HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY. - 381.

CHAPTER XXVI.

COLERAIN TOWNSHIP.

ORGANIZATION-PIONEER HISTORY- ROADS AND STREAMS-VILLAGES-CHURCHES.

COLERAIN TOWNSHIP is indebted for its name to John Dunlap, by whom it was conferred upon the village of Colerain, and then transferred to the township. Of this, mention will be made in the appropriate connection.

The organization of Colerain occurred in 1794, when the county court of quarter sessions ordered its erection with the following boundaries: "Beginning at the southwest corner of the fractional township on the Big Miami, in the second entire range, thence up the Miami to the north line of said fractional township, according to Symmes' plat; thence east to the meridian on the west side of the college township; thence south to its southern boundary of said fractional township; thence west to the place of beginning." As at present constituted, the township is bounded on the north by Butler county, on the east by Springfield township, on the south by Green, and on the west by the Great Miami river, by which it is separated from Crosby and Whitewater township. Its northern boundary was established by the foundation of Butler county, which deprived it of considerable territory on the north; its present eastern boundary was established in 1803. The first township officers were John Dunlap, clerk; Samuel Campbell, constable; John Shaw, overseer of the poor; Isaac Gibson, Samuel Creswell, and John Davis, viewers of inclosures and appraisers of damages. Among its early justices of the peace were Judah Willey, Isaac Sparks, John Runyan, James Carnahan, Joseph Cilley, William H. Moore, Jonathan Cilley, Stewart, McGill, and Noah Runyan.

PIONEER HISTORY.

John Dunlap was the first settler in Colerain township. A native of Coleraine, in the North of Ireland, he possessed the sturdy and aggressive qualities of his race, and when an opportunity was presented to become associated with Judge Symmes' colonization enterprise he eagerly accepted it. Columbia, Losantiville and North Bend were projected on the river, but, more venturesome than the projectors of either of those places, he formed the design of founding a town and settlement in the interior. The site he selected is a level plat of ground on the east bank of the Great Miami, in the extreme northwestern part of Colerain township. Here he located in 1790; a settlement of modest proportions was soon formed, and among its members were Thomas Larison, Martin Burkhardt, Michael and Nicholas Lutz, John, David and William Crum, David and Isaac Gibson, John Young, Samuel Carswell, James Barrett and Michael Hahn, nearly all of whom had families.

It early became apparent that trouble with the Indians was to be anticipated, and in order to provide for the defense of the settlement the cabins were built together, fronting toward each other and inclosing a space of about one acre. Between the cabins a stockade was constructed, and at the corners of the inclosure blockhouses were erected. The surrounding land was partially cleared.

The worst anticipations of the settlers were early realized. Says John G. Olden: "Within a few months after the station was built, David Gibson, a young unmarried man, was captured while out hunting, about, a mile south of the settlement. He remained five years in captivity, during which time he married a white woman that bad been taken by the Indians in Pennsylvania ten years before his own capture. He and his wife, on being released by the terms of the treaty of Greenville,

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settled for a time in Butler county, Ohio, but afterward moved to Indiana. A short time after the capture of Gibson, John Crum, a lad of thirteen, was taken while out in the woods gathering grapes. He had left his hat at the foot of the tree lie had climbed to obtain the grapes, and the Indians seeing it came up and ordered him down. Soon after this Thomas Larison and David Crum were chased into the station at the peril of their lives," Those occurrences produced such alarm that Gen. Harmar, the commandant at Fort, Washington, was applied to for troops, in response to which Lieut. Kingsbury was stationed at Colerain with thirteen men.

Early in the year 1791 a party composed of Col. John S. Wallace. John Sloan, Abner Hunt and James Cunningham was engaged in exploring the Miami valley, and encamped for the night near the present site of Venice, Butler county. The next morning they were attacked by a party of Indians, Cunningham was killed by the first volley; Hunt was taken prisoner; Wallace and Sloan succeeded in reaching Colerain, but the latter was so severely wounded that he died the next morning.

This was but the prelude to a most severe and trying ordeal which that post was to experience The following account is taken from McBride's Pioneer Biography: " Before sunrise on the morning of the 10th of January, just as the women were milking the cows in the fort, the Indians made their appearance before it, and fired a volley, wounding a soldier named McVicker. Every mail in the fort was immediately posted to the best advantage by the commander, and the fire returned. A parley was then held at the request of the Indians, and Abner Hunt, whom they had taken prisoner as before mentioned, was brought forward securely bound, with his arms pinioned behind him, by an Indian, or, as some say, the notorious Simon Girty, the leader of the party holding him by the rope. Mounting him on a stump within speaking distance of the garrison, he was compelled to demand and urge the surrender of the place, which, in the hope of saving his own life, he did in the most pressing terms, promising that if it were done, life and property would be held sacred. Not a single individual in the fort, however, would agree to a surrender. Lieut. Kingsbury took an elevated position where he could overlook the pickets, and promptly rejected all their propositions, telling them that lie had dispatched a messenger to Judge Symmes, who would soon be tip to their relief with the whole settlement on the Ohio. He failed, however, to impose on them. They replied that it was a lie, as they knew Judge Symmes was then in New Jersey, and informed him that they had five hundred warriors, and would soon be joined by three hundred more, and, that, if an immediate surrender was not made, they would all be massacred and the station burned. Lieut. Kingsbury replied that lie would not surrender if he were surrounded by ten thousand devils, and immediately leaped from his position into the fort. The Indians fired at him, and a hall struck off the white plume he wore in his hat. Tire prisoner Hunt was cruelly tortured and killed within sight of the garrison.

" The station was completely invested by the Indians, and the attack was most violent. They commenced like men certain of victory, and for some tine the garrison was in great danger. The Indians fired, as usual, from behind stumps, trees and logs, and set fire to a quantity of brushwood that had been collected by the settlers, and then, rushing in with burning brands, attempted to fire the cabins and pickets. The vigilance and close firing of the besieged, however, prevented the accomplishment of this object. One Indian was killed just as he reached the buildings. In the night they threw blazing arrows from their bows against the stockade and upon the roofs of the buildings, with the intention of firing them, but in this they were also unsuccessful. The garrison, well knowing that their lives depended upon it, met them at every point. The attack was continued without intermission during the whole of the day and the succeeding night, and until nine o'clock in the morning of the 11th, when the Indians, despairing of success, and, perhaps, apprehensive of the arrival of reinforcements from Cincinnati, raised the siege and

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retreated in two parties, one to the right and the other to the left, as was afterward discovered by their tracks.

"The whole strength of the garrison was eighteen soldiers and eight or ten of the settlers capable of bearing arms. The entire number in the fort, including women and children. not counting the soldiers, did not exceed thirty souls. The Indians were estimated by those in the fort at from three to five hundred, led by the infamous renegade, Simon Girty, as was ascertained seven years after, on the return of a white man who had been taken prisoner near the station a few days before the attack.

"The little garrison, although but a handful compared with the host by which they were assailed, displayed great bravery, in some instances amounting to rashness. During the incessant fire from both sides they frequently, for a moment, exposed their persons above the tops of the pickets, mocking the savages and daring them to Collie on. Women, as well as men, used every expedient in their power to provoke and invite the enemy. They exhibited the caps of the soldiers above the pickets as marks to be shot at. According to their own accounts they conducted themselves with great folly as well as bravery, though their apparent confidence may have induced the Indians to raise the siege the sooner. When the garrison was in danger of falling short of bullets the women melted clown all their pewter plates and spoons to keep up the supply.

"The garrison, though in imminent danger, sustained but little injury. On the first fire the Indians shot into a building called the mill, where the hand-mill was kept for grinding the corn of the neighboring settlers and the garrison. It stood on a line with and near the blockhouse, and, being neither chinked nor daubed, the Indians shot between the logs, by which means they killed one man and wounded another. The body of Abner Hunt, who had been taken prisoner by the Indians a few days previous, was found near the fort, shockingly mangled and stripped naked, his head scalped, his brains beaten out, and two war clubs laid across his breast."

There has been some disagreement regarding the date and other circumstances of this attack. William Wiseman, one of Kingsbury's soldiers, and Samuel Hahn, a son of :Michael Hahn, who is mentioned among the members of the settlement, gave February 7 as the date; January 10 is assigned by Col. Wallace, and also by Thomas Irwin and John Reily, who were among a rescuing party that marched to the fort from Cincinnati and Columbia. This party numbered about one hundred. The detachment from Columbia was commanded by Lieut. Luke Foster, and that from Cincinnati by Lieut. Scott Traverse, while Capt. Alexander Truman, of the regular army, accompanied them with soldiers from Fort Washington. Mr. Olden, from whom these particulars have been obtained, says that two conflicting stories have gained currency regarding the manner in which the people of Cincinnati were apprized of the conflict at Colerain. According to William Wiseman, he alone bore Lieut. Kingsbury's dispatches to Cincinnati, and accompanied the relief party on his return; Col. Wallace asserts that he and Wiseman left Colerain together, went down the Great Miami, and met the relief party, which had been raised upon information furnished by hunters. However this may be, there is substantial unanimity regarding the essential circumstances and occurrences as narrated.

Colerain township shared in the general influx of settlers that followed the successful conclusion of Wayne's campaign. As evidenced by its early organization, it was settled rapidly, and, in the first decade of this century, was already marked by the presence of a comparatively numerous population.

ROADS AND STREAMS.

The West Branch of Mill creek drained the southeastern part of the township. The principal stream on the southern line is Taylor's creek, and, north of this, the next considerable affluent of the Great Miami is Blue Rock creek. Dunlap's creek

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rises near the post-village of that name, and flows a general westerly course into the Miami. Bank Lick creek drains the northeastern part of the township, and flows a general northerly course, Situated thus between the valleys of Mill creek and the Great Miami, the township presents a great variety of topographical features. Its surface is in many places quite broken.

The township is traversed diagonally from northwest to southeast by the Colerain pike, one of the most important thoroughfares in the county. Next in importance as a local line of travel is the Blue hock pike, so named from the stream of that name. The Harrison pike passes through the extreme southwestern part of the township, and the Hamilton pike is situated upon its eastern boundary for a distance of several miles. The township is traversed by a large number of public roads, among the most important of which are: the Pippin road, which bisects the eastern tier of sections from the county line almost to the southern boundary of the township; the Stone Mill road, the Bank Lick road, the Pottenger road, the Hughes road, the Dunlap road, the Owl Creek road, the Dry Ridge road, the Thompson road, and the Taylor's Creek and Springdale road, one of the oldest public highways in the county.

VILLAGES.

Colerain has already been mentioned. It was platted by John Dunlap, and he succeeded in inducing a number of persons to purchase from him and locate upon the site of the prospective termini. Unfortunately, however, he encountered difficulty in completing his title, and this embarrassed his prospects and those of the town.

The modern village of Colerain derived its chief importance as the location of Giles Richards' cotton factory and Joseph Pinney's flourmill. The former was situated on Toad creek near the pike. The latter derived its water power from the river, and was one of the most extensive mills on that stream. Pinney employed from fifty to one hundred men in his various operations, while the farmers in the adjacent region found the transportation of the product a constant source of revenue. Pinney subsequently erected a distillery, but it did not prove a profitable venture; his mill was damaged by a flood, and finally abandoned. From this time the village steadily declined, and now scarcely anything remains to mark its site.

Georgetown (Dunlap) occupies an elevated location in the northern part of the township. William and Asher Williamson formerly owned the larger part of the village site. They sold it to a Mr. Parker, who, in 1849, platted a number of lots on the Colerain pike and Hamilton road. South of this is the Yeatman or Glisson subdivision, laid out in 1850 by Thomas S. Yeatman, attorney in fact for Oliver S. Glisson, an officer in the United States navy; here his father, Thomas Glisson, resided. The farm of George Struble was on the east side of the pike; be built several of the first houses in the village, and when the time arrived to select a name, Georgetown was chosen in his honor. The first, business established was a blacksmith shop, opened by Thomas Gray, who moved here from Bevis. Asher Williamson kept the first store, and George Struble the first hotel. Dunlap post office, which was first established at Richards's cotton factory in Colerain, was removed to the incipient village, but its popular name has always been Georgetown, and will probably so continue. The village has two churches, a schoolhouse, and several stores and local industries.

Bevis is so named in honor of Jesse Bevis, its first postmaster. It was through his efforts and those of James Struble that the office was established. Before tine pike was constructed Bevis conducted a hotel, In 1835 lie erected a large brick building which still stands a short distance east of the pike; it was then directly upon the road, but the pike having been opened upon a more direct route, he found it necessary to build again, and is 1849 the frame hotel was erected. This was for

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many years the polling place for the whole of Colerain township, and here Fourth of July celebrations were frequently held.

Groesbeck comprises two hotels, a blacksmith shop, and a church. Charles West was the first resident in the immediate vicinity. In 1850 Martin Lusinger's grocery store constituted the village. The first local name was West Union, for which the present was substituted by the postal authorities.

Taylor's Creek is a post village on the Harrison pike in the extreme southwestern part of the township.

CHURCHES.

The West Branch of Mill Creek Baptist Church was constituted October 18, 1810, by a council composed of William Jones, Ross Crosby, and Henry Morton, of the Columbia church; Richard Ayers, Cyrus Crane, and Thomas Higgins, of the Carpenter's Run church; Isaac Sellers, of the Pleasant Run church, and Richard J. Compton, of the Muddy Creek church. The constituent members were Jacob R. Compton, Armena Compton, Elizabeth Brown, Catherine Larison, Martha Runyan, John Runyan, Jonathan Burge, Rachel Burge, Benjamin Runyan, Sr., Benjamin Runyan, Jr., Ann Runyan, Joseph Merrill, Charity Merrill, and Sarah Compton, The first pastor was Rev. Hezikiah Smith, and among his successors have been the Revs. James Lyon, Wilson Thompson, Flint, Southard, Joseph A. Johnson, Samuel Danks, Peter Sawin, John Weaver, Robert Thompson, and J. G. Eubanks, present pastor. The first church at the present site was a brick building, which was demolished by a tornado April 11, 1833. The present brick place of worship was erected in the same year.

Bevis United Brethren Church.----Rev. Elias W. Hoffner conducted the religious services resulting in the organization of this church. Among the first members were Jesse Bevis, Martin Bevis, David Bevis, John Hunt, Joseph Mullen, and John Looper. Mr. Hoffner preached in the brick hotel at Bevis. The first church was. built in 1842, upon ground given by Jesse Bevis. It was a brick building. The present brick church edifice, which occupies the same site, was dedicated March 26, 1893, by Bishop Castle. Among the first preachers were Revs. Hadder, Scanahorn, Kemp, Emerick, and Bonebrake. The present pastor is Rev. J. E. Yingling. Bevis is the residence of the pastor of Colerain circuit, which embraces the churches. of Bevis, Georgetown, Zion, Mt. Airy, and Bethel.

Dry Ridge United Brethren Church is an old organization. The present frame church building was dedicated in January, 1890, during the pastorate of Rev. Henry Frank. The frame church that, previously occupied its site was built many years ago

The English United Brethren Church, at Georgetown, was organized, in 1847, by Rev. Jacob Scanahorn. The society at first numbered only four members, viz., L. Burns, Margaret Joyce, Mary Ogg, and William Pickens, of whom L. Burns was class-leader. The Joyce schoolhouse and Mrs. Margaret Joyce's residence were the first places of worship. In 1850 Giles Richards donated a building site at Georgetown, and the present church edifice was erected thereon. It was dedicated by Rev. Christopher Flinchpaugh. Its cupola has been added in recent years.

Bethel United Brethren. Church. -Among the early members of this society were Parvenus Corson, Ithamar Corson, William Shipman, John Dean, Swain Corson, and Benjamin Davis, of whom the last named was the first class-leader. The organizer was Rev. Thomas Thompson. The first services were held at William Shipman's wagon shop, but in 1855-56 the present frame church was built. Its site was donated by Benjamin Davis.

The German United Brethren Church at Georgetown was organized by Rev. William Mittendorf, and worshiped in the English church at that place until 1872. when the present frame church was erected. The trustees at that time were George Luechauer, Jacob Bernhardt, and John George Horning.

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White Oak Christian Church was organized August 15, 1848, by Revs. Joseph Trowbridge and B. U. Watkins. The first officers were William Pool, William Conger, Samuel J. Ponder, and Garrett Vanarsdale, elders, and Daniel Barnes and Dawson Hubbard, deacons. The present pastor is Rev. J. AI. Land. The present church was dedicated n December, 1887, and occupies the site of a similar structure erected shortly after the organization.

Groesbeck Methodist Episcopal Church began its history as the Olive Branch church, of which the place of worship was located on the Blue Rock pike. The site of the present church was deeded, November 28, 1849, to William Biddle, Sr., Charles Nest, James B. Crail, Joseph Sparks. and George Gosling, trustees, and in the same year a brick place of worship was erected thereon. The present frame church was built upon the same site n 1882. This church, and Asbury church, in Green township, are united to form the Groesbeck charge, of which Rev. William Brown is the present pastor.

Trinity Lutheran Church is an organization of the Missouri Synod. Its organizer was the Rev. Polloch. The site was given by a Mr. Biermann, and the church building was erected n 1851. It is a substantial stone building, popularly known as " The Old Stone Church. "

Pleasant Run Presbyterian Church is situated in the extreme northeast corner of Coleran township, and is the most northerly place of worship in Hamilton county. The site was donated by Christian Slonaker, and the church is a frame building. The organization occurred about the year 1853, and prominent among the early members were William N. Hunter, Abraham Huston, Sullivan Symmes, Cornelius McLean, J. H. Mesler, Noah Hunt, and James Cornelius. Rev. Andrew Reynolds is the present pastor.

St. John's Catholic Church was built n 1860. The congregation was attended from Mt. Pleasant until 1866. From that year until 1873 Rev. Gebhard Egger was resident pastor, and in the latter year he was succeeded by Rev. Franz Karl Julius Voet.

St. Bernard's Catholic Church, Taylor's Creek, was built in 1867-68, and is a substantial stone building. The church site, pastoral residence, cemetery, and .adjacent grounds comprise three acres, which were given for this purpose by George Wngirtir. The following is a list of pastors: 1868, Rev. George Feik ; 1871, A. M. Feldhaus; 1874, G. P. Steinlage; 1879, J. H. Hoernschameyer; 1888, H. Proeppermann; 1889, H. Mueller, present incumbent,

St. Paul's Evangelical Protestant Church.-The present constitution of this church was adopted in 1874, at which time the officers were Charles Kress, president; D. Ruckel, vice-president; George Kern, financial secretary; Adam Hussel, recording secretary; Jacob Westermann, treasurer; John Fuchs and George Kern, trustees. The present brick church was built in 1874, and since that date the pastors have been Revs. Malcahn, Abele, Paul Herng, F. H. G. Foelker, J. G. Mueller, and C. Hummel. In the rear of the present church stands an old frame building, the first German Protestant place of worship n this locality.