train service began between Caldwell and Marietta. Caldwell welcomed the first train with a joy that realization of long deferred hope made deep. At last the county was in railroad touch with the mighty Ohio where the busy Muskingum flows into it. When in 1872 the line's extension to Cambridge occurred, Noble's satisfaction increased, and when later it tapped Lake Erie at Cleveland, it was looked upon as a trunk line. GREAT PENNSYLVANIA'S LINK But the company itself was not always as happy as was the public. Several dines it fell into receivers' hands. Known first as the Marietta & Pittsburgh, then as the Marietta, Pittsburgh & Cleveland, and later as the Cleveland & Marietta, the road at SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 467 length became the Marietta Division of the Pennsylvania System and as such a part of one of the world's wealthiest and most pros-perous corporations. Its work in developing Noble County's resources has been marked and constant. OHIO'S' ONLY NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD When Caldwell was about to get railroad connection with Marietta there was talk of connecting Caldwell and Zanesville with a narrow gauge railroad, and in due time the Zanesville, Cumberland & Caldwell Company was incorporated. Noble County citizens were already carrying one railroad burden and hesitated to lend a hand to the new project. In 1872 the Bellaire, Woodsfield & Zanesville Railroad Company was organized, and later it and the Zanesville, Cumberland & Caldwell Company were consolidated, under the name of the Bellaire & Southwestern Railroad Company, with E. G. Morgan as president and Col. S. L. Mooney as general superintendent. Work on the line began in 1876 and the first train made the run from Bellaire to Woodsfield on Thanksgiving day, 1879. This encouraged the Summerfield friends of the enterprise to work for the road's extension westward to that point at least, and they held a meeting there which took an encouraging turn. But to hurrah for an enterprise and put hard cash into it are different things, as was realized when subscriptions were solicited for the proposed extension. It looked blue for Summerfield, but, nothing daunted, Caldwell in December, 1880, arranged a meeting intended to bring an extension of which the county seat would be the western terminus. WORKING FOR A NEW LINE The company's officials went to that Caldwell meeting and talked business, offering to furnish and lay .the rails and equip and operate the road between Woodsfield and Caldwell if the people along the route would pay for road-bed grading, the ties, and buy or grant the right of way. Estimating the cost of these at $100,000, a committee consisting of John W. Tipton, Fulton Caldwell, W. W. Collins William W. Glidden, R. P. Summers, George A. Smith and David S. Spriggs took up the task of soliciting subscriptions. It was a task and one that did not win success until the fall of 1881. 468 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO Zanesville, meanwhile, had launched the Zanesville & Southeastern Railroad Company to build a line to Beverly, Washington County, to connect with the Bellaire & Southwestern line. In January, 1882, these two companies were consolidated under the name of the Bellaire, Zanesville & Cincinnati Railroad Company. Muskingum County donated over $200,000 and the link between Zanesville and Caldwell was built. Between Bellaire and Summerfield trains began running in August, 1883, and between Zanesville and Caldwell in November. The first through train from Zanesville to Bellaire made the trip December 3, the same year. The road has been in financial difficulties more than once, and twice receiverships have been resorted to. Reorganized at length as the Ohio River & Western Railroad and passing into the hands of the Appleyard Syndicate in 1902, it later came under control of the Pennsylvania System, where it still remains. For more than a year its owners and officers have sought permission from the State Public Utilities Commission to abandon operations, under the plea that the corporation is annually a heavy loser. There is no doubt that automobiles, busses, trucks and paved highways have vastly reduced the earning power of the road, and the public expects that Ohio's only narrow gauge railway will cease to exist in the near future. But for more than forty years it has done a large share in the development of Noble County and will be missed by her inhabitants. CHAPTER CXL NOBLE COUNTY IN THE COUNTRY'S SEVERAL WARS THREE COMPANIES WERE RECRUITED FOR THREE MONTHS' SERVICE AND WERE CONSOLIDATED INTO ONE-PROMPT RESPONSES MADE TO LATER CALLS-PRIVATE DALZELL BROUGHT ABOUT GREAT SOLDIERS' REUNION AT CALDWELL-LAST SURVIVING SOLDIER OF THE REVOLUTION LAID AWAY IN NOBLE COUNTY-A NUMBER OF THE COUNTY'S SONS SAW SERVICE IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN-LIST OF THOSE WHO GAVE UP THEIR LIVES .IN THE WORLD WAR. QUICK RESPONSE IN THE CIVIL WAR From first to last her service was all that could be asked. President Lincoln's first call for troops was promptly responded to. Three companies were recruited, but before they could be organized the nation's army of three-months' men had been filled and Noble's contributions were not needed for it. Under calls for longer service, however, new enlistments were freely fur-nished. The first company for the purpose was made up from the three first raised 'and it left Summerfield for Camp Chase June 22, 1861, and became Company I in the Twenty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Noble's additional contributions to the Federal army gave to it companies and parts of companies composed of her best fighting forces. Their members saw service in the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Thirtieth, Thirty-sixth, Forty-second, Sixty-second, Sixty-third, Seventy-seventh, Seventy-eighth, Ninety-second, One Hundred and Sixteenth, One Hundred and Sixty-first, One Hundred and Seventy-sixth, One Hundred and Eighty-fifth, and One Hun-dred and Eighty-sixth Ohio regiments. Many of them gave true evidence of their patriotism by reenlisting after their first terms had expired. INEXHAUSTIBLE PATRIOTISM There were times during the conflict when it seemed that Noble County, with her limited population, amounting to but - 469 - 470 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO 20,000 at the beginning of the war, had furnished all the men available for service, but every new call found her patriotic sons ready to respond. It is to be regretted that the services performed by Noble County's soldiers cannot here be reported in detail and that the name of each and every member cannot here be set down and preserved. We can say, however, that they did their full duty ; that on all the great battlefields Noble County's sons fought valiantly. Noble Countians claim for their county that it produced Ohio's first oil well and held the first national reunion of Civil war soldiers. The first event is described elsewhere and the county's phenomenal success in initiating the second we deal with here. The man who conceived the movement and worked it out was James M. Dalzell, a private soldier of the Civil war, who could not dismiss from his mind the feeling that Union veterans owed it to themselves and to the cause they had served to hold a national reunion. CALDWELL'S GREAT SOLDIERS' REUNION Accordingly, a call for such a meeting, to be held at Lansing, Mich., March 4, 1872, was issued, but the enterprise failed through indifferent advertising and lukewarm support. A second call, with Washington City as the place and March 4, 1873, as the time, brought little better results. Nearly everyone concerned lost heart but "Private" James M. Dalzell. With characteristic perseverance, he determined upon a third effort, and this time he chose his home town, Caldwell, as the meeting place, and a much better time of the year, September 15 (1874). For months he supplied the newspapers with "copy" about the gathering and the publication of these worked up public sentiment successfully. Congress gave aid with good results by recognizing the reunion as a national affair and by granting the organization a supply of ammunition and several pieces of artillery. Historian Martin has summed up the results in these words : "General Sherman and other prominent commanders were present; nearly every northern state was represented in the vast crowd, which was estimated at from 25,000 to 30,000 people. The reunion was held in a beautiful grove just west of Caldwell, where the program was carried out according to the original plan. Old SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 471 acquaintances were renewed and old friendships cemented at this first and greatest national reunion of soldiers. "PRIVATE" DALZELL WAS HAPPY "Notwithstanding Caldwell had at that time but one line of railroad, the crowd was not inconvenienced for want of accommodations, and everybody went away happy, but none more so than 'Private' Dalzell, who had witnessed the successful termination of his long cherished scheme. Reunions were also held in Caldwell in 1875 and 1876, but neither of these later meetings equaled in magnitude or interest the first great reunion." Pvt. James M. Dalzell, who with Noble County's loyal support won this great success over apparently insurmountable obstacles, was born . . . , enlisted as a private in Company H, One Hun-dred and Sixteenth O. V. Infantry; was promoted to be sergeant for gallant conduct. In 1866 he was appointed to a Government clerkship in Washington, D. C., and was there two years, studying law during the evenings. On being admitted to the bar he returned to Caldwell to practice his profession, and there he took deep interest in politics, wrote copiously to the press on political subjects and became a vigorous stump speaker. He represented Noble County in the Legislature (1875-9), and in 1882 was a candidate for Congress, but was defeated for the nomination. On the heels of this defeat he gave up politics and practiced law. JOHN GRAY, SOLDIER UNDER WASHINGTON Noble County also claims the distinction of being the last resting place of the last surviving soldier of the Revolution. Martin tells the story in the following interesting fashion : "In a little cemetery near Hiramsburg stands an unpretentious slab of plain white marble bearing the inscription : 'John Gray, died March 29, 1868, aged 104 years, two months and 23 days. The last of Washington's companions. The hoary head is a crown of glory.' In his boyhood he was employed by Washington on numerous errands. His father fell at the battle of White Plains and the son enlisted in the patriot army in 1781, where he served until the close of the war. "John Gray was twelve years of age when the independence of the United States was declared. He lived to see the American arms victorious in the war of the Revolution, the War of 1812, 472 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO the Mexican war and the war between the states. In 1829 he settled in what was afterward Noble County and there passed the remainder of his life. In 1866 he was granted a pension of $500 a year by an act of Congress, but he lived only two years to enjoy it. "According to the records of the Pension Office at Washington he was the last surviving- pensioner of the Revolution, and he was probably what the inscription on his tombstone declares, 'the last of Washington's companions.' The last years of his life were spent in a humble home about two hundred and fifty yards from the little cemetery where his remains found a last resting place." "One by one the severed links have started Bonds that bound us to the sacred past ; One by one our patriot sires departed, Time has brought us to behold the last ; Last of all who won our early glory, Lonely traveler of the weary way, Poor, unknown, unnamed in song or story, In his western cabin lives John Gray." —Private Dalzell. NOBLE IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN A number of the county's sons served their country in this conflict, not waiting for the organization of a company. Those performing duty in the regular army participated gallantly in the Cuban campaign. Among them were Stephen M. Archer, captain in the Seventeenth United States Infantry ; Oliver M. Knouff and William H. Wehr, the latter receiving a wound in the hip at El Caney, and Harry Collins and Pursell Archer, of the artillery, both of whom saw service in the Santiago campaigns. Noble had a military company as early as 1897, when one was organized at Summerfield and called the Guilbert Rifles. It numbered sixty men and was mustered into the Ohio National Guard as Company E of the Seventh Regiment. Its first captain was Robert W. Calland, a Civil war veteran, who rose to the rank of major in the Seventh Regiment. The company was named in honor of W. D. Guilbert, a citizen of Noble County and at one time auditor of the State of Ohio. When Admiral Dewey was the guest of Wheeling February 22, 1900, Company E was selected as the Admiral's escort and occu- SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 473 pied the post of honor in the procession. This was a fitting recognition of the company's fine military appearance and the precision of their movements. THE COUNTY'S WORLD WAR DEAD The following list of the men of Noble who gave up their lives in their country's service in 1917-18 proves the extent of her patriotic participation in that conflict. The list is taken from Charles B. Galbreath's "History of Ohio" with his express permission: Addis, Thomas I., Dexter City, November 1, 1918. Artman, Glenn, Caldwell, October 10, 1918. Atkinson, James O., Summerfield, March 12, 1918. Baker, Orange L., Harriettsville, August 10, 1919. Barnhouse, Charles I., Belle Valley, February 8, 1919. Bass, William H., Sarahsville, October 6, 1918. Betts, John D., Batesville, October 4, 1918. Bonar, John S., Harriettsville, August 11, 1918. Bond, Pearly J., Caldwell, July 20, 1918. Craft, William, Mt. Ephraim, October 3, 1918. Craft, William P., Caldwell, September 27, 1918. Crum, Michael A., Middleburg, October 13, 1918. Davis, Delbert, Sarahsville, September 30, 1918. Devolld, Ernest A., Caldwell, October 5, 1918. Graham, Clarence R., Caldwell, October 7, 1918. Heddleson, Grover C., Caldwell, May 19, 1919. Jennings, John B., Caldwell, October 18, 1918. Jones, John C., Sarahsville, October 13, 1918. Landaker, Amon L., South Olive, October 6, 1918. Morrison, Hobart M., Harriettsville, October 3, 1918. Phillips, Jacob C., Brookfield, January 16, 1919. Rupple, Henry A., Caldwell, October 27, 1918. Sanford, William M. Didley, October 5, 1918. Seecrest, Carl E., Belle Valley, October 13, 1918. Wilson, William H., Elk Township, February 8, 1918. CHAPTER CXLI OIL DISCOVERED IN NOBLE COUNTY IN THE YEAR 1814 IT WAS AN ACCIDENTAL STRIKE AS SILAS THORLA WAS DRILLING FOR SALT-THE OIL, WAS CONSIDERED A NUISANCE BUT WAS USED AS A MEDICINE-DRILLED IN EARNEST ON DUCK CREEK IN 1860-OIL MEN WERE SOON POURING INTO THE COUNTY. The Slaveholders' Rebellion closed in April, 1865. Slavery had ceased, the Union remained and thoughts in the North turned toward "binding up the Nation's wounds." The veterans of Noble came home to do their part of that work and soon were in the midst of it. An important post-war movement was that which led to Noble County's oil fields. Preliminary activities had begun on the eve of the conflict, but oil prospecting gave way to recruiting and remained quiescent until peace reappeared. Oil had been discovered in Noble County forty-seven years before the Civil war opened. There was a deer lick near the site of the Village of Olive which early pioneers knew about. In 1814 a salt maker, Silas Thorla, decided to sink a well and make salt there, for if he could get the salt it would yield him $2 a bushel. His drill struck a rich deposit of salt water at a depth of about two hundred feet. SKIMMED THE OIL OFF But there was a fly in the ointment or too much ointment in the brine--an admixture of petroleum which seemed to negative the idea of getting a palatable salt from the water beneath the old deer lick. However, when the fluid stood a while the old saying that oil and water won't mix had a new verification. There was the petroleum floating on top but the water was turned into marketable salt after its top had been skimmed off. Meanwhile, the settlers did not wholly neglect the oil. Some of them took it home and sought to make an illuminant of it, but the odor was offensive and most of Mr. Thorla's by product went to waste. - 475 - 31-VOL. 2 476 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO Not all of it, however, for some was sold to peddlers, who called it Seneca oil and sold it to the victims of rheumatism and similar troubles. There was a third element in that old Thorla well which has for many years cut a tremendous figure in solving the fuel problems of a large section of the United States—natural gas. This in the Thorla well would about once a week "blow off," force a column of the salt water forty to fifty feet into the air, and suspend the well's regular business. Although it was observed that this something would burn steadily it was also regarded as a waste product. MADE SALT DAY AND NIGHT About a year after the Thorla well demonstrated in this fashion the manufacture of salt was begun half a mile up stream by Robert and John Caldwell and one Hill, an Englishman. An instructive story was told about this well's gaseous behavior by John McKee and it appeared in an issue of the Caldwell Republican in 1870. We preface the narrative with the statement that the demand for salt was such that the Caldwells manufactured it day and night, the water to supply the kettles through the night being pumped during the day. "One night," wrote McKee, "it fell to the lot of Robert Caldwell to 'run the machine.' Everything went well with him until nearly morning when he found the water nearly exhausted and had to pump more. For this purpose he mounted a platform made of puncheons to reach the spring pole; this brought him eight or ten feet above the ground and almost directly over the well. In order to have light upon his work he carried some blazing coals upon a piece of hickory bark. "He placed the bark upon the floor, seized the spring pole and commenced to work; but ere his task was half completed a live coal fell through the floor and very near to the well—quite near enough to ignite the gas from the well. Mr. Caldwell said he saw a ball of fire rise upward while the timbers cracked and the irons rattled and his hair stood on end. Slowly this ball ascended, being fully as large as a haycock, until it reached the highest branches of a hickory tree standing near, when it exploded, making a noise equal to the loudest thunder. The noise was heard for five miles in every direction. Robert Caldwell was not hurt, but a worse scared man was never seen on Duck Creek." SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 477 "In early times when salt was scarce and hard to obtain its manufacture was conducted at several places in the county, salt water being found almost anywhere by drilling a well. When the railroads. were opened through the county it was soon discovered that salt could be more easily obtained through commerce and the salt works. of Noble County were discontinued."—Martin. DRILLED FOR OIL ON DUCK CREEK, 1860 Soon after the day in August, 1859, when Col. E. L. Drake struck oil near Titusville, Pa., David McKee, of Noble County, visited the oil regions of Pennsylvania and there the oil possibili-ties impressed him so that, entering into an arrangement with George J. Duff, a Pittsburgh operator, he began in the summer of 1860 to drill for oil on Duck Creek. But the first well to come in in Noble County responded to the drill on the Dennis Gibbs farm in the summer of 1860. Frank Blake's farm furnished well number two. In both cases, however, the yield was light and the drillers quit. James Dutton's farm, located about a mile from Macksburg, followed, however, with a hundred-barrel-a-day well and then the oil fever set in. In a few weeks leases were being taken, derricks loomed up and drilling was on. The "Diamond Well," McKee & Duff's, drilled in not far from where Dexter City now is, yielded oil in promising quantity but a flow of water caused its owners to pass it up. Then came the war and well sinking in Noble was permitted to go by default while her sons were helping to save the Union. Here we quote from Historian Martin : "Speculators from New York, New England and Pennsylvania visited Ohio for the purpose of leasing or purchasing all the lands under which it was thought oil could be found. Com-panies with capital stock running into millions were organized, the sale of the stock being the principal object. Farms worth $40 an acre sold for a thousand, some refusing even this high figure. As a matter of fact very few farms were actually bought by these oil companies. Fabulous prices were offered but in only a few instances were the lands actually paid for, the main object being to dispose of the stock." The importance of the county's present oil and gas interests is shown in the public utilities data on another page. CHAPTER CXLII A CHAPTER OF NOBLE COUNTY MISCELLANIES SARAHSVILLE'S MIGHTY OAK DESCRIBED-TABLE OF POPULATION GIVEN -CONDENSED STORY OF NOBLE'S EARLY CHURCHES-BRIEF HISTORY OF EARLY BANKS-UNDERGROUND RAILROAD ROUTE THROUGH THE COUNTY WAS KEPT BUSY-NAMING THE WATERWAYS-EARLIEST NEWSPAPER WORK-CALDWELL, THE COUNTY SEAT-EXCELLENT SCHOOLS-PUBLIC UTILITIES WORTH OVER TWO MILLIONS-POPULATION CHANGES-COUNTY OFFICERS. Until 1880 Noble County could claim the possession of a most remarkable white oak tree. It grew near Sarahsville to a height of seventy-eight feet without a bend and to a circumference of thirty-four feet six inches at the base. In 1880 a storm uprooted this giant of the forest and part of it was used to feed a bonfire lighted in celebration of Garfield's election to the presidency. The census tables show that Noble has suffered losses in population corresponding to those suffered by other agricultural counties minus the sustaining power of growing cities. Noble's population was at its peak in 1880 with a total of 21,138. It had risen to that point from 20,751 in 1860 and 19,949 in 1870. The later figures are : 1890, 20,763; 1900, 19,466; 1920, 17,849. With its population of 17,849 in 1920 there were 44.7 persons to the square mile; with its total area of 399 square miles -and 241,906 acres of farms there was an average of 79.3 acres to the farm. In 1923, 707,247 tons of coal were mined in the county. A STORY OF EARLY CHURCHES In 1812 a Methodist Episcopal body was founded at Carlisle and it probably was the county's first church of any denomination. It began as a class, with Elisha Enochs as leader. In 1820 a log church housed a more formal organization. The first Methodist church was erected at Summerfield in 1830, but a class had existed there since 1819, of which Nathaniel Capell was the first leader. Soon after Sarahsville was laid out a Methodist church - 479 - 480 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO sprang up there, Thomas Barry and William Shaw being two of its leaders. Joseph Graham was class leader of the Mt. Ephraim Metho-dist Church, which began its existence in 1830, and which had no church home until 1844. A larger building succeeded it in 1880. In 1832, at Harrietsville, a few Methodists formed a class which was led by Jonas Lovett. A schoolhouse having been erected the class became a congregation and met in the school building until 1869, when it built a home of its own. In 1836 Mt. Tabor and Crumtown organized Methodist congregations and in 1838, at Sharon, a meeting house was erected which was followed in 1870 by a larger and better edifice, the congregation later gathering much strength. The Middleburg Methodist Church was organized in due time under Henry Enochs, leader, with Jacob Miller as its first pastor. The Caldwell Methodist Church was originally organized in Olive years before the creation of the county. After the county seat was placed at Caldwell Samuel Caldwell donated a site there and the Olive congregation founded the Caldwell Church in 1859. The new railroad between Caldwell and Marietta fired the Methodists with a desire to establish congregations of that faith in the villages springing up on the line and in 1872 Dexter City had one of these ; in 1881 William Kirkbride offered South Olive Methodists a site if they would agree to build a church on it. The congregation was organized by Rev. George Willis. Batesville and the Township of Buffalo also established Methodist churches. A Catholic organization came next to the Methodists in point of time. In 1819 a missionary from Maryland, Rev. Edward Fenwick, founded a church at Batesville, known at first as St. Dominic's and later as St. Mary's. In a few years the parish had several hundred members. In 1840, at Fulda, was organized the "Congregation of the Immaculate Conception of St. Mary." Father Kremer visited this church twice a month during nine years, and in 1853 the first church edifice was erected. At Mt. Ephraim St. Michael's was founded in 1841 and for a while was under pastoral charge as St. Mary's of Fulda. St. Henry's, established in 1868, at a point about two miles east of Harrietsville, was for a time a mission of St. Mary's. The first Baptist organization in the county was formed in Brookfield Township, February 8, 1825, at the home of Ezekiel SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 483 Dye, Sr. Its first church home was in a log building erected in 1826. In 1825 another Baptist body was organized near South Olive. Reorganized in 1843 it became the New Harmony Baptist Church and in 1856 a new frame church was erected. Several years later the Manchester Baptist Church was established and in 1857 the Roadfork Baptist Church was formed in Elk Township. Rev. G. W. Churchill established the Caldwell Baptist Church in 1861, which erected a $1,200 church home. A Presbyterian church was founded at Olive in 1820 and an-other at Sharon in 1823. The Caldwell Presbyterian Church was organized July 27, 1868. The Cumberland Presbyterians established churches at Pleasant Hill in 1845 and at Hiramsburg in 1870. Christian churches were organized at Mt. Ephraim in 1839, in Enoch Township about the close of the war and at Middleburg in 1879. Other Noble County churches organized are : United Brethren, at Fredericksdale and in Olive, Enoch and Jackson townships; Wesleyan Methodist, at Summerfield, Sarahsville and in Beaver Township ; St. John's Evangelical, Elk Township ; Mt. Hope Evangelical Lutheran, Batesville, and the Universalist at Dudley. NOBLE COUNTY BANKS One result of railroad accession in 1871 was the need for additional banking facilities and out of this came organization at Caldwell in December of that year of the Noble County Bank with a capital stock of $40,000. William H. Frazier was elected president of the institution and E. P. Pierce cashier. When the Noble County National Bank was organized March 18, 1873, with a capital stock of $60,000 the Noble County Bank was absorbed by it, the president and cashier being continued in their positions, while Charles T. Lewis was elected assistant cashier. New stock-holders were added and the board of directors consisted of W. H. Frazier, John Lemmax, Henry Large, Era McKee and George A. Smith.. The Citizens' National Bank of Caldwell was organized in September, 1902, and began operations November 3 of that year, with O. O. McKee as president; J. S. Jones, vice president, and V. E. Harkins cashier. In 1903 it was decided to build a home 484 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO for the bank that would- afford needed quarters for other ten-ants and the result was a three-story $35,000 structure providing' ample banking quarters on the main floor and a third floor lodge room. CALDWELL'S THREE BANKS The county-seat is fortunate in possessing so helpful a trio of financial institutions. Their names, resources and officers are here listed : Citizens National—Capital $60,000, surplus $60,000, and undivided profits $49,791. Its president is V. E. Harkins ; its Cashier A. L. Schafer. Farmers and Merchants--Capital $60,000, surplus $40,000, undivided profits $32,037. President, W. D. Merry; cashier, H. F. Morgareidge. Noble County National—Capital $60,000, surplus $60,000, undivided profits $24,000. President, T. R. Hazard; cashier, Herman F. Hancher. NOBLE'S UNDERGROUND RAILROAD In the territory which became Noble County there was a route which escaping slaves traveled on their way through Ohio to Canada—one of those "railroads" without rails or rolling stock which conveyed 40,000 fugitives beyond the reach of their masters and which were manned by 1,543 Ohio "agents." That route ran northward from Marietta via Rainbow and Summerfield to Cambridge and beyond. Between the years 1830 and 1845 many a negro was hidden during the day and forwarded at night along the route referred to. Among those who took part in this work were Benjamin Hughes and William Steel of near Stafford; and Thomas Large, William Wilson, Alexander Franklin, Moses Horton, Nathaniel Capell and, John M. Round. Round's Summerfield store was an underground railroad station into which many a "train" came and went with its dark-skinned freight and scheduled to operate in the silence of the night. Historian Martin wrote an instructive account of the naming of these waterways and we quote from him in full : "Many of the streams of Noble County derive their names from some early settler or from some incident that transpired along their course. Dye's Fork took its name from Ezekiel Dye, SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 485 the first settler of Brookfield Township. Reasoner's Run, in Jackson Township, was named for the hunter and trapper from Guernsey County who had a camp on the stream before any settlers came to the locality. Sailor's Run, which flows into Duck Creek a short distance below Carlisle, was named for Jacob Sailor, an early settler on the stream. Whiskey Run, in Beaver Township, takes its name. from the fact that in early days Jacob Clinedinst, Michael Upmeyer, George Peters and James Eagon all operated distilleries along the course of the creek. Opossum Run, in Seneca Township; was so named because the men engaged in cutting out the state road through the township killed an opossum on the banks of the stream. Perry's Den, a curious natural formation near Ava, received its name from the fact that in former times a noted outlaw and horse thief named Perry used it for a retreat." NOBLE COUNTY NEWSPAPERS When the county was organized its democratic majority was nearly 1,000 and to democratic editors and publishers the field seemed inviting., It was such to William H. Gill and Robert Leech, members of the constitutional convention of 1851, who launched the Democratic Courier at Sarahsville in May of that year. But in July Oliver P. Wharton and Richard H. Taneyhill came close behind at Olive with a whig newspaper, the Noble County investigator. The two newspapers took opposing sides in the county-seat contest, the Cowrier standing for Sarahsville and the Investigator for Caldwell. In August, 1852, the People's Organ made its ap-pearance at the county seat with a puzzling display of preference for Olive. Meanwhile the Courier had been acquired by Samuel McGarry and William Tracy and it continued its fight for Sarahsville. The People's Organ became the Noble County Patriot and later the Christian Harbinger, under the ownership of John Stevens and W. M. Kain; afterwards it was united with the Republican (which had been established in 1856 at Sarahsville by Gibbs, Clark & Schofield) and the Consolidated Republican was thus born, Randall Ross and William H. Phipps becoming the owners. In 1858 the office of the Democratic Courier was removed to Caldwell and William H. Ijams, then the owner, gave the paper a new name, the Democratic Star. Its title was changed again by 486 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO new owners, Louis Baker and James H. Odell, who named it the Noble County Democrat. Of its end Historian Martin said : "The organization of the republican party in 1856 and the vigorous agitation of the issues that finally resulted in the Civil war had made considerable change in the political opinions of Noble County. After the presidential campaign of 1860 the paper (Democrat) suspended publication for want of support." CALDWELL'S PRESENT NEWSPAPERS These are : the Noble County Leader, established in 1891, republican in politics, and Jes S. Harris is its owner and editor; the Press, founded in 1871, and edited and published by J. R. Keenan, is democratic; the Republican Journal, edited by Arthur N. Dowling, founded 1859, is republican. The Republican-Journal Publishing Co., Inc., is its publisher. All three of these. newspapers are weeklies. Their continued prosperous existence proves that the Noble County public is decidedly a reading com-munity. SHENANDOAH WRECKED IN NOBLE It was at Ava that the main section of the Shenandoah ("Daughter of the Stars") fell to earth September 3, 1925, while the forward part drifted a distance of ten miles and was brought down in safety by those aboard. The total loss of life was fourteen and this element of the event brought the nation face to face with a major tragedy. In a more limited territory, the populace gave up ordinary pursuits to measure the extent and character of the calamity as revealed by press dispatches, while thousands from all over Southeastern Ohio rushed by auto and other means of transportation to gain visual knowledge of the affair. Noble County had never seen within her limits so many strangers since the days of her memorable Grand Army reunion. CALDWELL, THE COUNTY SEAT The county commissioners incorporated Caldwell, February 4, 1870, in response to a petition signed by nearly every legal voter and taxpayer in the village and headed by the name of J. M. Dalzell. The town's first trustees were William H. Frazier, C. A. Foster and John M. Amos. Judge Frazier was elected presi- SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 487 dent of the board, and Mr. Amos clerk and treasurer. Incorporation was soon followed by a movement looking toward placing Caldwell in the second class of Ohio villages. The voters passed upon the question April 8, 1872, sixty-five voting yes and fourteen no, and on May 20 a vote to elect city officials under the new classification resulted in the choice of William Chambers for mayor. In the late '80s citizens felt that the village should have fire protection, and on April 14, 1888, the Legislature authorized the municipality to issue bonds for that purpose to the extent of $5,000. In 1890 authority was granted the city to increase the amount to $15,000, a part of the sum to be used for street improvement. On May 4, 1897, a fire destroyed nearly all the buildings on the south side of the public square, and on June 1 another conflagration destroyed all the buildings on the north side of the square bounded by four streets. Moved by the losses thus sustained, citizens united to secure a waterworks system, one capable of yielding supplies adequate for domestic uses as well as for the quenching of flames. Official action followed November 10, 1897, when the council awarded a contract for waterworks to cost $14,000, and another for a steam pump, engine and boiler, to cost $1,500. The installation of these and of an electric light plant in connection with the waterworks gave citizens a new feeling of security and a new pride in the county seat's progressiveness. NOBLE'S EXCELLENT SCHOOLS The children of her pioneers learned the rudiments in log schoolhouses, some of which were floorless and had desks and seats made of slabs, but these, keeping step with the march of progress, gave place to less primitive structures wherein more and more progressive methods of instruction were placed at the student's disposal, under enlightened laws and larger revenues. In 1901 the State Department of Education reported for Noble County, 133 school buildings, with 155 rooms, and a prop-erty valuation of $103,250. In the township schools the term consisted of twenty-nine weeks ; in the separate districts, of thirty-two weeks. The teachers numbered 216, their salaries ranging from $30 to $55 a month. There was a total revenue of $70,069.51. Boys of school age enrolled totaled 6,230; girls, 488 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO 3,864. Of these, 124 were in the high school grades. The average daily attendance for the year was 2,647. From the time high schools were established they had graduated 184 students. Caldwell, Middleburg, Batesville, Summerfield and Dexter City were noted for the superiority of their schools. GAINS MADE SINCE 1901 Since 1901 much progress has been made, as is shown by the state school commissioner's report for the biennium ending June 30, 1926. The county then supported seventeen consolidated and twenty-one supplanted schools. Its one-room schools, which numbered 147 in 1914, had been reduced to 120 in 1924. In 1926 its teachers numbered 195, 100 of whom were women teachers. The enrollment was: Boys, 2,158; girls, 2,025; and the number of schools in the county was 121. The annual income was $376,036.11, including balance; expenditures, $328,844.21. The St. Philomena parochial school was credited with fifty pupils and three teachers. PUBLIC UTILITIES VALUED AT OVER $2,000,000 Noble County makes a good showing in this form of taxable property, as the following table, a part of the State Tax Com-mission's report for 1925 and 1926, reveals: