HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 825


are a curiosity from their inconsistency in numbering, This will explain the position of the different townships as named and numbered by the County Commissioners at their June term, June 7, 1825.


NO. 1. FALLS TOWNSHIP.


"Ordered, That congressional townships 13 and 14 and one tier of sections in township 15, on the east side, all in range 17, form the township of Fall, and be known as No. 1."


NO. 2. GREEN TOWNSHIP.


"Ordered, That township 13 and so much of township 14 as lies in Hocking County, all in range 16, shall form the township of Green and be known as No. 2."


NO. 3. STARR TOWNSHIP.


"Ordered, That so much of townships 11 and 12, of range 16, as lie in Hocking County shall be Starr Township, and known as No.3."


NO. 4. SWAN TOWNSHIP.


"Ordered, That township 12, of range 17, be known by the name of Swan and be numbered 4."


NO. 5. EAGLE TOWNSHIP.


"Ordered, That township 10, of ranges 18 and 19, be called Eagle Township, and be known as No. 5."


NO. 6. SALT CREEK TOWNSHIP.


"Ordered, That township 11, and so much of township 12, of range 19, as lies in Hocking County, and township 11, in range 18, shall form Salt Creek Township and be numbered 6."


NO. 7. LAUREL TOWNSHIP.


"Ordered, That township 12, of range 18, shall be Laurel Township, and be known as No. 7."


NO. 8. GOOD HOPE TOWNSHIP.


"Ordered, That so much of township 13, of range 18, and township 15, of range 17, as lie in

Hocking County, excepting one tier of sections on the east side of township 15, shall form Good Hope Township, and be numbered 8."


826 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


ITEMIZED.


The election of Daniel Harsh, as County Collector this year, 1826, was the first time this office was made elective.


Washington Township was organized June 5, 1826, and was township 13, of range 17, which was taken off of Falls. This was No. 9, but nothing was said about the number.


The first brick house, probably, in Hocking County was that of Abraham Bitcher, erected in 1825; that is to say, at the June term of the court, 1826, Mr. Bitcher got $750 for the use of his brick house as a court-house three times, which is the only record of a brick house in the county up to that time.


Then Jacob Myers, who was the fortunate possessor of a stallion, for breeding purposes, was equally unfortunate in not having a license. The matter was compromized by Jacob leaving $20 in the county treasury for incidental expenses.


The three per cent. fund in 1826 was appropriated by the Commissioners for the purpose of building a bridge across the Hocking River at the Falls, which was let to Damascus Weyman for the sum of $794, the following year, Nov. 3, 1827, and accepted as finished by the Commissioners at the J sine session, 1829.


The clerk of the court, Dec. 3, 1827, asked the County Commissioners to pay him some Court fees which certain defendants were unable to pay. The Commissioners respectfully declined, not considering it a lawful account.


The total receipts for the fiscal year, ending June 1, 1830, was $1,010.39 9-10, and the amount paid out $910.95 6-10. This left a balance in favor of the county, of receipts over expenditures, of $99.44 3-10.


Mr. A. G. Bright was appointed Assessor in 1828 and Treasurer in 1829.


FALLS-GORE AND JACKSON.


The inhabitants of Falls-Gore petitioned to have them transferred from Green Township to Falls, which was done March 4, 1828. Logan, as a voting precinct, was much nearer to them than in Green, and so'they wanted to be changed, as they were compelled to come to the county seat on business.


DECEMBER 6, 1831,


is the date on which Jackson Township became an independent municipality. It is composed of township 10, range 18, and namt


HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 827


after General Andrew Jackson, and the first election was held at the house of Frederick Garrick, Dec. 24, 1831.


NO. 11. MARION TOWNSHIP.


It was nearly a year from the above day that Marion Township came into existence, as follows:


" Ordered, That the petition of the inhabitants of that part of Good Hope and Falls townships lying in congressional township 15, of range 17, in Hocking County, be made a separate township, to be called Marion, and known as No. 11."


The election was ordered held at the house of Frederick Cowick on the 29th day of December, 1832.


The State road from Logan to Thornville, Perry County, was opened Dec. 2, 1833. In 1834 six sections of Eagle Township, being from No. 1 to 6, inclusive, in township 10 of range 19, were taken from Eagle and added to Salt Creek Township, where they still remain, giving that town forty-two sections of land, being those six sections over a congressional township. There was little to interest the people in the proceedings of the Commissioners for many years. It was on Dec. 5, 1836, that


BENTON TOWNSHIP


had a local habitation and a name, having been organized that day in the following words:


" Ordered, That the petition of the inhabitants of township 11 of range 18 be granted, and that in compliance therewith that said township be set off from Salt Creek and be made a separate township, by the name of Benton, and known as No. 12."


JAIL AND COURT-HOUSE.


The old jail and the old court-house were getting to be both insecure and dilapidated, and it was decided to erect new ones. The first move was for a county jail, which it was decided to build by the County Commissioners at their meeting in May. May 3, 1837, the Commissioners contracted with Wm. Montgomery for the erection and completion of a county jail building for the sum of $2,118. Mr. Montgomery gave a guarantee bond of $4,000, signed by C. W. James, Thomas Worthington, F. B. Drake, James Jones, R. Green and Elijah James as securities. He completed the building the same year. The court-house was not


828 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


put under contract until March 4, 1839, nearly two years after. Wm. Montgomery also secured this contract, the consideration being $8,800. The contract called for a building modeled after the county court-house of Portage County and a bond was exacted for a faithful performance of contract in the sum of $10,000. Upon this paper the following names appeared as securities, to wit: James Jones, George Bright, Jno. B. Zimmerman, Chas. W. James and Frederick Mullenhour. The County Commissioners who let the contract were Robert McBroom, Madison Lemon, and W. H. Dunkle. The building was finished the following year, 1841, and accepted by the Commissioners. It is still standing and occupied by the officials of the county. This building and the jail, like the completion of the Hocking Canal, seemed to open a new era in the county's history, and a step forward in advanced progress. The next step was the starting of. a newspaper, which was to become permanent the following year, but ere that point is reached there are matters of some importance to be recorded.


SOME MINERAL TALK.


All this time the progress of the county had been from a purely agricultural standpoint, and few up to the date of the county's organization were aware of the immense resources of coal and iron to be found within her borders. One of the writers on this subject has placed Logan within twelve miles of the center of the coal fields of the Hocking Valley, while another locates her in the " bowels" of the same field or mining district. The fact of the case is, the latter is right, though these same " bowels" cover a wide extent of country. Had the first writer stated that Logan was within twelve miles of the center of the present mining district he, too, would have made a correct statement. Without doubt, the six townships on the east side of Hocking will, when developed, show in coal and iron the equal of Straitsville and Nelsonville. Coal is all around Logan, but little has been done to bring to the surface the immense quantities of iron ore, the inexhaustible deposits of coal, the vast amounts of fire-clay and the beautiful and valuable timber, all of which is spread over hill and dale, in the vicinity of the valley, all within easy access, if utilized and brought into use. There is no location in the valley where manufacturing interest would pay a better profit than within this county of Hocking, and the site of its capital city is peculiarly situated to make it one of


HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 829


the greatest manufacturing centers of the State. It combines all the elements of business success in that line—wood and water in abundance; coal and iron at her door, inexhaustible in quantity; water and steam power at nominal cost; fire-clay, saltpeter and glass sand in lavished quantity, with rail and water transportation facilities. Man cannot ask more, and capital need seek no farther for a place where the cost of production can be reduced to a minimum, or where a market can be found nearer to the place of manufacture. Besides this, Hocking County possesses another great advantage. Her soil is rich and fertile, and the consumers and producers being so near together would give to one a market for his product, while the other would receive the benefit of low prices, less, at least, the cost of transportation. The day cannot be far distant when capital, seeing its opportunity, will fill this valley with machinery that will develop the riches with which Providence, with a lavish hand, has filled this county, and which needs but the magic hand of genius and the open-handed but fostering care of capital to yield for the benefit of ratan its inexhaustible hidden wealth. The magnificent future of Hocking County is not one of doubt or of mystery; time and capital will develop it. The former is certain, but this future could be brought nearer if a combined effort was made on the part of the people to induce capital to concentrate its energies here.


IN THE MATTER OF PROGRESS.


From the organization of the county Hocking steadily advanced, and from a population of 2,000 in 1820, she had in 1840 reached the number of 8,510. This was a very good showing. The Hocking Canal, which enabled the operators in coal and iron to get their output to market, and the farmer to dispose of the surplus product of his farm, was a boon to them, and it brought a boom to the county. Settlers began to pour in, and prosperity was seen on every hand. It was completed in 1840, but the knowledge of the fact that it would be built was sufficient to give all business a start two or three years before its completion. The coal operators especially, took advantage of the knowledge, possessed and enlarged their field of action, to be ready to take advantage of the new form of transportation. So the decade between 1830 and 1840 showed a sound and substantial advance in both population and wealth, with a still brighter promise for the next decade. The following was the census of 1840 by townships:


830 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


Logan City, 436; Falls, 1,625; Green, 1,189; Starr, 622; Salt Creek, 821; Laurel, 836; Good Hope, 469; Benton, 448; Washington, 1,124; Marion, 1,370; Sayan, 759; Jackson, 472—total, 9,735.


1842.


In the first number of the Hocking Sentinel, issued June 24, 1842, an interesting item was published of the taxation of the county for that year. The total tax receipts were $8,257.69. Contrast that with that of forty years later, and the increase is astonishing, that of 1882 being $104,059.68. The same paper gave a list of attorneys of Logan, or rather those who were progressive enough to announce their names and business through the means of the press. They were: Alex. Van Hamm, A. De Long, Joseph Lovell, Harry Lovell and Joseph Cradlebaugh. The old newspaper files are a valuable repository of early history, and it is a pity that a paper could not be published from the date a settlement could boast of a cross-road outfit—a store, a blacksmith shop, a shoemaker, a school-house and four or five residences. The record of weekly doing would prove interesting.


HOCKING SENTINEL, 1842.


Through the courtesy of Mr. Lewis Green, editor of the Sentinel, a copy of the Hocking County Sentinel of date Sept. 9, 1842, was placed in our hands. It was a six-column folio. S. W. Tucker editor, and Tucker and Wright, proprietors. Then, as now, the paper was Democratic, and it had at its head Wilson Shannon for Governor. Its county ticket to be voted for in October was: Sheriff, Frederick Mullenhour; Auditor, Alexander White; Treasurer, Flavius Case; Commissioner, Christian Eby, Jr. ; Coroner, N. M. Stinchicomb; Surveyor, Thomas B. Jones.


John White was President of the " Democratic Association " (so-called), and B. R. Graham, Secretary. Mr. Mullenhour, was then Treasurer; Win. Nelson, Sheriff, and C. W. James, Clerk of Hocking County. Flavius Case was Superintendent of Public Schools. The paper was terribly exercised over the Whig bolt in the Legislature to prevent the districting of the State into congressional districts, twenty-nine Whig members refusing to occupy their seats, which left less than a quorum. It headed a column, " Thunderings of the Press," which contained extracts from the leading papers of the State and of the East. Thos. Corwin was then Governor, and he received a good share of the indignation expressed, he canvassing the State while Governor, in the interest of


HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 831


the partisan bolters. Tyler's vetoes were referred to, and the general news of the day was found in its columns. It was for the times a very creditable paper. The Legislative district, in 1842, was composed of the counties of Ross, Pike, Jackson and Hocking. A convention to nominate members for the Legislature was called to order by Allen G. Thurman, and on his motion Flavius Case, of Hocking, was made temporary chairman of the convention. The convention was held at Richmond, Ross County. The district had three Representatives to elect. Two were nominated, and hocking not being ready, her choice was to be nominated at a later day.


The townships composing the county were: Falls, Green, Starr, Swan, Jackson, Salt Creek, Laurel, Good Hope, Washington and Benton.


Congress was in the long session and did not adjourn until Aug. 31, 1842, and the Booking Sentinel gave it the following greeting: "Nothing will be more pleasing to our readers than the knowledge of the fact that Congress adjourned on the last day of August. It will be the fault of the freemen of the country if such a mad, reckless, unprincipled band of traitors again disgrace the halls of Congress."


Such was a relic of the past, and one name is mentioned then that stands to-day the greatest man in the State and one of the ablest statesmen in the whole country, the Hon. Allen G. Thurman.


NO STEP BACKWARD.


Hocking County took no step backward in the decade between 1840 and 1850. They were ten years of prosperity, coined by the sweat of the laborer's brow, whether in the field or in the mines, whether in town or country. It was a steady advance all along the line. Farms increased, stock of all kinds doubled in number, the population rose to 14,119 (nearly 50 per cent. increase), the output of the coal interest quadrupled itself and a high carnival of prosperity greeted the people on every hand.


GOING BACK TO THE BEGINNING.


Hocking County was organized March 1, 1818, and was formed from the counties of Fairfield, Ross and Athens. Since that time changes have been made, losing and gaining, equally, yet making the correct boundary of to-day possible only by waiting until changes had ceased, Previous to 1850 her territory was as now, excepting Ward Township, the east half of Starr, the two


832 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


north tiers of sections in Marion Township, and only two of the south tier of sections of Perry. In 1850 Vinton County was organized, her first County Court being held in March of that year. At that time Hocking lost three townships, Jackson, Swan and Brown, which went to Vinton County, but received in return the remainder of Starr, Perry and Marion townships, and in February, 1851, Ward Township from Athens County. In 1840 Hocking County had the following townships : Benton, Falls, Good Hope, Green, Jackson, Laurel, Marion, Salt Creek, Starr, Swan and Washington. It had at that tune 442 square miles of territory.


ITS NAME


The name is taken from the Hockhocking River, which flowed through the county, and was a contraction of the name which has also since been applied to the river itself. So far as the county was or is concerned, the abbreviating of the name may not be of special importance, but the abridgement of the name of the river, destroying alike its meaning and musical cadence, is something for which there is no necessity and no reasonable explanation. Rockhocking, in the language of the Delaware Indians, signifies a bottle; the Shawnees had it Wea-tha-Kagh-qua sepe, i. e., bottle river. John White, in the American Pioneer, says : "About six or seven miles northwest of Lancaster there is a fall in the Hockhocking of about twenty feet; above the fall for a short distance the creek is very narrow and straight, forming a neck. while at the falls it suddenly widens on each side and swells into the appearance of the body of a bottle. The whole, when viewed from above, appears exactly in the shape of a bottle, and from this fact the Indians called the creek Hockhocking."


TOPOGRAPHY.


The land is generally hilly and broken, but there are many rich and beautiful valleys that yield bountifully to man's labor. It is one of the best watered counties in the State, and along these streams are rich tracts of valley land, not large in area, but productive from the banks of the streams to at least half-way up the hills that skirt the streams. The Hocking enters the county from the northwest, in Good Hope Township, and continues a southeasterly course, passing through Fall and Green townships and touching Marion and Starr, meandering about one and a half in


HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 833


the former and two miles in the latter township, which it leaves and passes into Athens County. Then there are Monday and Sunday creeks and Snow Fork in the northeast Raccoon Creek and its branches in the southeast Salt Creek and its branches, Queer Creek and Big Pine Creek and their branches, the last emptying into Salt Creek and watering the Central, Southern and Southwestern portion of the county, while Laurel Creek and several tributaries leave the county on the west side. Besides these there are a dozen other creeks, and springs innumerable. Stock-raising could become an immense and profitable business if followed. There is a growing interest in this department of agriculture, but it is still in its infancy, and if the real capacity of the county for stock-raising purposes is considered, the stock business is a very young infant. Corn, wheat and grasses are the principal productions, with some tobacco, maple sugar and vegetables generally.


The Wyandot Indians were the possessors of the soil at the time of the advent of the pale faces, and in this county, about one mile below the county seat, or Logan City, at the confluence of a small stream with the river, the tribe had quite a large town. The name of " Oldtown" was given to the creek, and it still retains the name. About five miles southeast of Logan, in Green Township, are two mounds, of the usual conical forms, about sixty feet in diameter at the base, erected entirely from stone, evidently brought from a great distance to their present location. This was the state of these mounds in 1845. The formation of the county shows it to have been a paradise for the animal kingdom, and they seem, from almost every description given of early times, to have enjoyed their elysium.


METES AND BOUNDS.


The county has had no changes since 1851, and her present municipal divisions are: Benton, Falls, Good Hope, Green, Laurel, Marion, Perry, Salt Creek, Starr, Washington and Ward. She is bounded on the north by Fairfield and Perry counties, on the east by Perry and Athens counties, on the south by Vinton and Athens, and on the west by Pickaway and Ross counties. The statistics of the county.- will enlighten the reader to the productions of the county, both in agriculture and mineral. Ward Township is credited with being the richest in mineral, and Perry with great men. Both these points may be open to discussion. So far,


- 53 -


834 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


Hocking County ranks in regard to soil and production as one of the best agricultural counties in the valley of the Hocking—not as large a quantity of land for cereals and stock-raising as some others, but what there is of it is in no way behind other lands in; productiveness. There has been no county in the valley, if even in the State, that can show so steady a progress from 1820 to 1880 inclusive. Only one decade, that between 1860 and 1870, but what shows the same onward march, and the rank and file of the Union army will easily explain that.


It was not until transportation became a veritable fact that the mineral productiveness of the county began to take its place in the aggregate of productive wealth, and not then to any very great extent, for the State itself was but an infant in the development of its mining interests.


CHAPTER XXX.


AGRICULTURAL AND MINERAL—LOCAL EVENTS.


IRON MANUFACTURERS—PROGRESS AND FLOOD-YIELD OF 1839 -LOCAL HISTORY- VALUATION AND. TAXATION-1867 TO 1875 - JAIL - BIRTHS AND DEATHS, 1873—COUNTY INFIRMARY-ITS COST AND OFFICERS-ASSESSMENT RETURNS, 1874 AND 1876—AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND STOCK FOR 1870, 1875 AND 1880—

HOCKING COUNTY ASSESSMENT, 1882—COAL OUTPUT—TWO ITEMS -HOCKING COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY - FROM 1853 TO 1882— SUSPENDED—THE RECORD OF A CRIME - MURDER OF THE WELDON FAMILY-PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY-OIL WELL-A CURIOSITY-THE HOLLOW POPLAR TREE-POSTAL ROUTES AND TALLY Ho!—NORMAL INSTITUTE-FROM 1868 TO 1882.


IRON MANUFACTURES.


The mineral interests of this valley are given in Chapter IV, but some local matter is here added. Early in the decade between 1850 and 1860 the coal interest, which had begun to assume considerable proportions at Straitsville and Nelsonville, suggested to the manufacturing interests that they might utilize the great ore deposits of iron by erecting furnaces in the valley. Hocking and Vinton counties had vast quantities of iron ore of good quality, and capital came forward to engage in its conversion into pig iron. The first furnace erected in Hocking County was the Hocking Furnace., owned by Messrs. Moore & Birrd, in 1851. This was a success, and another one was started in 1853, called the Logan Furnace. The firm was composed of the two Dunn Brothers, Bishop and others, and was completed ready for business in 1854. As soon as Ells was fairly under way a stock company was formed to build the Five Mile Furnace in Starr Township. The principal stockholders were Daniel Dunn, of the Dunn Brothers, William Montgomery, John Westenhaver and Robert Wright, and went by the firm name of Robert Wright & Co. There were other stockholders, but these were the largest holders. The company sold it out in 1858 to John Garrett, who operated it to 1865, and after a few years sold to another company, and changed the name to Union Furnace. It now belongs to the Amalgamated or Consolidated Company spoken of in another place.


- (835) -


836 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


The first iron ore discovered in the county, and which caused the subsequent building of the furnaces, was in 1848, and just north of and near by Logan, by William Montgomery. He not long after entered into a contract with the Dresden Furnace Company, in Muskingum County, to deliver 1,000 tons of ore, which contract was fulfilled.


The following is the ratio of material used for one ton of iron, as manufactured at the Gore Furace in Hocking County:


Native ore, 1.91 tons; Red Hematite, 0.26 tons; Lake Champlain, 0.07 tons. Total ores.2.24 tons. Coal, 2.67 tons.


There are at this time in Hocking County six furnaces: Winona was built in 1877 by the Winona Iron Company; the Craft's, Union, Lee, Helen and Gore. On the 1st of March last these furnaces pooled their issues, or consolidated, and are now owned by what is called the " Columbus and Hocking Iron and Coal Company." The Winona and Gore are in the two-mile strip, called, by courtesy, " Falls-Gore;" the Union is in Starr Township, Craft's in Green Township, and Lee and Helen furnaces in Ward Township. There are two other furnaces just over the line in Perry County.


PROGRESSING-FLOODS.


The starting of furnaces gave a slight impetus to business at the county seat and in the immediate vicinity of the works, but there was- no great advance during the decade. It was steady, and in the end, or in the year 1860, showed a creditable gain, the population having increased nearly 3,000, and the wealth of the county was somewhat greater in proportion to population than in 1850, the increased mining interest and iron furnaces going to swell the aggregate. In 1852 the marriages for the year in the county were reported at 142. The decade was not a witness of any stirring event unless the freshet of 1858 might be so called, and that of 1859, which did not leave a bridge standing in the county that was not seriously damaged, while nearly three fourths were entirely washed away. The roads also suffered in many places, the repairs of all seriously depleting the funds in the County Treasury. The total receipts of the county for the fiscal year ending Sept. 1, 1859, amounted to $9,155.51, and the expenditures the same year to $8,814.80, leaving a balance of $340.71 in the treasury. The year 1859 was, however, notwithstanding the flood, a prosperous one to the farmer.


The following year, that of 1860, was also one of prosperity to the farmer, but the same year brought the muttering of a coming,


HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 837


storm that left prosperity a wreck, and made nearly every household in the land a house of mourning.


LOCAL HISTORY.


The progress of the county so far had been not so much to the improvement of the surroundings as to provide the wealth necessary for a rainy day. As late as 1862 there was scarcely a frame building found in the county outside of the towns and villages; at least, if any, were very few. Churches, cabins, school-houses—all were built of logs. The farmer had also clung to his two-horse wagon, and spring seats or spring wagons, buggies, etc., were few; probably not a half dozen spring wagons could have been found in the county at that date outside of the corporation. The change since then has been wonderful. The pride of the people has been aroused as well as a stronger desire for comfort, which has resulted in scattering over the county some very handsome two story brick and frame residences that will compare favorably with those of the surrounding counties, and which in finish, with their lawns and gardens, show a cultured and refined people, and comfort is taking the place of hardship, and the old pioneer or his children are meet. ing life with less hardship and trouble than those of a hundred years ago and less.


Peace meetings were held in Logan in August of 1864, and peace, as we all know, came in 1865. For four long years the white-winged angel Peace had hovered, weary and in sorrow, over the land, but the year 1865 brought rest, and she has since reigned, to the joy and prosperity of the people.


VALUATION AND TAXES OF 1864 AND 1865.


TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNS.

TOT'L VALUE OF T'XABLE PROPERTY.

TOT'L TAXES FOR ALL PURPOSES

Falls Township

Falls District, No. 4

Logan Village

Green Township

Ward Township

Starr Township

Washington Township

Benton Township

Salt Creek Township

Perry Township

Laurel Township

Good Hope Township

Marion Township

$ 461,985

53,405

397,501

270,455

176,802

231,914

292,409

168,864

217,331

355,188

191,030

140,238

294,458

8,386.70

1,449.13

11,078.03

3,556.32

2,918.28

3,355.38

3,986.46

2,497.63

2,941.14

4,330.54

2,673.66

4,825.20

3,769.75

Total

$3,251,580

$55,768.27





838 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


The total valuation of personal property, moneys and credits, in Hocking County for the year 1865, as listed for taxation:



TOWNSHIPS

VALUATION

TAXES

Falls

Ferry

Washington

Salt Creek

Good Hope

Benton

Marion

Laurel

Starr.

Green

Ward

$ 927,642

363,417

279,199

226,798

139,140

167,813

308,997

189,770

239,599

281,643

197,441

$22,150 04

6,614.54

3,408.36

4,626.94

3,479.74

4,027 28

4,542.04

2,884.72

5,535.16

5,407.28

3,336.62

Total

$3,321,459

$66.652.72



The increase in those years was over $400,000 in the assessed valuation, that of 1867 giving the following report:


VALUATION, 1867.



T'WNSHIPS AND TOWNS.

ACRES

OF

LAND

VALUE

OF

LANDS.

VALUE OF REAL ESTATE IN TOWNS.

VALUE OF CHATTEL PROPERTY

TOT'L VAL.

Falls Township

Logan School District

Logan Village

Green Township

Ward Township

Starr Township

Washington Township

Benton Township

Salt Creek Township

Perry Township

Laurel Township

Good Hope Township

Marion Township

30,262 1/2

1,384 3/4

......

22,954 1/2

23,288 1/4

22,982 1/2

23,191 1/2

23,525 3/4

26,959

26,128 1/4

23,655 1/2

16,198

23,435

$ 329,546

57,345

.........

198,640

131,828

149,977

209,243

116,756

156,929

231,369

135,239

91,002

213,276

$.......

.........

182,275

350

........

1,675

3,670

5,614

.......

7,598

2,503

2,450

..........

$ 169,397

33,805

229,361

111,880

64,610

117.712

126,238

61,840

74,305

142,609

71,219

78,913

122,136

$ 498,943

91,150

411,636

310,870

196,438

269.364

339,151

184,210

231,234

381,576

208,961

172,365

335,412

Total

263,965 3/4

$2,021,150

$206,135

$1,404,025

$3,631,310



JAIL.


Although the proposition to build a jail had been voted down in 1864 it was deemed necessary the above year to build a county jail, and while about it to put up a good one, something that would test the skill of the criminal fraternity to escape from. Proposals were solicited by advertising the same, and the County Commissioners met in special session July 10, 1867, to examine the bids and make the awards. I. Vorys & Bros., of Lancaster, Ohio, were the successful competitors. The following were the proposals received and amounts: I. Vorys & Bros., $17,450; James D. Poston


HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 839


&Co., $21,975 ; H. Ackers & Co., $19,974 ; J. M. Floyd & Co., $21,450 ; W. Locke & Co., $21,150 ; Henry Petit, $19,500 ; M. Kreig, $19,365 ; L. Kleinschmidt, $18,190 ; Dr. James Sharpe $18,997.


DEATH OF DENNIS M'CARTY.


Jan. 23, 1868, the county of Hocking and the city of Logan met with a serious loss in the death of Dennis McCarty, County Treasurer. Few nobler men have lived in Hocking County than Dennis McCarty. Warm hearted, generous and true, it was only to know him to be his friend, for he attracted all by his geniality, and his death left an aching void which was hard to bear and harder yet to fill.


The railroad fever, as will be found in another chapter, resulted in Hocking County and Logan doing their part, which gave to the Valley the Columbus, Hocking Valley & Toledo Railroad. This was not long finished when the Straitsville Branch was projected and built, which was completed in 1871, and the Straitsville mines took a start from the next January.


BIRTHS AND DEATHS


in the county for 1873, or the fiscal year ending April 1, were:





TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNS.

BIRTHS

DEATHS

MALE

FEMALE

TOTAL

Logan Village

Falls Township

Green Township

Ward Township

Starr Township

Washington Township

Benton Township

Salt Creek Township

Perry Township

Laurel Township

Good Hope Township

Marion Township

21

17

20

30

23

19

13

29

19

21

16

23

30

22

10

19

27

15

22

26

23

21

17

23

51

39

30

49

50

34

35

55

42

42

33

46

23

5

21

10

16

6

8

13

20

9

14

23

Total

251

255

506

168

Increase

 

 

 

338



The same report of 1875 was: Total births, 550; deaths, 208; increase, 342.


John Smeltzer was convicted, April 30, 1873, of manslaughter for the murder of his sister-in-law, Barbara Smeltzer. Family trouble was the cause.


840 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


Fire-clay was discovered on the Gallagher farm in the fall or 1875.


The county debt, in 1875, was $1,000, contracted for the purchase of the Infirmary farm and buildings.


COUNTY POOR FARM.


Prior to 1868 the poor and infirm of the county were turned over for keeping to those who would care for them for the least money. But while the cost seemed to be greater than under the Poor Farm system now, it was not so well for the paupers. If they were kept cheap they had pretty cheap living. The farm contains 218 acres and is considered one of the best in the county, being composed of rich alluvial bottom-land and some very fertile upland, mostly a level plateau, not hard to cultivate, while the location is dry and healthy. It has been well attended to, and its crops have generally been good. In the report of the farm product in 1877, the following crops were harvested with the amount of each: Wheat, 305 bushels; corn, 2,000 bushels; sweet potatoes, 25 bushels; beets, 8 bushels; onions, 18 bushels; lima beans, 12 bushels; hay, 8 tons, and 2,000 cabbage heads.


The expenses of the Infirmary for the year were reported at $1,500; outside relief, $1,600; total, $3,100.


The inmates in 1878 numbered—males, 37; females, 20; total 57. Of these 22 were children.


The purchase of this farm was made Dec. 11, 1869, for the summer of $17,000, the Board of Commissioners taking possession Apr 1, 1870. April 8, 1870, a contract was entered into with Isaac Vorys & Brother for an Infirmary building at time contract price of $14,000.


The building was completed and ready for occupancy in the spring of 1871. It is a fine three-story brick building with basement, 100 x 45 feet, situated on an elevated plain about three ands half miles southeast of Logan, in the edge of Green Township. The first inmate of the home was Jane Nixon, who was received April 4, 1871. There are at this time forty-three inmates. Children of three years and upward are kept at the children's home. The first Directors or Trustees elected were: W. R. Harden, John F. Brown and John Keller.


HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 841


SUPERINTENDENTS.


1871, John Stephens, Mr. Duffey; 1872-'76, John Clark; 1876'80, Thos. Rose; 1880-'81, James J. Paxton; 1881-'83, John Zavey; 1883, Daniel Nixon. Trustees, 1883, Samuel H. Iler, President; John A. Shaw, Clerk, and Noah Poling.


FROM THE RETURNS OF 1874.


The assessment returns of 1874 give real and personal property and also townships and villages. This will enable us to compare future years and know the progress the county has made and which township exhibited the most enterprise and progress.




TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNS

ACRES OF LAND

VALUE

OF

LANDS.

VAL. OF REAL ESTATE, TOWNS, VILAG'S

VAL. OF CHATTEL PROP'TY.

TOTAL

VALUE.

Falls Township

Burgessville

Hamlin

Oreville

Green Township

Maysville

Ward Township

Carbonhill

Starr Township

New Cadiz

Washington Township

Point Pleasant

Ilesboro

New Mount Pleasant

Benton Township

Bloomingville

East Bloomingville

Salt Creek Township

Perry Township

South Perry

Buena Vista

Laurelville

Laurel Township

Gibisonville

Good Hope Township.

Millville

Marion Township

Logan Village

Logan School District

30,321

..........

..........

..........

23,343

..........

23,976

...........

23,388

...........

23,263

...........

...........

...........

23,498

...........

...........

26,900

26,146

...........

...........

...........

23,757

..........

16,331

..........

23,547

278

1,049

433,686

...........

...........

...........

338,801

............

361,990

............

278,875

............

265,072

.............

.............

.............

192,235

...........

...........

281,045

300,876

............

.............

.............

227,284

.............

130,750

.............

268,537

.............

.............

4,392

4,518

5,305

.........

369

.........

13,465

..........

1,922

........

173

1,700

2,823

.........

.........

4,976

2,286

.........

.........

5,327

1,412

7,695

.........

2,308

.........

5,828

.........

378,170

37,810

...........

436,697

............

............

............

263,118

............

109,089

............

195,496

111,165

...........

...........

...........

67,479

...........

...........

100,351

133,033

..........

..........

...........

84,187

...........

...........

132,408

155,308

378,502

8,985

870,323

4,392

4,518

5,305

601,919

369

471,079

13,465

474,371

1,922

376,237

173

1,700

2,823

259,714

4,976

2,286

381,396

433,909

5,327

4,412

7,695

311,471

2,308

263,158

5,828

423,845

756,672

46,795

Total

265,797

3,079,151

480,479

2,175,818

5,735,448



INCREASE OF ASSESSMENT IN 1876.


Acres of land, 265,815 3/4. Value of land, $3,136,029. Value of town and village lots, $451,415. Value chattel property, $2,100,194; assessed total, $5,687,638. Average taxation, 15 3-10 cents


842 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


on $100 valuation. This was a gain in nine years of $2,056,328, or nearly 58 per cent. This was certainly a handsome gain and showed a substantial progress in every department. Increased mineral development, a larger area in agricultural labor and a de. tided increase in live stocks. Better to show what the increase or decrease may have been during the decade between 1870 and 1880, the product is given for the three years.


AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS-1870.




Sugar, maple, lbs

Molasses, sorghum, gals

    “ maple, gals.

Indian corn, bu

Oats, bu

Barley, bu.

Buckwheat, bu.

Tobacco, lbs

1,525

40,422

1,037

498,660

108,726

1,207

1,187

82,010

Wool, lbs

Potatoes, Irish, bu .

   " sweet "

Hay, tons

Assessed val. real estate

   " personal estate

Total of real and per. estate

130,960

54,432

2,025

13,792

$2,280,513

$1,472,370

$3,752,883

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS-1875.

Orchard products

Maple sugar, lbs.

   " syrup, gal

Sorghum syrup, gal.

Corn, bu

Oats, bu

Barley, bu

Buckwheat, bu

2,373

524

766

14,345

545,194

27,770

95

5,556

Tobacco, lbs

Wool, lbs

Potatoes, Irish, bu

   " sweet, bu

Hay, tons Ass'd val. real estate

" personal "

Total val. real and per. es

12,900

88,331

72,734

2,320

5,978

$3,569,323

$2,205,676

$5,774,990

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, 1880

Orchard Products, bu

Maple sugar, lbs.

Maple syrup, gals.

Sorghum " "

Corn, bu

Oats, bu

Barley, bu

152,328

1,632

1,270

11,750

439,454

21,920

533

Buckwheat, bu

Tobacco, lbs

Wool, "

Potatoes, Irish, bu.

   " sweet, bu

Hay, tons.

Assessed value real estate

1,807

11,556

179,531

62,067

3,418

10,338

$3,780,144


STOCK STATISTICS, HOCKING COUNTY.



 

1870.

1875

1880.

Horses

Cattle

Mules

Sheep

Hoes

5,101

13,295

205

26,789

16,389

4,625

10,337

196 24,840 11,754

3,958 9,838 242 40,287 8,198



HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 843


VALUATION.


The valuation of stock and grain for assessment purposes was averaged as follows:


Horses four years old and upward, $65; three years old, $40,. two years old, $25; one year old, $20. Cattle four years old, $25; three years old, $20; two years old, $14; one year old, $7. Cows, $20; oxen, yoke, 570; mules, $70; sheep, per head, $2; hogs, per pound, 4 cts; wheat, per bushel, $1.25; corn, per bushel, 30c.; wool, per lb., 40c.; hay, per ton, $7 ; potatoes, per bushel, 70c. ; lumber, per hundred feet, $1.

ASSESSED VALUATION OF HOCKING COUNTY FOR 1882.




TOWNSHIPS.

REAL

ESTATE

PERSONAL

PROPERTY

GRAND

TOTAL

Ward

Green

Starr

Washington

Falls

Logan City

Marion

Good Hope

Laurel

Benton

Salt Creek

Perry

Logan School District

Gore “ ”

Gibisonville " "

Millville " "

$457,757

369,466

311,249

282,655

433,403

491,510

212,758

113,333

159,660

167,851

234,092 .

375,266

37,493

74,200

27,601

27,712

$183,713

332,647

199,201

94,867

363,621

321,419

140,957

107,163

48,404

58,175

76,340

102,180

35,307

88,523

22,992

22,896

$641,470

702,113

510,450

377,522

797,024

812,929

353,715

220,496

208,064

226,026

310,432

477,446

72,800

162,723

50,593

50,608

Totals

$3,776,006

$2,198,405

$5,974,411

Total tax assessed for 1882

 

 

$104,059.68.



PRODUCTION OF COAL.


Production of coal in 1870, 1,889,000 bushels; 1875, 1,500,000 bushels; 1878, 5,203,083 bushels; 1880, 4,421,300 bushels. The year 1878 was an unusual one, and the output the greatest between 1870 and 1880; the increase is over 133 1/3 per cent. These figures give the exact advance made in the several productive departments of labor, and while, as before remarked, no extraordinary progress has been made, it has still been steady and progressive, and to an extent that should be at least satisfactory to the people.


The greatest snow storm which ever visited Hocking County was that of the night of Jan. 30, 1878. It averaged eighteen inches deep on the level, while in drifts it could be found from four to six feet deep.


844 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


The platting of Hocking was done in 1879, and the work was performed by Levi Davis, who received $1,200, as per contract. 'This work materially assisted the appraisers of the county in not only making a correct appraisement but helped to a more speedy performance of their duty.


HOCKING COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.


This society was organized April 23, 1853, by the election of the following officers: President, Robert Wright; Vice-President, James McDowell; Secretary, Manning Stiers; Treasurer, Chas. W. James; Managers, Dr. E. T. Brown, 0. Case, E. Geisy, Isaac Stiers and F. A. Gibbons.


This early evidence of enterprise and co-operation among the agricultural citizens of Hocking speaks well for their wisdom and evinces a disposition on their part to be fully up with the times. Although the Legislative act authorizing the establishment of agri cultural societies had been passed in 1832, they did not begin to be general until about this time.


THE FIRST FAIR


was held the year of its establishment, at Logan, Oct. 18 and 19. The fair-ground was between the river and canal, below the Mulberry street bridge over the canal, and was then all .a sugar or maple grove. This was very different from the fairs of to-day in many respects, but as the following numbers show, the exhibition of live-stock and produce was large, and for that day, probably very good. The entries were as follows: Class A, including horses and mules, sixty-two animals; the judges on this class were John Van Pierce, of Lancaster; Albert Parker and William H. Dean. Class B (cattle), twenty-four animals; Judges, L. S. Bort, Peter Galligher and J. Van Pierce. Class C (sheep), seven animals; Judges, J. C. P. Moore, of Vinton County, and Hanson Marlow, Perry County. Class D (swine), ten animals; Judges, William Alexander, James Dew and Jacob Hansel. Class .E (poultry), nine animals or birds; Judge, Harvey Moore. Class F (agricultural implements), eight articles; Judges, W. Patrick and Joel Gibison. Class G (mechanical products), twenty-five articles; Judges, J. P. Officer, L. Hutchins and N. Dalton. Class H (domestic prod- ucts), forty-seven articles; Judges, William Rippey, Mrs. Dr Brown, Mrs. James Dewar and Mrs. J. L. Collins. Class I (farm


HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 845


products, per acre), five competitors; Judges, Robert D. Smith, Moses Starr and Chas. Pruden. Class J (orchard products), six exhibits; Judge, William H. McClintock. Class K (minerals), three exhibits; Judges, T. Worthington, Daniel Dean, and Dr. Brice. Class L (horticultural products), five exhibits; Judges, T. Worthington and Mrs. C. Leach. Class M (sweepstakes), ten entries. Class N (miscellaneous products), seventeen entries. There was no racing of any kind at this fair, it being strictly an agricultural exhibition. The awards made by the judges as premiums on the entries amounted to $113. On the second day of the fair an interesting address was delivered by J. A. Brown, Esq. The attendance was good and, everything considered, the fair was, considered a great success. A. White was appointed delegate to the State Agricultural Convention.


On the following Nov. 10 the Board of Managers purchased a lot of Mr. Jesse Westenhaver for the use of the society, for $800, the county paying half down and holding the deed in accordance with the provision of the law encouraging agricultural societies.


The second fair was held Oct. 5 and 6, at the new fair ground. This was an improvement over the first fair, but fell short of expecta tions owing to the extreme dry weather during the growing season. The address was delivered by Silas. H. Wright. The officers for 1854 were the same as the first, except the substitution of Isaac Stiers in place of McDowell for Vice-President, and one or two-changes in the Board of Managers. In 1855 the officers elected were: Manning Stiers, President; Albert Parker, Vice-President; C. W. James, Treasurer; J. H. M. Houston, Secretary; and Isaac. Mathias, W. W. Wright, Wilford Stiers, Wm. Galligher and John McClelland, Managers. The fair this year was held on the 11th and 12th of October. At this exhibition was introduced the novelty of lady horsemanship, the result of which proved the most attractive feature of the fair. The committee in reporting recognized the superiority of Miss McClellan, of Muskingum Comity, but her residence out side of the county debarred her from receiving the premium, and it was awarded to Miss Wooley as the best competitor from Hocking County, " for her fearlessness in riding and the skill with which she managed her horse." The second premium was given to Miss Snider. Sickness and other prevailing circumstances had augured poor success for this fair, but, on the contrary, it proved equal to, if not better, than any previously held, the number and variety of entries outnumbering those of any previous fair.


846 - HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY.


The next year (1856) Albert Parker was President and E. F. Mc. Fadden, Secretary. The fourth annual fair was held Oct. 2 and 3. This year eighty-seven entries were made in Class A, and the other lists were correspondingly large. The awards in premiums this year amounted to $166.64


The next annual fair was held Oct. 1 and 2, 1857. For this year S. H. Wright was President, and W. F. James, Secretary of the Board. The fair was not a great success owing to the rain, which continued almost incessantly throughout the two days. Notwithstanding this, however, the attendance was fair and exhibitions good even for more favorable circumstances. The cash premiums awarded amounted to $202.50. Receipts from sale of tickets, $235.25.


In 1858 the officers were Silas H. Wright, President, and L. H. Culver, Secretary. At the fair of this year, held Sept. 29 and 30, there were 403 entries of animals and articles for exhibition.

The gate money and receipts for membership badges amounted to $274.90.


For the year 1859 Manning Stiers was elected President, and L. H. Culver, Secretary. The success of the last few fairs had been so encouraging that the managers decided this year to extend the fair to three days instead of two. The time was set for the 5th, 6th and 7th of October. A novel feature of this fair was the election by a general vote on the second day of the fair, according to previous announcement. This election resulted in a tie vote between the two leading candidates for President, each receiving 179, but subsequent action on the matter gave the Presidency for the following year to John N. Smith, and L. H. Culver was again elected Secretary.


In 1860 a general meeting of all the citizens of the county, at the court-house in Logan, was announced for May 5, so that all might have a voice in the making up of the rules and a premium list for the fair to be held the following autumn. Among the drawing features of this fair, as arranged on that day, was the offer of a $30 side-saddle, and $30 in gold as a first premium, and $20 in gold as a second for the best exhibition of lady horsemanship. The exhibitions were to be made on each of the three days of the fair at 3 o'clock, competition to be open to the surrounding counties. No report of this feature of the fair was .recorded.


HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 847


For the next year (1861) the officers were elected at the general spring election in the separate townships, resulting in the choice of William M. Bowen for President and Darius White for Secretary. The fair was held the 2d, 3d and 4th of October.


The next annual election, that of 1862, resulted in electing Alexander White, President, and J. M. Floyd, Secretary. The fair was mediumly successful, but the unsettled state of the county was not favorable to a large gathering. The remaining years of the strife the fair was not held. Many of the best men had entered the service, and the times did not seem auspicious for jollity and amusement, even in the mild matter of a fair, when a large part of the land was in mourning, and Hocking was feeling the scourge in the loss of her MS slain upon the field of battle. So the society flagged in its efforts until peace had been joyfully proclaimed. The year following the close of the struggle for an independent Southern Confederacy, steps were taken to more firmly establish the agricultural association in the hearts of the people by various improvements. The officers elected in 1866 were: William M. Bowen, President, and J. M. Floyd, Secretary, and while they had no great expectations the fair was a success. Receipts were $950.35, and the expenditures, including premiums, $783.09, leaving $167.26 in the treasury. The fair for 1867 was held Sept. 12 and 14, and was as great a success as the year before. The President and Secretary were reelected. The gate money amounted to $640.25, and from various other sources the receipts ran up to $1,067.77, which left, after the payment of expenses, a balance of $200.43 in the treasury.


In 1868 the fair extended over three days as usual, and was the repetition of the fairs of former years.


During the following year some important improvements were made on the grounds, notably,

the erection of a fine, large hall to take the place of the two old ones, which were small and inconven- ient. At the next fair, held Oct. 13-15, 1869, the introduction of racing marked an era in the fairs, and supplied the place of former amusing novelties, which were more or less dangerous.


The fair of 1870 netted the society $185.16, after paying $450.95 in cash premiums. The total receipts were $1,114.86.


At the annual election in the spring of 1871, William Alexander was elected President of the society in place of William M. Bowen, who had held it for the past six years. H. L. Wright was chosen Secretary of the board of officers. Time fair this year was held Oct. 7, and was fairly successful.


848 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY.


C. W. Clowe was elected President of the. society in the spring of 1872, and H. L. Wright was again chosen Secretary. The fair was held Oct. 3-5. This differed but little in detail from preceding fairs except that perhaps more attention was paid to racing, the purse for the fastest horses having been raised.


For the next year (1873) C. W. Clowe was re-elected President, and S. H. Bright, chosen Secretary of the society.



For the past ten years the fairs have been simply repetitions of those of finer years, losing perhaps rather than gaining in interest. The attendance has been generally fair, but not enough to make any great financial advancement. Fairs were held annually up to 1882 when, owing to lack of interest on the part of the management, no fair was held. The society is, however, still in existence and may take new life under a new and more vigorous management. Since 1873 C. W. Clowe, S. B. England, S. E. Bay, V. C. Stiers, John Hansen and Maynard Pond have been Presidents, and S. H. Bright, W. H. Baker, W. S. Friesner, J. E. Brown and Benj. White, Secretaries.. The ground contains a fraction over seven acres, and three exhibition halls built at various times.


A HORRIBLE DEED.


There has been no crime for years more devilish in conception, or more sad in its results, than the murder of the Welden family by William V. Terrel on the afternoon of Friday, June 22, 1878.


A beardless youth only eighteen years of age, but old in sin, has given to Hocking County the darkest page of her history—a deed for which the angry demands of justice would require his own life blood and then not be satisfied, while he has gained for himself an infamous notoriety by carving this bit of history which has placed him among the foremost villains known to any history. Born and reared in a sober and industrious family, and surrounded by the influence of an enlightened community, William Terrel voluntarily placed upon his on forehead the brand of Cain and made himself an outcast to the world.


The Welden family, consisting of John Welden, aged about fifty-one years, Mrs. Susanna McClurg, his sister, aged about fifty. three, and her daughter, Miss Nancy Hite, aged about eighteen, lived on a farm not far from the village of Gore. William V. Terrel lived with his father's family in the immediate neighborhood, and had been, to all appearances, a friend of the Welden family. No one witnessed the deed but the assassin and his victims, so that the " whole truth " will probably never be told. The supposition,


HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 849


however, as evolved by the trial, and the one on which the prisoner was convicted, is that Terrel, on very slight provocation or none at all, accomplished the murder of the family alone. The deed was committed late in the afternoon, but was not discovered until the afternoon of the next day. The body of John Welden was found in a cornfield, the probable scene of his murder, several rods from the house, with bullet holes in his body and wounds made by a corn-cutter. The bodies of the two women were found near the house with unmistakable evidences of having been killed with an ax which was found lying near one of them. Through the efforts of his attorneys Terrel was tried first for the murder of John Welden and was convicted of murder in the second degree, for which he is now serving a life-sentence in the State's prison at Columbus.


It is supposed his only provocation for this most heinous crime was the refusal of Mr. Welden to loan him money as he had been in the habit of doing. The circumstance which led to a suspicion of Terrel's guilt was his telling of his own accord the story of the murder, but in which he implicated an associate of his as the assassin.


PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY.


This organization, which was once a 'power in the land, is now, comparatively speaking, no more. There is yet an order called the Patrons of Husbandry, but its power has vanished, either for good or evil, yet while it lasted it was indeed a power that made monopolists view it with alarm. The first order established in Hocking County was in the winter of 1871—'72. The orders spread, and in the following year they had started two grange stores, one being at Logan and the other at Ilesboro. The former was conducted by the Grangers for some six years, and the latter nearly three. These stores did not prove altogether satisfactory. In 1874 and 1875 the granges were at their full power, and began to wane at the end of the latter year. In the former year there were eight established granges in the county, and a Central, or County Council. The names of the eight were: Star Grange, No. 4; Washington, No. 5; Benton, No. 7; Laurel Creek, No. 76; Marion, No. 3; Eldorado, No. 172; Monday Creek, No. 154, and Logan, No. 3. There may have been others, but if so, have not been reported.


The order of the Patrons of Husbandry was an institution of high merit, and wielded, during its short existence, an immense power for good, and it has been the only organization strong enough in its way to make corporations tremble at its word and railway kings bow to its behests.


- 54 -