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This Township, one of the most fertile of the townships lying along Clarke County, in the northern part of this county, is bounded on the north by Clarke County, on the east by Cedarville, on the south by Xenia, on the west by Bath and Beaver Creek Townships. In shape, it is very irregular; the cause of which is given in another part of this work. The surface is undulating, the highest points being in the north, and sloping gradually to the south. The Little Miami River, from which the township derives its name, forms the boundary between Clarke County and this township, for a distance of about one mile, thence flows southeastwardly and enters Xenia Township. A number of minor streams cross the various sections, and by the assistance of springs add to the fertility of the soil. For a full description of the springs, the romantic scenery, and the geology of' this township, we refer to another part of the work.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
Lewis Davis, was perhaps the first settler in this township, as he came in the early days of this century. While at Dayton, then a small hamlet, he met an Indian just arrived from the Yellow Springs, by whom he was informed of the extraordinary natural advantages in its immediate vicinity. The savage further explained to him, that the springs were located near a branch of the Little Miami River. Accompanied by a friend, he followed the instructions given by his dusky informant, and, upon the discovery of the spring, went to Cincinnati and entered the land. He was frequently engaged in surveying land, accumulated considerable property, and was considered an upright and enterprising citizen. Unfortunately, he fell a prey to the wiles of king alcohol, and was completely rained thereby. He finally removed to Bellfontaine, Ohio, where he ended his days. His last resting place is thus described, by one who discovered it accidentally. " On the left hand side of State
662 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
road, six miles west of Bellefontaine, in an open forest, is a sandy knoll, surrounded by a rail enclosure, and covered by an oval shaped bowlder, perhaps six feet in diameter; beneath this stone reposes all that remains of Lewis Davis, unhonored, unwept and unknown. For years, he had lived the life of a pauper, and when he saw the grim vision of death approaching, he expressed a desire that this spot should be his. last resting place."
The Lawheads were early settlers, and at one time ran a carding machine.
James Johnson, Sen., a Kentuckian, bid adieu to his native state in 1815, and accompanied by his wife, seven sons, and four daughters, came to this township, settling in the eastern part, near the present village of Clifton, on a tract of land containing eighty acres; rented an adjoining farm, and, in addition to this, purchased an' eighty-acre tract in Clarke County, just across the line. They paid six dollars per acre for the land, of which about ten acres were cleared. It was purchased of one Wells, having been rented by Thomas Beath prior to its sale. The latter had erected a small cabin, into which the Johnson family moved. Immigration to this country was gradual. Good land was sold at prices ranging from four to six dollars per acre, while lands were offered at a much lower figure in our sister State of Indiana, and thus the tide swept through Ohio and entered the portals of the hoosier state. After a lapse of a few years, less rivalry existed between the two states, and the population of this community increased more rapidly. Johnson's descendants still reside in the neighborhood, wealthy and respected citizens.
John Graham, of Virginia, and his wife Mary, a native of Pennsylvania, met in Kentucky, where they were married. In 1802-3 they came to this township, and settled on the Xenia road, two miles south of Yellow Springs. Graham died in this county; his wife in Illinois, whither she had removed, and lived with her youngest son. A daughter, Anna, born in 1804, is yet living in Yellow Springs, the relict of the late Daniel Pennell. Another settler, who deserves prominence, was James Anderson, a native of Dundee, Scotland. With his family, consisting of his wife, three sons, and two daughters, he, in 1820, crossed the Atlantic, landing at Quebec.; traveled to Buffalo, thence to Sandusky City, and in the spring of 1821, arrived at this township, near the Grinnell Mills, where they remained until 1826; thence removed
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to Clarke County, where a farm containing one hundred acres was purchased at one dollar per acre, which his son James and daughter Sophia yet occupy. Upon their first arrival in this township, they found it very difficult to gain subsistence, the father being frequently compelled to wander about the country for two or three days in succession, and when fortunate enough to obtain employment, would receive but thirty-seven cents per day for his labor.
J. B. Gardner was one of the early settlers, and attended the old school near the springs. He served his county in the legislature, and occupied the responsible position of state printer for several years. When in this neighborhood he resided at the Neff House. His daughter is married to Hon. Richard Thompson, Secretary of the Navy. On the road leading from Yellow Springs to Clifton, lived two men, each named James Miller. To distinguish one from the other, the one residing on the farm now owned by Arthur Forbes was given the cognomen of " Congress Miller," he being possessed of congressional aspirations; the other, being a staunch, reliable citizen, was familiarly called "Stand-by Miller."
Ganialiel Garrison is an old settler of this neighborhood, though not of the township. His parents came to Clarke County, near the line of Greene, in 1808. He was born in 1.800. Has been a resident of Yellow Springs for about twenty years, and from him has the writer obtained much valuable information regarding pioneer matters. In 1808, Mr. Garrison's father began keeping a record of his business transactions with his neighbors. This is yet in the son's possession, and from the same have been obtained the following names of residents of this township at that time: Sebastian Schroufe was the first squatter" in the township; came from Germany, with a large family, the descendants of which are still living in this township; Davis Prowrick; Justus Luce, lived near Clifton, and engaged in buying and selling cattle; Erin Stevens, James Miller; William Anderson, near Clifton, where his descendants still reside; Joel Van Meter, the first elder of the Presbyterian Church at Clifton, a man well and favorably known throughout the community ; General Whiteman, a noted man, whose daring deeds during Indian oppression are still fresh in the memory of the surviving pioneers; Owen Davis, the first owner of Clifton Mills. The following sketch of an old resident. of this township was published in the Xenia Gazette
664 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
"Greene County can boast of an old resident, aged ninety two years. Last Monday, the 22d of November, the ninety-second birthday anniversary of Mr. David Dye, Sen., was celebrated at his home, near this place. He was born near the county seat of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. At the age of seventeen he came to Ohio, then a vast wilderness, and settled near Oldtown, Ross County. In 1813 he moved to Madison County, near Medway, where he lived until 1866, when he moved to Yellow Springs, his present residence. He lived through every administration front the inauguration of George Washington to the election of James A. Garfield. At this ninety-second anniversary gathering, he was very spry, and talked and joked with all present. The occasion was closed with prayer by the Rev. Kalbfus, and by singing that old,. familiar song, `Together let us sweetly live."'
EARLY CUSTOMS, AND OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST.
As to the general condition of the country, and the habits of the people of lye olden times," we can scarcely improve on the following interview with A. C. Johnson, Esq.:
"There were but few roads, which were scarcely traversable, the state road from Columbus to Cincinnati, via Clifton, Yellow Springs, and Springfield, being used most generally. Our school facilities were very meager; a child could not be accorded even a common school education. There were, perhaps, three school cabins within the township limits, wherein instructions, such as they were, were given to the youth about three months in a year. In this district-near Yellow Springs-we had a log building, and at Clifton there was a frame, 12x15. We traveled to church, by placing two or three children on a horse, while the father and mother did likewise. When Van Meter, the tanner, and his family made their first appearance in the ` Dearborn wagon,' they were scanned by the whole populace. We traded chiefly at Springfield; obtained our lumber and flour from the Patterson water-mills, at Clifton. Game, such as turkey, deer, and squirrels, was plentiful, and occasionally a bear was killed."
Referring to the topography of the country, the gentleman says:
"The vast domain of land extending two miles west of the Neff House, was unimproved. Where now stands Antioch College, was then a dense, impenetrable thicket. The beautiful `Oakwood Park,
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where is located the handsome residence of Mrs. Means, was covered with water most of the time; frequently it reached a depth of three feet. When Judge William Mills took the steps preparatory to the erection of his dwelling, people ridiculed him for building in the water. Today, the site is more elevated than the surroundings. Remember very distinctly, that a. few years prior to the erection of the Allen mansion, north of Yellow Springs, its location was thickly covered with trees. At its completion, this was the most elegant building in the county, containing eight rooms, each twenty' feet square."
Speaking of a peculiar people, who formerly resided here, Mr. Johnson continues:
"Years ago, a peculiar class of people, called Owenites, or Communionists, lived near the springs. They were organized by Robert Owen, and in their creed and manners bore a striking resemblance to the Shakers, except that they married, while the latter cud not. They occupied one large building, which, with its contents, was considered common property; labored for the interest of the entire society, and divided the profits, if there were any, equally. The house stood in the ravine, near the cliffs; was constructed of logs, which were set in close proximity to each other, the gaps being covered with mortar. The rooms, which were partitioned by logs, consisted of a private apartment for each family, and one large dining-room and kitchen. As the party increased in number, new rooms were added. The building proper was one hundred feet long, and twenty-one feet wide. They were professed Christians, but I have often heard them uttering the most horrible oaths. The society met a premature death. Too soon did the majority assume to be leaders, and issue commands, while an insignificant minority did the work. Their existence ended in a law-suit. A few of them, and their descendants, yet live in the neighborhood, but the remainder are scattered profusely over the country."
CHURCHES.
Presbyterian Church at Clifton- In the early days of the nineteenth century, the beautiful and romantic tract now occupied by the Yellow Springs House could boast of but one unpretentious little cabin, owned and occupied by a widow, named Davis, who was a staunch Presbyterian, and frequently entertained at her house
666 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
the traveling ministers who chanced to pass. On these occasions, the few settlers of. the neighborhood flocked to the house to participate in the services conducted by these traveling preachers the first meetings ever held in the township. An organization was effected in 1812, and a rude log structure erected at what is now known as Clifton, Rev. Peter Monfort being the first roan that ever expounded the gospel from the pulpit of this primitive structure; he was the uncle of Monfort, editor of the, "Herald and Presbyterian." The old log soon proved inadequate to the demands of the rapidly growing congregation, and a brief was erected. A number of years after, the present substantial brick structure at the outskirts of Clifton, was erected. Rev. Andrew Polk was the minister of this congregation for a period of twenty years, death severing the bonds that had so long bound him to his beloved flock. From this, the oldest church in the township, have sprung the various Presbyterian organizations in this vicinity.
In the rear of the Clifton church is the first church cemetery in the township. Johnson is one of the first persons buried here. David and Rebecca Garrison, parents of Ganialiel Garrison, pioneers, repose in this ancient city of the dead.
Methodist Episcopal Church, of Yellow Springs.-Religion, the great moral guide, entered the wilds of Greene County hand-in-hand with the pioneers; hence, the introduction of Methodism dates back to the early settlement of this community. For a number of years after the first occupancy of a portion of the lands in this township, her Christian inhabitants of Methodist proclivities, attended the services which were held in the adjoining county of Clarke. From the limited data at our command, we assume that in about the year 1837, a few men and women living in the immediate vicinity of Yellow Springs, organized a society, Daniel Pennell and his wife Anna, Mrs. Cox, and David Potter being among those who constituted the original organization. Meetings were held in houses, barns, and frequently in God's first temples-the primitive forests. They were conducted by Joseph Hill, the first Methodist minister that preached in this country, one Noosen, Robert Cheney, and others. The little band prospered, and in the year 1840 erected a neat frame church building on the site now known as the northeast corner of Dayton and Corry streets. The building was dedicated to Rev Hammeline. In 1845-6, Judge William Mills and A. B. Johnson, Esq., who owned the lots adjoin-
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ing the church, wished to convert the entire tract into a business center, and offered to donate a lot and sufficient money to defray all expenditures attending the building of a new edifice. As the church was near the railroad, this liberal offer was accepted, and the present building, located on lot, forty-seven, corner Dayton and Winter streets, was erected. A few years after the completion of the church, a parsonage was built on the adjoining lot. The church formerly belonged to the Jamestown circuit, but was afterward called" Yellow Springs station." Father Finley was the first station minister. The following ministers have been in charge since 1851 1851, E. 1). Roe, William D. Ellsworth, presiding elder; 1852, G. C. Townley; 1853, I. I. Beall; 1854-5, E. P. West, William Simmons, presiding elder; 1856-7-8,. G. W. Harris; 1859-60, S. A. Brewster; 1861, John F. Spence, David Reed, presiding elder; 1862, S. D. Clayton, James F. Chalfant, presiding elder; 1863-4, G. W. Kelley, J. Ford Conrey, presiding elder; 1865-7, M. P. Gaddis, J. W. Weakley, presiding elder; 1868, G. L. Yonstee; 1869-71, J. T. Boyle, A. Lowry, D. D., presiding elder; 1872-3, James Kendall, A. Maharey, presiding elder; 1874, G. C. Crum, J. W. Casset, presiding elder; 1875-6, J. P. Shultz; 1877-8, H. M. Keck; 1879, T DeWitt Peak, present incumbent.
The station has had some very able ministers, but the following deserve special mention : James Kendall, a very remarkable man; Dr. Lowry, a very firm expounder of the gospel; G. C. Crum, a man of more than ordinary ability. Rev. T. DeWitt Peak is a clear and logical speaker.
The Methodist Church at Clifton was organized soon after the town was laid out. The society erected a brick building, which was sold, and occupied as a school-house some years later. Bates and Lewis presented a lot to the congregation,' upon which they built the present building. The church enjoys great prosperity. Rev. W. I. Shannon is the pastor.
Presbyterian Church,, of Yellow Springs. (By C. H. Chandler. The first Presbyterian Church in Yellow Springs was of the Associate Reform Communion, and was organized about the year 1852. It built the house of worship now occupied by the Colored Baptist Church, but, as the Presbyterians never succeeded in paying for it, the house was sold by the sheriff. The church itself was short lived, its only minister being Rev. Alexander Nesbitt.
First Presbyterian.- The present Presbyterian Church was organ-
668 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
ized at request of Judge Mills, and under the direction of Dayton (New School) Presbytery, by Rev. Samuel D. Smith, February 3, 1855. The original number of members was fourteen, twelve being received by letter, and two on profession. Rev. M. Smith was installed its first pastor, preaching one-half the time until 1858. The church was legally incorporated as the " First Presbyterian Church," January 19, 1859. Its house of worship was erected in 1859, and dedicated March 3, 1860. It is constructed of limestone, in gothic style of architecture, with enamelled glass windows. It is 40x62 feet in size, and furnished with open roof, giving a height in the center of forty-three feet.
Mr. Smith's successors in the pulpit of the church have been Revs. James Bassett, 1858-60; J. J. Ward, 1861-4; D. M. Moore, 1864-8; J. S. McCoy, 1868-9; D. R. Colmery, 1869-72; J. L. Rodgers, 1872, present incumbent.
The first elder of the church was Robert M. Davis, who was chosen in 1855, but in the following year was suspended because of his belief in spiritualism. Robert Love and Nathaniel Benedict were next chosen to the office, and since that time, George L. Kedzie, William A. Ewing, Martin Polhemus, and Cyrus E. Drake have been elders. The present session consists of Messrs. Kedzie and Drake. The deacons are James K. Hyde and James M. Steward.
The total number of members from the organization of the church is about two hundred and seventy-five; the present membership is about ninety. Mrs. Nancy C. Love, widow of Elder R. Love, is the only one of the original fourteen members, who has continued her membership unbroken to the present time.
Central Presbyterian.-In 1861 twelve members of the church, one male and eleven female, withdrew to form an Old School Church, known as the " Central Presbyterian Church," which maintained an organization for eight or ten years, holding services in the Associate Reform Church building. Its ministers were successively, Revs. Haight, Norman Jones, and John S. Weaver. During the years of the war, the general sentiment of the members of this church was favorable to the southern cause. The organization finally perished, some of the members coming to the First Church and others uniting with churches of other denominations.
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THE CITY OF YELLOW SPRINGS.
This beautiful little city, the largest in the township, is located in the center of the western part of the same, west of the world-renowned springs from which it derives its name. It is the most important village on the Little Miami Railroad, between Xenia and Springfield, and is connected with Dayton, Springfield, Xenia, and the numerous surrounding villages by turnpikes. Besides being connected with the Neff House grounds, the town is beautified by the Antioch College grounds, the private park of Mrs. Wm. Means, the Oakwood park, (public school grounds) ,and the cemetery. The principal thoroughfares are Xenia Avenue, and Dayton Street, the former extending from northeast to southwest, the latter running nearly due east and west. These streets are crossed by about twenty-five minor routes, running from east to west, and from north to south.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
Prior to the year 1852, there were but few houses in the now populous little village. The old Methodist Church, now owned by Dr. D. T. Jones as a residence, and two or three small houses, one of them occupied by William Mills, constituted the " settlement" in 1845. But the celebrity of the Yellow Springs as a summer resort, soon attracted a number of people to its immediate vicinity, and it soon became apparent that a village would be formed sooner or later. The completion of the Little Miami (Xenia and Springfield) Railroad added much to the general prosperity of the community. Houses were built, stores opened, and the site presented a city like appearance. William Mills and A. C. Johnson in 1846, erected the building near the corner of the railroad and Dayton Street, now known as the " Union House," and kept a stock of dry goods and groceries. The frame building east of this was constructed in the same year by Thomas Gilmore, who sold dry goods; his brother William can still be found at the old stand. That they might convert the entire block into a business Location, Messrs. Mills and Johnson made a very liberal offer to the members of the Methodist Church, as an inducement for the erection of a new church, that the corner building might be vacated. The proposi-
670 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
tion was accepted, and the old structure remodeled and converted into a dwelling. When used for church purposes, the lot contained a number of shade trees, and altogether presented a very lovely appearance.
Thus did the village assume proportions in spite of itself, for no attempt was made as yet to survey a village proper. The first brick dwelling house, now the property of Mrs. Meredith, was erected by William Mills, the second, now in the possession of Dr. Thorn, was erected in 1848 by John Hamilton. he engaged in the manufacture of brick in the same year, and has supplied nearly all the brick used in the town, Antioch College being one of the exceptions.
The main building of the Yellow Springs House, was the first building erected within the present limits of the village, being erected by Elisha Mills, and used as a dwelling; he afterwards super-added to the original, and converted it into a tavern. During the several seasons that witnessed the closing of the " Neff House," this structure drew a very large patronage. It has been closed since 1877, but will likely be re-opened in 1881. James Feish owned ten acres of cleared land, and built a log structure thereon whose location is now occupied by the African Methodist Episcopal Church. William Mills erected the magnificent structure now owned by Mrs. Means, in the " park," and removed into the same in January, 1843. The house was not sufficiently finished, however, and he moved into the aforesaid log.
John Hammond, a carpenter, was the next settler. He purchased a lot containing five acres, but afterwards sold it to Robert Chaney who laid it off in lots. The lot owned by Albert Kellogg, and the house in which he now resides, was originally owned by Dr. Isaac Thorn, the entire tract consisting of three acres. Then came C. W. Michael and bought five acres, a portion of which is now the home of C. D. Ruth. In 1844, Frank Hafner came over from the Neff House, bought an acre of ground on which he built a log house, now used by him foor a bakery, and lived there one year when he again returned to the spring. One Baker bought a lot adjoining Hafner, erected a small house and shoe-shop thereon.
In 1853, Judge William Mills, engaged the services of a surveyor named Samuel T. Owens, who laid off a tract of three hundred acres, which comprises most of the land now within the corporate limits, into lots; they were sold at prices ranging from $150 to $500, by Mr. Mills; he reserving twenty acres surrounding his
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residence, and donating ground for the schools, college and various church organizations.
Besides the business men already mentioned, we add the names of John B. Knox, elder and steward, and Frank Hafner, who kept the first bakery.
The first post-office was located in the orchard of A. C. Johnson, then removed to the springs into the store of Walking and Mills. Mrs. Cox, who lived in the old white brick, east of town on the Springfield pike, next assumed charge of the office. During the administration of President Taylor, Mr. Gilmore was appointed postmaster, after him came Arnold Benedict, then Cassner; who was succeeded by Burkholder. At the close of the late war, Mr. Charles Winters was appointed, and served in that capacity for a period of more than ten years, when he was succeeded by Mrs. E. McNair, the present worthy and efficient postmistress.
When the town was surveyed, it was the intention of Judge William Mills and his father, Elisha Mills, Esq., to build up a city that would contain a population of at least ten thousand in the near future : hence the extensive plan on which it was surveyed. The judge devoted himself solely to the noble task of attaining this end. Through his herculean efforts, the railroad and college were secured to the village. With his own private means, he paved and graveled the streets ; lots were sold at a nominal price, that they might be within the reach of all, and every inducement was held out by him to those who were looking for a home.
PRESENT - CONDITION.
The village is enjoying an era of prosperity, that bids fair to continue for many years to come. Within late years, it has become a great shipping point for farm products. The college under its excellent management is gaining a world-wide reputation ; the moral condition of the village is good, and all appearances indicate a busy and thriving little city. To enable the reader to form an idea of the business transacted here, we submit the names of the various kinds of business, and the parties engaged therein, as follows
Dry goods, etc., Charles Shaw, J. D. Hawkins, J. Van Mater, W. D. Gilmore ; drugs, Hirst Brothers, Charles Rid-way; ; groceries, Charles Adams; lumber, S. K. Mitchell & Son; nursery, ---- Carr; carriages, buggies, etc., T. B. Jobe; bakery, Dickman
672 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Brothers, F. Hafner; pictures, toys, notions, etc., Mrs. R. G. Cain ; ninety-nine cent goods, Miss DeNormandie; clothing, tinware, etc., J. J. Thornton ; stoves, W. J. Stephenson & Son ; stationery, Mrs. M. E. McNair ; butchers, George McCullough, Adam Holbut ; millinery and dressmaking, Miss E. Reed, Mrs. E. J. Price, Mrs. Dunn; coal, A. M. Wilder; boots and shoes, J. Cordingly; shoemakers, M. McCann, John Cannon; clock -and watch makers, C. D. C. Hamilton, F. H. Weaver: merchant tailoring, D. B. Low; harness, E. Thornton ; livery, L. Green ; barbers, Jeff. Williams, William Milton; untertaking, M. McCullough; carpenters, William Lytle, James Lytle; cabinet maker, William Large : blacksmiths, S. Cox, R. Cox, Albert Thompson, John Pennell; lime manufacturer, Washington Shroufe; physicians, J. M. Harris, E. J. Thorn, M. S. Dillman, F. Baker; attorneys, J. W. Hamilton, S. W. Dakin; dentist, D. T. Jones; grain dealer, J. H. Little.
YELLOW SPRINGS AND NEFF HOUSE.
Those white men who first penetrated the wilds surrounding the head waters of the Little Miami River, were informed by the Indians in this region of a chalybeate spring, whose waters possessed healing properties of wonderful efficacy, and were much vaunted in the country about. Here it was the bold and shrewd Tecumseh was wont to come from his home in the neighboring county of Clarke, crossing the " Glen," and imbibing the famous waters. His trail is still pointed out.
Picturesque and beautiful, it is not surprising that the spot attracted the white settlers. Just opposite the town of Yellow Springs, two small streams unite in a creek, whose waters, a mile away, empty into the Little Miami River. Through beds of limestone, a deep ravine, or "glen," worn by water in past ages, lies the course of these streams, skirted all along by high bluff's, projecting cliffs, and huge disrupted masses of rock; affording an enchanting variety of scenery. One of these outlying masses, known as " Pompey's Pillar," stands apart from the bordering wall of rock, rises as if built by human art, and is capped by a broad, projecting layer.
A beautiful cascade of ten or twelve feet fall, is formed by the pouring down of the waters from a stream at the head of one of these gorges.
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Near the apex of the tongue of land separating the two branches , of the creek, issues the celebrated spring. Owing to the depth of its source, heat and cold do not effect its temperature, nor drought and flood its volume. The water is strongly impregnated with iron -seventy or eighty per cent and in less degree with magnesia and soda. The iron, when precipitated, gives a yellow tinge to everything over which it flows, to which is attributed the origin of the name, " Yellow Springs."
In the course of ages there has been formed from the edge of the cliff as a center, a semi-circular mound, jutting out into the ravine below, and many feet in depth. This huge mound with a radius of hundreds of feet, composed of material colored by oxide of iron, shows its great age, by the size of the oaks and cedars which are growing upon its summit.
From the earliest settlement of the country, the mild but wholesome tonic of the waters, together with the charm of the landscape, has attracted invalids, with others who sought only rest and recreation. It has been a favorite place for political gatherings; here has been heard the eloquence of Webster, Clay, and Van Buren. Fifty years ago Edward Everett spoke of it as "this lovely spot, where everything seems combined that can delight the eye, afford recreation, and promote health."
The valley and gorge of the Little Miami, from the southern extremity of the " Glen," to the hamlet of Clifton, is one unbroken scene of picturesque beauty and grandeur, easily accessible from Yellow Springs. The laud enclosing the spring and the " Glen," was part of a large tract owned by Colonel Elisha Mills, from whom it passed to his son, Judge William Mills, who erected buildings thereon for the accommodation of those who loved to reside near the springs during the hot summer months. There was one large building and four cottages, the former about two hundred and fifty feet in length. Four stages passed each day, Usually loaded with guests for the house. The occupants came from Cincinnati, and the southern states; many in their own private conveyances.
William Neff, in December, 1841, purchased of Judge Mills the "Yellow Springs" proper, for $15,000. He also purchased a tract adjoining, and containing one hundred and sixty acres, of Colonel Elisha Mills. May 11, 1842, he came from Cincinnati, with Frank Hafner ; together they opened the house, which was crowded dur-
674 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
ing the entire summer season. Hafner continued in the management of the house, while Neff, who resided at Cincinnati, visited it at intervals. It was then closed to the public, and occupied by the proprietor and his family. In 1854, at the death of Mr. Neff, his son, William C. Neff, obtained control of the premises. He made some improvements on the buildings, and leased them to Mrs. Gilbert, The present building, a magnificent frame, was erected in 1870-1. During the time intervening between the erection of the same and this date, it has been open to guests each summer, with two years' exception. The house is now in good hands, and enjoys a large patronage.
THE SPRINGS.
So generous a fountain could never fail to attract to itself the human occupants of the country. Accordingly, we find that the earliest race of which we have any traces in the Mississippi Valley, namely, the Mound-Builders, established themselves here. A symmetrical pile of earth and stone attests their interest and occupancy. The mound is now crowned with a summer-house. It may not be out of place to add, that from the summit of the mound, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay addressed a great audience on the same afternoon in the political campaign of 1840.
That the Indians, who displaced and succeeded the Mound Builders, set a high value on the spring; is also amply attested. The spring lies about equidistant between two famous settlements of the Shawanoes, namely, Oldtown, above Xenia, which was one of their most valued corn-fields, and the Mad River Village, below Springfield, where Tecumseh was born. The trail connecting these points passed by the spring, and fifty years ago, according to the testimony of the earlier white settlers, it was worn as deep as a buffalo path. It passed very near the present site of Antioch College, and descended into the glen by a break in its rocky wall, which is still used for a foot-path.
At a later date, this site was selected by the followers of Robert Owen for their socialistic experiment. A phalanstery was built, the chimney of which is still standing, but the location was soon abandoned for some reason, and the organization was transferred to New Harmony, Indiana.
For the last forty years the spring has been the most notable
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place of summer resort in southwestern Ohio, and justly so, for there is no other location within this region that unites so many attractions and advantages as this immediate neighborhood. A large hotel, capable of accommodating several hundred summer guests, now occupies the grounds adjacent to it, and its waters seem certain to dispense health and happiness in an increasing ratio for the years to come.
The main supply of water for human uses in Greene County is, however, as elsewhere, derived from wells. Wherever the Drift beds are heavy enough, they yield an abundant, and, on the whole, an excellent supply ; but in points of Cedarville and Miami townships, the Drift beds are too shallow to furnish au adequate amount, and it becomes necessary to penetrate the rocky floor in order to secure wells on which reliance can be placed. These wells generally obtain water when they strike the first of the water-bearing horizon named above, but it has been learned that this vein is uncertain, and the drilling is now continued until the great vein, or that borne by the surface of the Niagara shales, is reached.
To one or two points of practical importance in this connection attention is here called. The veins, or rather sheets of water found under ground are fed from do mysterious sources, but receive their supply, in considerable part at least, directly from above. Surface waters traverse the shallow, gravelly clay that covers the rocks easily and rapidly, and they descend through the porous limestone with almost equal facility. But it is often forgotten that all of the water descends, water from drains and cess-pools as well as from summer showers or winter snows. In point of fact, no more effective drain is required for the discharge of ordinary household water waste than au opening into these gravelly clays affords, and when the excavation is carried to the surface of the limestone, the drain discharges its contents with great promptness. The case is bad enough as already stated, but in point of-fact it is even much worse than it is here represented. If the descending sewage and cess-pool water were all obliged to traverse the porous limestone before entering the veins from which wells and springs are fed, we could be certain that it. would be quite thoroughly filtered. But the cap rock is not only porous, it is also fractured. Like all massive limestones, it is traversed by two sets of joints, which divide it into blocks of quite regular shape. But partly by solution, and partly by contraction and settling, the faces of these divisional
676 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
planes are no longer in contact. Crevices varying from an inch to a foot in width intersect the strata. They are generally filled with gravelly clay, but they allow a very free transmission of liquids from above. A very gross and dangerous communication is thus established between the neglected or polluted surface, and the water veins depended on for daily use.
It has been abundantly demonstrated that drinking water contaminated with even a very minute proportion of undecomposed excretory matter becomes a common carrier of disease. Cholera and typhoid fever in particular, are known to be very largely distributed in this manner. The addition of one grain of sewage defilement to the gallon was found, in the cholera epidemic of 1866, in London, to be directly connected with 71 per cent. of the whole mortality. The tact that cholera has wrought its worst ravages in this country in places quite similar in geological structure to the areas now under discussion, is well known. The names of Sandusky, of Nashville, of Murfreesboro, of Paris, Kentucky, of Covington, Indiana, will recur to the minds of all. There is weighty reason for believing that the fatality of the disease in all these widely separated points is due to the geological structure which they have in common. The blocky limestones which underlie them all, taken in connection with the arrangements of wells and cesspools that ordinarily prevail, renders not only possible, but, in many cases, necessary, the defilement of drinking water with the products of disease.
There are two village sites in Greene County which, however attractive and advantageous in other respects, must be considered as positively unsafe with respect to their natural water-supply. The village sites referred to are those of Yellow Springs and Clifton.
In the former, the danger of contaminated wells is rendered less, from the fact that the dwellings are so widely separated from each other; but a very free connection between the privy vault and well of the same premises must certainly exist in many instances. Happily, on account of the trouble and expense of getting wells, cisterns have been a large dependence of the village from the first, and it is not known that any outbreak of disease can be traced to contaminated drinking water, but it cannot be amiss to call attention to the elements of danger involved.
The village of Clifton, unfortunately, has not as good a record. No town of Ohio suffered more severely, in proportion to its popu-
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lation, from the cholera. epidemic of 1849, than this little village. To any one. acquainted with its geological structure, and at the same time with the results of modern inquiries in regard to the distribution of cholera, the suspicion that the water-supply was largely connected with the fatality of the disease cannot be repressed, and the history of the spread of the pestilence points to the same cause.
The village is located on the north bank of the Little Miami River, which here occupies a deep and narrow gorge, wrought out of the Niagara limestone, as has been before stated. For forty or fifty rods back from the gorge there is but a shallow earthy covering of rock, but beyond this the drift increases in thickness until it is not less than fifty or seventy-five feet in depth. The village is mainly built upon the first named track, but quite a number of dwellings are located upon the higher ground. The latter derive their water-supply from the ordinary drift wells of the country, while in the closer-built portions of the village on the low ground, the wells descend from fifteen to twenty-five feet into the rock, probably deriving their water from the same horizon, viz., the summit of the Springfield division of the limestone.
The cholera was confined to the lower part of the village, not a single ease occurring in the higher ground. The disease made its appearance in the hotel or village tavern, a stranger who came into the village in the evening being attacked in the night and dying the next morning. Seven deaths in all occurred in the tavern, and two also took place in a dwelling directly opposite to the hotel, and others in the neighborhood, the whole number amounting to forty. The water used in the tavern was derived from a street well, to which the occupants of adjacent dwellings also resorted to a considerable extent. If the facts could all be reached, it is quite probable that this street well would be found responsible for the violent outbreak and terrible fatality of the disease.
These "limestone wells," in all thickly settled areas, as towns or villages, roust obviously be looked upon with grave suspicion. The water which they furnish is very grateful to those who use it, it is true, for it is cool because of the depth from which it comes, and clear because it has been filtered efficiently enough, at least to remove all grosser impurities, but despite its clearness and coolness it may be laden with the germs of the deadliest pestilence. Clear water is not necessarily pure water.
678 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
A word of warning needs to be given in the same connection against the common Drift wells of the country. An ordinary well serves a two-fold office-it is a way to water and a draining-pit besides. Because the first office is only regarded in its construction, it is too often forgotten that it must, of necessity, discharge the latter function. Great care needs to be exercised over the area that call be influenced by this deep excavation. Certainly the drainage of privy-pits, barn-yards, and kitchen-waste ought to be most carefully excluded from the household water-supply. Too often waters from all of these sources contributes to the contents of these wells, and they thus become, in an evil hour, fountains of disease and death.
One purpose, however, they sometimes serve, which, though not designed or recognized, may be a source of positive advantage. When placed near dwellings they do much toward draining the building site, and thus add to its healthfulness. Of course this incongruous work ought not to be required of them, but in default of other provision for it, the well assumes the office vicariously. A question may be raised as to where such water would do the greater harm-in a damp foundation and wet cellar, or in the household well. If choice must be made between such unseemly alternations, probably the latter would be found the lesser of two evils. But watersupply is altogether too important an element in the health of a community to be safely left to accident or to a short-sighted economy. It ought to be guarded with conscientious and intelligent care from possible contamination.
Apropos of the early settlement of Yellow Springs, we submit the following from an interview with Squire John Hamilton
"In the year 1843, while the Erie and Miami Canal was being dug through Shelby County, I formed the acquaintance of a journeyman tailor named Smalley. Subsequently he left the country, and was partially forgotten by me, until one day I was the recipient of a letter from him, dated " Yellow Springs " and for which I paid twenty-five cents postage-under the postal arrangements of those days, the receiver paid the charges incidental to sending a letter. It was my impression at the time, that Yellow Springs was quite a flourishing little town.
In 1845, while working on the Xenia and Cincinnati road at Spring Valley, I was informed that there would be a public letting of work on the Springfield and Xenia, which was finished the year
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following. Repaired to Dayton, my home, and contracted to hew a certain amount of mill timber for the road. Accompanied by three hands, I started from Dayton on Sunday morning, intending to walk to Yellow Springs, in the immediate vicinity of which we expected to work. We traveled by the way of Byron ; upon arriving at a stone house owned by Daniel Wolf, we stopped and enjoyed a hearty dinner, paying 12 cents each for the same. After dinner we resumed our journey, and at "Frogtown" noticed a guide post on which was inscribed "Yellow Springs, one mile." There were no pikes, and roads were made traversable by, throwing logs across them. There was no house between the Frogtown branch and the Springs, except the old Methodist Church, the entire strip of country consisting of one dense forest. We passed through the present location of the town of Yellow Springs, but saw no indication of a village ; arrived at the springs and sat down to rest. Ere long a man approached.
"How far is it to Yellow Springs?" was our inquiry.
"Can't see for the trees," replied he.
He, however, pointed out a little cabin on the present location of the Neff House, which was the post-office, and said the name was derived from the Springs. We had anticipated seeing quite a cluster of houses, and our surprise at this disappointment can easily be imagined. We were directed to the house of William Mills, and by him to the residence of James Larkins, where we obtained temporary lodging."
ANTIOCH COLLEGE.
Origin and Name.-This institution was organized and named in a convention of the religious denomination called " Christians," held in Marion, Wayne County, New York, October 2, 1850; was legally incorporated under the name of "Antioch College," May 14, 1852, and reorganized under the name of "Antioch College of Yellow Springs, Greene County, Ohio," April 19, 1859.
The name "Antioch" was given in honor of the Syrian city where "the disciples were first called Christians."
Aims awl Methods.-The aim of the convention was, to establish a non-sectarian college of high rank; to offer in it equal opportunities for students of both sexes. These principles have continued to characterize the college through all its history.
680 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
To secure its liberal character, as its founders understood liberality, it was provided that two-thirds of the board of trustees and a majority of the board of instruction should at all times be members of that denomination.
The convention appointed a provisional committee of thirty-four, comprising representatives from different states, of whom the convention designated thirteen : A. M. Merrifield, of Massachusetts; David Millard, David Ely, Esq., Rev. Amasa Stanton, Rev. W. R. Stowe, Rev. Eli Fay, Dr. J. Hale, and C. C. Davison, Esq., of New York; Rev. John Phillips, Rev. D. F. Ladley, Rev. Josiah Knight, E.. W. Devore, Esq., and Hon. B. Randall, of Ohio, to act as a subcommittee, having in charge the work of raising funds, and locating and building the college. Of this committee Rev. David Millard was chairman, Rev. Eli Fay, secretary, and A. M. Merrifield, treasurer. Under its direction agents were put into the field to raise funds at once.
The Financial Scheme.-The original design was to establish a college proper, with four under-graduate classes. The funds for the endowment were to be raised by the sale of scholarships, at one hundred dollars each, entitling the holder to keep one scholar in the school continually, free of tuition charges. Fifty-thousand dollars were fixed upon as the minimum of funds to be raised. It was also the expectation to build it in the state of New York, "somewhere on the thoroughfare between Albany and Buffalo." The agents were directed to take notes for the scholarship subscriptions, payable September 1, 1852.
At a meeting of the sub-committee, held in Stafford, New York, October 29, 1851, it was found that the Ohio agents had far outstripped the others in success, and that state had earned the right to the college. Here it was decided, that the college should be located in Ohio; that a department of preparatory study should be annexed to it; that at least one hundred thousand dollars must be raised as a permanent endowment, no part of which should ever be diverted from its purpose; but the interest alone should be used to pay the tuition of the students who might be sent on the scholarships; that fifty-thousand dollars must be raised to erect buildings, and grade and ornament the grounds, and that dormitories should be built for the accommodation of the students.
For building funds, reliance was placed upon the contributions which might be made for the purpose of securing the location, and upon special donations for building purposes..
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The Location Decided on, and Plans Accepted.-The sub-committee met again at Enon, Ohio, January 21,1852. Here, after canvassing the claims of the different places bidding for the location of the college, the preference was given to Yellow Springs.
The moving causes of this decision were, first, the beauty and healthfulness of the place; and, secondly and chiefly, the pledge from the citizens of twenty acres of land for a campus, and thirty thousand dollars in money, to be paid in ten monthly installments of three thousand dollars each. Hon. William Mills made a gift of the land, and became personally responsible for the payment of the money, paying in the end twenty thousand dollars himself.
The site donated to the college lies in the southeastern outskirts of the village, and has a gentle slope eastward towards the railroad, road, on which it fronts, and the glen, which it overlooks. It is surrounded on all sides by streets seventy-five feet in width.
A set of plans and elevations for buildings was presented to the sub-committee at this meeting by A. M. Merrifield, Esq., of Worcester, Massachusetts, and accepted ; and a building committee of seven (D. F. Ladley, J. G. Reeder, and E. W. Devore, of Ohio, Oliver Barr, of Illinois, and A. Sturtevant, of Pennsylvania,) was appointed. Mr. Merrifield was appointed building agent, to make the contracts, provide the material,, and oversee the work. He estimated the cost of the building at sixty thousand dollars.
The Buildings were erected according to the plans adopted. There are three large buildings of brick. Antioch Hall, the main and central building, is in the form of a cross, one hundred and seventy feet long, with a transept of one hundred and ten feet. It has three stories of fifteen feet each, besides the basement, with towers and minarets at the several corners. It contains a chapel fifty by ninety feet and thirty-two feet high, lecture room, recitation rooms, library, laboratory, society rooms, etc., Standing back from this are two dormitory buildings, one on the north containing dining hall, parlors, and dormitories for ladies, and one on the south, occupied as dormitories for gentlemen. Their dimensions are each forty by one hundred and sixty feet, and four stories high. All of them front the east.
Subsequently, on the opposite side of the street which bounds the college lot on the north, a dwelling was erected for the president. This is a fine brick building, three stories high.
The corner-stone of the main building was laid, with due cere-
682 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
monies, June 23, 1852. Judge Probasco, of Lebanon, delivered the chief address, and was followed by Dr. J. R. Freese, of Philadelphia. The north hall was finished, and Antioch Hall, all but the towers, and were opened for occupation October 5, 1853. The south hall, and the president's house were built during the following year, and were ready for occupation September, 1854. The total costs of the buildings were finally estimated at $120,000. At present prices of labor and material, they would cost far more.
Incorporation.-A legal incorporation was effected May 14, 1852, under the general laws of Ohio. The corporators were David Millard, Oliver Barr, John Phillips, Josiah Knight, E. W. Devore, William Mills, D. F. Ladley, Christian Winebrenner, and Ebenezer Wheeler.
The articles of incorporation reaffirmed the original provisions as to the name, the scholarships, the rights under them, the protection to the fund, and the denominationalism of the trustees and board of instruction.
That it "shall be under the management of aboard of thirty-four (34) trustees, who shall be elected for the term of three years, and shall remain in office until their successors are chosen and qualified." That this board should be elected by the owners of scholarships, each scholarship entitling the holder to one vote. No one person, however, could cast more than ten votes.
That "the board of trustees shall appoint the president, professors, teachers, and assistants, and all such officers and agents as the interests of the institution demands; and the faculty so appointed shall have authority to prescribe rules for the reception, discipline or expulsion of any pupil or pupils; to prescribe the course of studies to be pursued in the college or any department thereof; to prescribe books, charts, chemical, philosophical and other scientific apparatus; and shall have authority to confer such honors and degrees, as are usually conferred by colleges."
By these articles the sub-committee became the legal trustees, and so remained until an election under the charter.
It will be seen that this charter contemplated no state or municipal control, or influence of any kind, and provided for no members, ex-officio, not even the president of the college; that the board of trustees, two-thirds of whom were to be of the Christian denomination, were elected by the scholarship holders, who thus constituted a joint stock company, with shares of one hundred dollars each;
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that the trustees had the power of holding and controlling the property, managing the finances, and appointing the faculty and other officers, while the faculty had the sole control of the educational work, including the conferring of degrees.
The first Board of Trustees.- Was elected at a meeting of scholarship holders, held in the college chapel, September 4, 1854.
The following persons were elected: Aaron Harlan, Elias Smith, Horace Mann, Jacob F. Crist, Joseph E. Wilson, Charles Ridgeway, E. W. Devore, Nathan Ward, Jacob Reesor, David Cross, Joseph P. Cory, John Kershner, John Kneisley, A. S. Dean, Noah P. Sprague, James Maxwell, Samuel Stafford, John Phillips, William H. Carey, Moses H. Grinnell, William Mills, Eli Fay, Amasa Stanton, Peter Cooper, A. M. Merrifield, D. P. Pike, Benjamin Cummings, Charles H. Olmstead, N. S. Morrison, George W. Webster, J. R. Freese, William R. King, and F. A. Palmer.
The board was organized by the choice of Hon. Aaron Harlan president; Elias Smith, Esq., vice president; William R. King, secretary; and Hon. William Mills, treasurer.
The second election took place June 27, 1857. This board continued in office until the reorganization in 1859.
The First Faculty. - At the meeting of the sub-committee, in Enon, Ohio, January 21, 1852, a committee was, appointed "to correspond with suitable persons to constitute the faculty of the college." Here, for the first time, the idea was seriously entertained of inviting Hon. Horace Mann to become its president. , Correspondence was opened with him, and in June following it was announced that he would accept the position.
At a meeting in Yellow Springs, September 15, 1852, the committee on a faculty made their report, and the election took place. Horace Mann was elected president, and C. S. Pennell and Miss R. M. Pennell of Massachusetts, Rev. Thomas Holmes of New Hampshire, Rev. W. H. Doherty and Ira W. Allen of New York, colleagues on the faculty, and A. L. McKinney of Indiana, principal of the preparatory department.
Horace Mann and his Colleagues.-On accepting the position, Mr. Mann devoted himself heart and soul to his work.
Professor and Miss Pennell were relatives of Mr. Mann, who had already become distinguished as teachers in high and normal schools in Massachusetts. Mr. Mann had signified his wish, that if he should accept the presidency, they might be associated with him,
684 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
in order that his colleagues might not all be strangers to him, and that he might have some who he knew would understand him, and his aims and methods, to assist him in inaugurating his work. Professor Doherty was a graduate of the Royal Belfast College, Ireland, a ripe scholar, especially in moral and metaphysical studies and belles lettres, and an eloquent preacher.
The other members appointed on the faculty belonged to the denomination which founded the school, and were persons of liberal education and experience as teachers. Professor Holmes was a graduate of Oberlin, Professor Allen of Hamilton, New York, and Professor McKinney of Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana.
The first faculty meeting was held at Mr. Mann's residence, in West Newton, Massachusetts, about the 1st of November, 1852, the members from the western states coming to Massachusetts for that purpose. Mr. Mann describes it as unexpectedly harmonious in views and opinions.
At this meeting a division of labor among the several members was agreed upon, and three additional professorships were projected, for which there were no appointees.
Faculty.-The faculty and their professorships were arranged and published, as follows
Hon. Horace Mann, LL. D., President, and Professor of Political Economy, Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, Constitutional Law., and Natural Theology.
Rev. W. H. Doherty, A. M., Professor of Rhetoric, Logic, and Belles-Lettres.
Ira W. Allen, A. M., Professor of Mathematics, Astronomy, and Civil Engineering.
Rev. Thomas Holmes, A. M., Professor of Greek Language and Literature.
C. S. Pennell, A. M., Professor of Latin Language and Literature.
Miss R. M. Pennell, Professor of Physical Geography, Drawing, Natural History, Civil History, and Didactics.
--------, Professor of Chemistry, and Theory and Practice of Agriculture.
--------, Professor of Mineralogy and Geology.
--------, Professor of Modern Languages.
Rev. A. L. McKinney, Principal of Preparatory School.
The dedication and inauguration took place October 5, 1853. An immense concourse assembled from all parts of the state, and
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many other states. The ceremonies consisted of the investiture of the president in his office, by the presentation of the charter and keys; in an address by Rev. I. N. Walter, and a response by President Mann, and also the delivery by Mr. Mann of his dedicatory and inaugural address.
Opening of the School.-On the following day the school was opened by the examination of students. The grounds were uncleaned and unfenced, and the building still unfinished, though all the rooms of Antioch hall and the north dormitory were ready for occupation.
A freshman class of six, four gentlemen and two ladies, was admitted, and over two hundred entered the preparatory and English classes.
To this freshman class, one was added during the term, two at the beginning of the sophomore, eight at the beginning of the junior, and one at the beginning of the senior year. Three left during the course, leaving a class of fifteen, twelve gentlemen and three ladies, who graduated in the first class, June 27, 1857.
The cheap tuition effected by the scholarship system, and the general interest which had been awakened in the canvass for money, as well as the reputation of President Mann, brought in an influx of students, which continued until the abolishing of the scholarships, by the failure and assignment of 1859.
Horace Mann as President.-For the first years of the college, and until its embarrassments began seriously to manifest themselves, Mr. Mann kept himself aloof from its financial affairs, and devoted himself to overseeing and inspiring the educational work. He strove to make. the acquaintance and gain the confidence of every student, and to impart his own inspiration to live for the highest ends. The health and morals of the students were his special care, and publicly and privately he labored to guard and promote them. The earnestness and power of his words, his pathos, wit, and occasional sarcasm, will never be forgotten by any who were his pupils. In discipline, his aim was to check the beginnings of disorder. He was firm and thorough, but ready to accept any hope of amendment.
In the relations of the two sexes, his aim was, by public receptions and otherwise, to give frequent opportunities for social intercourse in the presence of teachers and friends, that it might be the easier to restrain any tendency to seek private interviews.
686 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Colored Students.-Early in the college history, some students from a colored family presented themselves, and were received. Great excitement was aroused at once, and the president of the trustees sent Mr. Mann a note, forbidding him to receive them. His answer was that he would never consent to be connected with an institution from which any person of requisite qualifications was excluded on grounds of color, sex, physical deformity, or anything for which such person was not morally responsible. In this be was sustained by his colleagues. This position Antioch has always maintained, though both before and during the war it was done at large sacrifice. While a few students left the school, and others stayed away on account of it, firmness rendered the internal commotion superficial and temporary. Except Oberlin, Antioch was a pioneer in this principle, and its proximity to the border line of slavery made it cost the more to stand by it.
Financial- History and Denominational Relations.-As has been stated, the original plan, incorporated into the first charter, provided that two-thirds of the board of trustees, and a majority of the board of instruction, should at all times be members of the Christian denomination. Its educational fund was raised by the sale of scholarships, the interest on which was to sustain the educational expenses of all departments of the institution. For building funds, the trustees looked to local and special contributions.
When the buildings were finished, these local and special contributions had all been exhausted ; money had been borrowed in large amounts, on mortgages and otherwise ; and a heavy indebtedness on account, for labor and materials, stood against the college; how heavy, in the absence of any suitable books, it was impossible to tell. Considerable contributions were made within the denomination towards paying this debt; and agents were sent to New York and Boston, to solicit aid of Unitarians, as friends of liberal learning. Rev. Dr. Bellows, Hon. Moses H. Grinnell, and Peter Cooper, of New York, and Hon. Albert Fearing, of Boston, andd many others, gave it generous aid. Still the debt remained, and statements concerning the financial status were discordant and confused. This bred distrust, and distrust checked donations.
The educational expenses were nearly $10,000 a year above the receipts from the scholarship interest.
At the end of the fourth academic year, June 27, 1857, about $40,000 of the principal of the scholarship notes had been paid in,
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and, notwithstanding the provisions of the charter for its security, it had been "borrowed" by the trustees, and expended for incidental uses. They, doubtless, expected to be able to refund it out of moneys raised to pay off the debt; but as the funds for that purpose did not come in, they were unable to restore this. And still there were debts outstanding, as it proved, amounting to over $80,000.
In this state of affairs, the trustees resolved no longer to continue this regime., but to stop expenditures as a financial corporation, and to pay their debts, if possible. To continue longer would be to wrong the creditors of the corporation, as well as the stockholders (scholarship holders), who might, under the laws of Ohio, be liable for the debts of the corporation beyond the amount of their scholarships. Accordingly, an assignment of the property was made. F. A. Palmer, Esq., President of Broadway Bank, New York, who had been a liberal friend of the college, and was at that time its treasurer, was appointed assignee. Two years were devoted to settlement and liquidation. During these two years, earnest efforts were made by the friends of the educational aims of the college, East and West, to raise money to purchase the property when sold.
In the meantime, the educational work of the college was comparatively undisturbed. At the time of the assignment the faculty was reorganized. President Mann was retained in his position, and four of his colleagues were reappointed : Professors Cary (successor to Professor Pennell), Warriner, and Holmes, and Mrs. Dean, formerly Miss Pennell. Rev. Austin Craig, D. D., was appointed Professor of Rhetoric, Logic, etc.; Miss Lucretia Crocker, Professor of Mathematics ; and J. B. Weston, who graduated at that commencement, Principal of the Preparatory Department. Professor Holmes was in Europe, where he had been spending two years. He did not accept the appointment, but re-entered the ministry. The year following, Dr. Craig was succeeded by H. C. Badgers, and Miss Crocker by F. W. Bardwell. The faculty, as thus constituted, with the usual corps of assistants in the Preparatory Department, carried on the educational work for two years, at their own risk, dividing the receipts, which amounted to about half their stipulated salaries.
In the spring of 1859, a suit for foreclosure was entered in the United States Court, in Cincinnati, by the Hartford Insurance
688 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Company, which held a first mortgage on the real estate, and granted. The property was appraised the real estate at $60,000, and the personal property at $5,000. The sale was advertised to take place April 19, 1859.
On the day before, the friends of the college assembled at Yellow Springs, effected an organization, and combined their funds, with the intent of purchasing the property, if they should not be outbidden at the sale. The sale was effected by John Kebler, Esq., Master Commissioner, and the property was bid off by F. A. Palmer, the assignee, at two-thirds the valuation, no bidder appearing against him. It was transferred by him, on the same terms, to five provisional trustees; and by them, April 22, 1859, to the trustees of the new corporation, known as "Antioch College, of Yellow Springs, Greene County, Ohio."
The men comprising this body and raising funds for it, resolved that none of the debts of the old corporation should remain unpaid. The scholarship fund, the paid-up stock of the old corporation, which had been expended, was not deemed a debt. Thus about eighty thousand dollars was really paid for property, though it was bid off at about half that sum. This money was raised in the Christian and Unitarian denominations; about equal proportions from each.
The new charter avowed the sympathy of the corporators "in the liberal and unsectarian spirit in which the college originated, and in the generous ideas which prevailed in its educational plans," and expressed their desire that the new organization should "perpetuate its general educational policy, and be managed and conducted upon its liberal principles." The rights and powers were "vested in a board of trustees, composed of twenty persons, twelve of whom shall always be members of the religious denomination of ' Christians,' as that denomination is hereinbefore described, and eight of whom shall always be members of the Unitarian denomination of Christians." The trustees, as named in the charter, were: "Horace Mann, Eli Fay, J. B. Weston, E. M. Birch, and T. M. McWhinney, of Yellow Springs, Ohio; John Phillips, E. W. Devore, and John Kehler, of Ohio; Thomas Harless and Artemus Carter, of Chicago; George Partridge, of St. Louis; Albert Fearing and Edward Edmunds, of Boston; Moses Cummings, of New Jersey ; Henderson Gaylord and E. W. Clarke, of Pennsylvania; Henry W. Bellows, Charles Butler, G. W. Hosmer, and Amasa Stanton, of New York.
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The board was made a close organization, with power to fill its own vacancies perpetually. The president of the board was also president of the college, and chairman ex-officio of the executive committee. It was provided that " no debt shall ever be contracted by the corporation, nor shall it have power to mortgage or pledge any portion of its real or personal property ; * * and no portion of the expenses of any one year shall be carried over to the succeeding year." The power of conferring degrees under this charter was vested in the trustees. Horace Mann was appointed president of the new corporation, Artemus Carter, secretary and treasurer, and Horace Mann, ex-officio ; Eli Fay, John Kebler, E. M. Birch, and J. B. Weston, executive committee.
The faculty and the educational policy were continued without change. The financial revolution which was going on without scarcely affected the work within; though every pupil was alive with anxious hope and fear at the prospect, and finally with exultation at the successful issue.
The new corporation was thus launched free from debt, a condition it has ever since strictly preserved.
Free from Debt, but without Endowment-Its friends had been so heavily taxed to purchase the property, that it was deemed impolitic to try at that tine to raise an endowment. In lieu of this, notes were given by -friends, for various sums, payable in annual installments for three years-enough to secure an income of five thousand dollars annually outside of receipts for tuition. To these notes President Mann and most of the faculty made liberal contributions. Thus the annual expenses for three years were provided for.
Death of President Mann.-The labors of Mr. Mann during these two years, especially towards the close, had been incessant and severe, and his anxiety intense. The successful termination was the unloading of a heavy burden, and the relaxing of nervous tension. Under the reaction he was taken by an acute disease, and died a triumphant death at Yellow Springs, August 19, 1859. He was buried in the college grounds, and the next year his remains were taken to Providence, Rhode Island, and re-interred by the side of his first wife.
The blow to the college and its friends was a severe one. The hopes of all had been centered in him, as the master spirit of the great work-but now be was suddenly called to leave it. He had
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lived long enough, however, to project much of his spirit into the organic life of the institution. The faculty and students all felt themselves bound to it by a hallowed tie. The spirit of its inception it has been the aim ever to preserve.
Rev. Thomas Hill, D. D., President.-In September, 1859, Dr. Hill was appointed as Mr. Mann's successor, and entered upon his.duties January, 1860. He stipulated, as a condition of acceptance, that two thousand dollars a year for three years should be provided for, to meet contingent expenses, in addition to the five thousand previously pledged. This was done. This provision would terminate June, 1862.
President Hill gave his energy and learning to the interest of the college in all departments. The old life, of the school continued, but with a gradual abatement of numbers. In 1860 a class of twenty-eight was graduated, (the largest ever graduated in one year,) in 1861 a class of seven, in 1862 of eighteen.
In the spring of 1861, Dr. Hill went to New England to commence the work of raising an endowment, to be ready to meet the expiration of the temporary provisions. While there (April, 1861), news came of the bombardment and evacuation of Fort Sumpter. The. war broke out and absorbed all thought and interest. Nothing could be done for Antioch.
Dr. Hill remained in office until June, 1862. No provisions remained to meet the expenses of the college, and the faculty resigned.
During the war, at the request of the trustees, Prof. J. B. Weston assumed the control of the school, and, associating a corps of teachers with himself, continued it on a self-supporting basis. For two years, to June, 1864, some of the college classes were kept up, and provisions made for examinations in others, and one student was graduated each year. The next year the preparatory and English classes were continued by Prof. Lewis Prugh and Mrs. A. E. Weston. During these three years, Rev. Austin Craig, D. D., was president of the trustees, with leave of absence; Prof. Weston acting president.
Difficulties.-Difficulties breed dissensions; and none are more fruitful than the financial difficulties of associated bodies. Of this Antioch has bad abundant experience. The brilliant pictures of the prospective Antioch were so highly drawn that realization was impossible, and disappointment was a foregone fact. Money was called for on scholarships, and to pay accumulated debts. This was
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contrary to the expectations which had been excited. Many invested money in town lots, expecting a great city to arise around the college, and a chance to make fortunes by the rise of property. This they failed to realize. Money was solicited and paid on the assurance that the debts would be liquidated; but still they were set at figures higher and higher. Finally, the bubble of scholarships burst. It was the wreck of many a bright promise. Amid so many difficulties misunderstandings were inevitable, and somebody must be the victim of curses.
The increasing contributions of the Unitarian friends of the college, of necessity, led to au increase of their influence. It was natural that the disappointed parties should cast the blame on them. Many non-sectarians are sectarian in their non-sectarianism. It was so among the patrons of Antioch. While with those of both denominations who were willing to work for an institution of high rank, standing on simply a Christian basis, there always existed the best of harmony and co-operation, there were others, especially of the Christians, who wished it more " strictly denominational." This spirit was fanned by some disappointed aspirants, until in the Christian denomination there was a wide-spread dissatisfaction. Many promised liberal contributions to restore the college exclusively to its original hands, and many others had confidence of success if this could be effected.
Accordingly, at the meeting of the trustees in June, 1862, propositions of compromise were made and accepted. According to these propositions, the trustees representing the Christian denomination were to make an effort to raise an endowment of fifty thousand dollars in one year. The time was afterwards extended to two years. If they succeeded in this, the Unitarian members were to consent to a change in the provisions of the charter, fixing the denominational relations of the trustees, and to resign, leaving the entire ownership and control of the college in the hands of the remaining members. If the Christians failed in this, they were to allow a like privilege to the Unitarian members.
The two years passed, Prof. Weston, in the meantime, carrying on the school on his own risk and responsibility. The most earnest efforts and appeals were made, and the most favorable terms offered for the payment of the sums that might be pledged ; but the funds did not appear. Scarcely one-tenth of the requisite amount was pledged.
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In June, 1864, the hope of raising an endowment from this source was abandoned, and the work turned over to the Unitarian members. They stipulated that the provision making any denominational relations, a condition of eligibility to the board of trustees should be entirely removed. This was provisionally agreed to.
June 21, 1865, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars had been secured. The proposed amendment in the charter was unanimously agreed to. The money was paid in and invested in government 7-30 bonds at par. The members of the board from the Christian denomination resigned, but the most of them were re-elected. On the payment of the fund, the following conditions were expressed
"1. That the interest and net income thereof, only, as the same accrue, be used towards maintaining five professorships.
" 2. That whenever, and as soon as any clause or article shall be. inserted in the constitution or by-laws of the college, or in any way become a rule in the government of the college, which may, in any shape or form, impose any sectarian test for the qualification of a trustee in the election of trustees, the endowment shall be forfeited to the American Unitarian Association."
Resuscitation.-At this meeting a full faculty was appointed, and it was decided to open the college for the next year, in all its departments, on the second Tuesday in September. Hon. A. D. White, now president of Cornell University, was elected president, but being enlisted in the founding of that institution, he did not accept, and Prof. Austin Craig, D. D., was acting president for the year.
In 1866, Rev. G. W. Hosmer, D. D., of Buffalo, N. Y., was elected president. He entered into the spirit of the institution, and sustained it with that ability, wisdom and experience, for which he was already celebrated. In June, 1872, Dr Hosmer tendered his resignation as president, to take effect January 1, 1873, and Prof. Edward Orton was appointed his successor. Dr. Hosmer continued as professor till June, 1873, when he resigned his position. Prof. Orton also resigned in June, 1873, to take the presidency of the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College at Columbus. Since that time, Prof. S. C. Derby has been acting president, and is now president pro tempore."
Students and Studies.-From the wide range of studies provided in the college, and the free election offered, the result has been that
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many students have taken advanced courses of study of considerable length, who have not completed a regular course and taken a degree. Hence, in proportion to those who have pursued studies in the college classes, the number of graduates has been small.
From the opening of the institution, under Horace Mann, Antioch has had special success as a fitting school for teachers. Many who took partial courses here, have taken distinguished positions as teachers, as well as in other professions, and in business.
A preparatory department has been connected with the college from the first. Students are here prepared for the freshman class, in a three years' course, and a considerable range of English studies is pursued. The work of this department has received special attention. The grade of studies pursued will be seen in the present curriculum, published herewith.
Library, Laboratory, Museum, etc.-The foundation of the library was laid by. an appropriation of one thousand dollars, which was laid out under the direction of President Mann, with a special view to the wants of college students. Additions have since been made, with the same object in view. The library now contains about five thousand volumes, for the most part of well selected works.
The department of physics is provided (besides less important instruments) with a four-prism spectroscope, saccharimeter, polariscope for projection, and Norremberg's polariscope, all manufactured by Duboscq, of Paris; an air-pump, frictional electrical machine, Holtz electrical machine, Ruhmkoff coil, Geissler's tubes, Clarke's magneto-electric machine, telegraphic apparatus, etc.
The chemical laboratory is provided with all needful apparatus for experiment and illustration in general chemistry, and with balances and other instruments of precision for analysis. Each student has a separate desk, supplied with water and gas.
The study of astronomy is assisted by use of a telescope of fiveinch aperture, made by Alvan Clarke, a prismatic reflecting circle, made by Pistor and Martins, and an excellent marine chronometer. Classes in surveying and engineering have the use of two transit theodolites, engineer's level, and compass.
In the department of natural history is a good collection of typical fossils, and a partial, but yearly increasing, collection of the animal and vegetable productions of the district. These are used for reference by teachers and students in their investigations, in
694 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
which they are also aided by an excellent set of microscopes in the laboratory of natural science.
Funds and Real Estate.-No buildings have been erected since those originally erected. These, and the grounds of twenty acres, comprise the real estate.
The $100,000 paid in as an endowment, and invested in government seven-thirties, in 1865, were subsequently converted, at a premium, and reinvested on real estate securities, yielding a better income. Last year, $20,000 were added, by bequest of Mrs. Sarah King, of Taunton, Massachusetts. The total endowment now, is $123,000, so invested as to yield a net annual income of between $11,000 and $12,000. There is also a prospective. fund of about $40,000, from a bequest of Hon. David Joy, to be devoted to aiding needy students, especially women and students of color. Great credit is due to Hon. Artemus Carter, of Chicago, for the judicious manner in which the funds have been managed.
Present Courses of Study.-As above remarked, Antioch has aimed to advance her standard of requirements along with those of the best colleges in the country. This has been especially done in the requirements for admission, and in the studies which are offered as optional for Greek.
The preparatory course, in the studies of which all applicants for the freshman class are required to pass examination, comprises three years of study, after the requisite English preparation namely Latin, three years, embracing grammar, first lessons, Caesar, Cicero's Orations, Virgil, prose composition; Greek, two years, embracing grammar, first lessons, Xenophon's Anabasis, Homer's Illiad, prose composition; Mathematics-arithmetic two terms, algebra two terms, geometry one term; History, one year, namely, Greece and Rome one term, England one term, United States one term; Botany one term; Physiology, one term; Elementary Physics, one term; Elementary chemistry, one term.
Those who do not take the Greek are required to take Elementary Astronomy one term, Elementary Geology and Physical Geography one term, Zoology one term, German one year.
The undergraduate course for the academic year is as follows
Freshman year-First term-Greek: Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates, Boise and Freeman's; Greek Prose Composition. Latin Livy. German (students are allowed to substitute German for Greek during freshman year): Schiller. Mathematics: Tappan's Geometry completed.
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Second term-Greek: Homer's Odyssey; Herodotus, Boise and Freeman's; Prose Composition. Latin: Horace, Odes. German Goethe. Mathematics : Higher Algebra.
Third term-Greek: Plato and Demosthenes, Boise and Freeman's; Prose Composition. Latin : Tacitus, Germania and Agricola. German : Goethe and Lessing. Mathematics : Trigonometry, Elements of Surveying and Leveling (optional).
Sophomore year-First term-Greek (optional for Latin) : Edipus Tyrannus and Antigone of Sophocles. Latin : Cicero, Epistles. French: Otto's Grammar. Analytical Geometry.
Second term-Greek (optional for Latin) : Plato's Apology and Crito, Tyler's; Prometheus of AEschylus. Latin : Tacitus ; Histories. French: Otto's Grammar. Calculus.
Third term-Greek (optional for Latin) : Demosthenes on the Crown. Latin: Plautus' Captives; Horace's Epistles. Physics: Mechanics of Solids, Liquids, and Gases. Acoustics: Atkinson's Ganot. French: French Writers.
Junior year-First term-Physics : Heat and Light. Chemistry Barker's. English Literature: Early English Literature.
Second terns-Physics : Magnetism, Electricity, and Meteorology. English Literature : Shakespeare, and History of English Literature. History : Hallam's Middle Ages, or Green's Short History of the English People.
Third term-Astronomy : White's Elements. Modern European Literature. Zoology : (Botany on alternate years.)
Senior year-First term-Logic: Psychology. Geology. Political Economy. Analytical Chemistry (optional) : Eliot and Storer's Qualitative Analysis.
Second term-History of Philosophy. Geology. Modern History: Hallam's Constitutional History of England. Analytical Chemistry (optional) : Fresenius' Chemical Analysis.
Third term-Ethics and AEsthetics. Zoology: (Botany on alternate years). Constitutional History of the United States. Analytical Chemistry (optional).
The Outlook.-Toward the close of the year 1879-'80, there was much talk about suspending, and the meeting of the trustees was looked for with unusual interest. It was generally understood that the investment of the college funds, though yielding a large income for a time, had proved in the end unfortunate. Property was taken in place of securities, which, by the depression.of the times, had
696 - HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
shrunk in value, so that at one time it would not have brought, on a forced sale, more than fifty per cent.; and besides, so much of this was in an unproductive form, that for some years the income from the .rest did little, if anything, more than pay the necessary expenses on this. In the meantime, as $20,000 of the fund was left by a legacy without conditions, the trustees drew from the same to meet the deficit- in current expenses, hoping that this necessity would soon cease. At a meeting of the trustees, the question to be decided was, What course shall be taken? It was discovered that the financial affairs were not in such a ruinous condition as had been represented. It was reported that all of the securities could be turned into money in the course of a few years, and deemed policy to have the funds invested so as to be controlled in the State of Ohio. With this view, Mr. Frank Evans, of Cincinnati, was elected treasurer.
As to the policy to be pursued for the coming year, it was. the unanimous conviction that no encroachment upon the principal of the funds should be allowed. On the other hand, it was recognized to be a ruinous policy to suspend the school, or suffer it to pass into other hands, even for a short time. President Derby asked leave of absence for a year, which was granted, and a committee appointed to confer with the remaining members of. the faculty as to what could best be done. Professors Weston, Chandler, and Claypole (Professor Gilmore is employed, and paid by parties outside of the college) proposed to carry on the school, if $2,000 could be assured them besides the income from students.
As a preliminary avowal of policy, a series of resolutions were adopted. They were to the effect
1. That the property outside of Ohio should be sold as soon as it could be done with advantage, and the proceeds invested in Ohio, in first-class securities.
2. That not less than fifty per cent. of the accruing income should be made a part of the permanent fund, until it is restored to its original amount.
3. That for the ensuing year, and until otherwise ordered, the entire income arising from the endowment fund should be so added, less such sum as may be necessary to keep up ordinary repairs and insurance.
The trustees agreed to guarantee to the professors the free use of the apparatus and buildings, the fees coming from students, and
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the proceeds from the Winn fund and the Austin fund, estimated at $1,350. To make up the remaining $650, a subscription was started, and $460 at once subscribed.
The fall term of 1880 opened with a fair attendance, and it is generally believed that the institution has "come around the curve," and that henceforth its course will be in a prosperous direction.
Present Corps of Instructors.-J. B. Weston, Acting President, and Professor of Ancient Languages and Literature; C. H. Chandler, Registrar, and Professor of Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy ; E. W. Claypole, Professor of Natural Sciences and French; Rev. N. P. Gilman, Professor of English Literature and German ; Mrs. A. E. Weston, A. M., and Miss Bettie Louden, Assistants.
The normal department is under the charge of Prof. Weston, as heretofore.
CLIFTON.
This village, named from the continuous beautiful cliffs, forming some of the finest natural scenery in the west, is situated in the northeastern part, on the Little Miami River, and contains a population of about three hundred. It is the oldest village in the township; was laid out in 1833 by Robert Watson, surveyor; Timothy Bates and Bennett Lewis, original proprietors. Bates and Lewis hailed from New York-the father of the former being Bates, a noted judge of that state. The land was purchased for General Patterson, who owned the mill on the Little Miami. The propelling facilities were all that could be desired, and in a short time a distillery, saw-mill, and flouring mill were in active operation. These manufactories were taxed to their fullest capacity ; people within a radius of twenty-five miles patronized the same. An old resident informs us, that he saw thirty-five teams awaiting their turn to unload the grain. The surplus flour was hauled to Cincinnati, and there sold. The inducements offered by the superior waterpower, soon attracted the attention of speculators and others, and Clifton bid fair to become a manufacturing and commercial city of much merit. Being located on the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Columbus stage route, it was accessible to the outside world.
In 1833, A. G. Kiler, who lived in the immediate vicinity of Clifton, was importuned to remove to Clifton, and engage in erecting houses, by Timothy Bates, and did so. He built fourteen
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houses during the summer, and erected the largest, and most substantial buildings ever built in the place in the following year. The houses were occupied as speedily as completed.
Among those who first settled in Clifton and vicinity, we mention the names of General Benjamin Whiteman, John Knox, Braley, Knott, Baker, Porter, Gibson, Stevenson, Luce, Anderson, and Kemp. The latter lived across the river, and operated the mills. The old house which he occupied is still standing.
Bates and Lewis opened a store several years before the town was surveyed; but immediately thereafter, William Anderson, now living at Yellow Springs, and David Anderson, built a house and stocked it with groceries-the first after the village was laid out. A number of others soon followed their example, and ere long the new village was considered quite a business center. There was a chair factory, several grocery stores, and a number of rum-selling establishments.
The town was incorporated in 1834 or 1835, and officials elected. Bates was the first postmaster; he was succeeded by William Anderson, appointed under Jackson administration.
A man named Confer, who did the first blacksmithing in the village, was seized with an uncontrollable longing to return to Virginia, his native state, there to spend the remainder of his days. On the day preceding his departure, General Whiteman brought his horse to the shop, saying to Confer : " Shoe this horse, and I will not have him reshod until you return." Confer replied, that he would never return, therefore the horse must be shod by other hands hereafter. Six months elapsed, and the blacksmith once more returned to the anvil. He had been to Virginia, but the country seemed more barren, and the mountains much higher than before, and he was exceedingly anxious to return to his adopted state. On the day following his return, General Whiteman brought his horse to the shop, and the same hands which placed the shoes six mouths previous, removed them again.
When the feasibility of building a railroad from Springfield to Xenia was being discussed, an effort, was made to have this village on the contemplated route. Timothy Bates supported the scheme with zeal, but became careless and lukewarm. In the meantime, the people in and around Yellow Springs, headed by William Mills, lost no time nor opportunity in their endeavors to secure the road via the latter village, then in its infancy. They were successful, and thus was a new impetus given to Yellow Springs.
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The stagnant water of the mill-dam infected the air with ague, and many inhabitants were stricken down with the disease. Several families purchased lands in the neighborhood and removed thereon, to avoid coming in contact with the infectious atmosphere surrounding the mill-pond. The lack of railroad facilities, and the removal of some of her most enterprising citizens, was a loss to Clifton, from the effects of which she never recovered.
THE ANTIOCH BONE CAVE.
Mr. Jesse Taylor gives the following account of the finding of a bone cave by hint, on the 19th of October, 1878:
The cave is on the Neff farm, about. half a mile from the village of Yellow Springs, and one-fourth of a mile from the Neff House ; also, about two hundred yards from the large spring known as Yellow Spring. The entrance is about four feet high and three feet wide, and faces the south. A person can crawl into the cave for about eight feet very easily, but at this point it becomes narrow, and is only about one and one-half feet in width. After passing this narrow- place, it becomes larger, and at the end is about five feet in width. It extends into the rock about fourteen feet.
I found the cave in the morning, and the first bone that I noticed was a piece of a human skull. I also found on this same morning, two humour and one femur, which I supposed to be those of a small child. In the afternoon I took a basket and a lantern and went back to explore the cave, and found another femur and one tibia, which I also supposed to be those of a small child. I found three lower jaws, afterwards recognized to be those of the opossum by their having an inward process at the angle of the jaw; two skulls since found to be those of the mink, and one-half of a lower jaw or left ramus, since determined as that of a porcupine; also one sharp implement or awl, about six inches long, and made of bone.
On October 21, Denman Duncan and I took a lantern and trowel and went to the cave. We removed the stones from the entrance, and afterwards took out a large quantity of earth, in which we found the lower jaw, one tibia, two fibulae, and two teeth of a small child. We also found on this same day another implement of bone, similar to that above described; one polished stone hatchet or Celt; one flat implement made of bone; also five bits of bone which had been cut round and then broken off.
700 -HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Again, on October 22, we took more earth out of the cave, and in it found one squamosal bone and two teeth of a child; one-half of a lower jaw or right ramus of a porcupine; one skull and lower jaw, which have since been recognized to be those of the groundhog or wood-chuck; several fangs and lower jaws, since determined to belong to the rattlesnake.
On October 24 we took seives and began to sift the earth that had been taken out of the cave. This was a very slow process, but it paid us for our labor. We found on this day several fangs and many vertabrae of the rattlesnake, also the left upper permanent canine tooth of a child, which fitted in the empty socket of the jaw bone.
October 25, we again took seives, and found four human teeth and two large broken incisors of some rodunt animal, which have been since recognized as those of the beaver, and several fangs of the rattlesnake. We have also found parts of the skeletons of the opossum, rabbit, mink, musk-rat, etc.
The age of the child was obtained by the following evidence When the first permanent molar tooth of a child is in its place, the child is six and one-half years old. The first permanent incisor is cut at seven years, and the second permanent incisor is cut at eight years. The first permanent molar teeth of the jaw that we found were a little worn ; this proves that the child was over six and one half years old. The first incisors were in place, with perfect edges; this proves that the child was over seven years old. The second permanent incisors were just coming through the jaw bone; this shows that the child was under eight years of age.