HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 475 villa Olmstead celebrated the first marriage in the township in 1817 and death made its first visitation the next year, the young bridegroom, Ethan Palmer, being the victim. Isaac Griswold and Edward Phelps were the first to complete their log cabin homes and these two in 1806 sowed the first wheat planted in the township. Mr. Phelps was the first man to plant an orchard, carrying the young shoots many miles by packhorse, and several of those trees were still, in 1930, pointed out. Francis C. Olmstead opened the first tavern at Blendon Corners, a location where was expected to grow a considerable community, but which has stood as to population about where it was more than a hundred years ago. Rev. James Hoge did not overlook Blendon Township in his missionary work and he held the first religious services there and thereafter held services every six weeks. The congregation that he gathered was made up of two elements of the Presbyterian denomination, those from Virginia and those from New England, but they finally merged in the Blendon Presbyterian Church. It was known as Lebanon Church. A Baptist congregation, known as the Central College Baptist Church, was formed, and, although never very large, has always been kept up. The Methodists, the Evangelical Association and the United Brethren followed in order, the latter becoming the most important organization in Blendon Township. From an early day the United Brethren supported a foreign missionary and exerted an influence that has been paramount in that part of Franklin County. During this era of early church development the great revival wave of 1838 swept over Blendon and there was a camp meeting, echoes from which still linger in the traditions of the township. The principal preachers at this revival which resulted in many conversions, were James Gilruth, Uriah Heath and Jacob Young. The first named, Mr. Gilruth, belonged to the class of muscular Christianity that was at times found necessary for the spread of the Gospel on the rough frontier. He was a giant of a man, as strong as he was big, and, if he could not convert by power of exhortation, he was not at all averse from using his muscular ability to effect a rough and ready change of heart. During the great revival of 1838 a big bully, from Delaware, notorious as the champion fighter of this part of the young state, took it upon himself, with the aid of a few followers, 476 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY to break up the services. The bully overpowered a guard, who was supposed to be the strongest man in the township, but he met his Waterloo when he faced the militant Christian, Mr. Gilruth. What the latter did to the rough was more than enough for the rude justice of the frontier, but the missionary, not content with giving a thorough thrashing to the disorderly fellow, shouldered him and carried him through the waters of Alum Creek to the house of a justice of the peace, who added an appropriate fine to the punishment already meted out. Through the village of Westerville the township of Blendon has become famous all over the United States and even throughout the civilized world. It is there that the headquarters of the Anti-Saloon League are centered and the big printing plant of the association is located, and from there emanate all the influences that that powerful organization brings to bear in its fight against the traffic in intoxicating liquors. It is also the seat of Otterbein College, an institution for higher education which has grown from a small academy to a widely known university and includes among its alumni many prominent men and women scattered not only throughout the United States, but in many foreign lands, where the missionaries of the United Brethren Church are active. Westerville was laid out by Matthew Westervelt in July, 1829, but was not organized until 1857 and its formal incorporation was postponed until 1858. It is pleasantly located on the upper waters of Alum Creek, in the extreme northern part of Blendon Township and Franklin County. The high character of the early settlers made it natural that the educational atmosphere of Blendon Township should always be potent and a good school system was soon established. As early as 1866 the union school plan, just made legal in the state, was adopted in the little village of Westerville, a brick building, known long as the "Union School," was erected and the schools were placed under the superintendence of A. J. Willoughby, an exponent of the older and thorough method of educational administration. This movement had, however, been preceded by a movement for the erection of an institution for higher learning in Blendon Township—a matter that had its inception at the big camp meeting of 1838. The school was originally a Methodist institution. It was in- HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 477 corporated by the Legislature in February, 1839, as the Blendon Young Men's Seminary. Matthew Westervelt donated twenty-five acres of land to the seminary, buildings were erected and the school was opened under the direction of J. C. Kingsley and George Blair, who constituted the first faculty. It prospered for some years, but was finally overshadowed by the larger Methodist College at Delaware. The United Brethren Church was desirous of founding a college for the education of its own youth, and it took over the property at Westerville, agreeing to pay debts against it of $1,200 and to continue it in operation as a school. Thus Otterbein University was established and named for the eminent founder of the church, Philip William Otterbein. It was chartered as a university by the Legislature in 1849. The first trustees were Lewis Davis, David Dresback and William Hanby, representing the Scioto conference of the church, and Jacob Barger, Peter Flack and P. Hurlburt of the Sandusky conference of the church. William Hanby was father of Ben Hanby, the famous composer and author of the pre-war anti-slavery song, "My Darling Nelly Gray," which has been sung all over the world and for which the author never received a penny. He was a minister of the United Brethren Church, a teacher in the school and a musician of parts. He composed the song in a spirit of fervent antipathy toward the institution of slavery and sent it to a publisher, but heard nothing further from it until, on the occasion of a trip to Cleveland, he entered a music store and asked for some of the latest music. He was astonished to be offered his own composition, which he was assured was the latest, best and biggest hit of the day. He got the satisfaction of appreciated authorship and words of commendation from the publishers, but the latter refused to go farther in the way of compensation than a letter of praise for the song. Ben Hanby died young, leaving a wife and young daughter, who grew up to be a charming woman. His widow married again, her second husband being General S. H. Hurst of Chillicothe, Civil War soldier and at one time a member of Congress from Ohio. The University grew and prospered. It was enlarged so as to be a co-educational institution, but the plans finally ran ahead of the financial support and for a time during and after the Civil War it 478 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY was much straitened in its work. Its troubles were increased by the burning of a new building in 1870. With the building there were destroyed the college library, which included a copy of the Sinaitic manuscript, presented by the Emperor of Russia, and the libraries of the literary societies. The total loss was $50,000. There was at the time a disposition in some quarters to remove the college to some community that would offer sufficient inducements, but the citizens of Westerville came to the fore with a liberality and a spirit that prevented this. Funds were raised in Westerville and elsewhere, the burned building was replaced with a larger and a better one and the institution started on its way to a widened usefulness. It later benefited by the liberality of the Carnegie endowment fund, and, in accepting the gift, relinquished the privilege of calling itself a university. It is known more appropriately as a college and the scope of its work not only has not been limited by this, but has been materially enlarged. The national officers of the Anti-Saloon League were influenced toward locating their headquarters at Westerville by the fact that Otterbein University, always active in the cause of prohibition, as it had been active in the fight against slavery, had its site in that village. In the last general census Westerville was shown to have a population of 2,881, a majority of whom are more or less closely interested in the college and the Anti-Saloon League. Blendon Township long had another institution for higher education. This was known as Central College and was situated on the Sunbury Pike, on the west bank of Alum Creek. The little settlement was known originally as Amalthea, but this was changed to Central College, and the hamlet, which has never been known incorporated, is still known by that name. In the late twenties and the early thirties of the nineteenth century there was a school at this place under the supervision of Rev. Ebenezer Washburn, who, although the sole member of the faculty, taught the rudiments of the classics, psychology and ethics, Butler's Analogy, that ancient standard argument for revelation, and the higher mathematics. 'Squire Timothy Lee, who, like Colonel Kilbourne in Sharon Township, was always at the forefront of all good movements in his neighborhood, in 1835 made to the New School branch of the Presbyterian Church the very liberal offer of HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 479 100 acres of land for the establishment of an institution for the higher learning. This offer was accepted and 'Squire Lee went beyond his original offer and erected, at his own expense, a brick dormitory of three stories height, which still stands, besides a dwelling house and two other buildings for the purposes of recitation and chapel service. Rev. L. A. Sawyer was the first president and he was assisted in the work of instruction by Rev. Ebenezer Washburn, who taught the rudiments of natural philosophy, mathematics and astronomy. The little college made a deep impress upon the lives of many residents of the township and sent out to the world many sons of these pioneers with a much broader culture than was usual in frontier communities. Its influence could long be seen in the refined homes of the farmers of that section of Franklin County. The growth of larger colleges so close, at Westerville, Granville, Delaware and finally that of Ohio State University at Columbus, in the end overshadowed it, and, its' work done, it modestly faded out of existence. In later years a home for blind persons, who received instruction or care, as the case might demand, was established on the remnants of this fine old institution. The Sunbury Road, which passes through Blendon Township, is a picturesque highway and has proved attractive to city dwellers to such an extent that it is dotted throughout its length by splendid and costly suburban homes. BROWN TOWNSHIP. Brown township lies along the western line of Franklin County, directly west of the city of Columbus. Its southern length abuts the National Road and the Pennsylvania Railroad traverses it from east to west, but no villages have grown up within its boundaries. Its western length lies along Big Darby Creek, its boundaries being Madison County on the west and part of the north, Washington Township on the remainder of the north line, Washington, Norwich and Prairie on the east and Prairie Township on the south. Brown Township was slow in development, although settlements were made along Big Darby Creek as early as 1810. The final organization was not effected until 1830, it being made up of parts of Washington, Norwich and Prairie. Naturally the water course first attracted settlers and there were farms laid out along Big Darby as early as 1810. These 480 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Darby bottoms have proved to be wonderfully productive, but the eastern part of the township was very sparsely settled as late as 1840, although it has since developed into the finest kind of farm land. Among the early settlers were Adam Blount, James Boyd, Joseph Belchey, John Patterson, John Hayden, Knowlton Bailey, James Rinier, Obil Beach, Adam Reese, Thomas Kilgore, John Lloyd and Charles A. Holmes. Henry C. Adler, another early settler in Brown Township, was a grandson of the famous Jonathan Alder, who as a boy of nine years was captured by the Indians, adopted into the Shawnee tribe, raised among them and married to an Indian woman. After Wayne's victory Jonathan Alder returned to civilization, effected a separation from his Indian spouse and married a white girl from Virginia. He settled on Big Darby in Madison County and from him descended most of the numerous persons of that name in Madison and Franklin Counties. Henry Alder built the first frame house in Brown Township. On his farm were two prehistoric forts. In fact throughout the township, along Big Darby, were numerous earth remains of the race of Moundbuilders, all trace of which has for the most part been destroyed by the operations of agriculture. In 1847 a settlement of colored people who wished to give their children an opportunity to receive an education was made in this. township. The heads of families in this settlement were for the most part freemen from Virginia, and they received some encouragement from the Abolitionists, but their venture failed and the settlement was scattered before the civil war. It was in Brown Township that the inspiration came to J. R. Davis for the invention of the locomotive cowcatcher, that contrivance which has been adopted almost wherever the railroad has extended. Mr. Davis was a resident of Columbus, a man of inventive genius and technical ability. He made the model for the first locomotive run on the Panama railroad, superintended its construction and ran it on its first trip. He long had a little machinist's shop on West Broad Street, near Front in the city of Columbus, in the window of which he displayed this model. When the Columbus & Xenia Railroad, now a part of the Pennsylvania system, was completed, Mr. Davis was employed as chief HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 481 engineer. The railroad organization was then so simple that he also ran a locomotive pulling a passenger train between Columbus and Xenia. The fences in the forties of the nineteenth century were all worm rail fences in the rural districts, and in considerable stretches there were no fences at all. Cattle ran wild and there was hardly a trip between Columbus and Xenia on which a wild bovine was not impaled on the railroad irons which, sharpened, protruded from the front of the locomotive as a sort of guard. The result was invariably a delay of the train and, as Mr. Davis described it, a "nasty mussing up of the front of the locomotive." Often the train pulled into Xenia or Columbus with a large part of the carcass of a bovine bumping along the right of way, transfixed by the locomotive guard, for it was sometimes too difficult to remove the obstruction at the place of the collision. On a spring morning Mr. Davis was driving his locomotive westward through Brown Township when he noticed a farmer breaking sod alongside the right of way. Mr. Davis noted how smoothly the soil turned from the share and the thought struck him that a double plowshare, built on lines large enough for a locomotive, would solve the problem of a guard. As soon as he had completed the round trip he went to the shops of the company in Columbus, and, making a drawing of what he wanted, had the original cowcatcher constructed. It was attached to Mr. Davis' locomotive and he took the throttle on the trip to test his invention. The general officers of the railroad accompanied him on the trip, occupying the engine cab. The eastern part of Brown Township was still largely covered by woodland, in which roved cattle left to grow up as they could on the pasturage of the forest. They were literally wild cattle. A young and ambitious bull planted himself on the railroad track and, with mistaken daring, awaited the conflict with the oncoming locomotive. Of course the poor bull lost the battle, but he was swept to one side in a way that instantly demonstrated the value of Mr. Davis's invention. One of the general officers remarked : "That thing is surely a cowcatcher." And the name was immediately adopted and it has never been changed. The contrivance was attached to every other locomotive on the company's line and its use extended rapidly to all railroads in 482 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY this country and finally to those in the other countries of the world. There has never been a change in it except as to size and the addition of the coupling bar, which was made by Mr. Davis himself. As was the fate of most inventors of the day, Mr. Davis was never paid a dollar of royalty for his useful invention. It was not even patented. The inventor died in Columbus in the last decade of the nineteenth century, a very aged man. CLINTON TOWNSHIP. Clinton Township within recent years has been so rapidly absorbed by the municipality of Columbus that there is left but little of the original township. What is left, however, is very valuable on account of its proximity to the capital. It is bounded on the north by Sharon Township, on the east by Mifflin Township, on the south wholly by the city of Columbus, in which is included a tract stretching all the way from the western to the eastern boundaries of the township, and on the west by Perry Township. The limits of the city extend to the northern boundary of the township, thus cutting it into two parts, one on the east and the other on the west of the city. North High Street, practically bisecting the township, has long been built up solidly almost to the verge of Worthington in the next township north. This extension of the city has enormously increased the value of the land. A small tract of land, lying on the west side of High Street, just north of the Fuller farm, and containing thirty-one acres, for instance, was offered for sale in the nineties for $2900 and with difficulty found a purchaser. It would probably be hard to buy it now for less than $100,000. The farms bordering High Street, just north of Clintonville, now a part of the city, sold not so many years ago for $500 and then $1000 an acre and have been cut up into city lots which have sold since the beginning of the twentieth century for several times the price paid for an acre. In subdividing these purchases into city lots the promoters have made such restrictions as to the value and size of the buildings, as well as to the character of the business to be carried on there, that the tone of the community is of the highest kind. The Olentangy River, originally known as the Whetstone, runs from north to south throughout the western part of the township, and the road on the western HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 483 bank of the river is rapidly taking on the appearance of a suburban street. Probably the first settler in the township was Balser Hess, who, with his wife and eight children, practically chopped his way through the woods from Ross County to the site chosen by him for a home on the west bank of the Olentangy opposite what is now known as North Columbus, a part of the capital city. His descendants still own two splendid farms, equipped with large and handsome dwellings and farm structures, although a few years ago a part of one of these farms was sold to the Ohio State University, which has acquired a large area in the township, west of the Olentangy, on which the agricultural and live stock activities of the institution are carried forward. Mr. Hess was a tanner and shoemaker and in those early days people came from as far away as Chillicothe to engage his services in those trades. Among other early settlers were Hugh and Elijah Fulton, Samuel McElvain, John Hunter, David Beers, John Wilson, Denman Coe, Joseph Ahrum, Jordan Ingham, Daniel Case, Thomas Bull and John Smith. The last named was president of the first total abstinence society and of the first anti-slavery society in Franklin County. He was a deeply religious man and for many years, in later life, acted as missionary among the Ojibway Indians of Minnesota. These first settlers bought their lands from the original owners, Jonathan Dayton, who held the title to half the township, and John Rathbone and George Stephenson, who each held one quarter. They were followed by Edward Stanley, Sr., Ezekiel Tuller, John Buck, Philip Zinn, Sadosa Bacon, Alexander Shattuck, Henry Innis, Samuel G. Flenniken, Casper Kiner, Walter Fields, Frederick Weber, Windsom Atcheson, Joseph Pegg and J. J. Little. The name of Flenniken lingers only as that of a short road, parallel with King Avenue and running from the Olentangy River to the Starr Road on the west. Joseph Pegg settled on a farm, which was added to until it comprised more than 200 acres. It was bisected by High Street and now comprises the southern tier of Clintonville. It was the first of the farms which were bought and platted by the promoters. 'Squire Pegg, the last owner of the tract, first sold that part which lies west of High Street and the phenomenal march of the city northward soon 484 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY forced the sale of the rest of the farm, on the east side of this main highway. It is now as densely settled as any residential part of the city. The Kiners, Innises and Atchesons settled in the eastern r part of the townships and their farm lands, now parts of the city, made their descendants rich. Their names were attached to streets and roads and are borne by prominent citizens who are descendants of those pioneers. It has been only a few years since the Innis farm was cut up into lots and placed in that form on the market, but it is already solidly built up and Cleveland Avenue, which runs through it, would now hardly be recognized as the Harbor Road of the earlier days. Harbor Road was so called because many years ago it was in the midst of a small wilderness which gave harbor to criminals trying to escape from the law. In the vicinity of what are now Fifth and Cleveland Avenues extensive brick kilns were located and the rough element collected there, being largely recruited by French Canadians, many of whom were fugitives from their own country, made it a place to be avoided unless the traveler attended to his own business and kept strictly on his way. It retained this character only a few years, however, and is now the center of an industrious and prosperous population. One of these pioneers, David Beers, Sr., had a long and romantic career. At the age of seven years he, with his two year old sister, was captured at their New Jersey home by the Indians. Their mother was undoubtedly murdered by the savages, but the children were carried into Canada, where he remained until he was exchanged after the French and Indian War. His sister was carried to Upper Sandusky and remained with the Indians all her life. She was married successively to three Indian chiefs, the last being the noted Wyandotte leader, "Between-the-Logs." Her brother discovered her whereabouts after many years and visited her, but could not induce her to return to civilization. Mr. Beers lived to the age of 104 years, dying in 1850. His son, David Beers, Jr., was a famous hunter and, as the township abounded in wild game, he had plenty of opportunity to indulge his tastes. Deer were found along the Olentangy much later than would be thought possible in consideration of the quick settlement of the territory, four being killed in 1840 on the Morse farm by W. S. Shrum and John Fleniken. HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 485 The first collective settlements in the township were made by Solomen and George W. Beers, who platted forty acres into lots and named the place North Columbus. It was long a separate community from Columbus, but it is now and has been for many years a solid part of the city. A mile north of this location Alonzo Bull laid out some building lots in a design of a village. The plat was never recorded, but the place grew up into the village of Clintonville, never incorporated, but having a postoffice until it became a part of the larger city. Of all the fine farms which abutted on High Street in Clintonville in those days, the only one left is half of the old E. A. Fuller place, with its impressive big red and white brick residence under trees that tower on the lawn. The part of the farm that lay on the east side of High Street long ago went into the market as building lots and was quickly absorbed. This farm, during the life of E. A. Fuller, was a show place in more senses than one. Mr. Fuller was a famous horse trader and dealer. He sold stock of all kinds on terms of all sorts and his name was on more chattel mortgages, taken to insure delayed payments, than upon all other chattel mortgages together which were filed in the county recorder's office. Scattered over the farm were horses, ranging from the cheapest to the highest priced, and rolling stock of all patterns, age and grades. The place, even with this assortment of goods and live stock, was always in good order. Mr. Fuller long was the buyer of horses and mules for the Columbus Street and Railway Co. A school was opened in the township in 1809 by a Miss Griswold, member of one of the first families, and the children who lived east of the river had to wade the stream to attend. She was followed by Michael M. Baker, Becky Gordon, Diadamia Cowles, Timothy Sedgwick, Rachel Cook, James Ferson and Dr. Bull. Churches began to spring up in 1819, when the Methodists organized. The Baptists and Presbyterians followed and an Episcopal church was built in the western part of the township. The Winebrennarians erected a brick church which afterwards became a dwelling. The Union Cemetery, on the west bank of the Olentangy opposite North Columbus, was established close to the Union Episcopal Church, and is still in use. Many of the older residents are buried there and it is used by some of their descendants who removed to the city. 486 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY At one time three distilleries were in operation in the township and there was also an extensive manufacture of bricks. This latter industry has been succeeded by a pottery manufacture, for which an extensive plant is in operation close to Worthington. There were several saw and girst mills in the township, of which one, the Weisheimer mill, is still in operation, under steam power of course. It has a branch mill farther down the river, at King Avenue and the Hocking Valley Railroad. There was for a long time an old mill at North Columbus and the dam could still be seen for some years after the opening of the twentieth century. It was along the eastern bank of the Olentangy, opposite the river above this dam, that Olentangy Park, a popular amusement resort, was laid out. Along the line of Fifth Avenue, the southern limit of the township, a number of factories were built after the beginning of this century, when that section was a part of the township, but this land has all become a part of the city of Columbus. FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. Immediately after its formation Franklin County was divided into four townships of nearly equal size. The southwestern of these townships was named Franklin and, as originally constituted, was about twice the size of Franklin County, as it now appears on the map. It is the only township which bears its original name. From time to time new townships were formed from its area, until it was finally reduced in 1819 to its present size by the creation of Prairie Township. Franklin Township, which has been largely absorbed into the city of Columbus, was the site of the first permanent settlement in Central Ohio and was the scene of practically all the pioneer happenings of the state's future capital. The Wyandotte Indians had a large town on this site and from there made raids on the white settlements to the East and South. Mr. Jeremiah Armstrong, who for many years kept a tavern in Columbus, was captured when a boy in an Indian raid on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and brought to the future site of Franklinton. He resided with the Indians for some years, but was later surrendered to his friends, only to return to the scene of his boyhood captivity. Mr. Robert Armstrong was captured about the same time by a marauding band of Wyandottes and HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 487 Senecas, and brought to the village on the west bank of the Scioto. He lived, married and died among them, but never forgot his origin, acting on various occasions as an interpreter for the United States government. One of his sons attained some prominence as a lawyer in this state. The last remnant of this once powerful tribe that remained at the old gathering place was a harmless old Indian who is said to have been shot by a white hunter, Daniel Harrington. The township contains a large amount of rich farm land, which is being rapidly absorbed into the city. Except along the streams, of which it has three principal ones, the Scioto River, the Olentangy River and Scioto Big Run, the land is generally level, and along the Scioto River it is especially rich, producing enormous crops of corn. It was through this township that the National Road was projected and along that famous highway there were developed some beautiful farms, with unusually handsome buildings. Just west of the city of Columbus, lying between the city and the village of Rome, is the handsome suburban residence of Mr. Thomas Johnson, one of the show farms of the state and the seat of various kinds of live stock development. The building of an electric suburban railway line from the city to Morgan's Station southwest made a fine development in that direction, and the Harrisburgh Pike, along which the road ran, is an almost continuous street. On this line is Urbancrest, the only exclusively negro village in Franklin County. It has a population of 581, according to the census of 1930. The sites of the Central Insane Asylum and the State Institution for Imbecile Youth were originally in Franklin Township, but have become a part of the city of Columbus. The insane asylum was built by Thomas F. Jones, who removed to Columbus from Marietta for that purpose after completing the asylum at Athens, and the main building of the institution at one time covered more ground than any other single structure in the world. Here, too, lying along the south of the National Road, was Camp Chase, the mustering-in place for many thousands of Union soldiers in the Civil War. The camp was originally Camp Jackson, but this was changed to give honor to Salmon P. Chase, who was then secretary of the Treasury of the United States and had been a distinguished governor of Ohio. The camp stretched from Broad Street (the Na- 488 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY tional Road) on the north to Sullivant Avenue on the south and, besides being a rendezvous for newly enlisted soldiers of the Union, it became the home of paroled prisoners of war and housed a huge prison where Confederate soldiers were kept. Many thousands of these unfortunate exiles from the Southland died there and some five thousand were buried in a plat of land lying along the north side of Sullivant Avenue. For many years this cemetery was neglected, but attention was called to this by a public spirited veteran of the Union Army, Colonel William K. Knauss, and steps were taken to clear it of underbrush, to mark the graves and to pay proper respect to the memory of brave men, even if they did die in a wrong cause. Every year these graves are decorated as religiously as if they were the graves of soldiers of the North and on those occasions great and wonderful masses of flowers are sent from the South. One of the most noted and most unfortunate general commanders of the Union army, General Irvin McDowell, who had the misfortune to be in command at the disastrous battle of Bull Run, before the Union armies had been brought into military shape, was born in Franklin Township, and the house where he was born, a simple structure, long was pointed out. General McDowell was a scholarly man and a good soldier and it was his hard luck to be placed in a position where almost any man would have failed. After his failure, which was by many attributed to indifference of others, as well as to the undisciplined condition of his troops, he served the nation faithfully and well, and died in San Francisco in 1885, a retired major general on the United States army list. The history of Franklin Townhip is largely made up of the history of Franklinton, the first settlement. Here Lucas Sullivant came with his band of pioneers, said to consist of twenty men, although even the names of some of them have vanished. However, the following are known to have been members of that party : Joseph Connor, Joseph Lewis, John Ellis, Robert Dixon, James McClure. Edward Walden, Samuel Robinson, Andrew Chew, John Florence and John Hynaman. When Sullivant opened the sale of lots in his new town, the buyers unwittingly enrolled themselves as founders of the First Families of Franklinton. In the order in which they made their purchases, HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 489 they were : James Robinson, William Trimble, John Boyd, John Woolcutt, William Johnson, Noble Crawford, George Skidmore, John Lysle, Adam Hosack, Robert Armstrong, William Domigan, Isaac Claypool, John Mitchell, John Brittle, Joseph Vance, Michael Fisher, Samuel Finley, William Clearey, Andrew Rolston, John Edmiston, Hugh Montgomery, Elijah Chemoweth, William Dunlop, Morris Brown, John Blair, Jacob King, Michael Stroup, William West and William Armstrong. The famous botanist, William S. Sullivant, occupied a beautiful residence at the head of an avenue of fine elm trees on the brow of the hill near where now stands the main building of the Central Insane Asylum. The asylum grounds originally belonged to the Sullivants. Samuel White, a veteran of the American Revolution, in which he fought for nearly seven years, was one of the early settlers of Franklin township. He lived to an advanced age and finally was killed by a runaway horse. There was a tradition that at the battle of Stony Point he was scalped by the Indians. The first tavern was built on the National Road, not yet known by that name, by Joseph Foss, in 1803. It was built of brick and attracted much attention on that account. Mr. Foss was a prominent man, serving twenty years in the Legislature and being a brigadier general in the War of 1812 and later a major general in the militia. The first cemetery was on the banks of the Scioto River and there most of the pioneers were buried. Attention to its neglected condition was recently called and steps were taken to care for the few graves that were left. The first meeting house was built by the Methodists in the twenties. It was of logs, but was later replaced by a brick building. Probably the first merchant in the township was Robert Russell, who began business in 1803 with a stock of dry goods and assorted general supplies. His store room had been erected originally for a smoke house, and its economical size permitted an arrangement of shelves, all within easy reach of a central table, at which the proprietor sat and was able to handle and sell his wares without rising from his seat. No successor in the county has been able to work out a sales department of greater efficiency or lower cost of operation. 490 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY The first school was a log cabin on what is now Gift Street, and the first teacher was an Irishman who was frequently found to be in his cups. As he was inclined to be cruel when in that condition he was finally discharged by the parents of the pupils. The first physician in the township and therefore in the county was Dr. Lincoln Goodale, whose name is so closely interwoven with the early history of the county and is still commemorated in Good-ale Park, which he presented to the city. The later history of Franklin Township merges into that of the city of Columbus, but it still retains its township organization. It is bounded on the north by Norwich, Perry and Clinton Townships, on the east by the city of Columbus and the Scioto River, on the south by Jackson Township and on the west by Prairie Township. CHAPTER XXXI TOWNSHIPS AND VILLAGES (Continued) . HAMILTON TOWNSHIP-RICH LANDS AND MARKET GARDENS-THE HARTMAN FARM-STREET RAILWAY-THE OHIO CANAL-THE PIONEERS SHADEVILLE- JACKSON TOWNSHIP-GROVE CITY AND THE DRIVING PARK-PIONEERS- JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP-THE NEW JERSEY SETTLERS -SANDSTONE QUARRY-NATURAL GAS WELL-MADISON TOWNSHIPGROVEPORT AND CANAL WINCHESTER-FIRST SETTLERS-VIRGIN FORESTS-EARLY STOREKEEPERS- FIRST CHURCHES- WAGENHALS FAMILY MARION TOWNSHIP-THE NELSONS, HAMILTONS AND LIVINGSTONESTHE STARCH FACTORY-FRANKLIN COUNTY INFIRMARY AND TUBERCULOSIS HOSPITAL-THE CHILDREN'S HOME. HAMILTON TOWNSHIP. Hamilton Township lies in the southern tier of townships, stretching from Marion Township and the limits of the city of Columbus to the Pickaway County line, and being bounded on the west by the Scioto River and on the east by Madison Township. Indeed, the city of Columbus is already encroaching on its territory on the north, and the Chillicothe pike, which traverses it from north to south and is as handsomely paved as a city street, is closely built up by gardeners and persons employed in the city. The soil of almost the entire township is as rich corn land as could be found anywhere. In the Scioto bottoms this cereal attains enormous size and produces extraordinary crops and the land is so rich that it lends itself most readily to the efforts of the forced production of vegetables for the city market. In the southern part of the township the corn is invariably a week or two in advance of the corn in the eastern part of Franklin - 491 - 492 -HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY County and much more than that in advance of corn in the hilly country farther east. Bisected by the Chillicothe Pike, known in this section as South High Street, is one of the most famous farms in the country, that assembled and developed by the late Dr. Samuel B. Hartman, who made many millions by the manufacture and sale of a patent medicine. This farm at one time contained in the neighborhood of five thousand acres and, although some tracts have been sold, is still of mammoth proportions for this section of the Union. Every branch of agriculture and stockraising which was feasible was represented at this model farm, which, in its scientific developments, almost approached the importance of an agricultural experiment station. The Hartman horses, cattle and poultry were shown at all the big agricultural fairs and stock shows and won their full share of the prizes. The Hartman mule teams, four, six and eight to the hitch and so trained that they could be guided with a "jerk line," were the admiration of everybody who loved harness animals. Dr. Hartman was anxious to obtain for his farm the famous twenty-mule team used in advertising borax products throughout the country and offered what was then the enormous sum of $20,000 for the well trained hitch, but the offer was refused. A small village, sufficient to itself, with every convenience, was built up at farm headquarters and Dr. Hartman constructed an electric railway south from the southern extremity of Columbus along the Chillicothe Pike to this village and beyond it for the convenience of his employes and the people associated with the farm life. This electric line, succumbing before the competition of the gasoline omnibus, was abandoned and scrapped in 1929. The lands in Hamilton Townhip came into the market in 1800 and the township has always played an important part in the life of the county. The township originally formed a part of Liberty and Harrison Townships, whose names and organization were long since lost, and was organized under its present name in 1807. When Marion Township was formed the two northern tiers of sections in Hamilton were detached and became a part of the new township. Among the first settlers were John Dill, Michael Fisher, Percival Adams, Thomas Morris, James Culbertson, George W. Williams, Robert Shannon and his six sons, the Weatheringtons, the Stewarts, the Stombaughs and HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 493 the Johnstons. Part of the old Johnston farm on the Groveport Pike was still in the possession of Washington Johnston, a descendent of a pioneer of that name and a prominent actor in the Democ politics of the county, until his death a few years ago, and the Weatherington farm at Valley Crossing still bears its original name and is owned in the family. This farm was the scene in 1893 of the mysterious death of Frank Shepherd, a young divinity student who had just graduated at Ohio State University and whose almost destroyed body was found in the ashes of a straw stack that had evidently been set fire to hide the evidences of the crime. The Ohio Canal, which ran through the township, gave it advantages of commerce and made Lockbourne, a village of 302 inhabitants on the east bank of Big Walnut Creek near its confluence with the Scioto, of considerable importance in the days of canal transportation. The canal was long ago abandoned but there are still to be seen small sections of it near Groveport and its course is still marked with the remains of locks and berm banks. Close to Lockbourne were formerly the remains of a prehistoric fort which have been almost obliterated by the plow and several Indian mounds are still to be seen in the township. Between Lockbourne and Shadeville, to the north of a beautiful road which in its windings follows the old trail along the creek banks, is one of the most impressive cemeteries in Central Ohio. It is on rolling ground, the highest point of which forms a beautifully sloping hill, and here are laid many of those iron men of the pioneer race and their wives and children. The township is bountifully watered by the Scioto on the west and the Big Walnut, originally known as the Gahanna River, in the southeastern corner. Both these streams at time of freshet overflow the surrounding country, carrying away crops occasionally, but the richness of their bottom lands more than counterbalances this occasional loss. Despite the fact of its being thickly populated, the township has but two incorporated villages, Lockbourne and Shadeville, the latter with a population of 201, according to the 1930 census. The Hocking Valley and the Norfolk and Western Railroad cross the township and at their intersection, which is an important transfer station, there is a considerable hamlet, Valley Crossing, but it is not incorporated. 494 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY The richness of the soil early attracted pioneers to the township after the first settlers had established the proof of its value for farming and among these was Alexander Harrison, Sr., who had served throughout the War of Independence and was one of the guards at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, at the time of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Samuel Pursell, who arrived from Pennsylvania in 1809, was famed as a "mighty Nimrod," and was one of those who furnished game for the neighborhood. Asa Dunn, another early arrival, settled where Shadeville now stands and started a corn mill and distillery, both of which met a need of the times. Michael Stimmel and his wife, with two children, came from Virginia in 1810 riding the entire distance on horseback, each carrying a child. Their descendants formed an influential and well known family and are still represented in the county's life. The name is preserved as the title of one of the well traveled highways of the township. Sarah Fisher, wife of Michael Fisher, was the mother of the first child born in the township. The birth was in the year 1800 and the child afterward became the wife of Arthur O'Harra, another name that has been carried down through the years. There were doubtless earlier burials in the beautiful Walnut Hill burying ground, mentioned above, but the earliest that is marked with a stone was that of John Hornbacker, who died in February, 1811. The first road was naturally laid out along the trail between Chillicothe and Franklinton, now known as South High Street, and on this a tavern, the first in the township, was built by George W. Williams. Schools, when first established, were long held in private log cabins, the teachers being paid under the old subscription plan and including men and women whose names are still remembered. Among them were John Lusk, Samuel Clark, Andrew Armstrong and Ellen Toppin. The clerical was represented before the medical profession, although in the river bottoms the ague took its toll of suffering before the forests were cleared off and the land drained. Rev. James Quinn, a circuit rider of the old, enthusiastic type, was piloted into the wilderness of Ezekiel Hills in 1804 and established a Methodist society. Rev. M. Foster, of the Evangelical Lutheran denomination, came in 1812 and remained two years, holding meetings at the cabins of the settlers. In 1812 Rev. Charles Henkel of the same sect entered the HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 495 community and in 1821 under his leadership a church of logs was built. This organization has been kept up ever since and is now represented by the St. Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Methodists put up a frame meeting house in 1833 and in 1856 a Methodist congregation was organized at Shadeville. In 1843 the United Brethren built a church at Lockbourne, but later, meeting much opposition from the rougher element which was attracted by the canal system, disbanded and the church building became the Lock-bourne town hall. Among the long line of physicians who have practised in the township may be mentioned Dr. Jeremiah Clark, the first on the scene ; Dr. Holbrook, the first practitioner in Lock-bourne ; Dr. J. R. Marshall, who represented the county in the General Assembly of the state from 1866 to 1868 ; Dr. Davis, the first in Shadeville ; Drs. N. Boales, Carl, H. L. Cheney, Carney, R. G. McLane, I. N. Robinson, H. C. Blake, M. A. Boner, W. J. Scott, O. P. Brinker, M. M. Stimmel and W. H. Blake. The little village of Shadeville was laid out by A. G. Hibbs, and named in honor of his wife, whose maiden name was Shade. The name of the village, in the days of the speaking theater, was used frequently on the stage by topical singers of visiting vaudeville troupes according to an ancient custom of the class. Shadeville has a pretty location and for many years was able to boast an excellent tavern. JACKSON TOWNSHIP. Jackson Township comprises in its territory some of the most fertile farm lands in the county. It is bounded on the north by Franklin Township, on the east by the Scioto River, on the south by Pickaway County and on the west by Pleasant Township. The rich farm lands on the west bank of the Scioto River are a valuable part of its agricultural resources and a number of small streams which empty into the Scioto give it excellent drainage and plenty of bottom acreage. For a long time the township suffered from lack of good roads, but it is now traversed in all directions by highways of the finest and most permanent types of construction. The Jackson Pike and the Harrisburgh Pike are main-traveled roads and along the latter until its recent abandonment there ran an electric railway which 496 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY contributed very largely to the building up of the community. On the line of this suburban line and also on the line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which cuts the northwestern corner of the township, lies the progressive and prosperous village of Grove City, which according to the federal census of 1930 had a population of 1546. This village has banks, grain elevators, schools of the most modern type, several churches and a thriving business. A few years since, when the property of the association in Columbus became too valuable to be longer used for horse racing, the Columbus Driving Park Association removed its plant to Grove City, which thus became a center of the racing business. Running races are held there regularly and harness racing also has its place in the program. There has also been some greyhound coursing at the track. The introduction of this element into the life of the community has naturally made some change in its tone, but the licenses almost pay the cost of the municipal government and the races bring much business to the town. Jackson Township was first set off with its permanent boundaries and name in 1815. The first settler was Hugh Grant, a native of Maryland, whose descendants long were prominent in the community. He settled in 1805 in what was afterward Jackson Township, removing there directly from Ross County. Not knowing the exact location of the 450 acres which he had purchased, he "squatted" on land near the Scioto River and was killed before he had found his farm. His widow, however, had it located and removed there, where she resided until her death in 1836. Mr. Grant was an expert hunter. He was credited with killing eighty-two deer during one fall. Among the other early settlers of Jackson Township were Jonas Orders, John Curry, Samuel Breckenridge, Percival Adams, William C. Duff, James Seeds, John Hoover, William. Brown, Jacob Borror, Henry Baumgartner, John C. Neff, Hawkes Bawbee and Valentine F. Shover. The names of descendants of all these pioneers are closely woven into the history of both Jackson Township and Franklin County. The first white child born in the township was Nancy, daughter of William C. and Cathering Neff. William Brown built the first brick house in 1814. A sawmill was built on Turkey Run by Robert Seeds, the progenitor of a numerous and influential posterity. This was carried away HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 497 by a flood, but Mr. Seeds built another mill on Grant Run, which was in 1850 converted to steam power. The Jackson Township pioneers were eager for educational opportunities, for as early as 1815, the year in which the township was organized, a school was established within its boundaries. JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP. Jefferson Township lies along the eastern boundary of Franklin County, being bounded on the north by Plain Township, on the east by Licking County, on the south by Truro and on the west by Mifflin Township. It is exactly five miles square and, under its present name and boundaries, was established in 1816. For the most part level, the township is broken up into very pretty scenes by rolling and hilly land along the streams, the principal of which are Black Lick and Big Walnut, with the tributary of the latter, Rocky Fork. These picturesque spots are attracting the attention of suburban dwellers and a number of handsome places have within the past few years been developed where not long ago the land was considered of little value. An orchard industry also has had a start at these favorable locations for the growth of fruit trees. The northeastern quarter of this township originally belonged to General Jonathan Dayton, who platted in one hundred acre tracts and sold most of it to residents of New Jersey, who bought it without first seeing it and then moved to their new homes. Among these early settlers from New Jersey were Daniel Dague, Moses Ogden, Peter Francisco, William Headley, Michael Stagg, Abraham Stagg, Jacob Thorp, Jacob and John H. Smith, Jonathan Whitehead, Isaac Baldwin, Joseph Edgar, John Kelso, Michael Neiswanger, S. Mann, Michael Rhodes, Isaac Painter, John Inks, Joseph Compton, John Davenport, William Havens, and William Armstrong. The crossroads settlements known as Headley's Corners and Havens Corners, where once postoffices were located, still keep alive the memories of two of these pioneers and until a few years back the Headley farm was run and operated by a descendant of the original settler. Jacob Thorp was one of the most active of the pioneers. He built the first mill on Black Lick and was prominent in all public work. He finally entered the ministry and returned to New Jersey. The Edgars were 498 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY always prominent in the community, one of them, Joseph Edgar, being township trustee for forty years. The Pennsylvania and the Baltimore railroads run side by side, occupying, indeed, the same tracks, from east to west through the township and parallelling them just south is the Columbus and Granville Highway, one of the main traveled roads of this part of the state, as it divides with the National Road the traffic between Columbus and Licking County. On the railroad are located the villages of Black Lick and Taylor Station, neither of which is incorporated. The section in which Taylor Station is located was bought in 1850 by David Taylor, progenitor of one of the most prominent families in Columbus, and he laid out the village. It is now a center of a large brickmaking industry. Black Lick was originally known as Smithville, being named for William A. Smith, who platted it in 1852, two years after Taylor Station was laid out. The schools of this township have attained a high degree of proficiency, that at Taylor Station being housed in an impressive structure. The memory of one of the pioneer teachers, however, still lingers. Miss Worthy Mitchem, who began in 1824 her quarter century career as teacher in Jefferson Township, made a deep impression on the public mind and inculcated a sentiment for education which has never been permitted to die out. She was preceded by Joseph Edgar, who opened the first school in 1816. Those schools, of the rough pioneer type so far as equipment was concerned, were maintained as elsewhere by private subscription. A valuable quarry, in which was found a sandstone of a superior quality, was discovered on lands owned by S. R. Armstrong, east of Black Lick, and was worked for many years. Stone from this quarry was used in the construction of the blind asylum, the Columbus Union Station, the Panhandle roundhouse and many other buildings in Columbus and elsewhere. There has long been a belief that natural gas or oil deposits underlie parts of this township and lands have been leased for experimental drilling on several occasions, but the matter has never been fully investigated. The Catholic sisterhood which conducts the affairs of Mt. Carmel hospital in Columbus, a few years ago bought and is now operating HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 499 a big farm on Broad Street in this township and a short distance from the farm headquarters is a booster power plant for the reenforcement of the lighting system which extends all the way out on this main highway. MADISON TOWNSHIP. Madison Township, lying in the southeastern corner of Franklin County, is the largest township in the county, and also one of the most prosperous of the agricultural districts of the state. It is bounded on the north by Truro Township, on the east and south by Fairfield and Pickaway Counties and on the west by Hamilton Township. It stretches eight miles north and south and seven miles east and west and contains about fifty-five square miles of territory, there being a small rectangular piece cut off from the southeastern corner. It contains the prosperous villages of Groveport and Canal Winchester, the former having a population of 944 and the latter a population of 909 according to the federal census of 1930. The land of the township is wonderfully fertile and the value of the farm lands is higher than anywhere else in the county. Both are beautiful villages and Canal Winchester is one of the most business like small communities in the entire state. Big Walnut, Alum and Black Lick Creeks flow through the township and form a junction within its northwestern limits, and Little Walnut passes through it from the east. The Ohio Canal was at one time a main highway of travel in Madison Township and in its days of activity did much to build up the business interests of Groveport and Canal Winchester, both of which were stations along its course. The canal has long since been abandoned, but there are still to be seen remains of it between Groveport and Canal Winchester. The first settlements here were made in 1803 and 1804, among the early arrivals being the following: John Wright, Sr., James Ramsey, Samuel Ramsey, Robert Ramsey, Stauffer Kramer, George Kalb, Sr., John Stevenson, Charles Rarey, Matthew Taylor, Samuel Taylor, John Swisher, William Fleming, the four Decker brothers, William D. Hendron, Frederick Peterson, Thomas Gray, George Smith, Billingsby Bull, Jacob Weaver, Ezekiel Groom, Philip Pontius, John Tallman, Abraham Harris, John Sharp, Emmor Cox, Henry Bunn,