550 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO priest and a chapel for the small congregation. Only a couple of years later the little colony of sturdy Germans had increased, so that a new place of worship was necessitated. Another log structure covered with split weatherboards was dedicated in 1837 as St. John the Baptist Church. In that same year a schoolhouse was built, in which the priest also taught the children. Father Horstman continued to serve the congregation until his death in 1843, when Father Bohne took charge and began the work by erecting a brick church. This building was dedicated in 1848. The Sanguinist Fathers were soon afterwards placed in charge of the parish, and in the fall of the year 1848 a convent was established. The present church was dedicated by Bishop Gilmour in 1878. It is of bright Gothic architecture, with a spire 225 feet in height. In 1838 Father Tunker, pastor of the Dayton church, attended the mission of Fort Jennings, and two years later the Catholics and Protestants united and built a log house to serve for church and school purposes. This very unusual arrangement remained in effect over fourteen years. Rev. Harry Herzog was appointed the first resident pastor in 1850, but remained less than a year, when Father Bohne became the resident priest in 1851. He made arrangements to build a new brick church. This was erected in 1854, and dedicated to St. Joseph. Although a plain building, without architectural adornment, it served its purpose until the erection of the present beautiful structure under Father Heidegger, in the fall of 1882. The Catholics at Kalida were identified with the Glandorf congregation for a number of years, but, because of the removal of the county seat, the plans for a separate church were delayed for a long period, and the congregation was served by priests from neighboring charges. The cornerstone of the present church was laid on June 16, 1870, and the church was dedicated in the same year to St. Michael. A few years later it was placed in charge of the Sanguinist Fathers, of Glandorf, and the first one of its order to serve it was Rev. Rochus Schuly. A school building has since been erected, which is served by four Sisters of Divine Providence. In 1861 Mathias Muller, of Ottawa, donated an acre of ground as a. site for a Catholic Church. The resident citizens of that faith petitioned Bishop Rappe for permission to build a church, and a subscription was authorized. The building was completed in 1872 and dedicated by Bishop Gilmour, and was placed under the patronage of the apostles, SS. Peter and Paul. The church is a small but handsome structure, and possesses a very fine pipe organ. The children of the parish are taught by the Sanguinist Sisters. Otto-vine is indebted for its splendid Catholic society to the generosity of Father John Otto Bredeick, of Delphos. He purchased forty acres of land and laid it out in town lots. The best ones were set aside for church purposes, and the rest were sold, the proceeds being used for the benefit of the church. When he died, the work was continued by Rev. F. Westerholtz, and in the fall of 1860 the foundation of the new church was blessed. This was a frame structure, and named the Immaculate Conception Church. The region around Ottoville induced many German Catholic farmers to settle there, with the result that the parish grew rapidly. Under the charge of Father Michael Muller, the erection of a new church was begun, which was dedicated in 1888. It has two towers, 180 feet tall, and the entire structure is of a very tasty architecture. St. Mary's Church at Leipsic dates back to 1873, when a few Catholics settled in this community, and were served by Rev. Henry Kaempfer, of New Cleveland. The first church was erected under this priest in 1876, and a larger church, also of frame, was blessed in 1891. A Catholic Church was organized at HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 551 Miller City in 1886, by Rev. Joseph Rosenberg. Two lots were presented to the society by Nichols Noirot, and in the following year work was begun on the building. The church was placed under the patronage of St. Nicholas. A brick church was blessed by Bishop Horstman in 1900. The Holy Family Church, of New Cleveland, was organized as a mission in 1861 by Rev. Sebastian Ganther. A two-acre tract was donated by John Weis as a site for a church and parsonage. The church was built in the fall of the same year, and it was greatly enlarged in 1881 and still further enlarged in 1916. The first resident pastor was Rev. Charles Barbier, who was appointed to take charge of the congregation in 1873. There are also Catholic missions in North Creek and Cloverdale. Putnam County has its full share of fraternal orders. The Masons are represented at Ottawa, Kalida, Continental, and Columbus Grove, the Kalida lodge being the oldest in the county. Ottawa Lodge, No. 325, Free and Accepted Masons was chartered in 1860, with a small membership. The numbers have gradually increased since that time, until it is now a very flourishing lodge. , Rufus Putnam Lodge, No. 364, of the same order, was chartered at Columbus Grove in 1866, with ten charter members. The first Worshipful Master was Orren Curtis. A chapter of the Royal Arch Masons, known as Ottawa Chapter, No. 115, was instituted in Ottawa in 1869. The first High Priest was J. L 'H. Long. Putnam Council, No. 69, Royal and Select Master, was chartered in 1879, at Ottawa. The Odd Fellows are represented by a number of different bodies in the county. Blanchard Lodge is the oldest one in the county, and was instituted in 1855, at Ottawa. Gilboa Lodge, No. 459, was chartered in 1870, in that village. The original records were destroyed in 1875 by a fire, and a new charter was granted in the following year. Leipsic Lodge, No. 536, dates from 1872, when it was organized with ten charter members. Dupont Lodge came into existence in 1882 in that village. Town-wood Lodge was instituted in 1902. Columbus Grove Lodge was granted its charter in 1870. Leipsic Encampment of the Patriarchs Militant was chartered in 1877, with sixteen chartered members, and is the only lodge of this order of Odd Fellowship in the county. The citizens of Putnam County pride themselves on their interest in education. Probably no county in the state has been more fully organized under the recent laws granting_ expanded educational facilities than has this county. The county has now been fully organized under the new laws by which a county board of education is elected, and a county superintendent of schools selected to look after the entire rural public school system. George. D. Keinath was elected in 1914 as the first county superintendent. The county has been fully subdivided into districts, each with its own district superintendent. There are as many high schools in the county as there are towns large enough to demand and support such a facility for education. These schools are provided with adequate buildings to supply the facilities needed and desired. Thus we find splendid high schools at Ottawa, Columbus Grove, Leipsic, Pandora, and Vaughnsville. One of the institutions of education worth mentioning is that which is known as. Crawfis College. Through the will of John Crawfis, a wealthy and distinguished citizen of Blanchard Township, the citizens of Putnam County were afforded a means of instituting a high school for the purpose of providing a higher education in the rural districts. He bequeathed to his township the sum of, $25,000 to be used in the erection of a college. The work on this struc- ture was begun in the year 1888. It was christened Crawfis College, in honor of the donor who made its erection possible. During the year following, two dormitories were built for the accommodation of students. 552 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO With its buildings and equipment, and the splendid faculty in charge, this institution furnishes one of the most complete public schools in the state for providing higher education for the students of a community. It ranks today as a first grade high school, and is under the management of the County district school board. OTTAWA In the early part of the year 1833, almost immediately after the Ottawa Indians had been removed to the west, a few white families came to what had been until that time the Tawa Town, although a few Indians still remained there for six or seven years after this date. In June of the year 1834, Messrs. Aughenbaugh and Barnett laid out the hamlet of Ottawa, which name was bestowed on it in honor of the tribe of red men that had formerly resided there. John and David Cox, C. T. Pomeroy, William Galbreath, Michael Row, Samuel Runyan, and a Mr. Williams, together with their families, were about the only settlers, and constituted practically the entire citizenship for several years. The hamlet gradually although almost imperceptibly grew, however, with the incoming of sturdy and honest settlers, who were destined to be the bulwark of the village that finally arose on this site. The Indian tepee was replaced by the cabin of the white man. Michael Row built the first cabin on the HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 553 site of Ottawa in May, 1834. This primitive log but served as the first tavern, and became known as a public house to all who had occasion to visit this section of the state for many years. Many of the eminent men of Ohio of that day gathered around this festive board at one time and another and drank the hard cider, or still more potent whisky, which the genial proprietor served to his guests. Row maintained this tavern until his death, and the old building, built more than four-score years ago, is still standing, being occupied as a marble works. It would not be recognized today, however, as the logs were boarded over in 1867. It was not long after the erection of this house until William Williams built the first frame building in the new village. The postoffice was established in 1847, and was at first called Buckeye: This was rendered necessary at that time, because there was another postoffice by the name of Ottawa. in the state. Buckeye continued to be the designation of the postoffice until 1862, when the name was changed through the efforts of Dr. C. M. Godfrey, who had been the first postmaster. The earliest merchant in the town was John Cox, who .opened a general store in 1835. In the same year Dr. C. P. Pomeroy arrived and began the practice of medicine, and to him. 'belongs the distinguished honor of being the real pioneer physician in the village. Doctor Godfrey came in the following year and studied under Doctor Pomeroy. A rude log structure devoted to school purposes was erected in 1836, the pioneer teacher being Priscilla Compton, who afterwards married Isaac 'McCracken, of Kalida. Today there are three excellent school buildings. The United Brethren in Christ was the earliest religious society to erect a church building in the new settlement. Stimulated by the prospect of a railroad, Ottawa began to grow in the later '50s, and several additions were added. to the town. When the railroad from Dayton to Toledo was completed, in 1859, the event was celebrated in a manner befitting such an important occasion. This day may be taken as the commencement of a new era in the history of Ottawa, for from this time the citizens deliberately began to plan to have the county seat removed from Kalida. Seven years later 554 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO success crowned their efforts. It was incorporated in February, 1861, and J. B. Fruchey was elected the first mayor. It was not until the county seat was finally removed in 1866 that the village began to assume respectable proportions. After that matter was finally settled the lawyers, the county officials, and many of the best people of Kalida moved to the new county seat, and during the succeeding four years the population of Ottawa was almost doubled. A newspaper was launched the year previous, in the town, and many new business enterprises were quickly established. The first courthouse in Ottawa was completed, and court held in it in the year 1868, although court had been held in the town for a year previous. This first palace of justice was a brick- structure, and worthy of the period in which it was erected. A new court-' house has since been constructed, which is as fine as any similar structure in a county seat in the state, and has been fully equipped for the transaction of the necessary county business. It is a three-story Bedford stone structure, fireproof, and is provided with modern conveniences and an elevator to provide access to the different floors. The first jail in Ottawa was erected in 1869, and was used until replaced by the present structure in 1900. At the present time Ottawa is principally an agricultural town, depending largely upon the trade of the surrounding country for its support. With three steam railroads, however, and one of the best electric lines in the state, the transportation facilities equal those of. any similar country town. Water works were completed in 1904, and the fire department has been motorized. In. 1911 the hopes of the citizens were greatly aroused by the prospect of a capacious sugar-beet factory. Some promoters visited the town and agreed to erect a plant costing $250,000, in the event that the citizens would donate the site and guarantee the raising of 1,000 acres of beets the first year. The site was furnished as agreed, the beets were HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 555 planted,, and the company erected a mammoth building to house this plant. It was erected in time to handle the 1912 crop of beets. During the first season 1,500,000 pounds of sugar were Manufactured, and this production was. increased by a third in the second year. For some inexplicable reason the plant was closed down at the end of the second season, and has remained deserted ever since. During its operation this plant furnished employment for many helpers at good wages, and Ottawa enjoyed unparalleled prosperity. Another large plant was also built to take care of the by-products of the factory,' but from necessity this concern has been a loss to the community as well as the owner. It would not seem possible that the meek-looking Blanchard River could wreak destruction in . Ottawa. But such was the case in March, 1913. The town was swept by the angry raging flood, and many thousands of dollars' worth of prOperty were destroyed. Fortunately no lives were lost. Scores of homes were deserted, however, and a cry for help went over the county. All the railways were paralyzed and boats were lacking. The situation developed a great and commendable spirit of help and cooperation. Farmers brought in wagon loads of supplies of food and fuel. Lives were risked to save others. Those living there will never forget the flood-swept appearance of Ottawa on a Sun- day morning, when wreckage debris of all kinds, washouts; and a hundred other inci dents showed the power of water when swelled into a raging torrent. COLUMBUS GROVE The Village of Columbus Grove was laid out in December, 1842, by Capt. Frederick Fruchey. It was surveyed and platted for the proprietor by Benjamin Dunning. As Captain Fruchey and a number of the other settlers had come from Columbus, and the site of this town had been a famous sugar grove with the Indians, the present designation was bestowed upon it. John Mumea erected the first home in Columbus Grove,, which was a humble log dwelling. Samuel Sterling built the first frame building, and also erected the premier brick structure in. the community. The earliest manufacturing establishment was an ashery and pottery, which was built and operated by the Durfey brothers. They turned out black salts and pearl ash, and in the pottery' line they manufactured crocks, jugs, and other common earthen wares. James Pier opened up a tavern which contained five rooms. Shelden Guthrie established a small supply store in 1843, in which he exchanged goods for furs, as there was very little cash in circulation even in that day. Theodore Kunneke arrived in the village in 1853 and built a sawmill for Jonathan Brice, to which was added at a later period a mill to grind corn and buckwheat. The Village of Columbus Grove was incorporated in 1864 by John J. Baker and some associates. This was five years after the first train on the Dayton & Michigan Railroad ran through the town. The . Pittsburg, Akron & Western, now the Northern Ohio, was constructed in 1882, and the Lima Northern began running trains in 1895. The first officers were David Jones, mayor, and S. B. McHenry, the village clerk. Columbus Grove is situated in a very rich agricultural country, and holds the reputation of being one of the largest shipping centers for live stock in the county. LEIPSIC The Village of Leipsic was laid out by John E. Creighton in 1857, and the village at first bore the name of this founder. The reason for the establishment of the village was the prospect of the Dayton & Michigan Railroad, in the year 1.859, at which time the greater part of the land was an almost impenetrable 556 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO forest. By the construction of the railroad an outlet was offered for the timber and other products, so that settlers began to appear in the neighborhood. The early settlers were J. B. Swartz, Wellington Hurd, David McClung, C. W. Askam, and Al Tingle, some of them with their families. In 1860 S. and W. P. Young and D. G. Leffer settled there with their families. These men and others who followed them within the course of a few years established the Village of Leipsic on the map, and made it a thriving settlement. At that time West Leipsic, immediately adjoining, was the larger settlement. When the Nickel Plate Railroad was built, which now passes through Leipsic, John E. Creighton laid out a town at the crossing of it and the Dayton & Michigan, and named it Creightontown. This town has now been absorbed by Leipsic. One of the potent factors of the prosperity of this section, and one which gave an impetus to this settlement, was the Buckeye Stave .Company, which operated a large plant in Leipsic. This company was organized in 1886 by a number of citizens of Leipsic, and at one time controlled a dozen stave factories. The fortunes of a number of the citizens of the village were made in this business. It is said to be the largest concern of its kind in the world. PANDORA It was in 1836 that John Stoud laid out the Town of Columbia, in Putnam County. He had previously erected a grist-mill on Riley Creek, which was one of the first' flour mills in the country. The new town was situated about half-way between the county seat of Hancock and the old county seat of Putnam. County, so that for many year it was the stopping-place of lawyers and judges while traveling on the circuit in the early days of the courts. The tavern was kept by Henry Kilheffer, and many stories are told of the lively times that occurred at the old hostelry. The name was afterwards changed to Pendleton, and in 1850 a new plat was prepared by Brice W. Viers. At that time Henry Kilheifer, owned the only store. In 1853 he laid out East Pendleton, which was surveyed by Henry Blosser, at that time county surveyor. No railroads reached this settlement until in 1882, when the narrow gauge railroad known as the Pittsburg, Akron and Western was built into the town. At this time the name was again changed to Pandora, and this designation has remained ever since that time. It was incorporated in 1892. It is certain that the rich farm lands and splendid homes surrounding Pandora are the equal of any section of the state.. The farms were generally settled by the Mennonites, whose faith forbids quarreling and litigation. The greatest agent in benefiting Pandora has been the overall factory, ,which is known as the Pandora Manufacturing Company. It was organized in 1901 by some enterprising citizens, and the business was begun in that same year with six sewing machines.. A little old woolen mill was first used as the factory, in which these first machines were installed. Success met the business at the very start. and some outside investors added additional capital to the company. The old building was burned, and a fine new factory building constructed in 1903. It became the largest manufacturing plant in Putnam County, and the -value of its product mounted up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. It was a great blow to this community when this company failed early in 1917. OTHER VILLAGES Gilboa was laid out in 1837. The first house was built by Nelson McCollister. In 1839 Edward Mercer started a general store and Benjamin Stewart opened a tavern. It had the most rapid growth of any town in the HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 557 county, and for a decade or more was the most thriving community in the county. An epidemic of cholera in 1848 brought great devastation among the population. The town was incorporated in 1848. No railroad reached the village until 1888, and this fact permitted the other towns to overtake and surpass their hustling rival. Kalida was platted in .1834. The first lot was sold to Moses Lee, who erected the first house. In the same year Sheldon Guthrie put up a habitation for himself, which was sided with 'clapboards. The town was first incorporated in 1839. This form of government proved too burdensome even for a county seat, so that it was repealed by the Legislature upon request in 1847. A decade later articles of incorporation were again taken out. The growth of Kalida was slow but steady until the county seat was removed to Ottawa. This gave the village a blow from which it is now slowly recovering. Continental, at first called Marice City, was platted in 1888 by George Skinner for Gen. A. V. Rice. At that date the surrounding land was an almost unbroken wilderness and swamp. James Sullivan opened up the first store in the settlement. The town was incorporated in the same year, and Polk Berbage was elected mayor. The name was officially Changed to Continental in 1899. It is today a prosperous town. Belmore was first called Montgomeryville, when it was platted by Wesley G. Montgomery in 1862. About the year 1868 the name was changed to Belmore, as this was the name that had been given to the postoffice. It was incorporated in 1882, and the first elected mayor was O. Judson. West Leipsic was laid out in 1852 by John W. Peckenpaugh. The first house had been built by John Shakely a couple of years previously. It was incorporated in 1882, with R. Haskell as the mayor. Ottoville dates from 1845, when the land was platted by Rev. John Otto Bredeick, of Delphos. It was incorporated in 1890, with Joseph Wannemacher as its mayor. It is today a thriving little community. Glandorf owes its location to Rev. Father Horstman, a native of Prussia. He was instrumental in bringing a colony of Germans here, who settled in the timber and built log cabins for their homes. The town was laid out with one long street, after the custom of the fatherland. Although the settlement dates from 1834, there, is no record of a survey until 1877. It was duly incorporated in 1891, and William Altdkruse became the first mayor. It was for years a great boot and shoe center, and had many small industries. Miller City was platted in 1882 by Aaron Overbeck, and dedicated under the name of St. Nicholas by Nicholas Noriot and Nicholas Miller, the proprietors. It. was incorporated under its present name in 1890. Dupont is a small town which dates from 1877, and was incorporated in 1888. With the failure of the timber, the settlement gradually dwindled. Cloverdale harks back to 1891. The postoffice was at first named Drucilla. Cloverdale was incorporated in 1902. CHAPTER XLIII SANDUSKY COUNTY BASIL MEEK, FREMONT On January 21, 1785, a treaty was made at Fort McIntosh with the Ohio Indians, the Wyandots, Delawares, and Ottawas joining therein. It defined the boundaries of these tribes, and reserved to the United States certain lands as sites for military posts, among which was a two-mile-square tract, at the foot of the lower rapids of the Sandusky River. This treaty was not satisfactory to the western tribes, and they continued hostile to the Americans. Four years later, on January 9, 1789, a treaty was effected by Governor St. Clair at Fort Harmar, substantially reaffirming that made at Fort McIntosh, the Chippewas and Pottawatomies joining with the three tribes above named. Other hostile tribes refused to assent to the terms of the treaty. The treaties of 1785 and 1789 were never fully carried out, on account of the continued hostility of the principal western tribes, which had not joined in their making. Finally, by the treaty of Greenville, August 3, 1795, all disputes were settled and a boundary line was established, known as the Greenville Line, which defined the territories of the Indians. The two-mile-square reservation was reaffirmed by this treaty. This tract was the first soil owned by the United States in what afterwards became Sandusky County. The next acquisition was by the treaty at Brownstown, in 1808, whereby the Maumee and Western Reserve Turnpike lands, a tract 120 feet wide for a road, and all the land within one mile on each side of the road, was granted to the United States. At the same time a strip of land 120 feet wide was set aside for a road, to run south from Lower Sandusky to the Greenville treaty line. By the treaty at the foot of the Maumee Rapids, in 1817, the title of the Indians to all the lands in this region was ceded to the United States, certain reservations being excepted. About ten thousand acres of the Seneca Reservation was in Sandusky County, situated in Ballville and Green Creek townships. In 1831 it was ceded back to the United States. The first record in civil government appears April 29, 1811, when the regions known as Upper and Lower Sandusky were attached to Radnor Township, Delaware County, for civil purposes, and they thus remained until 1815. On August 1, 1815, a township, named Lower Sandusky, was formed by the commissioners of Huron County, to which county this territory was then attached for civil purposes. This township embraced all of the limits of the present County of Sandusky, together with what is now Seneca, Ottawa, and parts of Lucas and Erie counties. The Huron County commissioners formed the Township of Croghan from that of Lower Sandusky on May 18, 1819, to include all the country east of the Sandusky River that lies west of the present west line of Huron County, and north of parallel forty-one. Sandusky County was created by the Legislature on February 12, 1820, and comprised at first all the territory embraced within the limits of both Lower Sandusky and Croghan townships, excluding only what is now Seneca County, but including that county for judicial purposes. The entire population did not - 558 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 559 exceed 1,000 souls. At the first election for county officers, held April 3, 1820, 175 votes were cast. The county seat was temporarily fixed in Croghansville, in the Township of Croghan, and court was held in the house of Morris A. Newman until May 23, 1822, when the seat of justice was permanently located in what was then called the "Town of Sandusky," on the west side of the river. In 1829 the villages on both sides of the river were by the Legislature incorporated into one village, to be named the " Town of Lower Sandusky." The first election within what finally became Sandusky County was held by Huron County, in Lower Sandusky Township, in 1815, when a full complement of township officers were elected. The voters numbered fewer than thirty. When the property was appraised in 1816, only eight houses were listed, and these were given only low values. By 1820 the number had increased to twenty-one. At that time Sandusky Township included all the lands west of the river, and Croghan embraced all east of that stream. Within the next few years several other townships were set off by the board of county commissioners. At the time of the heroic defense of Fort Stephenson, there were but few white inhabitants along the lower courses of the Sandusky River. No land had as yet been opened up for sale, but a number of "squatters" were found at various places on the Indian reservations. The earliest white settler of whom we have definite record is James Whitaker. He came to this section, as a prisoner, about 1780, having been captured near Fort Pitt. The inscription on his tomb relates that he died in 1804, in the forty-eighth year of his age, which would make the date of his birth in the year 1756. He was brought here as a captive of the Wyandots, and was married to Elizabeth Foulks, who was also a captive, some time prior to May 20, 1783. Both captives lived contentedly and happily, having adopted the manners and customs of their Indian hosts.. When these two adopted children of the forests met, they decided to marry. This union seemed to please the savages, and they set off to them a tract of choice land for their use. Prior to the discovery of the letters of British traders at Lower Sandusky, hereinafter given, it was believed that Whitaker and his wife had been married at Detroit, but no record of such marriage could be found. In one of these letters William Arundel writes to his agent, Thomas Williams, at Detroit, referring to Whitaker : "He has married a white prisoner girl lately * * *. Mr. Robins married them." Robins was a British trader located at Lower Sandusky. His authority to perform the marriage ceremony does not appear. The subsequent domestic life of Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker, however, clearly shows that the marriage was regarded as real and sacred. On May 20, 1783, we find Whitaker writing to Williams, in an order for things to be sent, these words : "White Beaver Hatt for my Wife." They were the earliest Caucasian settlers in Northwest Ohio, and probably the first in the state. In 1791 Daniel Covers was captured and taken to Lower Sandusky, at which he says there was a large Indian village. He records the fact that his captors moved down the river and stopped a short time at the house of a Mr. Whitaker, an Indian trader, who had a white wife, who had been taken a prisoner in childhood from West Virginia, and adopted in the Wyandot tribe. Whitaker is said to have been, for a time at least, an influential Wyandot chief and follower of Tarhe the Crane. One authority claims that he fought with that tribe at the defeat of St. Clair, and again at Fallen Timbers. As a. trader he was very successful, and amassed a comfortable fortune in traffic with the aboriginies. James Whitaker and his wife became the parents of eight children, whose names, and 560 - HISTORY OP NORTHWEST OHIO their order of birth, are as follows : Isaac, Elizabeth, James, Mary, Charlotte, Rachel, Nancy, and George. Mary, born in 1790, was married in 1809 to George Shanon, and they lived in a log cabin on the Whitaker reservation until .after the birth of their first child. To them twelve children were born. Elizabeth Whitaker survived her husband many years, and continued to occupy the same land on which she and her husband first settled after their marriage. In the treaty made with the Indians at the foot of the Rapids of the Maumee, elsewhere quoted, a grant of land was made to her by the specific request of the Indians. A deed was executed to her by the Government in 1822 for these lands, which contained the restriction' that she should not convey the same to others without permission from the President of the United States. This permission she obtained from President Monroe, and in 1823, for the consideration named in the deed of $1,200, conveyed the whole tract to her son, George Whitaker. That Lower Sandusky was an important place, from about the time of the achievement of American independence, is proved by considerable correspondence that has been preserved. These letters, passing between British traders stationed there and their agents at Detroit, afford us interesting glimpses of the life of these days. In them will be found references to the famous Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant, and the infamous trio of renegades, Simon Girty, McKee, and Elliott. "Sandusky, 25th July, 1772. "Sir. "We have sent you by Mr. Mercer one pack of Beaver in which we think there is 93 lb. of Good and 16 lb not so Good also 9 Good others the prices are as follows the Good Beaver 9/ the other 6/ others 22/ if you please to Take the Pack at those Rates its yours otherwise Mr. Mercer has orders to stow it up Till we Come up to Detroit which we expect will be in the Latter end of Sept. the value of the Pack is fifty five Pounds eleven shillings which you will Cr our acct for if you Take it. "We are Sir your Hble. Servt. "Boyle & Williams "To Mr. Thos. Williams. "Arundal to Thos. Williams, Detroit. "Lower Sandusky 14th April 1782. "Sir "I was favored with yrs pr the Sergt and with regard to the Horses, will Make it known to Mr. Dawson pr the first oppty altho I have heard they are not to be Purchased from S. Gerty whose Comrade is the Proprietor. " The Horse Cantuc I have never Rec 'd from Whitaker. as he lost him. But I have heard of him and sent an Indian for him who is not yet returned You '1 in Case he'd not yet take Notice as they May take him to Detroit. "I am Yr hble Servt. "E. Arundel." Arundal to Thos. Williams, Detroit. "Sandusky ,24th April 1782. Sir. You '1 please' Receive the Packs as Mentioned I Could not head the two Boats in at prest as we are under the necessity of Keeping one here in Case of Danger from the enemy to cut and Run upon the first Notice of their approach, the Peltry has not come from the Shawnee country nor will be all here until the Latter end Next Month Its thought there will be a quantity, the reason its not here is the roads was impractible this Winter and the woods all Burnt in the fall so thers no food for the horses. "Whitaker begs you'll be so good as to send him 8 Galls of Rum & Charge it to him as he expects to be in he'll pay you then You'l please send the two Hd flour and two pounds B oheatea "The News of the place here is pr the Prisnrs Brot in.the Spring & from Different parts HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 561 is that great preparations are making to Come against the Indian Country * * * The Defeat of Lord Cornwallis to the Southwd by the F. & A. has given them a notion & its resolved on the French Fleet to Come round Quebec and the A by the way of Lake Champlain. * * * Wm. Arundel" "You '1 please send a Good oyl'd Cloth for if we have to run we will want it. "From Arundal & Dawson." "May 23 1782. Sir Inclosed you have a Draft on Mr. Macomb for 32., 11., 3 which when paid please place to our Credit and oblige "Yr. Hble Servt "A. & Dawson." "Jas Whitaker would be Much obliged to it Mr. Williams to send him a Kegg full of Rum & One Hund-Flour for which he'll pay him the first time he goes to the Fort. Sandusky 23rd May 1782." Robins to _____ "Sandusky 23rd July 1782. "Sir I suppose you have the affair of Mr. Kays to Transact send you in care of James Snowden twenty-six packs of Peltry the Quality you will se by the Inclosed Invoice and I think they are Tolerable good kind for Sandusky. "We should be glad to know Wheth'r you will have up a Large Quantity of Indian goods this Summer and if Agreeable to you we would take one out-fitt from you this Fall as you have Some Connections here and we are Connected at the Upper Town and the Shawnee Town so that all the Trade from this place would come into your hand, this makes 130 packs we have sent on this Summer. Mr. McCormick is in the Campaign of Captn. Caldwell. I have no more to trouble you with from this quarter. "I remain Sir your most obedient humble Servant "Obediah Robins-" Vol. I-36 "To Thos Williams Lower Sandusky 20th Aug 1782. "Sir : I recd from Wm. Dawson the other day a small Horse Load Peltry with an order for Goods & Silver Works Sugar &c he says ther's a great deal of it made at the Channey Town he has not seen the Captn McKee Caldwell or Elliott since his arrival there as they with 20 Riflemen Indian officers and 100 Indians were gone to Cantuc Town. "Capt. Brant told him that Elliot said he'd stand to his bargain. "W. Arundel." In a letter August 21, 1782, Arundal orders things sent forward to Elliott, and says: "add "4 ps Good Stroud extraordinary "4 Doz Scalp'g Knives "2 Doz pr Scissors, the Rangers by Captn Caldwells Letter will be here in 6 or 7 days as this party of Indians are arrived from them at whose request I lend the Boat and send Jno. Dumford in her" Arundel to Thomas Williams and & ______ " Gentlemen— "Please send 6 Galls Rum & let me know the price as its for Dawson "Whitaker would be obliged to you if you'd please send him the same Quantity and Charge to his acct-Directing the Kegg for him he has married a white prisoner Girl lately with the above intends to get her entirely clear from the Indians Mr Robins Married them "I am with Compts to Mrs. Wms Gentlemen your Hble Servt "Wm. Arundel." Whitaker to Thos Williams, Detroit. "Sandusky 20 May 1783. "Sir I shall be glad you will send 1 Kegg of Rum 4 Gallons and 1 and 2 Gallons 1 White 562 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO Beaver Hatt for my Wife and 2 Black Beaver Hatts 1 lb Bohea Tea the Tea you sent Mr. Dawson to the Shawney Town Rec 1/4 only the tea please charge Mr. Dawson & C "I am Sir your humble Servt "J. Whitaker." Dawson to Thos. Williams, Detroit. "Sir I shall be glad you would send 50.00 of Bal on Bar Lead I have been under the necessity of Borrowing a trifle of Simon Girty as he is a Man that I should not want to disappoint in Paying Please send it if possible this Day and herewith Goods and interest for the Money. "My Compls to Mrs. Williams "William Dawson." The early settlers of Sandusky County, excepting those on the old military reservation at Lower Sandusky and the French refugee families, were mostly eastern people who had temporarily located in the "fire lands." When land east of the reserve land was selling at prices ranging from $2 to $4 per acre, more desirable land was being placed on the market along the Sandusky at a dollar and a quarter an acre. Thus it happened that the eastern part of the county was first settled. It was about 1818 that the advance guard of the pioneer army that was to follow made its appearance within the confines of this county, and at the incipient Village of Lower Sandusky. The pioneers first sought out a dry spot in the trackless wilderness, cut out roads just wide enough to pass through, and erected temporary cabins. The fame and the fertility of the Sandusky Valley soon reached New York, and the large covered wagons in which the settlers usually traveled began to arrive, while others utilized the lake transportation. These first arrivals took possession of the hills near the river, because the lower land was swamp for a great part of the year. The western part of the county was included in the famous Black Swamp, of which mention is made elsewhere. This was viewed for many years with an eye of despair, and abandoned to the wolves and frogs. With those who did finally locate there, it was a case of the survival of the strongest. Only those excelling in bravery, sturdiness, and determination continued the battle against the wilderness and the water to a. successful issue. Fever and ague added to their trials, for the "shakes" was a regular visitor. The rapid development of the county did not begin until near the close of 1830. Among the earliest settlers was David Gallagher, who came to Lower Sandusky in the year 1810, at the age of twenty. He did picket duty in the army at Fort Meigs at the time of the siege, and was also a commissary at Fort Stephenson in the following year. At the close of the War of 1812, he engaged in trade, most of his business at that time being with the Indians, who were still numerous. A store occupied by him is said to have been the second frame structure in the town. He accumulated property rapidly, and became one of the wealthy men of Lower Sandusky. Jeremiah Everett, a Massachusetts youth, came to Ohio in the year 1812 with the intention of settling on the Western Reserve, which was then attracting many pioneers in search of cheap land. In the spring of 1815, he started for Lower Sandusky with one Aden Breed. They came overland to Ogontz Place, now Sandusky City, and there transferred their belongings to a large canoe in which they made .the voyage up the Sandusky Bay and River to Lower Sandusky. With the aid of some hospitable pioneers, they erected a log house in that settlement. For a time Jere miah was engaged by the Government to carry the mail from Lower Sandusky to Fort Meigs. This trip was made once each week, when it was possible to do so, but frequently a trip was necessarily omitted on account of the high streams and impassable swamps. In perform- HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 563 ing these duties he frequently encountered great difficulties and dangers. Few of the pioneers were endowed with better intellectual and conversational powers than was Judge Everett. He retained the respect and confidence of all his acquaintances in a remarkable degree. He held the office of justice of peace for many years, and was the first citizen of Sandusky County to be elected a member of the General Assembly. He was an associate judge of the county for several years. In January, 1813, about twenty refugee French families came to Lower Sandusky from the mouth of the Maumee in order to be under the protection of the troops at Fort Stephenson. They had fled to the Maumee from Monroe, Michigan, following the surrender of Detroit by General Hull, to escape from hostile savages. They were given headquarters at the fort barracks during the winter, and in the spring occupied cabins near the fort, ready to flee to the enclosure when hostile savages threatened. Among the more prominent of these refugees were Joseph Cavalier and wife, with a young son, Albert R. On August 1st, the day preceding the memorable defense of the fort, these families, except Joseph Cavalier and his wife, who had died in the fort, were sent to Upper Sandusky for safety. While on the way they heard the sound of the cannon in the battle at the fort. At the close of the war they were moved back in Government wagons, and settled along Mud Creek, in what is now Rice Township, forming what was known as the French Settlement in that region. The members included the Cavaliers, De Mars, Bisnetts, Jacos, La Points, Momenies, and others. Albert R. Cavalier married Eliza Momeny in 1828, and became the progenitor of a', large number of descendants. Samuel Hollingshead arrived in Sandusky in 1819 from Newark, Ohio, and settled at Lower Sandusky. As he was a good mechanic, he found plenty to do as a gunsmith for the Indians. A little later he moved to a farm near the mouth of the Portage River, where he farmed and did work in his shop. At that time he had many Indians for his neighbors. On one occasion, when he returned from the field, he found five Indians at his cabin. They had been threatening to steal the babe held in his wife's arms. In a scuffle he almost scalped one of them by a blow on the head, but all finally departed. The lack of gristmills at that time was a serious inconvenience to farmers. From the home of Mr. Hollingshead, it was necessary to go either to Lower Sandusky or to Castalia to the mill. One pioneer is said to have spent three weeks in journeying from Elmore to the mill at Lower Sandusky and return. Philander Rexford was brought by his parents and grandparents to Ohio and, after one or two changes, the family settled where Castalia is now located in 1813. In the first year after his arrival, while the men were out plowing, and the women and children of the neighborhood were gathered at one house, the Indians made an attack and carried off all the goods of any value that they could find. A Mrs. Snow, who was unable to travel, and three small children, were killed by them, and some others were taken prisoners to Detroit, where they were turned over to the British and held until after Perry's victory on Lake Erie. When they were released, Mr. Rexford settled at Lower Sandusky in 1815. Among the other early and noteworthy settlers were Jonas Smith, a county commissioner, justice of the peace, and sheriff. Reuben Rice came here to what was then called the "Far West" in 1823. At that time there were but two white families along the Portage River, where he selected a farm. Judge William Caldwell arrived at Lower Sandusky in 1828. Paul Tew came with his parents in 1816, and later filled several public offices. Mrs. Sarah Lance, James Snyder, Casper Remsburg, Rev. Jacob Rowlus, John 564 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO Linebaugh, Lysander C. Ball, and Mrs. Eliza Justice were also among the early pioneers. Many interesting sketches of the pioneers are given in the "Twentieth Century History of Sandusky County," by Basil Meek. One of the unique personalities of the early days at Fremont is Thomas L. Hawkins. He is not only an interesting character, but a very original one. He was a soldier, preacher, poet, and mechanic, and seems to have been able to turn his hand to almost anything. He had served in the War of 1812, and had taken part in the battle at Lundy's Lane. He was the keeper of the magazine at Fort Meigs during that famous siege, and was one of the original Kentucky Company which purchased the land along the Sandusky River and platted the Village of Sandusky. At the October election of 1816, Hawkins' name appears among the thirty-three registered voters. As an evidence of his mechanical skill, he, together with his partner, constructed a remarkable craft called the Pegasus. This consisted of two large canoes placed side by side, and large enough to carry a superstructure of machinery as well as a considerable amount of freight and a few passengers. The machinery was of the treadmill type, and was worked by four horses. It aimed to make three trips a week to Portland, which is now Sandusky City. The journey of forty miles was a good day's work for the Pegasus, which continued to run for several years until a severe storm damaged her beyond repair. Hawkins was a Methodist, and preached very frequently in his later years. He wrote many poems, and at one time published a book called "Public Miscellany and World's Center." In this was included can exposition of the Wiles of the Devil, more especially in the manifestations of clairvoyance, demonology, mesmerism, or what is more fashionably called the Science of Animal Magnetism." One of the most popular of his poems was that known as "Betsy Croghan." The mortal remains of fifteen soldiers of the American Revolution rest in the soil of Sandusky County. Among the many departed heroes of our several wars, whose mortal remains fill honored graves in Sandusky County, are Harrington and Stevens, who fought at Bunker Hill (1775), the former of whom was also in the French and Indian war; Waggoner and Burkett, members of General Washington's Life Guard, the latter also taking a part at the siege of Yorktown (1781) ; Croghan, the defender of Fort Stephenson (1813), reinterred from Locust Grove, Kentucky, in 1906 ; Thompson, wounded in the battle at Lundy's Lane (1814) ; McPherson, killed in the battle at Atlanta, July 22, 1864, the highest Union officer in rank killed in the Civil war ; Buckland, the hero of. Shiloh; Hayes; governor of Ohio, major general in the Civil war, and nineteenth President of the United States ; and George Burton Meek, killed in battle at Cardenas, Cuba, May 16, 1898, the first American-born sailor to give his life to make Cuba free. HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 565 The Sandusky County Pioneer and Historical Association was formed in 1874, and has, with few exceptions, held well attended annual picnic meetings ever since. Its objects are to bring together at stated meetings the pioneer settlers of Sandusky County who still survive, to renew the friendships of the past, to perpetuate and cherish the remembrances of the persons and scenes connected with the first settlement of the county, and to collect and preserve interesting facts, traditions, anecdotes, printed and manuscript matters, relics, curiosities, and, in short, whatever may tend to illustrate the history and condition of the inhabitants of the Sandusky Valley before and after its settlement by the whites. Its activities are being published in pamphlet form in annual Year Books. Its first president was Homer Everett, and first secretary, Rutherford B. Hayes. It is regularly incorporated. The two incipient villages of Sandusky and Croghansville were rivals for the location of the seat of justice of Sandusky County. As heretofore mentioned, the Legislature established the county seat temporarily at Croghansville, and named commissioners to select the permanent location. Charles R. Sherman (father of Gen. W. T. Sherman), Nehemiah King, and Edward Payne were the commissioners. During the time that the county capital was at Croghansville, the inhabitants of the town on the other side of the river were very active in their efforts to capture the prize. As an inducement, grounds were offered for the public building, and money, as well as labor and materials, were proffered for the location of the necessary structures. Eighteen hundred dollars in all were subscribed, of which two persons, Cyrus Hulbard and Martin Baum, each gave $400 in cash, materials, and labor, and offered building sites. They were large owners of real estate iii the village, and were very anxious to have the com missioners select their town, for it meant an increase in value. As soon as the commissioners made their report, in which Sandusky was selected, the Common Pleas Court moved across the river to a log schoolhouse on or near the site of the present central school building. In this well located primitive structure, both the Common Pleas and the Supreme courts were held for a decade, until a regular courthouse building was erected. Although the contract was let for the building of this courthouse soon after Sandusky was chosen, it is an historical fact that the edifice was not completed for a period of nearly ten years. There were many delays and fatalities during its construction, and the partially completed building was eventually moved to a different lot. The building was not accepted for use until June 5, 1833, when the record shows its acceptance. It was a very plain frame building of two stories. Croghansville did not lose out entirely, for in 1829 the two villages were incorporated by an act of the Legislature as the "Town of Lower Sandusky." But with this act Croghansville became extinct as a name. When the name of Lower Sandusky was changed to Fremont in 1849, there were objec- tions to the change of name. Judge Howland, representing the opposers, presented a remonstrance in rhyme, of which the following is a part : "Sandusky is a pleasant name ; 'Tis short and easy spoken ; Descending to us by a chain That never should be broken. Then let us hand it down the stream Of Time to After ages, And Sandusky be the theme Of Future bards and sages." When Erie County was formed in 1838, a small area of Sandusky County, in the northeast part and along the bay, was detached and 566 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO added to the new political division. Likewise, when Ottawa County was created in 1840, the most of its area was taken from Sandusky. While Sandusky County was within the jurisdiction of Huron County, we have the record of a trial at Norwalk of three Indians, by the names of Negosheek, Negonevy and Negossum, who were charged with killing two white trappers by the names of John Wood and George Bishop, on the Portage River, near the present site of Oak Harbor, then in Lower Sandusky Township. These two men journeyed up this river to trap coon, and had with them a number of guns and ponies, and considerable fur. Another Indian, who found the bodies of these murdered men, revealed the crime and gave a clue to the murderers. A squad of volunteers was raised, who went to the camp of the Indians and demanded the murderers. The Indians were arrested and taken to Norwalk, properly handcuffed, and were chained to the floor in a hatter's shop. They slipped their hands through the cuffs, an easy thing for an Indian to do, and escaped. Two of them managed to reach the tribe and were surrendered, but the third remained undiscovered for a number of days. He had been wounded, however, and was finally captured in an almost starved condition. The three were tried, and the youngest, a lad of about 17 years, turned state's evidence. He was acquitted by the jury, but the two others were found guilty and sentenced to be hung. Trouble was anticipated, but the sentence was finally executed, the Indians making no disturbance. Perhaps it was because careful precautions had been taken. A juror in the case was Josiah Rumery, of Lower Sandusky, who in 1821 was auditor of Sandusky County. The first term of the Common Pleas Court of Sandusky County was held in Croghans on May 8, 1820. The Hon. George. Todd was the presiding judge. Israel Harrington, Alexander Morrison, and David Harrold were the associate judges. The court was duly opened by proclamation by Sheriff Willis E. Brown. Of the seven indictments rendered by the first grand jury, three were against persons charged with selling liquor to Indians. The first term of court lasted but three days, as there were no trials either before the court or jury. One of the indictments was against Almeron Sands for assault and battery on the body of Calvin Leesen. Sands plead guilty, and was sentenced to pay a fine of $15. This was the first indictment returned and the first fine entered in this court. At this time the court fixed the rates for ferriage across the Sandusky River at 61/4 cents for every person, and double that amount for a man and one horse, while a wagon and one horse cost 25 cents. At the next term of court, in the following year, George Kemp, a subject of Great Britain, was admitted to citizenship, and was the first person to be naturalized in this county. Thomas L. Hawkins was granted a license to maintain a ferry across the river between' the two villages on the payment of the sum of $1. This term lasted four days. The first jury trial in the county was in May, 1822. The case was the State of Ohio vs. Sally Wolcott, who was indicted for burning a house owned by Moses Nichols. To the credit of the defendant, the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty," and she was discharged. All the proceedings of the court, from May 8, 1820 to March 24, 1824, are recorded in Journal 1, a book six by eight inches, containing 260 pages. Indians of the Seneca Reservation were frequently parties in cases both criminal and civil, in the early courts. The matter of administering an oath upon the Indians, which would be binding to their consciences, was a troublesome one. In one case of replevin for a colt or pony, which an Indian claimed as his own, it was solved in this rather original way. Judge Lane, who was presiding, through an interpreter, questioned Chief George as HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 567 follows : "Do you believe the Great Spirit will punish you if you tell a lie about the horse ?" Chief George replied with considerable warmth : "Me tell no lie for any man's horse." Whereupon Judge Lane called all four of the Indian witnesses up and administered to them the following oath : "You and each of you do believe that the Great Spirit will punish each one of you, if you tell a lie about the ownership of the horse in dispute between the Indian and the white man." For the first few years after the organization of the county, the legal business was conducted mostly by lawyers from other places. They traveled with the judges from circuit to circuit. Benjamin E. Drake settled at Lower Sandusky in 1817, and was the first lawyer to locate there. In 1822 the name of Harvey J. Harmon begins to appear on the court docket. He was a man of ability and did much of the legal business of the county, besides filling several official positions. Increase Graves came about the same time, and was elected prosecuting attorney soon afterwards. Rudolph Dickinson followed Graves in that office. Hiram R. Pettibone, Samuel Treat, William W. Culver, William W. Ainger, and Ralph P. Buckland were also prominent members of the early bar. The subsequently distinguished Rutherford Birchard Hayes began the practice of law at Lower Sandusky in 1845, and formed a partnership with Ralph P. Buckland in the following year. Later he located in Cincinnati, where he resided until 1874, when he returned to Fremont, and took up his abode at Spiegel Grove, which had been devised to him by his uncle, Sardis Birchard. The oil industry has been very important in Sandusky County. When natural gas was first discovered at Findlay, in 1884, it was only natural that prospecting should follow in this adjoining county. Fremont led the way and discovered gas. But the principal producing territory has been found in the western tier of townships. The first oil was found at Gibsonburg, and flowed fifty barrels per day. This was in 1887, and development followed rapidly after that date. In all, more than 4,000 wells have been sunk. The best one was found on the farm of Benjamin Jones, near Gibsonburg, and started with a flow of 20,000 barrels. For the first thirty days it produced a little better than 7,000 barrels a day, and during its existence made the owners a fortune. The first printing press was introduced into Lower Sandusky the year that village was born. The Lower Sandusky Gazette made its bow to the public in July, 1829, with David Smith as editor and printer, and probably "devil" as well. It was a small paper, and its life was nearly as abbreviated, for it ceased the struggle for existence after a year and a half. A few years later (1837) saw the Lower Sandusky Times given to the public by Alvin G. White. Clark Waggoner, afterwards of Toledo, purchased the plant a couple of years later and changed the name to Lower Sandusky Whig. The first number bore the date May 4, 1839. The Whig was an ardent supporter of "Old Tippecanoe" in that famous campaign. The carriers of this paper earned the munificent sum of 1834 cents each and every week. But hard times still pursued publishers. Waggoner gave up, and the name of the paper was again changed to the Lower Sandusky Telegraph by John Schrenk. In 1852 it became the Lower Sandusky Freeman. This ended the unhappy career of the pioneer newspaper, for the Freeman was discontinued in a few months. The Sandusky County Democrat entered the field in 1837, and was published continuously under various editors until 1856, when it discontinued. publication. The plant was sold to Isaac M. Keeler, who owned The Fremont Journal, established by him in 1853. The Fremont Journal was born a whig, and did valiant service for that party. It. has 568 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO been published continuously ever since its establishment, and has always followed the fortunes of the republican party. It is now published as a semi-weekly by Hamilton and Maxwell. The Democratic Messenger was established in 1856 by J. D. Botefur, and under various ownerships has been continued until the present time. The Fremont Courier, a German paper, was founded in 1859, and is still issued regularly. The Clyde Enterprise made its initial bow on March 21, 1878. It had four predecessors of brief duration. They were the Times (1868), News (1868), Independent (1870), and Review (1873). The Bellevue Gazette has about half a century of history back of it, and the Woodville News entered the newspaper field in 1894. Among other papers in the county are The Gibson-burg Derrick and The Greenspring Echo, neither of which lay claim to great age. FREMONT The claim of Fremont to distinction is well set forth in the following historical tablet placed in the two railroad stations of this city: FREMONT. County Seat of Sandusky County, Ohio. The JUNQUINDUNDEH of the Indians, and the LOWER SANDUSKY of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. An old NEUTRAL TOWN of the ERIES used as a refuge on the destruction of the HURON confederacy by the IROQUOIS in 1650. Westermost point reached by the BRITISH AND COLONIAL TROOPS from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut under ISRAEL PUTNAM in BRADSTREET'S Expedition against Pontiac in 1764. A BRITISH POST established here during the REVOLUTIONARY War. DANIEL BOONE, SIMON KENTON, the MORAVIANS HECKEWELDER AND ZIESBERGER, and over 1000 whites held here as PRISONERS by the Indians. FORT STEPHENSON built in 1812, and gallantly defended by Major GEORGE CROGHAN, 17th U. S. Infantry, with 160 men, against 2000 British and Indians under PROCTOR and TECUMSEH, Aug. 1st and 2d, 1813. SPIEGEL GROVE, the home of Rutherford B. HAYES, 19th President of the United States. Previous to the year 1830 there are no village records to be found, and it is not known whether any were kept or not. In that year John Bell was elected as the first mayor. Since that time many men distinguished in the history of the city that has since grown up have held that office. John Bell, the first mayor, was again elected to that office almost forty years later, the first mayor after Fremont became a city. The first schoolhouse in what is now Fremont was erected about the year 1816, on the site of the present high school building, and near Fort Stephenson. At that time the fort was still standing, and in as good condition as on the day of the wonderful victory of. Major Croghan. It was a humble building of rough and unhewn logs, which were cut from surrounding trees and hastily put together by the joint efforts of the early settlers. As there was no glass, oil paper was used, and the seats upon which the children were to sit were of the most primitive construction. A year later this building was replaced on this same site by one built. with hewn logs, which had some such improvement as glass windows and a blazing fireplace at one end. This schoolhouse remained standing until 1834, at which time it was burned down because a cholera patient had died in it a HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 569 short time previously. In its stead a new building was erected containing at first one room, to which another was eventually added. his building did service for about twenty years, when a. schoolhouse was erected on the east side of the river, and these two supplied the citizens of the city for a number of years. The first graduate from the high school was Eliza Bushnell, who received her diploma in June, 1867. There have been in all about nine hundred graduates. The first sermon that was preached at Lower Sandusky, of which we have a record, was in the year 1806, by Rev. Joseph Badger, a Presbyterian missionary to the Indians here. He lived in a cabin on the present site of Fort Stephenson. As usual in the early settlements in Ohio, the Methodist Episcopal denomination was early on the ground. The first preliminary organization at Lower Sandusky, which was known as "class," was formed by Rev. James Montgomery in 1820. There was only one member besides himself, his wife, and his daughter, but the class gradually increased until it became a respectable congregation. This society was at first supplied from Huron County. In 1823 the Lower Sandusky Circuit was formed, with the Rev. Benaja Boardman as the preacher in charge. At that time there were ninety-seven members in the society, which embraced the region up and down the Sandusky River. In 1823 an earnest priest came all the way from Detroit to say mass to a little gathering of French Catholics in their rude cabin at Lower Sandusky.. His stay was only for a few days, and no priest came here again for three years. From that time on the settlement was occasionally visited, and among those holding service was Bishop Fenwick. A hall was used for a time, then a turner shop, until the first little church was built and dedicated in 1844. It was named St. Ann's, and the congregation at that time numbered about thirty families. St. Joseph's Catholic Church was formed in 1856. Both are flourishing congregations. Among the early settlers in and around Lower Sandusky were many from Pennsylvania and from Germany, and these settlers were generally members of the Lutheran or the Reform societies. It seems to have been the custom in those days for these two congregations to join in the erection of a church building, and to worship together, either by common services or to hold services on alternate Sabbaths. Although these denominations held services for a number of years prior, they did not own an edifice until they jointly purchased the old courthouse in 1843, and the German Reform Society was organized. 570 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO A Lutheran minister was first in the field holding regular services, and this society was later organized under the name of St. John's Lutheran Congregation. A few years later the Reform members of the congregation withdrew and organized as the First Reform Church, the word German having been omit, ted. The First Presbyterian Church was organized November 30, 1833, in what was at that time the courthouse. St. Paul's Episcopal Church dates from 1842. All of these denominations have since progressed and occupy substantial church edifices. A number of other denominations have also entered the field, and have prosperous congregations, among which are the Evangelical, Grace Lutheran, St. Mark's Lutheran, Memorial United Brethren, Second Presbyterian, Progressive Brethren, and Christian Science. Fremont has the honor of the location of the second national bank organized in Ohio and the fifth in the United States. This was in 1863, and the private bank of Birchard, Miller '& Company, which had been in operation for a dozen years, was merged with it. Sardis Birchard was its first president, and Anson H. Miller, cashier. Mr. Miller continued with the. bank until his death in 1905, serving as president during the last year. The Fremont Savings Bank was incorporated in 1882 under the banking laws of Ohio, and it has been a prosperous institution. The Colonial Savings Bank & Trust Company entered the banking field in 1904. The Crogan Bank & Savings Company was organized in 1888. Lower Sandusky (Fremont) was an important lake port in the early days, being at the head of navigation of the Sandusky River. As many as fourteen lake vessels have been in this port loading and discharging freight at one time. Many vessels were built in the yards here. As the railroads extended, however, and the size of the lake vessels increased, the marine shipping became less and less. The steamer Young Reindeer was the last passenger steamer to make- weekly trips to Sandusky, and that was in 1877: Since that time there has been very little even of freight traffic on the river. Since the introduction of motor boats, and there are scores now owned in Fremont, the river is once again a scene of animation. One of the early roads laid out was the Morrison State Road, in 1820, to connect Croghansville with Delaware County. A little later the .Maumee and West:. ern Reserve Road was begun. Regular coaches were soon operated on this road, but only in dry weather could their regularity be depended upon. This road was the first one to be improved by macadamizing. The first bridge across the Sandusky was constructed in 1828, of heavy white oak timbers. In 1849 a plank road was built to Fostoria, and was much used until the railroad was completed a decade later. The Sandusky, the beloved river of the Wyandot Indian tribes, enters Sandusky County from the south, about midway east and west on the south boundary line, and flows in a general northeasterly direction entirely across the county, a distance of twenty-seven miles, following the channel with its many graceful meanders amid alternating picturesque slopes and widening plains to where its waters mingle with the waters of Sandusky Bay: At the point where the river enters the county, the water level is about 60 feet higher than at the foot of the lower rapids in Fremont. From there to its mouth the fall is so gradual that the current is barely susceptible. 1 1 Fremont, Ohio, April 17, 1916. Mr. Basil Meek, Fremont, Ohio. Dear Sir: In answer to yours of April 13th will say, that your statement in regard to the levels of the Sandusky River are very good and in my opinion state the approximate leVels very closely. Trusting I may be of further assistance to you, I am, Yours very truly, WM. F. SCHEPFLIN, County Highway Superintendent. HISTORY OF NORTHWEST. OHIO - 571 Its principal tributaries in the county are Green, Bark, and South creeks on the east, and Wolfe, Muskallonge, and Mud Creeks on the west. Along its banks and islands are most of the scenes connected with the early history of the county and of the Sandusky Valley, which are given extended mention in the narrative history. FLOOD OF 1913 On numerous occasions the Sandusky. River has' caused considerable damage at Fremont and the other towns along its banks. In February, 1833, occurred what is said to have been the greatest flood ever yet known along the river. The ground was frozen and cov ered with deep snow, when several successive days of heavy rain set in and melted the snow. The combined waters from the rain and snow were constantly precipitated into the frozen stream. An ice gorge was formed by the broken ice coming down from the upper part of the river, where the first thawing occurred, and the water overflowed on the lower part of the village of Lower Sandusky so that the homes were filled with' water and ice, and great suffering was caused among the inhabitants.. -The bridge, 'which had been built a few years previously, was lifted prom its foundation and carried down the river quite a distance. In 1883, just half a century later, a similar condition arose, and another disastrous flood occurred on February 3rd. The river flowed with a mighty current, down through Front Street. On this occasion probably 500 homes in the flats were surrounded by the flood, and at least 2,000 people were rendered homeless. Many of the people were rescued with the greatest difficulty. Although the loss of lives was only three, yet the damage to property ran up in the tens of thousands of dollars. On January 22, 1904, another flood occurred ,which was similar to the ones just mentioned, and was quite as disastrous to the property and homes, but no lives were lost in this overflow. The flood was repeated on February 7th, and water reached almost as high a stage as in the month previous. Incredible as it may seem, on March 2nd of the same year a third flood came, which again caused considerable damage. The latest and worst flood in the history of Fremont happened in 1913.. On March 23rd, 24th, and 25th, a rainfall exceeding 7 inches fell in Sandusky County, and in the headwaters of the Sandusky River the precipitation exceeded 8 inches. There was no ice in the river. The river 'rose rapidly, and by the 27th it exceeded the previous highest stage by four feet, indicating on the gauge in Fremont a depth twenty-one feet five inches. All the low lands on both sides of the river, which contain more than one-third of the area of the city, and include the principal business places as well as about six hundred residences, were covered by a mighty rushing torrent of waters. More than fifty homes were either totally destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. Houses were removed from foundations and carried into the streets ; the contents of many homes were swept away ; hundreds of occupants were marooned in great peril for two days and nights before help could reach them. Had it not been for the aid of life-saving boat crews from Toledo, Sandusky City, and Port Clinton, co-operating with the city's rescue force, many lives would have been lost. As it was, only three perished, one of whom was Capt. Isaac Floro, of the Port Clinton crew, who was drowned by the capsizing of his boat while in rescue work. Along the main business streets the destructive waters rushed, entering the stores, factories, hotels, and other places of business from four to seven feet in depth, and doing enormous damage to contents as well as injury to rooms and buildings. The low lands throughout the county were inundated, nearly all bridges were destroyed, and the roads greatly injured. 572 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO Along the river much soil was washed from the surface and carried away, aggregating many acres, and much live stock was drowned. The Tindall bridge was swept away, and the great retaining wall at the Ballville dam was destroyed. The damage in city and county has been placed, by a conservative estimate, at $1,000,000 at the lowest figure. CLYDE When Jesse Benton "squatted" upon a tract of land, which is now within the corporate limits of Clyde, he had the distinction of becoming the real pioneer in that place. He was not the first settler in the neighborhood, however, for a few stragglers had preceded him along the ridges in that vicinity. For a long time there was a doubt about the origin of the name. The early plats are recorded as "an addition to Centerville." The controversy regarding the name was at last settled in 1852, at a meeting held at Whitcher's Hotel. This was attended by perhaps fifteen citizens, and a number of names were suggested. Mr. O. P. Woodward, who had been a resident of Clyde, New York, proposed that name, and it was finally adopted. Among the first persons to embark in the building up of this place was William McPherson, who was a blacksmith by trade. He was the father of Gen. James B. McPherson. He opened up a shop soon after the pike was graded, and did a thriving business in his line for a number of years, later engaging in the dry goods trade. A two-story hewed log structure, which was built on the pike, was long known as Hamer's Corner, because it was built and owned by William Hamer. With the increase of emigration, which was constantly passing from the East to the West, the business of entertaining travelers was very remunerative in the early days. The public library of Clyde originated with the board of education. In 1903 it was, by a resolution of the school board, made accessible to all the inhabitants of the school district. As the library volumes increased, the necessity of a special building was felt and the matter was taken up with Andrew Carnegie. As a result a gift of $10,000 was made by him and the present building was erected in 1905. The number of volumes now exceed 5,000. The first church to be organized in Clyde was the Methodist, in the year 1821. The "class" at that time numbered six members, but a revival occurred a few years later, after which the number was greatly increased. From that time Clyde has gradually grown into a live and active business center, and numbers about 3,000 inhabitants. GIBSONBURG The founder of Gibsonburg was William H. Gibson, of Tiffin. After the railroad had been surveyed through here, General Gibson purchased a tract of ninety-eight acres of land. In the early part of August, 1871, forty acres of this land was surveyed into town lots. Associated with him in the building of the town were T. D. Stevenson and J. F. Yeasting. A postoffice was immediately established, and Mr. Stevenson was commissioned as the first postmaster. A schoolhouse was built shortly afterward, and the Evangelical society constructed the first church of basswood logs, which occupied the site where the bank building now stands. The village was incorporated in the spring of 1880, and J. Kininger was elected as mayor. The original log schoolhouse has been replaced by a modern school building, and the old religious society, which built the old basswood church, has erected a more modern building. Other denominations have come in, many fraternal organizations have been established, business has spread, waterworks and electric light have been added to the municipal improvements, HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 573 until Gibsonburg has grown into a lively little place of more than 2,000 people. BELLEVUE Bellevue has the distinction of lying in two counties. As a part of it is found within Sandusky County, it becomes a part of our history. The first postoffice here was known as York Cross Roads, and the village was called Amsden's Corners, after T. C. Amsden, its first merchant. After the completion of the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad to this place, the present name was adopted, which means "the beautiful view"—a name which is indeed appropriate because of its elevation and surrounding country. On the Sandusky County part is the highest land in the county, being 751 feet above sea level. According to the best authority, Mark Hopkins was the first settler, coming here in 1815, and Elnathan George, the second settler, arrived in 1816. The town was incorporated by an act of the Legislature on January 25, 1851, and at the first election Abraham Leiter was chosen as mayor. Bellevue is a city, and now contains about 6,000 population. It is a busy place, but the greater number of its factories, business houses, churches, and schools lie on the Huron County side. VILLAGES There are several other smaller villages that lie in Sandusky County. Greenspring is the largest one of these. It lies on the dividing line between Sandusky and Seneca counties, at the crossing of the Big Four and Nickel. Plate railroads. This name is due to the mineral springs near the village, and at which a sanitarium is conducted. Lindsey is westerly of Fremont, and contains about 700 inhabitants. The village was originally platted by B. F. Roberts and E. B. Phillips, in 1853. These men named the town Washington, but it was later incorporated under the name of Lindsey. The postoffice was at first called Loose, and William Overmyer was the first postmaster. Hessville is a small village west of Fremont, and is located on the Lake Shore Electric Railroad. The name of Cashtown was first given to it, because the merchants of that town paid out more cash for produce than did the dealers at any other trading points. It derived its name from the prominence of the Hess family living in that neighborhood, but the postoffice was known as Black Swamp until recent times. SPIEGEL GROVE Spiegel Grove, the home of Gen. Rutherford B. Hayes, nineteenth President of the United States, having become the property of his son, Col. Webb C. Hayes, has been given by Colonel Hayes to the State of Ohio, for the use and benefit of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society to be, under the conditions in the deeds contained, forever maintained as a state park, and as a memorial to his parents, Rutherford B. Hayes and Lucy Webb Hayes. This munificent and patriotic gift unites Spiegel Grove in historic interest and in the nation's regard with Mount Vernon, Monticello, the Hermitage, Montpelier, and Springfield, memorial homes of former chief executives. This beautiful estate consists of twenty-five acres of land within the City of Fremont, finely wooded with stately native forest trees of the variety common to this latitude. To these native trees were added by General Hayes many others of a historic character, among which are willows grown from slips taken from St. Helena and Mount Vernon, as mementoes of Napoleon and Washington ; oaks developed from acorns of Charter Oak, at Hartford, and tulips from Mountpelier. The Hayes Mansion is a large and substantial 574 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO two-story, plain brick structure, with a veranda eighty feet long and fourteen feet wide, extending across the front of the entire building. It is surrounded on the easterly and southerly sides by extensive lawns, within which are many fine large oaks, elms, hickories, and maples, some of which have been named after distinguished guests and visitors. Among these are the Chief Justice Waite Oak, the General Sherman Elm, the Garfield Maple, the Cleveland Hickory, the McKinley Oaks in a group, and the Taft and Admiral Clark Oaks. Since the transfer of the property to the state, Colonel Hayes has erected three beautiful split-boulder gateways at the three principal entrances, two of them marked by enormous Rodman guns, named in honor of the two military heroes, Gen. William Henry Harrison and Gen. James B. McPherson, with tablets descriptive of the important military events which had local interest to Sandusky County in the Old French War, Pontiac's Conspiracy, the War of 1812, the war with Mexico, and the war for the Union. The main entrance is at the Buckland gateway, at the northeasterly angle, named after Gen. R. P. Buckland a pioneer citizen of Sandusky County and a distinguished soldier in the war for the Union. From this entrance the chief drive follows the Old Sandusky-Scioto Trail of the Indians and French from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, later known as the Harrison Military Trail, of the War of 1812, along which General Harrison moved his troops to Fort Stephenson preparatory to his invasion of Canada after Croghan's victory and that of Perry on Lake Erie. It passes near, and is the approach to Cemetery Knoll, where repose the remains of Rutherford B. Hayes and Lucy Webb Hayes, recently transferred to this beautiful spot from Oakwood Cemetery by Colonel Hayes and where the monument, which was designed and erected at Oakwood by General Hayes in his lifetime, has been placed. This road leaves the grove by the Harrison gateway. The final conveyance to the state covers all the remainder of the premises not included in the two previous instruments executed for certain portions thereof, and also the personal property which belonged to Rutherford B. Hayes and Lucy Webb Hayes, or either of them, located in the Grove or elsewhere in the City of Fremont, Ohio, and declares : " * * * ever since the death of Rutherford B. Hayes and Lucy Webb Hayes, it has been the desire of their children to place Spiegel Grove, which was for many years their home, into such hands, and under such conditions, as would make it a fitting memorial from their children to a beloved father and mother. In partial accomplishment of this desire, the said Grantor has heretofore, conveyed to the State of Ohio portions of the aforesaid Spiegel Grove, which portions so conveyed are to be held by the State of Ohio for the use and benefit of the Ohio State Archeological and Historical Society, so long as the premises shall be maintained as a State Park, in which the Old French and Indian Trail along the. Sandusky-Scioto Water Course from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, later known as the Harrison Military Trail of the War of 1812, shall be preserved in its present location and maintained as a park drive, together with the park drives in the above premises, substantially as now located, and in which the trees, shrubs and flowers now growing in said Park and Spiegel Grove shall be preserved and cared for, and together with other trees, shrubs and flowers as may hereafter be planted in said Park and Spiegel Grove, shall be marked with their scientific and common names, so as to be instructive and interesting to visitors. In order to completely carry out the intentions of said Grantor, so that ultimately all of Spiegel Grove may be held and used for the purpose aforesaid, and the residence therein preserved in its original condition, as