HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY. - 647

CHAPTER XXIII.

MONTVILLE TOWNSHIP—PHYSICAL FEATURES—EARLY SETTLEMENT—GROWTH OF TOWNSHIP—
THE BEGINNINGS OF CHURCH AND SCHOOL.

HAD the new world adopted the "pomp of power " known in the old, cui bone must have been the legend emblazoned upon the banners of the " Western Reserve." Peopled by a class of emigrants whose native State furnished little more than the bare necessities of life, utility became to them the rigid standard of excellence, and the secret source of their laborious success. Though the transplanting of this stock, and the progress of succeeding years have wrought many changes, and modified the Puritanic strictness of this rule, its influence is yet to be traced in the social economy of the Reserve." This is undoubtedly more marked in sections remote from railroads, where the bustling activities of younger enterprises have less effect upon this intrenched conservatism; and it is here that the historian, dependent upon the active interest of those who form the connecting link between the pioneer days and these, finds the greatest difficulty in securing the data for his work. Recognizing no value in the tradition of the early days, they have " let the dead past bury its dead," and made no sign. But to the rising generation, these early days, so full of toil and privation, which have passed beyond the reach of their hopes and fears, command an interest that is akin to the romantic, and it is for such interests that history is written. But a higher motive for perpetuating the history of those who subdued the wilderness and made the desert places to " blossom as the rose," is that we are thus able approximately to measure the value of what has been wrought for succeeding generations. It was a noble spirit of self-sacrifice that animated the pioneers of this land, and " bowed their strong manhood to the humble plow." Forgetful of their own ease at a time of life when years of toil could reasonably have demanded repose for their declining days, they

648 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

braved the untried difficulties of the wilderness, that their children might achieve that greatness which their patriotic faith pictured in the future. The rapidly increasing population in a country devoid of manufactures left to the pioneer but one alternative, ease at the expense of their children's future, or a wider scope of cheaper lands, bought with a life of toil that found rest only beyond the grave. The broad lands pregnant with the promise of the coming harvest, the thousand homes adorned with the comforts and luxuries of an advanced civilization, the vast resources that command a nation's homage, are the grand memorials that set forth the virtue and wisdom of their choice.

The land which invited immigration to Montville was all that nature, in her pleasantest mood, could offer. A dense forest of elm, beech, oak, maple, black walnut, butter-nut, and, in the bottoms, a mixture of sycamore, covered every acre. Rocky River, taking its source in the high ground in the southeast part of the township, and flowing in a northwesterly course, with its tributaries, furnished an ample drainage, and, at the same time, supplied the motive power for those pioneer industries so essential to the success and comfort of the pioneer community. As its name suggests, this township was formed of high, rolling land, which, in many places, assumes a billowy character. Along Rocky River, the valley varies from upward of a mile in width, to a few rods, from which the land rises in easy undulations, to the height of some hundred feet, and gradually rising from this point to the higher portions in the western part of the township. This water divide in the southern part of the township, is worthy of mention. Here Rocky River and the river Styx are seperated only by a distance of about a mile, flowing in opposite directions, the water falling on the northern slope finding its way, ultimately, into the St. Lawrence River, and thence to the ocean: and that on the southern slope, flowing off to the Ohio, and thence to the Gulf of Mexico. The soil in the high lands is of a clayey mixture, though not of that heavy, tough. texture found in some--parts of adjoining counties. Along the valleys of the streams in the eastern part of the township are rich bottom lands, that are remarkably productive. These lands are devoted to corn, largely; wheat and other grains find a better soil on the uplands. The ordinary system of mixed husbandry prevails here. though sheep-grazing and dairying received a large share of attention from the farmers. Montville is situated near the center of the county. and is bounded on the north by Medina. on the east by Sharon. south by Guilford, and on the west by La Fayette. No village has found a location in this township, save the extension of Medina Village, the southern part of which passes beyond the Smith road. which is the northern boundary of this township.

This territory known in the Connecticut Company's survey as Township 6, Range 14. was early sold by the Connecticut Land Company to Gen. Aristarchus Champion. who, in 1818, caused it to be surveyed in sections, preparatory to settlement. In the early part of this year, Austin Badger, in company with Alonzo Hickox, started from Genesee County. N. Y., for the New Connecticut. Both were young, unmarried men, Badger being twenty-four years of age, and, packing their worldly effects into a knapsack, shouldered their burden and set out on foot for their destination. On reaching Buffalo, they took an open rowboat, hoping to accomplish their journey in a less tedious way. But prevailing head winds disappointed these anticipations, and they were glad to land at the mouth of Cattaraugus Creek. From this point, they traveled on foot to Erie, then known as Presque' Isle. Here

HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY - 649

they took a schooner to Ashtabula, when they resumed their journey on foot. Hickox had a brother living at Wooster, a fact that determined their destination. Following the old State road, they arrived at Weymouth on the 10th of May, and, proceeding the next morning, came to the residence of R. Ferris, who lived then near the present site of Medina Village, and took breakfast. Mr. Ferris was agent for the sale of the lands in that vicinity, and, learning the business of the young men, was very solicitous that they should return after their visit to Wooster and locate lands there. Without making any promises, the young men went on to Wooster, when, after spending several days without finding any. advantageous opening, Mr. Badger returned to Medina. Mr. Ferris at once interested himself in his case, and, finding him with little money and anxious to secure something to do while examining the country, offered him a position with Abram Frieze, who was then surveying Montville. Taking the directions to find the surveying party, Mr. Badger started out, following the line of blazed trees until he came up with them. Here a young man who had been assisting the surveyor, sick of his job, proposed that Badger should take his place, which the latter was only too glad to accept. Continuing until July, they finished the survey, earning small wages and receiving the stipulated privilege of first choice of lands. After locating several lots in the southeastern part of the township, which were secured by article without any payment for two years, he returned to Medina and took a contract to clear what is now the square in Medina Village, boarding in the meanwhile with Mr. Ferris. Though unmarried, he did not neglect to prepare for future events, and, in 1819, put up a small log cabin, and, after clearing a small piece, planted a patch of corn. In the following year, he went to Euclid, secured a wife, and, in the fall, took possession of his new home.

The year 1819 brought quite an influx of newcomers to the county seat, and many located lands in Montville Township. First of these was Samuel Brown, who took up 160 acres in the southern middle part of the township. Mr. Brown had come, originally, from New York, to Euclid, but, attracted by the reports from the new county then coming into the market, sought a home here. He had but a small family, and was in rather straitened circumstances. Neighbors were few, and situated at some distance apart, and it was found difficult to secure enough to raise a log cabin. Mr. Brown, in soliciting help, asked the neighbors" to come directly after dinner, as, " the fact is," said he, " we have not got much to eat, and you may prefer to get home for supper." When the neighbors gathered, they found that Brown and his wife, with the aid of his team had succeeded in placing the logs so far, that one tier had to be removed to place the joist. There is a slight discrepancy as to authorities upon the fact whether Brown was really the first settler. The evidence seems rather to favor the right of Parker Pelton, Sr., to that title. At all events, they both came in about the same time. Pelton was originally from Connecticut to Euclid, whence he followed in the wake of the general movement to Medina. He took up a lot in the southeastern part of the township, just south of Badger's property. He bought one of the lots located by Mr. Badger, buying his contract for $1 an acre, and occupying a deserted cabin until he could erect one of his own. About this same time Philo Welton came in, located land, and, leaving persons to make a clearing, returned to New York to bring on his family. On his return, his family found a home with Mr. Pelton until a cabin could be erected. Of Mrs. Welton, it is

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said, that on one occasion she rode on horseback through the woods to Euclid and back, alone, carrying her young babe before her on the saddle. She was intimately acquainted with James Buchanan when he was a clerk in the store near her native place. Thomas Currier, a native of New York, and a resident of Euclid, was another of the earlier settlers. He came into the township, took up land in the northeast part, and set to clearing his land, keeping " bachelor's hall" in the meanwhile. Following him, came Amasa Smith, from New York, and bought land just south of Currier. He was followed by his father and three brothers, but they stayed only a few years, when they all went farther west. Seth Hoyt came in from Summit County, locating west of Mr. Badger, and John Lawrence, about the same time, locating in the same neighborhood. Joseph Pimlot, who came in 1819, was an Englishman. He came to the country with the English army about 1812, but, taking a fancy to the new country, and desiring to leave the army and secure a home, accomplished both designs by deserting his company in Canada, and came to Cleveland. Here he laid hidden in a hogshead, covered with tow, until after the final removal of the army. After marrying, he came from Cleveland in 1819, to Montville, purchasing land near the southern boundary of the township. This included the families that made up the little community of Montville Township, in 1820, with the exception of G. F. Atherton, of whom little is remembered.

Most of these families were of Connecticut extraction, and brought with them the habits and customs of "the land of steady habits." They were, for the time, sober, industrious people, and the wilderness soon gave way before their sturdy strokes. The land they came to was, in fact, what is known by the indiscriminate term of " a howling wilderness." The natives had long before abandoned this country as a place of residence, and, though the surveyors found here and there evidences of their abandoned camps, none were seen in this section. To the westward, on Chippewa River, was located a considerable camp of Indians, who supported themselves by hunting and fishing, but their stay was of short duration, and few of the children of the pioneers of this township ever saw one of them. Game was found here in abundance, and formed a large share of the support of the first few years. What little stock was brought in was needed for other purposes than to supply meat, and were carefully cared for. Parker Pelton was one of the most successful hunters in this community, and frequently supplied the less fortunate with game. William Warner, though among the later emigrants, was noted as a hunter. Everybody in the township was in straitened circumstances, and the gift of a quarter of venison was always acceptable, and was for years the only meat that could be afforded. Mr. Warner, it is said, killed the last deer that were found in this county, one of them being shot just north of the swamp land in La Fayette Township. Mr. Warner was a native of New York, and came with an ox team from his Eastern home. It is said that his children had never seen a hickory nut, and they were greatly delighted with some given them on their journey West. The woods continued, as late as 1832, to be a terror to new settlers. John Clark, the father of William P. Clark, Esq., who arrived in Montville that year, got lost while on a hunting expedition, and did not return until the whole neighborhood had organized to hunt for him. He fortunately struck a cabin, where he was directed to his home. Bears were found occasionally, and wolves, for the first few years, were a great drawback to stock raising, though they never

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were bold enough to attack persons. Snakes, though not generally considered under the head of game, were frequently hunted in this locality. The earlier settlers found them in large numbers, consisting chiefly of rattlesnakes, and were obliged to exercise the most vigorous scrutiny to keep them out of the house. It is related that Mrs. Albro—wife of J. H. Albro—when a child, was observed to carry a cup of milk, regularly, out of the house. It excited no special attention, until one day she was found holding the cup for a large snake to drink the milk, in the meanwhile patting the head of the reptile. Such favoritism was at once broken up ; but it was a number of years before they were exterminated from this country.

Supplies were got only at a considerable distance. A. " store " was early established at Medina Village, but little more than powder and lead could be procured there, and most settlers in this vicinity went to Cleveland for their store goods. Here the difficulty of getting currency was deeply felt. But few of the pioneers had ready money, and most of the products of the frontier farm were a drug in the market. At home a system of barter prevailed and money was to be secured only from newcomers, or a chance traveler, who paid for his accommodation. Most of the cabins had glass for their windows, but iron goods of any sort, even as household utensils, were limited to the few indispensable articles needed for constant use. Wooden pegs and pins were substituted for nails, and wooden latches and hinges. answered very well the purposes of the better ones made of iron. Some had doors, in the construction of which there was no iron at all. Salt was at an inconceivable price, and it is said that a team could not draw wheat enough to buy a barrel of salt. Flour and meal were procured at Middlebury, now a part of the city of Akron, where a log mill waserected, about 1815. The journey was made through an unmarked wilderness, through marshes and over unbridged streams, making the twenty miles' journey a five days' undertaking. About 1830, a mill was built at Weymouth, in Medina Township. This was located upon a poor stream, and furnished a very unreliable dependence for the pioneers of this section. Another, which gained considerable reputation for fine work, was a mill established at Wadsworth. The motive power was supplied by two springs that brought the water to an overshot wheel, about twenty-two feet in diameter. The power was entirely inadequate to the work demanded, and it is said that the wheel hardly made a revolution without stopping on its round. This drawback was overcome by the excellent flour which was manufactured, and the pioneers would take a quantity of wheat there and wait until it could be ground rather than take the inferior flour at other mills. In later years, it was the custom of the farmers to take some sixty bushels of wheat at a time, which would furnish flour for nearly a year. A saw-mill was early erected in Montville. The first lumber brought into the township was by Mr. Badger, who hauled enough for his chamber floor from Bagdad, in about 1820. Three years later, he built a mill on Rocky River, on land owned by John Morris. The latter furnished the capital to build it, and hired Mr. Badger to build and run it. This stood about two years, when it burned down by accident. A settler, desiring some lumber at once, was allowed to run the mill at night, so as not to inconvenience those whose orders preceded, and, failing to properly dispose of the fire, the building caught fire and was destroyed. It was only a log structure, but it was a severe loss to the little community at that time. Mr. Badger had, fortunately, just finished sawing lumber enough to build a barn. The first frame build-

652 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

ings, however, were erected previous to this time, the lumber being hauled from Bagdad. These were a house erected by Mr. Welton, and a barn erected by George F. Atherton. What is remarkable about this pioneer mill in Montville, and characteristic of the class of emigrants in this part of the State, is, that the dam was substantially built of stone. It is the experience of those who have had occasion to investigate the earlier customs of the first settlers, that enterprises of this character are generally of less permanence. A brush dam, frequently renewed, is the average attempt in this matter, and such constructions generally suffice for the first two decades of a settlement. Here, aided by the proprietors of the large tracts of land, most of the improvements were of a more substantial character.

A later enterprise, but one that flourishes best only in a new country, was established in Montville about 1844. This was an ashery, by a Mr. Van Gelder, who bought some five hundred acres, which is known as the old King farm. In addition to the ashes he could purchase of the settlers, he carried on an extensive clearing on his own place, clearing off about one hundred acres per year. He manufactured " black salts," and traded his product for ashes, and, soon after beginning the business, laid in a small stock of groceries and dry goods, to sell and exchange for ashes. He continued the business for a few years and then left, the business dying out.

In the matter of stock, there was little else than cattle. Most of the pioneers came with ox teams, and most of them, but not all, brought in one or two cows. In 1820, there were only two horses, Mr. Badger and Parker Pelton each owning one. Two years later, the assessment made by Mr. Welton showed only three horses and forty-one cattle. Hogs . were introduced at the same time, but, contrary to the almostuniversal practice in new countries, these were not allowed to run wild in the woods to feed on the nuts that were to be found in abundance. Mr. Welton, it is said, lost some in the woods, that forgot their domestic habits and ranged at will for a time, but his sense of propriety overcame any desire for profit he might have had, and he, one day, taking his gun, killed the pigs and crippled the sow so that she could be restored to the pen. About 1820, Parker Pelton bought about forty head of sheep at Euclid and brought them to Montville. They were, however, a constant care. The wolves made sad havoc among them, in spite of all the watchfulness that the family could bestow; and, what was worse, the dogs, many of which were of wolf blood, were more mischievous than the wild animals. By winter, he had lost twenty, and, for several successive years, he found it impossible to pass the winter with more than twenty head, no matter how many additions he made to the flock. He finally erected a high. light fence about the field, which made a large fold of the inclosure, and succeeded in raising wool enough for his own use. The early attempt at farming in a country covered with timber admits of but little variation in the methods employed. A small clearing was made, a part of the timber utilized in the erection of a cabin, 18x20 feet in size, and the balance burned. This much was accomplished in the fall, or early in the spring, and a crop of corn put in with the hoe alone. Plowing was out of the question, and frequently the crop did not get planted until June, but the length of the season and the strength of the soil made ample amends for such delay. While the crop was growing, the pioneer busied himself with girdling a wider area, extending in all directions from his cabin. The next season they were ready to chop down, log and burn, and the space was prepared

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for the inevitable crop of corn. The corn ground of the previous year was turned over to wheat, and was more or less tilled for its reception. Sometimes a rude attempt at plowing was made, but frequently a heavily weighted triangular harrow sufficed for tearing the surface enough to receive the seed. With such cultivation, the land yielded an abundant return. Parker Pelton raised the first three acres of wheat ever cut in the township, and Capt. Badger threshed it out with a flail, taking the seventh bushel as his wages. The only demand was for home consumption, save now and then a bushel or two to some newcomer who has not had time to put in a crop. The land, enriched by the accumulated leaves of years, seemed well-nigh exhaustless. One field was planted with alternate crops of corn and wheat for sixteen years, when it was sown to clover. This was fed down by pasturing it, and then turned under. On this, a crop of wheat was sown, which sprang up into so rank a growth as to prove worthless. Straw was found sixteen feet long, where the stalk would grow beyond its strength and lodge, and springing up with new growth only to lodge again. Only about five bushels of grain was got to the acre. Corn planted upon this field in the succeeding year yielded 130 bushels to the acre. This exceeding fertility, however, was, to a great degree, lost upon the pioneer. The lack of transportation made every sort of produce of little avail as a source of income. Stills for the converting of corn into whisky, which elsewhere often made a market for this cereal, were not often found here. In Montville, only one ever found place, and that but for a short time. A young man by the name of Case, while working for a farmer in Copley, in Summit County, was engaged in making whisky. At the expiration of his term of service, there being no demand for his services elsewhere, in company with his brother, he established a still on his father's farm in the northern part of the township, some two miles and a half east of Medina Village. It continued only about six months, when it was discontinued.

Montville seemed to be off the line of all travel, as hardly an Indian trail was to be found anywhere within its limits. Besides the surveyor's blaze there was no guide, and Samuel Brown, one of the first to come to the township, was obliged to " bush " his road out to his land. In all the traffic with Medina Village and elsewhere, each man made his own road, as the condition of the soil did not admit of its being used often, it soon becoming impassable on account of the mud. The first regularly cut-out road that touched the township was the Smith road, which forms the boundary between Montville and Medina townships. This road was cut out by Gen. Smith, during the war of 1812, as an army thoroughfare, and formed the only outlet for travel east and west. An old State road from Cleveland to Wooster was the thoroughfare in this direction, and was the trail by which most of the immigration found its way here. In 1823, an enterprise was set on foot which had for its object to convert this into a regular turnpike. The large land-owners along the proposed route, appreciating the benefit it would confer upon their interests, subscribed liberally to its cost, and among others, Gen. Champion. This brought the road through the western side of Montville. The first half-mile from the southern line was contracted and built by Capt. Badger, the rest of the road within this township being built by Lawrence, Pelton and Welton, all residents of this township. The road was completed in two or three years, at a cost of about $500 per mile, through Montville, and stages were regularly run between the terminal points.

654 - HISTORY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

Montville was named after a Vermont town by the original proprietor. It was organized in 1820, the first Township Trustees being T. M. Currier, Aaron Smith and Austin Badger. G. F. Atherton was Township Clerk. No Constable was elected, because, it is said, the people supposed there would be no necessity for such an officer, and the event justified this good opinion of themselves. A Justice of the Peace, however, was elected, Philo Welton receiving every vote but one in the township, and thus began a judicial career that ended as Associate Judge of the Common Pleas Court of the County. Austin Badger succeeded Mr. Welton as Justice two years later. At the first election, there were but ten votes polled; two years later, the vote had increased to fifteen, a marked evidence of growth. The social customs in this community were much the same as found in other early settlements. Huskrng-bees, leggings, raisings, and the various entertainments which combined work and play, arranged by the women, gave opportunity for the merry romp that was all the more enjoyable for the severe labors that gave rise to the occasion. Whisky played an important part in all the social affairs of the community, though not to the extent found in some of the earlier settlements. On the Fourth of July, in 1820, a patriotic celebration of the day was had at the county seat, in which the whole population of Montville participated. Mr. Badger, in his contribution to Northrop's history, says: " All the inhabitants of Montville attended that celebration, and let it be recorded as a part of history, that on the Fourth of July, 1820, no human being could be found in Montville Township, for the reason that patriotism fired every inhabitant to be at the celebration. Three ox-teams hauled to Medina, on that day, every living soul in Montville Township, together with a young fathog. a fat sheep and a few chickens, intended to be eaten in common at this great celebration. ' From every inhabited township in the county the people came with their ox-teams. and by noon there was a large gathering and a cordial greeting. The dinner was of the best that the country afforded. and all fared plentifully. Sweetened liquor was made in a tub, which was refilled often during the day. From that tub every person dipped in a tin and drank when inclination prompted. Many of the more sturdy men took the whisky raw. saying that the sugar took away its flavor." Some of the important early social events are thus noted in the same work by Capt. Badger: " The first marriage in the township was W. R. Williams to Nancy Monroe. Henry Pelton was the first child born in the township. The first death and burial was that of Mrs. Catharine Badger."

A prominent feature of Montville. and a very striking one to a stranger going over the township, is the pioneer monument erected to the memory of Fairfax Smith. Mr. Smith was one of the second line of immigration that contributed to the population of this township. He was a native of Massachusetts. whence he early moved to Vermont, and in later years to Madison County, N. Y. He was here when the popular rage seemed to be to emigrate to Ohio, and. feeling the need of more room for his growing family of seven children, he came to Montville in June, 1832. The journey was made by the family in a three-horse wagon, while the household goods came by way of the canal and Lake Erie to Ohio. Once here. Mr. Smith bought several improvements, amounting in all to some three hundred and fifty acres, right in the midst of a complete wilderness, with no other clearing near, save the opening made by Samuel Brown. The monument was erected in 1879, by his son Linus Smith, and stands upon a knoll just west of his residence. It consists

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of a base of Berea sandstone, six feet two inches square and two feet thick: a subbase of the same material five feet two inches square and twenty-two inches thick: a second subbase of Quincy granite, four feet four inches square and two feet thick. Upon this is placed the die, of Quincy granite. three feet eight inches square and five feet two inches high; a cap of the same material, three feet eight inches square and two feet thick, finishes the pedestal. A statue of Mr. Smith. in the finest Carrara marble. six feet eight inches in height. crowns the pile. Inscriptions on the die record the death of Fairfax Smith and Abigail, his wife, as well as a child of Linus Smith. The figure represents the subject in the garb of a frontiersman. such as the prints usually represent as the typical pioneer of the West. The figure stands uncovered, with hat in hand. as though greeting the passer by, and rests with the other on an ax. which is supported upon a stump by his side. The whole cost was $2,000, and forms a fitting memorial of not only the particular life which it commemorates, but also of the whole class of those who wrought that others might enjoy the fruit of their labor.

The people who came to the Reserve were eminently a religious people. and early sought to bring about them in this new home the influence of the church. For the first few years. owing to the smallness of their number and the scattered character of the settlement, it was impossible for the community in Montville to organize any church movement, though they early embraced such opportunities of attending worship as were offered. The first services in the township were held by Rev. Roger Searle, of Medina Village. as early as 1820 or 1821. The services were conducted at first in the cabins, and. a very little later, in the school-houses that were erected. In 1829, Rev. Alva Sanford organized a parish of the Episcopalorder, which comprised nine members. This organization, although it never erected a place of worship, continued its existence separately for awhile, when it was merged into the church at Medina. A few years after Mr. Searle, Rev. Steven Barnes came into the township to reside. Mr. Champion, the original owner of the township, desirous of securing his services for the new community, gave him one hundred acres to settle here. He labored here, with more less results, for several years. In 1830, the Methodist Church constituted a class, and, for years, held services in the school-houses, or. more often, in private houses. In 1844, they erected a place of worship, which still stands, near the center of the township. The building of the church was effected through the aid of Mr. Champion, who seemed to have not so much a special creed as the moral welfare of the community at heart. He promised those desiring a church for the Methodist organization to contribute $300, which was quite a help in those days. With this encouragement, they set to work and soon had a comfortable building. Mr. John I. Wheeler was appointed a committee of one to secure the building, and he spent a year in this undertaking. The first class was composed of John I. Wheeler, Asa Bradley, Washington Nichols, John Nichols, John Fritz, Daniel Wheeler, Asa House and their wives, Lucy, Lucinda and Friend Morse, Mary Bradley, Mrs. Betsy Nichols, Miss Bunker and Zenas Beach. Services are held there every Sabbath, with a sermon in the afternoon, once in two weeks, by Rev. W. B. Farrar, of Medina.

The establishment of schools preceded the organization of the churches. As early as 1820, a log schoolhouse was begun in the southeast part of the township, but finally abandoned before it was completed, because it was found there were no scholars to attend a school if established. Two years later, a log school-

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house was established upon Mr. Badger's farm, where Caroline Babbit taught the first summer school, consisting of eight scholars, receiving '75 cents per week. The following winter, school was taught by Mrs. Badger. In 1824, taking advantage of the situation, the settlement of Montville set off one-half of the township into one school district, and levied a tax for the erection of a substantial brick schoolhouse. In this way, Gen. Champion was forced to bear the larger part of the expense. He resisted this action until convinced that there no successful resistance for him, when he yielded as gracefully as possible in the nature of the case. This building was located on Pelton's land, and was first occupied by Samuel McClure, as teacher, whose father was then a resident of the township. Mr. McClure is now Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Summit County. The status of the schools, as shown by the reports to the County Auditor, is as follows:

Balance on hand, September 1, 1879.................$744 78

Amount of State tax received...............................421 50

Local taxes for school purposes ..........................264 15

Total receipts from all sources .......................$1,457 50

Whole amount paid teachers ..........................$1,071 25

Contingent expenses ............................................191 95

Total expenses ................................................$1,263 20

Balance on hand, September 1, 1880.................$194 30

There were eight school districts; value of school property, not given; number of teachers employed—gentlemen, 8; ladies, 9; average pay per month—gentlemen, $25; ladies, $10; number of pupils enrolled—boys, 133; girls, 100; average daily attendance—boys, 77; girls, 67.