HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 575 Hawk, in 1865) ; Michael Carpenter, Ivory Thacker, Thomas. Thacker, Holman Thacker, James McNeal, Louis Dowell, Malachi Dorton, Dennis McGinnis and W. Knapper. The last three were drowned at Hartley's Mill in 1857 by the upsetting of a canoe in which they were rowing. Vinton Township also contained two old mills; the pioneer was erected by Stephen Aiken in the early, '30s. It was burned and rebuilt in 1864. Vale's Mill was built by Gabriel Bowen in -1839 and is still running, owned by J. Q. A. Vale. CLINTON TOWNSHIP SETTLED The first settlements in what is now Clinton Township were made about 1814 by Nathaniel Richmond, David Paine, Robert Elders, Downy Read, Robert Ward, Thomas McGrady, William McGrady and Abraham Wilbur. It was Mr. Richmond who bought the land upon which the Village of Hamden was laid out at a later day. But the founding of McArthur antedates the rise of Hamden. MCARTHUR FOUNDED The site and central location of what is now the Village of McArthur pointed to their selection as the best for the seat of justice when the county was formed in 1850. Its advantages as a town were-evident to the 'early' settlers thirty-five years before, and all of these features cannot be better presented than by quoting from the "History of the Hocking Valley," a publication long since out of print : "This village, the county seat of Vinton County, is located nearly .in the center of the county and but little south of the center of Elk Township. Its situation on a slightly oval surface between the two main branches of Elk Fork and near their Confluence is a pleasant. one, rarely surpassed in modest rural beauty. These streams are small, mere brooks, but for- an inland village, this site is hardly equaled in all of Southern- Ohio. This strip of land is considerably elevated, forming a small plateau, the 'edges of which are in some places deeply carved by the action- of running 'Water. Elk Fork, which has its beginning at the junction of the two smaller streams, embracing the site of McArthur, is a branch of Raccoon Creek, into which it flows in the southern part of the county. Of these two small streams the larger one comes from the north and the other from the northwest. " Cabins of early settlers had made their appearance on this little plateau prior to the year 1815, while nearly all was yet a forest. But these, so far as can be learned, were only two in number and occupied by two brothers, William and Jerry Pierson. About this time some burr-stone quarries in the northern part of the county were being worked, and the roads over which these stones were hauled from two of the quarries coming together at this place made it of some importance as a stopping place. "Its eligibility for the location of a town attracted. the attention of 576 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION men of capital who happened to see it. In 1815 Isaac Pierson, Levi Johnson, Moses Dawson, George Will; and John Beach—the two latter from Adelphi—forming a company, purchased the quarter section on which McArthur is situated, and laid out the town on the 25th of November in that year. The situation is the southeast quarter of section 21, of township 11, range 17, and at that time belonged to Athens County. As laid out at this time it contained 112 in-lots and twenty-five out-lots. These lots were conveniently provided with streets and alleys crossing each other at right angles. Main street, running due east and west, is eighty-two and one-half feet wide, while North, High, Mill and South streets, all running parallel to Main, are each sixty-six feet wide. Boundary alley, which was the western boundary of the original plat, is thirty-three feet wide at the southern end and forty-eight feet at the northern end. All the alleys within the in-lots are each sixteen and one-half feet wide. Main, Market and North streets are each continued through the out-lots. " The dimensions of the in-lots are ten poles in length from north to south and four poles in breadth from east to west. In-lots Nos. 63 and 64 were allotted for public ground and reserved for court and market house and jail. April 10, 1840, the first addition was made to the original plat by Aaron Lantz and P. and S. H. Brown of 109 in-lots. In May, 1842, P. and S. H. Brown made another addition of nine out-lots. August 7 and 8, 1844, David Richmond's addition was surveyed and laid out. B. P. Hewitt and Robert Sage made another addition in April, 1854, of eighteen in-lots, and Sept. 3, 1858, at the instance • of Thomas B. Davis; another addition of twenty-four in-lots was made. "The newly laid-out town was named McArthurstown in honor of Hon. Duncan McArthur, a prominent Ohio statesman at that time. The lots sold well at first, six or seven houses going up the first year. Stanbaugh Stancliff built the first house after the town was laid out. Stancliff was the grandfather of Judge Du Hadway. William Green was the first shoemaker who lived here, And his daughter was the first child born in the village. She was presented with a town lot by the town company. A Mr. Washburn was the first blacksmith to locate here. In 1815 a Mr. Paffenbarger started a tan-yard just east of the graveyard. In 1816 Joel Sage built the first tavern in the village. His wife died in a year or so and he rented the tavern to Thomas Wren, who kept it for several years. It stood on the corner of Main and Market streets. In the same year the tavern was started John Phillips and Dr. Windsor started the first store. The store was owned by Phillips and Windsor, was managed by Windsor, and handled general merchandise." OLDEST CHURCH IN THE COUNTY The Methodist Episcopal Church of McArthur was organized in 1814 by Rev. Joel Havens, and is the oldest religious organization in the County of Vinton. Isaac Pierson's house was at first selected as the place for holding the services, but soon after the town was laid out the meeting HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 577 house was changed to Rev. Benjamin Keiger's tannery, known previously as the Paffenbarger Tannery. The Methodists erected a log church about 1819, and the building was used for some years by other denominations. Mr. Keiger was followed in the pastorate by Rev. Jacob Hooper, the first regular preacher being Rev. David Culverson. The 'old log church served its purposes well until 1843, when a small brick edifice was erected not far from the original house of worship. FIRST SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS In the meantime various schools had been established in. the village. About the time the old log Methodist Church was built a few select schools were being taught in private rooms. Among the pioneer teachers were J. Stanclift, John Johnson, Anthony Burnside, John Dodds, George W. Shockey and the woman who afterward became so widely known in temperance work as Mother Stewart. The teachers mentioned mostly taught in rented rooms, but about 1828 lot No. 98 was bought and a very fair structure was erected thereon, 20 by 24 feet, from funds raised by subscription. The schoolhouse was used for a number of years as headquarters for public education, as well as for a church and a township hall. It was furnished with plank seats and desks, the teacher generally furnishing his own splint-bottom chair. The district was not set apart as an independent school until 1853. MCARTHUR POSTOFFICE A postoffice was not established in McArthur until 1828. Previously tie few inhabitants obtained their mail from Athens or Chillicothe. Thomas Wren, the first postmaster, received the local mail by horseback messenger once a week. After 1835 the trip was made twice a week. GEORGE W. SHOCKEY ON EARLY TIMES George W. Shockey, mentioned as one of the early teachers of McArthur, many years afterward, while a resident of Washington, District of Columbia, wrote as follows regarding the pioneers and early events connected with McArthur : "I was born in Athens County, Ohio, now Vinton County, in the year 1822, and can recollect many of the first settlers of Elk Township. My grandfather, Frederic Snyder, came from Hampshire County, Va., in the year 1821, and settled on the farm at Vinton Station, three miles east of McArthur. He was a farmer, and also had learned the carpenter's trade. Several years after, he removed to Ross County, and died at the ripe age of ninety years. His son, Smith Snyder, came from the same county in Virginia, and in the same year married Miss Rachel Fry, and made a settlement on the farm now owned by Charles Brown. He built a saw and grist' mill on Raccoon Creek near his house, which were run successfully for many years. Vol. I-37 578 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION "Jacob Shockey, a pioneer, was a native of Berkley County, Va., and moved to Vinton County (at that time Athens) in 1821. He first arrived at Chillicothe, but in the same year moved to Elk Township, Vinton County, one and a half miles east of McArthur, on Congress land, then known as the old Will field, but now owned by Henry Robbins. At that time Elk Township was almost a wilderness, with the exception of one or two' acres. This settlement was a dark, wild forest of heavy timber, in which many wild beasts of the forest loved to roam at large. Near by and on this farm were several rock houses and a saltpeter cave. Not far off was also an alum cave, and many deer licks anda wild-cat den. I, can remember of seeing a black bear near McArthur. It was treed and shot by Stephen Martin in sight of the court-house in McArthur. There were numerous wild animals in and about McArthur since my recollection, such as bear, deer, wolves, catamounts, wild-cat, foxes, coon, and other smaller animals. A few years after, Mr. Shockey bought a piece of Congress land now known as the Howell estate, then sold it and purchased another place, known as the Purkey place, one and a half miles northeast of McArthur. From there he moved to McArthur, and after all the hardships of pioneer life—of a new and unsettled country redeemed from a wilderness, a family of seven reared, educated and provided for, and after living to see the march of civilization and modern improvements take the place of the Indians and wild beasts of the forest—he was destined, just as peace, prosperity and contentment had found an abiding-place in his home, to cross the mystic river and join those who had gone before, leaving an honored name and an unblemished reputation. He died at the age of sixty-eight. "Robert Sage, Hiram Hulbert, Jacob Shry, Rachel Snyder, James Pilcher, John England, David Evans, Charles Bevington, David Culbertson, Michael Swaim, Moses Dawson, Eli and Cyrus Catlin, David Markwood, George Fry (Senior), Isaac Shry, William Hoffhines, John Wyman, Levi Wyman, James Robbins, Philip Kelch, John Winters, John Morrisson, Lewis Benjamin, Samuel and Jacob Calvin, James Bothwell, Richard McDougal, Thomas Johnson and Nathan Horton were among the early settlers. I think there were never any block houses in Vinton County. There were two water-mills on Elk Fork of Raccoon Creek, built by Moses Dawson as early as 1820. One on the farm now owned by Harvey Robbins, one and a half miles east of McArthur, the other, one mile northeast of McArthur on the same stream, known now as the Gold Mill." John J. Shockey, a brother of the writer of the foregoing letter. once served as sheriff of the county, and another brother, Rev. William M. Shockey, was a Methodist minister who died in 1860. EARLY COMERS TO VINTON TOWNSHIP Vinton Township, north of Wilkesville Township, in the southeastern corner of the county, received an early influx of settlers, the following HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 579 locating before 1825: George Entsler, William Pierce, William Mark, Paul Mas, Royal R. Althas and James Read. Other early settlers were John Booth, who came from Harrison County, Virginia, in 1831, was long the oldest living settler in the township and passed the later years of his life at Radcliff 's Station ; Jonathan Radcliff, Jonathan Bloer and Stephen Aiken, all of whom located either in 1826 or 1827. Mr. Aiken was a miller by trade, and soon after his arrival he built a mill on Raccoon Creek. Very soon after the first settlers located in the township a Methodist circuit preacher visited them to hold religious services, and in 1827 the first school was opened on fractional section 19, near the first cemetery. SWAN TOWNSHIP Swan Township, which is bounded on the north by Hocking County, is one of the most productive sections in the county and has always been noted for its fine farms ; so that it acquired a high standing long before its ore beds commenced to yield. The settlers began to come as early as 1818, among the first .being David Johnson, Frederick Kaler, David, Peter and John Kenders, and Peter, Jacob and David Haynes. The first schoolhouse was built by David Johnson, Mr. Kaler and three brothers by the name of Hass. The first school was taught by a Mr. Hill, and the second by Harker Shoemaker. The first mill was built in 1823 by John Rager on Little Raccoon Creek, although there had been horse-mills previous to this, but these were considered too slow, so water power was brought into requisition. The first child born in Swan Township is believed to have been Hon. E. H. Moore, now of Athens, Ohio. The first death was a child of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Collins. It was buried in the cemetery near the residence of David Johnson. The first justice of the peace was Peter Haynes. Dr. Jesse Cartlich was the first practicing physician. The first church was built in 1830 at New Mt. Pleasant, although there was one commenced but never finished in the south part of the township at an earlier date. The first religious society formed was the Methodist Episcopal, which organized in 1818, at the residence of David Johnson. The first preacher was Reverend Coston, who was succeeded by the Reverend Gillruth, familiarly known as the giant preacher, as he was the strongest man in this section of the .country, his strength being equal to the combined powers of two ordinary men. BEFORE THE EARLY '20s The year after the arrival of the Bothwell family, in 1815, James and William Mysick settled on sections 25 and 26, and Edward Salts came in 1816 and entered the land upon which McArthur Junction afterward 580 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION stood. Some of the later arrivals, but still falling well within the list of pioneers, were Thadeus Fuller, David Richmond, Rev. Joshua Green, Lemuel and Allen Lane, Joseph Gill and Isaac West. WILKESVILLE FOUNDED In the meantime quite a brisk settlement had been started in the extreme southeastern part of what is now Vinton County named Wilkesville, and in 1815 a separate township by that name was organized from Gallia County. The village is now half a mile from the Meigs County line. The land on which it stands, as well as a large part of the surrounding country, was purchased by an eastern gentleman named Wilkes about 1807. HENRY DUC AND OTHERS In the year 1810 Henry Due, the agent of Mr. Wilkes, arrived upon the ground and on the 10th of June laid out the town. During that year the families of Isaac Hawk, William Humphreys, ,Henry Jones, Rufus Wells and Mr. Terry settled in the township. The first was that of Mr. Hawk, which in 1807 had moved from Greenbrier County, Virginia, to the lower part of Gallia County, and thence, in January, 1810, to Wilkesville. Mr. Duc offered a land warrant to the first child born in the new town and it \went to Clara Jones: He himself brought his family to Wilkesville from Middletown, Connecticut, in the spring of 1812. About the same time Mr. Chitwood, another eastern man, moved to the farm afterward owned by Able Wells. He opened a store in his house and was the first merchant of Wilkesville Township. METHODIST PIONEERS Wilkesville developed into quite a village and naturally its people got together at an early date in their capacity as religionists. Rev. Mr. Dixon, a Methodist, held the first services in the village and was followed by Rev. John Brown, who formed a class about 1814. PRESBYTERIAN. CHURCH OF WILKESVILLE But" Henry Duc, the local founder of the place, was a Presbyterian, and in 1821 he headed a movement among the laymen of Wilkesville to organize a church of his denomination. In October, 1821, the Presbyterian Church of Wilkesville was organized by the Rev. William R. Gould, a man to whom Southeastern Ohio owes much for his earnest labors in behalf of religion and education. He came to this region as a missionary of the Connecticut Home Missionary Society, founded the churches at Gallipolis and Wilkesville, and was for many years an examiner of teachers for the public schools. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 581 JACKSON TOWNSHIP Jackson Township is between Swan and Eagle, in the northwestern part of the county. It was organized from Eagle Township in 1831. It is, like all the mineral country, broken and hilly, with a few narrow valleys, and well watered. In the southern part it has the middle fork of Salt Creek, with several small tributaries, and in the west and north Pretty Run. Numerous springs are also found, so that both before and after the Furnace Period it has always been considered a good country for live stock. Among the first settlers was John Tilton, Eli Hill, Isaac Hawks,: Enoch Dixon, William Burns, Thomas Colwell, Archibald Drake, Peter Milton and Jacob and William Arkson, Frederick Garrick, Joseph Wyatt and Samuel Darby. The first church built in this township was the "Locust Grove" Church, and was first constructed of logs, but a large frame building now occupies the same foundation. The first sermon was preached by Rev. N. Redfern. The first store in the township was opened by James Ankram on the middle fork of Salt Creek, on section 27. This is the only store ever kept in the township. The first mill was erected on section 27 by Jacob Ankram. This is a saw and grist mill combined, and at the present time does much toward supplying the wants of the people of Jackson in flour and lumber. The first township clerk was James Honnold. The first justice of the peace was Thomas Colwell. EAGLE TOWNSHIP Eagle Township, in the northwestern part of the county, is bounded on the north by Hocking County and on the west by Ross. When Hocking County was organized, April 25, 1818, Eagle Township included the present Township of Jackson and had quite a number of settlers, who had been coming in during the previous five or six years. These pioneers all settled along Salt Creek and Pretty Run, which are the chief drainage streams of the township, and included Moses Dawson, John Ratcliff, Lawrence Rains, Jonathan Francis,' Joshua Pickens and William Vanderford, Sr. Mr. Rains built the first mill on Salt Creek, at the mouth of Pike Run, about 1813, and shortly afterward Solomon Cox erected one on Pretty Run. The first election in Eagle Township was held May 9, 1818, at the house of Moses Dawson. On June 2, 1834, the commissioners of Hocking County cut off the north tier of sections from Eagle Township and added them to Salt Creek Township of Hocking County, leaving Eagle Township but five miles north and south by six east and west. The following winter what 582 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION remained of it was transferred by special act of the General Assembly to Ross County; where it remained until Vinton County came into existence in 1850. It was then, with Harrison, transferred to Vinton County to make up her required territory. Thus Eagle Township had been some sixteen years a part of Hocking County and almost sixteen years a part of Ross. RICHLAND TOWNSHIP Richland Township was organized about 1824, as a portion of Ross County. It was afterward attached to Jackson County for political and legislative purposes and in 1850 was incorporated into the body politic of Vinton County. The following is a partial list of the old settlers of Richland Township. Henry, John, Abraham, Job, William and Joseph Cozad and their families; John A. Swepston, James and Solomon Redfern, Robert Clark, Levi Davis, Samuel Darby, Enoch Dixon, John Loving, George Claypool, Philip Waldron, George Waldron, Nathan Cox, Jeremiah Cox, Samuel Cox, Samuel Graves, James Graves, William Graves, Henry Graves, Nathan Graves, Jonathan Graves, Joseph Graves; Thomas Graves, William Graves, Jr., John Graves, Eli Graves, William Hutt, Charles Hutt and Lemuel Hutt. Samuel Darby was a soldier in the War of 1812. His father, William Darby, was a soldier of the Revolution, serving under Washington for five years as a drummer in a Pennsylvania regiment commanded by Colonel Patton. He died in Vinton County and is buried in an old cemetery near the Morgan Mill. The first mill in the township—a combined grist and sawmill—was built about 1843 by Benjamin Rains. The Allensville and Graves mills followed later. Richland is the largest township in the county, comprising forty-two full sections, or 26,880 acres, most of which is excellent land. It is drained principally, by the middle fork of Salt Creek. The mineral section of the township is in the southern part. Harrison Township, to the west of Richland, is bounded on the west by Ross County, of which it was once a part. It is watered and broken by Pigeon Fork and the middle fork of Salt Creek, along which the pioneers of the township settled, viz., James Brady, Morris Humphrey, Solomon Wilkinson, Joseph. and William Dixon, Joseph Baker and John Nicholas. ALLENSVILLE Henry Cozad, one of the first to settle in Richland Township, entered land in Harrison Township, northeast of its central sections, and in 1837 laid off a town there which he named Allensville, in honor of William Allen. Mr. Cozad was the first merchant of the place and became its first postmaster when an office was established in 1839. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 583 BROWN, MADISON AND KNOX Brown, Madison and Knox townships form the northeastern portion of Vinton County and are quite noted for the complicated way in which they were bandied about between Athens and Hocking counties before they Were finally settled at their later home within the bounds of Vinton County. The original Brown Township of Athens County comprised all three, but at the organization Of Hocking County, in 1818, it was divided and the present Brown Township of Vinton County was attached to Hocking County, while the present Madison and Knox Townships formed Brown Township of Athens County. In 1850, when Vinton County was organized, the two Brown Townships were incorporated into it as North Brown and South Brown. On December 2, 1850, the county commissioners of the new County of Vinton ordered that "the two tiers of sections which formerly belonged to Lee township, Athens county, and which were now attached to the township of Brown in this county, and the two tiers of sections which formerly belonged to the township of Brown in Athens county, forming originally the east end of that township, be erected into a new township to be known by the name of Knox." In 1852 the county board changed the name of South Brown Township to Madison, what was left of the original territory retaining the name of Brown. ZALESKI AND NEW PLYMOUTH The three townships lie in the valley of Raccoon Creek in the mineral belt of the Hanging Rock Iron Region and were for many years given over to the iron and coal industries, the widely known Village of Zaleski being in the northwestern corner of Madison Township. Little progress had been made in the way of settling this part of the county previous to 1850. One of the oldest points in that region is near the present New Plymouth, John Wright, Francis Bartlett, Isaac Lash and others locating in that neighborhood in the early '20s. The first school was kept in Mr. Bartlett's house, and the pioneer log schoolhouse erected about half a mile northeast of New Plymouth about 1824. The town was laid out at an early day by eastern people, some of them having migrated from old Plymouth, Massachusetts, and by 1850 the settlement was granted postoffice privileges. THE FOSTER AND BOLEN MILLS There were a number of pioneer mills which were built in Knox Township on the banks of Raccoon Creek. The Foster mills, a grist and sawmill combined, were erected on section 31 as early as 1830, and forty years after were thoroughly rebuilt and modernized. The old Bolen mills were erected in 1.845 by William Bolen, who owned and operated them for over twenty years. The machinery was 584 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION originally run by water power, but later a steam engine was placed in the building to be used in case of a deficiency of water power. Having thus in a general and perhaps cursory manner introduced the chief events and personages, as well as the early settlements, which prepared the way for the political and civil organizations of Vinton County, the writer passes on to those implied features of the history. CHAPTER II OF GENERAL COUNTY INTEREST RICHES OF THE SOIL AND UNDERGROUND-THE GODFATHER OF VINTON COUNTY-TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION—DIMENSIONS AND IRREGULAR SHAPE -POPULATION IN 1850—POPULATION IN 1860, 1870 AND 1880 -POPULATION IN 1890, 1900 AND 1910—REAL ESTATE VALUATION IN 1882—VALUATION OF LANDS AND IMPROVEMENTS, 1914--PERSONAL PROPERTY AND TOTAL VALUATION, 1914-FIRST POLITICAL MOVEMENT -THE FIRST COUNTY CONVENTION-THE FIRST WILL-BUILDING OF THE COURTHOUSE-THE VINTON COUNTY SAFE. NOT ROBBER-PROOF -THE COUNTY INFIRMARY-SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTY-COUNTY OFFICIALS. Vinton County is in the upper borderland of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio and is chiefly watered by the head streams of Raccoon Creek, the main courses of which are through its eastern sections and the central portions. of Gallia County, directly into the Ohio. A comparatively small area in the northwestern part of Vinton County is also meandered by the headwaters of Salt Creek, which flows .southwest and joins the Scioto River in the southeastern township of Ross County. RICHES OF THE SOIL AND UNDERGROUND. The soil is equally favorable for grazing, grain raising and fruit culture, which industries, of late years, have been more developed than the exploitation of the coal and iron fields, which, after all has been said and done, are acknowledged to be the frayed borders—thin and of inferior quality—of the rich and massive deposits over the Ohio in West Virginia. Geologically speaking, the coal and iron fields of Vinton County underlie nearly three-fourths of its 402 square miles. From the summit coming down into the valley of Raccoon Creek you strike the iron and coal ledges that fill the hills, and before you leave the crest of the hill, many feet downward, not only are the iron ore outcroppings pronounced, but various beds of commercial clay are encountered. These fire and potter's clays seem to grow richer further south, and, with Portland cement, are being worked into manufactured products, especially in the region of Hamden. The valley of Raccoon Creek leads to McArthur, growing wider as - 585 - 586 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION it nears the town ; the coal field is reached within five miles of the county seat, the most valuable variety being known as Jackson coal. Scientifically and officially, a report of the minerals found in various townships of Vinton County has been made as follows: " The county is rich in iron ore and coal. The better ore, as a general thing, is the so-called 'limestone ore,' or the ore resting on ferriferous limestone. This remarkable limestone is found in five townships, viz. : Madison, Elk, Clinton, Vinton and Wilkesville. The northern limit of the limestone presents a ragged outline, and very often the limestone is replaced by burr or flint. The northern limit is found in Madison and Elk townships. At one point in Brown Township, a little limestone was found, which further investigation may prove to be the geological equivalent of the ferriferous limestone. If so, it is only a local deposit. It is a fact of no little interest that this limestone never reappears in our lower coal measures in the northern part of the Second District. There is a limestone in the First District called the 'gray limestone,' which may, perhaps, hereafter be found to correspond proximately. in strati-graphical position to the ferriferous limestone. "North of Elk and Madison townships we find the Nelsonville coal, but in other important particulars the strata in the northern part of Vinton County do not correspond with those of the southern part. This dissimilarity has been formerly noticed by our intelligent furnace men, who in their explorations between the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad and the Hocking River, report themselves as 'lost' in their geological calculations. "There is, doubtless, much good ore of the block and kidney varieties north and west of the limits of the 'limestone ore,' but as there have been no furnaces to create a market, comparatively little exploration has been made. The 'limestone ore' in Elk and the more southern townships is often very thick and of very fine quality. The Craig ore, already described, is also a very excellent ore, and very rich in iron. There is ore enough in the county to supply many furnaces for a. long time to come. "The best coal found as yet is the 'Wolfe Coal,' in Elk Township. I have no doubt that this coal in its raw state will make iron. The seam lies quite low in the valley, and for the most part is below the bed of the stream, but it may, perhaps, be found over a considerable area by sinking shafts. The county is generally well supplied with coal suited for all household and ordinary uses. "The blue, or Putnam Hill, limestone is generally well developed, but it is mostly too earthy to make it a valuable material for quicklime. In the neighborhood of McArthur it is hard and susceptible of a good polish, but will not compete with marble for ornamental purposes." THE GODFATHER OF VINTON COUNTY Vinton County was named in honor of Samuel Finley Vinton, one . of Ohio's most eminent statesmen of a past generation, of whom it is HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 587 said in "Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio" : "Mr. Vinton was a direct descendant of John Vinton, of Lynn, Massachusetts, whose name occurs in the County Records of 1648. The tradition is that the founder of the family in this country was of French origin by the name of De Vintonne, and that he was exiled from France on account of being a Huguenot. Mr. Vinton was born in the state of Massachusetts, September 25, 1792, graduated from Williams College in 1814, and soon after 1816 established himself in the law at Gallipolis. In 1822 he was, unexpectedly to himself, nominated and then elected to Congress, an office to which he continued to be elected by constantly increasing majorities for fourteen years, when he voluntarily withdrew for six years to be again sent to Congress for another six years, when he declined further congressional service, thus serving in all twenty years. "Mr. Vinton originated and carried through the house many measures of very great importance to the country. During the period of war with Mexico he was chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, and at this particular juncture his financial talent was of very great service to the nation. During the entire course of his public life he had ably opposed various schemes for the sale of the public lands that he felt, if carried out, would be squandering the nation's patrimony. He originated and carried through the house, against much opposition, the law which created the Department of the Interior. Hon. Thomas Ewing wrote of him : ' Though for ten or fifteen years he had more influence in the House of Representatives, much more than any man in it, yet the nation has never fully accorded to him his merits. He was a wise, persevering, sagacious statesman ; almost unerring in his perceptions of the right, bold in pursuing and skilful in sustaining it. He always held a large control over the minds of the men with whom he acted.' "In 1851 Mr. Vinton was the unsuccessful Whig candidate for governor of Ohio. In 1853 he was for a short time president of the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad, and then, after 1854, continuously resided in Washington City until his death May 11, 1862. There he occasionally argued cases before the Supreme Court, and with remarkable success, from his habits of patient investigation and clear analysis. He exhausted every subject he discussed and presented his thoughts without rhetorical flourish, but with wonderful lucidity. His use of the English language was masterful and he delighted in wielding words of Saxon strength. In accordance with his dying request he was buried in the cemetery at Gallipolis beside the remains of his wife, Romaine Madeleine Bureau, the daughter of one of the most respected French immigrants. His only surviving child was Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren. "Mr. Vinton was of slight frame, but of great dignity of presence. His mild and clear blue eye was very penetrating, and his thin compressed lips evinced determination of character. His manner was composed and calm, but very suave and gentle, scarcely indicating the great firmness that distinguished him.." 588 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION As stated, Vinton County was created from various portions of Athens, Hocking, Jackson, Ross and Gallia counties, in 1850. At the time of its civil organization it was divided into eleven instead of thirteen townships, as South Brown and North Brown embraced the present area of Brown, Madison and Knox. But within two years the townships of Vinton County assumed their present names and forms. In the organization the two townships named Brown, inherited from Hocking and Athens counties, were called respectively North and South Brown. The latter had one-third of Lee Township, Athens County, also attached to it, which made its dimensions eight miles east and west, by six miles north and south. In December, 1850, the citizens of the east half of the township petitioned for the organization of a new town, ship to be called Knox, which was granted, thereby leaving South Brown with the other half, an area of four miles by six. In the spring of 1852 South Brown petitioned the county commissioners for a change of name from South Brown to Madison; which was granted. North Brown, which had been attached to Hocking County as plain Brown, from 1818 to 1850, then resumed its old, simple name by which it has since been known. As now constituted, Vinton County has five townships having less than a congressional township and one (Richland) that has more. Madison and Knox have each two-thirds of a congressional township ; Clinton, five-sixths ;*Eagle is minus four sections, and Harrison two, while Richland has six sections plus. DIMENSIONS AND IRREGULAR SHAPE Vinton County has eleven miles of western border and twenty-four miles of eastern boundary. In her widest part, from east to west, she has twenty-six miles, while her greatest length, from north to south, is the twenty-four miles mentioned. As rather pathetically noted by a local historian, "She is not a beauty in form ; in fact, her shape cannot very well be described." With her officially prescribed area of 402 square miles, she should have 257,280 acres within her domain ; but for some reason the assessors always make her out to be larger than she is, arithmetically. According to their 1914 figures Vinton County has an area of 259,092 acres. POPULATION IN 1850 When Vinton County was organized the following townships, already organized in their respective counties, were united to form the new political body : Elk, Vinton and Brown, from Athens County ; Jackson. Swan and Brown, from Hocking County ; Richland and Clinton, from Jackson County ; Harrison and Eagle, from Ross County, and Wilkesville, from Gallia County. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 589 The population of these townships in 1850 was : Elk, 1,645 ; Brown, of Athens, 648 ; Vinton, 460 ; Jackson, 835 ; Swan, 1,139 ; Brown, of Hocking, 439 ; Harrison, 580 ; Eagle, 476 ; Richland, 1,193 ; Clinton, 886 ; Wilkesville, 1,037. Total, 9,338. Of this total each of the counties contributed as follows: Athens, 2,753 ; Hocking, 2,413 ; Jackson, 2,079 ; Ross, 1,056 ; Gallia, 1,037. POPULATION IN 1860, 1870 AND 1880