450 - Mercer County in 1872.

tue, than Stephen Howick, of Center township. In 1828, the Lords and landholders of England held a meeting, in which Arthur Wellsley (Lord Wellington) was president. The great object of that meeting was to send off to America all the surplus youth, they paying the expenses of their transportation. This notice was published throughout the kingdom. Stephen Howick, then a youth,

embraced the opportunity and came to America. The first money he earned ($28.00), was near Lancaster, Ohio. He then married a first-rate lady of that vicinity, when he moved to St. Mary's, and spent one summer in a brick-yard with Mr. Blue. He then had money enough to buy forty acres of land in Center township, when he settled upon it, improved it, was industrious, saving and money- making. Now he owns not less than 500 acres of land, a large brick house to live in, and a brick barn and stable walled in by a Mick fence, and a steam saw-mill."

Shanesville was laid out by Anthony Shane, June 23, 1820—being the oldest town in the County.

Fort Recovery was platted in 1836.

Mercer County has been well governed since its organization down to the present time. It is out of debt, and its obligations were never at a discount. Few counties in the State, and especially those for so long a period sparsely settled, can make a more satis- factory financial exhibit. The Court House, a fine structure, was built in 1867, at a cost, including furniture, of $43,000.

MERCER COUNTY OFFICERS, 1871--72.—Probate Judge, R. G. Blake; Recorder, G. Perwessel ; Auditor, T. G. Touvelle ; Clerk, J. W.DeFord ; Treasurer, G. W. Rundabaugh; Prosecuting Attorney, Keepers Alberry ; Prosecuting Attorney elect, W. F. Miller ; Sheriff, Thornton Spriggs; County Surveyor, Marcus Schuyler.

The valuations of property, for purposes of taxation, in the early history of the county, have been given in preceding pages.

The valuation of 1871 is exhibited below :

Celina, the seat of justice of Mercer county, is a pleasantly located town, having good church and educational establishments, and a grist-mill constantly propelling, by steam, when water power fails, four run of stone, and a saw-mill connected ; also, one water-mill, operating three run of stone, and a saw-mill connected with it ; two steam planing-mills ; two manufactories of cabinet ware ; one of shingles; one of staves and headings ; one flax-mill, and one brewery. A well-managed and responsible private bank is in operation, and the several lines of dry goods, hardware, drugs, groceries, etc., are fully represented.

ALLEN COUNTY.

This County was formed April 1, 1820, from Indi1599rritory, and named in honor of a Colonel of that name in the war of 1812. It was temporarily attached to Mercer for judicial purposes, and hence it is deemed proper that its pioneer history follow that County.

452 - Allen County-Pioneer Notes.

The writer is chiefly indebted, for the narration following this, to an address made by T. E. Cunningham, Esq., before the Pioneer Association, at Lima, September 22, 1871 :

"Fifty years ago, the territory which now constitutes the County of Allen, was an almost unbroken wilderness; I say almost, for on the banks of the Auglaize river, in the neighborhood of where once stood the village of Hartford, a settlement was commenced by the whites, about the year 1817. To the young, these fifty years appear a long time; but there are men and women about me, who can look back over a period longer than that, and realize how swiftly these years have flown, freighted as they were with sorrows and hopes, keen disappointments, and truest joys. Births and deaths alternated with the days, and memory is crowded with shadowy forms who lived and died in the long ago!

" Allen county is a portion of that division of the State, commonly known as Northwestern Ohio. 'This section was the last opened for settlement by the whites. The Shawanee Indian Reservation embraced a large part of the county, and the migration of the Indians did not occur until the month of August, 1832, although they ceded their lands to the General Government some time before —

The whites, however, had begun to come in before the cession took place, and the red man and the white for years occupied the country together, and illustrated the savage and civilized modes of life.

"A family named Russell, were the first whites who settled within the bounds of the county. On the Auglaize, in 1817, they opened the first farm, and there the first white child was born. That child, who afterward became the wife of Charles C. Marshall, of Delphos, was familiarly called by the neighbors " the Daughter of Allen County." She died during the present summer, in the fifty-fourth year of her age.

"Samuel McClure, now living at the age of seventy-eight years, settled on Hog Creek, five miles northeast of where Lima now stands, in the month of November, 1825—forty-six years ago. He has remained on the farm he then built a cabin upon, ever since.—The nearest white neighbors he knew of, were two families named Leeper and Kidd, living one mile below where Roundhead now is, about twenty miles to the nearest known neighbor. On that farm, in the year 1826, was born Moses McClure, the first white child born on the waters of Hog Creek. Mr. McClure's first neighbor was Joseph Ward, a brother of Gen. John Ward. He helped cut the road when McClure came, and afterwards brought his family, and put them into McClure's cabin, while he built one for himself on the tract where he afterwards erected what was known as Ward's Mill. The next family was that of Joseph Walton ; they came in March, 1826.

"Shawaneetown, an Indian village, was situated eight miles below the McClure settlement, at the mouth of Hog Creek. A por-

Allen County-- Pioneer Notes - 453

tion of the village was on the old Ezekiel Hoover farm, and a portion on the Breese farm. Mr. McClure and his little neighborhood soon became acquainted, and upon good terms, with their red neighbors. He says Hai-aitch-tah, the war chief, had he been civilized, would have been a man of mark in any community. Quilna was the great business man of the tribe here.

"Soon after the McClure settlement was commenced, they heard, from the Indians at Shawaneetown, that the United States Government had erected a mill at Wapaukonneta. The settlers had no road to the mill, but Quilna assisted them to open one. He surveyed the line of their road, without compass, designating it by his own knowledge of the different points, and the Indian method of reaching them.

" There are many of the children of the early settlers to whom the name of Quilna is a household word. To his business qualities, were added great kindness of heart, and a thorough regard for the white people. No sacrifice of his personal ease was too much, if, by any effort, he could benefit his new neighbors. I think this community have been ungrateful. Some enduring memorial of him should long ago have:been made. How much better, and more appropriate, it would have been to have given his name to the new township recently erected in our county, out of territory over which his tired feet have so often trodden, in the bestowal of kindness and benefactions upon the white strangers, who had come to displace his tribe, and efface the hillocks which marked the places where his forefathers slept. Why cannot we have Ottawa changed to Quilna yet?

"In the month of June, 1826, Morgan Lippencott, Joseph Wood, and Benjamin Dolph, while out hunting, found the McClure settlement. To his great surprise, Mr. McClure learned that he had been for months living within a few miles of another white settlement, located on Sugar Creek. He learned from the hunters there were five families, Christopher Wood, Morgan Lippencott, Samuel Jacobs, Joseph 'Wood, and Samuel Purdy. It is his belief that Christopher Wood settled on Sugar Creek as early as 1824, on what is known as the old Miller farm.

" In the spring of 1831, John Ridenour, now living at the age of eighty-nine years, with his family ; Jacob Ridenour, then a young married man, and David Ridenour, bachelor, removed from Perry county, and settled one mile south of Lima, on the lands the families of that name have occupied ever since.

" The State of Ohio conveyed to the people of Allen county a quarter section of land, upon which to erect a county town. The title was vested in the Commissioners of the county, in trust for the purpose expressed. It was not a gift, however, as many suppose. Two hundred dollars was paid for it out of the County Treasury, while Thos. K. Jacobs was Treasurer."

454 - Allen County - Lima

The following preamble and joint resolution were adopted by the General Assembly of Ohio, on the twenty-fourth day of January, 1832:

WHEREAS, In conformity with a Resolution of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, passed February 12, 1829, a site was selected for the seat of justice for the County of Allen, and the section so selected, to wit Section 31, Township 3, south of Range 7 east, was reserved, except the west half of the northeast quarter thereof, which had previously been sold; and,

WHEREAS, In pursuance of an act passed the third day of March, 1831, entitled "An Act for establishing the seat of justice for Allen County, and for other purposes,' 'a town director was appointed by the Commissioners of said County, who proceeded, under the directions of said Commissioners, to lay out, by metes and bounds, one hundred and sixty acres within said section, and including the site selected as aforesaid, returns whereof have been made to the Register's office, in Piqua, and to the Governor of this :State ; and on which tract so surveyed and returned, the Commissioners of the said county have caused a town to be laid out in conformity to the provisions of the before-recited act ; and, as it is now essential to the prosperity of the said town, and of the county of Allen, that the remainder of said Section be brought into market, now, therefore,

Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the Register of the Land Office for the Piqua District, be, and he is hereby required, after giving at least six weeks previous notice thereof, published in the Piqua Gazette, Democratic Enquirer, Troy Times, Bellefontaine Gazette, to proceed to offer at public sale, to the highest bidder, at his office in the town of Piqua, all of said section not already disposed of, and in such tracts not exceeding eighty acres, as he shall deem most expedient; provided, that no part there-of shall be sold at a less price than one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre.

"In the summer of 1831, the town was surveyed by W. L. Henderson, of Findlay,—the same gentleman who was recently prominent in the survey and location of the Fremont and Indiana Railroad. Patrick G. Goode, at that time a distinguished citizen of the State, who afterwards became a member of Congress, President Judge of the Judicial Circuit, and a methodist minister, had the honor of naming it. He borrowed the name from the Capital of Peru, South America, and to his last clay would not forgive the public for their resolute abandonment of the Spanish pronunciation of the name. It was pronounced Lima, where he took the name from but our people insisted upon the long i, and Lima it has been to this day, and will continue to be, when, the walls of a city, shall stand;

Allen, County—Lima - 455

upon its foundations, and when the name of the good man who stood its sponsor shall have been forgotten.

"In the month of August, 1831, a public sale of lots took place, and during the following fall and winter, came John P. Mitchell, Absolom Brown, John F. Cole, Dr. William Cunningham, Abraham Bowers, John Brewster, David Tracy, John Mark, and John Bashore, with their families, except Brewster, who was a bachelor.—John F. Cole, who is now almost alone amongst the new generation of men who have come around him, settled a mile below town, on a portion of what is now the Faurot farm. Enos Terry, a brother-in-law of Mr. Cole, settled upon an adjoining tract, still nearer town.

"The children of these men and women, who made this venture in the wilderness,--some of them in the dead of winter,—can form no idea of the toil endured, the anxiety suffered, and the struggles which accompanied the frontier life of their fathers and mothers. Nor can we, at this day, with our crowding upon each other in the race of life, contemplate, without wonder, the sympathy they felt for each other, and the constant mutual aid extended. I have heard my own mother tell how John B. Mitchell once walked nine miles to a horse-mill, and brought home on his back a bushel of corn meal, and divided it amongst half a dozen families. This proves the goodness of human nature ; and I believe the sons and daughters of these persons would do the like if they were surrounded with the same circumstances. I have heard John F. Cole describe his travels through the woods with his ox team, making about five or six miles a day, and at night turning out his oxen to find their own supper, while he, covered with mud, and frequently with no dry thread of clothing, crept into his wagon and slept the night away. They had no railroads then, you know ; I can recollect back to the time when the country about Urbana was called the settlement,' whence supplies were drawn ; and it required several strong yoke of oxen, and many days of travel, to make the trip to and from the settlement.'

"In the month of August, 1832, the Shawanees took up their line of march for the far west; away so far, it was thought, that many generations would come and go before they would again be disturbed. But one generation had not passed, before the advancing tide of civilization swept against and over them, till, tired of the struggle, the majority of what remains of this once powerful and warlike tribe have quietly yielded to the surrounding influences, and are learning and practicing the arts of civilized life.

"Dr. William McHenry came to Lima in the spring of 1834.—There were then living in the village, John F. Mitchell, Col. James Cunningham, Dr. William Cunningham, Gen. John Ward, Dr. Sari= tie! Black, Daniel D. Tompkins, Charles Baker, James Anderson David Tracy, Hudson Watt, Miles Cowan, Crane Valentine, John Bashore, John Mark, Abraham Aldridge, Alexander Beatty, Wm. Scott, Thurston Mosier, David Reese, Daniel Musser, Sr., Martin

456 - Allen County-Pioneer Notes.

Musser, Daniel Musser, Jr., Elisha Jolly, Abraham S. Nicholas, Rev. George Shelden, Elder William Chafe, John Jackson, Hamilton. Da. vison, Amos Clutter, Robert Terry, F. H. Binkl.ey, and Abraham. Bowers. Rev. John Alexander, and Rev. James Finley were ministers of the M. E. Church, upon the circuit at that time. Mr. Sheldon preached to the presbyterians, and Elder Chaffee to the Baptists. Within Dr. McHenry's recollection of the persons named, who were, with one or two exceptions, .heads of families then, there re- main in this vicinity but Mrs. Bowers, Daniel Musser, Jr.,Mrs. Musser (then Mrs. Mitchell), Hudson Watt, and Mrs. Watt, Elisha Jolly and Mrs. Jolly, Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Patrick (then Mrs. Tracy) an'd Mrs. Bashore. John F. Cole and Mrs. Cole are still living, , now and for many years residents of the town ; but at that time they were upon their farm below town.

"Tompkins is in Oregon ; Baker is in Marion; Watt, Jolly, and McHenry remain in Lima; Valentine is in Michigan. The whereabouts; if alive, of Mosier, Reese, Nicholas, Cowan, and Clutter, is unknown. The remainder of the names on the list will be found cut in marble, 'in memoriam.'

"The first white citizen of Lima, was Absalom Brown, whose daughter, Marion Mitchell Brown, named after the present Mrs. Musser, was the first white child born in the town. The second was Katharine Bashore, now Mrs.-John P. Adams. The first marriage in the town was that of James Saxon and Miss Jones a sister-in-law of John Mark. 'They were married by the Rev. Mr. Pryor, a missionary of the M. E. Church.

"As late as the fall of 1834, Daniel Musser killed two deer on the present plat of Lima---one about where King's warehouse stands, and the other about where the west Union School house is.

"I am indebted to Mr. John Cunningham for the result of the census of Lima, actual count, completed yesterday, September 21, 1871. The total number of families is 1013; the number of souls, 4,979, an increase of between three and four hundred since the census was taken in 1870.

"The county was permanently organized in June, 1831. James Daniels, John G. Wood, and Samuel Stewart, were the first Commissioners ; then, in December of the same year, Morgan Lippencott, and John P. Mitchell succeeded Wood and Stewart. In 1833, Griffith John succeeded Lippencott. In 1835, James N. Coleman, and James A. Anderson came fn. In 1834, Henry B. Thorn, John Brand, and M. Leatherman. In 1838, John Shooler ; 1839, John M. Wilson; 1841, Shadrack Montgomery, and Charles H. Williams ; 1842, C. C. Marshall; 1843, Matthew Dobbins;. 1844, Nicholas Lanlein ; 1845, Jacob B. Haller; 1846, Samuel. Walker ; 1849, Samuel Rockhill, William Akerman, and Burgess Dickey, This was a re-organization of the Board of Commissioners, after the erection of the new county of Auglaize, most of which had been taken from the territory of Allen. In 1853, Christian Steman came in. In 1854,

Allen County—Pioneer Notes - 451

Moses Patterson ; 1855, Horace Bixby ; 1856, Joseph Griffith ; 1857, Cadwallader Jacobs; 1858, Freeman Bell; 1859, A. E. Hadsell ; 1863, Samuel Ice ; 1.864, Johnzy Keith ; 1865, G. W. Goble ; 1869, James McBeth; 1870, Bernard Esche, the last three now constituting the Board of Commissioners of the County."

The several Auditors of the county, from 1831 to 1870, inclusive, were Wm. G. Woods, from 1831 to 1833; Samuel Black, from 1833 to 1838 ; II. D. V. Williams, from 1838 to 1844 ; John W. Thomas, from 1844 to 1846; J. H. Richardson, from 1846 to 1850; David Dalzell, from 1850 to P::54; Wm. Dowling, from 1854 to 1856 ; B. Matheany, from 1856 to 1858 ; G. W. Overmyer, from 1858 to 1862 ; John P. Haller, from 1862 to 1866 ; Wm. Dowling, from 1866 to 1870; S. J. Brand, from 1870 to the present year, 1872.

The several Treasurers were Adam White, Dr. Wm. Cunningham, Charles Baker, James Cunningham, Thomas K. Jacobs, Alexander Beatty, William Armstrong, G. W. Fickel, Shelby Taylor, Miles Vance, Emanuel Fisher, W. R. Partello, and F. J. Lye.

The Recorders were Nathan Daniels, John Ward, John Alexander, John W. Thomas,! E. S. Linn, John B. Walmsley, John G. Ridenour, Hugh Dobbins, J. B. Haller, and A. R. Krebs.

"The first Court of Common Pleas for Allen County, was held in a log cabin, the residence of James Daniels, near the crossing of Hog Creek, at the east end of Market street, in May, 1833. Hon.. George B. Holt, of Dayton, was the President Judge, and Christopher Wood, James Crozier, and William Watt were Associates. Jno. Ward was clerk, and Henry Lippencott, Sheriff, Patrick G. Goode, of Montgomery County, was special prosecuting attorney, appointed by the Court.

"Judge Holt was, in 1838, succeeded by Judge W. L. Helfenstein; be, in turn, in 1839, by Emery D. Potter. Judge Potter went to Congress in 1842, and was succeeded on the bench by Myron H. Tilden ; and he was succeeded, in 1845, by Patrick G. Goode, who remained upon the bench until he was superseded, under the new Constitution, in February, 1852, by Benjamin F. Metcalf. In 1854, Judge-Metcalf was succeeded by William Lawrence, of Logan, but in 1859, he again returned to the bench, in a new-formed district, and remained in office until his death, which occurred in 1865.—Among the very many able men who have flourished in this section of Ohio, it is safe to say Judge Metcalf had no superior in intellectual qualities. He was succeeded by 0..W. Rose, of Van Wert, who remained upon the bench but a few months, when James Mackenzie, our townsman, was elected in the fall of 1865.

"Suffer me here to digress from my narrative of the judiciary, to pay a passing tribute to the memory', of one who came into our midst about a quarter of a century ago. He was known to almost all of you. I allude to Mathias H. Nichols. To a brilliant imagination was united untiring industry, and in his early manhood he gave as much promise of distinction as any one who ever came

458 - Allen County—Its Honored Dead, Etc.

among us. He was a brilliant and successful lawyer, and went to Congress at the age of twenty-seven. He.served six years, in a most exciting epoch, but he survived his Congressional career only about three years.

"The Associate Justices of our old court, were, in addition to the ones already named, Charles Levering, Joseph Hoover, John Jameson, John Elliot, George B. Shriner, Charles H. Adgate, and John P. Fay.

"The Clerks of the Court were John Ward, John Alexander, Richard Metheany, Joseph H. Richardson, James Cunning Shelby Taylor, John H. Meily, O. E. Griffith, and Robert Mehaffey the present incumbent.

"The Sheriffs were Henry." Lippencott, John Keller, Alexander Beatty, Charles H. Williams, Hiram Stott, Matthias Ridenour, William Tingle, Samuel Buckmaster, Samuel Collins, Isaac Bailey, and .J. A. Colbath.

"The Prosecuting Attorneys were, Loren Kennedy, W. S. Rose, W. L. Ross, George W. Andrews, Lester Bliss, M. H. Nichols, C. N. Lamison, J. N. Gutridge, James 'Mackenzie, Isaiah Pillars,7and Jno. F. Brotherton.

"The Probate Court, erected by the Constitution of 1851, has been presided over by W. S. Rose, Michael Leatherman, Thomas M. Robb, Charles M. Hughes, and L. M. Meily.

" Under the new Constitution, Allen County became entitled to a separate representative in the General Assembly. Lester Bliss was the first, and he was followed by Charles Crites, Charles Post, Chas. C. Marshall, Thomas K. Jacobs, John Monroe, R. E. Jones, and William Armstrong. Michael Leatherman, and Gen. Blackburn represented districts under the old Constitution. Col. James Cunningham and Charles C. Marshall each served one term in the Senate

"The amount of the grand duplicate of 1833, was $93,611. The amount of the grand duplicate for 1871, is $9,583,830.

"In addition to Lima, thrifty towns have sprung up in various parts of .the county. Section Ten (now Delphos) promised at one time to be the commercial centre of the counties of Allen, Putnam, and Van Wert. Spencerville, once known as Spencer, then Arcadia, Lafayette, Westminster, Bluffton (once known as Shannon), Allentown, Elida, Gomer, West Newton, Rockport, Maysville, Beaver Dam, and Cairo. Hartford and Amherst, like the cities of the plain, are known only in history.

"In the winter of 1834-35, the United States -Land Office was removed from Wapaukonnetta to Lima, and with it came as receiver Gen. William Blackburn. I have seen a great many men of fine presence, but I do not recollect of ever having met a finer specimen of physical power and manly beauty than Blackburn was when I first raw him. He was then in the full flush of middle life ; was

Allen County—Public Officers in 1872 - 459

considerably more than six feet in height, and weighed over three. hundred pounds. He was a military enthusiast, and the militia, musters of those days gave his enthusiasm full vent. He was, I believe, the first Major General commanding the 12th Division Ohio Militia. Gen. John Ward was a Brigadier commanding one of his brigades. At Ward's death, he was succeeded by Gen. William Armstrong, who remained in command until the whole militia system became obsolete. In the early days of this county, general muster day was second only to the 4th of July, in the calendar of great days. After the troops' were dismissed, it was the common law' that all grievances and personal controversies arising during the year, and which had been postponed to general muster, were to be settled. Rings would be formed, the combatants stepped in, and the result was generally that both parties were terribly whipped.

"Looking back over half a century, behold what has been accomplished! The immense forests our fathers and mothers found, have melted away, and now in their stead are ripening fields of corn. The cabins they built are replaced with comfortable farm mansions. The corduroy roads, over which they plodded their way back to the older settlements, have been replaced by railroads ; and the iron horse, in harness, pulls annually to the great markets a surplus of products, greater in value, by far, than the grand duplicate of 1832. We have much, very much, for which to thank our Heavenly Father; we have much, very much, to be proud of in our history ; but the proudest of all, we should be, of our brave ancestry, who, amidst poverty, and sickness, and privations, laid broad and deep the foundation of our present prosperity."

The following is a list of the officers of Allen county, in 1872 :

Probate Judge, L. M. Melly; Prosecuting Attorney, E. A. Ballard; County Clerk, Robert Mehaffey ; Sheriff, James A. Colbath ; Auditor, S. J. Brand; Treasurer, F. J. Lye, Jr.; Recorder, A. R. Krebs ; Commissioners, James McBeth, Bernard Esch, and Win. Akerman ; Coroner, G. Feiss; Surveyor, D. D. Nicholas.

As Allen co. is justly entitled to the claim of having the best jail building in Northwestern Ohio, if not in the State, and regarded as a model structure for the purposes of a jail, a few words of description may not be out of place. The Fourth Annual Report of the Board of State Charities (1871), makes the following reference to it:

"The building,-embracing sheriff's residence and office, in connection with the prison, is constructed after the general idea suggested by the Board of State Charities, in its report published for 1868. The Secretary is greatly indebted to T. J. Tolan, Esq., of Delphos, Ohio, who very kindly explained the plan, and who has, since then, furnished a complete copy a the specifications, etc,"

460 - Allen County —Population.

From the comprehensive description in the letter of Mr. Tolan, above referred to, the following is extracted :

" I have given the principle of jail construction much attention and by inspecting some of the

best, as well as some. of the worst I had the material before me from which to profit. The great,

leading points in the construction of a jail, are: drainage, light, ventilation, safety, cleanliness, and plenty of water,—all of which I have endeavored to combine in my plan."

All the essential points enumerated above, the Secretary maintains, are embodied in the Allen county jail,—of which Mr. Tolan was the architect and superintendent.

The progress in population of Allen County can only be approximately ascertained by the following table of the census returns, as the act erecting Auglaize County changed its boundaries :

Lima, the county seat, it will be observed by the foregoing figures, has made fair progress in growth ; and its advance in wealth has been proportionally greater than its progress in population. The city has the advantage of three important railway outlets—the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago, the Dayton and Michigan, and the Louisville and Lake Erie.

Among the early Attorneys who practiced at the Lima bar, not hitherto mentioned, were Judge Crane, Benjamin Stanton, Jacob S. Conklin, Andrew Coffinberry, M. B. ("Bishop.") Corwin, John A. Corwin, Horace Sessions, John Walkup, Mr. Poland, Edson Goit, and John H. Morrison. The resident Attorneys were, Loren Kennedy, H. D. V. Williams, Abelard Guthrie, Lester Bliss, William S. Rose, W. T. Curtis, H. Davidson, and M. B. Newman.

The old physicians, Dr. McHenry and Dr. Harper, are referred to in the address of Mr. Cunningham.

Charles Baker, merchant, removed to Lima in 1832, and erected the first frame building in the town.

Lima contains Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, German Reformed, Catholic, Lutheran, Disciple, and Congregational churches ; two newspapers,—the Allen County Democrat, D. S. Fisher, editor, and the Allen County Gazette, C. Parmenter, editor; three banks,—the First National, Farmers' Savings and Lima Deposit ; four hotels ; ten dry goods, fourteen grocery, three clothing, two merchant tailor, four drug, hardware, one book and stationery, one fruit and confectionery, three jewelry, and four boot and shoe stores; two foundries ; two furniture manufactories ; one hub and spoke do; one board paper mill; one establishment manufacturing agricultural machinery ; two tanneries ; one flax, straw, and sack- ing manufactory ; two wood stirrup do ; one handle do ; one wooden moulding do ; one stave do ; six wagon and buggy do ; two steam grist mills ; one steam saw mill ; one sash and door factory ; two brick kilns ; three grain warehouses.; three lumber yards, and four livery and two sale stables.

In addition to the extensive manufactories above enumerated, the P., F. W. and C., and the D. and M. railway companies have extensive shops at Lima.

The city is lighted with gas. The two large public school edifices, and the satisfactory school management, are objects of general pride among the citizens of the place.

462 - Allen County----Delphos.

Delphos is the second town in rank, as regards population an wealth in Allen county. It already possesses th advantages of cheap canal transport, and of the facilities afforded by the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, with a good prospect o securing, within a few months, competing railway lines.

The town, different portions of which were originally known as Section Ten, Howard, and East and West Breidick—East Breidick being first platted—was laid out directly after the opening of the Miami and Erie Canal, in 1845. Subsequently, and as a result of the budget of territorial compromises following the erection of Au. glaize county, the eastern side of the canal came within the limits of Allen county, the western side remaining with Van Wert. The town, however, at this time, is under a common municipal government, composed of the following named officers : Mayor, C. C. Marshall ; Recorder, S. D. Clambers; Marshal, S. Marshall; Treasurer, Max Woerner ; Council, A. Shack, H. Bixbe, H. Lindeman. E. Fink, H. Weible, J. W. Feely, S. F. Himmelright, and C. H. Whittier.

When it is considered that the town was located in the midst of a dense and wild forest, and that the communication, east and west, was over roads upon which the timber had scarcely been cut out, and imperfectly ditched, its growth, from 1845 to 1854, may be considered remarkable. Difficult and expensive as were the road and highway means of transportation, the town had, until 1854, secured a trade reaching a distance of about twenty miles, northeast, east and southeast, and reaching a yet longer distance westward, crossing the State line into Indiana. The only rival encountered by Delphos, in the latter direction, was Fort Wayne. True, population was sparse,

and the surplus farm productions light; but in the aggregate it was of vast importance to the new town, and assisted materially in its growth. Farmers' wagons returned with freights belonging-principally to merchants established in less metropolitan towns. The event which occurred to arrest its growth, was the opening, in 1854, of the Ohio and Indiana Railroad, from Crestline to Fort Wayne. This secured markets to Lima and other towns on the east, and to Middlepoint, Van Wert, Convoy, and several new stations, on the west, and left Delphos to rely, during several years, for its whole business, upon a restricted neighborhood, so slow in its agricultural development, that it afforded only a limited trade. It is alleged, also, that some of the proprietors of the town failed to extend encouragement to various enterprises which would have enabled it to sooner recover from its business paralysis. This charge, however, was never applied to Messrs. Bredeick, Wrocklage, and their associates, who steadfastly pursued a liberal policy. It is only within a few years, and since encouragement to manufacturing, etc., was afforded, that regeneration, and a healthy business activity, have manifested themselves. All the citizens of the town have now a well-grounded faith in its future. The most prominent and successful merchants, bankers, artizans, and others, now residents, and

Allen County—The Old Forests, Etc. - 463

controlling, in large degree, its destiny, commenced their business life in Delphos, when it and themselves were struggling for existence. That their enterprise and foresight have been wisely directed, and well rewarded, ample evidence exists in the figures reported by the census-takers, and in the general thrift now everywhere manifest.

The great forests, once so hated, because they formed a stumbling block in the tedious struggles to reduce the soil to a condition for tillage, have been converted into a source of wealth. Within a radius of five miles of Delphos, thirty-five saw mills are now constantly employed in the manufacture of lumber, and a value, nearly equaling the product of these mills, is annually exported in the form of timber. Excepting in the manufacture of maple sugar, and for local building and fencing purposes, no use, until recent years, had been made of timber, and its destruction from the face of the earth was the especial object of the pioneer farmers, and in this at that time supposed good work, they had the sympathies of all others who were interested in the development of the country. The gathering of the ginseng crop once afforded employment to the families of the early settlers, but the supply was scanty, and it soon became exhausted. Some eighteen years ago, when the business of the town was suffering from stagnation, Dr. J. W. Hunt, an enterprising druggist, and now a citizen of Delphos, bethought himself that he might aid the pioneers of the wilderness, and add to his own trade, by offering to purchase the bark from the slippery elm trees, which were abundant in all the adjacent swamps. For this new article of commerce, he offered remunerative prices, and the supply soon appeared in quantities reaching hundreds of cords of cured bark ; and he has since controlled the trade in Northwestern Ohio and adjacent regions. The resources found in the lumber and timber, and in this bark trade, trifling as the latter may appear, have contributed, and are yet contributing, almost as much to the prosperity of the town and country, as the average of the cultivated acres, including the products of the orchard.

The general resources of the town, added to those already mentioned, are here stated:

One newspaper and job office, from which is issued the Delphos Herald, D. H. Tolan, editor; four churches,—Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist, and Lutheran. A largely attended public school—a very flourishing private school, under the management, so far as female pupils are involved, of the sisters of the Catholic Church, and as regards male pupils, under a compromise arrangement between the Board of Education and the Catholic interests, a Normal school, in prosperous condition. The Catholic and public school buildings are constructed after the best models, and no necessary expense was withheld to render them adapted to the purposes to which they were devoted. The Normal school is held in one of the public halls.

In manufactures may be mentioned the Delphos Union Stave

464 - Allen County—Delphos in 1872.

Company; the Ohio Wheel Company ; the Delphos Foundry and Machine shops ; the Star Handle Manufactory; one sash, door and blind factory ; one Excelsior or wood moss 'establishment; a large flouring mill; four wagon and carriage shops ; one tannery—atnong the most extensive in Northwestern Ohio ; two woolen factories two breweries ; five blacksmith shops; one distillery ; four millinery shops, and six establishments that manufacture boots and shoes.

The Delphos Stone and Stave Company, with a capital of $35,000, is owned by Delphos capitalists, but the manufacturing executed in Paulding county.

A more full exhibit of the magnitude of some of the above named manufacturing establishments may be mentioned :

The Delphos Union Stave Company employs seventy-five hands, and produces $150,000 annually of flour and sugar barrel staves, headings and hoops. This establishment, in the use of its raw material, has utilized a character of swamp timber (such as water elm, etc.,) hitherto regarded by wild land owners and farmers as worse than worthless. A thorough test has established the fact that no timber is better adapted to the production of barrel staves, than this once repudiated swamp elm. The Union Stave Company, employing constantly a large force of .hands, is one of the most important manufacturing enterprises of Delphos. The officers of the Company are, G. W. Hall, President; J. Orstendorff, Vice President ; J. M. C. Marble, Treasurer, and J. W. Hunt, Secretary. To the sagacity and energy, primarily, of Messrs. Marble and Hunt, the Delphos people are indebted for the founding of this valuable enterprise ; and they would not. have been successful, had not Mr. Orstendorf, acting in conjunction with them, succeeded ou a trip to Indiana, in securing the aid of a practical man, in the person of Mr. G. W. Hall, now President of the Company, then in business. at New Haven, Allen county, Indiana. Mr. Hall, through the persuasion of Mr. Orstendorf, withdrew from his business and partnership at New Haven, and, in the spring of 1869, concentrated his useful energies and skill in the work of building up the great enterprise at the head of which he now stands.

The Ohio Wheel Company, whose headquarters have hitherto been at Toledo, ascertained that their interests would be promoted by a . removal of their whole manufacturing facilities to Delphos, and an increase of their capital stock to $200,000, the principal part of which has been subscribed and is owned by Delphos citizens. They commence with the employment of 150 hands, and it is estimated that their annual sales will reach, after fully in operation, half a million of dollars. Their shipments are made to points on. both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The officers of the Company are, President, Henry Flickinger; Secretary and Treasurer, W. .P. Garrett ; Superintendent, Edward Flickinger, and Assistant Superintendent, M. A. Ferguson. There are few manufacturing establishments, even in Toledo, which excel the Ohio Wheel Company in the extent of

Auglaize County Wapaukonnetta - 465

its business, and there are none of greater importance to Delphos. A contract for a brick building, four stories in height, 125x60 feet, has been let, and the structure nearly completed. The primary cause which resulted in the transfer of this important manufactory from Toledo to Delphos, existed in the fact that Messrs. Ferguson & Risk, who had been large lumber and carriage timber dealers, with headquarters at St. Mary's, in August, 1870, received such substantial encouragement from John M. C. Marble, T. Wrocklage & Co., and Phelan & Chambers, as induced them to remove to Delphos, and engage in the rough dressing of wagon and carriage stock. This Company was organized by the 'parties above-mentioned, and engaged in business on a capital of $15,000. The Ohio Wheel Company at Toledo, desirous of securing the exclusive advantages of the facilities controlled by the Delphos Company, opened negotiations which resulted in the transfer of their business location as above stated.

Aside from the manufacturing establishments enumerated, the town contains a National Bank, under the directory of P. Phelan, R. Ruel, L. G. Ralbuck, F. J. Lye, jr., Joseph Boehmer, T. Wrocklage, and J. M. C. Marble; President, J. M. C. Marble ; Cashier, Joseph Boehmer, and Teller, 0. Yettinger. There is also a Savings Bank, under the management of a Board of Trustees, embracing the names of several of the most substantial men of Allen, Van Wert, and Putnam counties,—the following gentlemen constituting the Board: P. Phelan, Dr. Moses Lee, F. J. Lye, Jr., T. Wrocklage, R. Reul, P. Walsh, Joseph Boehmer, F. H. Stallkamp, and John M. 0. Marble.

The town also contains seven dry goods, and ten family grocery and provision stores; fine hotels ; six establishments manu- facturing boots and soes, and in the aggregate employing a large force; two hardware stores; three clothing stores, manufacturing goods; three drug stores, (including in their stocks, books, stationery and notions); two saddle and harness manufactories ; five millinery establishments; one large flouring mill ; two breweries ; two woollen factories; five blacksmith shops; one hoop skirt factory ; one tannery, the largest in Nortwestern Ohio ; the Delphos foundry and machine shops, employing a capital of $20,000,—President, A. B. Risk; Secretary, J. W. Hunt; Treasurer, H. J. Moening ; one distillery, and one wood moss factory.

AUGLAIZE COUNTY.

Occupying close historical relations with the territory hitherto des- cribed, is the County of Auglaize, organized in the spring of 1848.

Wapaukonnetta was the residence of the noted Shawanee Chief, Captain James Logan. This chief was a nephew of Tecumseh, a

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466 - Auglaize County--Death, of Captain Logan

sister of the latter being Logan's mother. When the troops of "Win, chester occupied Defiance, Logan, on the 22d of November, 1812. accompanied by Captain John and Bright-Horn, started a seconci time in the direction of the Rapids, resolved to bring in a prisoner or a scalp. Having proceeded down the north side of the Maumee, about ten miles, they met with a British officer, the eldest son of Colonel Elliott, and five Indians, among the latter an Ottawa Chief, and Winnemac, a Pottowatomie Chief. After a fruitless effort to impress upon the minds of Elliott and party that they were friends, on their way to communicate to the British important information,

Logan gave them battle, the conflict opening by Logan's shooting down Winnemac. At the same fire, Elliott fell ; by the second, the young Ottawa chief lost his life ; and another of the enemy was mortally wounded 'about the conclusion of the combat; at which time Logan himself, as he was stooping down, received a ball just below the breast-bone ; it ranged downwards, and lodged under the skin on his. back. In the meantime, Bright.Horn was also wounded, by a ball which passed through his thigh. As soon as Logan was shot, he ordered , a retreat ; himself and Bright-Horn, wounded as they were, jumped on the horses of the enemy and rode to Winchester's camp, a distance of twenty miles, in five hours. Captain John, after taking the scalp of the Ottawa Chief, also retreated in safety, and arrived at camp next morning.

Logan's wound proved mortal. He lived two days in agony, which he bore with'uncommon fortitude, and died with the utmost composure and resignation, "More firmness. and consummate bravery has seldom appeared on the military theatre," said Winchester, in his letter to the commanding General. "He was buried with all the honors due to his rank, and with sorrow as sincerely and generally displayed as I ever witnessed.," said Major Hardin, in a letter to Governor Shelby. His physiognomy was formed on the best model, and exhibited the strongest marks of courage, intelligence, good humor, and sincerity.

On his death-bed, Logan requested his friend, Major Hardin, son of the Colonel, to see that the money due for his services was faithfully paid to his family. He also requtsted that his family be immediately removed to Kentucky, and his children educated and brought up in the manner of the white people. He observed that he had killed a great chief; that the hostile Indians knew where his family lived, and that when he was gone, a few brave fellows might creep up and destroy them.

Major Hardin, having promised to do everything in his power to have the wishes of his friend fulfilled, immediately obtained permission from the General to proceed, with Logan's little corps of Indians, to the village of Wapaukonnetta, where his family resided.— When they came near the village, the scalp of the Ottawa chief was tied. to a pole, to be carried in triumph to the Council-house ; and Captain John, when they came in sight of the town, ordered the

Auglaize Co. - Col Johnson at Wapaukonnetta - 467

guns of the party to be fired in quick succession, on account of the death of Logan. A council of the chiefs was presently held, in which, after consulting two or three days, they decided against sending the family of their departed hero to Kentucky. They appeared, however, to be fully sensible of the loss they had sustained, and were sincerely grieved for his death.

Early in June, 1813, the mounted regiment of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, having reached Fort Meigs, that officer proceeded alone up the Auglaize to the Indian village of Wapaukonnetta, to procure some Shawanee Indians to act as guides and spies ; and after a few days returned with thirteen Indians, among whom was the half-breed, Anthony Shane, whose father was a Frenchman, and in whom the largest confidence was placed by those who knew him in the Northwestern army. Shane had been an active opponent of Wayne, in 1794, but after the treaty of Greenville, had been a most faithful friend to the United States.

Colonel Johnson says that the place was " named after an Indian Chief long since dead, but who survived years after my intercourse commenced with the Shawanees. The chief was somewhat clubfooted, and the word has reference, I think, to that circumstance, although its full import I never could discover. For many years prior to 1829, I had my headquarters at Wapaukonnetta. The business of the agency of the Shawanese, Wyandotts, Senecas, and Delawares, was transacted there."

In August, 1831, treaties were negotiated with the Senecas of Lewiston, and the Shawanese of Wapaukonnetta, by James Gardner and Colonel John McIlvaine, Commissioners on the part of the United States by the terms of which the Indians consented to give up their lands, and remove west of the Mississippi. The Shawanese had at that time about 66,000 acres in what was then Allen County, and, in conjunction with the Senecas, about 40.300 acres at Lewiston. The Indians were removed to the Indian Territory, on Kansas river, in September, 1832, D. M. Workman and David Robb being the agents for their removal. The celebrated chief and warrior, Black Hoof, died at Wapaukonnetta, shortly previous to the removal of the tribe, at the age of 110 years.

Among the early and most respected citizens of Wapaukonnetta, was Robert J. Skinner, who established the first Democratic paper published in Dayton,—the first number of which was issued in December, 1816. This paper was continued by him until 1830, in which year he removed to Piqua, and established in that town the first democratic press. In 1832, having received the appointment from President Jackson of Receiver of the United States Land Office, at Wapaukonnetta, he removed to that town, and continued a resident of the place until June, 1849 when, being on a visit, with part of his family, at the house of a married daughter in Dayton, himself, wife,

468 - Auglaize County—Early Settlers and History

daughter and son, composing all the visitors, were attacked with the cholera which prevailed in that city at the time, and, during one week, the four died of the disease. Mr. Skinner was a man of positive character, of great enterprise, and a most useful citizen. He represented Montgomery county in the General Assembly, at the session of 1828-29, and the large territory, of which Allen county then formed a part, in the session of 1838-39.

Among' those at Wapaukonnetta who were residents about the time Mr. Skinner became a citizen of the place, were Colonel Thos. B. Van Horne, Register of the United States Land Office, Peter Hammel (a French Indian trader), Captain John Elliott (who was an officer at Hull's surrender, and who had been, during several years, Government blacksmith at Wapaukonnetta), Jeremiah Ayres (who opened the first hotel in the town), Cummings & Mathers, and Samuel Case (the last three named being merchants), Henry 13. Thorn (who also kept a tavern), and James Elliott. These, except a few itinerant traders, formed the population of the town, directly after the removal of the Indians, in 1832-33.

A son of Judge Michael Dumbroff, born in 1835, christened Charles, is said to have been the first white child born in Wapaukonnetta.

Hon. George W. Andrews says :

" Settlements were first made by white people within the limits now occupied by Auglaize county, in A. D. 1828, in St. Mary's township. The Shawanee tribe of Indians were then the occupants, in their way, and claimants of the country. Soon after followed a few settlements, by the Quakers establishing a mission among the Indians at Wapaukonnetta, in Duchouquet township ; and then a white settler here and there on the streams, throughout the territory now composing the county, came in, and slowly clearing away the forest, they opened small tracts of land, which they cultivated undisturbed by the red men."

On the 8th of September, 1812, the army reached St, Mary's, on its march to relieve the besieged garrison at Fort Wayne. There were at that time some block houses at St. Mary's, built for the security of provisions, and protection of the sick. The point had previously been known as Girty's town, named after the notorious Simon Girty.

About the time that Tupper's expedition to the Maumee Rapids was in execution, near the close of the year 1812, General Harrison (ante p. 148,) determined to send an expedition of horsemen against the Miamies, assembled in the towns on the Mississiniwa river, a branch of the Wabash. The command was entrusted to Lieutenant Colonel Campbell. A deputation of chiefs from those Indians met General Harrison at St. Mary's, early in October, and sued for peace. They agreed to abide by the decision of the President, and

Auglaize County—Early History - 469

in the meantime to send in five chiefs to be held as hostages. The President replied to the communication of the General on this subject, that, as the disposition of the several tribes would be known best by himself, he must treat them as their conduct and the public interest might, in his judgment, require. The hostages were never sent in, and further information of their intended hostility was obtained.

At the time of their peace mission, they were alarmed by the successful movements which had been made against other tribes, from Fort Wayne, and by the formidable expedition which was penetrating their country under General Hopkins. But the failure of that expedition was soon afterwards known to them, and they determined to continue hostile. To avert the evils of their hostility was the object of their expedition against Mississinewa. Said Harrison :

" The situation of this town, as regards one line of operations, even if the hostility of the inhabitants was less equivocal, would render a measure of this kind highly proper ; but, from the circumstance of General Hopkins' failure, it becomes indispensable. Relieved from the fears excited by the invasion of their country, the Indians, from the upper part of the Illinois river, and to the south of Lake Michigan, will direct all their efforts against Fort Wayne, and the convoys which are to follow the left wing of the army.Mississinewa will be their rendezvous, where they will receive provisions and every assistance they may require for any hostile enterprise. From that place they can, by their runners, ascertain the period at which every convoy may set out from St. Mary's, and with certainty intercept it on its way to the Maumee rapids. But that place being broken up, and the provisions destroyed, there will be nothing to subsist any body of Indians, nearer than the Potawatimie towns on the waters of the St. Joseph's of the Lake."

This detachment numbered about 600 mounted men, armed with rifles. They left Franklinton on the 25th of November, 1812, by way of Dayton and Greenville, and reached the Indian towns on

the Mississinewa, towards the middle of December, suffering much from cold. In a rapid march upon the first village, eight warriors were killed, and forty-two taken prisoners, consisting of men, women, and children. About a half hour before day, the morning following this charge, the detachment was attacked by the Indians, and after a sharp but short encounter, with a loss of eight killed and forty-eight wounded, several of whom afterwards died, the enemy, despairing of success, fled precipitately, with a heavy loss.

Hon. G. W. Andrews, from whose essay on the agriculture of Auglaize county, quotation has already been made, says of the St. Mary's and Auglaize rivers :

"The St. Mary's river, years agone, like the Auglaize, was thought to be a large and permanent stream of water, upon which boats of

470 - Auglaize County—Early Settlers

considerable capacity for lading would ascend for trading purposes but that was many years ago. Now, like the Auglaize, it has per: manently but a small volume of water. It rises in the southern parts of St. Mary's and Washington townships, runs northwardly through St. Mary's, bending westward through Noble, northwestward through Salem, and continues nearly in the same direction until it reaches the Maumee at Fort Wayne."

Among the early settlers in the neighborhood of St. Mary's, was W. H. H. Langly ; whose father, Bennett W. Langly, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and previous to that time had performed five years' service in the regular army. He was a soldier under Whistler, and aided in the erection of Fort Dearborn, at Chicago.

Isaac Nichols came to St. Mary's in 1828. His son, Dr. Nichols, is now a resident of Wapaukonnetta.

The following were also among the early settlers:

Henry Reickard, Christian Benner, John Pickrell, Amos Compton, Joshua Warfield (sheriff), James W. Riley (Clerk Court Common Pleas), Stacey Taylor (former Associate Judge and member of the General Assembly), William Armstrong (county Auditor), Dr. Huxford, Dr. Murdock, John Elliott (Captain in the war of 1812), John Armstrong (Associate Judge, settled here in 1817), H. M. Helm, Samuel McKee, Gideon Mott, J. D. Blew, Dr. A. V. Medbery, Sabirt Scott (formerly a member of the Ohio Senate, and also a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1850-51), Franklin Linzee (Clerk of Court), Rev. Asa Stearns (whose widow, Sophia Stearns, at the age of 91 years, is now living at St. Mary's, with her son, Dr. R. W. Stearns), A. K. Stearns, Henry Updyke, Henry B. Smith, who removed to Bremen in 1820, and from thence to St. Mary's township in about 1822, Cuthbert Vincent, Reeve Chapman, Morgan (ileaveland, J. Hollingsworth, Wm. Hollingsworth, Eleanor Armstrong, Wm. Lattimer, Robert Bigger, David Woodruff, Chas. Watkins, R. R. Barrington, John Baker, Picket Doty, John Hawthorn, R. J. Crozier, Joseph Catterlin, C. P. Dunbaugh, Caleb Major (Justice of the Peace and County Commissioner), Elam Frost, Robert Elliott, William Elliott, Samuel Scott, Isaac Helm, John S. Houston (County Surveyor), Samuel Johnson, Thomas Longwith, Elias McAllister (the first 'hatter in St. Mary's), Charles Murray (the first white Indian trader who settled upon the banks of the St. Mary's, and at whose house, in 1817, the treaties were made with the sachems and chiefs of the Indian nations), Barney Murray, D. McMahon, James Vincent, Malachi Vincent, Thomas S. Sturgeon, James Gibson, and Andrew Collins.

S. R. Mott, who was a resident of St. Mary's in 1833, was admitted to the bar in March, 1841. At that time, E. M. Phelps, William M. Crane, and Oliver C. Rood, were the resident lawyers in practice..

William Sawyer, when 15 years of age, commenced, in Dayton,. work as a blacksmith's apprentice. This was in 1816. After the close of his apprenticeship, 1-te_ worked as a, journeyman at Dayton,,

Auglaize County—St. Mary's in, 1872 - 471

and at the Indian Agency, near Grand Rapids, Michigan, and in 1829, removed to Miamisburg, Montgomery county, and established himself in business. During his residence in Montgomery county, he served five terms in the House of Representatives of the Ohio General Assembly—commencing in 1830—the last year of which (session of 1835-36,) he was chosen Speaker. In 1838, and again in 1840, he was a candidate for Congress, against Patrick G. Goode, and defeated in both trials. In 1843, he removed to St. Mary's, and in the year following, 1844, was elected to Congress, and re-elected in 1846,—his Congressional service running through the term of Mr. Polk's administration, and closing March 3,1849. In 1850, he was a member of the Constitutional Convention. In October, 1855, he was elected a member of the House of Representatives, of the General Assembly, from Auglaize county.

During the year 1855, he was appointed by President Pierce Receiver of the Land Office for the Otter Tail District, Minnesota, reappointed by President Buchanan, and removed by President Lincoln within twenty days after his inauguration, for political reasons, alone.

In 1869, he was appointed by Gov. Hayes one of the Trustees of the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, and during the last six years has been acting Mayor and Justice of the Peace at St. Mary's.

The old block house at St. Mary's was demolished in 1833-34 by a person who used the material for fuel, exciting greatly the indignation of the inhabitants. The limbs of a large burr oak tree, standing about 180 yards distant from the fort, and bearing heavy foliage, was used by the Indians as a covert, from which they fired upon the soldiers in the fort. After the discovery of the uses being made of it, the tree was trimmed of its limbs. It,. A large canal basin occupies a place near the centre of the town however, survived many. years ; but, finally, within the last two !years, yielded to the pressure of a storm, and fell to the ground.

The St. Mary's of 1872 is a very flourishing town, having better business prospects than have been offered in any former period of its history. Before these pages will have been issued from the press, in addition to the transportation and manufacturing facilities afforded by the canal and reservoir, it will be in convenient communication with some of the leading railway lines of the country, through the opening of the Louisville and Lake Erie road. The town is situated upon elevated ground, being 398 feet above the level of Lake Erie. Among its superior advantages is its water power, afforded by the Mercer County Reservoir. A large canal basin occupies a place near the centre of the town.

In manufactures, St. Mary's has three grist mills ; one woollen factory ; one flax mill ; two planing mills ; three saw mills ; one foundry ; one distillery ; one hub and spoke factory ; one carriage

472 - Auglaize Co.—St. Mary's in 1872—First Court.

do ; two cigar do ; two brick yards ; one tile factory ; one lime kiln ; two tanneries ; one linseed oil mill ; two furniture factories; one photograph gallery ; two bakeries ; two stove and tin shops:

two merchant tailor establishments ; three millinery do ; four boot and shoe shops ; two meat markets, and two wagon shops. Also two hotels; two pork packing houses ; two warehouses; two livery stables, and one nursery.

In stores, there are four dry goods ; seven grocery and provision; two drug ; one liquor ; one watch and jewelry ; two hardware ; one hat, cap and shoe, and one fish and Wild game depot.

The churches are, Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, and German Lutheran. St. Mary's has also a first-class Union School, having English, German, and classical departments.

Hon. Ph. V. Herzing, member of the Board of Public Works, furnishes the following table of some of the principal articles shipped from St. Mary's during the season of canal navigation of the year 1871 :