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120 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO CHAPTER VIII. THE FORMATION OF NOBLE COUNTY. PRELIMINARY HISTORY - GUERNSEY COUNTY ERECTED IN 1810 - ITS BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT OF TERRITORY - ERECTION OF MONROE COUNTY IN 1813 - ITS ORGANIZATION IN 1815 - MORGAN COUNTY FORMED, 1819 - EARLY JUSTICES OF THE PEACE - DISSATISFACTION IN THE EASTERN PART OF MORGAN COUNTY - A NEW COUNTY PROPOSED - ORIGIN OF THE NAME - THE MATTER BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE - COPY OF A PETITION PRESENTED IN 1849 - NOBLE COUNTY ERECTED, MARCH 11, 1851 - THE ACT AS FINALLY PASSED-THE COMMISSION APPOINTED BY THE LEGISLATURE - SARAHSVILLE THE COUNTY SEAT-FIRST COUNTY ELECTION- DOINGS OF THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - ERECTION OF A PUBLIC BUILDING - THE TEMPORARY COURT-ROOM. As will be seen by anyone who takes the trouble to trace the boundaries, a large part of the present County of Noble, from 1810 until the organization of Morgan County in 1819, was included in the County of Guernsey. The boundaries of the latter, the territory of which was taken from Muskingum and Belmont Counties, were thus defined by the act establishing the county, which took effect March 1, 1810: " Beginning at the center of the fourth range, on the line between the fourth and fifth tiers of townships in said range (of United States military lands); thence east with said line to the western boundary of the seventh range ; thence south to the southeast corner of the county of Tuscarawas ; thence east through the center of the eleventh township of the seventh range of Congress lands to the line between the sixth and the seventh ranges ; thence south with the said line to the northern boundary of the County of Washington ; thence west with the said boundary line, through the center of the fifth township of the seventh range • thence north to the center of the sixth township of the eighth range thence west with the northern boundary of Washington County, to the line between the tenth and eleventh ranges; thence north with said line to the southern boundary of the United States military lands ; thence west with said line to the southwest corner of the first tonship in the fourth range; thence north to the northwest corner of the third township of the fourth range ; thence east to the center of the fourth range ; thence north to the place of beginning." The formation of Monroe County took a large portion of eastern Guernsey. Monroe County was erected by an act of the legislature passed January 29, 1813, and organized in accordance with the provisions of another act passed February 13, 1815. It originally included on its western border original townships number 5, 6 and 7 of the seventh THE FORMATION OF NOBLE COUNTY - 121 range, its western boundary being the line between the seventh and eighth ranges, and its southern boundary the line between townships 4 and 5 of range 7. By act of December 24, 1819, original townships 6 and 7 of range 8 were attached to Monroe County. They were included in Monroe County from its erection until the above date. The erection of Morgan County still further reduced the territory of Guernsey. The act erecting Morgan County * defined its southern and eastern boundaries as follows : East with the northern boundary of the donation tract to the southeast corner of township 5, range 9 ; thence north to the northeast corner of said township ; thence east to the western boundary line of Monroe County to the southeast corner of township 6, range 8; thence north to the northeast corner of township 7, range 8 ; thence west to the line of Muskingum County. When the territory now comprising the County of Noble was first settled, for some years the scattered inhabitants were practically without judicial or civil organization. As late as 1812 the organization of townships in this section of the country had not progressed very far. A large section of the northern part of the county. was then under the jurisdiction of Guernsey County, in which 'Squire Lewis, who lived in the vicinity of Cumberland, was commissioned to act as justice of the peace. In the early settlement about Carlisle, Elisha * Passed December 29, 1817; but the county was not organized until April, 1819. Enochs was the earliest justice of the peace of whom we have account, and his district was an extensive one, embracing all of the southeastern part of the county. 'Squire Porter, of Washington County, was the magistrate for the territory now included in the southern and southwestern parts of the County of Noble. The inhabitants of the eastern part of Morgan County were never entirely satisfied with the location of the county seat at McConnelsville. An attempt was made to secure the passage of a bill providing for a re-location of the seat of justice shortly after the first election was held, but the movement was frustrated by the promptness and alertness of the citizens of the Muskingum Valley, who forwarded to the State capital a voluminous remonstrance, containing not only the names of all the inhabitants of McConnelsville and vicinity, but also the names borne on all the rolls of the militia captains of the neighborhood ! It was doubtless to prevent a re-opening of the question by the inhabitants of the eastern portion of the county that influential friends of McConnelsville secured the passage in December, 1819, of an act taking the two most eastern townships from Morgan and attaching them to Monroe, as already mentioned. Of course a new county was out of the question until the territory from which it was to be formed should become more thickly populated. But the people dwelling in the valleys of the several tributaries of Duck Creek, lived in hopes of such a consumma- 122 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO. tion, and only awaited a favorable opportunity for pressing their claims. March 11, 1845, the Whigs, then in the majority in the State legislature, passed an act annexing two rich and populous townships of Athens County (Homer and Marion) to Morgan. Both of these townships were strongly Whig, and the result of the annexation was that that party triumphed m Morgan County almost for the first time in its history. About this time, no doubt encouraged in their hopes by the recent action of the legislature in increasing the territory of Morgan County, the inhabitants of the eastern part of the county, together with some influential neighbors in Monroe and Guernsey Counties began to agitate the formation of a new county. The project was favored by many Whigs, as, if carried out, it would reduce the Democratic strength of the county. An amusing incident in this connection is thus related in the " History of Morgan County." "While this scheme was being zealously discussed, David Ball, of Malta Township, was nominated by the Whigs to represent the county in the legislature. The east-enders' favorable to the new county were desirous of knowing how the candidates stood on this question, and one of them interrogated Ball as to his position. Mr. Ball replied in the following terse, Quaker language : " Malta, Ohio, , 1848. " Friend McGarry : —I am with thee in all thy new county projects. " I am, thine affectionately, " DAVID BALL.' " " This was a comforting assurance to the friends of the measure, but the other side received it with derision." When the petition for the erection of the new county was first introduced in the legislature, Warren P. Noble, of Seneca County (a representative in the years 1846-7 and 1847-8), was chairman of the committee on new counties. The friends of the measure, thinking it the part of good policy to secure his influence, therefore named the proposed county Noble. This statement, from a reliable source, establishes a fact over which there has been some local controversy. It may have been true also that the prominence of the Noble family in the county (where already there was a township named Noble) had its influence in bestowing the name ; at any rate the matter was so managed as to give the representative named the impression that the name was given solely as a compliment to him. Daniel Pettay, of Sarahsville, a lawyer and preacher, was the first man sent before the legislature with a petition. The petition gave no name to the proposed county, and Mr. Pettay was asked to supply the deficiency. Accordingly he gave the county the name which it now bears. The matter was first brought to the attention of the legislature of 1846-7, and the friends of the measure devoted their time and interest to the question during that and every subsequent legislative session until March, , 1851, when Noble THE FORMATION OF NOBLE COUNTY - 123 County was formed. At that time 11cm. Ezra McKee, who lived in that part of Morgan County which now belongs to Nohle, was the representative from Morgan County, and a most earnest advocate of the proposed measure. Samuel McGarry, Esq,, of Sarahsville, afterwards probate judge, was prominent as a lobbyist before every legislature from 1846 until the passage of the bill. Within the county there had been little opposition except from a few of the townships upon the borders of the territory of the proposed county. Among the many petitions circulated for the purpose of influencing legislation respecting the formation of the county was a memorial chiefly signed by the old inhabitants of the eastern part of Morgan County. This paper has been preserved and is given in full below: As is stated in the petition, all the signers resided here in 1817, consequently they were all among the early settlers of the present County of Noble. " NEW COUNTY OF NOBLE. "Memorial to the General Assembly of the State of Ohio at its Forty-eighth Session. "The subscribers respectfully represent that they are residents within the territory that is sought to be erected into the new County of Noble ; that they resided. in the territory, as they now do, at the time the County of Morgan was erected in 1817 ; that by reference to the law creating the county (see vol. 16, p. 42) and the map of the county, as described in the law, township 14 in range 14, now a part of York Township, was divided, and a bend in the Muskingum River in township 9 of range 11, now Windsor Township, embraced within the limits of Morgan County, forming irregular lines and extreme points south and west, against the ranges of entire townships on the east where the heaviest portion of the territory, population and tax-paying at that time existed. This was not necessary to form the lines or obtain the territory for the county. Without these extreme points and irregular lines, your petitioners being included in the aforesaid territory; there was a large surplus beyond the constitutional area. That when the general assembly appointed commissioners to fix the seat of justice (see same vol. 16, p. 198). Your petitioners, with many others of the citizens who were tax-payers, believed that the seat of justice should be located near the center of the territory then forming the county, or towards the eastern boundary, to concentrate the greatest portion of the territory and population. A site in township 6 of range 9 was fixed upon for that purpose. "After viewing the site where McConnelsville now is, and the one in section 6, now Olive Tonship, a majority of the commissioners decided upon townships, and established the county seat at McConnelsville. To justify this and reconcile the eastern portion of the county, it was urged and held out as an inducement, that the territory which is now sought, and which should be erected into Noble County, was sufficient to create a new county, and that it would be done at no very distant 124 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO. day ; and your memorialists, with respect, but positively, allege that the idea of creating a new county in this territory not only materially influenced the determination to fix the seat of justice at McConnelsville, but was still more material in reconciling your memorialists and others to the location of the seat of justice so far from the center of the territory and population. That after the county was organized and taxes levied, of which your memorialists paid their proportion, to defray the expenses of organization and the erection of the public buildings, in 1819 (see vol. 18, p. 4.), a portion of the eastern part, including two entire townships on the eastern side of Morgan, were by your honorable body attached to Monroe County. At the time of this annexation, as well as at the erection of Morgan County and locating the seat of justice at McConnelsville, General Robt. McConnel was the proprietor of the tract of land adjoining and on which the town of McConnelsville was located, residing in the County of Muskingum ; and adding the aforesaid townships to Monroe County, already large in territory, was to more effectually divide the territory that should be included in the County of Noble between the Counties of Morgan and Monroe, and weaken the claims and increase opposition to the new county. And although it is most apparent that in forming the original boundaries of Morgan County, the location of the seat of justice, and in transferring a part of the territory of Morgan County to Monroe, there was much forecast and sagacity, yet it operated unequally and unjustly on the population of that territory, and still continues to do so. The subject of the new county to be formed of this territory, from that time to this, has never been lost sight of by its inhabitants. It has continued to increase in wealth and population ; embracing a small part of the south side of Guernsey County, the eastern part of Morgan County, the western part of Monroe County, and a small part of the most northern part of Washington County. " By the formation and its geographical position, this territory should be united, in justice to its inhabitants, as well as fully and properly to develop its resources. The new county, properly formed, would soon stand forward among the best in the eastern part of the State of Ohio. As the lines of the respective counties now exist, the inhabitants within the territory are placed at great, and from the formation of the country, at most inconvenient distances from the respective county seats. The new county, properly formed, would leave sufficient territory in the respective counties of Guernsey, Monroe, Washington and Morgan, and their respective lines and boundaries more regular and less deformed than at present, and their respective seats of justice equally and more central than they now are. The new county would present regular lines,* conforming to the country, and *The petitioners probably intended no joke; but a glance at the " regular(?) lines " us finally established, almost carries the idea that they did. THE FORMATION OF NOBLE COUNTY - 125 leave no one extreme point more than fifteen miles from the center. Your memorialists believe that the cost of organizing the new county and erecting the public buildings would not he onerous to the tax-payers ; but they are satisfied from the experience of the past, that the amount of money paid by the inhabitants of this territory in attending at their respective county seats, including money paid for bills and loss of time, exceeds the amount of tax now paid, or that would have to be paid if the new county were formed. The amount of debt owing by Monroe County, and the public property and public buildings lately obtained and commenced in Morgan County, and the contemplated direction of further public buildings in Morgan County, would and will inflict greater and more increased taxation on the inhabitants of the largest portion of this territory than would be necessary to raise if the new county were erected. But aside from all other considerations, if there are any advantages arising from the civil organization of counties, as they believe there are, your memorialists are entitled to them in the County of Noble, and most respectfully entreat a careful regard to the subject, and its erection at your present session." Signed by James Kyle, Samuel A. Long David McGarry, John Wiley, John McKee, Joseph Caldwell, John McGarry, Robert McKee Charles Harwood, Gilman Dudley, Alfred L. Morrison, Joseph Archer, Ambrose Merry, James Archer, Joseph Archer, John Lanam, Samuel Caldwell, Lewis Smoot, Sen., Jas. Archibald, Sen Thomas Wiley, Samuel Sailor, John Brown, David Wilson, Dennis Gibbs, William Tilton, James Ogle, Sherebiah Clark, James Noble, John Caldwell, Matthew Garvin, William Bell, Sen., James Garvin, Boneyparty Stretchbury, Isaac Bates, Samuel Anderson, Daniel Bates, Andrew Nicholson, G. W. Morrison, James Watson, John Clowser, Royal Fowler, Lemuel Fowler, Sen., Ezekiel Bates, James Barry, Lambert Newton, Jonas Bell, Josiah Burlingame, Richard DuVall, December, 1849. The act erecting the County of Noble was passed March 11, 1851, and signed by John F. Morse, speaker of the House of Representatives, and Charles C. Conyers, speaker of the Senate. The full text of the law is as follows : " AN ACT to erect the County of Noble. " SEC 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That so much of the counties of Washington, Morgan, Guernsey and Monroe as is included in the boundaries hereinafter described be and the same is hereby enacted into a separate and distinct county, to be known and designated by the name of Noble, to-wit : Beginning at the south west corner of township number 5, in range number 9 in Morgan County ; thence north to the north west corner of said township 5 ; thence west to the south west corner of section number 34 in township number 7, in range number 10 ; thence north on section lines to the north line of said township 7; thence west to the northwest corner of said township 7; thence 126 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO. north to the southwest corner of Guernsey County ; thence east to the southwest corner of township number 8, in range number 9 in said county ; thence north to the northwest corner of section number 18 in said township 8 ; thence east on section lines to the east line of said township eight ; thence north to the northeast corner of said township 8 ; thence east to the southwest corner of section number 22 in township number 1, of range number 1 of the military lands ; thence north to the northwest corner of section number 19 in said township 1 ; thence east on section lines to the east line of said township 1 ; thence north to the northwest corner of township number 8, in range number 7 in said Guernsey County ; thence east to the west line of Belmont County ; thence south to the southwest corner of Belmont County ; thence west to the southwest corner of section number 19 in said township 8, in range 7; thence south on section lines to the northwest corner of section number 19, in township number 6, in range number 7 in Monroe County ; thence east to the northeast corner of section number 13 in said township number 6 ; thence south on section lines to the southeast corner of section number 18, in township number 4, in range number 7 in Washington County ; thence west to the east line of township number 5, in range number 8 in said county ; thence north to the northeast corner of section number 25 in said township 5 ; thence west to the southwest corner of section number 23 ; thence north to the north west corner of said section 23 ; thence west to the southwest corner of [section] number 15; thence north to the southwest corner of section number 10 ; thence west to the southwest corner of section number 8 ; thence north to the northwest corner of section number 8 ; thence west to the west line of said township number 5, in said range number 8; thence south to the southeast corner of Morgan County ; thence west it, the place of beginning.* " SEC. 3. That all suits, whether of a civil or criminal nature, which shall be pending in those parts of Washington, Morgan, Guernsey and Monroe Counties so set off and erected into a new county, and within those parts of Washington County hereby attached -to and made a part of the County of Monroe, previous to the first Monday in April, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution within the counties from which such parts shall be taken, the same as if this act had not been passed ; and the offices of said counties respectively shall execute all such process as shall be necessary to carry into effect such suits, prosecutions and judgments : and the collectors of taxes of said counties respectively shall collect all taxes that shall have been levied and remain unpaid in the said several portions of said counties, at the time of the passage of this act, the same as if the same had not been passed. *Section 2 is omitted as it merely annexes portions of Liberty, Ludlow and Jolly Townships, Washington County to Monroe County. THE FORMATION OF NOBLE COUNTY - 127 " SEC. 4. That all justices of the peace and other township officers within those parts of the counties of Washington, Morgan, Guernsey and Monroe which are hereby erected into the new County of Noble, and within that part of Washington County hereby attached to and made a part of the County of Monroe, shall continue to exercise the functions and discharge the duties of their respective offices until their respective terms of service shall expire, and until their successors shall be duly elected and qualified, in the same manner as if they had been commissioned or elected for said new County of Noble or for the county to which they may he attached ; and all writs and other process within the territory hereby erected into the said new County of Noble, shall be styled as of said County of Noble, on and after the first day of April, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one. "SEC. 5. That the legal voters residing within the limits of the County of Noble shall, on the first Monday in April, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-one, assemble in their respective townships, at the usual places of holding elections therein, and proceed to elect the county officers for said county, as prescribed in the act to regulate elections, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election, and until their successors shall be duly elected and qualified. And at said first election all the voters residing in fractional townships included in said County of Noble shall vote as follows : Those residing in fractional townships taken from Monroe County shall vote in the townships immediately west the reef ; those residing in fractional townships taken from Washington County snail vote in the townships immediately north thereof ; those residing in fractional townships taken from Morgan County shall vote in the townships immediately east thereof ; and those residing in frac tional townships taken from Guernsey County shall vote in the townships immediately east and south thereof ; and the clerks of the several townships included in the County of Noble shall give twenty days' notice of said election, which notices shall be in writing and posted up at the usual places of holding elections in their several townships. "SEC. 6. The Commissioners of the Counties of Washington, Morgan, Monroe and Guernsey shall have power, immediately on the passage of this act, to attach the fractional tonships made so by this act to the other townships, or to organize such fractional townships into separate townships in their respective counties ; and this power shall extend to the commissioners of the County of Noble to dispose of the fractional townships included within its limits made by this act. " SEC. 7. The said County of Noble is hereby attached to and made a part of the eighth judicial circuit of the State of Ohio ; and the court of common pleas and supreme court of the said County of Noble shall be holden at some convenient house therein, to be designated by the associate judges thereof, until the per- 128 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO. manent seat of justice of said County of Noble shall be established according to law. "SEC. 8. That George McCullough, of Jefferson County, Martin Heckard, of Meigs County, and Lafayette Emmett, of Knox County, be and they are hereby appointed commissioners to fix upon and locate the seat of justice of said County of Noble, agreeably to the provisions of the act entitled 'An Act for the Establishment of Seats of Justice.' "SEC. 9. That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to alter or change any representative, senatorial or congressional district.* "SEC. 11. That nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as in any wise to operate as a release or discharge of any person, residing within the territory taken from the County of Guernsey by this act, from any State, county, township or other tax heretofore assessed and levied by the officers of said Guernsey County, or on account of any tax hereafter to be levied upon the real or personal property on account of any subscription to any railroad company heretofore made or hereafter to be made in pursuance of any vote heretofore taken in said Guernsey County, and that the same shall be forever a lien upon the said property the same as if the said territory had not been detached from the County of Guernsey. " SEC. 12. The officers in the County of Guernsey, whose duty it shall be to assess and collect any tax * Section 10 is here omitted for the reason that it does not relate to Noble County but annexes a portion of Roxbuy Township, Washington County, to Morgan County. hereafter to be levied for the payment of the principal or interest of any railroad subscription hereafter to be made in pursuance of a vote heretofore taken in favor of such subscription, shall proceed to levy and collect the proportionate share of the same off the property in the territory taken from the County of Guernsey by this act, the same as if said property remained in the County of Guernsey ; and the said officers are hereby invested with all the powers in the collection of the same as are provided by law for the collection of State or county taxes." The territory taken from Morgan County comprises the present Townships of Brookfield, Noble, Sharon, Olive, Jackson, and the twelve sections of Center township that belonged to township 7 of range 9 of the original survey. Beaver, Wayne, Seneca and Buffalo were taken from Guernsey County ; Marion, Stock, Enoch, nearly all of Elk, fifteen and one-half sections of Center, and the seven northern sections of Jefferson, from Monroe County. The territory taken from Washington County is that included in the four southern sections of Elk and that part of Jefferson Township belonging to congressional township number 5 of range 8. The commissioners, to fix the seat of justice, made their report in the. following words : " The undersigned, George McCullough, of the County of Jefferson ; Martin Heckard, of the County of Meigs ; and Lafayette Emmett, of the County of Knox, commissioners THE FORMATION OF NOBLE COUNTY - 129 appointed to fix upon and locate the seat of justice of Noble County by the act entitled an Act to erect the County of Noble,' passed March 11th, 1851, having agreeably to the provisions of the act entitled 'an Act establishing seats of justice,' passed February 3d, 1824, previously given twenty days' notice to the inhabitants of the said County of Noble, of the time, place and purpose of our meeting, met persuant to said notice on Wednesday, the 23d day of April, 1851, at Sarahsville, in said county, for the purpose of fixing upon and locating the seat of justice for said Noble County, and after having been duly sworn according to law, proceeded to the discharge of our duties as commissioners aforesaid ; and having duly and carefully examined the different localities pointed out by the inhabitants of said county, and duly weighed the arrangements in favor of each, we do fix upon and locate the seat of justice of said County of Noble at the town of Sarahsville, in said county. " GEORGE MCCULLOUGH, " MARTIN HECKARD, " LAFAYETTE EMMETT." "Sarahsville, Noble County, April 24, 1851. " The above was placed upon the record of the common pleas court June 19, 1851, and at the same time a bill of exceptions was filed and ordered to be made a part of the record. The commissioners to fix the seat of justice appear to act with due deliberation, judging from the number of days spent in the discharge of their duties. June 2, 1851, the commissioners of Noble County ordered their accounts to be paid, as follows : To George McCullough, for 11 days at $3 per (lay $33 To Lafayette Emmett, for 15 days at $3 per day 45 To Martin Heckard, for 15 days at $3 per , day 45 Total $123 The first election for county officers was held in April, 1851, at which Robert Barkley was chosen auditor ; Samuel McGarry, treasurer ; Joseph Schofield, sheriff ; Jabez Belford, prosecuting attorney.; John Noble, Timothy Smith and Jacob Lyons, county commissioners ; Robert Hellyer, recorder, and John H. Jeffries, county surveyor. A number of interesting facts relative to the early official acts in Noble County are brought to light by an examination of the records of the county commissioner. The first session of the board began at Sarahsville, on Tuesday, the 29th of April, 1851. The record opens as follows: "Jacob Lyons, a commissioner elected for said county for the ensuing term of office provided for in the act entitled an act to erect the County of Noble,' passed March 11, 1851, after having deposited a certificate of his election with the auditor of said County of Noble, with an oath of office attached thereto according to law, and the same being filed by said auditor in his office, thereupon the said Jacob Lyons proceeded to the discharge of his office as aforesaid." In like manner Timothy Smith 130 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO. and John Noble, commissioners elect, entered upon the duties of their offices. The board, having organized for business, received petitions for the alteration of tonships and the erection of new townships, and after an examination of the same, adjourned until the following morning at eight o'clock. Robert Barkley, county auditor, acted as clerk of the board. On Wednesday, April 30, the commissioners made provisions for meeting with the commissioners of Morgan, Washington, Monroe and Guernsey Counties, for the purpose of making settlements of money remaining in the treasury of those counties, a portion of which belonged to the territory now included in Noble County. It was therefore agreed that the board meet the commissioners of Morgan County at McConnelsville, on Monday, May 12, 1851; the commissioners of Washington County at Marietta, on the 16th of May, 1851 ; the commissioners of Monroe County at Woodsfield, on the 21st of May, 1851 ; and the commissioners of Guernsey County at Cambridge, on the 26th of May, 1851. The board then examined " petitions from various quarters of Noble County with regard to the classifying of her fractional parts into townships," and adjourned until the next day. - On Thursday, May 1, the Commissioners proceeded to alter existing townships and to erect new ones." * For description of the boundaries of townships see chapters relating to the histoy of the several townships. In the discharge of this duty the following results appeared : 1. Beaver Township (altered). 2. Brookfield " 3. Buffalo " (erected). 4. Center “ ” 5. Elk “ (altered). 6. Enoch “ ” 7. Jackson " (to remain as heretofore). 8. Jefferson township (erected). 9. Marion " “ 10. Noble “ “(altered). 11. Olive “ ” 12. Seneca “ ” 13. Sharon “ (erected). 14. Stock “ ” 15. Wayne " “ The commissioners having established the boundaries of the above mentioned townships ordered that a map of each be made and forwarded to the clerk of the township ; also that notice be forwarded to the township clerks of an election for the purpose of choosing township officers. Notices were accordingly forwarded on the first of May to each township except Jackson, which, in the general renovation of boundaries, had not been " changed or altered." The Board concluded its first session and adjourned sine die after directing Robert Barkley, commissioner's clerk, to seek from the auditor of State advice as to how lists and other documents were to be obtained from the parent Counties of Morgan, Washington, Mon roe and Guernsey. At their June session, 1851, the county commissioners record the arrangements concluded by them with regard to temporary quarters THE FORMATION OF NOBLE COUNTY - 131 for the county offices. The offices for the treasurer and recorder were rented from Dr. J, F. Cape11 for the sum of one dollar and twenty- five cents per month, together with fuel for the same." The auditor's office was obtained from. William Tracy, Esq., for $1 per month, fuel included. J. Axtell furnished an office for the county clerk; rent not specified, but doubtless moderate. At the same session the board of commissioners discussed various sites for county buildings, but arrived at no decision in the matter. June 25, 1851, they ordered that the following amounts be levied on the duplicates as taxes for Noble County for the year 1851: For county purposes $7,000 " township " 1,200 " school* " 2,778 " public buildings 2,100 Total - $13,078 Having previously chosen lots 57 and 64 in Bates' addition to the town of Sarahsville, and then reconsidered their decision, on the 26th of June the board ordered that the court house and jail and other necessary public buildings be located on the public square in the town of Sarahsville. Notice to contractors was to be given in the Democratic Courier that the commissioners would receive at their office, July 28, 1851, sealed proposals for the erection of a jail. At the date named the commissioners accepted the proposal of John B. Heaton, and on the 29th of July en- *Supposed to be one mill oU the dollar. tered into a contract with him for the erection and completion of a jail before August 1, 1852, for the sum of $2,230, Heaton to furnish all the materials and do the work according to certain specifications. The contract called for a jail 30x40 feet, two stories high; the first story nine and the second story ten feet in height; the first story to be of good building stone and the second of brick. In the first story were eight windows and one door, also two partition walls of stone running through the building, with doors in them, the outer door of plank spiked with iron, the inner doors of boiler iron. The windows on the first floor were to be thirty inches square, each filled by one sash of glass with gratings over it. The second story, designed for "common rooms," was to contain one door and eleven windows, each window containing twenty-four lights of 8x10 glass, and to be finished into apartments. August 1, 1852 came, but Noble County's public building still remained uncompleted. December 10, 1852, seeing that the jail is not done, and that the time for completing it has elapsed, Heaton having " abandoned the contract and departed this county to parts unknown," the commissioners order their clerk to notify Heaton's securities, Joseph Potts, Thomas Dyson and Harrison Secrest, that they will be held for damages for non-fulfillment of the contract. On the 17th of January, 1853, the commissioners proceeded to view the jail, now completed, and on the followmg day, still insisting 132 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO. that the contract is unfulfilled they take the keys and possession of the jail and " accept the said jail, still holding said Heaton and his securities liable in damages for default and insufficiency of said jail in work manship." And there the subject is dropped. March 10, 1853, the commissioners order that the upper story of the jail be fitted up as a temporary court room. It was accordingly so fitted, and continued to serve as the court house of Noble County until the removal of the public records to Caldwell in 1858. The county officers continued to be supplied with rented offices in the town of Sarahsville, as before. March 7, 1871, the county building in Sarahsville was sold by the commissioners to Jonas Danford and Joshua King, agents of the Sarahsville congregation of the M. E. Church for the sum of $200. There was some difficulty experienced by the commissioners of Noble County in coming to an amicable adjustment of financial relations with some of the parent counties. The following extract from the records serves to show the feeling that prevailed : March 3, 1852, "A communication was received by the commissioners of Noble County, Ohio, from the commissioners of Guernsey County, requesting the commissioners of Noble to order an order to be issued for the benefit of said Guernsey County, amounting to $690, which amount said commissioners of Guernsey say they have expended in erecting bridges for the use of said County of Noble. Ordered that the board notify the Guernsey County commissioners that they will not pay any part of it." |