ADAMS TOWNSHIP.
This township was erected in March, 1819. and contained all the land east of a line running south from the northwest corner of Section 4, Township 10 north, of Range 3 east, to the southeast corner of Section 28, Township 9. of Range 3. It was detached from the east end of Greenville Township and the south end of Wayne. In 1820, Sections 3. 4 and 10, of Township 10, Range 3, were taken into Richland Township. In June, 1838. all of Township 8. Range 3. and Township 8, Range 4, that was in Adams, was taken into a new township, which was entitled Van Buren.
The second permanent settlement in Darke County was made in Adams Township. In 1808, Abraham Studabaker, with his wife, settled on the bank of Greenville Creek, opposite the present site of Gettysburg. on Section 25. on land now owned by A. Stoltz. From what the *riter can gather, Mr. Studabaker was the first white man that became a permanent settler of Adams Township, as we have no account of any before him, and none other till the close of the Indian war of 1812. Very soon after the cessation of hostilities. Maj. George Adams, who had served in the armies of Harmar and Wayne. came to the township, and, studying the needs of the pioneers and his own interest as well. erected a flouring- mill on Section 33. where now stands the mill of Stoltz & Coppess. This was
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the pioneer mill of the county. and became known far and wide ; and there are many of the pioneers now living who have a pleasing recollection of the gallant Major and his old-time mill. Their estimation was shown by the perpetuation of his memory in the name of the township in which he made his home.
It is said of Mr. Studabaker that he entered a quarter-section, and put up a cabin built of such poles as he could handle himself, for his nearest white neighbors were on the Stillwater, fourteen miles east, and at Fort Black, now New Madison. seventeen miles to the westward.
He had all his provision to carry on horseback from the Stillwater settlement, as there were no roads at that time. Indians were peaceable, but none the less an occasion of apprehension and distrust.
One morning. two Indians called at the cabin, and finding Mr. Studabaker had gone out to a piece of ground he was preparing for corn, demanded from his wife some bacon which she was preparing for breakfast. She refused to give it up, as it was part of the supplies brought from the Stillwater late the previous evening. One of the Indians seized the meat at one end, while she held fast to the other and cried loudly for help. The other Indian drew his knife and cut off the meat near her hand, and the two made off before her husband had time to come to her assistance.
The great thoroughfare of the Indians between Piqua and the Whitewater towns ran almost before his door, and, although they were not particularly hostile during the first years of his stay, they were troublesome. He brought with him a horse and a cow. and. some time after, his stock of animals was increased by the birth of a calf During the first year, he partially cleared two acres, which he planted in corn. He had just got his little crop harvested, when his horse died of milk sickness... In a short time, the calf was killed by the wolves. Hoping to catch some of these prowling beasts, lie constructed a trap, and baited it with the remains of the calf. The cow. unluckily. was so overcome by curiosity as to put her head into the trap, which was sprung, and broke her neck.
For flour and meal, he was obliged to go to Milton, in Miami County. A journey to and from this mill occupied two days, even when the traveling was at its best. An incident will serve to illustrate the unpleasantness of the surroundings. In the winter. which was an unusually severe one, Mr. Studabaker started for the mill on Stillwater, at Milton. He had killed and dressed a hog the day before. He left his little family in tne woods, with no neighbors nearer than Boyd's, in Greenville Township, on one hand, and, on the other, none between him and the Stillwater. In the night. a pack of wolves came around the house, and their howling was not calculated to• lull the lonely wife and children to sleep. Suddenly, there came a smothered yell of pain and affright from a single wolf and, immediately after. a chorus of yelling, snarling and yelping, as if pandemonium had broken loose. This lasted but a moment. when all became still. The silence lasted till morning. In the morning. Mrs. Studabaker opened the door, and there, within four feet of the threshold, lay a monster wolf, dead. and his protruding tonque was frozen fast to the ax which had teen used to cut up the dead hog. It was supposed that this wolf, attracted to the ax by the bits of flesh and blood which adhered to it. had attempted to lick it, and the ax, being full of frost, caused his tongue to adhere. drawing from him a cry of pain, upon which the others set upon him and killed him. At all events, he was dead, and wolves never came near the house again.
The American panther (Felis concoler). or " painter," as it was called by the early settlers, a ferocious and dangerous animal, abounded in this region. Mr. Studabaker killed many of them during his residence here, and, on more than one occasion, came near losing his life in conflict with them. On one occasion, while working near the edge of his clearing. he saw an immense panther on the limb of a tree twenty-five or thirty feet from him, crouched ready for a spring. His rifle was standing by a stump within ten feet from him, but he dared not move or take
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his eyes from his stealthy enemy. The enraged brute sprang into the air toward him with a thrilling Cr.y At the same instant, he sprang for his rifle, and. as the panther struck the ground exactly at the spot he had just quitted. he fired. The ball struck the animal in the front shoulder, passing completely through. and so disabled it that it could not renew the attack. but it made the most terrific struggle, uttering frightful screeches and yells, until Mr. Studabaker reloaded his rifle. when he took a more careful aim and ended the struggle. This was one of the largest of the species, measuring eight feet from tip to tip...
Deer apparently shunned that immediate vicinity. although Mr. Studabaker frequently shot them in his clearing. But they were much more numerous in other localities, and the Indians gave as a reason the mysterious-- belly-sick.- which the whites called " milk sickness."
The Indians never molested Mr. Studabaker with any hostile intent. In 1811, when they became threatening, he built a substantial block-house and moved into it. With the exception of Andrew Rush and the Wilson girls. no murders were committed in the neighborhood during this period. They frequently called on Mr. Studabaker for refreshment, and were never refused. Whatever was set before them they took away with them, even to the dishes. They would eat all they could, and, according to the statement of many old settlers, no system of surface measurement would give any idea of a hungry Indian's capacity. and what they could not by any possibility eat they would stow about their persons and carry away. They were almost daily visitors during these years, but the uniform kindness and hospitality with which they were treated, it is thought. saved the Studabakers from their fury.
Tecumseh Laulewasikaee, his father, Little Turtle, Black Hoof and other noted chiefs were frequent visitors. Tecumseh is described as a young man of grave, dignified, commanding presence, and appeared not only intelligent and courteous, but benevolent and humane. Sometime. while Mr. Studabaker was residing here, Tecumseh and his brother moved from their home near Greenville to escape the demoralizing effects of the whisky retailed to their people by Azor Scribner. who had a trading post at Minatown. The Indians of the neighborhood. it seems. would visit Scribner's once a week or oftener. for the purpose of obtaining whisky and ammunition, and on these occasions they often became noisy and boisterous, for it seems whisky had much the same effect on Indians it did on the whites.
On one of these occasions, a party of six Indians, who had been to Greenville and were returning, stopped to rest and regale themselves in Studabaker's clearing. It was a clear, moonlight night, and, as may be supposed. all their movements were noted. They first carefully hid their rifles and other arms, and then solemnly. one after another, drank from a large gourd, fashioned like a bottle. until they had emptied it. They then commenced whooping and yelling in a manner not calculated to be entertaining to. the trembling auditors in the block-house not many yards distant. At last they engaged in a dance, which they continued until one after another fell to the ground in a drunken stupor. There they lay until morning, when they arose and commenced a search for their rifles. Two failed to find theirs, and it was evident by their gestures that neither they or the other members of the party were quite sure they had their rifles with them. A few years ago. the rusted remains of two rifles were found under a decayed log near the spot. The stocks were almost entirely gone, the barrels, locks, bands, etc., though badly rusted, were in tolerable state of preservation. The flints were in their place, and bullets were found in each of the barrels. It is likely these were the rifles so curiously lost on the occasion of that moonlight frolic sixty years before.
Soon after the breaking-out of hostilities, or even as early as the fall of 1811, nearly all the warriors left their haunts in this region. The noted and influential chiefs had joined the British at Detroit. or at their post on the Maumee. Consequently, the few pioneers in Darke County were unmolested during the war
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Here, then, the Studabaker family lived eight years, almost entirely cut off from communication with the world. There were, perhaps, six or eight families in and about Greenville, and the nearest of these was six miles distant.
David Studabaker, now living in Greenville Township, was born in the blockhouse, in 1814, and was the first white child born in the township.
Maj. Adams had seen hard service and perilous times. In one of -the expeditions against the towns on the Maumee, while under Gen. Harmar, he received several bullets in his body and was left for dead on the field, but when the retreat began, his comrades, to save his body from mutilation, carried him with them. At their first halt, they dug a grave and were about to place him therein, when they detected faint signs of life. They gladly deferred the burial and worked zealously through the night, trying to restore their respected comrade to consciousness and life. Morning came. and, although still insensible, he breathed. He was carried the distance of another day's march, and again a grave was dug, as he was expected to die before morning. This was repeated. day after day, till the troops reached Fort Washington, but after lying thus unconscious for weeks, he finally fully recovered and took active part in Wayne's campaigns of 1793-94-95. It was while out scouting in the vicinity of Greenville that he became acquainted with the fine mill-site that he afterward occupied. Adams' mill turned out very coarse meal and very little,of that. Wheat was also ground, but customers were obliged to bolt their flour by hand, and it would have satisfied any Grahamite to have used the product of the mill. Still, the mill was a popular resort, all the more so after a little grocery had been established, where whisky and tobacco were retailed. Here was a place at which shooting matches, quoit throwing and an occasional fist fight were common.
In 1816. Armstrong Campbell settled on Section 30, on land cleared by Studabaker. who. the same year. moved to Greenville. William Stewart also came in I:816, and located in the Studabaker opening, on Section 36, where Washington Cromer now lives. After this, the township settled rapidly. Adams was a genial, fun-loving man, widely known and deservedly popular ; a crowd of congenial spirits gathered about him, and the little settlement took the name of " Adams' Mills." and when the township was finally organized, it was named in his honor. During the years 1816 and 1817, William Cunningham, Samuel Robinson, Barton Fairchild. Thomas McCune, Josiah Carr. John Meyer, Zadoc Reagan, Zachariah March and Ebenezer Byram, settled at and near New Harrison.
Early in the year 1812, Wilkinson, who was in command of the troops in this department. sent six soldiers to Studabaker's post. where they were stationed for some time, and it seems that they were under the immediate command of Mr. Studabaker. At this time, the block-house served as an inn, post of refuge, and official quarters. as well as the home of the family. On one occasion, five Indians were captured in their war paint, which Studabaker turned over to the officer in command. at Greenville. They subsequently escaped, and took their revenge by killing and scalping two soldiers near Fort Jefferson, named Stoner and Elliott. The war closing. Studabaker took a contract from the Government to feed the Indians until the consummation of the treaty.
Upon the organization of Darke as a county in 1817, Mr. Studabaker was elected Commissioner four successive terms. Isaac Hollingsworth and Thomas Warren, were of the early settlers. John Reck settled in 1827, on land that is still owned by his son. It is located on both sides of the creek, on Section 36. Mr. Reck states that the wolves were very troublesome to the settlers. When a boy, he was followed many a time by a number of those animals, from near the little cemetery just west of Gettysburg, to near the door of his father's house. There is no account of injury done to persons, although stock not infrequently suffered. John and William Reck, Henry Weaver and Armstrong Campbell, built the first schoolhouse in the township. The house was erected in 1830, and stood upon the present site of the cemetery, near Gettysburg. The carpenter work was done by Michael Reck, then seventeen years old.
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Samuel Horner was the first teacher. A subscription school. taught by Jacob Hersher, is said to have been the first in Adams Township. The first church was erected by the Lutherans, on land now owned by Francis Keefauner, in or about 1834. It is still standing. Besides this, there is Catholic Church at Bradford : Presbyterian, a Methodist and a Lutheran, at Gettysburg ; and a Dunkard. elsewhere in the township. New Harrison was laid out in 1837, by Samuel Robinson, who was the first Justice of the Peace in the township.
Between the years 1827 and 1831, quite a number of families emigrated from Adams County, Penn., and settled in the east central part of the township. where they laid out and built up the village of Gettysburg, which took its name from Gettysburg, Penn. The nominal founder of the village was John Hersh. The place was incorporated in 1866. Bradford was laid out in 1865, and duly incorporated in 1871. In 1830, Adams Township contained 529 :lersons, and, in 1870. 2,291. The topography of Adams Township may be gathered from the following description : It contains thirty-eight sections ; the four southern tiers are six and a half miles in extent from east to west, and the two northern tiers four and a half, making the area thirty-five square miles. The southeastern corner of Richland Township takes the sections that shorten the northern tiers. Stillwater. Bolton's Run, Greenville and Harris Creeks traverse the township. The first- named enters near the center of the north line of Section 5, runs south and southeast in its general course about a mile, thence eastward a mile to the boundary of the township, between Sections 4 and 9. Bolton's Run enters at the northwestern corner of the township, runs southeast nearly two miles into Section 12, thence south of east one mile, thence in its general course east two and a half miles to the township line. Greenville Creek enters the township less than half a mile from the southeast corner, runs in a northwest course to New Harrison. thence southwest, thence north of east to Gettysburg. and through Stolbyls addition, thence southeast near the line between the first and second tier of sections to the center of the northern part of Section 30. thence south, then nearly east, to the eastern boundary of said section, a little more than a half-mile from the southeast corner of the township. Two railroads cross Adams Township ; they have an equal angle of divergence from Bradford, the C. C. & I. C. and the Pan Handle (old C., P. & I.). the first-named in a direction south of west past Gettysburg, below New Harrison. and thence to the southwest corner of the township ; the second, in a direct line to Horatio, and leaving the township midway between that place and Stelvidio. in Richland Township.
The surface of Adams is rolling, being most uneven in the southwest portion. The southern portion has the darker, stronger soil. The timber is beech, ash. maple and hickory, principally the first named. The soil is well calculated for the raising of wheat and corn, as is evidenced by the shipment at Gettysburg. the last season, by E. George, of over 200,000 bushels of grain, in addition to which were heavy purchases at the same place by Messrs. Reck & Trump. Fruit is raised in moderation and occasional abundant yields have been gathered.
We learn, with reference to the early growth of New Harrison, that, in 1845. there were but a dozen families resident of the place, viz., Jacob Woods. John Baltenburg, William Robinson, Jeremiah Shody, keeper of a tavern stand, Samuel Robinson, Calvin Horner, Jeremiah Shade (also keeper of an inn), Michael Stahl. Abraham Miller and William Hays. Of their houses. there are ten remaining. Such was the slow growth of the place in the interval from 1837 to 1845. At this later date, William Hays settled in Adams, in the village of New Harrison. In a family of eleven children, seven are living and active in life's duties. The old gentleman still occupies in content the hewed-log house that was standing when he came to the village. The old neighbors are now pretty nearly all gone, the only ones remaining being Abraham Miller and his wife. At the date of Hays' arrival, the wild nature of the country is shown by the statement that deer and turkeys came out into the clearing and even between the houses in daytime. On all sides
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was the forest, and there was an unbroken stretch of seven miles northward in which there was not a single house as late as 1847. The people of New Harrison and Gettysburg went to Covington and to the Falls to mill-eight and nine miles distant. Adams' mill was too small and the quality too poor to obtain favor, save for grinding grists of corn. The first schoolhouse in this neighborhood was located on the farm of William Adams, about a mile west of New Harrison. It was of logs, on the pioneer plan, and is now in use as a dwelling. Samuel Robinson was one of the first teachers in it.
The Methodist Church at New Harrison was built about 1844, by Jacob Woods. It was a frame, was 40x50 feet in size, and stood on land donated by the builder. It was torn down several years ago.
A store was first kept in New Harrison by the village proprietor, Samuel Robinson, and then by Jacob Woods. Rev. Sharp, a Christian minister, was the pioneer blacksmith of the place, and was engaged at the forge between the years 1841 and 1844.
Tavern-keeping was first done by Gideon Level, who, in 1845, sold to Jeremiah Shade. Various changes have occurred till the property, now owned by J. F. Winner, is in use as a saloon and drinking resort. J. Miller, blacksmith, Aaron Welbaum. wagon-maker and grocery-keeper, are recently engaged in their business. No physician has bpen located here since the war. Dr. H. W. Corwin practiced and lived here from 1842 to 1844, and prior to the earlier date, a botanic physician had practiced here, known as Barker—a dealer in " roots and herbs." After Dr. Corwin. came Drs. Williams, Jenks, McElroy, Harbison and Greer. The village answers well its purpose as a convenient locality for accommodation of surrounding population.
We have spoken incidentally of Gettysburg and the origin of its name. Here are located the Premium Flour Mills. with four runs of stone, a capacity of 100 barrels per day and a manufacture of 40,000 bushels of wheat into flour annually, beside supplying a market for 150,000 bushels of grain.
John Hershey built the first house in the village, a tavern, which stood on the present site of Dr. Campbell's residence. Among the pioneer efforts in Gettysburg was the store of James Auld. started in a log house, where Mr. Keefauner now lives. Mr. Auld, in 1840, built a brick store building on the southwest corner of Main and Bridge streets, and moved into it his stock. Later, he occupied a small house directly across Main street. where are now Hershey & Dorwin.
A saddler-shop and cabinet-shop were started at an early date. John Stolz, in 1845, was the saddler, a business now done by Charles Naylor.
Blacksmithing was done by Henry Cohn, in 1842, in a frame building ; some six years later, lie erected a brick shop on the old site, on the south side of Main and east of Bridge street. Ten years later, he died, and the shop was enlarged, remodeled and changed into a dwelling, now owned by Mrs. Cohn.
The first schoolhouse in the village was of brick, and was located on Corwin street. It was built some thirty years ago, and is now in use as a dwelling. The present schoolhouse was erected in 1866, at a cost of nearly $5,000. Samuel Paulding had the contract for the woodwork. Rev. Jackson was the first teacher therein. His successors have been Dr. Newcomb, William Stone, Simeon Robinson, Mr. Graves. Cyrenius Tyrrell, William McKee, Mr. Schell, J. E. Polley, Edward Lockett, Samuel Brumbaugh, J. E. Laurence and Rev. C. W. Choate. In fourteen years, almost as many different teachers—a lesson on the mutability of teaching, as unstable as the ever changing circuit of the old itinerant preachers. The above record should teach a judicious selection and a permanent employment to realize the full advantages possible to be derived from free schools.
The first Postmaster of Gettysburg was James Auld. The office had been kept at New Harrison, but, in accordance with a petition presented, it was removed to this place and Mr. Auld was appointed. He and Dr. Corwin drove over and brought the effects of the office to the village. One Barrett had the contract to
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carry the mail from Greenville to Troy. This was before the turnpikes were built. When there was good weather and the roads were tolerable, Barrett drove a two- horse vehicle, at other times he went on horseback. Mr. Auld was also the first Justice of the Peace in Gettysburg. One of the first cases that came before him was of interest to the community. It grew out of a trade in horses, in which one party thought himself badly cheated. Attorneys were engaged from Shelbyville and Piqua, and the inexperienced Justice was confused and bewildered by the amount of rhetoric and argument. He recovered, and by the aid of native good sense was enabled to render an equitable decision. Soon after, a burglar, who had raided a store in Hillsdale, was arrested a short distance east of Gettysburg, brought to the village and tried before the Squire. He was tried, bound over, sent to the penitentiary, served his time, and within a month after his release, had burglarized the residence of the father of Dr. Corwin, in Bellefontaine.
A bridge across Greenville Creek, at this village, was begun in the fall of 1876, by the Cincinnati Bridge Company, and was finished in 1877. Its cost was about $5,000.
The village has a population of about two hundred. A town hall is located on the east side of Bridge street, near Corwin street. It was built about ten years ago.
There are two churches in Gettysburg, the Methodist Episcopal and the Presbyterian. The church edifice of the first-named was built in the spring of 1875. It formerly stood two miles southeast of town on the farm of Ch. Hershey, whence it was removed and remodeled at the time above stated. It was moved by Silas Reck, and located upon land purchased for $200 from Mrs. Jane Harmer. The first minister was Rev. Valentine Staley, followed by Benjamin Powell, R. D. Oldfield, and by the present incumbent, George Matthews. The first Sabbath-school here was superintended by J. Hershey, who, save two terms, has been continuously in service to this time. W. Reck was the first Secretary. The membership is seventy-five. The building owned by the Presbyterians was built in 1847 or 1848, and is located at the west end of Corwin street. It is of brick, in size 40x55 feet. Those prominent in building were William Carr, John Meyer,
Alexander Horner and Dr. Darwin. The lot was donated by Mr. Horner. The number of members at the present time is about sixty. The first Pastor was Rev. Thomas Elcock, now of Van Wert. Among other Pastors have been Revs. Alexander Gulick, John W. Drake, W. E. Hill, W. H. Moore, Rev. Wyckoff, and the present Pastor, L. E. Jones. The Superintendent of the Sabbath-school is Rev. C. W. Choate. Bradford is an enterprising and thriving village of about eighteen hundred population, about eight hundred of whom reside upon the west side of the creek, in Darke County. The first house built in West Bradford was erected by John S. Moore in 1868. The first grocery was kept by Routzong & Moore, and stood in 1869 on the corner of School street and Miami avenue. The pioneer blacksmith was Joseph Lefler. The village has the usual number of shops, stores and like local industries, which go to make up its business interest. A medium-sized Catholic Church stands in the southwestern part of the village. It was built in 1875. The first Pastor was Father Shelhamer. There are two hardware stores and a saw and planing mill. This last is owned by William Stover & Co., who took possession in September, 1878. The building is two stories, 50x75 feet. The capacity of the mill is about six thousand per day of twelve hours. Engine, fifty horse-power. Besides the saw-mill there is machinery adapted to woodworking in general. The mill was established by Reck & Marland in 1870, but has known much improvement and enlargement since. It is located west of Miami avenue and south of the railroad. Within the last year, 300,000 feet of walnut lumber have been shipped and sold from this mill, most of which went to supply New York and other Eastern markets. Prior to the erection of a new schoolhouse, the children attended District No. 2, one mile west of town, at which school J. W. Cable was the first teacher. The first
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schoolhouse on the west side was constructed in 1876. The contractors were Dennis Dwyer and George Manix. The cost of the structure was about $28,000. It is four stories high, including the basement. Its ground dimensions are 75x56 feet, with two towers additional, 22-feet-square base and 70 feet altitude. The building is finished in fine style, and is an ornament to the town. A hall in the fourth story is well furnished, and will seat 600 persons. There is a good school hell, and heating is done by steam. The school enumeration is 410. The present School Board are Solomon Routzong, D. J. Smith, William Weaver, N. Iddings, Valentine Staley and R. T. Hughes. D. S. Myers has been Superintendent from the first, a fact creditable to all parties. The other teachers have taught the same period. They are M. J. Hunter, Mrs. D. S. Meyers, Miss Minnie Garber, Miss Clara Gulick and Miss Jennie Baumgardner.
The corporation is a unit ; that is, there are not two sets of civil officers, and there is but the one post office, which has been shifted from one side to the other according to caprice and political supremacy. Moore was Postmaster in 1869 ; then W. II. Sowers held the office, which was then removed to the east side, where it has since remained. The first Mayor of Bradford was Peter H. Smith ; Clerk, Ed. Davidson ; Marshal, George Doll. The present officers of Bradford are : J. A. W. Smith. Mayor ; M. J. Williamson, Clerk ; H. W. Smith, Marshal and the members of the Council are D. J. Smith, John Gettz, and Messrs. Beck, Kinney and J. M. Fink. For a place of recent growth, West Bradford has shown much promise, and the township of Adams, in its early and later settlement, has evidenced much of enterprise and vigor.