CITY OF DAYTON. - 559

CHAPTER II.

THE VILLAGE- INCORPORATED -CHANGES -FLOOD OF 1805-INDIAN GRAVES -FIRST NEWSPAPER-THE ACADEMY - FIRST BRICK RESIDENCE-BUSINESS IN 1808-THE DOCTORS - PUBLIC VENDUE - MAIL ROUTES-DIVORCE-TOWN ELECTION-MANUFACTURES-FERRIES-THE: TOWN PLATS-UNITED STATES PATENTS TO COOPER - FOURTH OF JULY, 1809-ST. JOHN'S LODGE-BOATING UP THE MIAMI-A TRIP EAST - TEAMING - THE TOWN IN 1810-1811-MOB- CELEBRATIONS- WAR OF 1812 - MECHANICAL SOCIETY-REAL ESTATE.

THE cluster of cabins at Dayton, was but the center of a cluster of settlements ; the little hamlet in the backwoods could not present many points to recommend it as the best location for the county seat.

One-half of the cabins were empty. Except on Water street, the whole plat was covered with bushes, weeds and vines, scrub oaks, wild cherry trees and plum thickets. North of the river the, dense forest reached to the river bank ; on the east the forest extended from the present location of the Hydraulic around to near the corner of Fifth and Wayne streets, and on down to the hills south of town.

Wild game was abundant. Wolves howled at night and panthers were occasionally killed.

For many years there was no dwelling or clearing east of Mill street, except one, a log cabin in the woods on the north side of where Third street now lies, between Beckel and Front streets.

THE VILLAGE.

The honor conferred upon the village in its selection as the county seat of the newly formed county of Montgomery, was the opportunity to shake off its primitive crossroad ways and assume the proper dignity, by making improvements to accommodate the court, its high officials and attending lawyers.

Benjamin Van Cleve's commission as Postmaster was issued in Washington, December 13, 1803, but was not received here until the next month, January, 180.4, so that it is probable that the post office was opened in the spring of 1804.

The post office was opened at Mr. Van Cleve's cabin, at the southeast corner of First and St. Clair streets, and Mr. Van Cleve was continued as Postmaster until his death in 1821.

For some years the only mail received in Dayton was one that was carried by post-rider, leaving Cincinnati once a week ; the route was up the Little Miami, through Lebanon and Xenia, up to Urbana, and then down through Piqua, Dayton and Hamilton to Cincinnati again. Thus a letter from Cincinnati to Dayton went the round via Lebanon, Xenia, Urbana and Piqua before reaching here ; and a letter from Dayton to Piqua or Xenia, or one from Franklin to Dayton, had to first go to Cincinnati and come around the circuit, requiring a week to reach its destination.

The next mail route established was a weekly mail from Zanesville and the east via Franklinton, Urbana and Piqua to Dayton. The next line was to and from the east via Chillicothe, and it was the principal channel of communication east for many years, and until a more direct route was, established through Columbus.

560 - HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

Improvement began at once ; Main street was cleared of undergrowth and stumps nearly the entire length, the lower end being at the present junction with Warren street ; the gully crossing Main at Main Cross street, was filled with logs and covered with earth ; First street was partially graded from Ludlow street, east to St. Clair.

The village school was opened in the fall by George Westfall, at his cabin on Main street ; the log jail was built that year.

Henry Brown and John Sutherland shortly after Wayne's treaty at Greenville became partners in business as "Indian traders," at Fort Hamilton, where they kept a large stock of goods , doing business under the firm name of Brown & Sutherland. In the winter of 1798 - 99, Brown, with a portion of the goods, opened a branch store at Loramie, where he remained in charge until in 1804, when he built a frame storeroom in Dayton, on the east side of Main street near Water street. It was the only store here at the time : and there were but two other shingle roofed houses in the village-- Mr. Cooper's residence, southwest corner First and Ludlow streets, and Newcom's tavern. The firm traded largely with the Indians, sending agents with goods to the Greenville. Fort Wayne and Wapakonetta towns. The firm was dissolved in June. 1812: Mr. Brown continuing the business at his residence on Main street near the court house until his death in 1823.

DAYTON INCORPORATED.

The town of Dayton was incorporated by act of the Legislature on the 12th day of February. 1805.

The act provided "that such part of the township of Dayton in the county of Montgomery, as is included within the following limits. that is to say : Beginning on the bank of the Miami where the sectional line between file second and third sections, fifth township and seventh range intersects the same: thence east with said line to the middle of section thirty-three. second township, seventh range : thence north two miles ; thence west to the Miami ; thence down the same to the place of beginning. shall be, and the same is hereby erected into a town, corporate, which shall henceforth be known and distinguished by the name of the town of Dayton." Seven Trustees, a Collector. a Supervisor and a Town Marshal, were to be elected by the freeholders who had lived in the town six months. The Trustees so elected were to choose from their own number, a President and Recorder, they were also to elect a Treasurer, who was not required to be one of the Trustees.

The board thus organized was to be known as " The Select Council of the town of Dayton. "

The first election under this act occurred on the first Monday of May, 1805.

The terms of three of the' Trustees were to expire i n one year and their place filled by election; and elections were to be held annually after that.

Expenditures were to be authorized and voted at meetings of the freeholders and householders of the town. This section of the law was repealed in 1813-14.

The President of the " Select Council " was Mayor of the town. Meetings of Council, for ten years, were held at the houses of the different members; a fine of 25 cents was imposed upon members for being thirty minutes late.

The expenses of the town for the first year were $72, and the Council determined to raise the money by taxation. A meeting of the voters was called to settle the question; the vote stood thirteen for, and seventeen against ; the proposition was defeated. Streets were being cleared and opened up, and as but little fencing had been done on the farms around the town, and still less

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in the town. all stock was running at large and became such a nuisance that in September, 1806, an ordinance was passed forbidding " the running of hogs and other animals at large on the streets of the town." The operation of the ordinance was afterward suspended until the spring of 1807.

CHANGES.

The first brick building erected in Dayton was " McCollum's tavern;" the two-story brick built by Hugh McCollum, on the southwest corner of Second and Main streets, in 1805. The County Commissioners contracted with him for the use of as much of his house, when completed, as would be needed for holding the courts. Under this arrangement, the place for holding the courts was changed from Newcom's tavern to McCollum's, for the fall term of 1805. This building was used as a tavern until about 1870, when the floor was lowered and other changes made to adapt the rooms to business. In 1880, the building was torn down to give place to the new Firemen's Insurance Block.

In March 1805, the first great flood that had occurred since the settlement of the town. rushed like a mighty torrent down the Miami bottoms from the north. The water rose rapidly, and swept over nearly the entire town plat, staying for several days at flood height. Water covered the floors of houses on the west side of Main street, from First to Second. The people were greatly alarmed; so much so that Mr. Cooper proposed to vacate the town plat, and lav out a new town upon the same plan on the high ground to the eastward. pledging to every property holder a lot of the same size and in the same relative situation as he then owned.

Owing to the opposition of two prominent citizens, who were unwilling to abandon their improvements, the plan was not adopted.

In 1806, D. C. Cooper and John Compton entered into partnership. built a one-story brick and began business on the northeast corner of First and Main streets.

The same year, James Steele and Joseph Peirce built a two-story brick, and began business on the southeast corner of the same street. The opening of these stores brought business away from the river to the new trade center; residences were built down the west side of Main street as far as the alley north of the court house, and for a square or two on First street, east and west of Main.

Mr. Cooper had put up the "old saw-mill," on First street, near Sears, and soon afterward he erected a grist-mill at the head of Mill street. In July, .1809, he added a carding-machine to the latter establishment. These mills on Mill street were burned in July, 1820, and were rebuilt by Mr. Cooper's executors.

When word was sent out that "meeting " was to be held, men and women would come in ten miles or more, on horseback, to participate, and in summer, the young people walked five or six miles to " meeting," carrying their shoes - and stockings, if they had any - in their hands, going and coming, stopping a short distance from the " meeting " to put them on and primp up.

Skeletons of buried Indians have, at different times, been found in many parts of the town; around the corner of Water and Mill streets, at First and Beckel streets, over Mad River, near the forks of the old Troy road, in the Fair Ground hill, in a knoll in Woodland Cemetery, at the north end of Bridge street bridge, and at the west end of Third street bridge.

In cutting through a mound, at the east end of First street, in February, 1841, to open the street to the Springfield pike, a skeleton was found, around the neck of which was a string of 170 copper beads, and in the grave were also a number of very fine arrow and spear heads.

562 - HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

An effort was made, in 1806, by a Mr. Crane, of Lebanon, Ohio, to establish a newspaper in Dayton. But a few numbers were issued, when the editor, having an attack of the chills and fever, abandoned the enterprise and returned to Lebanon.

The Dayton Academy was incorporated in 1807, and in the succeeding year, a. two-story brick schoolhouse was erected by subscription. on the west side of St. Clair street, near Third. The bell was donated by Mr. Cooper, This academy property was sold in 1833; lots were bought on the southwest corner of Fourth and Wilkinson streets, and on these lots the trustees built a two-story brick schoolhouse, fronting on Wilkinson street. There was a basement to the building, gable shingle roof and cupola, in which hung a little old shrill-toned bell. The length of the building was on Wilkinson street, and it stood at the inner line of the sidewalk. The first floor was about eight feet up and was reached by wooden steps on the walk. The stockholders in 1857 donated the property to the City Board of Education. The old building was torn down and the present structure erected.

During the winter of 1807-8. a debating club was organized in the village, and spelling matches were regularly held in the academy building, and were the excitement of the winter; sides were chosen and there were many sharp contests in spelling each other down.

The first brick private residence was built by Henry Brown, in the year 1808; a two-story brick, on the northwest corner of Main street and the alley between Second and Third streets. The building, in 1863, was occupied as the Journal office; was afterward torn down to give place to the present structure.

The village was a busy, bustling little place in the year 1808; improvement and prosperity had come to the good villagers, roads had been opened to the different settlements around, and a good trade established.

The taverns were doing a good business. Grimes' tavern, on the east side of Main street, at the south corner of the first alley south of Water street, was a log building, one and a half stories high, and sixty feet long, kept by John Grimes. It had a belfry on top; the log barn and feed yard were back in the alley. Several years later, two or three frame additions were built to the tavern, and the large dining room became the popular place for balls and dances.

Reid's Inn, on the west side of Main street, at the north corner of the alley, between First and Second streets, was a two-story frame house. with a belfry; the sign swung in a square frame on a post that stood at the edge of the sidewalk. In after years a portrait of Commodore Lawrence was painted on the sign, and a scroll with his last words, " Don't give up the ship;" below hung the small sign, Reid's Inn.

To save the $10 tavern license, in 1808, the tavern was changed to a house of private entertainment. In 1836, it was burned down.

McCollum's Tavern, on the southwest corner of Main and Second streets, was the best house in the village; the little bell in the belfry called merchants, mechanics and transients to breakfast before day. After the war of 1812, the sign was ornamented with a picture of the capture of the British frigate Guerriere, by the American frigate Constitution.

The Dayton Repertory, a newspaper eight by twelve inches, printed on a sheet of foolscap paper, was published weekly at $2 a year, by William McClure and George Smith. Their first issue was on September 18, 1808, and the last paper was issued December 4, 1809. The press was a second-hand one, that had been brought from the East, with a lot of old-style type. The news from Europe was three months old. In the winter, in order to remove the office to the south side of Second street, between Main and Jefferson, publication of the

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paper was suspended for several weeks. Advertisements were inserted at $1 a square for three weeks, and 25 cents extra for each subsequent issue.

Mathew Patton was the village cabinet maker; James Hanna had a weaving establishment at the lower end of Main street; John Dodson was house carpenter and joiner; H. G. Phillips kept a stock of general merchandise; John Compton, Jr., kept store at Main and First; merchantable produce was taken at the market price for work and goods.

Brown and Sutherland had a large stock of goods. Steele and Peirce had an assortment of dry goods, groceries, hardware, queens and glassware, medicines, stationery, iron, nails and castings. The roads were not graveled, and there was little effort made to keep the sidewalks in good condition. The merchants all had hitching posts and feed boxes in the road in front of their stores. It was the custom for all of the merchants to keep a bottle of whisky and a bottle of wine sitting on their counter for customers to help themselves. This custom continued as late as 1840.

Fences around the door yards were stake and riders, a few were post. and rail, and there was but little improvement made until after the war.

There were three good physicians in Dayton in 1808, each of them having a large practice through the country, sometimes riding twenty miles to attend a patient, making regular visits through a circuit, stopping at the cabins to dose the patients all around.

The Rev. Dr. Welsh kept supplies of medicines, was a practicing physician, and Presbyterian preacher.

Dr. John Elliott had been a surgeon in Wayne's army, and for several years a practicing physician of the village. He died here, and was buried on the 26th day of February, 1809, with military honors, by the Dayton troop of Light Dragoons and the infantry company; the clergy of the neighborhood and a large concourse of people of the village and county assembled and marched with martial music to the grave, where a eulogy was delivered.

Dr. William Murphy who had been practicing for two or three years, died in 1808.

Their medicines were made of roots and herbs principally, and were of the strongest kinds ; rheumatism and fevers were the diseases they had most to treat in this new country. They carried medicines and instruments in saddle bags, slung across the pommel of the saddle.

As stimulants, they used in their practice, squaw root, snakeroot, Indian turnip, hops, sassafras, ginseng, poke berries, the juice of the poison vine and the bark and berries of the prickly ash.

As tonics, dogwood bark and flowers, willow bark, yellow root, yellow poplar bark, and seed pods, bark of the tulip poplar, and oak bark.

As astringent, bark of the red maple, beech, oak and wild cherry, persimmon bark and unripe fruit.

Emetics, bark of the buckeye, wild ginger root, tobacco leaves, snakeroot and bark of the white locust.

Cathartics, senna leaves, flag root, may apple root, and bark of butternut trees.

Most every house kept a supply of roots and herbs, and most of the mothers had their own way of doctoring.

Public vendue of all kinds of personal property, administrators' sales, cattle and horse sales, generally occurred on court days. Main and Third streets in the vicinity of the court house presented a lively appearance ; people were buying and selling furniture, auctioneers were shouting for bidders, horse traders were busy. Not much money changed hands, for all kinds of sales were made to take chattels and produce in pay.

564 - HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

Advertisements of administrators for the sale of real estate offered to take produce at the market rates, as pay.

A meeting of the citizens of the town was held October 1, 1808, to consider an offer from the Postmaster General to establish a weekly mail route from Wheeling to Dayton, New Lexington and Eaton. " If the people along the line would pay the expense, he would allow them all the emoluments arising from the several new offices." This post rider route was shortly afterward established, and is the one referred to as the "route East via Chillicothe."

The mail north was carried by the post rider to Urbana, once a week.

The pioneers were not entirely exempt from trouble in their marriage relations, for in the papers of those days are several legal notices that divorce had been applied for. We give one here as a sample of the rest

Know ye that I do forewarn all persons from harboring, or trusting my wife Elizabeth Spuryer on my account, as she has left my bed and boarding, without any lawful reason, as I am determined to put the lay in force against anybody that I find my property with.

ELISHA SPURYER.

Betsy-his wife-petitioned for separation, charging her husband with whipping her, and not keeping the marriage vow.

In the spring of 1809, Isaac Burnet was elected President of the " Select Town Council," and John Folkerth Recorder pro tem.

An ordinance in that year was passed by Council requiring all adult males to work two days in each year upon the streets.

A flat-bottomed boat from the mouth of Honey Creek, loaded with walnut and cherry lumber, arrived here on the 11th of April, and started the nest day for New Orleans.

April 18, D. C. Cooper began running a carding machine at his mills, on Water street, near Mill street.

David Steele was operating a cooper shop on First street near St. Clair. April 19, Dr. P. Wood opened the first drug store in Reid's Inn, for the sale of "medicines by the small."

John and Archibald Burns established a sickle-factory in the village the same month, and a wrought-nail factory began operations on Main street, opposite Grimes' tavern. John Strain & Co. were the proprietors.

Thomas McNutt was the village tailor.

A dye-house was opened in May, by James Beek; deep blue was the fashionable color; cotton was colored at 75 cents a pound, linen and woolen goods at 622 cents.

In consequence of low water and a change in the channel of the river near Hamilton, navigation of the Miami in flat-boats was considered risky. On the 23d of Nlay, 1809, John Compton started with a boat-load of grain, pork and whisky, and got through safely to the Ohio. Other boats made the trip, but the water was so very low that they were from two to three weeks getting down to the mouth of the river.

In Dayton there were two ferry-crossings in the Miami, one at the foot of First street, at the old ford on the road to Rench's mill, now Salem. This ferry was running until January, 1819, when the old red toll-bridge, at Bridge street, was finished; the other at the foot of Fourth street, on the road leading down to Gunckel's mill, now Germantown.

The lower ford was just below where the railroad bridge now is; the road to it was down Third street to the present Perry street: thence along a narrow road to the ford; this road was afterward widened and called Perry street.

THE TOWN PLATS.

The original plat of Dayton, as laid out by the proprietors in 1795, did not take effect, by reason of their failure to secure title through Symmes; in

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the subsequent arrangement, by which D. C. Cooper was to become the proprietor of the land at the mouth of Mad River, he made an entirely different plat. This and other reasons caused further confusion and delay, so that the matter had not been adjusted in 1805. In 1804, he made a larger plat and submitted it for record on the 9th of September; for some reason, however, the record was not made until November 20, of the year following. In the meantime, the great flood had occurred and the proposition was made to locate the whole plat on the higher ground east of the village. This was not accomplished, and it was not until 1808, and afterward, that the original settlers all got their lots by patent from the Government, or by deed from D. C. Cooper.

The plat of 1805 contemplated a public square, with the center of the crossing at Main and Third streets as the center of that square; the court house, to be located at the center. In 1809, a revised plat was made by Mr. Cooler, to conform to deeds and patents, and to the original plat, as laid out by Wilkinson, Ludlow, Dayton and St. Clair, in 1795. This revised plat of 1809, therefore, became the plat of the town, and to it all subsequent additions have been made. In numbering the lots, numbers were skipped, to be used in replatting some of the outlots.

Prior to the record of this plat of 1809, property was seldom transferred by deed: the County Commissioners established a rule that that party would be recognized as the owner of a lot whose name appeared in the list opposite to any lot number; thus to pass the title of a piece of property from one person to another, all that was necessary was a verbal request of the owner to have the purchaser's name placed in the list instead of his own. Of these transactions, be they few or many, no record has been preserved, but instead of such record, a perfect list of lot-owners at the time the plat of 1809 was recorded, forms the basis of title to all of the original 321 inlots of Dayton.

In reference to the records of changes in title to Dayton and Montgomery County property, a misunderstanding has long existed as to the importance of Hamilton County records, to show a perfect abstract of title to Montgomery County lands. Owing to the failure of the Symmes Purchase, there are no records at Cincinnati that can be of the slightest value in tracing title to Montgomery County lands. The original records of all transfers by patent, from the Government to individuals, and subsequent sales of Montgomery County property, appear in the records of Montgomery County.

By virtue of the right of pre-emption, granted by law to certain persons who had contracted with John Cleves Symmes, or his associates, the following described lands were, pursuant to an act of Congress, conveyed by " patent," signed by lames Madison, President, to D. C. Cooper.

July 18, 1812, 419 63/100 acres of land, being the residue of all south of Mad River, in fractional Section 4, Town 1, Range 7, after deducting Inlets 3. 5, 6, 8, 14, 46, 51, 52, and 78, and Outlets 5, 6, and 26, in the town of Dayton, which lots contain together, 34 50/100 acres.

October 5, 1813, 292 6/100 acres of land, being fractional Section 3, Town 1, Range 7, south of Mad River, excepting Outlet 52 of ten acres, in the town of Dayton.

October 5, 1813, 88 91/100 acres of land, designated by the Surveyor General as Survey No. 2 (except houselot No. 20, of half an acre in the town of Dayton), fractional Section 10, Town 1, Range 7, south of Mad River.

October 5, 1813, 65 60/100 acres of land, being Survey No. 1, as designated by the Surveyor General, in fractional Section 10, Town 1, Range 7, south of Mad River.

566 - HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

October 25, 1813, 69 30/100 acres of land, fractional Section 9, Town 1, Range 7, south of Mad River.

FOURTH OF JULY.

A regular old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration was organized in 1809. The militia and citizens of the town and vicinity assembled on the river bank, at the head of Main street, and marched in procession to the court house, where, after appropriate singing, and the delivery of an oration, the procession was re-formed and marched to the house of H. Disbrow for dinner; tickets, 50 cents. Salutes were fired by the artillery and foot soldiers -the two Dayton companies - Capt. James Steele's troop of Light Dragoons, and Capt. Paul D. Butler's Infantry Company.

The day finished up with wrestling, shooting at a mark, foot-races, horseraces, jumping; anything for fun, then a big dance in the evening.

ST. JOHN'S LODGE.

Masonic history in Dayton began with the organization of St. John's Lodge in the year 1809, at their lodge room in the academy building on St. Clair street. The Lodge was afterward removed to the first dwelling house north of Second street on the west side of Jefferson. There is not now a living member of that old lodge.

BOATING UP THE MIAMI.

In the winter of 1809-10, two keel-boats were built by Henry Disbrow and Paul D. Butler, in the road in front of the court house. When finished they were moved on rollers to the river and launched, then were poled up the Maimi and Loramie to the portage, where one of them was taken out of the water and hauled twelve miles across the portage to the Auglaize River, thus establishing a freight line by water between Dayton and Toledo. via the Miami, Auglaize and Maumee Rivers. The boats made tolerably regular trips, and had a good trade.

A TRIP EAST.

Traveling was done on horseback, and in this way, in 1809, a Dayton merchant going east to buy goods was accompanied by his wife: and infant child. They led a pack-horse to carry their luggage; the child was carried in a net swung around the farther's neck and rested on a pillow, on the pommel of the saddle. They were a month in going to Philadelphia.

Men generally wore leggings of green baize or other cloth, wrapped around the legs from shoe tops to thigh, held to place with tape strings. Horses and riders were splashed all over with mud and water. In wet, stormy weather it was often necessary to tie the horse in the woods, while the rider would stay all night in the forks of a tree, or in a fallen tree top.

TEAMING.

Merchandise for the Dayton stores was freighted across the mountains from Philadelphia and Baltimore to Pittsburgh, in the long trains of " Conestoga " wagons, the horses wearing the red yokes and jingling chimes so necessary in the narrow winding mountain roads.

At Pittsburgh, the goods were transferred to the "broad horns" (flat-boats), to be floated to Cincinnati, and from there hauled overland to Dayton by trains of " line teams," or reshipped in keel-boats to be poled up the Miami. The bulk of supplies were brought up by river, yet for quick transit pack-horses were depended upon; two men could manage a dozen horses, carrying each two hundred pounds ; generally the horses were loose, following each other in single file, from training and long service. Some horses it was necessary to tie, one

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of the men having the lead horse and the other the hind one to watch the loads and keep the horses going. The lead horse wore a bell. One man could easily manage six or eight horses. A driver would be equipped for any emergency with gun, ammunition, an ax and blanket ; sometimes he would be required to bridge a small stream. He had to kill game enough to supply himself, and make his own camp at night. Only in the evening would the loads be removed from the horses; then a bell would be hung on each horses neck to aid in finding them for an early start in the morning. The horses were turned loose to graze.

THE TOWN IN 1810.

The population of Dayton in 1810 was 383. D. C. Cooper was elected President of the Council, and James Steel, Recorder.

Council passed an ordinance requiring certain sidewalks to be improved. This ordinance shows that the town at that time laid along Water street from Main to Mill street ; south side of First, from Ludlow to St. Clair street ; and on Main street, from the river to Third street. The improvement required by the ordinance was, that the walks on these streets were "to be laid with stone or brick, or to be completely graveled, and a ditch dug along the outer edge of the. walks."

The celebration of the Fourth of July in 1810, began by the assembling of the people of the town on the river bank at the head of Main street. A procession was formed and marched to the court house.

The order of exercises was as follows

1. Singing of anode.

2. Prayer.

3. Reading the Declaration of Independence.

4. Oration.

5. Dinner under a bower erected for the occasion.

The toasts were

1. The Day--May the event for which it is celebrated never be forgotten.

2. The heroes of '76--May their sons protect what they achieved.

3. The Constitution of the United States-May its duration be as lasting as the solar system.

4. The memory of Washington.

5. James Madison, President of the United States.

6. The State of Ohio, the youngest of the Federal family--May she be the foremost to suppress insurrection, and chastise foreign insolence.

7. The American people--May they always appreciate the blessings of a free government, and guard with zealous care their constitutional rights.

8. Virtue-The only base of National as well as individual happiness.

9. The arts and sciences, like the rays of light-May they dispel the mists of ignorance and prejudice from our native land.

10. Agriculture-May our plowshares never rust, and may the hungry of nations be fed with our superabundance.

11. Manufactures - May our exports exceed our imports.

12. The Navy of the United States-May they always acquit themselves as before the walls of Tripoli.

13. The Militia of the United States.

14. May love of country absorb partyism, and may we keep the maxim in view, that united we stand, but divided we fall.

15. The Army of the United States.

16. The memory of Gen. Wayne, the patriot and soldier.

17. The American Fair-May they bestow their smiles only on those who deserve the blessings of liberty.

568 - HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

While the assembly were drinking the toasts, and listening to the responses, the artillery fired a National salute. Beer, ale and porter were first brought from Cincinnati about this time to be sold at the taverns, and we may presume that they were served at this Fourth of July dinner. The other popular drinks were whisky, brandy, wine, wild crab cider and cherry bounce.

Saturday, September 18, Col. Jerome Holt assembled the Fifth Regiment at Dayton " for training purposes." Business was generally suspended, and the country people flocked in to witness the display and parade.

A stock of leather and saddlery was brought here, and a shop opened in the fall, and on November 1 a tannery began operation on Lot 229, at the south end of Main street.

During the winter of 1810-11, a bridle path was contracted for and cut through from Dayton to Vincennes, a distance of 200 miles, and the State road east and west through town was built. It will be remembered as the old corduroy road, fearful to travel over in the rainy or winter season ; in fact, this was the trouble with all of the roads in the early days. The mud holes and low places were laid with poles, that would float, and the horses' feet would sink through them, often causing delay for hours to work out. The roads were not greatly impoved until after 1837.

1811, MOB, CELEBRATIONS.

On the night of May 3, the Shakers, then living in town, were mobbed, and were warned several times through the newspaper to leave the community or suffer the consequences; but they stood their ground, and replied though the paper.

The 13th and 14th there were nine flat-boats left the Water street landing, laden with flour and grain, salt pork and bacon, whisky and pelts, for New Orleans; one of the boats was wrecked twelve miles down the river, the others got through safely.

At 10 o'clock A. M., June 20, the festival of St. John was celebrated by St. John's Lodge, No. 13, with Harmony Lodge, No. 8, of Springfield and Urbana, as visitors.

The celebration of the Fourth of July, 1811, embraced the usual programme, beginning with the citizen's meeting on the river bank at the head of Main street, the procession marching to the court house, where the crowd was entertained with songs and speeches; two big dinners this year, one at Grimes' Tavern, the other at Strain's boarding house, embellished with toasts and artillery, and winding up with a general hurrah. The Rifle Company and Dragoons paraded as usual, and finished off with a dance in the evening.

THE WAR OF 1812.

The influence of Tecumseh, and his brother, the Prophet, had been for several years exerted to unite the Indian tribes of the Northwest against the whites; and when, in 1811, it became apparent that war was inevitable, Tecumseh and his followers were ready to unite with the British against the United States.

In April, 1812, Dayton was designated as the point of rendezvous for the militia that had been called into Government service. For two years the town was filled with the business and excitement of a military camp. The troops were at first quartered in the town, and after the army moved to the North, Dayton was an important point on the line of communication. Men with capital came to engage in business, new stores were opened, and every branch of trade increased.

The Dayton Rifles were among the first to respond to the Governor's call for troops, and were soon ordered to the front. Except immediately after Hull's

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surrender, the town was in no special danger from the British or their savage allies. New Lexington, Greenville, Piqua and Urbana formed too strong a cordon of outposts to be easily passed.

Our people promptly responded to the Governor's call for troops to check the expected advance of the enemy after the disgraceful surrender at Detroit; within a few hours after the news reached Dayton, Capt. Steele's company were marching to the front. Men, women and children united in aiding the troops to get off.

Dayton people and Dayton soldiers nobly discharged their every duty, and when the war was over, united in the general rejoicing.

On Saturday, May 15, 1813, the mechanics of Dayton met at McCollum's Tavern, and organized the Dayton Mechanical Society-the first workingmen's organization in Dayton.

Real estate speculation ran very high that spring; a great deal of money had been made in Dayton during the war; workingmen and mechanics were buying homes; land was platted and sold in lots up Mad River as far as the Staunton Road ford. The town improved and progressed rapidly, until in 1820, when the depression in business put a stop to all improvement.