There are numerous pleasant drives in This vicinity, and one may, with easy carriage and good horse, view as many beautiful little nooks in the vales opening into Huron River valley as perhaps could be found almost anywhere in the West. There is a double charm in the frequent transition from cultivated fields, flowering orchards, and cosy farmsteads to the wooded slopes that appear so frequently between Milan and Monroeville. A little winding stream that shall be nameless (from force of circumstances), comes down to the river about half way between the towns in a lovely little valley whose curves and

MILAN TOWNSHIP - 495

turns, precipitous banks, mossy knolls, and green slopes, mixed in intricate combinations of form, would afford a fine subject for the artist's brush. Indeed it is not uncommon for Eastern men to sketch during summer in these shady vales.

Three fine iron bridges span the Huron River in the township—one above, one below, and one directly opposite Milan. The lower two bridges were built by Erie county, and the upper one by Huron and Erie together.

The earliest authenticated occupation of Milan was by the Moravian Indians, but there are many earthworks and graves in This vicinity that were so old as to have large trees growing upon them when the first white settlers came here in the earliest years of the present century. As early as the year 1787 Zeisberger, a Moravian missionary, took refuge from hostile Indians with his tribe near Fries's Landing. He built a town there and called it New Salem, but remained only about six years, when he was compelled to remove further south, where he died a. few years later. In 1804 Rev. C. F. ,Dencke, a Moravian missionary from Canada, established the Indian village of Paynothing or Pequotting, on the ground where Milan now stands. They remained here until about 181o, when on account of white immigration they removed to Canada, never again to return to the banks of the old Huron, on whose borders their huts once stretched in a broken line to a point some three or four miles below Milan.

E. Merry came to Milan in 18 11, being but two years later than Jared Ward, and but one year later than David Abbott, both of whom had settled at Fries's Landing, then, and for many years afterward, known as Abbott's Crossing and Ward's Landing. Indeed, these names have stuck through all these years of development, and though followed by the name county seat (owing to court being held near there when Huron and Erie counties were one), and by the name of Avery, these old names are not uncommon at the present time among the old settlers of This township.

The first officers of Milan (Avery), as far as can be ascertained from data at hand, were elected near Abbott's, the election being held at the house of J. B. Flemmond, while Milan was a part of Huron township, before their separation, which was accomplished in 182o. There was probably no great amount of formality in This election. Jabez Wright and David Abbott were chosen justices ; F. W. Fowler, constable, and Almon Ruggles, recorder.

Fort Avery was the seat of Huron county when it embraced all the Fire-lands. The commissioners appointed by the Legislature to fix the county-seat were Solomon Griswold, E. Quimby and S. Clark, neither of whom were residents of the county. The location was made in 1811, but through some sort of influence a change was made soon after the first term of court was held here. Historians claim that the change was made on account of the trouble experienced in securing good drinking water; but This is only an argument in sup-

496 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

port of the theory that our forefathers were better judges of the quality of old rye than of water, for the purest and best wells of water from which the writer has ever enjoyed a drink, are in the immediate vicinity on either Side of the river. Mixter's, Hathaway's, Ristiner's, Rev. Geo. Bartlett's, A. Paul's, Page's, Ruggle's, Morgan's, Sand's and Fries's wells contain the very purest water in almost inexhaustible quantities.

The first court was held at This point in 1815, when old Huron county was barely organized, and the seat of justice was removed to Norwalk in 1818. There are excellent reasons for thinking it probable that This removal was part of a plan for the aggrandizement and financial success of three of the early proprietors of the town of Norwalk. An agreement strengthening This view of the case has already been published, though probably not for the purpose which it has so well accomplished.

Fort Avery, on a hill east of the old canal, and not over a mile from the Abbott home, was a military post during the War of 1812. Not a few legends have been told, and one story at least has been written concerning the exciting times that here followed Hull's surrender of Michigan. Of course the fort lying so near the lake was exposed to attacks from marauding Indians ; English pioneers from the surrounding section were sheltered here at different times from the murderous savages. This fort or block house was at all times guarded by United States Soldiers in greater or less force during the second war for independence, but its accommodations were quite insufficient at times for those seeking the shelter of its walls. A guard named Seymour, was shot here by Indians, and his comrade taken prisoner while they were out felling a bee-tree to break up the monotony of camp life, and vary in a slight degree the sameness of camp diet. The first military company on the Western Reserve was probably organized here.

The elder E. Merry who afterward became founder of (Beatty) Milan, occupied This block-house with his family and others during the war. Their house warmings and New Year's day festivities were the delight of the young and old of neighboring families ; Jared Ward, Thomas Jeffry, Hosmer Merry and others participating with zeal. These people all kept their boats, for though emigration in those days was comparatively tedious, the advantages of travel by water were very great. Time, indeed, was of little account as compared with immunity from savage attack, land fevers, and the weariness occasioned by passing in any accessible vehicle. Railroads were of course unknown here, as in other parts of the world, and good wagon roads were almost unheard of.

The Abbotts owned at one time eighteen hundred acres of land near Fort Avery, and were widely known and respected. The venturesome and self reliant spirit of those times is very clearly set forth in a little story repeated among the Fireland sketches, with the sanction of witnesses who are regarded as entirely reliable. It Seems that the Abbotts and Wards each had cows in

MILAN TOWNSHIP - 497

considerable numbers, and it was a custom of the young people to bring their large butter tubs to the river for cleansing or other purposes. On one occasion Miss Lucy Abbott actually climbed into one of these butter tubs and pad. died it across the river, which is about fifteen feet deep, with her hands. This exploit was not more daring than the ride of a pioneer young lady across the same stream on the back of an ox, and was probably only one of many such frolics suggested by the vigorous health and buoyant spirits of the bright, buxom backwoods maidens of This time and section. Mr. Ward, it is said, had a dugout, or log canoe, fifty feet long. His kind and honored son, Elam Ward, who in those days helped propel it, still tells the story of his rugged experiences to neighbors in East Milan, where he now resides.

This point on the river is of peculiar interest from the fact that it is the natural head of navigation, is the place first settled in the township, and the scene of the first and latest operations in ship-building, which will be discussed at the proper time in This article.

The village of Beatty (Milan) was laid out in 1814, by E. Merry, father of E. Merry, jr., residing in Milan until the time of his death in 1888, and of Elizabeth, who resided with her brother. In 1816 Mr. Merry with J. C. Smith and Isaac Tupper began erecting a saw and grist-mill near town; the former, who was a large land owner and a man of considerable enterprise, bought out his partners before the mill was completed, and finishing it alone, operated it for some time to the satisfaction of residents for miles around. In 1819 Mr. F. W. Fowler, to whom we are indebted for many facts mentioned in This Sketch, removed to Milan village from Abbotts, and in 1820 he opened a public house which accommodated boarders up to 1842. In 1823-1827 the mouth of Huron River was improved by subscription and governmental aid.

In 1827-1828 B. N. Abbott built the schooner Mary Abbott, at the home of the family on the river. In 1829 he made a prosperous voyage to New York City via Huron River, Lake Erie, the Erie Canal and the Hudson River, disposing of a load of Ohio produce. and purchasing a cargo of goods needed in the West, he returned in safety to his home. H. N. Jenkins built the schooner Louisa Jenkins, across the river at about the same time, but he confined his navigating expeditions to the river and Lake Erie.

A charter was granted the Milan Canal Company, which in 1828 proposed to dig a canal some three or four miles long, so that the village might be reached by such sailing craft as had been navigating the river up to Ward's Landing and Abbotts. E. Merry, Ralph Lockwood, George Lockwood, T. Baker and J. Wright were named in the charter as commissioners to open books for subscriptions to the stock. The subscribers assembled at the home of F. W. Fowler on. August 27, 1831, and elected the following directors: E. Merry, E. Andrews, George Lockwood, D. Hamilton and F, W. Fowler. Work was begun on the canal in 1832, and completed, after numerous delays

498 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

and discouragements, in 1839. This artificial water way was considered of vast importance at that time, as indeed it was from the fact that there were no railroads, and it afforded an outlet for immense quantities of grain. It cost Milan a great deal, however, in later years, when it made her citizens too independent to even allow the Lake Shore and Michigan. Southern Railroad the right of way through the town, and that great commercial thoroughfare passed four miles to the south through the then comparatively unimportant village of Norwalk.

The organization of the old canal company is still continued for the purpose of holding the charter privileges for the W. and L. E. R. R. Co.'s right of way, but it is many years since the old canal bed would float even a row boat, except in times of freshet, when the river overflows its banks. The first vessel to arrive at Milan by the canal was quite a curiosity to the people. and its captain as great a hero as the proudest heart could wish. Captain Moran was the bold navigator, and his schooner, the Kewaune, of one hundred and fifty tons, arriving on the 4th of July, 1839, was met by a procession of five hundred people with music and banners, and her captain was presented with an American flag by Miss Maria Butman, acting for the patriotic ladies of Milan.

With the opening of the canal Milan at once became almost as well off in commercial interests as if she had been a lake port, indeed in the matters of securing the grain of the interior, and lumber for ship building, there was an evident advantage in lying some eight or nine miles from the lake.

A scheme to connect Milan with Columbus, by a railroad from the head of the canal through Norwalk and other villages, was inaugurated at about the time the old Mad River Railroad was built, but for some unaccountable reason the project fell through.

Soon after the canal was finished the enterprising citizens of Milan began active steps in the direction of permanent improvements and substantial business projects. Warehouses were erected along the upper canal basin, and the buyers of grain were rewarded with a trade that covered a section reaching in a southerly direction for over a hundred miles. Great covered wagons, drawn by four or more horses, came in trains to town, and Milan held the greater part of their trade, though at times considerable numbers of the farmers passed on down the river to Huron, in anticipation of a higher price for their grain.

The canal gave quite an impetus to ship building as well as commerce. The fine white oak timber in the vicinity was utilized for This purpose by numerous builders, at their yards on either side of the basin, below the hill on which the village stands. J. P. Gay was among the first prominent builders, constructing a number of government sailing boats previous to the civil war. E. Merry was at one time connected with This firm under the title of Merry' & Gay, but they were unfortunate in their contracts and the business was suspended. Henry Kelley, for many years a prominent and public-spirited citizen of Milan, owned a ship-yard at the foot of the ridge on which the resi-

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dence of J. C. Lockwood now stands. Captain Kelley has since erected a fine brick business block in Milan, and improved several farms in the vicinity, besides beautifying his house and grounds in the village. For many years he has acted as a member of the council, and was at one time an honored commissioner of Erie county. His respected wife, Betsey Kelley, died in Milan in 1888. A son, Frank H. Kelley, is at present a resident of the village, owning and managing a farm about a mile east of town.

J. C. Lockwood, one of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of Milan, was at one time connected with the ship-building interests here, and was for many years in the general mercantile trade. The latter business was afterward transferred to his nephews, Frank C. Smith and R. M. Lockwood, who now conduct it very successfully at the old corner, directly at the top of the hill where the Sandusky road enters the village.

The Milan Banking Company represents J. C. Lockwood and Lucius Stoddard, the latter for years a confidential clerk, and afterward a partner with Mr. Lockwood. Mr. Stoddard is cashier of the bank, and Mr. Lockwood its president. The latter gentleman is still a very large real estate and ship owner. Mr. Stoddard possesses considerable capital. Among the first and last shipbuilders is Valentine Fries, a self-made man, who came to Milan about the year 1849, and began the grocery business in a small way. Careful attention to the details of his business, and steady, hard work, together with the strictest integrity, gave Mr. Fries the necessary means to enlarge his business, and to invest a limited amount of money in vessel property. The.time was opportune, and he soon saw his means increasing rapidly. Taking the hint promptly he increased his marine investments. In the seventies and eighties he built at Fries's Landing (formerly called Wards and Abbotts), several of the largest and finest sailing vessels on the lakes, including the Marion Page, the Golden Age, etc. He also built the steam barge Charles Foster, all of which, with other valuable vessels, he still owns. Mr. Fries was very active, as trustee of the township, in bringing about the graveling of the flats north of Milan, an improvement that has been a very great benefit to farmers on that side of the town from the fact that the roads prior to This improvement were next to impassable every spring and fall, for several weeks.

Never a suave man, but always outspoken and vigorous, the subject of This sketch has strong personal friends, and such enemies as he may have made must grant the respect that such a character always commands. Mr. Fries owns numerous farms, one of which, the old William Blake place, in North Milan, he was fitting up for a home when the loss of his wife led to a change of plan, and he has since lived at the now deserted ship-yard, and at a farm lying a mile or two east of Abbott's Bridge.

Milan township and village have always been noted for the intelligence of the people, and the strength of their religious organizations, as well as for the

500 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

general and early interest taken in popular education. The Presbyterian Church of the present was organized at Spear's Corners, in 1818, under the name of the First Congregational Church of Huron, Rev. W. Williams and Alvin Coe, of Connecticut, presiding. The first members of the church were William Spears and wife, Gilbert Sexton and wife, Mrs. Eleanor Adams and her sons, William and Philo. Meetings were held alternately at the residences of S. Adams and Mr. Spears, for some time. The settlement in This section of the township was quite flourishing in an early day, but increasing population and business at Milan led to the removal of the church to that town. In 1824 H. Buckingham and J. Demund were elected deacons of the church, which was changed in 1825 to a Presbyterian organization, and William Spears, J. Demund and D. Everett elected ruling elders. There were but thirty-seven members at This time, but in 1829 the Rev. E. Judson inaugurated a revival that led to a great many accessions. The church was incorporated in 1828, and a substantial church edifice was completed in 1837, by contributions of work and material. In an early day services were conducted by the following named gentlemen : Revs. A. Coe, C. Pitkin, J. Seward, A. H. Betts, William Sanford and J. Treat. The second regular pastor was Rev. T. L. Shipman (Rev. L. B. Sullivan having officiated in the Spears neighborhood). The succession that followed Rev. Shipman was Revs. J. S. Demund, W. M. Adams, E. Judson, N. Barrett, J. M. Hayes, A. Hartpence, J. H. Walter and the able young pastor, Rev. W. L. Swan, recently called to Warren, 0. The longest ministry was that of Rev. Walter, who began his work in 1855, and continued in the service nearly thirty years, when he removed to a charge in the Suburbs of Cincinnati. He was an able and beloved pastor, and left many warm friends behind when he departed for his new field of labor. The place of worship was burned in the spring of 1888, and worship then begun in the beautiful little chapel erected in 1887, by J. C. Lockwood.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1830, and the church building was erected in 1845. It has always been fortunate in the pastors assigned, and has had a membership that, though never large, has always been drawn from a very intellectual portion of the community. The church building stands at the west side of the town on Church street. It is a modest little structure, but very tastefully painted within and quite well calculated to accommodate the usual number in attendance. It was remodeled to some extent and greatly improved through the efforts of Mrs. J. C. Lockwood, in 1888. This church began work in the Jeffrey neighborhood long before the establish. ment of a regular society at Milan, indeed it is probable that they were at work there before Milan was of any account as a town. Revs. Gurley, Munger, McIntyre and Tillotson were among the first to minister to This denomination in Milan township. Among the later pastors are the Reverends Jewett, Gallimore and Wuestenberg, the present popular occupant of the pulpit.

MILAN TOWNSHIP - 501

The St. Luke's Episcopal Society was organized here in 1846, and a church was erected in 1847, but twenty years later the building was destroyed by fire, and the present edifice was afterward erected on the same lot on Main street. The society of late years has not enjoyed the privilege of regular services from year to year, though at different times considerable regularity has been maintained, and it is hoped that they have now established permanent services.

A handsome and commodious Roman Catholic Church was built on Main street, further south, in 1866, and a very strong society has gathered from the village and adjoining farms. Among the pillars of the church are A. Fisher, J. H. Kellar, C. Stein, H. Halpin and others. Rev. Goecke is the present priest. Most of the reverend fathers of This congregation have been very highly esteemed by the citizens generally, as well as by their own people.

This concludes the list of churches in the village, but a German Reform Lutheran Church is located at Union Corners, in the northwestern part of the township. This church has a very large congregation, representing some of the best people of the prairie region described in the first lines of This article. The pulpit is usually supplied from Norwalk.

The Friends, or Quakers, have a tasty little church at Homer Page's Corners, above Fries's Landing, which accommodates quite a number of the people in that vicinity. This church was erected largely through the efforts of Peter and Dorexa Hathaway, Peter Hathaway, jr, Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Eddy, John Everingham, the Rosekelleys, V. Fries. Homer Page and wife, John Balcam, the Rickards, A. Paul, A. Ruggles, Benjamin Wilcox, Calvin Gwin, C. Parker, Mrs. George Eddy, Mr. and Mrs W. H. Eddy, Mrs. Carleton Bailey and many others whose names are not accessible at This time, but to whom the church and community will ever owe a debt of gratitude for their timely aid.

Mrs. Alida Romick, the eloquent evangelist from southeastern Ohio, preached the dedication sermon, and has rendered the church much subsequent service. Revs. George Bartlett, Charles Sweet and William Nicholson, all able, earnest Christian ministers, have from time to time given their valuable services to This congregation. Rev. Bartlett is at present conducting the services ; he was married in 1888 to Miss Mary Ann Rosekelley of Huron, who is an estimable lady and a strong assistant in the work ; Rev. Nicholson is laboring for a little flock in Sandusky, and Rev. Sweet is located in New York. Unlike those of many other denominations the Friends' ministers find their support mainly from business enterprises, and instead of set sermons on the Sabbath deliver extemporaneous addresses suggested by readings from the Bible.

As before remarked popular education received early and substantial attention. A private school was supported in the Abbott neighborhood at a very early day; Miss Gilbert from Newburg was the teacher, but like many a later

502 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

follower of that noble profession, she left the work to brighten the home of a. prominent professional man, Dr. Goodwin.

In 1817 a school-house was built at Spear's Corners, and Marshall Miller wielded the birch there with eminent success for some time.

At Milan village, two years later, Miss Susie Williams opened the first school taught there, in a new barn owned by Squire Merry. The second School-house in the township was erected on the Eagle Tavern corner (East Church street and the public square), where the rebuilded town hall now stands. In 1824 the old yellow school-house was built on West Church street, afterwards removed to Center street, and finally, with the other small school buildings, converted into the Cooper business block at the top of the hill.

When the present school System was inaugurated in 1849, Milan was prompt to avail herself of its privileges, not however without considerable debate and attendant excitement. The members of the first school board, and Allen Bartow, who still resides in North Milan, were strong advocates of the cause of general education. The latter, a young mechanic at the time, made his maiden speech defending it in reply to a then moneyed citizen, since somewhat unfortunate in business. The merchant has, however, for years, been an ardent friend of education and free educational institutions.

The old brick school building on South Center street was erected the year after the enabling law was passed, and was one of the most substantial and convenient public school buildings of its time to be found in the State.

The present fine and beautiful structure was built in 1884, at a cost of over twenty thousand dollars. It is of brick, trimmed in sandstone, is in the form of a cross, and has all the modern conveniences. It is well lighted, and the architecture is very fine. The lot extending across from Center street to Main is well graded, and forms quite an ample play ground for the number of pupils usually attending. The teaching corps in 1888 was J. R. Sherman, superintendent and high school principal; Miss Annie Bassett, A and B grammar school teacher ; Miss Hattie Markham, A and B primary ; Miss Retta Traub, C and D primary. The schools are in a flourishing condition.

The first school board, elected in 1849, was composed of the following named men, prominent at the time in local affairs, and in several instances becoming quite widely known in business enterprises at other points in the State : Daniel Hamilton, J. H. Kennedy, George Barney, Hiram McMillan, S. F. Taylor and Harry Chase. The first superintendent employed was C. F. Royce.

Huron Institute.—This institution of learning is located near the south end of Seminary street, adjoining the cemetery, and was incorporated in 1832. The first principal was Rev. E. Barber, and his first-class of six pupils was conducted in the office of Squire J. Smith. By means of some four thousand dollars, half of which was subscribed by Milan citizens, the present brick structure was erect-

MILAN TOWNSHIP - 503

ed before the close of the year 1832, and the class increased very rapidly until at the close of that year there was an enrollment of forty-six gentlemen and forty-four ladies. Henry Ballentine, who afterward became a missionary to India, was assistant principal at first, but he was soon succeeded by B. Judson, who was assisted in the work by Mrs. E. A. Hubbard and Mrs. C. Stuart. Mr. S. C. Hickok succeeded Principal Barber in 1835. Mr. Hickok was followed in 1843 by H. W. Williams, and he in 1848 by Rev. L. Bliss. In 1850 T. S. Bradley became principal, and between This and 1858 N. Barrows, D. Sayles and J. McKee were respectively at the head of the institution.

Rev. Asa Brainard and Prof. Samuel F. Newman leased the building and established the Western Reserve Normal School in 1850. This school was a decided success, and a very great benefit to the people of the village, as its reputation became so good under the joint management of these gentlemen, and the subsequent management of Mr. Newman alone, that students, and even residents, were brought to Milan from great distances to secure the benefits of . the culture which it offered at a merely nominal cost. To the energetic aqd scholarly efforts of Prof. Newman, the writer most cheerfully credits what little subsequent Success has crowned his efforts in the profession, and no doubt very many others whose success in life has been eminently more marked, would as cheerfully add their testimony had they the opportunity so to do.

Miss Delia Palmer, in 1871, took charge of the Normal, and was very successfully assisted in her efforts by Prof. Charles Williams, a gentleman of fine social qualities and of scholarly attainments, since deceased, as is also his associate in the work, the beloved and successful lady already named. Miss Palmer conducted the school alone after the first year or so, until it was leased for a year or two by Prof. Lawrence, and afterward came under the management of Prof. B. B. Hall, the present principal. It is no flattery to say that Mr. Hall is a school man of the broadest experience, having been engaged for years in both public and private school work, he has a thorough knowledge of the needs of teachers in their profession. To prepare them for This work is the principal business of the school, although it has also an excellent business course, and furnishes facilities for literary and scientific culture of no mean order.

This institution has varied in attendance from fifty to nearly two hundred. Its palmiest days, up to the present time, were between 1865 and 1875, but the attendance has never been worthy of the management nor of the generous spirit of the Presbyterian society which erected it, has ever kept it in repair, leased it at a nominal rental, and assumed a deep interest in the character of the school, as well as of those by whom it has been conducted from

time to time.

Alma mater, if my pen

Seems to speak as flatterer's tongue,

Bear with. him who views again

Dear, familiar scenes, when young.

504 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

Reader, if a cynic's smile

Seek to circle o'er your face,

Think of youth, return once more

To some old familiar place ;

Then condemn me, if you will,

I'll praise my alma mater still,

And honor, with a childish pride,

Those who recited at my side.

Grand Army of the Republic.—Cranston Post No. 73. This Post was organized in 1881, with the following named officers and charter members: H. N. Shipman, C.; John P. Mowry, S. V. C.; M. K. Lee, J. V. C.; J. C. Fitch, adjutant; A. Gordon, surgeon ; C. H. Wilson, chaplain ; John A. McLain, Q. M.; T. J. Oleary, 0. D.; W. H. Bemis, 0. C.; Silas Brown, S. M.; J. Eggleston,.

Q. M. S.; A. Foreman, J. C. Bartow, William Eastman, William P. Poole, and J. Harble.

A Woman's Relief Corps was organized in the spring of 1888, with the following ladies as charter members : Mrs. Emma Elliot, Mrs. Lucinda Callanan, Mrs. Mary Gordon, Mrs. Emma Shupe, Mrs. Date Luff, MrS. Louisa Eggleston, Mrs. Fidelia McLain, Mrs. Rebecca Schaeffer, Mrs. Elizabeth Bassett,. Mrs. Louisa. Burch, Mrs. Julia Roscoe, Mrs. Helen Roscoe, Mrs. Sarah Oakley,. Mrs. Sarah Marsh, Mrs. Alice Roscoe, Mrs. Mary Brown, Miss Eliza Schaeffer, Miss Annie Bassett, and Miss Lizzie Bassett.

Secret Societies.—Free Masonry was introduced into Milan in 1853, Erie Lodge, F. and A. M., being established in that year, with the follOWing charter members : S. F. Taylor, John Smith, D. Mills, R. S. Nash, John McIntyre,. Charles Bradley, Lyman Fay, John Honsinger, and John Stevens.

Milan Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, was chartered in 1872, with the following members : Dr. E. L. Perry, John W. Sisty, Castleton Roscoe, Darwin Fay, William Lewis, J. F. Webster, P. P. Parker, A. Youman, S. Hollister,, George A. Kline, and J. S. Felton. These lodges are at present in a very thriving condition, and include in their membership many of the older and most honored citizens of the village and surrounding country.

Odd Fellowship was inaugurated here at an early day. Probably no man in the vicinity was more active in This fraternity in those days, and for years afterward, than Mr. Mann. Thomas C. McEwen, now a resident of Sandusky, installed Milan Lodge No. 105, in the spring of 1848, and the lodge flourished for many years, but meetings were subsequently discontinued. The cause assigned for the failure of the lodge is the enlistment of a large number of its members in the United States service during the civil war.

The present society is styled Marks Lodge, No. 717, being named in honor of Rev. Marks, so long an Episcopalian minister at Huron, 0., and an Odd Fellow of high standing. This lodge was installed in the fall of 1882, by Grand Master J. Burket, of Findlay, 0. The chartermenibers were F. H. Weaver,. S. G. Saunders, P. J. Slocum, J. Eggleston, R. Croft, H. L. Wilson, and D. J.

MILAN TOWNSHIP - 505

Wilcoxson. The lodge now meets regularly on Monday nights at its pleasant and spacious hall over the Milan Bank. There is at present a lodge membership of about thirty, which is not bad, considering the size of the town, and the recency of its organization.

Business Interests.—Among the earliest business establishments, none were of more value to the town than Mr. Merry's mill. People came for miles to secure its services, and in many cases the rush was so great that parties were compelled to remain several days awaiting their " turn at the wheel," as it were. This fact, with the great influx of prospectors, and the great number of farmers from the South (sometimes as high as five or six hundred in a single day), led to the erection of numerous hotels, the first of which was that of Mr. Fowler, already mentioned. The old Eagle Tavern was built in 1824, on the present town hall lot, and was a very commodious structure for its time. It was burned in the seventies. The Knowlton Block, adjoining the present bank building, was at one time used as a hotel, and numerous other buildings served their time in the same capacity.

On the brow of the North Milan hill stands a large hotel building, erected in 1835 by Hazen Horner, and for many years patronized extensively by the people driving to Huron from the south, as well as by local parties. A fine dancing hall, erected to accommodate a demand of the times, was patronized for years, but burned to the ground soon after the close of the civil war. The Horner Hotel had a very lively rival in that of Mr. Ansel Page at Bailey's Corners, where John Everingham and family and Widow Bailey now reside. George Supner also came in for a share of the patronage during the stirring times between 1835 and 1850.

Messrs. Horner and Page raised very large families, and their descendants may be found among the active business men and cultured ladies of several States besides Ohio.

The old distillery, built in 1819 by Mason &. Mears, created a market for grain and hogs that continued until it was burned some years ago.

J. M. Choate erected a carding-mill in 1821, and started the business which is at present the carding and woolen-mill of J. Brown, enjoying so wide a reputation for substantial goods. About the same time N. Standart opened a general store, and Ralph and George Lockwood opened a store very soon after. The latter business afterward became the well-known house of F., G. and R. Lockwood, now Ralph Lockwood, No. 2 Lockwood Block. Frank Lockwood, formerly of This firm, and very active in securing the W. and L. E. R. R., is considered one of the best accountants in. Ohio. R. Lockwood, sr., was, the first postmaster of Milan, called at the time Merry's Mills, in honor of the proprietor, Squire Merry. H. Lockwood began the hat manufacturing business here in 1824, and conducted it with varying success for some time. The first Lockwood Block was a frame building and was built in 1827,

506 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

but burned some years later, and the present brick block was erected in its place.

Looking to-day at the quiet, peaceful old village, with its abundance of time for recreation and rest, with its beautiful drives, picturesque park, and general air of comfort and freedom from care concerning the world of business, it seems difficult to realize that in a single day thirty to forty thousand bushels of grain have been loaded at its wharf; that the old canal in a single year paid over a hundred thousand dollars in tolls ; and that there was an export trade of $825,000 in one year (1844), and an import trade of but two hundred thousand dollars less.

Prior to the War of 1812 there were about one hundred and ninety people in Milan township. F. W. Fowler gives the names of heads of families at that time as follows : Hosmer Merry, R. Pixley, G. Harvey, in section one ; David Abbott, D. Barrett, J. Ward, E. Pollock, J. Leach, N. Glines, A. Mason, and A. Collins, in section two ; T. Jeffry, Josiah Smith, William Smith, P. Tillotson, George Colvin, D. Kinney, E. Kinney, S. Kitmey, and D. Smith, in section three ; section four containing the families of C. Parker, W. Perry, J. Payne, W. Hubbard, J. Guthrie, William Howard, A. Wilson, and John Eldridge. The war, as stated, annoyed the early settlers, and when Hull's paroled troops were returning home, a great panic was created here And throughout the Firelands by the report of red-coats in force on the lake shore.

Many families came into This section from 1830 to 1850, whose descendants form the staunch farmers and business men of the present time. The population of the township and corporate village was 2,239 in 1880. The corporation limits, which were established in 1833, have never been extended, though an effort was made a few years ago to extend the lines to include Avery Station on the "Nickel Plate Railroad." The town has contained, from 1850 to the present time, about twelve or thirteen hundred people, but the corporation contained only a few more than eight hundred in 1880.

School facilities are furnished to many outside the corporation, as the special district limits extend much further in some directions.

Among the present active business houses of Milan are A. Streck's meat market, the Lockwood stores already mentioned, A. P. Mowry & Son's hardware, which was established many years ago, but is still abreast of the times in all respects, M. Harter's old and well established drug trade, the old reliable merchant tailoring establishment of Henry Kurtz, Star Flour Mills, for a considerable time operated by William Winslow and L. Roscoe, and Samuel Fish & Son, who succeeded to the old Turner Tile Factory in East Milan, and have perfected the machinery and reduced the manufacture of drain-tile and plant-pots to a science, making the smoothest and most durable quality of each. Their business has justified the erection of substantial factory buildings, as well as of tasty and comfortable homes on their pleasant lots above the picturesque

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Village Creek Valley. Among professional men are Dr. A. B. Storch, well established here, but about settling in Florida ; E. L. Perry, dentist, (a descendant of Commodore 0. H. Perry,) has been a remarkably successful practitioner here for a great many years, receiving patronage from surrounding towns, and even from Sandusky and Toledo ; Dr. P. A. Gordon, formerly a United States surgeon, a man who has traveled extensively and enjoyed the thorough culture and varied experiences that produce broad views as well as professional skill ; Dr. W. J. Esch, another allopathist, is an energetic young man, of broad views, fine education, and had an extensive practice, which he left recently to take charge of his deceased father's practice in Cleveland ; Dr. Simmons, the homeopathist, has a very large practice among the patrons of This "school "; W. B. Starbird, a rising young attorney, has a very large law practice in Erie and other Northern Ohio counties ; Attorney H. N. Shipman, an old resident, is a man of some ability. Among the more recent establishments may be found A. H. Case's model drug store ; Minor Curtis & Son, machine headquarters for several States in certain engines and threshers ; William Eastman's fine grocery; 0. Bassett & Son's "Common Sense Grocery," with Louis Cline's Park Hotel, erected in 1880, but burned in 1888, and Bert Dixon's new clothing store. The Stoakes's automatic pen factory, and the A. J. Mowry & Co.'s spoke factory, with the comparatively new but improving ax-helve factory of Milo McCrillis, no doubt have each a trade extending over as wide a territory as that of many a larger establishment in our manufacturing cities. A. J. Mowry is entitled to great credit for the energy manifested in keeping up manufacturing interests here, and of J. W. Stoakes we shall have occasion to speak later on.

B. Ashley's jewelry and repair store was for many years (nearly half a century) a landmark on the south side of the square. Mr. Ashley has long been a pillar of the Presbyterian Church, like Dr. Stuart, A. P. Mowry, L. Stowe, C. Gwin, P. Comstock, Mrs. J. D. Smith, Mrs. Frank Lockwood, J. C. Lockwood, Mrs. E. Andrews, Dr. Galpin, Harriet Gordon, John Sisty, Judge Taylor, Squire Fay, Dr. Storch, H. Horner, Squire Emmons, A. S. Case, W. Winslow, and others working in the interests of the church without expectation of earthly reward. Mr. J. C. Lockwood has recently erected a lovely little brick chapel for the Sunday-school at a cost exceeding three thousand dollars.

F. H. Weaver has a jewelry establishment in the new S. A. Lockwood block, on the west side of the Public Square. It is quite new and up to the times in its management and appointments. Olson's carriage shop and Cooper's general repair and exchange establishment are also institutions of value to the business interests of the village. Among the old families whose names have not come into our article as yet, we mention from a somewhat faulty memory, the families of Kneeland Townsend, Carlos Colton, Joseph Hough, Charles Edridge, Judson Perrin, William Daniels, D. Dimon, William Dimon,

508 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

William Raynor, Dr. Renner, Squire Emmons, Captain Dean, Henry Penfield, H. Stoddard, William Mackey, H. McMillen, Captain Hicks, Captain Coulter, Squire Burt, 0. Ruggles, the Roots, Hawleys, Lowrys, Roscoes, Fays, Minards, Richards, Gibbs, Roberts, Schaeffers, Williams and Daleys. There are others whose names are equally prominent in the development of the town and township. Milan has furnished a goodly number of men whose active brains and untiring energy have made them famous in a greater or less degree. T. A. Edison, the celebrated electrician, must lead the list. This remarkable inventor was born in Milan in 1847 ; his sister, Mrs. H. Page, living at Page's Corners, down the Huron River, remembers well when she carried him in her arms a sickly child. A beautiful and costly memorial to his mother, in the shape of a window in the Presbyterian Church, was erected by Mr. Edison, but was destroyed with the church in the fire of 1888. Zenus King, the famous inventor of the iron suspension bridge, which bears his name, was at one time a resident of Milan. J. W. Stoakes, the inventor of the Stoakes's automatic shading pen, which produces 4 broad line of several different tints at a single stroke, and has attracted very wide attention, is an old Milan boy, recently returned to his native village, where he has established a factory and is doing an extensive and increasing business in making and shipping these pens.

Dr. P. A. Gordon, only son of Robert Gordon, was a surgeon in the United States army during the Rebellion, and has since had as large a practice as he could attend to in and around Milan. Recently the doctor, who was always of an inventive turn of mind, has completed, among other things, a nut lock, of a very simple and durable nature, that is finding great favor among manufacturers as its merits become known.

Newspapers.—Among the earliest newspapers of Erie county was the Milan Free Press, which was conducted for some time by W. Jenkins, and the Tribunes established in 1848 by Clark Waggoner, who was afterward connected prominently with the Toledo Commercial. Other papers have flourished from time to time, notably the Milan Bugle, recently sold by its editor, S. D. Brady, to the Milan Advertiser, which is at present edited by a prominent young attorney, W. B. Starbird, and has been published by Messrs. Pratt, Baisley, and Gibbs, in succession since 1868, when it was established by Mr. Pratt and others

Milan village, since its incorporation in 1833, has been presided over by the following named mayors : John Smith, Richard Burt, John Smith, S. F. Taylor, T. R. Hopkins, E. B. Atherton, J. J. Penfield, L. Galpin, A. Page, George Dimon, V. Fries, Darwin Fay, W. E. Lockwood, Dr. E. L. Perry, J. W. Stoakes, Dr, E. L. Perry, and the present incumbent, J. W. Stoakes.

Though Milan, as a town, has missed its possibilities of growth and development, it is still a lovely place of residence, and its people appreciate the

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attractions which it offers in the way of educational facilities and social relations.

A disastrous fire in 1888 swept the south side of the public square and East Church street, destroying the Presbyterian church, the town hall, Cline's Hotel, and two business blocks. The work of rebuilding is rapidly progressing. The town hall and business blocks are nearly completed, and Louis Cline is erecting a fine brick hotel in place of his Park House, so justly popular with traveling men before the fire. Will Blair, his genial son-in-law, will still continue as clerk. Provision is being made against the recurrence of a destructive conflagration by the introduction of a system of water works. Let us hope that there may never be an occasion for testing their power amid such terrifying scenes as accompanied the last disastrous fire.