Grandview Independence Ludlow Liberty Lawrence Newport Aurelius Salem Fearing Marietta Adams Muskingum Warren Waterford Watertown Barlow

25 50 30 15 50 75 75 25 10 50 30 6 50 0 5 2

WASHINGTON COUNTY COAL There are heavy deposits of this mineral in the county but they have not been mined to anything like the extent reached in most of Southeastern Ohio's coal bearing counties. A measure of the importance and availability of these deposits is to be found in the tables of coal production in the general history which precedes this section of our history. 17—Vol. 1 CHAPTER XXVI A CHAPTER OF MISCELLANIES BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CHARLES G. DAWES, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES-SEVERAL OTHER BIOGRAPHIES-WASHINGTON'S SONS IN CONGRESS- MARIETTA COLLEGE-NEWSPAPERS OF MARIETTA-MOUND BUILDERS ONCE BUSY AT THE MOUTH OF THE MUSKINGUM - EARLY MARIETTA BANKS - OHIO'S OLDEST MASONIC LODGE. CHARLES G. DAWES, VICE PRESIDENT Charles G. Dawes was born in Marietta, August 27, 1865, was graduated from Marietta College in 1884 and from the Cincinnati Law School in 1886. Locating in Lincoln, Neb., he practiced law there for a while. Removing to Evanston, Ill., he became president of the Central Trust Company of Chicago. His fitness for political activities found a field in 1898 when he became a member of the National Republican Executive Committee and in that year President McKinley appointed him controller of the currency. General Dawes became commanding major of engineers in June, 1917, lieutenant colonel the following month, and was made brigadier general in October, 1918. Arrived in France July, 1917. He rendered great service on the purchasing board of the American Army. in France and as purchasing agent. Resigned from the army in 1919, returned to the United States and was appointed director of the Federal Budget System in 1921. Chief author of the scheme for arranging German reparation payments, which is known as the Dawes plan. But still higher honors were coming to General Dawes. In 1924 he was nominated for the vice-presidency on the ticket with Calvin Coolidge. His election followed; and as the campaign of 1928 approaches Vice President Dawes is considered as being in line for the presidential nomination, although as the year begins he has made no move to push his candidacy. - 259 - 260 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO MARTIN B. ANDREWS This highly esteemed editor, educator and historian was born at Meigs, Morgan County, Ohio, April 6, 1842, received his earliest education in a neighborhood log schoolhouse and then attended the graded school in McConnelsville. He was graduated from the high school there at the age of sixteen. In 1861 he enlisted in Company B of the Sixty-second O. V. I., and served in Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley. Returning to Ohio in 1863 to aid in enlistments he later entered the Signal Corps. After the close of the war he taught a private school at Renrock for about a year. In 1867 he was elected principal of the Harmar grade schools but a little later he entered Marietta College, from which institution he was graduated in 1869. Professor Andrews was then (1870) elected superintendent of the Steubenville, Ohio, public schools. Returning to Marietta he was (1879) elected principal of the Marietta Academy and served as such until 1894. After that he was first an instructor and then the professor of history and political science at Marietta College. Professor Andrews became a contributor to different educational journals and he and H. G. Williams published the Ohio Teacher from 1899 to 1902. JOHN BROUGH This noted son of Washington County was born on his father's Cleona farm at the mouth of Duck Creek, September 17, 1811, and died August 24, 1865. An orphan at the age of twelve years he entered the office of the Friend in Marietta to learn the printer's trade. He and his brother, Charles H., established the Western Republican January 8, 1831, and made it a strong newspaper during its two years in Marietta. After that for a few months it was published in Parkersburg and then at Lancaster, Ohio. Brough . had previously been a student at Ohio University at Athens. Lancaster recognized the strength of his character and he was, in 1838, elected to serve Fairfield and Hocking counties in the Legislature, which body chose him for the post of state auditor when he was but twenty-eight years of age. He went to Cincinnati in 1845 to study law, launched the Enquirer in company with his brother, Charles H., and was the paper's editor-inchief, 1846-47. Elected president of the Madison and Indianapo- SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 261 lis Railroad in 184.8, he managed its affairs with marked ability until 1863 when the voters of Ohio elected him governor and gave him 100,000 majority over Vallandingham. He was a great war governor in every sense of the word. WASHINGTON COUNTY IN CONGRESS From records available we take the following names of the county's sons who have served in the national House of Representatives from the various districts of which the county has from time to time been a part. The list gives the congress in which these members served : Levi Barlow, 15th and 16th Congress. William A. Whittlesey, 31st. A. J. Warner, 46th, 48th, 49th. Rufus R. Dawes, 47th. Beman G. Dawes, 59th and 60th. George White, 62nd, 63rd, 65th. MARIETTA COLLEGE By E. S. Parsons, President Marietta College is lineally descended from Muskingum Academy, the first institution of higher education in the Northwest Territory, which included the present states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and a part of Minnesota. This organization was formed in obedience to the third article of the famous Ordinance of 1787, which declared that "religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." The trustees, of whom Gen. Rufus Putnam was chairman, were given power to appoint a preceptor "well qualified for the instruction of pupils in the branches of science," whose duty it should be to teach the pupils "writing, reading, arithmetic, geography, English grammar and the Latin and Greek languages, providing that the parents choose what the pupil should study." Such a preceptor was found in David Putnam, a graduate of Yale College and a grandson of General Israel Putnam ; and under his direction the institution opened its doors in 1800. 262 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO Muskingum Academy was succeeded in 1830 by the Institute of Education organized by the Rev. Luther G. Bingham, the pastor of the First Congregational Church, who may justly be named the father of Marietta College. The success of this institute was so great that it was chartered by the State of Ohio in 1832 as the Marietta Collegiate Institute and Western Teachers' Seminary. This charter was found to be defective, so another was granted by the Legislature on February 14, 1835, the date now celebrated as the Founders' Day of the institution, the name of which was changed by the new charter to Marietta College. The model sought for imitation in the new college was that so nobly illustrated in the New England colleges of the day. The influence of Middlebury was strong, Rev. Luther G. Bingham having graduated from that institution. He brought Henry Smith, of the class of 1827, to the professorship of Latin and Greek at Marietta in 1833, and he became the second president in 1846. The first president, Rev. Joel Harvey Linsley, was also a Middlebury graduate, 1817, who came to the college from the pastorate of the Park Street Congregational Church of Boston. Two of its presidents, Andrews and Perry, were graduates of Williams and their administrations totaled forty-two years. The fourth president was a Dartmouth graduate and the present head of the institution has Amherst as his Alma Mater. Only two of the eight presidents had their college education outside of New England. It is an interesting testimony to the continuity of the life of the college that the board of trustees has had only two secretaries. Mr. Douglas Putnam served from the time the board was organized in 1832, three years before the date of the present charter, until 1894, when Mr. W. W. Mills, the present incumbent, was elected to the place. Mr. Mills was chosen secretary after he had been a trustee six years. His father was the first treasurer. His brother, Mr. John Mills, and two of his nephews, Charles G. Dawes, the vice president of the United States, and Mr. Rufus C. Dawes, are members of the board of trustees. The college, during the now nearly one hundred years since it had its first beginnings, has had a very definite aim. It has sought to be a college and only a college; to give a liberal arts training as a foundation for professional and business life. It has not aspired to be a large college. It has definitely limited the numbers beyond which it is not willing to expand. It believes the unit of successful liberal arts education cannot exceed in numbers SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 263 five hundred. It has always sought to maintain high standards and those standards were never higher than they are today. And from the beginning it has sought to be not only a college and a small college but a Christian college and it has aimed to inspire its students and its graduates with the Christian outlook and the Christian spirit. The student body now numbers about three hundred and seventy-five and it graduates each year classes of about fifty. It has a stable faculty of highly trained men and women. It has added recently an assistant professor of music and has strengthened its department of physical education to make adequate use of the new gymnasium which Mr. W. W. Mills has built for the Betsey Mills Club in memory of his wife, which is the center of the physical work of the women students, and in anticipation of the acquisition of the new gymnasium for men toward which Mr. Ban Johnson recently gave $25,000. The resources of the college have been steadily increasing during the last few years. At the close of the war period its endowment amounted to six hundred thousand dollars. It now stands at approximately one million two hundred and ninety thousand dollars, and its income has risen in the same period from approximately forty-five thousand dollars to one hundred and forty-four thousand dollars. A large part of this increase has gone into salaries, which today are more than one and a half times what they were in 1919. For five years the college has had no deficit. It is evident by this above statement that Marietta College believes as the founders of Johns Hopkins University did a half century ago; that teachers are more important than buildings. It has had no recent drive for building funds, feeling that it should first strengthen its endowments. When these are adequate it expects to turn its attention to the brick and mortar needs of the college. Marietta College is located in a section of the country where the cost of living is not as extreme as in many communities. It is able, therefore, to provide a standard liberal arts education for men and women at a cost considerably less than such an education can be obtained elsewhere. The father of one of its New England students said recently that the education of his daughter at Marietta was costing him at least one-third less than it would cost at 264 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO an eastern women's college, a consideration of no small importance. October 20, 1927. THE MARIETTA PUBLIC LIBRARY By Willia D. Cotton, Librarian Though young in years compared with other institutions in Marietta, the Marietta Public Library has a real historic background, for it is built on one of the ancient works of the Mound Builders, and is the custodian of one of the early libraries of Ohio. The building is the gift of Andrew Carnegie. It stands in the centre of an elevated square, one of the series of earthworks which was preserved for public use by the founders of Marietta. "Capitolium" as they called it, is a truncated pyramid, 8 feet high with three graded ways to its top, while on the south side is a recess or hollow about 50 feet long by 20 feet wide. It was evidently a Temple Mound as in excavating, no bones were found to indicate that it had been used for a burial place. The edge of the square is now surrounded by fine old elm and maple trees, which with their verdure in summer and their red and gold coloring in autumn make the brick library with its white stone trimming one of the beauty spots of the town. It is a distinctly home-made production, its architect, George Walter Hovey and the contractor, Levi Cowell, being Marietta men, and the brick coming from a Marietta industry. The library is controlled by the Marietta Library Association which was organized as a corporation under the laws of Ohio the 16th day of November, 1897, by Kate E. Williams, Abby Adams Roe, Alice C. Hogan, Minnie Forbes, Maria P. Woodbridge, Mrs. J. D. Cotton, Mrs. William Morse, Lida A. Moore, D. B. Torpy, S. A. Cunningham, Mrs. Sarah N. Lovell, J. F. Jones, Mrs. Helen Morgan, Nelson Moore, J. L. Toiler, J. C. Brenan, E. R. Alderman, Howard W. Stanley, Reuben L. Nye, W. D. Strain, and M. F. Noll. For good reasons nothing definite was done until March 6th, 1901, when a Code of Regulations was adopted and a Board of Trustees elected consisting of five members : Nelson Moore, President; Howard W. Stanley, Vice SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 265 President; Joseph C. Brenan, Secretary and Treasurer; Benjamin F. Strecker and Daniel B. Torpy. After these officials had raised about $2,700.00 with which some seven hundred volumes were purchased, the library opened the 1st of May, 1901, in the office of the Superintendent of Schools in the St. Clair Building, being temporarily in charge of Miss Anna Stevenson, until the new High School Building should be completed in which rooms had been reserved for the Public Library. In June Miss Willia D. Cotton was selected as permanent librarian and on the 1st of September, 1901, opened the library in its new quarters. Here it remained until the 14th of February, 1918, when it moved into its own building on Capitolium Square. Within a year, after the library's organization the work had so grown that an assistant was necessary and Miss Florence Boyd was appointed to the position. She resigned in May, 1905, and Miss Anna Hill took her place and is still giving efficient service. For some years two other assistants have been employed; Miss Winifred Palmer who looks after the book-plating and mending and Miss Jean Loman, in charge of two little branch libraries which are open twice, a week in two of the school buildings. The years have brought some changes in the personnel of the Library Board. Mr. Moore left the city in 1905 and some years later Mr. Torpy and Mr. Stanley were taken by death.. The Library Association owes a great debt of gratitude to these three men for their persistent efforts in effecting its organization and their earnest efforts for its welfare while in office. Mr. C. H. Turner who was appointed to fill Mr. Moore's place withdrew a year ago and Mr. S. M. Thurlow is the newest member of the Board. The two other vacancies were filled by Mr. B. 0. Skinner, Supt. of Schools, and Mr. J. S. Goeble. Mr. Strecker is now President of the Board of Trustees and Mr. Brenan is still Secretary and Treasurer, both untiring in their care for the library's interest. In 1907 the Library received a most generous gift from the stockholders of the old Library Association who turned over to the Public Library its valuable collection of books. This library which was organized in 1829 as a subscription library had not been used for almost half a century. It is particularly rich in history and biography and contains some first editions which 266 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO add greatly to its interest and value. There are now in the library 20,350 volumes. They are classified by the Dewey Decimal System and a modified Newark System of charging is used. The Reference Department is kept strictly up-to-date and all of the other books are selected with the greatest care. Last year the circulation was 37,000 volumes. For 1927 without the statistics of December there is an increase in circulation of 4,800 volumes which shows that the citizens of Marietta are appreciating their library more and more. MARIETTA NEWSPAPERS The first of these, the Ohio Gazette and Virginia Herald, entered the field at a very early day—December. 18, 1801, in the Stockade on Washington Street between Front and Second, its editors being Wyllys Silliman and Elijah Backus. The Gazette was little more than a leaflet, dealing mainly with the doings of the East, particularly. of Congress, and carrying substantially no news of local interest. It was printed on a wooden press and a man and a boy handled the "machine." An opposition paper entered the field in 1807—the Commentator and Marietta Recorder—which lasted about two years. The Gazette was disposed of at public sale in 1810. Its successor was the Western Spectator, edited. by Caleb Emerson. In 1813 the American Friend was founded end it swallowed the Spectator. The Friend became later the, Marietta Gazette, but in 1842 the Gazette was absorbed by the Intelligencer, a rival which had been launched in 1839. In 1856 and again in 1862 the Intelligencer changed hands, the buyer (in 1862) calling the paper the Register. This newspaper had a long and influential existence, holding the field as the republican organ until 1927, when it was absorbed by the Times. The Times made its appearance September 24, 1864. Benjamin J. McKinney became its owner in 1902. It was issued as a daily October 20, 1898. The Marietta Leader was launched February 23, 1881. MOUND BUILDERS IN WASHINGTON COUNTY Although we can only guess at the time when this people occupied the territory now within the county, we know that they did SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 267 occupy it on a very considerable scale. Existing and recorded evidences tell of a strong liking on their part for the rivers, creeks and plains of the county. William C. Mills, curator of the Ohio Archeological and Historical Society has recorded these evidences in his illuminating "Archeological Atlas of Ohio" and we introduce these references to the county's prehistoric remains by quoting what Dr. Mills says of them : MARIETTA RICH IN IMPORTANT REMAINS "The Marietta works, one of the most interesting and best known of the complex type of enclosure, consists of a square enclosing fifty acres in which were several rectangular, flat-topped mounds; and another square enclosing about twenty-seven acres in conjunction with which is a large conical mound surrounded by a ditch and connected with the square by a supplementary wall or line. The two squares with their accompanying figures are not connected with one another and really constitute two separate groups. "From the larger and more northerly of the two squares there extends a 'graded way' toward the river to the west. This graded way consists of parallel earthern walls 680 feet long and 150 feet apart. When first observed, the surface of the passage was rounded and about twenty feet below the top of the walls. "The large mound connected with the smaller square is now a part of the public cemetery at Marietta and is a very imposing example of its class." RECORDS OF WORKS BY TOWNSHIPS The valley of the Muskingum within the borders of Washington County is very rich in prehistoric remains. There are a total of 115 sites, of which six are enclosures, 102 mounds and seven village sites. Listed by townships these remains are located as follows: Waterford, mounds 13; Adams, mounds 52, enclosures 5 and village sites 5 ; Aurelius, mounds 3 ; Salem, mounds 1; Muskingum, mounds 23, village sites 2; Warren, mounds 1; Marietta, mounds 8, enclosures 1 ; total, mounds 102, enclosures 6 and village sites 7. 268 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO As a supplement to the foregoing we quote the following instructive article from the Washington County history of 1881: "The ancient works at Marietta occupied the 'plain' and were included within the territory north of Putnam Street and east of Third (with the exception of the graded way, extending down to the lower river terrace, at a point between Second and Front streets). "These works consisted originally of two enclosures (irregular squares, one of which contained about forty and the other twenty acres) , together with several truncated pyramids or elevated platforms of earth, the graded way, the great mound now inclosed in the cemetery, several embankments flanking it, and numerous lesser tumuli. The portion of this interesting group of works remaining on the two truncated pyramids known as Quadranaou and Capitolium, and the mere bed or bottom of the graded way, Sacra Via. DR. CUTLER'S OPINION "When the settlement was made at Marietta these works were covered with a heavy forest. 'When I arrived,' says Doctor Cutler, the ground was in part cleared, but many large trees remained on the walls and mounds. The only possible data for forming any probable conjecture respecting the antiquity of these works, I conceived, must be derived from the growth upon them. By the concentric circles, each of which denoted the annual growth, the age of the trees might be ascertained. For this purpose a number of trees were felled; and in the presence of Governor St. Clair and many other gentlemen, the number of circles was carefully counted. The trees of the greatest size were hollow. In the largest of those which were found there were from three to four hundred circles. One tree, somewhat decayed at the center, was found to contain at least 463 circles. Its age was undoubtedly more than 463 years.' " Quoting again from the history referred to : "The larger of the two square (or nearly square) fortifications, of which we have spoken, was commonly called by the early inhabitants of Marietta 'The Town.' The walls were, at the time when first observed and measured, from six to ten feet in height, and from twenty-five to thirty-five feet broad at the base. Through SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 269 these walls there were, upon three sides, three openings or gateways, of which the central ones were the largest. The central one in the front, facing the Muskingum, was 150 feet wide. Immediately in front of this great gateway and leading from it toward the river, its walls running at right angles to those of 'The Town,' was the immense graded way, sometimes called the covert or covered way, and named by some pioneer, of classical education, Sacra Via. This broad avenue [was] excavated so as to descend by a perfect grade to the lower or latest formed terrace of the Muskingum, at the foot of which it is supposed the stream flowed when the work was constructed." PLAN OF THE ANCIENT EARTHWORKS Gen. Rufus Putnam wrote with characteristic care about the plan of these prehistoric works as he found them in 1788. He said in part : "There are at least three kinds of works at Marietta as described * * * and designed for very different purposes. The walls AB CD and E F G H (the two large quadrangles covering the greater part of the high ground and lying between Putnam and Montgomery streets) were evidently erected for defense, and whoever views the figures 1, 2, etc., which are as level on the top as a mosaic pavement, will not hesitate to pronounce that on them once stood some spacious buildings, and whoever considers the other figures, although he may be at a loss with respect to their use, he will have no difficulty in believing they were for purposes very different from either of the other kind of work. Thus far, everyone who has viewed them, and, I will venture to say, whoever shall view them, will be of one opinion, but with respect to other matters everyone has his conjectures and I will give you mine. "The chasms or openings in the walls by many are supposed to be intended for gateways, and no doubt but that they served partly for that purpose; but I think it highly probable that both these and the openings at the angles were supplied with wooden works, probably with something like bastions or projecting towers, for the lodgment of troops assigned for the defense of the place as well as the better to flank the curtains. * * * As to the antiquity of these works they exceed all calculations, the size of trees growing on them being the same as on the other land." 270 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO MARIETTA'S EARLY BANKS The Bank of Marietta was the first Ohio corporation to carry on banking operations exclusively, the ten year charter bearing date of February 10, 1808, and including the names of the directors, as here listed : Rufus Putnam (president) , Benjamin I. Gilman, William Skinner, Paul Fearing, Dudley Woodbridge, Earl Sproat, David Putnam. The last named was the bank's first cashier and at a point on the west side of the Muskingum a short distance above what became the lock and dam site the bank's first home was located. REMOVED FROM HARMAR TO MARIETTA The bank was moved to the east side in 1813, into a single-story brick building which stood on Front Street where the Charles R. Rhodes residence was later erected, above the Congregational Church. David Putnam gave up the cashiership at about this time and was succeeded by David S. Chambers, who in 1815 gave way to Alexander Henderson. The bank's charter was extended to January 1, 1843, during the year 1816. Six years later Benjamin Putnam became cashier and he served as such until 1825 when his death occurred. William Barnes performed the duties until May, 1826, when Arius Nye was elected cashier. In 1831, the bank acquired the lot on the corner of Putnam and Front streets and began erection thereon of a building intended to be a bank home and residence "for the cashier and other officers." The bank occupied this new building April 1, 1833. A. T. Nye, who succeeded his brother, Arius, as cashier in 1838 occupied the residence section of the building for a time. The bank went out of business January 1, 1843, when its charter had expired. Its presidents, Rufus Putnam, Benjamin I. Gilman, Dudley Woodbridge, Levi Barker and John Mills were of a high type of officials. THE SECOND BANK OF MARIETTA A new bank with the old name entered the field November 3, 1845. It was a branch of the State Bank of Ohio. John Mills was its president, Noah L. Wilson its cashier and the bank's home for about two years was where its predecessor had been located, SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 271 when removal was made to a building located on Front Street, east side, just north of Green Street, which the directors had purchased and fitted up with a vault and modern furniture. I. R. Waters succeeded Noah L. Wilson as cashier February 4, 1857. Col. John Mills remained as the bank's president until March 14, 1865, when the institution's career was closed and the Marietta National Bank took its place. THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK About sixteen months before this another national bank had been launched, the First National Bank of Marietta, organization taking place November 14, 1863. The room on Front Street later occupied by the Adams Express Company was secured and occupied January 4, 1864. In November of that year the building at Green and Front streets was purchased and extensively prepared for banking activities. It was first occupied in November, 1865. Among the First National Bank's early directors were Beman Gates, M. P. Wells, J. W. Andrews, C. B. Wells and John Mills. Beman Gates was the first president, John Newton was the first vice president, William F. Curtis was the first cashier and Edward R. Dale the first teller. THE MARIETTA NATIONAL BANK The Marietta National Bank came into existence, as was stated, March 14, 1865, occupying the quarters formerly occupied by the Bank of Marietta. Douglas Putnam was the first president and was succeeded January 18, 1870, by I. R. Waters, who was the bank's first cashier. F. E. Pearce succeeded I. R. Waters as cashier January 8, 1867. D. G. Mathews took Pearce's place January 31, 1871. On March 2, 1876, the Marietta National Bank went out of business and the Bank of Marietta entered the field as a private bank, with I. R. Waters as president and A. B. Waters as cashier. MARIETTA'S BANKS OF TODAY These are as follows : The Central National, Citizens National and First National; the Dime Savings Society and the Peoples Banking and Trust Company. 18—Vol. 1 272 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO OHIO'S OLDEST MASONIC LODGE American Union Lodge, No. 1, F. & A. M., was organized at Marietta June 28, 1790, and the lodge was opened in due form following a petition to Jonathan Heart, of Fort Harmar, that he establish the lodge on a permanent basis. The signers were of that illustrious band which was planting civilization at the mouth of the Muskingum. Their names follow : Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, Griffin Greene, Robert Oliver, Ezra Lunt, William Stanley, William Burnham, Anselm Tupper, Thomas Stanley, Ebenezer Sproat. The lodge celebrated St. John's Day, December 27, by marching to the courthouse, where prayer was offered by the Rev. Daniel Story and an address delivered by Brother Anselm Tupper. Harman Blennerhassett, later the dupe of Aaron Burr, became a member of the lodge in 1797 and was elected secretary. Lewis Cass was initiated as a member in 1803. Thus the oldest Masonic lodge in the territory later divided into the great states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin entered upon its illustrious career. CHAPTER XXVII WASHINGTON COUNTY AND MARIETTA TODAY CENTER OF GREAT TRUCK-RAISING INDUSTRIES-LIVE STOCK'S VALUE NEARLY MILLION AND A HALF FARMS NUMBER 4,232 AND ARE WORTH MORE THAN $15,000,000-VALUE OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS EXCEEDS $11,000,000 ANNUALLY - MARIETTA A BEAUTIFUL MODERN CITY OF RICH HISTORIC INTEREST-VERY ATTRACTIVE TO THE TOURIST-PRAISE FROM "SCENIC AND HISTORIC OHIO"- RELIGIOUS EDUCATION-MARIETTA CHURCHES, 1927-PUBLIC UTILITIES- TELEPHONE SYSTEM-VILLAGES OF THE COUNTY-COUNTY OFFICERS, 1927. FARMS AND INDUSTRIES The Ohio and Muskingum valleys are among the richest "garden spots" of the world. Washington County cannot be surpassed anywhere for profitable general farming, truck gardening, live stock and poultry raising, fruit growing and dairying. The truck garden farmers of this county received $415,000 for their 825 solid carloads of produce shipped to the large city markets during 1923. The year's sales of dairy and poultry products, beef cattle, hogs, sheep and wool totaled $1,156,000. Our apple growers shipped 400 carloads at a value of $370,000. The live stock in the county is valued at $1,318,800. There are more breeders of pure bred Herefords in this county than in any other in the state. Owners have sold as high as four carloads of purebreds within a ten day period. There are two experiment farms operated in this county under the supervision of a specially trained state man. There is also an agricultural extension agent working with the farmers throughout the county. The mighty Ohio forms the county's eastern boundary, the winding Muskingum runs through it and both furnish broad fertile valleys for profitable agriculture. Both streams are navigable and their locks, dams and dredging represent a total expenditure of about $136,000,000. The general government maintains - 273 - 274 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO a channel of nine feet in the Ohio and one of six feet in the Muskingum. Washington is one of the state's largest counties in area and is the third largest in the Southeastern Ohio group, with a total of 630 square miles, which only in Licking, with its 669 square miles and Muskingum, with 664, is exceeded. Her farms with a total of 4,232, outnumber those of any Southeastern Ohio county and 368,064 of their acres are cultivated. Her farm lands and buildings were valued at $15,354,307 in 1925 and these farms produced crops valued at $2,264,821 in that year. Washington County's industries number more than one hundred, Belmont, Muskingum and Licking only, among Southeastern Ohio counties having a greater number. In 1920 Washington's industries reported an outlay for wages of $2 108,587 and turned out products valued at $11,225,910. Taking this data into account in connection with the foregoing agricultural figures it will be seen that Washington County is strong both in farms and shops. The county's total population in 1920 was 43,049. The home owners numbered 7,073 while 41,128, or about 95 % were native whites. No Ohio county enjoys better shipping facilities. To Washington's two navigable rivers are added the prosperous branches of two great trunk-line railways, the Pennsylvania and the Baltimore and Ohio. Two interurban lines, one up the Muskingum and the other to Parkersburg, are connected with the Marietta street car system, all three properties being in active operation in spite of the competition of autos and trucks. Marietta's banking privileges are afforded by five financial institutions, three of which are national banks. In the villages of the county the banks are as follows: Beverly—The Citizens Bank Company. Waterford—Commercial Savings Bank. Watertown—First National Bank. Lowell—First National Bank. New Matamoras—First National Bank and Peoples Savings Bank. Lower Salem—First National Bank. Bartlett—Bartlett Farmers' Bank. SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 277 The total assets of these thirteen banks amount to $19,557,650. The county maintains 196 school buildings. THE CITY OF MARIETTA In an earlier Washington County chapter, there is much detail regarding the Marietta of today, some of which represents the claims of the city's Chamber of Commerce. We quote here some additional statements from a publication issued by Marietta's very active Kiwanis Club, so that readers may know more about this rare old city and learn what her citizens claim for it : "Here are the sites of Fort Harmar and Campus Martius ; the old land office building of the Ohio Company, now the oldest building standing in the Northwest Territory; the home of Gen. Rufus Putnam, of Revolutionary war fame; Mound Cemetery, resting place of many men renowned in the Revolutionary war and the nation's early history; the birthplace and boyhood home of Vice President Charles G. Dawes; the Washington ,County Children's Home, the first children's home in America supported by taxation; the prehistoric work of the mound builders that has been a source of awe and speculation since men first began to peer back into unrecorded past. "Here are Marietta College, originated in 1797, and its museum with many precious Revolutionary war and early settler relics; the famous Rathbone elm, reputed to be the largest elm tree in America; the 'Two Horned Church,' the oldest church in Ohio, and many other similar points of interest. "Then there is Marietta's entrancing beauty, partly due to unusual natural endowments and partly to civic spirit. "For Marietta is at the meeting place of the broad Ohio and the 'meandering' Muskingum rivers, and no city could wish for a fairer God-given setting. "But the wide streets, over-arched with stately elms, and named for the generals of the American Revolution ; the beautiful old homes, many of national repute for their pure colonial architecture; and the well-kept and historic 'beauty spots' are man's work, down through more than a century. "Marietta has diversified industries, but here's a thing about them more striking than their diversity. "Most of them are surrounded by well-kept lawns, flower beds 278 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO and shrubbery. Some of them are models of landscaping and people come for miles to see them in June when the roses are in bloom. "The owners of these industries see more in business than digging for dollars. Their factories have a civic as well as a financial value to the community." PRAISE FROM "SCENIC AND HISTORIC OHIO" Following are some points made in favor of Washington County and Marietta by "Scenic and Historic Ohio," points which the editor of this history may have overlooked : Among Ohio counties Washington ranks "second in apples, in yield of corn per acre, in number of farms operated by women and of farms operated by owners; fourth in orchard fruits; fifth in number of native white farmers and eighth in buckwheat." The same publication speaks of Mrs. Frances D. Gage, author, lecturer and reformer, born in Marietta, 1808; of Francis MacMillen, violinist, born in Marietta, 1885; and adds: "This county contains more graves of officers of the Revolutionary army than does any similar extent of ground in the United States. The first library in Ohio was opened in Belpre in 1796 ; the first children's home in Marietta, by Miss Catherine Fay (afterward Mrs. Ewing) ." The Marietta Council of Religious Education The cooperative program of religious education in the city of Marietta is under the direction of the Marietta Council of Religious Education which is a representative body consisting of the minister and one lay member selected officially by each of the cooperating churches and the general secretary of the county council: WEEK DAY SCHOOLS One of the important activities of this council is the Marietta Week Day School of Religion, which had an enrollment last year of more than seventeen hundred pupils. Two teachers have been employed for the coming year, Miss Hazel Boe, who will teach in the first four grades, and Miss. Ruth Self, who will teach in the fifth and sixth grades and the junior and senior high schools. SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 281 By special arrangement with the Board of Education the teachers meet the pupils in the public school rooms and any parents who do not wish to have their children attend the classes in religion may have them excused by making written request to this effect. Very few such requests, however, have been made. The following is an outline of courses offered in the various grades: I. Biblical and other stories used to acquaint the child with the Heavenly Father and His world. II. Biblical and other stories used to teach the child how he may please the Heavenly Father. III. Ideal character traits as exemplified in the lives of Biblical and other characters. IV. Lesson studies of religious concepts suited to this age and especially planned to carry the instruction over into action. V. Jesus' standards of living applied to everyday problems. VI. Studies in our relation with God and our associates which seek especially to cultivate the sense of personal responsibility in conduct and character. Junior High School. A study of the problems of everyday living with an attempt to apply Christian principles. Senior High School. The Life and Teachings of Jesus. SUNDAY SCHOOLS The Children's Division Committee of the Marietta Council is also quite active in the field of leadership training. A meeting of the teachers of children in the Sunday Schools of Marietta and vicinity is held once a month to discuss child nature and materials and methods for Christian nurture. Last year the committee selected twenty of the best books on these subjects and conducted a reading campaign in which a total of 258 books were read from this list. The coming year the committee proposes to conduct a training school for their teachers with four noted experts as members of the faculty. The Superintendents Union, which consists of the superintendents and assistant superintendents of the Sunday Schools in Marietta, meets quarterly to discuss topics of mutual concern. There are twenty-four Sunday Schools in Marietta with a total enrollment of 5,475 and an average attendance of 3,019, which is an increase of nearly eighteen per cent over last year. 282 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO The officers of the Marietta Council of Religious Education are : President, Mr. J. C. Brennan; secretary, Miss Mildred Smith; treasurer, Mr. J. C. Otto. The Washington County Council of Religious Education The Washington County Council of Religious Education promotes and seeks to develop a cooperative program of religious education throughout the county. To this end the county has been divided into fifteen districts, one of which is the city of Marietta, and a suitable cooperative organization has been formed in each district. At least one convention or institute is held in each district each year and many Sunday Schools and other gatherings are visited by the general secretary and other workers during the year. The county convention is held on the first Monday and Tuesday in October, at one of the churches in Marietta. SUNDAY SCHOOLS The young people in the Sunday Schools of the county hold a county conference under the auspices of the council on the first Friday and Saturday in May and the officers of this conference carry on an active program during the year. The latest annual report of the Sunday Schools shows a total of 139 Sunday Schools in the county with 1,365 officers and a total enrollment of 13,885. This is a substantial gain over the next preceding year's enrollment. There were two vacation church schools outside of Marietta, one at New Matamoras and one at Moss Run. WEEK DAY SCHOOLS The county council is also conducting a series of Week Day Schools of Religion in the public schools of several of the important villages of the county. Miss Ruth Colyer has been employed for full time as teacher in these schools and will visit them each week according to the following schedule : Monday, all day, Belpre; Tuesday morning, Rockland, afternoon, Belpre; Wednesday morning, Lowell, afternoon, Beverly; Thursday, all day, New Matamoras; Friday, Newport. Arrangements have also been made for the county superin- SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 283 tendent of the children's division to teach religion this year in the public schools of Williamstown, W. Va. Something of the value of the week day schools is pointed out in the following letter addressed to the general secretary: "You will be interested to know that after careful investigation of our records I find that juvenile delinquency has decreased materially in this county since religious education has been established in the day schools and I want to commend you and your assistants upon the good work you have done. Very truly yours, FRANK F. FLEMING, Judge of the Juvenile Court." DISTRICT EXECUTIVES Marietta City, J. C. Brennan, Marietta. Western District, J. C. Haney, Waterford. Southwestern District, Mrs. Ray Goddard, Cutler. Waterford District, Paul. Haskins, Waterford. Barlow-Watertown District, L. E. Skipton, Watertown. Adams District, A. F. Wendell, Lowell. Muskingum District, Walter Brown, Marietta, R. D. Warren District, H. B. Smith, Marietta R. D. Belpre District, J. H. Lawton, Belpre. Aurelius-Salem District, Joseph S. Boyd, Elba. Marietta-Fearing District, M. A. Ward, Marietta. Liberty-Lawrence District, C. C. Oliver, Stanleyville. Newport District, R. T. McKibben, Newport. Northeastern District, Fred Mosser, Shay. New Matamoras District, Rev. G. W. Wiggins, New Matamoras. OFFICERS Business Committee Mr. Thomas J. Summers, President Mr. R. F. Clarke, Vice President Mr. Edwin B. Strecker, Secretary Mr. Charles F. Strecker, Treasurer Mr. B. O. Skinner 284 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO Educational Committee Rev. Maxwell Hall, Chairman Mrs. Maxwell Hall, Superintendent Children's Division Rev. A. G. Marquis, Superintendent Young People's Division Mr. W. H. Sheldon, Superintendent Adult Division Mr. C. M. Weeks, Superintendent Administration Division THE COUNTY COUNCIL (In addition to officers named above) F. M. Brickwede Mrs. R. C. Britton J. D. Hervey Miss Helen Ludwig John C. Otto E. S. Parsons B. O. Skinner J. H. Lawton, Belpre A. F. Wendell, Lowell Rev. W. T. Blume M. A. Ward Rev. Theo. Mehl T. H. Cisler C. E. Corwin Arthur Harris Prof. Gerald Hamilton Dr. J. W. Ward, Archer's Fork Miss Marie Cline, New Matamoras John Walker. Little Hocking General Secretary, Rev. Maxwell Hall, 806 Fifth Street Marietta, Ohio MARIETTA CHURCHES, 1927

Church	Pastor	Church Membership	Sunday School Membership
Baptist, First Baptist, Immanuel.   Christian, Central  Christian Union  Church of Christ  Church of God   Congregational, First  Congregational, Harmar Congregational, Wayne Street Episcopal, St. Luke's Evangelical, St. Paul's Fairview Heights International Bible Students'Assn. Jewish Church  Lutheran, St. Luke's  Methodist Episcopal, First   Methodist Episcopal, Gilman Ave. Methodist Episcopal, Norwood Methodist Episcopal, Trinity Methodist Episcopal, Colored Methodist Wesleyan Presbyterian, First Roman Catholic Salvation Army Unitarian	T. H. Binford Harold E. Doty (None) (None) Oliver Johnston .... David E. Adams Frank M. Whitlock Mrs. Florence L. Squires Lyman Howes Theophil Mehl (No church) .... B. Zemel P. O. Weimer Wm. T. Blume F. M. Born H. A. Sayre Wm. A. Schruff Julian A. Walker W F. Jones E B. Townsend J. J. Herman W. E. Dewsbury Hal H. Lloyd	530 110 150 60 500 48 578 180 113 275 325 .... 34 81 750 1,028 697 548 205 16 38 662 1,000 115 126	471 127 180 100 120 80 312 102 175 92 263 54 43 .... 352 878 376 525 218 19 53 463 .... 352 72

SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 285 WASHINGTON COUNTY'S PUBLIC UTILITIES The following table represents the taxable value in 1926 of the properties of the gas, oil, transportation and telephone companies doing business in Washington County :

12 Natural Gas Companies 5 Pipe Line Companies B. & O. S. W. (including Marietta Branch), Ohio and Little Kanawha, and Pennsylvania Railroads Kanawha Traction and Electric Line 24 Telephone Companies

$1,476,350 1,598,350 3,141,100 670,740 456,340 $7,342,880

NEARLY 4,400 TELEPHONES IN WASHINGTON COUNTY In about fifty years the number of subscribers has reached nearly 4,400, this being now more than in all Spain. The first exchange began to operate on February 13, 1882, with approximately thirty-seven subscribers, by the Central District & Printing Telegraph Company. In 1886 about sixty subscribers were being served. The telephone had not been considered a necessity up to this time ; its real value was not realized until later. The type of equipment and construction was somewhat crude in comparison with the present day specifications. Only male employes were engaged in the industry in the earlier days. Soon thereafter female employes were performing some of the duties. The first regular female operator, Mrs. Lillian A. Williams (nee Miller) was engaged in 1882, after satisfying the objections of her parents who were inclined to believe it was work suitable for men only. In the first days of operation one operator was employed, whereas today approximately fifty are required to handle the traffic efficiently at the Marietta office ; an increase of one operator per year. The first long distance line terminated at Parkersburg, followed by others to Wheeling, W. Va., and Pittsburgh, over which demonstrations were held for the purpose of convincing the public of its utility. 286 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO In 1901 underground cable was installed in this locality; prior to this time all lines were aerial. By 1902 the business had developed to such an extent as to require erecting a company-owned building in which to operate. In 1915 another long distance demonstration was had between Marietta and San Francisco. SOME OF THE COUNTY'S VILLAGES The first of the off-shoots from Marietta was planted along the Ohio on a tract of land which ended two miles above the Little Hocking. The lots were surveyed and platted the winter of 178889 and about forty "associates" organized to take possession of the tract. Occupation of the lots drawn began in April, 1789. Little cabins sprang up along the Ohio and clearings appeared around them. The settlers were men of worth, force and great industry. They called their group of settlements Belle Prairie which was reduced later to Belleprie and still later to Belpre. NEXT ON WOLF CREEK The second off-shoot was 'established north of Marietta instead of down the Ohio, at a point twenty miles up the Muskingum, on donation lands and on Wolf Creek. In this association thirty-nine pioneers joined. On the "penninsula" on the west side of the Muskingum and in a Wolf Creek bend a village was laid out. The date of the settlement was April 20, 1789, when nineteen pioneers left Campus Martius in canoes and rowed up to what was to be their new home. These men wrought rapidly, for by mid-May each family's cabin was ready and there was a garden to go with it. During the summer a blockhouse was built. On Wolf Creek a mile from its mouth, Col. Robert Oliver, Maj. Haffield White and Captain John Stone erected Ohio's first grist mill and houses sprang up around it, the settlement being called Wolf Creek. The mill proved to be of great value to Marietta as well as to the new settlements. BEVERLY, WATERFORD, LOWELL Other pioneers entered land at Beverly, Waterford, Lowell and elsewhere in the county and these villages became and now are thriving little centers. John Dodge laid out a portion of his SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 287 farm in town lots when work on the Muskingum improvement brought an inflow of men to that section and he named the spot Beverly, that being the name of his native Massachusetts town. Beverly was incorporated February 18, 1845. The first store had been established there in 1837 and the Beverly Academy had been opened in 1842. There were two or three little cabins and a tavern at Newport in 1798. The first brick house was erected in 1809. The town plat was surveyed in 1839. Lowell was incorporated May 10, 1851. As in the case of Beverly work on the Muskingum improvement made a busy village of Lowell and the opening of navigation gave the place a still greater impetus. A grist mill was built in 1842. THE VILLAGES OF TODAY They are thriving spots, where business and education go hand in hand. To speak of them briefly : Belpre—A village of 1,317 inhabitants; it transacts a great deal of business. Thirty-one stores and other representatives of mercantile and industrial activities exist in Belpre. Beverly—This beautiful spot which often is spoken of as having the Muskingum on three of its sides, contains 566 inhabitants, has a bank, the Citizens; and a newspaper, the Dispatch, was founded in 1879 and according to the Ayers Newspaper Annual for 1927, has a circulation of more than 1,100, its editors and publishers being Fred Price and F. C. Holden. Beverly has flour and planing mills and is a fruit, grain and dairy center. Barlow, with 250 inhabitants, has four business concerns; Macksburg, a place of 380 inhabitants, six stores and other concerns. Lowell, with but 516 inhabitants, supports twenty-six establishments of varying importance and its bank, the First National, enjoys a generous patronage. New Matamoras—The First National Bank and thirty-four other representatives of business activity are established in this village, which has a population of 896. Newport is credited with a population of 400 and thirteen business places such as are to be found in Ohio villages of its class. Waterford is another thriving little Muskingum River village. 19—Vol. 1 288 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO Among its fifteen business places is the Waterford Commercial and Savings Bank, and its inhabitants number 310. Watertown is of about the same size, with about half the number of men or firms in business and its First National Bank is a well-patronized institution. Lower Salem also supports a First National Bank although its population is only about two hundred. Bartlett, of about the same size, enjoys the privilege of a banking house., the Farmers Bank. WASHINGTON COUNTY OFFICERS, 1927 Probate Judge F. F. Fleming Clerk of Courts A. L. Savage Sheriff Perley J. Way Auditor Frank J. McCauley County Commissioner J. F. Fleming County Commissioner Martin McBride County Commissioner B. F. Oliver Treasurer H. H. Myers Recorder May Bell Surveyor Charles M. Weeks Prosecuting Attorney Verner E. Metcalf Coroner N. O. Whiting BELMONT COUNTY CHAPTER XXVIII THE COUNTY'S ROCK PICTURES CUT IN SANDSTONE, THEY REVEAL PREHISTORIC MAN'S OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTY-THIRTY-TWO MOUNDS, VILLAGE SITES AND ENCLOSURES ADD VARIETY TO THE EVIDENCE-AN INDIAN TRAIL PASSED THROUGH A CORNER OF THE COUNTY AND A VILLAGE EXISTED ON OR NEAR THE OHIO-BLOODY BATTLE BETWEEN WHITES AND REDSKINS FOUGHT ON CAPTINA CREEK-LEWIS WETZEL, FAMOUS INDIAN FIGHTER, A BELMONT FIGURE. In the Ohio Archeological and Historical Society's published records of prehistoric remains, fourteen petroglyphs are enumerated as having been discovered in this state, including five discovered in the twelve Southeastern Ohio counties dealt with in this work. One of these five is Belmont County's contribution to the very limited number of rock pictures which have been found among the very large number of mounds, enclosures, village sites, burials, etc., left in Ohio by the aborigines to engage the puzzled attention of archeologists. BELMONT COUNTY'S PETROGLYPHS Of this and other physical evidences of the existence of prehistoric man in Belmont County the "Archeological Atlas of Ohio," of which William C. Mills, curator of the Ohio Archeological and Historical Society, is the author, has the following to say: "Belmont County is important archeologically as presenting fine examples of the so-called petroglyphs, or Indian rock pictures. These petroglyphs are found.in several counties of the state, principally those bordering the Ohio River, where they generally appear cut into comparatively smooth surfaces of the exposed sandstone of the coal measures bordering the river. A number of these rock pictures, however, are located independently of the streams, as in Belmont and Jackson counties. - 289 - 290 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO FOOTPRINTS, FACES, SNAKES, BIRDS "The, Barnesville Track Rocks, as the Belmont County petroglyphs have been styled, are situated near the city of Barnesville in Warren Township. They are cut or pecked into the coarse sandstone grit, the tools used in most cases having been of stone or flint and the outlines alone sufficing to form the desired figure. The Barnesville petroglyphs consist mostly of outlines of the human footprint, of the footprints of various birds and animals, of the human face, of serpents, etc. "Along the river in eastern Belmont County are located numerous mounds, burials and village sites while in the western portion of the county are other mounds, village sites and earthworks." - A TOTAL OF THIRTY-TWO EARTHWORKS The county records by townships are as follows : Flushing, burials 2 ; Kirkwood, enclosures 1; Wheeling, burials 2 ; Warren, mounds 2, village sites 2, cemeteries 1 and petroglyphs 1; Union, mounds 1, burials 1; Pease, mounds 2, village sites 1, burials 3; Pultney, mounds 3, village sites 1, burials 1; Meade, mounds 3, burials 2; York, mounds 1, burials 2. Summing these records up we find that Belmont County presents twelve mounds, one enclosure, four village sites, thirteen burials, one cemetery and one petroglyph, a total of thirty-two prehistoric exhibits, a number and variety sufficient to show that prehistoric man was rather fond of Belmont territory as a field for his peculiar activities. He was especially given to these along the west bank of the Ohio, the records showing a line of objects along the entire river front, with short intervening mileages. The banks of Captina, McMahon and Wheeling creeks were also favored sections. One village was Located just north of the mouth of Wheeling Creek, another south of McMahon; while the two in northwestern Warren Township were about three miles northwest of Barnesville. The single enclosure was built in what is now the east end of Kirkwood Township, north of the National road. THE INDIAN IN BELMONT COUNTY The remains described give us such knowledge of prehistoric man's occupation of Belmont County as is available and we now SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 291 turn to his successor, the American Indian, concerning whose activities we have a great deal of authentic history, but history which must be greatly condensed for these pages. The "Mills Atlas" describes and pictures sixteen Indian trails as having been found in Ohio territory by the whites who came hither. According to Curator Mills but one of these, number nine, entered what is now Belmont County. This pathway led from "Will's Town," at the falls of the Muskingum (Duncan Falls, Muskingum County), northeastwardly to "Crow's Town," on the Ohio, near the site of the city of Steubenville. This trail, which traversed the northwest corner of Belmont County, was extensively used by some of the whites who came westward into the Ohio country. There was at least one Indian village (of Delawares) but it was far away from the trail, on the Ohio River near the southeast corner of the county. SERIOUS INDIAN HOSTILITIES Among these was the bloody battle on Captina Creek which was fought in the spring of 1794 between 30 Indians and 14 whites under Capt. Abraham Enochs, who lost his life and was scalped and disemboweled, as were others of his party. In 1796, when a party of whites under Lieut. Duncan McArthur, afterwards governor of Ohio, were in a blockhouse on land owned by Robert Kirkwood, an Indian appeared outside and when he withdrew McArthur and his men gave chase. Ambushed by a party of the savages six of the twelve whites fell. McArthur and the remainder of his little band managed to take refuge in the blockhouse. Lewis Wetzel, the famous Indian fighter, figured in some of Belmont's early troubles with the savages, two at least of which furnished proof of his great daring and prowess, one on Dunkard Creek and the other near where the National road later was laid out, at a point about two and a half miles east of what is now St. Clairsville. In one of these encounters Wetzel's unerring aim and his ability to load his rifle while running to escape from pursuing redskins came in excellent play. Wetzel was born about 1764. On leaving Belmont County he went to Texas and died there at the age of 75 years. CHAPTER XXIX BELMONT COUNTY'S EARLY HISTORY OHIO RIVER, THE ZANES AND THEIR TRACE ACCELERATED EARLY SETTLEMENT- EARLY COUNTYHOOD ALSO AN ENCOURAGING FACTOREBENEZER ZANE A TOWER OF STRENGTH AND HIS SISTER ELIZABETH A HEROINE OF RAREST TYPE-THE FORMER ACQUIRED WHEELING ISLAND AND A LARGE TRACT OF BELMONT LAND-FOUGHT FOR THE COLONIES IN THE LAST BATTLE OF THE REVOLUTION-CELORON HAD PASSED DOWN THE OHIO IN 1749, AND GEORGE WASHINGTON IN 1770. It was Belmont County's good fortune to have in her favor during the early years of settlement and development five strong factors: the Ohio River, Ebenezer Zane, Zane's Trace, early countyhood and the National road. The "Belle Riviere" made it comparatively easy for the emigrant to reach the land of Belmont and it soon encouraged agriculture and industry by transporting their products to remunerative markets. Ebenezer Zane was more to the new settlements across the Ohio from Wheeling than the latter's mere founder. He was a tower of strength during the trying Indian troubles and his example lent confidence to the pioneer on the west side of the Ohio. Best of all, perhaps, for the pioneers, was Zane's extensive purchase of Belmont lands along the Ohio and his activities in behalf of further settlement and speedy development. ZANE'S TRACE, COUNTYHOOD AND THE HIGHWAY Zane's Trace began in Belmont County and although the work of laying it out did not start until twenty-seven years after its projector's arrival at Wheeling it came very early in Belmont history—as early as 1796. The Trace furnished a pathway from the shores of the Ohio to coveted spots deep in the wilderness and as it grew wider through use it gave rapidly increasing streams of settlers access to rich Belmont lands. Countyhood came very early, in 1801, to encourage settlers - 293 - 294 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO with the knowledge that law and the administration thereof was and would be behind their pioneering undertakings. County organization fostered confidence and inspired enterprise. The National road was also begun in Belmont and although the first shovelful of earth was thrown at St. Clairsville not until July 4, 1825, the knowledge that it would come Belmont's way had for several years multiplied land buyers, clearings, cabins, farms and villages. What the highway itself did later for the county will be told on a future page. THE POWERFUL ZANES AS PIONEERS The arrival of Ebenezer Zane and his brothers at the mouth of Wheeling Creek in September, 1769, hastened Belmont's settlement, as the arrival of any strong and worthy pioneers on the opposite shore of the Ohio would have done at that time. But in Ebenezer Zane the county's earliest settlers found human power to be counted on. He was conciliatory toward the Indians yet of reassuring strength when they threatened danger—a man of vision, courage, firmness and ability. FITTED FOR GREAT TASKS Born on the south branch of the Potomac River near what is now Moorfield, W. Va., October 7, 1747, with adventurous Danish blood in his veins, Ebenezer Zane was of the true pioneer type as were his brothers Jonathan, Andrew and Silas. They knew how to handle the rifle and the axe and back of all their skill and prowess was a courage craving acquaintance with continued dangers if these did but offer wider opportunities. How long the west beckoned them we do not know but "Wither's Chronicles of Border Warfare" says that in December, 1767, Ebenezer Zane, with several companions, sought to explore the country from the south branch of the Potomac to the Ohio River. A severe snow storm and the intensely cold weather which followed brought such hardships upon the little party while they were crossing "the glades" that it became necessary to return to the Potomac. We quote here from the "Chronicles" : BURNED BRIDGES BEHIND HIM "The succeeding spring, 1768; Colonel Zane finally left his home on the South Branch, with his family and household goods, SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 295 accompanied by two younger brothers, some negro slaves and other laborers, to found a new home somewhere in these western wilds. Taking the trail of the Indian traders from Fort Cumberland his journey brought him to the waters of the Monongahela, at Redstone Old Fort, now Brownsville. Here he remained a year but not liking the country nor the quality of the land in that vicinity he concluded to make a wider excursion in search of more eligible location." Accordingly, Zane left his family at Redstone and with his brothers Jonathan and Silas plunged into the wilderness. After many days they reached the headwaters of Wheeling Creek. Down this stream they journeyed and in due time approached its mouth. Climbing a nearby hill Colonel Zane saw the Ohio, burst into an exclamation of delight and decided at once to stake his claim and pitch his tent in this favored spot. We quote again from the "Chronicles" : A GRAND AND GLORIOUS VISION "He was accustomed in after years to describe the impression of this scene as like a vision of Paradise. The sun had just dissipated the rising mists of a beautiful September morning and his delighted vision swept over the wide and varied landscape, glowing in all its pristine loveliness, before ever the hand of man had marred its fair visage. Innumerable waterfowl sported on the broad bosom of the river, the timid deer quenched his early thirst at its banks, the dense foliage of the forest gleamed in the morning light, the birds sang from every bough and all nature seemed to lend her every grace and charm to decorate the scene and enchant the sense." The Zanes lost no time : they must cross to the farther shore of that majestic river. Promptly a raft was built and poles cut to propel it. They embarked and reached the island thinking it formed the river's western shore and so presently their steps brought them to the other half of the Ohio. The island was magnificent. At once they began to blaze its trees so as to mark the boundaries of their claim and take possession. Returning to the Virginia shore they marked other claims until a regular land patent could be obtained. A rude cabin was built and Silas Zane was left there while the other brothers returned to Redstone for 296 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO the family, chattels, horses, cattle, etc. Thus Ebenezer Zane founded Wheeling in September, 1769. PIONEERS OWED MUCH TO THE ZANES Colonel Zane built his cabin on an eminence above the mouth of Wheeling Creek, near the Ohio River. The brothers were soon busy making an extensive improvement. "Wither's Chronicles" says of these three men : "The brothers, Ebenezer, Silas and Jonathan, who settled Wheeling were also men of enterprise tempered with prudence and directed by sound judgment. Ready at all times to resist and punish the aggressions of the Indians they were scrupulously careful not to provoke them by acts of wanton outrage such as were then frequently committed along the frontier. To the bravery and good conduct of these three brothers the Wheeling settlement was mainly indebted for its security and preservation during the War of the Revolution." EBENEZER ZANE LEADER Although but twenty-three years old, Ebenezer Zane began a career which soon gave him leadership in the new settlement. During "Dunmore's War," in 1774, he was disbursing agent at Wheeling and in practical command of its fort. Here, on August 31, 1777, his courage and capacity were put to the test, when 400 Indians under Simon Girty, the renegade, invested the fort and called for immediate surrender. Women and children were within the walls and only twelve men and boys, but the besieged were stout of heart and Colonel Zane, after replying that every one of these would die rather than surrender, began to prepare his defense. The siege lasted twenty-three hours, when reinforcements came and the Indians retired. Here again, at Fort Henry, on September 11, 12 and 13, 1782, the last battle of the American Revolution was fought and Colonel Zane was once more the commander. A British captain, forty regular soldiers and 260 Indians were reported to be in the attacking party. Their four attempts to storm the fort were all repulsed. It was here that Colonel Zane's heroic sister, Elizabeth Zane, braved Indian missiles as she dashed out after powder housed sixty yards away and ran back with it to the fort. John S. SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 297 Adams' poem commemorating her brave deed appears in Chapter II. CELORON THERE TWENTY YEARS BEFORE Ebenezer Zane was not the first white man to appear on the Virginia shore at the mouth of Wheeling Creek. Twenty years before several scores of them had stood there, had listened to the reading of the "process verbal" whereby Celoron sought to establish the French King's claim to the Ohio country and had witnessed the burial at the mouth of the creek of that leaden plate which was intended to constitute physical evidence of the assertion of the claim. WASHINGTON AT WHEELING 1770 It is an interesting fact that in the year after Zane's arrival one who had fought under the British flag against French forces raised to maintain the same French claim, had passed the little Zane settlement on his way down the Ohio to appraise the value of its lands. We know from his journal that George Washington, conservatively as he wrote about the soil and timber of those lands, looked upon them with marked favor and became a heavy purchaser thereof. We know also how afterwards he clung to the idea of their prospective value to comrades of the Revolutionary forces, recognizing not merely their physical value but having a vision of what they might become as well-earned homes for the officers and soldiers under him in case of victory over the British or as a refuge in case of defeat. EYES THAT PIERCED THE WILDERNESS George Washington's conception of what the vast Ohio country would come to mean to his countrymen in the near future was apparently duplicated in the mind of Ebenezer Zane, who applied to congress for permission to connect Wheeling and Limestone, Kentucky, by means of a roadway through the forest, but more than a quarter of a century elapsed between his arrival at the Ohio and the opening of Zane's Trace. When the latter masterstroke came its good effects were felt first in Belmont County and they continued so to be felt on a rising scale with each recurring season. CHAPTER XXX PIONEERS SETTLING IN BELMONT TERRITORY BUT INCREASING INDIAN HOSTILITIES CHECKED THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT— SOME OF THE WHITES MUCH TO BLAME—BOUQUET'S BLOODLESS VICTORY AT THE MUSKINGUM'S FORKS, McDONALD'S SUCCESS AT DRESDEN AND LEWIS' DEFEAT OF CORNSTALK AT POINT PLEASANT HAD GOOD EFFECTS—BUT THE SAVAGE STILL STOOD FAST FOR THE OHIO AS A BOUNDARY AND WAYNE'S CRUSHING VICTORY AT FALLEN TIMBERS WAS REQUIRED TO BRING THE BLESSINGS OF PEACE. "One thought was theirs, to see this land Crowned with the blessings of the free— To plant with an unshackled hand The graceful tree of liberty ; The might of kings could never stay The onward march of hero sires, Nor quench for one brief summer's day The glow of freedom's beacon fires." The arrival of pioneers within Belmont territory had begun before the Trace was marked out, for all the adventurous men who had followed Zane to the Ohio did not all settle on the east side of the river; some of them crossed the stream to enter land and build cabins and fell trees on its nearby western shore and along the creeks which flowed eastward from interior hills. Indeed Ebenezer Zane himself did not long delay to acquire Belmont acres. Narratives of difficult and dangerous journeys into new countries and of the pioneering activities which have transformed patches of the forest into cultivated fields and hamlets are interesting and inspiring. Historians who write county histories are expected to dwell upon such journeys and undertakings. But in this history of twelve counties, to dwell on particulars would give the work a bulk rendering impracticable its general distribution. We must therefore deal chiefly here with movements, high spots and general results. - 299 -