DARKE COUNTY. THE early history of Darke county is so closely connected with that of the " Great Northwest " that we should be well acquainted with the latter in order to have a correct understanding of the former. The French, it seems, laid claim to the vast region west of the Alleghany mountains because of their early discovery, and of the chain of forts and Missionary stations established by them in Canada, and from Pittsburg, including the head waters of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, and along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. Late in June, 1673, Marquette, as missionary, and Joiliet, an envoy of the French to discover new countries, embarked upon the head waters of the Mississippi, the same stream that De Soto had discovered near the Gulf of Mexico about a century and a quarter before. Their object was not only to make new discoveries, but also to plant the seeds of Christian civilization in the great valley of the " Father of Waters." Yhey sailed rapidly down this stream, passing the mouths of the Ohio and Missouri rivers, and some distance below the mouth of the Arkansas river they encountered natives who were worshippers of the sun, and who showed a hostile disposition. Marquette conciliated them by exhibiting a rich calumet, or " pipe of peace," given him by an Iowa chief. This was accepted and Marquette being satisfied that the Mississippi entered into some body of water between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, again turned northward and reached Green Bay early in the autumn of the same year. For two years longer he labored among the Indians near the present site of Chicago, then crossed to the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, where he soon after died, was buried, and a large cross was erected to mark the last resting place of the discoverer - 6 - of the northern Mississippi and the founder of Michigan. The establishment of the line of forts was the work of La Salle, about the year 1682, while the claim to the country, as has been shown, is of an earlier date. ENGLAND'S CLAIMS. But the English laid claim to the entire country from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the discoveries of the Cabots, particularly of Sebastian, and for the further reason that this vast region had been conquered by the Iroquois Indians and had become subject to their power ; they in turn placing themselves and their lands under British protection. History seems to establish the fact that about the year 1749 some enterprising English adventurers established a fort and trading post at Fort Laramie, on a branch of the Miami river, northwest of Sidney ; but, soon after, this post was captured by the French. This was before the breaking out of the French and Indian war, and at a time when the English and French nations were at peace with each other. The French, however, at this time, were holding Fort Du Quesne contrary to the asserted rights of the English, and their seeming usurpation of power brought about the famous expedition of George Washington through the wilderness to notify the French commander that Virginia laid claim to all that vast region ; and that, if necessary, the colony would sustain its right to the same by an appeal to arms. Washington's expedition not accomplishing what was intended, was followed by the advance of General Braddock's army, the complete defeat of the same, and the death of Braddock near Fort Du Quesne. Some time now elapsed and an expedition under General Forbes marched against the fort. Washington was placed at the head of one thousand colonial troops and ordered to move in front of the army. But such was the delay that it was November before the army came within fifty miles of the fort. The lateness of the season was considered, and it was deemed prudent to defer the attack upon Fort Du Quesne until the following spring ; but Washington was permitted to move forward with his troops, and the main body after some delay - 7 - finally followed. The continental troops being inspired with the zeal and enthusiasm of their young leader overcame every obstacle, and in a short time took possession of the heights overlooking the fort. It was now known that the Indians had deserted their allies, and the French garrison, five hundred strong, alarmed at the approach of such a large body of troops, the following night set fire to the fort and fled in boats down the Ohio river. The retreating foe was not molested, but the ruined fort was entered next day, November 25, 1758, by the English army and in honor of the English Prime Minister, at that time, its name was changed to Pittsburg. Two regiments of Virginia troops were left to garrison the fort, and the balance of the army returned to the colonies and was disbanded. The great object of the war, so far as this part of the colonies was concerned, was thus accomplished. The French were driven from the valley of the Ohio, never to regain possession of the same. In the north we may notice the expedition of General Wolf against Quebec ; the capture of that stronghold and the expulsion of the French, not only from the Northwest but from Canada itself. By the treaty of 1763 the French surrendered to the English all the territory east of the Mississippi river. This treaty, however, did not include the territory around the mouth of that river, nor the claim of the French west of the same. SETTLEMENT OF MARIETTA. And now comes a period of comparative rest or inaction, because of the bloody Indian wars east of the Alleghanies during the period of the American Revolution, followed by the establishment of a Republican government, the adoption of a Federal constitution and the inauguration of the President of, the United States as commander-in-chief of the American armies. We notice that while England laid claim to the vast territory north-west of the Ohio river, no permanent settlements were made in the same. The Indians, led by the distinguished Pontiac, made an effort to recover from the English the vast territory mentioned, and Pittsburg was besieged, yet the garrison gallantly resisted every attack. Pontiac was soon after murdered by one of his own men for a keg of - 8 - rum, and the Indians shortly after sued for peace. After the war with Pontiac no permanent settlements had been made west of the mountains, because the attention of England and the colonies had been entirely occupied in the usurpation of power by the one, and the resistance of these tyrannical measures by the other, so that it was not until the year 1788 that any effort was made to colonize or settle the vast area of unbroken forests north and west of the Ohio river. In that year a band of American adventurers, headed by Rufus Putnam, of revolutionary fame, descended the Ohio river to the mouth of the Muskingum, and being attracted by the rich soil and fine and convenient location, they built a fort and established a settlement, calling the place Marietta. The date of settlement is April 7th, of the above year, and this gives us the first settlement in the state of Ohio. Virginia having laid claim to this vast territory, was willing to, and did, by the famous ordinance of 1787, voluntarily cede the same to the general government; and this ordinance, coming from. a "" lave State," among other things, declared that slavery and involuntary servitude, except for the punishment of crime, shall never exist in said territory. This act of Virginia threw the territory open to settlers and adventurers, and " Westward" set in the tide of emigration. CINCINNATI LOCATED 1788. In August, 1788, a settlement was begun on the present site of Cincinnati and a fort was erected, called Fort Washington. These settlements were watched with a jealous eye by the Indians, who were encouraged in their feelings of enmity by British emissaries, although peace between flab two countries had long since been declared. The Indians were becoming troublesome because these and many other settlements had been located at various places along the Beautiful River." General Saint Clair, who, was governor of the territory, soon found that the hostility of the Indian tribes would soon cause serious trouble because they deemed this territory sacred, and had not dreamed that there would be any encroachments upon the same by the white man. They watched these advancements with amazement and fierce indignation, - 9 - and they were influenced by English subjects, which gave reason to believe that that Government yet hoped for an opportunity to bring back the young Republic to a state of colonial dependence. The Indians had been guilty of repeated outrages upon the settlers, and, to put an end to these, after various ineffectual efforts to avoid hostilities, Genera! Harmer, in 179o, led a force of one thousand regulars and volunteers from Fort Washington to the head waters of the Maumee. He fought two battles with the Indians in the immediate vicinity of the present site of Fort Wayne, in each of which he was defeated and the expedition returned without accomplishing its purpose. In the following May, General Scott, of Kentucky, With a about eight hundred men, marched into their country as far as the present site of Lafayette, Indiana, and destroyed many of their villages. In August, of the same year, General Wilkinson, with more than five hundred men, marched to the present site of Tippecanoe and from there to the falls of the Ohio river, laying waste the Indian country wherever he went. But these acts instead of humbling the Indians seemed to incense them the more, and to cause them to commit still greater depre-dations. They boldly avowed their determination to exterminate the whites, or drive them from their hunting grounds. General Saint Clair laid this condition of affairs before congress, and that body authorized the president to call out the militia. Washington appointed Saint Clair commander-in-chief of the forces to be raised. FIRST BUILDING IN DARKE COUNTY-DESPERATE INDIAN WAR. A force of two thousand men, consisting of regulars and volunteers from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and a few from Ohio and Indiana, assembled at Fort Washington in September, 171791 -n the same month they started northward, the army being under the immediate command of General Butler, while Saint Clair accompanied the army as commander-in-chief. Twenty miles from Cincinnati they built Fort Hamilton, on the Miami river, and continuing their march northward forty-two miles further, they built Fort Jefferson, which was the first building, ever erected in Darke county, Each of these forts was strongly garrisoned for the Indians - 10 - were daily seen. From the latter fort the army marched northward twenty-nine miles, arid, weary and dejected, on the evening of November 3, 1791, it encamped on the banks of the Wabash. Indian scouts in large numbers were seen skulking through the woods during the entire march. Saint Clair had intended to fortify his camp the next day, but before four o'clock of November 4th, the Indians attacked the American camp with a general discharge of fire-arms and the most horrid yells. Favored by the darkness they broke into the camp and continued their work of death. The troops were surprised, and recoiled from the sudden shock. The artillerists were so rapidly shot down that the guns were useless. Gallant charges were made by Colonel Darke, after whom this county was named, but not having sufficient riflemen to support him, his troops only exposed themselves to more certain destruction. General Butler was killed in the early part of the engagement, and, as the only hope of saving the remnant of the army, Saint Clair " resolved upon the desperate experiment " of charging upon the flank of the Indians and gaining the road of which the enemy had possession. The charge was led by the general in person, and was successful. The road was gained, but not until more than six hundred of his brave men lay dead upon the field. The soldiers now abandoned the guns, threw away their arms and equipments, and never paused in their headlong flight until they reached Fort Jefferson, twenty-nine miles distant from the location of the battle. Many were killed in this bloody retreat, and forty years afterward the farmers of Gibson township, Mercer county, would frequently find the remains of soldiers who lost their lives in this unfortunate encounter. History informs us that Adjutant-General Sargeant wrote in his diary that the army had been defeated, and at least half had been killed and wounded, making a loss of over nine hundred men. Following the army were about one hundred females, wives of officers and men, only a few of whom escaped. General Wilkinson, who succeeded Saint Clair in the command of the army, sent a detachment from Fort Washington to the battle ground in the following February for the purpose of burying the dead. "The bodies were horribly mutilated, and those - 11- who had not been killed outright during the battle had been put to death with tortures too terrible and revolting for description." There being a deep snow upon the ground at this time they failed to find all the bodies. FORT RECOVERY AND ITS PATRIOT DEAD. In September, 1794, nearly three years after the battle, General Wayne sent a detachment to build a fort upon the scene of the disaster, which was done, and the structure was very significantly called Fort Recovery. It is said that in order to find all the remains then unburied, rewards for finding skulls were offered. The ground, in places, was literally covered with bones : the detachment found more than six hundred skulls ; on some the marks of the scalping knife were plainly visible, some were hacked or marked by the tomahawk, while others again were split open by a blow of that weapon. The remains were buried, and these facts prove the correctness of General Sargeant's statement : that more than nine hundred men lost their lives in this bloody affair. Two desperate attempts were made by the Indians to obtain possession of Fort Recovery, but in each attempt they were repulsed with severe loss. These transactions render Fort Recovery one of the most memorable in the history of our country. On the 7th of July, 1851, many of the remains of these soldiers were found partly exposed, and on that and the two following days they were taken up by the citizens of Fort Recovery, and on the 10th of the following September, were re-interred at a mass meeting of citizens from Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia and Ohio, the meeting being called expressly for that purpose. Thirteen coffins were prepared and it was intended to fill each one partly full, but the remains entirely filled these coffins, and also a large box prepared for this purpose. They were interred in the Old Cemetery, in Fort Recovery, by the side of Samuel McDowell, one of their comrades, who died and was buried there in 1842, where they now rest ; a low, circular mound of earth and stone marking the spot. These soldiers lost, their lives in the defense of their country and while in the employment of the government. A committee appointed by - 12 - congress investigated the facts and details of the expedition and its mournful results, and exonerated General Saint Clair from all blame. It was a result of the fortunes of war, and we can only honor our noble dead by respecting their memory in the proper way. No other place in American history is more deserving of a suitable monument to commemorate the nation's loss, and to mark the spot of her fallen heroes, than is Fort Recovery. Five or six acres of ground within the limits of the fort should be procured, suitable for a park. Let this be done, and a monument worthy to commemorate these sad events be erected there. The remains of these soldiers should be transferred to this monument, as a suitable location for their last resting place. This is a matter that concerns the States of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana, as well as Ohio. But these soldiers did not sacrifice their lives for the protection of the citizens of these states merely. It was to protect and defend a territory belonging to the general government from the encroachments of a savage foe, instigated by the emissaries of a government glad to seek an opportunity to continue a strife that, by treaty, had been settled in the independence of our country, years before. It is earnestly hoped that congress, at its present session, will take such action, that by the time the centennial year of the battle is reached a monument will be erected at Fort Recovery, commemorating the events herein named. A Monumental association has been organized, and the following memorial address was prepared for congress, to-wit : MEMORIAL ADDRESS. To the Honorable, the House of Representatives of the United States of America: The undersigned committee of the Fort Recovery Memorial association, respectfully represent that the remains of more than nine hundred (900) soldiers of the government are interred in the town of Fort Recovery, Mercer county, Ohio, having lost their lives in a bttle with the Indians at that place, on the 4th day of November, A. D., 1791, and that no monument whatever marks the last resting place of these gallant soldiers. That no other place in the history of the government is more deserving of a suitable monument to commemorate the sad fate of our national army than - 13 - is Fort Recovery. That the citizens of said town and vicinity will secure five or six acres of ground within its limits, suitable for a park ; and we respectfully ask your honorable body to make an appropriation at your present session for the purpose of erecting a suitable monument to commemorate the sad events that have transpired there, and that said monument may be completed by the centennial year of said battle, to-wit : November 4, A. D., 1891. This petition, signed by the members of the committee named, was presented to members of congress in 1886, and repeatedly since that time, but as yet no action whatever has been taken by that legislative body. The defeat of Saint Clair had a very depressing effect upon the country, but congress, it is Said, determined to make one more effort to solve the difficulty without further bloodshed, and agents were sent to the north-western tribes, the place of meeting being the rapids of the Maumee ; but after a long and tedious delay the decision of the Indian council was : that nothing but the total abandonment of the territory northwest of the Ohio river would satisfy them. These terms the government refused to recognize, and General Wayne was appointed to command the army. The " Sleepless Chief," as the Indians called him, immediately com-menced preparations for his campaign. The fall of 1793 being well advanced, he marched his army from Fort Washington to Fort Jefferson, but deeming the location of the latter fort quite unsafe, because of the hills overlooking it, and the ease of its being attacked, he would not even encamp his army there for the night, but marched five miles further and encamped on the present site of Greenville. Here he built a strong fort of the same name in honor of Lord Greenville, and Prime Minister of Great Britain, and then sent a detachment to build Fort Recovery on the site of St. Clair's defeat as before stated. It is said that while the army was located here one of the soldiers was tried for gross violation of military orders, found guilty and hung. This was the first execution in the county, and but one other has taken place since the county was settled. General Wayne drilled and disciplined his army during the winter, and brought it under that government and control that was so much needed to - 14 - prepare it for victory in the following summer, over an enemy wary, vigilant, treacherous and as brave as they were barbarous. Besides, they were urged on by British agents, hostile to the interests of our government. The Indians were generally armed with the British musket and bayonet, and they had also been taught how to use them effectually. In the spring of 1794 Wayne started northward on his expedition, moving slowly at first and with extreme caution, always on the alert, and ready to fight at a moment's notice. He moved first in a north-eastern direction, and when near the south line of Patterson township he camped for the night. It was the intention of the Indians to attack his army that night, and a council of the various tribes there represented was convened for the purpose of determining this question. Various opinions were advanced at this council. Some of the chiefs, the principal one being Little Turtle, insisted upon an immediate attack before the troops had become used to camp life and compaign duty, while others contended that the whites should be drawn away from their home as far as possible, and from their base of supplies, and the forts built for their protection, and to which they could easily retreat should they be defeated. Some of General Wayne's scouts, disguised as Indians, with their faces painted in all the hideousness of the savage on the war-path, in this condition, attended this savage council, listened to all the arguments there advanced, and reported the same to their General. But the council decided against an immediate attack, and as Wayne advanced with his army the Indians sullenly retired before him. Wayne now took a north-western direction, his route perhaps lay through Dallas and Rossville, in Darke county, and Shanesville in Mercer county, at which point he crossed the Saint Mary's river. He then moved toward the rapids of the Maumee. General Wayne exhibited more strategy than the Indians, for by feints and counter-marching he threw them entirely off their guard and without resistance he took possession of their villages located at the confluence of the Auglaise and Maumee rivers. Provision in great abundance was here found, and the army tarried here for - 15 - some time and built Fort Defiance, a name we think quite appropriate considering the surrounding circumstances. Near this place agents were sent to effect a treaty, if possible, and much time was spent in this effort. The Indians wished to gain time and sent word to General Wayne to wait ten days and they would treat with him. This he refused to do, knowing they were not sincere, and immediately advanced upon them at a place called " Fallen Timber," they believing that the trees cast down by a tornado would seriously impede the progress of Wayne's army. August 20, 1794, the attack was made. The Indians were aided by a body of British militia from Detroit, but the savages were compelled to take their places in the front. Wayne's order was to advance at a " trail arms," but being enthusiastic himself, Lieut. Harrison delicately reminded him not to forget to give the field orders, when the General replied, " that the standing order was always to charge bayonets." The rigor of the onset aroused the Indians from their cover ; a deadly volley was poured into them, and the battle was soon over. The Indians retreated in the direction of the British fort near by, which was commanded by Col. Campbell, who did not dare permit the savages to enter. The action of this officer called out a spicy correspondence between Gen. Wayne and himself, but the former was content to destroy everything outside the fort that belonged to the British, and he had to restrain his men or they would nave stormed the fort. After remaining in the vicinity of the battle ground for a short time, and sending out his scouts in all directions, he soon learned that the Indian power was broken and he led his victorious army back to Fort Greenville, where he passed the winter with such troops only as were abso-lutely needed. GREENVILLE AND THE INDIANS. In the latter part of the spring of 1795 he made arrange-ments to hold an Indian treaty at Greenville. The chiefs, head men and warriors of a number of tribes were invited. The Wyandots and Delawares first assented to this treaty, and nine other tribes were also represented. After deliberating several weeks the - 16 - terms of a treaty were agreed upon, and with all due formality were signed by the contracting parties August 3, 1795. This treaty was confirmed by the proper authority and peace was restored. The following year, 1796, Fort Greenville was evacuated, and it was afterward burned down for the iron and nails, which were used in building houses in Dayton, Ohio. For a number of years, after the burning of the fort, no permanent settlements were made in the comity. From 1796 to 1805 a number of men were engaged in surveying the public lands of the United States, and these were the only white men that came to Darke county during these years. Our best information is that in the latter part of 1806, or early part of 1807, Azor Scribner, leaving his wife and children near Middletown, bought a small stock of Indian goods, including tobacco and whisky, and located in a cabin built by a Frenchman opposite where the burnt fort stood. Scribner brought his family to Greenville in 1808, and they are believed to be the first permanent white settlers in the town or county. Samuel Boyd, who built a cabin two and a half miles north-east of Greenville, was the second settler. His wife died about 1816, and was buried in the " Old Grave Yard " in Greenville. This was the first interment made in that burial ground. TECUMSEH AND HIS BROTHER, "THE PROPHET." In 1808 John Devoe entered the half-section of land upon which Fort Greenville had been built, and with his son-in-law, Robert Gray, laid out part of this ground into lots. We note that their town plat "was executed and acknowledged on the 14th day of August, 1808, and sent to Miami county " for record. Darke county was not yet organized, but was included within the limits of Miami. Other settlers came to Darke county about this time and settled in different localities, so that when the next difficulty broke out with the Indians, the inhabitants could assemble at a fort, and temporarily protect themselves. In this Indian war Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, took an active part, and it is necesary that we give them at least a passing notice. He was born at what was known as the ancient town of Piqua, located - 17 - on the north side of Mad river, and about five miles west of Springfield. This town was built in the style adopted by the French. The houses were some distance apart and extended quite a distance along the margin of the river, though the main part stood upon the plain which was much higher than the bed of the stream. This town was populous and the Shawanees made some improvements. They cultivated about two hundred acres of land, planting it to corn chiefly ; and the Indians seemed to have succeeded in an attempt at civilization. The parents of Tecumseh and the Prophet, about the middle of the last century, came from Florida to Ohio. Tecumseh was born at Piqua, in 1768. He was of a warlike disposition, was the most distinguished of the Shawanee chiefs, and a most influential leader from his youth. The first fight in which he took part was between some Kentuckians, commanded: by Colonel Logan, and some warriors of his tribe. The encounter was on the present site of Dayton, and the young warrior exhibited much bravery. When about seventeen years of age he bore a conspicuous part in an attack upon some boats near Limestone, Kentucky. The boats were taken and all but one of the occupants were killed. That one was burned alive. " Tecumseh looked on in silence, abhorred the act and used his eloquence to prevent a repetition of the cruelty." He was made a chief in 1795. In 1805 his brother, Laulewasika, the Prophet, took a large part of his tribe to Greenville, and built an Indian town on what is known as the William F. Bishop farm, on Mud creek. Here he first assumed the office of prophet. Shortly after he announced a coming eclipse of the sun, and that happening at the time he predicted, increased the belief in his sacred character. One writer says that Tecumseh and the Prophet resided from 1805 to 1808 on the tongue of land between Mud creek and Greenville creek, which place is still known as Tecumseh's Point. The two locations are about three miles apart, and there seems to be but little doubt of the brothers having resided at both places. Here they lived and as the early settlers testify, they carried on their thieving propensities the same as they had done at "Old Piqua," from - 18 - which place they were driven because of these depredations. Nothing that the settlers owned was safe, and they lived in constant dread that they would not only lose all their property, but they felt that their lives were not safe while surrounded by these savages. Tecumseh's object was to unite the Indians from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico in one great effort to exterminate the whites, or at least, to drive them permanently from their hunting grounds and the Mississippi valley. These hostile movements resulted in the expedition led by General Harrison, who, on the 7th day of November, 1811, encountered the Indians at Tippecanoe, Indiana, and gained a decisive victory over them. Tecumseh was not present at the battle, but the Indians were commanded by the prophet, who had promised them an easy victory. Not accomplishing what he as a prophet foretold he lost the confidence of the Indians and was never able to restore his influence over them. The Indians, defeated and discouraged, at once sued for peace ; but war soon after breaking out between this government and Great Britain, English agents in great numbers were sent among the Indians, and these, uniting their influence with that of Tecumseh, soon prevailed with the Indians and they again commenced hostilities. Small bodies of Indians were often seen in Darke county. Andrew Rush and the Wilson children were killed, but no battle or other important event occurred in the county during this war. BATTLE OF THE THAMES-DEATH OF TECUMSEH. In 1812 Tecumseh was early in the field. " He fought at Brownstown, was wounded at Magreaga and made a brigadier general," by the British. He took part in the siege of Fort Meigs and fell, bravely fighting, in the battle of the Thames in the forty-fourth year of his age. His death shot is ascribed to a pistol in the hands of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky. We thus make brief mention of these renowned leaders of the aboriginal races to whose lands we have become heirs, and in whose history Darke county has the honor of being prominently connected. The Indians being thus defeated and dismayed, and having lost their leader, at once ceased hostilities and thereafter gave the settlers no - 19 - more trouble. Settlers in the county came in slowly at first.  It seems that the very name (for it was named before it was regularly organized) was a preventive to many from moving here. And like the dread of " The Dark and Bloody Grounds of Kentucky," so we may say there was a superstitious dread of the locality of Saint Clair's defeat. The county was formed from lands ceded to the government by the treaty of Greenville and its boundaries were well known 9..o9 It was named after Colonel Darke, a gallant officer who was killed in Saint Clair's defeat, as stated by one author, and by another, that he served with great gallantry during the campaigns of Saint Clair and General Wayne. At that time the northern boundary was the same as that of the Wayne treaty, and included the battle ground of Fort Recovery, while the three remaining boundaries were the same as at present. As the county now exists, Recovery belongs to Mercer county, while the north-east corner of the county is only a few rods south of the treaty line. The county thus situated had no separate organization, but still remained a part of Miami. As before stated, the town of Green-ville was originally laid off in the vicinity of Mina town, but that not being considered the best location, a second plat was made out by Andrew Wallace, or acknowledged by him, " before James Youart, a justice of the peace," March 19, 1810. The second plat contained one hundred and thirty-one lots and included also what is known as the " Public Square." DARKE COUNTY'S FIRST OFFICERS. Darke county was duly organized in 1817, the officers being duly elected and qualified in this year. The records show that Archibald Bryson, Abraham Studebaker and Silas Atchison, were the first commissioners, who held their first meeting on the first Monday of June, 1817. John Beers was appointed clerk and John Devoe treasurer and tax collector. Shortly after the commissioners ordered six lots belonging to the town of Greenville to be sold, for the purpose of building a jail on the " Public Square." These lots sold for $47.75, one-half in cash and the balance in one year, with interest. We understand that at first Greenville township - 20 - included the entire county, and the next two townships formed from this territory was Wayne in the northeast, and Twin in the south. On the second Monday of August, 1817, Moses Scott presented his commission from the Governor of Ohio, as Sheriff of Darke county, and gave bond for $4,000. William Montgomery presented his commission as Coroner and a $2,000 bond. On November 14, 1817, the first court was held, in the principal tavern of the town. "The first case was James Compton versus Anthony Ricard, for debt. The clerk's fees amounted to $2.50, the sheriffs to $1.17 and the attorney's to $5.00, making the total cost $8.67.” Matthias Dean took the contract in 1818 to build the first jail for three hundred dollars; one-half cash and the balance when the work was completed. ORGANIZATION OF THE REMAINING TOWNSHIPS IN THE COUNTY. Harrison township was organized in May, 1818, and was taken from the west end of Twin township. Jackson was organized in 1833. Monroe was organized in June, 1836. Mississinawa was organized in March, 1839, and was taken from the north end of Jackson. At first it included all of township 14, range 1 east, except the northern tier of sections which then was included in Gibson township. On April 12, 1848, when Gibson township was thrown to Mercer county, the above tier of sections was retained by Mississinawa township. Neave township was organized December 5, 1821, and in addition to its present area contained eight sections, now belonging to Van Buren township. Patterson was organized in March, 1841. In 1848 the county line was changed from the old Indian boundary established by Wayne's treaty to the present line, and by so doing the northern part of Patterson was cut off and attached to Mercer, Auglaize and Shelby counties. Richland was taken from Wayne, principally, with sixteen sections from Greenville and four from Adams. It was organized on the 8th of September, 1820. Washington township was organized in March, 1819, and then contained what is now included in this. township and German; the latter was organized in December, 1820, is the second tier from the south and was taken from the north end of Harrison and the south - 21 - end of Washington. Originally it was larger than now, but in June, 1827, it was reduced to its present size. Van Buren township was organized in 1838. Originally it was taken from the south end of Adams and the east end of Neave, but in June, 1839, Franklin township was formed, and the latter has taken from Van Buren all east of a line running north from the south-west corner of section 36, township 9, range 3 east. Monroe township was organized in June, 1836, and was taken from the east end of Twin. It touches Miami county on the east and Montgomery and Preble on the south. The records do not give the date when Butler township was organized, but the presumption is that it was in 1819 or 1820. Allen township was organized in March, 1839, and was taken from the north end of Brown. It then contained all of townships 14 and 15, range 2 east, except one tier of sections from the east side of each. We understand that township 15 extended north to the treaty line, and in 1848 this township was thrown into Mercer county, thus making the northern boundary of the township an east and west line. York township was organized in June, 1837. It was taken from Richland and originally extended north to the county line, but in June, 1841, all of this township " lying north of a line commencing at the southeast corner of section 22, township 12 north, range 3 east, and running west to the southwest corner of section 24, township 14, range 2 east, was formed into a new township," known as Wabash.This township, when erected, extended north to the Old Treaty Line," but when Auglaize county was formed nearly two miles of the northern part of this township was struck off to Mercer county. Brown township was organized in December, 1833, and was taken from Richland ; and is six miles long from north to south, and five miles in width from east to west. For a history of the early settlements of these townships the reader is referred to an extended history of this county published several years ago. CHILDREN'S ORPHANS' HOME-COUNTY INFIRMARY. However, since the publication of that volume, our people have purchased a tract of land and erected thereon a large and - 22 - commodious brick building, known as the Children's Orphans' Home, and the same is now occupied by the children of the county who are public charges, a superintendent, matron and teachers having charge of them, and who supply all their wants. Our County Infirmary, in addition to the Children's Home, is located two and a half miles south of the county seat ; is a large, three-story building, with basement, furnace, dairy, a never failing spring of cold water that is utilized, and a large and commodious frame barn, lately built, in which can be stored all the grain and hay raised on the place. This institution is under the control of an efficient superintendent and matron, who give personal attention to the wants of the inmates. Many of these are incapable of attending to their own wants and must be cared for as little children. The average number in attendance during the year is now about one hundred. Before the children were removed to the " Home," want of room compelled them to associate with these unfortunates, whose habits of life and. language were not intended to exert that influence for good, that should always surround the child. Thus situated, our poor sof all ages are well cared for, and the increased prosperity of our people enables them to pay the expenses of these institutions without considering them a burden. RAILWAYS. There now pass through the county six trunk lines of standard gauge railroads and one narrow gauge, and we may say these roads are so located in the county that they furnish a convenient market for all the grain and produce raised, as well as a cheap and convenient mode of travel to all the citizens of the county. We may add that there are about forty towns and villages in the county, nearly all of which are surveyed and platted, and a number of them are incorporated. Enterprising wholesale merchants have their employees visit these towns almost daily, bringing the necessaries of life to the local trades, who, in turn, purchase all the products the farmer or manufacturer produces for the market ; so that every citizen of the county finds, almost at his own door, a ready market for the results of his skill and industry. This - 23 - convenience has enabled the farmer to clear his land, construct his ditches and drains, so that thousands of acres upon which was found the marshy peat bogs, into which if man or beast ever entered it was at the risk of never getting out, and the slashes and swamps, which for many years were under water varying in depth from one to four or five feet, have been entirely drained for agricultural purposes ; and these tracts to-day are the best producing lands in the county. These drained lands are located wherever streams of water are found in the county, and by this united effort, as it were, of all the farmers in the county thus interested, there is to-day comparatively little land that is not utilized by the farmer. What is said of draining lands, is equally true in the building of roads, so that to-day there is scarcely a public road in the county of general use but that is gravelled and in good repair. The thrift of the farmer is also shown in the substantial brick dwelling-houses, built in modern style and conveniences ; the large barns constructed in a similar manner ; the farm implements built from the latest patent, and well cared for and kept in repair ; the improved breed of live stock, of all kinds, and the increased care taken of the same, all prove that the farmers of Darke county are to-day alive to their best interests, and that the new methods of farming and stock-raising bring them better returns, with less labor, than ever before. To show the general condition of the county at the present time, we give the report of the Darke County Agricultural society to the State Board, the last report published : REPORT OF DARKE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. " Darke county has again been blessed with good crops of every kind of farm products but winter wheat, which was both poor in quality and yield. The corn crop was exceedingly. good, and as this is the most profitable crop for our farmers we congratulate ourselves on our good luck. The crop will be mostly fed to hogs where they can be kept free from disease, which is the great detriment to feeding. As usual we have the sure cure (professedly), but in ail cases it fails. There is no other disease affecting any of the other families of live. stock any more than - 24 - usual. The same spirit of enterprise was manifested in improving the stock of our county at our last fair in September, there being some of the finest specimens of roadsters and draught-horses exhibited in the state, the most of which are owned here in the county. The winter wheat prospect is good at this time of writing. All public institutions of learning and charity are well cared for. The county has wisely provided a home for the orphan children of the county, which will be completed in a few months, at a cost of $25,000, where all needy and helpless children can go and be properly clothed, fed and educated. The keeping in repair 0f our free turnpikes is well done, and it cannot be truthfully said that they, are on the decline. The cleaning out and cutting of new water channels for the better draining of our rich valleys is still going on, the farmers having learned by experience that one acre of good, thoroughly drained bottom-land, is far superior to the same amount of upper-land. Another great thing that has been done for the county, is the condemning of all the old water rights used in former years for milling purposes." COUNTY OFFICERS-TAXATION. With this general statement of the advancements made in all departments of industry, we will add that for the past twenty years the increase of the county in wealth has been wonderful. By a reference to the tax duplicate and report of the State Auditor, for the year 1888, we find that the real and personal property for the city of Greenville, listed for taxation, was $2, 669,770, and for the balance of Greenville township $2, 294, 790 ; total for the township and city $4, 964,560 ; and that the tax duplicate for the entire county was $23,261, 900. While as a general thing there is a steady increase in the wealth of the county, this is not the case with all localities. The taxable property in the townships of Harrison, Neave, Wayne, Jackson and Patterson, was less in 1888 than in 1887, and the same was true of the towns of New Madison, Palestine, Versailles and Union City ; but this may be accounted for in the change in location of personal property, the care taken by the assessors in omitting no property that diligence and care will place upon the assessors' books, and in being sure that all property-holders were called upon. A good idea .-of the progress our citizens have made in this respect may be obtained by reference to the expenses of - 25 - the county in the early years of its history. In the year 1820, the business of the County Treasurer may be stated as follows : Amount of orders redeemed, $708. 82 ; receipts for fines, $16.50 ; for licenses, $32.00 ; for permits, $10.69 ; total of these items, $59.19. Received from Tax Collector, $446.05 ½ ; received on notes and costs on roads, $185:64 ¼ ; received of A zor Scribner, tavern license, $10.00 ; total amount received, $700. 88 ¾ The Sheriff's salary for 1821, was $30.00 ; the Auditor's salary for 1824, was $125.00. We may add that the total amount paid into the county treasury, from September, 1873, to September, 1874, including the balance of the March settlement, 1873, was $462, 503.96. The expenditures during the same time were $355, 314.41. The salaries. of the county officers for the same time were as follows : Clerk of the Court $1, 650 66 Recorder 1,630 00 Treasurer, with special duplicate 2,817 19 Auditor 2,800 00 Sheriff 2,625 56 Prosecuting Attorney 765 90 Probate Judge 2,752 43 Commissioners, average salary 705 69 And these salaries, we have been informed, much exceed the above figures at the present time ; for surely as the labor increases because of increased wealth and improvements, the salary increases in like proportion. Now, while there has been a steady advancement in all the departments mentioned, and while the inhabitants of Darke county, in an early day, were unequaled for their kindness, honesty and hospitality, the inhabitants of a later day are engaged in farming, manufacturing and carrying on the trades and professions which are complements of and auxiliary to their leading employments, and they are noted for their morality and intelligence. And while all these conditions exist, we must remember one industry in which the early settlers excelled, for in 1824 there were, perhaps, a dozen "one-horse distilleries, whose total product fell far short of slaking the thirst of the people, and additional supplies were - 26 - constantly required from the establishments on Stillwater, Twin and Whitewater, in addition to the importation of Cogniac, Jamaica and Schiedam, from Cincinnati, together with Madeira, Sherry and Port, necessary in case of sickness." To-day there is not a single distillery in the county, nor has there been for a number of years, yet the ease and facility with which the liquid poison is obtained, has established the saloon in almost every town in the county, and its deleterious influence is felt in almost every home. Not that so many frequent these places of iniquity, but the fear exists that young and old may, sooner or later, be overcome by its temptations. The prohibition element is strong in the county. The Women's Christian Temperance Union is doing a grand work for the young, and is yet in its infancy ; the establishment of a Temperance Sunday-school and free reading-room in the city of Greenville are products of the efforts put forth by this organization to stay the tide of intemperance, yet these efforts have been but partially successful. We do not say that intemperance in the county is on the increase, for we believe it is not. The influence of the saloon and the curse of strong drink, however, is with us and every citizen of the county should feel the responsibility, of this great evil resting upon him. Our legislatures have taken steps in the right direction ; the teachers in our public schools are required t0 explain the evil results of its use to their pupils, so that the next generation should be more temperate than the present one. And thus, in one respect, we may notice the increase in population and the development of the resources of the county. Eighty-four years ago the first white man built the first dwelling within the limits of Darke county. Adventurers, surveyors, traders and trappers, had been here before, but the roads made by armies had been abandoned and overgrown by weeds and briers ; and the Indians, subdued by the superior prowess of the white man, (subdued but sullen) still found his rude home on the lands of the county's meandering streams, his habits of life in no way changed by the former influence of the white man. But these - 27 - passing years have transformed the abode of the sullen savage to an home of the highest civilization. The early settler endured cold and hunger, the peltings of the pittiless storm and all the horrors of savage warfare that they might enjoy civil and religious freedom. They had strong confidence in the result of their labor, prominent among which in volume and character of its products is agriculture. But education and religion were not ignored, and immediately after completing the cabins to shelter themselves and families, they erected the rude log school-house occupied by the teacher and pupils during the day and perhaps at night, and on Sundays was used by the settlers as a place of public worship ; and thus were encouraged those sterling agencies that are intended to elevate and ennoble the human character, while they direct and stimulate exertion in the proper direction. These testimonials of energy and industry in the past are repeated in the present and give encouragement and direction to the future. Surely the labors of the people of Darke county from its infancy have been progressive, and from the most disheartening commencement, we may, with satisfaction, discern its growth and its present proud preeminence among its sister counties in the elements of stable and enduring prosperity. May we not say that these pioneers found subsistence hard to obtain from the soil because of the dangers to which they were exposed, for while at work by day a sentinel was on the watch to give notice of the approach of danger, and at night they would retire within the pickets or forts. And so they labored until clearings of sufficient size to support their families had been secured. Thus encouraged, their friends and acquaintances from the East joined them, and thus in a few years a new community was formed. The forest disappeared beneath the sturdy stroke of the emigrant and in a short time the new clime and the rising " settlement is already linked in all its future expectations and associations with that from which its fathers and founders have wandered." In this manner was the county of Darke settled and its resources developed. We may also mention the arduous labors of the early settlers ; their log cabins, their home-made furniture and home-made attire ; their rough, but kind - 28 - manners and their "open handed generosity." But the cabin gave way to the comfortable hewed log-house, which for many years was considered the emblem of thrift and prosperity. But this in time has almost entirely disappeared, and the beautiful frame or more substantial brick-house, with all the the modern improvements and conveniences, speak of the continued prosperity of the present citizen. The early condition of society made it necessary that men, while seeking opportunities to pursue their trade or profession, as it might be, should, at the same time, be the owner of a tract of land ; and it was not unfrequently the case that the blacksmith-shop was located close to the dwelling, and the smith on returning from farm labor, would find jobs of repairing for neighbors awaiting him. The preacher would also labor during the week and preach and exhort on the Sabbath and attend to the rites of burying the dead whenever called upon. The teacher would only engage in his profession for a few months in the year, and for these services the payment of money was out of the question for there was but little, if any, in circulation, and he was paid in corn, meat, hay, or anything that could be spared, and hence, while not employed in teaching; was expected to labor for a living as did the other settlers. But corn, potatoes, etc., would hardly ever find a ready market among the farmers, for all could raise these products and the most common way of disposing of corn was to trade it to the distiller for whisky, and then sell the whisky, which invariably commanded a fair price. Teachers frequently took their pay in corn and disposed of it as above stated ; but to-day they need no longer patronize distilleries for the purpose of obtaining food or the other necessaries of life, and the sentiment of all communities is that the teacher who frequents saloons or is addicted to intemperance is not a fit person to assume the duties and responsibilities of a public or private instructor for the young. He should not be so employed for he is a disgrace to the profession. Darke county has a soil, a climate and a local position which constitute the essential elements of a first-class agricultural county. Its surface is generally rolling and in nearly all places - 29 - sufficiently sloping to furnish self-drainage. Its marshes and peat bogs have all been reclaimed and are now utilized. A small surface lake exists in the south-west part of the county which furnishes clear, cold water in great abundance from springs in the same, while in the northern part of the county a subterranean lake is known to exist; a description of which is given by one writer as follows : " Many years ago in the construction of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis railroad in the northern part of the county, the route of the track necessitated the running over one of these peat bogs. To the apparently dry loam with its dense growth of vegetation was added sufficient gravel and other material to complete the bed of the road and in due time the rails were laid and the track used. But one morning not long after as the train came along, a break was espied ; the track had evidently disappeared, and upon investigation, the truth was revealed. The track instead of crossing over a dry peat bog was, rather, laid over a hidden lake. Vast quantities of mosses and aquatic plants, together with branches, trunks of trees and other accumulations had collected until they had formed, as it were, -a super-aquatic soil of several feet in thickness, and of such a remarkable density and buoyancy as to support for a time the weight of a passing train." We may add that large quantities of material such as earth, gravel and large timbers were dumped in this opening, in the water of which were seen'', fish without eyes, all of which for a time disappeared, but finally the chasm was " bridged " and remained for several weeks when 't again disappeared. A second effort to fill up the space has been successful ; no further evidence of the subterranean lake has been discovered. OFFICIAL ROSTER OF DARKE COUNTY. An instructive record in connection with the history of Darke county is its official list which we give as follows : Members of the Assembly : 1843, James Bryson ; 1844, D. I. Hostetter ; 1848, Luther Monfort ; 1849, George Ward ; 1850, Judge Lennox ; 1851, P. V. Banta ; 1853, Evan Baker ; 1855, J. C. Williamson; 1857.9, J. L. Winner ; 1861, L. B. Lott, (served two terms) ; 1865, - 30 - Scipio Myers ; 1867-9, Jacob Baker, (two terms) ; 1871, E. N. Walker ; 1873, D. T. Styles ; 1875-7, Dr. Hostetter, (two terms) ; 1879, Charles Negley and Washington Long. The law was again changed and in 1883 David Baker was the only Representative, who served two terms, and was succeeded in 1887 by A. C. Robeson. The rule or law being again changed and the county being entitled to two Representatives, in 1889 A. C. Robeson and Harvey Garber were elected. County Commissioners : 1817, Archibald Bryson two years, Abraham Studabaker, three years, Silas Atchison, one year ; 1818, Jacob Miller, one year, (record not complete). 1823, William Cury, one year, Abraham Studebaker, ten years, John McNeill, two years ; 1824, Joshua Howell, two years, Dennis Hart, three years ; 1826, James Bryson four years, Robert. Robeson one year ; 1828, David Briggs, one year ; 1831, Jacob Harter, three years ; 1832, Soloman Riffle, five years ; 1833, John Swisher, two years ; 1837, Richard Lucas, two years ; 1840, Moses Wood, three years and William B. Ludd, one year ; 1841, George Ward three years ; 1842, John McGriff, Jr. ; 1843, John Colville, five years ; 1844, Henry Lipps, two years ; 1845, William Arnold, two years ; 1848, John Miller, one year ; 1848, (October) Christian Harshey, two years, Adam Baker, who resigned, and Henry Arnold appointed till the next election ; 1849, Samuel C. Baker, two years and Isaac Reed, three years ; 1851, Daniel Reigle, five years.; 1852, David Studebaker, five years ; 1853, Abdel Slonaker, two years ; 1855, S. A. Greer, three years ; 1856, William Kerr, three years ; 1857, Michael Leech, three years ; 1858, William Wight, three years ; 1859, Riley Gard, three years ; 1863, John Stoltz, six years ; 1864, George Ivester, six years ; 1865, Samuel Alexander, three years ; 1868, David Oliver, three years ; 1869, Jesse Woods, three years ; 1871, James Auld, three years ; 1872, J. R. Holland, four years ; 1873, Elisha Berry, four years ; 1874, John Antonides, one year, ; 1877, George D. Miller, three years ; 1878, William Archard ; 1879, J . H. Antonides, George D. Miller and E. Berry ; 1880, G. D. Miller, E. Berry and Wm. Archard ; 1881, Wm. Archard, Samuel Wilson and J. G. Deubner ; 1882, Wilson, - 31 - Deubner and J. P. Frederick ; 1883, Wilson, Frederick and J. W. Corwin ; 1884, Wilson, Corwin and Frederick ; 1885, Wilson, Corwin and Wm. Archard ; 1886, Wilson, Archard and R. D. Beam ; 1887, Archard, Beem and S. J. Stapleton ; 1888, Stapleton, Beam and William Smith ; 1889, same incumbents as above. Probate Judges : John Wharry, elected in 1851 ; A. R. Calderwood, 1854 ; D. H. R. Jobes, 1857 ; J. C. McKemy, 1866, resigned 1868, and A. T. Bodle was appointed to serve from April to November of that year ; James T. Meeker was elected in October, 1868, to complete the term, then elected in 1869 for three years, and again chosen in 1872 ; J. A. Jobes was chosen in 1875, and re-elected in 1878 ; S. L. Kolp, 1881, and re-elected in 1884 J. C. Anderson, 1887, and is now the incumbent of the office. No list of Prosecuting Attorneys is given. Clerk of the Common Pleas and Circuit Courts : Linus Bascom was the first Clerk appointed in' Darke county, and held one year ; Easton Morris was appointed in June, 1818, served seven years ; David Morris served four years and died, when L. R. Brownell served pro tem. from August to November of 1829 ; John Beers served three terms, from 1829, to 1850 ; David Beers served a few months, after which J. W. Frizell was appointed for a term of seven years, but the new constitution, which was adopted in 1852, reduced the term to three years. Samuel Robinson was elected October, 1854 ; William C. Porterfield in October, 1860, but died before the expiration of his term and was succeeded by Henry Miller, who served as Clerk, pro tem. until October, 1862, when he was elected and served two terms ; Hamilton Slade was elected in 1868 ; Wesley Gorsuch, 1873, and John H. Martin filled three months of the unexpired term following Gorsuch's resignation, finally being elected in 1879 ; P. H. Maher, 1885, and is the present incumbent. Sheriffs of Darke county : On the second Monday of August, 1817, Moses Scott was appointed Sheriff by Thomas Worthington, Governor of Ohio—bond, $4, 000. He served until 1820, and his successor, William Scott, served until 1824 ; Mark T. Mills, 1828 ; Joshua Howell, 1830 ; John Howell, 1834 ; James Craig was appointed, but died and William Vance - 32 - served until 1836 ; David Angel, 1840 ; Thomas Vantilburgh, 1844-52-56 ; George Coover, 1848 ; David Stamm, 1852,; Joshua Townsend, 1860 ; G. W. Hamilton, 1862 ; Chauncey Riffle, 1866 ; A. Vandyke, 1870 ; N. M. Wilson, 1875 ; J. W. Hall, 1879 ; Jerry Runkle, 1883 ; Thomas Licklider, 1887 ; D. E. Vantilburgh until 1889, and John Welker is the present incumbent. County Auditors : These officers serve for three years. June 5, 1821, John Devor was appointed. H. D. Williams was appointed in 1822. March 24, John Craig was elected, but he died in June, 1826, and John Beers was appointed to fill the vacancy ; he resigned in December, 1829, to accept the appointmeut of Clerk of the Court, and in January, 1830, David Cole was appointed to fill the vacancy. In October, 1832, Hiram Bellows was elected ; resigned October 5, 1836, and David Angel served until January, 1837, when John Mcllthanney took his seat ; the latter died some time after, and at a special meeting called by the Sheriff, in September, '37, Commodore C. Craig was appointed, then elected, and served until 1840, when he resigned and William NI. Wilson succeeded him. Wilson held the office until October, 1846, when he resigned and John L. Winner was appointed to fill the unexpired term. David Stamm served a term, and was followed by Frederick Gram, who died, and A. R. Doty was appointed to fill the vacancy. A. L. Northrop served from October, 1849, until 1852, when George W. Coover was elected. Joseph C. Shepherd was chosen iu 1854 ; John E. Matchett, 1857; D. B. Clew, 1861 ; E. H. Wright, 1865 ; O. C. Perry, 1867 ; John E. Matchett, 1871 ; William J. Kelly, 1873 ; John C. Turpen, 1879 ; Cyrus Minnick, 1883, and J. H. Klipstein is the present incumbent. County Treasurers—serve for two years. John Devor, appointed June 1817-18-19 ; Daniel Briggs, 1821 ; Linus Bascom, 1822-4 ; John Beers, 1825 ; Abraham Scribner, 1826-7. Loring R. Brownell, elected October, 1831 ; Henry D. Williams, 1835 ; James M. Dorsey, 1837 ; Daniel Irwin, 1839 ; (James Devor was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Irwin, in May, 1844) ; Charles Hutchins, 1847 ; James Irwin, 1851-3 ; William Schmidt was appointed in 1854 ; James McKhaun was elected in - 33 - 1855-7; George H. Martz, 1859-61 ; Thomas P. Turpen, 1862; Eli Helm, 1866 (two terms) ; Peter V. Banta, 1870 (two terms) ; William K. Kerlin, 1874 (two terms) ; Amos Hahn, 1878 ; John S. Simon, 1882 (two terms) ; and Henry M. Bickel, the present incumbent, for two terms. County Recorders : Abraham Scribner was the first Recorder, appointed in 1817; Easton Morris, 1822 ; Josiah D. Farrar, Thomas Rush and John Wharry, served in the order named. Elias Bromagen, elected in 1844; John S. Shepherd, 1850; S. C. Edington, 1856; Daniel M. Stevenson, 1859; Amos F. Medford, 1865 ; Benjamin Beers, 1868 ; P. H. Maher, 1874, re-elected in 1878 ; Richard Hunt, 1881 (two terms), and Daniel Snyder is the present incumbent. Besides these officers for the county, there is the Coroner, Surveyor, three Infirmary Directors, a Superintendent of the County Infirmary and the Children's Orphans' Home, with a Board of Trustees to take charge of the same. The county is conceded to be Democratic and has been for many years, the Republicans occasionally electing an officer when dissensions and disagreements spring up in the dominant party. At present there is but one Republican officer elected by the people. During the late war the county, and particularly the city of Greenville, was one of the most thoroughly agitated localities in the State of Ohio. "The local press did not mince matters, but criminations and recriminations were frequent. The editorial pencils were held firmly and moved by fervid energy. Italics, ' small caps ' and ' caps,' wearied the printer, and political writers and speakers dealt in denunciations, threats and charges. The Democrat office was ' pied ' and pitched into the street." Extreme measures were resorted to, but no lives were lost. In later years a more conservative spirit was manifested by all parties ; harmony has been restored, and this condition of affairs speaks well for the patriotism and intelligence of the people. PUBLIC ROADS. We cannot close this article without giving the public roads of the county a passing notice, and will say the public roads of the state, first laid out, was by order of the State Legislature. - 34 - The first one located in Darke county 1ed from Troy, in Miami county, through Gettysburg, to Greenville ; this was about the year 1811, and settlers coming from Troy and Piqua came by this road. It led past the block-house of Abraham Studebaker, near Gettysburg-, and was made a toll-pike in 1853, being the first in the county ; part of which, at the present writing, is the only toll-pike now in the county. At that time there were only two or three families Jiving between Piqua and the block-house just named. The roads leading from Greenville to Milton, Shanesville, Fort Recovery and Fort Jefferson, were laid out shortly after the organization of the county, by the commissioners of the same, but little was done by way of improving them at that time. They were laid out to suit the convenience of the settlers without any regard to section lines ; but in after years, when these farms were cleared up and fully developed, the necessity of changing the locality of many of these roads required much legislation and was accompanied by a great deal of expense to the land-owners. Particularly did this necessity become apparent when these roads were changed to " free turnpikes," and land-owners were heavily taxed to construct the same. For many years this construction of free pikes in the county has become epidemic, and has fostered such a spirit of rivalry that more than two hundred roads, and parts of roads, have been thus improved, and some of them at an expense of not less than four dollars per acre. These improvements show that the farmers are determined to invest in what will prove a permanent benefit to the country. And while some have been compelled to sell part of their land to meet these expenses, the increased value of the land shows that the result of this special enterprise has been favorable to those most heavily taxed. Our county now stands second to none in the state for good roads, and the expense of keeping the same in good repair is not burdensome to the land-owners. The general improvement of the farms has kept pace with that of the roads, and the establishment in the county of a " Farmers' Institute " has given new engery to the many enterprises already at work, and from the present outlook we will not - 35 - be boastful in saying that in all internal improvements Darke will stand side by side with any other county in the state, within the next few years. What a change has here taken place ! Imagine this vast area shrouded in the mantle that Nature gave it ; the dense forest; the almost impenetrable swamp ; no mark of civilization greeting the eye of the adventurer ; no church ; no school; nothing for the weary traveler to appease his hunger, but the trusty rifle. The howl of the wolf, the scream of the panther, or the whoop of the Indian, alone broke the enchanted stillness where now civilization and Christian influence have taken up their permanent abode. GEOLOGY OF DARKE COUNTY. SUCH has been said in regard to the primitive condition and importance of Darke county, and though for a long time the name was held in derision, (the currency of its inhabitants being hoop-poles, and its people being regarded as semi-civilized,) to-day the county ranks with the first in the state. In a geological, historical and agricultural sense no other county in this commonwealth presents more matters of interest than does this county, arid he who assumes the duties of an instructor should certainly be familiar with its history and condition in all these respects. In treating our subject in a geological sense we will say that from railroad surveys which have been made we gather the following facts in regard to its elevation : Mr. Phineas Pomeroy assumes the grade of the railroad depot at Greenville, Ohio, to be five hundred and seventy-six feet above the low-water mark of the Ohio rat iver Cincinnati. Different railroad surveys give different results, but these do not differ materially, and we obtain a sufficiently correct idea of its elevation when we accept the foregoing statement, and we may further add that the highest altitude known in the county is a little north of Union City, where an elevation of six hundred and sixty-five feet is reached. One of our county surveyors located this point in Allen township, about four miles north of Dallas. We have stood upon this elevation and were forcibly impressed with its seemingly great elevation, and with the grandeur of the scenery there presented ; but the preponderance of testimony locates - 38 - the point mentioned at the place first stated, while on the summit ridge, between Stillwater and the Wabash, the land has an elevation of six hundred and thirty-five feet above the said low-water mark. And we may say that points on the northern line of the county have an elevation of six hundred and thirty-four feet ; on the southern line of the county five hundred and fifty-one feet ; while on the eastern line of the county the bed of Greenville creek is only five hundred and twenty feet above the same point. Now, low-water mark in the Ohio at Cincinnati is one hundred and thirty-three feet lower than Lake Erie, which gives us an elevation of five hundred and sixty-seven feet above that lake, or more than eleven hundred and thirty-two feet above the Gulf of Mexico. In locating and describing river systems we speak of water-sheds dividing or separating the tributaries of the different rivers ; so we may, with equal propriety, speak of the water courses in this county, and locate the water-sheds of the same. We notice that the water of none of our streams finds its way to the great lakes. The Wabash river, located north of one of these dividing ridges, flows in a northeasterly direction, and its. waters no doubt at one time reached Lake Erie ; but now they are opposed by another of these elevations and are deflected in a north-westerly and finally in a southwesterly direction, reaching the Ohio hundreds of miles from their source, while the low valley of Stillwater, beginning just south of this divide, but in the immediate vicinity of the head-waters of the Wabash, flows in almost an opposite direction and uniting, with the waters of Greenville creek which in this county are also separated from it by one of these water-sheds, and after receiving( the waters of Swamp creek from the north-east and of Painter creek from the south-east, their waters mingle With those of the Wabash after a circuitous route of hundreds of miles. Again, near the head-waters, of the Wabash we find that of the Mississinawa flowing from the western side of this same water-shed, and its waters unite with those of the Wabash after a circuitous journey ; and in the south-western part of the county we find the head-waters of White river separated by one of these elevations from the valley of Greenville creek, while the low valley of - 39 - Twin creek is separated in a like manner from contiguous streams. Thus in Darke county we have the beginning of several important rivers, with their broad and fertile valleys separated by the watersheds, also quite fertile, while the many peat bogs, the result of vast aquatic deposits have been reclaimed by artificial drainage, and are of great utility in their bountiful productions, and, we are told that that portion under which a subterranean lake is known to exist, has been reclaimed, and is mostly under a good state of cultivation. Surely in studying the topography of a country, or in teaching pupils the idea of river systems and water-sheds, this county presents as fertile a field as the teacher can easily find. The principal geological feature of Darke county is that of the drift period, known as the Quatenary formation ; we notice this characteristic in the vast gravel-beds deposited in almost every locality in the county. These are generally composed of sand and gravel intermingled with sand and clay, the pebbles being invariably smooth, thus proving the agency of water in collecting these vast deposits; while the same being stratified or deposited in layers, give conclusive proof of the change in the swiftness of the current. These pebbles are generally of uniform size ; in some banks there is a total absence of bowlders, showing a shallow sea, and the formation of what we now call a sand-bar, while in others we find large bowlders with stiriated marks indicating the iceberg as the agent at work, dropping its load of earth, gravel and rock. The bowlders distributed not only all over our county, but over the United States as far south as the thirty-fifth parallel, indicate, to us, the prevalence of oceanic currents, and some of these currents and moraines in this county can be distinctly traced at the present day. The composition of this rock is different from any of the formations characteristic of this locality. Their origin is located far north of here, where rock of the same composition is found in abundance, and where the destructive effects of the glacier is still plainly visible. That oceanic currents extended from these localities toward the south is proved by the direction of stiriated marks upon rocks imbedded in the cliff and mountain - 40 - side, as well as the direction of the valley at the present time. One of these moraines extends for several miles along Greenville creek in the eastern part of the county, while another extends in a south-western direction through Adams, Van Buren and Twin townships into Preble county. This moraine is perhaps one-fourth of a mile in width, the area being literally covered with bowlders varying in size from a foot to twelve feet in diameter, are rounded, stiriated, and show plainly the grinding effect of the iceberg. For a long time this area was considered entirely useless for agricultural purposes, but the country being low, and the soil in many places exceedingly fertile, these bowlders have been used for fences, building purposes, or have been piled in heaps, so far as possible, thus rendering the area formerly occupied by them of practical benefit, while the bowlder clay gives every indication of having been formed under the great glacial sheet which has been demonstrated to have covered the northern portion of the continent in the period preceding the present ; and this plainly indicates : first, the glacial epoch, which was immediately followed by the period of icebergs. Our county is filled with scratched and polished fragments of limestone and northern rocks, compactly laid in the dark blue clay which characterizes the formation of this age in every part of the world where they occur. The seams of sand and gravel interpolated in the clay doubtless result from the partial meltings of the glacial sheet in some of the milder periods of its history. The ice sheet in its southern advance must have found the face of the continent covered with a forest and other forms of vegetation. It seems certain that some remnants of the pre-glacial growth are preserved in the bowlder clay. Worn fragments of wood, at least, are often found deep in the clay, which it seems impossible to trace to any other source. To the chief facts relative to this interesting feature of the Drift formations of our county we may add that the bowlders evidently belong to the last stage of the Drift period : to the time of northern submergence which followed the close of the great ice age, as we have mentioned. They were floated by icebergs across an inland sea which covered our entire country, - 41 - and which stretched from the high lands in the North to Southern Ohio, and that they lie just where they do is accounted for in the fact. that this inland sea was shallow : had its oceanic or sea currents in which the icebergs drifted toward the south, and melted and disappeared as the warm climate was reached. We not only find the remains of vegetable life existing at this period, but animal life had reached its greatest size and strength. Many of the largest sized Pachyderms roamed over these fertile valleys, finding plenty of food in the luxuriant vegetation growing before the Glacial period ; and we find their remains to-day in a high state of preservation, imbedded in these drift formations at a depth of from a few feet to twenty feet below the surface. The Glacial period must have put an end to their existence for their remains are with us, and we wonder to what class of animals they belonged and when they lived. One writer, claiming to know, says these animals lived in America seventy-five years ago ! Yet historic time in America runs back nearly four hundred years and neither the white settlers nor the Indians, during all these centuries, have any knowledge of its existence. Many of its remains have been found in the Miocene and up to the Pleistocene periods, which will date back, we may safely say, a half million of years. And in this sense we can trace back the history of our county to that period when it was covered with a growth of luxuriant vegetation ; when animal life had reached its largest development, and there might have been seen an animal, similar in form to the modern elephant, sixteen feet in height- and twenty-six feet in length, with tusks nine feet in length, roaming about wherever its instincts led it ; that this period was followed by one extremely cold, called the Glacial period, in which the entire surface of the northern part of the globe was a frozen mass, all air-breathing animals perishing from the effects of the severity of the weather ; that these huge animals were frozen, and their remains were covered by the drift that followed : and we are able from these remains to reproduce the animal in size, form and general habits of life. In 1805 the Shumarhoff Mammoth was found at the. mouth - 42 - of the Lena river in a perfect state of preservation, having been frozen in an ice formation, being found forty feet below the top of the bluff, and covered to that depth with alternate layers of ice and earth and gravel. One writer says that it had lain there five hundred thousand. years ; another, that it had undoubtedly lain there one million years. This we know : that within our own history no apparent change has taken place in the surface of our county, yet where there have been no disturbances of the surface we find these remains imbedded in a solid layer of clay and gravel, at a depth of five and six feet below the surface and this fact alone must convince us of the vast age of these remains. In connection with these remains we have the Cyathophyloid coral, the Rhynchonella Spirifer, Crinoidal stem or stone plant, that geologists class with the periods mentioned, all found in the rock formation of the Niagara group which forms our rockbed and which lies at a depth of ninety feet below the surface in this county. 'With this formation is found the Clinton group and the limestone rock, consisting of the common calcareous, and the magnesian limestone, which crops out at various places in the county, and which produces a lime of the very best quality, white as the snowflake, and in good demand by builders residing many miles from the county. This product, as well as the inexhaustible gravel karnes, and the deposits of the same found in the low grounds and in the beds of water courses, make it very convenient for the building of residences or the construction of macadamized roads in all parts of the county, rendering travel, and the hauling of grain to market quite easy and convenient. We will add that there is a marked peculiarity between these gravel-beds and the soil surrounding them. They are frequently met with in the midst of black bottom-land entirely distinct and dissimilar. Their composition is sand, gravel and a small quantity of intermixed yellow clay. The mass, generally yellow, is at varying intervals streaked with blue, and the presence of iron and sulphur is often perceivable from the red-brown hue of the deposit. In many of the banks there is an absence of boulders, as has already been remarked, and the pebbles and sand are found interlocked in - 43 - wedge-shaped layers. Among the varieties of pebbles are flint, granite, shale and limestone. Wherever fossils have been discovered they are seen to be much worn, and can scarcely be recognized. In dismissing this subject we wish to say that during the period of greatest submergence the suinmit of the water-shed was under water and was swept by breakers and shore waves thus forming those gravel-banks of greatest magnitude, while in other localities icebergs were stranded, and, melting, deposited their load of sand and gravel : thus forming those isolated, cone-like gravel-beds entirely separated from other formations of' a similar kind. But in examining these formations, the result Of natural agencies, as is taught in the language of the rocks and pebbles, we are brought in contact with the various implements scattered all over the county, and which were used by a people of whose origin and history we are as ignorant as we are of the exact time when the monster elephants roamed among the primeval forests of Darke county ; and because the implements found are of stone, we say they were used by the people of the " Stone -Age ;" because these people built tall and large earthen structures, we call them " Mound Builders." These implements, which seem to be particularly numerous in certain localities in our county, carry us in imagination back to the time when our - 44 - country must have been densely populated with a race entirely ignorant of the metallic arts or the use of implements of iron and steel, with no domestic animals of burden or travel whatever, but who possessed a mechanical skill in the manufacture of these inplements and in the construction and building of their mounds, temples and earthworks. No remains of domestic animals have been found, and hence the inference is that they had none. No marks of wheeled vehicles used in the transportation of the earth and material for these mounds have been traced in any locality, and no traces even of the locality in which the dirt for these earth-works was procured, show conclusively that it must have been procured at some distance from the structure, and carried to these mounds in baskets ; that the immense size of these structures prove that the country must have been quite populous, and that the inhabitants generally were engaged in the transportation of this material in the construction of these monuments of their industry, and that they were a peaceable and prosperous people. Whence came these " Mound Builders," and whither did they go, are questions that cannot be satisfactorily answered. They seem to have made advances far beyond the Red men inhabiting the country at the time of its discovery by Europeans. In the northern part of North America these structures are generally truncated ; but in going farther south they often assume the figure of four-sided pyramids in successive stages, with flattened tops, and often containing human remains—the smaller structures having been used perhaps for tombs, and the larger for temples for the inhabitants. Enclosures made by them are exact circles or squares, sometimes a union of both ; occasionally they form parallelograms or follow the windings of a hill, while sometimes they assume fanciful shapes, as of men, quadrupeds, birds or serpents, delineated with some ingenuity on the surface of undulating plains or wide savannahs, and some of these inclosures cover an area of six hundred acres. The question immediately suggests itself: to what people must we ascribe these vast works ? The origin of the population of America is a problem which has not yet been satisfactorily solved. It is known that in Europe man was in existence at a very remote period, and these are facts which lend some support to the view that man has also been a denizen of America for ages. We are aware that it is claimed that there have been found portions of the human skeleton and fragments of human handiwork associated with the bones of mammals (which now have no existence), under circumstances which imply great antiquity ; but it certainly has not been conclusively proved that these remains are cotemporary with the remains of the animal named. That these facts, taken in connection with what we learn from tradition and the history of numerous nations, as also the character of the present nations, and it is rendered highly probable that man existed in America long before the arrival of the civilized community of the Fifteenth Century ; but that by co-incidence in the degrees of civilization and the - 45 - character of these structures in existence in both North and South America, the " Mound Builders" of Darke county can, with consistency, be referred back to the Biblical account of the creation of the human family. Mummies found in these mounds are almost identical with the mummies of Egypt ; forms of worship of some of the South American tribes are similar to that of the Hindoos ; the language spoken by some of these tribes is similar to the Chinese ; and while the proof is not conclusive to every mind, it certainly recognizes the declaration that God made of one blood all the nations of the Earth, and this applies equally well to the primitive inhabitants of Darke county. MURDER OF THE WILSON CHILDREN. THE early settlers of Greenville suffered many hardships and were exposed to many dangers from 1808 to 1816. Indians were numerous; and while they were generally considered friendly, the settlers lived in constant alarm, and a ceaseless dread of treachery and violence hung like a threatening cloud over them. There were many Indian tribes at that time friendly to the whites, and while scouts were constantly on the move and vigilant in their efforts to give the first alarm of danger, these friendly Indians were supplied with white flags, properly marked, which permitted them to pass the outposts of the whites in safety. This feeling of dread was not produced by the acts of the Indians alone, but the whites did much to increase the anxiety and danger. At one time a party of whites discharged a volley into a body of Indians carrying one of these flags and approaching with the utmost confidence. Two Indians were instantly killed, a third was wounded, and the rest were taken prisoners and robbed. One of the settlers, Andrew Rush, was killed by the Indians, and it was reported that a trader at Fort Recovery had been killed by his partner, But the Indians were accused of committing the crime. Greenville was then a stockade, and in the summer of 1812 many of the men were away rendering military service to the government, and but few men remained at the fort. It is said about this time a number of white men came upon a party of Indians with their women and children. The whites treated the Indian children with cruelty, taking them by the feet and swinging - 47 - them around their heads ; and when the Indians remonstrated and asked them to desist, one man dashed out the brains of one of the children. An attempt would have been made to punish the murderer immediately, but the whites were too strong and the Indians awaited a future time in which to 'obtain their revenge. This time soon came. In July, 1812, Patsy and Anna Wilson, daughters of "Old Billy Wilson," and aged respectively fourteen and eight years, accompanied by their brother older than they, left the stockade in the afternoon to gather berries. The brother took a gun with him for safety as it is said that some time previous he had been chased by the Indians, and being hard pressed he took shelter behind a tree, then placed his hat on the muzzle of his gun exposed the same to the fire of the Indians, and while they stopped to load their guns he made his escape. The three crossed Greenville creek near N. Kuntz's saw-mill and were picking berries, under the trees when they were attacked by three Indians. The brother had left his gun near by and the three were some distance apart at the time of the surprise. Not being able to secure his gun, the brother escaped by swimming the stream. His cries and the screams of the girls attracted the attention of Abraham Scribner and 'William Devor, who immediately ran to the spot, but the Indians had fled, after killing the girls by blows on the head with the poll or back of their tomahawks, and scalping one of them, they not having time to scalp the other. When the help came the girl that had been scalped was already dead, the other gasped a few times after they reached her. The dead bodies were carried into the f0rt and the alarm given, but the Indians escaped. Two innocent lives were thus sacrificed in retalliation for the death of the Indian child. The sisters were buried under the tree near where they were murdered and this was the last tragedy of those perilous times. It was not safe for Indians to show themselves in this vicinity after this atrocious butchery, and the war being carried to the north-west, followed by the treaty of 1814, left the inhabitants of Greenville in comparative safety. About the first of July, 1871, - 48 - the remains of these two sisters were taken up and on the fourth of the same month, the "Nation's birthday," they were deposited in the Greenville cemetery with appropriate ceremonies. A large assembly of the people being in attendance to show their respect for the dead. On the same day a large granite bowlder weighing perhaps four tons, swung under a wagon drawn by six horses, was driven into the cemetery and placed over their grave. Here let them rest in peace, and may their monument be a constant reminder to us of the trials and dangers through which the early settlers of our peaceful city passed, and may it admonish us of the importance of properly appreciating the privileges and blessings we enjoy. GREENVILLE, DARKE CO. AS has been seen, two plats were proposed as the location of the county seat, but at first no definite selection seemed to suit all the settlers. One wished to locate near the present junction of the Gettysburg and Milton pikes another suggested that it " would require at least forty constables to keep the frogs quiet while the judge was delivering his charge to the grand jury. Mrs. Armstrong, owning the land included in the last plat, proposed donating thirty-two of these lots to the town, provided the commissioners would locate the county seat upon this plat. Her proposition was accepted and a deed was made to the commissioners of Miami county (Darke had not yet a separate organization). The selection of the above lots, it seems, was a matter finally settled by decree of the Court of Common Pleas of Miami county to which Darke was then attached, under proceedings in partition instituted by John Devor. As a result of these proceedings the title to these lots was quieted, and on the 16th of June, 1816, the sheriff of Miami county, at a public sale in Greenville, sold more than fifty lots then laid out to purchasers on the usual terms : one-third cash, and one-third in one and two years. Purchasers of lots generally made immediate improvements on the same, and the town thus seemed to improve permanently. The second treaty with the Indians took place at Greenville, in August, 1814. It is said that more than four thousand whites and Indians were at this treaty, the government being represented by Gens. Harrison and Cass; the Indians by their principal chiefs.