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JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
Jackson Township is the extreme southwestern township of the county, and was formed from the three original townships of the county-Springfield, Mad River and Salem-in 1815. It is bounded on the north by Johnson Township, on the east by Mad River Township, on the south by Clark County, and on the west by Miami County. These boundaries were established in 1817. In shape, the township is square, being six miles long by six miles wide. It is the only square township in the county, and includes an area of thirty-six square miles, or over 23,000 acres. It was named in honor of " Old Hickory " Jackson, the hero of New Orleans. The land is what is known as "second bottom "
430 - HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
or "valley " land, being a little rolling, but mainly level. It is very rich and very deep, consisting of gravel, alluvium and peaty matter, the gravel being deeply buried in most places, There are several good beds of clay in the township, valuable for making brick and tile; and a considerable quantity of the latter are made for local use, one factory being situated within the corporation of St. Paris (which has recently been extended into this township), and the other at Addison, the township seat.
The country is drained by creeks or tributaries of Mad River, principally. These streams, rising in the highest and most rocky parts of the country, and fed by unfailing springs, are strong, constant and rapid, furnishing many good mill sites. Each of these creeks has innumerable branches, which cover the township with a net-work of small streams. A glance at the map will show the character of the surface of the ground, the multitude of small, crooked streams clearly showing the swampy nature of the ground, which was so very swampy that the early settler never expected it to be settled to any great extent; but it has been cleared of the dense growth of timber, and drained, until now no better farm land can be found in this whole country of ours, which is noted for its rich land.
In this liberally watered region, wells are sunk only deep enough to reach the clear gravel below the level of the river, where a full supply of water is obtained, and there is among the people very little knowledge of the rock that underlies them. There is but one place in the township where stone has been found in position, and that is in the southwest quarter of Section 15, where a quarry was worked some forty years ago, but it has not lately been used. The table lands, of which this township is composed, are said to be over 1,300 feet above tide-water.
The timber found here is principally sugar and beech, with some walnut, oak and hickory, and until lately there were a good many poplar trees, but these have now been almost exterminated.
Underlying the gravel, which is covered by the rich earth of this township, there is a stratum of water-limestone, which extends down from Logan County. This stone resembles the Helderberg that was taken from the quarry of Mr. McCoursey, in Section 2, Salem Township. The ground is almost covered in some places with large granite bowlders of glacial deposit. These are used by farmers in foundations for houses and barns, in building houses, fences, and for other domestic purposes,
But the one great source of wealth in Jackson Township is, and must ever be, its unsurpassed farming lands. Nowhere east of the Prairie State can such broad expanses of meadow be found, and even Illinois cannot furnish richer soils ; while, in the important matter of water supply, few places can compare with it. Its streams and springs are clear and strong, and its wells unfailing. Whether it uses its fields for pasture or for tillage, their capacity for producing wealth is enormous. At present, there seems to be a tendency to enlarge farms, and devote them to grazing rather than to tillage. Whether this is wise and profitable, is a question for the political economist and for time. The clay found in this township is well distributed, the supply is large, and in quality it is good enough for brick, drain or sewer tile, and the commoner wares. The large deposits of gravel distributed throughout the country insure a perfect system of good roads.
In connection with this, mention might be made of a mound on the farm of Lot Noe, Esq., which seems to be a relic of that mysterious people known as
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Mound Builder, and about whom so little is known. The mound in question is one of those curious hills of sand and gravel that are to be found in all parts of the United States, and that seem to have been built by the ancients as places in which to bury their dead. This one covers an area of between five and six acres, and is about forty or fifty feet deep in the deepest part. In 1874-75, when a pike was being made through this place, the gravel for it was taken from this mound; and in the excavations thirty human skulls were found in one day, Over ten thousand loads of gravel have been taken from it, and yet only one side is taken away. Could this piece of ancient workmanship tell its tale, this paragraph in Jackson Township history would be interesting and important to an incalculable extent.
For a long time previous to the settlement of this township by the whites, an Indian medicine woman occupied a wigwam on the top of this mound. Owing to some tradition or belief, she and her people thought that it bore some charm, or was in some way hallowed, and that medicine made on it or herbs pulled from its sides had peculiar efficacy in curing their ailments. They would never fight on or near it, and even in the chase they would go round rather than across it. But the entrance of the whites drove these savage but sincere believers away from their medicine mound, and it was soon cleared of the timber that grew over it, and still later the pick and shovel. of the white man proved that the traditions of the red men were not without foundation, and that this was indeed hallowed ground.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
It has long been a much-disputed question as to who was the first white settler in this township, but it is finally settled by matter of record, and to Charles Dorsey belongs the honor of first braving the savage Indian, and the more savage beasts, and alone entering the unbroken forest that then covered the country, He came from Virginia in 1802, in the forty-fourth year of his age, entered 160 acres of land, took the first patent from the Government, built him a cabin, cleared a small plat of ground, and then went back to his home in Virginia. He came back again in a year or two with his family, The land he entered was what is now known as the "old Circle farm." He was an energetic man, a fearless pioneer and a good soldier.* He died July 14, 1811, aged over fifty-three years, His body was buried on the "old Grafton farm," and the stone marking his last resting-place can still be seen there. None of his descendants can be found, and a complete history of him cannot be obtained. While Dorsey was in Virginia, just previous to his coming here the second time, John Cane and William Lemmon came. They emigrated from Virginia, and settled in the eastern part of the township. Cane entered the land composing Dorsey's farm, at his death. William Lemmon came from Virginia in 1804, and entered a quarter-section of land now known as the old "Lemmon farm." Here he built him a round-log cabin, and, after clearing a small patch of ground, he went back to the East and returned shortly afterward with his wife and four children. None of them are now living in this vicinity, but they all contributed toward clearing the farm and making this fair township what it now is. Soon after this, the number of settlers was considerably augmented by the appearance of several families, among whom were George Wilson, Sampson Kelley, Thomas Cowie, Thomas Grafton and Joshua Darnell. Of these, George
* Having fought under Geo. Wayne in the war of 1776.
432 - HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
Wilson came in the spring of 1805, from Virginia, and entered a half-section of land in Section 36, being the land now owned by Mary Howell, William Kelley, G. Richison, and partly covered by the town of Addison. He cleared a large tract of land, built a commodious log cabin, and started his farm in good shape.* Sampson Kelley was born in Ireland in 1773 ; he came to this country in 1791, aged eighteen years, and settled in Virginia. In 1806, he came to this township and settled on Chapman's Creek, entering the southwest quarter of Section 3, where William Merritt now lives. He brought his family, consisting of a wife and four daughters, His three sons, Joseph, William and Robert, were all born here. Joseph, the first named, was the first white child ever born in the township. His father cleared his farm and built a small cabin on it, but lived only a short time after his youngest child was born. After his death, his land was sold at administrator's sale, and only brought between $5 and $6 an acre.
Thomas Grafton was born in Virginia, Rockingham County, and came here in 1806. He always held that his name was " Old Tommy Grafton," and that he was so christened. His wife's name before marriage was Esther or Hester Couden. They came to this township and entered a quarter-section of land, being the southeast quarter of Section 3. They brought with them a family of eight children, whose names in their order were James, Ambrose, Susan, Elizabeth, John, Sarah, Thomas and Amelia. The boys and the father built a cabin and commenced clearing the land, all settling on the home place. Of the boys, Ambrose and James were the only two who enlisted and fought in the war of 1812, and Thomas was the largest land-holder of his day, having bought more than a section. The old farm is still called "Tommy Grafton's place," and is occupied by Ambrose Grafton, a grandson of the old man, The children did not all stay in this part of the country; some of them have died, some moved to other parts, but there is still a large circle of the old man's descendants occu pying farms in different parts of the township. They all seem to partake of the energetic, sturdy qualities of their ancestor, who died in the ninety-second year of his age, August 12, 1851. His body lies on the farm of one of his grandchildren, in a little secluded family burying-ground. Thomas Cowhic came in the same year, but a little earlier in the year than Mr. Grafton. He entered the "Cowhic farm," of eighty acres, near the Big Spring. He has passed away, and so has his posterity, and nothing save the above can be learned of him. About this time, the tide of emigration set in very strong toward Ohio, and pushed steadily forward into the country forming this township. The woodman's ax could be heard in all directions; the wild animals became very shy, and scarcer from day to day; the Indians looked with jealous eye upon the increasing numbers of their enemies; and still the sturdy pioneers from Virgin:a and Kentucky braved all dangers, and entered with alacrity upon the work of clearing the land. As the forest disappeared, the ground seemed more rolling, and the absence of the heavy timber and thick foliage allowed it to dry out, until the swampy nature of the ground was so far overcome that very little drainage was required of the farmer. One very noticeable fact was manifest in this connection, viz. : The first settlers-those who had the whole country from which to choose their land-made the poorest selections, The Virginians, especially, would settle near a brook, creek, or spring, without regard to situation, quality or condition of land, evidently thinking a water supply of the first importance.
* He was the first shoemaker in the town of Addison, as well as in the township.
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Therefore those who came after them, although they were later, did not have to take poorer land, but in most cases had farms far superior to the very first settlers. Among the early settlers who made good selection, mention might be made of Joshua Howell, who came here in 1808, with his wife, Mary, and a family of eight children, named respectively, Joshua, John, Thomas, James, Daniel, Jeremiah, Abigail and Nancy. With his large family, he entered a quarter-section in Section 31, a part of which is now occupied by William McCrea. He built him a log but or cabin in the style of that day, and, with the assistance of his family, cleared enough of land the first year to furnish them with food until more could be cleared. He was a devout Christian, and a member of the Old-School Baptist Church. His children all left the neighborhood, and he died at a ripe old age in Indiana. Daniel Howell, a son of Joshua, came in 1810, with his wife, Phoebe, whom he married in Virginia, and entered eighty acres of land, now the "Hulde-Howell farm," built him a round-log cabin, clapboard roof, with pole, and pole-weights to bold the roof on ; and, after getting this farm in good trim, he entered eighty acres more about a mile east of the present site of the town of Addison. On this he also built a cabin after clearing a goodly portion of it. A year after this. or in 1810, David Field came here from near Bowling Green, Ky. He settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land just below the present site of Addison. After building a cabin and making a clearing and otherwise improving his land, he sold it to Joseph Sills. and, in 1820. bought one hundred and seventy-four acres just north of Addison, of one Stocket West, and built him a log house, which was merely a double log hut. At this time houses in the township were few and far apart. The farmers sometimes neighbored ten miles. John Fitzpatrick, another old pioneer, was born in Maryland, emigrated to Virginia, was married at Harper's Ferry, and some time about the year 1810, came to Champaign County and settled in or near Urbana, on John Reynolds' farm. In 1816, he came to this township and entered the southwest quarter of Section 10. He had a wife and three boys and three girls. His farm is now occupied by Rebecca Fitzpatrick, one of his descendants, of whom there are quite a goodly number, all living in this and adjoining townships. About this time, or from 1812 up, the settlers began to have much trouble with the Indians. who commenced to perpetrate all kinds of outrages upon them. It was no longer safe to go out unless well armed, day or night. In 1815, two men. named Bowyer and Morgan, were living together, and. one day when Morgan was absent hunting, the Indians fell upon Bowyer, and. murdering him, scalped him with a tomahawk. He was buried by his friends in a spot now on Allen Pence's farm. There were twenty Indians to one white man, and their villages dotted the country in all directions. They had quite a village on Chapman's Creek, and occupied it for a long time. The wigwams were deserted, but still standing as late as 1821. There are few if any incidents that could be narrated relative to the intercourse between the whites and Indians in this township. When the Indians were first warring with the settlers, there were none here for them to fight, and. after peace had been restored, and before there was more fighting, the whites were so strong in point of numbers that the reds did not dare attack them. They would frequently come into the cabins of the pioneers and by motion show that they wanted something to eat, and they were rarely turned away without it; but if refused. they would merely give a grunt of dissatisfaction and try it at the next cabin. The people at this time did not have the abundance of food that they now enjoy. The land was new, and the
434 - HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
crops small; game was scarce, having been driven, by the noise of building, into deeper solitudes, and what there was was very shy. The ground for crops had to be cleared and prepared by hand almost entirely, Few farmers had stock, and in no cases had they horses. Their implements were of the rudest kind, being entirely of wood, even to the teeth of their harrows.
Among those who came in later year, and while the country was yet new, we could name a score or more, but, as they are for the most part now living, it will be sufficient to mention, as examples, two-John Johnson and William McCrea-the latter having figured rather extensively in the political history of the township and county. The former came to this township shortly after the war of 1812. He was born in Fremont County, Ky., in 1794. He came here from between Springfield and London, where he first settled. He bought his land of "Jimmy" Reynolds and Elijah Dawson, for $5 per acre. He could have purchased it cheaper, but at the time did not know it. The land was then so wet he did not expect to have many neighbors, and it seemed to be perfectly level. He settled in the woods, built him a round-log hut with greased paper windows, and in the first year cleared three acres. This he planted with garden truck and corn.
At this time, the children all went to subscription or pay schools, when they went at all. The teacher set the price at so much per capita, ranging from $1.50 to $2 per quarter. The first school was in the Grafton settlement. Shortly after this, one was built just north of Addison, which was taught by a man named John Hutton, and another south of town-all one-story log huts. Mr. Johnson has raised a large family, and is still living with a part of them on the old place, about a mile south of St. Paris, in this township. He tells an incident illustrating the hardships of the times. His mother came to see him, and he wanted to get some white flour for her, as she was from Kentucky, which was then pretty well settled, and its people were used to eating wheat bread. He was obliged to go about forty miles for it, through unbroken forests, over untrodden prairie, following Indian trails and fording streams, After an incredibly long and arduous journey, he succeeded in reaching his cabin with a small sack of flour, of the meanest kind, which cost him a good deal of money and more trouble. This is but one of the many incidents that might be told which go to show how our sturdy forefathers had to battle with all kinds of obstacles, that we might have a land to call our own.
Mr. Johnson was the first man to start a grist-mill in the township. It was little more than a "corn-cracker," but served very well for grinding the corn for his neighbors, It is said by some of his old comrades, that, after the mill was ready for work, it was not used for some days, but that at length a neighbor brought some corn to be ground, which was put into the hopper and the mill started. The corn disappeared, but the meal did not appear. This puzzled Mr. Johnson very much, and at length he took the mill apart to see what the difficulty could be, and found that some ground-squirrels had built a nest in the mill, and the corn was ground so slowly that they would eat the meal as fast as it was ground.
Mr. Johnson is the oldest settler now living in this township. He is in good health, and, although he looks old, yet he does not look like a man who has endured the hardships through which he has passed.
William McCrea came here when fourteen years old with his father and mother, both of whom were from Ireland. His father entered three hundred and twenty acres near Addison; but, owing to a change of law, he had to relin-
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY. - 435
quish a part of it. William went to pay school at the school north of Addison until after 1825, when the law for dividing the township into school districts was passed, and then he went to district school. He then went to Cincinnati, married and returned, started a store in the village of Addison, or Christiansburg, as it was then called. This was the first store ever in that place or in the township, although a man by the name of Smith kept a few things for sale in his house in Addison. Mr. McCrea s store was in a log but when he opened in 1829-30. His stock consisted of groceries, such as teas, coffees, sugar, salt, etc., hardware, dried meats and fruits, dry goods, harness, nail, glassware, queensware, pewter-ware, silver-ware such as there was, dye stuffs, cloth, medicines and millinery goods, and, in fact, everything else that was sold in those days. He one day sold a woman some tea, which she was buying for an extra occasion, as she was going to have company, When she got home, she cooked the tea in a pot with the meat she was boiling, and when she came to the store next day she said she " didn't see why folks bragged tea up so much," she did not think it amounted to very much.
In this same year, McCrea built a frame house and had it plastered. It was the first frame house built in the town, and people would come from the whole township to see it. He used to keep a tall green bottle on his counter by the side of a pitcher. of water, and all of his men customers, and some of the women, when they would come in, would take a sip of the green bottle's contents. Mr. McCrea has held almost all of the township offices at different times. He was a Justice of the Peace for a number of year, and in 1842 was elected to serve the people as Representative. In this capacity, he continued for three terms, The people of the earlier day would have very little to do with his wife, saying she was " stuck up " and " thought herself above them." Just after the store was opened, a neighbor called on her and, when the door was opened, she came in, but instead of walking on the carpet, that covered the middle of the room, she walked on the clean scrubbed floor around it. Upon being asked by Mrs. McCrea why she did so, she said, "I never would walk on any one's coverlets." This was before carpets were much used. Mr. and Mrs. McCrea still live to talk and laugh over their recollections of those early days. They spend their summers on the old home farm near Addison, and their winters with their cbil dren in Dayton. For their years, they are both very young-looking, but the ravages of disease are beginning to tell on the wife. This ends our album of early settlers-those Christian men and women who toiled like slaves that we might enjoy the comforts of which they were deprived.
The first saw-mill in the township was put up by John Merritt, in 1816. It was a water-mill, and was run by an overshot wheel. It was the only saw mill until 1830, when others were started. The first steam saw-mill was not started until after 1850. The first brick houses in the township were built by two brothers named Tonnahill. One of them (James) was abrick mason. They were built from 1823 to 1830-the date cannot be definitely fixed. The first tavern in the township was kept by David Kyle, in Addison, between 1835 and 1840. James Grafton opened one in the country some four or five years after ward. The first pike in the county was made in 1831, that is, it was laid out and graded in that year, but it was not completed until five years afterward, when the route was changed a little and the pike completed. It was the one called the Urbana, Troy & Greenville Turnpike, and was completed by a new company as a free road. The first doctors were two brothers, who commenced the practice of medicine in Addison about 1818-19. They were very
436 - HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
dissipated and soon left. There were many Indian doctors before them, but they were the first white ones. Dr. Van Mewter followed them. He was a Scotchman, educated in England, and was a scientific physician, but he did not seem to be appreciated by the people here, so he made way for Drs. Marshall and McFarland, who came in 1832, and Dr. Mussen, who came in 1838. Spinning-wheels were made in the township as early as 1822, by a man named Wood. He was also the first Justice of the Peace, serving for thirty-one years from the formation of the township. A tannery was started by William Kelley, in Addison, in 1832, which was actively carried on until 1850. The old house in which the business was started is still to he seen on Mr. Kelley's lot, in Addison. The first humbug imposed upon the people was a clairvoyant, who came around in 1828, and claimed to tell past and future events while in a stupor, Windmills for blowing chaff from wheat were made as early as 1835, by a man named Ludd, in Addison. The first blacksmith was old Jesse Julien, who came in 1817-18. The next was a Yankee named Gridley, who came in 1820. He used to charge so much for work that people would ask him to keep the article for mending it, but this he invariably refused to do. In 1835, a fire broke out in a house in the township, occupied by John Moore and family, in which his three children were burned to death. About this same year, a terrible storm passed over the country, destroying orchards, uprooting forests, blowins down barns, and, in some case, moving large double-log houses several feet. This township had the honor of being the birthplace of a man who was at one time the greatest trader in the United States. His name was Andrew Wilson; he was born in 1816 or 1817; bought hogs, horses, land and grain all over the country, and, in 1862, went to New York, where he laid out an addition to the city, but, becoming in some way involved, he committed suicide by cutting his throat with a butcher-knife. The township now comprises seven sub-school districts, in each of which there is a comfortable schoolhouse, costing an average $300 each. There are also two fractional sub-districts, but the expense of keeping them up devolves on other neighboring townships. The average amount annually expended for school purposes is $3,150. The schoolhouse in Addison accommodates the children of two districts, and it is accordingly twice as large as the others, being a two-story frame building, with two rooms, built at a cost of about $1,200. There are about 100 pupils attending there.
CHURCHES.
There are in the township five churches, two (Methodist and Christian) in Addison and three (two Baptista and one Methodist) in the country, The first of these, the Honey Creek Baptist Church, was organized in 1811, at the house of Elder Stapleton, one-half mile east of where Addison now stands, with six members. The following is a list of the ministers with their terms of service Robert Stapleton,1813 to 1817; Moses Frazee,1817 to 1826; Moses Frazee, 1830 to 1831; Abraham Buckels, 1831 to 1833; Moses Frazee, Jr., 1833 to 1837 ; Elder Willis, 1837 to 1844; T. J. Price, 1844 to 1848 ; William Fuson, 1848 to 1849; David Scott, 1849 to 1853; William Hawker, 1853 to 1854, eight months; William Fuson, 1854 to 1857 ; David Scott, 1857 to 1861 ; J. W. Icenberger, 1861 to 1864; W. R. Thomas, 1864 to 1865; James Harvey, 1865 to 1867; John L. Moore, 1867, three months; William Fuson, 1867 to 1870; W. R. Thomas, 1870 to 1873; James Harvey, 1873 to 1875; N. B. H. Gardner was called 1877. The members met from time to time in private houses, after the organization of the church, until 1816, when a church was
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built of logs, 24x26 feet. This was replaced in, 1831, by a brick building, 36x46 feet in size, and in 1874, the present church building was erected. It is a beautiful brick church, plain but substantial, 34 feet wide by 56 feet long, in which the meetings and services of the church are now held. In connection with this church, there is a burying-ground, called the Honey Creek Grave yard. It originally comprised four acres donated by Andrew Wilson, about the time the church was organized. Two acres more were added in 1880, making in all about six acres. The first bodies interred were the wife and daughter of Andrew Wilson, in 1821. The graves were originally made without regard to order, but, the addition has been platted into lots, There are about 1,000 bodies lying in this small churchyard cemetery, a great many of their resting places being marked with beautiful and costly monuments. The Mount Zion Baptist Church is a branch from the Honey Creek Church. Fourteen members of the present church took their letters March 8, 1851, for the purpose of forming the colony. They built a church on Section 9, in the Beaty neighborhood. They do not have regular preaching, but the pulpit is supplied by the ministers of the circuit. The church now numbers eighty-seven members. Successful Sunday schools are conducted in connection with both of these churches.
The Grafton Methodist Episcopal Church. -This church was organized in 1838, with fifteen members, mostly Graftons, hence the name. Immediately after organization, a church was built upon land donated for the purpose by James C. Grafton. While the church was being built, they worshiped in Fitzpatrick's Schoolhouse, in which place the church was organized. The church was a small, one-story frame building, which is now used as a stable on Farmer Pence's place, having been moved and its place filled by the present large and more convenient one which is also frame. The church now numbers a membership of between sixty and seventy. It is a regular station in the Hampton Circuit which is now filled by Rev. Klabifus. It was originally in the Troy Circuit, but was changed for the sake of convenience. Among the ministers who have ministered to the spiritual wants of this church are Revs. Bowlcher, Raper and Granville :Moody, It is said that this circuit is the first one ever ridden by that famous old pioneer Methodist, Moody.
Addison Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1835, with eight members ; services and class-meetings were begun at the houses of the different members, and continued until 1857, when a nice frame church was built at a cost of $1,500, or about that amount, the exact cost not being known, as it was built by piece-meal. The following is a list of the ministers who have served the church, in regular order, as near as it is possible now to get them Revs, Fields, Smith, D. N. Smith, Mosgrove, Jackson, Father Smith, Williams, Zinc and the present Pastor, Brother Rollie. The church is still small, numbering but between eighty and ninety members.
The Christian Church of Addison is a comparatively new society. It was organized in 1875, and has been, for a new church, very successful. They purchased a church and parsonage for $600, which had been built by the Presbyterians, and promises soon to be one of the largest churches in the township. Their ministers, thus far, have been Revs. McCullough, Smith, Kirby and Dilse. They are now without a regular Pastor, The church which they purchased was built at a cost of $1,800 by the Presbyterian Church, which was organized some forty years ago, and after calling, at various times, Revs, Springer, Smith, Martin and others, found that they were financially unable to
438 - HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
support a church, and, disbanding, sold the church property at a sacrifice to the Christians.
THE TOWN OF ADDISON.
This little hamlet was laid out by Joshua Howell, in 1817, on land entered by him some time before. It grew rather slowly, having in 1820 only six houses, or rather log huts, used as houses. The first frame house in the town was built ten years afterward by William McCrea, and used by him for a grocery store. The town was then called Christiansburg, in memory of the town in Virginia from which the Howells emigrated. The post office still retains the name of Christiansburg, although the name of the town was changed to Addison, in 1842.
In 1832, a tannery and other business places were opened. In 1835, the town was incorporated, and the following officers were elected: Mayor, Mr. Bouinger ; Councilmen, Messrs. Silas Overton, John Corbley, Henry Christ, Noah Howell and William Kelley, but, in less than a year, finding that they were unable to support a municipality, their charter was relinquished, and they again became a hamlet.
The following is a list of the village Postmasters, in the order in which they served: James Smith, William B. McCrea, James Smith, D. N. Jones, William Kelley, Noah French, James Smith, I. P. Pond, L. D. Marshall, John F. Overton and William Marshall. In 1842, a lodge of Odd Fellows was organized. There were eight or ten charter members. They were regularly organized by a Grand Master from Columbus, Ohio. Their hall is a third story which they built on a two-story house, at a cost of $1,200. The first chief officer was John C. Corbley. The present officers are James Lynn, N. G.; John Collins, V. G.; S. W. Simmons, Sec'y ; L. Fields, Treas. The lodge now numbers sixty-two members, In 1852, a lodge of Masons, eight in number, was organized. They also put a third story on a two-story house for a hall, paying $1,000 for the same, but they afterward bought the property for $750; it is valued at $1,800. The first presiding officer was C. H. Wright. The present officers are William Marshall, S. W.; Wallace Johnston, J. W.; J. B. Hollace, S. D.; C. Richison, Jr. D.; A. Bowers, Treas.; I. P. Pond, Sec'y ; Charles William, Tiler.
The town now numbers about five hundred inhabitants, and has about one hundred houses and stores. There are two carriage-shops, two groceries, one clothing store, one dry-goods store, one carpenter-shop, a tile manufactory, two blacksmith-shops and one hotel. Its nearest railroad station is St. Paris, on the C. C. & I. C. Railroad, seven miles distant. This town promises, with fair advantages, to become one of the liveliest towns in the county,