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472 - CARROLL AND HARRISON COUNTIES CHAPTER XXXVI WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP BOUNDARY - TOPOGRAPHY-POPULATION-RAILROAD-ORGANIZATION -VILLAGE HISTORY-MILLS AND MINING. Washington Township was organized December 6, 1824. It is bounded on the north by Tuscarawas County and Franklin Township in Harrison County—this being the three-mile jog occasioned by the correction in the government surveys. On the east of Washington Township is Nottingham and a small section of Moorefield Township ; on the south is Freeport Township. Washington Township is five by six miles in size—five miles from north to south and six miles from east to west. It is a well situated, highly developed section of Harrison County. Its streams are numerous and some fair-sized, such as Big Stillwater and its tributaries, whose waters used to propel flouring and saw mills. The soil is suitable in many places for agriculture and the forests and mineral wealth in the decades gone by, have made the inhabitants independent in their financial circumstances and they have improved the township in a commendable manner, so that today one finds a happy, contented and prosperous class of citizens. POPULATION The United States Census reports for 1890, 1900 and 1910 gave the following figures concerning the population of this township for those three enumeration periods-1890 it was 1,207; in 1900 it was 1,247 and in 1910 it was given as 986. The removals from quarries, mines and mills partly account for the decrease in population in this part of the county. The 1920 census returns give the township a population of 976. RAILROAD FACILITIES The chapter on Railways in this volume will treat at length on the railroad running through this township—the Baltimore & Ohio line which has for its station the village of Tippecanoe, a history of which is found within this chapter. ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIP Washington Township was organized December 6, 1824, by the board of county commissioners. The passing years have found good men in the various township offices and some have faithfully served as county officials, too. CARROLL AND HARRISON COUNTIES - 473 EARLY SETTLERS Prior to 1814 the following had effected settlement in Washington Township : John Henry Carver, 1812, from Germany ; John Cooper, 1813 ; Lewis Davidson, 1809, from Fayette County, Pennsylvania ; Nathan Gilmore, 1811 ; Jesse Huff, 1811 ; John Huff, 1812; William Huff, 1810; Robert Parks, 1810. VILLAGE OF TIPPECANOE In going south from Urichville, Ohio, over the line of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, the first village of note after crossing the county line into Harrison County one finds a small place nestled in the picturesque valley of the Stillwater Creek, known as Tippecanoe, named for the 1840 Presidential campaign slogan, "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" during the William Henry Harrison contest. It now has a population of about 500. It was platted in December, 1840, by Alfred Heacock and is situated near the geographical center of the township of Washington. It is on Stillwater Creek. It has two church buildings—the Methodist Episcopal and Christian, but the latter does not at this date have a regular pastor. It has a good school building and a Knights of Pythias lodge. Of these last named subjects general chapters of this work will treat in full, hence need not be further mentioned in this connection. POSTOFFICE HISTORY Prior to the laying out of Tippecanoe there was a postoffice established here known as Norrisville and mail was received from Steubenville. The present office is a fourth class office with rural delivery carriers as follows : No. 1—J. B. Gallaher ; No. 2—Robert McConnell, and No. 3—J. G. Coventry. Just after the Civil war, William Dunlap was postmaster and kept the office in a 10 by 12 building which stood intact until recently, having been occupied all these eventful years. The next postmaster was John Stewart, who came in when mail was being brought from Uhrichsville twice a week. The mail was thrown on a table and the patrons invited to "look and see if you have anything there." Along in the '80s the postmaster was C. A. Spiker ; next came Robert Custer, then came C. A. Spiker the second time. Following him were postmasters—Mack Cheney, J. W. Fritz for six or eight years, then in President Taft's administration the office was given to the present postmaster, D. C. Bower. W. A. Boyd, the present furniture dealer, has been assistant postmaster and general all-round utility man in postal affairs in Tippecanoe for many years and under nearly all the various Presidents since the Civil war period. MINING AND MILLING, ETC. Coal has been mined from the hill sides in the environments of this village for more than a hundred years and is still being mined with good success. The first hotel in Tippecanoe was kept in the large 474 - CARROLL AND HARRISON COUNTIES frame building in which W. A. Boyd's furniture stock is carried. At the beginning of 1920 there were five residences in the village that were built in 1840 and are still used and in good repair. The rushing, gurgling waters of Stillwater Creek have afforded ample water power for propelling the flouring mills at this village from its earliest history. Alfred Heacock, who laid out the town, built this flouring mill and it was operated until about 1908, when it was entirely abandoned. From 1840 to 1846 it was conducted by Heacock, then sold to William Boyd, Sr., and he sold a half interest to James Dix ; later Wilham Boyd sold to George Boyd and George purchased the interest held by James Dix. The Boyds operated this mill upwards of forty years, down to 1890, when William Boyd took the property over and continued until 1900, and from that date to 1908, when the plant was shut down, it was run by H. M. Auld. It was in 1889 when the Boyds took out the old burr stone system and put in the roller process. Of the coal mining industry it may be added that at present about 160 tons are mined daily by the Stillwater Mining Company, who go down 112 feet. Until 1890 coal was only obtained here by drifting into the side of the bluff. The stone quarrying industry was once quite extensive at Tippecanoe. Machinery of the most improved kinds was employed in sawing immense amounts of excellent flagging stone; also vast quantities of grind-stones were here turned out, as well as builders' material, such as window caps, window and door water-tables, etc. The ledge from which the grind-stones were taken finally had to be abandoned on account of a thin streak of flinty rock in the main mass. This streak was too hard to admit of merchantable grind-stones. Then the introduction of builders' cement killed off the flagging industry for now all sidewalks and curbings are made of cement and sand. From about 1905 the stone industry here went down, practically. For many years J. G. Coventry was foreman and aided in carrying on a large business in the materials above enumerated. So now the small number of coal miners working near Tippecanoe are all there are employed as vital supporters of the village. With the change of times and customs in building, the one word—inevitable—covers the case to date. BUSINESS INTERESTS IN 1920 General Dealers—C. M. Barr, K. Billinsley, J. C. Merriman and J. H. Septer. Hardware—D. H. Voor & Son. Farm Implements—R. R. Baker. Restaurant—Mrs. P. Shook. Hotel—Cliff Stillian. Blacksmithing—M. L. Bean. Furniture and Undertaking-W. A. Boyd. Barber—John Stevens. Cream Station—Miss Jessie Baker, manager. Meats—I. D. Craigo. Ice Cream Factory—J. C. Stewart. CARROLL AND HARRISON COUNTIES - 475 Druggist—J. C. Stewart. Lumber Dealers—E. J. Neff, Bean & Kennedy. Livery-J. G. Coventry owns a livery barn which he conducted about twenty years until the introduction of automobiles destroyed his business. Physician-Dr. H. G. Bonnell. Veterinary—W. A. Stevens. Postmaster—D. C. Bower. NOTED CHARACTERS Some of the noted characters (now deceased) of the above townships in this county include these: In Monroe Township—S. S. Hamill (commonly known as Ves Hamill), who was an old Civil' war veteran; sheriff and State Representative. He kept fast horses and really loved the horse kind intensely. Wilson Fisher, who was a contractor residing just west of the Tunnel, was a man who was never known to swear or get drunk. Joseph Overholt, "farmer, miller, merchant, Lutheran and a republican," was his own description of himself. In South Township—Aaron Moore, tank pumper for the railroad company at Scio, was discovered by the Scio College students to be a wonderful mathematician and astronomer, and a college graduate, able to solve almost any difficult problem presented to him for solution. William B. Law (still living) known in the northern part of the county as the "Judge," was a justice of the peace for more than thirty years. In Freeport—Ridgeway Bethel, the fighting Quaker, was a soldier in the Civil war. Aaron Green—farmer, wool buyer, merchant and banker. Was founder of Green's Bank, then later became Green Co.'s Bank ; still later the Freeport Bank which failed, and was followed by the Freeport State Bank. Nelson Driggs, who was known as a counterfeiter in the early days in several counties hereabouts and who paid the penalty in two or three prisons for the crime committed against the government. He died in prison. Archer Township-- Rev. Robert Herron, Presbyterian preacher, farmer, banker, who preached plain sermons, lived them, and was straight. (No implication other preachers do not do the same.) Moorefield Township—See Schreiber before given. German Township—Henry Spence, the merchant at Germano (New Jefferson) ; John Ferguson, the postmaster; William Stenger, furniture and undertaker ; "Billie" Duffield and Jackson Crosley, all were moulders of public opinion. The Goliah Tedrow family, near Cadiz Junction, were known as money-getters, and the Winings forebears were among the best farmers. Franklin Township—Jacob Cranblett, as a wool buyer could not be deceived in quality of wool. 476 - CARROLL AND HARRISON COUNTIES John M. Welch, the doctor, lawyer of Deersville, who worked at both professions. George W. Hines, (an old soldier, now on his bed in perhaps his last illness), Deersville, was for years known as "Squire" ; was mayor of Deersville, school director, road supervisor, township clerk, and assessor. He said it hurt him to resign all these local positions when he was elected county recorder. |